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Excerpt from A Sketch of the Life and Character of Constantine the Great As the reputed founder of the Imperial, Ecclesiastical and Mili tary-order of the Red Cross, the name and memory of Constantine must ever command a certain degree of veneration from every true and loyal Knight Companion, and every incident-connected with his life will always possess for them a peculiar interest. In this brochure the writer has endeavored to bring together a few of the salient features of the career of this remarkable and highly gifted man, be lieving that anything Which tends to shed light upon the real or traditionary history of the Older will be an acceptable addition to the meager literature now accessible to the average Knight. In its compilation free use has been made of such material as the subject affords and to the works of Eusebius, Gibbon, Milman and others, as well as to the writings of Wright and Little of Our own Order, the writer is largely indebted for the recitals which follow. It has been the custom of most writers to present only the pleasing side of Constantine's character, to extol his virtues, condone his faults and suppress or gloss over the crimes he committed to encompass his ambitious and not always praiseworthy ends. Without excep tion, so far as the writer' s observation has gone, this is true of all biographies written in the interest Of the Red Cross Order and gener ally so of those which treat of the subject in connection with the Christian church. In this sketch the Sober facts of history are given as they appear; the only province of the historian is to present the past as it was. 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 co