"I think that this completeth my account, except I should add that from the very beginning of this matter the Emperor Licinius hath zealously endeavored to keep it all profoundly secret, so that it is known to very few." Then said Constantine unto the bishop: "What didst thou mean by saying to the emperor, ’The Christians who knew thee to be a bloody tyrant, and the desecrator of the sacrament of marriage by an infamous law’? What law was that?" And Eusebius answered: "He hath revived the former law of Maximin, that ’no woman of rank should marry without the emperor’s consent,’ and for the same infamous purpose, _ut ipse in omnibus nuptiis proegustator esset_; and this licentiousness hath done more to set the Church against the emperor than even the murder of the bishops." "How strange," said Constantine, "that men should think themselves fit to govern an empire who can not even govern their own brutal passions!" Then the great emperor indulged in long-continued laughter, not loud nor vociferous, but quiet, hearty, joyous, and exultant. But, soon resuming his usual equanimity, he said unto the bishop: "Thou art the most welcome messenger that hath ever come unto me since thy brother of Cæsarea did first visit me in Gaul before the overthrow of Maxentius. Tell me what great favor worthy of Rome’s emperor I can do for thee." Then Eusebius, with glowing countenance, bent low, and seizing the emperor’s hand he kissed it fervently, exclaiming, "Stretch forth thy mighty hand, Augustus, and free the persecuted churches of the East!" Constantine was deeply moved, and answered: "It shall be done, bishop! Trust me, it shall be done! But I have given order for thy fitting entertainment, and while thou shalt rest and refresh thyself, think of some personal favor I can do for thee." Eusebius bowed gravely and withdrew. The emperor was alone, seated, buried in profoundest meditation. For a long time he was silent, and then his deep thought found utterance in murmured words: "A wonderful faith, truly, that can bind the heart and intellect of even able men like the Eusebii in absolute slavery to an idea, so that Christ and the Church are first in all their thoughts and purposes; and ease, comfort, wealth, and power, and even life and death, are trifling things compared therewith! If any God exists, these Christians surely have discovered him in Jesus. But I am sufficient for myself, and need no Deity." Then he was silent again for some time longer. But suddenly he gave way to jubilant merriment, murmuring amid his laughter: "It was a superb farce, that prophecy of Gaius! Better than the _Legio Fulminea_. Better even than the Labarum! Surely the fine, Grecian hand of my Eusebius hath only acquired a more delicate touch with his advancing years!" And the great emperor continued to laugh merrily.