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The death of Maximian was followed, in the year 811, by that of Galerius, whose loathsome disease was by the Christians ascribed with grim satisfaction to a divine visitation. On his death-bed, indeed, he repealed the edict of persecution which he had extorted from Diocletian, but this tardy reparation did not avail to soften the detestation in which his name continued to be held by the believers whom he had so signally oppressed. Severus had died a few years earlier, and Galerius had supplied his place by appointing to the Illyrian provinces an officer of his own, by birth a Daciau peasant, named Liciuius. For a short time the empire was shared by five sovereign princes, but on the decease of Galerius Licinius took possession of the East, and the four rulers, Licinius and Maximin, Constantino and Maxentius, divided the Roman world between them, nor would any one. of them surrender the superior title of Augustus. Licinius and "Constantino were both able aud ambitious, while their two colleagues were haughty, indeed, but indolent. Licinius had the discretion to enter into an alliance with Constantino, but he contrived to leave his new confederate to conduct hostilities against Maxentius alone, while he watched himself from a distance the issue of the contest. Scarcely, indeed, was Galerius dead before the rulers of Gaul and Italy rushed into deadly conflict with one another. Constantino was the prompter and more vigorous, lie was the first to cross the Alps, and lie gained three brilliant victories in rapid succession, at Turin, at Veroua, and lastly at the Milvian bridge, three miles from Home.
л n 31° Maxentius, routed utterly in this final engagement, was drowned in recrossing the Tiber, which ho had imprudently placed in his rear. Constantino OTitcrod Home towards the end of the year 312. He was received with acclamations, due more to the popular hatred of the late tyrant than to any special admiration for the conqueror. lie was acknowledged as chief of the empire by Italy and Africa, as well as by the provinces comprised in his own government. He liad already issued from Milan the famous decree which gave the imperial license to the religion of the Christians, and assured them of his favor as well as his protection. At a later period ho announced, confirming his assertion with a solemn oath, that on his march from Gaul ho had beheld the vision of a brilliant cross in the heavens, inscribed with the legend, " By this conquer." Doubtless Constantino was a man of strong imagination, exalted by wonderful successes. It is not necessary to believe that the vision ho related was either a miracle or an imposture.
Constantino had little sympathy for the name of Rome or for the Senate which represented it, to both of which he had been through life an entire stranger. Nevertheless, on entering in triumph the ancient home of the Ciesars, he affected to restore the consideration of the illustrious order. lie conformed to the traditions of the empire by assuming the place of Chief Pontiff of the old national religion ; on the arch of triumph which he erected in the city he placed statues of some of the deities of Olympus, while he enveloped his own personal faith in studied ambiguity by representing his victory to have been gained by the " inspiration of divinity." Пе took vigorous measures to prevent the city fromever again giving laws to the empire by disbanding the praetorian guards, and destroying their fortified camp. With this military institution the imperial power departed finally from Rome, and the seat of government was from henceforth formally established wherever the emperor chose to set up his own permanent residence...