The must important of his purely literary productions are the novels, Adolphe and Cecile, and the translation of Wallenstein. His philosophical work on religion, which occupied him more or less almost all his life, is an attempt to trace the successive transformations of the religious sentiment, his conclusion being that, while the religious instinct is imperishable, the doctrinal and ceremonial forms by which it expresses itself are transitory. A quotation or two will suffice to indicate his attitude towards the liberalism of the 18th century. " Christianity has introduced moral and political liberty into the world." " If Christianity has been often despised, it is because men
have not understood it. Lucian was incapable of understanding Homer; Voltaire has never understood the Bible."CONSTANTINE, the capital of the French province of the same name in Algeria, situated in the richest and most populous part of the country, about 50 miles inland from the port of Philippeville, in 36 22 21" N. lat. and 6 36 36" E. long. It holds a highly romantic position on a rocky plateau, cut off on all sides but the west by a deep but beautiful ravine, through which the Hummel finds its way. A striking contrast exists between the older and Moorish portion of the city, with its tortuous lanes and Oriental architecture, and the modern and French portion, with its rectangular streets and wide open squares, frequently bordered with trees and adorned with fountains. Of the squares the Place Nemours is the most spacious, but the Place du Palais is of more importance in the commercial and social life of the city. The public buildings may be divided into those dating from before the French conquest and later ersctions. Among the former are the Kasba or citadel, the mosques, the palace of the bey, and the harem of Salah; among the latter the court-house or palais de justice, the theatre, the Protestant church, and several administrative buildings. The Kasba, which occupies the northern corner of the town, is partly of Roman construc tion, and preserves in its more modern portions numerous remains of other Roman edifices. It is now turned into barracks, and contains within its precincts a hospital capable of accommodating 1500 patients. The mosque of Sidi el Kattani, which ranks as the finest in the city, dates only from the 18th century ; but that of Souk-er Rezel, now transformed into a Christian church, and bearing the name of Notre Dame des /Sept Douleurs, was built as early as 1143. The Great Mosque, or Djama-Kebir, occupies the site of what was probably an ancient Pantheon. A religious seminary, or Medersa, is maintained in connection with the Sidi el Kattaui ; and the French support a college and various minor educational establishments for both Arabic and European culture. There is an archaeological society, and a collection of local antiquities has been formed. The native industry of Constantino is chiefly con fined to leather goods and woollen fabrics. A considerable trade is carried on with Tunis and other places on the Mediterranean, and caravans proceed regularly by Biscara and Tuggurt into the interior. The population of the city, composed of various elements, amounted in 1872 to 30,330.
Constantino, or as it was originally called, Cirta or Kirtha, from the Phoenician word or a city, was in ancient times one of the most important towns of Numidia, and the residence of the kings of the MassyliL. Under Micipsa it reached the height of its prosperity, and was able to furnish an army of 10,000 cavalry and 20,000 infantry. Though it afterwards declined, it still continued to be considered an important military post, and consequently its name is frequently mentioned during successive wars. Csesar having bestowed a part of its territory on his supporter Sittius, the latter introduced a Roman settlement, aud the town for a time was known as Colonia Sittianoram. In the war of Maxentius against Alexander, the Numidian. usurper, it was laid in ruins ; and on its restoration iti 313 by Constantino it received the name which it still retains. It vns left uncaptured during the Vandal invasion of Africa, but on the conquest of the Arabians it shared the same fate as the surrounding country. During the 12th century it was still a place of consider- able prosperity ; and its commerce was extensive enough to attract the merchants of Pisa, Genoa, and Venice. Frequently taken and retaken by the Turks, it finally became under their dominion the seat of a bey subordinate to the dey of Algiers. In 1826 it asserted its independence of that potentate, and was governed by Hadj Ahmed, the choice of the Kabyles. In 1837 the French under Marshal Valee took possession of the place, and about ten years afterwards it was occupied as a regular colony.
CONSTANTINE. Of the thirteen emperors of this name, two are here noticed separately. For the others see Roman History and Greek Empire.
Aurelius Constantinus, surnamed Magnus, or the Great, was born at Naissus (Nissa)[1], in upper Mcesia, in February 274. He was the son of Constantius Chlorus and Helena, the wife of obscure origin (a stabularia, or innkeeper, according to St Ambrose) whom her husband was com pelled to repudiate on attaining the dignity of Csesar in 292.[2] The part of the empire assigned to Constantius was the extreme West, including Spain, Gaul, and Britain ; but Constantine was detained in the East at the court of Diocletian, doubtless as a pledge for his father s loyalty. He served with such distinction under Diocletian in the campaign in Egypt which closed in 296, and subsequently under Galerius in the war with Persia, that he was appointed a tribune of the first rank. His majestic presence, his per sonal courage, and his skill in military exercises made him a great favourite with the army, and excited in a correspond ing degree the jealousy of the naturally suspicious Galerius, who did not scruple, it is said, to expose lam repeatedly to unusual hazards in the hope of getting rid of him. The effect of this was to strengthen in Constantine a constitu tional wariness and discretion which were often of advan tage to him in after life. In 305 Diocletian and Maximian abdicated, and were succeeded in the supreme rank of Augustus by the two Csars, Constantius and Galerius. Constantine, who had naturally the strongest claim to a Coesarship, was passed over by Galerius, aud Constantius could not venture to bestow the office while his son re mained at what was virtually a hostile court. It was only after repeated letters from his colleague that Galerius gave a reluctant consent that Constantino should join his father. There was ground for supposing even then that the permis sion was given only to be cancelled, and Const. in tine accordingly acted upon it with the utmost promptitude, making the journey across Europe from Nicomedia to Boulogne in an unusually short time. At Boulogne he found his father on the point of setting out for Britain, and accompanied him. The death of Constantius soon after at York (25th July 306) brought Constantine to the first great turning-point in his career. The circumstances were critical : it was necessary to avoid on the one hand losing the favour of the army by undue hesitation, and on the other incurring the active hostility of Galerius by undue self-assertion; and Constantine displayed just that union of determination and prudence that the occasion required. Accepting with well-feigned reluctance the enthusiastic nomination of the army to the vacant throne, he wrote at the same time a carefully worded letter to Galerius, expres sing regret that circumstances had not permitted him to delay assuming the purple until the imperial approbation could be signified, and begging to be recognized as Augustus
in succession to his father. On the reception of the news
- ↑ The legend that Constantine was a native of Britain has long been generally abandoned. The passage in the panegyrist that speaks of his having ennobled Britain "illic oriendo" refers probably to his accession, as Gibbon suggests.
- ↑ A later tradition, adopted with characteristic credulity by Geoffrey of Momnouth, that Helena was the daughter of a British king, is a pure invention.
