44 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP, justly entertain of the cruelty of Licinius, it remains a [ matter of surprise that he was not contented with some A.D. 314. more secret and decent method of revenge. Quarrel be- The llonian world was now divided between Con- staTuneand ^'^""^ and Licinius, the former of whom was master Licinius. of the west, and the latter of the east. It might per- haps have been expected that the conquerors, fatigued with civil war, and connected by a private as well as public alliance, would have renounced, or at least would have suspended any farther designs of ambi- tion. And yet a year had scarcely elapsed after the death of Maximin, before the victorious emperors turned their arms against each other. The genius, the success, and the aspiring temper of Constantine, may seem to mark him out as the aggressor : but the perfidious character of Licinius justifies the most un- favourable suspicions; and by the faint light which history reflects on this transaction ^, we may discover a conspiracy fomented by his arts against the au- thority of his colleague. Constantine had lately given his sister Anastasia in marriage to Bassianus, a man of a considerable family and fortune, and had elevated his new kinsman to the rank of Caesar. According to the system of government instituted by Diocletian, Italy, and perhaps Africa, were designed for his de- partment in the empire. But the performance of the promised favour was either attended with so much delay, or accompanied with so many unequal condi- tions, that the fidelity of Bassianus was alienated rather than secured by the honourable distinction which he had obtained. His nomination had been ratified by the consent of Licinius ; and that artful prince, by the means of his emissaries, soon contrived to enter into a secret and dangerous correspondence 1 Ita illis pudicitia et conditio exitio fuit. Lactantius de M. P. c. 51. He relates the misfortunes of the innocent wife and daughter of Diocletiaa with a very natural mixture of pity and exultation. ■■ The curious reader who consults the Valesian Fragment, p. 713, will perhaps accuse me of giving a bold and licentious paraphrase ; but if he considers it with attention, he will acknowledge that my interpretation is probable and consistent.
