d
the streets full of corpses.

St. Ambrose felt it his duty to speak forth in the name of the Church
against such fury and cruelty; and when Theodosius presented himself at
the church door to come to the Holy Communion, Ambrose met him there,
and turned him back as a blood-stained sinner unfit to partake of the
heavenly feast, and bidding him not add sacrilege to murder.

Theodosius pleaded that David had sinned even more deeply, and yet had
been forgiven. "If you have sinned like him, repent like him," said
Ambrose; and the Emperor went back weeping to his palace, there to
remain as a penitent. Easter was the usual time for receiving penitents
back to the Church, but at Christmas the Emperor presented himself
again, hoping to win the Bishop's consent to his return at once; but
Ambrose was firm, and again met him at the gate, rebuking him for trying
to break the rules of the Church.

"No," said Theodosius; "I am not come to break the laws, but to entreat
you to imitate the mercy of God whom we serve, who opens the gates of
mercy to contrite sinners."

On seeing how deep was his repentance, Ambrose allowed him to enter the
Church, though it was not for some time that he was admitted to the Holy
Communion, and all that time he fasted and never put on his imperial
robes. He also made a law that no sentence of death should be carried
out till thirty days after it was given, so as to give time to see
whether it were hasty or just.

During this reign another heresy sprang up, denying the Godhead of God
the Holy Ghost, and, in consequence, Theodosius called together another
Council of the Church, at which was added to the Nicene Creed those
latter sentences which follow the words, "I believe in the Holy Ghost."
In this reign, too, began to be sung the _Te Deum_, which is generally
known as the hymn of St. Ambrose. It was first used at Milan, but
whether he wrote it or not is uncertain, though there is a story that he
had it sung for the first time at the baptism of St. Augustine.

Theodosius only lived six months after his defeat of Eugenius, dying at
Milan in 395, when only fifty years old. He was the last who really
deserved the name of a Roman Emperor, though the title was kept up, and
Rome had still much to undergo. He left two young sons named Arcadius
and Honorius, between whom the empire was divided.

[Illustration]

CHAPTER XLI.

ALARIC THE GOTH.

395-410.

The sons of the great Theodosius were,