the
Persian monarch, A.D. 611, commenced his attack, the persecuted
sectaries of Asia Minor, Syria, and Egypt followed the example of the
African Arians in the Vandal invasion, and betrayed the empire. The
revenge of an oppressed heretic is never scrupulous about its means of
gratification. As might have been expected, the cities of Asia fell
before the Persians. They took Jerusalem by assault, and with it the
cross of Christ; ninety thousand Christians were massacred; and in its
very birthplace Christianity was displaced by Magianism. The shock which
religious men received through this dreadful event can hardly now be
realized. The imposture of Constantine bore a bitter fruit; the sacred
wood which had filled the world with its miracles was detected to be a
helpless counterfeit, borne off in triumph by deriding blasphemers. All
confidence in the apostolic powers of the Asiatic bishops was lost; not
one of them could work a wonder for his own salvation in the dire
extremity. The invaders overran Egypt as far as Ethiopia; it seemed as
if the days of Cambyses had come back again. The Archbishop of
Alexandria found it safer to flee to Cyprus than to defend himself by
spiritual artifices or to rely on prayer. The Mediterranean shore to
Tripoli was subdued. For ten years the Persian standards were displayed
in view of Constantinople. At one time Heraclius had determined to
abandon that city, and make Carthage the metropolis of the empire. His
intention was defeated by the combination of the patriarch, who dreaded
the loss of his position; of the aristocracy, who foresaw their own
ruin; and of the people, who would thus be deprived of their largesses
and shows. Africa was more truly Roman than any other of the provinces;
it was there that Latin was last used. But when the vengeance of the
heretical sects was satisfied, they found that they had only changed the
tyrant without escaping the tyranny. The magnitude of their treason was
demonstrated by the facility with which Heraclius expelled the Persians
as soon as they chose to assist him.

[Sidenote: The moral impression of these events.]

In vain, after these successes, what was passed off as the true cross
was restored again to Jerusalem--the charm was broken. The Magian fire
had burnt the sepulchre of Christ, and the churches of Constantine and
Helena; the costly gifts of the piety of three centuries were gone into
the possession of the Persian and the Jew. Never again wa