Decius

“ Soon after, another general named Decius was chosen by the army on the German frontier, and Philip was killed in battle with him. Decius wanted to be an old-fashioned Roman; he believed in the gods, and thought the troubles of the empire came of forsaking them; and as the Parthians molested the East, and the Goths and Germans the North, and the soldiers seemed more ready to kill their Emperors than the enemy, he thought to win back prosperity by causing all to return to the old worship, and begun the worst persecution the Church had yet known. ”

“ Then Livius the high priest, to whom the Consul Decius had given over his lictors, bidding him take upon himself the command, cried aloud, "The Romans have conquered, being delivered from peril by the death of the Consul. The Gauls and the Samnites are the possession of Mother Earth and of the Gods of the dead. Decius is calling and drawing to him the army that he devoted to death together with himself; and the whole host of the enemy is full of madness and fear." ”

“ These fierce barbarians came from the north of Europe, and were among the chief instruments of the fall of Rome. Decius, who does not seem to have wanted skill and courage, was finally defeated and slain by them, together with his son. Decius is remembered as one of the most cruel persecutors of the Christians. The innocent victims of his rage were subjected to torture, driven to hide in the wilderness among rocks and forests, and were glad to live among the wild beasts, more humane than man. ”

“ A short time after Decius had perished a decisive victory fell to the lot of the Romans and the Latins were all routed, [Pg 124] yet certainly not on account of the death of Decius. Frag. 324for how can you believe that from such a death of one man so great a multitude of human beings was destroyed on the one side and on the other was saved and won a conspicuous victory? So the Latins in this way were defeated, Frag. 326and torquatus, though he had killed his son and though his colleague had lost his life, nevertheless celebrated a triumph. ”

“ Decius heard maledictions upon the Holy Father, mingled with curses no less hearty upon the Greeks who held Rome.
'It was not thus,' cried an old man, 'in the time of King Theodoric, heretic though he might be. We had our bread and our hog's flesh, prime quality both, and plenty for all.'
'Ay,' cried a woman, 'and our oil too. Since these Greek dogs came, not a drop of oil has there been in my cruse. Heretics, forsooth! What better is the Holy Father who lets Christians die of hunger while he eats and drinks his fill?'
'Evil go with thee, O Vigilius! The pest seize thee, O Vigilius! ”

“ Christianity was creeping up with inaudible steps into high places,—nay, into the very highest. The immediate predecessor of Decius upon the throne, Philip the Arab, was known to be a disciple of the new faith; and amongst the nobles of Rome, through the females and the slaves, that faith had spread its roots in every direction. ”

“ The throne of the persecuting Decius was filled by a succession of Christian and orthodox princes, who had extirpated the fabulous gods of antiquity: and the public devotion of the age was impatient to exalt the saints and martyrs of the Catholic church, on the altars of Diana and Hercules. The union of the Roman empire was dissolved; its genius was humbled in the dust; and armies of unknown Barbarians, issuing from the frozen regions of the North, had established their victorious reign over the fairest provinces of Europe and Africa. ”

“ Who knows not the evil that, in the time of Decius, yes, and before and since too, fell upon the church from the so easy reception and restoration of those who, in an hour of weakness and fear, denied their master and his faith, and bowed the knee to the gods of Rome? Here is the danger against which we are to guard; from this quarter—not from any other of vain jargon concerning natures, essences, and modes of being—are we to look for those fatal inroads to be made upon the purity of the gospel, that cannot but draw along with them corruption and ruin. ”

“ What hope was there for Rome when the hearts of her people were, universally given up to cruelty and brutal oppression?
Upon a raised seat in a conspicuous part of the amphitheater was the Emperor Decius, near whom the chief people among the Romans were gathered. Among these there was a group of officers belonging to the Pretorian guards, who criticised the different points in the scene before them with the air of connoisseurs. Their loud laughter, their gayety, and their splendid attire made them the object of much attention from their neighbors. ”

“ And, in these words for the republic of the children of Quirinus, for the army, for the legions, and for the allies of the Roman people, I devote to the gods Manes and to the grave the legions and the allies of the enemy and myself.”
Then remounting, Decius charged into the middle of the Gauls, where he soon fell pierced with wounds; but the Romans recovered courage and gained the day; for heroism and piety have power over the hearts of men, so that at the moment of admiration they become capable of imitation. ”

“ Then Malchus kneeled down tofore them and said: For God's sake, lords, say ye to me that I shall demand you, and I shall tell to you all that I have in my heart. Decius the emperor that was in this city, where is he? And the bishop said to him there is no such at this day in the world that is named Decius, he was emperor many years since. And Malchus said: Sire, hereof I am greatly abashed and no man believeth me, for I wot well that we fled for fear of Decius the emperor, and I saw him, that yesterday he entered into this city, if this be the city of Ephesus. ”

“ In those days the storm rose under Decius Cæsar, and many Christians were slain in the city of Rome. Galba being regent in Rome, Decius went against the Persians. Coming to the city Ponticum, he stayed there, but he was warring. Then Decius went up into the Median hill-country, and gained a victory, and took several cities of the Persians, as Babylon, Bactria, Hyrcania, Cordula, where he found many Christians, whom he slew with tortures. At that time he found in the city of Babylon, a bishop named Polychronius, with the priests Parmenias, Elymas, Chrysotelus, and the deacons Luke and Mucius ”

“ It was no low motive of personal revenge or of caprice which prompted the persecution. We must recognize the fact that Decius was one of the best and noblest of the Roman emperors, and that he persecuted as a patriot and a believer in the religion of his fathers. He was the first one that aimed at the complete extermination of the Christians. He went systematically to work to put the religion out of existence; and the persecution was consequently both universal and of terrible severity, far more terrible than any that had preceded it. ”

“ The emperor Decius, coming to the throne of what appeared to be a decaying empire, determined to make a supreme effort to restore the old Roman virtue and vigour. In particular he regarded the Christians as the most dangerous innovators of the ancient customs. Accordingly he entered on the huge task of putting an end to Christianity. The persecution which followed was a life-and-death struggle. ”

“ In the time of Decius, the cruel emperor, the holy bishop Sixtus was dwelling in Rome. Then he suddenly commanded his counts to bring the bishop together with his priests before him. Sixtus then with fearless mind called to his priests, "My brothers, be ye not afraid, come, and let none of you dread short torments. The holy martyrs suffered many tortures, that they might fearless come to the glory-crown of everlasting life." ”

“ This father was a wise and learned man, and he translated many of the Books of the Church. In his days Saint Mercurius became a martyr by the hand of Decius, the Emperor of Rome, and in his days also the Seven Youths went to sleep for three hundred and seventy and two years. These Youths were among the sons of the elders of the city of Ephesus, and they fled from the Emperor Decius when he sought for them to make them worship idols. And in the days of this father lived our great and holy father Anthony the Egyptian, the head of the monks, who built monasteries. ”

“ Thus ended the life of the excellent emperor Decius.
To him succeeded Gallus; who declared his son Volusianus his associate in the empire, and published an open declaration, that Decius and his army perished by his contrivance. The Barbarians now became more prosperous than before. For Gallus not only permitted them to return home with the plunder, but promised to pay them annually a sum of money, and allowed them to carry off all the noblest captives ”

“ If there is any truth at all in the legend, it amounts to this: In A.D. 250, some youths (three or seven) suffered martyrdom under the Emperor Decius, “fell asleep in the Lord,” and were buried in a cave of Mount Celion. In 479 (the reign of Theodosius) their bodies were discovered, and, being consecrated as holy relics, were removed to Marseilles.
(2) According to the Oriental Tales. Six Grecian youths were slaves in the palace of Dakiānos (Decianus, Decius) . This Dakianos had risen from low degrees to kingly honors, and gave himself out to be a god. ”

“ But Decius said, "I would counsel, Cornelius, that you postpone everything to the occasion of victory that is now given you. Attack the enemy while they are in confusion and scattered, for doubtless many have been sent to pursue me." This the Consul did, and won a great victory over the Samnites, and took their camp, wherein were slain, it is said, thirty thousand men. ”

“ Whilst the Christians, especially those in the East, were suffering persecution under the Emperors Decius and Valerian, there were two men very friendly, Polyeuctus and Nearchus by name. Now Nearchus was a Christian, but Polyeuctus was a heathen. But when Decius and Valerian could not be satiated with the blood of the saints, they issued an edict that those Christians who would sacrifice to the gods, should be favoured by the majesty of the empire, but that those who refused should be cruelly punished. ”

“ This conjecture was confirmed; and Philip in consequence conceived a high opinion of Decius, whom (as the insurrection still continued) he judged to be the fittest man for appeasing it. Decius accordingly went, armed with the proper authority. But on his arrival, he found himself compelled by the insurgent army to choose between empire and death. Thus constrained, he yielded to the wishes of the troops; and then hastening with a veteran army into Italy, he fought the battle of Verona, where Philip was defeated and killed, whilst the son of Philip was murdered at Rome by the prætorian guards. ”

“ The majority of these guards, accordingly, as a result of the excess of supplies and general easy habits,—for they enjoyed a far less strenuous existence than they had known at home,—through the persuasion of Decius formed the desire to kill the foremost Rhegians and occupy the city. It seemed as though they might be quite free to perform whatever they pleased, unconcerned about the Romans, who were busied with the Tarentini and with Pyrrhus. Decius was further enabled to persuade them by the fact that they saw Messana in the power of the Mamertines. ”

“ The emperor said, "Declare to us all the wicked thy like, that this city may be cleansed; and do thou thyself offer to our gods, and trust thou in no wise to thy treasures." Then said the holy martyr, "Verily I trust, and I am careless for my treasures." Decius answered, "Thinkest thou then that thou wilt be redeemed by thy treasures from these torments?" and then in angry mood commanded the executioners to beat him with stout clubs. But Lawrence, during the beating, cried, "Thou wretch, know at least that I triumph regarding Christ's treasures, and I feel not thy torments." ”

“ The terror was extreme, but the energy of the Romans was equal to the danger. All able men, even to the freedmen, were enrolled, and ninety thousand soldiers were raised. Under these grave circumstances (458) , Fabius and Decius were, once again, raised to the supreme magistracy, and gained, under the walls of Sentinum, a brilliant victory, long disputed. During the battle, Decius devoted himself, as his father had done before. The coalition once dissolved, Fabius defeated another army which had issued from Perusia, and then came to receive the honour of a triumph in Rome. ”

“ When Decius had reigned not quite two years, [1] he was slain with his children, and Gallus succeeded him. At this time Origen died, being sixty-nine years of age. [2] Dionysius, writing to Hermammon, [3] speaks as follows of Gallus: [4]
“Gallus neither recognized the wickedness of Decius, nor considered what had destroyed him; but stumbled on the same stone, though it lay before his eyes. For when his reign was prosperous and affairs were proceeding according to his mind, he attacked the holy men who were interceding with God for his peace and welfare. ”

“ I was glad those four revolutionaries we cornered in the Ephraim hills chose to fight to their deaths rather than surrender. It’s better not having to take anybody back to Jerusalem to be nailed up on a cross.”
“It’s not one of the most pleasant assignments a soldier gets, being on a crucifixion detail,” Decius agreed. “I’ve been on three, and I’ll never forget those poor devils, the first one especially, maybe just because he was my first. He was a boy in Germania, hardly sixteen, but a sturdy, strong fellow. I can still see him, Centurion. ”