a distance from it if there had been anything to fear. But,
unhappily, the Christians did not make a good use of all their
prosperity. Many of them grew worldly and careless, and had little of
the Christian about them except the name; and they quarrelled and
disputed among themselves, as if they were no better than mere heathens.
But it pleased God to punish them severely for their faults; for at
length there came such a persecution as had never before been known.

At this time there were no fewer than four emperors at once; for
Diocletian, who became emperor in the year 284, afterwards took in
Maximian, Galerius, and Constantius, to share his power, and to help
him in the labour of government. Galerius and Constantius, however, were
not quite so high, and had not such full authority, as the other two.
Galerius married Diocletian's daughter, and it was supposed that both
this lady and the empress, her mother, were Christians. The priests and
others, whose interest it was to keep up the old heathenism, began to be
afraid lest the empresses should make Christians of their husbands; and
they sought how this might be prevented.

Now the heathens had some ways by which they used to try to find out the
will of their gods. Sometimes they offered sacrifices of beasts, and,
when the beasts were killed, they cut them open, and judged from the
appearance of the inside, whether the gods were well pleased or angry.
And at certain places there were what they called _oracles_, where
people who wished to know the will of the gods went through some
ceremonies, and expected a voice to come from this or that god in answer
to them. Sure enough, the voice very often _did_ come, although it was
not really from any god, but was managed by the juggling of the priests.
And the answers which these voices gave were often contrived very
cunningly, that they might have more than one meaning, so that, however
things might turn out, the oracle was sure to come true. And now the
priests set to frighten Diocletian with tricks of this kinds. When he
sacrificed, the insides of the victims (as the beasts offered in
sacrifice were called) were said to look in such a way as to show that
the gods were angry. When he consulted the oracles, answers were given
declaring that, so long as Christians were allowed to live on the earth,
the gods would be displeased. And thus Diocletian, although at first he
had been inclined to let them alone, became terrified, and