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De la mort des persécuteurs de l'église

XLVI.

Les armées étant voisines; on n'attendait que l'heure de la bataille. Maximin fit un vœu à Jupiter, et lui promit, s'il remportait la victoire, d'abolir à jamais le nom de chrétien. Mais Licinius vit en songe un ange qui lui commanda, de la part de Dieu, de se lever, de lui faire une prière, et lui promit la victoire s'il obéissait. Il lui sembla donc qu'il se levait et que l'ange lui enseignait les termes de cette prière. S'étant éveillé, il appelle un de ses secrétaires, et lui dicte ces mêmes mots que l'on venait de lui apprendre. « Dieu tout-puissant, nous te prions, Dieu saint nous te prions, nous te recommandons la justice de notre cause, nous te recommandons notre empire ; c'est par toi que nous vivons ; c'est de toi que nous attendons la victoire. Dieu tout-puissant, Dieu saint, exauce-nous; nous étendons les mains; exauce-nous, Dieu saint, Dieu tout-puissant ». On fait plusieurs copies de cette prière, que l'on distribue aux tribuns et aux préposés pour l'apprendre à leurs soldats. Persuadés que le ciel leur promet la victoire, ils en deviennent plus courageux. Le jour du combat est fixé au premier jour du mois de mai; ce jour terminait la huitième année du règne de Maximin. Il prévint ce terme d'une journée ; et dès le matin il mit ses troupes en bataille pour célébrer avec plus de pompe la fête du jour qui avait été le premier de son empire, car il regardait la victoire comme toute certaine. Licinius, averti du mouvement de son ennemi, fait prendre les armes à ses gens et les mène au combat. Une plaine stérile appelée Serène séparait les deux armées. Dès qu'elles furent en présence, les soldats de Licinius ôtent leurs casques, couchent à terre leurs boucliers, tendent les mains au ciel : l'empereur commence la prière, les soldats la récitent après à haute voix. Les ennemis en entendent le murmure. Trois fois la prière est répétée, après quoi ils reprennent et le casque et le bouclier. Cependant on ménage une conférence; mais Maximin rejeta toutes les propositions de paix; comme il était prodigue, il méprisait Licinius, qu'il croyait devoir être abandonné par ses soldats à cause de son avarice; c'était aussi le motif qui lui avait fait entreprendre la guerre. Il espérait par ses profusions gagner l'armée de Licinius, et, après l'avoir jointe à la sienne, marcher ensuite contre Constantin.

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Of the Manner in Which the Persecutors Died

Chap. XLVI.

The armies thus approaching each other, seemed on the eve of a battle. Then Daia made this vow to Jupiter, that if he obtained victory he would extinguish and utterly efface the name of the Christians. And on the following night an angel of the Lord seemed to stand before Licinius while he was asleep, admonishing him to arise immediately, and with his whole army to put up a prayer to the Supreme God, and assuring him that by so doing he should obtain victory. Licinius fancied that, hearing this, he arose, and that his monitor, who was nigh him, directed how be should pray, and in what words. Awaking from sleep, he sent for one of his secretaries, and dictated these words exactly as he had heard them:--

"Supreme God, we beseech Thee; Holy God, we beseech Thee; unto Thee we commend all right; unto Thee we commend our safety; unto Thee we commend our empire. By Thee we live, by Thee we are victorious and happy. Supreme Holy God, hear our prayers; to Thee we stretch forth our arms. Hear, Holy Supreme God."

Many copies were made of these words, and distributed amongst the principal commanders, who were to teach them to the soldiers under their charge. At this all men took fresh courage, in the confidence that victory bad been announced to them from heaven. Licinius resolved to give battle on the kalends of May; ¹ for precisely eight years before Daia had received the dignity of Caesar, and Licinius chose that day in hopes that Daia might be vanquished on the anniversary of his reign, as Maxentius had been on his. Daia, however, purposed to give battle earlier, to fight on the day before those kalends, ² and to triumph on the anniversary of his reign. Accounts came that Daia was in motion; the soldiers of Licinius armed themselves; and advanced. A barren and open plain, called Campus Serenus, lay between the two armies. They were now in sight of one another. The soldiers of Licinius placed their shields on the ground, took off their helmets, and, following the example of their leaders, stretched forth their hands towards heaven. Then the emperor uttered the prayer, and they all repeated it after him. The host, doomed to speedy destruction, heard the murmur of the prayers of their adversaries. And now, the ceremony having been thrice performed, the soldiers of Licinius became full of courage, buckled on their helmets again, and resumed their shields. The two emperors advanced to a conference: but Daia could not be brought to peace; for he held Licinius in contempt, and imagined that the soldiers would presently abandon an emperor parsimonious in his donatives, and enter into the service of one liberal even to profusion. And indeed it was on this notion that he began the war. He looked for the voluntary surrender of the armies of Licinius; and, thus reinforced, he meant forthwith to have attacked Constantine.