Excerpt from The English Historical Review, 1909, Vol. 24 In 314 the Roman empire was thus divided between Constantine and Licinius. During the ten years between 314 and 324 these emperors drifted apart. Nor Is it di cult to understand why they did so. Each desired to become sole emperor. Licinius, elated by the acquisition in 313 Of the territories Of Maximin, was depressed in 314 at having lost Macedonia and Greece, and in the campaign in Pannonia and Thrace, a campaign which had set back his chances Of defeating his rival. The different environment and personal disposition Of the two emperors prevented or extinguished all sympathy between them. Constantine was a clean liver; Licinius the most selfish Of libertines. Constantine was the younger man, had steadily advanced until he had become lord of every country in the empire from Britain to the Aegean Sea. He was seeking, says Eutropius, with whom it is di cult to disagree, to make himself ruler of the whole world. His strength and territory were increasing as each year passed. Licinius on his part was every day becoming less popular with his own subjects. He had nothing but his skill as a soldier to recommend him, unless it were his zeal for paganism. But he was unpopular even among his pagan subjects. His violence, profligacy, utter disregard Of the rights of others, and tyranny made him generally hated. The success Of his rival rankled in the mind of the elder man. Old age was coming on him, and he might well conclude that, as a struggle was inevitable, the sooner it came the better. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.