51. I have related this singular anecdote on the authority
of Philostorgius,1. ii. c. 16. But if such a pretext was
ever used by Constantius and his adherents, it was laid
aside with contempt as soon as it served their immediate
purpose. Athanasius (tom. i. p. 856) mentions the oath which
Constantius had taken for the security of his kinsmen.