"The former emperors I have been accustomed to regard as those with whom I could have no sympathy, [3197] on account of the savage cruelty of their character. Indeed, my father was the only one who uniformly practiced the duties of humanity, and with admirable piety called for the blessing of God the Father on all his actions, but the rest, unsound in mind, were more zealous of cruel than gentle measures; and this disposition they indulged without restraint, and thus persecuted the true doctrine during the whole period of their reign. Nay, so violent did their malicious fury become, that in the midst of a profound peace, as regards both the religious and ordinary interests of men, they kindled, as it were, the flames of a civil war. [3198]

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Footnotes:

[3197] The word means "having no share with," and sometimes "disinherited." It may perhaps mean, "I have been accustomed to think of the former emperors as having been deprived of their possessions on account," &c.

[3198] [The persecution of the Christians, with its attendant horrors, being the act, not of foreign enemies, but of their countrymen and fellow-citizens.--Bag.]