threatens to cut him off from the Communion of that Church, if he refused to comply with the Summons[721]. With this Letter he dispatched Three of his Presbyters, _Lucius_, _Paulus_, and _Ælianus_; strictly injoining them, by all means, to prevail upon _Athanasius_ to repair, without Delay, to _Rome_[722]. This Conduct, so very different from that of his Predecessor, was, no doubt, owing to the Dread he was in of the Emperor _Constantius_, by this Time probably Master of _Rome_, and all _Italy_; for what else could tempt or induce him to act so preposterously? Be that as it will, _Athanasius_ was greatly surprised and concerned to find himself so unworthily treated and threatened by the Bishop of _Rome_; but did not think himself, on that Account, obliged to abandon his Flock. He remained therefore in _Alexandria_; but begged his Collegues in _Egypt_ to write in his Favour to the Pope; which they did accordingly. [Sidenote: Liberius _communicates with the_ Arians, _and excommunicates_ Athanasius.] But _Liberius_ wanted to ingratiate himself with the _Arians_, and, by their means, with the Emperor; and therefore, without any Regard to the Testimony of the Orthodox Bishops, or the known Innocence of the oppressed _Athanasius_, he writ to the _Eusebians_, acquainting them, that he communicated with them; but, as to _Athanasius_, he had cut him off from his Communion, and from that of his Church[723]. [Sidenote: _His Letter to them not supposititious._] _Baronius_[724], and after him the _Benedictines_, in their last Edition of the Works of _Hilarius_ and _Athanasius_[725], maintain this Letter of _Liberius_ to have been forged by the _Arians_, and inserted into the Works of _Hilarius_. But they allege no convincing Reason why the other Pieces, among which it has been conveyed to us, should be admitted as genuine, and this alone rejected as supposititious. _Athanasius_, indeed, never reproached the Bishop of _Rome_ with his scandalous Conduct, as they observe; but may not that be ascribed to his Moderation? The more, as he was sensible, that _Liberius_ acted thus not out of Ill-will, but Fear. As to the want of Connexion between that Letter and the Pieces preceding and following it, I should not have expected such an Objection from any who had ever perused the Fragments of that Writer, which every one knows to have been patched together without any Regard to Time or Order[N14]. ----- Footnote N14: