,transcriber's ,notes ,italic words in the original text have been marked in this version with underscores4 ,in addition to a few minor typographical errors which have been silently corrected1 the following changes were made3 assymetrical changed to asymmetrical on ,page #be4 destro changed to destra on ,page #bbf4 ,,scenes ,,and ,,portraits ---------------------------------------- -------------------------------- ,,matri ,,carissimae ---------------------------------------- -------------------------------- ,,scenes ,,and ,,portraits ,,by ,,frederic ,,manning ,,author ,,of ,,the ,,vigil ,,of ,,brunhild ,,london ,,john ,,murray1 ,,albemarle ,,street1 ,w4 #aiji ---------------------------------------- -------------------------------- ,,preface ,it is a necessity of the human mind to give everything a name1 thus recognising a difference between one thing and another1 and recording it4 ,science1 which is the highest development of this necessity1 recognises1 and records systematically1 all the facts of experience1 distinguishing one from another1 by the most minute analysis4 ,the ,maoris even go so far as bestow on their greenstone clubs1 on their tikis1 and on almost every separate article1 a distinct name1 as if recognising an individuality1 much as the old myth-makers spoke of the sword ,excalibur2 but the average man is usually very loose in his application of terms4 ,renan in his preface to ,dialogues ,philosophiques writes3 ,la grande majorit des hommes 444 se divise en deux catgories1 gale distance desquelles il nous semble qu' est la vrit4 ',ce que vous cherchez est trouv depuis longtemps1' disent les orthodoxes de toutes les nuances4 ',ce que vous cherchez n'est pas trouvable1' disent les positivistes pratiques 7les seuls dangereux71 les politiques railleurs1 les athes4 ,having thus differentiated his own position1 from that of either school1 one is a little surprised to find ,matthew ,arnold saying of him1 that the greatest intellect in ,france has declared for materialism4 ,one recognises how pernicious the loose application of terms may be1 and is a little irritated to discover a fine ,english critic lapsing into the vice1 even in an unguarded moment4 ,really1 thought1 or at least any thought that justifies its existence1 is too subtile and fluid a thing to be settled in this off-hand way2 and the apparently childish custom of the ,maoris is more scientific1 since1 at least1 it recognises individuality4 ,turn away from ,renan to ,euripides1 and consider for a moment the present conflict as to whether ,the ,bacchae is a recantation by ,euripides of his supposed rationalistic opinions1 or a more aggravated expression of them4 ,it seems impossible that there should be two suppositions1 so far removed from each other1 about an existing book1 in a known language1 by an author whose style is singularly lucid4 ,la chicane s'allonge1 as ,montaigne said4 ,we must seek for the truth at an equal distance from both parties4 ,those who sustain either of the extreme theories are equally clear and convincing in their arguments4 ,as each party seems to have a personal interest in the matter1 we may be certain that it will find what it is looking for1 without much trouble2 but they both seem to be striving more often after a reputation for themselves than after the real thought of their author4 ,one ingenious critic even goes so far as to assert that ,dionysos does not work miracles1 but merely hypnotises the chorus into a belief that he has done so1 to the great amusement of the audience4 ,perhaps it is some mental disability which prevents me from enjoying ,the ,bacchae as a comedy1 but ,i own ,i cannot4 ,to ,renan and to ,euripides one might apply the term 4 ,they were both equally saturated with the scientific spirit of their age1 though inclining to the mystic temperament4 ,they were both quickened by a deep love and pity for humanity in all its moods and aspirations4 ,they both delighted keenly in popular legends and the mythology of the country-side4 ,both were strongly individual minds1 sensitive1 reacting to every contemporary influence1 and yet preserving their peculiar distinction in thought and style4 ,unbound by any system1 moving easily in all1 they sought by the free exercise of reason and a profound irony to cleanse their ages of much perilous stuff2 and though ,renan was not a ,christian in the common sense of the word1 and though ,euripides turned away from the gods of his own day1 yet each tried to save out of the ruins of their faiths the subtile and elusive spirit which had informed them2 that divine light and inspiration1 which is continually expressing itself in new figures1 and cannot be imprisoned in any vessel of human fashioning4 ,anima naturaliter ,christiana1 we can say of each4 ,there are in reality only two religions on this little planet1 and they perhaps begin and end with man4 ,they are3 the religion of the humble folk1 whose life is a daily communion with natural forces1 and a bending to them2 and the religion of men like ,protagoras1 ,lucretius1 and ,montaigne1 a religion of doubt1 of tolerance1 of agnosticism4 ,between these two poles is nothing but a dreary waste of formalism1 ,pharisaism1 perplexed subtleties about ,instants1 ,formalities1 ,quiddities1 and ,relations1 all that bewildering of brains which comes from being shut up in a narrow system1 like an invalid in a poisoned and stifling room4 ,i think that all the world's greatest men have had this quality of double-mindedness4 ,take1 for example1 the curious paradox of ,epicureanism1 which counsels a temperate pleasure1 and yet condemns the whole of life as being merely the pursuit of an unattainable desire2 reconciling us to life by the prospect of death1 and to death by showing us the vain efforts and innumerable vexations of life4 ,the same double-mindedness partly explains for us the difference between the ,socrates of ,plato and the ,socrates of ,xenophon2 though we must not overlook the fundamental difference in the biographers4 ,this elusive and various quality of greatness has not1 ,i think1 been sufficiently recognised4 ,there is no more suggestive expression of it than the character of ,christ as sketched by ,oscar ,wilde in ,de ,profundis1 which may be supplemented by the masterly delineation of ,m4 ,loisy in his prolegomena to ,les ,evangiles ,synoptiques4 ,in the following studies1 the principal influence is that of ,renan2 though ,i profess ,i cannot gauge its full extent4 ,the discourse of ,protagoras owes some of its principles to the dialogue ,certitudes2 but the pivot1 upon which the whole question turns1 came directly from a study of the ,theaetetus and the ,protagoras1 so that the debt is scarcely perceptible4 ,protagoras himself practically does not exist for us1 we can only evoke a shadowy image of him from ,plato1 for whose somewhat reactionary bias full allowance must be made4 ,the result is a vague reflection with blurred outlines1 but gracious1 and with neither the greed nor the vanity of the other sophists4 ,i do not think that ,renan's verdicts have influenced my treatment of ,st ,paul4 ,renan has a natural prejudice against ce laid petit ,juif1 with his ,rabbinical pseudo-science1 and his blindness to the beauty of the ,greek spirit1 his scorn of the idols1 and his misconception of what was meant by the unknown ,god4 ,i do not share this prejudice4 ,i am perfectly willing to take a thing for what it is1 and not to grumble at it for not being other than it is4 ,the strength of ,st ,paul was like the strength of one of ,michelangelo's unfinished statues2 the idea is emerging from the marble1 but it is still veiled1 rude1 scarred by the chisel1 and not yet quite free of its material4 ,machiavelli said that to renew anything we must return to its origins4 ,it is as true in literature as in life4 ,my aim has been to derive everything from the original source2 but it is difficult to avoid being touched by contemporary influences4 ,the majority of these1 in my case1 have been ,french4 ,i am indebted for the two characteristic letters of ,innocent ,,iii4 to ,achille ,luchaire's admirable history of that ,pope1 which he fortunately lived to finish2 and to the always fascinating ,gaston ,boissier for his various work on ,rome4 ,i am under a deep obligation to ,mr ,l4 ,arthur ,burd1 as are all ,english students of ,machiavelli4 ,finally1 ,i am indebted1 more than ,i can say1 to ,m4 l',abb ,houtin for his interest and encouragement1 and to ,mr ,arthur ,galton for his example and conversation4 ---------------------------------------- -------------------------------- ,,contents ,,page ,i4 ,,the ,,king ,,of ,,uruk #a ,,ii4 ,,at ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,euripides #ee ,,iii4 ,,the ,,friend ,,of ,,paul #ii ,,iv4 ,,the ,,jesters ,,of ,,the ,,lord #aeg ,v4 ,,at ,,san ,,casciano #aig ,,vi4 ,,the ,,paradise ,,of ,,the ,,disillusioned #bda ---------------------------------------- -------------------------------- ,,to ,,arthur ,,galton ,i ,,the ,,king ,,of ,,uruk ---------------------------------------- -------------------------------- ,,scenes ,,and ,,portraits ,i ,,the ,,king ,,of ,,uruk ,when ,merodach1 the ,king of ,uruk1 sate down to his meals1 he made his enemies his foot-stool2 for beneath his table he kept an hundred kings1 with their thumbs and great toes cut off1 as living witnesses of his power and clemency4 ,when the crumbs fell from the table of ,merodach1 the ,kings would feed themselves with two fingers2 and when ,merodach observed how painful and difficult the operation was1 he praised ,god for having given thumbs to man4 ,it is by the absence of thumbs1 he said1 that we are enabled to discern their use4 ,we invariably learn the importance of what we lack4 ,if we remove the eyes from a man we deprive him of sight2 and consequently we learn that sight is the function of the eyes4 ,thus spake ,merodach1 for he had a scientific mind1 and was curious of ,god's handiwork2 and when he had finished speaking the courtiers applauded him4 ,great is the power of the ,great ,king1 and most wonderful is his wisdom1 cried the courtiers2 and the ,king shook out his napkin under the table1 shaking the crumbs among his prostrate enemies1 for the applause was pleasant to him2 but from beneath the table came a harsh1 sarcastic voice4 ,great is the power of the ,great ,king1 and most wonderful is his wisdom1 said the voice2 but neither from his power nor from his wisdom can he fashion us new thumbs4 ,then was ,merodach angry1 and he bade his courtiers seize the speaker and draw him from beneath the table2 and the man they drew out was ,shalmaneser1 who had been a king among the kings of ,chalda4 ,and at first ,merodach was of a mind to kill ,shalmaneser2 but1 seeing that his captive sought for death1 his heart relented1 and he bade his courtiers restore him to his place beneath the table4 ,my power and my wisdom are great1 he said2 since ,i have so afflicted mine enemies that they fear not to tell me the truth4 ,and when ,merodach had eaten1 he rose from the table and went out into the gardens of the terrace where the nightingales were singing2 but the kings beneath the table smote ,shalmaneser sorely upon both cheeks1 and upon his buttocks1 and tore out the hair of his beard2 for after that he had spoken1 ,merodach had shaken out the crumbs from his napkin among them no more1 and they had supped poorly4 ,then ,merodach wandered about in his garden1 listening to the song of the nightingales who nested there1 and smelling the sweet smells of the flowers that were odorous in the cool of the evening2 and behind him1 fifty paces1 there followed his guards1 for he was afraid for his life4 ,the dew fell upon the glazed bricks1 gleaming in the moonlight1 and hung from the trees and flowers like little trembling stars4 ,merodach leaned his arms upon a balustrade and looked over the city which he had builded on the left bank of the ,euphrates1 and watched the illuminated barges that went up and down the river1 rowing with music upon the waters2 and he looked toward the high temples looming into the night1 and he thought of his glory and was exceeding sad4 ,in a little time ,i die1 he said2 but the city which ,i have builded will be a witness for me while man survives on the earth4 ,and from the barges came the pleasant sound of music1 floating through the night1 and ,merodach regretted that he would have to die1 and in a little while would walk no more through his garden in the cool of the evening1 listening to the sounds of life1 and smelling the sweet breath of the flowers4 ,in a little while the race of man will have perished from off the earth1 he said2 and there will be no memory of me1 but the stars will shine still above my ruined and tenantless palace4 ,and the night-wind1 laden with scents and sounds1 shook the dew from the trembling leaves1 and moved his silken raiment2 and ,merodach was overcome with a passion for life4 ,in a little time1 he thought1 even the stars will have vanished4 ,and from the adjoining gardens of his harem he heard the voices of women waiting to pleasure their lord2 and he went in unto them for he feared to be alone4 99 99 99 99 99 ,in the garden of ,merodach's harem1 the ,queen ,parysatis held a feast in honour of her daughter1 the ,princess ,candace1 who was eleven years old4 ,the ,queen ,parysatis lay upon a pile of cushions looking at a tragedy that was being enacted by a company of eunuchs4 ,the ,princess ,candace was standing beside a deep basin of silver1 seventy cubits in diameter1 called the ,sea of ,silver2 and she threw sugar-plums to a troop of little girls1 who dived after them1 gleaming fish-like in the luminous depths4 ,when she saw the ,king1 her father1 she stopped throwing sugar-plums1 and the little girls came out of the water1 and sate upon the silver rim1 their wet1 naked limbs glimmering in the moonlight4 ,then the ,princess ,candace did homage before ,merodach1 bowing down before him and touching his feet2 and he stretched forth his hand to her1 and led her to a couch1 because he loved his children1 and she was as beautiful as the new moon before it is a day old4 ,now it chanced that at that time the ,high-priest ,bagoas1 who was ,high-priest of the temple of ,bel at ,nippur1 was in the palace of the ,king2 and ,merodach sent for him1 desiring him to speak comfortable doctrine and words cheering to the heart2 and ,bagoas came in unto ,merodach1 and did homage before him1 bowing down before him and touching his feet2 and there was no one in the cities of ,babylonia more powerful than ,bagoas1 unless it were the ,king himself4 ,as ,i walked in the garden in the evening1 said ,merodach1 ,i became afflicted with a sense of human transience and of the vanity of greatness4 ,in a little time1 ,i said1 ,i shall be but a handful of dust4 ,then ,i comforted myself with the thought that ,i should live in the memory of man1 through my monuments1 while man survives upon the earth2 but in a little time man himself disappears1 ,i said1 and even the stars are lost in darkness4 ,and ,bagoas smiled4 ,it is true1 ,o ,king1 man cometh upon the earth and rules it for a little space1 like a god4 ,in hollow ships1 he sails over the pathless sea2 and he has mapped out the heavens naming the stars2 and he follows the courses of the planets round the sun2 and he knoweth the seasons of reaping and sowing1 by the constellations rising or setting in the sky4 ,his cunning mind has devised screws to draw water up out of the earth1 and pulleys and levers to uplift masses beyond his strength4 ,he is a master of populous cities1 a weaver of delicate textures1 a limner of images in fair colours2 he is a tamer of horses1 skilled in the knowledge of flocks and herds2 with hooks he draweth fish out of the sea1 and with an arrow transfixes a bird on the wing2 he fashions the metals in fire1 beating the gold and stubborn bronze to his will4 ,he understands the laws of ,nature1 and has named the force which draws the earth round the sun1 and the moon round the earth2 but time is his master1 and he cannot find a remedy against death4 ,nor fashion a thumb for man1 said ,merodach4 ,the fear of death is the greatest incitement to live1 continued ,bagoas4 ,it is the goad which incessantly urges us to action4 ,our desire to live1 to persist in one form or another1 impels us to beget children1 to overpower the imagination of future ages by the splendour of our monuments and the record of our lives4 ,we seek to stamp our image upon our time1 and influence our generation by every means in our power4 ,but even this is not enough1 so we have built ourselves a little world beyond the grave1 a little haven beyond the waves of time4 ,we believe that our souls will exist when our bodies have fallen into decay and escaped into a thousand different forms of new life1 to be woven eternally on the loom of perpetual change4 ,we believe that death is merely a transition1 and that through virtue man is able to scale the brazen ramparts of the city of the gods4 ,if he is very good1 said the ,princess ,candace4 ,little ,princess1 said ,bagoas1 smiling1 your beauty is like a bright rainbow in the sky2 the sunlight streaming upon drifting rain4 ,have you ever considered the personality of man1 ,o ,king8 ,everything that has existed in the past exists in the soul of man4 ,in its depths are the primeval monsters1 ,apsu and ,tiamat4 ,in its heights are enthroned the gods2 action in it is heaped upon action to become habit1 and habit upon habit to become character2 all that we have seen1 all that we have touched1 the experience of the senses1 the illusions of the brain1 the desires of the heart1 our ancestors1 our companions1 our country and occupations1 all move and work mysteriously in our being4 ,each has left its trace upon the personality of man4 ,do you seek immortality for these8 ,you will leave them with the world4 ,seek for yourself before you seek for self's immortality4 ,beneath what you seem to be lies what you think you are1 and beneath that again lies what you are indeed4 ,alas1 cried ,queen ,parysatis1 such an immortality is too unsubstantial4 ,it is our illusions1 our experiences1 and our aspirations1 which give a savour to existence4 ,what is the use of immortality if we leave everything we love8 ,mankind1 ,o ,king1 answered ,bagoas1 loves its imperfections more than its perfections1 and values as nothing an immortality which is devoid of our human frailties1 our pitiful human friendships1 our personal predilections which we obtusely term our principles4 ,it is true1 said ,merodach1 ,i die2 but that which is mortal of me remains upon earth to be a witness for me in the memory of man4 ,the whole of recorded time is but a second1 a pulsation1 in the ages1 answered ,bagoas1 and the memory of man is the frailest of monuments4 ,the ,temple of ,bel at ,nippur is not two thousand years old2 yet its bricks are engraven with a dead language1 and we know not its builder's name4 ,so it will be with thy temples and cities1 ,o ,king6 ,i have said it1 answered ,merodach4 ,perhaps after thousands of years have lapsed1 continued ,bagoas1 a peasant will find a brick with thy name upon it1 and cast it aside1 or tread it under foot4 ,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 earth2 yet he is naked1 and his house is a cabin of boughs4 ,was it foreshadowed that he would become ,king8 enquired ,merodach anxiously4 ,no2 his inheritance is poverty and pain4 ,what is his name8 enquired the ,king4 ,his name is ,adam1 answered ,bagoas4 ,then there was a silence in the garden of the ,king's harem2 and ,merodach wondered that the memory of one who went naked1 and dwelt in a cabin of boughs1 should outlast the memory of a ,king before whom the nations trembled1 who went clothed in purple and fine linen1 and whose palace was built of thirty-five million bricks4 ,but he consoled himself with the thought that eventually even ,adam would be forgotten1 and the lights of ,sirius and ,aldebaran extinguished4 ,tell me of ,adam1 he said to ,bagoas2 and the ,princess ,candace drew closer to listen4 ,our life1 ,o ,king1 is a series of accidents1 said ,bagoas4 ,a little thing is sufficient to divert the whole course of our progress2 it has even been said by our philosophers that the world itself is an accident1 and that ,god is chance4 ,i am inclined to believe1 being old-fashioned1 in ,providence2 for chance is merely a cause that is imperceptible1 and if the deflection of atoms falling through space caused the world1 that deflection was the result of some feature peculiar to the atoms themselves4 ,i believe that1 if the world were formed in this way1 the cause was inherent in the atoms1 and ,i believe that the progress of each man through life is derived from causes inherent in himself4 ,but the operations of the human mind are so far removed from our experience1 and so elusive in themselves1 that we cannot explain them otherwise than by saying that ,bel1 by the hands of his angels1 puts into man's mind ideas of good or of evil according to the purpose of his inscrutable wisdom4 ,the greater part of man's life is purely spontaneous1 sensible rather than reasonable in so far as the majority of our actions do not result from any reflective process1 and hence it is unreasonable to ask a man to give reasons for all his acts1 as it would be to ask you1 ,o ,king1 to give a reason for your last campaign4 ,that was a reason of ,state1 said ,merodach simply4 ,the reason was the reason of a great ,king1 whose wisdom is as inscrutable as the wisdom of ,bel1 answered ,bagoas4 ,it was a lapse of the mind that led me to ,adam2 one might say almost an act of ,providence1 or to be scientific1 chance4 ,this morning at daybreak ,i had a desire to ride abroad1 for ,i had not slept during the night1 and the sweetness of the air enticed me into the country4 ,i took a falcon upon my wrist4 ,falconry was a delight of my youth4 ,but ,i had barely proceeded a mile before ,i became preoccupied with my own thoughts4 ,the hares passed me unobserved2 the doves were free of the air4 ,i was thinking how often man has crept up toward civilisation1 and then receded from it again1 as the tides creep up and recede from the beach2 how the light of the world has passed from nation to nation1 and none have brought it to the goal2 how man forgets the evils which the last generation had abolished1 and rushes back upon them to escape from present evils2 and it seemed to me impossible that our race could attain to perfection in conditions of such mutability4 ,we sow our wisdom with full hands4 ,we think that it may increase fifty-fold4 ,alas6 some of our seed falls in marshy places1 some among stones1 some is devoured by the birds of the air1 some flourishes exceedingly1 and is beaten down by storms of hail1 or withered by the fierce heat2 and that which survives and bears fruit is scarcely sufficient for the sowing of the field again4 ,every night a priest of ,bel watches the stars2 with optic glasses he explores the vast abyss1 through which the sun and its choir of planets journey toward their fate2 and when his mind is troubled by that infinity1 his eyes seek thy city1 ,o ,king1 and mankind to him is but a little heap of withered leaves1 which a sudden wind whirls in a circling dance4 ,from his tower1 ,o ,king1 he looks upon thy city1 which to us1 from here1 is splendid with a multitude of lights1 and murmurous with life4 ,he knows that in the streets the young man is seeking pleasure1 that women are bearing children1 that the old are dying4 ,all the wealth and misery of the world are at his feet2 and he turns again to that star which is destined to burn up the world in a tumultuous kiss4 ,what is the lust of the young to him2 the pangs of child-birth2 the bitterness2 the regret2 the anguish of approaching death8 ,a little heap of withered leaves suddenly caught up in a windy dance2 a little flame1 flickering ere it goes out into darkness4 ,from this spirit of detachment in the philosopher is bred a corresponding spirit of aloofness in the multitude4 ,they see the towers of ,bel1 black against the evening sky1 and the watcher to them is but a man enamoured of the silence1 smitten with madness by the stars2 a man whose life is in the future1 whose wisdom is but a sure foreknowledge of death and fate1 whose very presence among them is a prophecy of corruption and change2 and they ask1 well may they ask6 what is his wisdom worth to us8 ,the days are blue and gold1 blue and silver are the nights2 and the birds are clamorous among the dripping boughs2 why should we pause to think of fate8 ,what does his wisdom profit him when in a little time he dies1 and is equal with us in the dust8 ,the flowers bud1 blossom1 and seed1 without thought for the departing year2 the birds go delightfully upon the ways of the wind1 though the arrows which shall bring them to earth are stored in the quiver4 ,shall we do otherwise8 ,truly the worshipper of wisdom is a lonely man4 ,the results which he obtains are never the possession of the many4 ,they may excite the curiosity of the few1 they may become an affectation with the amateur1 but they do not touch the multitude1 for to this last that only is good which is good in its immediate effect4 ,miserable indeed1 the race of man seemed to me1 ,o ,king2 content that their mortal ambition should be bounded by the limits of a day2 seeking only fat pastures and pleasant waters2 and careless of the lot of their progeny1 whose fate it is to cover the whole earth with populous cities1 and stream like a river of fire1 impetuous and consuming1 into hidden and desolate places1 which only the eyes of the gods have seen as yet4 ,the treasure of wisdom is a treasure which is continually being lost1 rediscovered1 and lost again4 ,it is like the gold of the miser1 hidden in the ground2 his son does not inherit it1 but after many years some labourer turns it up with his deep-driven ploughshare1 and the coins ring against the stones1 and lie with tarnished brightness on the loose earth of the furrow4 ,a confused murmuring distracted my thought4 ,i seemed to swim back to reality out of a world of dreams4 ,at first ,i thought that ,i had approached a hive of wild bees2 but the humming murmuring noise seemed sweeter1 more bird-like1 until ,i saw that it came indeed from a parliament of birds1 which had congregated in the boughs of an apple-tree1 warbling there1 and rising every now and then into the air1 with a great rushing of wings1 to wheel above the tree and descend upon it again in a thick cloud4 ,i had strayed into a pleasant valley1 where the ,euphrates flows between level meadows of wild wheat1 enclosed1 like an amphitheatre1 by well-wooded hills1 which had already taken on the tawny and golden tints of autumn4 ,on the lower slopes grew mulberries and oranges2 above them1 threaded with opulent colouring1 plane-trees and sycamores1 yellowing oaks1 and the beautiful level boughs of dusky cedars1 while from all sides came the sound of falling water1 chiming and tinkling into little hollows1 or thundering in cataracts1 with a more imperious music1 down precipitous and rocky glens4 ,the sunlit fields of ripe wheat swayed in the wind like an undulating sea2 the river gleamed like silver1 and many coloured lilies grew beside the brimming water1 filling the air with a delicate perfume4 ,i looked about me in delight4 ,it seemed a place sacred from the profaning feet of man4 ,at the same time1 ,i had a curious sense of being watched2 and presently a young man rose out of the wild wheat before me1 and stood watching me1 with an expression of curiosity qualified with distrust4 ,a languid interest was apparent in the faces of his audience4 ,it was ,adam1 said ,merodach4 ,at last1 said ,queen ,parysatis4 ,it was ,adam1 answered ,bagoas1 smiling4 ,i have attempted1 ,o ,king1 to give you some notion of the thoughts which preoccupied me at my meeting with him4 ,my outlook upon things is historical1 and therefore necessarily pessimistic4 ,adam broke in upon my thoughts as a prophecy1 a promise4 ,he was in his first manhood1 almost still a boy1 and represented1 in consequence1 an earlier stage of evolution4 ,he seemed in fact half child1 and half animal4 ,he had the stature of a man2 he was well built1 muscular1 giving one the impression of an immense but graceful strength1 of easy movements4 ,his features were handsome1 but unlike those usual in our country2 the nose was a little rapacious1 the mouth cruel1 but his eyes were full of dreams4 ,it was the face of one who looks towards distant horizons1 having the immense calm of the desert1 and full of a sleeping energy4 ,youth softened it1 and lent it a delicate charm2 but in age it will be terrible4 ,and suddenly ,i heard a sullen voice saying3 ',this is my garden4' ,i have noticed in all nomadic peoples1 and in small scattered communities1 that however terse the language1 and however limited the vocabulary1 the words are capable of innumerable shades of meaning4 ,gesture and modulation lend force and precision to what is said4 ,perhaps this is why the art of the theatre is always1 at its best1 the art of a nave and unsophisticated people4 ,life in town tends to the production of a type1 and individuality is suppressed2 but life in the country1 where the conventions are few and simple1 tends to the formation of character4 ,the theatric art1 among town-dwellers1 loses its broad simplicity and that directness of purpose which show man in immediate collision with facts1 and is frittered away in mean motives and intangible temperaments1 substituting for the play of circumstances the play of ideas4 ,it is for the same reason that great empires always perish at the heart first2 because dwellers in towns become uniform1 and being surrounded by artificial circumstances are seldom brought into direct conflict with facts1 but learn to cheat themselves with fine phrases and immaterial ideas4 ,the good ,bagoas is really a little prolix1 whispered ,parysatis to ,merodach4 ,bagoas heard the interruption and continued tranquilly3 ',this is my garden1' said ,adam2 and his words implied not only that ,i was an intruder1 and that he was a proprietor1 but also that the garden was beautiful1 and that he was proud of it4 ,i explained that ,i had lost my way1 that ,i was hungry1 that ,i was tired2 and even as ,i spoke a young woman rose up out of the wheat and looked at me curiously4 ',we have little1' said ,adam4 ,they led me to their cabin of boughs1 and brought me food2 and they were naked and were not ashamed4 ,they were strangers to the use of fire1 and my meal consisted of nuts and honey1 goat's milk and dates1 such food as1 our poets say1 nourished the people of the golden age4 ,in front of their cabin was an apple-tree1 similar to the one upon which the birds had congregated1 only with golden instead of ruddy fruit4 ,i asked ,adam if he would give me an apple from it4 ',the tree is dedicated1' he said2 'and we may not eat of the fruit2 it is forbidden to us4' ',we may not even touch it with our hands1' said the woman1 who was called ,eve2 and she looked at the fruit covetously4 ',to what god is it dedicated8' ,i enquired of them4 ',it is dedicated to ,god1' replied ,adam simply4 ,and ,i was surprised that this man1 who had so many needs1 should have only one god2 but very soon ,i found that his monotheism was but a rude crystallisation of the spiritual forces of earth and air1 a kind of shamanism1 though with the many considered as one4 ,his god was the god of fertility1 who had caused the earth to put forth grass1 and the trees to bear fruit1 and all things to bring forth after their kind2 a god whose voice was heard on the wind of the day1 and who breathed into man the breath of life4 ,in his loneliness ,adam had told himself stories as children do1 and1 as with children1 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 creating1 a land of enchantment and of dreams4 ,the wind1 the waters1 the leaves of the never silent trees1 the birds and the beasts of the field1 all spoke in what was to him an intelligible voice2 and his god was a being not far removed from himself1 enjoying1 even as ,adam himself did1 the cool of the day1 the blithe air1 and the breath of the sweet flowers4 ',how came it that this particular tree should be forbidden to you8' ,i enquired of them1 for ,i was curious of the spiritual workings of their minds4 ',in the day that we came into this garden1' answered ,adam1 ',i had a desire to eat of the fruit1 and ,i stretched my hand toward the tree when ,i heard a voice upon the wind1 saying3 ,in the day that ye eat thereof ye shall surely die4' ',it is curious1' ,i murmured4 ',the fruit is wholesome1 one would think that to eat thereof would give life rather than death4' ',if we ate of the fruit would we not die8' enquired ,eve4 ',if ye ate of it you would know1' ,i answered1 smiling at the simplicity of the question2 and then ,i spoke to ,adam of other things4 ,i love the conversation of the young1 ,o ,king4 ,it brings back to me the time when ,i1 too1 had illusions1 hopes1 and ideals4 ,the sole illusions remaining to mine old age are the illusion of life1 and the hope that where we have failed our children may succeed4 ,adam believes that all men are naturally good1 and that it is society which makes them evil2 he does not see that society cannot be different from what it is since it is a purely natural development1 and that its laws were not made by men1 but are merely a recognition of certain instincts peculiar to mankind1 and of the effects which the exercise of these instincts invariably produces4 ,his point of view is that of the individual2 and the egoism of the individual is always in conflict with the collective egoism of the state4 ,he believes that men are born equal1 and that society loads them with chains4 ,he cannot grasp the seeming paradox that what he imagines to be the natural man is really artificial1 and that what he imagines to be an artificial society is really the expression of natural laws4 ,adam himself is not natural1 he is kindly and hospitable to strangers1 he is gentle1 and loves his wife1 he is practically a monotheist4 ,every individual is like ,adam in this4 ,we are all idealists4 ,all of us have excellent intentions2 but the world is so constituted that we can never carry them out4 ,adam has never been in a great city1 but he has seen from afar the huge towers of ,uruk looming into the night1 and they are to him in their proud invasion of the sky a symbol of man's rebellion against the decrees of ,god1 who fashioned him to be a feeble creature1 scratching about upon the surface of the earth1 and to draw his whole being from that shallow deposit of productive soil which he cultivates laboriously4 ,he considers our temples to be the work of some demonic agency1 for he does not think it possible that beings similar to himself should uplift these gigantic masses into the air4 ,our works of pride are1 therefore1 evil to him1 since they differ from the works of his native humility2 to live like ,adam is to live virtuously2 and that which is different from his mode of life is evil4 ,here ,merodach and the ,queen ,parysatis laughed at the simplicity of ,adam1 and the ,princess ,candace also laughed because she did not understand why they were amused4 ,bagoas looked at his audience with a faint tolerant smile4 ,you find ,adam's standard of good and evil laughable1 he said4 ,it is in fact a little comic1 but human1 quite human1 and quite logical4 ,he says in effect3 ',i1 ,adam1 am good2 those who differ from me1 differ from what is good1 and are consequently evil4' ,this position1 which we find so laughable in others1 is really common to us all2 only1 unfortunately1 a sense of humour is a sense which we never apply to ourselves4 ,who will deny that ,adam is wise in limiting his desires to such things as lie easily within his reach1 if happiness be the end of wisdom8 ,the earth gives him of her fulness1 the climate of his valley is mild and temperate1 snow does not fall there nor is it vexed by winds2 the misery of his fellows is hidden from him1 he is without care for the morrow2 in limiting his desires he has extended the possibilities of delight1 and joy comes to him unexpectedly as if it were a miracle wrought by ,god4 ,a charming life6 exclaimed the ,queen4 ,your barbarians are like children4 ,yes2 they are like children1 answered ,bagoas4 ,in fact they still are children1 and so ,i have treated them4 ,i cast ,adam's horoscope1 and read therein the wonderful things which the stars ordain for him4 ,in this horoscope ,i read that ,adam is to be the father of a race which shall revolutionise the world2 a little obstinate people inhabiting a country in the west toward the sea2 a people of slaves1 outraged and despised1 yet leavening all the peoples among whom they dwell4 ,it is this race of slaves that will pass on the light and wisdom of ,chalda to nations as yet unborn4 ,while thy monuments1 ,o ,king1 are sleeping beneath the drifted sands of the desert1 the name of ,adam will pass from tongue to tongue1 and distant peoples will come to think of him as the father of the whole human race4 ,the arts and sciences of ,uruk will be forgotten1 and the world will be duped by a record of events which never happened1 myths and legends stolen from surrounding nations and woven into a curious asymmetrical whole1 full of contradictions and puerilities4 ,truly in ,adam's horoscope everything is a contradiction4 ,from being the happiest man1 he will become the most miserable2 after a life spent in obscurity he will achieve almost an eternity of fame1 and his children1 a race of slaves1 will impose their law upon the world for nearly two thousand years4 ,it is incredible4 ,surely my meditation as ,i rode toward him was not without cause4 ,our wisdom1 the science of ,chalda1 is the miser's gold which shall be lost in the earth1 and whatever of us survives in the memory of man will survive through the children of ,adam4 ,i told him nothing of this1 but prophesied that he would be a wanderer until his death1 at which he smiled4 ',that may not be1' he said2 'because ,god has put me into this garden to dress it and keep it4' ,then the woman filled a bowl with milk and took it over toward the tree1 and a great bronze serpent came out from the roots of the tree and drank the milk which she offered him2 wherefore1 in spite of their monotheism1 ,i think that they are of the people who worship snakes and trees1 and that the tree was taboo because of the serpent which dwelt in its roots4 99 99 99 99 99 ,it may well be as you say1 said ,merodach1 after a silence4 ,still it is curious that a monotheist should worship snakes and trees4 ,perhaps his god is the local djinn2 as with the nomadic tribes1 the action of the gods is limited to certain territories1 and the wandering herds1 in changing their pastures1 change their gods also4 ,in effect the ,king is the god4 ,he rules by divine right1 he represents the aspirations of his people1 and is the visible symbol without which all religions are but inarticulate yearnings4 ,you would naturally be interested1 as a priest1 in the religion of ,adam2 but ,i am more interested in the fact that a nomad should inhabit a garden4 ,it interests me1 as a statesman1 because it represents the beginnings of society4 ,a nomad wanders for two reasons2 to change his hunting grounds1 and to seek fresh pastures4 ,some nomads1 especially in countries where the fertility of the soil is easily exhausted1 plough1 sow1 reap the harvest1 and then depart into a new place2 but when fruit-trees are planted the owner remains beside them4 ,their roots have bound him to the soil4 ,all existing civilisations have arisen through the fact that man gathers the fruit of a tree1 and not the tree itself4 ,bagoas smiled1 and discreetly said nothing4 ,to-morrow ,i shall visit ,adam1 said ,merodach2 from the unsophisticated there is always much to learn4 ,you may be disappointed1 said ,bagoas gently4 ,i like the lowly and humble people1 and ,i may have prejudiced you1 unwittingly1 in ,adam's favour4 ,his sincerity may seem to you rude4 ,simplicity of manner is charming1 answered ,merodach4 ,i believe that all our courtly graces1 everything which is implied by the word good breeding1 have their roots in the natural instincts of man4 ,of course1 the simple people move more awkwardly in the conventional restraints2 and good manners1 which we wear like jewellery1 are with them heavy fetters2 but ,i place implicit trust in ,adam's natural good taste4 ,i should love to see ,adam1 said the ,queen ,parysatis4 ,but he is naked1 objected the ,princess ,candace4 ,we shall bring him some leopard-skins1 such as my guards wear1 said ,merodach4 ,come to supper4 ,they moved through a grove of orange-trees towards a great pavilion where supper was being served4 ,bagoas left them2 and1 leaning on a balustrade1 he looked over ,uruk4 ,certainly ,adam is unfortunate1 he said4 ,,ii ,merodach went forth unto ,eden1 and with him there went his wives and his concubines1 his poets and his pastry-cooks1 his falconers1 his flute-players1 and his players upon the viol1 his bow-men and his spearmen2 and the number of those who followed him were ten thousand and ten1 without counting the mule-drivers1 and the camel-drivers1 and the drivers of elephants4 ,and the noise of their going filled the whole land1 and a great cloud of dust went up from their feet4 ,bagoas rode with ,merodach upon the ,king's elephant1 whose tusks were studded with precious stones1 and who had jewels in his ears1 and ,bagoas spoke wisely unto the ,king4 ,man is naturally vain1 said ,bagoas4 ,he believes always that he has finally explained the universe1 and that nothing remains for him but a life of virtue1 and the approbation of a ,god1 who shall exalt him above his fellows4 ,but it seems to me1 ,o ,king1 that all human systems of religion and philosophy have the same nature as the system of a fakir whom ,i once met in the desert4 ,he told me that the world was supported by a pillar of adamant1 which was borne by an elephant1 who stood upon the back of a tortoise4 ,and what supported the tortoise8 enquired ,merodach curiously4 ,when ,i asked him that question1 ,o ,king1 he answered that it was a holy mystery1 that the question was blasphemous in itself1 and that all answers were equally heretical4 ,the ,queen ,parysatis rode with the court poet upon another elephant1 and the poet1 whose name was ,mekerah1 made delicate songs for her4 ,the old look upon the stars1 sang the poet1 they seek wisdom in the heavens2 but ,i look into the eyes of my beloved4 ,what stars are like her eyes8 ,what wisdom can compare with the wisdom of love8 ,you have said the same thing a hundred times1 complained the ,queen4 ,but the ,princess ,candace rode upon a white elephant caparisoned with cloth of silver embroidered with pearls4 ,no one rode with her but the driver of the elephant1 and she sat under a canopy of silk which was shot with the colours that are in the shell of the pearl1 and before her elephant on a white mule rode her juggler4 ,he rode with his face to the tail1 and juggled with oranges and a sword2 the sword meeting the oranges in the air divided them neatly into halves1 and then again into quarters4 ,he was a dwarf1 incredibly ugly1 hunch-backed1 with long spidery arms2 but the little ,princess loved him4 ,look at me6 he shrilled in a falsetto voice4 ,look at me1 little ,princess6 ,who will say that jugglery is not the supreme art8 ,verily1 it is the art of arts6 ,the poet does but juggle with words1 yet he does not preserve so perfect a rhythm4 ,mekerah's verses are lame1 but mine oranges do not halt2 they dance in the air with the grace of a little ,princess who dances in silver slippers before the throne of her father4 ,the ,high-priest ,bagoas juggles with theories2 the ,great ,king juggles with the fears and passions of his subjects2 the gods juggle with our poor world1 but ,i juggle with mine oranges4 ,it is the same thing4 ,look at me1 little ,princess1 look at me6 ,he swallowed the fragments of oranges as they descended1 and then the sword4 ,uzal1 you will make yourself sick1 said ,candace1 and my maids will have to tend you4 ,the juggler stood on his head and juggled with his feet4 ,truly1 my lord1 said ,bagoas1 the juggler of the ,princess has good reason for what he says3 in a sense we are all jugglers4 ,but the ,king was thinking of other things1 and after a moment lifted his head4 ,have you considered the ,princess ,candace1 how she grows8 he enquired of the ,high-priest4 ,she is like a flower1 answered ,bagoas4 ,she is like a silver lily opening its petals to the sun4 ,she grows like a flower that the dew falls upon1 and her dreams are like dew4 ,a few days ago she was a child1 a few days more and she will be a woman4 ,it is time that she were married2 but that man whom she marries will be ,king after that ,i am dead1 and ,i do not wish to hasten my death4 ,she is young to go down into the cave of ,ishtar1 said ,bagoas2 she would tremble when the last torch was extinguished2 she would cry aloud when her husband came to her out of that darkness4 ,have you considered one worthy to be her husband1 ,o ,king8 ,there is no one1 answered ,merodach4 ,the children of my wives are all girls1 and the sons of my slaves are brawlers2 men whose words are wind4 ,have you considered the son of thy cousin1 ,na'amah8 ,he is sixteen years old1 and has the heart of a lion4 ,he is like a young lion in his first strength4 ,i have been the governor of his childhood1 and in his heart there is no guile4 ,we shall consider him1 said ,merodach4 ,beyond are the hills of ,eden4 ,if we follow the course of the river we shall come to ,adam's garden4 99 99 99 99 99 ,it was mid-day in ,eden4 ,the great snake hung in the branches of the apple-tree1 watching ,adam and ,eve1 with dull1 malignant eyes half-closed4 ,he had shed his skin which hung from one of the branches1 swaying idly in the wind1 like a piece of grey ravelled lace2 and the great snake coiled about the trunk shone with renewed splendour1 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 difference4 ,the shadow of some domestic quarrel hung over ,adam and ,eve2 he was moved by an ungracious solicitude for her comfort1 and she received his attentions in offended humility4 ,the snake watched the comedy with narrow eyes2 subtilty of enjoyment increasing the malign persistence of his stare4 ,i am unhappy1 said ,eve4 ,it is because we have done wrong1 said ,adam4 ,let us go out into the desert4 ,i do not like this place4 ,the water is not good2 the air is heavy2 it is a morass2 the home of frogs and the abode of scorpions4 ,at night ,i lie awake1 looking through the door of our cabin1 and ,i see the moonlight lying upon the water1 and ,i hear a chorus of frogs2 all night ,i hear the croaking of the frogs4 ,it will make me mad4 ,last night you crept into my arms and slept like a child1 said ,adam4 ,you did not stir all night2 but ,i lay awake looking at the moonlight and listening to the frogs4 ,they chanted a spell to fill my soul with terror1 and the moon also was full of evil4 ,then the whole earth dissolved like a dream1 and the stars vanished as things that slip through water2 and ,i seemed to be falling1 falling through an endless sea of moonlight1 falling towards the moon1 and beyond the moon there was nothing2 but ,i felt you in mine arms1 and ,i did not dare to move1 lest you1 too1 should vanish with the world4 ,this vision was sent to me by ,god that ,i might learn how unsubstantial is the world1 as if it were but the shadow of ,his thought1 a dream within a dream4 ,do not let us talk of it1 said ,eve1 trembling4 ,perhaps if ,i had not been here you would have fallen into nothing4 ,it was because you held me that you did not fall4 ,this place will make me mad4 ,why are the leaves falling from the trees8 ,i do not know4 ,the palm-trees in the desert do not lose their leaves4 ,my heart is sick for the palm-trees in the desert with the little slender moon shining above them1 and shining at the bottom of the deep wells4 ,my heart is sick for the song of the nightingales4 ,why have the tops of the mountains turned white8 ,i do not know1 answered ,adam2 but once ,i saw from the desert a range of mountains1 and their tops were white4 ,they also had trees2 but the leaves of the trees did not fall4 ,these trees must be dead4 ,some great unhappiness is come upon the world4 ,last night ,i was cold4 ,the sand of the desert is always warm1 said ,eve4 ,o ,eve1 ,i am unhappy1 said ,adam1 after a silence2 ,i do not know what has come upon the world4 ,last night when you crept into mine arms ,i was troubled2 never before have ,i been troubled while you were with me2 but last night1 when you touched me1 ,i trembled4 ,i was unhappy1 and ,i did not know why ,i was unhappy2 but ,i feared to lose you1 ,eve4 ,though ,i touched you it seemed that you were far away4 ,you were but a child when ,i first saw you with your mother2 and ,i was twelve years old4 ,it was last moon that we came together again2 in the day that the djinns came down from the mountains and slew our kinsfolk4 ,i was pasturing the sheep1 and as ,i came back1 leading my flock with my pipe1 ,i saw the dying embers and the dead bodies4 ,then you called to me1 and we fled together4 ,do you remember8 ,that night we slept in the desert4 ,i did not tremble when you touched me4 ,you will never leave me1 ,eve8 ,we are alone in the world4 ,there are only ourselves1 and the angels and the djinns4 ,the djinn who came to us yesterday has made us unhappy1 said ,eve4 ,he has withered the trees and made the tops of the mountains white4 ,he was not a djinn1 said ,adam2 he was an angel4 ,he smelt of roses1 his raiment was wonderful1 he was clothed in glory4 ,what is that noise8 said ,eve4 ,what is that pillar of cloud that goeth up out of the earth8 ,and they saw in the distance the army of ,merodach1 and1 being afraid1 they fled4 ,it is a pleasant site1 said ,merodach1 as the elephants entered the valley2 the autumnal landscapes have always a certain melancholy which charms me4 ,the fallen leaves in the valleys are like fallen light1 said ,mekerah2 that slender birch flamed yellow a moment ago1 but1 at a touch1 went out in a shower of sparks4 ,it must be delightfully cool in summer1 said the ,queen ,parysatis4 ,the best time is the spring1 said the ,princess ,candace4 ,the almond and cherry blossom will be out then1 said ,mekerah2 these slopes will be all pink and white1 with petals drifting in the wind4 ,the hyacinths and daffodils will be out then2 and the red flower of ,tammuz will fall upon the river4 ,i should like to come here in the spring1 and go naked1 and live in a cabin of boughs like ,adam1 said the ,princess ,candace4 ,adam could not be found4 ,merodach ordered that his men should encircle the whole valley1 and drive whatever game there was toward him4 ,in this way1 if he is still here we shall find him2 and in any case we shall have some sport4 ,then the servants of ,merodach drove all the game that was in ,eden past the elephant of the ,great ,king2 and ,merodach pierced the beasts and the birds with his arrows1 and the herds of ,adam were scattered in the wilderness1 bleating dispersedly1 and the hollow caves answered their bleating1 while the ewes sought their lambs1 and the she-goats the kids of the flock4 ,but ,adam1 the servants of ,merodach could not find4 ,then the slaves erected a pavilion of purple silk1 upon which was embroidered the whole story of ,ut-,napishtim and the flood2 the gods cowering like dogs at the fury of ,rimmon1 while ,ishtar cried like a woman in travail1 and the ,anunnaki brought lightnings2 and the race of man strewn like leaves upon the waters2 and the waters like a great host rioting in the fury of battle1 white-plumed squadrons of angry and tumultuous waves4 ,yea1 and therein was figured ,ut-,napishtim looking from the window of the ark2 and the sending forth of the birds1 the sending of the dove1 the sending of the swallow1 and the sending of the raven1 who saw the decrease of the waters1 and ate1 and waded1 and croaked1 and turned not back4 ,and there was embroidered upon it the bow which ,ishtar hung in the heavens1 and the sacrifice which ,ut-,napishtim offered unto the gods upon the mountain1 setting ,adagur vases seven by seven1 strewing reeds1 cedar-wood1 and incense before them1 so that the gods smelt the goodly savour1 and gathered like flies over the sacrifice4 ,the ,princess ,candace was delighted with the tapestry1 which she had never seen before4 ,mekerah told her the story1 handling the details with rare imagination1 while the ,princess ate larks stuffed with cherries4 ,then she turned toward ,bagoas4 ,priest of ,bel1 she said1 how long is it since all this trouble came upon the world8 ,and ,bagoas smiled faintly1 his smile expressive of many things4 ,it happened1 little ,princess1 in the time when the animals spoke with the tongues of men4 ,but the ,princess found this chronology too vague4 ,when did the animals speak the language of men8 she enquired4 ,it is all a tale1 little ,princess4 ,the animals never spoke as men do2 but once upon a time the speech of men was like that of animals4 ,then it never happened8 enquired the ,princess regretfully4 ,no2 it never happened1 answered ,bagoas4 ,but the ,king was outraged1 for he claimed to be descended from ,ut-,napishtim4 ,candace1 he said1 the story is quite true4 ,gilgamesh builded a ship and pitched it within and without1 and he took with him ,ia-bani1 and some chosen comrades1 and journeyed over the waters which engirdle the earth1 and he crossed the river of death1 which flows round these waters without mixing with them1 and he landed in the country of the shades4 ,then he dug a trench1 and cut the throat of a black bull so that the blood flowed into the trench1 and the shades flocked to drink of the warm blood2 but ,gilgamesh drove them from it with his sword until ,ut-,napishtim came to drink of it1 and had drank his fill4 ,and of all these who came to drink of it only ,ut-,napishtim and his wife had life and substance2 but all the others were unsubstantial shades4 ,then ,ut-,napishtim told ,gilgamesh all the things which had befallen him in this life1 and how that the gods had given him and his wife1 alone of all human kind1 imperishable bodies and immortal youth2 but he said it was sad to dwell among the shades1 whom he could not touch with his hands1 and to see loved faces1 which1 whenever the wind blew1 lost their remembered contours1 and became as wreaths of vapour drifting over the desolate marshes4 ,and he bade ,gilgamesh to make haste and get him into his ship again1 for that if night found him there1 he would become even as the shades himself1 and his bones would rot by the bitter flood4 ,then ,gilgamesh made haste into his ship with his companions1 and they lifted the creaking sail1 and bent to the oars1 and departed over the sea4 ,but ,ut-,napishtim stood upon the beach where the waves broke at his feet1 and his eyes strained after the vessel2 for he was like an exile there1 who sees a ship bound to his own country1 and his heart goes with it4 ,so the body of ,ut-,napishtim stood upon the beach1 but his heart was with the living offspring of his race2 for a long time he stood thus1 until the ship was a mere speck on the waters1 while tears blinded his eyes2 then he sighed and went back into the shadowy ways of that twilit land4 ,his audience listened to ,merodach with astonishment1 his voice was full of emotion4 ,he had hurried through the story1 careless of whither it led him1 like a man blind with grief1 who stumbles against all the obstacles in his path4 ,when he had finished there was silence4 ,and ,gilgamesh1 he added after a pause1 wrote all these things in a book1 which is preserved in the ,temple of ,bel at ,nippur4 ,he glanced at ,bagoas indignantly as he spoke4 ,bagoas was eating a dish of leverets stewed with rice and prunes2 he looked up from his plate1 and wiped his mouth with a fine napkin4 ,there is preserved in our ,temple at ,nippur a book which purports to be the work of ,gilgamesh1 he said4 ,it is the work of a poet1 such a history as ,mekerah might invent for you1 which it would be ridiculous to consider as a true and serious narrative of actual events4 ,mekerah caught a malicious glance from the ,queen ,parysatis1 and rose angrily4 ,there is1 ,o ,priest1 a higher truth and a higher seriousness1 he said4 ,in the epic of ,gilgamesh is enshrined the religious consciousness of ,babylonia4 ,it is sacred4 ,it is not to be touched4 ,it contains those great truths which are not a peculiar feature of any one age1 but are true for all time4 ,it was directly inspired by ,bel1 and shall we set our pitiful human wisdom above the wisdom of the divine word8 ,bagoas once again wiped his mouth before he began to speak4 ,i deny1 he said1 that it has any truth as an historical document4 ,it is valuable1 historically1 as an instance of the narrow limits of human knowledge in the age which produced it4 ,that is all its value to the historian4 ,its value to the theologian is different4 ,he finds in it the first concrete expression of man's relation to ,god1 as he understands it4 ,the truth may be veiled in a mist of fable and metaphor1 but he feels it to be there4 ,at the same time1 he gives it an extended sense1 and interprets it in a larger spirit than that in which it was originally interpreted4 ,it means to us at once something more and something less than it did to the ancient world2 for religion is not a definite revelation of an eternal truth1 but the contemplation of the unknown from the sum of man's experience4 ,it is consequently susceptible of infinite development and extension1 it reacts to every new discovery of science2 and its chief glory is that it is part of man's daily life4 ,we1 the priests of ,bel1 recognise our sacred books as the starting-point of a living1 growing truth2 in our hands is the duty of interpreting it1 and our interpretation is of the nature of a commentary4 ,we are continually rejecting some details as unsound1 and developing others to the utmost limits of their power2 that is our value and duty as an hierarchy3 to criticise1 to prune1 to graft4 ,and if we consider the nature of the books1 in which are enshrined those great spiritual truths1 we see how necessary this work of selection and rejection is2 for they do not form one inseparable1 concrete whole1 but each has arisen under the impulse of different circumstances1 each had its own separate development and origin before it became joined on to the main body4 ,before philosophy came into being men spoke in fables1 and their minds1 not being able to grasp as yet the significance of abstract ideas1 dealt exclusively with things and actions4 ,they were curious of the destiny of man after death1 and they felt the need for some answer1 so they imagined the hero1 the ,babylonian semi-divinity1 ,gilgamesh1 setting out on a ship fashioned by human hands to bring them back the answer which they needed4 ,for us it was the first voyage of man's mind into the unknown1 the first adventure beyond the realm of actualities1 and as such it demands our reverence4 ,we do not1 however1 believe either in ,gilgamesh1 ,ia-bani1 or the ship which crossed the river of death4 ,the story is a mere fable1 and the actions described in it are only the unconscious vehicles of a half-recognised truth1 or rather of the germ of a new spirit4 ,there is only one form of truth1 and one form of seriousness4 ,he drank a little wine4 ,let us walk in the garden1 said ,merodach4 99 99 99 99 99 ,merodach1 after a moment's consideration1 found that the conclusions of ,bagoas with reference to the epic of ,gilgamesh were reasonable1 so he conversed with the ,high-priest amiably as they walked by the river4 ,the ,princess ,candace interrupted the conversation4 ,yesterday was my birthday1 and you have given me no present1 now let me ask one1 she said4 ,ask then1 said ,merodach1 smiling4 ,give me this garden to be my garden1 and build me a palace where ,adam had his cabin of boughs2 a little palace of blue porcelain1 which ,i may visit in the spring1 and in the hot months of the year1 and set at all the entrances into the valley great winged cherubim1 that the wandering tribes may see that it is a royal palace1 and fear to enter4 ,so be it1 said the ,king2 and the ,princess went off to inspect the site of the new palace4 ,she is discreet1 and charming1 wise beyond her years1 said ,merodach4 ,we shall consider the son of ,na'amah1 my cousin1 at ,nippur4 ,how is he called8 ,his name is ,adamaharon1 answered ,bagoas1 smiling2 and he is even now on his way to visit me at ,uruk1 where he has never been4 ,he may turn aside to hunt4 ,it is his ambition at present to kill a lion1 for which he has a permit from the ,king's huntsman4 ,he shall hunt with me1 said the ,king2 but the ,princess is still a little young for marriage4 ,she1 unconscious of her fate1 drew close to the cabin of ,adam4 ,that part of the valley had been deserted by the ,king's servants1 and she was alone4 ,she saw the glitter of a spear which lay in the doorway1 and then the eyes of a young man watching her4 ,i came for an apple1 she said1 turning toward the tree in the branches of which the great snake hung2 but ,adam must have eaten them all4 ,there is one at the top of the tree1 said the boy4 ,look6 right at the top4 ,it is too high4 ,perhaps you could knock it down with your spear8 ,that would bruise it4 ,i shall climb up and get it for you4 ,he swung himself up1 avoiding the great snake which looked at him warily4 ,do not go any higher1 cried the ,princess2 the branch will break1 and you will be killed4 ,but he laughed at her1 and climbing higher seized the apple1 then the branch did break4 ,she screamed a little4 ,you are bruised instead of the apple1 she said1 as he picked himself up4 ,he laughed4 ,i have done wonderful things to-day1 he said4 ,at dawn ,i killed a lion2 and at eve ,i got an apple for a ,princess4 ,but are you not one of the court-pages8 ,i thought you were4 ,who are you to kill lions1 which are preserved for the ,king8 ,i am ,adamaharon1 the son of ,na'amah1 the cousin of the ,king4 ,she offered him the apple1 and he bit a large piece out of it4 ,come and look at the lion's skin1 he said1 and led her into ,adam's cabin4 ,she felt a curious pleasure in being with him1 and listened with delight to the story of how he killed the lion4 ,but they did not talk much1 they seemed to understand each other so well that they had nothing to say2 and at last they kissed each other4 ,it was at that precise moment1 when their souls seemed to meet with their lips that ,merodach entered4 ,for a moment he paused1 anger falling about him like darkness in which all things writhed1 confused4 ,then he drew his sword4 ,the ,princess ,candace fell before him and embraced his knees2 he was lifting the sword to strike her when ,bagoas seized his arm4 ,it is the son of ,na'amah1 he said quickly4 ,the ,king paused1 and then lowered his sword slowly4 ,he stared at the young man in silence1 and the young man met his gaze quietly4 ,then the ,king let his eyes wander over the other's form1 and he saw that the young man was well-thewed1 spare1 and muscular1 with a beauty to make him desired of the maidens2 and his heart softened toward his cousin's son4 ,you are ,adamaharon1 he said slowly1 as he sheathed his sword4 ,i had intended to send for you to come unto ,uruk1 that ,i might wed you to my daughter4 ,this is the will of the gods1 and it is mine1 also4 ,the young man came to him1 and bowed down before1 touching his feet2 and ,merodach let his hand rest upon the bowed head1 caressing the thick curls4 ,a young lion of our race1 said ,merodach exultingly2 look at the yellow mane rippling over the firm neck4 ,a child of my cousin ,na'amah4 ,a child of the race of the gods4 ,and he embraced ,adamaharon kindly1 and he raised up ,candace and kissed her fondly1 bidding her go to her mother1 and tell her how she had found a husband in the cabin of ,adam4 ,and ,candace left them2 and as she went she wept1 for her fear had given place to joy4 ,then ,adamaharon rose up1 and stood before the ,king4 ,i have done wonderful things to-day1 he said proudly4 ,at dawn ,i slew a lion2 and at eve ,i kissed the desire of my heart4 ,my mouth is filled with honey4 ,it is the will of the gods1 said ,merodach4 ,then he began to lead the son of ,na'amah toward the river where the ,queen ,parysatis was listening to her daughter's tale2 but ,bagoas paused before the apple-tree and looked into the eyes of the great serpent4 ,it is the will of the gods1 he said1 with his ironical smile4 ,i am but their minister1 the mere instrument of their designs2 so what part shall ,i claim in this adventure8 ,the snake watched him fixedly4 ,the boy is like a son to me1 said ,bagoas4 ,he was born to be fortunate4 ,and then he followed them toward the river1 leaving the wise snake wreathed in the branches of the fruitless tree4 ,on the journey back to ,uruk the three royal elephants walked abreast4 ,adamaharon rode with ,merodach1 ,bagoas with the ,princess ,candace1 and the ,queen ,parysatis with her attendant poet4 ,and ,adamaharon made delicate songs for his beloved4 ,the old look upon the stars1 he sang2 but ,i look into the eyes of my beloved4 ,what stars are like her eyes8 ,what wisdom can compare with the wisdom of love8 ,he is a true poet1 said ,parysatis to ,mekerah4 ,what spirit1 what fire6 ,i have said the same thing an hundred times1 said ,mekerah crossly4 ,precisely1 said ,parysatis2 he has said it once1 perfectly4 ,the kisses of her mouth are sweeter than honey1 sang ,adamaharon2 more fragrant than apples4 ,she has filled me with the joy of morning1 and gladdened my soul as with wine4 ,bagoas leaned toward the ,queen's elephant4 ,adam said of love that---- ,but the ,queen put a finger on her lips4 ,i do not believe that ,adam ever existed1 she said4 ,bagoas1 looking at ,candace1 smiled4 99 99 99 99 99 ,but many years afterwards a woman sitting by the door of a hut in the desert1 watching the quiet stars quicken as the day died1 drew two young boys toward her1 and told them the story of the garden4 ,her face was tranquil1 like the face of one who has grief for a companion2 and the boys were clothed in goat-skins4 ,and1 she said1 looking into the embers of the fire1 the man counselled me to eat1 saying1 if ye eat of the fruit ye shall know4 ,adam suddenly appeared in the firelight4 ,he had heard the last words4 ,it was the serpent1 he said suspiciously4 ,you always told me it was the serpent4 ,and ,eve answered quickly1 drawing her children closer to her4 ,yea1 it was the serpent6 ,i forgot4 ,it was the serpent6 ---------------------------------------- -------------------------------- ,,to ,,mrs ,,shakespeare ,,ii ,,at ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,euripides ---------------------------------------- -------------------------------- ,,ii ,,at ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,euripides ,euripides ordered the tables to be removed1 and then some musicians entered1 followed by a girl1 who danced as ,persephone among the flowers of ,enna4 ,while the guests were admiring the grace of her gestures1 and the swift movements of her thin1 naked feet1 ,callias came in with ,lysis and ,antisthenes4 ,they had been unable to come earlier2 and after making their excuses to ,euripides1 ,callias and ,antisthenes took a couch close by ,protagoras1 and ,lysis went to ,socrates4 ,the company included ,glaucon1 ,hermogenes1 ,pythodorus1 ,philip the buffoon1 who never missed a feast1 and ,apollodorus1 the friend of ,socrates4 ,protagoras had a couch to himself on the right of ,euripides1 who was also without a companion4 ,others came in during the evening until the room was very full4 ,when the girl had finished her dance there was a murmur of admiration1 and she leaned back on the bench1 smiling with pleasure1 her slim body trembling and palpitating beneath its crocus-coloured veils4 ,you are magnificent1 ,euripides1 said ,socrates4 ,you not only feast us sumptuously2 but you amuse us with dancing and music4 ,i am glad that you are amused1 ,socrates4 ,why are you so silent to-night8 ,i feel like one about to be initiated into the mysteries4 ,when there are so many older and wiser men than myself present ,i listen rather than talk4 ,it is more interesting4 ,i wish that ,i had come with flowers and ribbons like ,lysis1 so that ,i might have occupied myself in making a garland4 ,are you going to crown ,protagoras when he has read his discourse1 ,lysis8 ,yes1 ,socrates2 ,callias said it would be worthy of a crown4 ,protagoras must be the happiest of men4 said ,socrates4 ,he has health1 riches1 and honour from all4 ,i am impatient to hear what he has to say4 ,i am old1 said ,protagoras1 and like to rest a little while after eating2 but ,i shall not keep you long4 ,in the meantime1 why do you not have a discussion with ,euripides8 ,well1 as you have given me leave to speak1 ,i should like to ask ,euripides a few questions4 ,very well1 said ,euripides4 ,do not encourage him1 shouted ,philip4 ,if he once begins asking questions we shall not know where we are4 ,he will tell us that ,protagoras is not ,protagoras1 and that this banquet is not a banquet4 ,why do you attack me like this1 ,philip8 ,what harm have ,i ever done to you8 said ,socrates4 ,why1 ever since you have taken to frequenting the tables of the rich you have done me harm1 said ,philip1 with a pretence to excitement4 ,at one time ,i was always a welcome guest2 but since you have come upon the scene no one laughs at me4 ,your talk is all about justice1 wisdom1 and virtue4 ,what does a poor man like myself know of such things8 ,but these are all that amuse the company now2 and1 if ,i want a dinner in mine old age1 ,i shall have to play the sophist too4 ,philip was a great favourite with the company1 and his exaggerated gestures as he railed at ,socrates amused them extremely4 ,he advanced into the middle of the room4 ,laugh at me as you will1 he cried2 it is true4 ,socrates cannot deny it4 ,the more wine a man has now1 the more solemn he looks2 until sometimes ,i think ,i have strayed to a funeral instead of to a feast4 ,if ,i chose1 ,i could be the greatest sophist of you all4 ,i should teach you not only the knowledge of good1 and truth1 and virtue1 but the knowledge of all things4 ,and how would you teach us1 ,philip8 said ,socrates2 for this is precisely the knowledge which ,i have been seeking all my life4 ,by the dog of ,egypt1 if you would teach me this ,i should ever afterwards obey you in all things4 ,i have always had the greatest respect for you1 ,philip1 but ,i did not think that philosophy was among your accomplishments4 ,do you answer me1 ,socrates8 and ,i shall prove it to you4 ,willingly1 said ,socrates2 but ,i am afraid you are going to make me ridiculous4 ,i have never pretended to be a sophist1 nor1 indeed1 to know anything4 ,philip stood in the middle of the room1 and the company all leant forward1 looking at him with amusement4 ,is knowledge the knowledge of something1 or the knowledge of nothing8 he enquired of ,socrates4 ,of both1 answered ,socrates4 ,you will not escape me that way1 exclaimed ,philip4 ,would you not rather say it is the knowledge of something1 and the knowledge of not knowing other things8 ,very well1 ,philip4 ,then there is a knowledge of knowing1 and a knowledge of not knowing2 and we know the things we know1 and the things we do not know8 ,that seems absurd1 said ,socrates4 ,what8 ,will you go back on the argument1 ,socrates1 and say that knowledge is only the knowledge of something8 ,let us try that way then1 ,socrates said4 ,by ,zeus1 ,socrates1 that way will do as well as another1 said ,philip2 for if you know something you can distinguish it from other things1 can you not8 ,yes4 ,you can distinguish one thing you know1 from another thing you know2 and both from what you do not know4 ,you have made me giddy1 ,philip4 ,let me think4 ,well1 ,socrates1 you can distinguish ,euripides from ,protagoras1 can you not8 ,and you can distinguish both these people whom you know1 from the tyrant ,archelaus1 whom you do not know8 ,certainly2 ,i must agree to that4 ,then you can distinguish between something you know and something you do not know8 ,yes4 ,consider a moment1 ,socrates4 ,is it possible for you to know the difference between one thing and another unless you know both things8 ,why1 no6 ,i must admit that1 said ,socrates4 ,then mark where ,i lead you2 for if you know the things you know1 you must also know the things you do not know4 ,every one was now laughing immoderately2 not only at ,philip's dialectic1 but at his pompous gestures1 wherewith he mimicked many well-known sophists2 blowing out his cheeks1 pursing his lips1 tapping his head suspiciously1 and rubbing his nose4 ,by the dog of ,egypt6 cried ,socrates2 the man has been with ,euthydemus4 ,euthydemus is a child to me1 said ,philip contemptuously4 ,but1 ,philip1 if ,i confess ,i know nothing8 said ,socrates1 when the laughter failed a little4 ,why1 then1 ,socrates1 ,i shall not argue the question with you2 though ,i could easily prove to you that if you knew nothing you would know everything4 ,philip1 ,i have always asserted my ignorance4 ,it is my ignorance which causes me to ask questions4 ,and now1 as you have proved that you know everything1 ,i want to ask you what knowledge is4 ,can you tell me8 ,this talking has made me thirsty1 ,socrates1 and ,i am going to seek for truth in the wine1 where the proverb says it may be found4 ,i shall talk no more4 ,well1 then1 ,i shall ask my question of ,euripides1 if you will allow me4 ,ask1 by all means6 said ,philip2 but if your questions are to be about knowledge and virtue ,i shall go and sit with the flute-girls1 and we shall talk of something that we can understand4 ,socrates settled himself more comfortably upon the couch1 and1 taking up one of the ribbons which ,lysis had brought1 turned it about his fingers4 ,protagoras is going to tell us whether we can have any knowledge of the gods or not1 he said2 but let us enquire into their nature1 assuming that we know them1 for the present4 ,shall we examine your own conception of ,god1 ,euripides8 ,it will clear matters up if we are able to say what the gods whom we seek to know are like4 ,very well1 ,socrates1 said ,euripides4 ,you live at the centre of things1 ,euripides1 said ,socrates2 and every aspect of our modern thought is clearly reflected in your work4 ,this is one reason why ,i have always been an admirer of your plays2 but it has its drawbacks1 for sometimes you reflect two distinct and opposed theories1 so that your meaning is not quite clear4 ,your treatment of the myths is1 in reality1 a criticism of the myths1 is it not8 ,yes4 ,the dramatist takes a myth as his material1 and by working upon it1 criticising it1 rejecting some features1 and developing others1 he will make it into a play1 and not only does he deal with the myth itself in this way1 but he also examines and criticises each character in it1 using the same method1 so that his play is not only a representation of the myths but a criticism of them as well4 ,now ,i have lately been reading your ,hippolytus again1 so that we shall take that as an example4 ,the myth is very simple3 ,aphrodite wishes to be avenged upon ,hippolytus1 who neglects her worship in preference for the worship of ,artemis2 and in order to compass the death of the young man she stirs up an unholy passion in ,phdra4 ,hippolytus refuses the love of ,phdra1 and1 in despair1 she kills herself1 leaving a writing behind which accuses ,hippolytus of having forced her4 ,theseus1 discovering this writing1 calls down upon ,hippolytus one of the three curses which ,poseidon has promised him to fulfil1 and ,hippolytus is slain4 ,then ,artemis reveals the truth to ,theseus1 and before ,hippolytus dies ,theseus is forgiven by him4 ,this story is full of improbable and supernatural conditions1 the jealousy of ,aphrodite1 the apparition of ,artemis1 and the intervention of ,poseidon4 ,we no longer imagine the gods as beings with the same passions as men2 but the passions and strife of the gods are the essential feature of some myths4 ,do you think1 ,euripides1 that the makers of myths in the old days simply dragged in the gods1 in order to explain any tragedy which was quite inexplicable in itself1 and that they attempted to alleviate in this way the sense of waste with which a tragedy fills us8 ,it seems a plausible supposition1 ,socrates4 ,if men cannot relate an event to any known cause1 they consider it sufficiently explained if it be attributed to a deity4 ,and so it happens1 said ,socrates1 that many evil deeds are attributed to the gods2 the death of ,hippolytus1 for instance1 to the jealousy of ,aphrodite4 ,do you think1 ,euripides1 that the makers of myths and the common people believe that evil is not inherent in the action itself1 but depends upon the quality and nature of the agent8 ,yes1 answered ,euripides2 they imagine that actions are permissible in gods which would not be permissible in man2 that the gods have a right to do evil1 since they have the power4 ,on the contrary1 ,i maintain1 that a god is all goodness1 and that if he revenged himself on man1 or were guilty of jealousy and hatred1 he would cease1 by that fact1 to be a god4 ,and is it because you hold this opinion that you make the action in your play of ,hippolytus1 as far as possible1 move independently of the gods8 ,how do you mean1 ,socrates8 ,i mean1 ,euripides1 that your play seems to present two sides3 the action as it is presented in the original myth1 and the action which is the result of your criticism4 ,there are some people who say that if you are not content with the myths1 you should invent your own stories2 but this would defeat your object which is purely critical1 and which aims at presenting another version of the story4 ,you seem to say to yourself3 the myth presents the gods as beings with the same appetites1 passions1 and desires as mortals1 and so ,i shall treat them4 ,they are to you mere characters in the play1 and even subordinate characters at that4 ,you introduce ,aphrodite to speak the prologue1 and thus1 ostensibly following the myth1 make her responsible for the catastrophe4 ,but at the same time you show that the catastrophe is directly precipitated by the hastiness of ,theseus2 a fatal flaw which he himself recognises1 and laments when it is too late4 ,he was over-hasty to use the gift of ,poseidon1 he says2 but ,hippolytus answers that if he had not used that method of revenge1 he would have found another4 ,theseus implicitly agrees to this1 when he says that some lying spirit had blinded him to the truth1 and thus the guilt is flung back upon ,aphrodite1 whom ,artemis promises to punish by slaying ,adonis4 ,in reality1 ,euripides1 the lying spirit is not ,aphrodite1 but ,phdra2 and you take care that ,artemis should point this out4 ,thus1 at every part of the myth where the action of the divinities is supposed to be clearly visible1 you present us with another version and another cause2 and1 by this means1 not only do you make the development of the plot more plausible1 and fill us with admiration for your genius1 but ultimately you remove the responsibility from the gods1 by showing that the action of the play is not dependent upon them4 ,aphrodite seems to be only the incarnation of ,phdra's desire1 and ,poseidon of a father's curse4 ,artemis1 it is true1 has a separate existence1 and is not merely the personification of a mortal passion2 she exists in order that she may reveal the truth to ,theseus1 and for that purpose1 had you not been bound by tradition1 the nurse would have done as well4 ,you say1 too1 in one of the choruses that the thought of the gods consoles your grief1 and that your hope clings to the belief in a supreme reason2 but that when you consider the deeds and the fate of men you are confounded4 ,do you think1 ,euripides1 that the whole evil of life comes from man alone1 and that the gods are not implicated in it8 ,protagoras smiled4 ,euripides leaned forward1 looking at ,socrates with bright eyes from beneath his bent brows4 ,the words of the chorus1 ,socrates1 mean that when ,i consider the wretchedness and the doom of men1 ,i doubt the existence of a supreme reason1 or at least waver in my belief4 ,of course ,i see that1 answered ,socrates2 but if you accept the idea of a universal mind animating all things1 why should the misery and wretched conditions of the life of men dissipate this idea8 ,your play shows that it is man's own folly1 and not the anger of the gods1 that punishes him with misfortune4 ,theseus in ignorance calls down the doom of death upon ,hippolytus1 and thus brings evil upon himself4 ,it is the lust of ,phdra1 and the blind anger of ,theseus1 which are responsible for the death of the innocent2 but is it better to have suffered unjustly as ,hippolytus suffered1 or to die in shame1 despised1 as ,phdra died1 or to live as ,theseus lived in misery1 though forgiven8 ,i agree to what you have said of my play1 answered ,euripides1 his worn1 melancholy face illuminated with a smile2 and ,i agree1 also1 that it was my purpose to deny that the gods do evil1 and to make people dissatisfied with the myths4 ,i misunderstood the reason for your use of what the chorus says about the ,supreme ,mind2 the doings of men seem to me to be more the result of the conditions of life than of their own wickedness4 ,if men err it is through ignorance2 but they suffer quite independently of their deserts4 ,it is through my sympathy with mankind that ,i am led into doubt4 ,man struggles all his life with the fluctuations and vicissitudes of fortune2 his pleasures are but phantoms and visions which elude his grasp2 the one certainty before him is death3 an unknown terror4 ,why has he been set among this play of circumstance1 over which he has no control1 but which whirls him away like a dead leaf upon the ripples and eddies of a river8 ,the best happiness we can find in life is resignation1 a folding of the hands1 a withdrawal into the interior peace of our own minds1 the serene heights which the ,muses inhabit4 ,those who have gained that sanctuary have at least the happiness which comes from a knowledge of the limitations of life2 they have learned to desire little1 to delight in natural and simple things1 the bright air1 the coolness of forests1 wind rippling the waves of corn and setting the poplar leaves a-tremble2 but1 alas6 behind even this serenity of mind is the shadow of human suffering4 ,so few are the wise1 and so many the miserable6 ,we would not1 if we could1 cut ourselves off from the dumb herd of humanity1 with its obscure sufferings1 its vague desires1 its inarticulate and eternal pain4 ,i should not ask it of you1 ,euripides1 said ,socrates gently4 ,he had a real love for ,euripides1 a real admiration for the mind which through its own tumult and discord had come at last into the possession of peace1 and to the vision of a clear hope4 ,if mankind with its blind follies makes me doubt the existence of a ,god1 continued ,euripides1 its miseries make me believe in one4 ,i am not an enemy of knowledge2 ,i have sought it with diligence all the days of my life2 but we have other needs4 ,we suffer with one another2 there is a trouble and perplexity in the world from which we cannot escape1 and to which we cannot refuse sympathy1 pity1 and love4 ,religion does not take into sufficient account the fact1 that however diverse are the activities of men1 all suffer alike4 ,we have the corporate religious unity of the ,state1 and it presents to us the noble and lofty ideas of the ,olympian deities4 ,do you remember1 ,socrates1 the fable which ,protagoras made for you1 describing how at first men had only the arts1 and warred among themselves until ,zeus sent them the gifts of justice and reverence8 ,yes2 ,i remember it4 ,i cannot1 of course1 remember all that ,protagoras said1 answered ,socrates4 ,long speeches puzzle me4 ,but ,i remember that it was beautiful4 ,it was at my house1 said ,callias1 with some pride4 ,well1 ,socrates1 it seems to me that justice and reverence were not enough4 ,man needed something more4 ,so the worship of ,demeter and ,dionysos was revealed to him4 ,i have sometimes meditated writing a play about ,dionysos1 the enthusiasm of wine1 of poetry1 the ,deliverer1 who uplifts the heart of man2 or about ,demeter1 the ,earth1 the herbage and the ripe corn1 through whom we are kin1 not only with each other but with the beasts of the field1 the cattle grazing in their fat pasture1 and the young fawn couched among the briars and thickets of the forest4 ,these divinities seem closer to us than the ruler of the sun or the lord of the sea4 ,they move gently among us1 coming and going with the seasons1 filling our granaries and wine-jars with their mystical gifts2 corn and wine1 their very bodies and blood1 through which we enter into a close and intimate communion with them1 and become indeed their children1 or even themselves1 as when their spirit possesses us entirely1 and with a wild enthusiasm we range through the wooded hills1 clothed in spotted fawn-skins1 crowned with dark ivy1 shaking the thyrsus in the air1 and leaping to the sound of timbrels and pipes1 and the brazen cymbals of the ,great ,mother4 ,the ,olympian divinities have given to man the knowledge of the arts1 and instilled into him the principles of justice and of reverence2 they are untouched by the sense of our human mortality4 ,of old1 the poets say1 they visited mortals2 and coming to a house at dusk in the guise of huntsmen or travellers would rest that night to share the evening meal1 and at dawn depart again1 leaving behind them strange gifts4 ,now they come among us no more4 ,but these divinities of our own delightful earth1 how different they are6 ,our mortality1 our labours1 and our desires are part of their ritual4 ,they have shown man that he is one with that earth from which he derives his being1 and which receives him again1 after the toils and vicissitudes of life1 as with the gentle enfolding arms of a mother2 and that through it he is one also with them4 ,they give him1 in the recurrence of seed-time and harvest1 the symbolism of the vine and the vintage1 the return of ,spring1 coming with frail1 delicate flowers1 and troops of swallows1 in the first flush of green over the ploughlands1 hints and foreshadowings of some such resurrection for himself2 until death ceases to be a nameless terror to him1 but is like a little interval of sleep not entirely barren of dreams4 ,how natural they are too6 ,we should not be surprised if we met with ,demeter1 clad in blue raiment1 in a cornfield1 as the dawn was breaking4 ,it would not seem strange to see her1 plucking the golden ears1 and weaving them into a garland for her head2 or resting beside a well of bright water1 and looking over the misty fields with quiet1 thoughtful eyes4 ,it would not seem strange if ,dionysos appeared suddenly to us1 coming through the shadowy woods between the straight stems of the pines1 light in his eyes1 and the wind lifting the hair from his cool brow2 or to meet him leading his troop of delirious worshippers by the banks of ,asopus1 or up the steep glens of ,cithron4 ,if she1 ,earth1 be a mother to us1 he is like an elder brother1 born of a mortal woman1 and so closer to us4 ,it is true1 ,socrates1 that the myths dealing with him contain much that is revolting1 and are full of tragic and sinister episodes2 but behind the veil of man's weaving is a figure of singular beauty1 wild but gentle2 a divinity who promises to the restless and troubled spirit of man joy in life and peace after death4 ,his words made an impression upon the company4 ,there was silence for the moment4 ,well1 ,euripides1 ,i shall not question you any further to-night1 said ,socrates4 ,we have agreed that the idea of divinity is exclusive of all evil2 and now ,protagoras will probably tell us that the philosophic question of the present time is not whether the gods are good or evil1 but whether they exist at all4 ,protagoras made no further delay4 ,he had a roll of parchment in his hand1 but scarcely referred to it4 ,there was a movement among the guests as he began1 for all were curious to hear what he had to say4 99 99 99 99 99 ,we cannot know whether the gods exist or do not exist2 the matter is too obscure1 and man's life too short4 ,if they exist1 it must be in some manner peculiar to themselves1 for we cannot find any trace of their presence in the world4 ,they are not present to us as objects to be perceived by the senses2 if they move among us at all it is by stealth1 and without leaving so much trace as a ship leaves upon the waves4 ,but man has always believed that they are close to him1 and has come to imagine them as haunting every green corner of the earth1 each well1 and wood1 and hill1 the blue depths of the sea and the wide regions of the air4 ,we have a ,god to preside at our sowing and at our harvest1 at our setting-forth and at our home-coming2 there are gods of flocks and herds1 of vineyards and olive groves1 of rivers and of the sea4 ,poetry has peopled the air with them1 and given to ,aphrodite a team of sparrows1 and to ,hera a team of peacocks1 and to grey-eyed ,athene an owl4 ,indeed1 it is strange1 so familiar and frequent are they in our thoughts1 that we should ever question their existence2 yet the moment we seek for any tangible evidence of their presence in the world we are at fault1 and the more we consider them the more shadowy and elusive they become4 ,the whole notion of divinity is constantly changing in our minds1 adapting itself to new conditions of life1 varying its form as our knowledge becomes deeper2 but always becoming more spiritual1 less tangible1 until it seems to be nothing but that wandering breath which quickens all things into life4 ,at first we imagined the gods as the incarnation of some natural force1 like ,aphrodite1 the foam-born1 whom all living creatures obey2 or ,demeter1 the ,earth-mother1 who produces all the fruits and harvests1 and the grass and flowers of the field4 ,stripped of the mystery and beauty with which the poets have clothed them1 these are but the conditions of man's life1 his begetting and sustenance2 we must seek behind them for that idea of the supreme reason1 who is not only the cause but the end of all things1 not only the source of existence but the principle from which spring our notions of truth1 of wisdom1 of justice1 and all those ideals which reconcile us to life and bid us hope in the ultimate realisation of the good4 ,it is not sufficient for us to find a cause from which existence is derived1 for even if that were laid bare to us we could not find in it our ultimate satisfaction1 unless it conformed to the idea of divinity1 which1 as ,socrates and ,euripides have agreed1 is exclusive of all elements of evil4 ,is it possible to have this knowledge8 ,there are two insuperable difficulties4 ,the first is in the nature of man's knowledge1 which is not constant or common1 but variable and peculiar to each individual4 ,each man is the measure of all things4 ,to him1 things are what they seem2 truth1 what he thinks true2 justice1 what he thinks just2 good1 what he thinks good4 ,coldness or heat1 light or darkness1 colour1 sound1 smell1 touch1 taste1 are all equally matters of opinion4 ,there is no truth external to the individual4 ,the second difficulty is that even if all men had a fixed and common standard of truth1 we can find no evidence of the action of any divinity in the world1 no evidence of a supreme reason dominating all things4 ,the world seems to obey certain blind and unreasonable laws2 but the life of man1 the life of all things1 outside the mere routine of tides and seasons1 seems to be subject only to chance3 and whether we live or die1 our fate is the result of an accident4 ,we are merely the idle foam upon the surface of the waves of being2 an accident1 and not the reason of the waves4 ,perhaps the whole reason of life is unconcerned with us2 having a different aim to what we imagine1 we ourselves being only the dust of a sculptor's workshop1 the superfluous marble which he chips off from the hidden image of his desire4 ,it is certain1 that if there be a ,god he is careless of the fate of man4 ,for1 if there were a ,god1 since he must be just and good1 we should find the prayers of the good man answered1 and evil would be punished in the world4 ,as it is the evil men prosper1 and the good gain no reward2 evil and good1 what are they but our points of view8 ,it is for this reason that we doubt the existence of any but a mechanical cause for the universe2 because we have had no experience of good triumphing in the external world4 ,diagoras of ,melos1 being taken into the ,temple of ,poseidon and shown the offerings dedicated there as memorials of answered prayers and in fulfilment of vows1 looked at them with tears3 ',they reckon those who were saved1' he said2 'they forget those who perished4' ,yes2 one is more touched by the thought of what was not hung in the temple1 than by the sight of what was4 ,we think of the smallness of the temple1 and of the largeness of the sea4 ,let us state our position with clearness4 ,we are not concerned with the existence of the gods1 but with our knowledge of their existence4 ,it would be equally foolish in us to deny1 as to affirm1 their existence4 ,there may be a supreme reason acting upon the world1 whose ends we cannot understand1 whose action we cannot comprehend4 ,it may be that the world exists for some other purpose than for the realisation of our own dreams4 ,perhaps we are only the superfluities1 the parings of ivory1 the winnowed husks from the threshing1 by-products in the creation of something more perfect2 and perhaps the confused and obscure sense of an ideal1 which works in us and is at once our desire and our despair1 is a dim consciousness of the growth of this beauty1 a desire and a despair of being one with it4 ,but1 if we could escape for a moment from the tyranny of our own selves1 the illusion of our own momentary existence1 we might learn to rejoice in the knowledge1 that beauty exists1 if not in us1 at least somewhere in the world4 ,if that knowledge were ever present with us1 ,i think that we might be content4 ,content even to suffer1 to realise that everything that ever lived has died for an idea1 that all life is a martyrdom2 but1 alas6 we have not even this knowledge4 ,our life is a dream of shadows4 ,our knowledge is but a focus of wandering ideas1 burning a moment in a white heat1 ere they pass again1 diffused widely1 into the unknown4 ,the sense of divinity1 which moves in us1 may be but a hope born of this trouble and perplexity1 a desire that at some future time the fragments of our being shall be collected again and fashioned into a whole4 ,we cry out that we need not be wasted1 to drift forever as dust1 blind1 dumb1 and inarticulate1 yet with a dim consciousness of a life stirring beyond us and alien to us4 ,let us share in it4 ,let us have a share in the world's sunlight and the sweet air4 ,we have personified this hope1 and given it an extended significance which seems to breathe and move in all things4 ,each individual finds his justification in ,god2 and it follows that his ,god must be merciful1 just1 and good2 but1 at the same time1 the notions of justice and good are entirely peculiar to the individual4 ,god is thus a realisation of self1 a self who triumphs and will be justified1 even through his misery4 ,the very practice of virtue is an accusation against the gods1 an affirmation that if the good perish then ,god is evil4 ,i am a maker of myths1 one who fashions out of perishable things a thought which1 through its informing truth1 exists independently of time4 ,i think of man as of one who is blind1 dumb1 and without hands4 ,sitting alone in this physical darkness a thought comes to him of what his life might have been if he had been born whole2 and he imagines himself as a man with hands1 a voice1 and sight1 creating a whole world out of his pleasure4 ,this other man1 who moves like a creature of light through the dim passages of his mind1 becomes1 as it were another self2 but through his greater power1 a being of joy living eternally1 a strong1 triumphant1 beautiful figure2 and consequently external from1 and different to1 the man4 ,and the blind1 dumb1 handless man1 bowing his head in the darkness1 says3 ',it is ,god4' ,for the gods which we have imagined are immortal men1 and man a mortal ,god4 ,they differ from us in nothing but the gladness and eternity of their actions4 ,they move delightfully on the wings of the wind2 through the great tumult of waters their feet are swift and sure2 their voices have a music that is like the fierce motion of dancing1 yellow flames4 ,god is simply our own selves1 made whole1 and removed from the devouring years4 ,god is our weakness searching after strength1 our blindness1 thirsting after light2 our desire seeking for a voice1 and we worship him4 ,we worship him because he is ourselves2 but we seek him1 always1 as if conscious of our own weakness and worthlessness1 beyond ourselves1 in the external world1 ,our ,god is hidden in the deeps of the sea2 in the shadows of the forests2 in that blue heaven beyond the stars4 ,he is very subtile1 moving on stealthy feet1 through unknown ways4 ,we seek him1 but we find him not4 ,he is swifter than we are1 and when we pursue him he flies away into the darkness2 and when we cry out that we have lost him he comes close to us again1 filling our hearts with a silent sweetness4 ,so it is ever with us2 when we seek to clasp him he eludes us2 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 us1 to reveal him to sight4 ,once in a country of hills and valleys lived a shepherd who called to the nymph ,echo1 and she answered him from her cave in the hillside with his own voice4 ,then he girded himself1 and taking a staff in his hand set out to seek her2 and coming to the place whence she had answered him1 he called again1 and she replied from a higher peak4 ,when he had called from the next peak he was answered from the valley and descended into its deep forests2 and men saw him no more1 for he died there1 and the beasts devoured him4 ,we also die ere we have found the voice which calls to us from the mountains2 but it ever lures us forward1 calling sometimes from a cave quite close to us1 and again from a distant peak4 ,we also die1 and our ears hear it no longer2 but our children will hear and follow it gladly up the steep glens of the windy hills4 ,as ,protagoras finished1 he dropped the roll of parchment beside him1 and motioned the slave to bring him some wine4 ,lysis rose from his couch and attempted to crown him1 when the loud voice of ,pythodorus broke in upon the general conversation4 ,what is this that you are applauding8 he said2 are you men of ,athens or foreigners fond only of subtile words8 ,i1 for one1 shall not praise or consent to what has been said by ,protagoras here to-night4 ,what has he done but cloak his impiety in smooth phrases and suave periods8 ,are you willing1 through his soft persuasion1 to deny that the gods inhabit the wide skies and the hidden regions of the bright sea8 ,a silence fell upon the company4 ,one or two shifted uneasily upon their couches4 ,it was fairly well known that ,pythodorus had some personal grudge against ,protagoras2 but no one had suspected that he would take this opportunity of revenge4 ,you are mistaken1 ,pythodorus1 said ,euripides4 ,protagoras has only discussed the question of whether we can have any knowledge of the gods4 ,he carefully disclaimed any intention of denying their existence4 ,it is clear to me1 ,euripides1 that ,protagoras has denied them1 answered ,pythodorus4 ,he claims that if we do not know a thing1 the thing does not exist4 ,but ,i shall not argue the question here2 ,i shall lay it before the proper judges4 ,an offence against the gods is a crime in which the whole city is implicated1 and which they must cleanse from themselves4 ,i would have you believe that ,i am not moved by any personal feeling against ,protagoras1 but only by a desire that the whole people should not have to expiate1 in suffering1 the crime of one man4 ,all the misfortunes of ,athens have arisen from the spirit of irreverent sophistry which is eating her away2 and people now seem to think that they may say anything1 provided that it be well said4 ,he spoke in a raucous voice1 trying to contain his passion1 but with an exultant fire in his eyes4 ,socrates sat up on his couch and rubbed his leg4 ,pythodorus1 you are as bad a listener as ,i am4 ,i can never understand these long speeches4 ,they act like a charm1 and ,i always fall asleep in the middle of them2 but before ,i fell asleep to-night ,i heard what ,protagoras said as to his main position1 and ,i think that he was laughing at us4 ,he spoke only in a cautious vein of paradox4 ,while he was pretending one thing1 he was proving the opposite4 ,you must not take him very seriously4 ,what do you mean8 ,were you awake all the time1 ,pythodorus8 said ,socrates4 ,of course4 ,i was listening most attentively4 ,then you will remember that ,protagoras said that the gods were not to be found in the external world1 but in the hearts of men4 ,we cannot know them1 as we know a tree1 but we can feel them by us4 ,he seems to hold that we cannot know anything except what we have drawn out of ourselves4 ,socrates was attempting to lead the conversation back into quieter channels1 but ,pythodorus rose4 ,i shall leave you4 ,it is not for me to judge whether ,protagoras is right or wrong1 he said4 ,some of the guests left with him1 through fear1 and the rest were dismayed4 ,protagoras1 who had not said a word in answer to ,pythodorus1 leaned back on his couch and spoke4 ,of course1 ,pythodorus will accuse me1 he said2 and ,i shall be condemned4 ,he is powerful1 and in the present condition of things can do as he likes4 ,but it would be a shame if we allowed the malice of one person to interrupt our discussion4 ,let us sit talking until dawn1 and then ,i shall prepare to leave ,athens4 ,i expected that he would do me what injury he could4 ,shall we have some more wine1 ,euripides8 ,it is probably our last feast together4 ,i am afraid it is1 said ,euripides4 ,yes2 let us have some wine4 ,i blame myself for what has happened2 but ,i never expected this4 ,it would have happened to-morrow if not to-day1 answered ,protagoras4 ,do not blame yourself1 ,euripides4 ,there are1 ,i think1 few persons in this room1 who will escape from the reaction which is developing in ,athens4 ,socrates1 of course1 will survive it4 ,he follows the traditions of religion1 but1 at the same time1 he differs from them4 ,what was that curious paradox you put forward about my teaching1 ,socrates8 ,it was no paradox1 ,protagoras1 but sober1 earnest truth4 ,you will never persuade me that your intention was to deny the existence of the gods4 ,well1 then1 let us discuss it4 ,only our friends are here now4 ,and to-morrow ,i shall be beyond the reach of malice4 ,can we know the gods1 ,socrates8 ,you confuse the two things1 because ,pythodorus did4 ,philip has not deserted us4 ,he is sitting there half drunk4 ,will you argue with him8 ,if with me1 answer what ,i ask4 ,you denied1 did you not1 that we can find any trace of the action of the gods in this world8 ,yes4 ,and did you not affirm that the gods exist1 if they exist at all1 in a manner peculiar to themselves4 ,yes4 ,without denying the existence of the gods1 then1 you affirm that we cannot know them because we cannot find any trace of their action in the life of man8 ,that is what ,i said1 answered ,protagoras4 ,and you also said that1 man being the measure of all things1 truth is what he thinks true2 good1 what he thinks good4 ,there is no truth external to the individual4 ,did you not8 ,yes1 ,socrates2 but ,i am afraid you are giving a sense to my words which they were not intended to convey4 ,that is not my object4 ,i wish merely to examine your thought4 ,you incline to cloak it in myths1 but you should learn to send truth from you clean and naked1 as a trainer sends an athlete into the palstra4 ,if ,i offend you1 ,protagoras1 you must forgive me2 but ,i cannot follow an argument which is not direct4 ,do your words contain my meaning8 ,yes1 ,socrates4 ,then you deny all truth except what a man draws out of himself8 ,yes4 ,and a man should not say it is cold4 ,he should say ,i am cold8 ,yes2 all external things are only what we imagine them to be4 ,the same1 of course1 holds good with regard to truth1 virtue1 and justice2 these things are equally external to the individual4 ,i think that you have said this before1 ,protagoras1 have you not8 ,yes1 said ,protagoras4 ,well1 then1 let us leave that part of the argument for the present1 said ,socrates4 ,we shall return to it later1 as every one agrees to it4 ,i wish to ask you another series of questions4 ,if you wished to learn the art of making plays1 would you go to a cobbler or to ,euripides8 ,to ,euripides4 ,very well6 ,but if you wished to learn the art of making shoes1 would you go to a cobbler1 or to a playwright8 ,to a cobbler1 of course6 ,you would choose one skilful rather than a beginner2 and in politics1 also1 you would choose an experienced man1 in preference to one who had no experience1 and in art you would take the finest artist as your master4 ,would you not8 ,of course4 ,and the same with pastry-cooks1 with tillers of the soil and vine-dressers2 you would choose the person most experienced8 ,yes4 ,all this ,i have learnt from what you said at the beginning of your discourse4 ,if you wished to learn the arts of politics or of cobbling you would go to a politician or to a cobbler2 but if you wished to learn the art of being virtuous1 would you go to a vicious or to a virtuous man8 ,to a virtuous man4 ,but why1 ,protagoras8 ,is not the test of truth in yourself and not in others8 ,yes4 ,then you know the truth1 and you recognise it when you meet with it8 ,yes4 ,but then the truth lies also outside of ourselves4 ,goodness1 wisdom1 and other excellent things are external to us1 and we can only draw them out of ourselves8 ,have you not said that ,god is a projection of self8 ,a stronger self1 ,socrates4 ,then you recognise a standard of excellence beyond man1 and this standard of excellence he draws out of himself2 and that only is true which a man draws out of himself2 but at the same time you recognise in others the art of cobbling and of politics4 ,these things are only conventional1 said ,protagoras4 ,why1 ,protagoras8 ,what is the difference between going as an apprentice to a good cobbler and going as an apprentice to a good man8 ,because cobbling is an art that any one may learn1 but virtue is different4 ,is virtue different from doing good8 ,no4 ,a virtuous person will seek the good2 he recognises goodness by his own standard8 ,yes4 ,he is the measure of truth1 and he chooses a teacher who will show him a fitting wisdom1 as he will choose a cobbler who will make him a fitting shoe8 ,socrates1 ,i frankly admit that ,i am tired of your cobbler4 ,but is virtue doing things well or ill8 ,well4 ,and the individual judges whether the thing is well or ill done8 ,you are still cobbling1 ,socrates4 ,surely1 ,protagoras1 if truth is drawn entirely out of the individual1 he will know virtue better than he will know a shoe4 ,i do not want you to say that ,i am forcing your words into a construction that they will not bear4 ,your arguments suggest others to me4 ,i am cobbling1 you say1 point out the patches6 ,you say that there is no truth external to the individual2 that if a man feels hot1 it is hot2 that justice is what he thinks just1 that he cannot know external things4 ,surely1 then1 his whole standard of truth is himself4 ,and if he fashion a ,god out of his inner consciousness1 surely ,god exists more truly than a tree or a shoe exists4 ,socrates1 my words may bear this expansion4 ,you hold1 then1 that we may have knowledge of their existence4 ,i am not averse to this belief2 but to me a ,god is simply a self1 a self freed from our conditions of life4 ,let us not say that ,socrates or ,protagoras has triumphed4 ,we have simply got a little closer to the truth4 ,god may exist for the individual1 ,socrates2 in the individual consciousness4 ,but the truth lies beyond us4 ,man's image of a tree is true1 because a tree is4 ,the colour1 the shape1 the texture1 are not1 replied ,socrates2 except as the man sees them4 ,philip was right in saying that if we know one thing we know all others4 ,philip1 wake up6 ,socrates1 what mischief are you up to now that ,pythodorus is gone1 said ,philip4 ,you talk too much4 ,protagoras said simply that a monkey imagines ,god as a monkey1 while a peacock imagines him as a peacock4 ,o ,philip1 what a fool you are6 ,does a foolish man imagine a foolish ,god8 ,does a blind man imagine a blind ,god8 ,of course not4 ,then1 listen1 ,philip6 ,does ,pythodorus imagine a ,god who is a nuisance to his friends8 ,no4 ,very well1 then1 some standard exists which is external to the individual1 but which he only knows through his inner consciousness4 ,the oracle at ,delphi was right when it said3 ',know thyself4 ,for the more a man knows himself1 the more he knows ,god4' ,it is dawn1 said ,lysis4 ,o ,socrates1 you are the most unbridled and insatiable of all the sophists1 said ,protagoras1 laughing4 ,you have laid a trap for me4 ,why do you accuse me of laying a trap for you8 ,we are not arguing with the sole desire of scoring a point against each other4 ,i do not lay traps for you1 as if ,i were a hunter of men2 but ,i lay traps for truth1 being a hunter of truth1 and having no other reason for existence but to chase and follow after it wherever it may be hidden4 ,we have no more time1 ,socrates1 said ,protagoras4 ,tell me your own opinion of the gods and of the aim of life4 ,what can ,i say to you1 said ,socrates1 beyond what a prophetess taught me8 ,for she said that in our voyage through the world we are being reminded constantly of a previous existence1 and that when we are brought face to face with beauty or with virtue or with truth1 in short wherever we are moved to admiration as in contemplating a work of art like the chryselephantine ,zeus at ,olympia1 it is the memory stirring in us of the place from which we came2 and1 further1 she asked me if ,i had never felt an inexplicable sadness mingling with all beauty1 as if beauty itself were inseparable from sorrow4 ',yes1 ,diotima1' ,i answered1 'in the presence of beauty we are all sufferers4' ',then ,socrates1' she said1 'let me tell you that this feeling of sadness in the presence of beauty is in reality a sense of exile2 for however deeply we may drink of ,lethe1 the soul will retain some broken memories of the garden of the gods4 ,when we meet with beauty in the world it is but a mutilated fragment of the divine beauty1 but however small or slight it may be in itself1 it is sufficient to call up into memory the divine beauty2 and it is then that the sense of exile rushes in upon us like a wave and we weep and suffer anguish1 and can neither tear ourselves away from the beautiful thing1 nor be content with it2 but all our being thirsts after the more perfect beauty4 ,but let me warn you1 ,socrates1 that however much you may be tortured in the presence of the beauty that lies scattered through the world1 it is your business to collect each tiny fragment2 and if it be a few bars of music you must build it into a song2 if it be a mere tangle of coloured skeins you must weave it into a garment2 if it be fragments of gold and ivory you must make them into a statue2 if it be beautiful colours you must make them into a picture1 or beautiful words then into a poem2 and all this time you will suffer and be tortured with desire for the more perfect beauty4 ,but1 until you have gathered together the broken fragments which are in the world you will not return into the garden of the gods4' ',then the gods exist8' ,i enquired4 ',certainly the gods exist1' answered ,diotima2 'but they exist in a manner peculiar to themselves4' ,she would say nothing more1 but when ,i questioned her smiled wisely and was silent4 99 99 99 99 99 ,hermogenes met ,lysis by the porch of the ,king ,archon near the house of ,callias4 ,have you heard the news1 ,hermogenes1 said ,lysis1 ,i have just been with ,euripides4 ,protagoras is drowned4 ,within sight of ,sicily a storm came up and drove the boat on the rocks4 ,the sailors saved themselves by swimming2 but ,protagoras1 who could not swim1 sat on the prow of the boat4 ,they saw him from the beach sitting calmly until the boat split in two4 ,the waves reached out for him1 and in a little time his bruised and battered body was cast up at their feet4 ,as they reached for it it was snatched away by another wave4 ,and so the sea played with him like a cat playing with a mouse4 ,then he was flung ashore4 ,his face was bloody but smiling4 ,it was a judgment of the gods1 said ,hermogenes4 ,so everybody says4 ---------------------------------------- -------------------------------- ,,to ,,mrs ,,alfred ,,fowler ,,iii ,,the ,,friend ,,of ,,paul ---------------------------------------- -------------------------------- ,,iii ,,the ,,friend ,,of ,,paul ,the house of ,serenus lay about four miles from ,gades1 in a country of vines and olives4 ,it was built a little below the ridge of a hill1 which sheltered it from the north-east winds1 and fronted south-west1 overlooking the ,atlantic and a long stretch of the coast-line with its innumerable headlands and curving bays4 ,from the windows in the upper storey ,serenus could see this wide expanse of waters1 never completely the same1 but always restless and troubled1 with caprice in sunlight1 or anger in storms2 or1 turning to another aspect1 the hills and valleys of his own estate2 a land of cornfields1 vineyards1 and olive-yards1 pleasantly diversified by slopes of green upland pasture1 and beyond them the wild beauty of mountains with frosty summits and well-timbered flanks4 ,the house was surrounded by a garden planted with myrtles and plane-trees1 with alleys screened from the fierce heat of summer by dense boughs of ilex1 curving tortuously in labyrinthine windings1 or running perfectly straight until they ended in an arch1 the frame1 as it were1 for some picture of land or sea4 ,the grass by the paths was kept mown1 but here and there1 among thickets of myrtle1 grew rank1 harbouring the green lizards1 who slipped out every now and then to bask in the sunlight on the marble steps1 or on the pedestals of the statues of ,priapus and the woodland gods4 ,beyond the garden1 ,ceres crowded abundantly into every corner4 ,half a mile away1 at the foot of the hill1 its red-tiled roofs just showing above the terraced vines1 was the house of the farm-bailiff2 thither came the tall daughters of the peasantry bringing the offerings of their mothers in plaited baskets1 pale honey in its wax1 young leverets1 and capons luscious for cooking4 ,in the yard all the crowd of common poultry wandered about1 while the tower echoed with the joy of pigeons1 answered from the neighbouring trees by the cooing of ring-doves and white turtles4 ,thither also1 on feast-days1 or to the humble marriage of one of their companions1 all the slaves of the estate were bidden1 the huntsmen with the herds2 and ,serenus would sit among them1 eating the same fare and drinking the same wine1 while much wood burnt to the festal ,lares4 ,as he grew older1 ,serenus had come to love the tranquil life at his country-house1 the soft1 warm air blowing from off the sea1 the noise of rippling water and of wind stirring in the leaves4 ,he had arrived at that period of life when a man is content to stand aside and become a spectator4 ,in the last few years his hold upon the management of his large properties had been gradually relaxed1 and he had come to rely more and more upon one or two trusted slaves and freedmen2 but at irregular intervals he would make a journey to all his possessions in ,spain1 visiting ,bilbilis where he had iron-fields1 and bred horses2 a delightful country it was1 high ,bilbilis enriched by arms and horses2 ,caunus austere with snows1 and the broken hills of ,vadevero1 the sweet grove of ,botrodus which ,pomona loves4 ,his interests extended in many directions3 he was concerned in the mines of ,spain2 he owned a fleet of ships which sailed to ,rome1 and beyond1 even to ,corinth2 his agents followed the army to buy slaves2 and he lent money1 though principally for political purposes1 to the young officials1 half civil and half military1 for whom the government of a province was a means to fortune and imperial favour at ,rome4 ,at first this villa in the country had been used only in the hottest months of the year1 and the site chosen because there seemed always to be some mysterious currents of air flowing about it from the cool hills toward the sea1 and because innumerable springs had their sources in the rocks2 but gradually there woke in him that living interest in rural pleasures and labours1 which was always an instinct with the ,romans even during their worst decadence2 he became glad at any time to visit it1 and drink in its mild delicious air in that peaceable garden overlooking the mysterious sea4 ,the need for leisure grew upon him1 and he added a wing to the originally modest house in order that he might transport thither his libraries from ,gades2 he transported also his ,greek statues1 his tables of citrus wood and ivory1 his myrrhine vases2 he built a roofed colonnade1 pierced with windows on both sides1 and with movable shutters1 so that the weather-side might be closed at will2 he devised rooms to catch all the winter sun1 and rooms shaded by vines which were cool through the hottest days2 he built sumptuous baths1 and a new triclinium1 and new guest-chambers2 by every window1 colonnade1 and walk he planted roses and violets to sweeten the air2 and he stocked his fish ponds with rare fish for the table4 ,but in spite of the later more sumptuous buildings1 and new elegances which he brought with him1 he did not forget that he had come into the country in order to be with the elementary conditions of life4 ,he felt very near to this earth which furnished him with everything he ate4 ,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 slaves4 ,at the vintage1 he would go out to the wine-press and gaze on the wine-jars1 as they were carried into the cellar to stand with the older jars1 in which mellowed the fragrance of earlier autumns2 and day after day1 in a broad-brimmed hat and worn military cloak1 he would walk down to the farm and listen to the pleasant1 familiar noises1 the clamour of the geese1 the lambs calling to their full mothers1 the cooing of the pigeons in the tower1 the murmur of the bees about the populous hives2 and the children hung shyly about him1 for he generally brought them some nuts1 and would tempt the wild-eyed things toward him1 holding the nuts in his open hand1 as a man might tempt a bird with crumbs4 ,he was still fond of hunting1 fond of the deep shadow of the woods1 the stealthy alertness1 the cunning and science of wood-craft1 he felt that he could best repel the advance of age by such exercises2 but even in the woods perhaps his chief pleasure was in a kind of meditation1 a conversation with himself1 induced by that silence which the sport imposed2 and1 when the boars had been finally driven into the nets and slain1 he would sit beside them1 eating bread which he dipped in wine1 and writing on his tablets1 in a small1 fine hand1 the thoughts suggested by the day's journey4 ,it seemed to him that the physical exercise1 the free play of the air on face and limbs1 awakened an equal vivacity and alertness in the mind2 and that ,minerva1 no less than ,diana1 was a goddess of the deep solitudes4 ,two ,roman officers from ,gades1 ,sulpicianus ,rufus and ,marcus ,licinius were his usual hunting companions4 ,after his morning exercise1 ,serenus was used to take a cold bath1 and then sleep for a little while during the heat of the day4 ,coming from his bath one morning1 a little before noon1 he found his two friends in the hall4 ,seneca is dead2 was the news they brought him4 ,then1 in one of the libraries1 he learned the details4 ,rufus had been a friend of ,seneca1 and the story had come direct to him4 ,the three friends were strangely moved4 ,marcus and ,serenus listened in silence as ,rufus described the scene at the villa4 ,he asked for his will1 that he might make some bequests to his friends2 but this was forbidden4 ,turning then1 to his wife and the two friends who were dining with him1 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 youth4 ,paulina desired to die with him1 and the physician opened the veins of both4 ,but ,seneca's blood would not flow1 and he drank poison2 finally1 he was carried to a warm bath1 and died4 ,paulina's wounds were bound up1 by command of ,nero1 and she still lives4 ,she is more to be pitied1 said ,serenus4 ,what others died8 ,rufus gave their names4 ,lucan1 too6 exclaimed ,serenus4 ,does ,gallio still live8 ,i have not heard of his death2 but it is impossible that he would escape4 ,yes1 said ,serenus2 ,seneca's family is annihilated4 ,it is like the working of ,nemesis4 ,we have been the spectators of one of ,fate's tragedies1 which are so rare4 ,it is complete1 large1 full of irony2 and ,seneca's own words1 'the murderer of his mother and brother would not spare the instructor of his youth6' ,one thinks of them less as ,seneca's own words1 than as the sardonic comment of a later historian4 ,they are too apt4 ,you were not one of ,seneca's friends1 said ,rufus4 ,no1 said ,serenus2 ,nero is the direct result of ,seneca's teachings4 ,so brutal a voluptuary could hardly issue from any but a ,stoic school4 ,it is at once raw1 crude1 and narrow2 it coarsens our natural appetites instead of refining them4 ,for ,stoicism the human emotions1 love and pity1 are but weaknesses1 which it denies and attempts to stifle4 ,it is very far from the secret of human sympathy4 ,nero as a young man had many excellent qualities1 which an artistic and delicate training might have developed into fine accomplishments3 he might have learned the art of life2 and instead he has learned only rhetoric1 the sort of rhetoric that vitiates every action1 and makes our emotions the subject for a stage declamation1 makes life a mere piece of acting4 ,yet ,i must not forget1 ,rufus1 that ,seneca was your friend4 ,perhaps he was better than his philosophy2 but ,i have never been able to forgive him either for his adulation of ,claudius during his life1 or his satire upon him after his death4 ,seneca was un-,roman1 said ,marcus4 ,why do you say that8 enquired ,serenus4 ,all his ideals were un-,roman1 answered ,marcus4 ,his notions of the brotherhood and natural equality of man1 his unpractical nature and sentimentalism1 his absolute lack of a grasp upon realities and their significance1 his condemnation of war and of slavery4 ,his life was composed almost entirely of noble maxims1 and of trivial actions4 ,he died well1 said ,rufus tersely4 ,a final gesture1 said ,marcus1 rubbing his arm4 ,we ,romans are superbly self-conscious4 ,we die in public1 with appropriate speeches4 ,what you think peculiar to ,seneca1 his sentimentalism and idealism1 are really parts of the present spirit1 and common to all schools1 answered ,serenus4 ,rome has broken down the ancient national barriers1 and given to all peoples the notion of humanity as a whole4 ,it is from this cause that the idea of a world-state has its origin4 ,but ,rome governs by force2 other nations are tributary to her2 she has enslaved them2 they are the base upon which she has raised her grandeur4 ,they feel that they are unjustly treated4 ,we have created new conditions4 ,we have shut them off from their legitimate activities by refusing to allow them to govern themselves1 or to make war upon their neighbours2 so that the whole life of the ,empire is centralised in ,rome1 and the provinces have become stagnant4 ,and from these new conditions has been born a new spirit4 ,life seems too full of suffering2 the poor and the oppressed are many1 and because they are so many they are becoming articulate4 ,they would build a new heaven and a new earth4 ,i learnt of this first at ,corinth4 ,the whole corruption of the world comes from the ,greeks and the ,jews1 said ,rufus contemptuously4 ,what is the use of clamouring against life8 ,it is a problem that we must each solve for ourselves1 and no theory will help us4 ,if society were wrong1 if ,rome were wrong1 if force were wrong1 we should not be sitting here in comparative comfort4 ,to talk of the tyranny of the ,state is nonsense2 individual liberty is what each man wins for himself1 and the ,state merely offers the most convenient mechanism by which it may be gained4 ,as an example we have the growth of a large class of rich freedmen4 ,the disease1 from which we are suffering at present1 is simply a form of sentimentality4 ,what is morality8 ,what is justice8 ,what is good8 ,the only answer is3 ',that which law orders4' ,do you believe in the gods1 ,rufus8 enquired ,marcus1 with amusement4 ,i follow the customs of my forefathers1 answered ,rufus bluntly4 ,the gods are dead1 said ,marcus1 still rubbing his arm4 ,they are not dead1 answered ,serenus gently2 but they have changed their names4 ,the people will always worship the same ,divinity1 the ,giver of rain and good crops and victory in battle1 and health in life1 and peace toward death4 ,i never understood ,seneca's philosophy2 but ,i loved the man1 said ,rufus4 ,the greater part of him was weakness1 but he had strength4 ,he was a good man of business1 ,serenus4 ,he was a clever man1 with admirable opportunities1 answered ,serenus4 ,i am an ,epicurean1 and ,seneca's teaching is not mine4 ,yet1 in some of its details his teaching is also ,epicurean4 ,with him1 philosophy was less an affair of the mind than of the imagination1 and of good taste2 it is always the artist1 the orator1 who is teaching1 and his eloquence is never quite persuasive1 because the artist is never quite persuaded4 ,he belongs to no school1 he is an eclectic2 and he seeks rather to inculcate the practice of virtue than to show what virtue is4 ,he neither asks nor answers a question4 ,the vices and weaknesses which he condemned in others he had found in himself2 his was a subjective1 a poetic1 a romantic mind4 ,and it was precisely for this reason that his disciples loved him1 because of that emotional and many coloured nature1 which saw virtue1 the most austere virtue1 ever as a god1 and found it unattainable4 ,yes1 that is true1 said ,rufus4 ,but did ,seneca believe in the gods1 and in the immortality of the soul8 enquired ,marcus4 ,serenus smiled4 ,yes1 he answered2 ,seneca spent his whole life in seeking for the truth1 but the truth for which he sought was one which should be agreeable to his own nature4 ,a divinity was necessary to his well-being4 ,he speaks of a loving ,god1 of a ,god who orders the world aright and whose will we should obey without a murmur2 and in consequence his hatred for the ,epicureans was great4 ,he could not forgive us for showing the gods serene and untroubled in their abode1 into which penetrates no whisper of mortal anguish2 and for saying that no voice of prayer troubles their endless pleasure1 and that without tears or anger they gaze at once upon our sorrow and our sin1 and are heedless of the hands uplifted in supplication from every corner of the earth4 ,yes2 ,god is necessary to a ,stoic4 ,but we ,epicureans have called upon the gods and they have not answered us2 we have sought them throughout the world and have not found them2 neither are they in the seas nor in the skies2 we have not seen them destroy the wicked nor protect the innocent2 we think that they are not interested in our humble affairs2 they are neither our masters nor our creators1 but belong to the same order of things as we do1 though of a finer and less perishable nature3 if1 indeed1 they exist at all4 ,stoicism is a hatred of humanity1 said ,marcus2 perhaps ,epicureanism is a love of it4 ,rufus1 do you not think the ,epicureans are clever8 ,they do not deny the existence of gods2 but they make their gods of such a divinely intangible substance that doubt becomes in itself almost an act of worship4 ,it is as if they feared to profane the sanctuary with human feet soiled by the dust of travail4 ,i have given you my opinion of philosophy and philosophers1 said ,rufus4 ,once a man begins to think of the difference between right and wrong he is lost1 morally and mentally4 ,i studied philosophy in order to learn how to write despatches2 and in the short course ,i took1 ,i acquired enough knowledge of the subject to know that good and evil belong to the category of reflex actions1 they are spasmodic movements over which we have no control4 ,do ,i praise my legionaries because they are brave8 ,i do1 as a matter of fact4 ,it makes an admirable prelude to the imposition of another task4 ,seneca imagined that men could be disciplined into virtue4 ,it was a great mistake1 because discipline is not applicable to the individual1 it is only applicable to a crowd4 ,it is easy to fill a regiment with courage2 but it is impossible to make one man brave4 ,you do not think that it is possible to form individual habits8 said ,serenus4 ,yes1 of course1 answered ,rufus2 it is possible to accustom a man to sleep on a hard bed1 to deny himself wine or flesh1 even in some degree to control his temper4 ,but an action is good or bad1 only in so far as it is a reflex action4 ,what you say is very curious1 said ,serenus quickly4 ,in fact ,rufus is a complete philosopher1 said ,marcus1 laughing4 ,i should like to drink a little wine4 ,serenus struck a sounding-bowl of silver1 and a ,greek boy entered4 ,wine1 said ,serenus1 and the boy left them4 ,rufus1 you have heard of a sect of ,jews called ,christians2 do you know their belief8 ,no1 said ,rufus contemptuously2 ,i only know that it is against the ,jewish religion to pay tribute4 ,i believe that they have no religion2 they are contemptuous of all known gods2 they will eat no flesh which has been offered in the temples2 and they loathe the whole human race3 a feeling which1 ,i think1 is reciprocated4 ,the ,christians seem to be one of the numerous sects given over to the practice of a depraved and fantastic superstition4 ,the ,east is full of such monstrous cults4 ,the ,greek boy set wine before them1 threw a few grains of incense on a brazier1 and departed softly4 ,marcus drank a white ,greek wine2 ,rufus poured himself out a large bowl of ,falernian4 ,i take mine with a great deal of water1 said ,serenus2 because my stomach is weak4 ,alas6 sometimes ,i think it is my stomach which has taught me the virtue of moderation4 ,i have heard a man1 who was a ,christian1 speak in almost the identical words of ,seneca4 ,the cardinal point of his doctrine was not the ,stoic apathy1 but the recommendation of sympathy1 that is the difference between them4 ,here and there he uses the same phrases and illustrations as ,seneca4 ,it shows how widespread the new spirit is4 ,seneca's teaching did not interest me1 answered ,rufus4 ,it was the man ,i loved4 ,though it is long since saw him1 ,i cannot believe that he was contaminated by ,judaism4 ,serenus felt a curious desire to disburden himself4 ,i went a great deal among the ,christians once1 he said softly4 ,the two men looked at him for a moment1 with that curious expression of distrust which men adopt when another confesses to some social indiscretion4 ,it was nearly nine years ago1 and perhaps my nature resembled ,seneca's then2 my philosophy was an affair of the heart4 ,i was seeking for a beauty that is not of this world4 ,it was at ,corinth4 ,i met a man named ,paul4 ,all things are possible at ,corinth1 said ,rufus4 ,tell us your story1 ,serenus4 ,and then we shall stay to dinner1 said ,marcus1 as he finished his wine4 ,it is a long story1 said ,serenus1 smiling4 ,i have written it on a roll1 and shall read it to you4 ,let us go out into the garden2 it is cool and pleasant there now4 ,lysis will bring you what you want4 ,do you remember telling me1 ,rufus1 that ,seneca drew you to him by his weakness8 ,paul drew me to him by his strength4 99 99 99 99 99 ,passing out of the library through the atrium the friends crossed a small courtyard enclosed on three sides1 and turning sharp to the left began to climb the slope which sheltered the house4 ,the walk was shaded by a thick hedge of ilex1 and there were tall1 slim cypresses at irregular intervals4 ,leaving the path1 they crossed a plot of grass1 starry with little flowers1 and1 passing through a thicket of myrtles1 came presently to a semicircular stone seat shaded by beeches which stood1 eastward1 a little way behind it4 ,falling water tinkled like little silver bells somewhere close to them2 and the leaves made a pleasant whispering noise4 ,lysis covered the seat with rugs1 and left them4 ,the seat faced westward1 overlooking the olive-yards which the winds flushed to silver2 and the friends had a magnificent view of the ,atlantic4 ,in the declining light the distant promontories1 blue and lemon1 seemed to jut out into a bath of liquid colours1 as if suspended in the vague2 and the horizon was indeterminate4 ,a fleet of fishing-boats1 some miles from the shore1 seemed like small1 brown moths with motionless wings that had settled upon a flat screen of transparent blue gauze1 and about them the light gleamed and flickered upon innumerable little dancing waves4 ,it was all blue and green1 but so pale and silent as to seem a mirage4 ,marcus1 lounging easily upon the wide seat1 looked over the prospect with unconscious enjoyment4 ,rufus sat with his chin in his hands4 ,i love to sit here on tranquil evenings1 said ,serenus2 and listen for the cry of the halcyon1 or the heavy plunge of a dolphin1 drifting up through the delicious air from the bay4 ,he unrolled his manuscript1 and presently began to read1 in a smooth1 low voice3-- 99 99 99 99 99 ,when ,venus rose out of the foam and froth of ,ocean it was upon the prow of a ,phnician trader1 that carried her into every part of the known world2 and when her worship fell away and her votaries became few1 the cult of ,venus ,pandemos still flourished at ,corinth1 and her temples there were served by a thousand priestesses4 ,there she loves to have her abiding place1 where she can look out upon two seas1 and watch the sail-winged ships bringing her tribute from distant lands2 she is the lure1 beckoning them over the pathless sea4 ,the port ,cenchrea is surrounded by green hills and pine forests1 and through the stone-pines at dawn the sun sends his first level rays1 so that their trunks show black against the gold4 ,the streets are infested with traders of all nations2 ,jews and ,syrians swarm there2 child courtesans with delicate and innocent faces pluck strangers by the sleeve and smile2 the quays and streets are crowded with the booths of merchants and moneychangers1 whose gay awnings striped red or yellow glare vividly in the sunlight2 and doves are everywhere1 fluttering about the streets1 fanning the air with a soft pulse of wings1 alighting upon awnings and architraves to preen their feathers1 running swiftly among the passengers on their pink feet and cooing1 cooing softly like the young girls who touch men on the sleeve1 the very gentle1 insinuating whisper of ,aphrodite4 ,i arrived at ,corinth in the beginning of ,december1 and remember well the gaiety1 animation1 and bustle of the scene as ,i watched it from the steps of the temple2 for a long time ,i fed my sight upon that busy1 amorous1 wholly pleasure-loving crowd1 until1 at last1 the red and yellow awnings so hot and vivid even in the winter sunlight1 the perpetual passing to and fro of men and women1 the continual change and motion of colours1 and the humming noise1 all combined in a curious hypnotic effect upon my nerves4 ,what had seemed the very epitome of life became a mere stage-scene1 and then again nothing but the dance of motes in a sunbeam4 ,it irritated me and then tired me4 ,i turned from the ,temple of ,venus and sought that of ,apollo1 where ,i rested a little time in peace4 ,then ,i went to the house of my agent1 with whom ,i was to lodge until ,i had taken a house for my own use4 ,the man was kindly1 but tactless2 his tedious anxiety to please distracted and irritated me1 he was so much at my service that ,i could find no possible use for him4 ,i said ,i wished to bathe1 and my host insisted on coming with me4 ,it was amusing to watch his air of importance as he conducted me through the crowded ways1 for he was a notable person in the city1 and every other man we met greeted us2 as we paused a moment before a funeral procession ,i heard a voice saying3 ',that is ,serenus1 a cousin of ,acte's ,serenus1' and once again ,i felt the intolerable stare of curious eyes1 that dropped obsequiously when ,i met them4 ,after my bath1 my host led me to the ,prefect's palace1 for ,i had letters to ,gallio1 and then at last he left me4 ,gallio received me charmingly2 his manners are those of a man who has known and forgotten everything4 ,he begged me to dine1 and to stay with him until ,i had found a house2 but ,i excused myself on the score of business and fatigue4 ,he smiled1 answered that he would always be glad of my company1 and ,i left him4 ,once again in the streets1 that vivid and passionate life appealed to me with a new sympathy2 ,i read beneath the superficial gaiety and glitter1 the human tragedy1 the flight of pleasures and the irrevocable advance of death2 women passed me in soft murmuring draperies1 smiled at me languorously and passed on leaving the air tainted with ,eastern perfumes4 ,i noticed that even as they smiled their eyes were wistful4 ,the delicate winter sunset began4 ,i called a boy to me and asked him to guide me to the house of ,caius1 whom ,i wished to see personally on some business connected with the outfit of my ship4 ,he led me to a house in the ,jews' quarter and ,i tapped at the door4 ,a freedwoman admitted me1 looked at me with surprise1 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 reading4 ,light fell through the doorway as she drew back the curtain2 and she motioned me to enter2 but ,i drew back in astonishment1 for a voice was reading aloud these words3 ',though ,i speak with the tongues of men and of angels1 and have not love1 ,i am become sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal4 ,and though ,i have prophecy1 and understand all mysteries1 and all knowledge2 and though ,i have all faith so that ,i could remove mountains1 and have not love1 ,i am nothing4 ,and if ,i give away in food all my goods1 and though ,i give my body to be burned1 and have not love1 it profiteth me nothing4' ,the grave voice ceased1 for the servant had beckoned the reader1 and presently ,caius came toward me4 ,i gave him my orders with reference to the sails and tackling of my ship1 and spoke of other ships of mine which he had refitted for me2 and then asked him what author he had been reading4 ,for a moment he hesitated1 and then answered that he had been reading to some friends a letter by ,paul1 an apostle of ,christ4 ,i enquired if ,i might look a little more closely at it as ,i had been interested in what ,i heard2 and after hesitating again for a moment he brought it me4 ,the scroll half opened in my hands and ,i read3-- ,for behold your calling1 brethren1 how that not many wise after the flesh1 not many mighty1 not many noble1 are called1 but ,god chose the foolish things of the world1 that he might put to shame them that are wise2 and ,god chose the weak things of the world1 that he might put to shame the things that are strong2 and the base things of the world1 and the things that are despised1 did ,god choose1 yea1 and the things that are not1 that he might bring to nought the things that are4' ,mine eyes followed the words as the roll opened3 ',howbeit we speak wisdom among the perfect2 yet a wisdom not of this world1 nor of the rulers of this world1 which are coming to nought2 but we speak ,god's wisdom in a mystery1 even the wisdom that hath been hidden1 which ,god foreordained before the worlds unto our glory2 which none of the rulers of this world knoweth2 for had they known it they would not have crucified the ,lord of glory4' ,my sight ran heedlessly over the next few lines until they came to these words3 ',for ,i think1 ,god hath set forth us the apostles last of all1 as men doomed to death2 for we are made a spectacle unto the world1 and to angels1 and to men4 ,we are fools for ,christ's sake1 but ye are wise in ,christ2 we are weak1 but ye are strong2 ye have glory but we have dishonour4 ,even unto this present hour we both hunger1 and thirst1 and are naked1 and are buffeted1 and have no certain dwelling-place2 and we toil1 working with our own hands2 being reviled1 we bless2 being persecuted1 we endure2 being defamed1 we entreat2 we are made as the filth of the world1 the off-scouring of things1 even until now4444 ,what will ye1 shall ,i come unto you with a rod1 or in love1 and a spirit of meekness8' ,i rolled up the scroll1 and gave it back to ,caius1 saying that ,i should like to read it all1 but that at the moment ,i had not the time2 and ,i suggested that he should lend it to me4 ,he shook his head1 murmuring that it was not his property1 that it was only deposited in his house for safe keeping1 the convenience of those who wished to consult it2 but he offered to let me see it1 in his house1 at any time that ,i might wish4 ,i said that perhaps ,i might come again1 and went out into the street4 ,i do not think that ,i had any intention of coming again2 but as the women passed me in the moonlit streets1 and the beggar children held out their supplicating hands1 ,i seemed to hear the words3 ',if ,i give away in food all my goods1 and though ,i give my body to be burned and have not love1 it profiteth me nothing4' ,yes2 ,i felt it in those streets1 where little girls1 still children and innocent1 aped with a diabolic mimicry the manners and allurements of the women who followed me1 followed me with a soft1 rippling noise of draperies and odour of cosmetics1 like shadows1 like ghosts4 ,in the city of the goddess of pleasure1 ,i seemed to learn1 for the first time1 the secret of pain4 ,but beyond and above that sympathy with this drifting helpless mass that is humanity1 ,i felt a curious desire to learn more of the personality of the writer who could write3 ',if any man considereth himself wise among you1 let him become a fool that he may be wise1 and threaten to come among his disputing disciples with a rod4' ,his humility seemed to overpass the bounds of pride1 his words were whips1 his contempt for argument and disputation burned with a superhuman energy4 ,he seemed to say3 ',these are but words1 empty sounds4 ,i teach you the truth1 accept it humbly2 have ,i not suffered for it1 and will you1 who have but enjoyed it in peace and plenty1 attempt to alter it8' ,i came back to my lodgings1 and the woman who had followed me turned away with a sigh4 ,the next ten days ,i spent on business2 and ,i went a great deal to the ,prefect's palace where the conversation of ,gallio and his friends charmed and delighted me4 ,gallio saw the world and the ,empire drifting toward a complete breakdown4 ,civilisation1 according to him1 filled man with desires which he can never gratify2 it tended to accentuate the difference between the poor and the rich1 and the whole question resolved itself for him into a question of politics4 ,the ,roman stock was perishing1 and its place was being taken by a horde of servile races4 ,the people were only being kept in check by a system of doles1 and amused with pageants4 ,the burden of taxation was becoming insufferable4 ,it may last our time1 he said with a smile2 but the disease is ineradicable4 ,a revolution1 or a series of great wars1 might carry us forward for a time4 ,we are suffering from a mortal sickness1 growth1 which inevitably brings decay4 99 99 99 99 99 ,it had been arranged that one of my ships should follow three weeks after my departure from ,gades2 and on my arrival at lazy ,naples1 ,i had intended to wait for it1 consequently ,i had remained there for three weeks and a few days1 and the other ship not coming by that time ,i continued my voyage to ,brundusium4 ,there again ,i waited1 anxious for news1 and at last reluctantly put out to sea without it4 ,it arrived at ,corinth fourteen days after ,i did1 and brought me a letter from my nephew1 but none from my wife4 ,in an agony of doubt ,i opened it1 and read that my wife and child had died of a fever which had afflicted them a few days after my departure4 ,first my son had died1 a boy little more than three years old2 and my wife1 after lingering some time1 followed him4 ,i had moved into my own house1 and was alone4 ,sending a messenger to my agent ,i bade him see to all things2 and told him that ,i wished to be left undisturbed4 ,the words of the ,master came to me3 ,nam iam non domus accipiet te lta neque uxor ,optima1 nec dulces occurrent oscula nati ,prripere1 et tacita pectus dulcedine tangent4 ,it seemed to me that the peace and tranquillity of my home1 the sole aim of my life1 having been shrivelled up like unsubstantial things1 vanished like dreams1 life had thrown me1 too1 aside and left me stranded1 a piece of wreckage1 upon this alien shore4 ,for many days ,i sat alone in my sumptuous house1 and the statues of the gods1 blithe ,greek things1 which ,i had bought to furnish it1 and for transhipment to the new home which ,i had meant to make at ,rome1 smiled at my unavailing tears4 ,then one morning my slaves admitted a young boy to my presence4 ,caius bids me tell you that ,paul is in ,corinth1 he said4 ,i shall go1 ,i answered4 ,after he had left me1 ,i repented4 ,why should ,i choose to frequent the ,jews and miracle-mongers of ,corinth1 who swarmed there on the way to ,rome from every part of the ,east1 astrologers1 and sellers of love-potions1 poisoners1 and go-betweens8 ,but the words rose up in my mind3 ,god chose the foolish things of the world1 that he might put to shame them that are wise3 and ,i wished to be ashamed4 ,in my weakness and grief my hands went forth and groped in the darkness1 seeking the hands of those who had also suffered1 seeking for the little familiar1 common-place things1 that twine themselves round our being and are the mainstays of life4 ,my abandonment of life in my grief had been so complete1 that but for the message which came to me from ,caius1 ,i might have drifted towards self-destruction1 merely because of the sullen inertia1 which followed after the force of the blow had been spent4 ,philosophy1 religion1 discipline1 every vain convention which we imagine may buttress our will in moments of great spiritual weakness1 fell away from me like garments1 and the only thing remaining was a sense of human sympathy1 a craving for human consolation4 ,our master1 ,epicurus1 was a lover of children2 he knew1 no one better1 their delicate and insinuating ways1 the strange unreal world in which they play1 their unconsciousness of time2 and he seems to have taken them as patterns and exemplars of the life of pleasure1 unsuspicious of the future1 and forgetful of the past1 but living always with a vivid intensity1 in that little1 shut-in pleasure-house of the senses1 the moment4 ,as ,i thought of my child1 ,i remembered all his caresses1 the soft touch of his flower-like hands upon my face1 and the grave eyes that seemed to keep a wisdom older than the world2 and beside that image in my dreams stooped another1 ,drusilla1 her hands guiding him to me1 she whose whole life was like some attenuated fragrance1 difficult of apprehension1 but inexpressibly sweet1 her quiet brows with neat bands of hair smoothed against the cool flesh2 and the love that grew between us1 first for what she revealed to me1 and then for what she hid4 ,when ,i thought of these two brief1 beautiful creatures1 ,i seemed to see in them the true fragility of life1 as if it were no more than wind in the stops of a flute or sweet vibration from the strings of a lyre1 aerial1 elusive1 never to be wholly imprisoned in any one form1 but wandering1 vocal1 through the whole of creation1 illuminating it to one exquisite moment1 like light upon hill and sea1 and then vanishing1 fleeing away into darkness1 never to be exactly repeated4 ,so to me1 sitting apart and outwardly unmoved1 there came that fierce hunger for things departed1 that blind1 bitter struggle against the unalterable conditions of life4 ,i hesitated1 and delayed to set out on my adventure until well on into the night ,at last ,i went4 ,a fresh wind was blowing from the north-west1 it stung my face and eyes1 and ,i saw that snow lay lightly upon the summit of ,acrocorinth1 silvery in the moonlight4 ,as ,i passed into the ,jews' quarter ,i began to meet little knots and groups of people talking with excited gestures1 and ,i heard rumours of brawls and quarrels2 but ,i reached the house of ,caius without incident4 ,the same boy who had brought me the message admitted me4 ,he had fine clear-cut features1 distinctive of no particular race1 though with evidence of ,roman blood somewhere4 ,caius was the son of a freedman ,i gathered later1 and this boy was the eldest of his two children1 the other being a girl4 ,the boy told me that the meeting was over1 but that ,caius was with ,paul and his travelling companions in an upper chamber2 he led the way and ,i followed4 ,i felt cold and suspicious1 but curious4 ,the boy drew back the curtain1 whispered my name1 and ,i went into the warmly-lighted room4 ,seated by the brazier was a thick-set1 crook-backed man1 ugly and mean1 with a small head1 much too small for his shoulders1 a sallow skin and thick beard4 ,as ,i entered he lifted his face2 the eyebrows met above the beaky nose1 and he regarded me for a moment in complete silence4 ,the eyes were piercing1 as though full of smouldering fires4 ,they seemed to explore the most secret recesses of my soul2 then to grow kinder1 as if recognising something in it4 ,peace be with you1 and light1 and understanding1 he said2 and as he spoke there seemed to me a hesitation and an embarrassment in his manner4 ,i murmured something in reply1 at which1 perhaps1 a slight smile broke about his lips1 and he turned away4 ,caius brought me the manuscript which ,i had looked at1 gave me a chair in a warm corner by a lamp1 and went back to the others4 ,i began to read4 ,four men1 besides ,caius1 and a woman were gathered at a table by ,paul4 ,one of the men was holding a pen4 ,then the voice of ,paul broke the silence4 ,for the law of the spirit of life in ,christ ,jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death4 ,for what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh1 ,god sending his own ,son in the likeness of sinful flesh1 and for sin1 condemned sin in the flesh4 ,that the ordinance of the law might be fulfilled in us1 who walk not after the flesh1 but after the spirit4 ,for they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh2 but they that are after the spirit1 the things of the spirit4 ,for the mind of the flesh is death2 but the mind of the spirit is life and peace4444 ,and if ,christ is in you1 the body is dead because of sin1 but the spirit is life because of righteousness4 ,holding the manuscript on my knees1 ,i listened4 ,the passion of the speaker seized and held me2 he was like one so full of speech as to be inarticulate1 he seemed to falter through many phrases until he found the right one2 he would go on blindly1 following the mere impulse of his mind1 without thought or reason1 until at last1 as with pain1 words came to him that seemed to touch the heart1 to illuminate hidden places1 and what had gone before was transfused and crystallised by it into a kind of rude and imperfect unity4 ,sometimes after one of these magnificent utterances1 he would give forth phrase after phrase1 that glowed with the heat of his own certainty4 ,who shall separate us from the love of ,christ8 shall tribulation1 or anguish1 or persecution1 or famine1 or nakedness1 or peril1 or the sword8 ,he dealt with speech as one dealing with iron in the fire1 hammering out the words4 ,nay1 in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us4 ,for ,i am persuaded that neither death nor life1 nor angels1 nor principalities1 nor things present1 nor things to come1 nor powers1 nor height1 nor depth1 nor any other creature1 shall be able to separate us from the love of ,god1 which is in ,christ ,jesus1 our ,lord4 ,he was persuaded4 ,seeing that they had forgotten me1 ,i lifted my eyes and studied him as he spoke4 ,i saw that his health was bad2 the carriage of his head seemed epileptic1 but bodily health was nothing to him2 he seemed worn with travel and hunger1 misfortune and persecution1 yet the fire of his speech showed the strength of his conviction2 even as1 in his words1 he seemed to thrust the world away from him for the sake of an idea1 so1 for the sake of an idea he had thrust away his infirmities1 and pursued his way heedless of obstacles4 ,shall the thing formed say to him that formed it4 ,why didst thou make me thus8 ,or1 hath not the potter a right over the clay1 from the same lump to make one part a vessel unto honour1 and another unto dishonour8 ,sometimes ,paul moved a little1 with nervous half-conscious movements2 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 distorted4 ,as a rule he spoke slowly1 but when he became dominated by his thought the words hurried1 more and more quickly1 until the writer paused1 perplexed1 and1 not without a slight gesture of impatience followed by a swifter smile as if of encouragement1 ,paul would repeat himself2 sometimes losing the thread of his discourse4 ,indeed1 from what ,i learned of his life1 it seemed that it was his fate to be thwarted and hindered by material restrictions1 of health1 of liberty1 of speech4 ,no vessel was capable of sustaining the flame that burned in him4 ,i could not understand all that he said1 as ,i knew nothing of what was behind2 but here and there his words burnt into my brain4 ,the man who had been writing stopped1 stretched his cramped fingers2 and ,paul motioned another to his place3 ,abhor that which is evil1 cleave to that which is good4 ,in love of the brethren be tenderly affectioned one to another4444 patient in tribulation1 continuing steadfastly in prayer1 communicating to the necessities of the saints1 given to hospitality4 ,bless them that persecute you2 bless1 and curse not4 ,rejoice with them that rejoice2 weep with them that weep4444 ,be not wise in your own conceits4 ,render unto no man evil for evil4444 ,let every soul be in subjection to the higher powers3 for there is no power but of ,god2 and the powers that be are ordained of ,god4 ,i had sat listening to these words of conviction until ,i felt numbed1 yet ,i was not satisfied4 ,paul also seemed to weary for a minute4 ,the word love that seemed to contain all their mystical creed fell again from his lips3 ,thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself2 ,love worketh no ill to his neighbour2 ,love therefore is the fulfilment of the law2 and this knowing the season1 that now it is high time for you to awake out of sleep4 ,he ceased1 rose and walked to the window1 drew back the curtain1 and leaned out as if to cool his head4 ,the sky was grey with dawn4 ,from the streets below came drunken voices of men and women1 singing ribald songs2 and presently ,i heard the tramp of the armed guard4 ,for a moment ,paul leaned there4 ,the night is far spent1 he said1 and the day is at hand2 therefore let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armour of light4 ,let us walk honestly1 as in the day2 not in revelling and drunkenness1 not in chambering and wantonness1 not in strife and jealousy4 ,but put ye on the ,lord ,jesus ,christ1 and make not provision for the flesh to fulfil the lusts thereof4 ,he ceased1 drew the curtain to again1 and came towards me4 ,through his incredible ugliness there shone a majesty of power1 fascinating1 enchanting1 wooing me with its strength and flame-like intensity4 ,his hands were cold from the ledge of the window1 and as they took mine a thrill ran through me4 ,the other men looked at us quietly1 as if they were conscious of some crisis1 and of some antagonism between us4 ,paul looked at the manuscript upon my knees1 and smiled4 ,what are my words to you8 he asked4 ,i have also thought of these things1 ,i answered him4 ,yes2 it is not the thinking of them that is strange1 but what do they mean to you8 ,what does our law mean to you8 ,what does our mystery mean to you8 ,nothing4 ,you are given over to vain imaginations1 the conceits of the mind4 ,you have no humility1 no faith4 ,your great possessions have turned your mind4 ,until the blow fell upon you1 you had imagined that you were secure through life4 ,you have put your trust in perishable things1 and they have fallen through your fingers like water1 like dry sand4 ,what have you left sacred in the world8 ,your wisdom has made a desert about you1 a desert where there is no ,god4 ,what have you to hope8 ,it was as if he mocked me1 pitied me1 understood me4 ,he made me cold toward him2 and at the same time my sorrow flooded me4 ,what is my trouble to you8 ,i can bear it alone1 ,i said harshly4 ,the things which you have written ,i have read in our own philosophers4 ,you have found nothing else in me which was not in them8 ,nothing4 ,a gloom spread over his face1 the light which had illuminated it died out1 leaving only the smouldering fires of his eyes1 which burned dimly4 ,he dropped my hands4 ,the others turned away their eyes and shifted uneasily4 ,there is he in whose name ,i speak4 ,the love of ,christ constrained me4 ,i sat frowning1 without comprehension4 ,it is not yet time1 he continued sadly4 ,one must have patience1 exceeding patience4 ,you do not understand what we teach concerning ,christ1 who is the ,son of ,god4 ,yet you came to us willingly2 you1 a ,roman1 came and took the hand of a ,jew1 whose touch1 to your fellows1 is contamination2 and1 in my pride ,i said3 ,lo6 ,i have triumphed over the wisdom of the ,gentile4 ,it is through ,god's grace only that ,i am called to be an apostle to men4 ,it is through his grace alone that you will be saved2 for you will come again4 ,tell me that you will come again4 ,i shall come again1 ,i said simply2 the curious anxiety of his words troubled me vaguely4 ,i felt a profound pity for this man1 to whom even a stranger was a brother4 ,i rose and took my cloak2 as ,i passed out each gave me a salutation1 the salutation of peace4 ,outside it was dawn4 ,the lupanars were giving up their dead1 some sailors and devotees of the great goddess were already congregating in the wine-shops4 ,muffled as ,i was in my great coarse cloak they suspected me of being one of the ,roman soldiers1 and none spoke to me or offered me insult4 ,i did not heed them but passed along the quays1 looking at ,acrocorinth towering like ,eryx1 that other home of the sea-born and lure for sailors1 into the infinite blue of a cloudless sky4 ,wreaths of vapour cloaked its lower reaches1 and it seemed like a great dome suspended in the air4 ,on the other side laughed the wide sea in multitudinous ripples of light4 ,it all seemed to reflect some childish half-conscious gaiety of my soul4 ,my sorrow still lay there1 but comforted with human sympathy1 and the two mystical gifts of the ,christians1 peace and love4 99 99 99 99 99 ,it was only after ,i had escaped from the enchantment of his presence that ,i was able to understand the aims and ambitions of ,paul1 as he showed them in the letter which he had dictated that night1 and which was to be copied and sent to all the communities that had come together in ,greece1 ,asia and ,italy4 ,his aim was principally to abolish the restrictions which hampered conversion into his faith1 rites of the ,jews1 circumcision1 the use of certain meats which they had considered unclean1 and the huge body of formul and observances1 which had grown and developed out of casuistry and the old ,hebrew law2 but beyond and above that he wished them to propitiate the civil power4 ,when he spoke of the abolition of the law he meant those rites and ceremonies which seemed a profanation of1 a bartering with1 the divinity4 ,he felt that his mission was not to the ,jews alone1 but to all the nations of the world4 ,in this he was opposed by the more rigid ,christians at ,jerusalem1 who held that circumcision was necessary1 and that only a ,jew could be saved4 ,one of the most rigid adherents of this narrower sect was a brother of ,christ1 who seemed to pass his whole life in the ,temple1 praying and fasting4 ,paul was often bitter against this sect4 ,yet it was out of that same kind of formalism that he himself had sprung2 and he seldom lost traces of it1 except in a few isolated moments1 when love and indignation burnt him up4 ,i went among these ,christians again and again2 and each time became more fascinated by their hidden1 gentle lives4 ,a very intimate tie bound ,caius to ,paul1 for ,paul had initiated him into their mysteries1 which were1 ,i imagine1 the same as in other religions1 a purification and a mystic meal4 ,caius was a man of considerable power1 but of immense reserve1 from whom ,i learnt very little4 ,paul was a fanatic1 impatient of the opposition to his teaching at ,jerusalem4 ,sometimes in anger he would satirise his opponents and the rite of circumcision with a bitter and sardonic humour4 ,he was honey to those he loved1 gall to those who withstood him4 ,the community in ,corinth having fallen back during his absence into a moral laxity1 almost excusable considering their environment1 he withdrew them from all social intercourse with their fellow-citizens4 ,they obeyed because they loved1 but more1 because they feared him4 ,before his conversion he had persecuted the ,christians to turn them from their faith2 afterwards he persecuted them to keep them in it4 ,i learned the story of his conversion4 ,it had its origin in the death of one called ,stephen1 who had been accused before the ,jewish ,collegium of blasphemy2 a frivolous pretext for the punishment of one's opponents which had obtained everywhere but in ,rome4 ,as you know1 the law of the ,empire is that no one shall be punished with death except by a ,roman court1 and only when he has been convicted of specified crimes2 for the spirit of ,roman usage has always been1 in the words of ,tiberius1 that the injuries of the gods are the gods' affair4 ,stephen1 after an argument with his accusers1 suddenly cried out with a loud voice3 ,behold1 ,i see the heavens opened1 and the ,son of ,man standing at the right hand of ,god4 ,with one accord his exasperated enemies stripped off their cloaks and laid them at the feet of ,paul1 who took charge of them2 and they stoned ,stephen1 ,paul consenting to his death4 ,even at the time1 perhaps1 standing aside and taking no part in the murder1 ,paul's conscience may have reproved him4 ,in any case the incident assumed1 afterwards1 an enormous importance for him4 ,he could not speak of it without emotion4 ,perhaps also he feared that he might be accused to the ,roman authorities for his part in the riot4 ,his mind became abnormally excited4 ,some days afterwards he set out for ,damascus to bring up some more ,christians to ,jerusalem1 to be tried by the same barbarous assembly4 ,suddenly at noon he saw a blinding light1 and he fell to the ground4 ,a voice called to him out of the sky4 ,according to some accounts the voice uttered a phrase from ,euripides3 it is hard for thee to kick against the goads4 ,the phrase had passed into current use4 ,however strange it may seem that a voice from heaven should have uttered these words1 it is perfectly natural that ,paul should have heard them2 he must have heard them before1 many times4 ,but what goads were meant8 ,the pricks of conscience1 perhaps1 for his share in the murder of ,stephen2 some secret remorse1 against which he had steeled his heart1 in the hope that time and use would cure it4 ,such was the conversion of ,paul4 ,his nature had suffered no change from it2 he had merely found a new aim for his life1 and the same zeal1 which he had used in his persecution of the ,christians1 he now asserted in their cause4 ,to himself this incident of his conversion seemed unnatural1 miraculous2 but to us it is simple1 and easily explained1 being merely a repetition of ,stephen's vision4 ,as ,i have already written1 he was of delicate health2 some nervous1 constitutional weakness affected him2 epilepsy1 perhaps1 or something akin to it4 ,his accounts of what happened varied2 for he seemed to have told the story in different ways to different people4 ,in one account1 those who were with him heard the voice1 but did not see the light2 and in another version they saw the light1 but did not hear the voice4 ,paul himself had not known ,christ in the flesh4 ,he knew little of him1 except that he had been born1 had gathered about him a group of disciples1 had preached1 and had died on the cross4 ,his mind therefore could fashion no clear image in the vision4 ,he could only see a light and hear familiar words4 ,he himself always treated this vision of the risen ,master as distinct from the visions which had been manifested to the other disciples1 as a purely spiritual manifestation3 and lastly1 he said1 ,he appeared to me as to an abortion4 ,what does he mean by this phrase8 ,does it mean that ,paul's spiritual birth was effected by violence1 prematurely2 that it was precipitated by the murder of ,stephen8 ,is it remorse for ,stephen's death that forces him to apply this hideous epithet to himself2 or is it a reference to the lack of definite1 sensible impressions2 or to the fact of the lateness of his conversion2 or merely a scornful reference to his own physical deformities8 ,he was accustomed to speak with a bitter mockery of his infirmities1 yet1 it seemed also1 with a little pride4 ,he mentioned in the letter1 which ,caius showed me1 that he had prayed for the removal of some physical disability1 but the prayer had not been granted4 ,the fragility of his vision was even used by his opponents1 the small sect practising poverty at ,jerusalem1 among whom was the brother of their ,master1 as a ground for denying his mission4 ,one is almost tempted to agree with them4 ,the evidence is vague1 the accounts vary4 ,we may wonder into what form these floating legends will crystallise1 if the community endures and increases2 if they will ever form a complete unity1 like the myths of ,orpheus and ,dionysos4 ,there are some who imagine that ,christianity is but one of the many features of the new social movement1 which was ,gallio's opinion2 but ,i cannot think so1 for the reason that the ,christians believe in the rapidly approaching end of the world4 ,they believe that their ,master1 who was crucified1 will return1 even before his own generation has passed away1 to judge the world4 ,it is the cardinal point of their teaching4 ,any definite social reconstruction is consequently outside their aims2 but the organisation of their communities1 in so far as it can be called an organisation1 resembles rather closely our popular funerary societies1 which have always been looked upon with suspicion by the authorities4 ,paul's exhortation to his community to be in subjection to the higher powers1 was written with the intention of guarding against any outbreak which might prejudice the powers that be1 and are ordained of ,god1 against the communities1 who seek only to be left to the peace of their quiet lives and the practice of their cult4 ,they are a little humble folk for the most part1 except where there are ,jews among them1 and then arises the question of the tribute money2 whether it be lawful to pay it8 ,that is the only cause which may put them in conflict with the authorities4 ,but there is a graver danger to the friends of ,paul4 ,they are for the most part humble artisans1 followers of the lowest trades1 mendicants1 and cheap hawkers2 despised by all classes1 they are at once despised1 hated1 and feared1 by the class immediately above them1 with whom they must necessarily enter into competition where the dividing line is faint1 or barely drawn at all4 ,beside this natural jealousy of an alien competition1 there is the sense of distrust which the secrecy of their lives breeds in the minds of the citizens4 ,people invariably suspect a man who leads a retired life1 either of some shameful practices1 or of a guilty past4 ,yet suspicion and persecution do not suffice to turn this little community out of the way they have chosen4 ,after the day is over1 they meet together1 as one family1 in some dimly-lit room1 and greet each other with peace and love4 ,it is time to awake out of sleep1 they say2 the hour approaches1 the ,lord cometh4 ,that is their whole life1 they have no active part in the great revolutionary social movement of slaves and freedom1 they sit with folded hands1 patiently1 awaiting the coming of their ,lord1 who shall judge the world1 and end it4 ,moving among them1 taking part almost in their daily life1 a life removed and hidden from the world1 how could ,i blame them8 ,their credulity even seemed sacred to me1 it was so fragile a thing1 of such delicate and exquisite growth1 a desire which has lain always close to the heart of man4 ,for me1 beyond the flaming walls of the world sit the deathless gods in their quiet seats1 peace flooding their hearts2 and no sound of mortal anguish ascends to them1 but they sit ever in their halls shining with silver and glittering with gold1 and the lovely lyre makes an immortal music about them1 and wine gladdens the feast1 and the rhythmic motion of the dancing choirs2 but for these poor artisans of ,corinth the god is a companion by the way1 they love to speak of him under homely words1 he is the vine-dresser1 the grafter of olives1 the sower2 he carries into their sordid lives the peace of wide skies and tranquil waters1 he is the shepherd who tends his flock and leads them into pleasant pastures4 ,yes1 behind ,paul1 the man of fire1 whose life was an odyssey1 full of arduous endeavour and storm1 was another figure1 a figure of singular beauty1 before whom even the fire of ,paul's ardour flickered and was tamed1 the ,christ whom man had crucified1 and who had redeemed man from sin and death4 ,they seemed to have fashioned him out of their own weary lives1 their blood and tears2 he had pity on their suffering1 and suffered for them2 he had mercy on their sin1 and took it upon himself1 they could bear all for his sake who had borne all for theirs2 he had revealed to them sympathy and love4 ,the great central points of their teaching meant nothing to me4 ,the promise for me was void2 but the conditions of the promise1 there was the charm4 ,sometimes ,i think that if ,i could have put away from me all my philosophical preoccupations1 ,i would willingly have left everything ,i possessed1 for the sake of that peace1 that security1 that trust in something outside ourselves1 which is infinitely wise1 infinitely merciful1 infinitely loving4 ,but faith1 belief1 is not an act of volition1 it is the spiritual nature2 it is the possession of children and of simple folk4 ,to those who have looked into the nature of things1 who with ,epicurus see man as only the momentary grouping together of a substance essentially transient and mutable1 life itself is the end1 a life of fine appreciations1 retirement1 and leisure1 and a death that has no awakening4 ,we1 too1 love our neighbour2 we1 too1 have charity toward the bruised and broken lives about us2 we1 too1 recommend all men to hide their lives1 to be moderate1 to abhor that which is evil and cling to that which is good4 ,we are ,christians without ,christ4 ,my own grief was still with me1 but a serene and hopeless resignation had taken the place of despair4 ,the memory of ,drusilla and my child haunted my waking moments1 and daily thoughts1 like vain phantoms escaped for a brief moment from the shadowy realm of fabled ,proserpina4 ,the past was part of my consciousness2 as it is1 ,i suppose of every man4 ,i began again to frequent the ,prefect's palace1 to listen to his mellow wisdom which he cloaked in laughing phrase1 as we passed easily from one subject to another without exhausting any4 ,seneca's raillery was dull beside his brother's2 ,seneca laughed at women and the comedy of manners1 to ,gallio nothing was sacred1 not even his philosophic brother4 ,at the same time ,i still continued to frequent the house of ,caius1 and the society of the ,christians4 ,it placed me in an anomalous position1 and one day ,gallio said laughingly that a friend had accused me of assisting at the secret rites and orgies of the ,christians1 but that he had replied ,i was more likely to frequent the pretty daughter of ,caius4 ,then ,i remembered the daughter of ,caius1 a young girl of extraordinary beauty1 with a perverse expression1 blonde hair1 and eyes like a cat1 that watched every movement with a stealthy curiosity4 ,she seemed lonely and out of place in that house of austere gravity4 ,she is already famous as a beauty1 said ,gallio4 ,i go there on business1 ,i said with a smile1 and willing to let him believe what he would2 and1 ,i added1 after a moment's thought3 she is charming4 ,gallio laughed1 and then changed his tone quickly4 ,i do not advise you to frequent that quarter of our delightful town1 he said4 ,it is the haunt of the worst characters in ,corinth1 thieves1 sorcerers1 and charlatans inhabit it4 ,even the house of ,caius is not free from suspicion2 it is said that some of our ladies go there for love-potions1 or for other purposes4 ,i was thinking1 and did not reply to the innuendo4 ,gallio watched me for a moment curiously1 in silence4 ,i did not speak4 ,i have bought a little masterpiece1 a painting by ,parrhasios of the triumph of ,bacchus4 ,come and see it2 it only arrived from ,athens this morning4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the next time ,i visited the house of ,caius ,i spoke to ,paul of what ,gallio's suspicions were2 a sullen glow filled his eyes4 ,it is no new thing1 he said2 on every side we are looked upon with suspicion and distrust2 we are poor1 and live cheek by jowl with the evil things of life1 and therefore we are also evil4 ,the rich1 and those in high places trample upon us2 yet we shall be justified4 ,pride filled him4 ,in a little time you go away to ,rome1 and ,i to ,jerusalem to carry alms to the saints there1 whom the ,jews persecute4 ,we are like two travellers1 who have met together in an inn1 and spoken of their travels2 but at dawn they separate and go their several ways4 ,shall we meet again8 ,you are not one of us1 but perchance ,god will lead you to us4 ,be humble2 put away all vain imaginings of the mind2 love all things2 suffer all things4 ,he gazed at me sadly for a time4 ,if you would but close your eyes and put out your hand trustfully1 ,god would lead you through the darkness4 ,you are almost of us2 and yet you are not of us4 ,there is a barrier which you cannot pass3 you cannot believe4 ,then1 again1 after a moment's pause4 ,you must not come here again4 ,he rose and left me4 ,the last time ,i saw that small1 bald head poised upon the huge misshapen shoulder was when they were framed in the doorway2 then the curtain fell and he had gone4 ,i sat a little while1 almost sorrowful4 ,then a small1 delicate hand was slid into mine1 and ,i heard a soft voice whispering3 ,you are going away4 ,take me with you4 ,it was the daughter of ,caius1 she clung to me and gazed appealingly at me out of her precocious eyes4 ,take me away with you1 she repeated4 ,i shall do anything for you2 only take me away1 take me away4 ,i cannot stay here4 ,it will kill me4 ,they are so good and ,i am wicked2 yes1 ,i am very wicked4 ,some one told me ,i was beautiful1 and it pleased me4 ,i want to go with you4 ,i am wicked4 ,i want people to see that ,i am beautiful4444 99 99 99 99 99 ,serenus began to roll up his manuscript4 ,it is too dark to read the rest4 ,but now you know the ,christians4 ,what do you think of them8 ,i think as ,i have always thought1 said ,rufus2 all ,jews are alike4 ,they are the enemies of the human race2 their religion is one of despair1 and they do not hope to find salvation in this world4 ,the ,east is the home of all credulity and superstition4 ,come to dinner and let us arrange to do something to-morrow4 ,a hunt8 ,what happened to the girl8 enquired ,marcus1 stretching himself slowly4 ,serenus looked over the sea1 toward the fishing-boats1 each of which showed a light4 ,go down to the house1 both of you1 and bathe4 ,i shall follow presently4 ,we shall dine sumptuously to-night2 and1 yes1 to-morrow we shall hunt4 ,it will pass the time4 ,they left him4 ,for a little while he sat watching the lights out at sea1 the spires of mist wreathing above the olives1 the dance of fire-flies over the sloping lawn4 ,he sat motionless for some time2 then he rose1 and sighed4 ,a little pleasure1 and then darkness and silence1 he said4 ,he began to walk slowly toward the house4 ,a path below him echoed with the sound of footsteps and voices2 looking through the low branches he thought that he discovered in the uncertain light the figure and features of ,paul1 surrounded by the slaves of the household4 ---------------------------------------- -------------------------------- ,,to ,,mrs ,c4 ,b4 ,,fairfax ,,iv ,,the ,,jesters ,,of ,,the ,,lord ---------------------------------------- -------------------------------- ,,iv ,,the ,,jesters ,,of ,,the ,,lord ,the fountain rose into the sunlight singing1 broke flowering a moment1 and fell with a chime of sweetness into the basin4 ,francis looked at it with delight4 ,the fine mist of spray drifting from it made a little rainbow in the court-yard4 ,all things praise the ,lord1 he said2 but the voice of our sister the water is clearest4 ,she never ceases from her song through the hot day1 and all night she sings1 from evening until dawn4 ,he gazed at it with the serene pleasure of a child4 ,in the shadow of the great curtain-wall his companions walked up and down1 gesticulating1 suddenly vivacious and then as suddenly mute4 ,a little group separated from the others stood in the arch of the gateway overlooking ,rome4 ,cool1 dark cypresses showed here and there among the bell-towers and fortifications2 and over all the broken lines of roof and belfry wandered the liquid sunlight1 diversifying the colours of the tiles through a myriad gradations from dusky copper to pale gold1 and ending now and again in a sudden angle of deep gloom4 ,yet ,francis saw nothing but the water rising into the clear light4 ,beautiful thou art1 and humble1 and chaste1 and very precious to us1 he said4 ,of all ,god's creatures thou art the most perfect1 delighting in his service1 praising him for the light of the sun1 and the sweet air1 as ,i praise him for thee1 ,o sister water6 ,he dipped his hand into the basin1 and cool ripples were woven about his long1 thin fingers4 ,these also are ,god's creatures1 he said2 the shy fish who come and go mysteriously among the stems of the lilies4 ,they move obscurely through the dim ways1 and no man wonders at them2 yet none of ,arthur's knights were arrayed in such golden mail4 ,and taking a piece of dry bread1 which a beggar had given him1 he broke it into small crumbs1 and strewed them upon the surface of the water2 and the fish came out from between the stems of the lilies1 and nibbled at the crumbs as the ripples moved them2 but the crust of bread ,francis ate himself1 and having eaten he drank a little water out of the palm of his hand1 and spoke again4 ,little fish1 he said1 those knights of ,arthur's court1 who were mailed in glittering armour1 had each one his lady1 whom he served in all things2 and no one of them meddled with the lady of another1 because as yet evil had not entered into their hearts2 but they went through the world succouring the afflicted1 and the innocent1 and the oppressed2 and doing all manner of wonderful deeds1 being valiant men and strong1 for the glory of ,god1 and the great honour of the lady whose livery they wore4 ,and the ladies1 whom they served in all honourable ways1 were fair and pleasant to look upon1 and moreover they were well-clad1 having each her golden ornaments1 and jewels1 and kerchiefs of lawn1 and fine cloth of ,ypres2 yea6 having all things desirable about them1 soft raiment1 and dainty food1 and wide houses full of tapestries of ,arras1 with a gallery for the musicians4 ,but because of the luxury of their lives1 and the folly which ever prompts the soul of man to evil1 they fell into sin1 and no virtue remained in them4 ,little fish1 ,i am a knight of ,god2 and ,i have chosen for my lady one beyond all mortal women4 ,she hath neither fine raiment1 nor gold1 nor jewels2 neither a covering for her head1 nor shoes for her feet2 neither land nor castles2 nay6 not so much as a shelter against the ravening beasts2 nor do her serving-men bring her delicate meats in vessels of gold and silver1 nor do musicians play to her upon viols or psalteries1 nor hath she any treasure hidden in the ground4 ,she goeth from door to door1 begging her bread through every city of the populous earth2 and the porters drive her from the gate with blows2 and the children mock her in the streets for being old1 and lean1 and ill-favoured2 and the dogs snarl at her heels4 ,yet all these things she endures patiently1 nor complains that men revile her1 for ,god hath put much comfort in her heart4 ,i1 also1 little brother ,francis1 in my youth reviled her2 for it was then my pleasure to live sumptuously1 to wear rich apparel1 and to pass my days with music and feasting2 but when she revealed herself to me ,i was overcome by her exceeding great beauty1 and ,i lamented that ,i had not followed after her all my days4 ,alas6 it is the wickedness of men that shows her as a vile and despicable thing2 for having nothing she possesses all things4 ,god hath clothed her with virtues more precious than rubies2 he hath given her the wide earth and all the pleasant ways thereof to be her home2 he hath commanded the beasts that they do her no hurt3 nay6 they are serviceable to her and fawn about her feet2 and ,god himself ministers to her1 feeding her as he feeds the birds of the air and the fish of the sea1 and sweetening her food1 so that if it be but a dry crust it savours most excellently to her1 even as honey and manna in the mouth4 ,such is the excellence of my ,lady ,poverty1 with whom ,i shall always keep faith in this life4 ,little fish1 ,god hath given you the cool water to inhabit2 and he hath clad you in golden mail1 delightful to the eyes of men2 and when all the birds and beasts and creeping things entered into the ,ark1 he preserved you in a safe refuge beneath the tumult of the waters3 yea6 of all things1 which went not in with ,noah1 he preserved you in your multitudes though all else perished4 ,little fish1 ,i praise the ,lord for you1 because he hath made you beautiful1 and shown you infinite mercies4 ,but the fish1 having eaten all the crumbs1 swam back among the stems of the lilies1 and hung poised there in the shadowy waters1 with undulating motions1 waving their delicate fins1 and opening and shutting their mouths4 ,francis considered them for a moment4 ,little fish1 he said1 perchance it is the way that you praise the ,lord1 being dumb and without reason2 but men1 to whom ,god hath given such excellent gifts as speech and reason1 have turned from him4 ,i would that they also might learn to praise him with great simplicity and joy in their hearts4 ,he looked toward the gateway through which he saw the roofs and towers of ,rome1 the city which had not accepted him1 inhospitable1 gay1 given over to the lusts of the flesh1 the desire of the eyes1 hungering passionately after the tangible but transient pleasures of this delightful world2 a new ,jerusalem1 as stubborn and hard-hearted as the old1 but1 like that1 too1 a chosen city of ,god1 in which he had elected to dwell and have his abiding place4 ,tears suffused his face as he looked at it lying there calm and golden in the sunlight4 ,i have not known how to draw them to me1 he said4 ,surely they would have followed after me if ,i had spoken to them more joyfully4 ,a little thing delights them1 and they will flock to see a dancer1 a juggler1 a jester6 ,we must become the jesters of ,god1 amusing the hearts of men and leading them toward spiritual joys4 ,a bell struck1 and was answered from all the towers of ,rome1 until the air pulsed with vibrations as if with a multitude of beating wings4 ,francis moved slowly away toward the new buildings of the ,lateran4 ,those of his companions who were pacing up and down in the cool shadow of the wall suddenly stopped and pointed to him4 ,look6 ,look6 they cried4 ,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 colours4 ,the sound of the bell still trembling in the air1 and the sudden iridescence of spray in the sunlight1 was to them a revelation4 ,hearing their voices raised ,francis went toward them4 ,what is it1 my brothers8 he asked of them4 ,they received him almost with adoration4 ,we saw you troubled1 and in thought1 answered ,brother ,egidio2 and then1 suddenly1 as the bells ceased1 we saw a glory shine about you1 and heard a great beating of wings4 ,but ,francis remembering the doubts which had afflicted him a moment before1 cast himself at the feet of ,brother ,egidio4 ,i command you1 in the name of holy obedience1 that when ,i return you say to me3 ,francis1 son of ,pietro ,bernardone1 because of your doubt you are contemptible1 and in no wise deserving of ,god's mercy4 ,then1 rising1 he went toward the palace with a serene countenance4 ,having watched ,francis enter into the palace1 the eleven companions continued to pace up and down in the cool shadow of the wall1 and to discourse to each other upon grave matters4 ,how is it1 ,brother ,bernard1 said ,egidio1 that astrologers are able to foretell all things that will happen to a man in his journey through life8 ,it is in this wise1 said ,brother ,bernard1 who had all the wisdom of the schools1 the earth is the centre of the universe1 which consists of a number of concentric spheres1 all turning1 as it were1 upon the axle of the earth2 the first is the sphere of the elements1 which is enclosed by the sphere of the moon2 beyond these1 in order1 circle the six spheres of ,mercury1 ,venus1 the ,sun1 ,mars1 ,jupiter and ,saturn1 all turning about the earth2 the next sphere is that wherein the fixed stars are set like jewels1 and beyond that is the ,primum ,mobile1 whence motion is born and governed4 ,last of all is the ,empyrean1 and there in a blaze of light ,god sits enthroned1 and all the spheres make a celestial music about his feet4 ,now it is from the order and motion of these spheres that astrologers get that devilish wisdom whereby they are enabled to foretell the future4 ,for each one of the spheres is governed by a distinct angelical company1 who influence all things under their control2 so that1 having ascertained the nature of such angels as control the sphere of any particular planet1 we are enabled to judge of the nature and disposition of any mortal born under their influence2 thus it happens that those who are been under ,mercury are of an alert and capricious disposition1 and may be given to thieving2 while those who are born under ,venus are lewd and wanton in their motions1 given over to the lusts of the flesh2 and those influenced by ,mars will be great warriors1 men of mettle1 hot-tempered1 and quick to shed blood4 ,moreover1 by the conjunctions and opposition of planets1 by comets and portents in the sky1 those skilled in the signs are even able to foretell whether a man shall die in his youth with all his sins heavy upon him1 or in old age when his flagging pulses have made him less prone to sin and warned him to repentance2 and we may see men1 to whom astrologers have predicted a long life1 pursuing a course of infamy well on into their old age1 for they know that there is time left for repentance1 whereby they may yet save their souls4 ,such is the lamentable wisdom1 which came to us through the transgression of ,adam4 ,they continued in silence a little way1 pondering these things2 and then ,bernard spoke again4 ,in all things1 he said1 we may read the infinite mercies and wisdom of ,god4 ,for even as he has made the earth the centre of the universe1 so he has made man the centre of all created things4 ,round the throne of ,god are the ,seraphim and ,cherubim singing ,his eternal praise1 and next to them are the ,thrones1 who carry the orders of ,god unto the ,dominations4 ,these last are the mighty powers who held back the sun and moon in their courses1 at the prayer of ,joshua2 and they inhabit the ,primum ,mobile1 whence all the planets are moved from east to west4 ,beneath these1 are the ,virtues and ,powers1 ruling the planetary spheres2 and finally come the three orders of ,princedoms1 ,archangels1 and ,angels2 and to each ,angel is given the guidance of one soul4 ,now in this order ,i have followed the teaching of ,dionysius rather than of ,gregory1 since the former was the pupil of ,st ,paul1 and therefore of greater authority4 ,many rebellious angels1 driven out with ,lucifer1 and the host who writhe in ,hell beneath our feet1 making the earth tremble1 inhabit the sphere of the elements1 and ride upon all storms1 ruling the thunder and lightning1 and opening the flood-gates1 and loosening the tempests of hail2 and ,god hath given them power over the wicked to lead them to destruction1 but1 before the prayers of the holy1 their power is only an empty noise4 ,how little is the worth of man6 ,yet all these immortal spirits are concerned in his salvation4 ,and ,god hath set ,jerusalem in the centre of earth's habitable hemisphere1 so that from there the means of salvation might radiate into all countries1 and gather up all peoples4 ,and yet again is man the centre of created things1 for ,god hath made him lord and master of the earth1 and of all the birds and beasts therein2 though1 indeed1 when he fell from ,paradise in the person of ,adam1 he decreased in excellence and became subject to sin and death4 ,and for how long a time1 enquired one of the younger brethren1 was ,adam in ,paradise8 ,for little more than six hours1 answered ,bernard1 with assurance4 ,it was a very short time1 said the brother simply4 ,but ,egidio was troubled2 he touched ,bernard upon the arm4 ,beware1 little sheep of the ,lord1 he said gently1 lest thy great learning make thee mad1 and turn to pride in thy heart4 ,,ii ,as the ,cardinal ,giovanni di ,san ,paolo entered the audience1 the ,pope was dictating a letter to his secretary4 ,he spoke in a low1 clear voice1 so clear that it was audible at the end of the long room4 ,among all the princes of the earth1 said ,innocent1 we have always cherished with a particular affection your own person2 and the more so since the kingdom which you have inherited is1 by the will of your predecessors1 subject and tributary to the ,roman ,church4 ,therefore redeem the promise of your father liberally and without delay4 ,your eternal salvation will be the better assured1 and there will be added to it even such temporal benefits as the apostolic protection is able to secure4 ,in acting otherwise you would offend the ,creator4 ,he chastiseth those who do evil unto his ,church1 but more particularly those who detain unjustly the wealth of ,st ,peter4 ,he motioned the ,cardinal toward him1 and taking half a lemon squeezed it into a cup and drank it4 ,he had a youthful but rather fleshy face1 at once legal and military in its character4 ,the features were fine1 with a distinctly ,roman nobility3 a long narrow nose1 almost straight except where it jutted slightly from the brows2 fine lustrous eyes1 set a little too close together2 a small mouth1 with thin1 rather drooping lips1 and a double chin4 ,the well-chiselled nostrils dilated sensitively from time to time1 otherwise the whole face was calm1 impassive1 hieratic4 ,he began1 without any prelude1 to speak to the ,cardinal of their business4 ,i have spoken to many of the cardinals about these penitents of ,assisi4 ,their opinion is that the rule is too severe1 and such an ideal beyond all human strength4 ,your ,holiness1 ,i have also urged this view upon ,francis1 but1 in the simplicity of his heart1 he replies that his rule is taken from the ,gospels3 ',if thou wilt be perfect1 go and sell that thou hast1 and give to the poor1 and follow me4 ,take nothing for your journey1 neither staff1 nor scrip1 nor shoes1 nor money4 ,if any man will come after me1 let him deny himself1 and take up his cross and follow me4' ,they have vowed to follow this ideal of evangelical perfection4 ,how can we withstand them before the world8 ,my heart has been moved towards them1 answered ,innocent4 ,i do not mistrust their piety1 nor doubt the grace by which ,god has confirmed them in their design4 ,they may be steadfast until their death2 whereas others coming after may relax the rule1 and their weakness become a fable in the world4 ,i doubt not that the rule will be relaxed1 answered the ,cardinal2 their aim is too vague1 too ideal in many ways3 complete poverty1 complete obedience1 and the preaching of these virtues4 ,and yet1 ,holy ,father1 ,i have been drawn to these men4 ,by them ,i feel that many souls shall be led to ,god4 ,you believe that the rule will be relaxed2 and yet you say that we cannot modify this rule because it consists of definite precepts taken from the ,gospels8 ,your ,holiness1 replied the ,cardinal1 if we say that it is impossible for a man to follow the precepts of ,christ1 we blaspheme4 ,time modifies all things2 and in the meanwhile these men will draw unto themselves a great deal of popular sentiment4 ,they are willing to give us the most absolute obedience1 to be our servants in all things1 provided we approve their desire to live according to the standard of evangelical perfection4 ,surely we should approve their piety4 ,similar efforts have failed1 answered ,innocent4 ,it is two years since ,i approved the mission of ,durando d',huesca1 and for those two years the bishops have not ceased to complain of his followers4 ,this fraternity has a similar constitution4 ,both confess the ,catholic faith2 both desire to give all they have to the poor1 to live themselves in poverty without care for the morrow1 having nothing but their daily bread and a cloak2 both are open to receive lay members among them4 ,the difference is in the spirit of their founders4 ,francis is a poet1 answered the ,cardinal4 ,he is a troubadour1 a vagrant minstrel1 whose lady is ,poverty4 ,his speech is serene1 gay1 charming4 ,he knows how to seize upon simple incidents of daily life1 and use them as parables1 so that the poor and humble can understand2 and all his teaching is full of a lyrical emotion that is penetrated with the love of all things4 ,he burns with the love of ,god1 and this divine flame is so strong in him that it enlightens all the world4 ,there is nothing about him1 no bird1 beast1 fish1 or tree1 which does not seem to him a part of the choir of ,god1 praising the ,lord1 and existing entirely for that praise4 ,beyond these things he is a true son of the ,church4 ,these penitents1 ,holy ,father1 are so simple3 they have faith in some spark of divinity hidden in the soul of man which may be awakened by a breath2 they believe that man can be made to see the beauty of holiness1 and that once he has grasped and recognised this beauty1 as a thing existing in the world about him1 he will follow no more after the beauties of fleshly desires4 ,he bears the mockery of those who think him mad with so much patience that they become ashamed4 ,his simplicity draws folk to him4 ,all these things are indeed admirable1 said ,innocent in his clear1 low speech2 but alas6 how often have the most beautiful ideals led men into abominable heresies and destroyed the peace of the ,church4 ,would that his dream might be realised1 and that all men might seek their salvation through poverty and obedience4 ,but to us1 most ,reverend ,father1 in our character as ,supreme ,pontiff1 there are many responsibilities4 ,we also1 if we might choose1 would choose the one thing necessary2 ,mary's unbounded loving adoration1 in preference to ,martha's many cares4 ,yet we are content4 ,the divine wisdom hath shown us that here also salvation may be gained4 ,we accept our office with humility1 content to be the servant of the servants of ,god4 ,our function is an ungrateful one1 to watch over the welfare of our flock1 and guard them not only from their enemies but from themselves4 ,saintly men have been the cause of mischief in others1 and even the greatest heretics have been men of holy lives4 ,it behoves us1 therefore1 to keep a strict and unceasing watch upon all doctrines taught to the faithful4 ,we cannot tolerate the teaching and exposition of the ,gospels by a preaching fraternity partly composed of lay members4 ,we cannot tolerate any action independent of the bishops4 ,we must insist that each brother receive the tonsure1 and that they choose one from among themselves who will be responsible to us2 and also1 that none shall preach or direct any mission without the consent of the bishop4 ,yet even now ,i am doubtful4 ,perchance this man may be discouraged4 ,it would be better if they entered some existing ,order4 ,he paused1 drank a little more lemon1 and looked keenly at the ,cardinal4 ,bring him to me1 he said4 ,the ,cardinal1 having led ,francis into the room1 stood apart in the embrasure of a window overlooking the courtyard4 ,innocent fixed his eyes steadily upon the little poor man of ,assisi4 ,even at their first meeting he had been struck by the youthful1 almost childish figure1 the small1 round head1 and the pallor of the lean face1 illuminated with its large patient eyes4 ,it was like watching a timid wild thing approaching him4 ,francis walked with slow1 hesitating steps4 ,his knees and fingers were trembling1 his eyes shone with tears1 his face was paler than usual1 but a smile wavered upon it4 ,he did not come in fear1 but shaken with an emotion that was partly hope and partly doubt4 ,he looked toward the seated figure in the chair1 wearing a high tiara of damascened white cloth rising above a simple pointed crown1 and a white pallium with red crosses4 ,he hoped for some sign1 but the ,pope remained inflexible1 his hands laid upon his knees1 his eyes motionless1 a figure of impenetrable reserve2 and ,francis could find no word to say4 ,at last he knelt1 still trembling1 with the tears streaming from his eyes4 ,the ,cardinal moved in the window2 and the slight noise seemed for a moment to give ,francis confidence4 ,father ,pope1 he began simply2 but he could say no more4 ,my son1 said ,innocent at last1 moved by the suffering eyes1 why have you come to us again8 ,father ,pope1 answered ,francis in a sweet1 almost shrill voice1 when you sent me from you1 you did not bid me not to come again4 ,he smiled as he spoke1 very simply1 winningly1 a smile that was almost a caress4 ,some hint of softening in the eyes of the ,pope gave him more confidence4 ,most ,holy ,father1 he began again1 ,i have come to you once more1 because you have not yet granted my request4 ,you are a great person1 whom ,god has exalted above all men1 and ,i think that perhaps you had not time to listen to me1 who am the meanest of ,god's creatures2 so that you did not understand the excellence of that life which the ,lord hath commanded us to follow4 ,or perchance it was that the ,lord wished to try my faith1 and1 lest ,i was over-confident in myself1 to show me that without his will ,i am capable of nothing1 and to humiliate my pride4 ,father ,pope1 ,i think this last is the true reason3 for how could you not see the excellence of the way ,god hath chosen for us1 which is a pattern of the way the disciples themselves followed8 ,and the ,pope1 having no answer to this candour1 sat immobile4 ,it is a little thing that we ask of you1 continued ,francis2 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 ,galilee4 ,my son1 said ,innocent1 search well your heart4 ,is it not pride which makes you think that ,god hath chosen you for this work8 ,and ,francis lowered his head until it touched the floor4 ,why1 continued ,innocent1 should ,god have chosen you among the multitudes of men8 ,and ,francis raised his head again4 ,god looked down upon this earth1 he answered humbly1 and he explored all the ways thereof1 and searched into all the souls of men4 ,and in the whole earth he found no man so poor in mind1 so mean of stature1 so foul with sins1 so weak and utterly worthless1 as ,francis1 the son of ,pietro ,bernardone2 and for that reason he hath chosen me4 ,for if folk see that one so miserable as ,i am can be uplifted by the grace of ,god1 they will hope again for themselves2 and many who are caught in the snares of ,satan and despair of their salvation will be freed by this means4 ,is it not pride1 my son1 the ,pope asked of him after a pause1 that hinders you from accepting the modifications which ,i suggest in your rule8 ,i shall reason with you1 answered ,francis2 tell me one4 ,that you should not be entirely without possessions1 without a little money4 ,father ,pope1 answered ,francis sweetly1 if we were possessed of even the meanest things1 we should have to protect them2 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 them2 and if a man come with arms to rob us1 should we oppose violence with violence8 ,yea1 and having a little we shall not have enough1 but each one will seek to have more than his brother1 and so shall discord and dissension grow among us4 ,and how1 having sufficient1 shall we go among those who have nothing and say to them3 ',brothers1 be not cast down1 for the wealth of this world is but dust and ashes4 ,seek not after it1 but praise ,god for what he hath given you2 life1 and this pleasant earth1 the song of birds1 freedom from care1 death1 and a treasure in the skies'8 ,will they not mock at us8 ,or how shall we go among thieves1 hiding our gold in our bosoms1 and saying to them3 ',brothers1 do not so wickedly1 that which ye steal is but dross1 earth digged out of earth2 but holiness is fine gold4' ,will they not mock at us1 saying1 ',holiness is possible with a full belly'8 ,father ,pope1 having no treasure to guard1 we shall have no care2 and those among whom we shall go will not lay violent hands upon us1 as thieves and impostors4 ,the ,pope hesitated4 ,will ye live by mendicancy alone8 ,will no idlers come in with you8 ,nay1 said ,francis1 no man shall be idle4 ,each one shall work1 and their wage will be their daily bread4 ,he spoke no more1 but knelt1 waiting4 ,innocent had moved4 ,he leant forward a little1 with bent head and knitted brows1 looking fixedly at the curious figure1 with the head of a young faun1 kneeling before him in a coarse stuff cloak1 girt with a rope like a halter4 ,he could not fathom that serene soul4 ,at last he leaned back in his chair4 ,my son1 he said1 in a gentler voice1 our task is hard4 ,we have the care and oversight of the whole ,church1 and all our vigilance is directed to keeping the holy faith1 as it has been handed down to us1 one1 pure1 and universal4 ,my son1 ,god hath poured his grace upon you1 and distinguished you with gifts of holiness4 ,i am not worthy1 there is none less worthy than ,i1 of the charge ,god has confided to me4 ,pray for me1 that ,i may be enlightened4 ,on every side the ,church is being menaced3 by subtle and dangerous enemies without1 and by schisms and heresies within4 ,therefore it is necessary for me to avoid the multiplication of new fraternities1 however sacred and inspired with true zeal they may be2 for each1 through the peculiarity of their nature1 and their particular devotion to one aspect of the religious life1 is liable to be cut off from the main body of ,holy ,church2 nay1 even to become an hindrance1 an annoyance1 a little sect separated from the communion of the faithful4 ,for all these reasons ,i can only advise you1 as ,i have before1 to join some existing ,order4 ,francis rose from his knees4 ,he had a sense of being crushed by a cruel and superior force4 ,his eyes were dry2 but he saw nothing4 ,he turned and moved slowly toward the door4 ,innocent made a sudden gesture of disappointment4 ,francis took a few more steps1 hesitated1 and then turned4 ,father ,pope1 he said1 there was once in the desert a woman1 very poor but beautiful4 ,a great king seeing her beauty desired to take her to wife1 that by her he might have beautiful children4 ,so it was done2 and many children were born to him4 ,and when the children were grown up1 their mother spoke to them1 saying3 ',my children1 you have no reason to be ashamed1 for you are the sons of the king2 go1 therefore1 to his court1 and he will give you all things that are necessary to you4' ,and when they had arrived1 the king admired their beauty1 and finding in them his own likeness1 he spoke to them1 saying3 ',whose sons are ye8' ,and when they had answered that they were the sons of a poor woman dwelling in the desert1 the king embraced them with great joy1 crying3 ',fear not1 because you are mine own sons4 ,if strangers eat at my table1 shall ,i turn away those who are my lawful children8' ,and the king commanded the woman that she should send him all the sons whom she had borne1 in order that he might care for them4 ,he paused for a moment1 and then continued3 ,i am1 ,holy ,father1 that poor woman1 whom ,god in his love has deigned to make beautiful1 and by whom it has pleased him to have lawful children4 ,the ,king of kings has told me that he will nourish all the children he has by me1 for if he nourishes bastards1 how much more should he nourish his lawful children8 ,he spoke the last words vehemently1 standing rigid before ,innocent1 with blazing eyes2 and the ,pope sat immobile1 watching him with inscrutable calm4 ,my son1 come here1 said ,innocent at last4 ,the ,cardinal turned from the window1 and looked from one to another with equal interest4 ,he was a worldly man1 and the mere contact with the world had been sufficient to make him more human than the ,pope3 unconsciously1 disinterestedly1 he was summing up the characters of the two men before him4 ,the fact that he was inferior to both fitted him to judge them1 made him swift to see the flaws and defects in their diverse characters3 ,innocent's hard legalism and military instincts2 the blithe and elusive spirituality of ,francis1 a nature free as air1 too diverse1 too liquid1 too impracticable and fleeting1 to have any but a momentary effect4 ,he smiled at the comedy2 it was no more to him4 ,behind his cynicism was a kind of tolerance1 a charitable irony1 a contemptuous love4 ,the fact that both these men recognised an ideal1 and denied the manifold pleasures of life to follow after it1 baffled and perplexed him4 ,that ironical attitude from which1 within himself1 he considered them1 was the tribute which small imaginations pay to the great4 ,he was content to be a spectator1 and was willingly amused by the readiness with which each of these men detected the weak spot in the other1 while remaining blind to his own4 ,innocent stretched out his hand to ,francis and drew him toward the chair4 ,francis knelt4 ,my son1 let us try to understand one another1 said the ,pope amicably1 as he laid his hand on the other's head4 ,how is it possible for us to avoid seeing in thy courage and perseverance the directing hand of ,god8 ,be assured that we have been moved solely by our desire to work for the good of the ,church1 and the welfare of those who follow thee4 ,we would not have thee depart from us with bitterness in thy heart4 ,listen1 therefore1 and be content with what we propose4 ,is not one condition of thy rule obedience8 ,we shall be obedient to you in all things1 save in any abrogation of the rule1 for that way was shown to us by the mercy of ,christ himself4 ,thou dost yet mistrust us1 said the ,pope1 smiling4 ,know1 then1 that thou hast our permission to follow that way of life which has been revealed to you1 to practise poverty and the evangelical virtues4 ,art thou content8 ,yea1 ,i am content1 answered ,francis1 with a radiant face4 ,but1 continued ,innocent1 checking him2 and herein thou shalt show thy filial obedience to us3 thou and thy companions shall receive the tonsure at the hands of the ,cardinal ,giovanni di ,san ,paolo1 so that henceforth ye may be identified with the ,church2 and1 secondly1 ye shall choose one from among you who shall be responsible to us for all2 and1 thirdly1 in whatsoever place ye may be1 ye shall be subject unto the bishop1 yielding him the most implicit obedience1 and in no wise seeking to preach without his leave4 ,art thou content8 ,yea1 ,i am content1 answered ,francis1 so that you approve our rule4 ,we give thee permission to follow the rule1 and to preach to the people1 said the ,pope clearly1 and if thy fraternity becomes great1 and many flock to you1 then thou shalt come to us again1 and we shall formally approve thine ,order4 ,meanwhile thou hast the permission4 ,pray for me1 my son1 that the ,lord may reveal to me the way of righteousness4 ,most ,reverend ,father1 let my secretary be summoned4 ,as the ,cardinal led ,francis from the audience1 the ,pope watched them4 ,he sat for some time in thought4 ,the secretary entered1 and sitting at the table began to sharpen a new pen4 ,then ,innocent lifted his head4 ,he dismissed ,francis from his mind as completely as if the little poor man had never existed1 and concerned himself with the question of the heretical ,albigeois1 and the case of ,count ,raymond of ,toulouse4 ,the ,count had on a previous occasion objected to the appointment1 as legate1 of the ,abbot of ,citeaux1 who was notoriously his enemy2 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 trial1 nor in the final settlement of the whole question of the ,albigeois2 and for the appointment in his room of ,matre ,thdise4 ,he was careful to point out that ,thdise was not a legate1 but a mere delegate of the ,church4 ,he shall merely execute thy prescriptions1 he dictated in his low1 clear voice4 ,he shall be thy tool1 thy voice1 the bait which covers the hook of thy sagacity4 ,raymond is like a sick man1 for whom a kindly physician will help to sweeten the bitterness of his medicine2 he would take thy remedy more patiently from the hands of another4 ,and the secretary's quill scratched busily over the fine parchment4 99 99 99 99 99 ,when the companions of ,francis saw him returning to them1 they ran to meet him1 and seeing from afar the joy that shone upon his face1 they were glad and gave thanks to ,god4 ,and when he had come up to them and told them the conditions which he had agreed to with the ,pope1 with one voice they chose him for their head1 and kneeling before him made a vow of obedience4 ,and brother ,egidio suddenly remembered the command and duty which ,francis had laid upon him1 and he rose4 ,francis1 son of ,pietro ,bernardone1 he said1 because of thy doubt thou art contemptible and in no wise worthy of ,god's mercy4 ,it is true1 said ,francis1 kneeling before him1 and thanking him4 ,then in a group they left the courtyard1 he in the middle and the others surrounding him1 and presently one heard no sound but that of the fountain singing in the sunlight4 ,,iii ,it was with joy that ,francis and his companions left ,rome4 ,as soon as they had received the tonsure1 and prayed together at the shrine of the ,apostles1 they set out northward by the ,porta ,salaria1 taking nothing for the journey1 neither staff1 nor scrip1 nor shoes1 nor any money2 but trusting all things to ,god1 whose children they were4 ,at first they passed little farms and inns1 and in the distance saw a few flocks and shepherds moving slowly over the plains2 but in a little while the houses became rare1 and the only sounds were from the larks in the skies4 ,they had drawn their cowls over their heads to protect them from the fierce sun1 and the dust rising from their feet covered them with a fine grey powder4 ,but in the gaiety of their hearts they felt none of these things1 but were quickened with the joy of their triumph1 quickened also with the sense that they were returning homeward1 to the hills of ,assisi and the sweet air of their fields4 ,their eyes followed the larks into the skies1 and they felt that their own souls sang like that above the earth4 ,praised be thou1 ,o ,lord1 for our brothers the larks1 said ,francis2 at dawn they sing to thee1 and at noon and at eve2 their blithe singing gladdens the heart of man4 ,yet in that vast silence the voices of the larks seemed thin and small4 ,there was no motion in the air except the trembling of the heat1 and the straight road they followed stretched far away into the distance4 ,where shall we sleep to-night8 said ,giovanni4 ,where ,god wills1 answered ,francis4 ,our brother the body is a cell1 and the soul is a monk inhabiting it4 ,their faces were thick with dust1 and the sweat from their brows traced runnels in it2 their lips were parched1 and their eyes ached from the dazzling light4 ,on all sides lay the great plains1 and no trees rose out of them4 ,i thirst1 said ,angelo4 ,perhaps we shall pass a little stream1 answered ,francis4 ,be not cast down4 ,at evening we shall look back on all that we have suffered for our ,lady ,poverty1 and we shall be glad4 ,it will rejoice us that we have been tried1 and have not been found unworthy4 ,yet the sun had not declined much from the zenith1 and it was long until the evening4 ,their feet dragged wearily4 ,god hath forsaken us1 said ,giovanni4 ,cast that thought from thee1 my brother1 said ,francis4 ,though we perish here in this desert place1 ,god hath not forsaken us4 ,shall we faint at a little suffering1 we who were proud at dawn8 ,surely we should suffer a little for his sake1 who suffered so much for ours4 ,but they had grown feverish with the heat2 they gasped and sobbed1 swaying like drunken men1 muttering as if in a delirium2 and a great fear covered ,francis1 as he watched them4 ,my ,god1 he prayed silently1 yet moving his parched lips1 if ,i have done anything accounted worthy in thy sight1 grant that ,i may suffer for these4 ,let us not perish utterly4 ,they sank down one by one beside the dusty road1 and the fierce heat streamed down on them3 one or two muttered1 but most of them lay still4 ,my ,god1 why hast thou deserted me8 prayed ,francis in a broken voice4 ,and ,egidio1 lying delirious upon the ground1 looked at him with glazed1 unrecognising eyes1 and muttered to him3 ,francis1 son of ,pietro ,bernardone1 because of thy doubt thou art contemptible1 and in no wise worthy of the mercy of ,god4 ,and ,francis covered his face with his hands1 and lay beside his companions4 ,if it be thy will1 my ,lord2 if it be thy will4 99 99 99 99 99 ,he felt water sprinkled on his face1 and a little wine poured between his lips4 ,who are you who travel in this wise1 through the fierce heat1 without food or drink1 and half naked8 ,if ,i had not seen you1 and come to your aid1 you would have perished by the wayside4 ,the bottle was thrust between his lips again1 and he swallowed a good draught2 as he swum back into consciousness1 he heard the voice of ,egidio3 ,we are penitents from ,assisi1 who have been to ,rome that the ,pope might approve our rule1 and we were returning homeward when the fierce heat struck us down4 ,from ,rome1 said the deep mellow voice4 ,then you have been travelling on foot through the hot noon4 ,it is wonderful that you got so far4 ,but for my wine you would have lain there till the end of time4 ,art thou stronger8 ,the last words were to ,francis1 who had opened his eyes4 ,yea4 ,thanks to thee1 answered ,francis4 ,god will reward thee1 my brother4 ,doubtless1 answered the other4 ,but who is to pay me for my wine8 ,you be twelve fools1 without a wise man among you4 ,francis looking about him saw that most of his companions were sitting up eating bread1 and looking at him stupidly4 ,all were sick and weary4 ,the stranger who had helped them was a tall young man driving a hooded wine-cart4 ,he had a plump1 handsome face1 magnificent limbs1 and a general air of well-being4 ,none of us can pay thee1 answered ,francis1 nay1 not even for thy wine1 which was the least part of thy kindness4 ,shall we pay thee for our lives with our lives8 ,we have given them to ,god4 ,i want no payment1 said the young man1 ashamed4 ,see1 ,i shall leave you this other small flask of wine4 ,it hath grown cooler2 the sun is sinking1 and an hour will bring you to ,orte4 ,yea1 indeed ,i see that you are saintly livers1 yet ,i have called you fools4 ,it is right that you should call us fools1 my brother1 answered ,francis4 ,we are sinful men1 who follow the way which ,god hath shown us1 and have no wisdom in worldly things4 ,we are fools for ,christ's sake4 ,yea1 we are the fools of ,god1 and by our folly seek to draw men toward him4 ,but thy kindliness and mercy shown to us1 my brother1 is a good deed1 which like a seed thrown in the ground shall flourish and bear fruit4 ,yea1 though thou seest it not4 ,and when thou goest before ,god at the last1 he will take two apples out of his robe1 an apple of gold and an apple of silver1 and he will speak to thee1 saying3 ',lo1 here is thy payment for that thou hast succoured my children on earth2 these be the fruit of the seed which thou then plantedst4' ,but the young man blushed shamefully4 ,suffer me now to go1 he said4 ,thou hast made me ashamed4 ,yet if thou shouldst pray for me1 pray also for my beloved1 who is called ,vanna4 ,he climbed into his cart1 and continued on the way they had come1 the bells tinkling upon his mule4 ,and after a little time1 when they were rested1 they went their own way1 with great weariness of body and in silence because they were still dazed and giddy4 ,but coming to ,orte1 they entered into an ancient ruined tomb1 where they determined to abide for that night1 and some peasants gave them enough food4 ,then sitting in the starlight1 they praised ,god for his mercy4 ,surely1 said ,francis1 he who succoured us was an angel sent from ,god1 for how else could we have been rescued from death8 ,and they marvelled that they had not known him for an angel1 and with great joy they praised ,god4 99 99 99 99 99 ,they were twelve fools1 said the young man to ,vanna2 but for me they would have perished by the roadside4 ,god was good to them1 she answered simply2 and again he was ashamed4 ---------------------------------------- -------------------------------- ,,to ,,laurence ,,binyon ,v ,,at ,,san ,,casciano ---------------------------------------- -------------------------------- ,v ,,at ,,san ,,casciano ,taking a pen from the table1 he mended it to his own fashion1 and wrote3 ,thomas ,cromwell to his most excellent friend1 ,master ,william ,bates1 greeting4 ,i am removed to the farmhouse of ,la ,strada at ,san ,casciano for a short time1 having left ,florence on account of the great heat and an indisposition of my stomach1 caused by a surfeit of raw ham and figs3 for it is the custom of this people1 when the figs ripen1 to make an excursion to their villas1 or the farms of their tenants1 and having brought with them a number of small hams1 smoked and excellently well flavoured1 which they cut into thin slices1 they sit in the shade of a fig-tree1 and make a great feasting4 ,messer ,frescobaldi carried me to such a feast at one of his neighbouring villas1 and ,i1 whether from the novelty of the dish1 which savours deliciously1 and is exciting to the palate1 or from a natural intemperance of appetite1 having eaten immoderately of figs and ham1 and having drunk a vast quantity of wine1 was seized on my return to ,florence with violent pains and cramps in the stomach1 accompanied by much retching and colic4 ,messer ,frescobaldi1 having sent for his physician to come to me1 ,i was blooded eight ounces1 and am now somewhat recovered1 though in much need of rest1 and the coolness of the country air4 ,but since ,i am charged with the execution of your business rather than with the recreation of mine own health1 let me say that the matter of the ,lucca merchants is settled1 on the terms mentioned in the enclosed treaty1 and such produce as you require will be sent as occasion offers1 whether by ,france or ,antwerp1 depending upon the state of the rival nations2 but in so far as is possible the goods will be shipped at ,genoa by the ,fuggers1 and carried thence to ,antwerp1 to be reladed at your own charge1 and carried to your brother at ,boston1 or on a ship of the ,fuggers' trading with ,england1 in which case they will be delivered to yourself at the sign of the ,blue ,anchor1 in ,chepeside4 ,the late ordinances directing that all shrouds shall be made of woollen1 and forbidding the export of raw wool out of ,england1 and the question of the staple1 have caused much ill-feeling against ,english merchants1 both at ,antwerp and ,florence2 wherefore ,i think it would be wise to commission the ,fuggers to buy for you1 and to colour your goods with their name1 more especially in the ,baltic trade4 ,the same offices will1 at your request1 be undertaken by ,messer ,frescobaldi here and throughout ,italy1 both with the cloth merchants of ,florence and the glass workers and silk merchants of ,venice2 but1 in matters connected with your trade with the latter town1 ,messer ,frescobaldi demands that you place a sum of money in his bank1 sufficient to cover the charges of the import and the export duty1 or1 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 cent4 above the current rate1 so that in the one case he hath the use of your money1 and in the other a large interest upon his own4 ,you will easily see by the treaty that ,i have relinquished to him rather the shadow than the substance of what he desired2 but ,i do feel it my duty to beseech you that in every wise you show him such convenience and fair dealing as you may1 without hurt to your own prosperity1 since by your acting in this fashion he will be the less likely to repudiate the contract as a cheat devised for his beguiling4 ,returning to mine own affairs4 ,i am the guest of one ,niccolo ,machiavelli1 an honest and courteous man1 with much wit1 and knowledge of the ancients4 ,he was sometime in the service of the late ,republic1 but was after suspected1 and removed from his office by the ,medici faction4 ,having been racked on a false charge of treason1 he retired hither1 and by a frugal expenditure hath somewhat mended his fortune1 so that he is embarrassed neither by the cares of wealth1 nor the vexations of poverty4 ,at first1 however1 since a republican and popular government considers all the citizens to be its servants1 as much through their own duty as from any hope of a fair remuneration1 he1 having been able to save little of his pay1 was in great straits1 so that he was forced to rise ere it was light1 and spread nets for thrushes and quails1 superintend his idle workmen1 and busy himself with a thousand trifling cares3 wherefore ,i think it more profitable to serve a tyrant than a free people4 ,he hath now acquired by his own efforts that leisure which his public service and former poverty denied him1 so that he can pass his day in pleasant discourse1 studying the diverse manners and habits of men1 or reading in his library1 in which he doth greatly delight4 ,the library itself1 in which ,i am now writing1 is a long1 airy room1 having a pleasant aspect toward the south-west2 but it overlooks the courtyard1 and one is continually disturbed through the day by the foolish cackle of hens and other farmyard racket4 ,he told me that he chose the room on his first coming hither1 whereat his wife made a great clamour complaining that he had taken for his own uses the one serviceable room in the house1 which is indeed the truth4 ,she is well looking and ,i would willingly see more of her2 but she is a notable woman1 and1 as is usual with her sex1 occupied all day long by a thousand nothings1 whereat ,i think he is marvellously contented1 esteeming himself fortunate in that she differs from the majority of wives1 who continually invade the privacy of men1 and use our apartments as their own4 ,set against the walls are great chests of carven and painted wood1 which contain his manuscripts and printed books1 the ,latin poets as well as the historians and orators1 besides those ,italian authors who have gained an eternity of fame1 more especially ,dante ,alighieri and ,petrarch4 ,here1 among this choice store of what the world hath accounted noble in thought or action1 we sit far into the night with a flagon of wine between us1 and such entertainment as our own wits provide1 relishing in our conversation both the sal nigrum of ,momus1 and the sal candidum which ,mercurius gave4 ,at first1 seeing the ingenious and subtle mind of my friend1 ,i was at a loss to account for his apparent failure in assuring his own fortune2 but1 knowing him better1 ,i see that his judgment1 never at fault in dealing with things afar off1 may be perplexed and misled when it comes to bear upon present affairs2 being so great in himself he doth sometimes forget of what poor account in ,europe are his countrymen to-day4 ,he is at present making a series of discourses upon politics1 which he reads in the gardens of ,cosimo ,rucellai1 where the meetings of the ,academy are held4 ,it was at one of these meetings1 after the company had dispersed1 that ,i first had speech of him2 in which traverses1 though the chief subject of his discourse is ,livy's history of the ,roman ,republic1 he draweth his examples from many sources1 and showeth how mankind hath always been prone to the same faults1 and in like circumstances will always act in a like manner without regard for the lessons and warnings of the past4 ,in the intervals of preparing these discourses against their occasions1 and of refining those which he hath read1 he giveth much time and labour to the polishing of a little treatise or manual for princes2 a work full of seasonable matter1 which ,i have read with much profit and agreement1 for he reasons not1 as the schoolmen use1 from some abstract theory of the universe1 with which all events must be forced into harmony1 but gathering together the facts of common experience1 he derives from the perfect understanding of them the principles of his philosophy2 wherefore ,i say that he hath invented a new science1 and added a tenth muse to the choir of ,apollo4 ,and to show you the satiric nature of the man1 ,i must tell you1 that having dedicated his treatise of ,the ,prince to ,lorenzo di ,piero de' ,medici1 in the hope of some advancement and reward1 and being disappointed of this hope1 in the dedication of his ,discourses to ,zanobi ,buondelmonte and ,cosimo ,rucellai he says1 ',though ,i have been mistaken on many occasion1 yet certainly ,i have made no error in offering my ,discourses to you4 ,for in this ,i think to have shown some gratitude for benefits received1 and to have abandoned the path habitually trodden by those who make a trade of writing1 and whose custom it is to dedicate their works to some prince1 to whom1 in the blindness of their ambition or of their avarice1 and in the pouring out of their empty flatteries1 they attribute all the virtues1 instead of making him blush for his vices4 ,to avoid falling into that vulgar fault ,i have made choice1 not indeed of a prince1 but of those who merit to be princes4444 ,moreover1 historians give greater praise to ,hieron1 a plain citizen of ,syracuse1 than to ,perseus1 ,king of ,macedonia1 for ,hieron lacked none of the qualities of kingliness1 except the name1 while ,perseus had no other than the kingdom4' ,so doth he think to repay them for their neglect4 ,this satiric quality doth characterise all his writing1 whether he be dealing with the sacred or the profane2 indeed he doth make no difference between the books of ,moses and the books of ,livy1 but treats both in the same way1 as the record of past events2 and though ,god forbid that ,i should seem to doubt the truth of ,scripture1 yet it is my opinion that the writings of ,moses are not to be apprehended by the plain man1 being full of mystery and divinity1 which only a clerk can expound4 ,thus1 in one place1 after enumerating the great law-givers of old2 ,moses1 ,cyrus1 ,romulus1 ,theseus1 and the like1 he adds3 ',and though perhaps ,i ought not to name ,moses1 he being merely an instrument for carrying out the divine commands1 he is still to be admired for those qualities which made him worthy to converse with ,god2 but if we consider ,cyrus and the others who have acquired or founded kingdoms1 they will all be seen to be admirable1 and if their actions and the particular institutions of which they were the authors be studied1 they will be found not to differ from those of ,moses1 though he was instructed by so great a teacher4' ,this is either too simple1 or too subtile1 for men of godly and pious dispositions4 ,indeed1 ,i think that by indulging his delight in irony he hath made himself distrusted2 for the depravity of human nature is such1 that1 where two interpretations can be put upon words1 mankind will ordinarily choose the sense which is evil instead of that which is good4 ,witness the following1 on ecclesiastical princedoms3 ',all the difficulties of ecclesiastical princedoms precede their acquisition3 for they are acquired by merit or good fortune1 but are maintained without either1 being upheld by the venerable ordinances of religion1 which are all of such a nature and efficacy that they secure the authority of their princes in whatever way they may act or live4 ,these princes alone have territories which they do not defend1 and subjects whom they do not govern2 yet1 though undefended1 their territories are not taken from them1 nor are their subjects concerned at not being governed or led to think of throwing off their allegiance2 nor is it in their power to do so4 ,accordingly these princedoms alone are secure and happy4 ,but inasmuch as they are sustained by agencies of a higher nature than the mind of man can reach1 ,i forbear to speak of them2 for1 since they are set up and supported by ,god himself1 he would be a rash and presumptuous man who should venture to discuss them4' ,it hath a double edge1 and though some may be found to declare the intention innocent1 since the book is addressed to a relative of the ,pope1 ,i would rather infer from that the greater daring of the author4 ,but lest you yourself1 who are curious in such matters1 should doubt whether the intention be malicious or innocent1 ,i shall explain further his opinions1 both in the matter of ,moses1 and in the matter of ecclesiastical princedoms4 ,for in two discourses at the ,rucellai gardens1 at which ,i was present1 he returned to these subjects1 and said3 ',in fact no legislator has ever given his people a new body of laws1 without alleging the intervention of the divinity2 for otherwise they would not have been accepted4 ,it is certain that there exist many benefits of which a wise and prudent man foresees the consequences1 but nevertheless of which the evidence is not sufficiently striking to convince all minds4 ,to resolve that difficulty the wise man hath recourse to the gods4444 ,the ,florentines believe themselves to be neither ignorant nor rude1 and1 nevertheless1 ,fra ,girolamo ,savonarola made them believe that he had conversations with ,god4 ,i do not pretend to decide if he were right or wrong1 for one should not speak without respect of so extraordinary a man4 ,i only say1 that a great multitude of people believed him1 without having seen anything supernatural which could justify their belief2 but his whole life1 his knowledge1 and the subject of his discourses1 should have been enough to make them give credence to his words4 ,one must never be astonished at having failed to-day1 where others once succeeded2 for mankind1 as ,i have said in my preface1 are born1 live1 and die1 according to the same laws4' ,and if you1 ,master ,bates1 would ask me how it is possible that such matters should be so spoken of1 openly1 in this country1 which licence would not be permitted elsewhere1 ,i shall offer in reply his own words on ecclesiastical princedoms4 ,for he says3 ',certainly1 if religion had been able to maintain itself as a ,christian republic1 such as its divine founder had established1 the ,states which professed it would have been happier than they are now4 ,but how is she fallen6 and the most striking proof of her decadence is to see that the peoples bordering on the ,church of ,rome1 that capital of our religion1 are precisely the least religious4 ,if one examines the primitive spirit of her institutions1 and when he sees how far her practice hath departed from them1 he might easily believe that we are approaching a time of ruin or of retribution4 ,and1 since some assert that the happiness of ,italy depends on the ,church of ,rome1 ,i should bring against that ,church several reasons which offer themselves to my mind1 among which there are two extremely grave1 and which ,i think1 cannot be denied4 ,first1 the evil examples of the court of ,rome have extinguished in this country all devotion and all religion1 which fact carries in its train innumerable inconveniences and disorders2 and as1 wherever religion reigns one must believe the existence of good1 so wherever it hath disappeared one must suppose the presence of evil4 ,we owe it then1 we other ,italians1 to the ,church and to the priests that we are without religion or morals1 but we owe them one other obligation1 which is the source of our ruin2 it is that the ,church has always stirred up1 and stirs up incessantly1 the division of this unhappy country4' ,my mind doth see you1 sitting1 perchance1 in your garden1 by the dial1 as is your wont after the business of the day is over1 and mocking me1 that ,i have found a new prophet4 ,but1 indeed1 it doth seem so to me1 and ,i am content to sit in his company gleaning the ripe ears of his wisdom4 ,and if ,i have out-wearied your patience with my praise of him1 whose every word hath the force of a deed1 let me remind you of a summer day in the garden of your old house at ,boston1 how we plucked the apricocks from the espaliers1 while you read to me the discourses of ,sir ,thomas ,more upon ,augustine's ,de ,civitate ,dei1 when1 if ,i did not gape1 it was but from politeness and my great respect for yourself4 ,for this man doth stand among his countrymen like a giant in a city of pigmies1 overlooking their petty disputations1 and reading the future from the mirror of the past4 ,he doth foresee the ruin of the ,church1 the birth of ,empires1 the dawn of a new greatness for the world1 the emancipation of the peoples from the ecclesiastical tyranny of to-day4 ,he standeth like one prophetic upon ,pisgah4 ,he doth see that the world must be freed from this pestilence of monks4 ,he says3 ',our religion1 having shown us the truth and the only way of salvation1 hath lessened in our eyes the worth of worldly honours4444 ,the ancient religions offered divine honours only to those illustrious with worldly glory1 such as famous captains1 and leaders of the ,republic2 our religion1 on the contrary1 only sanctifies the humble1 and men given to contemplation rather than to an active life2 she hath placed the summum bonum in humility1 in the contempt for worldly things1 and even in abjection2 while the pagans made it consist in greatness of soul1 in bodily strength1 and in all that might help to make men brave and robust4 ,and if our religion asks us to have strength1 it is rather the strength to suffer evils than to do great things4 ,it seems that this new morality has made mankind weaker1 and given the world over as a prey to the wicked4' ,all these sayings have sunk deep into my mind1 as you may well perceive by the length of this letter4 ,he hath taught me that1 since the conditions of life are always the same1 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 past4 ,i have sent to my lord the ,cardinal a present of furs1 which ,i pray you see conveyed to him with my humble duty4 ,the cloak of furs is for yourself1 and the necklace of amber beads for your good lady4 ,your advice ,i follow in my way of life2 but1 my good ,will1 sometimes ,i do regret the old times1 when you and ,i were younger1 and fond of wenches2 or1 perchance1 when they were fonder of us4 ,three things ,i look forward to seeing next ,spring3 the fresh face of an ,english country maid1 a ,royal pageant on the ,thames1 and a bank of primroses with the rain on them4 ,folding the paper neatly1 he addressed it2 and taking a sardonyx gem from his finger sealed up the edges with four seals4 ,then returning the ring to his finger1 he considered his small1 white1 fat hands1 pursing up his lips1 with a curious air of meditative self-satisfaction4 ,lifting up his eyes again1 after this pleasant relaxation of the mind1 he found ,machiavelli1 who had entered softly so as not to disturb him if he were writing1 looking at him with a gently ironic smile2 and he started1 somewhat annoyed that even for a moment he should have been taken off his guard4 ,if you are occupied1 ,messer1 ,i shall not disturb you4 ,do not move4 ,i hope that you have asked for whatever you may have desired4 ,marietta tells me that you have been busy with your correspondence4 ,i have also read a little1 answered ,cromwell4 ,ah1 ,i see6 the ,de ,monarchia4 ,i marvel always1 ,messer1 that in spite of the overwhelming evidence of human depravity1 men are to be found in every age who base their conceptions of the ideal state upon the hypothesis that mankind is naturally good4 ,it is at least certain that each individual considers himself good1 ,cromwell said4 ,a light smile was the only reply4 ,machiavelli wore a long ,florentine cloak reaching down to the ankles2 loosening it a little he flung the ends back over the arms of his chair1 and stretched his legs4 ,his clothes were of the finest ,florentine cloth1 well-made1 but a little worn--black and dark green in colour2 he wore a collar of fine linen fitting close about the neck2 his cloak was of brown home-spun4 ,every detail showed a scrupulous care for his appearance1 but also a frugality of means4 ,cromwell1 equally sober in his black and tawny1 allowed himself little vanities2 a gold chain with pendant jewels1 and the white lawn collar neatly goffered1 as also were the wrist-bands4 ,do you think this treatise a foolish book8 asked ,cromwell bluntly4 ,dante was great in everything1 answered ,machiavelli4 ,he could not write foolish things2 but he could be mistaken in his reasons1 and as to the capacity of human nature4 ,his ideal ,emperor1 his ideal ,pope1 would be gods1 not men4 ,his notion of the ,church stripped of its temporal possessions is a chimera4 ,as religion exists to-day1 asserting its precedence over the ,state1 or even its opposition to the ,state1 it splits society in two1 and divides it against itself4 ,the religion of the pagans was merged in patriotism1 and before a greater stability in social affairs is possible1 mankind must either return to that ideal1 or religion be considered as a matter for every individual to practise as he thinks best4 ,he spoke with little or no inflection of the voice1 resting his chin on one hand4 ,as he sat always with his head slightly bent1 when he looked at his companion1 with bright eyes under compressed brows1 his face had an expression of stealthy alertness4 ,yes1 said ,cromwell2 if we turn away from ,italy1 and consider the other nations1 we find that in every country the ,church has an organisation1 powerful and rich1 which the ,state has to bribe2 but since the ,church has this organisation1 acting directly on the mass of the people1 and willing to support the ,state1 in exchange for certain privileges and immunities1 our princes find it convenient to govern by its help2 and since the greater part of government consists of temporary expedients1 statesmen will not be led easily to forego this convenience4 ,that little book was written when ,boniface ,,viii4 sat in the chair of ,peter4 ,it is simply a protest against the ambition and arrogant pretensions of the popes4 ,innocent ,,iii4 and ,gregory ,,vii4 could launch their thunders against kings more or less successfully2 but the anger of ,boniface went out like a flame fallen in water2 his selfish lust for power led to his complete downfall1 and the victory of ,philip4 ,but ,philip's victory caused a revulsion of feeling in the ,pope's favour1 so that ,dante1 though he hath thrust ,boniface into ,hell1 yet calleth him ,christ's ,vicar1 and doth compare his sufferings to ,christ's ,passion4 ,even ,philip did not attack him openly1 but used covert weapons1 ,sciarra and all the ,colonnesi being his secret allies1 and carrying with them the gonfalon of the ,church2 in what he did openly1 ,philip used traditional means1 as summoning a council1 and accusing the ,pope of heresy4 ,still1 ,i say to you that henceforth the great ,states will war continuously against the ,church4 ,and how should they attack her8 ,upon what side is the ,church to be assailed8 ,through the monks4 ',the fat bellies of the monks' are become a proverb in ,europe4 ,every people itch with the vermin4 ,they have made the practice of poverty the most lucrative of trades4 ,their greed1 their lewdness1 and their obscenity1 are the matter of every ballad1 and the butt of every wit4 ,and yet they are one of the chief supports of the ,church1 ever replenishing her treasuries with the offerings of the poor1 and the fruit of their traffic in pardon and indulgences4 ,i have observed1 said ,cromwell1 that1 though kings have often despoiled the monasteries1 such depredations have not increased their popularity2 for1 though the people do not defend the property of the monks when it is attacked1 after a time the weight of their opinion is on the side of the ,church1 and they accuse the officers of the ,state of rapacity and harshness1 and the ,king himself of greed4 ,the people are too often ground between the upper and nether mill-stones of ,church and ,state1 said ,machiavelli2 to them both tyrannies are equally hateful4 ,and1 also1 ,messer1 the plundering of the monasteries hath nearly always been an act of kingly greed1 to furnish the material for war and forge the instruments of a harsher tyranny4 ,but let the ,king make his people his accomplices4444 ,he finished the sentence with a smile4 ,yes1 said the other slowly2 yes4 ,he considered his soft1 white hands1 and pondered the matter as if it were an ordinary question of daily business4 ,his fleshy face with a bright colour about the cheek-bones1 the small1 pointed nose1 the watchful eyes1 revealed nothing2 but the mere quietness with which he considered the question was1 in a sense1 a revelation4 ,lifting his eyes again he spoke quietly4 ,i see here1 he said1 turning the pages of the ,de ,monarchia1 that ,dante attributes the great power of the ,roman ,empire to the direct action of the divine providence4 ,the ,empire to him is a thing divinely ordained1 and ,augustus is the divine monarch4 ,one must either attribute all things or nothing to providence1 said ,machiavelli4 ,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 goddess4 ,it was to the courage of her soldiers that ,rome owed the ,empire1 and it was to the wisdom and conduct of her administrators and law-givers that she owed its preservation4 ,if fortune or ,god rule the world1 then man hath no remedy against the evils of his time1 and his prudence avails him nothing4 ,i am in part inclined to this opinion1 since every day we see things happen contrary to all human expectation2 yet1 at the same time1 man is in some measure free4 ,what ,i say1 then1 is this3 that fortune is mistress of little more than half of our actions1 and man himself is master of all the rest4 ,in all things we may observe the action of certain laws1 to which man is subject1 but within the limits of which he hath a certain freedom4 ,so1 as a sailor1 knowing the changes of the tide and wind2 how it bloweth from the shore at evening1 and from the sea at dawn2 and knowing also the mysterious currents in the sea1 and the hidden shallows1 and the free channels1 and the stars by which he is to steer1 may bring his venture into port1 where one ignorant of these things would suffer shipwreck1 the wise man judging of times and opportunities will use caution or courage1 as best may serve the occasion4 ,he will prosper most whose mode of acting is adapted to the change of times2 but no man is found so prudent as to know how to adapt himself to all changes1 both because he is naturally inclined to follow one course1 and because having prospered in it hitherto he cannot be persuaded to change4 ,moreover1 fortune is a blind and irresistible force1 while the divine providence of ,dante is mild and beneficent2 and though we have instances of fortune we have none of providence2 and to assert that fortune directed the growth of the ,roman ,empire is to say a childish thing1 for fortune creates nothing1 it rather destroys2 but it is man1 adapting himself to fortune1 who is the creator4 ,though we may say that fortune doth in a large measure control the works of man1 we cannot say that the divine providence hath inspired or maintained in power1 by its singular favour1 any people4 ,but every people succeeds or fails according to its wisdom in dealing with events as they occur1 and in guarding against all probabilities of mischance4 ,while he was speaking1 his son1 ,piero1 came into the room with some wine for them1 which he put upon the table4 ,he was not unlike his father1 with a small1 close-cropped head and slightly aquiline nose1 but the face had the softer outline and delicacy of youth2 something in the clean-cut features1 the thoughtful brows1 and firm lips1 reminded ,cromwell of a little head of ,augustus upon a gem which he had seen at ,rome1 but even more1 of a small head of ,caligula1 that debased and weaker image of ,augustus4 ,machiavelli smiled1 took his son's hand1 and talked to him in that spirit of grave banter which is customary with men when they talk to children1 and the boy answered him readily enough1 with responsive smiles1 and laughingly1 but yet a little embarrassed by the presence of their guest4 ,presently his hand was released1 and he slipped silently out of the room4 ,it is sad when one thinks of the great empires of the past fallen into decay1 and all their work perished1 so that nothing of them can be said to remain except a shadowy legend and a name4 ,yes1 it is sad2 but it hath always been so1 answered ,machiavelli4 ,everything is subject to change and death4 ,do you know these lines of ,dante1 since you study him8 ',atene e ,lacedemone1 che fenno ,le antiche leggi1 e furon s civili1 ,fecero al viver bene un picciol cenno ,verso di te1 che fai tanto sottili ,provvedimenti1 che a mezzo novembre ,non giunge quel che tu d'ottobre fili4' ,they are nothing but a song in our ears4 ,and yet we may comfort ourselves4 ,for ,i believe that the world has always been the same and has always contained an equal mass of good and evil1 but ,i believe also that this good and evil passes from one country to another1 as we may see by the records of these kingdoms of antiquity1 which1 as their manners changed1 passed from one to the other1 but the world itself remained the same4 ,there is only this difference1 that whereas first the seat of the world's greatness was at ,assyria1 whence it passed to the ,medes1 thence into ,persia1 until finally it came to ,rome and ,italy1 and though no other ,empire has followed which has proved lasting1 yet now the greatness of the world is diffused through many nations1 in which men live in orderly and civil fashion4 ,everything is subject to change and the vicissitudes of fortune2 but passing from change to change all things return more or less to their former state4 ,i remember the lines4 ,tell me1 ,messer3 ,dante calleth ,virgil his master2 do you think the poetry of ,dante similar and equal to ,virgil8 ,machiavelli moved a little in his chair4 ,there is a ,virgil by your hand1 ,messer1 he said4 ,open it4 ,look at the print and paper2 it was printed at ,venice4 ,so ,i like to read that splendid verse4 ,and yet ,dante scarcely seems a poet to be read in print4 ,i should like to possess his works written in a fine1 neat1 clerkly script1 upon vellum1 with little illuminations in the margin1 angels in vermilion and ultramarine upon a golden ground2 initial letters with quaint floral devices woven about them1 heraldic monsters1 the ,gryphon with his car1 ,beatrice walking by the stream in the earthly ,paradise4 ,he chose ,virgil as his master because1 to him1 ,virgil was the sole ,roman to whom the prophecy of ,christ's coming had been revealed by the divine will2 because ,virgil himself had pictured the state of man after death2 and1 finally1 because ,virgil had been the singer of that ,empire which ,dante so greatly reverenced4 ,the poetry of ,dante has nothing of classical proportion2 its unity is simply the unity of a philosophical system2 its progress is like a pageant4 ,but it is full of a sudden wilful beauty1 a delight in natural things1 moments of birdlike music when he speaks of birds1 as in the lines3 ',nell'ora che comincie i tristi lai ,la rondinella presso alla mattina1 ,forse a memoria de' suoi primi guai4' and when he describes the flight of cranes1 or of the lark3 ',quale allodetta1 che in aere si spazia ,prima cantando1 e poi tace contenta ,dell' ultima dolcezza1 che la sazia4' ,it is like that delicate work of the illuminators1 full of a kind of homeliness1 a clear and luminous beauty2 but it is not the same thing as ,virgil's lines3 '4444 et bibit ingens ,arcus3 et e pastu decedens agmine magno ,corvorum increpuit densis exercitus alis4' ,i do not think that ,dante is a lesser poet2 but he hath not1 and never can have1 the same universal appeal4 ,he is terrible1 full of swiftness1 and energy1 and hatred2 devouring his subject like a flame4 ,no poet hath lines so horrible1 so inhuman as3 'due d li chiamai poi che fur morti3 ,poscia1 pi che il dolor1 pot il digiuno4 ,quand' ebbe detto ci1 con gli occhi torti ,riprese il teschio misero coi denti1 ,che furo all' osso1 come d'un can1 forti4' ,it is an exultation of hatred1 a luxury in disgust1 a joy in brutal vengeance which cannot be paralleled4 ,turn from it to these lines out of the ,paradiso3 ',o dolce ,amor1 che di riso t' ammanti1 ,quanto parevi ardente in quei flailli1 ,ch' aveano spirto sol di pensier santi4' and you have some notion of his wide range from tumult into calm4 ,will you not drink a little wine8 ,this wine is excellent1 said ,cromwell4 ,as a rule ,i find the ,italian wine a little harsh2 but this is suave and of a delicate flavour4 ,you are a great lover of poetry1 ,messer4 ,i see that your volumes of ,tibullus and ,ovid are much worn4 ,i carry them out with me when ,i go fowling1 and read them beside the snares4 ,i have little time for such pleasures1 alas6 said ,cromwell4 ,yet ,i1 too1 have great need of the poets1 sometimes4 ,i have read the ,commedia closely4 ,tell me1 ,messer1 since you have spoken of ,dante's political principles as enunciated in the ,de ,monarchia1 did not they suffer a change in the ,commedia8 ,man's ideals are broken as he hath greater experience of life4 ,dante1 like all enthusiasts1 fashioned to his own mind a picture of the ideal state1 upon the hypothesis1 as ,i have said before1 that all men are naturally good4 ,but if you consider his poem you will find that it is nothing but a record of crimes and their punishment1 while even the crystal air of heaven is disturbed by denunciations of evil4 ,his notion that the civil power is of ,god1 and that the ,church should be subject to it1 is expressed later with even a more vehement conviction in the ,paradiso1 by ,justinian1 the supreme legist4 ,in the ,de ,monarchia he says3 ',si romanum imperium de jure non fuit1 peccatum ,adae in ,christo non fuit punitum'2 and in the ,commedia for having withstood the ,empire1 ,brutus with ,cassius still howls in ,hell1 and ',piangene ancor la trista ,cleopatra4' ,but1 after his years of exile and wandering1 he seems to have surrendered his faith in a kingdom1 which should be of this world1 and sought for justice and the triumph of the good beyond the grave1 as so many others have1 likewise2 for in the next world we shall all be justified4 ,dante's poem is not like the neid1 an epic3 it is an ,apocalypse4 ,the companion of his voyage is less the gentle ,virgil1 the maiden of the maiden city1 than some later ,st ,john1 continuing his fulminations from ,patmos1 judging all nations and condemning them4 ,it is only in rare moments that he can speak a tender language as he does of the ,florence of an earlier day1 standing in peace1 sober1 chaste1 with no houses void of a family2 with her nobles in leather jerkins1 and their ladies at the cradle1 or the distaff1 telling their handmaidens the tales of ,troy1 and ,rome1 and ,fiesole4 ,such is the manner of poets3 to praise times past in preference to the present1 and usually without reason4 ,a little later1 you will hear ,peter condemning his successors1 who imitate him in that calling which he followed before he followed the call of ,christ1 rather than in his later life3 ',non fu nostra intenzion1 ch'a destra mano ,dei nostri successor parte sedesse1 ,parte dall' altra del popol cristiano3 ,n che le chiavi1 che mi fur concesse ,divenisser segnacolo in vessillo1 ,che contra i battezzati combattessi3 ,n ch' io fossi figura di sigillo ,ai privilegi venduti e mendaci4' ,everything in the poem is a condemnation of this world4 ,a sense of complete isolation has overcome the writer4 ,he stands alone1 neither ,guelf nor ,ghibelline1 but a party to himself3 the first ,italian4 ,he paused1 drank a little wine1 and smiled tolerantly4 ,i1 too1 began life in attaching myself to a party2 and when my party was expulsed ,i became a ,florentine1 and now1 having considered all the cities of ,italy1 ,i am an ,italian4 ,but the great mass of my countrymen are still as ,dante saw them1 split up into numerous factions1 weak by divisions1 a ready prey to any comer4 ,cromwell stroked his chin meditatively and1 discreet1 said nothing4 ,when our dreams have faded1 ,messer1 continued the other1 we can only sit aloof1 watching the comedy of life with at best a tolerant contempt1 but more often hiding1 under a mask of cynicism and sarcasm1 the maimed heart that is in us4 ,the other was a little embarrassed1 after a moment he spoke quickly4 ,it seems1 to my mind1 ,messer1 that ,dante's poem hath no progress1 no dramatic progress2 beyond the pedestrian interest of the scenes described there is no motion4 ,thought can be dramatic as well as action1 replied the other2 but ,i am inclined to agree with you4 ,consider the poem as a whole system of thought starting from 'the master of those who know' and ending in the beatific vision2 consider it1 next1 as a denunciation of all the lusts and depravity of the world1 typified1 and made incarnate in historical characters3 ,francesca1 voyaging for ever through the dusky air1 on a wind that seems to symbolise her own passion2 ,ugolino1 turning his strong teeth upon that wretched skull3 consider1 finally1 the little illuminations which have made me compare the poem to a missal or a book of hours2 the terse phrase1 the very simplicity of which bites like an acid1 so keen it is4 ,then1 ,i think1 you will see how various was his mind4 ,his poem is like a great life2 his words like actions1 sometimes terrible and inhuman1 sometimes like a mother's tenderness with her child4 ,cromwell suddenly broke into a smile4 ,yes1 yes1 as you say1 ,messer1 it is a whole system of thought4 ,nay1 even more1 it is the whole structure of a past age4 ,but how simple6 ,how childish6 ,the people of that time seem to me like a few men gathered together at night round an open fire2 at hand is a cheerful warmth1 and light1 but a few paces away is the darkness full of terrors1 and on the borders of darkness are monstrous shadows4 ,they sit crouched about the fire1 telling idle tales to beguile their fears1 thinking that beyond that little glow of radiance is nothing1 whereas1 at no great distance from them is such another company round another fire4 ,we have explored the darkness1 and now the dawn is beginning4 ,magnus nascitur ordo1 said ,machiavelli1 smiling4 ,how many ages have said the same thing8 ,but it is here4 ,the new order is born4 ,i am no scholar1 ,messer1 but ,i have heard ,dean ,colet and ,erasmus4 ,the recovery of the ,greeks hath let knowledge like a light into many dark places2 the whole political fabric is dissolving1 and flowing away into the limbo of dead conceptions4 ,the secular power1 which ,dante wished1 and which you wish1 to see established1 is here4 ,yes1 it is here1 answered ,machiavelli2 but what is it going to do8 ,mankind is constantly labouring at an unknown task2 and1 in seeking to be free1 doth often but rivet its own fetters more securely4 ,what do you mean8 ,take as an example the conflict between the senate and people of ,rome4 ,marius having been made the champion of liberty is followed by ,sulla the master of reaction2 the fight is long1 bitter1 and when finally the people triumph they find themselves under the absolute rule of one man4 ,now this results from the fact that men worship the name of freedom1 rather than the thing itself2 those who fight in the cause of liberty are fighting for their own establishment in power and1 being established1 they seek to protect themselves1 and fortify their position as the central authority2 and1 having been raised up by the popular voice1 they are stronger than the power which they have supplanted2 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 destroy4 ,the present struggle is to rid the ,state of the interference of the ,church3 to found greater ,states4 ,the popes have destroyed ,italy by playing off faction against faction1 and city against city1 in the hope that by this method they might become supreme over all2 but having introduced disorder into every town1 and destroyed all civic morality1 they have also lessened their own power2 for these states and cities were the ,church's bulwarks against the invader4 ,now1 whatever may be the issue of present affairs1 the ,pope must become subject either to the ,emperor or to the ,king of ,france4 ,this is the nemesis of their policy4 ,the liberty of the ,state will be achieved1 at least in a great measure2 but the ,state being stronger will be more absolute1 more tyrannous4 ,the solvent of the new learning1 as you call it1 will be smiled upon by kings1 so long as it doth help them to rid themselves of the ,pope2 but it will be repressed the moment that it shows any desire to alter or limit the power of the ,states4 ,yes1 answered ,cromwell2 but if they once let in the flood1 it will be too late to think of building a dam4 ,when ,i was a young man ,i remember to have heard ,politian1 said ,machiavelli4 ,but ,i think that the enthusiasm which began with ,petrarch1 and continued into my younger days1 has died down4 ,it is true that our studies are better organised3 we have the academies2 but learning in ,italy at the present day is rather a polite accomplishment than a serious business4 ,it hath not penetrated the mass of people4 ,to them1 the two bases of the social order are still the ,pope and the ,emperor1 as in ,dante's day2 and they condemn the new learning as tending to overthrow these bases1 and so destroy the whole fabric of society4 ,the monks point to ,erasmus as the cause of the present troubles in ,germany4 ,erasmus doth seem to me to be the one wise man1 answered ,cromwell4 ,he steereth a middle course1 condemning the fanatics on both sides4 ,it is his wish to avoid any tumult1 and merely to further the growth of light and reason2 for he is persuaded the whole evil of the time comes from ignorance4 ,colet1 such another man1 was persecuted with accusations of heresy1 so that he thought well to withdraw himself from the public eye4 ,but neither of these men desired to overthrow the ,papacy or to promote a schism2 for they thought1 if ,i remember aright1 that such methods1 with their incidental violence1 would only prejudice the cause they had at heart2 their aim was to act upon the ,church from within1 to reform its abuses1 to root out this pestilent brood of monks1 and to promote a healthy growth of lay opinion4 ,to ,erasmus the ,german schismatics are no whit less ignorant or less intolerant than his old enemies the monks1 and equally entangled in the webs of vain theological sophistries4 ,he believes that the great influences are secret1 and of slow growth1 gradually penetrating all things2 and he seeketh to form a party of intellectual men1 who shall work within reasonable limits1 acting as a new leaven to leaven the whole lump4 ,i have little faith in such an influence1 except as a preparation for the combat1 said ,machiavelli4 ,what ,i praise in ,erasmus is that clearness of judgment1 which insists that the ,bible should be read as any other book1 that each man should go direct to the source1 and fill his own vessel2 for by that means they will recognise the chicanery1 which isolates texts and phrases1 and distorts their sense4 ,but not by any gentle methods will the regeneration of ,europe come to pass4 ,there is a stir1 a commotion of minds1 abroad1 which is testing the pretensions of the ,church1 and rejecting them one by one4 ,the sands are shifting beneath the foundations of a structure we thought builded upon a rock2 and though as yet the fabric stands1 it showeth great rents4 ,so3 the ,pope and ,emperor remain to the majority the bases of the social order1 as ,i have said1 and soon it will be perceived by all men that the humanists1 in playing with questions of grammar1 have trenched upon matters of faith3 a crime not serious in itself1 but exceedingly grave when after reflection we learn that it compromises temporalities4 ,men have not yet clearly seen this danger1 though a few1 perhaps1 have suspected it4 ,and1 when the reaction against humanism sets in1 upon what arm will the humanists rely to defend them8 ,they will by that time have created not only a large following1 but a temper among the people4 ,i myself1 ,messer1 have great hopes of our young ,king of ,england1 who hath grown under the influence of men similar to ,erasmus4 ,he hath a royal nature1 a dominant will1 a power not only of making his people's aspirations his own1 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 good4 ,though as yet he be not fully tried1 this much ,i will venture to prophesy of him1 that no hindrances in the path he chooses will prevent him1 and that no man in his realm of ,england who fails him once will fail him again4 ,you are either very fortunate1 or very unfortunate1 to have such a prince1 said ,machiavelli1 with a smile4 ,but humanism is of recent growth in your country4 ,it must be followed by reform4 ,and1 if your ,king hath that quality of true kingliness1 which maketh the aspirations of his people his own1 would he withstand reaction8 ,i cannot conceive that one of his nurture and character should be found on any side but that of reform4 ,a light1 incredulous smile played upon the other's face4 ,it might be politic1 he suggested4 ,but ,cromwell protruded his under-lip obstinately4 ,i cannot conceive the possibility1 he said4 ,machiavelli shrugged his shoulders1 leaned back in his chair1 and looked at his guest over joined finger-tips4 ,he hath written against ,luther1 but rather for the reasons of ,erasmus than for those of the monks1 said ,cromwell slowly4 ,it is even conceivable that if he once take up the business of reforming the ,church in ,england1 he may be forced into a more extreme position2 ,i mean into a denial of the ,pope's authority1 and a position similar to that of the followers of ,luther4 ,in that case1 ,i admit1 the war will be between two extreme parties2 but it would be difficult to say which he would support1 or how far he would be compelled to go4 ,certain it is to me that he will ally himself with whatever party is likely to serve his own ends1 and will not forsake them until they have gained him what he requires4 ,then1 indeed1 he may cast aside the tool1 which he hath blunted by use1 and choose one keener2 yet1 in reality1 he would be but sacrificing the show for the substance2 and his vicegerent will always be the man who discerns his will and executes it4 ,thus1 his policy will be consistent1 though his ministers change2 for at times perhaps1 since the people always blame those who surround a prince as the abusers of his confidence1 he may find it necessary for him to discard1 or even to sacrifice one1 whose sole fault is in the thoroughness with which he carries out the royal will1 for often in history we read of the sacrifice of a minister in order to lull popular feeling4 ,witness the example1 which you yourself give1 in your treatise of ,the ,prince2 where you show how ,messer ,remiro d',orco1 ,cesare ,borgia having set him over ,romagna1 by the sternness of his measures soon cleansed it of evil-doers and reduced it to order1 for which his master1 fearful lest the harshness of his lieutenant should be attributed to himself1 rewarded him with axe and block1 exposing the severed head in the market-place of ,cesena4 ,thus1 though he had himself commanded the severities which his lieutenant practised1 he escaped the odium consequent to them1 and was hailed by the people as their deliverer4 ,they sat for a little time1 silent1 in the gathering dusk4 ,still1 said ,cromwell thoughtfully1 there must be ways of avoiding the ingratitude of a master3 either by the minister imputing to the ,king openly1 and upon every possible occasion1 all actions1 whether of good or evil2 or else by his fortifying himself with powerful friendships1 and seeking in every way to gain the voice of popular favour1 so that becoming greater than his master he may withstand him4 ,machiavelli shifted a little in his chair1 and the darkness hid an ironic smile4 ---------------------------------------- -------------------------------- ,,to ,,albert ,,houtin ,,vi ,,the ,,paradise ,,of ,,the ,,disillusioned ---------------------------------------- -------------------------------- ,,vi ,,the ,,paradise ,,of ,,the ,,disillusioned ,the final ,vale6 ,he spoke1 and lay silent4 ,the dim figures in the crowded room seemed to slip away from him1 his mind ceased to grasp at earthly realities1 a thick darkness enveloping it and them2 but the frail1 wasted body still clung insatiably to life1 and answered the phrases of the litany with long quavering sobs4 ,at last it1 too1 resigned its hold on life4 ,he seemed to see again1 for one brief moment1 the kneeling cardinals2 and then to join some great current of being which swept him away beyond the consciousness of time and space4 ,gradually another consciousness dawned on him4 ,upon the golden brown clouds1 which seemed to limit his vision1 there was projected suddenly a huge grotesque figure2 the shadow of a being more or less similar to man4 ,is it a devil come to torment me8 he wondered incredulously4 ,as the shadow advanced it became smaller2 he noticed that it seemed to have talons4 ,it is a devil4 ,but even as he spoke the shadow melted about him1 and out of the golden mist came a strange-looking man1 with a large1 ungainly head1 gray hair in rather long straight wisps1 and lively intelligent eyes of a clear blue4 ,the figure was absurd1 gnome-like1 with a pear-shaped stomach4 ,the finger-nails were very long4 ,the stranger bowed1 smiling1 as he approached1 and spoke in a pleasant voice4 ,monsieur1 je suis charm de vous voir4 ,etes-vous1 par hazard1 de notre petite plante terre8 ,i am ,gioacchino ,pecci1 he answered4 ,a livelier interest was apparent on the other's face2 the smile became ironical4 ,it is curious1 he said after a pause4 ,it is curious that we should have reached the same paradise4 ,on earth1 ,your ,holiness1 ,i was ,ernest ,renan4 ,but is this paradise8 said ,leo uneasily4 ,je n'ai jamais cru---- ,it is the paradise of the incredulous1 answered ,renan4 ,there are many paradises3 that state of being which on earth was called hell is the paradise of those given over to animal passions4 ,the paradise of the ascetics is an eternal ,shrove ,tuesday1 with the eternal prospect of an eternal ,ash ,wednesday2 the case of ,tantalus reversed and made pleasurable4 ,all good ,buddhists have attained ,nirvana4 ,the righteous ,mahometan is distracted by the charms of innumerable houris4 ,we ,epicureans enjoy that moment which is eternity2 and every man is justified in his own eyes4 ,it is charming1 said ,leo4 ,it is more1 said ,renan2 it is rational4 ,how puerile is the mortal conception of paradise6 ,man has imagined a place where virtue is rewarded and vice punished4 ,he believes in it with a passionate conviction1 because he is not quite sure4 ,he forgets that virtue must be disinterested1 or it ceases to be virtue4 ,if man is capable of a free and unhampered choice between vice and virtue1 if the distinction between them be clear and precise1 and the reward or punishment entailed by the choice definite and finally revealed1 mankind1 then1 is obviously divided into two parts3 the astute and the infatuate4 ,one feels immediately that both the reward and the punishment are excessive2 or else that vice and virtue have ceased to exist4 ,however1 in mortal things there is always an element of doubt1 and perhaps the chief glory of man is born from it4 ,our choice is not entirely free1 the distinction is not absolutely clear1 the reward is purely hypothetical4 ,ah1 ,m4 ,renan1 said ,leo1 why are you here8 ,you were always a believer at heart2 one might almost say a scholastic4 ,you invented a system of doubt1 as others might a system of faith2 even your doubts were affirmations4 ,science with you was only a synonym for ,god1 and round it you constructed an hierarchy of saints and martyrs1 a church suffering1 militant1 triumphant4 ,lucian---- ,he is here1 said ,renan4 ,lucian1 continued ,leo1 imagined the soul of ,plato inhabiting a paradise constructed after the model of his own ,republic4 ,i imagine you projected into that strange future which you announced in your ,dialogues ,philosophiques4 ,doubt must be systematic1 answered ,renan2 but there is no need for system in religion4 ,the essence of a creed is in its assertions1 not in its arguments4 ,its arguments are nearly always a series of after-thoughts1 of apologies2 its reason is always priori2 the very fact that an argument should be considered necessary is blasphemous and heretical4 ,you exaggerate my scholasticism2 but there was always in me the nature of a priest1 and ,i could not put away from me my education1 as ,i could put off my ecclesiastical dress4 ,i imported the unction of a priest into the region of philosophic doubt1 and by that means invented a substitute for faith4 ,science1 in limiting the field of its researches1 has increased the mystery which lies beyond4 ,i became1 as it were1 the priest of an unknown ,god2 and the first article of my creed was1 that perhaps he did not exist at all4 ',sois bni pour ton mystre1' ,i cried in my ,magnificat2 'bni pour t'tre cach1 bni pour avoir reserv la pleine libert de nos curs4' ,the ,dialogues ,philosophiques were written at a time when the whole thought of ,france was depressed and reactionary4 ,they were a play of intelligence upon contemporary ideas4 ,progress does not tend to establish a scientific aristocracy at the head of its affairs2 science is progressive because it has saturated the commercial classes with its ideals2 it has increased production1 and economised in by-products4 ,this alliance between democracy and the scientific spirit is the unique characteristic of our age4 ,i think1 myself1 that society is tending to adopt the ,chinese model4 ,kingship1 the ,state1 the present conventions of society1 may continue to exist in atrophied and rudimentary forms2 but ,i imagine the whole earth in a few thousand years regulated by examinations and trade-unions1 with an effete mandarinate surviving amid the dbris of the ancient order1 like the solitary column of ,phocas in the ,roman ,forum1 or the teeth in an embryonic whale4 ,in this paradise1 said ,leo with an elusive smile1 you have1 doubtless1 infinite leisure for the discussion of these academic questions4 ,naturally1 answered ,renan2 and we have a little ,academy modelled on the ,acadmie ,franaise4 ,i hope1 ,monsieur1 to have the honour of welcoming you among us1 and of replying to your discours de rception2 it is an amiable duty which my colleagues have delegated to me4 ,sometimes2 it is what remains of my mortal vanity1 ,monsieur2 ,i imagine that ,i have some talent in these things4 ,leo had intended to be ironical2 but his own vanity was now flattered4 ,one ambition is always left to those who occupy a throne2 it is to be considered equal with the great4 ,your response1 ,monsieur1 will be my apotheosis1 he replied4 ,but1 tell me1 are you become a socialist8 ,your prophecy of the reformation of the earth on the ,chinese model seems to point that way4 ,renan smiled4 ,no1 he said2 the ,chinese are not a socialistic nation4 ,they have not the notion of the ,state which is peculiar to socialism4 ,but they are a nation governed by trades-unions and examining boards2 and through the same institutions we may arrive at the same stagnation4 ,our progress at present seems to follow that direction1 because the aim of our materialistic civilisation is to make everything cheap1 food1 education1 state-offices2 and its final effect will be to make men cheap1 then we shall have large1 flat1 arid masses of humanity1 to whom few luxuries will be possible1 and the forms of our civilisation will become stereotyped4 ,as it was with ,babylon1 ,assyria1 and ,egypt1 as it is with ,china1 so it will be with us4 ,evolution is the progress from homogeneity to heterogeneity2 but the process is not indefinite4 ,after a race or a nation has produced a great number of diverse personalities1 it becomes decadent and tends to produce a single type3 the process of evolution is arrested1 and the race may either lie dormant for centuries if like the ,chinese it has been prolific and exists in sufficient numbers2 or1 if sparse and scattered like the ,phnicians1 they may be completely annihilated by their more vigorous neighbours4 ,socialism is neither a remedy nor a disease1 but it may be a symptom4 ,no society has been free from socialistic groups4 ,jerusalem had its ebionim2 there was the eclectic philosophy of ,rome under ,nero1 the ,flavians1 and the ,antonines2 primitive ,christianity was communistic1 and ,neo-,christianity under ,joachim of ,flora and ,st ,francis was an imitation of it4 ,the ,jacobins had communistic notions4 ,the poor1 the humble1 the oppressed have always been liable to the dreams of millenarism2 and the difference between the ,maccabean aspiration1 which was1 according to ,daniel1 to establish the kingdom of ,god upon earth1 and the aspiration of ,robespierre1 who wished 'to found upon earth the empire of wisdom1 of justice1 and of virtue1' is merely the difference of time and place4 ,a beautiful1 but intangible vision2 a divine inspiration6 ,like all divine inspirations1 alas6 it is by its nature impracticable4 ,imagine a sudden uprising of the proletariate1 a vast social movement1 an ,european revolution4 ,slowly1 after its momentary chaos1 a new cohesion would take effect4 ,the abstract virtues1 from which the movement had had its derivation1 would become personified in our most popular legislators2 the new constitution would include1 beside the disadvantages of an untried mechanism1 many errors latent in the old patterns which it would necessarily follow2 and we should discover1 after a series of futile and extravagant adventures1 that the laws which govern society are essentially natural laws1 the slow growth of tacit acceptance1 and not merely the dusty records of a popular legislating assembly4 ,mankind does not learn the lesson easily4 ,one revolution engenders another1 and eventually the habit becomes ingrained4 ,the history of mine own country1 from #aghi through the nineteenth century1 a history of revolution1 of the conflict between ideals and realities1 is a signal and a reminder to the nations4 ,you treat ,christianity and ,jacobinism as cognate ideas1 said ,leo1 after a pause4 ,there is surely this distinction between them1 that one was almost entirely religious1 and the other almost entirely political4 ,ah1 said ,renan1 with a deprecating smile1 all religions are political1 just as all politics are religious4 ,christianity with its notion of mankind as a brotherhood1 and the ,papacy with its notions of a spiritual empire1 a suzerainty1 over all peoples1 have destroyed the ancient conception of the unity of ,church and ,state4 ,the religion of the ,greeks was embodied in their laws2 and the politics of the ,jews1 in their religion4 ,the ideal conception of religion as something quite distinct from the ,state has proved unworkable1 if not disastrous4 ,all the churches have had to smite their mystics with the thunders of excommunication1 to extinguish the inward light1 to restrain the free play of thought4 ,even the most primitive form of ,christianity1 the ,messianic notion1 was purely political4 ,if we are to talk on social questions we cannot separate religion from politics4 ,the distinction between them is artificial2 they are merely the opposite poles of a single idea4 ,ah1 well6 said ,leo1 shrugging his shoulders2 the progress of humanity is a chimra if it ends merely in stagnation4 ,these bleak1 arid masses of mankind living without pleasures in their ,chinese frugality1 what future have they before them8 ,an awakening1 said ,renan prophetically2 the ,kings of ,uruk reigning over a decadent civilisation1 ,sardanapalus foreseeing the stagnation of his people did not dream of a future which they had helped to create4 ,the process of evolution acts in tides2 there is a continuous ebb and flow2 the seed lies hidden in the ground until the wizardry of ,spring calls it forth1 and rain and sunlight nourishing it into new life1 it ripens for the harvest4 ,babylon the great is fallen1 is fallen4 ,in the ruined palaces of ,nineveh the beasts of the desert bring forth their young1 and the green lizards creep out from the crevices to sun themselves upon a fragment of some boastful inscription2 but the music which echoed in its painted halls1 the dancing and the choirs1 the great processions of its ,kings1 its wisdom and folly1 its vain desires and failures1 its tears and laughter1 these have their being still1 they move mysteriously in us1 a breath would quicken them into life again1 we can rebuild them in moments that seem to have all the profundity of time4 ,poet6 said ,leo1 with a smile creasing about his lean jaws4 ,the world does not become socialist1 it becomes ,chinese2 our civilisation tends to a variety of forms1 becomes uniform1 and then again becomes diverse in endless recurrence4 ,continue1 ,monsieur1 but let us keep within the bounds of our own age4 ,socialism is a definite political force2 and even if it do not triumph completely it must create certain new conditions4 ,i1 myself1 have condemned socialism in one of my encyclicals4 ,i have denied the sacred right of insurrection4 ,human institutions1 which we may think have survived their usefulness1 are in reality only waiting for their transformation1 their character is moulded from outside4 ,we may sometimes fail to understand their mission1 or to grasp the reasons which impel them to follow certain paths1 because these reasons are pale reflections of some unappreciated causes4 ,the world seems to progress1 within the limits of natural laws1 by a series of unforeseen developments4 ,the future is latent in us2 but the force which impels it is hidden4 ,yes1 answered ,renan2 some internal conscience directs all progress1 and is the force which impels humanity on its way4 ,this conscience has a secret action long before it finds a voice4 ,its influence at first is something subterranean and obscure2 its bias is necessarily against the official creeds1 but it moves against them slowly1 informing them with the new spirit4 ,i like to find this conscience acting through the poorer and humbler classes of the people1 the folk who are of the soil1 whose faith is something native and spontaneous1 whose life and happiness depends upon the sun and rain4 ,it is significant that all the gods were originally agricultural gods1 that the history of every nation begins in ,eden4 ,to the artisan1 the dweller in towns1 whose whole life consists in turning out from a machine certain articles of a stereotyped pattern1 the universe is simply a piece of mechanism2 he is himself merely a machine1 or part of a machine1 performing a certain number of invariable motions to produce a definite and invariable result4 ,he lacks inspiration1 he has no vivid knowledge of the great element of chance which moves1 like one of those primitive elemental gods1 behind all human affairs1 at times compassionate and friendly to man1 at times bursting out into a sudden fury of wanton destruction4 ,he demands a fixed wage1 fixed hours of work1 fixed prices for the commodities which he consumes1 the certainty of a pension in his old age4 ,in a world of fluctuations and vicissitudes he demands absolute security4 ,he is confident that he is going to do great things1 that he has already worked wonders4 ,with the aid of science and art1 which he starves1 he is going to make the earth pleasant and beautiful4 ,he is quite confident that in a few generations he will be born in an incubator1 and die1 without pain1 of sheer satiety4 ,for him a fantastic assembly of politicians1 removable at his own will1 represents ,providence and the divine wisdom4 ,is he less absurd than the savages who employ rain-makers and witch doctors8 ,i do not think so4 ,clearly he is not a person from whom we can expect any but the most crude and mechanical readings of life2 his vague1 restless1 childish discontent1 that hunger for barren and tawdry pleasures which is characteristic of half-educated minds1 that lack of intercourse with the great elemental forces of ,nature1 can issue in nothing but his own mental1 moral1 and physical damnation4 ,for any new readings of life1 for any renaissance of art and religion1 we must look to the simple folk1 who are still close to the breasts of ,earth3 the folk who of old imagined ,apollo as a herd in the service of ,admetus2 who found ,demeter sitting by the well1 and comforted her2 who1 after the vintage had been gathered in1 took down the grotesque masks1 which they had hung upon the vines to scare the birds and foxes from the grapes1 and acted in them1 singing the hymns of ,dionysos to the music of pipes and flutes4 ,poetry1 religion1 love1 the three things which quicken life to new effort1 are never far from the soil4 ,the great conventional middle-classes1 even those heretics from ,philistia1 the followers of ,comte and ,marx1 the mediocre intelligences whose political principles are communist1 and whose religious principles are positivist1 these have little influence on the future4 ,socialism differs from all previous ,utopian dreams simply because it lacks their vital energy2 it is material and mechanical where the older ideas were spiritual and natural2 it is lacking in a sense of morality1 in a sense of beauty1 in a sense of truth4 ,you will not find the conscience of humanity in any of these creeds4 ,it seems1 said ,leo1 that we do not know where we are going4 ,you have said that human institutions are only waiting for their transformation1 ,renan replied4 ,an institution represents a need4 ,it has been formed by the spontaneous action of the community2 but the moment it has been thus constituted it becomes fixed1 and ceases to represent the living1 developing forces which deposited it4 ,christianity at first was perfectly fluid2 the teaching of ,paul was unsystematic1 local1 momentary2 but ,christianity became a religion1 not of inspiration but of authority1 it crystallised into an hierarchy and perished4 ,in the same way the idyll of ,st ,francis and his companions crystallised into an order1 and perished4 ,they exist among us as monuments1 these institutions2 but the same forces which crystallised them are now dissolving them2 the moment they cut themselves off from the stream of life they perished4 ,i do not think that the future will differ essentially from the past4 ,socialism is simply the cry of the poor against the rich4 ,dives is well-clad and fares sumptuously every day2 no other crime is alleged against him1 but these are sufficient to ensure his damnation4 ,perhaps the maker of the parable saw some peculiar virtue in poverty and suffering1 which filled the heart with a spiritual grace1 and uplifted it with moral fortitude4 ,perhaps he saw the wealth of ,dives as poverty1 as a lack of spiritual experience4 ,socialism1 however1 does not share this view2 on the contrary1 it asserts that wealth is the sole condition of spiritual grace and moral fortitude1 and it is therefore bent on sharing with ,dives the good things of this world4 ,consequently socialism has against it the two most deeply-rooted of human instincts1 the instinct of acquisition and the family instinct2 because it denies the right of possession and the right of bequest4 ,how deeply-rooted the notion of property is we can see exemplified in ,france1 where the abolition of the right of primogeniture has not had the effect which was expected of it1 even the peasants in certain departments having held out against it4 ,but if the power of bequest were entirely abolished1 would people marry8 ,the object for a legalised relation is gone1 and the production of our kind becomes subject to the hazard of personal choice4 ,it is possible that the ,state would have to intervene and make maternity an honourable profession under its own control1 and that ,plato's ideal of the ,state as a foster-mother would be realised4 ,this notion has1 ,i confess1 a singular attraction for me4 ,the substitution of a stock derived from careful selection of parents for our present inferior stock2 the careful breeding of an aristocratic caste1 appeals to the imagination1 as it shows the ,state actually realising what has always been its ideal4 ,i could wish1 ,monsieur1 that the socialists would form themselves into monastic communities1 practising the virtues of obedience and1 if not poverty1 the community of goods4 ,yes2 they should found a little ,abbey of ,theleme1 and take their whole rule from ,rabelais4 ,they would not practise celibacy1 but eugenics2 and the education of their children would be the same as that devised for ,gargantua by ,ponocrates4 ,so they would increase and multiply1 and the whole earth would be filled with the glory of their names4 ,i fear that1 unfortunately1 the first verse of what was written above the gate of ,theleme would debar many from entering4 ,but grant that this ,utopia is possible2 it is surely no less possible than the monastic ideal6 ,and granted that a great aristocratic caste would arise1 a dedicated folk1 surrounded by the decadent populations of helots and hetairai1 and that they would be able to gather into their own hands the supreme control of things8 what would be the result8 ,they would crystallise into an hierarchy1 and perish4 ,they would rule as the priests ruled ,egypt1 and as the priests ruled medival ,europe4 ,they would resuscitate the double tyranny of the ,church and ,state in one body4 ,the whole progress of the last four hundred years has been toward individual liberty in thought and word4 ,that ideal would be lost4 ,i do not see the necessity of such ideals1 said ,leo4 ,i object to socialism because it would mean the absolute tyranny of the ,state1 the despotism of a narrow and intolerant bureaucracy1 tempered1 as at present in ,russia1 by a more or less indiscriminate system of assassination4 ,i have not the same objection to the tyranny of one man4 ,a philosopher on the throne1 ,monsieur1 your charming ,marcus ,aurelius for instance1 may rule with wisdom and moderation2 but an oligarchy of philosophers1 like the ,thirty at ,athens3 hell is naked before them and destruction hath no covering6 ,such experiments1 as you say1 infect the people with a lust for revolution4 ,history1 the only guide for political prophets1 shows us that sudden disturbance of the social order breeds a whole series1 whether such a disturbance occur among the ancient ,greeks1 or the ,romans1 or the ,french4 ,the diverse natures of the peoples1 the different conditions of the age in which they lived1 and of their political methods do not alter the central fact4 ,humanity in the lump is a beast more terrible than any in ,revelations4 ,ah1 no6 cried ,renan1 with a sudden vivacity4 ,there is the chief glory of the human race4 ,they will sacrifice themselves for an impossible ideal4 ,none of us can contemplate that great tragedy of the ,french ,revolution without feeling cleansed by it4 ,the enthusiasm of the people has a kind of terrible grandeur4 ,in such moments of divine delirium all men assume heroic proportions4 ,we may pity it for its fanaticism2 we may pity it for being so easily duped2 but it is impossible to deny its magnificent devotion to an ideal4 ,leo was unmoved4 ,you consider it a great moral movement1 ,monsieur8 ,moral because all petty egoisms were obliterated1 answered ,renan4 ,men seemed for a moment to become the incarnations of ideas4 ,oh1 on both sides4 ,charlotte ,corday1 ,danton1 ,madame ,roland1 ,robespierre1 ,desmoulins1 ,larochejacquelin2 each individuality seems to have had its definite mission1 each seems to have been equally necessary1 equally an instrument of justice4 ,you have said1 ,monsieur1 continued ,leo1 after a pause1 that the socialists would revive in one form the twin tyrannies of ,church and ,state1 and destroy the ideal of individual liberty4 ,you have also said that the ancient conception of ,church and ,state was a unity4 ,would the kind of socialism which you sketch resemble the ,greek ,state8 ,no ancient ,state1 not even ,athens1 extended to its citizens the liberty which we enjoy1 answered ,renan4 ,the ,state intervened in the private affairs of the citizens2 and ,athens is notorious for having pursued the philosophers with accusations of impiety4 ,the noble conservative families and the priesthood combined to stifle the new liberal thought4 ,the ,state1 however1 was democratic2 the people ruled1 decided by their votes the policy of the ,state1 and served on juries1 or as judges4 ,socialism condemns democracy3 it aspires to govern not by the will of the people1 but according to its own interpretation of what it calls scientific principles2 and it seems that in its application of these principles1 it would be more bigoted and intolerant than the democratic ,state in ,greece ever was4 ,nothing then is permanent1 which crystallises into an hierarchy1 or is limited by an institution1 said ,leo4 ,it seems to me that your gospel is purely destructive4 ,the whole progress of modern science is marked by the ruins of ancient altars2 you have freed mankind from all moral obligations in denying that he is a responsible agent1 and in showing that he is merely a creature of inherited instincts2 you have shown him that his life is no more than a ripple on the water1 a sudden stir of wind in the leaves1 a momentary light in the darkness2 you have denied the ,god that his heart fashioned as a solace to his grief1 a lamp to guide him2 you have taught him to seek for the perishable glories of the earth4 ,how will you make him a moral being again8 ,renan smiled4 ,our civilisation is not very deep1 ,monsieur1 he said4 ,there is always a large inert mass of humanity untouched by the movement of thought4 ,from them we may expect a new religion1 a new morality4 ,we have denied and disproved1 as you say1 so many things1 that at last we shall come to the sole reality4 ,we have rendered man's personality vague and mysterious1 until it seems scarcely to exist except as a point of development2 we must seek deeper for his reality4 ,and in any case1 ,monsieur1 you overrate the value of reason4 ,in my charming walk through life ,i had sufficient experience to learn that man is not entirely a creature of reason4 ,there are few people without a conscience4 ,the fault of this age is not so much that it is scientific1 as that it is mechanical and removed from the contemplation of ,nature4 ,i have sometimes thought1 said ,leo1 that the principal hope for religion lies in the fact that the lower classes do not think4 ,it is true1 said ,renan2 religion is some hidden consciousness working toward unknown ends4 ,mankind is not entirely reasonable2 it has a conscience4 ,we can no more say that this conscience is an artificial product of society1 than we can say that reason is an artificial product also4 ,the curiosity which is so amusing a feature of the intelligence of cats and monkeys is an earlier stage of the scientific curiosity2 and1 on the other hand1 animals have shown gratitude to their masters1 and thus the rudiments of virtue4 ,man1 in recognising his conscience1 has developed the abstract virtues of justice1 of pity1 of unselfishness2 it does not affect the main question that his choice between virtue and vice should not be entirely free1 nor that the distinction between them should not be always clear4 ,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 ,hercules1 nor because it has been unable1 by its study of the rapidity and direction of other solar systems1 to give to them an approximate fixity in connection with ourselves1 to draw what would really be a map of the heavens4 ,oh1 ,monsieur1 man is a naturally moral being1 just as he is a naturally curious and scientific being4 ,to him both curiosity and morality are natural needs1 and because they are needs they are truths4 ,it is impossible to consider a world which does not act according to a law of virtue1 just as it is impossible to consider a world which does not act in accordance with the law of gravitation1 or1 better still1 as an example1 a species which has not developed in accordance with the law of evolution2 and just as the scientist finds behind all the fleeting appearances and phenomena of the world a basis in matter1 so1 behind all the phenomena and fleeting appearances of virtue we find a basis in ,god1 ,and just as an individual is governed by his conscience in regulating his actions1 so humanity as a whole regulates its actions by an appeal to some abstract idea of right4 ,such dramatic crises as the ,revolution1 and the establishment of the ,roman ,empire1 seem equally the result of a certain slow consciousness working toward perfection2 or take the growth of ,christianity1 which began obscurely and with a literally subterranean movement1 is it not an instance of this blind working toward the light4 ,one cannot outrage the collective conscience of mankind with impunity4 ,a sudden outburst of popular resentment like the ,revolution1 which had been incubating for at least a century1 cannot be considered as a mere caprice2 can1 indeed1 only be considered as a revelation of justice4 ,such outbursts have a purely negative effect upon human progress2 progress is the development of a new spirit1 not the destruction of an old constitution4 ,you offer no constructive policy1 beyond the creation of a new spirit4 ,socialism1 at least1 pretends to one4 ,socialism is a reactionary force1 answered ,renan2 and all reactions are bound to be more constructive than a progressive force4 ,their natural tendency1 as ,i have already said1 is to crystallise in a definite form4 ,the spirit of progress is1 on the contrary1 an intangible if all-pervading thing4 ,it develops spontaneously in a thousand ways1 and as it pushes towards the unknown it is impossible for us to predict with any certainty what forms it may assume4 ,being purely experience1 and not a creed1 it is liable to be extensively modified or even completely changed by some unforeseen development in any of its parts2 a discovery in any branch of science may react upon all1 as the progress of palontology reacted upon history4 ,that is the reason progress seems always to be a purely destructive force4 ,it is only after it has escaped1 through imperceptible degrees1 into a more or less clearly defined new phase1 that we can gauge its value as a constructive force in the last4 ,i see with you1 ,monsieur1 the value of democracy and individual liberty1 said ,leo4 ,oh1 ,i am reasonable4 ,the character of a pope is to be found less in the official acts of his reign1 than in the temper which he fosters in the ,church4 ,the nature of his office compels him to claim the privileges and exemptions which his predecessors claimed4 ,he resigns nothing2 but he allows some of his claims to remain in abeyance1 refusing to deprive his successors of a power1 which1 either for reasons of expediency1 or through personal dislike1 he declines to exercise himself4 ,i came to the chair of ,peter under disadvantageous circumstances4 ,the ,papal ,states had been lost1 and in exchange the doctrine of a vague empire over spiritual things had been proclaimed4 ,infallibility was no new thing2 but the enunciation of it as an article of faith crystallised a power which would have been of more value1 if it had been left indeterminate4 ,i won back much that ,pius had lost4 ,i made no use of the instruments which he had forged2 ,i discouraged1 rather than condemned1 the liberal movements within the ,church2 my policy was one of insinuation1 and1 by skilfully leaving certain positions undefended1 ,i gained that they should not be assailed4 ,alas1 ,monsieur6 you smile at this panegyric of myself2 but ,i have left no one behind who would consider it an honourable office to praise me4 ,the encyclical on biblical studies1 and the biblical commission1 were perhaps my two mistakes4 ,the glorification of scholasticism was perhaps a mistake2 but ,i rather think it diverted the attention of my flock4 ,however these things may appear in the eyes of the world1 my reign was wise1 temperate1 and resulted in a great increase of power4 ,i recognised democracy and republican principles4 ,i attempted to win the people4 ,i was defeated by the extremists on mine own side4 ,an epitaph1 ,monsieur1 not only on yourself1 but on your office4 ,perhaps1 answered ,leo4 ,we do not know4 ,the dead know so little of what is taking place on ,earth4 ,on the contrary1 said ,renan1 voyagers from the ,earth are constantly arriving1 and we are kept well advised4 ,i can imagine a moderately successful issue to my policy if my successor should be a man of tact4 ,even if institutions be only the monuments of an idea1 men must build them2 and1 in spite of your argument1 ,i think a period of authority1 at least of a more correct balance between authority and liberty1 is setting in4 ,i have still hoped for the papacy4 ,comtism1 some one said1 was ,catholicism with ,christianity left out4 ,the qualifying clause is perhaps unnecessary4 ,comtism1 socialism1 internationalism1 are all ',catholic' ideas4 ,to the ,church the name of a nation is merely a geographical expression1 it knows no frontiers1 no distinctions of race or language1 it has no preference for any form of government1 being superior to all4 ,the ,latin language is for it1 a universal tongue1 which no sane person could consider inferior to ,volapuk or ,esperanto4 ,the ,church1 properly constituted1 might draw into itself a great deal of this floating idealism4 ,we might approximate our ideals4 ,you would say1 ,monsieur1 that we were all equally reactionary4 ,all synthetic ideas are1 said ,renan4 ,anarchism is in its essence more truly progressive than socialism1 because it is for the individual4 ,socialism implies either that all men are made after the same pattern1 that in certain circumstances they will act in a certain manner1 or that external influences1 education1 and environment1 will turn out a uniform model4 ,it is an error4 ,if education were all-important1 the ,church would not have lost ground consistently in ,catholic ,europe1 where the ,jesuits have had practically the whole of education in their hands for two centuries4 ,if such a machine as the society has failed1 though it was backed by the ,state1 and spoke with a quasi-spiritual authority1 one cannot imagine a ,state department succeeding4 ,liberty is the condition of development1 and education develops1 it does not create4 ,it is important1 however1 to control the means of development1 answered ,leo4 ,of course our education would be modern4 ,monsieur1 you spoke of an encyclical on biblical studies4 ,renan's voice was seductive2 ,leo made a gesture of impatience4 ,it was a mistake1 he said quickly4 ,at certain moments the heads of any organisation are liable to be driven into a false position by their extreme supporters4 ,my policy was to let things take their course2 to assimilate what we could of the new spirit1 and let the rest die without noise4 ,my condemnation of ,americanism was unobtrusive1 and ,i did not condemn the ,french ,liberal priests who were busy with biblical exegesis1 because ,i saw that attacks on dogma do not interest the mass of people2 nine ,catholics out of ten do not know what they believe in3 and if your methods of criticism1 ,monsieur ,renan1 had not been advertised by so many fanatics1 you would have been read almost entirely for the sake of your style4 ,there is a little man in ,france now1 a little man with the smile and features of ,voltaire1 whose criticism has rendered the work of all those tedious ,germans1 and your own1 quite obsolete4 ,our good ,ultramontanes wished to persecute him into popularity1 and to advertise him by excommunication4 ,they told me he was a heretic4 ,of course he was4 ,all the ,fathers of the ,church were heretics4 ,st ,paul was a heretic4 ,so was ,st ,augustine4 ,so was ,st ,francis4 ,so were ,lamennais1 ,lacordaire1 and ,newman4 ,but it is a pity that the world should know it4 ,st ,paul's heterodoxy laid the foundations of the ,church4 ,st ,augustine's heterodoxy1 that the sacred writings were not to be taken literally1 built it up4 ,st ,francis's heterodoxy staved off the ,reformation for three centuries4 ,lamennais and ,lacordaire in ,france1 ,newman in ,england1 infused new life into our veins4 ,let us point to the names of our sons and not to their works4 ,a subtle enjoyment illuminated ,renan's face4 ,monsieur1 you were always an enigma to me4 ,it is simple1 said ,leo2 the impregnable rock upon which we build is simply the impregnable ignorance of the majority4 ,do you think that science can alter or influence the emotions of the plain man8 ,it does not touch him4 ,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 life4 ,he has no time to pause1 to question1 to criticise1 to select4 ,he aims at euthanasia4 ,his doubts1 such as he has1 are almost entirely subconscious2 and for the sake of his own peace of mind he will attempt to stifle them if they lift their heads4 ,the number of men who can look on life1 the whole of life1 with a tranquil mind is extremely small2 and even these have their moments of failure1 weakness1 and spiritual lassitude1 moments in which life seems a hideous nightmare1 in which the individual1 grown morbidly conscious of his own being1 sees it as no more than an infinitesimal point in the great waste of time and space1 the great darkness of eternity1 wherein all the worlds at present existing are no more than a shower of sparks4 ,man1 that creature of incredible vanity and innumerable petty egoisms1 refuses to consider for very long the melancholy spectacle of a world hastening merely towards its death1 and carrying with it his whole store of spiritual experience1 of poems and philosophies1 theologics and sciences1 which his forefathers have created1 and his descendants shall renew4 ,therefore1 when ,i considered the future of religion as an indispensable condition of life1 and when ,i imagined further a kind of alliance between the proletariate and mine own ,church1 ,i based my calculations principally upon the feet that the great majority of men do not think2 indeed1 that they refuse to think4 ,creeds may pass away1 but the individuality of man changes1 if at all1 only by imperceptible degrees4 ,ages of faith and ages of scepticism recur1 and give place to each other1 with almost the same regularity as the ebb and flow of a tide4 ,the age of ,pericles was sceptical1 the age of ,csar was sceptical1 the ages of ,leo ,x4 and ,louis ,,xv4 were sceptical2 but from age to age the peasant has sate by the fire after his day's work1 dreaming the same dreams1 and hearing nothing of the world's doubt4 ,he is much the same kind of pagan as he always was4 ,he has seized upon1 in a way we cannot understand1 the primitive1 elementary conditions1 which subsist in all religions4 ,you were right1 ,monsieur1 in tracing religion to him4 ,he is its source4 ,perhaps he has never accepted ,christianity2 but ,christianity has accepted him4 ,laborious1 innocent1 stupid1 scarcely more human than the cattle1 who are literally his foster-brothers1 he looks out upon his little world with patient eyes1 wondering2 and he brings us the fruits of the earth and the bread of life4 ,i have said with ,voltaire1 murmured ,renan1 that if a ,god did not exist we should have to invent one4 ,once again a deep1 ironic smile creased about ,leo's jaws4 ,you were perhaps right1 ,monsieur1 he said2 but we should prefer not to tax your ingenuity4 ,the gods invented by science are always afar off2 or they sleep1 perchance2 or they are concerned with their own affairs2 in any case they do not hear us when we call to them4 ,i consider our ,church capable of a larger growth if it will only remain silent on the question of dogma1 which should be left like seed to grow and quicken in the earth4 ,time will obtain for any dogma a certain measure of tacit acceptance1 because truth to the majority is merely something which has been said over and over again4 ,besides the psychological basis of my calculations1 the fact that the majority do not think1 there is the political basis4 ,this has entered into a new phase4 ,in the ,middle ,ages the ,church was allied with the ,state against the people4 ,its dogmas were enforced by the secular arm4 ,innocent ,,iii4 was a kind of suzerain over the princes of ,europe4 ,but even here1 already1 the ,church knew upon occasion to ally herself with the people1 and threaten a king through his own subjects1 by releasing a nation from its allegiance1 and troubling its internal peace by an interdict4 ,since my predecessor1 the ,church has definitely adopted this policy2 but with a more subtile and insinuating method4 ,infallibility relates not only to matters of dogma1 but to matters of ,state1 quoad mores as well as quoad fidem4 ,you will remember1 ,monsieur1 that ,antonelli addressed a despatch to the ,nuncio at ,paris1 in which he says3 ',the ,church has never intended1 nor now intends1 to exercise any direct and absolute power over the political rights of the ,state4 ,having received from ,god the lofty mission of guiding men1 whether individually or as congregated in society1 to a supernatural end1 she has by that very fact the authority and the duty to judge concerning the morality and justice of all acts1 internal and external1 in relation to their conformity with the natural and divine law4 ,and as no action1 whether it be ordained by a supreme power1 or be freely elicited by an individual1 can be exempt from this character of morality and justice1 it so happens that the judgment of the ,church1 though falling directly on the moral of the acts1 indirectly reaches over everything with which that morality is conjoined4 ,but this is not the same thing as to interfere directly in political affairs4' ,that direct interference we must avoid4 ,renan seemed to hesitate before he spoke4 ,it may be1 he answered1 as you say1 that mankind does not progress1 but merely revolves4 ,sometimes ,i have thought so4 ,but nothing is repeated in precisely the same way4 ,neither an individual1 nor a society1 is what it imagines itself to be1 in its action upon the world4 ,the ,church1 as it is considered by its adherents1 is something totally different from the ,church as it seems to its directors4 ,every individual1 and every age1 examines the gospels in a different light and from a different standpoint1 just as they examine the movement of the planets1 the structure of the earth1 the conception of kingship1 of the ,state1 even of that most immediate object the body4 ,the life of ,st ,francis seems to spring quite naturally out of the medival world1 with its crude cosmogony1 its notion of the universe as a huge mechanical toy in the hands of ,god4 ,to such people the story of ,joshua commanding the sun was not childish2 miracles quite as wonderful were part of their daily lives2 and the world for them acted not according to fixed immutable laws1 but by the direct interposition of a ,providence susceptible to the prayers of man4 ,to us it is different4 ,we cannot imagine a ,st ,francis appearing in the modern world4 ,the ,church1 ,your ,holiness1 cannot control the new movement1 which will either transform or destroy it2 but in what will you suffer it to be transformed8 ,the evil of infallibility is that it cannot retract1 or confess to error4 ,the ,pope has been endowed with this fatal gift of infallibility1 a personal charisma1 and through it he has become an incarnation of the ,divine ,wisdom1 even as the ,dalai ,lama becomes an incarnation of the ,buddha4 ,to the historian1 the heretical ,pope ,honorius1 condemned equally by ,councils1 and by his successors1 is sufficient to disprove your claims4 ,but the ,church can triumph over facts of history4 ,what it cannot triumph over is the spirit of the age4 ,you have a large body of adherents1 who describe themselves as ,catholic without knowing what the term implies4 ,you have a smaller1 body1 whose principal business in life seems to lie in reconciling1 by innumerable sophistries and subterfuges1 your dogmas with the modern world4 ,the smallest body of all is made up of those of your adherents1 who accept you as the sole fount of truth4 ,but in each of these three sections there is not a solitary individual who accepts your teaching without colouring it with his own ideas4 ,each will explain a dogma from the point of view of his own prejudices1 and only accepts it with a kind of mental reservation4 ,of course it always has been so4 ,your peril lies in the rapid exchange of ideas which characterises modern life1 the ease of communication1 and the lack of any effective machinery for preventing their diffusion4 ,the moment any crisis arises you cease to act as a solid body2 and the action of your leaders has far less influence upon public opinion than the action of your laity excusing1 or justifying1 or explaining1 the multitudinous diversities which exist among you4 ,if this lay action be not public1 it is the more insidious4 ,i have noticed that when any important pronouncement is published from the chair of ,peter1 your lay apologists make no sign4 ,there is an ominous silence4 ,all are disenchanted4 ,all are suspect4 ,they seem to turn away1 silent and troubled1 from what they imagined to be the ultimate authority1 and seek for their justification at the tribunal of their private conscience4 ,oh6 interrupted ,leo brusquely1 ,i for one do not regret that these gentlemen should be made uncomfortable4 ,a lay theologian has no adequate reason for existing4 ,it is altogether undesirable that laymen1 mere amateurs1 should concern themselves with these things4 ,eh bien6 said ,renan4 ,it is entirely owing to the laity that a certain type of converts accrues to your ranks4 ,liberal ,catholicism1 though you and ,i know what a vain1 chimerical1 and ridiculous thing it is1 is1 as it were1 the first step4 ,take ,newman's theory of 'development' as an example4 ,newman is the prophet dearest to the heart of laymen2 because1 in a sense1 his works are popular4 ,the ,anglican may read him as a classic1 and1 while enchanted with the magic of that exquisite prose1 lays himself open to the attacks of a peculiarly subtile and insidious mind4 ,a certain temper is created in him4 ,he becomes receptive of ,catholic ideas1 and one watches him progressing more or less unconsciously toward ,rome1 blind to his master's casuistry by reason of the ineffable charm4 ,he is like one implected with a morbid craving for some narcotic drug1 gradually increasing the dose as its effect lessens4 ,liberal ,catholics are the lures for such4 ,your ,holiness had good reason for saying that the ,church had been founded by successive heresies4 ,the first step to a conversion is always a misunderstanding4 ,it is perfectly true1 said ,leo2 but ,liberal ,catholicism is finished4 ,only ,newman's hat protects him from censure4 ,the doctrine of development ceased to have any value after the definition of infallibility4 ,it was valuable as leading up to the definition1 but afterwards it became an excuse for the introduction of novelties4 ,its sole value now is as a proselytising medium4 ,but1 ,monsieur1 why do we continue8 ,the ,church is dissolving2 even ,christianity itself seems to be dissolving1 to take on a fluid1 personal form4 ,that singular body1 the ,society of ,friends1 alone seems to be untouched by the solvent of criticism4 ,it has nothing upon which the solvent may act1 no dogmas1 no sacraments1 no depository of tradition1 no hierarchical organisation4 ,it recognises only the inward spirit1 that informing and subtile essence which alone seems capable of interpreting the righteousness of ,god1 a religion of silence1 and of sudden illumination1 a religion of patient hope1 of resignation1 of a tacit understanding4 ,ah1 said ,renan1 smiling1 a religion without forms1 without enthusiasms1 is scarcely one to satisfy all men4 ,it is fascinating to consider the future of ,christianity4 ,after ,catholicism no other form will satisfy the ,latins1 and if criticism destroys ,protestantism with its infallible ,bible1 as it is destroying ,catholicism with its infallible ,pope1 these sophisticated nations will scarcely replace one object of worship by another4 ,you have said that a religion needs an uncritical people1 a people who do not think2 so for any further development we must turn toward a less complete civilisation1 to a virgin soil4 ,perhaps we find this in ,russia4 ,i can imagine that dreamy and unsophisticated people1 who have kept unpolluted through the ages the temperament of wonder1 reforming and developing the ,greek ,church4 ,when their ,revolution comes1 whether it be gradual and humane1 or a violent upheaval of disastrous passion1 the ,church will be metamorphosed2 the stock only will remain1 and new boughs will be grafted upon it4 ,i can imagine a great growth because the field has lain fallow for so long1 and the modern spirit will scarcely touch it1 not only because the new ,christianity will be more flexible in itself1 but also because the people will have inherited our results without having endured our conflicts4 ,the clouds in front of them suddenly trembled and parted2 the figure of a man appeared4 ,mocenni6 exclaimed ,leo4 ,he rose and went toward the newcomer4 ,who is ,pope8 he enquired4 ,and the ,cardinal ,mocenni answered him in ill-humour4 ,sarto4 ,for a moment ,leo stood1 as if doubtful1 without speaking4 ,sarto1 he said at last incredulously4 ,sarto6 ,well1 ,monsieur1 said ,renan1 shall we not continue our discussion on the future of the ,church8 ,but ,leo had taken ,mocenni's arm1 and the pair walked slowly away4 ,sarto6 ,sarto6 ,renan heard ,leo say again1 as the clouds gathered about them2 and ,renan smiled4 ,it is clear1 he said1 that ,sarto is not ,leo4 ,,the ,,end4