consciousness of his infirmity and of his power. It was the constant
study of his life to suppress, or regulate, the intemperate sallies
of passion and the success of his efforts enhanced the merit of his
clemency. But the painful virtue which claims the merit of victory, is
exposed to the danger of defeat; and the reign of a wise and merciful
prince was polluted by an act of cruelty which would stain the annals
of Nero or Domitian. Within the space of three years, the inconsistent
historian of Theodosius must relate the generous pardon of the citizens
of Antioch, and the inhuman massacre of the people of Thessalonica.

[Footnote 82: Zosimus, l. iv. p. 271, 272. His partial evidence is
marked by an air of candor and truth. He observes these vicissitudes of
sloth and activity, not as a vice, but as a singularity in the character
of Theodosius.]

[Footnote 83: This choleric temper is acknowledged and excused by Victor
Sed habes (says Ambrose, in decent and many language, to his sovereign)
nature impetum, quem si quis lenire velit, cito vertes ad misericordiam:
si quis stimulet, in magis exsuscitas, ut eum revocare vix possis, (tom.
ii. Epist. li. p. 998.) Theodosius (Claud. in iv. Hon. 266, &c.) exhorts
his son to moderate his anger.]

The lively impatience of the inhabitants of Antioch was never satisfied
with their own situation, or with the character and conduct of their
successive sovereigns. The Arian subjects of Theodosius deplored the
loss of their churches; and as three rival bishops disputed the throne
of Antioch, the sentence which decided their pretensions excited the
murmurs of the two unsuccessful congregations. The exigencies of the
Gothic war, and the inevitable expense that accompanied the conclusion
of the peace, had constrained the emperor to aggravate the weight of
the public impositions; and the provinces of Asia, as they had not been
involved in the distress were the less inclined to contribute to the
relief, of Europe. The auspicious period now approached of the tenth
year of his reign; a festival more grateful to the soldiers, who
received a liberal donative, than to the subjects, whose voluntary
offerings had been long since converted into an extraordinary and
oppressive burden. The edicts of taxation interrupted the repose, and
pleasures, of Antioch; and the tribunal of the magistrate was besieged
by a suppliant crowd; who, in pathetic, but, at first, in respectful
language, solicited the redr