ssumed the
character of a cloister. All males, except saintly men who had forgotten
the distinction of sexes, were excluded from the holy threshold.
Pulcheria and a chosen band of Christian damsels formed a sort of
religious community. Spiritual practices were carried on, with strict
punctuality, from morning till evening. Whereas richly clad senators and
officers in sumptuous raiment had earlier passed in and out of the
palace, so now the black robes of priests and the dark cowls of monks
were to be seen thronging the entrance, and in place of the joyous songs
of banquetings and festivities, one could hear the monotonous intoning
of psalms. The vanity of dress which had scandalized the court of
Eudoxia was discarded, and the simple garb of nuns was the prevailing
fashion of the palace. The princesses did not employ themselves in
personal adornment or in the many vanities of royal station, but spent
much of their time at the loom, weaving garments for the poor and needy.
A frugal diet was adopted, and even this was interrupted by frequent
fasts. Thus Pulcheria and her maidens wearied not in their saintly life
and in the performance of deeds of mercy.

These outward exercises of piety were attended by sumptuous beneficences
for the spread of the Christian religion. Magnificent churches were
built in various parts of the Empire at the expense of Pulcheria;
charitable foundations for the benefit of the poor and the unfortunate
were established in Constantinople and elsewhere, and ample donations
were given by her for the perpetual maintenance of monastic societies.
This imperial saint, who thus devoted a large part of her time and
energies to the performance of religious duties and of charitable
undertakings, naturally enjoyed the peculiar favor of the Deity. There
is a tradition that the knowledge of the location of sacred relics and
intimation of future events were communicated to her in dreams and
revelations. The common people attributed healing power to her.
Pulcheria's virtues aroused in the populace a feeling of admiration, and
the saintly life of the palace awakened and spread a deep spiritual
influence throughout the Empire.

Religion, however, was accompanied with culture, and Pulcheria, with the
aid of the best masters, had her brother and sisters trained in all the
various branches of knowledge acquired up to that time. Under her
direction Theodosius became a student of natural science; and so great
was his s