CHAPTER XVII

OF HIS DEVOTION AND LOVE TO CHRIST

THE father of Constantine, then, is said to have possessed such a character as we have briefly described. And what kind of death was vouchsafed to him in consequence of such devotion to God, and how far He whom he honoured made his lot to differ from that of his colleagues in the empire, may be known to any one who will give his attention to the circumstances of the case. For after he had for a long time given many proofs of royal nobility of soul, in acknowledging the Supreme God alone, and condemning the polytheism of the impious, and had fortified his household by the prayers of holy men, he is said to have passed the remainder of his life in repose and tranquillity, in the enjoyment of that happiness which consists in neither molesting others nor being molested ourselves.

Accordingly, during the whole course of his quiet and peaceful reign, he dedicated his entire household, his children, his wife, and domestic attendants, to the One Supreme God: so that the company assembled within the walls of his palace differed in no respect from a Church of God; wherein were also to be found His ministers, who offered continual supplications on behalf of their prince, and this at a time when, generally speaking, it was not allowable to make any allusion, even by name, to the worshippers of God.