f Alexandria--the greatest theologian that had as yet appeared in the
church,--and the other by Arius, a simple presbyter of Alexandria, but a
man of subtle and commanding intellect. Arius maintained that the Son, the
second person of the Trinity, derived his being from the Father within the
limits of time, and was secondary to him in power and glory. Athanasius
maintained that the Son was co-eternal with the Father, and the same in
substance with the Father. This theological question had long been
discussed, and the church was divided between the two parties, each of
which exhibited extreme acrimony. Constantine leaned to the orthodox side,
although his most influential adviser, Eusebius, bishop of Caesarea, the
historian, inclined to the Arian view. But the emperor was more desirous
to secure peace and unity, than the ascendency of any dogma, and the
doctrine of Athanasius became the standard of faith, and has since
remained the creed of the church.

(M1141) After the settlement of the faith of the church, now becoming the
great power of the world, the reign of Constantine was disgraced by a
domestic tragedy seldom paralleled in history. His son, Crispus, by a
low-born woman, conspicuous for talents and virtues, either inflamed the
jealousy of his father, or provoked him by a secret conspiracy. It has
never been satisfactorily settled whether he was a rival or a conspirator,
but he was accused, tried, and put to death, in the twentieth year of the
reign, while Constantine was celebrating at Rome the festival of his
_vicennalia_. After this bloody tragedy, for which he is generally
reproached, he took his final departure from Rome, and four years after,
the old capital was degraded to the rank of a secondary city, and
Constantinople was dedicated as the new capitol of the empire. From the
eastern promontory to the Golden Horn, the extreme length of
Constantinople was three Roman miles, and the circumference measured ten,
inclosing an area of two thousand acres, besides the suburbs. The new city
was divided into fourteen wards, and was ornamented with palaces, fora,
and churches. The church of St. Sophia was built on the site of an old
temple, and was in the form of a Greek cross, surmounted by a beautiful
and lofty dome. In a century afterward, Constantinople rivaled Rome in
magnificence. It had a capitol, a circus, two theatres, eight public
baths, fifty-two porticoes, eight aqueducts, four halls, and fourteen
churches