r the name Valentia. The Governor
of each Province exercised his functions under the "Vicar" of the
"Diocese," an official of "Respectable" rank--the second in precedence
of the Diocletian hierarchy (exclusive of the Imperial Family).

A. 10.--With the Diocletian administration necessarily came the
Diocletian Persecution--an essential feature of the situation. There
is no reason to imagine that the great reforming Emperor had, like
his colleague Maximian, any personal hatred for Christianity. But
Christianity was not among the _religiones licitae_ of the Empire.
Over and over again it had been pronounced by Imperial Rescript
unlawful. This being so, Diocletian saw in its toleration merely
one of those corruptions of lax government which it was his special
mission to sweep away, and proceeded to deal with it as with any other
abuse,--to be put down with whole-hearted vigour and rigour.

A. 11.--The Faith had by this time everywhere become so widespread
that the good-will of its professors was a political power to be
reckoned with. Few of the passing Pretenders of the Era of Confusion
had dared to despise it, some had even courted it; and thus throughout
the Empire the Christian hierarchy had been established, and Christian
churches been built everywhere; while Christians swarmed in every
department of the Imperial service,--their neglect of the official
worship winked at, while they, in turn, were not vigorous in rebuking
the idolatry of their heathen fellow-servants. Now all was changed.
The sacred edifices were thrown down, or (as in the famous case of St.
Clement's at Rome) made over for heathen worship, the sacred books and
vessels destroyed, and every citizen, however humble, had to produce
a _libellus_,[331] or magisterial certificate, testifying that he had
formally done homage to the Gods of the State, by burning incense at
their shrines, by pouring libations in their name, and by partaking of
the victims sacrificed upon their altars. Torture and death were the
lot of all recusants; and to the noble army of martyrs who now sealed
their testimony with their blood Britain is said (by Gildas) to have
contributed a contingent of no fewer than seventeen thousand, headed
by St. Alban at Verulam.

A. 12.--So thorough-going a persecution the Church had never known.
But it came too late for Diocletian's purpose; and it was probably
the latent consciousness of his failure that impelled him, in 305,
to resign the purple