The ancient world, from the earliest times to 800 AD . 6. Steps in the Victory of Christianity. — In 313, a fewmonths after Milvian Bridge, from his western capital, Milan,Constantine issued the famous decree known as the Edict ofMilan: We grant to the Christians and to all others freechoice to follow the mode of worship they may wish, in orderthat whatsoever divinity and celestial power may exist may bepropitious to us and to all who live under our government. This edict established only religious toleration, though in aless grudging way than by the Edict of Galerius. At a latertime Constanti
The ancient world, from the earliest times to 800 AD . 6. Steps in the Victory of Christianity. — In 313, a fewmonths after Milvian Bridge, from his western capital, Milan,Constantine issued the famous decree known as the Edict ofMilan: We grant to the Christians and to all others freechoice to follow the mode of worship they may wish, in orderthat whatsoever divinity and celestial power may exist may bepropitious to us and to all who live under our government. This edict established only religious toleration, though in aless grudging way than by the Edict of Galerius. At a latertime Constantine showed many favors to the church, granting 552 THE EMPIRE — FOURTH CENTURY [§676 money for its buildings, and exempting the clergy from tax-ation.^ But it is not correct to say that he made Christianitythe state religion. At the most, he seems to have given it anBspecially favored place among the religions of the himself, as Pontifex Maximus, continued to makethe public sacrifices to the pagan gods ; but, partly as a result. The Arch of Constantine. jf the favor he showed the church, both court and people passedover rapidly to the new religion. The struggle between Constantine and Licinius for solepower (§ 673) was also the final decisive conflict betweenChristianity and paganism. The followers of the old faithsrallied around Licinius, and before the final battle that generalis said to have addressed his soldiers with these words (Euse-bius, Life of Constantine, II, 5): — 1 The privileges of teachers (§ 620) were the model for the privileges nowextended to the clergy. §678] CONSTANTINE TO THEODOSIUS 553 These are our countrys gods, and these we honor with a worshipderived from our remote ancestors. But he who leads the army opposedto us has proven false to the religion of his fathers and has adopted athe-istic sentiments, honoring, in his infatuation, some strange and unheard-ofdeity, with whose despicable standard he now disgraces the army, andc
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