Νώ. H. E. VII, 45-46] Τούτῳμὲνοὖνἄνωθενἐξοὐρανοῦκαρπὸνεὐσεβείαςἐπάξιον, τὰτρόπαιατῆςκατὰτῶνἀσεβῶνπαρεῖχενίκης, τὸνδἀλιτήριον, αὐτοῖςσυμβούλοιςἅπασικαὶφίλοις, ὑπὸτοῖςΚωνσταντίνουποσὶπρηνῆκατέβαλεν.
To him, therefore, from heaven above God granted a worthy fruit of piety—the trophies of victory over the impious; but the guilty one, together with all his counsellors and friends, He cast down prone beneath the feet of Constantine.
For when his affairs were driven to the uttermost madness, the emperor, the friend of God, reckoning that it was no longer to be endured, gathered his sound reason, and tempering the steadfast manner of justice with humanity, gladly determined to come to the aid of those afflicted under the tyrant, and set out to rescue the greatest part of the human race by removing a few destroyers out of the way.
For while he, in the time before this, used humanity alone and showed pity to one unworthy of sympathy, nothing more came of it for that man, who did not turn from his wickedness but rather increased his frenzy against the subject nations; and for those who were being maltreated there remained no hope of salvation, ground down as they were beneath a terrible beast.
Wherefore, mingling hatred of evil with love of good, the helper of the good went forth, together with his son Crispus, a most humane emperor, stretching out a saving right hand to all who were perishing. Then, using as their guide and ally God the King of all, the Son of God the Saviour of all, the father and son together, dividing their battle-line on every side against the haters of God, easily carried off the victory, all things in the encounter having been made smooth for them by God according to His purpose.
All at once, then, and quicker than a word, those who but yesterday and the day before were breathing death and threats were no more, nor even remembered so much as in name; their inscriptions and honours received their deserved disgrace. And the things that Licinius had seen with his own eyes befall the impious tyrants of old, these he himself likewise suffered, because he too did not receive instruction, nor was brought to his senses by the scourges of his neighbours, but, traversing the same road of impiety as they, was justly hurled over the same precipice as they.
But while this man lay thus cast down, the one pre-eminent in every virtue of godliness, the greatest victor Constantine, together with his son Crispus, an emperor most beloved of God and in all respects like his father, recovered their own East, and presented the Roman empire, as in ancient times, as one united whole, bringing under their peace all of it in a circle, from the rising sun on both sides of the inhabited world, north and south alike, even to the uttermost limits of the setting day.
There was taken away, then, from men all fear of those who before had oppressed them; and they kept brilliant and festive holy days. All things were full of light, and with smiling faces and beaming eyes those who before were downcast looked upon one another; with dances and hymns throughout cities and fields alike, they gave honour first of all to God the King of all—for this they had been taught—and then to the pious emperor together with his God-beloved sons.
There was an amnesty of old evils, and forgetfulness of all impiety; an enjoyment of present good things, and besides, expectations of those yet to come. There were spread abroad, then, in every place, the ordinances of the victorious emperor, full of humanity, and laws containing the marks of munificence and of true piety.
Thus, when all tyranny had been purged away, there were preserved for Constantine and his sons alone, secure and unbegrudged, the things of the kingdom that belonged to them; who, having wiped away from all that went before the hatred of God in their manner of life, and having perceived the good things dispensed to them by God, displayed their love of virtue and devotion to God, their piety and thankfulness toward the Divine, by deeds whereby they granted all men to behold it openly.