_ AND everything had failed. Vinicius lowered himself to the degree
that he sought support from freedmen and slaves, both those of
Caesar and Poppaea; he overpaid their empty promises, he won
their good will with rich gifts. He found the first husband of
Poppaea, Rufus Crispinus, and obtained from him a letter. He gave
a villa in Antium to Rufius, her son by the first marriage; but
thereby he merely angered Caesar, who hated his step-son. By a
special courier he sent a letter to Poppaea's second husband, Otho,
in Spain. He sacrificed his property and himself, until he saw at
last that he was simply the plaything of people; that if he had
pretended that the imprisonment of Lygia concerned him little, he
would have freed her sooner.
Petronius saw this, too. Meanwhile day followed day. The
amphitheatre was finished. The "tesserae" were distributed, -- that
is, tickets of entrance, to the ludus matutinus (morning games).
But this time the morning games, because of the unheard-of
number of victims, were to continue for days, weeks, and months.
It was not known where to put the Christians. The prisons were
crammed, and fever was raging iO them. The puticuli -- common
pits in which slaves were kept -- began to be overfilled. There was
fear that diseases might spread over the whole city hence, haste.
All these reports struck the ears of Vinicius, extinguishing in him
the last hope. While there was yet time, he might delude himself
with the belief that he could do something, but now there was no
time. The spectacles must begin. Lygia might find herself any day
in a cuniculum of the circus, whence the only exit was to the
arena. Vinicius, not knowing whither fate and the cruelty of
superior force might throw her, visited all the circuses, bribed
guards and beast-keepers, laying before them plans which they
could not execute. In time he saw that he was working for this
only, -- to make death less terrible to her; and just then he felt that
instead of brains he had glowing coals in his head.
For the rest he had no thought of surviving her, and determined to
perish at the same time, But he feared lest pain might burn his life
out before the dreadful hour came. His friends and Petronius
thought also that any day might open the kingdom of shadows
before him. His face was black, and resembled those waxen masks
kept in lararia. In his features astonishment had grown frigid, as if
he hid no understanding of what had happened and what might
happen. When any one spoke to him, he raised his hands to his
face mechanically, and, pressing his temples, looked at the speaker
with an inquiring and astonished gaze. He passed whole nights
with Ursus at Lygia's door in the prison; if she commanded him to
go away and rest, he returned to Petronius, and walked in the
atrium till morning. The slaves found him frequently kneeling with
upraised hands or lying with his face to the earth. He prayed to
Christ, for Christ was his last hope. Everything had failed him.
Only a miracle could save Lygia; hence he beat the stone flags
with his forehead and prayed for the miracle.
But he knew enough yet to understand that Peter's prayers were
more important than his own. Peter had promised him Lygia, Peter
had baptized him, Peter had performed miracles, let him give aid
and rescue.
And a certain night he went to seek the Apostle. The Christians, of
whom not many remained, had concealed him now carefully even
from other brethren, lest any of the weaker in spirit might betray
him wittingly or unwittingly. Vinicius, amid the general confusion
and disaster, occupied also in efforts to get Lygia out of prison,
had lost sight of Peter, he had barely seen him once from the time
of his own baptism till the beginning of the persecution. But
betaking himself to that quarryman in whose hut he was baptized,
he learned that there would be a meeting outside the Porta Salaria
in a vineyard which belonged to Cornelius Pudens. The quarryman
offered to guide him, and declared that he would find Peter there.
They started about dusk, and, passing beyond the wall, through
hollows overgrown with reeds, reached the vineyard in a wild and
lonely place. The meeting was held in a wine-shed. As Vinicius
drew near, the murmur of prayer reached his ears. On entering he
saw by dim lamplight a few tens of kneeling figures sunk in
prayer. They were saying a kind; of litany; a chorus of voices, male
and female, repeated every moment, "Christ have mercy on us." In
those voices, deep, piercing sadness and sorrow were heard.
Peter was present. He was kneeling in front of the others, before a
wooden cross nailed to the wall of the shed, and was praying.
From a distance Vimcius recognized his white hair and his
upraised hands. The first thought of the young patrician was to
pass through the assembly, cast himself at the Apostle's feet, and
cry, "Save!" but whether it was the solemnity of the prayer, or
because weakness bent the knees under Vinicius, he began to
repeat while he groaned and clasped his hands: "Christ have
mercy!" Had he been conscious, he would have understood that his
was not the only prayer in which there was a groan; that he was not
the only one who had brought with him his pain, alarm, and grief.
There was not in that assembly one soul which had not lost
persons dear to the heart; and when the most zealous and
courageous confessors were in prison already, when with every
moment new tidings were borne about of insults and tortures
inflicted on them in the prisons, when the greatness of the calamity
exceeded every imagination, when only that handful remained,
there was not one heart there which was not terrified in its faith,
which did not ask doubtfully, Where is Christ? and why does He
let evil be mightier than God? Meanwhile they implored Him
despairingly for mercy, since in each soul there still smouldered a
spark of hope that He would come, hurl Nero into the abyss, and
rule the world. They looked yet toward the sky; they listened yet;
they prayed yet with trembling. Vinicius, too, in proportion as they
repeated, "Christ have mercy on us!" was seized by such an ecstasy
as formerly in the quarryman's hut. Now from the depths they call
on Him in the profoundness of their sorrow, now Peter calls on
Him; so any moment the heavens may be rent, the earth tremble to
its foundations, and He appear in infinite glory, with stars at His
feet, merciful, but awful. He will raise up the faithful, and
command the abysses to swallow the persecutors.
Vinicius covered his face with both hands, and bowed to the earth.
immediately silence was around him, as if fear had stopped further
breathing on the lips of all present. And it seemed to him that
something must happen surely, that a moment of miracle would
follow. He felt certain that when he rose and opened his eyes he
would see a light from which mortal eyes would be blinded, and
hear a voice from which hearts would grow faint.
But the silence was unbroken. It was interrupted at last by the
sobbing of women. Vinicius rose and looked forward with dazed
eyes. In the shed, instead of glories not of earth, shone the faint
gleam of lanterns, and rays of the moon, entering through an
opening in the roof, filled the place with silvery light. The people
kneeling around Vinicius raised their tearful eyes toward the cross
in silence; here and there sobbing was heard, and from outside
came the warning whistles of watchmen. Meanwhile Peter rose,
and, turning to the assembly, said,--
"Children, raise your hearts to the Redeemer and offer Him your
tears."
After that he was silent.
All at once was heard the voice of a woman, full of sorrowful
complaint and pain, --
"I am a widow; I had one son who supported me. Give him back, O
Lord!" Silence followed again. Peter was standing before the
kneeling audience, old, full of care. In that moment he seemed to
them decrepitude and weakness personified. With that a second
voice began to complain,--
"Executioners insulted my daughter, and Christ permitted them!"
Then a third, --
"I alone have remained to my children, and when I am taken who
will give them bread and water?"
Then a fourth, --
"Linus, spared at first, they have taken now and put to torture, O
Lord!"
Then a fifth,--
"When we return to our houses, pretorians will seize us. We know
not where to hide."
"Woe to us! Who will protect us?"
And thus in that silence of the night complaint after complaint was
heard. The old fisherman closed his eyes and shook his white head
over that human pain and fear. New silence followed; the
watchman merely gave out low whistles beyond the shed.
Vinicius sprang up again, so as to break through the crowd to the
Apostle and demand salvation; but on a sudden he saw before him,
as it were, a precipice, the sight of which took strength from his
feet. What if the Apostle were to confess his own weakness, affirm
that the Roman Caesar was stronger than Christ the Nazarene?
And at that thought terror raised the hair on his head, for he felt
that in such a case not only the remnant of his hope would fall into
that abyss, but with it he himself, and all through which he had
life, and there would remain only night and death, resembling a
shoreless sea.
Meanwhile Peter began to speak in a voice so low at first that it
was barely possible to hear him, --
"My children, on Golgotha I saw them nail God to the cross. I
heard the hammers, and I saw them raise the cross on high, so that
the rabble might gaze at the death of the Son of Man. I saw them
open His side, and I saw Him die. When returning from the cross, I
cried in pain, as ye are crying, 'Woe! woe! O Lord, Thou art God!
Why hast Thou permitted this? Why hast Thou died, and why hast
Thou tormented the hearts of us who believed that Thy kingdom
would come?'
"But He, our Lord and God, rose from the dead the third day, and
was among us till He entered His kingdom in great glory.
"And we, seeing our little faith, became strong in heart, and from
that time we are sowing His grain."
Here, turning toward the place whence the first complaint came,
he began in a voice now stronger, --
"Why do ye complain? God gave Himself to torture and death, and
ye wish Him to shield you from the same. People of little faith,
have ye received His teaching? Has He promised you nothing but
life? He comes to you and says, 'Follow in my path.' He raises you
to Himself, and ye catch at this earth with your hands, crying,
'Lord, save us!' I am dust before God, but before you I am His
apostle and vicegerent. I speak to you in the name of Christ. Not
death is before you, but life; not tortures, but endless delights; not
tears and groans, but singing; not bondage, but rule! I, God's
apostle, say this: O widow, thy son will not die; he will be born
into glory, into eternal life, and thou wilt rejoin him! To thee, O
father, whose innocent daughter was defiled by executioners, I
promise that thou shalt find her whiter than the lilies of Hebron!
To you, mothers, whom they are tearing away from your orphans;
to you who lose fathers; to you who complain; to you who will see
the death of loved ones; to you the careworn, the unfortunate, the
timid; to you who must die, -- in the name of Christ I declare that
ye will wake as if from sleep to a happy waking, as if from night to
the light of God. In the name of Christ, let the beam fall from your
eyes, and let your hearts be inflamed."
When he had said this, he raised his hand as if commanding, and
they felt new blood in their veins, and also a quiver in their bones;
for before them was standing, not a decrepit and careworn old
man, but a potentate, who took their souls and raised them from
dust and terror.
"Amen!" called a number of voices.
From the Apostle's eyes came a light ever increasing, power issued
from him, majesty issued from him, and holiness. Heads bent
before him, and he, when the "Amen" ceased, continued: --
"Ye sow in tears to reap in joy. Why fear ye the power of evil?
Above the earth, above Rome, above the walls of cities is the Lord,
who has taken His dwelling within you. The stones will be wet
from tears, the sand steeped in blood, the valleys will be filled
with your bodies, but I say that ye are victorious. The Lord is
advancing to the conquest of this city of crime, oppression, and
pride, and ye are His legions! He redeemed with His own blood
and torture the sins of the world; so He wishes that ye should
redeem with torture and blood this nest of injustice. This He
announces to you through my lips."
And he opened his arms, and fixed his eyes upward; the hearts
almost ceased to beat in their breasts, for they felt that his glance
beheld something which their mortal sight could not see.
In fact, his face had changed, and was overspread with serenity; he
gazed some time in silence, as if speechless from ecstasy, but after
a while they heard his voice, --
"Thou art here, O Lord, and dost show Thy ways to me. True, O
Christ! Not in Jerusalem, but in this city of Satan wilt Thou fix
Thy capital. Here out of these tears and this blood dost Thou wish
to build Thy Church. Here, where Nero rules to-day, Thy eternal
kingdom is to stand. Thine, O Lord, O Lord! And Thou
commandest these timid ones to form the foundation of Thy holy
Zion of their bones, and Thou commandest my spirit to assume
rule over it, and over peoples of the earth. And Thou art pouring
the fountain of strength on the weak, so that they become strong;
and now Thou cornmandest me to feed Thy sheep from this spot,
to the end of ages. Oh, be Thou praised in Thy decrees by which
Thou commandest to conquer. Hosanna! Hosanna!"
Those who were timid rose; into those who doubted streams of
faith flowed. Some voices cried, "Hosanna!" others, "Pro Christo!"
Then silence followed. Bright summer lightning illuminated the
interior of the shed, and the pale, excited faces.
Peter, fixed in a vision, prayed a long time yet; but conscious at
last, he turned his inspired face, full of light, to the assembly, and
said, --
"This is how the Lord has overcome doubt in you; so ye will go to
victory in His name.
And though he knew that they would conquer, though he knew
what would grow out of their tears and blood, still his voice
quivered with emotion when he was blessing them with the cross,
and he said, --
"Now I bless you, my children, as ye go to torture, to death, to
eternity."
They gathered round him and wept. "We are ready," said they; "but
do thou, O holy head, guard thyself, for thou art the vicegerent
who performs the office of Christ."
And thus speaking, they seized his mantle; he placed his hands on
their heads, and blessed each one separately, just as a father does
children whom he is sending on a long journey.
And they began at once to go out of the shed, for they were in a
hurry, to their houses, and from them to the prisons and arenas.
Their thoughts were separated from the earth, their souls had taken
flight toward eternity, and they walked on as if in a dream, in
ecstasy opposing that force which was in them to the force and the
cruelty of the "Beast."
Nereus, the servant of Pudens, took the Apostle and led him by a
secret path in the vineyard to his house. But Vinicius followed
them in the clear night, and when they reached the cottage of
Nereus at last, he threw himself suddenly at the feet of the Apostle.
"What dost thou wish, my Son?" asked Peter, recognizing him.
After what he had heard in the vineyard, Vinicius dared not
implore him for anything; but, embracing his feet with both
hanbds, he pressed his forehead to them with sobbing, and called
for compassion in that dumb manner.
"I know. They took the maiden whom thou lovest. Pray for her."
"Lord," groaned Vinicius, embracing his feet still more
firmly,--"Lord, I am a wretched worm; but thou didst know Christ.
Implore
Him, -- take her part."
And from pain he trembled like a leaf; and he beat the earth with
his forehead, for, knowing the strength of the Apostle, he knew
that he alone could rescue her.
Peter was moved by that pain. He remembered how on a time
Lygia herself, when attacked by Crispus, lay at his feet in like
manner imploring pity. He remembered that he had raised her and
comforted her; hence now he raised Vinicius.
"My son," said he, "I will pray for her; but do thou remember that I
told those doubting ones that God Himself passed through the
torment of the cross, and remember that after this life begins
another, -- an eternal one."
"I know; I have heard!" answered Vinicius, catching the air with
his pale lips; "but thou seest, lord, that I cannot! If blood is
required, implore Christ to take mine, -- I am a soldier. Let Him
double, let Him triple, the torment intended for her, I will suffer it;
but let Him spare her. She is a child yet, and He is mightier than
Caesar, I believe, mightier. Thou didst love her thyself; thou didst
bless us. She is an innocent child yet."
Again he bowed, and, putting his face to Peter's knees, he
repeated, --
"Thou didst know Christ, lord, -- thou didst know Him. He will
give ear to thee; take her part."
Peter closed his lids, and prayed earnestly. The summer lightning
illuminated the sky again. Vinicius, by the light of it, looked at the
lips of the Apostle, waiting sentence of life or death from them. In
the silence quails were heard calling in the vineyard, and the dull,
distant sound of treadmills near the Via Salaria.
"Vinicitis," asked the Apostle at last, "dost thou believe?"
"Would I have come hither if I believed not?" answered Vinicius.
"Then believe to the end, for faith will remove mountains. Hence,
though thou wert to see that maiden under the sword of the
executioner or in the jaws of a lion, believe that Christ can save
her. Believe, and pray to Him, and I will pray with thee."
Then, raising his face toward heaven, he said aloud, --
"O merciful Christ, look on this aching heart and console it! O
merciful Christ, temper the wind to the fleece of the lamb! O
merciful Christ, who didst implore the Father to turn away the
bitter cup from Thy mouth, turn it from the mouth of this Thy
servant! Amen."
But Vinicius, stretching his hand toward the stars, said,
groaning, --
"I am Thine; take me instead of her."
The sky began to grow pale in the east. _