In consequence of these orders, great numbers of Christians were released from prison, or delivered from the mines.

The confessors, singing hymns of triumph, returned into their own countries; and those who had yielded to the violence of the tempest, solicited with tears of repentance their readmission into the bosom of the church.
But this treacherous calm was of short duration; nor could the Christians of the East place any confidence in the character of their sovereign.

Cruelty and superstition were the ruling passions of the soul of Maximin.

The former suggested the means, the latter pointed out the objects of persecution.

The emperor was devoted to the worship of the gods, to the study of magic, and to the belief of oracles.