Section 411
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380 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. impending punishment inflicted. Since, then, it has happened that many incurred danger from a practice like this, their majes ties our sovereigns, the most powerful emperors, in their peculiar and exalted piety, deeming it foreign to the purpose of their majes ties, that men should be thrust into so great danger for such a cause, have commanded (me in) my devotedness* to address (you in) your wisdom, that if any of the Christians be found to observe the worship of their people, that you should abstain from molesting or endangering them, nor determine that any one should be punished on such a pretext; as it has been made to appear by the lapse of so long a time, that it has been impossible to in duce them in any manner to abandon their obstinate course. It is incumbent, therefore, on your attentive care, to write to the governors and magistrates, and to the praefects of the districts of every city, that they may know that it is not necessary for them to pay any further regard to this edict (or business.)" After this, the rulers of the provinces thinking that the resolu tion contained in these writings, was truly set forth to them, communicate by letter the imperial will to the controllers, magistrates, and prasfects of the different districts. Nor did they urge these things only by writing, but much more by their The more literal translation of this passage may give the reader some idea of the kind of phraseology employed here. It would run thus — " have given orders through my devotedness to write to your discretion :" y%»voj* signifies acuteness of discrimination. As Eusebius gives us here a Greek translation from the Latin, it would not be surprising to find Latinisms transferred here as well as in the edict before translated by him. We have suspected the original of xaSoo-ior^? here, to have been in the Latin sanctitas, a very comprehensive word, expressing integrity, inviolable fidelity, attachment. But the classical use of xaSocrioT^, would rather be sanctificatio, very different, therefore, from sanctitas. We have in this mode of address, also, a specimen of that kind of style in which the great were addressed by others, and by one another. Some traces of it still exist in Europe, as in your Lordship, your Grace, your Excellency, &c. ; but it has prevailed no where to a greater extent than among the dignitaries of the Ger man empire. Formerly almost every book that had a dedicatory epistle, abounded in this artificial mode of address ; so that unless one were apprized of the fact, it would be difficult to tell who it was that was addressed. This usage among the Germans is no doubt to be traced back to a more intimate connexion with the Roman empire.