CoLENSO. — Of a Badiant Phenomenon. 307 



troops. The other supposition has more probability — indeed, 

 we are told by Lactantius {I.e., ch. 46) that the Emperor 

 Licinus (brother-in-law of Constantine) once resorted to some- 

 thing of this kind. But if Constantine had been inclined to 

 use artifice in order to encourage his soldiers he would far 

 more probably have represented Mars, or some other of the 

 common deities. 



An ancient writer has observed, " This sign is a subject 

 involved in the greatest obscurities and difficulties. It is, 

 however, an easy thing to refute those who regard this prodigy 

 as a cunning fiction of the Emperor, or who rank it among 

 fables ; and also those who refer the phenomenon to natural 

 causes, ingeniously conjecturing that the form of a cross ap- 

 peared in a solar halo, or in the moon : and likewise those 

 who 8jscribe the transaction to the power of God, who intended 

 by a miracle to confirm the wavering faith of the Emperor. 

 Now, all these suppositions being alike rejected, the only con- 

 clusion that remains is that Constantine saw in a dream, 

 while asleep, the appearance of a cross with this inscription : 

 ' By this conquer.' " 



But the splendid, clearly defined, and wonderful reflection 

 in the sky mentioned above as seen and enjoyed by me seems 

 to be another and still more reasonable and natural mode of ac- 

 counting for that phenomenon, which appears to have escaped 

 the notice of former writers. Indeed, Fabricius, in his learned 

 work on this subject, admits that the appearance of visible 

 words in the air cannot be explained ; and so he resorts to a 

 new exposition of the language of Eusebius for relief, and be- 

 lieves that the words "By this conquer" {tovtw vtKa = hoc 

 vince) were not actually seen, but that the sense of them was 

 emblematically figured in a crown of victory that appeared 

 in the heavens. But if the Emperor intended to say this he 

 expressed himself very obscurely. Moreover, he caused the 

 very words mentioned to be affixed to the standards (labara) 

 of the legions, and to the medals and other monuments of 

 the event ; and, further, all the ancient writers so understood 

 the account given by Eusebius. Again (according to Euse- 

 bius*), the Emperor did not see the sign or 

 form of a real cross, but the Greek letter x in- 

 tersected perpendicularly by the letter p, thus — 

 Eusebius says a great deal about it, also pre- 

 facing the Emperor's personal relation to him 

 by remarking, '^Perhaps had another declared 

 this singular divine manifestation it would not 

 easily be credited ; but the victorious Emperor 

 himself having related it to us, who write this, 



* " De Vita Constantini," I. i., § 28-31. 



