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diff --git a/old/60537-0.txt b/old/60537-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 57aea9d..0000000 --- a/old/60537-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,6341 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Scenes and Portraits, by Frederic Manning - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: Scenes and Portraits - -Author: Frederic Manning - -Release Date: October 20, 2019 [EBook #60537] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SCENES AND PORTRAITS *** - - - - -Produced by D A Alexander, Nigel Blower and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) - - - - - - -Transcriber's Notes - -_Italic_ words in the original text have been marked in this version -with underscores. - -In addition to a few minor typographical errors which have been silently -corrected, the following changes were made: - -"assymetrical" changed to "asymmetrical" on Page 25. - -"destro" changed to "destra" on Page 226. - - - - - SCENES AND PORTRAITS - - - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - "MATRI CARISSIMAE" - - - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - SCENES AND - PORTRAITS - - - BY FREDERIC MANNING - AUTHOR OF "THE VIGIL OF BRUNHILD" - - - - - LONDON - JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET, W. - 1909 - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - PREFACE - - -It is a necessity of the human mind to give everything a name, thus -recognising a difference between one thing and another, and recording -it. Science, which is the highest development of this necessity, -recognises, and records systematically, all the facts of experience, -distinguishing one from another, by the most minute analysis. The Maoris -even go so far as bestow on their greenstone clubs, on their _tikis_, -and on almost every separate article, a distinct name, as if recognising -an individuality, much as the old myth-makers spoke of the sword -Excalibur; but the average man is usually very loose in his application -of terms. Renan in his preface to "Dialogues Philosophiques" writes: "La -grande majorité des hommes ... se divise en deux catégories, à égale -distance desquelles il nous semble qu' est la vérité. 'Ce que vous -cherchez est trouvé depuis longtemps,' disent les orthodoxes de toutes -les nuances. 'Ce que vous cherchez n'est pas trouvable,' disent les -positivistes pratiques (les seuls dangereux), les politiques railleurs, -les athées." Having thus differentiated his own position, from that of -either school, one is a little surprised to find Matthew Arnold saying -of him, that "the greatest intellect in France has declared for -materialism." One recognises how pernicious the loose application of -terms may be, and is a little irritated to discover a fine English -critic lapsing into the vice, even in an unguarded moment. Really, -thought, or at least any thought that justifies its existence, is too -subtile and fluid a thing to be settled in this off-hand way; and the -apparently childish custom of the Maoris is more scientific, since, at -least, it recognises individuality. - -Turn away from Renan to Euripides, and consider for a moment the present -conflict as to whether "The Bacchae" is a recantation by Euripides of -his supposed rationalistic opinions, or a more aggravated expression of -them. It seems impossible that there should be two suppositions, so far -removed from each other, about an existing book, in a known language, by -an author whose style is singularly lucid. "La chicane s'allonge," as -Montaigne said. We must seek for the truth at an equal distance from -both parties. Those who sustain either of the extreme theories are -equally clear and convincing in their arguments. As each party seems to -have a personal interest in the matter, we may be certain that it will -find what it is looking for, without much trouble; but they both seem to -be striving more often after a reputation for themselves than after the -real thought of their author. One ingenious critic even goes so far as -to assert that Dionysos does not work miracles, but merely hypnotises -the chorus into a belief that he has done so, to the great amusement of -the audience. Perhaps it is some mental disability which prevents me -from enjoying "The Bacchae" as a comedy, but I own I cannot. To Renan -and to Euripides one might apply the term ἀνὴρ δίψυχος. They were both -equally saturated with the scientific spirit of their age, though -inclining to the mystic temperament. They were both quickened by a deep -love and pity for humanity in all its moods and aspirations. They both -delighted keenly in popular legends and the mythology of the -country-side. Both were strongly individual minds, sensitive, reacting -to every contemporary influence, and yet preserving their peculiar -distinction in thought and style. Unbound by any system, moving easily -in all, they sought by the free exercise of reason and a profound irony -to cleanse their ages of much perilous stuff; and though Renan was not a -Christian in the common sense of the word, and though Euripides turned -away from the gods of his own day, yet each tried to save out of the -ruins of their faiths the subtile and elusive spirit which had informed -them; that divine light and inspiration, which is continually expressing -itself in new figures, and cannot be imprisoned in any vessel of human -fashioning. "Anima naturaliter Christiana," we can say of each. There -are in reality only two religions on this little planet, and they -perhaps begin and end with man. They are: the religion of the humble -folk, whose life is a daily communion with natural forces, and a bending -to them; and the religion of men like Protagoras, Lucretius, and -Montaigne, a religion of doubt, of tolerance, of agnosticism. Between -these two poles is nothing but a dreary waste of formalism, Pharisaism, -"perplexed subtleties about Instants, Formalities, Quiddities, and -Relations," all that bewildering of brains which comes from being shut -up in a narrow system, like an invalid in a poisoned and stifling room. - -I think that all the world's greatest men have had this quality of -double-mindedness. Take, for example, the curious paradox of -Epicureanism, which counsels a temperate pleasure, and yet condemns the -whole of life as being merely the pursuit of an unattainable desire; -reconciling us to life by the prospect of death, and to death by showing -us the vain efforts and innumerable vexations of life. The same -double-mindedness partly explains for us the difference between the -Socrates of Plato and the Socrates of Xenophon; though we must not -overlook the fundamental difference in the biographers. This elusive and -various quality of greatness has not, I think, been sufficiently -recognised. There is no more suggestive expression of it than the -character of Christ as sketched by Oscar Wilde in "De Profundis," which -may be supplemented by the masterly delineation of M. Loisy in his -prolegomena to "Les Evangiles Synoptiques." - -In the following studies, the principal influence is that of Renan; -though I profess I cannot gauge its full extent. The discourse of -Protagoras owes some of its principles to the dialogue "Certitudes"; but -the pivot, upon which the whole question turns, came directly from a -study of the "Theaetetus" and the "Protagoras," so that the debt is -scarcely perceptible. Protagoras himself practically does not exist for -us, we can only evoke a shadowy image of him from Plato, for whose -somewhat reactionary bias full allowance must be made. The result is a -vague reflection with blurred outlines, but gracious, and with neither -the greed nor the vanity of the other sophists. I do not think that -Renan's verdicts have influenced my treatment of St Paul. Renan has a -natural prejudice against _ce laid petit Juif_, with his Rabbinical -pseudo-science, and his blindness to the beauty of the Greek spirit, his -scorn of the "idols," and his misconception of what was meant by "the -unknown God." I do not share this prejudice. I am perfectly willing to -take a thing for what it is, and not to grumble at it for not being -other than it is. The strength of St Paul was like the strength of one -of Michelangelo's unfinished statues; the idea is emerging from the -marble, but it is still veiled, rude, scarred by the chisel, and not yet -quite free of its material. - -Machiavelli said that to renew anything we must return to its origins. -It is as true in literature as in life. My aim has been to derive -everything from the original source; but it is difficult to avoid being -touched by contemporary influences. The majority of these, in my case, -have been French. I am indebted for the two characteristic letters of -Innocent III. to Achille Luchaire's admirable history of that Pope, -which he fortunately lived to finish; and to the always fascinating -Gaston Boissier for his various work on Rome. I am under a deep -obligation to Mr L. Arthur Burd, as are all English students of -Machiavelli. Finally, I am indebted, more than I can say, to M. l'Abbé -Houtin for his interest and encouragement, and to Mr Arthur Galton for -his example and conversation. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - CONTENTS - - - PAGE - - I. THE KING OF URUK 1 - - II. AT THE HOUSE OF EURIPIDES 55 - - III. THE FRIEND OF PAUL 99 - - IV. THE JESTERS OF THE LORD 157 - - V. AT SAN CASCIANO 197 - - VI. THE PARADISE OF THE DISILLUSIONED 241 - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - _TO ARTHUR GALTON_ - - - - - I - - THE KING OF URUK - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - SCENES AND PORTRAITS - - - - - I - - THE KING OF URUK - - -When Merodach, the King of Uruk, sate down to his meals, he made his -enemies his foot-stool; for beneath his table he kept an hundred kings, -with their thumbs and great toes cut off, as living witnesses of his -power and clemency. When the crumbs fell from the table of Merodach, the -Kings would feed themselves with two fingers; and when Merodach observed -how painful and difficult the operation was, he praised God for having -given thumbs to man. - -"It is by the absence of thumbs," he said, "that we are enabled to -discern their use. We invariably learn the importance of what we lack. -If we remove the eyes from a man we deprive him of sight; and -consequently we learn that sight is the function of the eyes." - -Thus spake Merodach, for he had a scientific mind, and was curious of -God's handiwork; and when he had finished speaking the courtiers -applauded him. - -"Great is the power of the Great King, and most wonderful is his -wisdom," cried the courtiers; and the King shook out his napkin under -the table, shaking the crumbs among his prostrate enemies, for the -applause was pleasant to him; but from beneath the table came a harsh, -sarcastic voice. - -"Great is the power of the Great King, and most wonderful is his -wisdom," said the voice; "but neither from his power nor from his wisdom -can he fashion us new thumbs." - -Then was Merodach angry, and he bade his courtiers seize the speaker and -draw him from beneath the table; and the man they drew out was -Shalmaneser, who had been a king among the kings of Chaldæa. And at -first Merodach was of a mind to kill Shalmaneser; but, seeing that his -captive sought for death, his heart relented, and he bade his courtiers -restore him to his place beneath the table. - -"My power and my wisdom are great," he said; "since I have so afflicted -mine enemies that they fear not to tell me the truth." - -And when Merodach had eaten, he rose from the table and went out into -the gardens of the terrace where the nightingales were singing; but the -kings beneath the table smote Shalmaneser sorely upon both cheeks, and -upon his buttocks, and tore out the hair of his beard; for after that he -had spoken, Merodach had shaken out the crumbs from his napkin among -them no more, and they had supped poorly. - -Then Merodach wandered about in his garden, listening to the song of the -nightingales who nested there, and smelling the sweet smells of the -flowers that were odorous in the cool of the evening; and behind him, -fifty paces, there followed his guards, for he was afraid for his life. -The dew fell upon the glazed bricks, gleaming in the moonlight, and hung -from the trees and flowers like little trembling stars. Merodach leaned -his arms upon a balustrade and looked over the city which he had builded -on the left bank of the Euphrates, and watched the illuminated barges -that went up and down the river, rowing with music upon the waters; and -he looked toward the high temples looming into the night, and he thought -of his glory and was exceeding sad. - -"In a little time I die," he said; "but the city which I have builded -will be a witness for me while man survives on the earth." - -And from the barges came the pleasant sound of music, floating through -the night, and Merodach regretted that he would have to die, and in a -little while would walk no more through his garden in the cool of the -evening, listening to the sounds of life, and smelling the sweet breath -of the flowers. - -"In a little while the race of man will have perished from off the -earth," he said; "and there will be no memory of me, but the stars will -shine still above my ruined and tenantless palace." - -And the night-wind, laden with scents and sounds, shook the dew from the -trembling leaves, and moved his silken raiment; and Merodach was -overcome with a passion for life. - -"In a little time," he thought, "even the stars will have vanished." - -And from the adjoining gardens of his harem he heard the voices of women -waiting to pleasure their lord; and he went in unto them for he feared -to be alone. - - * * * * * - -In the garden of Merodach's harem, the Queen Parysatis held a feast in -honour of her daughter, the Princess Candace, who was eleven years old. -The Queen Parysatis lay upon a pile of cushions looking at a tragedy -that was being enacted by a company of eunuchs. The Princess Candace was -standing beside a deep basin of silver, seventy cubits in diameter, -called the Sea of Silver; and she threw sugar-plums to a troop of little -girls, who dived after them, gleaming fish-like in the luminous depths. -When she saw the King, her father, she stopped throwing sugar-plums, and -the little girls came out of the water, and sate upon the silver rim, -their wet, naked limbs glimmering in the moonlight. Then the Princess -Candace did homage before Merodach, bowing down before him and touching -his feet; and he stretched forth his hand to her, and led her to a -couch, because he loved his children, and she was as beautiful as the -new moon before it is a day old. - -Now it chanced that at that time the High-priest Bagoas, who was -High-priest of the temple of Bel at Nippur, was in the palace of the -King; and Merodach sent for him, desiring him to speak comfortable -doctrine and words cheering to the heart; and Bagoas came in unto -Merodach, and did homage before him, bowing down before him and touching -his feet; and there was no one in the cities of Babylonia more powerful -than Bagoas, unless it were the King himself. - -"As I walked in the garden in the evening," said Merodach, "I became -afflicted with a sense of human transience and of the vanity of -greatness. In a little time, I said, I shall be but a handful of dust. -Then I comforted myself with the thought that I should live in the -memory of man, through my monuments, while man survives upon the earth; -but in a little time man himself disappears, I said, and even the stars -are lost in darkness." - -And Bagoas smiled. - -"It is true, O King, man cometh upon the earth and rules it for a little -space, like a god. In hollow ships, he sails over the pathless sea; and -he has mapped out the heavens naming the stars; and he follows the -courses of the planets round the sun; and he knoweth the seasons of -reaping and sowing, by the constellations rising or setting in the sky. -His cunning mind has devised screws to draw water up out of the earth, -and pulleys and levers to uplift masses beyond his strength. He is a -master of populous cities, a weaver of delicate textures, a limner of -images in fair colours; he is a tamer of horses, skilled in the -knowledge of flocks and herds; with hooks he draweth fish out of the -sea, and with an arrow transfixes a bird on the wing; he fashions the -metals in fire, beating the gold and stubborn bronze to his will. He -understands the laws of Nature, and has named the force which draws the -earth round the sun, and the moon round the earth; but time is his -master, and he cannot find a remedy against death." - -"Nor fashion a thumb for man," said Merodach. - -"The fear of death is the greatest incitement to live," continued -Bagoas. "It is the goad which incessantly urges us to action. Our desire -to live, to persist in one form or another, impels us to beget children, -to overpower the imagination of future ages by the splendour of our -monuments and the record of our lives. We seek to stamp our image upon -our time, and influence our generation by every means in our power. But -even this is not enough, so we have built ourselves a little world -beyond the grave, a little haven beyond the waves of time. We believe -that our souls will exist when our bodies have fallen into decay and -escaped into a thousand different forms of new life, to be woven -eternally on the loom of perpetual change. We believe that death is -merely a transition, and that through virtue man is able to scale the -brazen ramparts of the city of the gods." - -"If he is very good," said the Princess Candace. - -"Little Princess," said Bagoas, smiling, "your beauty is like a bright -rainbow in the sky; the sunlight streaming upon drifting rain. Have you -ever considered the personality of man, O King? Everything that has -existed in the past exists in the soul of man. In its depths are the -primeval monsters, Apsu and Tiamat. In its heights are enthroned the -gods; action in it is heaped upon action to become habit, and habit upon -habit to become character; all that we have seen, all that we have -touched, the experience of the senses, the illusions of the brain, the -desires of the heart, our ancestors, our companions, our country and -occupations, all move and work mysteriously in our being. Each has left -its trace upon the personality of man. Do you seek immortality for -these? You will leave them with the world. Seek for yourself before you -seek for self's immortality. Beneath what you seem to be lies what you -think you are, and beneath that again lies what you are indeed." - -"Alas," cried Queen Parysatis, "such an immortality is too -unsubstantial. It is our illusions, our experiences, and our -aspirations, which give a savour to existence. What is the use of -immortality if we leave everything we love?" - -"Mankind, O King," answered Bagoas, "loves its imperfections more than -its perfections, and values as nothing an immortality which is devoid of -our human frailties, our pitiful human friendships, our personal -predilections which we obtusely term our principles." - -"It is true," said Merodach, "I die; but that which is mortal of me -remains upon earth to be a witness for me in the memory of man." - -"The whole of recorded time is but a second, a pulsation, in the ages," -answered Bagoas, "and the memory of man is the frailest of monuments. -The Temple of Bel at Nippur is not two thousand years old; yet its -bricks are engraven with a dead language, and we know not its builder's -name. So it will be with thy temples and cities, O King!" - -"I have said it," answered Merodach. - -"Perhaps after thousands of years have lapsed," continued Bagoas, "a -peasant will find a brick with thy name upon it, and cast it aside, or -tread it under foot. But even to-day I have met and spoken with a man in -whose horoscope it was written that his name would be remembered while -man exists upon the earth; yet he is naked, and his house is a cabin of -boughs." - -"Was it foreshadowed that he would become King?" enquired Merodach -anxiously. - -"No; his inheritance is poverty and pain." - -"What is his name?" enquired the King. - -"His name is Adam," answered Bagoas. - -Then there was a silence in the garden of the King's harem; and Merodach -wondered that the memory of one who went naked, and dwelt in a cabin of -boughs, should outlast the memory of a King before whom the nations -trembled, who went clothed in purple and fine linen, and whose palace -was built of thirty-five million bricks. But he consoled himself with -the thought that eventually even Adam would be forgotten, and the lights -of Sirius and Aldebaran extinguished. - -"Tell me of Adam," he said to Bagoas; and the Princess Candace drew -closer to listen. - -"Our life, O King, is a series of accidents," said Bagoas. "A little -thing is sufficient to divert the whole course of our progress; it has -even been said by our philosophers that the world itself is an accident, -and that God is chance. I am inclined to believe, being old-fashioned, -in Providence; for chance is merely a cause that is imperceptible, and -if the deflection of atoms falling through space caused the world, that -deflection was the result of some feature peculiar to the atoms -themselves. I believe that, if the world were formed in this way, the -cause was inherent in the atoms, and I believe that the progress of each -man through life is derived from causes inherent in himself. But the -operations of the human mind are so far removed from our experience, and -so elusive in themselves, that we cannot explain them otherwise than by -saying that Bel, by the hands of his angels, puts into man's mind ideas -of good or of evil according to the purpose of his inscrutable wisdom. -The greater part of man's life is purely spontaneous, sensible rather -than reasonable in so far as the majority of our actions do not result -from any reflective process, and hence it is unreasonable to ask a man -to give reasons for all his acts, as it would be to ask you, O King, to -give a reason for your last campaign." - -"That was a reason of State," said Merodach simply. - -"The reason was the reason of a great King, whose wisdom is as -inscrutable as the wisdom of Bel," answered Bagoas. "It was a lapse of -the mind that led me to Adam; one might say almost an act of Providence, -or to be scientific, chance. This morning at daybreak I had a desire to -ride abroad, for I had not slept during the night, and the sweetness of -the air enticed me into the country. I took a falcon upon my wrist. -Falconry was a delight of my youth. But I had barely proceeded a mile -before I became preoccupied with my own thoughts. The hares passed me -unobserved; the doves were free of the air. I was thinking how often man -has crept up toward civilisation, and then receded from it again, as the -tides creep up and recede from the beach; how the light of the world has -passed from nation to nation, and none have brought it to the goal; how -man forgets the evils which the last generation had abolished, and -rushes back upon them to escape from present evils; and it seemed to me -impossible that our race could attain to perfection in conditions of -such mutability. We sow our wisdom with full hands. We think that it may -increase fifty-fold. Alas! some of our seed falls in marshy places, some -among stones, some is devoured by the birds of the air, some flourishes -exceedingly, and is beaten down by storms of hail, or withered by the -fierce heat; and that which survives and bears fruit is scarcely -sufficient for the sowing of the field again. - -"Every night a priest of Bel watches the stars; with optic glasses he -explores the vast abyss, through which the sun and its choir of planets -journey toward their fate; and when his mind is troubled by that -infinity, his eyes seek thy city, O King, and mankind to him is but a -little heap of withered leaves, which a sudden wind whirls in a circling -dance. From his tower, O King, he looks upon thy city, which to us, from -here, is splendid with a multitude of lights, and murmurous with life. -He knows that in the streets the young man is seeking pleasure, that -women are bearing children, that the old are dying. All the wealth and -misery of the world are at his feet; and he turns again to that star -which is destined to burn up the world in a tumultuous kiss. What is the -lust of the young to him; the pangs of child-birth; the bitterness; the -regret; the anguish of approaching death? A little heap of withered -leaves suddenly caught up in a windy dance; a little flame, flickering -ere it goes out into darkness. - -"From this spirit of detachment in the philosopher is bred a -corresponding spirit of aloofness in the multitude. They see the towers -of Bel, black against the evening sky, and the watcher to them is but a -man enamoured of the silence, smitten with madness by the stars; a man -whose life is in the future, whose wisdom is but a sure foreknowledge of -death and fate, whose very presence among them is a prophecy of -corruption and change; and they ask, well may they ask! what is his -wisdom worth to us? The days are blue and gold, blue and silver are the -nights; and the birds are clamorous among the dripping boughs; why -should we pause to think of fate? What does his wisdom profit him when -in a little time he dies, and is equal with us in the dust? The flowers -bud, blossom, and seed, without thought for the departing year; the -birds go delightfully upon the ways of the wind, though the arrows which -shall bring them to earth are stored in the quiver. Shall we do -otherwise? - -"Truly the worshipper of wisdom is a lonely man. The results which he -obtains are never the possession of the many. They may excite the -curiosity of the few, they may become an affectation with the amateur, -but they do not touch the multitude, for to this last that only is good -which is good in its immediate effect. Miserable indeed, the race of man -seemed to me, O King; content that their mortal ambition should be -bounded by the limits of a day; seeking only fat pastures and pleasant -waters; and careless of the lot of their progeny, whose fate it is to -cover the whole earth with populous cities, and stream like a river of -fire, impetuous and consuming, into hidden and desolate places, which -only the eyes of the gods have seen as yet. The treasure of wisdom is a -treasure which is continually being lost, rediscovered, and lost again. -It is like the gold of the miser, hidden in the ground; his son does not -inherit it, but after many years some labourer turns it up with his -deep-driven ploughshare, and the coins ring against the stones, and lie -with tarnished brightness on the loose earth of the furrow. - -"A confused murmuring distracted my thought. I seemed to swim back to -reality out of a world of dreams. At first I thought that I had -approached a hive of wild bees; but the humming murmuring noise seemed -sweeter, more bird-like, until I saw that it came indeed from a -parliament of birds, which had congregated in the boughs of an -apple-tree, warbling there, and rising every now and then into the air, -with a great rushing of wings, to wheel above the tree and descend upon -it again in a thick cloud. I had strayed into a pleasant valley, where -the Euphrates flows between level meadows of wild wheat, enclosed, like -an amphitheatre, by well-wooded hills, which had already taken on the -tawny and golden tints of autumn. - -"On the lower slopes grew mulberries and oranges; above them, threaded -with opulent colouring, plane-trees and sycamores, yellowing oaks, and -the beautiful level boughs of dusky cedars, while from all sides came -the sound of falling water, chiming and tinkling into little hollows, or -thundering in cataracts, with a more imperious music, down precipitous -and rocky glens. The sunlit fields of ripe wheat swayed in the wind like -an undulating sea; the river gleamed like silver, and many coloured -lilies grew beside the brimming water, filling the air with a delicate -perfume. I looked about me in delight. It seemed a place sacred from the -profaning feet of man. At the same time, I had a curious sense of being -watched; and presently a young man rose out of the wild wheat before me, -and stood watching me, with an expression of curiosity qualified with -distrust." - -A languid interest was apparent in the faces of his audience. - -"It was Adam," said Merodach. - -"At last," said Queen Parysatis. - -"It was Adam," answered Bagoas, smiling. "I have attempted, O King, to -give you some notion of the thoughts which preoccupied me at my meeting -with him. My outlook upon things is historical, and therefore -necessarily pessimistic. Adam broke in upon my thoughts as a prophecy, a -promise. He was in his first manhood, almost still a boy, and -represented, in consequence, an earlier stage of evolution. He seemed in -fact half child, and half animal. He had the stature of a man; he was -well built, muscular, giving one the impression of an immense but -graceful strength, of easy movements. His features were handsome, but -unlike those usual in our country; the nose was a little rapacious, the -mouth cruel, but his eyes were full of dreams. It was the face of one -who looks towards distant horizons, having the immense calm of the -desert, and full of a sleeping energy. Youth softened it, and lent it a -delicate charm; but in age it will be terrible. And suddenly I heard a -sullen voice saying: 'This is my garden.' - -"I have noticed in all nomadic peoples, and in small scattered -communities, that however terse the language, and however limited the -vocabulary, the words are capable of innumerable shades of meaning. -Gesture and modulation lend force and precision to what is said. Perhaps -this is why the art of the theatre is always, at its best, the art of a -naïve and unsophisticated people. Life in town tends to the production -of a type, and individuality is suppressed; but life in the country, -where the conventions are few and simple, tends to the formation of -character. The theatric art, among town-dwellers, loses its broad -simplicity and that directness of purpose which show man in immediate -collision with facts, and is frittered away in mean motives and -intangible temperaments, substituting for the play of circumstances the -play of ideas. It is for the same reason that great empires always -perish at the heart first; because dwellers in towns become uniform, and -being surrounded by artificial circumstances are seldom brought into -direct conflict with facts, but learn to cheat themselves with fine -phrases and immaterial ideas." - -"The good Bagoas is really a little prolix," whispered Parysatis to -Merodach. - -Bagoas heard the interruption and continued tranquilly: - -"'This is my garden,' said Adam; and his words implied not only that I -was an intruder, and that he was a proprietor, but also that the garden -was beautiful, and that he was proud of it. I explained that I had lost -my way, that I was hungry, that I was tired; and even as I spoke a young -woman rose up out of the wheat and looked at me curiously. - -"'We have little,' said Adam. - -"They led me to their cabin of boughs, and brought me food; and they -were naked and were not ashamed. They were strangers to the use of fire, -and my meal consisted of nuts and honey, goat's milk and dates, such -food as, our poets say, nourished the people of the golden age. In front -of their cabin was an apple-tree, similar to the one upon which the -birds had congregated, only with golden instead of ruddy fruit. I asked -Adam if he would give me an apple from it. - -"'The tree is dedicated,' he said; 'and we may not eat of the fruit; it -is forbidden to us.' - -"'We may not even touch it with our hands,' said the woman, who was -called Eve; and she looked at the fruit covetously. - -"'To what god is it dedicated?' I enquired of them. - -"'It is dedicated to God,' replied Adam simply. - -"And I was surprised that this man, who had so many needs, should have -only one god; but very soon I found that his monotheism was but a rude -crystallisation of the spiritual forces of earth and air, a kind of -shamanism, though with the many considered as one. His god was the god -of fertility, who had caused the earth to put forth grass, and the trees -to bear fruit, and all things to bring forth after their kind; a god -whose voice was heard on the wind of the day, and who breathed into man -the breath of life. In his loneliness Adam had told himself stories as -children do, and, as with children, his imagination had laid hold with -such intensity of vision upon these fanciful adventures of his mind that -he seemed to live in a little world of his own creating, a land of -enchantment and of dreams. The wind, the waters, the leaves of the never -silent trees, the birds and the beasts of the field, all spoke in what -was to him an intelligible voice; and his god was a being not far -removed from himself, enjoying, even as Adam himself did, the cool of -the day, the blithe air, and the breath of the sweet flowers. - -"'How came it that this particular tree should be forbidden to you?' I -enquired of them, for I was curious of the spiritual workings of their -minds. - -"'In the day that we came into this garden,' answered Adam, 'I had a -desire to eat of the fruit, and I stretched my hand toward the tree when -I heard a voice upon the wind, saying: "In the day that ye eat thereof -ye shall surely die."' - -"'It is curious,' I murmured. 'The fruit is wholesome, one would think -that to eat thereof would give life rather than death.' - -"'If we ate of the fruit would we not die?' enquired Eve. - -"'If ye ate of it you would know,' I answered, smiling at the simplicity -of the question; and then I spoke to Adam of other things. I love the -conversation of the young, O King. It brings back to me the time when I, -too, had illusions, hopes, and ideals. The sole illusions remaining to -mine old age are the illusion of life, and the hope that where we have -failed our children may succeed. Adam believes that all men are -naturally good, and that it is society which makes them evil; he does -not see that society cannot be different from what it is since it is a -purely natural development, and that its laws were not made by men, but -are merely a recognition of certain instincts peculiar to mankind, and -of the effects which the exercise of these instincts invariably -produces. His point of view is that of the individual; and the egoism of -the individual is always in conflict with the collective egoism of the -state. He believes that men are born equal, and that society loads them -with chains. He cannot grasp the seeming paradox that what he imagines -to be the natural man is really artificial, and that what he imagines to -be an artificial society is really the expression of natural laws. Adam -himself is not natural, he is kindly and hospitable to strangers, he is -gentle, and loves his wife, he is practically a monotheist. - -"Every individual is like Adam in this. We are all idealists. All of us -have excellent intentions; but the world is so constituted that we can -never carry them out. Adam has never been in a great city, but he has -seen from afar the huge towers of Uruk looming into the night, and they -are to him in their proud invasion of the sky a symbol of man's -rebellion against the decrees of God, who fashioned him to be a feeble -creature, scratching about upon the surface of the earth, and to draw -his whole being from that shallow deposit of productive soil which he -cultivates laboriously. He considers our temples to be the work of some -demonic agency, for he does not think it possible that beings similar to -himself should uplift these gigantic masses into the air. Our works of -pride are, therefore, evil to him, since they differ from the works of -his native humility; to live like Adam is to live virtuously; and that -which is different from his mode of life is evil." - -Here Merodach and the Queen Parysatis laughed at the simplicity of Adam, -and the Princess Candace also laughed because she did not understand why -they were amused. Bagoas looked at his audience with a faint tolerant -smile. - -"You find Adam's standard of good and evil laughable," he said. "It is -in fact a little comic, but human, quite human, and quite logical. He -says in effect: 'I, Adam, am good; those who differ from me, differ from -what is good, and are consequently evil.' This position, which we find -so laughable in others, is really common to us all; only, unfortunately, -a sense of humour is a sense which we never apply to ourselves. Who will -deny that Adam is wise in limiting his desires to such things as lie -easily within his reach, if happiness be the end of wisdom? The earth -gives him of her fulness, the climate of his valley is mild and -temperate, snow does not fall there nor is it vexed by winds; the misery -of his fellows is hidden from him, he is without care for the morrow; in -limiting his desires he has extended the possibilities of delight, and -joy comes to him unexpectedly as if it were a miracle wrought by God." - -"A charming life!" exclaimed the Queen. "Your barbarians are like -children." - -"Yes; they are like children," answered Bagoas. "In fact they still are -children, and so I have treated them. I cast Adam's horoscope, and read -therein the wonderful things which the stars ordain for him. In this -horoscope I read that Adam is to be the father of a race which shall -revolutionise the world; a little obstinate people inhabiting a country -in the west toward the sea; a people of slaves, outraged and despised, -yet leavening all the peoples among whom they dwell. It is this race of -slaves that will pass on the light and wisdom of Chaldæa to nations as -yet unborn. While thy monuments, O King, are sleeping beneath the -drifted sands of the desert, the name of Adam will pass from tongue to -tongue, and distant peoples will come to think of him as the father of -the whole human race. The arts and sciences of Uruk will be forgotten, -and the world will be duped by a record of events which never happened, -myths and legends stolen from surrounding nations and woven into a -curious asymmetrical whole, full of contradictions and puerilities. - -"Truly in Adam's horoscope everything is a contradiction. From being the -happiest man, he will become the most miserable; after a life spent in -obscurity he will achieve almost an eternity of fame, and his children, -a race of slaves, will impose their law upon the world for nearly two -thousand years. It is incredible. Surely my meditation as I rode toward -him was not without cause. Our wisdom, the science of Chaldæa, is the -miser's gold which shall be lost in the earth, and whatever of us -survives in the memory of man will survive through the children of Adam. -I told him nothing of this, but prophesied that he would be a wanderer -until his death, at which he smiled. - -"'That may not be,' he said; 'because God has put me into this garden to -dress it and keep it.' - -"Then the woman filled a bowl with milk and took it over toward the -tree, and a great bronze serpent came out from the roots of the tree and -drank the milk which she offered him; wherefore, in spite of their -monotheism, I think that they are of the people who worship snakes and -trees, and that the tree was taboo because of the serpent which dwelt in -its roots." - - * * * * * - -"It may well be as you say," said Merodach, after a silence. "Still it -is curious that a monotheist should worship snakes and trees. Perhaps -his god is the local djinn; as with the nomadic tribes, the action of -the gods is limited to certain territories, and the wandering herds, in -changing their pastures, change their gods also. In effect the King is -the god. He rules by divine right, he represents the aspirations of his -people, and is the visible symbol without which all religions are but -inarticulate yearnings. You would naturally be interested, as a priest, -in the religion of Adam; but I am more interested in the fact that a -nomad should inhabit a garden. It interests me, as a statesman, because -it represents the beginnings of society. A nomad wanders for two -reasons; to change his hunting grounds, and to seek fresh pastures. Some -nomads, especially in countries where the fertility of the soil is -easily exhausted, plough, sow, reap the harvest, and then depart into a -new place; but when fruit-trees are planted the owner remains beside -them. Their roots have bound him to the soil. All existing civilisations -have arisen through the fact that man gathers the fruit of a tree, and -not the tree itself." - -Bagoas smiled, and discreetly said nothing. - -"To-morrow I shall visit Adam," said Merodach; "from the unsophisticated -there is always much to learn." - -"You may be disappointed," said Bagoas gently. "I like the lowly and -humble people, and I may have prejudiced you, unwittingly, in Adam's -favour. His sincerity may seem to you rude." - -"Simplicity of manner is charming," answered Merodach. "I believe that -all our courtly graces, everything which is implied by the word good -breeding, have their roots in the natural instincts of man. Of course, -the simple people move more awkwardly in the conventional restraints; -and good manners, which we wear like jewellery, are with them heavy -fetters; but I place implicit trust in Adam's natural good taste." - -"I should love to see Adam," said the Queen Parysatis. - -"But he is naked," objected the Princess Candace. - -"We shall bring him some leopard-skins, such as my guards wear," said -Merodach. "Come to supper." - -They moved through a grove of orange-trees towards a great pavilion -where supper was being served. Bagoas left them; and, leaning on a -balustrade, he looked over Uruk. - -"Certainly Adam is unfortunate," he said. - - II - -Merodach went forth unto Eden, and with him there went his wives and his -concubines, his poets and his pastry-cooks, his falconers, his -flute-players, and his players upon the viol, his bow-men and his -spearmen; and the number of those who followed him were ten thousand and -ten, without counting the mule-drivers, and the camel-drivers, and the -drivers of elephants. And the noise of their going filled the whole -land, and a great cloud of dust went up from their feet. Bagoas rode -with Merodach upon the King's elephant, whose tusks were studded with -precious stones, and who had jewels in his ears, and Bagoas spoke wisely -unto the King. - -"Man is naturally vain," said Bagoas. "He believes always that he has -finally explained the universe, and that nothing remains for him but a -life of virtue, and the approbation of a God, who shall exalt him above -his fellows. But it seems to me, O King, that all human systems of -religion and philosophy have the same nature as the system of a fakir -whom I once met in the desert. He told me that the world was supported -by a pillar of adamant, which was borne by an elephant, who stood upon -the back of a tortoise." - -"And what supported the tortoise?" enquired Merodach curiously. - -"When I asked him that question, O King, he answered that it was a holy -mystery, that the question was blasphemous in itself, and that all -answers were equally heretical." - -The Queen Parysatis rode with the court poet upon another elephant, and -the poet, whose name was Mekerah, made delicate songs for her. - -"The old look upon the stars," sang the poet, "they seek wisdom in the -heavens; but I look into the eyes of my beloved. What stars are like her -eyes? What wisdom can compare with the wisdom of love?" - -"You have said the same thing a hundred times," complained the Queen. - -But the Princess Candace rode upon a white elephant caparisoned with -cloth of silver embroidered with pearls. No one rode with her but the -driver of the elephant, and she sat under a canopy of silk which was -shot with the colours that are in the shell of the pearl, and before her -elephant on a white mule rode her juggler. He rode with his face to the -tail, and juggled with oranges and a sword; the sword meeting the -oranges in the air divided them neatly into halves, and then again into -quarters. He was a dwarf, incredibly ugly, hunch-backed, with long -spidery arms; but the little Princess loved him. - -"Look at me!" he shrilled in a falsetto voice. "Look at me, little -Princess! Who will say that jugglery is not the supreme art? Verily, it -is the art of arts! The poet does but juggle with words, yet he does not -preserve so perfect a rhythm. Mekerah's verses are lame, but mine -oranges do not halt; they dance in the air with the grace of a little -Princess who dances in silver slippers before the throne of her father. -The High-priest Bagoas juggles with theories; the Great King juggles -with the fears and passions of his subjects; the gods juggle with our -poor world, but I juggle with mine oranges. It is the same thing. Look -at me, little Princess, look at me!" - -He swallowed the fragments of oranges as they descended, and then the -sword. - -"Uzal, you will make yourself sick," said Candace, "and my maids will -have to tend you." - -The juggler stood on his head and juggled with his feet. - -"Truly, my lord," said Bagoas, "the juggler of the Princess has good -reason for what he says: in a sense we are all jugglers." - -But the King was thinking of other things, and after a moment lifted his -head. - -"Have you considered the Princess Candace, how she grows?" he enquired -of the High-priest. - -"She is like a flower," answered Bagoas. "She is like a silver lily -opening its petals to the sun. She grows like a flower that the dew -falls upon, and her dreams are like dew." - -"A few days ago she was a child, a few days more and she will be a -woman. It is time that she were married; but that man whom she marries -will be King after that I am dead, and I do not wish to hasten my -death." - -"She is young to go down into the cave of Ishtar," said Bagoas; "she -would tremble when the last torch was extinguished; she would cry aloud -when her husband came to her out of that darkness. Have you considered -one worthy to be her husband, O King?" - -"There is no one," answered Merodach. "The children of my wives are all -girls, and the sons of my slaves are brawlers; men whose words are -wind." - -"Have you considered the son of thy cousin, Na'amah? He is sixteen years -old, and has the heart of a lion. He is like a young lion in his first -strength. I have been the governor of his childhood, and in his heart -there is no guile." - -"We shall consider him," said Merodach. "Beyond are the hills of Eden." - -"If we follow the course of the river we shall come to Adam's garden." - - * * * * * - -It was mid-day in Eden. The great snake hung in the branches of the -apple-tree, watching Adam and Eve, with dull, malignant eyes -half-closed. He had shed his skin which hung from one of the branches, -swaying idly in the wind, like a piece of grey ravelled lace; and the -great snake coiled about the trunk shone with renewed splendour, like a -bronze in which the colours of olive and red are graduated so as to mix -and flow into each other through imperceptible shades of difference. The -shadow of some domestic quarrel hung over Adam and Eve; he was moved by -an ungracious solicitude for her comfort, and she received his -attentions in offended humility. The snake watched the comedy with -narrow eyes; subtilty of enjoyment increasing the malign persistence of -his stare. - -"I am unhappy," said Eve. - -"It is because we have done wrong," said Adam. - -"Let us go out into the desert. I do not like this place. The water is -not good; the air is heavy; it is a morass; the home of frogs and the -abode of scorpions. At night I lie awake, looking through the door of -our cabin, and I see the moonlight lying upon the water, and I hear a -chorus of frogs; all night I hear the croaking of the frogs. It will -make me mad." - -"Last night you crept into my arms and slept like a child," said Adam. -"You did not stir all night; but I lay awake looking at the moonlight -and listening to the frogs. They chanted a spell to fill my soul with -terror, and the moon also was full of evil. Then the whole earth -dissolved like a dream, and the stars vanished as things that slip -through water; and I seemed to be falling, falling through an endless -sea of moonlight, falling towards the moon, and beyond the moon there -was nothing; but I felt you in mine arms, and I did not dare to move, -lest you, too, should vanish with the world. This vision was sent to me -by God that I might learn how unsubstantial is the world, as if it were -but the shadow of His thought, a dream within a dream." - -"Do not let us talk of it," said Eve, trembling. "Perhaps if I had not -been here you would have fallen into nothing. It was because you held me -that you did not fall. This place will make me mad. Why are the leaves -falling from the trees?" - -"I do not know." - -"The palm-trees in the desert do not lose their leaves. My heart is sick -for the palm-trees in the desert with the little slender moon shining -above them, and shining at the bottom of the deep wells. My heart is -sick for the song of the nightingales. Why have the tops of the -mountains turned white?" - -"I do not know," answered Adam; "but once I saw from the desert a range -of mountains, and their tops were white. They also had trees; but the -leaves of the trees did not fall. These trees must be dead. Some great -unhappiness is come upon the world. Last night I was cold." - -"The sand of the desert is always warm," said Eve. - -"O Eve, I am unhappy," said Adam, after a silence; "I do not know what -has come upon the world. Last night when you crept into mine arms I was -troubled; never before have I been troubled while you were with me; but -last night, when you touched me, I trembled. I was unhappy, and I did -not know why I was unhappy; but I feared to lose you, Eve. Though I -touched you it seemed that you were far away. You were but a child when -I first saw you with your mother; and I was twelve years old. It was -last moon that we came together again; in the day that the djinns came -down from the mountains and slew our kinsfolk. I was pasturing the -sheep, and as I came back, leading my flock with my pipe, I saw the -dying embers and the dead bodies. Then you called to me, and we fled -together. Do you remember? That night we slept in the desert. I did not -tremble when you touched me. You will never leave me, Eve? We are alone -in the world. There are only ourselves, and the angels and the djinns." - -"The djinn who came to us yesterday has made us unhappy," said Eve. "He -has withered the trees and made the tops of the mountains white." - -"He was not a djinn," said Adam; "he was an angel. He smelt of roses, -his raiment was wonderful, he was clothed in glory." - -"What is that noise?" said Eve. "What is that pillar of cloud that goeth -up out of the earth?" - -And they saw in the distance the army of Merodach, and, being afraid, -they fled. - -"It is a pleasant site," said Merodach, as the elephants entered the -valley; "the autumnal landscapes have always a certain melancholy which -charms me." - -"The fallen leaves in the valleys are like fallen light," said Mekerah; -"that slender birch flamed yellow a moment ago, but, at a touch, went -out in a shower of sparks." - -"It must be delightfully cool in summer," said the Queen Parysatis. - -"The best time is the spring," said the Princess Candace. - -"The almond and cherry blossom will be out then," said Mekerah; "these -slopes will be all pink and white, with petals drifting in the wind. The -hyacinths and daffodils will be out then; and the red flower of Tammuz -will fall upon the river." - -"I should like to come here in the spring, and go naked, and live in a -cabin of boughs like Adam," said the Princess Candace. - -Adam could not be found. Merodach ordered that his men should encircle -the whole valley, and drive whatever game there was toward him. - -"In this way, if he is still here we shall find him; and in any case we -shall have some sport." - -Then the servants of Merodach drove all the game that was in Eden past -the elephant of the Great King; and Merodach pierced the beasts and the -birds with his arrows, and the herds of Adam were scattered in the -wilderness, bleating dispersedly, and the hollow caves answered their -bleating, while the ewes sought their lambs, and the she-goats the kids -of the flock. But Adam, the servants of Merodach could not find. Then -the slaves erected a pavilion of purple silk, upon which was embroidered -the whole story of Ut-Napishtim and the flood; the gods cowering like -dogs at the fury of Rimmon, while Ishtar cried like a woman in travail, -and the Anunnaki brought lightnings; and the race of man strewn like -leaves upon the waters; and the waters like a great host rioting in the -fury of battle, white-plumed squadrons of angry and tumultuous waves. -Yea, and therein was figured Ut-Napishtim looking from the window of the -ark; and the sending forth of the birds, the sending of the dove, the -sending of the swallow, and the sending of the raven, who saw the -decrease of the waters, and ate, and waded, and croaked, and turned not -back. And there was embroidered upon it the bow which Ishtar hung in the -heavens, and the sacrifice which Ut-Napishtim offered unto the gods upon -the mountain, setting Adagur vases seven by seven, strewing reeds, -cedar-wood, and incense before them, so that the gods smelt the goodly -savour, and gathered like flies over the sacrifice. The Princess Candace -was delighted with the tapestry, which she had never seen before. -Mekerah told her the story, handling the details with rare imagination, -while the Princess ate larks stuffed with cherries. Then she turned -toward Bagoas. - -"Priest of Bel," she said, "how long is it since all this trouble came -upon the world?" - -And Bagoas smiled faintly, his smile expressive of many things. - -"It happened, little Princess, in the time when the animals spoke with -the tongues of men." - -But the Princess found this chronology too vague. - -"When did the animals speak the language of men?" she enquired. - -"It is all a tale, little Princess. The animals never spoke as men do; -but once upon a time the speech of men was like that of animals." - -"Then it never happened?" enquired the Princess regretfully. - -"No; it never happened," answered Bagoas. - -But the King was outraged, for he claimed to be descended from -Ut-Napishtim. - -"Candace," he said, "the story is quite true. Gilgamesh builded a ship -and pitched it within and without, and he took with him Ia-bani, and -some chosen comrades, and journeyed over the waters which engirdle the -earth, and he crossed the river of death, which flows round these waters -without mixing with them, and he landed in the country of the shades. -Then he dug a trench, and cut the throat of a black bull so that the -blood flowed into the trench, and the shades flocked to drink of the -warm blood; but Gilgamesh drove them from it with his sword until -Ut-Napishtim came to drink of it, and had drank his fill. And of all -these who came to drink of it only Ut-Napishtim and his wife had life -and substance; but all the others were unsubstantial shades. Then -Ut-Napishtim told Gilgamesh all the things which had befallen him in -this life, and how that the gods had given him and his wife, alone of -all human kind, imperishable bodies and immortal youth; but he said it -was sad to dwell among the shades, whom he could not touch with his -hands, and to see loved faces, which, whenever the wind blew, lost their -remembered contours, and became as wreaths of vapour drifting over the -desolate marshes. And he bade Gilgamesh to make haste and get him into -his ship again, for that if night found him there, he would become even -as the shades himself, and his bones would rot by the bitter flood. Then -Gilgamesh made haste into his ship with his companions, and they lifted -the creaking sail, and bent to the oars, and departed over the sea. But -Ut-Napishtim stood upon the beach where the waves broke at his feet, and -his eyes strained after the vessel; for he was like an exile there, who -sees a ship bound to his own country, and his heart goes with it. So the -body of Ut-Napishtim stood upon the beach, but his heart was with the -living offspring of his race; for a long time he stood thus, until the -ship was a mere speck on the waters, while tears blinded his eyes; then -he sighed and went back into the shadowy ways of that twilit land." - -His audience listened to Merodach with astonishment, his voice was full -of emotion. He had hurried through the story, careless of whither it led -him, like a man blind with grief, who stumbles against all the obstacles -in his path. When he had finished there was silence. - -"And Gilgamesh," he added after a pause, "wrote all these things in a -book, which is preserved in the Temple of Bel at Nippur." - -He glanced at Bagoas indignantly as he spoke. Bagoas was eating a dish -of leverets stewed with rice and prunes; he looked up from his plate, -and wiped his mouth with a fine napkin. - -"There is preserved in our Temple at Nippur a book which purports to be -the work of Gilgamesh," he said. "It is the work of a poet, such a -history as Mekerah might invent for you, which it would be ridiculous to -consider as a true and serious narrative of actual events." - -Mekerah caught a malicious glance from the Queen Parysatis, and rose -angrily. - -"There is, O Priest, a higher truth and a higher seriousness," he said. -"In the epic of Gilgamesh is enshrined the religious consciousness of -Babylonia. It is sacred. It is not to be touched. It contains those -great truths which are not a peculiar feature of any one age, but are -true for all time. It was directly inspired by Bel, and shall we set our -pitiful human wisdom above the wisdom of the divine word?" - -Bagoas once again wiped his mouth before he began to speak. - -"I deny," he said, "that it has any truth as an historical document. It -is valuable, historically, as an instance of the narrow limits of human -knowledge in the age which produced it. That is all its value to the -historian. Its value to the theologian is different. He finds in it the -first concrete expression of man's relation to God, as he understands -it. The truth may be veiled in a mist of fable and metaphor, but he -feels it to be there. At the same time, he gives it an extended sense, -and interprets it in a larger spirit than that in which it was -originally interpreted. It means to us at once something more and -something less than it did to the ancient world; for religion is not a -definite revelation of an eternal truth, but the contemplation of the -unknown from the sum of man's experience. It is consequently susceptible -of infinite development and extension, it reacts to every new discovery -of science; and its chief glory is that it is part of man's daily life. - -"We, the priests of Bel, recognise our sacred books as the -starting-point of a living, growing truth; in our hands is the duty of -interpreting it, and our interpretation is of the nature of a -commentary. We are continually rejecting some details as unsound, and -developing others to the utmost limits of their power; that is our value -and duty as an hierarchy: to criticise, to prune, to graft. And if we -consider the nature of the books, in which are enshrined those great -spiritual truths, we see how necessary this work of selection and -rejection is; for they do not form one inseparable, concrete whole, but -each has arisen under the impulse of different circumstances, each had -its own separate development and origin before it became joined on to -the main body. - -"Before philosophy came into being men spoke in fables, and their minds, -not being able to grasp as yet the significance of abstract ideas, dealt -exclusively with things and actions. They were curious of the destiny of -man after death, and they felt the need for some answer, so they -imagined the hero, the Babylonian semi-divinity, Gilgamesh, setting out -on a ship fashioned by human hands to bring them back the answer which -they needed. For us it was the first voyage of man's mind into the -unknown, the first adventure beyond the realm of actualities, and as -such it demands our reverence. We do not, however, believe either in -Gilgamesh, Ia-bani, or the ship which crossed the river of death. The -story is a mere fable, and the actions described in it are only the -unconscious vehicles of a half-recognised truth, or rather of the germ -of a new spirit. There is only one form of truth, and one form of -seriousness." - -He drank a little wine. - -"Let us walk in the garden," said Merodach. - - * * * * * - -Merodach, after a moment's consideration, found that the conclusions of -Bagoas with reference to the epic of Gilgamesh were reasonable, so he -conversed with the High-priest amiably as they walked by the river. The -Princess Candace interrupted the conversation. - -"Yesterday was my birthday, and you have given me no present, now let me -ask one," she said. - -"Ask then," said Merodach, smiling. - -"Give me this garden to be my garden, and build me a palace where Adam -had his cabin of boughs; a little palace of blue porcelain, which I may -visit in the spring, and in the hot months of the year, and set at all -the entrances into the valley great winged cherubim, that the wandering -tribes may see that it is a royal palace, and fear to enter." - -"So be it," said the King; and the Princess went off to inspect the site -of the new palace. - -"She is discreet, and charming, wise beyond her years," said Merodach. -"We shall consider the son of Na'amah, my cousin, at Nippur. How is he -called?" - -"His name is Adamaharon," answered Bagoas, smiling; "and he is even now -on his way to visit me at Uruk, where he has never been. He may turn -aside to hunt. It is his ambition at present to kill a lion, for which -he has a permit from the King's huntsman." - -"He shall hunt with me," said the King; "but the Princess is still a -little young for marriage." - -She, unconscious of her fate, drew close to the cabin of Adam. That part -of the valley had been deserted by the King's servants, and she was -alone. She saw the glitter of a spear which lay in the doorway, and then -the eyes of a young man watching her. - -"I came for an apple," she said, turning toward the tree in the branches -of which the great snake hung; "but Adam must have eaten them all." - -"There is one at the top of the tree," said the boy. "Look! right at the -top." - -"It is too high. Perhaps you could knock it down with your spear?" - -"That would bruise it. I shall climb up and get it for you." - -He swung himself up, avoiding the great snake which looked at him -warily. - -"Do not go any higher," cried the Princess; "the branch will break, and -you will be killed." - -But he laughed at her, and climbing higher seized the apple, then the -branch did break. She screamed a little. - -"You are bruised instead of the apple," she said, as he picked himself -up. - -He laughed. - -"I have done wonderful things to-day," he said. "At dawn I killed a -lion; and at eve I got an apple for a Princess." - -"But are you not one of the court-pages? I thought you were. Who are you -to kill lions, which are preserved for the King?" - -"I am Adamaharon, the son of Na'amah, the cousin of the King." - -She offered him the apple, and he bit a large piece out of it. - -"Come and look at the lion's skin," he said, and led her into Adam's -cabin. She felt a curious pleasure in being with him, and listened with -delight to the story of how he killed the lion. But they did not talk -much, they seemed to understand each other so well that they had nothing -to say; and at last they kissed each other. - -It was at that precise moment, when their souls seemed to meet with -their lips that Merodach entered. For a moment he paused, anger falling -about him like darkness in which all things writhed, confused. Then he -drew his sword. The Princess Candace fell before him and embraced his -knees; he was lifting the sword to strike her when Bagoas seized his -arm. - -"It is the son of Na'amah," he said quickly. - -The King paused, and then lowered his sword slowly. He stared at the -young man in silence, and the young man met his gaze quietly. Then the -King let his eyes wander over the other's form, and he saw that the -young man was well-thewed, spare, and muscular, with a beauty to make -him desired of the maidens; and his heart softened toward his cousin's -son. - -"You are Adamaharon," he said slowly, as he sheathed his sword. "I had -intended to send for you to come unto Uruk, that I might wed you to my -daughter. This is the will of the gods, and it is mine, also." - -The young man came to him, and bowed down before, touching his feet; and -Merodach let his hand rest upon the bowed head, caressing the thick -curls. - -"A young lion of our race," said Merodach exultingly; "look at the -yellow mane rippling over the firm neck. A child of my cousin Na'amah. A -child of the race of the gods." - -And he embraced Adamaharon kindly, and he raised up Candace and kissed -her fondly, bidding her go to her mother, and tell her how she had found -a husband in the cabin of Adam. And Candace left them; and as she went -she wept, for her fear had given place to joy. Then Adamaharon rose up, -and stood before the King. - -"I have done wonderful things to-day," he said proudly. "At dawn I slew -a lion; and at eve I kissed the desire of my heart. My mouth is filled -with honey." - -"It is the will of the gods," said Merodach. - -Then he began to lead the son of Na'amah toward the river where the -Queen Parysatis was listening to her daughter's tale; but Bagoas paused -before the apple-tree and looked into the eyes of the great serpent. - -"It is the will of the gods," he said, with his ironical smile. "I am -but their minister, the mere instrument of their designs; so what part -shall I claim in this adventure?" - -The snake watched him fixedly. - -"The boy is like a son to me," said Bagoas. "He was born to be -fortunate." - -And then he followed them toward the river, leaving the wise snake -wreathed in the branches of the fruitless tree. - -On the journey back to Uruk the three royal elephants walked abreast. -Adamaharon rode with Merodach, Bagoas with the Princess Candace, and the -Queen Parysatis with her attendant poet. And Adamaharon made delicate -songs for his beloved. - -"The old look upon the stars," he sang; "but I look into the eyes of my -beloved. What stars are like her eyes? What wisdom can compare with the -wisdom of love?" - -"He is a true poet," said Parysatis to Mekerah. "What spirit, what -fire!" - -"I have said the same thing an hundred times," said Mekerah crossly. - -"Precisely," said Parysatis; "he has said it once, perfectly." - -"The kisses of her mouth are sweeter than honey," sang Adamaharon; "more -fragrant than apples. She has filled me with the joy of morning, and -gladdened my soul as with wine." - -Bagoas leaned toward the Queen's elephant. - -"Adam said of love that----" - -But the Queen put a finger on her lips. - -"I do not believe that Adam ever existed," she said. - -Bagoas, looking at Candace, smiled. - - * * * * * - -But many years afterwards a woman sitting by the door of a hut in the -desert, watching the quiet stars quicken as the day died, drew two young -boys toward her, and told them the story of the garden. Her face was -tranquil, like the face of one who has grief for a companion; and the -boys were clothed in goat-skins. - -"And," she said, looking into the embers of the fire, "the man -counselled me to eat, saying, if ye eat of the fruit ye shall know." - -Adam suddenly appeared in the firelight. He had heard the last words. - -"It was the serpent," he said suspiciously. "You always told me it was -the serpent." - -And Eve answered quickly, drawing her children closer to her. - -"Yea, it was the serpent! I forgot. It was the serpent!" - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - _TO MRS SHAKESPEARE_ - - - - - II - - AT THE HOUSE OF EURIPIDES - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - II - - AT THE HOUSE OF EURIPIDES - - -Euripides ordered the tables to be removed, and then some musicians -entered, followed by a girl, who danced as Persephone among the flowers -of Enna. While the guests were admiring the grace of her gestures, and -the swift movements of her thin, naked feet, Callias came in with Lysis -and Antisthenes. They had been unable to come earlier; and after making -their excuses to Euripides, Callias and Antisthenes took a couch close -by Protagoras, and Lysis went to Socrates. The company included Glaucon, -Hermogenes, Pythodorus, Philip the buffoon, who never missed a feast, -and Apollodorus, the friend of Socrates. Protagoras had a couch to -himself on the right of Euripides, who was also without a companion. -Others came in during the evening until the room was very full. When the -girl had finished her dance there was a murmur of admiration, and she -leaned back on the bench, smiling with pleasure, her slim body trembling -and palpitating beneath its crocus-coloured veils. - -"You are magnificent, Euripides," said Socrates. "You not only feast us -sumptuously; but you amuse us with dancing and music." - -"I am glad that you are amused, Socrates. Why are you so silent -to-night?" - -"I feel like one about to be initiated into the mysteries. When there -are so many older and wiser men than myself present I listen rather than -talk. It is more interesting. I wish that I had come with flowers and -ribbons like Lysis, so that I might have occupied myself in making a -garland. Are you going to crown Protagoras when he has read his -discourse, Lysis?" - -"Yes, Socrates; Callias said it would be worthy of a crown." - -"Protagoras must be the happiest of men." said Socrates. "He has health, -riches, and honour from all. I am impatient to hear what he has to say." - -"I am old," said Protagoras, "and like to rest a little while after -eating; but I shall not keep you long. In the meantime, why do you not -have a discussion with Euripides?" - -"Well, as you have given me leave to speak, I should like to ask -Euripides a few questions." - -"Very well," said Euripides. - -"Do not encourage him," shouted Philip. "If he once begins asking -questions we shall not know where we are. He will tell us that -Protagoras is not Protagoras, and that this banquet is not a banquet." - -"Why do you attack me like this, Philip? What harm have I ever done to -you?" said Socrates. - -"Why, ever since you have taken to frequenting the tables of the rich -you have done me harm," said Philip, with a pretence to excitement. "At -one time I was always a welcome guest; but since you have come upon the -scene no one laughs at me. Your talk is all about justice, wisdom, and -virtue. What does a poor man like myself know of such things? But these -are all that amuse the company now; and, if I want a dinner in mine old -age, I shall have to play the sophist too." - -Philip was a great favourite with the company, and his exaggerated -gestures as he railed at Socrates amused them extremely. He advanced -into the middle of the room. - -"Laugh at me as you will," he cried; "it is true. Socrates cannot deny -it. The more wine a man has now, the more solemn he looks; until -sometimes I think I have strayed to a funeral instead of to a feast. If -I chose, I could be the greatest sophist of you all. I should teach you -not only the knowledge of good, and truth, and virtue, but the knowledge -of all things." - -"And how would you teach us, Philip?" said Socrates; "for this is -precisely the knowledge which I have been seeking all my life. By the -dog of Egypt, if you would teach me this I should ever afterwards obey -you in all things. I have always had the greatest respect for you, -Philip, but I did not think that philosophy was among your -accomplishments." - -"Do you answer me, Socrates? and I shall prove it to you." - -"Willingly," said Socrates; "but I am afraid you are going to make me -ridiculous. I have never pretended to be a sophist, nor, indeed, to know -anything." - -Philip stood in the middle of the room, and the company all leant -forward, looking at him with amusement. - -"Is knowledge the knowledge of something, or the knowledge of nothing?" -he enquired of Socrates. - -"Of both," answered Socrates. - -"You will not escape me that way," exclaimed Philip. "Would you not -rather say it is the knowledge of something, and the knowledge of not -knowing other things?" - -"Very well, Philip." - -"Then there is a knowledge of knowing, and a knowledge of not knowing; -and we know the things we know, and the things we do not know?" - -"That seems absurd," said Socrates. - -"What? Will you go back on the argument, Socrates, and say that -knowledge is only the knowledge of something?" - -"Let us try that way then," Socrates said. - -"By Zeus, Socrates, that way will do as well as another," said Philip; -"for if you know something you can distinguish it from other things, can -you not?" - -"Yes." - -"You can distinguish one thing you know, from another thing you know; -and both from what you do not know." - -"You have made me giddy, Philip. Let me think." - -"Well, Socrates, you can distinguish Euripides from Protagoras, can you -not? And you can distinguish both these people whom you know, from the -tyrant Archelaus, whom you do not know?" - -"Certainly; I must agree to that." - -"Then you can distinguish between something you know and something you -do not know?" - -"Yes." - -"Consider a moment, Socrates. Is it possible for you to know the -difference between one thing and another unless you know both things?" - -"Why, no! I must admit that," said Socrates. - -"Then mark where I lead you; for if you know the things you know, you -must also know the things you do not know." - -Every one was now laughing immoderately; not only at Philip's dialectic, -but at his pompous gestures, wherewith he mimicked many well-known -sophists; blowing out his cheeks, pursing his lips, tapping his head -suspiciously, and rubbing his nose. - -"By the dog of Egypt!" cried Socrates; "the man has been with -Euthydemus." - -"Euthydemus is a child to me," said Philip contemptuously. - -"But, Philip, if I confess I know nothing?" said Socrates, when the -laughter failed a little. - -"Why, then, Socrates, I shall not argue the question with you; though I -could easily prove to you that if you knew nothing you would know -everything." - -"Philip, I have always asserted my ignorance. It is my ignorance which -causes me to ask questions. And now, as you have proved that you know -everything, I want to ask you what knowledge is. Can you tell me?" - -"This talking has made me thirsty, Socrates, and I am going to seek for -truth in the wine, where the proverb says it may be found. I shall talk -no more." - -"Well, then, I shall ask my question of Euripides, if you will allow -me." - -"Ask, by all means!" said Philip; "but if your questions are to be about -knowledge and virtue I shall go and sit with the flute-girls, and we -shall talk of something that we can understand." - -Socrates settled himself more comfortably upon the couch, and, taking up -one of the ribbons which Lysis had brought, turned it about his fingers. - -"Protagoras is going to tell us whether we can have any knowledge of the -gods or not," he said; "but let us enquire into their nature, assuming -that we know them, for the present. Shall we examine your own conception -of God, Euripides? It will clear matters up if we are able to say what -the gods whom we seek to know are like." - -"Very well, Socrates," said Euripides. - -"You live at the centre of things, Euripides," said Socrates; "and every -aspect of our modern thought is clearly reflected in your work. This is -one reason why I have always been an admirer of your plays; but it has -its drawbacks, for sometimes you reflect two distinct and opposed -theories, so that your meaning is not quite clear. Your treatment of the -myths is, in reality, a criticism of the myths, is it not?" - -"Yes." - -"The dramatist takes a myth as his material, and by working upon it, -criticising it, rejecting some features, and developing others, he will -make it into a play, and not only does he deal with the myth itself in -this way, but he also examines and criticises each character in it, -using the same method, so that his play is not only a representation of -the myths but a criticism of them as well. Now I have lately been -reading your Hippolytus again, so that we shall take that as an example. -The myth is very simple: Aphrodite wishes to be avenged upon Hippolytus, -who neglects her worship in preference for the worship of Artemis; and -in order to compass the death of the young man she stirs up an unholy -passion in Phædra. Hippolytus refuses the love of Phædra, and, in -despair, she kills herself, leaving a writing behind which accuses -Hippolytus of having forced her. Theseus, discovering this writing, -calls down upon Hippolytus one of the three curses which Poseidon has -promised him to fulfil, and Hippolytus is slain. Then Artemis reveals -the truth to Theseus, and before Hippolytus dies Theseus is forgiven by -him. - -"This story is full of improbable and supernatural conditions, the -jealousy of Aphrodite, the apparition of Artemis, and the intervention -of Poseidon. We no longer imagine the gods as beings with the same -passions as men; but the passions and strife of the gods are the -essential feature of some myths. Do you think, Euripides, that the -makers of myths in the old days simply dragged in the gods, in order to -explain any tragedy which was quite inexplicable in itself, and that -they attempted to alleviate in this way the sense of waste with which a -tragedy fills us?" - -"It seems a plausible supposition, Socrates. If men cannot relate an -event to any known cause, they consider it sufficiently explained if it -be attributed to a deity." - -"And so it happens," said Socrates, "that many evil deeds are attributed -to the gods; the death of Hippolytus, for instance, to the jealousy of -Aphrodite. Do you think, Euripides, that the makers of myths and the -common people believe that evil is not inherent in the action itself, -but depends upon the quality and nature of the agent?" - -"Yes," answered Euripides; "they imagine that actions are permissible in -gods which would not be permissible in man; that the gods have a right -to do evil, since they have the power. On the contrary, I maintain, that -a god is all goodness, and that if he revenged himself on man, or were -guilty of jealousy and hatred, he would cease, by that fact, to be a -god." - -"And is it because you hold this opinion that you make the action in -your play of Hippolytus, as far as possible, move independently of the -gods?" - -"How do you mean, Socrates?" - -"I mean, Euripides, that your play seems to present two sides: the -action as it is presented in the original myth, and the action which is -the result of your criticism. There are some people who say that if you -are not content with the myths, you should invent your own stories; but -this would defeat your object which is purely critical, and which aims -at presenting another version of the story. You seem to say to yourself: -the myth presents the gods as beings with the same appetites, passions, -and desires as mortals, and so I shall treat them. They are to you mere -characters in the play, and even subordinate characters at that. You -introduce Aphrodite to speak the prologue, and thus, ostensibly -following the myth, make her responsible for the catastrophe. But at the -same time you show that the catastrophe is directly precipitated by the -hastiness of Theseus; a fatal flaw which he himself recognises, and -laments when it is too late. He was over-hasty to use the gift of -Poseidon, he says; but Hippolytus answers that if he had not used that -method of revenge, he would have found another. Theseus implicitly -agrees to this, when he says that some lying spirit had blinded him to -the truth, and thus the guilt is flung back upon Aphrodite, whom Artemis -promises to punish by slaying Adonis. In reality, Euripides, the lying -spirit is not Aphrodite, but Phædra; and you take care that Artemis -should point this out. Thus, at every part of the myth where the action -of the divinities is supposed to be clearly visible, you present us with -another version and another cause; and, by this means, not only do you -make the development of the plot more plausible, and fill us with -admiration for your genius, but ultimately you remove the responsibility -from the gods, by showing that the action of the play is not dependent -upon them. Aphrodite seems to be only the incarnation of Phædra's -desire, and Poseidon of a father's curse. Artemis, it is true, has a -separate existence, and is not merely the personification of a mortal -passion; she exists in order that she may reveal the truth to Theseus, -and for that purpose, had you not been bound by tradition, the nurse -would have done as well. You say, too, in one of the choruses that the -thought of the gods consoles your grief, and that your hope clings to -the belief in a supreme reason; but that when you consider the deeds and -the fate of men you are confounded. Do you think, Euripides, that the -whole evil of life comes from man alone, and that the gods are not -implicated in it?" - -Protagoras smiled. Euripides leaned forward, looking at Socrates with -bright eyes from beneath his bent brows. - -"The words of the chorus, Socrates, mean that when I consider the -wretchedness and the doom of men, I doubt the existence of a supreme -reason, or at least waver in my belief." - -"Of course I see that," answered Socrates; "but if you accept the idea -of a universal mind animating all things, why should the misery and -wretched conditions of the life of men dissipate this idea? Your play -shows that it is man's own folly, and not the anger of the gods, that -punishes him with misfortune. Theseus in ignorance calls down the doom -of death upon Hippolytus, and thus brings evil upon himself. It is the -lust of Phædra, and the blind anger of Theseus, which are responsible -for the death of the innocent; but is it better to have suffered -unjustly as Hippolytus suffered, or to die in shame, despised, as Phædra -died, or to live as Theseus lived in misery, though forgiven?" - -"I agree to what you have said of my play," answered Euripides, his -worn, melancholy face illuminated with a smile; "and I agree, also, that -it was my purpose to deny that the gods do evil, and to make people -dissatisfied with the myths. I misunderstood the reason for your use of -what the chorus says about the Supreme Mind; the doings of men seem to -me to be more the result of the conditions of life than of their own -wickedness. If men err it is through ignorance; but they suffer quite -independently of their deserts. It is through my sympathy with mankind -that I am led into doubt. Man struggles all his life with the -fluctuations and vicissitudes of fortune; his pleasures are but phantoms -and visions which elude his grasp; the one certainty before him is -death: an unknown terror. Why has he been set among this play of -circumstance, over which he has no control, but which whirls him away -like a dead leaf upon the ripples and eddies of a river? The best -happiness we can find in life is resignation, a folding of the hands, a -withdrawal into the interior peace of our own minds, the serene heights -which the Muses inhabit. Those who have gained that sanctuary have at -least the happiness which comes from a knowledge of the limitations of -life; they have learned to desire little, to delight in natural and -simple things, the bright air, the coolness of forests, wind rippling -the waves of corn and setting the poplar leaves a-tremble; but, alas! -behind even this serenity of mind is the shadow of human suffering. So -few are the wise, and so many the miserable! We would not, if we could, -cut ourselves off from the dumb herd of humanity, with its obscure -sufferings, its vague desires, its inarticulate and eternal pain." - -"I should not ask it of you, Euripides," said Socrates gently. - -He had a real love for Euripides, a real admiration for the mind which -through its own tumult and discord had come at last into the possession -of peace, and to the vision of a clear hope. - -"If mankind with its blind follies makes me doubt the existence of a -God," continued Euripides, "its miseries make me believe in one. I am -not an enemy of knowledge; I have sought it with diligence all the days -of my life; but we have other needs. We suffer with one another; there -is a trouble and perplexity in the world from which we cannot escape, -and to which we cannot refuse sympathy, pity, and love. Religion does -not take into sufficient account the fact, that however diverse are the -activities of men, all suffer alike. We have the corporate religious -unity of the State, and it presents to us the noble and lofty ideas of -the Olympian deities. Do you remember, Socrates, the fable which -Protagoras made for you, describing how at first men had only the arts, -and warred among themselves until Zeus sent them the gifts of justice -and reverence?" - -"Yes; I remember it. I cannot, of course, remember all that Protagoras -said," answered Socrates. "Long speeches puzzle me. But I remember that -it was beautiful." - -"It was at my house," said Callias, with some pride. - -"Well, Socrates, it seems to me that justice and reverence were not -enough. Man needed something more. So the worship of Demeter and -Dionysos was revealed to him. I have sometimes meditated writing a play -about Dionysos, the enthusiasm of wine, of poetry, the Deliverer, who -uplifts the heart of man; or about Demeter, the Earth, the herbage and -the ripe corn, through whom we are kin, not only with each other but -with the beasts of the field, the cattle grazing in their fat pasture, -and the young fawn couched among the briars and thickets of the forest. -These divinities seem closer to us than the ruler of the sun or the lord -of the sea. They move gently among us, coming and going with the -seasons, filling our granaries and wine-jars with their mystical gifts; -corn and wine, their very bodies and blood, through which we enter into -a close and intimate communion with them, and become indeed their -children, or even themselves, as when their spirit possesses us -entirely, and with a wild enthusiasm we range through the wooded hills, -clothed in spotted fawn-skins, crowned with dark ivy, shaking the -thyrsus in the air, and leaping to the sound of timbrels and pipes, and -the brazen cymbals of the Great Mother. - -"The Olympian divinities have given to man the knowledge of the arts, -and instilled into him the principles of justice and of reverence; they -are untouched by the sense of our human mortality. - -"Of old, the poets say, they visited mortals; and coming to a house at -dusk in the guise of huntsmen or travellers would rest that night to -share the evening meal, and at dawn depart again, leaving behind them -strange gifts. Now they come among us no more. But these divinities of -our own delightful earth, how different they are! Our mortality, our -labours, and our desires are part of their ritual. They have shown man -that he is one with that earth from which he derives his being, and -which receives him again, after the toils and vicissitudes of life, as -with the gentle enfolding arms of a mother; and that through it he is -one also with them. They give him, in the recurrence of seed-time and -harvest, the symbolism of the vine and the vintage, the return of -Spring, coming with frail, delicate flowers, and troops of swallows, in -the first flush of green over the ploughlands, hints and foreshadowings -of some such resurrection for himself; until death ceases to be a -nameless terror to him, but is like a little interval of sleep not -entirely barren of dreams. How natural they are too! - -"We should not be surprised if we met with Demeter, clad in blue -raiment, in a cornfield, as the dawn was breaking. It would not seem -strange to see her, plucking the golden ears, and weaving them into a -garland for her head; or resting beside a well of bright water, and -looking over the misty fields with quiet, thoughtful eyes. It would not -seem strange if Dionysos appeared suddenly to us, coming through the -shadowy woods between the straight stems of the pines, light in his -eyes, and the wind lifting the hair from his cool brow; or to meet him -leading his troop of delirious worshippers by the banks of Asopus, or up -the steep glens of Cithæron. If she, Earth, be a mother to us, he is -like an elder brother, born of a mortal woman, and so closer to us. It -is true, Socrates, that the myths dealing with him contain much that is -revolting, and are full of tragic and sinister episodes; but behind the -veil of man's weaving is a figure of singular beauty, wild but gentle; a -divinity who promises to the restless and troubled spirit of man joy in -life and peace after death." - -His words made an impression upon the company. There was silence for the -moment. - -"Well, Euripides, I shall not question you any further to-night," said -Socrates. "We have agreed that the idea of divinity is exclusive of all -evil; and now Protagoras will probably tell us that the philosophic -question of the present time is not whether the gods are good or evil, -but whether they exist at all." - -Protagoras made no further delay. He had a roll of parchment in his -hand, but scarcely referred to it. There was a movement among the guests -as he began, for all were curious to hear what he had to say. - - * * * * * - -"We cannot know whether the gods exist or do not exist; the matter is -too obscure, and man's life too short. If they exist, it must be in some -manner peculiar to themselves, for we cannot find any trace of their -presence in the world. They are not present to us as objects to be -perceived by the senses; if they move among us at all it is by stealth, -and without leaving so much trace as a ship leaves upon the waves. But -man has always believed that they are close to him, and has come to -imagine them as haunting every green corner of the earth, each well, and -wood, and hill, the blue depths of the sea and the wide regions of the -air. We have a God to preside at our sowing and at our harvest, at our -setting-forth and at our home-coming; there are gods of flocks and -herds, of vineyards and olive groves, of rivers and of the sea. Poetry -has peopled the air with them, and given to Aphrodite a team of -sparrows, and to Hera a team of peacocks, and to grey-eyed Athene an -owl. Indeed, it is strange, so familiar and frequent are they in our -thoughts, that we should ever question their existence; yet the moment -we seek for any tangible evidence of their presence in the world we are -at fault, and the more we consider them the more shadowy and elusive -they become. The whole notion of divinity is constantly changing in our -minds, adapting itself to new conditions of life, varying its form as -our knowledge becomes deeper; but always becoming more spiritual, less -tangible, until it seems to be nothing but that wandering breath which -quickens all things into life. - -"At first we imagined the gods as the incarnation of some natural force, -like Aphrodite, the foam-born, whom all living creatures obey; or -Demeter, the Earth-mother, who produces all the fruits and harvests, and -the grass and flowers of the field. Stripped of the mystery and beauty -with which the poets have clothed them, these are but the conditions of -man's life, his begetting and sustenance; we must seek behind them for -that idea of the supreme reason, who is not only the cause but the end -of all things, not only the source of existence but the principle from -which spring our notions of truth, of wisdom, of justice, and all those -ideals which reconcile us to life and bid us hope in the ultimate -realisation of the good. It is not sufficient for us to find a cause -from which existence is derived, for even if that were laid bare to us -we could not find in it our ultimate satisfaction, unless it conformed -to the idea of divinity, which, as Socrates and Euripides have agreed, -is exclusive of all elements of evil. Is it possible to have this -knowledge? There are two insuperable difficulties. - -"The first is in the nature of man's knowledge, which is not constant or -common, but variable and peculiar to each individual. Each man is the -measure of all things. To him, things are what they seem; truth, what he -thinks true; justice, what he thinks just; good, what he thinks good. -Coldness or heat, light or darkness, colour, sound, smell, touch, taste, -are all equally matters of opinion. There is no truth external to the -individual. The second difficulty is that even if all men had a fixed -and common standard of truth, we can find no evidence of the action of -any divinity in the world, no evidence of a supreme reason dominating -all things. The world seems to obey certain blind and unreasonable laws; -but the life of man, the life of all things, outside the mere routine of -tides and seasons, seems to be subject only to chance: and whether we -live or die, our fate is the result of an accident. We are merely the -idle foam upon the surface of the waves of being; an accident, and not -the reason of the waves. Perhaps the whole reason of life is unconcerned -with us; having a different aim to what we imagine, we ourselves being -only the dust of a sculptor's workshop, the superfluous marble which he -chips off from the hidden image of his desire. - -"It is certain, that if there be a God he is careless of the fate of -man. For, if there were a God, since he must be just and good, we should -find the prayers of the good man answered, and evil would be punished in -the world. As it is the evil men prosper, and the good gain no reward; -evil and good, what are they but our points of view? It is for this -reason that we doubt the existence of any but a mechanical cause for the -universe; because we have had no experience of good triumphing in the -external world. Diagoras of Melos, being taken into the Temple of -Poseidon and shown the offerings dedicated there as memorials of -answered prayers and in fulfilment of vows, looked at them with tears: -'They reckon those who were saved,' he said; 'they forget those who -perished.' Yes; one is more touched by the thought of what was not hung -in the temple, than by the sight of what was. We think of the smallness -of the temple, and of the largeness of the sea. - -"Let us state our position with clearness. We are not concerned with the -existence of the gods, but with our knowledge of their existence. It -would be equally foolish in us to deny, as to affirm, their existence. -There may be a supreme reason acting upon the world, whose ends we -cannot understand, whose action we cannot comprehend. It may be that the -world exists for some other purpose than for the realisation of our own -dreams. Perhaps we are only the superfluities, the parings of ivory, the -winnowed husks from the threshing, by-products in the creation of -something more perfect; and perhaps the confused and obscure sense of an -ideal, which works in us and is at once our desire and our despair, is a -dim consciousness of the growth of this beauty, a desire and a despair -of being one with it. But, if we could escape for a moment from the -tyranny of our own selves, the illusion of our own momentary existence, -we might learn to rejoice in the knowledge, that beauty exists, if not -in us, at least somewhere in the world. If that knowledge were ever -present with us, I think that we might be content. Content even to -suffer, to realise that everything that ever lived has died for an idea, -that all life is a martyrdom; but, alas! we have not even this -knowledge. Our life is a dream of shadows. Our knowledge is but a focus -of wandering ideas, burning a moment in a white heat, ere they pass -again, diffused widely, into the unknown. - -"The sense of divinity, which moves in us, may be but a hope born of -this trouble and perplexity, a desire that at some future time the -fragments of our being shall be collected again and fashioned into a -whole. We cry out that we need not be wasted, to drift forever as dust, -blind, dumb, and inarticulate, yet with a dim consciousness of a life -stirring beyond us and alien to us. Let us share in it. Let us have a -share in the world's sunlight and the sweet air. We have personified -this hope, and given it an extended significance which seems to breathe -and move in all things. Each individual finds his justification in God; -and it follows that his God must be merciful, just, and good; but, at -the same time, the notions of justice and good are entirely peculiar to -the individual. God is thus a realisation of self, a self who triumphs -and will be justified, even through his misery. The very practice of -virtue is an accusation against the gods, an affirmation that if the -good perish then God is evil. - -"I am a maker of myths, one who fashions out of perishable things a -thought which, through its informing truth, exists independently of -time. I think of man as of one who is blind, dumb, and without hands. -Sitting alone in this physical darkness a thought comes to him of what -his life might have been if he had been born whole; and he imagines -himself as a man with hands, a voice, and sight, creating a whole world -out of his pleasure. This other man, who moves like a creature of light -through the dim passages of his mind, becomes, as it were another self; -but through his greater power, a being of joy living eternally, a -strong, triumphant, beautiful figure; and consequently external from, -and different to, the man. And the blind, dumb, handless man, bowing his -head in the darkness, says: 'It is God.' - -"For the gods which we have imagined are immortal men, and man a mortal -God. They differ from us in nothing but the gladness and eternity of -their actions. They move delightfully on the wings of the wind; through -the great tumult of waters their feet are swift and sure; their voices -have a music that is like the fierce motion of dancing, yellow flames. -God is simply our own selves, made whole, and removed from the devouring -years. God is our weakness searching after strength, our blindness, -thirsting after light; our desire seeking for a voice, and we worship -him. We worship him because he is ourselves; but we seek him, always, as -if conscious of our own weakness and worthlessness, beyond ourselves, in -the external world, Our God is hidden in the deeps of the sea; in the -shadows of the forests; in that blue heaven beyond the stars. He is very -subtile, moving on stealthy feet, through unknown ways. We seek him, but -we find him not. He is swifter than we are, and when we pursue him he -flies away into the darkness; and when we cry out that we have lost him -he comes close to us again, filling our hearts with a silent sweetness. -So it is ever with us; when we seek to clasp him he eludes us; but in -the silence of night we imagine that he is not very far away and that a -little thing would suffice to allure him to us, to reveal him to sight. - -"Once in a country of hills and valleys lived a shepherd who called to -the nymph Echo, and she answered him from her cave in the hillside with -his own voice. Then he girded himself, and taking a staff in his hand -set out to seek her; and coming to the place whence she had answered -him, he called again, and she replied from a higher peak. When he had -called from the next peak he was answered from the valley and descended -into its deep forests; and men saw him no more, for he died there, and -the beasts devoured him. - -"We also die ere we have found the voice which calls to us from the -mountains; but it ever lures us forward, calling sometimes from a cave -quite close to us, and again from a distant peak. We also die, and our -ears hear it no longer; but our children will hear and follow it gladly -up the steep glens of the windy hills." - -As Protagoras finished, he dropped the roll of parchment beside him, and -motioned the slave to bring him some wine. Lysis rose from his couch and -attempted to crown him, when the loud voice of Pythodorus broke in upon -the general conversation. - -"What is this that you are applauding?" he said; "are you men of Athens -or foreigners fond only of subtile words? I, for one, shall not praise -or consent to what has been said by Protagoras here to-night. What has -he done but cloak his impiety in smooth phrases and suave periods? Are -you willing, through his soft persuasion, to deny that the gods inhabit -the wide skies and the hidden regions of the bright sea?" - -A silence fell upon the company. One or two shifted uneasily upon their -couches. It was fairly well known that Pythodorus had some personal -grudge against Protagoras; but no one had suspected that he would take -this opportunity of revenge. - -"You are mistaken, Pythodorus," said Euripides. "Protagoras has only -discussed the question of whether we can have any knowledge of the gods. -He carefully disclaimed any intention of denying their existence." - -"It is clear to me, Euripides, that Protagoras has denied them," -answered Pythodorus. "He claims that if we do not know a thing, the -thing does not exist. But I shall not argue the question here; I shall -lay it before the proper judges. An offence against the gods is a crime -in which the whole city is implicated, and which they must cleanse from -themselves. I would have you believe that I am not moved by any personal -feeling against Protagoras, but only by a desire that the whole people -should not have to expiate, in suffering, the crime of one man. All the -misfortunes of Athens have arisen from the spirit of irreverent -sophistry which is eating her away; and people now seem to think that -they may say anything, provided that it be well said." - -He spoke in a raucous voice, trying to contain his passion, but with an -exultant fire in his eyes. Socrates sat up on his couch and rubbed his -leg. - -"Pythodorus, you are as bad a listener as I am. I can never understand -these long speeches. They act like a charm, and I always fall asleep in -the middle of them; but before I fell asleep to-night I heard what -Protagoras said as to his main position, and I think that he was -laughing at us. He spoke only in a cautious vein of paradox. While he -was pretending one thing, he was proving the opposite. You must not take -him very seriously." - -"What do you mean?" - -"Were you awake all the time, Pythodorus?" said Socrates. - -"Of course. I was listening most attentively." - -"Then you will remember that Protagoras said that the gods were not to -be found in the external world, but in the hearts of men. We cannot know -them, as we know a tree, but we can feel them by us. He seems to hold -that we cannot know anything except what we have drawn out of -ourselves." - -Socrates was attempting to lead the conversation back into quieter -channels, but Pythodorus rose. - -"I shall leave you. It is not for me to judge whether Protagoras is -right or wrong," he said. - -Some of the guests left with him, through fear, and the rest were -dismayed. Protagoras, who had not said a word in answer to Pythodorus, -leaned back on his couch and spoke. - -"Of course, Pythodorus will accuse me," he said; "and I shall be -condemned. He is powerful, and in the present condition of things can do -as he likes. But it would be a shame if we allowed the malice of one -person to interrupt our discussion. Let us sit talking until dawn, and -then I shall prepare to leave Athens. I expected that he would do me -what injury he could. Shall we have some more wine, Euripides? It is -probably our last feast together." - -"I am afraid it is," said Euripides. "Yes; let us have some wine. I -blame myself for what has happened; but I never expected this." - -"It would have happened to-morrow if not to-day," answered Protagoras. -"Do not blame yourself, Euripides. There are, I think, few persons in -this room, who will escape from the reaction which is developing in -Athens. Socrates, of course, will survive it. He follows the traditions -of religion, but, at the same time, he differs from them. What was that -curious paradox you put forward about my teaching, Socrates?" - -"It was no paradox, Protagoras, but sober, earnest truth. You will never -persuade me that your intention was to deny the existence of the gods." - -"Well, then, let us discuss it. Only our friends are here now. And -to-morrow I shall be beyond the reach of malice. Can we know the gods, -Socrates?" - -"You confuse the two things, because Pythodorus did. Philip has not -deserted us. He is sitting there half drunk. Will you argue with him? If -with me, answer what I ask. You denied, did you not, that we can find -any trace of the action of the gods in this world?" - -"Yes." - -"And did you not affirm that the gods exist, if they exist at all, in a -manner peculiar to themselves." - -"Yes." - -"Without denying the existence of the gods, then, you affirm that we -cannot know them because we cannot find any trace of their action in the -life of man?" - -"That is what I said," answered Protagoras. - -"And you also said that, man being the measure of all things, truth is -what he thinks true; good, what he thinks good. There is no truth -external to the individual. Did you not?" - -"Yes, Socrates; but I am afraid you are giving a sense to my words which -they were not intended to convey." - -"That is not my object. I wish merely to examine your thought. You -incline to cloak it in myths, but you should learn to send truth from -you clean and naked, as a trainer sends an athlete into the palæstra. If -I offend you, Protagoras, you must forgive me; but I cannot follow an -argument which is not direct. Do your words contain my meaning?" - -"Yes, Socrates." - -"Then you deny all truth except what a man draws out of himself?" - -"Yes." - -"And a man should not say it is cold. He should say I am cold?" - -"Yes; all external things are only what we imagine them to be." - -"The same, of course, holds good with regard to truth, virtue, and -justice; these things are equally external to the individual. I think -that you have said this before, Protagoras, have you not?" - -"Yes," said Protagoras. - -"Well, then, let us leave that part of the argument for the present," -said Socrates. "We shall return to it later, as every one agrees to it. -I wish to ask you another series of questions. If you wished to learn -the art of making plays, would you go to a cobbler or to Euripides? To -Euripides. Very well! But if you wished to learn the art of making -shoes, would you go to a cobbler, or to a playwright?" - -"To a cobbler, of course!" - -"You would choose one skilful rather than a beginner; and in politics, -also, you would choose an experienced man, in preference to one who had -no experience, and in art you would take the finest artist as your -master. Would you not?" - -"Of course." - -"And the same with pastry-cooks, with tillers of the soil and -vine-dressers; you would choose the person most experienced?" - -"Yes." - -"All this I have learnt from what you said at the beginning of your -discourse. If you wished to learn the arts of politics or of cobbling -you would go to a politician or to a cobbler; but if you wished to learn -the art of being virtuous, would you go to a vicious or to a virtuous -man?" - -"To a virtuous man." - -"But why, Protagoras? Is not the test of truth in yourself and not in -others?" - -"Yes." - -"Then you know the truth, and you recognise it when you meet with it?" - -"Yes." - -"But then the truth lies also outside of ourselves. Goodness, wisdom, -and other excellent things are external to us, and we can only draw them -out of ourselves? Have you not said that God is a projection of self?" - -"A stronger self, Socrates." - -"Then you recognise a standard of excellence beyond man, and this -standard of excellence he draws out of himself; and that only is true -which a man draws out of himself; but at the same time you recognise in -others the art of cobbling and of politics." - -"These things are only conventional," said Protagoras. - -"Why, Protagoras? What is the difference between going as an apprentice -to a good cobbler and going as an apprentice to a good man?" - -"Because cobbling is an art that any one may learn, but virtue is -different." - -"Is virtue different from doing good?" - -"No." - -"A virtuous person will seek the good; he recognises goodness by his own -standard?" - -"Yes." - -"He is the measure of truth, and he chooses a teacher who will show him -a fitting wisdom, as he will choose a cobbler who will make him a -fitting shoe?" - -"Socrates, I frankly admit that I am tired of your cobbler." - -"But is virtue doing things well or ill?" - -"Well." - -"And the individual judges whether the thing is well or ill done?" - -"You are still cobbling, Socrates." - -"Surely, Protagoras, if truth is drawn entirely out of the individual, -he will know virtue better than he will know a shoe. I do not want you -to say that I am forcing your words into a construction that they will -not bear. Your arguments suggest others to me. I am cobbling, you say, -point out the patches! You say that there is no truth external to the -individual; that if a man feels hot, it is hot; that justice is what he -thinks just, that he cannot know external things. Surely, then, his -whole standard of truth is himself. And if he fashion a God out of his -inner consciousness, surely God exists more truly than a tree or a shoe -exists." - -"Socrates, my words may bear this expansion. You hold, then, that we may -have knowledge of their existence. I am not averse to this belief; but -to me a God is simply a self, a self freed from our conditions of life. - -"Let us not say that Socrates or Protagoras has triumphed. We have -simply got a little closer to the truth." - -"God may exist for the individual, Socrates; in the individual -consciousness. But the truth lies beyond us. Man's image of a tree is -true, because a tree is." - -"The colour, the shape, the texture, are not," replied Socrates; "except -as the man sees them. Philip was right in saying that if we know one -thing we know all others. Philip, wake up!" - -"Socrates, what mischief are you up to now that Pythodorus is gone," -said Philip. "You talk too much. Protagoras said simply that a monkey -imagines God as a monkey, while a peacock imagines him as a peacock." - -"O Philip, what a fool you are! Does a foolish man imagine a foolish -God? Does a blind man imagine a blind God?" - -"Of course not." - -"Then, listen, Philip! Does Pythodorus imagine a God who is a nuisance -to his friends?" - -"No." - -"Very well, then, some standard exists which is external to the -individual, but which he only knows through his inner consciousness. The -oracle at Delphi was right when it said: 'Know thyself. For the more a -man knows himself, the more he knows God.'" - -"It is dawn," said Lysis. - -"O Socrates, you are the most unbridled and insatiable of all the -sophists," said Protagoras, laughing. "You have laid a trap for me." - -"Why do you accuse me of laying a trap for you? We are not arguing with -the sole desire of scoring a point against each other. I do not lay -traps for you, as if I were a hunter of men; but I lay traps for truth, -being a hunter of truth, and having no other reason for existence but to -chase and follow after it wherever it may be hidden." - -"We have no more time, Socrates," said Protagoras. "Tell me your own -opinion of the gods and of the aim of life." - -"What can I say to you," said Socrates, "beyond what a prophetess taught -me? For she said that in our voyage through the world we are being -reminded constantly of a previous existence, and that when we are -brought face to face with beauty or with virtue or with truth, in short -wherever we are moved to admiration as in contemplating a work of art -like the chryselephantine Zeus at Olympia, it is the memory stirring in -us of the place from which we came; and, further, she asked me if I had -never felt an inexplicable sadness mingling with all beauty, as if -beauty itself were inseparable from sorrow. 'Yes, Diotima,' I answered, -'in the presence of beauty we are all sufferers.' 'Then Socrates,' she -said, 'let me tell you that this feeling of sadness in the presence of -beauty is in reality a sense of exile; for however deeply we may drink -of Lethe, the soul will retain some broken memories of the garden of the -gods. When we meet with beauty in the world it is but a mutilated -fragment of the divine beauty, but however small or slight it may be in -itself, it is sufficient to call up into memory the divine beauty; and -it is then that the sense of exile rushes in upon us like a wave and we -weep and suffer anguish, and can neither tear ourselves away from the -beautiful thing, nor be content with it; but all our being thirsts after -the more perfect beauty. But let me warn you, Socrates, that however -much you may be tortured in the presence of the beauty that lies -scattered through the world, it is your business to collect each tiny -fragment; and if it be a few bars of music you must build it into a -song; if it be a mere tangle of coloured skeins you must weave it into a -garment; if it be fragments of gold and ivory you must make them into a -statue; if it be beautiful colours you must make them into a picture, or -beautiful words then into a poem; and all this time you will suffer and -be tortured with desire for the more perfect beauty. But, until you have -gathered together the broken fragments which are in the world you will -not return into the garden of the gods.' 'Then the gods exist?' I -enquired. 'Certainly the gods exist,' answered Diotima; 'but they exist -in a manner peculiar to themselves.' She would say nothing more, but -when I questioned her smiled wisely and was silent." - - * * * * * - -Hermogenes met Lysis by the porch of the King Archon near the house of -Callias. - -"Have you heard the news, Hermogenes," said Lysis, "I have just been -with Euripides. Protagoras is drowned. Within sight of Sicily a storm -came up and drove the boat on the rocks. The sailors saved themselves by -swimming; but Protagoras, who could not swim, sat on the prow of the -boat. They saw him from the beach sitting calmly until the boat split in -two. The waves reached out for him, and in a little time his bruised and -battered body was cast up at their feet. As they reached for it it was -snatched away by another wave. And so the sea played with him like a cat -playing with a mouse. Then he was flung ashore. His face was bloody but -smiling." - -"It was a judgment of the gods," said Hermogenes. - -"So everybody says." - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - _TO MRS ALFRED FOWLER_ - - - - - III - - THE FRIEND OF PAUL - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - III - - THE FRIEND OF PAUL - - -The house of Serenus lay about four miles from Gades, in a country of -vines and olives. It was built a little below the ridge of a hill, which -sheltered it from the north-east winds, and fronted south-west, -overlooking the Atlantic and a long stretch of the coast-line with its -innumerable headlands and curving bays. From the windows in the upper -storey Serenus could see this wide expanse of waters, never completely -the same, but always restless and troubled, with caprice in sunlight, or -anger in storms; or, turning to another aspect, the hills and valleys of -his own estate; a land of cornfields, vineyards, and olive-yards, -pleasantly diversified by slopes of green upland pasture, and beyond -them the wild beauty of mountains with frosty summits and well-timbered -flanks. The house was surrounded by a garden planted with myrtles and -plane-trees, with alleys screened from the fierce heat of summer by -dense boughs of ilex, curving tortuously in labyrinthine windings, or -running perfectly straight until they ended in an arch, the frame, as it -were, for some picture of land or sea. The grass by the paths was kept -mown, but here and there, among thickets of myrtle, grew rank, -harbouring the green lizards, who slipped out every now and then to bask -in the sunlight on the marble steps, or on the pedestals of the statues -of Priapus and the woodland gods. - -Beyond the garden, Ceres crowded abundantly into every corner. Half a -mile away, at the foot of the hill, its red-tiled roofs just showing -above the terraced vines, was the house of the farm-bailiff; thither -came the tall daughters of the peasantry bringing the offerings of their -mothers in plaited baskets, pale honey in its wax, young leverets, and -capons luscious for cooking. In the yard all the crowd of common poultry -wandered about, while the tower echoed with the joy of pigeons, answered -from the neighbouring trees by the cooing of ring-doves and white -turtles. Thither also, on feast-days, or to the humble marriage of one -of their companions, all the slaves of the estate were bidden, the -huntsmen with the herds; and Serenus would sit among them, eating the -same fare and drinking the same wine, while much wood burnt to the -festal Lares. - -As he grew older, Serenus had come to love the tranquil life at his -country-house, the soft, warm air blowing from off the sea, the noise of -rippling water and of wind stirring in the leaves. He had arrived at -that period of life when a man is content to stand aside and become a -spectator. In the last few years his hold upon the management of his -large properties had been gradually relaxed, and he had come to rely -more and more upon one or two trusted slaves and freedmen; but at -irregular intervals he would make a journey to all his possessions in -Spain, visiting Bilbilis where he had iron-fields, and bred horses; a -delightful country it was, "high Bilbilis enriched by arms and horses; -Caunus austere with snows, and the broken hills of Vadevero, the sweet -grove of Botrodus which Pomona loves." - -His interests extended in many directions: he was concerned in the mines -of Spain; he owned a fleet of ships which sailed to Rome, and beyond, -even to Corinth; his agents followed the army to buy slaves; and he lent -money, though principally for political purposes, to the young -officials, half civil and half military, for whom the government of a -province was a means to fortune and imperial favour at Rome. At first -this villa in the country had been used only in the hottest months of -the year, and the site chosen because there seemed always to be some -mysterious currents of air flowing about it from the cool hills toward -the sea, and because innumerable springs had their sources in the rocks; -but gradually there woke in him that living interest in rural pleasures -and labours, which was always an instinct with the Romans even during -their worst decadence; he became glad at any time to visit it, and drink -in its mild delicious air in that peaceable garden overlooking the -mysterious sea. - -The need for leisure grew upon him, and he added a wing to the -originally modest house in order that he might transport thither his -libraries from Gades; he transported also his Greek statues, his tables -of citrus wood and ivory, his myrrhine vases; he built a roofed -colonnade, pierced with windows on both sides, and with movable -shutters, so that the weather-side might be closed at will; he devised -rooms to catch all the winter sun, and rooms shaded by vines which were -cool through the hottest days; he built sumptuous baths, and a new -triclinium, and new guest-chambers; by every window, colonnade, and walk -he planted roses and violets to sweeten the air; and he stocked his fish -ponds with rare fish for the table. - -But in spite of the later more sumptuous buildings, and new elegances -which he brought with him, he did not forget that he had come into the -country in order to be with the elementary conditions of life. He felt -very near to this earth which furnished him with everything he ate. From -the time the wheat was sown until it came upon his table in little -loaves it had been handled by none except his own slaves. At the -vintage, he would go out to the wine-press and gaze on the wine-jars, as -they were carried into the cellar to stand with the older jars, in which -mellowed the fragrance of earlier autumns; and day after day, in a -broad-brimmed hat and worn military cloak, he would walk down to the -farm and listen to the pleasant, familiar noises, the clamour of the -geese, the lambs calling to their full mothers, the cooing of the -pigeons in the tower, the murmur of the bees about the populous hives; -and the children hung shyly about him, for he generally brought them -some nuts, and would tempt the wild-eyed things toward him, holding the -nuts in his open hand, as a man might tempt a bird with crumbs. - -He was still fond of hunting, fond of the deep shadow of the woods, the -stealthy alertness, the cunning and science of wood-craft, he felt that -he could best repel the advance of age by such exercises; but even in -the woods perhaps his chief pleasure was in a kind of meditation, a -conversation with himself, induced by that silence which the sport -imposed; and, when the boars had been finally driven into the nets and -slain, he would sit beside them, eating bread which he dipped in wine, -and writing on his tablets, in a small, fine hand, the thoughts -suggested by the day's journey. It seemed to him that the physical -exercise, the free play of the air on face and limbs, awakened an equal -vivacity and alertness in the mind; and that Minerva, no less than -Diana, was a goddess of the deep solitudes. Two Roman officers from -Gades, Sulpicianus Rufus and Marcus Licinius were his usual hunting -companions. - -After his morning exercise, Serenus was used to take a cold bath, and -then sleep for a little while during the heat of the day. Coming from -his bath one morning, a little before noon, he found his two friends in -the hall. - -"Seneca is dead;" was the news they brought him. - -Then, in one of the libraries, he learned the details. - -Rufus had been a friend of Seneca, and the story had come direct to him. -The three friends were strangely moved. Marcus and Serenus listened in -silence as Rufus described the scene at the villa. - -"He asked for his will, that he might make some bequests to his friends; -but this was forbidden. Turning then, to his wife and the two friends -who were dining with him, he said that since Nero had murdered his -mother and brother it was not to be expected that he might spare the -instructor of his youth. Paulina desired to die with him, and the -physician opened the veins of both. But Seneca's blood would not flow, -and he drank poison; finally, he was carried to a warm bath, and died. -Paulina's wounds were bound up, by command of Nero, and she still -lives." - -"She is more to be pitied," said Serenus. "What others died?" - -Rufus gave their names. - -"Lucan, too!" exclaimed Serenus. "Does Gallio still live?" - -"I have not heard of his death; but it is impossible that he would -escape." - -"Yes," said Serenus; "Seneca's family is annihilated. It is like the -working of Nemesis. We have been the spectators of one of Fate's -tragedies, which are so rare. It is complete, large, full of irony; and -Seneca's own words, 'the murderer of his mother and brother would not -spare the instructor of his youth!' One thinks of them less as Seneca's -own words, than as the sardonic comment of a later historian. They are -too apt." - -"You were not one of Seneca's friends," said Rufus. - -"No," said Serenus; "Nero is the direct result of Seneca's teachings. So -brutal a voluptuary could hardly issue from any but a Stoic school. It -is at once raw, crude, and narrow; it coarsens our natural appetites -instead of refining them. For Stoicism the human emotions, love and -pity, are but weaknesses, which it denies and attempts to stifle. It is -very far from the secret of human sympathy. Nero as a young man had many -excellent qualities, which an artistic and delicate training might have -developed into fine accomplishments: he might have learned the art of -life; and instead he has learned only rhetoric, the sort of rhetoric -that vitiates every action, and makes our emotions the subject for a -stage declamation, makes life a mere piece of acting. Yet I must not -forget, Rufus, that Seneca was your friend. Perhaps he was better than -his philosophy; but I have never been able to forgive him either for his -adulation of Claudius during his life, or his satire upon him after his -death." - -"Seneca was un-Roman," said Marcus. - -"Why do you say that?" enquired Serenus. - -"All his ideals were un-Roman," answered Marcus. "His notions of the -brotherhood and natural equality of man, his unpractical nature and -sentimentalism, his absolute lack of a grasp upon realities and their -significance, his condemnation of war and of slavery. His life was -composed almost entirely of noble maxims, and of trivial actions." - -"He died well," said Rufus tersely. - -"A final gesture," said Marcus, rubbing his arm. "We Romans are superbly -self-conscious. We die in public, with appropriate speeches." - -"What you think peculiar to Seneca, his sentimentalism and idealism, are -really parts of the present spirit, and common to all schools," answered -Serenus. "Rome has broken down the ancient national barriers, and given -to all peoples the notion of humanity as a whole. It is from this cause -that the idea of a world-state has its origin. But Rome governs by -force; other nations are tributary to her; she has enslaved them; they -are the base upon which she has raised her grandeur. They feel that they -are unjustly treated. We have created new conditions. We have shut them -off from their legitimate activities by refusing to allow them to govern -themselves, or to make war upon their neighbours; so that the whole life -of the Empire is centralised in Rome, and the provinces have become -stagnant. And from these new conditions has been born a new spirit. Life -seems too full of suffering; the poor and the oppressed are many, and -because they are so many they are becoming articulate. They would build -a new heaven and a new earth. I learnt of this first at Corinth." - -"The whole corruption of the world comes from the Greeks and the Jews," -said Rufus contemptuously. "What is the use of clamouring against life? -It is a problem that we must each solve for ourselves, and no theory -will help us. If society were wrong, if Rome were wrong, if force were -wrong, we should not be sitting here in comparative comfort. To talk of -the tyranny of the State is nonsense; individual liberty is what each -man wins for himself, and the State merely offers the most convenient -mechanism by which it may be gained. As an example we have the growth of -a large class of rich freedmen. The disease, from which we are suffering -at present, is simply a form of sentimentality. What is morality? What -is justice? What is good? The only answer is: 'That which law orders.'" - -"Do you believe in the gods, Rufus?" enquired Marcus, with amusement. - -"I follow the customs of my forefathers," answered Rufus bluntly. - -"The gods are dead," said Marcus, still rubbing his arm. - -"They are not dead," answered Serenus gently; "but they have changed -their names. The people will always worship the same Divinity, the Giver -of rain and good crops and victory in battle, and health in life, and -peace toward death." - -"I never understood Seneca's philosophy; but I loved the man," said -Rufus. "The greater part of him was weakness, but he had strength. He -was a good man of business, Serenus." - -"He was a clever man, with admirable opportunities," answered Serenus. -"I am an Epicurean, and Seneca's teaching is not mine. Yet, in some of -its details his teaching is also Epicurean. With him, philosophy was -less an affair of the mind than of the imagination, and of good taste; -it is always the artist, the orator, who is teaching, and his eloquence -is never quite persuasive, because the artist is never quite persuaded. -He belongs to no school, he is an eclectic; and he seeks rather to -inculcate the practice of virtue than to show what virtue is. He neither -asks nor answers a question. The vices and weaknesses which he condemned -in others he had found in himself; his was a subjective, a poetic, a -romantic mind. And it was precisely for this reason that his disciples -loved him, because of that emotional and many coloured nature, which saw -virtue, the most austere virtue, ever as a god, and found it -unattainable." - -"Yes, that is true," said Rufus. - -"But did Seneca believe in the gods, and in the immortality of the -soul?" enquired Marcus. - -Serenus smiled. - -"Yes," he answered; "Seneca spent his whole life in seeking for the -truth, but the truth for which he sought was one which should be -agreeable to his own nature. A divinity was necessary to his well-being. -He speaks of a loving God, of a God who orders the world aright and -whose will we should obey without a murmur; and in consequence his -hatred for the Epicureans was great. He could not forgive us for showing -the gods serene and untroubled in their abode, into which penetrates no -whisper of mortal anguish; and for saying that no voice of prayer -troubles their endless pleasure, and that without tears or anger they -gaze at once upon our sorrow and our sin, and are heedless of the hands -uplifted in supplication from every corner of the earth. Yes; God is -necessary to a Stoic. But we Epicureans have called upon the gods and -they have not answered us; we have sought them throughout the world and -have not found them; neither are they in the seas nor in the skies; we -have not seen them destroy the wicked nor protect the innocent; we think -that they are not interested in our humble affairs; they are neither our -masters nor our creators, but belong to the same order of things as we -do, though of a finer and less perishable nature: if, indeed, they exist -at all." - -"Stoicism is a hatred of humanity," said Marcus; "perhaps Epicureanism -is a love of it. Rufus, do you not think the Epicureans are clever? They -do not deny the existence of gods; but they make their gods of such a -divinely intangible substance that doubt becomes in itself almost an act -of worship. It is as if they feared to profane the sanctuary with human -feet soiled by the dust of travail." - -"I have given you my opinion of philosophy and philosophers," said -Rufus. "Once a man begins to think of the difference between right and -wrong he is lost, morally and mentally. I studied philosophy in order to -learn how to write despatches; and in the short course I took, I -acquired enough knowledge of the subject to know that good and evil -belong to the category of reflex actions, they are spasmodic movements -over which we have no control. Do I praise my legionaries because they -are brave? I do, as a matter of fact. It makes an admirable prelude to -the imposition of another task. Seneca imagined that men could be -disciplined into virtue. It was a great mistake, because discipline is -not applicable to the individual, it is only applicable to a crowd. It -is easy to fill a regiment with courage; but it is impossible to make -one man brave." - -"You do not think that it is possible to form individual habits?" said -Serenus. - -"Yes, of course," answered Rufus; "it is possible to accustom a man to -sleep on a hard bed, to deny himself wine or flesh, even in some degree -to control his temper. But an action is good or bad, only in so far as -it is a reflex action." - -"What you say is very curious," said Serenus quickly. - -"In fact Rufus is a complete philosopher," said Marcus, laughing. "I -should like to drink a little wine." - -Serenus struck a sounding-bowl of silver, and a Greek boy entered. - -"Wine," said Serenus, and the boy left them. "Rufus, you have heard of a -sect of Jews called Christians; do you know their belief?" - -"No," said Rufus contemptuously; "I only know that it is against the -Jewish religion to pay tribute. I believe that they have no religion; -they are contemptuous of all known gods; they will eat no flesh which -has been offered in the temples; and they loathe the whole human race: a -feeling which, I think, is reciprocated. The Christians seem to be one -of the numerous sects given over to the practice of a depraved and -fantastic superstition. The East is full of such monstrous cults." - -The Greek boy set wine before them, threw a few grains of incense on a -brazier, and departed softly. Marcus drank a white Greek wine; Rufus -poured himself out a large bowl of Falernian. - -"I take mine with a great deal of water," said Serenus; "because my -stomach is weak. Alas! sometimes I think it is my stomach which has -taught me the virtue of moderation. I have heard a man, who was a -Christian, speak in almost the identical words of Seneca. The cardinal -point of his doctrine was not the Stoic apathy, but the recommendation -of sympathy, that is the difference between them. Here and there he uses -the same phrases and illustrations as Seneca. It shows how widespread -the new spirit is." - -"Seneca's teaching did not interest me," answered Rufus. "It was the man -I loved. Though it is long since saw him, I cannot believe that he was -contaminated by Judaism." - -Serenus felt a curious desire to disburden himself. - -"I went a great deal among the Christians once," he said softly. - -The two men looked at him for a moment, with that curious expression of -distrust which men adopt when another confesses to some social -indiscretion. - -"It was nearly nine years ago, and perhaps my nature resembled Seneca's -then; my philosophy was an affair of the heart. I was seeking for a -beauty that is not of this world. It was at Corinth. I met a man named -Paul." - -"All things are possible at Corinth," said Rufus. "Tell us your story, -Serenus." - -"And then we shall stay to dinner," said Marcus, as he finished his -wine. - -"It is a long story," said Serenus, smiling. "I have written it on a -roll, and shall read it to you. Let us go out into the garden; it is -cool and pleasant there now. Lysis will bring you what you want. Do you -remember telling me, Rufus, that Seneca drew you to him by his weakness? -Paul drew me to him by his strength." - - * * * * * - -Passing out of the library through the atrium the friends crossed a -small courtyard enclosed on three sides, and turning sharp to the left -began to climb the slope which sheltered the house. The walk was shaded -by a thick hedge of ilex, and there were tall, slim cypresses at -irregular intervals. Leaving the path, they crossed a plot of grass, -starry with little flowers, and, passing through a thicket of myrtles, -came presently to a semicircular stone seat shaded by beeches which -stood, eastward, a little way behind it. Falling water tinkled like -little silver bells somewhere close to them; and the leaves made a -pleasant whispering noise. Lysis covered the seat with rugs, and left -them. The seat faced westward, overlooking the olive-yards which the -winds flushed to silver; and the friends had a magnificent view of the -Atlantic. In the declining light the distant promontories, blue and -lemon, seemed to jut out into a bath of liquid colours, as if suspended -in the vague; and the horizon was indeterminate. A fleet of -fishing-boats, some miles from the shore, seemed like small, brown moths -with motionless wings that had settled upon a flat screen of transparent -blue gauze, and about them the light gleamed and flickered upon -innumerable little dancing waves. It was all blue and green, but so pale -and silent as to seem a mirage. Marcus, lounging easily upon the wide -seat, looked over the prospect with unconscious enjoyment. Rufus sat -with his chin in his hands. - -"I love to sit here on tranquil evenings," said Serenus; "and listen for -the cry of the halcyon, or the heavy plunge of a dolphin, drifting up -through the delicious air from the bay." - -He unrolled his manuscript, and presently began to read, in a smooth, -low voice:-- - - * * * * * - -"When Venus rose out of the foam and froth of Ocean it was upon the prow -of a Phœnician trader, that carried her into every part of the known -world; and when her worship fell away and her votaries became few, the -cult of Venus Pandemos still flourished at Corinth, and her temples -there were served by a thousand priestesses. There she loves to have her -abiding place, where she can look out upon two seas, and watch the -sail-winged ships bringing her tribute from distant lands; she is the -lure, beckoning them over the pathless sea. The port Cenchrea is -surrounded by green hills and pine forests, and through the stone-pines -at dawn the sun sends his first level rays, so that their trunks show -black against the gold. The streets are infested with traders of all -nations; Jews and Syrians swarm there; child courtesans with delicate -and innocent faces pluck strangers by the sleeve and smile; the quays -and streets are crowded with the booths of merchants and moneychangers, -whose gay awnings striped red or yellow glare vividly in the sunlight; -and doves are everywhere, fluttering about the streets, fanning the air -with a soft pulse of wings, alighting upon awnings and architraves to -preen their feathers, running swiftly among the passengers on their pink -feet and cooing, cooing softly like the young girls who touch men on the -sleeve, the very gentle, insinuating whisper of Aphrodite. - -"I arrived at Corinth in the beginning of December, and remember well -the gaiety, animation, and bustle of the scene as I watched it from the -steps of the temple; for a long time I fed my sight upon that busy, -amorous, wholly pleasure-loving crowd, until, at last, the red and -yellow awnings so hot and vivid even in the winter sunlight, the -perpetual passing to and fro of men and women, the continual change and -motion of colours, and the humming noise, all combined in a curious -hypnotic effect upon my nerves. What had seemed the very epitome of life -became a mere stage-scene, and then again nothing but the dance of motes -in a sunbeam. - -"It irritated me and then tired me. I turned from the Temple of Venus -and sought that of Apollo, where I rested a little time in peace. Then I -went to the house of my agent, with whom I was to lodge until I had -taken a house for my own use. The man was kindly, but tactless; his -tedious anxiety to please distracted and irritated me, he was so much at -my service that I could find no possible use for him. I said I wished to -bathe, and my host insisted on coming with me. It was amusing to watch -his air of importance as he conducted me through the crowded ways, for -he was a notable person in the city, and every other man we met greeted -us; as we paused a moment before a funeral procession I heard a voice -saying: 'That is Serenus, a cousin of Acte's Serenus,' and once again I -felt the intolerable stare of curious eyes, that dropped obsequiously -when I met them. After my bath, my host led me to the Prefect's palace, -for I had letters to Gallio, and then at last he left me. Gallio -received me charmingly; his manners are those of a man who has known and -forgotten everything. He begged me to dine, and to stay with him until I -had found a house; but I excused myself on the score of business and -fatigue. He smiled, answered that he would always be glad of my company, -and I left him. - -"Once again in the streets, that vivid and passionate life appealed to -me with a new sympathy; I read beneath the superficial gaiety and -glitter, the human tragedy, the flight of pleasures and the irrevocable -advance of death; women passed me in soft murmuring draperies, smiled at -me languorously and passed on leaving the air tainted with Eastern -perfumes. I noticed that even as they smiled their eyes were wistful. -The delicate winter sunset began. I called a boy to me and asked him to -guide me to the house of Caius, whom I wished to see personally on some -business connected with the outfit of my ship. He led me to a house in -the Jews' quarter and I tapped at the door. A freedwoman admitted me, -looked at me with surprise, and was just going to speak but changed her -mind and led me toward the doorway of a room whence came a sound of some -one reading. Light fell through the doorway as she drew back the -curtain; and she motioned me to enter; but I drew back in astonishment, -for a voice was reading aloud these words: 'Though I speak with the -tongues of men and of angels, and have not love, I am become sounding -brass or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have prophecy, and understand -all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith so that I -could remove mountains, and have not love, I am nothing. And if I give -away in food all my goods, and though I give my body to be burned, and -have not love, it profiteth me nothing.' - -"The grave voice ceased, for the servant had beckoned the reader, and -presently Caius came toward me. I gave him my orders with reference to -the sails and tackling of my ship, and spoke of other ships of mine -which he had refitted for me; and then asked him what author he had been -reading. For a moment he hesitated, and then answered that he had been -reading to some friends a letter by Paul, an apostle of Christ. I -enquired if I might look a little more closely at it as I had been -interested in what I heard; and after hesitating again for a moment he -brought it me. The scroll half opened in my hands and I read:-- - -"For behold your calling, brethren, how that not many wise after the -flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called, but God chose the -foolish things of the world, that he might put to shame them that are -wise; and God chose the weak things of the world, that he might put to -shame the things that are strong; and the base things of the world, and -the things that are despised, did God choose, yea, and the things that -are not, that he might bring to nought the things that are.' Mine eyes -followed the words as the roll opened: 'Howbeit we speak wisdom among -the perfect; yet a wisdom not of this world, nor of the rulers of this -world, which are coming to nought; but we speak God's wisdom in a -mystery, even the wisdom that hath been hidden, which God foreordained -before the worlds unto our glory; which none of the rulers of this world -knoweth; for had they known it they would not have crucified the Lord of -glory.' My sight ran heedlessly over the next few lines until they came -to these words: 'For I think, God hath set forth us the apostles last of -all, as men doomed to death; for we are made a spectacle unto the world, -and to angels, and to men. We are fools for Christ's sake, but ye are -wise in Christ; we are weak, but ye are strong; ye have glory but we -have dishonour. Even unto this present hour we both hunger, and thirst, -and are naked, and are buffeted, and have no certain dwelling-place; and -we toil, working with our own hands; being reviled, we bless; being -persecuted, we endure; being defamed, we entreat; we are made as the -filth of the world, the off-scouring of things, even until now.... What -will ye, shall I come unto you with a rod, or in love, and a spirit of -meekness?' - -"I rolled up the scroll, and gave it back to Caius, saying that I should -like to read it all, but that at the moment I had not the time; and I -suggested that he should lend it to me. He shook his head, murmuring -that it was not his property, that it was only deposited in his house -for safe keeping, the convenience of those who wished to consult it; but -he offered to let me see it, in his house, at any time that I might -wish. I said that perhaps I might come again, and went out into the -street. I do not think that I had any intention of coming again; but as -the women passed me in the moonlit streets, and the beggar children held -out their supplicating hands, I seemed to hear the words: 'If I give -away in food all my goods, and though I give my body to be burned and -have not love, it profiteth me nothing.' - -"Yes; I felt it in those streets, where little girls, still children and -innocent, aped with a diabolic mimicry the manners and allurements of -the women who followed me, followed me with a soft, rippling noise of -draperies and odour of cosmetics, like shadows, like ghosts. In the city -of the goddess of pleasure, I seemed to learn, for the first time, the -secret of pain. But beyond and above that sympathy with this drifting -helpless mass that is humanity, I felt a curious desire to learn more of -the personality of the writer who could write: 'If any man considereth -himself wise among you, let him become a fool that he may be wise, and -threaten to come among his disputing disciples with a rod.' His humility -seemed to overpass the bounds of pride, his words were whips, his -contempt for argument and disputation burned with a superhuman energy. -He seemed to say: 'These are but words, empty sounds. I teach you the -truth, accept it humbly; have I not suffered for it, and will you, who -have but enjoyed it in peace and plenty, attempt to alter it?' - -"I came back to my lodgings, and the woman who had followed me turned -away with a sigh. - -"The next ten days I spent on business; and I went a great deal to the -Prefect's palace where the conversation of Gallio and his friends -charmed and delighted me. Gallio saw the world and the Empire drifting -toward a complete breakdown. Civilisation, according to him, filled man -with desires which he can never gratify; it tended to accentuate the -difference between the poor and the rich, and the whole question -resolved itself for him into a question of politics. The Roman stock was -perishing, and its place was being taken by a horde of servile races. -The people were only being kept in check by a system of doles, and -amused with pageants. The burden of taxation was becoming insufferable. - -"It may last our time," he said with a smile; "but the disease is -ineradicable. A revolution, or a series of great wars, might carry us -forward for a time. We are suffering from a mortal sickness, growth, -which inevitably brings decay." - - * * * * * - -It had been arranged that one of my ships should follow three weeks -after my departure from Gades; and on my arrival at lazy Naples, I had -intended to wait for it, consequently I had remained there for three -weeks and a few days, and the other ship not coming by that time I -continued my voyage to Brundusium. There again I waited, anxious for -news, and at last reluctantly put out to sea without it. It arrived at -Corinth fourteen days after I did, and brought me a letter from my -nephew, but none from my wife. In an agony of doubt I opened it, and -read that my wife and child had died of a fever which had afflicted them -a few days after my departure. First my son had died, a boy little more -than three years old; and my wife, after lingering some time, followed -him. I had moved into my own house, and was alone. Sending a messenger -to my agent I bade him see to all things; and told him that I wished to -be left undisturbed. The words of the Master came to me: - - "Nam iam non domus accipiet te læta neque uxor - Optima, nec dulces occurrent oscula nati - Præripere, et tacita pectus dulcedine tangent." - -It seemed to me that the peace and tranquillity of my home, the sole aim -of my life, having been shrivelled up like unsubstantial things, -vanished like dreams, life had thrown me, too, aside and left me -stranded, a piece of wreckage, upon this alien shore. For many days I -sat alone in my sumptuous house, and the statues of the gods, blithe -Greek things, which I had bought to furnish it, and for transhipment to -the new home which I had meant to make at Rome, smiled at my unavailing -tears. Then one morning my slaves admitted a young boy to my presence. - -"Caius bids me tell you that Paul is in Corinth," he said. - -"I shall go," I answered. - -After he had left me, I repented. Why should I choose to frequent the -Jews and miracle-mongers of Corinth, who swarmed there on the way to -Rome from every part of the East, astrologers, and sellers of -love-potions, poisoners, and go-betweens? But the words rose up in my -mind: "God chose the foolish things of the world, that he might put to -shame them that are wise:" and I wished to be ashamed. In my weakness -and grief my hands went forth and groped in the darkness, seeking the -hands of those who had also suffered, seeking for the little familiar, -common-place things, that twine themselves round our being and are the -mainstays of life. My abandonment of life in my grief had been so -complete, that but for the message which came to me from Caius, I might -have drifted towards self-destruction, merely because of the sullen -inertia, which followed after the force of the blow had been spent. -Philosophy, religion, discipline, every vain convention which we imagine -may buttress our will in moments of great spiritual weakness, fell away -from me like garments, and the only thing remaining was a sense of human -sympathy, a craving for human consolation. - -Our master, Epicurus, was a lover of children; he knew, no one better, -their delicate and insinuating ways, the strange unreal world in which -they play, their unconsciousness of time; and he seems to have taken -them as patterns and exemplars of the life of pleasure, unsuspicious of -the future, and forgetful of the past, but living always with a vivid -intensity, in that little, shut-in pleasure-house of the senses, the -moment. As I thought of my child, I remembered all his caresses, the -soft touch of his flower-like hands upon my face, and the grave eyes -that seemed to keep a wisdom older than the world; and beside that image -in my dreams stooped another, Drusilla, her hands guiding him to me, she -whose whole life was like some attenuated fragrance, difficult of -apprehension, but inexpressibly sweet, her quiet brows with neat bands -of hair smoothed against the cool flesh; and the love that grew between -us, first for what she revealed to me, and then for what she hid. When I -thought of these two brief, beautiful creatures, I seemed to see in them -the true fragility of life, as if it were no more than wind in the stops -of a flute or sweet vibration from the strings of a lyre, aerial, -elusive, never to be wholly imprisoned in any one form, but wandering, -vocal, through the whole of creation, illuminating it to one exquisite -moment, like light upon hill and sea, and then vanishing, fleeing away -into darkness, never to be exactly repeated. - -So to me, sitting apart and outwardly unmoved, there came that fierce -hunger for things departed, that blind, bitter struggle against the -unalterable conditions of life. - -I hesitated, and delayed to set out on my adventure until well on into -the night At last I went. A fresh wind was blowing from the north-west, -it stung my face and eyes, and I saw that snow lay lightly upon the -summit of Acrocorinth, silvery in the moonlight. As I passed into the -Jews' quarter I began to meet little knots and groups of people talking -with excited gestures, and I heard rumours of brawls and quarrels; but I -reached the house of Caius without incident. The same boy who had -brought me the message admitted me. He had fine clear-cut features, -distinctive of no particular race, though with evidence of Roman blood -somewhere. Caius was the son of a freedman I gathered later, and this -boy was the eldest of his two children, the other being a girl. The boy -told me that the meeting was over, but that Caius was with Paul and his -travelling companions in an upper chamber; he led the way and I -followed. I felt cold and suspicious, but curious. The boy drew back the -curtain, whispered my name, and I went into the warmly-lighted room. -Seated by the brazier was a thick-set, crook-backed man, ugly and mean, -with a small head, much too small for his shoulders, a sallow skin and -thick beard. As I entered he lifted his face; the eyebrows met above the -beaky nose, and he regarded me for a moment in complete silence. The -eyes were piercing, as though full of smouldering fires. They seemed to -explore the most secret recesses of my soul; then to grow kinder, as if -recognising something in it. - -"Peace be with you, and light, and understanding," he said; and as he -spoke there seemed to me a hesitation and an embarrassment in his -manner. I murmured something in reply, at which, perhaps, a slight smile -broke about his lips, and he turned away. Caius brought me the -manuscript which I had looked at, gave me a chair in a warm corner by a -lamp, and went back to the others. I began to read. Four men, besides -Caius, and a woman were gathered at a table by Paul. One of the men was -holding a pen. Then the voice of Paul broke the silence. - -"For the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free -from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do in that it -was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of -sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh. That the -ordinance of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the -flesh, but after the spirit. For they that are after the flesh do mind -the things of the flesh; but they that are after the spirit, the things -of the spirit. For the mind of the flesh is death; but the mind of the -spirit is life and peace.... And if Christ is in you, the body is dead -because of sin, but the spirit is life because of righteousness." - -Holding the manuscript on my knees, I listened. The passion of the -speaker seized and held me; he was like one so full of speech as to be -inarticulate, he seemed to falter through many phrases until he found -the right one; he would go on blindly, following the mere impulse of his -mind, without thought or reason, until at last, as with pain, words came -to him that seemed to touch the heart, to illuminate hidden places, and -what had gone before was transfused and crystallised by it into a kind -of rude and imperfect unity. Sometimes after one of these magnificent -utterances, he would give forth phrase after phrase, that glowed with -the heat of his own certainty. "Who shall separate us from the love of -Christ? shall tribulation, or anguish, or persecution, or famine, or -nakedness, or peril, or the sword?" He dealt with speech as one dealing -with iron in the fire, hammering out the words. "Nay, in all these -things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am -persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, -nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor -depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the -love of God, which is in Christ Jesus, our Lord." - -He was persuaded. Seeing that they had forgotten me, I lifted my eyes -and studied him as he spoke. I saw that his health was bad; the carriage -of his head seemed epileptic, but bodily health was nothing to him; he -seemed worn with travel and hunger, misfortune and persecution, yet the -fire of his speech showed the strength of his conviction; even as, in -his words, he seemed to thrust the world away from him for the sake of -an idea, so, for the sake of an idea he had thrust away his infirmities, -and pursued his way heedless of obstacles. "Shall the thing formed say -to him that formed it. Why didst thou make me thus? Or, hath not the -potter a right over the clay, from the same lump to make one part a -vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?" - -Sometimes Paul moved a little, with nervous half-conscious movements; or -while speaking he would stretch his large toil-worn hands over the -brazier where the light gleaming through the fingers made them seem more -distorted. As a rule he spoke slowly, but when he became dominated by -his thought the words hurried, more and more quickly, until the writer -paused, perplexed, and, not without a slight gesture of impatience -followed by a swifter smile as if of encouragement, Paul would repeat -himself; sometimes losing the thread of his discourse. Indeed, from what -I learned of his life, it seemed that it was his fate to be thwarted and -hindered by material restrictions, of health, of liberty, of speech. No -vessel was capable of sustaining the flame that burned in him. I could -not understand all that he said, as I knew nothing of what was behind; -but here and there his words burnt into my brain. - -The man who had been writing stopped, stretched his cramped fingers; and -Paul motioned another to his place: "Abhor that which is evil, cleave to -that which is good. In love of the brethren be tenderly affectioned one -to another.... patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer, -communicating to the necessities of the saints, given to hospitality. -Bless them that persecute you; bless, and curse not. Rejoice with them -that rejoice; weep with them that weep.... Be not wise in your own -conceits. Render unto no man evil for evil.... Let every soul be in -subjection to the higher powers: for there is no power but of God; and -the powers that be are ordained of God." I had sat listening to these -words of conviction until I felt numbed, yet I was not satisfied. - -Paul also seemed to weary for a minute. The word "love" that seemed to -contain all their mystical creed fell again from his lips: "Thou shalt -love thy neighbour as thyself; Love worketh no ill to his neighbour; -Love therefore is the fulfilment of the law; and this knowing the -season, that now it is high time for you to awake out of sleep." - -He ceased, rose and walked to the window, drew back the curtain, and -leaned out as if to cool his head. The sky was grey with dawn. From the -streets below came drunken voices of men and women, singing ribald -songs; and presently I heard the tramp of the armed guard. For a moment -Paul leaned there. - -"The night is far spent," he said, "and the day is at hand; therefore -let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armour of light. -Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in revelling and drunkenness, -not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and jealousy. But put ye -on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh to fulfil -the lusts thereof." - -He ceased, drew the curtain to again, and came towards me. Through his -incredible ugliness there shone a majesty of power, fascinating, -enchanting, wooing me with its strength and flame-like intensity. His -hands were cold from the ledge of the window, and as they took mine a -thrill ran through me. The other men looked at us quietly, as if they -were conscious of some crisis, and of some antagonism between us. Paul -looked at the manuscript upon my knees, and smiled. - -"What are my words to you?" he asked. - -"I have also thought of these things," I answered him. - -"Yes; it is not the thinking of them that is strange, but what do they -mean to you? What does our law mean to you? What does our mystery mean -to you? Nothing. You are given over to vain imaginations, the conceits -of the mind. You have no humility, no faith. Your great possessions have -turned your mind. Until the blow fell upon you, you had imagined that -you were secure through life. You have put your trust in perishable -things, and they have fallen through your fingers like water, like dry -sand. What have you left sacred in the world? Your wisdom has made a -desert about you, a desert where there is no God. What have you to -hope?" - -It was as if he mocked me, pitied me, understood me. He made me cold -toward him; and at the same time my sorrow flooded me. - -"What is my trouble to you? I can bear it alone," I said harshly. "The -things which you have written I have read in our own philosophers." - -"You have found nothing else in me which was not in them?" - -"Nothing." - -A gloom spread over his face, the light which had illuminated it died -out, leaving only the smouldering fires of his eyes, which burned dimly. -He dropped my hands. The others turned away their eyes and shifted -uneasily. - -"There is he in whose name I speak. The love of Christ constrained me." - -I sat frowning, without comprehension. - -"It is not yet time," he continued sadly. "One must have patience, -exceeding patience. You do not understand what we teach concerning -Christ, who is the Son of God. Yet you came to us willingly; you, a -Roman, came and took the hand of a Jew, whose touch, to your fellows, is -contamination; and, in my pride I said: Lo! I have triumphed over the -wisdom of the Gentile. It is through God's grace only that I am called -to be an apostle to men. It is through his grace alone that you will be -saved; for you will come again. Tell me that you will come again." - -"I shall come again," I said simply; the curious anxiety of his words -troubled me vaguely. I felt a profound pity for this man, to whom even a -stranger was a brother. I rose and took my cloak; as I passed out each -gave me a salutation, the salutation of peace. - -Outside it was dawn. The lupanars were giving up their dead, some -sailors and devotees of the great goddess were already congregating in -the wine-shops. Muffled as I was in my great coarse cloak they suspected -me of being one of the Roman soldiers, and none spoke to me or offered -me insult. I did not heed them but passed along the quays, looking at -Acrocorinth towering like Eryx, that other home of the sea-born and lure -for sailors, into the infinite blue of a cloudless sky. Wreaths of -vapour cloaked its lower reaches, and it seemed like a great dome -suspended in the air. On the other side laughed the wide sea in -multitudinous ripples of light. It all seemed to reflect some childish -half-conscious gaiety of my soul. My sorrow still lay there, but -comforted with human sympathy, and the two mystical gifts of the -Christians, peace and love. - - * * * * * - -It was only after I had escaped from the enchantment of his presence -that I was able to understand the aims and ambitions of Paul, as he -showed them in the letter which he had dictated that night, and which -was to be copied and sent to all the communities that had come together -in Greece, Asia and Italy. His aim was principally to abolish the -restrictions which hampered conversion into his faith, rites of the -Jews, circumcision, the use of certain meats which they had considered -unclean, and the huge body of formulæ and observances, which had grown -and developed out of casuistry and the old Hebrew law; but beyond and -above that he wished them to propitiate the civil power. When he spoke -of the abolition of the law he meant those rites and ceremonies which -seemed a profanation of, a bartering with, the divinity. He felt that -his mission was not to the Jews alone, but to all the nations of the -world. In this he was opposed by the more rigid Christians at Jerusalem, -who held that circumcision was necessary, and that only a Jew could be -saved. One of the most rigid adherents of this narrower sect was a -brother of Christ, who seemed to pass his whole life in the Temple, -praying and fasting. - -Paul was often bitter against this sect. Yet it was out of that same -kind of formalism that he himself had sprung; and he seldom lost traces -of it, except in a few isolated moments, when love and indignation burnt -him up. I went among these Christians again and again; and each time -became more fascinated by their hidden, gentle lives. A very intimate -tie bound Caius to Paul, for Paul had initiated him into their -mysteries, which were, I imagine, the same as in other religions, a -purification and a mystic meal. Caius was a man of considerable power, -but of immense reserve, from whom I learnt very little. Paul was a -fanatic, impatient of the opposition to his teaching at Jerusalem. -Sometimes in anger he would satirise his opponents and the rite of -circumcision with a bitter and sardonic humour. He was honey to those he -loved, gall to those who withstood him. - -The community in Corinth having fallen back during his absence into a -moral laxity, almost excusable considering their environment, he -withdrew them from all social intercourse with their fellow-citizens. -They obeyed because they loved, but more, because they feared him. -Before his conversion he had persecuted the Christians to turn them from -their faith; afterwards he persecuted them to keep them in it. I learned -the story of his conversion. It had its origin in the death of one -called Stephen, who had been accused before the Jewish Collegium of -blasphemy; a frivolous pretext for the punishment of one's opponents -which had obtained everywhere but in Rome. - -As you know, the law of the Empire is that no one shall be punished with -death except by a Roman court, and only when he has been convicted of -specified crimes; for the spirit of Roman usage has always been, in the -words of Tiberius, that the injuries of the gods are the gods' affair. -Stephen, after an argument with his accusers, suddenly cried out with a -loud voice: "Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man -standing at the right hand of God." With one accord his exasperated -enemies stripped off their cloaks and laid them at the feet of Paul, who -took charge of them; and they stoned Stephen, Paul consenting to his -death. - -Even at the time, perhaps, standing aside and taking no part in the -murder, Paul's conscience may have reproved him. In any case the -incident assumed, afterwards, an enormous importance for him. He could -not speak of it without emotion. Perhaps also he feared that he might be -accused to the Roman authorities for his part in the riot. His mind -became abnormally excited. - -Some days afterwards he set out for Damascus to bring up some more -Christians to Jerusalem, to be tried by the same barbarous assembly. -Suddenly at noon he saw a blinding light, and he fell to the ground. A -voice called to him out of the sky. According to some accounts the voice -uttered a phrase from Euripides: it is hard for thee to kick against the -goads. The phrase had passed into current use. However strange it may -seem that a voice from heaven should have uttered these words, it is -perfectly natural that Paul should have heard them; he must have heard -them before, many times. - -But what goads were meant? The pricks of conscience, perhaps, for his -share in the murder of Stephen; some secret remorse, against which he -had steeled his heart, in the hope that time and use would cure it. Such -was the conversion of Paul. His nature had suffered no change from it; -he had merely found a new aim for his life, and the same zeal, which he -had used in his persecution of the Christians, he now asserted in their -cause. To himself this incident of his conversion seemed unnatural, -miraculous; but to us it is simple, and easily explained, being merely a -repetition of Stephen's vision. As I have already written, he was of -delicate health; some nervous, constitutional weakness affected him; -epilepsy, perhaps, or something akin to it. His accounts of what -happened varied; for he seemed to have told the story in different ways -to different people. In one account, those who were with him heard the -voice, but did not see the light; and in another version they saw the -light, but did not hear the voice. Paul himself had not known Christ in -the flesh. He knew little of him, except that he had been born, had -gathered about him a group of disciples, had preached, and had died on -the cross. - -His mind therefore could fashion no clear image in the vision. He could -only see a light and hear familiar words. He himself always treated this -vision of the risen Master as distinct from the visions which had been -manifested to the other disciples, as a purely spiritual manifestation: -"and lastly," he said, "He appeared to me as to an abortion." What does -he mean by this phrase? Does it mean that Paul's spiritual birth was -effected by violence, prematurely; that it was precipitated by the -murder of Stephen? Is it remorse for Stephen's death that forces him to -apply this hideous epithet to himself; or is it a reference to the lack -of definite, sensible impressions; or to the fact of the lateness of his -conversion; or merely a scornful reference to his own physical -deformities? He was accustomed to speak with a bitter mockery of his -infirmities, yet, it seemed also, with a little pride. He mentioned in -the letter, which Caius showed me, that he had prayed for the removal of -some physical disability, but the prayer had not been granted. The -fragility of his vision was even used by his opponents, the small sect -practising poverty at Jerusalem, among whom was the brother of their -Master, as a ground for denying his mission. One is almost tempted to -agree with them. The evidence is vague, the accounts vary. We may wonder -into what form these floating legends will crystallise, if the community -endures and increases; if they will ever form a complete unity, like the -myths of Orpheus and Dionysos. - -There are some who imagine that Christianity is but one of the many -features of the new social movement, which was Gallio's opinion; but I -cannot think so, for the reason that the Christians believe in the -rapidly approaching end of the world. They believe that their Master, -who was crucified, will return, even before his own generation has -passed away, to judge the world. It is the cardinal point of their -teaching. Any definite social reconstruction is consequently outside -their aims; but the organisation of their communities, in so far as it -can be called an organisation, resembles rather closely our popular -funerary societies, which have always been looked upon with suspicion by -the authorities. - -Paul's exhortation to his community "to be in subjection to the higher -powers," was written with the intention of guarding against any outbreak -which might prejudice "the powers that be, and are ordained of God," -against the communities, who seek only to be left to the peace of their -quiet lives and the practice of their cult. They are a little humble -folk for the most part, except where there are Jews among them, and then -arises the question of the tribute money; whether it be lawful to pay -it? That is the only cause which may put them in conflict with the -authorities. - -But there is a graver danger to the friends of Paul. They are for the -most part humble artisans, followers of the lowest trades, mendicants, -and cheap hawkers; despised by all classes, they are at once despised, -hated, and feared, by the class immediately above them, with whom they -must necessarily enter into competition where the dividing line is -faint, or barely drawn at all. Beside this natural jealousy of an alien -competition, there is the sense of distrust which the secrecy of their -lives breeds in the minds of the citizens. People invariably suspect a -man who leads a retired life, either of some shameful practices, or of a -guilty past. Yet suspicion and persecution do not suffice to turn this -little community out of the way they have chosen. After the day is over, -they meet together, as one family, in some dimly-lit room, and greet -each other with peace and love. It is time to awake out of sleep, they -say; the hour approaches, the Lord cometh. That is their whole life, -they have no active part in the great revolutionary social movement of -slaves and freedom, they sit with folded hands, patiently, awaiting the -coming of their Lord, who shall judge the world, and end it. - -Moving among them, taking part almost in their daily life, a life -removed and hidden from the world, how could I blame them? Their -credulity even seemed sacred to me, it was so fragile a thing, of such -delicate and exquisite growth, a desire which has lain always close to -the heart of man. For me, beyond the flaming walls of the world sit the -deathless gods in their quiet seats, peace flooding their hearts; and no -sound of mortal anguish ascends to them, but they sit ever in their -halls shining with silver and glittering with gold, and the lovely lyre -makes an immortal music about them, and wine gladdens the feast, and the -rhythmic motion of the dancing choirs; but for these poor artisans of -Corinth the god is a companion by the way, they love to speak of him -under homely words, he is the vine-dresser, the grafter of olives, the -sower; he carries into their sordid lives the peace of wide skies and -tranquil waters, he is the shepherd who tends his flock and leads them -into pleasant pastures. Yes, behind Paul, the man of fire, whose life -was an odyssey, full of arduous endeavour and storm, was another figure, -a figure of singular beauty, before whom even the fire of Paul's ardour -flickered and was tamed, the Christ whom man had crucified, and who had -redeemed man from sin and death. They seemed to have fashioned him out -of their own weary lives, their blood and tears; he had pity on their -suffering, and suffered for them; he had mercy on their sin, and took it -upon himself, they could bear all for his sake who had borne all for -theirs; he had revealed to them sympathy and love. - -The great central points of their teaching meant nothing to me. The -promise for me was void; but the conditions of the promise, there was -the charm. Sometimes I think that if I could have put away from me all -my philosophical preoccupations, I would willingly have left everything -I possessed, for the sake of that peace, that security, that trust in -something outside ourselves, which is infinitely wise, infinitely -merciful, infinitely loving. But faith, belief, is not an act of -volition, it is the spiritual nature; it is the possession of children -and of simple folk. - -To those who have looked into the nature of things, who with Epicurus -see man as only the momentary grouping together of a substance -essentially transient and mutable, life itself is the end, a life of -fine appreciations, retirement, and leisure, and a death that has no -awakening. We, too, love our neighbour; we, too, have charity toward the -bruised and broken lives about us; we, too, recommend all men to hide -their lives, to be moderate, to abhor that which is evil and cling to -that which is good. We are Christians without Christ. - -My own grief was still with me, but a serene and hopeless resignation -had taken the place of despair. The memory of Drusilla and my child -haunted my waking moments, and daily thoughts, like vain phantoms -escaped for a brief moment from the shadowy realm of fabled Proserpina. -The past was part of my consciousness; as it is, I suppose of every man. -I began again to frequent the Prefect's palace, to listen to his mellow -wisdom which he cloaked in laughing phrase, as we passed easily from one -subject to another without exhausting any. Seneca's raillery was dull -beside his brother's; Seneca laughed at women and the comedy of manners, -to Gallio nothing was sacred, not even his philosophic brother. At the -same time I still continued to frequent the house of Caius, and the -society of the Christians. It placed me in an anomalous position, and -one day Gallio said laughingly that a friend had accused me of assisting -at the secret rites and orgies of the Christians, but that he had -replied I was more likely to frequent the pretty daughter of Caius. Then -I remembered the daughter of Caius, a young girl of extraordinary -beauty, with a perverse expression, blonde hair, and eyes like a cat, -that watched every movement with a stealthy curiosity. She seemed lonely -and out of place in that house of austere gravity. - -"She is already famous as a beauty," said Gallio. - -"I go there on business," I said with a smile, and willing to let him -believe what he would; and, I added, after a moment's thought: "she is -charming." - -Gallio laughed, and then changed his tone quickly. - -"I do not advise you to frequent that quarter of our delightful town," -he said. "It is the haunt of the worst characters in Corinth, thieves, -sorcerers, and charlatans inhabit it. Even the house of Caius is not -free from suspicion; it is said that some of our ladies go there for -love-potions, or for other purposes." - -I was thinking, and did not reply to the innuendo. Gallio watched me for -a moment curiously, in silence. I did not speak. - -"I have bought a little masterpiece, a painting by Parrhasios of the -triumph of Bacchus. Come and see it; it only arrived from Athens this -morning." - - * * * * * - -The next time I visited the house of Caius I spoke to Paul of what -Gallio's suspicions were; a sullen glow filled his eyes. - -"It is no new thing," he said; "on every side we are looked upon with -suspicion and distrust; we are poor, and live cheek by jowl with the -evil things of life, and therefore we are also evil. The rich, and those -in high places trample upon us; yet we shall be justified." - -Pride filled him. - -"In a little time you go away to Rome, and I to Jerusalem to carry alms -to the saints there, whom the Jews persecute. We are like two -travellers, who have met together in an inn, and spoken of their -travels; but at dawn they separate and go their several ways. Shall we -meet again? You are not one of us, but perchance God will lead you to -us. Be humble; put away all vain imaginings of the mind; love all -things; suffer all things." - -He gazed at me sadly for a time. - -"If you would but close your eyes and put out your hand trustfully, God -would lead you through the darkness. You are almost of us; and yet you -are not of us. There is a barrier which you cannot pass: you cannot -believe." - -Then, again, after a moment's pause. - -"You must not come here again." - -He rose and left me. The last time I saw that small, bald head poised -upon the huge misshapen shoulder was when they were framed in the -doorway; then the curtain fell and he had gone. I sat a little while, -almost sorrowful. Then a small, delicate hand was slid into mine, and I -heard a soft voice whispering: - -"You are going away. Take me with you." - -It was the daughter of Caius, she clung to me and gazed appealingly at -me out of her precocious eyes. - -"Take me away with you," she repeated. "I shall do anything for you; -only take me away, take me away. I cannot stay here. It will kill me. -They are so good and I am wicked; yes, I am very wicked. Some one told -me I was beautiful, and it pleased me. I want to go with you. I am -wicked. I want people to see that I am beautiful...." - - * * * * * - -Serenus began to roll up his manuscript. - -"It is too dark to read the rest. But now you know the Christians. What -do you think of them?" - -"I think as I have always thought," said Rufus; "all Jews are alike. -They are the enemies of the human race; their religion is one of -despair, and they do not hope to find salvation in this world. The East -is the home of all credulity and superstition. Come to dinner and let us -arrange to do something to-morrow. A hunt?" - -"What happened to the girl?" enquired Marcus, stretching himself slowly. - -Serenus looked over the sea, toward the fishing-boats, each of which -showed a light. - -"Go down to the house, both of you, and bathe. I shall follow presently. -We shall dine sumptuously to-night; and, yes, to-morrow we shall hunt. -It will pass the time." - -They left him. For a little while he sat watching the lights out at sea, -the spires of mist wreathing above the olives, the dance of fire-flies -over the sloping lawn. He sat motionless for some time; then he rose, -and sighed. - -"A little pleasure, and then darkness and silence," he said. - -He began to walk slowly toward the house. A path below him echoed with -the sound of footsteps and voices; looking through the low branches he -thought that he discovered in the uncertain light the figure and -features of Paul, surrounded by the slaves of the household. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - _TO MRS C. B. FAIRFAX_ - - - - - IV - - THE JESTERS OF THE LORD - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - IV - - THE JESTERS OF THE LORD - - -The fountain rose into the sunlight singing, broke flowering a moment, -and fell with a chime of sweetness into the basin. Francis looked at it -with delight. The fine mist of spray drifting from it made a little -rainbow in the court-yard. - -"All things praise the Lord," he said; "but the voice of our sister the -water is clearest. She never ceases from her song through the hot day, -and all night she sings, from evening until dawn." - -He gazed at it with the serene pleasure of a child. In the shadow of the -great curtain-wall his companions walked up and down, gesticulating, -suddenly vivacious and then as suddenly mute. A little group separated -from the others stood in the arch of the gateway overlooking Rome. Cool, -dark cypresses showed here and there among the bell-towers and -fortifications; and over all the broken lines of roof and belfry -wandered the liquid sunlight, diversifying the colours of the tiles -through a myriad gradations from dusky copper to pale gold, and ending -now and again in a sudden angle of deep gloom. Yet Francis saw nothing -but the water rising into the clear light. - -"Beautiful thou art, and humble, and chaste, and very precious to us," -he said. "Of all God's creatures thou art the most perfect, delighting -in his service, praising him for the light of the sun, and the sweet -air, as I praise him for thee, O sister water!" - -He dipped his hand into the basin, and cool ripples were woven about his -long, thin fingers. - -"These also are God's creatures," he said; "the shy fish who come and go -mysteriously among the stems of the lilies. They move obscurely through -the dim ways, and no man wonders at them; yet none of Arthur's knights -were arrayed in such golden mail." - -And taking a piece of dry bread, which a beggar had given him, he broke -it into small crumbs, and strewed them upon the surface of the water; -and the fish came out from between the stems of the lilies, and nibbled -at the crumbs as the ripples moved them; but the crust of bread Francis -ate himself, and having eaten he drank a little water out of the palm of -his hand, and spoke again. - -"Little fish," he said, "those knights of Arthur's court, who were -mailed in glittering armour, had each one his lady, whom he served in -all things; and no one of them meddled with the lady of another, because -as yet evil had not entered into their hearts; but they went through the -world succouring the afflicted, and the innocent, and the oppressed; and -doing all manner of wonderful deeds, being valiant men and strong, for -the glory of God, and the great honour of the lady whose livery they -wore. And the ladies, whom they served in all honourable ways, were fair -and pleasant to look upon, and moreover they were well-clad, having each -her golden ornaments, and jewels, and kerchiefs of lawn, and fine cloth -of Ypres; yea! having all things desirable about them, soft raiment, and -dainty food, and wide houses full of tapestries of Arras, with a gallery -for the musicians. But because of the luxury of their lives, and the -folly which ever prompts the soul of man to evil, they fell into sin, -and no virtue remained in them. - -"Little fish, I am a knight of God; and I have chosen for my lady one -beyond all mortal women. She hath neither fine raiment, nor gold, nor -jewels; neither a covering for her head, nor shoes for her feet; neither -land nor castles; nay! not so much as a shelter against the ravening -beasts; nor do her serving-men bring her delicate meats in vessels of -gold and silver, nor do musicians play to her upon viols or psalteries, -nor hath she any treasure hidden in the ground. She goeth from door to -door, begging her bread through every city of the populous earth; and -the porters drive her from the gate with blows; and the children mock -her in the streets for being old, and lean, and ill-favoured; and the -dogs snarl at her heels. Yet all these things she endures patiently, nor -complains that men revile her, for God hath put much comfort in her -heart. I, also, little brother Francis, in my youth reviled her; for it -was then my pleasure to live sumptuously, to wear rich apparel, and to -pass my days with music and feasting; but when she revealed herself to -me I was overcome by her exceeding great beauty, and I lamented that I -had not followed after her all my days. Alas! it is the wickedness of -men that shows her as a vile and despicable thing; for having nothing -she possesses all things. God hath clothed her with virtues more -precious than rubies; he hath given her the wide earth and all the -pleasant ways thereof to be her home; he hath commanded the beasts that -they do her no hurt: nay! they are serviceable to her and fawn about her -feet; and God himself ministers to her, feeding her as he feeds the -birds of the air and the fish of the sea, and sweetening her food, so -that if it be but a dry crust it savours most excellently to her, even -as honey and manna in the mouth. Such is the excellence of my Lady -Poverty, with whom I shall always keep faith in this life. Little fish, -God hath given you the cool water to inhabit; and he hath clad you in -golden mail, delightful to the eyes of men; and when all the birds and -beasts and creeping things entered into the Ark, he preserved you in a -safe refuge beneath the tumult of the waters: yea! of all things, which -went not in with Noah, he preserved you in your multitudes though all -else perished. Little fish, I praise the Lord for you, because he hath -made you beautiful, and shown you infinite mercies." - -But the fish, having eaten all the crumbs, swam back among the stems of -the lilies, and hung poised there in the shadowy waters, with undulating -motions, waving their delicate fins, and opening and shutting their -mouths. Francis considered them for a moment. - -"Little fish," he said, "perchance it is the way that you praise the -Lord, being dumb and without reason; but men, to whom God hath given -such excellent gifts as speech and reason, have turned from him. I would -that they also might learn to praise him with great simplicity and joy -in their hearts." - -He looked toward the gateway through which he saw the roofs and towers -of Rome, the city which had not accepted him, inhospitable, gay, given -over to the lusts of the flesh, the desire of the eyes, hungering -passionately after the tangible but transient pleasures of this -delightful world; a new Jerusalem, as stubborn and hard-hearted as the -old, but, like that, too, a chosen city of God, in which he had elected -to dwell and have his abiding place. Tears suffused his face as he -looked at it lying there calm and golden in the sunlight. - -"I have not known how to draw them to me," he said. "Surely they would -have followed after me if I had spoken to them more joyfully. A little -thing delights them, and they will flock to see a dancer, a juggler, a -jester! We must become the jesters of God, amusing the hearts of men and -leading them toward spiritual joys." - -A bell struck, and was answered from all the towers of Rome, until the -air pulsed with vibrations as if with a multitude of beating wings. -Francis moved slowly away toward the new buildings of the Lateran. Those -of his companions who were pacing up and down in the cool shadow of the -wall suddenly stopped and pointed to him. - -"Look! Look!" they cried. - -Some play of the wind carrying the fine drifting mist over the isolated -figure had clothed him for a moment in a glory of radiant colours. The -sound of the bell still trembling in the air, and the sudden iridescence -of spray in the sunlight, was to them a revelation. Hearing their voices -raised Francis went toward them. - -"What is it, my brothers?" he asked of them. - -They received him almost with adoration. - -"We saw you troubled, and in thought," answered Brother Egidio; "and -then, suddenly, as the bells ceased, we saw a glory shine about you, and -heard a great beating of wings." - -But Francis remembering the doubts which had afflicted him a moment -before, cast himself at the feet of Brother Egidio. - -"I command you, in the name of holy obedience, that when I return you -say to me: Francis, son of Pietro Bernardone, because of your doubt you -are contemptible, and in no wise deserving of God's mercy." - -Then, rising, he went toward the palace with a serene countenance. - -Having watched Francis enter into the palace, the eleven companions -continued to pace up and down in the cool shadow of the wall, and to -discourse to each other upon grave matters. - -"How is it, Brother Bernard," said Egidio, "that astrologers are able to -foretell all things that will happen to a man in his journey through -life?" - -"It is in this wise," said Brother Bernard, who had all the wisdom of -the schools, "the earth is the centre of the universe, which consists of -a number of concentric spheres, all turning, as it were, upon the axle -of the earth; the first is the sphere of the elements, which is enclosed -by the sphere of the moon; beyond these, in order, circle the six -spheres of Mercury, Venus, the Sun, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn, all -turning about the earth; the next sphere is that wherein the fixed stars -are set like jewels, and beyond that is the _Primum Mobile_, whence -motion is born and governed. Last of all is the Empyrean, and there in a -blaze of light God sits enthroned, and all the spheres make a celestial -music about his feet. - -"Now it is from the order and motion of these spheres that astrologers -get that devilish wisdom whereby they are enabled to foretell the -future. For each one of the spheres is governed by a distinct angelical -company, who influence all things under their control; so that, having -ascertained the nature of such angels as control the sphere of any -particular planet, we are enabled to judge of the nature and disposition -of any mortal born under their influence; thus it happens that those who -are been under Mercury are of an alert and capricious disposition, and -may be given to thieving; while those who are born under Venus are lewd -and wanton in their motions, given over to the lusts of the flesh; and -those influenced by Mars will be great warriors, men of mettle, -hot-tempered, and quick to shed blood. Moreover, by the conjunctions and -opposition of planets, by comets and portents in the sky, those skilled -in the signs are even able to foretell whether a man shall die in his -youth with all his sins heavy upon him, or in old age when his flagging -pulses have made him less prone to sin and warned him to repentance; and -we may see men, to whom astrologers have predicted a long life, pursuing -a course of infamy well on into their old age, for they know that there -is time left for repentance, whereby they may yet save their souls. Such -is the lamentable wisdom, which came to us through the transgression of -Adam." - -They continued in silence a little way, pondering these things; and then -Bernard spoke again. - -"In all things," he said, "we may read the infinite mercies and wisdom -of God. For even as he has made the earth the centre of the universe, so -he has made man the centre of all created things. Round the throne of -God are the Seraphim and Cherubim singing His eternal praise, and next -to them are the Thrones, who carry the orders of God unto the -Dominations. These last are the mighty powers who held back the sun and -moon in their courses, at the prayer of Joshua; and they inhabit the -_Primum Mobile_, whence all the planets are moved from east to west. -Beneath these, are the Virtues and Powers, ruling the planetary spheres; -and finally come the three orders of Princedoms, Archangels, and Angels; -and to each Angel is given the guidance of one soul. Now in this order I -have followed the teaching of Dionysius rather than of Gregory, since -the former was the pupil of St Paul, and therefore of greater authority. - -"Many rebellious angels, driven out with Lucifer, and the host who -writhe in Hell beneath our feet, making the earth tremble, inhabit the -sphere of the elements, and ride upon all storms, ruling the thunder and -lightning, and opening the flood-gates, and loosening the tempests of -hail; and God hath given them power over the wicked to lead them to -destruction, but, before the prayers of the holy, their power is only an -empty noise. How little is the worth of man! Yet all these immortal -spirits are concerned in his salvation. And God hath set Jerusalem in -the centre of earth's habitable hemisphere, so that from there the means -of salvation might radiate into all countries, and gather up all -peoples. And yet again is man the centre of created things, for God hath -made him lord and master of the earth, and of all the birds and beasts -therein; though, indeed, when he fell from Paradise in the person of -Adam, he decreased in excellence and became subject to sin and death." - -"And for how long a time," enquired one of the younger brethren, "was -Adam in Paradise?" - -"For little more than six hours," answered Bernard, with assurance. - -"It was a very short time," said the brother simply. - -But Egidio was troubled; he touched Bernard upon the arm. - -"Beware, little sheep of the Lord," he said gently, "lest thy great -learning make thee mad, and turn to pride in thy heart." - - II - -As the Cardinal Giovanni di San Paolo entered the audience, the Pope was -dictating a letter to his secretary. He spoke in a low, clear voice, so -clear that it was audible at the end of the long room. - -"Among all the princes of the earth," said Innocent, "we have always -cherished with a particular affection your own person; and the more so -since the kingdom which you have inherited is, by the will of your -predecessors, subject and tributary to the Roman Church. Therefore -redeem the promise of your father liberally and without delay. Your -eternal salvation will be the better assured, and there will be added to -it even such temporal benefits as the apostolic protection is able to -secure. In acting otherwise you would offend the Creator. He chastiseth -those who do evil unto his Church, but more particularly those who -detain unjustly the wealth of St Peter." - -He motioned the Cardinal toward him, and taking half a lemon squeezed it -into a cup and drank it. He had a youthful but rather fleshy face, at -once legal and military in its character. The features were fine, with a -distinctly Roman nobility: a long narrow nose, almost straight except -where it jutted slightly from the brows; fine lustrous eyes, set a -little too close together; a small mouth, with thin, rather drooping -lips, and a double chin. The well-chiselled nostrils dilated sensitively -from time to time, otherwise the whole face was calm, impassive, -hieratic. He began, without any prelude, to speak to the Cardinal of -their business. - -"I have spoken to many of the cardinals about these penitents of Assisi. -Their opinion is that the rule is too severe, and such an ideal beyond -all human strength." - -"Your Holiness, I have also urged this view upon Francis, but, in the -simplicity of his heart, he replies that his rule is taken from the -Gospels: 'If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give -to the poor, and follow me. Take nothing for your journey, neither -staff, nor scrip, nor shoes, nor money. If any man will come after me, -let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow me.' They have -vowed to follow this ideal of evangelical perfection. How can we -withstand them before the world?" - -"My heart has been moved towards them," answered Innocent. "I do not -mistrust their piety, nor doubt the grace by which God has confirmed -them in their design. They may be steadfast until their death; whereas -others coming after may relax the rule, and their weakness become a -fable in the world." - -"I doubt not that the rule will be relaxed," answered the Cardinal; -"their aim is too vague, too ideal in many ways: complete poverty, -complete obedience, and the preaching of these virtues. And yet, Holy -Father, I have been drawn to these men. By them I feel that many souls -shall be led to God." - -"You believe that the rule will be relaxed; and yet you say that we -cannot modify this rule because it consists of definite precepts taken -from the Gospels?" - -"Your Holiness," replied the Cardinal, "if we say that it is impossible -for a man to follow the precepts of Christ, we blaspheme. Time modifies -all things; and in the meanwhile these men will draw unto themselves a -great deal of popular sentiment. They are willing to give us the most -absolute obedience, to be our servants in all things, provided we -approve their desire to live according to the standard of evangelical -perfection. Surely we should approve their piety." - -"Similar efforts have failed," answered Innocent. "It is two years since -I approved the mission of Durando d'Huesca, and for those two years the -bishops have not ceased to complain of his followers. This fraternity -has a similar constitution. Both confess the Catholic faith; both desire -to give all they have to the poor, to live themselves in poverty without -care for the morrow, having nothing but their daily bread and a cloak; -both are open to receive lay members among them." - -"The difference is in the spirit of their founders. Francis is a poet," -answered the Cardinal. "He is a troubadour, a vagrant minstrel, whose -lady is Poverty. His speech is serene, gay, charming. He knows how to -seize upon simple incidents of daily life, and use them as parables, so -that the poor and humble can understand; and all his teaching is full of -a lyrical emotion that is penetrated with the love of all things. He -burns with the love of God, and this divine flame is so strong in him -that it enlightens all the world. There is nothing about him, no bird, -beast, fish, or tree, which does not seem to him a part of the choir of -God, praising the Lord, and existing entirely for that praise. Beyond -these things he is a true son of the Church. These penitents, Holy -Father, are so simple: they have faith in some spark of divinity hidden -in the soul of man which may be awakened by a breath; they believe that -man can be made to see the beauty of holiness, and that once he has -grasped and recognised this beauty, as a thing existing in the world -about him, he will follow no more after the beauties of fleshly desires. -He bears the mockery of those who think him mad with so much patience -that they become ashamed. His simplicity draws folk to him." - -"All these things are indeed admirable," said Innocent in his clear, low -speech; "but alas! how often have the most beautiful ideals led men into -abominable heresies and destroyed the peace of the Church. Would that -his dream might be realised, and that all men might seek their salvation -through poverty and obedience. But to us, most Reverend Father, in our -character as Supreme Pontiff, there are many responsibilities. We also, -if we might choose, would choose the one thing necessary; Mary's -unbounded loving adoration, in preference to Martha's many cares. Yet we -are content. The divine wisdom hath shown us that here also salvation -may be gained. We accept our office with humility, content to be the -servant of the servants of God. Our function is an ungrateful one, to -watch over the welfare of our flock, and guard them not only from their -enemies but from themselves. Saintly men have been the cause of mischief -in others, and even the greatest heretics have been men of holy lives. -It behoves us, therefore, to keep a strict and unceasing watch upon all -doctrines taught to the faithful. We cannot tolerate the teaching and -exposition of the Gospels by a preaching fraternity partly composed of -lay members. We cannot tolerate any action independent of the bishops. -We must insist that each brother receive the tonsure, and that they -choose one from among themselves who will be responsible to us; and -also, that none shall preach or direct any mission without the consent -of the bishop. Yet even now I am doubtful. Perchance this man may be -discouraged. It would be better if they entered some existing Order." - -He paused, drank a little more lemon, and looked keenly at the Cardinal. - -"Bring him to me," he said. - -The Cardinal, having led Francis into the room, stood apart in the -embrasure of a window overlooking the courtyard. Innocent fixed his eyes -steadily upon the little poor man of Assisi. Even at their first meeting -he had been struck by the youthful, almost childish figure, the small, -round head, and the pallor of the lean face, illuminated with its large -patient eyes. It was like watching a timid wild thing approaching him. -Francis walked with slow, hesitating steps. His knees and fingers were -trembling, his eyes shone with tears, his face was paler than usual, but -a smile wavered upon it. He did not come in fear, but shaken with an -emotion that was partly hope and partly doubt. He looked toward the -seated figure in the chair, wearing a high tiara of damascened white -cloth rising above a simple pointed crown, and a white pallium with red -crosses. He hoped for some sign, but the Pope remained inflexible, his -hands laid upon his knees, his eyes motionless, a figure of impenetrable -reserve; and Francis could find no word to say. At last he knelt, still -trembling, with the tears streaming from his eyes. The Cardinal moved in -the window; and the slight noise seemed for a moment to give Francis -confidence. - -"Father Pope," he began simply; but he could say no more. - -"My son," said Innocent at last, moved by the suffering eyes, "why have -you come to us again?" - -"Father Pope," answered Francis in a sweet, almost shrill voice, "when -you sent me from you, you did not bid me not to come again." - -He smiled as he spoke, very simply, winningly, a smile that was almost a -caress. Some hint of softening in the eyes of the Pope gave him more -confidence. - -"Most Holy Father," he began again, "I have come to you once more, -because you have not yet granted my request. You are a great person, -whom God has exalted above all men, and I think that perhaps you had not -time to listen to me, who am the meanest of God's creatures; so that you -did not understand the excellence of that life which the Lord hath -commanded us to follow. Or perchance it was that the Lord wished to try -my faith, and, lest I was over-confident in myself, to show me that -without his will I am capable of nothing, and to humiliate my pride. -Father Pope, I think this last is the true reason: for how could you not -see the excellence of the way God hath chosen for us, which is a pattern -of the way the disciples themselves followed?" - -And the Pope, having no answer to this candour, sat immobile. - -"It is a little thing that we ask of you," continued Francis; "only that -you should approve of our vow to follow a life like that which the -disciples led on the shores of the Lake of Galilee." - -"My son," said Innocent, "search well your heart. Is it not pride which -makes you think that God hath chosen you for this work?" - -And Francis lowered his head until it touched the floor. - -"Why," continued Innocent, "should God have chosen you among the -multitudes of men?" - -And Francis raised his head again. - -"God looked down upon this earth," he answered humbly, "and he explored -all the ways thereof, and searched into all the souls of men. And in the -whole earth he found no man so poor in mind, so mean of stature, so foul -with sins, so weak and utterly worthless, as Francis, the son of Pietro -Bernardone; and for that reason he hath chosen me. For if folk see that -one so miserable as I am can be uplifted by the grace of God, they will -hope again for themselves; and many who are caught in the snares of -Satan and despair of their salvation will be freed by this means." - -"Is it not pride, my son," the Pope asked of him after a pause, "that -hinders you from accepting the modifications which I suggest in your -rule?" - -"I shall reason with you," answered Francis; "tell me one." - -"That you should not be entirely without possessions, without a little -money." - -"Father Pope," answered Francis sweetly, "if we were possessed of even -the meanest things, we should have to protect them; and if we had but a -few pence in our scrips there are those so poor that they would covet -them and desire to steal them; and if a man come with arms to rob us, -should we oppose violence with violence? Yea, and having a little we -shall not have enough, but each one will seek to have more than his -brother, and so shall discord and dissension grow among us. And how, -having sufficient, shall we go among those who have nothing and say to -them: 'Brothers, be not cast down, for the wealth of this world is but -dust and ashes. Seek not after it, but praise God for what he hath given -you; life, and this pleasant earth, the song of birds, freedom from -care, death, and a treasure in the skies'? Will they not mock at us? Or -how shall we go among thieves, hiding our gold in our bosoms, and saying -to them: 'Brothers, do not so wickedly, that which ye steal is but -dross, earth digged out of earth; but holiness is fine gold.' Will they -not mock at us, saying, 'Holiness is possible with a full belly'? Father -Pope, having no treasure to guard, we shall have no care; and those -among whom we shall go will not lay violent hands upon us, as thieves -and impostors." - -The Pope hesitated. - -"Will ye live by mendicancy alone? Will no idlers come in with you?" - -"Nay," said Francis, "no man shall be idle. Each one shall work, and -their wage will be their daily bread." - -He spoke no more, but knelt, waiting. Innocent had moved. He leant -forward a little, with bent head and knitted brows, looking fixedly at -the curious figure, with the head of a young faun, kneeling before him -in a coarse stuff cloak, girt with a rope like a halter. He could not -fathom that serene soul. At last he leaned back in his chair. - -"My son," he said, in a gentler voice, "our task is hard. We have the -care and oversight of the whole Church, and all our vigilance is -directed to keeping the holy faith, as it has been handed down to us, -one, pure, and universal. My son, God hath poured his grace upon you, -and distinguished you with gifts of holiness. I am not worthy, there is -none less worthy than I, of the charge God has confided to me. Pray for -me, that I may be enlightened. On every side the Church is being -menaced: by subtle and dangerous enemies without, and by schisms and -heresies within. Therefore it is necessary for me to avoid the -multiplication of new fraternities, however sacred and inspired with -true zeal they may be; for each, through the peculiarity of their -nature, and their particular devotion to one aspect of the religious -life, is liable to be cut off from the main body of Holy Church; nay, -even to become an hindrance, an annoyance, a little sect separated from -the communion of the faithful. For all these reasons I can only advise -you, as I have before, to join some existing Order." - -Francis rose from his knees. He had a sense of being crushed by a cruel -and superior force. His eyes were dry; but he saw nothing. He turned and -moved slowly toward the door. Innocent made a sudden gesture of -disappointment. Francis took a few more steps, hesitated, and then -turned. - -"Father Pope," he said, "there was once in the desert a woman, very poor -but beautiful. A great king seeing her beauty desired to take her to -wife, that by her he might have beautiful children. So it was done; and -many children were born to him. And when the children were grown up, -their mother spoke to them, saying: 'My children, you have no reason to -be ashamed, for you are the sons of the king; go, therefore, to his -court, and he will give you all things that are necessary to you.' And -when they had arrived, the king admired their beauty, and finding in -them his own likeness, he spoke to them, saying: 'Whose sons are ye?' -And when they had answered that they were the sons of a poor woman -dwelling in the desert, the king embraced them with great joy, crying: -'Fear not, because you are mine own sons. If strangers eat at my table, -shall I turn away those who are my lawful children?' And the king -commanded the woman that she should send him all the sons whom she had -borne, in order that he might care for them." - -He paused for a moment, and then continued: - -"I am, Holy Father, that poor woman, whom God in his love has deigned to -make beautiful, and by whom it has pleased him to have lawful children. -The King of kings has told me that he will nourish all the children he -has by me, for if he nourishes bastards, how much more should he nourish -his lawful children?" - -He spoke the last words vehemently, standing rigid before Innocent, with -blazing eyes; and the Pope sat immobile, watching him with inscrutable -calm. - -"My son, come here," said Innocent at last. - -The Cardinal turned from the window, and looked from one to another with -equal interest. He was a worldly man, and the mere contact with the -world had been sufficient to make him more human than the Pope: -unconsciously, disinterestedly, he was summing up the characters of the -two men before him. The fact that he was inferior to both fitted him to -judge them, made him swift to see the flaws and defects in their diverse -characters: Innocent's hard legalism and military instincts; the blithe -and elusive spirituality of Francis, a nature free as air, too diverse, -too liquid, too impracticable and fleeting, to have any but a momentary -effect. He smiled at the comedy; it was no more to him. Behind his -cynicism was a kind of tolerance, a charitable irony, a contemptuous -love. The fact that both these men recognised an ideal, and denied the -manifold pleasures of life to follow after it, baffled and perplexed -him. That ironical attitude from which, within himself, he considered -them, was the tribute which small imaginations pay to the great. He was -content to be a spectator, and was willingly amused by the readiness -with which each of these men detected the weak spot in the other, while -remaining blind to his own. - -Innocent stretched out his hand to Francis and drew him toward the -chair. Francis knelt. - -"My son, let us try to understand one another," said the Pope amicably, -as he laid his hand on the other's head. "How is it possible for us to -avoid seeing in thy courage and perseverance the directing hand of God? -Be assured that we have been moved solely by our desire to work for the -good of the Church, and the welfare of those who follow thee. We would -not have thee depart from us with bitterness in thy heart. Listen, -therefore, and be content with what we propose. Is not one condition of -thy rule obedience?" - -"We shall be obedient to you in all things, save in any abrogation of -the rule, for that way was shown to us by the mercy of Christ himself." - -"Thou dost yet mistrust us," said the Pope, smiling. "Know, then, that -thou hast our permission to follow that way of life which has been -revealed to you, to practise poverty and the evangelical virtues. Art -thou content?" - -"Yea, I am content," answered Francis, with a radiant face. - -"But," continued Innocent, checking him; "and herein thou shalt show thy -filial obedience to us: thou and thy companions shall receive the -tonsure at the hands of the Cardinal Giovanni di San Paolo, so that -henceforth ye may be identified with the Church; and, secondly, ye shall -choose one from among you who shall be responsible to us for all; and, -thirdly, in whatsoever place ye may be, ye shall be subject unto the -bishop, yielding him the most implicit obedience, and in no wise seeking -to preach without his leave. Art thou content?" - -"Yea, I am content," answered Francis, "so that you approve our rule." - -"We give thee permission to follow the rule, and to preach to the -people," said the Pope clearly, "and if thy fraternity becomes great, -and many flock to you, then thou shalt come to us again, and we shall -formally approve thine Order. Meanwhile thou hast the permission. Pray -for me, my son, that the Lord may reveal to me the way of righteousness. -Most Reverend Father, let my secretary be summoned." - -As the Cardinal led Francis from the audience, the Pope watched them. He -sat for some time in thought. The secretary entered, and sitting at the -table began to sharpen a new pen. Then Innocent lifted his head. He -dismissed Francis from his mind as completely as if the little poor man -had never existed, and concerned himself with the question of the -heretical Albigeois, and the case of Count Raymond of Toulouse. The -Count had on a previous occasion objected to the appointment, as legate, -of the Abbot of Citeaux, who was notoriously his enemy; and it was now -the business of the Pope to console the powerful Abbot for the fact that -he could not be the direct representative of the Holy See at the Count's -approaching trial, nor in the final settlement of the whole question of -the Albigeois; and for the appointment in his room of Maître Thédise. He -was careful to point out that Thédise was not a legate, but a mere -delegate of the Church. - -"He shall merely execute thy prescriptions," he dictated in his low, -clear voice. "He shall be thy tool, thy voice, the bait which covers the -hook of thy sagacity. Raymond is like a sick man, for whom a kindly -physician will help to sweeten the bitterness of his medicine; he would -take thy remedy more patiently from the hands of another." - -And the secretary's quill scratched busily over the fine parchment. - - * * * * * - -When the companions of Francis saw him returning to them, they ran to -meet him, and seeing from afar the joy that shone upon his face, they -were glad and gave thanks to God. And when he had come up to them and -told them the conditions which he had agreed to with the Pope, with one -voice they chose him for their head, and kneeling before him made a vow -of obedience. And brother Egidio suddenly remembered the command and -duty which Francis had laid upon him, and he rose. - -"Francis, son of Pietro Bernardone," he said, "because of thy doubt thou -art contemptible and in no wise worthy of God's mercy." - -"It is true," said Francis, kneeling before him, and thanking him. Then -in a group they left the courtyard, he in the middle and the others -surrounding him, and presently one heard no sound but that of the -fountain singing in the sunlight. - - III - -It was with joy that Francis and his companions left Rome. As soon as -they had received the tonsure, and prayed together at the shrine of the -Apostles, they set out northward by the Porta Salaria, taking nothing -for the journey, neither staff, nor scrip, nor shoes, nor any money; but -trusting all things to God, whose children they were. At first they -passed little farms and inns, and in the distance saw a few flocks and -shepherds moving slowly over the plains; but in a little while the -houses became rare, and the only sounds were from the larks in the -skies. They had drawn their cowls over their heads to protect them from -the fierce sun, and the dust rising from their feet covered them with a -fine grey powder. But in the gaiety of their hearts they felt none of -these things, but were quickened with the joy of their triumph, -quickened also with the sense that they were returning homeward, to the -hills of Assisi and the sweet air of their fields. Their eyes followed -the larks into the skies, and they felt that their own souls sang like -that above the earth. - -"Praised be thou, O Lord, for our brothers the larks," said Francis; "at -dawn they sing to thee, and at noon and at eve; their blithe singing -gladdens the heart of man." - -Yet in that vast silence the voices of the larks seemed thin and small. -There was no motion in the air except the trembling of the heat, and the -straight road they followed stretched far away into the distance. - -"Where shall we sleep to-night?" said Giovanni. - -"Where God wills," answered Francis. "Our brother the body is a cell, -and the soul is a monk inhabiting it." - -Their faces were thick with dust, and the sweat from their brows traced -runnels in it; their lips were parched, and their eyes ached from the -dazzling light. On all sides lay the great plains, and no trees rose out -of them. - -"I thirst," said Angelo. - -"Perhaps we shall pass a little stream," answered Francis. "Be not cast -down. At evening we shall look back on all that we have suffered for our -Lady Poverty, and we shall be glad. It will rejoice us that we have been -tried, and have not been found unworthy." - -Yet the sun had not declined much from the zenith, and it was long until -the evening. Their feet dragged wearily. - -"God hath forsaken us," said Giovanni. - -"Cast that thought from thee, my brother," said Francis. "Though we -perish here in this desert place, God hath not forsaken us. Shall we -faint at a little suffering, we who were proud at dawn? Surely we should -suffer a little for his sake, who suffered so much for ours." - -But they had grown feverish with the heat; they gasped and sobbed, -swaying like drunken men, muttering as if in a delirium; and a great -fear covered Francis, as he watched them. - -"My God," he prayed silently, yet moving his parched lips, "if I have -done anything accounted worthy in thy sight, grant that I may suffer for -these. Let us not perish utterly." - -They sank down one by one beside the dusty road, and the fierce heat -streamed down on them: one or two muttered, but most of them lay still. - -"My God, why hast thou deserted me?" prayed Francis in a broken voice. - -And Egidio, lying delirious upon the ground, looked at him with glazed, -unrecognising eyes, and muttered to him: - -"Francis, son of Pietro Bernardone, because of thy doubt thou art -contemptible, and in no wise worthy of the mercy of God." - -And Francis covered his face with his hands, and lay beside his -companions. - -"If it be thy will, my Lord; if it be thy will." - - * * * * * - -He felt water sprinkled on his face, and a little wine poured between -his lips. - -"Who are you who travel in this wise, through the fierce heat, without -food or drink, and half naked? If I had not seen you, and come to your -aid, you would have perished by the wayside." - -The bottle was thrust between his lips again, and he swallowed a good -draught; as he swum back into consciousness, he heard the voice of -Egidio: - -"We are penitents from Assisi, who have been to Rome that the Pope might -approve our rule, and we were returning homeward when the fierce heat -struck us down." - -"From Rome," said the deep mellow voice. "Then you have been travelling -on foot through the hot noon. It is wonderful that you got so far. But -for my wine you would have lain there till the end of time. Art thou -stronger?" - -The last words were to Francis, who had opened his eyes. - -"Yea. Thanks to thee," answered Francis. "God will reward thee, my -brother." - -"Doubtless," answered the other. "But who is to pay me for my wine? You -be twelve fools, without a wise man among you." - -Francis looking about him saw that most of his companions were sitting -up eating bread, and looking at him stupidly. All were sick and weary. -The stranger who had helped them was a tall young man driving a hooded -wine-cart. He had a plump, handsome face, magnificent limbs, and a -general air of well-being. - -"None of us can pay thee," answered Francis, "nay, not even for thy -wine, which was the least part of thy kindness. Shall we pay thee for -our lives with our lives? We have given them to God." - -"I want no payment," said the young man, ashamed. "See, I shall leave -you this other small flask of wine. It hath grown cooler; the sun is -sinking, and an hour will bring you to Orte. Yea, indeed I see that you -are saintly livers, yet I have called you fools." - -"It is right that you should call us fools, my brother," answered -Francis. "We are sinful men, who follow the way which God hath shown us, -and have no wisdom in worldly things. We are fools for Christ's sake. -Yea, we are the fools of God, and by our folly seek to draw men toward -him. But thy kindliness and mercy shown to us, my brother, is a good -deed, which like a seed thrown in the ground shall flourish and bear -fruit. Yea, though thou seest it not. And when thou goest before God at -the last, he will take two apples out of his robe, an apple of gold and -an apple of silver, and he will speak to thee, saying: 'Lo, here is thy -payment for that thou hast succoured my children on earth; these be the -fruit of the seed which thou then plantedst.'" - -But the young man blushed shamefully. - -"Suffer me now to go," he said. "Thou hast made me ashamed. Yet if thou -shouldst pray for me, pray also for my beloved, who is called Vanna." - -He climbed into his cart, and continued on the way they had come, the -bells tinkling upon his mule. And after a little time, when they were -rested, they went their own way, with great weariness of body and in -silence because they were still dazed and giddy. But coming to Orte, -they entered into an ancient ruined tomb, where they determined to abide -for that night, and some peasants gave them enough food. Then sitting in -the starlight, they praised God for his mercy. - -"Surely," said Francis, "he who succoured us was an angel sent from God, -for how else could we have been rescued from death?" - -And they marvelled that they had not known him for an angel, and with -great joy they praised God. - - * * * * * - -"They were twelve fools," said the young man to Vanna; "but for me they -would have perished by the roadside." - -"God was good to them," she answered simply; and again he was ashamed. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - _TO LAURENCE BINYON_ - - - - - V - - AT SAN CASCIANO - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - V - - AT SAN CASCIANO - - -Taking a pen from the table, he mended it to his own fashion, and wrote: - -"Thomas Cromwell to his most excellent friend, Master William Bates, -greeting. I am removed to the farmhouse of La Strada at San Casciano for -a short time, having left Florence on account of the great heat and an -indisposition of my stomach, caused by a surfeit of raw ham and figs: -for it is the custom of this people, when the figs ripen, to make an -excursion to their villas, or the farms of their tenants, and having -brought with them a number of small hams, smoked and excellently well -flavoured, which they cut into thin slices, they sit in the shade of a -fig-tree, and make a great feasting. Messer Frescobaldi carried me to -such a feast at one of his neighbouring villas, and I, whether from the -novelty of the dish, which savours deliciously, and is exciting to the -palate, or from a natural intemperance of appetite, having eaten -immoderately of figs and ham, and having drunk a vast quantity of wine, -was seized on my return to Florence with violent pains and cramps in the -stomach, accompanied by much retching and colic. Messer Frescobaldi, -having sent for his physician to come to me, I was blooded eight ounces, -and am now somewhat recovered, though in much need of rest, and the -coolness of the country air. - -"But since I am charged with the execution of your business rather than -with the recreation of mine own health, let me say that the matter of -the Lucca merchants is settled, on the terms mentioned in the enclosed -treaty, and such produce as you require will be sent as occasion offers, -whether by France or Antwerp, depending upon the state of the rival -nations; but in so far as is possible the goods will be shipped at Genoa -by the Fuggers, and carried thence to Antwerp, to be reladed at your own -charge, and carried to your brother at Boston, or on a ship of the -Fuggers' trading with England, in which case they will be delivered to -yourself at the sign of the Blue Anchor, in Chepeside. The late -ordinances directing that all shrouds shall be made of woollen, and -forbidding the export of raw wool out of England, and the question of -the staple, have caused much ill-feeling against English merchants, both -at Antwerp and Florence; wherefore I think it would be wise to -commission the Fuggers to buy for you, and to colour your goods with -their name, more especially in the Baltic trade. The same offices will, -at your request, be undertaken by Messer Frescobaldi here and throughout -Italy, both with the cloth merchants of Florence and the glass workers -and silk merchants of Venice; but, in matters connected with your trade -with the latter town, Messer Frescobaldi demands that you place a sum of -money in his bank, sufficient to cover the charges of the import and the -export duty, or, that such moneys as he may advance on your behalf for -the payment of these imposts be charged against you at one and a half -per cent. above the current rate, so that in the one case he hath the -use of your money, and in the other a large interest upon his own. You -will easily see by the treaty that I have relinquished to him rather the -shadow than the substance of what he desired; but I do feel it my duty -to beseech you that in every wise you show him such convenience and fair -dealing as you may, without hurt to your own prosperity, since by your -acting in this fashion he will be the less likely to repudiate the -contract as a cheat devised for his beguiling. - -"Returning to mine own affairs. I am the guest of one Niccolo -Machiavelli, an honest and courteous man, with much wit, and knowledge -of the ancients. He was sometime in the service of the late Republic, -but was after suspected, and removed from his office by the Medici -faction. Having been racked on a false charge of treason, he retired -hither, and by a frugal expenditure hath somewhat mended his fortune, so -that he is embarrassed neither by the cares of wealth, nor the vexations -of poverty. At first, however, since a republican and popular government -considers all the citizens to be its servants, as much through their own -duty as from any hope of a fair remuneration, he, having been able to -save little of his pay, was in great straits, so that he was forced to -rise ere it was light, and spread nets for thrushes and quails, -superintend his idle workmen, and busy himself with a thousand trifling -cares: wherefore I think it more profitable to serve a tyrant than a -free people. He hath now acquired by his own efforts that leisure which -his public service and former poverty denied him, so that he can pass -his day in pleasant discourse, studying the diverse manners and habits -of men, or reading in his library, in which he doth greatly delight. The -library itself, in which I am now writing, is a long, airy room, having -a pleasant aspect toward the south-west; but it overlooks the courtyard, -and one is continually disturbed through the day by the foolish cackle -of hens and other farmyard racket. He told me that he chose the room on -his first coming hither, whereat his wife made a great clamour -complaining that he had taken for his own uses the one serviceable room -in the house, which is indeed the truth. She is well looking and I would -willingly see more of her; but she is a notable woman, and, as is usual -with her sex, occupied all day long by a thousand nothings, whereat I -think he is marvellously contented, esteeming himself fortunate in that -she differs from the majority of wives, who continually invade the -privacy of men, and use our apartments as their own. Set against the -walls are great chests of carven and painted wood, which contain his -manuscripts and printed books, the Latin poets as well as the historians -and orators, besides those Italian authors who have gained an eternity -of fame, more especially Dante Alighieri and Petrarch. Here, among this -choice store of what the world hath accounted noble in thought or -action, we sit far into the night with a flagon of wine between us, and -such entertainment as our own wits provide, relishing in our -conversation both the _sal nigrum_ of Momus, and the _sal candidum_ -which Mercurius gave. - -"At first, seeing the ingenious and subtle mind of my friend, I was at a -loss to account for his apparent failure in assuring his own fortune; -but, knowing him better, I see that his judgment, never at fault in -dealing with things afar off, may be perplexed and misled when it comes -to bear upon present affairs; being so great in himself he doth -sometimes forget of what poor account in Europe are his countrymen -to-day. He is at present making a series of discourses upon politics, -which he reads in the gardens of Cosimo Rucellai, where the meetings of -the Academy are held. It was at one of these meetings, after the company -had dispersed, that I first had speech of him; in which traverses, -though the chief subject of his discourse is Livy's history of the Roman -Republic, he draweth his examples from many sources, and showeth how -mankind hath always been prone to the same faults, and in like -circumstances will always act in a like manner without regard for the -lessons and warnings of the past. - -"In the intervals of preparing these discourses against their occasions, -and of refining those which he hath read, he giveth much time and labour -to the polishing of a little treatise or manual for princes; a work full -of seasonable matter, which I have read with much profit and agreement, -for he reasons not, as the schoolmen use, from some abstract theory of -the universe, with which all events must be forced into harmony, but -gathering together the facts of common experience, he derives from the -perfect understanding of them the principles of his philosophy; -wherefore I say that he hath invented a new science, and added a tenth -muse to the choir of Apollo. And to show you the satiric nature of the -man, I must tell you, that having dedicated his treatise of _The Prince_ -to Lorenzo di Piero de' Medici, in the hope of some advancement and -reward, and being disappointed of this hope, in the dedication of his -_Discourses_ to Zanobi Buondelmonte and Cosimo Rucellai he says, 'Though -I have been mistaken on many occasion, yet certainly I have made no -error in offering my _Discourses_ to you. For in this I think to have -shown some gratitude for benefits received, and to have abandoned the -path habitually trodden by those who make a trade of writing, and whose -custom it is to dedicate their works to some prince, to whom, in the -blindness of their ambition or of their avarice, and in the pouring out -of their empty flatteries, they attribute all the virtues, instead of -making him blush for his vices. To avoid falling into that vulgar fault -I have made choice, not indeed of a prince, but of those who merit to be -princes.... Moreover, historians give greater praise to Hieron, a plain -citizen of Syracuse, than to Perseus, King of Macedonia, for Hieron -lacked none of the qualities of kingliness, except the name, while -Perseus had no other than the kingdom.' So doth he think to repay them -for their neglect. - -"This satiric quality doth characterise all his writing, whether he be -dealing with the sacred or the profane; indeed he doth make no -difference between the books of Moses and the books of Livy, but treats -both in the same way, as the record of past events; and though God -forbid that I should seem to doubt the truth of Scripture, yet it is my -opinion that the writings of Moses are not to be apprehended by the -plain man, being full of mystery and divinity, which only a clerk can -expound. Thus, in one place, after enumerating the great law-givers of -old; Moses, Cyrus, Romulus, Theseus, and the like, he adds: 'And though -perhaps I ought not to name Moses, he being merely an instrument for -carrying out the divine commands, he is still to be admired for those -qualities which made him worthy to converse with God; but if we consider -Cyrus and the others who have acquired or founded kingdoms, they will -all be seen to be admirable, and if their actions and the particular -institutions of which they were the authors be studied, they will be -found not to differ from those of Moses, though he was instructed by so -great a teacher.' - -"This is either too simple, or too subtile, for men of godly and pious -dispositions. Indeed, I think that by indulging his delight in irony he -hath made himself distrusted; for the depravity of human nature is such, -that, where two interpretations can be put upon words, mankind will -ordinarily choose the sense which is evil instead of that which is good. -Witness the following, on ecclesiastical princedoms: 'All the -difficulties of ecclesiastical princedoms precede their acquisition: for -they are acquired by merit or good fortune, but are maintained without -either, being upheld by the venerable ordinances of religion, which are -all of such a nature and efficacy that they secure the authority of -their princes in whatever way they may act or live. These princes alone -have territories which they do not defend, and subjects whom they do not -govern; yet, though undefended, their territories are not taken from -them, nor are their subjects concerned at not being governed or led to -think of throwing off their allegiance; nor is it in their power to do -so. Accordingly these princedoms alone are secure and happy. But -inasmuch as they are sustained by agencies of a higher nature than the -mind of man can reach, I forbear to speak of them; for, since they are -set up and supported by God himself, he would be a rash and presumptuous -man who should venture to discuss them.' It hath a double edge, and -though some may be found to declare the intention innocent, since the -book is addressed to a relative of the Pope, I would rather infer from -that the greater daring of the author. But lest you yourself, who are -curious in such matters, should doubt whether the intention be malicious -or innocent, I shall explain further his opinions, both in the matter of -Moses, and in the matter of ecclesiastical princedoms. For in two -discourses at the Rucellai gardens, at which I was present, he returned -to these subjects, and said: 'In fact no legislator has ever given his -people a new body of laws, without alleging the intervention of the -divinity; for otherwise they would not have been accepted. It is certain -that there exist many benefits of which a wise and prudent man foresees -the consequences, but nevertheless of which the evidence is not -sufficiently striking to convince all minds. To resolve that difficulty -the wise man hath recourse to the gods.... The Florentines believe -themselves to be neither ignorant nor rude, and, nevertheless, Fra -Girolamo Savonarola made them believe that he had conversations with -God. I do not pretend to decide if he were right or wrong, for one -should not speak without respect of so extraordinary a man. I only say, -that a great multitude of people believed him, without having seen -anything supernatural which could justify their belief; but his whole -life, his knowledge, and the subject of his discourses, should have been -enough to make them give credence to his words. One must never be -astonished at having failed to-day, where others once succeeded; for -mankind, as I have said in my preface, are born, live, and die, -according to the same laws.' - -"And if you, Master Bates, would ask me how it is possible that such -matters should be so spoken of, openly, in this country, which licence -would not be permitted elsewhere, I shall offer in reply his own words -on ecclesiastical princedoms. For he says: 'Certainly, if religion had -been able to maintain itself as a Christian republic, such as its divine -founder had established, the States which professed it would have been -happier than they are now. But how is she fallen! and the most striking -proof of her decadence is to see that the peoples bordering on the -Church of Rome, that capital of our religion, are precisely the least -religious. If one examines the primitive spirit of her institutions, and -when he sees how far her practice hath departed from them, he might -easily believe that we are approaching a time of ruin or of retribution. -And, since some assert that the happiness of Italy depends on the Church -of Rome, I should bring against that Church several reasons which offer -themselves to my mind, among which there are two extremely grave, and -which I think, cannot be denied. First, the evil examples of the court -of Rome have extinguished in this country all devotion and all religion, -which fact carries in its train innumerable inconveniences and -disorders; and as, wherever religion reigns one must believe the -existence of good, so wherever it hath disappeared one must suppose the -presence of evil. We owe it then, we other Italians, to the Church and -to the priests that we are without religion or morals, but we owe them -one other obligation, which is the source of our ruin; it is that the -Church has always stirred up, and stirs up incessantly, the division of -this unhappy country.' - -"My mind doth see you, sitting, perchance, in your garden, by the dial, -as is your wont after the business of the day is over, and mocking me, -that I have found a new prophet. But, indeed, it doth seem so to me, and -I am content to sit in his company gleaning the ripe ears of his wisdom. -And if I have out-wearied your patience with my praise of him, whose -every word hath the force of a deed, let me remind you of a summer day -in the garden of your old house at Boston, how we plucked the apricocks -from the espaliers, while you read to me the discourses of Sir Thomas -More upon Augustine's _De Civitate Dei_, when, if I did not gape, it was -but from politeness and my great respect for yourself. For this man doth -stand among his countrymen like a giant in a city of pigmies, -overlooking their petty disputations, and reading the future from the -mirror of the past. He doth foresee the ruin of the Church, the birth of -Empires, the dawn of a new greatness for the world, the emancipation of -the peoples from the ecclesiastical tyranny of to-day. He standeth like -one prophetic upon Pisgah. He doth see that the world must be freed from -this pestilence of monks. He says: 'Our religion, having shown us the -truth and the only way of salvation, hath lessened in our eyes the worth -of worldly honours.... The ancient religions offered divine honours only -to those illustrious with worldly glory, such as famous captains, and -leaders of the Republic; our religion, on the contrary, only sanctifies -the humble, and men given to contemplation rather than to an active -life; she hath placed the _summum bonum_ in humility, in the contempt -for worldly things, and even in abjection; while the pagans made it -consist in greatness of soul, in bodily strength, and in all that might -help to make men brave and robust. And if our religion asks us to have -strength, it is rather the strength to suffer evils than to do great -things. It seems that this new morality has made mankind weaker, and -given the world over as a prey to the wicked.' - -"All these sayings have sunk deep into my mind, as you may well perceive -by the length of this letter. He hath taught me that, since the -conditions of life are always the same, a man who hath strength and wit -may rise to the same eminence in these days as the heroes of old time -did in the past. - -"I have sent to my lord the Cardinal a present of furs, which I pray you -see conveyed to him with my humble duty. The cloak of furs is for -yourself, and the necklace of amber beads for your good lady. Your -advice I follow in my way of life; but, my good Will, sometimes I do -regret the old times, when you and I were younger, and fond of wenches; -or, perchance, when they were fonder of us. Three things I look forward -to seeing next Spring: the fresh face of an English country maid, a -Royal pageant on the Thames, and a bank of primroses with the rain on -them." - -Folding the paper neatly, he addressed it; and taking a sardonyx gem -from his finger sealed up the edges with four seals. Then returning the -ring to his finger, he considered his small, white, fat hands, pursing -up his lips, with a curious air of meditative self-satisfaction. Lifting -up his eyes again, after this pleasant relaxation of the mind, he found -Machiavelli, who had entered softly so as not to disturb him if he were -writing, looking at him with a gently ironic smile; and he started, -somewhat annoyed that even for a moment he should have been taken off -his guard. - -"If you are occupied, Messer, I shall not disturb you. Do not move. I -hope that you have asked for whatever you may have desired. Marietta -tells me that you have been busy with your correspondence." - -"I have also read a little," answered Cromwell. - -"Ah, I see! the _De Monarchia_. I marvel always, Messer, that in spite -of the overwhelming evidence of human depravity, men are to be found in -every age who base their conceptions of the ideal state upon the -hypothesis that mankind is naturally good." - -"It is at least certain that each individual considers himself good," -Cromwell said. - -A light smile was the only reply. Machiavelli wore a long Florentine -cloak reaching down to the ankles; loosening it a little he flung the -ends back over the arms of his chair, and stretched his legs. His -clothes were of the finest Florentine cloth, well-made, but a little -worn--black and dark green in colour; he wore a collar of fine linen -fitting close about the neck; his cloak was of brown home-spun. Every -detail showed a scrupulous care for his appearance, but also a frugality -of means. Cromwell, equally sober in his black and tawny, allowed -himself little vanities; a gold chain with pendant jewels, and the white -lawn collar neatly goffered, as also were the wrist-bands. - -"Do you think this treatise a foolish book?" asked Cromwell bluntly. - -"Dante was great in everything," answered Machiavelli. "He could not -write foolish things; but he could be mistaken in his reasons, and as to -the capacity of human nature. His ideal Emperor, his ideal Pope, would -be gods, not men. His notion of the Church stripped of its temporal -possessions is a chimera. As religion exists to-day, asserting its -precedence over the State, or even its opposition to the State, it -splits society in two, and divides it against itself. The religion of -the pagans was merged in patriotism, and before a greater stability in -social affairs is possible, mankind must either return to that ideal, or -religion be considered as a matter for every individual to practise as -he thinks best." - -He spoke with little or no inflection of the voice, resting his chin on -one hand. As he sat always with his head slightly bent, when he looked -at his companion, with bright eyes under compressed brows, his face had -an expression of stealthy alertness. - -"Yes," said Cromwell; "if we turn away from Italy, and consider the -other nations, we find that in every country the Church has an -organisation, powerful and rich, which the State has to bribe; but since -the Church has this organisation, acting directly on the mass of the -people, and willing to support the State, in exchange for certain -privileges and immunities, our princes find it convenient to govern by -its help; and since the greater part of government consists of temporary -expedients, statesmen will not be led easily to forego this -convenience." - -"That little book was written when Boniface VIII. sat in the chair of -Peter. It is simply a protest against the ambition and arrogant -pretensions of the popes. Innocent III. and Gregory VII. could launch -their thunders against kings more or less successfully; but the anger of -Boniface went out like a flame fallen in water; his selfish lust for -power led to his complete downfall, and the victory of Philip. But -Philip's victory caused a revulsion of feeling in the Pope's favour, so -that Dante, though he hath thrust Boniface into Hell, yet calleth him -Christ's Vicar, and doth compare his sufferings to Christ's Passion. -Even Philip did not attack him openly, but used covert weapons, Sciarra -and all the Colonnesi being his secret allies, and carrying with them -the gonfalon of the Church; in what he did openly, Philip used -traditional means, as summoning a council, and accusing the Pope of -heresy. Still, I say to you that henceforth the great States will war -continuously against the Church." - -"And how should they attack her? Upon what side is the Church to be -assailed?" - -"Through the monks. 'The fat bellies of the monks' are become a proverb -in Europe. Every people itch with the vermin. They have made the -practice of poverty the most lucrative of trades. Their greed, their -lewdness, and their obscenity, are the matter of every ballad, and the -butt of every wit. And yet they are one of the chief supports of the -Church, ever replenishing her treasuries with the offerings of the poor, -and the fruit of their traffic in pardon and indulgences." - -"I have observed," said Cromwell, "that, though kings have often -despoiled the monasteries, such depredations have not increased their -popularity; for, though the people do not defend the property of the -monks when it is attacked, after a time the weight of their opinion is -on the side of the Church, and they accuse the officers of the State of -rapacity and harshness, and the King himself of greed." - -"The people are too often ground between the upper and nether -mill-stones of Church and State," said Machiavelli; "to them both -tyrannies are equally hateful. And, also, Messer, the plundering of the -monasteries hath nearly always been an act of kingly greed, to furnish -the material for war and forge the instruments of a harsher tyranny. But -let the King make his people his accomplices...." - -He finished the sentence with a smile. - -"Yes," said the other slowly; "yes." - -He considered his soft, white hands, and pondered the matter as if it -were an ordinary question of daily business. His fleshy face with a -bright colour about the cheek-bones, the small, pointed nose, the -watchful eyes, revealed nothing; but the mere quietness with which he -considered the question was, in a sense, a revelation. Lifting his eyes -again he spoke quietly. - -"I see here," he said, turning the pages of the _De Monarchia_, "that -Dante attributes the great power of the Roman Empire to the direct -action of the divine providence. The Empire to him is a thing divinely -ordained, and Augustus is the divine monarch." - -"One must either attribute all things or nothing to providence," said -Machiavelli. "It was the opinion of Plutarch that the Romans confessed -their obligations to Fortune by consecrating a great number of temples -and statues to that goddess. It was to the courage of her soldiers that -Rome owed the Empire, and it was to the wisdom and conduct of her -administrators and law-givers that she owed its preservation. If fortune -or God rule the world, then man hath no remedy against the evils of his -time, and his prudence avails him nothing. I am in part inclined to this -opinion, since every day we see things happen contrary to all human -expectation; yet, at the same time, man is in some measure free. What I -say, then, is this: that fortune is mistress of little more than half of -our actions, and man himself is master of all the rest. In all things we -may observe the action of certain laws, to which man is subject, but -within the limits of which he hath a certain freedom. So, as a sailor, -knowing the changes of the tide and wind; how it bloweth from the shore -at evening, and from the sea at dawn; and knowing also the mysterious -currents in the sea, and the hidden shallows, and the free channels, and -the stars by which he is to steer, may bring his venture into port, -where one ignorant of these things would suffer shipwreck, the wise man -judging of times and opportunities will use caution or courage, as best -may serve the occasion. He will prosper most whose mode of acting is -adapted to the change of times; but no man is found so prudent as to -know how to adapt himself to all changes, both because he is naturally -inclined to follow one course, and because having prospered in it -hitherto he cannot be persuaded to change. Moreover, fortune is a blind -and irresistible force, while the divine providence of Dante is mild and -beneficent; and though we have instances of fortune we have none of -providence; and to assert that fortune directed the growth of the Roman -Empire is to say a childish thing, for fortune creates nothing, it -rather destroys; but it is man, adapting himself to fortune, who is the -creator. Though we may say that fortune doth in a large measure control -the works of man, we cannot say that the divine providence hath inspired -or maintained in power, by its singular favour, any people. But every -people succeeds or fails according to its wisdom in dealing with events -as they occur, and in guarding against all probabilities of mischance." - -While he was speaking, his son, Piero, came into the room with some wine -for them, which he put upon the table. He was not unlike his father, -with a small, close-cropped head and slightly aquiline nose, but the -face had the softer outline and delicacy of youth; something in the -clean-cut features, the thoughtful brows, and firm lips, reminded -Cromwell of a little head of Augustus upon a gem which he had seen at -Rome, but even more, of a small head of Caligula, that debased and -weaker image of Augustus. Machiavelli smiled, took his son's hand, and -talked to him in that spirit of grave banter which is customary with men -when they talk to children, and the boy answered him readily enough, -with responsive smiles, and laughingly, but yet a little embarrassed by -the presence of their guest. Presently his hand was released, and he -slipped silently out of the room. - -"It is sad when one thinks of the great empires of the past fallen into -decay, and all their work perished, so that nothing of them can be said -to remain except a shadowy legend and a name." - -"Yes, it is sad; but it hath always been so," answered Machiavelli. -"Everything is subject to change and death. Do you know these lines of -Dante, since you study him? - - "'_Atene e Lacedemone, che fenno - Le antiche leggi, e furon sì civili, - Fecero al viver bene un picciol cenno - Verso di te, che fai tanto sottili - Provvedimenti, che a mezzo novembre - Non giunge quel che tu d'ottobre fili._' - -"They are nothing but a song in our ears. And yet we may comfort -ourselves. For I believe that the world has always been the same and has -always contained an equal mass of good and evil, but I believe also that -this good and evil passes from one country to another, as we may see by -the records of these kingdoms of antiquity, which, as their manners -changed, passed from one to the other, but the world itself remained the -same. There is only this difference, that whereas first the seat of the -world's greatness was at Assyria, whence it passed to the Medes, thence -into Persia, until finally it came to Rome and Italy, and though no -other Empire has followed which has proved lasting, yet now the -greatness of the world is diffused through many nations, in which men -live in orderly and civil fashion. Everything is subject to change and -the vicissitudes of fortune; but passing from change to change all -things return more or less to their former state." - -"I remember the lines. Tell me, Messer: Dante calleth Virgil his master; -do you think the poetry of Dante similar and equal to Virgil?" - -Machiavelli moved a little in his chair. - -"There is a Virgil by your hand, Messer," he said. "Open it. Look at the -print and paper; it was printed at Venice. So I like to read that -splendid verse. And yet Dante scarcely seems a poet to be read in print. -I should like to possess his works written in a fine, neat, clerkly -script, upon vellum, with little illuminations in the margin, angels in -vermilion and ultramarine upon a golden ground; initial letters with -quaint floral devices woven about them, heraldic monsters, the Gryphon -with his car, Beatrice walking by the stream in the earthly Paradise. He -chose Virgil as his master because, to him, Virgil was the sole Roman to -whom the prophecy of Christ's coming had been revealed by the divine -will; because Virgil himself had pictured the state of man after death; -and, finally, because Virgil had been the singer of that Empire which -Dante so greatly reverenced. The poetry of Dante has nothing of -classical proportion; its unity is simply the unity of a philosophical -system; its progress is like a pageant. But it is full of a sudden -wilful beauty, a delight in natural things, moments of birdlike music -when he speaks of birds, as in the lines: - - "'_Nell'ora che comincie i tristi lai - La rondinella presso alla mattina, - Forse a memoria de' suoi primi guai._' - -and when he describes the flight of cranes, or of the lark: - - "'_Quale allodetta, che in aere si spazia - Prima cantando, e poi tace contenta - Dell' ultima dolcezza, che la sazia._' - -It is like that delicate work of the illuminators, full of a kind of -homeliness, a clear and luminous beauty; but it is not the same thing as -Virgil's lines: - - "'_.... et bibit ingens - Arcus: et e pastu decedens agmine magno - Corvorum increpuit densis exercitus alis._' - -I do not think that Dante is a lesser poet; but he hath not, and never -can have, the same universal appeal. He is terrible, full of swiftness, -and energy, and hatred; devouring his subject like a flame. No poet hath -lines so horrible, so inhuman as: - - "'_due dì li chiamai poi che fur morti: - Poscia, più che il dolor, potè il digiuno. - Quand' ebbe detto ciò, con gli occhi torti - Riprese il teschio misero coi denti, - Che furo all' osso, come d'un can, forti._' - -It is an exultation of hatred, a luxury in disgust, a joy in brutal -vengeance which cannot be paralleled. Turn from it to these lines out of -the _Paradiso_: - - "'_O dolce Amor, che di riso t' ammanti, - Quanto parevi ardente in quei flailli, - Ch' aveano spirto sol di pensier santi._' - -and you have some notion of his wide range from tumult into calm. Will -you not drink a little wine?" - -"This wine is excellent," said Cromwell. "As a rule I find the Italian -wine a little harsh; but this is suave and of a delicate flavour. You -are a great lover of poetry, Messer. I see that your volumes of Tibullus -and Ovid are much worn." - -"I carry them out with me when I go fowling, and read them beside the -snares." - -"I have little time for such pleasures, alas!" said Cromwell. "Yet I, -too, have great need of the poets, sometimes. I have read the _Commedia_ -closely. Tell me, Messer, since you have spoken of Dante's political -principles as enunciated in the _De Monarchia_, did not they suffer a -change in the _Commedia_?" - -"Man's ideals are broken as he hath greater experience of life. Dante, -like all enthusiasts, fashioned to his own mind a picture of the ideal -state, upon the hypothesis, as I have said before, that all men are -naturally good. But if you consider his poem you will find that it is -nothing but a record of crimes and their punishment, while even the -crystal air of heaven is disturbed by denunciations of evil. His notion -that the civil power is of God, and that the Church should be subject to -it, is expressed later with even a more vehement conviction in the -_Paradiso_, by Justinian, the supreme legist. In the _De Monarchia_ he -says: 'Si romanum imperium de jure non fuit, peccatum Adae in Christo -non fuit punitum'; and in the _Commedia_ for having withstood the -Empire, Brutus with Cassius still howls in Hell, and 'Piangene ancor la -trista Cleopatra.' But, after his years of exile and wandering, he seems -to have surrendered his faith in a kingdom, which should be of this -world, and sought for justice and the triumph of the good beyond the -grave, as so many others have, likewise; for in the next world we shall -all be justified. Dante's poem is not like the _Æneid,_ an epic: it is -an Apocalypse. The companion of his voyage is less the gentle Virgil, -the maiden of the maiden city, than some later St John, continuing his -fulminations from Patmos, judging all nations and condemning them. It is -only in rare moments that he can speak a tender language as he does of -the Florence of an earlier day, standing in peace, sober, chaste, with -no houses void of a family; with her nobles in leather jerkins, and -their ladies at the cradle, or the distaff, telling their handmaidens -the tales of Troy, and Rome, and Fiesole. Such is the manner of poets: -to praise times past in preference to the present, and usually without -reason. A little later, you will hear Peter condemning his successors, -who imitate him in that calling which he followed before he followed the -call of Christ, rather than in his later life: - - "'_Non fu nostra intenzion, ch'a destra mano - Dei nostri successor parte sedesse, - Parte dall' altra del popol cristiano: - Nè che le chiavi, che mi fur concesse - Divenisser segnacolo in vessillo, - Che contra i battezzati combattessi: - Nè ch' io fossi figura di sigillo - Ai privilegi venduti e mendaci._' - -Everything in the poem is a condemnation of this world. A sense of -complete isolation has overcome the writer. He stands alone, neither -Guelf nor Ghibelline, but a party to himself: the first Italian." - -He paused, drank a little wine, and smiled tolerantly. - -"I, too, began life in attaching myself to a party; and when my party -was expulsed I became a Florentine, and now, having considered all the -cities of Italy, I am an Italian. But the great mass of my countrymen -are still as Dante saw them, split up into numerous factions, weak by -divisions, a ready prey to any comer." - -Cromwell stroked his chin meditatively and, discreet, said nothing. - -"When our dreams have faded, Messer," continued the other, "we can only -sit aloof, watching the comedy of life with at best a tolerant contempt, -but more often hiding, under a mask of cynicism and sarcasm, the maimed -heart that is in us." - -The other was a little embarrassed, after a moment he spoke quickly. - -"It seems, to my mind, Messer, that Dante's poem hath no progress, no -dramatic progress; beyond the pedestrian interest of the scenes -described there is no motion." - -"Thought can be dramatic as well as action," replied the other; "but I -am inclined to agree with you. Consider the poem as a whole system of -thought starting from 'the master of those who know' and ending in the -beatific vision; consider it, next, as a denunciation of all the lusts -and depravity of the world, typified, and made incarnate in historical -characters: Francesca, voyaging for ever through the dusky air, on a -wind that seems to symbolise her own passion; Ugolino, turning his -strong teeth upon that wretched skull: consider, finally, the little -illuminations which have made me compare the poem to a missal or a book -of hours; the terse phrase, the very simplicity of which bites like an -acid, so keen it is. Then, I think, you will see how various was his -mind. His poem is like a great life; his words like actions, sometimes -terrible and inhuman, sometimes like a mother's tenderness with her -child." - -Cromwell suddenly broke into a smile. - -"Yes, yes, as you say, Messer, it is a whole system of thought. Nay, -even more, it is the whole structure of a past age. But how simple! How -childish! The people of that time seem to me like a few men gathered -together at night round an open fire; at hand is a cheerful warmth, and -light, but a few paces away is the darkness full of terrors, and on the -borders of darkness are monstrous shadows. They sit crouched about the -fire, telling idle tales to beguile their fears, thinking that beyond -that little glow of radiance is nothing, whereas, at no great distance -from them is such another company round another fire. We have explored -the darkness, and now the dawn is beginning." - -"_Magnus nascitur ordo_," said Machiavelli, smiling. "How many ages have -said the same thing?" - -"But it is here. The new order is born. I am no scholar, Messer, but I -have heard Dean Colet and Erasmus. The recovery of the Greeks hath let -knowledge like a light into many dark places; the whole political fabric -is dissolving, and flowing away into the limbo of dead conceptions. The -secular power, which Dante wished, and which you wish, to see -established, is here." - -"Yes, it is here," answered Machiavelli; "but what is it going to do? -Mankind is constantly labouring at an unknown task; and, in seeking to -be free, doth often but rivet its own fetters more securely." - -"What do you mean?" - -"Take as an example the conflict between the senate and people of Rome. -Marius having been made the champion of liberty is followed by Sulla the -master of reaction; the fight is long, bitter, and when finally the -people triumph they find themselves under the absolute rule of one man. -Now this results from the fact that men worship the name of freedom, -rather than the thing itself; those who fight in the cause of liberty -are fighting for their own establishment in power and, being -established, they seek to protect themselves, and fortify their position -as the central authority; and, having been raised up by the popular -voice, they are stronger than the power which they have supplanted; thus -it happens that the people warring against their government in the cause -of liberty do but increase the power which they have aimed to destroy. -The present struggle is to rid the State of the interference of the -Church: to found greater States. The popes have destroyed Italy by -playing off faction against faction, and city against city, in the hope -that by this method they might become supreme over all; but having -introduced disorder into every town, and destroyed all civic morality, -they have also lessened their own power; for these states and cities -were the Church's bulwarks against the invader. Now, whatever may be the -issue of present affairs, the Pope must become subject either to the -Emperor or to the King of France. This is the nemesis of their policy. -The liberty of the State will be achieved, at least in a great measure; -but the State being stronger will be more absolute, more tyrannous. The -solvent of the new learning, as you call it, will be smiled upon by -kings, so long as it doth help them to rid themselves of the Pope; but -it will be repressed the moment that it shows any desire to alter or -limit the power of the States." - -"Yes," answered Cromwell; "but if they once let in the flood, it will be -too late to think of building a dam." - -"When I was a young man I remember to have heard Politian," said -Machiavelli. "But I think that the enthusiasm which began with Petrarch, -and continued into my younger days, has died down. It is true that our -studies are better organised: we have the academies; but learning in -Italy at the present day is rather a polite accomplishment than a -serious business. It hath not penetrated the mass of people. To them, -the two bases of the social order are still the Pope and the Emperor, as -in Dante's day; and they condemn the new learning as tending to -overthrow these bases, and so destroy the whole fabric of society. The -monks point to Erasmus as the cause of the present troubles in Germany." - -"Erasmus doth seem to me to be the one wise man," answered Cromwell. "He -steereth a middle course, condemning the fanatics on both sides. It is -his wish to avoid any tumult, and merely to further the growth of light -and reason; for he is persuaded the whole evil of the time comes from -ignorance. Colet, such another man, was persecuted with accusations of -heresy, so that he thought well to withdraw himself from the public eye. -But neither of these men desired to overthrow the Papacy or to promote a -schism; for they thought, if I remember aright, that such methods, with -their incidental violence, would only prejudice the cause they had at -heart; their aim was to act upon the Church from within, to reform its -abuses, to root out this pestilent brood of monks, and to promote a -healthy growth of lay opinion. To Erasmus the German schismatics are no -whit less ignorant or less intolerant than his old enemies the monks, -and equally entangled in the webs of vain theological sophistries. He -believes that the great influences are secret, and of slow growth, -gradually penetrating all things; and he seeketh to form a party of -intellectual men, who shall work within reasonable limits, acting as a -new leaven to leaven the whole lump." - -"I have little faith in such an influence, except as a preparation for -the combat," said Machiavelli. "What I praise in Erasmus is that -clearness of judgment, which insists that the Bible should be read as -any other book, that each man should go direct to the source, and fill -his own vessel; for by that means they will recognise the chicanery, -which isolates texts and phrases, and distorts their sense. But not by -any gentle methods will the regeneration of Europe come to pass. There -is a stir, a commotion of minds, abroad, which is testing the -pretensions of the Church, and rejecting them one by one. The sands are -shifting beneath the foundations of a structure we thought builded upon -a rock; and though as yet the fabric stands, it showeth great rents. So: -the Pope and Emperor remain to the majority the bases of the social -order, as I have said, and soon it will be perceived by all men that the -humanists, in playing with questions of grammar, have trenched upon -matters of faith: a crime not serious in itself, but exceedingly grave -when after reflection we learn that it compromises temporalities. Men -have not yet clearly seen this danger, though a few, perhaps, have -suspected it. And, when the reaction against humanism sets in, upon what -arm will the humanists rely to defend them? - -"They will by that time have created not only a large following, but a -temper among the people. I myself, Messer, have great hopes of our young -King of England, who hath grown under the influence of men similar to -Erasmus. He hath a royal nature, a dominant will, a power not only of -making his people's aspirations his own, but that supreme gift in a -ruler which can make what is to his own private advantage seem a matter -tending to further the public good. Though as yet he be not fully tried, -this much I will venture to prophesy of him, that no hindrances in the -path he chooses will prevent him, and that no man in his realm of -England who fails him once will fail him again." - -"You are either very fortunate, or very unfortunate, to have such a -prince," said Machiavelli, with a smile. "But humanism is of recent -growth in your country. It must be followed by reform. And, if your King -hath that quality of true kingliness, which maketh the aspirations of -his people his own, would he withstand reaction?" - -"I cannot conceive that one of his nurture and character should be found -on any side but that of reform." - -A light, incredulous smile played upon the other's face. - -"It might be politic," he suggested. - -But Cromwell protruded his under-lip obstinately. - -"I cannot conceive the possibility," he said. - -Machiavelli shrugged his shoulders, leaned back in his chair, and looked -at his guest over joined finger-tips. - -"He hath written against Luther, but rather for the reasons of Erasmus -than for those of the monks," said Cromwell slowly. "It is even -conceivable that if he once take up the business of reforming the Church -in England, he may be forced into a more extreme position; I mean into a -denial of the Pope's authority, and a position similar to that of the -followers of Luther. In that case, I admit, the war will be between two -extreme parties; but it would be difficult to say which he would -support, or how far he would be compelled to go. Certain it is to me -that he will ally himself with whatever party is likely to serve his own -ends, and will not forsake them until they have gained him what he -requires. Then, indeed, he may cast aside the tool, which he hath -blunted by use, and choose one keener; yet, in reality, he would be but -sacrificing the show for the substance; and his vicegerent will always -be the man who discerns his will and executes it. Thus, his policy will -be consistent, though his ministers change; for at times perhaps, since -the people always blame those who surround a prince as the abusers of -his confidence, he may find it necessary for him to discard, or even to -sacrifice one, whose sole fault is in the thoroughness with which he -carries out the royal will, for often in history we read of the -sacrifice of a minister in order to lull popular feeling. Witness the -example, which you yourself give, in your treatise of _The Prince_; -where you show how Messer Remiro d'Orco, Cesare Borgia having set him -over Romagna, by the sternness of his measures soon cleansed it of -evil-doers and reduced it to order, for which his master, fearful lest -the harshness of his lieutenant should be attributed to himself, -rewarded him with axe and block, exposing the severed head in the -market-place of Cesena. Thus, though he had himself commanded the -severities which his lieutenant practised, he escaped the odium -consequent to them, and was hailed by the people as their deliverer." - -They sat for a little time, silent, in the gathering dusk. - -"Still," said Cromwell thoughtfully, "there must be ways of avoiding the -ingratitude of a master: either by the minister imputing to the King -openly, and upon every possible occasion, all actions, whether of good -or evil; or else by his fortifying himself with powerful friendships, -and seeking in every way to gain the voice of popular favour, so that -becoming greater than his master he may withstand him." - -Machiavelli shifted a little in his chair, and the darkness hid an -ironic smile. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - _TO ALBERT HOUTIN_ - - - - - VI - - THE PARADISE OF THE DISILLUSIONED - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - VI - - THE PARADISE OF THE DISILLUSIONED - - -"The final _Vale_!" - -He spoke, and lay silent. The dim figures in the crowded room seemed to -slip away from him, his mind ceased to grasp at earthly realities, a -thick darkness enveloping it and them; but the frail, wasted body still -clung insatiably to life, and answered the phrases of the litany with -long quavering sobs. At last it, too, resigned its hold on life. He -seemed to see again, for one brief moment, the kneeling cardinals; and -then to join some great current of being which swept him away beyond the -consciousness of time and space. Gradually another consciousness dawned -on him. Upon the golden brown clouds, which seemed to limit his vision, -there was projected suddenly a huge grotesque figure; the shadow of a -being more or less similar to man. - -"Is it a devil come to torment me?" he wondered incredulously. - -As the shadow advanced it became smaller; he noticed that it seemed to -have talons. - -"It is a devil." - -But even as he spoke the shadow melted about him, and out of the golden -mist came a strange-looking man, with a large, ungainly head, gray hair -in rather long straight wisps, and lively intelligent eyes of a clear -blue. The figure was absurd, gnome-like, with a pear-shaped stomach. The -finger-nails were very long. The stranger bowed, smiling, as he -approached, and spoke in a pleasant voice. - -"Monsieur, je suis charmé de vous voir. Etes-vous, par hazard, de notre -petite planète terre?" - -"I am Gioacchino Pecci," he answered. - -A livelier interest was apparent on the other's face; the smile became -ironical. - -"It is curious," he said after a pause. "It is curious that we should -have reached the same paradise. On earth, Your Holiness, I was Ernest -Renan." - -"But is this paradise?" said Leo uneasily. "Je n'ai jamais cru----" - -"It is the paradise of the incredulous," answered Renan. "There are many -paradises: that state of being which on earth was called hell is the -paradise of those given over to animal passions. The paradise of the -ascetics is an eternal Shrove Tuesday, with the eternal prospect of an -eternal Ash Wednesday; the case of Tantalus reversed and made -pleasurable. All good Buddhists have attained Nirvana. The righteous -Mahometan is distracted by the charms of innumerable _houris_. We -Epicureans enjoy that moment which is eternity; and every man is -justified in his own eyes." - -"It is charming," said Leo. - -"It is more," said Renan; "it is rational. How puerile is the mortal -conception of paradise! Man has imagined a place where virtue is -rewarded and vice punished. He believes in it with a passionate -conviction, because he is not quite sure. He forgets that virtue must be -disinterested, or it ceases to be virtue. If man is capable of a free -and unhampered choice between vice and virtue, if the distinction -between them be clear and precise, and the reward or punishment entailed -by the choice definite and finally revealed, mankind, then, is obviously -divided into two parts: the astute and the infatuate. One feels -immediately that both the reward and the punishment are excessive; or -else that vice and virtue have ceased to exist. However, in mortal -things there is always an element of doubt, and perhaps the chief glory -of man is born from it. Our choice is not entirely free, the distinction -is not absolutely clear, the reward is purely hypothetical." - -"Ah, M. Renan," said Leo, "why are you here? You were always a believer -at heart; one might almost say a scholastic. You invented a system of -doubt, as others might a system of faith; even your doubts were -affirmations. Science with you was only a synonym for God, and round it -you constructed an hierarchy of saints and martyrs, a church suffering, -militant, triumphant. Lucian----" - -"He is here," said Renan. - -"Lucian," continued Leo, "imagined the soul of Plato inhabiting a -paradise constructed after the model of his own Republic. I imagine you -projected into that strange future which you announced in your -_Dialogues Philosophiques_." - -"Doubt must be systematic," answered Renan; "but there is no need for -system in religion. The essence of a creed is in its assertions, not in -its arguments. Its arguments are nearly always a series of -after-thoughts, of apologies; its reason is always _à priori_; the very -fact that an argument should be considered necessary is blasphemous and -heretical. You exaggerate my scholasticism; but there was always in me -the nature of a priest, and I could not put away from me my education, -as I could put off my ecclesiastical dress. I imported the unction of a -priest into the region of philosophic doubt, and by that means invented -a substitute for faith. Science, in limiting the field of its -researches, has increased the mystery which lies beyond. I became, as it -were, the priest of an unknown God; and the first article of my creed -was, that perhaps he did not exist at all. 'Sois béni pour ton mystère,' -I cried in my _Magnificat_; 'béni pour t'être caché, béni pour avoir -reservé la pleine liberté de nos cœurs.' The _Dialogues Philosophiques_ -were written at a time when the whole thought of France was depressed -and reactionary. They were a play of intelligence upon contemporary -ideas. Progress does not tend to establish a scientific aristocracy at -the head of its affairs; science is progressive because it has saturated -the commercial classes with its ideals; it has increased production, and -economised in by-products. This alliance between democracy and the -scientific spirit is the unique characteristic of our age. I think, -myself, that society is tending to adopt the Chinese model. Kingship, -the State, the present conventions of society, may continue to exist in -atrophied and rudimentary forms; but I imagine the whole earth in a few -thousand years regulated by examinations and trade-unions, with an -effete mandarinate surviving amid the débris of the ancient order, like -the solitary column of Phocas in the Roman Forum, or the teeth in an -embryonic whale." - -"In this paradise," said Leo with an elusive smile, "you have, -doubtless, infinite leisure for the discussion of these academic -questions." - -"Naturally," answered Renan; "and we have a little Academy modelled on -the Académie Française. I hope, Monsieur, to have the honour of -welcoming you among us, and of replying to your _discours de réception_; -it is an amiable duty which my colleagues have delegated to me. -Sometimes; it is what remains of my mortal vanity, Monsieur; I imagine -that I have some talent in these things." - -Leo had intended to be ironical; but his own vanity was now flattered. -One ambition is always left to those who occupy a throne; it is to be -considered equal with the great. - -"Your response, Monsieur, will be my apotheosis," he replied. "But, tell -me, are you become a socialist? Your prophecy of the reformation of the -earth on the Chinese model seems to point that way." - -Renan smiled. - -"No," he said; "the Chinese are not a socialistic nation. They have not -the notion of the State which is peculiar to socialism. But they are a -nation governed by trades-unions and examining boards; and through the -same institutions we may arrive at the same stagnation. Our progress at -present seems to follow that direction, because the aim of our -materialistic civilisation is to make everything cheap, food, education, -state-offices; and its final effect will be to make men cheap, then we -shall have large, flat, arid masses of humanity, to whom few luxuries -will be possible, and the forms of our civilisation will become -stereotyped. As it was with Babylon, Assyria, and Egypt, as it is with -China, so it will be with us. Evolution is the progress from homogeneity -to heterogeneity; but the process is not indefinite. - -"After a race or a nation has produced a great number of diverse -personalities, it becomes decadent and tends to produce a single type: -the process of evolution is arrested, and the race may either lie -dormant for centuries if like the Chinese it has been prolific and -exists in sufficient numbers; or, if sparse and scattered like the -Phœnicians, they may be completely annihilated by their more vigorous -neighbours. Socialism is neither a remedy nor a disease, but it may be a -symptom. No society has been free from socialistic groups. Jerusalem had -its _ebionim_; there was the eclectic philosophy of Rome under Nero, the -Flavians, and the Antonines; primitive Christianity was communistic, and -Neo-Christianity under Joachim of Flora and St Francis was an imitation -of it. The Jacobins had communistic notions. The poor, the humble, the -oppressed have always been liable to the dreams of millenarism; and the -difference between the Maccabean aspiration, which was, according to -Daniel, to establish the kingdom of God upon earth, and the aspiration -of Robespierre, who wished 'to found upon earth the empire of wisdom, of -justice, and of virtue,' is merely the difference of time and place. A -beautiful, but intangible vision; a divine inspiration! Like all divine -inspirations, alas! it is by its nature impracticable. Imagine a sudden -uprising of the proletariate, a vast social movement, an European -revolution. Slowly, after its momentary chaos, a new cohesion would take -effect. The abstract virtues, from which the movement had had its -derivation, would become personified in our most popular legislators; -the new constitution would include, beside the disadvantages of an -untried mechanism, many errors latent in the old patterns which it would -necessarily follow; and we should discover, after a series of futile and -extravagant adventures, that the laws which govern society are -essentially natural laws, the slow growth of tacit acceptance, and not -merely the dusty records of a popular legislating assembly. Mankind does -not learn the lesson easily. One revolution engenders another, and -eventually the habit becomes ingrained. The history of mine own country, -from 1789 through the nineteenth century, a history of revolution, of -the conflict between ideals and realities, is a signal and a reminder to -the nations." - -"You treat Christianity and Jacobinism as cognate ideas," said Leo, -after a pause. "There is surely this distinction between them, that one -was almost entirely religious, and the other almost entirely political." - -"Ah," said Renan, with a deprecating smile, "all religions are -political, just as all politics are religious. Christianity with its -notion of mankind as a brotherhood, and the Papacy with its notions of a -spiritual empire, a suzerainty, over all peoples, have destroyed the -ancient conception of the unity of Church and State. The religion of the -Greeks was embodied in their laws; and the politics of the Jews, in -their religion. The ideal conception of religion as something quite -distinct from the State has proved unworkable, if not disastrous. All -the churches have had to smite their mystics with the thunders of -excommunication, to extinguish the inward light, to restrain the free -play of thought. Even the most primitive form of Christianity, the -Messianic notion, was purely political. If we are to talk on social -questions we cannot separate religion from politics. The distinction -between them is artificial; they are merely the opposite poles of a -single idea." - -"Ah, well!" said Leo, shrugging his shoulders; "the progress of humanity -is a chimæra if it ends merely in stagnation. These bleak, arid masses -of mankind living without pleasures in their Chinese frugality, what -future have they before them?" - -"An awakening," said Renan prophetically; "the Kings of Uruk reigning -over a decadent civilisation, Sardanapalus foreseeing the stagnation of -his people did not dream of a future which they had helped to create. -The process of evolution acts in tides; there is a continuous ebb and -flow; the seed lies hidden in the ground until the wizardry of Spring -calls it forth, and rain and sunlight nourishing it into new life, it -ripens for the harvest. Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen. In the -ruined palaces of Nineveh the beasts of the desert bring forth their -young, and the green lizards creep out from the crevices to sun -themselves upon a fragment of some boastful inscription; but the music -which echoed in its painted halls, the dancing and the choirs, the great -processions of its Kings, its wisdom and folly, its vain desires and -failures, its tears and laughter, these have their being still, they -move mysteriously in us, a breath would quicken them into life again, we -can rebuild them in moments that seem to have all the profundity of -time." - -"Poet!" said Leo, with a smile creasing about his lean jaws. "The world -does not become socialist, it becomes Chinese; our civilisation tends to -a variety of forms, becomes uniform, and then again becomes diverse in -endless recurrence. Continue, Monsieur, but let us keep within the -bounds of our own age. Socialism is a definite political force; and even -if it do not triumph completely it must create certain new conditions. -I, myself, have condemned socialism in one of my encyclicals. I have -denied the sacred right of insurrection. Human institutions, which we -may think have survived their usefulness, are in reality only waiting -for their transformation, their character is moulded from outside. We -may sometimes fail to understand their mission, or to grasp the reasons -which impel them to follow certain paths, because these reasons are pale -reflections of some unappreciated causes. The world seems to progress, -within the limits of natural laws, by a series of unforeseen -developments. The future is latent in us; but the force which impels it -is hidden." - -"Yes," answered Renan; "some internal conscience directs all progress, -and is the force which impels humanity on its way. This conscience has a -secret action long before it finds a voice. Its influence at first is -something subterranean and obscure; its bias is necessarily against the -official creeds, but it moves against them slowly, informing them with -the new spirit. I like to find this conscience acting through the poorer -and humbler classes of the people, the folk who are of the soil, whose -faith is something native and spontaneous, whose life and happiness -depends upon the sun and rain. It is significant that all the gods were -originally agricultural gods, that the history of every nation begins in -Eden. To the artisan, the dweller in towns, whose whole life consists in -turning out from a machine certain articles of a stereotyped pattern, -the universe is simply a piece of mechanism; he is himself merely a -machine, or part of a machine, performing a certain number of invariable -motions to produce a definite and invariable result. He lacks -inspiration, he has no vivid knowledge of the great element of chance -which moves, like one of those primitive elemental gods, behind all -human affairs, at times compassionate and friendly to man, at times -bursting out into a sudden fury of wanton destruction. He demands a -fixed wage, fixed hours of work, fixed prices for the commodities which -he consumes, the certainty of a pension in his old age. In a world of -fluctuations and vicissitudes he demands absolute security. He is -confident that he is going to do great things, that he has already -worked wonders. With the aid of science and art, which he starves, he is -going to make the earth pleasant and beautiful. He is quite confident -that in a few generations he will be born in an incubator, and die, -without pain, of sheer satiety. For him a fantastic assembly of -politicians, removable at his own will, represents Providence and the -divine wisdom. Is he less absurd than the savages who employ rain-makers -and witch doctors? I do not think so. Clearly he is not a person from -whom we can expect any but the most crude and mechanical readings of -life; his vague, restless, childish discontent, that hunger for barren -and tawdry pleasures which is characteristic of half-educated minds, -that lack of intercourse with the great elemental forces of Nature, can -issue in nothing but his own mental, moral, and physical damnation. - -"For any new readings of life, for any renaissance of art and religion, -we must look to the simple folk, who are still close to the breasts of -Earth: the folk who of old imagined Apollo as a herd in the service of -Admetus; who found Demeter sitting by the well, and comforted her; who, -after the vintage had been gathered in, took down the grotesque masks, -which they had hung upon the vines to scare the birds and foxes from the -grapes, and acted in them, singing the hymns of Dionysos to the music of -pipes and flutes. Poetry, religion, love, the three things which quicken -life to new effort, are never far from the soil. The great conventional -middle-classes, even those heretics from Philistia, the followers of -Comte and Marx, the mediocre intelligences whose political principles -are communist, and whose religious principles are positivist, these have -little influence on the future. Socialism differs from all previous -Utopian dreams simply because it lacks their vital energy; it is -material and mechanical where the older ideas were spiritual and -natural; it is lacking in a sense of morality, in a sense of beauty, in -a sense of truth. You will not find the conscience of humanity in any of -these creeds." - -"It seems," said Leo, "that we do not know where we are going." - -"You have said that human institutions are only waiting for their -transformation," Renan replied. "An institution represents a need. It -has been formed by the spontaneous action of the community; but the -moment it has been thus constituted it becomes fixed, and ceases to -represent the living, developing forces which deposited it. Christianity -at first was perfectly fluid; the teaching of Paul was unsystematic, -local, momentary; but Christianity became a religion, not of inspiration -but of authority, it crystallised into an hierarchy and perished. In the -same way the idyll of St Francis and his companions crystallised into an -order, and perished. They exist among us as monuments, these -institutions; but the same forces which crystallised them are now -dissolving them; the moment they cut themselves off from the stream of -life they perished. I do not think that the future will differ -essentially from the past. Socialism is simply the cry of the poor -against the rich. Dives is well-clad and fares sumptuously every day; no -other crime is alleged against him, but these are sufficient to ensure -his damnation. Perhaps the maker of the parable saw some peculiar virtue -in poverty and suffering, which filled the heart with a spiritual grace, -and uplifted it with moral fortitude. Perhaps he saw the wealth of Dives -as poverty, as a lack of spiritual experience. - -"Socialism, however, does not share this view; on the contrary, it -asserts that wealth is the sole condition of spiritual grace and moral -fortitude, and it is therefore bent on sharing with Dives the good -things of this world. Consequently socialism has against it the two most -deeply-rooted of human instincts, the instinct of acquisition and the -family instinct; because it denies the right of possession and the right -of bequest. How deeply-rooted the notion of property is we can see -exemplified in France, where the abolition of the right of primogeniture -has not had the effect which was expected of it, even the peasants in -certain departments having held out against it. But if the power of -bequest were entirely abolished, would people marry? The object for a -legalised relation is gone, and the production of our kind becomes -subject to the hazard of personal choice. It is possible that the State -would have to intervene and make maternity an honourable profession -under its own control, and that Plato's ideal of the State as a -foster-mother would be realised. This notion has, I confess, a singular -attraction for me. The substitution of a stock derived from careful -selection of parents for our present inferior stock; the careful -breeding of an aristocratic caste, appeals to the imagination, as it -shows the State actually realising what has always been its ideal. - -"I could wish, Monsieur, that the socialists would form themselves into -monastic communities, practising the virtues of obedience and, if not -poverty, the community of goods. Yes; they should found a little Abbey -of Theleme, and take their whole rule from Rabelais. They would not -practise celibacy, but eugenics; and the education of their children -would be the same as that devised for Gargantua by Ponocrates. So they -would increase and multiply, and the whole earth would be filled with -the glory of their names. I fear that, unfortunately, the first verse of -what was written above the gate of Theleme would debar many from -entering. But grant that this Utopia is possible; it is surely no less -possible than the monastic ideal! And granted that a great aristocratic -caste would arise, a dedicated folk, surrounded by the decadent -populations of helots and hetairai, and that they would be able to -gather into their own hands the supreme control of things? what would be -the result? They would crystallise into an hierarchy, and perish. They -would rule as the priests ruled Egypt, and as the priests ruled mediæval -Europe. They would resuscitate the double tyranny of the Church and -State in one body. The whole progress of the last four hundred years has -been toward individual liberty in thought and word. That ideal would be -lost." - -"I do not see the necessity of such ideals," said Leo. "I object to -socialism because it would mean the absolute tyranny of the State, the -despotism of a narrow and intolerant bureaucracy, tempered, as at -present in Russia, by a more or less indiscriminate system of -assassination. I have not the same objection to the tyranny of one man. -A philosopher on the throne, Monsieur, your charming Marcus Aurelius for -instance, may rule with wisdom and moderation; but an oligarchy of -philosophers, like the Thirty at Athens: hell is naked before them and -destruction hath no covering! Such experiments, as you say, infect the -people with a lust for revolution. History, the only guide for political -prophets, shows us that sudden disturbance of the social order breeds a -whole series, whether such a disturbance occur among the ancient Greeks, -or the Romans, or the French. The diverse natures of the peoples, the -different conditions of the age in which they lived, and of their -political methods do not alter the central fact. Humanity in the lump is -a beast more terrible than any in Revelations." - -"Ah, no!" cried Renan, with a sudden vivacity. "There is the chief glory -of the human race. They will sacrifice themselves for an impossible -ideal. None of us can contemplate that great tragedy of the French -Revolution without feeling cleansed by it. The enthusiasm of the people -has a kind of terrible grandeur. In such moments of divine delirium all -men assume heroic proportions. We may pity it for its fanaticism; we may -pity it for being so easily duped; but it is impossible to deny its -magnificent devotion to an ideal." - -Leo was unmoved. - -"You consider it a great moral movement, Monsieur?" - -"Moral because all petty egoisms were obliterated," answered Renan. "Men -seemed for a moment to become the incarnations of ideas. Oh, on both -sides. Charlotte Corday, Danton, Madame Roland, Robespierre, Desmoulins, -Larochejacquelin; each individuality seems to have had its definite -mission, each seems to have been equally necessary, equally an -instrument of justice." - -"You have said, Monsieur," continued Leo, after a pause, "that the -socialists would revive in one form the twin tyrannies of Church and -State, and destroy the ideal of individual liberty. You have also said -that the ancient conception of Church and State was a unity. Would the -kind of socialism which you sketch resemble the Greek State?" - -"No ancient State, not even Athens, extended to its citizens the liberty -which we enjoy," answered Renan. "The State intervened in the private -affairs of the citizens; and Athens is notorious for having pursued the -philosophers with accusations of impiety. The noble conservative -families and the priesthood combined to stifle the new liberal thought. -The State, however, was democratic; the people ruled, decided by their -votes the policy of the State, and served on juries, or as judges. -Socialism condemns democracy: it aspires to govern not by the will of -the people, but according to its own interpretation of what it calls -scientific principles; and it seems that in its application of these -principles, it would be more bigoted and intolerant than the democratic -State in Greece ever was." - -"Nothing then is permanent, which crystallises into an hierarchy, or is -limited by an institution," said Leo. "It seems to me that your gospel -is purely destructive. The whole progress of modern science is marked by -the ruins of ancient altars; you have freed mankind from all moral -obligations in denying that he is a responsible agent, and in showing -that he is merely a creature of inherited instincts; you have shown him -that his life is no more than a ripple on the water, a sudden stir of -wind in the leaves, a momentary light in the darkness; you have denied -the God that his heart fashioned as a solace to his grief, a lamp to -guide him; you have taught him to seek for the perishable glories of the -earth. How will you make him a moral being again?" - -Renan smiled. - -"Our civilisation is not very deep, Monsieur," he said. "There is always -a large inert mass of humanity untouched by the movement of thought. -From them we may expect a new religion, a new morality. We have denied -and disproved, as you say, so many things, that at last we shall come to -the sole reality. We have rendered man's personality vague and -mysterious, until it seems scarcely to exist except as a point of -development; we must seek deeper for his reality. And in any case, -Monsieur, you overrate the value of reason. In my charming walk through -life I had sufficient experience to learn that man is not entirely a -creature of reason. There are few people without a conscience. The fault -of this age is not so much that it is scientific, as that it is -mechanical and removed from the contemplation of Nature." - -"I have sometimes thought," said Leo, "that the principal hope for -religion lies in the fact that the lower classes do not think." - -"It is true," said Renan; "religion is some hidden consciousness working -toward unknown ends. Mankind is not entirely reasonable; it has a -conscience. We can no more say that this conscience is an artificial -product of society, than we can say that reason is an artificial product -also. The curiosity which is so amusing a feature of the intelligence of -cats and monkeys is an earlier stage of the scientific curiosity; and, -on the other hand, animals have shown gratitude to their masters, and -thus the rudiments of virtue. Man, in recognising his conscience, has -developed the abstract virtues of justice, of pity, of unselfishness; it -does not affect the main question that his choice between virtue and -vice should not be entirely free, nor that the distinction between them -should not be always clear. We do not reproach science because it has -not yet shown us what course our sun and its train of planets are taking -in their journey toward a star in Hercules, nor because it has been -unable, by its study of the rapidity and direction of other solar -systems, to give to them an approximate fixity in connection with -ourselves, to draw what would really be a map of the heavens. - -"Oh, Monsieur, man is a naturally moral being, just as he is a naturally -curious and scientific being. To him both curiosity and morality are -natural needs, and because they are needs they are truths. It is -impossible to consider a world which does not act according to a law of -virtue, just as it is impossible to consider a world which does not act -in accordance with the law of gravitation, or, better still, as an -example, a species which has not developed in accordance with the law of -evolution; and just as the scientist finds behind all the fleeting -appearances and phenomena of the world a basis in matter, so, behind all -the phenomena and fleeting appearances of virtue we find a basis in God, -And just as an individual is governed by his conscience in regulating -his actions, so humanity as a whole regulates its actions by an appeal -to some abstract idea of right. Such dramatic crises as the Revolution, -and the establishment of the Roman Empire, seem equally the result of a -certain slow consciousness working toward perfection; or take the growth -of Christianity, which began obscurely and with a literally subterranean -movement, is it not an instance of this blind working toward the light. -One cannot outrage the collective conscience of mankind with impunity. A -sudden outburst of popular resentment like the Revolution, which had -been incubating for at least a century, cannot be considered as a mere -caprice; can, indeed, only be considered as a revelation of justice. -Such outbursts have a purely negative effect upon human progress; -progress is the development of a new spirit, not the destruction of an -old constitution." - -"You offer no constructive policy, beyond the creation of a new spirit. -Socialism, at least, pretends to one." - -"Socialism is a reactionary force," answered Renan; "and all reactions -are bound to be more constructive than a progressive force. Their -natural tendency, as I have already said, is to crystallise in a -definite form. The spirit of progress is, on the contrary, an intangible -if all-pervading thing. It develops spontaneously in a thousand ways, -and as it pushes towards the unknown it is impossible for us to predict -with any certainty what forms it may assume. Being purely experience, -and not a creed, it is liable to be extensively modified or even -completely changed by some unforeseen development in any of its parts; a -discovery in any branch of science may react upon all, as the progress -of palæontology reacted upon history. That is the reason progress seems -always to be a purely destructive force. It is only after it has -escaped, through imperceptible degrees, into a more or less clearly -defined new phase, that we can gauge its value as a constructive force -in the last." - -"I see with you, Monsieur, the value of democracy and individual -liberty," said Leo. "Oh, I am reasonable. The character of a pope is to -be found less in the official acts of his reign, than in the temper -which he fosters in the Church. The nature of his office compels him to -claim the privileges and exemptions which his predecessors claimed. He -resigns nothing; but he allows some of his claims to remain in abeyance, -refusing to deprive his successors of a power, which, either for reasons -of expediency, or through personal dislike, he declines to exercise -himself. I came to the chair of Peter under disadvantageous -circumstances. The Papal States had been lost, and in exchange the -doctrine of a vague empire over spiritual things had been proclaimed. -Infallibility was no new thing; but the enunciation of it as an article -of faith crystallised a power which would have been of more value, if it -had been left indeterminate. I won back much that Pius had lost. I made -no use of the instruments which he had forged; I discouraged, rather -than condemned, the liberal movements within the Church; my policy was -one of insinuation, and, by skilfully leaving certain positions -undefended, I gained that they should not be assailed. Alas, Monsieur! -you smile at this panegyric of myself; but I have left no one behind who -would consider it an honourable office to praise me. The encyclical on -biblical studies, and the biblical commission, were perhaps my two -mistakes. The glorification of scholasticism was perhaps a mistake; but -I rather think it diverted the attention of my flock. However these -things may appear in the eyes of the world, my reign was wise, -temperate, and resulted in a great increase of power. I recognised -democracy and republican principles. I attempted to win the people. I -was defeated by the extremists on mine own side." - -"An epitaph, Monsieur, not only on yourself, but on your office." - -"Perhaps," answered Leo. "We do not know. The dead know so little of -what is taking place on Earth." - -"On the contrary," said Renan, "voyagers from the Earth are constantly -arriving, and we are kept well advised." - -"I can imagine a moderately successful issue to my policy if my -successor should be a man of tact. Even if institutions be only the -monuments of an idea, men must build them; and, in spite of your -argument, I think a period of authority, at least of a more correct -balance between authority and liberty, is setting in. I have still hoped -for the papacy. Comtism, some one said, was Catholicism with -Christianity left out. The qualifying clause is perhaps unnecessary. -Comtism, socialism, internationalism, are all 'Catholic' ideas. To the -Church the name of a nation is merely a geographical expression, it -knows no frontiers, no distinctions of race or language, it has no -preference for any form of government, being superior to all. The Latin -language is for it, a universal tongue, which no sane person could -consider inferior to Volapuk or Esperanto. The Church, properly -constituted, might draw into itself a great deal of this floating -idealism. We might approximate our ideals. You would say, Monsieur, that -we were all equally reactionary." - -"All synthetic ideas are," said Renan. "Anarchism is in its essence more -truly progressive than socialism, because it is for the individual. -Socialism implies either that all men are made after the same pattern, -that in certain circumstances they will act in a certain manner, or that -external influences, education, and environment, will turn out a uniform -model. It is an error. If education were all-important, the Church would -not have lost ground consistently in Catholic Europe, where the Jesuits -have had practically the whole of education in their hands for two -centuries. If such a machine as the society has failed, though it was -backed by the State, and spoke with a quasi-spiritual authority, one -cannot imagine a State department succeeding. Liberty is the condition -of development, and education develops, it does not create." - -"It is important, however, to control the means of development," -answered Leo. "Of course our education would be modern." - -"Monsieur, you spoke of an encyclical on biblical studies." - -Renan's voice was seductive; Leo made a gesture of impatience. - -"It was a mistake," he said quickly. "At certain moments the heads of -any organisation are liable to be driven into a false position by their -extreme supporters. My policy was to let things take their course; to -assimilate what we could of the new spirit, and let the rest die without -noise. My condemnation of Americanism was unobtrusive, and I did not -condemn the French Liberal priests who were busy with biblical exegesis, -because I saw that attacks on dogma do not interest the mass of people; -nine Catholics out of ten do not know what they believe in: and if your -methods of criticism, Monsieur Renan, had not been advertised by so many -fanatics, you would have been read almost entirely for the sake of your -style. There is a little man in France now, a little man with the smile -and features of Voltaire, whose criticism has rendered the work of all -those tedious Germans, and your own, quite obsolete. Our good -Ultramontanes wished to persecute him into popularity, and to advertise -him by excommunication. They told me he was a heretic. Of course he was. -All the Fathers of the Church were heretics. St Paul was a heretic. So -was St Augustine. So was St Francis. So were Lamennais, Lacordaire, and -Newman. But it is a pity that the world should know it. St Paul's -heterodoxy laid the foundations of the Church. St Augustine's -heterodoxy, that the sacred writings were not to be taken literally, -built it up. St Francis's heterodoxy staved off the Reformation for -three centuries. Lamennais and Lacordaire in France, Newman in England, -infused new life into our veins. Let us point to the names of our sons -and not to their works." - -A subtle enjoyment illuminated Renan's face. - -"Monsieur, you were always an enigma to me." - -"It is simple," said Leo; "the impregnable rock upon which we build is -simply the impregnable ignorance of the majority. Do you think that -science can alter or influence the emotions of the plain man? It does -not touch him. He prefers to accept blindly a creed which he does not -understand in order that he may devote himself to the business and -pleasures of life. He has no time to pause, to question, to criticise, -to select. He aims at euthanasia. His doubts, such as he has, are almost -entirely subconscious; and for the sake of his own peace of mind he will -attempt to stifle them if they lift their heads. The number of men who -can look on life, the whole of life, with a tranquil mind is extremely -small; and even these have their moments of failure, weakness, and -spiritual lassitude, moments in which life seems a hideous nightmare, in -which the individual, grown morbidly conscious of his own being, sees it -as no more than an infinitesimal point in the great waste of time and -space, the great darkness of eternity, wherein all the worlds at present -existing are no more than a shower of sparks. - -"Man, that creature of incredible vanity and innumerable petty egoisms, -refuses to consider for very long the melancholy spectacle of a world -hastening merely towards its death, and carrying with it his whole store -of spiritual experience, of poems and philosophies, theologics and -sciences, which his forefathers have created, and his descendants shall -renew. Therefore, when I considered the future of religion as an -indispensable condition of life, and when I imagined further a kind of -alliance between the proletariate and mine own Church, I based my -calculations principally upon the feet that the great majority of men do -not think; indeed, that they refuse to think. - -"Creeds may pass away, but the individuality of man changes, if at all, -only by imperceptible degrees. Ages of faith and ages of scepticism -recur, and give place to each other, with almost the same regularity as -the ebb and flow of a tide. The age of Pericles was sceptical, the age -of Cæsar was sceptical, the ages of Leo X. and Louis XV. were sceptical; -but from age to age the peasant has sate by the fire after his day's -work, dreaming the same dreams, and hearing nothing of the world's -doubt. He is much the same kind of pagan as he always was. He has seized -upon, in a way we cannot understand, the primitive, elementary -conditions, which subsist in all religions. You were right, Monsieur, in -tracing religion to him. He is its source. Perhaps he has never accepted -Christianity; but Christianity has accepted him. Laborious, innocent, -stupid, scarcely more human than the cattle, who are literally his -foster-brothers, he looks out upon his little world with patient eyes, -wondering; and he brings us the fruits of the earth and the bread of -life." - -"I have said with Voltaire," murmured Renan, "that if a God did not -exist we should have to invent one." - -Once again a deep, ironic smile creased about Leo's jaws. - -"You were perhaps right, Monsieur," he said; "but we should prefer not -to tax your ingenuity. The gods invented by science are always afar off; -or they sleep, perchance; or they are concerned with their own affairs; -in any case they do not hear us when we call to them. I consider our -Church capable of a larger growth if it will only remain silent on the -question of dogma, which should be left like seed to grow and quicken in -the earth. Time will obtain for any dogma a certain measure of tacit -acceptance, because truth to the majority is merely something which has -been said over and over again. Besides the psychological basis of my -calculations, the fact that the majority do not think, there is the -political basis. This has entered into a new phase. In the Middle Ages -the Church was allied with the State against the people. Its dogmas were -enforced by the secular arm. Innocent III. was a kind of suzerain over -the princes of Europe. But even here, already, the Church knew upon -occasion to ally herself with the people, and threaten a king through -his own subjects, by releasing a nation from its allegiance, and -troubling its internal peace by an interdict. - -"Since my predecessor, the Church has definitely adopted this policy; -but with a more subtile and insinuating method. Infallibility relates -not only to matters of dogma, but to matters of State, _quoad mores_ as -well as _quoad fidem_. You will remember, Monsieur, that Antonelli -addressed a despatch to the Nuncio at Paris, in which he says: 'The -Church has never intended, nor now intends, to exercise any direct and -absolute power over the political rights of the State. Having received -from God the lofty mission of guiding men, whether individually or as -congregated in society, to a supernatural end, she has by that very fact -the authority and the duty to judge concerning the morality and justice -of all acts, internal and external, in relation to their conformity with -the natural and divine law. And as no action, whether it be ordained by -a supreme power, or be freely elicited by an individual, can be exempt -from this character of morality and justice, it so happens that the -judgment of the Church, though falling directly on the moral of the -acts, indirectly reaches over everything with which that morality is -conjoined. But this is not the same thing as to interfere directly in -political affairs.' That direct interference we must avoid." - -Renan seemed to hesitate before he spoke. - -"It may be," he answered, "as you say, that mankind does not progress, -but merely revolves. Sometimes I have thought so. But nothing is -repeated in precisely the same way. Neither an individual, nor a -society, is what it imagines itself to be, in its action upon the world. -The Church, as it is considered by its adherents, is something totally -different from the Church as it seems to its directors. Every -individual, and every age, examines the gospels in a different light and -from a different standpoint, just as they examine the movement of the -planets, the structure of the earth, the conception of kingship, of the -State, even of that most immediate object the body. The life of St -Francis seems to spring quite naturally out of the mediæval world, with -its crude cosmogony, its notion of the universe as a huge mechanical toy -in the hands of God. To such people the story of Joshua commanding the -sun was not childish; miracles quite as wonderful were part of their -daily lives; and the world for them acted not according to fixed -immutable laws, but by the direct interposition of a Providence -susceptible to the prayers of man. To us it is different. We cannot -imagine a St Francis appearing in the modern world. The Church, Your -Holiness, cannot control the new movement, which will either transform -or destroy it; but in what will you suffer it to be transformed? - -"The evil of infallibility is that it cannot retract, or confess to -error. The Pope has been endowed with this fatal gift of infallibility, -a personal charisma, and through it he has become an incarnation of the -Divine Wisdom, even as the Dalai Lama becomes an incarnation of the -Buddha. To the historian, the heretical Pope Honorius, condemned equally -by Councils, and by his successors, is sufficient to disprove your -claims. But the Church can triumph over facts of history. What it cannot -triumph over is the spirit of the age. You have a large body of -adherents, who describe themselves as Catholic without knowing what the -term implies. You have a smaller, body, whose principal business in life -seems to lie in reconciling, by innumerable sophistries and subterfuges, -your dogmas with the modern world. The smallest body of all is made up -of those of your adherents, who accept you as the sole fount of truth. -But in each of these three sections there is not a solitary individual -who accepts your teaching without colouring it with his own ideas. Each -will explain a dogma from the point of view of his own prejudices, and -only accepts it with a kind of mental reservation. Of course it always -has been so. Your peril lies in the rapid exchange of ideas which -characterises modern life, the ease of communication, and the lack of -any effective machinery for preventing their diffusion. The moment any -crisis arises you cease to act as a solid body; and the action of your -leaders has far less influence upon public opinion than the action of -your laity excusing, or justifying, or explaining, the multitudinous -diversities which exist among you. If this lay action be not public, it -is the more insidious. I have noticed that when any important -pronouncement is published from the chair of Peter, your lay apologists -make no sign. There is an ominous silence. All are disenchanted. All are -suspect. They seem to turn away, silent and troubled, from what they -imagined to be the ultimate authority, and seek for their justification -at the tribunal of their private conscience." - -"Oh!" interrupted Leo brusquely, "I for one do not regret that these -gentlemen should be made uncomfortable. A lay theologian has no adequate -reason for existing. It is altogether undesirable that laymen, mere -amateurs, should concern themselves with these things." - -"Eh bien!" said Renan. "It is entirely owing to the laity that a certain -type of converts accrues to your ranks. Liberal Catholicism, though you -and I know what a vain, chimerical, and ridiculous thing it is, is, as -it were, the first step. Take Newman's theory of 'development' as an -example. Newman is the prophet dearest to the heart of laymen; because, -in a sense, his works are popular. The Anglican may read him as a -classic, and, while enchanted with the magic of that exquisite prose, -lays himself open to the attacks of a peculiarly subtile and insidious -mind. A certain temper is created in him. He becomes receptive of -Catholic ideas, and one watches him progressing more or less -unconsciously toward Rome, blind to his master's casuistry by reason of -the ineffable charm. He is like one implected with a morbid craving for -some narcotic drug, gradually increasing the dose as its effect lessens. -Liberal Catholics are the lures for such. Your Holiness had good reason -for saying that the Church had been founded by successive heresies. The -first step to a conversion is always a misunderstanding." - -"It is perfectly true," said Leo; "but Liberal Catholicism is finished. -Only Newman's hat protects him from censure. The doctrine of development -ceased to have any value after the definition of infallibility. It was -valuable as leading up to the definition, but afterwards it became an -excuse for the introduction of novelties. Its sole value now is as a -proselytising medium. But, Monsieur, why do we continue? The Church is -dissolving; even Christianity itself seems to be dissolving, to take on -a fluid, personal form. That singular body, the Society of Friends, -alone seems to be untouched by the solvent of criticism. It has nothing -upon which the solvent may act, no dogmas, no sacraments, no depository -of tradition, no hierarchical organisation. It recognises only the -inward spirit, that informing and subtile essence which alone seems -capable of interpreting the righteousness of God, a religion of silence, -and of sudden illumination, a religion of patient hope, of resignation, -of a tacit understanding." - -"Ah," said Renan, smiling, "a religion without forms, without -enthusiasms, is scarcely one to satisfy all men. It is fascinating to -consider the future of Christianity. After Catholicism no other form -will satisfy the Latins, and if criticism destroys Protestantism with -its infallible Bible, as it is destroying Catholicism with its -infallible Pope, these sophisticated nations will scarcely replace one -object of worship by another. You have said that a religion needs an -uncritical people, a people who do not think; so for any further -development we must turn toward a less complete civilisation, to a -virgin soil. Perhaps we find this in Russia. I can imagine that dreamy -and unsophisticated people, who have kept unpolluted through the ages -the temperament of wonder, reforming and developing the Greek Church. -When their Revolution comes, whether it be gradual and humane, or a -violent upheaval of disastrous passion, the Church will be -metamorphosed; the stock only will remain, and new boughs will be -grafted upon it. I can imagine a great growth because the field has lain -fallow for so long, and the modern spirit will scarcely touch it, not -only because the new Christianity will be more flexible in itself, but -also because the people will have inherited our results without having -endured our conflicts." - -The clouds in front of them suddenly trembled and parted; the figure of -a man appeared. - -"Mocenni!" exclaimed Leo. - -He rose and went toward the newcomer. - -"Who is Pope?" he enquired. - -And the Cardinal Mocenni answered him in ill-humour. - -"Sarto." - -For a moment Leo stood, as if doubtful, without speaking. - -"Sarto," he said at last incredulously. "Sarto!" - -"Well, Monsieur," said Renan, "shall we not continue our discussion on -the future of the Church?" - -But Leo had taken Mocenni's arm, and the pair walked slowly away. - -"Sarto! Sarto!" Renan heard Leo say again, as the clouds gathered about -them; and Renan smiled. - -"It is clear," he said, "that Sarto is not Leo." - - - - - THE END. - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's Scenes and Portraits, by Frederic Manning - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SCENES AND PORTRAITS *** - -***** This file should be named 60537-0.txt or 60537-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/6/0/5/3/60537/ - -Produced by D A Alexander, Nigel Blower and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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