nce. [44] Among the
philosophers, Maximus obtained the most eminent rank in the friendship
of his royal disciple, who communicated, with unreserved confidence, his
actions, his sentiments, and his religious designs, during the anxious
suspense of the civil war. [45] As soon as Julian had taken possession
of the palace of Constantinople, he despatched an honorable and pressing
invitation to Maximus, who then resided at Sardes in Lydia, with
Chrysanthius, the associate of his art and studies. The prudent and
superstitious Chrysanthius refused to undertake a journey which showed
itself, according to the rules of divination, with the most threatening
and malignant aspect: but his companion, whose fanaticism was of a
bolder cast, persisted in his interrogations, till he had extorted from
the gods a seeming consent to his own wishes, and those of the emperor.
The journey of Maximus through the cities of Asia displayed the triumph
of philosophic vanity; and the magistrates vied with each other in
the honorable reception which they prepared for the friend of their
sovereign. Julian was pronouncing an oration before the senate, when
he was informed of the arrival of Maximus. The emperor immediately
interrupted his discourse, advanced to meet him, and after a tender
embrace, conducted him by the hand into the midst of the assembly; where
he publicly acknowledged the benefits which he had derived from the
instructions of the philosopher. Maximus, [46] who soon acquired the
confidence, and influenced the councils of Julian, was insensibly
corrupted by the temptations of a court. His dress became more splendid,
his demeanor more lofty, and he was exposed, under a succeeding reign,
to a disgraceful inquiry into the means by which the disciple of Plato
had accumulated, in the short duration of his favor, a very scandalous
proportion of wealth. Of the other philosophers and sophists, who were
invited to the Imperial residence by the choice of Julian, or by the
success of Maximus, few were able to preserve their innocence or
their reputation. The liberal gifts of money, lands, and houses, were
insufficient to satiate their rapacious avarice; and the indignation of
the people was justly excited by the remembrance of their abject poverty
and disinterested professions. The penetration of Julian could not
always be deceived: but he was unwilling to despise the characters of
those men whose talents deserved his esteem: he desired to escape the