[104:5] Read Cyprian, _Concerning the Lapsed_, iii., c. 8, for the most vivid account; _Transl. and Rep._, iv., No. 1, p. 21. [105:1] Cyprian, _Ep. to Antonian_. [105:2] Euseb., _Eccl. Hist._, vii., c. 10; Gregg, _The Decian Persecution_. [105:3] Euseb., _Eccl. Hist._, vii., c. 11. [105:4] Cyprian, _Ep._, 81; _Transl. and Rep._, iv., No. 1, 20, 22, 23. [105:5] Euseb., _Eccl. Hist._, vii., c. 13 ff. [105:6] _Transl. and Rep._, iv., No. 1, p. 26. [105:7] Mason, _The Persecution of Diocletian_. [106:1] _Transl. and Rep._, iv., No. 1, p. 26; Euseb., _Eccl. Hist._, viii.-x.; Uhlhorn, 407. [106:2] _Transl. and Rep._, iv., No. 1, p. 28; Euseb., _Eccl. Hist._, viii., 17. [106:3] _Transl. and Rep._, iv., No. 1, p. 29. CHAPTER VII TRANSITION OF THE CHURCH UNDER CONSTANTINE OUTLINE: I.--Condition of the Empire in 300. II.--How Constantine became Emperor. III.--Constantine's conversion to Christianity. IV.--Constantine's favours to Christianity. V.--Constantine's character. VI.--Constantine's historical significance. VII.--Sources. To understand the great changes that took place in the Christian Church under Constantine, it is necessary to keep distinctly in mind both the status of Christianity, on the one hand, and the general conditions of the Empire, on the other. In territorial extent the Empire still formed a huge fringe around the Mediterranean Sea and had lost but little of its vastness under Trajan (98-117). Under Diocletian (284-305) the Empire became an undisguised oriental despotism. The administration was divided between two Augusti, each of whom had an associate, called Cæsar. This division of rule, with its increased expense, aroused much jealousy and discontent, and greatly weakened the Empire. As many as six rival Emperors appeared at once, and out of the rivalry emerged Constantine the Great as the sole ruler of the Empire. Wars with the Persians in the east and with the barbarians on the north accelerated the declining political morality. At the same time social classes became more marked, and moral standards lower. Schools were neglected, literature became superficial, poetry lost its voice, and oratory declined. Paganism, largely a form of patriotism and national festivity, still numbered many adherents, but it was not deeply rooted in their hearts.