Saul of Tarsus: A Tale of the Early Christians

  CHAPTER XVI

  A MATTER HANDLED WISELY

  Flaccus Avillus, Proconsul of Egypt, held audience in his atrium. Hereceived a commission of three from the Jews of Alexandria. One wasAlexander Lysimachus, who came with a civil petition; the other twowere despatched from the congregation with a hieratic memorial.

  The three were stately and deliberate in manner, handsome even fortheir years, and as courtly as Jews can be when they bring up theirnative grace to the highest standard of culture. They were bearded,gowned in linen, covered with tarbooshes, and as they walked theirindoor sandals made no sound upon the polished pavement of the atrium.

  One wore on his left arm a phylactery, the last clinging to the oldformality which had separated his fathers' class in Judea from theothers, as a Pharisee. The second was an Alexandrian Sadducee. Thethird had over his shoulders the cloak of a magistrate.

  Flaccus did not rise from his curule as they approached, but hereturned their greetings with better grace than they had formerlyexpected of a Roman governor.

  "Be greeted," he said bluntly. "And sit; ye are elderly men!"

  Lysimachus took the nearest chair and the others retired a little wayto an indoor exedra.

  Flaccus thrust away parchments and writings to let his elbow rest onhis table, ordered the bearers of the fasces to withdraw to a lessconspicuous position, and looked at Lysimachus.

  "Thou lookest grave, Alexander," he said. "Art thou commissioned witha perplexity?"

  The alabarch, being a magistrate and therefore recognized by Romebefore the synagogue, answered readily.

  "Not so much perplexed, good sir, as troubled. I come with a petition,not in writing, but nevertheless most urgent."

  "Let me hear it," Flaccus said.

  "Nay, then; thou knowest that a certain celebration of the Gentiles inthis city is approaching. It is a feast of much magnitude and of muchlawlessness. Thou knowest the temper of the city toward my people, andafter three days of drunkenness, Alexandria will love the Jew no more,but much less. Thou rememberest, as I and my people remember withmourning, that last year, the excited multitude, that followed Flora'strail of yellow roses through the Regio Judaeorum, fell upon the Jews bythe way and slaughtered and sacked as if it had been warfare instead offestivity. It was a new diversion for the multitude, and one like tobe repeated. But we, who are led to believe by thy recent good willthat thou dost not cherish Rome's ancient prejudice against our race,come unto thee and hopefully beseech thee to forbid the Flora to leadher rioters upon our peaceful community."

  "I have already warned the praetor," Flaccus responded, "that Flora isnot to run through the Regio Judaeorum this year."

  "The praetor dare not disobey thee," Lysimachus said, with a tone offinality in his voice.

  Flaccus smiled grimly.

  "Nor Flora," he added.

  "Thou hast our people's gratitude and allegiance; mine own thankfulnessand blessings," Lysimachus responded heartily.

  Flaccus waved his hand, and glanced at the other two, sitting aside.

  "And ye?" he said. "Are ye but a portion of the alabarch's commission?"

  "Nay, good sir," the Sadducee answered, "we come upon a mission for thecongregation."

  Lysimachus arose, but the Sadducee turned to him with a bow.

  "Pray thee, sir, it concerns thee as well. Wilt thou abide longer andhear us?"

  The alabarch inclined his head and sat down. Flaccus signified that hewas ready to hear them.

  "Thou didst ask our brother, the alabarch, if he were commissioned witha perplexity," the Sadducee continued. "Not he, but we come perplexed.Were we Jews in Judea, the method would be laid down to us by Law. Butin Alexandria we have grown away from the method, while yet we have thesame object to achieve."

  "We lose in guidance what we gain in freedom," the Pharisee added.

  "In Judea," the Sadducee continued, "they are still bound by the usagesof the Mosaic Law. An offender against the Law is stoned. We do notstone in Alexandria; yet we have the offender, and suffer the offense.What, then, shall we do to cleanse our skirt and yet offer no violenceto our advanced thinking?"

  "Give me thy meaning," the proconsul said impatiently.

  "Perchance it hath come to thee that there is a sect known as theNazarenes, followers of Jesus of Nazareth, which are spreading like apestilence on the wind over the world. So full of them is Judea, evenDavid's City, that the Sanhedrim, in alliance with the Roman legate, isproceeding against them with extreme punishment."

  "I have heard," Flaccus assented.

  "But the numbers have grown so great and so far-reaching that theSanhedrim hath achieved little more than to drive them abroad into theworld."

  "So the legate informs me," Flaccus added.

  "Perchance then thou knowest that Alexandria hath its share."

  "I do."

  "Even the Regio Judaeorum."

  "Strange," Lysimachus broke in. "Strange, if they be suchlaw-breakers, as they are reputed to be, that they have not beenbrought before me for rebellion and violence, ere this!"

  The Pharisee put his plump white hands together.

  "Thou touchest upon the perplexity, brother," he said, addressinghimself to Lysimachus. "We are warned by the scribe of Saul of Tarsus,who leadeth the war against the heretics, that they are invidiousworkers of sedition; whisperers of false doctrines and pretenders oflove and humility. They do not persuade the rich man nor the powerfulman nor the learned man. They labor among the poor and the despisedand the ignorant. Saul, himself, though first to be awakened to theperil of the heresy, did not dream how immense an evil he had attackeduntil he found the half of Jerusalem fleeing from him. Wherefore,brother, we may be built upon the sliding sands of an evil doctrine;the whole Regio Judaeorum may be going astray after this apostasy erethe powers know it."

  Lysimachus stroked his white beard and looked incredulous.

  "The Jews of Alexandria will not tolerate a persecution," he saidemphatically.

  "So thou dost grasp the perplexity wholly," the Sadducee said. "Whatshall we do?" he turned to the proconsul.

  "I am to advise, then?" Flaccus asked indifferently.

  "Thou wilt not suffer them to lead our men-servants and ourmaid-servants and our artisans into heresy?" the Pharisee asked.

  "We do not persecute in Alexandria, thou saidst," Flaccus observed.

  "No," declared Lysimachus. "If all the Regio Judaeorum were as wethree, the apostates might come and go, strive their best and die oftheir own misdeeds, unincreased in number or in goods. But theclamoring voice of the mass--nay, even Caesar hath harkened to it!Those that have not followed the Nazarenes demand that they be cut offfrom us. But we can not kill, and not even death daunts a Nazarene.Commend thyself, Flaccus, that thou didst call my brothers' mission aperplexity."

  "So you have come formally to me with your people's plaint and expectme to solve a question that you yourselves can not solve," Flaccussaid. "_Poena_! But you are a helpless lot! I shall pen the hereticsin Rhacotis forthwith, and command them neither to visit nor to bevisited! Is it enough?"

  The three Jews arose.

  "It is wisdom," said the Sadducee.

  "It will serve," the Pharisee observed.

  "I shall ferret them out," Lysimachus said.

  "Thanks," the three observed at once. "Peace to all this house."

  Flaccus waved his hand and the three passed out.