JULIAN. 



tVieir wiflics. He immediately addrctl'cd, in his own name, 

 ^nd that of the army, a lettei- to Conltantius, acqua'.nting 

 him with the event, and foliciting the coiifirmalion of the 

 ■dignity of Auguftus, but ftill acknowledging his fuprema;y 

 as head of the empire, and offering to remain contented with 

 the adminiltration of the weilern provinces of Gaul, Spain, 

 and Britain. Conllantins received his communication like an 

 offe:ided fovcreign, refufed to admit liis alUimed title, and 

 commanded him to return to his duty, v.ith the rank which 

 he Tormerly pofleffed. Ju'ian now held him at defiance, and 

 difperfcd manifettoes juliifying liis condudl ; of which one of 

 the moll charac\eriftic Hill extant was an epilUe to the fenate 

 and people of Athens, whom, as a philofophcr, a fchoLir, 

 and a worlhipper of the gods of Greece, he feems to have 

 regarded with peculiar refpect. In his pragrefs he was 

 Hopped by the reiillance of Aiiuileia, held by the troops of 

 Conllantius ; and the approach of that emperor, with his 

 veteran legions, prepared a bloody csnfiiift, w!iicli was hap- 

 pily prevented by the fudden deatli of Conllantius on the 

 confines of Cilicia. Julian, now in the thirty-fecond year 

 of his age, entered Conllantinople amidll univerfal acclama- 

 tions, and was acknowledged tiie fole fovercign of the Ro- 

 man empire. His elevatioH to fupreme power made no al- 

 teration in his charader: he was a philofophcr on the 

 throne, as fdr as that title is merited by itrict temperance, 

 difregard of idle pomp, and trifling amufements ; the dili- 

 gent employment of his time in aftive occupations, or the 

 purfuit of mental improvement, and conliant iliidy to fulfil 

 the duties of his ilation. The ruling paffion of Julian was 

 to rellore the heathen religion in all its ancient fplendour ; 

 and to tliis, in various inilances, he facrificed both policy 

 and jullice. He wrote an chiborate work againil the truth 

 of Chriltianity, of which fome fragments only have come to 

 modern times. An edict of general toleration was liis tiril 

 meafure, which produced the re opening of all the heathen 

 temples, and tlie return of ChrilUan fedaries, who had 

 been biniflied by the late emperor. He endeavoured to 

 render P.igaiufni more rcfpectabie in the eyes of the public, 

 by certain regulations for feciiriiig the morals of the prielt- 

 hood. He iiivited to his court all the eminent phiiol'ophers, 

 and men of learning of that perluafion ; and he encouraged 

 profelytes, by tokens of imperial favour. The relloration 

 of the ancient temple of Jeru.alem attradled the ambitious 

 mind of the emperor, who flattered himfelf that the comple- 

 tion of the undertaking would be at leall a fpecious argu- 

 ment againil the faith of prophecy, and the truth of revela- 

 tion. Tb accomplifh it, he employed one of liis ablell 

 generals, and ordered the governor of Palelline to lend his 

 raoll ilrenuous fupport in relloring the work of Solomon to 

 its pritlinc beauty. But neither tlie power of an emperor, 

 the refources of an empire, nor the enthufialm of a whole 

 people, could effeCl the purpofe. A commencement was 

 made of this work ; but the builders were interrupted by 

 extraordinary irruptions of fire, which obliged them to 

 abandon their undertaking. Though reilraiiied either by 

 prudence or temper from the violence uf pcrfecution, Julian 

 fyftemutically purfued meafures calculated to degrade and 

 deprcfs the Cliri'.lians. He treated them with the language 

 of farcallic contempt, deprived them of the manigemeiit of 

 charitable contributions, and levelled all the honours of fa- 

 cerdotal rank. He forbade all Chrillians from acting as 

 teachers of grammar and rhetoric, or the hberal arts ; thus 

 compelling tiieir youth to remain uneducated, or to receive, 

 with the rudiments of learning, imprcflions fubverfivc of their 

 faith. He excluded them from polls of trull and honour j 

 and condemned them to niakc ampW amends for the dellruc- 

 uoa of PigaiJ teTOpleb m the jircceding reijjns, and rellitution 



of lands and revenues, which had bren cenverted to the ' '? 

 of their own religion. Tiie love of military glory wa.- .. 

 otlier palfion by which Julian was atluated ; and the tv- .'. 

 which he thought mod worthy of its indulgence was the 

 Perfian empire, long the rival and formidable foe of th? 

 Roman. When he croffed the Tigris, he burned his Ihips, 

 that his foldiers might proceed with firmnefs and refolution. 

 He defeated the Perfians drawn up to oppofe him, and 

 pufhed on to the gates of the capital. Milled by treacherous 

 guides, he was pre'ently reduced to a fcu-city of provifions ;,. 

 and he found that the only means of fafety for his army con- 

 filled in retreat. In the mean time, the whole force of the 

 Perfian empire was affembled, and clouds of light troopt 

 liarafTed the Romans on every fide, while the main body of 

 the Perfian hoil advanced in formidable array. Julian per- 

 formed every duty cf a foldier and a general, partook in 

 every fatigue and harddiip, and was prefent wherever danger, 

 was moll urgent. The attacks of the enemy were fcverai 

 times repelled: at length Julian was mortally wour.ded, fell 

 fenfelefs from his iior'.e, and was conveyed from the field in- 

 a Hate which announced approaching death. Senfible of his 

 fituation, lie pronounced a farewel i''peech to the furroundinj; 

 officersj and directed the difjiofal of his private property ;. 

 after whicii, he entered into a metaphyfical difci;fii'>u with 

 regard to the nature of the foul. Exhaulled by thefe ef- 

 forts, he called for a draught of ccld water ; and a*^ foon s$ 

 he had fwallowed it, calmly expired, on June 26th, _?6j;.. 

 The character of no eminent perfon has been more differently, 

 reprelented by friends and enemies. Of his writings, which 

 are compofed in the purity of the Greek language, one 01 

 the moll curious is entitled " The Catfars," which, in the 

 form of a fable, freely difcufles the chaniftcrs of the feveral 

 emperors, his prcdeceflbrs. He gives the decided preference 

 to Marcus Antoninus, whom he made his model in his re- 

 ligious and phi'ofophicnl qualty, although in temper he wai 

 a very different man. The learned Spanheim gave an ela-, 

 borate edition of his works in Greek and Latin, in folio, 

 1696. Juhan's partiality for every thing Grecian had in-, 

 fultd into his mind a love of liberty, and a fenle of the na-. 

 tiiral equality of mankind ; and he rejefted with abhorrence 

 the iiaughty title of " Lord," which the Romans had in- 

 troduced in addreiTing the mailer of the empire. He alfa 

 imitated the bell cf the emperors, in paying refpeft to the 

 confular dignity, and obedience to the laws of the ftate. 

 He frequently fat upon the bench as judge, and adminillercd 

 jullice with great impartiality between the rich and the poor. 

 He poffeffed found ideas of L-gi(lalion ; and it is to the credit 

 of his character, that, of the lav/s cnaClcd during his fliort 

 rcign, filtv-four have been received into the codes of Tlieo- 

 doiius and'julliman. Univer. Hill. Gibbon's Rom. Hill, 

 vol iii. and iv. 



The moll ancient proof of an inflrument, refembling a; 

 modern organ, blown by bellows, and played with keys, 

 very different from the hydraulicon, which is of much . 

 higher antiquity, is a Greek epigram in the Anthologia, 

 attributed to the emperor Julian, who flourilhed about 364. , 

 We fliall hire give a htcral tranflatioit of this epigram, 

 which, though it contain no very beautiful or poetical, 

 images, will anfwer the hillorical purpofe of afcertaining the 

 cxuleixe of an iiillrument in the fourth century, which, in 

 many particulars, refepibled a modern organ. 



We fliall iiifert the original here, for the fatisfaftion of the 

 learned reader, from the Antho!. lib. i. cap. 86. 8. 



A>f»i, «ci" a.»<'fiotriv C^' Tijxii'foi,- cMtwra,-, 



