which had been conferred by the favor of Constantine, they complained
of the most cruel oppression; and the free toleration of idolaters and
heretics was a subject of grief and scandal to the orthodox party.
[136] The acts of violence, which were no longer countenanced by
the magistrates, were still committed by the zeal of the people. At
Pessinus, the altar of Cybele was overturned almost in the presence of
the emperor; and in the city of Caesarea in Cappadocia, the temple of
Fortune, the sole place of worship which had been left to the Pagans,
was destroyed by the rage of a popular tumult. On these occasions,
a prince, who felt for the honor of the gods, was not disposed to
interrupt the course of justice; and his mind was still more deeply
exasperated, when he found that the fanatics, who had deserved and
suffered the punishment of incendiaries, were rewarded with the honors
of martyrdom. [137] The Christian subjects of Julian were assured of the
hostile designs of their sovereign; and, to their jealous apprehension,
every circumstance of his government might afford some grounds of
discontent and suspicion. In the ordinary administration of the
laws, the Christians, who formed so large a part of the people, must
frequently be condemned: but their indulgent brethren, without examining
the merits of the cause, presumed their innocence, allowed their
claims, and imputed the severity of their judge to the partial malice
of religious persecution. [138] These present hardships, intolerable as
they might appear, were represented as a slight prelude of the impending
calamities. The Christians considered Julian as a cruel and crafty
tyrant; who suspended the execution of his revenge till he should return
victorious from the Persian war. They expected, that as soon as he
had triumphed over the foreign enemies of Rome, he would lay aside the
irksome mask of dissimulation; that the amphitheatre would stream with
the blood of hermits and bishops; and that the Christians who still
persevered in the profession of the faith, would be deprived of the
common benefits of nature and society. [139] Every calumny [140] that
could wound the reputation of the Apostate, was credulously embraced by
the fears and hatred of his adversaries; and their indiscreet clamors
provoked the temper of a sovereign, whom it was their duty to respect,
and their interest to flatter.

They still protested, that prayers and tears were their only weapons
agains