Men Who Abused His Goodwill

In the same way the qualities of his soul reached the highest point of human perfection. He stood out for every excellence of character, but above all for his goodwill toward others. This virtue, however, brought criticism on him from many, because of the baseness of wicked men, who blamed their own crimes on the emperor’s leniency. I can indeed bear witness myself to the grievous evils of those times: I mean the violence of greedy and unprincipled men, who preyed on every class of society alike, and the shameful hypocrisy of those who crept into the church and took on the name and character of Christians. His own goodwill and goodness of heart, the genuineness of his own faith, and his truthful character led the emperor to believe the profession of these so-called Christians, who craftily kept up the appearance of sincere affection for him. The trust he placed in such men sometimes pushed him into actions unworthy of himself, and envy seized on this to cloud the luster of his character in this respect. [a]