or THE ROMAN EMPIRE 331 An early and passionate attachment determined him to fix his humble dwelling in one of the suburbs of Nola, near the miraculous tomb of St. Felix, which the public devotion had already surrounded with five large and populous churches. The remains of his fortune, and of his understanding, were dedicated to the service of the glorious martyr ; whose praise, on the day of his festival, Paulinus never failed to celebrate by a solemn hymn ; and in whose name he erected a sixth church, of supei'ior elegance and beauty, which was decorated with many curious pictures, from the history of the Old and New Testa- ment. Such assiduous zeal secured the favour of the saint,^'^*' or at least of the people ; and, after fifteen years' retirement, the Roman consul was compelled to accept the bishopric of Nola, a few months before the city was invested by the Goths. During the siege, some religious persons were satisfied that they had seen, either in dreams or visions, the divine forin of their tutelar patron ; yet it soon appeared by the event that Felix wanted power, or inclination, to preserve the flock of Avhich he had formerly been the shepherd. Nola was not saved from the general devastation ; i-'-' and the captive bishop was protected only by the general opinion of his innocence and poverty. Above four years elapsed from the successful invasion of Italy by the anus of Alaric to the voluntary retreat of the Goths under the conduct of his successor Adolphus ; and, dm-ing the whole time, they reigned without control over a country which, in the Poiwession opinion of the ancients, had united all the various excellencies the ooths. of nature and art. The prosperity, indeed, which Italy had attained in the auspicious age of the Antonines, had gradually declined with the decline of the empire. The fruits of a long peace perished under the rude grasp of the Barbarians ; and they themselves were incapable of tasting the more elegant refinements of luxury which had been prepared for the use of the soft and polished Italians. Each soldier, however, claimed an ample portion of the substantial plenty, the corn and cattle, oil and wine, that was daily collected and consumed in the Gothic camp ; and the principal warriors insulted the villas and still a problem (see M^m. de I'Acad^mie des Inscriptions, torn. xv. p. 123-138). I believe that it was such in his own time, and, consequently, that in his heart he was a Pagan. [Cp. Appendix i.] I'-** The humble Paulinus once presumed to say that he believed St. Felix did love him ; at least, as a master loves his little dog. 129 See Jornandes, de Reb. Get. c. 30, p. 653. Philostorgius, 1. xii. c. 3. Augustin, de Civ. Dei, 1. i. c. 10. Baronius, Annal. Eccles. A.D. 410, No. 45, 46.
