en repeatedly assured that if he wished to live he
must consent to reign. He was exalted on a shield in the presence and
amid the unanimous acclamations of the troops; a rich military collar,
which was offered by chance, supplied the want of a diadem; the ceremony
was concluded by the promise of a moderate donative; and the new
Emperor, overwhelmed with real or affected grief, retired into the most
secret recesses of his apartment.

The grief of Julian could proceed only from his innocence, but his
innocence must appear extremely doubtful in the eyes of those who have
learned to suspect the motives and the professions of princes. His
lively and active mind was susceptible of the various impressions of
hope and fear, of gratitude and revenge, of duty and of ambition, of the
love of fame, and of the fear of reproach. But it is impossible for us
to calculate the respective weight and operation of these sentiments; or
to ascertain the principles of action which might escape the
observation, while they guided, or rather impelled, the steps of Julian
himself.

The discontent of the troops was produced by the malice of his enemies;
their tumult was the natural effect of interest and of passion; and if
Julian had tried to conceal a deep design under the appearances of
chance, he must have employed the most consummate artifice without
necessity, and probably without success. He solemnly declares, in the
presence of Jupiter, of the Sun, of Mars, of Minerva, and of all the
other deities, that till the close of the evening which preceded his
elevation he was utterly ignorant of the designs of the soldiers; and it
may seem ungenerous to distrust the honor of a hero and the truth of a
philosopher. Yet the superstitious confidence that Constantius was the
enemy, and that he himself was the favorite, of the gods, might prompt
him to desire, to solicit, and even to hasten the auspicious moment of
his reign, which was predestined to restore the ancient religion of
mankind. When Julian had received the intelligence of the conspiracy he
resigned himself to a short slumber, and afterward related to his
friends that he had seen the Genius of the Empire waiting with some
impatience at his door, pressing for admittance, and reproaching his
want of spirit and ambition. Astonished and perplexed, he addressed his
prayers to the great Jupiter, who immediately signified, by a clear and
manifest omen, that he should submit to the will of heaven and