God Arises
The Challenge of The Qur’an
~ 306 ~
years of a long regime, the emperor appears to be
the slave of sloth, of pleasure, of superstition, the
careless and impotent spectator of public calamities.
But the languid mists of the morning and evening
are separated by the brightness of the meridian sun:
the Arcadius of the palace arose the Caesar of the
camp; and the honour of Rome and Heraclius was
gloriously retrieved by the exploited trophies of six
adventurous campaigns. It was the duty of the
Byzantine historians to have revealed the causes of
his slumber and vigilance. At this distance we can
only conjecture that he was endowed with more
personal courage than political resolution; that he
was detained by the charms, and perhaps the arts,
of his niece Martina, with whom, after the death of
Eudocia, he contracted an incestuous marriage’
(p.82).
The same Heraclius who had abandoned all hope
and courage, and whose mind had become so
confused, then planned a military expedition which
was entirely successful. Since the days of Scipio and
Hannibal, no bolder enterprise has been attempted
than that which Heraclius achieved for the
deliverance of the empire. In Constantinople, all the
