rtues were much less the effect
of nature than of art. The abdication of Charles appears to have been
hastened by the vicissitude of fortune; and the disappointment of
his favorite schemes urged him to relinquish a power which he found
inadequate to his ambition. But the reign of Diocletian had flowed with
a tide of uninterrupted success; nor was it till after he had vanquished
all his enemies, and accomplished all his designs, that he seems to
have entertained any serious thoughts of resigning the empire. Neither
Charles nor Diocletian were arrived at a very advanced period of life;
since the one was only fifty-five, and the other was no more than
fifty-nine years of age; but the active life of those princes, their
wars and journeys, the cares of royalty, and their application to
business, had already impaired their constitution, and brought on the
infirmities of a premature old age. [107]

[Footnote 106: Solus omnium post conditum Romanum Imperium, qui extanto
fastigio sponte ad privatae vitae statum civilitatemque remearet,
Eutrop. ix. 28.]

[Footnote 107: The particulars of the journey and illness are taken
from Laclantius, c. 17, who may sometimes be admitted as an evidence of
public facts, though very seldom of private anecdotes.]

Notwithstanding the severity of a very cold and rainy winter, Diocletian
left Italy soon after the ceremony of his triumph, and began his
progress towards the East round the circuit of the Illyrian provinces.
From the inclemency of the weather, and the fatigue of the journey, he
soon contracted a slow illness; and though he made easy marches, and was
generally carried in a close litter, his disorder, before he arrived
at Nicomedia, about the end of the summer, was become very serious and
alarming. During the whole winter he was confined to his palace: his
danger inspired a general and unaffected concern; but the people could
only judge of the various alterations of his health, from the joy or
consternation which they discovered in the countenances and behavior
of his attendants. The rumor of his death was for some time universally
believed, and it was supposed to be concealed with a view to prevent
the troubles that might have happened during the absence of the Caesar
Galerius. At length, however, on the first of March, Diocletian once
more appeared in public, but so pale and emaciated, that he could
scarcely have been recognized by those to whom his person was the most
familiar. It