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| Death of Maxentius on the Bridge of the Tiber.
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Chapter
XXXVIII.—Death of Maxentius on the
Bridge of the Tiber.3126
| 3126 The Milvian, the present Ponte Molle. |
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.3127
| 3127 The present Ponte Molle is nearly 2½ kilometers (say 1½
miles) from the Porta del Popolo (at the Mons Pincius). The walls at
that time were the ones built by Aurelian, and are substantially the
same as the present ones. This Pons Milvius was first built 100 years
b.c., and “some part of the first bridge
is supposed to remain” (Jenkin, p. 329). Compare Jenkin, art.
Bridges, in Enc. Brit. 4 (1878), 329, for cut and
description. | 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,”3128
| 3128 Ex. xv. 4. This is
identically taken from the Septuagint with the change of only one word,
where Eusebius gains little in exchanging “swallowed up in”
for plunged or drowned in. | —so at this time Maxentius,
and the soldiers and guards3129
| 3129 “Heavy armed and light armed.” | with him,
“went down into the depths like stone,”3130
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,3131
| 3131 “Godless,” or if ἄνευis to be read,
“destitute of his aid,” as Bag. Much conjecture has
been expended on this reading. Heinichen has ἀθεεὶ. | 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.”3132
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.3133
| 3133 This matter is discussed in the Prolegomena. | 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.”3134
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?”3135
| 3135 Ex. xv. 1, 2;
11,
Septuagint version. This whole chapter with the last paragraph of the
preceding are in the Church History, 9. 9. | E.C.F. INDEX & SEARCH
|
