and was impatient to rush into the battle. His remaining strength was
exhausted by the painful effort; and the surgeons, who examined his
wound, discovered the symptoms of approaching death. He employed
the awful moments with the firm temper of a hero and a sage; the
philosophers who had accompanied him in this fatal expedition, compared
the tent of Julian with the prison of Socrates; and the spectators,
whom duty, or friendship, or curiosity, had assembled round his couch,
listened with respectful grief to the funeral oration of their dying
emperor. "Friends and fellow-soldiers, the seasonable period of my
departure is now arrived, and I discharge, with the cheerfulness of a
ready debtor, the demands of nature. I have learned from philosophy, how
much the soul is more excellent than the body; and that the separation
of the nobler substance should be the subject of joy, rather than of
affliction. I have learned from religion, that an early death has often
been the reward of piety; and I accept, as a favor of the gods, the
mortal stroke that secures me from the danger of disgracing a character,
which has hitherto been supported by virtue and fortitude. I die without
remorse, as I have lived without guilt. I am pleased to reflect on the
innocence of my private life; and I can affirm with confidence, that
the supreme authority, that emanation of the Divine Power, has been
preserved in my hands pure and immaculate. Detesting the corrupt and
destructive maxims of despotism, I have considered the happiness of the
people as the end of government. Submitting my actions to the laws of
prudence, of justice, and of moderation, I have trusted the event to
the care of Providence. Peace was the object of my counsels, as long
as peace was consistent with the public welfare; but when the imperious
voice of my country summoned me to arms, I exposed my person to the
dangers of war, with the clear foreknowledge (which I had acquired from
the art of divination) that I was destined to fall by the sword. I now
offer my tribute of gratitude to the Eternal Being, who has not suffered
me to perish by the cruelty of a tyrant, by the secret dagger of
conspiracy, or by the slow tortures of lingering disease. He has
given me, in the midst of an honorable career, a splendid and glorious
departure from this world; and I hold it equally absurd, equally
base, to solicit, or to decline, the stroke of fate. This much I have
attempted to say; but my streng