five
times driven from his throne; to which he was more frequently restored
by the violence of the people, than by the permission of the prince; and
the power of Macedonius could be secured only by the death of his rival.
The unfortunate Paul was dragged in chains from the sandy deserts of
Mesopotamia to the most desolate places of Mount Taurus, [150] confined
in a dark and narrow dungeon, left six days without food, and at length
strangled, by the order of Philip, one of the principal ministers of the
emperor Constantius. [151] The first blood which stained the new capital
was spilt in this ecclesiastical contest; and many persons were slain
on both sides, in the furious and obstinate seditions of the people. The
commission of enforcing a sentence of banishment against Paul had been
intrusted to Hermogenes, the master-general of the cavalry; but the
execution of it was fatal to himself. The Catholics rose in the defence
of their bishop; the palace of Hermogenes was consumed; the first
military officer of the empire was dragged by the heels through the
streets of Constantinople, and, after he expired, his lifeless corpse
was exposed to their wanton insults. [152] The fate of Hermogenes
instructed Philip, the Praetorian praefect, to act with more precaution
on a similar occasion. In the most gentle and honorable terms, he
required the attendance of Paul in the baths of Xeuxippus, which had a
private communication with the palace and the sea. A vessel, which lay
ready at the garden stairs, immediately hoisted sail; and, while the
people were still ignorant of the meditated sacrilege, their bishop was
already embarked on his voyage to Thessalonica. They soon beheld, with
surprise and indignation, the gates of the palace thrown open, and
the usurper Macedonius seated by the side of the praefect on a lofty
chariot, which was surrounded by troops of guards with drawn swords. The
military procession advanced towards the cathedral; the Arians and
the Catholics eagerly rushed to occupy that important post; and three
thousand one hundred and fifty persons lost their lives in the confusion
of the tumult. Macedonius, who was supported by a regular force,
obtained a decisive victory; but his reign was disturbed by clamor and
sedition; and the causes which appeared the least connected with the
subject of dispute, were sufficient to nourish and to kindle the
flame of civil discord. As the chapel in which the body of the great
Constanti