Against all these objections, those who defend the reality of this miracle, think, that the authority of Eufebius ought to preponderate. Can it be believed, that this writer would have offended the imperial majefty by a criminal imposture, which had it been contradi&ted by only one among fuch a number of eye-witneffes, would have expofed him to the indignation of the whole empire? As for Conftantine's oath, it is strange that what is looked upon as proof of truth in the mouths of common men, fhould be conftrued as an argument of falfehood in that of fo great a prince. Lactantius, not writing a history, deftroys nothing by his filence, and he only speaks of the command that Constantine received in a dream the night before the battle with Maxentius, to caufe the monogram of Chrift to be engraved upon the bucklers of his army. The account of Sozomenus, who lived in the fifth century, only proves that this miracle was contradicted at that time ; and when he quotes the oath of Conftantine from Eufebius, he does not testify any mark of diftruft. The filence of the panegyrists is of very little weight, for they were all idolaters, who would not relate any thing in favour of Christianity. Optatianus was also, according to all appearance, a pagan; and Eufebius, in his ecclefiaftical history, has only fkimmed over this war, having referved the detail of it for the life of Conftantine. As for St. Gregory, he is fpeaking only of the prodigies which hindered the Jews from rebuilding the temple of Jerufalem, and he had no occafion to depart from his fubject for the fake of quoting examples of a fimilar kind. The uncertainty of the place is the weakeft objection of all, fince there are in history an infinite number of facts, the truth of which is not lefs acknowledged, though neither the place, nor fometimes even the time when they happened are known.

Conftantine being determined after this miraculous vision, to adore that God alone who had appeared to him, applied to the most holy and moft enlightened minifters, in order to be inftructed by them in the myfteries of their religion, which he embraced, and his example was followed by the Imperial family. This was the triumph of the Chriftian religion, after it had been conftantly profcribed and perfecuted for almoft three centuries, and undergone every trial neceffary to ascertain its divine original. When Chriftianity, fays our author, had no farther need of perfecutions to evince its divine original, the perfecutors became Chriftians; the emperors fubmitted to the yoke of the gofpel; and the miraculous converfion of Conftantine may be faid to have caufed the ceffation of a greater miracle in the world.'

In the beginning of the year 312, Conftantine passed the Alps, made himself mafter of feveral cities, and nothing retarding his progress he arrived within fight of Rome, and encamped over against Ponte Molle, then called Pons Milvius, a ftone bridge of eight arches over the Tiber, about two miles from Rome. Maxentius, through timidity, kept himself for fome time within the walls, but encouraged at length by an anfwer, upon confulting the Sibylline books, he marched out to meet his enemy. The battle was fought with great obftinacy on both fides, till Maxentius's cavalry being broken, the tyrant fled, and was drowned in croffing the Tiber. The fuccefs of this day occafioned all the gates of the city to be opened to the conqueror: he entered by the triumphal gate, mounted on a car, and went directly to mount Palatine, where he chose his refidence. The public feftivals and rejoicings lafted feven days, during which all poffible honours and demonstrations of respect were paid him. But the most confiderable monument erected in honour of him was the triumphal arch, which still bears his name, and is to be seen at the foot of mount Palatine, near the amphitheatre of Vespafian. It was built chiefly with the ruins of ancient works, particularly of the arch of Trajan. Connoiffeurs obferve, from the comparison between the figures taken from the ancient monuments, and those which were of the workmanship of that age, that the taste for the arts must have been already greatly degenerated.

The public tranquillity being thus restored, this great prince applied himself to the affairs of government, of which our au thor gives a very fatisfactory detail. It would be contrary to our plan to follow him throughout, only we fhall make a few ftrictures with regard to his new laws, an article we think most worthy our notice. As fo memorable a revolution might be expected to produce a great number of informers, a race of men whom he detefted, as feeding on the misfortunes of their fellow-citizens, he enacted two laws, by which he declared all informers, and fuch as attempted to disturb the tranquility of private perfons with unjuft facts, guilty of death. He reftored the fenate to its former luftre, filling it with perfons of the greatest merit. Afcribing all his fucceffes to the influence of the falutary fign of the cross, he caused a statue to be erected to himself, holding a crofs in the right hand, with an infcription importing that by that fign he had delivered the city from a tyrannical yoke. About the month of November 312, an edict was iffued in his name, putting a stop to the great perfecution, which had been begun by Dioclefian. Being acquainted with the character of the Christian religion, fo

6

to perceive that it abhorred blood and violence, he acknowledged no other inftruments of propagating it than inftruction and foft perfuafion: full of this idea, he was cautious of irritating the minds of his people by rigorous edicts. Rome was the centre of idolatry; before he proceeded to fhut up the temples, he wished to fee them deferted. Punishments would have produced obftinacy, and an abhorrence of Christianity; Conftantine had the art of inspiring the love of it. His example, his favour, his benignity, even made more Chriftians, than torments had made apoftates, under the perfecuting princes. Full of zeal for the majefty of facred worship, he heightened its fplendor by erecting and adorning feveral churches, among others thofe of S. Peter in the Vatican, St. Paul, St. Lawrence, St. Agnes, &c. which he endowed with lands and revenues.

Whilft he was employed in advancing the intereft and dignity of the church, he did not lofe fight of the civil adminiftration. He enacted feveral wife laws, which have been preferved in the Theodofian and Juftinian codes, and must do honour to his memory; among others, that to prevent judges from proceeding too haftily to condemn the accused before a full and thorough conviction; that, to protect minors from the dishonesty of their guardians; that, declaring all persons who were notorious for their crimes, incapable of holding any employment; that, declaring that no prefcription could lie against liberty; that, to prevent delays, frauds, and chicanery both in the judges, and thofe who had their fuits depending, and to limit their duration to a short term; that which grants a liberty of appeal from all the tribunals, except that of the præfects of the prætorium, who are properly the representatives of the prince in the adminiftration of juftice; befides feveral other regulations, which fhew his inclination to favour the rights of liberty, without violating thofe of juftice. Some of his laws contain fine leffons of morality; in one of them he fays, "we are of opinion that more regard ought to be paid to equity and natural justice, than to pofitive and rigorous right?" in another he fays "the intereft of our subjects is dearer to us than that of our treasury," in confequence of which he prohibited the custom of imprisoning those were indebted to it, or inflicting any corporal punishment upon them: "Imprisonment, he faid, is intended only for criminals, or officers of the revenue who exceed their authority."

After defcribing the embellishments and repairs which this great emperor made in the city of Rome, and enumerating the feveral acts of his munificence, the learned Mr. le Beau enters upon a discussion of a very nice chronological point, that of

the

the indictions, which owe their first establishment to this prince in 312. The indictions are a cycle or revolution of fifteen years, made ufe of in reckoning time, the custom of which is ftill retained by the court of Rome. The first year of this cycle is called the first indiction, and fo on to the fifteenth, after which a new cycle begins. We muft diftinguish three kinds of indictions, that of the Cæfars, ftiled alfo Conftantinian, from the name of its inftitutor; it commenced on the 24th of September, and was for a long time adopted in France and Germany; that of Conftantinople which commenced with the Grecian year on the ift of September, and was afterwards the most univerfally ufed; laftly that of the popes, who at first followed the computation of the emperors; but after Charlemagne they formed a new indiction, which they commenced at first on the 25th of December; afterwards on the ift of January, this laft method ftill fubfifts at this day; thus the epoch of the pontifical indiction goes back as far as the ft of January; in the year 313. The reafons of this inftitution are

dubious and obfcure. In the Roman laws the word indictio

fignifies affement of taxes, or a declaration of the fum to be paid by each town or province. It is therefore highly probable that this term has a reference to fome taxation. But what was this tax, why this circle of fifteen years? There is the doubt which the learned are at a lofs to folve. Baronius conjectures, that Conftantine limited military employments to fifteen years, and that at the expiration of that term, proclamation was made for raising an extraordinary tax for the payment of the foldiers dif charged from fervice. Petavius thinks this opinion of Baronius more probable than any thing that has been faid by others on the fame fubject. The motive that determined Conftantine to fix the commencement of the indiction on the 24th of September, is alfo uncertain. Some moderns fuppofe the 24th of September to have been the day on which Maxentius was defeated, and that Conftantine thought proper to connect it with the origin of the indiction, as a remarkable epoch. But it is proved, by a very authentic calendar, that the defeat of Maxentius did not happen till the 28th of October. Our learned author hazards a conjecture of his own upon fo intricate a fubject, viz. that Constantine being defirous of diftinguishing his victory by a new epoch, removed it back to the autumnal equinox, which at that time fell on the 24th of September. There is not one of the cardinal points of the folar year, that has not served to fix the beginning of years among different people. It is natural therefore to believe, that of the four principal points of the folar circle, Conftantine preferred that which approached nearest the event, from which

he

he took occafion to establish a new cycle. We must own that the conjecture is very ingenious, and founded in great probability. The limits of our periodical examination will not permit us to attend, the author any farther at present in the life and reign of Conftantine the Great; we fhall therefore referve our farther remarks for another Review, and only observe by the way, that the translation of this excellent work appears to us to have been done with great fidelity, and to be as little exceptionable as moft tranflations with regard to propriety and purity of language.

II. Obfervations on the prevailing Difcafes in Great Britain: together with a Review of the Hiftory of thofe of former Periods, and in other Countries. By John Millar, M. D. 4to. Pr. 125. Cadell.

AT

T entering on the difagreeable task before us, we cannot help making one remark on the title of this production: the author affects to prefent us with observations on the prevailing diseases in Great Britain, while in fact he has not mentioned one disease which is more prevalent in Britain than in other countries. Inflammatory fevers are much rarer in Britain than in the more northern climates; and putrid fevers infinitely lefs frequent than in the fouthern. The dyfentery has never been reckoned a prevailing difeafe in Great Britain; and the puerperal fever is not a local disease in any country whatever. This circumftance of a misnomer deferves the more to be remarked, as it not only affords a strong indication of the genuine defign of this performance, but also a conjecture which will afterwards be more fully confirmed, that the author is not fo much indebted for his obfervations to his own experience as to the writings of others, fo far as his information extended, or he could interpret their fenfe. From whence may be inferred, what will likewife appear in the fequel, that not one original obfervation occurs in this whole production, which, were it divefted of all its fuperfluous appendages, might be reduced to a fize fomewhat smaller than that of a fix-penny pamphlet. Never have we perused any work to which the following paffage from an ingenious author may be fo properly applied as to that before us.

Elegance is difficult to attain; and, without great tafte, very dangerous to attempt. What we principally require in medical writings, is the utmoft degree of perfpicuity, precision, fimplicity, and method. A flowery and highly laboured language in thefe fubjects is entirely out of its place, and creates