his
house during most of the hours when he was not attending, with his
brother, classes in Greek and Latin literature and in law, Ambrose was
no less frequently in that of Probus. Though this caused their mother to
spend many lonely evenings, she was well pleased, for both men bore a
high character, and would be able to help her boys in many ways that
were impossible to a woman. The two youths were very popular, pleasant,
and well-mannered, and with strong common-sense which proved useful in
saving them from pitfalls that might otherwise have been their ruin.
They had friends without number, but they liked no one's company so much
as each other's, and it was a sad moment for both when Symmachus gave
Satyrus a post under his own son, and the two young men set sail for
Asia Minor.

For some time Ambrose remained at home, learning the duties of a prefect
under Probus. He early showed great talent for managing men, a quick eye
for detecting crime, impartiality in giving judgment, and firmness in
seeing it carried out. Probus must have watched anxiously to see how far
the young man's sense of justice and his desire for mercy would act on
each other, but what he saw satisfied him. Ambrose knew at once what was
the important point in every matter, and never allowed his mind to be
confused by things that had nothing to do with the real question. This
was his safeguard as a judge, and this was the principle he held to all
through his life, which caused him to be such a different man from
Hildebrand or Thomas a Becket, or many great bishops who came after him.
To Ambrose, murder was murder, theft was theft, whether it was done by
a Christian or a pagan, and the punishment was equally heavy for both.

Perhaps the emperor Valentinian may have noted the qualities of the
young lawyer, or perhaps he may have consulted with Probus, but in any
case, in the year 372 Ambrose was sent off to govern the whole of North
Italy, under the title of 'consul.' At the utmost he was only
twenty-nine, and he may have been younger, for the date of his birth is
uncertain. But his head was in no way turned by his position, and the
emperor, a well-meaning but tactless man, beheld with satisfaction that
the restless people of Milan, the capital of the north, were growing
daily quieter under the rule of Ambrose. What his own severity had been
powerless to accomplish Ambrose carried through without any difficulty.
The parties, religious as well as politic