expect
and to seize the opportunity of discord. The Monophysite church of
Alexandria [144] was torn by the disputes of the corruptibles and
incorruptibles, and on the death of the patriarch, the two factions
upheld their respective candidates. [145] Gaian was the disciple of
Julian, Theodosius had been the pupil of Severus: the claims of the
former were supported by the consent of the monks and senators, the city
and the province; the latter depended on the priority of his ordination,
the favor of the empress Theodora, and the arms of the eunuch Narses,
which might have been used in more honorable warfare. The exile of
the popular candidate to Carthage and Sardinia inflamed the ferment of
Alexandria; and after a schism of one hundred and seventy years, the
Gaianites still revered the memory and doctrine of their founder. The
strength of numbers and of discipline was tried in a desperate and
bloody conflict; the streets were filled with the dead bodies of
citizens and soldiers; the pious women, ascending the roofs of their
houses, showered down every sharp or ponderous utensil on the heads of
the enemy; and the final victory of Narses was owing to the flames, with
which he wasted the third capital of the Roman world. But the lieutenant
of Justinian had not conquered in the cause of a heretic; Theodosius
himself was speedily, though gently, removed; and Paul of Tanis, an
orthodox monk, was raised to the throne of Athanasius. The powers of
government were strained in his support; he might appoint or displace
the dukes and tribunes of Egypt; the allowance of bread, which
Diocletian had granted, was suppressed, the churches were shut, and a
nation of schismatics was deprived at once of their spiritual and carnal
food. In his turn, the tyrant was excommunicated by the zeal and revenge
of the people: and none except his servile Melchites would salute him as
a man, a Christian, or a bishop. Yet such is the blindness of ambition,
that, when Paul was expelled on a charge of murder, he solicited, with
a bribe of seven hundred pounds of gold, his restoration to the same
station of hatred and ignominy. His successor Apollinaris entered
the hostile city in military array, alike qualified for prayer or for
battle. His troops, under arms, were distributed through the streets;
the gates of the cathedral were guarded, and a chosen band was stationed
in the choir, to defend the person of their chief. He stood erect on
his throne, and, thro