CHAPTER VII.
Melissa, too, had a sense of freedom when she found herself walking bythe side of Andreas.
In the garden of Hermes, where her father's house stood, there werefew signs of the excitement with which the citizens awaited Caesar'sarrival. Most of those who were out and about were going in the oppositedirection; they meant to await the grand reception of Caracalla at theeastern end of the city, on his way from the Kanopic Gate to the Gateof the Sun. Still, a good many--men, women and children--were, likethemselves, walking westward, for it was known that Caesar would alightat the Serapeum.
They had scarcely left the house when Andreas asked the girl whethershe had a kerchief or a veil in the basket the slave was carryingbehind her; and on her replying in the affirmative, he expressedhis satisfaction; for Caracalla's soldiery, in consequence of thesovereign's weakened discipline and reckless liberality, were littlebetter than an unbridled rabble.
"Then let us keep out of their way," urged Melissa.
"Certainly, as much as possible," said her companion. "At any rate, letus hurry, so as to get back to the lake before the crowd stops the way.
"You have passed an eventful and anxious night, my child, and are tired,no doubt."
"Oh, no!" said she, calmly; "I had some wine to refresh me, and somefood with the Christians."
"Then they received you kindly?"
"The only woman there nursed Diodoros like a mother; and the men wereconsiderate and careful. My father does not know them; and yet--Well,you know how much he dislikes them."
"He follows the multitude," returned Andreas, "the common herd, who hateeverything exceptional, everything that disturbs their round of life, orstartles them out of the quietude of their dull dreams. Woe to those whocall by its true name what those blind souls call pleasure and enjoymentas serving to hasten the flight of time--not too long at the most; woeto those who dare raise even a finger against it!"
The man's deep, subdued tones were strongly expressive of the wrathwithin him; and the girl, who kept close to his side, asked with eageranxiety, "Then my father was right when he said that you are a member ofthe Christian body?"
"Yes," he replied, emphatically; and when Melissa curiously inquiredwhether it were true that the followers of the crucified God hadrenounced their love for home and country, which yet ought to be dearto every true man, Andreas answered with a superior smile, that even thefounder of the Stoa had required not only of his fellow-Greeks but ofall human beings, that they should regulate their existence by the samelaws, since they were brethren in reason and sense.
"He was right," added Andreas, more earnestly, "and I tell you, child,the time is not far off when men shall no longer speak of Roman andGreek, of Egyptian and Syrian, of free men and slaves; when there shallbe but one native land, but one class of life for all. Yea, the day isbeginning to dawn even now. The fullness of the time is come!"
Melissa looked up at him in amazement, exclaiming: "How strange! I haveheard those words once to-day already, and can not get them out of myhead. Nay, when you confirmed my father's report, I made up my mind toask you to explain them."
"What words?" asked Andreas, in surprise. "The fullness of the time iscome."
"And where did you hear them?"
"In the house where Diodoros and I took refuge from Zminis."
"A Christian meeting-house," replied Andreas, and his expressive facedarkened. "But those who assemble there are aliens to me; they followevil heresies. But never mind--they also call themselves Christians, andthe words which led you to ponder, stand to me at the very gate of thedoctrine of our divine master, like the obelisks before the door of anEgyptian temple. Paul, the great preacher of the faith, wrote them tothe Galatians. They are easy to understand; nay, any one who looks abouthim with his eyes open, or searches his own soul, can scarcely fail tosee their meaning, if only the desire is roused in him for somethingbetter than what these cursed times can give us who live in them."
"Then it means that we are on the eve of great changes?"
"Yes!" cried Andreas, "only the word you use is too feeble. The old dullsun must set, to rise again with greater glory."
Ill at ease, and by no means convinced, Melissa looked her excitedcompanion in the face as she replied:
"Of course I know, Andreas, that you speak figuratively, for the sunwhich lights the day seems to me bright enough; and is not everythingflourishing in this gay, busy city? Are not its citizens under theprotection of the law? Were the gods ever more zealously worshiped? Ismy father wrong when he says that it is a proud thing to belong to themightiest realm on earth, before whose power barbarians tremble; a greatthing to feel and call yourself a Roman citizen?"
So far Andreas had listened to her with composure, but he hereinterrupted, in a tone of scorn "Oh, yes! Caesar has made your father,and your neighbor Skopas, and every free man in the country a Romancitizen; but it is a pity that, while he gave each man his patent ofcitizenship, he should have filched the money out of his purse."
"Apion, the dealer, was saying something to that effect the otherday, and I dare say it is true. But I can not be persuaded againstthe evidence of my own eyes, and they light on many good and pleasantthings. If only you had been with us to the Nekropolis yesterday! Everyman was honoring the gods after his own manner. Some, indeed, were graveenough; still, cheerfulness won the day among the people. Most of themwere full of the god. I myself, who generally live so quietly, wasinfected as the mystics came back from Eleusis, and we joined theirranks."
"'Till the spy Zminis spoiled your happiness and imperiled yourbrother's life for a careless speech."
"Very true!"
"And what your brother heedlessly proclaimed," Andreas went on, withflashing eyes, "the very sparrows twitter on the house-tops. It is thetruth. The sovereign of the Roman Empire is a thousand times a murderer.Some he sent to precede his own brother, and they were followed byall--twenty thousand, it is said--who were attached to the hapless Geta,or who even spoke his name. This is the lord and master to whom we oweobedience whom God has set over us for our sins. And when this wretch inthe purple shall close his eyes, he, like the rest of the criminalswho have preceded him on the throne, will be proclaimed a god! A noblecompany! When your beloved mother died I heard you, even you, revile thegods for their cruelty; others call them kind. It is only a question ofhow they accept the blood of the sacrificed beasts, their own creatures,which you shed in their honor. If Serapis does not grant some fool thething he asks, then he turns to the altar of Isis, of Anubis, of Zeus,of Demeter. At last he cries to Sabazios, or one of the new deities ofOlympus, who owe their existence to the decisions of the Roman Senate,and who are for the most part scoundrels and villains. There certainlynever were more gods than there are now; and among those of whom themyths tell us things strange enough to bring those who worship them intocontempt, or to the gallows, is the countless swarm of good and evildaimons. Away with your Olympians! They ought to reward virtue andpunish vice; and they are no better than corruptible judges; for youknow beforehand just what and how much will avail to purchase theirfavors."
"You paint with dark colors," the girl broke in. "I have learned fromPhilip that the Pythagoreans teach that not the sacrifice, but thespirit of the offering, is what really matters."
"Quite right. He was thinking, no doubt, of the miracle-monger of Tyana,Apollonius, who certainly had heard of the doctrine of the Redeemer. Butamong the thousand nine hundred and ninety, who here bring beasts to thealtar, who ever remembers this? Quite lately I heard one of our gardenlaborers ask how much a day he ought to sacrifice to the sun, his god.I told him a keration--for that is what the poor creature earns for awhole day's work. He thought that too much, for he must live; so the godmust be content with a tithe, for the taxes to the State on his earningswere hardly more."
"The divinity ought no doubt to be above all else to us," Melissaobserved. "But when your laborer worships the sun, and looks for itsbenefits, what is the difference between him and you
, or me, or any ofus, though we call the sun Helios or Serapis, or what not?"
"Yes, yes," replied Andreas. "The sun is adored here under manydifferent names and forms, and your Serapis has swallowed up not onlyZeus and Pluto, but Phoebus Apollo and the Egyptian Osiris and Ammon,and Ra, to swell his own importance. But to be serious, child, ourfathers made to themselves many gods indeed, of the sublime phenomenaand powers of Nature, and worshiped them admiringly; but to us only thenames remain, and those who offer to Apollo never think of the sun.With my laborer, who is an Arab, it is different. He believes thelight-giving globe itself to be a god; and you, I perceive, do notthink him wholly wrong. But when you see a youth throw the discus withsplendid strength, do you praise the discus, or the thrower?"
"The thrower," replied Melissa. "But Phoebus Apollo himself guides hischariot with his divine hands."
"And astronomers," the Christian went on, "can calculate for years tocome exactly where his steeds will be at each minute of the time. So noone can be more completely a slave than he to whom so many mortals praythat he will, of his own free-will, guide circumstances to suit them.I, therefore, regard the sun as a star, like any other star; and worshipshould be given, not to those rolling spheres moving across the sky inprescribed paths, but to Him who created them and guides them by fixedlaws. I really pity your Apollo and the whole host of the Olympian gods,since the world has become possessed by the mad idea that the godsand daimons may be moved, or even compelled, by forms of prayer andsacrifices and magic arts, to grant to each worshiper the particularthing on which he may have set his covetous and changeable fancy."
"And yet," exclaimed Melissa, "you yourself told me that you prayedfor my mother when the leech saw no further hope. Every one hopes fora miracle from the immortals when his own power has come to an end!Thousands think so. And in our city the people have never been morereligious than they are now. The singer of the Ialemos at the feast ofAdonis particularly praised us for it."
"Because they have never been more fervently addicted to pleasure, andtherefore have never more deeply dreaded the terrors of hades. The greatand splendid Zeus of the Greeks has been transformed into Serapis here,on the banks of the Nile, and has become a god of the nether world. Mostof the ceremonies and mysteries to which the people crowd are connectedwith death. They hope that the folly over which they waste so manyhours will smooth their way to the fields of the blest, and yet theythemselves close the road by the pleasures they indulge in. But thefullness of time is now come; the straight road lies open to allmankind, called as they are to a higher life in a new world, and he whofollows it may await death as gladly as the bride awaits the bridegroomon her marriage day. Yes, I prayed to my God for your dying mother, thesweetest and best of women. But what I asked for her was not that herlife might be preserved, or that she might be permitted to linger longeramong us, but that the next world might be opened to her in all itsglory."
At this point the speaker was interrupted by an armed troop which thrustthe crowd aside to make way for the steers which were to be slaughteredin the Temple of Serapis at the approach of Caesar. There were severalhundred of them, each with a garland about its neck, and the handsomestwhich led the train had its horns gilded.
When the road was clear again, Andreas pointed to the beasts, andwhispered to his companion "Their blood will be shed in honor of thefuture god Caracalla. He once killed a hundred bears in the arena withhis own hand. But I tell you, child, when the fullness of time is come,innocent blood shall no more be shed. You were speaking with enthusiasmof the splendor of the Roman Empire. But, like certain fruit-trees inour garden which we manure with blood, it has grown great on blood, onthe life-juice of its victims. The mightiest realm on earth owes itspower to murder and rapine; but now sudden destruction is coming on theinsatiate city, and visitation for her sins."
"And if you are right--if the barbarians should indeed destroy thearmies of Caesar," asked Melissa, looking up in some alarm at theenthusiast, "what then?"
"Then we may thank those who help to demolish the crumbling house!"cried Andreas, with flashing eyes.
"And if it should be so," said the girl, with tremulous anxiety, "whatuniversal ruin! What is there on earth that could fill its place? Ifthe empire falls into the power of the barbarians, Rome will be madedesolate, and all the provinces laid waste which thrive under herprotection."
"Then," said Andreas, "will the kingdom of the Spirit arise, in whichpeace and love shall reign instead of hatred and murder and wars. Thereshall be one fold and one Shepherd, and the least shall be equal withthe greatest."
"Then there will be no more slaves?" asked Melissa, in growingamazement.
"Not one," replied her companion, and a gleam of inspiration seemed tolight up his stern features. "All shall be free, and all united in loveby the grace of Him who hath redeemed us."
But Melissa shook her head, and Andreas, understanding what was passingin her mind, tried to catch her eye as he went on:
"You think that these are the impossible wishes of one who has himselfbeen a slave, or that it is the remembrance of past suffering andunutterable wrong which speaks in me? For what right-minded man wouldnot desire to preserve others from the misery which once crushed himto earth with its bitter burden?--But you are mistaken. Thousands offree-born men and women think as I do, for to them, too, a higher Powerhas revealed that the fullness of time is now come. He, the Greatest andBest, who made all the woes of the world His own, has chosen the poorrather than the rich, the suffering rather than the happy, the babesrather than the wise and prudent; and in his kingdom the last shall befirst--yea, the least of the last, the poorest of the poor; and they,child, are the slaves."
He ended his diatribe with a deep sigh, but Melissa pressed the handwhich held hers as they walked along the raised pathway, and said: "PoorAndreas! How much you must have gone through before Polybius set youfree!"
He only nodded, and they both remained silent till they found themselvesin a quiet side street. Then the girl looked up at him inquiringly, andbegan again:
"And now you hope for a second Spartacus? Or will you yourself lead arebellion of the slaves? You are the man for it, and I can be secret."
"If it has to be, why not?" he replied, and his eyes sparkled with astrange fire. But seeing that she shrank from him, a smile passed overhis countenance, and he added in a soothing tone: "Do not be alarmed,my child; what must come will come, without another Spartacus, orbloodshed, or turmoil. And you, with your clear eyes and your kindheart, would you find it difficult to distinguish right from wrong, andto feel for the sorrows of others--? Yes, perhaps! For what will notcustom excuse and sanctify? You can pity the bird which is shut into acage too small for it, or the mule which breaks down under too heavy aload, and the cruelty which hurts them rouses your indignation. But forthe man whom a terrible fate has robbed of his freedom, often throughthe fault of another, whose soul endures even greater torments than hisdespised body, you have no better comfort than the advice which mightindeed serve a philosopher, but which to him is bitter mockery: tobear his woes with patience. He is only a slave, bought, or perhapsinherited. Which of you ever thinks of asking who gave you, who arefree, the right to enslave half of all the inhabitants of the RomanEmpire, and to rob them of the highest prerogative of humanity? I knowthat many philosophers have spoken of slavery as an injustice doneby the strong to the weak: but they shrugged their shoulders over itnevertheless, and excused it as an inevitable evil; for, thought they,who will serve me if my slave is regarded as my equal? You only smileat this confusion of the meditative recluses, but you forget"--and asinister fire glowed in his eyes--"that the slave, too, has a soul, inwhich the same feelings stir as in your own. You never think how aproud man may feel whose arm you brand, and whose very breath of life isindignity; or what a slave thinks who is spurned by his master's foot,though noble blood may run in his veins. All living things, even theplants in the garden, have a right to happiness, and only develop fullyin freedom, and under loving care;
and yet one half of mankind robs theother half of this right. The sum total of suffering and sorrow to whichFate had doomed the race is recklessly multiplied and increased by theguilt of men themselves. But the cry of the poor and wretched has goneup to heaven, and now that the fullness of time is come, 'Thus far, andno farther,' is the word. No wild revolutionary has been endowed witha giant's strength to burst the bonds of the victims asunder. No, theCreator and Preserver of the world sent his Son to redeem the poor inspirit, and, above all, the brethren and the sisters who are weary andheavy laden. The magical word which shall break the bars of the prisonswhere the chains of the slaves are heard is Love.... But you, Melissa,can but half comprehend all this," he added, interrupting the ardentflow of his enthusiastic speech. "You can not understand it all. Foryou, too, child, the fullness of time is coming; for you, too, freebornthough you are, are, I know, one of the heavy laden who patiently sufferthe burden laid upon you. You too--But keep close to me; we shall findit difficult to get through this throng."
It was, in fact, no easy matter to get across the crowd which waspouring noisily down the street of Hermes, into which this narrow wayled. How ever, they achieved it, and when Melissa had recovered herbreath in a quiet lane in Rhakotis, she turned to her companion againwith the question, "And when do you suppose that your predictions willbe fulfilled?"
"As soon as the breeze blows which shall shake the overripe fruitfrom the tree. It may be tomorrow, or not yet, according to thelong-suffering of the Most High. But the entire collapse of the world inwhich we have been living is as certain to come as that you are walkinghere with me!"
Melissa walked on with a quaking heart, as she heard her friend's toneof conviction; he, however, was aware that the inmost meaning of hiswords was sealed to her. To his inquiry, whether she could not rejoicein the coming of the glorious time in store for redeemed humanity, sheanswered, tremulously:
"All you hope for is glorious, no doubt, but what shall lead to it mustbe a terror to all. Were you told of the kingdom of which you speak byan oracle, or is it only a picture drawn by your imagination, a vision,and the offspring of your soul's desire?"
"Neither," said Andreas, decidedly; and he went on in a louder voice:"I know it by revelation. Believe me, child, it is as certainly true asthat the sun will set this night. The gates of the heavenly Jerusalemstand open, and if you, too, would fain be blessed--But more of thislater. Here we are at our journey's end."
They entered the Christian home, where they found Diodoros, on acomfortable couch, in a spacious, shady room, and in the care of afriendly matron.
But he was in an evil case. The surgeon thought his wound a serious one;for the heavy stone which had hit him had injured the skull, and theunhappy youth was trembling with fever. His head was burning, and itwas with difficulty that he spoke a few coherent words. But his eyesbetrayed that he recognized Melissa, and that it was a joy to him tosee her again; and when he was told that Alexander had so far escaped,a bright look lighted up his countenance. It was evidently a comfortto him to gaze on Melissa's pretty face; her hand lay in his, and heunderstood her when she greeted him from her father, and spoke to him ofvarious matters; but the lids ere long closed over his aching eyes.
Melissa felt that she must leave him to rest. She gently released hishand from her grasp and laid it across his breast, and moved no more,excepting to wipe the drops from his brow. Solemn stillness had reignedfor some time in the large, clean house, faintly smelling of lavender;but, on a sudden, doors opened and shut; steps were heard in theanteroom, seats were moved, and a loud confusion of men's voices becameaudible, among them that of Andreas.
Melissa listened anxiously to the heated discussion which had alreadybecome a vehement quarrel. She longed to implore the excited wranglersto moderate their tones, for she could see by her lover's quivering lipsthat the noise hurt him; but she could not leave him.
The dispute meanwhile grew louder and louder. The names of Montanus andTertullian, Clemens and Origen, fell on her ear, and at last she heardAndreas exclaim in high wrath: "You are like the guests at a richlyfurnished banquet who ask, after they have well eaten, when the meatwill be brought in. Paraclete is come, and yet you look for another."
He was not allowed to proceed; fierce and scornful contradiction checkedhis speech, till a voice of thunder was heard above the rest:
"The heavenly Jerusalem is at hand. He who denies and doubts the callingof Montanus is worse than the heathen, and I, for one, cast him off asneither a brother nor a Christian!"
This furious denunciation was drowned in uproar; the anxious girl heardseats overturned, and the yells and shouts of furious combatants; thesuffering youth meanwhile moaned with anguish, and an expression ofacute pain was stamped on his handsome features. Melissa could bear itno longer; she had risen to go and entreat the men to make less noise,when suddenly all was still.
Diodoros immediately became calmer, and looked up at the girl asgratefully as though the soothing silence were owing to her. She couldnow hear the deep tones of the head of the Church of Alexandria,and understood that the matter in hand was the readmission into thiscongregation of a man who had been turned out by some other sect. Somewould have him rejected, and commended him to the mercy of God; others,less rigid, were willing to receive him, since he was ready to submit toany penance.
Then the quarrel began again. High above every other voice rose theshrill tones of a man who had just arrived from Carthage, and whoboasted of personal friendship with the venerable Tertullian. Thelistening girl could no longer follow the connection of the discussion,but the same names again met her ear; and, though she understood nothingof the matter, it annoyed her, because the turmoil disturbed her lover'srest.
It was not till the sick-nurse came back that the tumult was appeased;for, as soon as she learned how seriously the loud disputes of herfellow-believers were disturbing the sick man's rest, she interfered soeffectually, that the house was as silent as before.
The deaconess Katharine was the name by which she was known, and in afew minutes she returned to her patient's bedside.
Andreas followed her, with the leech, a man of middle height, whoseshrewd and well-formed head, bald but for a little hair at the sides,was set on a somewhat ungainly body. His sharp eyes looked hither andthither, and there was something jerky in his quick movements; still,their grave decisiveness made up for the lack of grace. He paid no heedto the bystanders, but threw himself forward rather than bent over thepatient, felt him, and with a light hand renewed his bandages; andthen he looked round the room, examining it as curiously as though heproposed to take up his abode there, ending by fixing his prominent,round eyes on Melissa. There was something so ruthlessly inquisitive inthat look that it might, under other circumstances, have angered her.However, as it was, she submitted to it, for she saw that it was shrewd,and she would have called the wisest physician on earth to her lover'sbedside if she had had the power.
When Ptolemaeus--for so he was called--had, in reply to the question,"who is that?" learned who she was, he hastily murmured: "Then she cando nothing but harm here. A man in a fever wants but one thing, and thatis perfect quiet."
And he beckoned Andreas to the window, and asked him shortly, "Has thegirl any sense?"
"Plenty," replied the freedman, decisively.
"As much, at any rate, as she can have at her age," the other retorted."Then it is to be hoped that she will go without any leave-taking ortears. That fine lad is in a bad way. I have known all along what mightdo him good, but I dare not attempt it alone, and there is no one inAlexandria.... But Galen has come to join Caesar. If he, old ashe is--But it is not for the likes of us to intrude into Caesar'squarters--Still--"
He paused, laying his hand on his brow, and rubbing it thoughtfully withhis short middle finger. Then he suddenly exclaimed: "The old man wouldnever come here. But the Serapeum, where the sick lie awaiting divineor diabolical counsel in dreams--Galen will go there. If only we couldcarry the boy thither."
&nbs
p; "His nurse here would hardly allow that," said Andreas, doubtfully.
"He is a heathen." replied the leech, hotly. "Besides, what has faith todo with the injury to the body? How many Caesars have employed Egyptianand Jewish physicians? The lad would get the treatment he needs, and,Christian as I am, I would, if necessary, convey him to the Serapeum,though it is of all heathen temples the most heathen. I will find out byhook or by crook at what time Galen is to visit the cubicles. To-morrow,or next day at latest; and to-night, or, better still, to-morrow morningbefore sunrise, I will have the youth carried there. If the deaconessrefuses--"
"And she will," Andreas put in.
"Very well.--Come here, maiden," he beckoned to Melissa, and went onloud enough for the deaconess to hear: "If we can get your betrothedto the Serapeum early to-morrow, he may probably be cured; otherwise Irefuse to be responsible. Tell your friends and his that I will be herebefore sunrise to-morrow, and that they must provide a covered litterand good bearers."
He then turned to the deaconess, who had followed him in silence, withher hands clasped like a deserter, laid his broad, square hand on hershoulder, and added:
"So it must be, Widow Katharine, Love endures and suffers all things,and to save a neighbor's life, it is well to suffer in silence eventhings that displease us. I will explain it all to you afterwards.Quiet, only perfect quiet--No melancholy leave-taking, child! The sooneryou are out of the house the better."
He went back again to the bed, laid his hand for a moment on the sickman's forehead, and then left the room.
Diodoros lay still and indifferent on the couch. Melissa kissed him onthe brow, and withdrew without his observing it, her eyes full of tears.