OF THE EOMAN EMPIRE 133 recovery from a dangerous disease was ascribed to the mira- culous succour of the holy martyrs Cosmas and Uamian, The capital and the provinces of the East were decorated with the monuments of his religion ; ^ and, though the far greater part of these costly structures may be attributed to his taste or ostentation, the zeal of the royal architect was probably quickened by a genuine sense of love and gratitude towards his invisible benefactors. Among the titles of Imperial great- ness, the name of Pious was most pleasing to his ear ; to promote the temporal and spiritual interest of the church was the serious business of his life ; and the duty of father of his country was often sacrificed to that of defender of the faith. The controversies of the times were congenial to his temper and understanding ; and the theological professors must in- wardly deride the diligence of a stranger, who cultivated their art and neglected his own. What can ye fear," said a bold conspirator to his associates, "from your bigoted tyrant .-* Sleepless and unarmed he sits whole nights in his closet, debat- ing with reverend grey-beards, and turning over the pages of ecclesiastical volumes." ■^ The fruits of these lucubrations were displayed in many a conference, where Justinian might shine as the loudest and most subtle of the disputants ; in many a sermon, which, under the name of edicts and epistles, pro- claimed to the empire the theology of their master. While the barbarians invaded the provinces, while the victorious legions marched under the banners of Belisarius and Narses, the successor of Trajan, unknown to the camp, was content to vanquish at the head of a synod. Had he invited to these synods a disinterested and rational spectator, Justinian might have learned " that religious controversy is the offspring of arrogance and folly ; that true piety is most laudably expressed by silence and submission ; that man, ignorant of his own nature, should not presume to scrutinise the nature of his God ; and thai it is sufficient for us to know that power and benevolence are the perfect attributes of the Deity "y^ 83 Procop. de ^dificiis, 1. i. c. 6, 7, tkc. passim.
- '0s 07) KufltjTai di|)vaKTOs es ae'i irr Kecrxrf; TU'bs diopi vvktuiv [/<'^. >'iI<TiiJp] o/joO toi;
Ttnif lepfuji^ y^povan' aaxi'Tcr [/^^. taaToy^povcrii'] afaKUKAeii' Ta XptoTturoji' Ao-yta <nrovSr)V (xuiu. Procop. de Bell. Goth. 1. iii. c. 32. In the Life of St. Eutychius (apud Aleman. ad Procop. Arcan. c. 18) the same character is given with a design to praise Justinian. [Vita Eutychii, by Eustratius, in Migne, Patr. Gr. , vol. 86.]
- "For these wise and moderate sentiments, Procopius (de Bell. Goth. 1. i. c. 3)
is scourged in the preface of Aleniannus, who ranks him among the /f/zV/ta/ Chris- tians — hcd longe verius httresiuin omnium sentinas, prorsusquo Atheos — abomi- nable Atheists who preached the imitation of God's mercy to man (ad Hist. Arcan. c. 15).
