God the Author of His Victories, and His Two Letters

And now that, through the mighty help of God his Savior, all nations acknowledged their subjection to the emperor’s authority, he openly proclaimed to all the name of the one to whose generosity he owed all his blessings, and declared that God, and not he himself, was the author of his past victories. He had this declaration, written in both Latin and Greek, sent through every province of the empire. The excellence of his style can be seen by reading his letters themselves. There were two of them: one addressed to the churches of God, the other to the pagan population in the various cities of the empire. I think it well to insert the second of these here, since it belongs to my present subject. I do so in order that a copy of this document may be put on record as history and so be preserved for those who come after us, and also that it may confirm the truth of my present account. It is taken from an authentic copy of the imperial decree in my own possession, and the signature in the emperor’s own handwriting sets, as it were, the seal of truth on the statement I have made. [a]