CHAP. followers of Meletius and those of Paulinus *. XXIV. Their aver sion to Jukan. Starcity of orn and ublic dis ontent. were actuated by the same pious hatred of their common adversary. The strongest prejudice was entertained against the character of an apostate, the enemy and successor of a prince who had engaged the affections of a very numerous sect; and the removal of St Babylas excited an implacable opposition to the person of Julian. His subjects complained, with superstitious indignation, that famine had pursued the emperor's steps from Constantinople to Antioch; and the discontent of a hungry people was exasperated by the injudicious attempt to relieve their distress. The inclemency of the season had affected the harvests of Syria; and the price of bread †, in the markets of Antioch, had naturally risen in proportion to the scarcity of corn. But the fair and reasonable proportion was soon violated by the rapacious arts *The schism of Antioch, which lasted eighty-five years (A. D. 330-415.), was inflamed, while Julian resided in that city, by the indiscreet ordination of Paulinus. See Tillemont, Mém. Eccles. tom. vii. p. 803. of the quarto edition (Paris, 1701, &c.), which henceforward I shall quote. Julian states three different proportions of five, ten, or Afteen modii of wheat, for one piece of gold, according to the degrees of plenty and scarcity (in Misopogon, p. 369.). From this fact, and from some collateral examples, I conclude, that under the successors of Constantine, the moderate price of wheat was about thirty-two shillings the English quarter, which is equal to the average price of the sixty-four first years of the present century. See Arbuthnot's Tables of Coins, Weights, and Measures, p.88, 89. Plin. Hist. Natur. xviii. Mém. de l'Academie des Inscriptions, t. xxviii. p. 718 --721. Smith's Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, vol. i. p. 246. This last I am proud in quote, as the work of a sage and a friend. 12. XXIV. arts of monopoly. In this unequal contest, in CHAP. which the produce of the land is claimed by one. party, as his exclusive property; is used by another as a lucrative object of trade; and is required by a third, for the daily and necessary support of life; all the profits of the intermediate agents are accumulated on the head of the defenceless consumers. The hardships of their situation were exaggerated and increased by their own impatience and anxiety; and the apprehension of a scarcity gradually produced the appearances of a famine. When the luxurious citizens of Antioch complained of the high price of poultry and fish, Julian publicly declared, that a frugal city ought to be satisfied with a regular supply of wine, oil, and bread; but he acknowledged, that it was the duty of a sovereign to provide for the subsistence of his people. With this salutary view, the emperor ventured on a very dangerous and doubtful step, of fixing, by legal authority, the value of corn. He enacted, that, in a time of scarcity, it should be sold at a price which had seldom been known in the most plentiful years; and that his own example might strengthen his laws, he sent into the market four hundred and twenty-two thousand modii, or measures, which were drawn by his order from the granaries of Hierapolis, of Chalcis, and even of Egypt. The consequences might have been foreseen, and were soon felt. The imperial wheat was purchased by the rich merchants; the proprietors of land, or cf corn, withheld from CHAP. the city the accustomed supply; and the small XXIV: quantities that appeared in the market were se- The Nunquam a proposito declinabat, Galli similis fratris, licet incruentus. Ammian. xxii. 14. The ignorance of the most enlightened princes may claim some excuse: but we cannot be satisfied with Julian's own defence (in Misopogon, p. 568, 369.), or the elaborate apology of Libanius (Orat. Parental c. xcvii. p. 321.). Their short and easy confinement is gently touched by Libanius, Orat. Parental, c. xcviii. p. 322, 323. XXIV. During the licentious days of the Saturnalia, the CHAP. streets of the city resounded with insolent songs, which derided the laws, the religion, the personal conduct, and even the beard, of the emperor; and the spirit of Antioch was manifested by the connivance of the magistrates, and the applause of the multitude *. The disciple of Socrates was too deeply affected by these popular insults; but the monarch, endowed with quick sensibility, and possessed of absolute power, refused his passions the gratification of revenge. A tyrant might have proscribed, without distinction, the lives and fortunes of the citizens of Antioch; and the unwarlike Syrians must have patiently submitted to the lust, the rapaciousness, and the cruelty, of the faithful legions of Gaul. A milder sentence might have deprived the capital of the East of its honours and privileges; and the courtiers, perhaps the subjects, of Julian, would have applauded an act of justice, which asserted the dignity of the supreme magistrate of the republic t. But instead of abusing, or exerting, the authority of the state, to revenge his personal injuries, Julian contented himself with an inoffensive mode of retaliation, which it would tire against Libanius (ad Antiochenos de Imperatoris ira, c. 17, 18, . 19. in Fabricius, Bibliot. Græc. tom. vii. p. 221-223.), like a skilful advocate, severely censures the folly of the people, who suffered for the crime of a few obscure and drunken wretches. + Libanius (ad Antiochen, c. vii. p. 213.) reminds Antioch of the recent chastisement of Cæsarea: and even Julian (in Misopogon, p. 355.) insinuates how severely Tarentum had expiated the insult to the Roman ambassadors. Julian com poses a sa Antioch. He CHAP. be in the power of few princes to employ. XXIV. had been insulted by satires and libels; in his turn he composed, under the title of the Enemy of the Beard, an ironical confession of his own faults, and a severe satire of the licentious and effeminate manners of Antioch. This imperial reply was publicly exposed before the gates of the palace; and the MISOPOGON* still remains a singular monument of the resentment, the wit, the humanity, and the indiscretion, of Julian. Though he affected to laugh, he could not forgivet. His contempt was expressed, and his revenge might be gratified, by the nomination of a governor worthy only of such subjects and the emperor, for ever renouncing the ungrateful city, proclaimed his resolution to pass the ensuing winter at Tarsus in Cilicia §. Yet On the subject of the Misopogon, see Ammianus (xxii. 14.), Libanius (Orat. Parentalis, c. xcix. p. 323.), Gregory Nazianzen (Orat. iv. p. 133.), and the Chronicle of Antioch, by John Malela (tom. ii. p. 15, 16.). I have essential obli gations to the translation and notes of the Abbé de la Bleterie (Vie de Jovien, tom. ii. p. 1—138.). Ammianus very justly remarks, Coactus dissimulare pro tempore irâ sufflabatur internâ. The elaborate irony of Julian at length bursts forth into serious and direct invective. Ipse autem Antiochiam egressurus. Heliopoliten quen, dam Alexandrum Syriacæ jurisdictione præfecit, turbulentum et sævum; dicebatque non illum meruisse, sed Antiochensibus avaris et contumeliosis hujusmodi judicem convenire. Ammian. xxiii. 2. Libanius (Epist. 722. p. 346, 317.), who confesses to Julian himself, that he had shared the general discontent; pretends that Alexander was an useful, though harsh, reformer of the manners and religion of Antioch. Julian, in Misopogon, p. 364. Ammian. xxiii. 2. and Valesius ad loc. Libanius, in a professed oration, invites him to return to his loyal and penitent city of Antioch, |