Million Book Collection - The Fishers of Men Ministries

4 THE FORMATION OF CHRISTENDOMnew and unprecedented honours should be voted, itwas he, both as the beginning of the imperial race,and as the first and greatest and universal benefactor,in that instead of the multitude of governors whoexisted before he entrusted the common vessel of theState to himself as one pilot of admirable skill in thescience of government to steer it.1 For the imperialauthority was, it is true, irresponsible, but its concentrationin one hand gave it so great a power forgood that since its establishment misfortune like avenomous reptile could lurk indeed in corners, butcould not attack any large district. That power had discoveredand brought to light everything that was good,and banished evils to the extremity of the earth.2On the accession of Caius in A.D. 3/,3 Philo describeshim as assuming the supreme power overevery land and sea, which were free from all sedition,and ruled by admirable laws. East and west, north andsouth, harmonised together, Greek with barbarian,soldier with citizen, in the enjoyment of one commonpeace. This was an extraordinary fortune addedto his ready-made inheritance of all good things, avast treasury, well-provided forces by land and sea,a revenue flowing as from an exhaustless fountain,and a territory stretching over three continents,the inhabitants of which admired him as theyhad never admired any emperor before, not as those1 Thus the view taken by Philo of Roman affairs may be consideredthe exact contradictory of that on which Tacitus composed his history,whose object, says Merivale (vol. viii. p. 84), was "to show that thesupremacy of Rome, the final cause of her existence, depends on thepre-eminence of an oligarchy."2 Sec. 5 and 7. The words which Philo puts into the mouth ofMacro, as exhorting Caius, may well be supposed to represent his ownopinion. See, again, the letter of Agrippa to Caius, sec. 39.3 Sec. 2.