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| The Emperor falls sick and dies.
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Chapter XXXIX.—The
Emperor falls sick and dies.
A year having passed, the
Emperor Constantine having just entered the sixty-fifth year of his
age, was taken with a sickness; he therefore left Constantinople, and
made a voyage to Helenopolis, that he might try the effect of the
medicinal hot springs which are found in the vicinity of that city.
Perceiving, however, that his illness increased, he deferred the use of
the baths; and removing from Helenopolis to Nicomedia, he took up his
residence in the suburbs, and there received Christian baptism.258
| 258It was the belief of many in the earlier ages of the
church that baptism had a certain magical power purging away the sins
previous to it, but having no force as regards those that might follow;
this led many to postpone their baptism until disease or age warned
them of the nearness of death; such delayed baptism was called
‘clinic baptism,’ and was discouraged by the more judicious
and spiritual-minded Fathers, some of whom doubted its validity and
rebuked those who delayed as actuated by selfishness and desire to
indulge in sin. The church, however, encouraged it in the cases of
gross offenders. Cf. Bingham, Eccl. Antiq. IV. 3, and XI. 11,
and Bennett, Christian Archæology, pp. 407 and 409.
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After this he became cheerful; and making his will, appointed his three
sons heirs to the empire, allotting to each one of them his portion, in
accordance with the arrangements he had made while living. He also
granted many privileges to the cities of Rome and Constantinople; and
entrusting the custody of his will259
| 259Cf. Euseb. Life of Const. IV. 63, and
Rufinus, H. E. I. 11. The story is, however, doubtful, as
Valesius observes. It is more likely that some one of the lay officials
of the government, or, as Philostorgius says, Eusebius of Nicomedia,
was entrusted with this will, and not a mere presbyter. That it was
probably Eusebius of Nicomedia becomes the more probable when we
consider that that bishop also probably baptized Constantine.
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to that presbyter by whose means Arius had been recalled, and of whom
we have already made mention, he charged him to deliver it into no
one’s hand, except that of his son Constantius, to whom he had
given the sovereignty of the East. After the making of his will, he
survived a few days and died. Of his sons none were present at his
death. A courier was therefore immediately despatched into the East, to
inform Constantius of his father’s decease.
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