_ Unsus was taking water from a cistern, and while drawing up a
double amphora, with a rope, was singing a strange Lygian song in
an undertone, looking meanwhile with delighted eyes at Lygia and
Vinicius, who, among the cypresses in Linus's garden, seemed as
white as two statues. Their clothing was not moved by the least
hreeze. A golden and lily-colored twilight was sinking on the
world while they were conversing in the calm of evening, each
holding the other by the hand.
"May not some evil meet thee, Marcus, because thou hast left
Antium without Caesar's knowledge?" asked Lygia.
"No, my dear," answered Vinieius. "Caesar announced that he
would shut himself in for two days with Terpnos, and compose
new songs. He acts thus frequently, and at such times neither
knows nor remembers aught else. Moreover, what is Caesar to me
since I am near thee and am looking at thee? I have yearned too
nsuch already, and these last nights sleep has left inc. More than
once, when I dozed from weariness, I woke on a sudden, with a
feeling that danger was hanging over thee; at times I dreamed that
the relays of horses which were to bear me from Antium to Rome
were stolen, -- hources with which I passed that road more swiftly
than any of Caesar's couriers. Besides, I could not live longer
without thee; I love thee too much for that, my dearest."
"I knew that thou wert consing. Twice Ursus ran out, at my
request, to the Carinai, and inquired for thee at thy house. Linus
laughed at me, and Ursus also."
It was, indeed, evident that she had expected him; for instead of
her usual dark dress, she wore a soft white stola, out of whose
heautiful folds her arms and head emerged like primroses out of
snow. A few ruddy anemones ornamented her hair.
Vinicius pressed his lips to her hands; then they sat on the stone
bench amidst wild grape-vines, and inclining toward each other,
were silent, looking at the twilight whose last gleams were
reflected in their eyes.
The eharos of the quiet evening niastered them completely.
"How calm it is here, and how beautiful the world is," said
Vinicius, in a lowered voice. "The night is wonderfully still. I feel
happier than ever in life before. Tell me, Lygia, what is this? Never
have I thought that there could be such love. I thought that lnve
was merely fire in the blood and desire; but now for the first time I
see that it is possible to love with every drop of one's blood and
every breath, and feel therewith suds sweet and immeasurable
calm as if Sleep and Death had put the soul to rest. For me this is
something new. I look on this calmness of the trees, and it seems
to be within me. Now I understand for the first time that there isiay
be happiness of which people have not known thus far, Now I
begin to understand why thou and Pomponia Gra~eina have such
peace. Yes! Christ gives it."
At that moment Lygia placed her beautiful face on his shoulder
and said, -- "My dear Marcus --" But she was unable to continue.
Joy, gratitude, and the feeling that at last slse was free to hove
deprived her of voice, and her eyes were filled with tears of
emotion.
\Tinieius, embracing her slender form with his arm, drew her
toward him and said,-- "Lygia! May the moment be blessed in
which I heard His name for the first tinne."
"I love thee, Marcus," said she then in a low voice.
Both were silent again, unable to bring words from their
overcharged breasts. The last lily reflections had died on the
cypresses, and the garden began to be silver-like from the crescent
of the moon. After a while Vinicius said,-- "I know. Barely had I
entered here, barely had I kissed thy dear hands, when I read in thy
eyes the question whether I had received the divine doctrine to
which thou art attached, and whether I was baptized. No, I am not
baptized yet; but knowest thou, my flower, why? Paul said to me: 'I
have convinced thee that God came into the world and gave
Himself to he crucified for its salvation; but let Peter wash thee in
the fountain of grace, he who first stretched his hands over thee
and blessed thee.' And I, my dearest, wish thee to witness nsy
baptism, and I wish Pomponia to be my godmother. This is why I
ans not baptized yet, thou?h I believe in the Saviour and in flis
teachtng. Paul has convinced me, has converted me; and could it
be otherwise? flow was I not to believe that Christ came into the
world, since he, who was His disciple, says so, and Paul, to whom
He appeared? How was I not to believe that He was God, since He
rose from the dead? Others saw Him in the city and on the lake
and on the mountain; people saw Him whose lips have not known
a lie. I began to believe this the first time I heard Peter in
Ostrianum, for I said to myself even then! In the whole world any
other man might lie rather than this one who says, 'I saw.' But I
feared thy religion. It seemed to me that thy religion would take
thee from me. I thought that there was neither wisdom nor beauty
nor happiness in it. But to-day, when know it, what kind of man
should I be were I not to wish truth to rule the world instead of
fahehood, love instead of hatred, virtue instead of crime,
faithfulness instead of unfaithfulness, mercy instead of vengeance?
What sort of man would he be who would not choose and wish the
same? But your religion teaches this. Others desire justice also;
but thy religion is the only one which makes man's heart just, and
besides makes it pure, like thine and Pomponia's, makes it
faitlsful, like thine and Pomponia's. I should be blind were 1 not to
see this, But if in addition Christ God has promised eternal life,
and has promised happiness as immeasurable as the all-might of
God can give, what more can one wish? Were I to ask Seneca why
he enjoins virtue, if wickedness brings more happiness, he would
not be able to say anything sensible. But I know now that I ought
to be virtuous, because virtue and love flow from Christ, and
because, when death closes my eyes, I shall find life and
happiness, I shall find myself and thee. Why not love and accept a
religion which both speaks the truth and destroys death? Who
would not prefer good to evil? I thought thy religion opposed to
happiness; meanwhile Paul has convinced me that not only does it
not take away, but that it gives. All this hardly finds a place in my
head; but I feel that it is true, for I have never been so happy,
neither could I be, had I taken thee by force and possessed thee in
my house. Just see, thou hast said a moment since, 'I love thee,'
and I could not have won these words from thy lips with all the
might of Rome. O Lygia! Reason declares this religion divine, and
the best; the heart feels it, and who can resist two such forces?"
Lygia listened, fixing on him her blue eyes, which in the light of
the moon were like mystic flowers, and bedcwcd like flowers.
"Yes, Marcus, that is true!" said she, nestling her head more
closely to his shoulder.
And at that moment they felt immensely happy, for they
understood that besides love they were united by another power, at
once sweet and irresistible, by which love itself becomes endless,
not subject to change, deceit, treason, or even death. Their hearts
were filled with perfect certainty that, no matter what might
happen, they would not cease to love and belong to each other. For
that reason an unspeakable repose flowed in on their souls.
Vinicius felt, besides, that that love was not merely profound and
pusc, but altogether new, -- such as the world had not known and
could not give. In his head all was combined in this love, -- Lygia,
the teaching of Christ, the light of the moon resting calmly on the
cypresses, and the still night, -- so that to him the whole universe
seemed filled with it.
After a while he said with a lowered arid quivering voice: "Thou
wilt be the soul of my soul, and the dearest in the world to me. Our
hearts will heat together, we shall have one prayer and one
gratitude to Christ. O my dear! To live together, to honor together
the sweet God, and to know that when death comes our eyes will
open again, as after a pleasant sleep, to a new light, -- what better
could be imagined? I only marvel that I did not understand this at
first. And knowest thou what occurs to me now? That no one can
resist this religion. In two hundred or three hundred years the
whole world will accept it. People will forget Jupiter, and there
will be no God except Christ, and no other temples but Christian.
Who would not wish his own happiness? Ah! but I heard Paul's
conversation with Petronius and dost thou know what Petronius
said at the end? 'That is not for me'; but he could give no other
answer."
"Repeat Paul's words to me," said Lygia.
"It was at my house one evening. Petronius began to speak
playfully and to banter, as he does usually, whereupon Paul said to
him: 'How canst thou deny, O wise Petronius, that Christ existed
and rose from the dead, since thou wert not in the world at that
time, but Peter and John saw Him, and I saw Him on the road to
Damascus? Let thy wisdom show, first of all, then, that we are
liars, and then only deny our testimony.' Petronius answered that
he had no thought of denying, for he knew that many
incomprehensible things were done, which trustworthy people
affirmed. 'But the discovery of some new foreign god is one
thing,' said he, 'and the reception of his teaching another. I have no
wish to know anything which' may deform life and mar its
beauty. Never mind whether our gods are true or not; they are
beautiful, their rule is pleasant for us, and we live without care.'
'Thou art willing to reject the religion of love, justice, and mercy
through dread of the cares of life,' replied Paul; 'but think,
Petronius, is thy life really free from anxieties? Behold, neither
thou nor any man among the richest and most powerful knows
when he falls asleep at night that he may not wake to a death
sentence. But tell me, if C2esar professed this religion, which
enjoins love and justice, would not thy happiness be more assured?
Thou art alarmed about thy delight, but would not life be more
joyous then? As to life's beauty and ornaments, if ye have reared so
many beautiful temples and statues to evil, revengeful, adulterous,
and faithless divinities, what would ye not do in honor of one God
of truth and mercy? Thou art ready to praise thy lot, because thou
art wealthy and living in luxury; but it was possible even in thy
case to be poor and deserted, though coming of a great house, and
then in truth it would have been better for thee if people confessed
Christ. In Rome even wealthy parents, unwilling to toil at rearing
children, cast them out of the house frequently; those children are
called alumni. And chance might have made thee an alumnus, like
one of those. But if parents live according to our religion, this
cannot happen. And hadst thou, at manhood's years, married a
woman of thy love, thy wish would be to see her faithful till death.
Meanwhile look around, what happens among you, what vileness,
what shame, what bartering in the faith of wives! Nay, ye
yourselves are astonished when a woman appears whom ye call
"univira" (of one husband). But I tell thee that those women who
carry Christ in their hearts will not break faith with their husbands,
just as Christian husbands will keep faith with their wives. But ye
are neither sure of rulers nor fathers nor wives nor children nor
servants. The whole world is trembling before you, and ye are
trembling before your own slaves, for ye know that any hour may
raise an awful war against your oppression, such a war as has been
raised more than once. Though rich, thou art not sure that the
command may not come to thee to-morrow to leave thy wealth;
thou art young, but to-morrow it may be necessary for thee to die.
Thou lovest, but treason is in wait for thee; thou art enamoured of
villas and statues, but to-morrow power may thrust thee forth into
the empty places of the Pandataria; thou hast thousands of
servants, but to-morrow these servants may let thy blood flow. And
if that be the case, how canst thou be calm and happy, how canst
thou live in delight? But I proclaim love, and I proclaim a religion
which commands rulers to love their subjects, masters their slaves,
slaves to serve with love, to do justice and be merciful; and at last
it promises happiness boundless as a sea without end. How, then,
Petronius, canst thou say that that religion spoils life, since it
corrects, and since thou thyself wouldst be a hundred times
happier and more secure were it to embrace the world as Rome's
dominion has embraced it?'
"Thus discussed Paul, and then Petronius said, 'That is not for me.'
Feigning drowsiness, he went out, and when going added: 'I prefer
my Eunice, O little Jew, but I should not wish to struggle with thee
on the platform.' I listened to Paul's words with my whole soul, and
when he spoke of our women, I magnified with all my heart that
religion from which thou hast sprung as a lily from a rich field in
springtime. And I thought then: There is Poppaea, who cast aside
two husbands for Nero, there is Calvia Crispinilla, there is Nigidia,
there are almost all whom I know, save only Pomponia; they
trafficked with faith and with oaths, but she and my own one will
not desert, will not deceive, and will not quench the fire, even
though all in whom I place trust should desert and deceive me.
Hence I said to thee in my soul, How can I show gratitude to thee,
if not with love and honor? Didst thou feel that in Antium I spoke
and conversed with thee all the time as if thou hadst been at my
side? I love thee a hundred times more for having escaped me
from Caesar's house. Neither do I care for Caesar's house any
longer; I wish not its luxury and music, I wish only thee. Say a
word, we will leave Rome to settle somewhere at a distance."
Without removing her head from his shouldcr, Lygia, as if
meditating, raised her eyes to the silver tops of the cypresses, and
answered, -- "Very well, Marcus. Thou hart written to me of Sicily,
where Aulus wishes to settle in old age." And Vinieius interrupted
her with delight.
"True, my dear! Our lands are adjacent. That is a wonderful coast,
where the climate is sweeter and the nights still brighter than in
Rome, odoriferous and transparent. There life and happiness are
almost one and the same."
And he began then to dream of the future.
"There we may forget anxieties. In groves, among olive-trees, we
shall walk and rest in the shade. O Lygia! what a life to love and
cherish each other, to look at the sea together, to look at the sky
together, to honor together a kind God, to do in peace what is just
and true."
Both were silent, looking into the future; only he drew her more
firmly toward him, and the knight's ring on his finger glittered
meanwhile in the rays of the moon. In the pan occupied by the
poor toiling people, all were sleeping; no murmur broke the
silence.
"Wilt thou permit me to see Pomponia?" asked Lygia.
"Yes, dear one. We will invite them to our house, or go to them
ourselves. If thou wish, we can take Peter the Apostle. Tie is
bowed down with age and work. Paul will visit us also, -- he will
convert Aulus Plautius; and as soldiers found colonies in distant
lands, so we will found a colony of Christians."
Lygia raised her hand and, taking his palm, wished to press it to
her lips; but he whispered, as if fearing to frighten happiness, --
"No, Lygia, no! It is I who honor thee and exalt thee; give me thy
hands." "I love thee."
He had pressed his lips to her hands, white as jessamine, and for a
time they heard only the beating of their own hearts. There was not
the slightest movement in the air; the cypresses stood as
motionless as if they too were holding breath in their breasts.
All at once the silence was broken by an unexpected thunder, deep,
and as if coming from under the earth. A shiver ran through Lygia's
body. Vinicius stood up, and said, -- "Lions are roaring in the
vivarium."
Both began to listen. Now the first thunder was answered by a
second, a third, a tenth, from all sides and divisions of the city. In
Rome several thousand lions were quartered at times in various
arenas, and frequently in the night~tirne they approached the
grating, and, leaning their gigantic heads against it, gave utterance
to their yearning for freedom and the desert. Thus they began on
this occasion, and, answering one another in the stillness of night,
they filled the whole city with roaring. There was something so
indescribably gloomy and terrible in those roars that Lygia, whose
bright and calm visions of the future were scattered, listened with
a straitened heart and with wonderful fear and sadness.
But Vinicius encircled her with his arm, and said, -- "Fear not, dear
one. The games are at hand, and all the vivaria are crowded."
Then both entered the house of Linus, accompanied by the thunder
of lions, growing louder and louder. _