292 The Empire. R 0 M E. The Empire. 
been promoted to the rank of Caesar. His death was imme¬ 
diately suceeeded by the elevation of Constantine, his son. 
This prince was elected by the army: his first care was to 
dispatch to the emperor a letter, informing him of the 
melancholy event of his father’s death, modestly asserting 
his natural claim to the succession, and respectfully lamenting 
that the affectionate violence of his troops had not permitted 
him to solicit the Imperial purple in the regular and consti¬ 
tutional manner. The first emotions of Galerius were those 
of surprise, disappointment, and rage; and as he could 
seldom restrain his passions, he loudly threatened, that he 
would commit to the flames both the letter and the messen¬ 
ger. But his resentment insensibly subsided; and when he 
recollected the doubtful chance of war, when he had weighed 
the character and strength of his adversary, he consented to 
embrace the honourable accommodation which the prudence 
Of Constantine had left open to him. Without either con¬ 
demning or ratifying the choice of the British army, Gale¬ 
rius accepted the son of his deceased colleague, as the 
sovereign of the provinces beyond the Alps; but he gave 
him only the title of Caesar, and the fourth rank among the 
Roman princes, whilst he conferred the vacant place of 
Augustus on his favourite Severus. The apparent harmony 
of the empire was still preserved, and Constantine w'ho 
already possessed the substance, expected, without impatience, 
an opportunity of obtaining the honours of supreme 
power. 
The ambitious spirit of Galerius was scarcely reconciled 
to the disappointment of his views upon the Gallic provin¬ 
ces, before the unexpected loss of Italy wounded his pride 
as well as power in a still more sensible part. The long 
absence of the emperors had filled Rome with discontent 
and indignation ; and the people gradually discovered, that 
the preference given to Nicomedia and Milan, was not to 
be ascribed to the particular inclination of Dioclesian, 
but to the permanent form of government which he had 
instituted. The tranquillity of those elegant recesses of ease 
and luxury was disturbed by the impatient murmurs of 
the Romans; and a report was insensibly circulated, 
that the sums expended in erecting those buildings, 
would soon be required at their hands. About that 
time the avarice of Galerius, or perhaps the exigencies of 
the state, had induced him to make a very strict and rigo¬ 
rous inquisition into the property of his subjects for the 
purpose of a general taxation, both on their lands and on 
their persons. A very minute survey appears to have been 
taken of their real estates; and wherever there was the 
slightest suspicion of concealment, torture -was very freely 
Employed to obtain a sincere declaration of their personal 
wealth. The privileges which had exalted Italy above the 
tank of the provinces, were no longer regarded; and the offi¬ 
cers of the revenue already began to number the Roman people, 
and to settle the proportion of the new taxes. Even when 
the spirit of freedom had been utterly extinguished, the 
tamest subjects have sometimes ventured to resist an unpre¬ 
cedented invasion of their property; but on this occasion 
the injury was aggravated by the insult, and the sense of 
private interest was quickened by that of national honour. 
The rising fury of the people was encouraged by the conni¬ 
vance of the senate; and the feeble remains of the praetorian 
guards, who had reason to apprehend their own dissolution, 
embraced so honourable a pretence, and declared their 
readiness to draw their swords in the service of their dis¬ 
tressed country. It was the wish, and it soon became the 
hope, of every citizen, that after expelling from Italy their 
foreign tyrants, they should elect a prince, who, by the 
place of "his residence, and by his maxims of government, 
might once more deserve the title of Roman emperor. The 
name, as well as the situation of Maxentius, determined in 
his favour the popular enthusiasm. 
The prefect of the city and a few magistrates, who main¬ 
tained their fidelity to Severus, were massacred by the 
guards; and Maxentius, invested with the Imperial orna¬ 
ments, was acknowledged by the applauding senate and 
people as the protector of the Roman freedom and dignity. 
It is uncertain whether Maximian was previously acquainted 
with the conspiracy; but as soon as the standard of rebellion 
was erected at Rome, fhe old emperor broke from the retire¬ 
ment where the authority of Dioclesian had condemned him 
to pass a life of melancholy solitude, and concealed his re¬ 
turning ambition under the disguise of paternal tenderness. 
At the request of his son and of the senate, he condescended 
to re-assume the purple. His ancient dignity, his expe¬ 
rience, and his fame in arms, added strength as well as 
reputation to the party of Maxentius. 
Severus, the emperor, marched to Rome, but was at¬ 
tacked and beaten, and having retired to Ravenna, was 
cajoled bv Maximian into a surrender, and then forced to 
bleed himself to death. 
During the contest that now took place between Maxi¬ 
mian and Galerius, Constantine prudently kept aloof, pre¬ 
pared, as circumstances might direct, to join or oppose the 
victorious party. The first advantages in this war belonged 
to Maximian, who corrupted the legions of Galerius and 
drove hini out of Italy. But the latter created Licinius (a 
famous general who was entrusted with the defence of the 
Danube,) emperor; and Maximin, the Augustus who govern¬ 
ed Egypt and Syria, joined his party. On the other hand 
Constantine supported, in appearance, the cause of Maxen¬ 
tius and his father. Thus was Rome divided into six empires, 
of which three were arrayed in arms against the remainder. 
The death of Maximian and Galerius changed, however, the 
face of affairs. The former had some disputes with his son 
Maxentius as to the government of Rome. These were 
referred to the preetorian bands, who decided in favour of 
Maxentius, and the old emperor was compelled to abdicate 
the purple, and retire to the court of Constantine. Here he 
remained a short time in quiet, but an incursion of the Franks 
having called Constantine to the frontiers, Maximian either 
craftily invented, or hastily credited, a vain report of the 
death of Constantine, ascended the throne, seized the trea¬ 
sure, and scattering it with his accustomed profusion among 
the soldiers, endeavoured to awake in their minds the memory 
of his ancient dignity and exploits. Before he could esta¬ 
blish his authority, or finish the negociation which he appears 
to have entered into with his son Maxentius, Constantine ar¬ 
rived at the gates of Arles, with a military force which it was 
impossible for Maximian to resist, and which scarcely per¬ 
mitted him to take refuge in the neighbouring city of Mar¬ 
seilles. Here he might have sustained a long siege, if the 
garrison had not purchased their pardon by delivering up 
his person. A secret but irrevocable sentence of death was 
pronounced against the usurper: he obtained only the choice of 
the mode of suicide, and it was published to the world, that, 
oppressed by the remorse of his repeated crimes, he had 
strangled himself with his own hands. He deserved, perhaps, 
his fate; but we should find more reason to applaud the 
humanity of Constantine, if he had spared an old man, the 
benefactor of his father, and the father of his wife. 
The last years of Galerius were less shameful and unfortu¬ 
nate : he survived his retreat from Italy about four years, and 
wisely relinquishing his views of universal empire, he devoted 
the remainder of his life to the enjoyment of pleasure, and 
to the execution of some works of public utility, among 
which we may distinguish the discharging into the Danube 
the superfluous waters of the lake Pelso, and the cutting 
down the immense forests that encompassed it, an operation 
worthy of a monarch, since it gave an extensive country to 
the agriculture of his Pannonian subjects. His death was 
occasioned by a very painful and lingering disorder. His 
body, swelled by an intemperate course of life to an un¬ 
wieldy corpulence, was covered with ulcers, and devoured 
by swarms of insects; but as Galerius had offended the 
Christian party among his subjects, Ins sufferings, inslead of 
exciting their compassion, have been celebrated as the visi¬ 
ble effects of divine justice. He had no sooner expired than 
the provinces of Asia fell to the share of Maximin, and 
those of Europe augmented the portion of Licinus. But a 
sense 
