ence till he had obtained the concurrence of the
Latin bishops. Two years were consumed in ecclesiastical negotiations;
and the important cause between the emperor and one of his subjects was
solemnly debated, first in the synod of Arles, and afterwards in the
great council of Milan, which consisted of above three hundred bishops.
Their integrity was gradually undermined by the arguments of the Arians,
the dexterity of the eunuchs, and the pressing solicitations of a prince
who gratified his revenge at the expense of his dignity, and exposed his
own passions, whilst he influenced those of the clergy. Corruption,
the most infallible symptom of constitutional liberty, was successfully
practised; honors, gifts, and immunities were offered and accepted as
the price of an episcopal vote; and the condemnation of the Alexandrian
primate was artfully represented as the only measure which could restore
the peace and union of the Catholic church. The friends of Athanasius
were not, however, wanting to their leader, or to their cause. With
a manly spirit, which the sanctity of their character rendered less
dangerous, they maintained, in public debate, and in private conference
with the emperor, the eternal obligation of religion and justice.
They declared, that neither the hope of his favor, nor the fear of his
displeasure, should prevail on them to join in the condemnation of an
absent, an innocent, a respectable brother. They affirmed, with apparent
reason, that the illegal and obsolete decrees of the council of Tyre had
long since been tacitly abolished by the Imperial edicts, the honorable
reestablishment of the archbishop of Alexandria, and the silence or
recantation of his most clamorous adversaries. They alleged, that his
innocence had been attested by the unanimous bishops of Egypt, and had
been acknowledged in the councils of Rome and Sardica, by the impartial
judgment of the Latin church. They deplored the hard condition of
Athanasius, who, after enjoying so many years his seat, his reputation,
and the seeming confidence of his sovereign, was again called upon to
confute the most groundless and extravagant accusations. Their language
was specious; their conduct was honorable: but in this long and
obstinate contest, which fixed the eyes of the whole empire on a single
bishop, the ecclesiastical factions were prepared to sacrifice truth
and justice to the more interesting object of defending or removing
the intrepid champion