from
The Life of Constantine
by
Eusebius of Caesarea

Chapter XIII. Of Constantius His Father, Who Refused to Imitate Diocletian, Maximian,
and Maxentius In Their Persecution of the Christians.

At a time when four emperors shared the administration of the Roman empire, Constantius
alone, following a course of conduct different from that pursued by his colleagues, entered into
the friendship of the Supreme God.

For while they besieged and wasted the churches of God, leveling them to the ground, and
obliterating the very foundations of the houses of prayer, he kept his hands pure from their
abominable impiety, and never in any respect resembled them. They polluted their provinces by
the indiscriminate slaughter of godly men and women; but he kept his soul free from the stain of
this crime. They, involved in the mazes of impious idolatry, enthralled first themselves, and
then all under their authority, in bondage to the errors of evil demons, while he at the same time
originated the profoundest peace throughout his dominions, and secured to his subjects the
privilege of celebrating without hindrance the worship of God. In short, while his colleagues
oppressed all men by the most grievous exactions, and rendered their lives intolerable, and even
worse than death, Constantius alone governed his people with a mild and tranquil sway, and
exhibited towards them a truly parental and fostering care. Numberless, indeed, are the other
virtues of this man, which are the theme of praise to all; of these I will record one or two
instances, as specimens of the quality of those which I must pass by in silence, and then I will
proceed to the appointed order of my narrative.

Chapter XIV. How Constantius His Father, Being Reproached with Poverty by
Diocletian, Filled His Treasury, and Afterwards Restored the Money to Those by Whom
It Had Been Contributed.

In consequence of the many reports in circulation respecting this prince, describing his kindness
and gentleness of character, and the extraordinary elevation of his piety, alleging too, that by
reason of his extreme indulgence to his subjects, he had not even a supply of money laid up in
his treasury; the emperor who at that time occupied the place of supreme power sent to
reprehend his neglect of the public weal, at the same time reproaching him with poverty, and
alleging in proof of the charge the empty state of his treasury. On this he desired the messengers
of the emperor to remain with him awhile, and, calling together the wealthiest of his subjects of
all nations under his dominion, he informed them that he was in want of money, and that this was
the time for them all to give a voluntary proof of their affection for their prince.

As soon as they heard this (as though they had long been desirous of an opportunity for showing
the sincerity of their good will), with zealous alacrity they filled the treasury with gold and
silver and other wealth; each eager to surpass the rest in the amount of his contribution: and this
they did with cheerful and joyous countenances. And now Constantius desired the messengers of
the great emperor personally to inspect his treasures, and directed them to give a faithful
report of what they had seen; adding, that on the present occasion he had taken this money into
his own hands, but that it had long been kept for his use in the custody of the owners, as securely
as if under the charge of faithful treasurers. The ambassadors were overwhelmed with
astonishment at what they had witnessed: and on their departure it is said that the truly generous
prince sent for the owners of the property, and, after commending them severally for their
obedience and true loyalty, restored it all, and bade them return to their homes.

This one circumstance, then, conveys a proof of the generosity of him whose character we are
attempting to illustrate: another will contain the clearest testimony to his piety.

Chapter XV. Of the Persecution Raised by His Colleagues.

By command of the supreme authorities of the empire, the governors of the several provinces
had set on foot a general persecution of the godly. Indeed, it was from the imperial courts
themselves that the very first of the pious martyrs proceeded, who passed through those conflicts
for the faith, and most readily endured both fire and sword, and the depths of the sea; every form
of death, in short, so that in a brief time all the royal palaces were bereft of pious men. The
result was, that the authors of this wickedness were entirely deprived of the protecting care of
God, since by their persecution of his worshipers they at the same time silenced the prayers that
were wont to be made on their own behalf.

Chapter XVI. How Constantius, Feigning Idolatry, Expelled Those Who Consented to
Offer Sacrifice, But Retained in His Palace All Who Were Willing to Confess Christ.

On the other hand, Constantius conceived an expedient full of sagacity, and did a thing which
sounds paradoxical, but in fact was most admirable.

He made a proposal to all the officers of his court, including even those in the highest stations of
authority, offering them the following alternative: either that they should offer sacrifice to
demons, and thus be permitted to remain with him, and enjoy their usual honors; or, in case of
refusal, that they should be shut out from all access to his person, and entirely disqualified from
acquaintance and association with him. Accordingly, when they had individually made their
choice, some one way and some the other; and the choice of each had been ascertained, then this
admirable prince disclosed the secret meaning of his expedient, and condemned the cowardice
and selfishness of the one party, while he highly commended the other for their conscientious
devotion to God. He declared, too, that those who had been false to their God must be unworthy
of the confidence of their prince; for how was it possible that they should preserve their fidelity
to him, who had proved themselves faithless to a higher power? He determined, therefore, that
such persons should be removed altogether from the imperial court, while, on the other hand,
declaring that those men who, in bearing witness for the truth, had proved themselves to be
worthy servants of God, would manifest the same fidelity to their king, he entrusted them with
the guardianship of his person and empire, saying that he was bound to treat such persons with
special regard as his nearest and most valued friends, and to esteem them far more highly than
the richest treasures.

Chapter XVII. Of His Christian Manner of Life.

The father of Constantine, then, is said to have possessed such a character as we have briefly
described. And what kind of death was vouchsafed to him in consequence of such devotion to
God, and how far he whom he honored made his lot to differ from that of his colleagues in the
empire, may be known to any one who will give his attention to the circumstances of the case.
For after he had for a long time given many proofs of royal virtue, in acknowledging the
Supreme God alone, and condemning the polytheism of the ungodly, and had fortified his
household by the prayers of holy men, he passed the remainder of his life in remarkable
repose and tranquility, in the enjoyment of what is counted blessedness,-neither molesting
others nor being molested ourselves.

Accordingly, during the whole course of his quiet and peaceful reign, he dedicated his entire
household, his children, his wife, and domestic attendants, to the One Supreme God: so that the
company assembled within the walls of his palace differed in no respect from a church of God;
wherein were also to be found his ministers, who offered continual supplications on behalf of
their prince, and this at a time when, with most, it was not allowable to have any dealings
with the worshipers of God, even so far as to exchange a word with them.

Chapter XVIII. That After the Abdication of Diocletian and Maximian, Constantius
Became Chief Augustus, and Was Blessed with a Numerous Offspring.

The immediate consequence of this conduct was a recompense from the hand of God, insomuch
that he came into the supreme authority of the empire. For the older emperors, for some unknown
reason, resigned their power; and this sudden change took place in the first year after their
persecution of the churches.

From that time Constantius alone received the honors of chief Augustus, having been previously,
indeed, distinguished by the diadem of the imperial Caesars,39 among whom he held the first
rank; but after his worth had been proved in this capacity, he was invested with the highest
dignity of the Roman empire, being named chief Augustus of the four who were afterwards
elected to that honor. Moreover, he surpassed most of the emperors in regard to the number of
his family, having gathered around him a very large circle of children both male and female.
And, lastly, when he had attained to a happy old age, and was about to pay the common debt of
nature, and exchange this life for another, God once more manifested His power in a special
manner on his behalf, by providing that his eldest son Constantine should be present during his
last moments, and ready to receive the imperial power from his hands.

Chapter XIX. Of His Son Constantine, Who in His Youth Accompanied Diocletian into
Palestine.

The latter had been with his father's imperial colleagues, and had passed his life among them,
as we have said, like God's ancient prophet. And even in the very earliest period of his youth he
was judged by them to be worthy of the highest honor. An instance of this we have ourselves
seen, when he passed through Palestine with the senior emperor, at whose right hand he stood,
and commanded the admiration of all who beheld him by the indications he gave even then of
royal greatness. For no one was comparable to him for grace and beauty of person, or height of
stature; and he so far surpassed his compeers in personal strength as to be a terror to them. He
was, however, even more conspicuous for the excellence of his mental qualities than for his
superior physical endowments; being gifted in the first place with a sound judgment,44 and
having also reaped the advantages of a liberal education. He was also distinguished in no
ordinary degree both by natural intelligence and divinely imparted wisdom.

Chapter XX. Flight of Constantine to His Father Because of the Plots of Diocletian.

The emperors then in power, observing his manly and vigorous figure and superior mind, were
moved with feelings of jealousy and fear, and thenceforward carefully watched for an
opportunity of inflicting some brand of disgrace on his character. But the young man, being
aware of their designs, the details of which, through the providence of God, more than once
came to him, sought safety in flight; in this respect again keeping up his resemblance to the
great prophet Moses. Indeed, in every sense God was his helper; and he had before ordained
that he should be present in readiness to succeed his father.

Chapter XXI. Death of Constantius, Who Leaves His Son Constantine Emperor.

Immediately, therefore, on his escape from the plots which had been thus insidiously laid for
him, he made his way with all haste to his father, and arrived at length at the very time that he
was lying at the point of death.  As soon as Constantius saw his son thus unexpectedly in his
presence, he leaped from his couch, embraced him tenderly, and, declaring that the only anxiety
which had troubled him in the prospect of death, namely, that caused by the absence of his son,
was now removed, he rendered thanks to God, saying that he now thought death better than the
longest life, and at once completed the arrangement of his private affairs. Then, taking a final
leave of the circle of sons and daughters by whom he was surrounded, in his own palace, and on
the imperial couch, he bequeathed the empire, according to the law of nature, to his eldest son,
and breathed his last.  (July 25, 306)

Chapter XXII. How, After the Burial of Constantius, Constantine Was Proclaimed
Augustus by the Army.

Nor did the imperial throne remain long unoccupied: for Constantine invested himself with his
father's purple, and proceeded from his father's palace, presenting to all a renewal, as it were,
in his own person, of his father's life and reign. He then conducted the funeral procession in
company with his father's friends, some preceding, others following the train, and performed the
last offices for the pious deceased with an extraordinary degree of magnificence, and all united
in honoring this thrice blessed prince with acclamations and praises, and while with one mind
and voice, they glorified the rule of the son as a living again of him who was dead, they
hastened at once to hail their new sovereign by the titles of Imperial and Worshipful Augustus,
with joyful shouts. Thus the memory of the deceased emperor received honor from the praises
bestowed upon his son, while the latter was pronounced blessed in being the successor of such a father.
All the nations also under his dominion were filled with joy and inexpressible gladness
at not being even for a moment deprived of the benefits of a well ordered government.

In the instance of the Emperor Constantius, God has made manifest to our generation what the
end of those is who in their lives have honored and loved him.

Chapter XXIII. A Brief Notice of the Destruction of the Tyrants.

With respect to the other princes, who made war against the churches of God, I have not thought
it fit in the present work to give any account of their downfall, nor to stain the memory of the
good by mentioning them in connection with those of an opposite character. The knowledge of
the facts themselves will of itself suffice for the wholesome admonition of those who have
witnessed or heard of the evils which severally befell them.

Chapter XXIV. It Was by the Will of God that Constantine Became Possessed of the
Empire.

Thus then the God of all, the Supreme Governor of the whole universe, by his own will
appointed Constantine, the descendant of so renowned a parent, to be prince and sovereign: so
that, while others have been raised to this distinction by the election of their fellow-men, he is
the only one to whose elevation no mortal may boast of having contributed.

Chapter XXV. Victories of Constantine Over the Barbarians and the Britons.

As soon then as he was established on the throne, he began to care for the interests of his
paternal inheritance, and visited with much considerate kindness all those provinces which had
previously been under his father's government. Some tribes of the barbarians who dwelt on the
banks of the Rhine, and the shores of the Western ocean, having ventured to revolt, he reduced
them all to obedience, and brought them from their savage state to one of gentleness. He
contented himself with checking the inroads of others, and drove from his dominions, like
untamed and savage beasts, those whom he perceived to be altogether incapable of the settled
order of civilized life. Having disposed of these affairs to his satisfaction, he directed his
attention to other quarters of the world, and first passed over to the British nations, which lie
in the very bosom of the ocean. These he reduced to submission, and then proceeded to consider
the state of the remaining portions of the empire, that he might be ready to tender his aid
wherever circumstances might require it.

Chapter XXVI. How He Resolved to Deliver Rome from Maxentius.  (AD 312)

While, therefore, he regarded the entire world as one immense body, and perceived that the
head of it all, the royal city of the Roman empire, was bowed down by the weight of a tyrannous
oppression; at first he had left the task of liberation to those who governed the other divisions of
the empire, as being his superiors in point of age. But when none of these proved able to afford
relief, and those who had attempted it had experienced a disastrous termination of their
enterprise, he said that life was without enjoyment to him as long as he saw the imperial city
thus afflicted, and prepared himself for the overthrowal of the tyranny.

Chapter XXVII. That After Reflecting on the Downfall of Those Who Had Worshiped
Idols, He Made Choice of Christianity.

Being convinced, however, that he needed some more powerful aid than his military forces
could afford him, on account of the wicked and magical enchantments which were so diligently
practiced by the tyrant, he sought Divine assistance, deeming the possession of arms and a
numerous soldiery of secondary importance, but believing the co-operating power of Deity
invincible and not to be shaken. He considered, therefore, on what God he might rely for
protection and assistance. While engaged in this enquiry, the thought occurred to him, that, of the
many emperors who had preceded him, those who had rested their hopes in a multitude of gods,
and served them with sacrifices and offerings, had in the first place been deceived by flattering
predictions, and oracles which promised them all prosperity, and at last had met with an
unhappy end, while not one of their gods had stood by to warn them of the impending wrath of
heaven; while one alone who had pursued an entirely opposite course, who had condemned their
error, and honored the one Supreme God during his whole life, had found I him to be the
Saviour and Protector of his empire, and the Giver of every good thing. Reflecting on this, and
well weighing the fact that they who had trusted in many gods had also fallen by manifold forms
of death, without leaving behind them either family or offspring, stock, name, or memorial
among men: while the God of his father had given to him, on the other hand, manifestations of
his power and very many tokens: and considering farther that those who had already taken arms
against the tyrant, and had marched to the battle-field under the protection of a multitude of gods,
had met with a dishonorable end (for one of them57 had shamefully retreated from the contest
without a blow, and the other, being slain in the midst of his own troops, became, as it were,
the mere sport of death); reviewing, I say, all these considerations, he judged it to be folly
indeed to join in the idle worship of those who were no gods, and, after such convincing
evidence, to err from the truth; and therefore felt it incumbent on him to honor his father's God
alone.

Chapter XXVIII. How, While He Was Praying, God Sent Him a Vision of a Cross of Light
in the Heavens at Mid-Day, with an Inscription Admonishing Him to Conquer by that.

Accordingly he called on him with earnest prayer and supplications that he would reveal to him
who he was, and stretch forth his right hand to help him in his present difficulties. And while he
was thus praying with fervent entreaty, a most marvelous sign appeared to him from heaven, the
account of which it might have been hard to believe had it been related by any other person. But
since the victorious emperor himself long afterwards declared it to the writer of this history,
when he was honored with his acquaintance and society, and confirmed his statement by an oath,
who could hesitate to accredit the relation, especially since the testimony of after-time has
established its truth? He said that about noon, when the day was already beginning to decline, he
saw with his own eyes the trophy of a cross of light in the heavens, above the sun, and bearing
the inscription, Conquer by this. At this sight he himself was struck with amazement, and his
whole army also, which followed him on this expedition, and witnessed the miracle.

Chapter XXIX. How the Christ of God Appeared to Him in His Sleep, and Commanded
Him to Use in His Wars a Standard Made in the Form of the Cross.

He said, moreover, that he doubted within himself what the import of this apparition could be.
And while he continued to ponder and reason on its meaning, night suddenly came on; then in his
sleep the Christ of God appeared to him with the same sign which he had seen in the heavens,
and commanded him to make a likeness of that sign which he had seen in the heavens, and to use
it as a safeguard in all engagements with his enemies.

Chapter XXX. The Making of the Standard of the Cross.

At dawn of day he arose, and communicated the marvel to his friends: and then, calling together
the workers in gold and precious stones, he sat in the midst of them, and described to them the
figure of the sign he had seen, bidding them represent it in gold and precious stones. And this
representation I myself have had an opportunity of seeing.

Chapter XXXI. A Description of the Standard of the Cross, Which the Romans Now Call
the Labarum.

Now it was made in the following manner. A long spear, overlaid with gold, formed the figure
of the cross by means of a transverse bar laid over it. On the top of the whole was fixed a
wreath of gold and precious stones; and within this, the symbol of the Saviour's name, two
letters indicating the name of Christ by means of its initial characters, the letter P being
intersected by X in its centre: and these letters the emperor was in the habit of wearing on his
helmet at a later period. From the cross-bar of the spear was suspended a cloth, a royal piece,
covered with a profuse embroidery of most brilliant precious stones; and which, being also
richly interlaced with gold, presented an indescribable degree of beauty to the beholder. This
banner was of a square form, and the upright staff, whose lower section was of great length,
bore a golden half-length portrait of the pious emperor and his children on its upper part,
beneath the trophy of the cross, and immediately above the embroidered banner.

The emperor constantly made use of this sign of salvation as a safeguard against every adverse
and hostile power, and commanded that others similar to it should be carried at the head of all
his armies.

Chapter XXXII. How Constantine Received Instruction, and Read the Sacred Scriptures.

These things were done shortly afterwards. But at the time above specified, being struck with
amazement at the extraordinary vision, and resolving to worship no other God save Him who
had appeared to him, he sent for those who were acquainted with the mysteries of His doctrines,
and enquired who that God was, and what was intended by the sign of the vision he had seen.
They affirmed that He was God, the only begotten Son of the one and only God: that the sign
which had appeared was the symbol of immortality, and the trophy of that victory over death
which He had gained in time past when sojourning on earth. They taught him also the causes of
His advent, and explained to him the true account of His incarnation. Thus he was instructed in
these matters, and was impressed with wonder at the divine manifestation which had been
presented to his sight. Comparing, therefore, the heavenly vision with the interpretation given,
he found his judgment confirmed; and, in the persuasion that the knowledge of these things had
been imparted to him by Divine teaching, he determined thenceforth to devote himself to the
reading of the Inspired writings.

Moreover, he made the priests of God his counselors, and deemed it incumbent on him to honor
the God who had appeared to him with all devotion. And after this, being fortified by
well-grounded hopes in Him, he hastened to quench the threatening fire of tyranny.

Chapter XXXIII. Of the Adulterous Conduct of Maxentius at Rome.

For the who had tyrannically possessed himself of the imperial city, had proceeded to great
lengths in impiety and wickedness, so as to venture without hesitation on every vile and impure
action.

For example: he would separate women from their husbands, and after a time send them back to
them again, and these insults he offered not to men of mean or obscure condition, but to those
who held the first places in the Roman senate. Moreover, though he shamefully dishonored
almost numberless free women, he was unable to satisfy his ungoverned and intemperate
desires. But when he assayed to corrupt Christian women also, he could no longer secure
success to his designs, since they chose rather to submit their lives to death than yield their
persons to be defiled by him.

Chapter XXXIV. How the Wife of a Prefect Slew Herself for Chastity's Sake.

Now a certain woman, wife of one of the senators who held the authority of prefect, when she
understood that those who ministered to the tyrant in such matters were standing before her
house (she was a Christian), and knew that her husband through fear had bidden them take her
and lead her away, begged a short space of time for arraying herself in her usual dress, and
entered her chamber. There, being left alone, she sheathed a sword in her own breast, and
immediately expired, leaving indeed her dead body to the procurers, but declaring to all
mankind, both to present and future generations, by an act which spoke louder than any words,
that the chastity for which Christians are famed is the only thing which is invincible and
indestructible. Such was the conduct displayed by this Woman.

Chapter XXXV. Massacre of the Roman People by Maxentius.

All men, therefore, both people and magistrates, whether of high or low degree, trembled
through fear of him whose daring wickedness was such as I have described, and were
oppressed by his grievous tyranny. Nay, though they submitted quietly, and endured this bitter
servitude, still there was no escape from the tyrant's sanguinary cruelty. For at one time, on
some trifling pretense, he exposed the populace to be slaughtered by his own body-guard; and
countless multitudes of the Roman people were slain in the very midst of the city by the lances
and weapons, not of Scythians or barbarians, but of their own fellow-citizens. And besides this,
it is impossible to calculate the number of senators whose blood was shed with a view to the
seizure of their respective estates, for at different times and on various fictitious charges,
multitudes of them suffered death.

Chapter XXXVI. Magic Arts of Maxentius Against Constantine; And Famine at Rome.

But the crowning point of the tyrant's wickedness was his having recourse to sorcery: sometimes
for magic purposes ripping up women with child, at other times searching into the bowels of
new-born infants. He slew lions also, and practiced certain horrid arts for evoking demons, and
averting the approaching war, hoping by these means to get the victory. In short, it is impossible
to describe the manifold acts of oppression by which this tyrant of Rome enslaved his subjects:
so that by this time they were reduced to the most extreme penury and want of necessary food, a
scarcity such as our contemporaries do not remember ever before to have existed at Rome.

Chapter XXXVII. Defeat of Maxentius's Armies in Italy.

Constantine, however, filled with compassion on account of all these miseries, began to arm
himself with all warlike preparation against the tyranny. Assuming therefore the Supreme God
as his patron, and invoking His Christ to be his preserver and aid, and setting the victorious
trophy, the salutary symbol, in front of his soldiers and body-guard, he marched with his whole
forces, trying to obtain again for the Romans the freedom they had inherited from their ancestors.

And whereas, Maxentius, trusting more in his magic arts than in the affection of his subjects,
dared not even advance outside the city gates, but had guarded every place and district and
city subject to his tyranny, with large bodies of soldiers, the emperor, confiding in the help of
God, advanced against the first and second and third divisions of the tyrant's forces, defeated
them all with ease at the first assault,77 and made his way into the very interior of Italy.

Chapter XXXVIII. Death of Maxentius on the Bridge of the Tiber.  (October 28, 312)

And already he was approaching very near Rome itself, when, to save him from the necessity of
fighting with all the Romans for the tyrant's sake, God himself drew the tyrant, as it were by
secret cords, a long way outside the gates.  And now those miracles recorded in Holy Writ,
which God of old wrought against the ungodly (discredited by most as fables, yet believed by
the faithful), did he in every deed confirm to all alike, believers and unbelievers, who were
eye-witnesses of the wonders. For as once in the days of Moses and the Hebrew nation, who
were worshipers of God, "Pharaoh's chariots and his host hath he cast into the sea and his
chosen chariot-captains are drowned in the Red Sea," -so at this time Maxentius, and the
soldiers and guards with him, "went down into the depths like stone," when, in his flight
before the divinely-aided forces of Constantine, he essayed to cross the river which lay in his
way, over which, making a strong bridge of boats, he had framed an engine of destruction, really
against himself, but in the hope of ensnaring thereby him who was beloved by God. For his God
stood by the one to protect him, while the other, godless, proved to be the miserable contriver
of these secret devices to his own ruin. So that one might well say, "He hath made a pit, and
digged it, and is fallen into the ditch which he made. His mischief shall return upon his own
head, and his violence shall come down upon his own pate." Thus, in the present instance,
under divine direction, the machine erected on the bridge, with the ambuscade concealed
therein, giving way unexpectedly before the appointed time, the bridge began to sink, and the
boats with the men in them went bodily to the bottom. And first the wretch himself, then his
armed attendants and guards, even as the sacred oracles had before described, "sank as lead in
the mighty waters." So that they who thus obtained victory from God might well, if not in the
same words, yet in fact in the same spirit as the people of his great servant Moses, sing and
speak as they did concerning the impious tyrant of old: "Let us sing unto the Lord, for he hath
been glorified exceedingly: the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea. He is become my
helper and my shield unto salvation." And again, "Who is like unto thee, O Lord, among the
gods? who is like thee, glorious in holiness, marvelous in praises, doing wonders?"

Chapter XXXIX. Constantine's Entry into Rome.

Having then at this time sung these and suchlike praises to God, the Ruler of all and the Author
of victory, after the example of his great servant Moses, Constantine entered the imperial city in
triumph. And here the whole body of the senate, and others of rank and distinction in the city,
freed as it were from the restraint of a prison, along with the whole Roman populace, their
countenances expressive of the gladness of their hearts, received him with acclamations and
abounding joy; men, women, and children, with countless multitudes of servants, greeting him as
deliverer, preserver, and benefactor, with incessant shouts. But he, being possessed of inward
piety toward God, was neither rendered arrogant by these plaudits, nor uplifted by the praises
he heard: but, being sensible that he had received help from God, he immediately rendered a
thanksgiving to him as the Author of his victory.

Chapter XL. Of the Statue of Constantine Holding a Cross, and Its Inscription.

Moreover, by loud proclamation and monumental inscriptions he made known to all men the
salutary symbol, setting up this great trophy of victory over his enemies in the midst of the
imperial city, and expressly causing it to be engraven in indelible characters, that the salutary
symbol was the safeguard of the Roman government and of the entire empire. Accordingly, he
immediately ordered a lofty spear in the figure of a cross to be placed beneath the hand of a
statue representing himself, in the most frequented part of Rome, and the following inscription to
be engraved on it in the Latin language: by virtue of this salutary sign, which is the true test of
valor, I have preserved and liberated your city from the yoke of tyranny. I have also set at
liberty the roman senate and people, and restored them to their ancient distinction and
splendor.