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| Of the sedition of Antioch.
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Chapter XIX.—Of the sedition of Antioch.881
| 881 Flacilla died as has been said, in Sept. 385. The revolt at
Thessalonica was in 390, and the disturbances at Antioch in 387. The
chapters of Theodoret do not follow chronological order. |
In consequence of his continual wars the emperor was compelled to
impose heavy taxes on the cities of the empire.882
| 882 More probably the money was wanted to defray the expenses of
magnificent fêtes in honour of the young Arcadius, including a
liberal donation to the army. On the whole incident see
Chrysostom’s famous Homilies on the Statues. |
The city of Antioch refused to
put up with the new tax, and when the people saw the victims of its
exaction subjected to torture and indignity, then, in addition to the
usual deeds which a mob is wont to do when it is seizing an opportunity
for disorder, they pulled down the bronze statue of the illustrious
Placilla, for so was the empress named, and dragged it over a great
part of the town.883
| 883 The mob looted the baths, smashed the hanging lamps, attacked the
prætorium, insulted the imperial portrait, and tore down the
bronze statues of Theodosius and his deceased wife from their
pedestals, and dragged them through the streets. A “whiff”
of arrows from the guard calmed the oriental Paris of the 4th
century. | On being
informed of these events the emperor, as was to be expected, was
indignant. He then deprived the city of her privileges, and gave her
dignity to her neighbour, with the idea that thus he could inflict on
her the greatest indignity, for Antioch from the earliest times had had
a rival in Laodicea.884
| 884 i.e. the Laodicea on the Syrian coast, so called after the mother
of Seleucus Nicator, and now Latakia. | He further
threatened to burn and destroy the town and reduce it to the rank of a
village. The magistrates however had arrested some men in the very act,
and had put them to death before the tragedy came to the
emperor’s ears. All these orders had been given by the Emperor,
but had not been carried out because of the restriction imposed by the
edict which had been made by the advice of the great Ambrosius.885
On the arrival of the commissioners
who brought
the emperor’s threats, Elebichus, then a military commander, and
Cæsarius prefect of the palace, styled by the Romans magister
officiorum,886
| 886 i.e. master of the household. | the whole
population shuddered in consternation. But the athletes of virtue,887
| 887 i.e. the ascetic monks. | dwelling at the foot of the hill, of
whom at that time there were many of the best, made many supplications
and entreaties to the imperial officers. The most holy Macedonius, who
was quite unversed in the things of this life, and altogether ignorant
of the sacred oracles, living on the tops of the mountains, and night
and day offering up pure prayers to the Saviour of all, was not in the
least dismayed at the imperial violence, nor at all affected by the
power of the commissioners. As they rode into the middle of the town he
caught hold of one of them by the cloak and bade both of them dismount.
At the sight of a little old man, clad in common rags, they were at
first indignant, but some of those who were conducting them informed
them of the high character of Macedonius, and then they sprang from
their horses, caught hold of his knees, and asked his pardon. The old
man, urged on by divine wisdom, spoke to them in the following terms:
“Say, dear sirs, to the emperor; you are not only an emperor, you
are also a man. Bethink you, therefore, not only of your sovereignty,
but also of your nature. You are a man, and you reign over your fellow
men. Now the nature of man is formed after the image and likeness of
God. Do not, therefore, thus savagely and cruelly order the massacre of
God’s image, for by punishing His image you will anger the Maker.
Think how you are acting thus in your wrath for the sake of a brazen
image. Now all who are endued with reason know how far a lifeless image
is inferior to one alive and gifted with soul and sense. Take into
account, too, that for one image of bronze we can easily make many
more. Even you yourself cannot make one single hair of the
slain.”
After the good men had heard
these words they reported them to the emperor, and quenched the flame
of his rage. Instead of his threats he wrote a defence, and explained
the cause of his anger. “It was not right,” said he,
“because I was in error, that indignity should be inflicted after
her death on a woman so worthy of the highest praise. They that were
aggrieved ought to have armed their anger against me.” The
emperor further added that he was grieved and distressed when he heard
that some had been executed by the magistrates. In relating these
events I have had a twofold object. I did not think it right to leave
in oblivion the boldness of the illustrious monk, and I wished to point
out the advantage of the edict which was put out by the advice of the
great Ambrosius.888
| 888 cf. note on page 145.
Valesius remarks
“Longe hic fallitur Theodoretus quasi seditio Antiochena post
Thessalonicensem cladem contigerit.” | E.C.F. INDEX & SEARCH
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