JULIAN, the Roman Emperor, usually called the Apos tate, was the younger son of Constantius, the brother of Constantine the Great, and was born at Constantinople on the 6th of November, A. D. 331. After the death of Con stantine, in 337, Julian and his brother Gallus were with difficulty saved (by the care of Mark, bishop of Arcthusa,) from the massacre of their family ; and were afterwards spared through the policy or pity of their uncle Constan tius, who had succeeded to the empire. As soon as the growing years of these unhappy youths excited the jealousy of the emperor, they were secured in the strong castle of Macellum, near Czesarea, where they were carefully edu cated under the best masters, and attended with all the honours of young princes. Their religious education was directed by Eusebius, bishop of Nicomedia, who was rela ted to his pupils on the side of their mother ; and, till Ju lian reached the twentieth year of his age, he prosecuted the studies rather of an ecclesiastic than of an emperor. He was actually admitted to the inferior offices of the priest hood, and publicly read the Holy Scriptures in the church of Nicomedia. But he seems to have eatiy associated in his mind the Christian principles in which he was instruct ed with the state of subjection in which lie was held ; and manifested, on various occasions, a strong predilection for the religion, as well as the literature, of the Greeks. After the exaltation of his brother, Gallus, to the dignity of Cae sar, ke was left more at liberty to gratify his ow n inclina tions ; and the crowd of sophists, who were attracted by his taste and liberality, soon succeeded in completing his con version to the tenets of polytheism. In the twentieth year of his age, lie was secretly initiated in all the mysteries of paganism ; and, with all the enthusiasm of a new proselyte, already anticipated the revival of the ancient religion of the empire. Suspected by the emperor of having participated in the disaffection of his brother Gallus, he was in great danger of sharing the same fate ; and having been conveyed as a prisoner to Aldan, lie was kept for the space of seven months in daily apprehension of an ignominious death ; but, by the earnest intercession of the Empress Eusebia, he was restored to liberty, and permitted to pursue his studies at Athens. Soon afterwards, by the same friendly ii.fluence, he was invested with the title of Caesar, espoused to Hele na, the sister of Constantius, and appointed to the govern ment of the countries beyond the Alps, in the 25th year of his age. In this command, though hitherto a stranger to arms, he displayed all the qualities of an experienced sol dier ; and, by a succession of signal victories, completely checked the inroads of the barbarians in the west. Con stantius, jealons of the reputation, and desirous to reduce the strength of so formidable a rival, required the legions of Gaul to join the expedition, which he was himself en gaged in conducting against the Persians. These troops, , reluctant to leave their own country in a defenceless state, or perhaps stimulated by the adherents of their leader, broke out into open mutiny, refused to march, and pro claimed Julian their emperor, in the 29th year of his age. The philosophical general long professed the most deter mined opposition to the offered sovereignty ; but his pre tending to yield at last, in consequence of having been solicited by the genius of the empire, and encouraged by a sign from Jupiter, sufficiently proves the fraud or the fa naticism of his conduct. Constantius, having indignantly rejected all the explanations and proposals of Julian as his colleague in the empire, the latter tn:Ide a resolute and rapid march into Illyrictun, where, by the sudden death of his rival, he was left sole emperor of the Roman world about the end of the year 361. As soon as he saw himself
in full possession of the sovereignty, lie threw off all his former disguises, and openly professed himself the votary and high pontiff of the Pagan divinities. But, while he established the ancient worship as the religion of the state, he proclaimed a free toleration to the Christians, and re called those who had been banished by the Arian counsels of his predecessor. With all this show of philosophical moderation, lie soon evinced his ardent aim to accomplish the entire subversion of the Christian faith, and the com plete restoration of the rites of polytheism. He applied himself, amidst all the hurry of his preparations for the Persian war, to vindicate his preference of paganism by writing a refutation of Christianity ; commanded many of the treatises in defence of the Gospel to be destroyed ; ex cluded its adherents from all offices in the service of the state ; prohibited them from teaching in the public schools; required, by a public edict, that they should no longer be called Christians, but Galileans; connived at the fury of the populace, and the brutality of his governors, who kindled in many provinces the flames of persecution ; and dismissed the complaints of the oppressed accusants with the scoffing that their religion required them to suffer without retaliation or repining. With a view to shake the fundamental evidences of the Christian revela tion, by convicting its prophecies of error, he attempted to re-assemble the Jews, and to rebuild their temple---a scheme which (according to the testimony of many con temporary writers, and even of the heathen historian and friend of Julian, Ammianus NIarcellinus,) was miraculously defeated by eruptions of fire-balls from the foundation. Other Christian writers, however, of that age, and particu larly Jerome, who lived in the vicinity of Jerusalem, are entirely silent on the subject ; and it must still be regarded as a doubtful point, whether any such supernatural event took place. Nor is there any necessity, on the part of the Christian, to establish a specific miracle in the case. Ju lian's avowed designs in favour of the Jewish people were rendered abortive ; and whether by a miraculous interposi tion defeating the execution of them, or by other events preventing them from ever being attempted, is of little con sequence in the argument. By whatever causes, natural or supernatural, the predicted desolation of the Jew ish peo ple and temple has, in the course of providence, been per fectly fulfilled, and stands to this day a plain and incontro vertible point of fact. But the schemes of the emperor for the revival of paganism proving less efficacious titan his expectations and his flatterers had promised, he threatened to adopt more decisive measures, after he should return from the Persian expedition, which he had resolved to con duct in person. After residing eight months at Constanti nople, and about the same space of time at Antioch in Syria, where he completed his military preparations, he proceed ed with the greatest ardour against the Persians ; but, pushing his advances into the hostile country with greater courage than caution, he was at length compelled to retreat upon his reinforcements. Harassed on all sides by the pur suing army, he was often called upon to animate his fainting troops by his personal exertions. Having, in one of these hasty skirmishes, entered the field without his cuirass, he was pierced by a dart ; and, being carried to his tent, very calmly breathed his last in the midst of philosophical dis cussions with his friends, and ostentatious assertions of his own virtues. He died on the 26th of June, 383, in the 32d year of his age, after reigning as sole emperor about 20 months.