No More Learning

[Reenter AsASOAimra.
Abascantus, There is a passion in your steps as if
The treasure vessels from your Syrian marts Had touched at Ostia : check your eagerness, For Pertinax is dead. When Caesar dies, He still is Caesar, and the throne is shaken As if an earthquake passed.
Abascantus — An hour ago
That was the talk of Rome. The corpse must cool Before the funeral-rites ; a yesterday
Must be of age, to interest. Noble patron,
The past is swept away, our policy
VOL. VII. —8
114
THE WORLD AT AUCTION, a. d. 193.
Changed on the instant, and the loaded coffers I guard and with my watchfulness increase, Surrendered to your service, for the world
Is now at auction, and your price the highest That any Roman has the power to bid.
Come quickly to the camp.
Diditu — You break designs
As if they were accomplishment.
Abascantus — They are
When revenue conducts them.
Marcia — Rome for sale !
The Empire offered ! Didius, do not listen ; There is no verity behind this cry :
The world may be possessed in many ways,
It may not know its lord ; but, oh, believe me, It has its Caesar ; nothing alters that,
No howling of a little, greedy crowd.
Why should you rule this city ? Have you raised it
To higher honor ? Have you borne its griefs ? Will it remember you ?
Abascantus —
A safe, a graven memory.
On all the coins
(To Didius) Do you stoop
. . .
High in esteem, but not a lawful empress,
To justify yourself to
oh, a lady
A Nazarene and friend of slaves. More meetly You should desire the quickening approbation Of wife and daughter. An imperial beauty
Is at your side, a noble consort, wealth
To make all unaccustomed places smooth
As the floor's treading . . . and you hesitate ! Oome with me to the camp.
Didius —
This fortune crosses me.
Dearest husband, You have the very majesty of Jove,
Clara —
Marilia —stifle with impatience.
So suddenly
But claim father
So gentle, so urbane, that you will slip Into a throne nor note its quality.
All so smooth
Didius — Ay, in Olympus, smooth Among the happy gods, there could rule
But to contend . . . Go, treasurer, to the camp With large freedom. Bring me word again How you have prospered.
a
I is
I
;
!
it, j
!
THE WORLD AT AUCTION, a. d. 193. 115
Manlia — Say that he will rule Nobly at Numa.
Didius — That would damage me, That was the error of poor Pertinax.
Be lavish, Abascantus.
Abascantus — Come yourself.
Men do not win the world by sending stewards With liberty of purchase ; all is vain
Without the master's voice.
Didius — I will not come ;
I cannot. Do I ever choose the slaves,
Or look upon my treasure till 'tis wiped
Of blood and filthy contact ? Must I strive, All Plutus in reserve ? Do what you will, Take any means, but keep me from the forum, Men's faces ; there are murderers in the crowd : All men in mass are murderers. Stand aside, Mutter your promises ; if you can buy
A palace, paying honestly the price,
It is simply that . . .
Abascantus — (Aside to Clara) Work on him;
I fear that woman.
Didius — (To Marcia) Is Rome bought and sold ?
[Exit.
Alas, you see, she is a purchaser,
Is not ashamed to trade in noblest blood, If once a state of servitude is owned : We traffic in all creatures, and, if fate Allow the traffic, we are justified.
Marcia —
You are forbidden ; something holds you back. Rome to be bought !
(Showing the city) Look there !
But if I stood,
Marcia — It is the strong,
And they must be accoutered by the gods —
What helmets and what spears ! — who may prevail In circumstance so awful. Dare you call
The Mighty Helpers who have fought for Rome
To aid you in this enterprise ? I know
The day will come she will bear many evils,
And many kingdoms build their seat on her :
But touch her with a menacle for gold !
0 Didius, do not dream that what is done
Didius —
An army at my back to overwhelm, You would not interpose.
116
THE WORLD AT AUCTION, a. d. 193.
Of foolish men can ever come to pass ;
It is the Sibyl's books that are fulfilled,
The prophecies — no doings"of a crowd ;
They are laid by as dust. If fate allow,"
You say, " the traffic ! " You may change the current And passage of whole kingdoms by not knowing
Just what is infamy : a common deed
It may be, nothing monstrous to the eye,
And yet your children may entreat the hills
To hide them from its terror. Be dissuaded :
I know what one may do, and what it is
To strike predestined blows : but this attempt
Will lead you to wide ruin.
Didius— Clara, child, You lay this dearest head against my shoulder, You clasp my arm as if to make entreaty ;
But for your sake, if this should prove a gift That secretly should blight you !
Clara— Give itme. You say I am the apple of your eye,
You say I am your idol, praise my beauty, And yet you shut it in the dark forever,
As you have shut away your murrhine vase, If now you let another rise more high, Another pass beyond me ; be most sure
I never shall have pleasure any more
From any gift you give, in any honor
You may attempt to win, if you refuse
My marvelous, full title. Indiscreetly
Cornelius let it drop into my ear ;
From him it has no meaning : you may breathe And with
Mardia —
—Husband, Clara
breathe of joy on all my youth. join my prayers.
For the great suit
Flushes benignant. Didius —
This That
There no need, won. know when Jove
Ah, Cornelius, see smile to win, and you have heard
alone can win it. Is so
[Reenter Abaacantus. Well, Abascantus, do we rule the world
Abaacantus —
You must appear in person. have bribed With promises, but still the soldiers shout,
I it ?
I
?
! is
I is a
I it is
it,
THE WORLD AT AUCTION, a. d. 193. 117
" Let Didius come himself and raise the price
Sulpicianus bids. "
Didius — Sulpicianus!
It is unseemly he should leave the corse
Of a dear son-in-law unvisited . . . Abascantus —
His speech is artful, and your fluent lips Are needed with their generosity,
For he is winning power the thievish way Of subtle eloquence.
Cornelius — If you should speak, Most gracious sir, we cannot doubt the issue ; Your golden mouth and not your golden coffers Will earn you sovereignty.
Didius — — If I must speak ?
Why, so it is my gift ! Sulpicianus
Will scarcely there be master. You must leave me To ponder on my periods. By and bye,
If with security I can provide
These palaces and thrones.
(To Mabcia) Eclectus lives, Marcia, be sure of that, and if I rule
Shall be most dear to me in trust. Go in !
[Exeunt all but Abascantus and Gabba, who has been forgotten.
And treasurer, count my gold.
Abascantus — No counting now ;
You must appease the soldiers, or, inflamed, They lift Sulpicianus on their shields.
You lose the precious instant.
Didius — Face this Borne,
I never wanted words, They streamed up to my lips so fluently ; And now I am ashamed and cannot speak.
This populace !
But leave me — count my gold ; for if my treasure Lie not in solid heaps upon the floor
I will not stir a foot.
[Exit Abascantus.
If this delay
Should save me from my doom ! And yet Ifear . . .
His jaws locked on a sudden — treasurer
Of the imperial chests ! — while I must traverse Wide halls and palaces with no more right
Than if I were a ghost ;
Marcia said true ; and now this awful charge Is laid upon me, a strange emptiness
I am not Caesar ;
118
THE WORLD AT AUCTION, a. d. 193.
Fills me with lassitude. How should I speak ? These Roman citizens, who were my neighbors, Who were my friends, are foreign to me now : If they will be my slaves, they may be happy ; But that is the condition, and to that
Will the praetorians yield ? I am struck dumb. The gold must speak ; for at whatever price Rome rate herself I am her purchaser,
And the great gods, the silent companies,
Must sit around and scoff. . . .
— [Reenter Abascantus. How just!
Abascantus
My patron, we must part with him and quickly To the new emperor.
Didius — Thus the coffers doom. You have been long away.
Abascantus — In colloquy
With logic and with chance. Sulpicianus Will offer at the least five thousand drachms. To every soldier : of his honesty
He can pledge that.
Didius — And I a thousand more. We have these sums, or they are on the way.
Abascantus —
They never will arrive: but you must go
And bray like Hercules, no point reserved,
If you would give your heaps of jewels light,
See your rare vases placed, and claim the service Of Pylades, the wing-foot dancer, perfect
As gem or vase. And there must be no question, No scruple, if Augusta and her dwarf . . .
Didius —
Clara Augusta ! But revolted soldiers . . .
Gabba — Murder !
Abascantus — And bloodshed! Hail, Sulpicianus ! Ours is but merchant's traffic.
Didius — I will bid.
ARMINIUS DESTROYS VARUS'S ARMY. 119
ARMINIUS DESTROYS VARUS'S ARMY.
By DION CASSIUS.
(Translated for this work. )
[Dion Cassius Cocceiancs, Roman historian, was born at Nicaea, a. d. 155, son of a provincial governor. Going to Rome on his father's death, he was ad mitted to the Senate about the time of Marcus Aurelius's death ; was advocate, edile, and quaestor, during Commodus's reign ; made pnetor by Fertinax, he held the office under Septimius Severus, was provincial governor under Macrinus, and made consul about 220, probably by Heliogabalus ; proconsul of Africa and imperial legate under Alexander Severus, the latter made him consul again in 229, but he retired soon after to his native place, and died there. Of his immense " History of Rome," in eighty books, only a small part is extant. ]
Germanictjs brought news of the victory [of Tiberius over the Pannonians], and the consequent glorifying of the imperial name for Augustus and Tiberius ; and a triumph was decreed — among other honors, two memorial arches in Pannonia, which were to be permanent trophies. . . .
While these decrees were still fresh, adverse news from Germany prevented the celebrations. This is what was going on there at that very time : —
The Romans held certain spots in Germany, not con nectedly, but as they could take them by force here and there ; at these places the Roman soldiers made winter quarters, and built villages. The barbarians soon adopted their ways of life, came together in the market place, and mingled peacefully with them ; yet their own ancestral usages, their ingrained habits, the influence of liberty and of arms, were not wholly forgotten. Thus while, kept under this oversight, they gradually and to some extent unlearned the old, they bore the change in their life willingly because they did not perceive it.
Now when Quintilius Varus, made prefect of Germany after administering Syria, on taking the reins of government began suddenly to transform this people, —to rule them as subjects in serfdom, and exact money from them as from conquered foes, — the Germans would not bear the performance : the leaders coveting their lost chieftainship, the people their wonted manner of life before the foreign domination. But because, since many Romans dwelt along the Rhine and many among themselves, they did not dare attempt open rebellion, they treated Varus with apparently entire submission to his orders ;
120 ARMINIUS DESTROYS VARUS'S ARMY.
and tolled him far from the Rhine, to the bounds of the Che- rusci and to the river Visurgis (Weser). There, living in the utmost peace and friendship toward him, they inveigled him into the belief that they could be held in servitude otherwise than by military force. Varus, therefore, did not keep his troops together in one spot, as should be done in a hostile country : he dispersed many of them among the weaker tribes, who asked for them on the pretext of strengthening town garrisons, or hunting down robbers, or convoying supplies in safety. Among those who were conspiring, Arminius and Segimerus, the leaders both in the plots and the war which was being kindled, were always in company with Varus and very often feasting with him.
While Varus was thus confident, anticipating no evil, and not only withdrew his trust from those who, suspecting how matters stood, warned him to beware, but even censured them for being causelessly alarmed over him and bringing odium on the rest, — suddenly out of the quiet, some of the distant Ger man tribes revolted ; undoubtedly because Varus marching against them would be handier to slaughter from his belief that he had a friendly district to traverse, and could not protect himself when war was suddenly raised by all at once. "
This plan was approved by the event. They [the " friendly tribes] urged on the departing army, themselves remaining at home [ostensibly] to make ready as auxiliaries and come swiftly with help. Their forces — already at hand in a desig nated place — being soon gathered, and the Roman soldiers massacred whom each had among them, previously gotten from Varus ; having overtaken him while sticking fast in the path less forest, the enemy suddenly showed themselves in their true colors, and inflicted vast and varied havoc on the Roman army. For here there were mountains full of ravines and inequalities of ground, and exceedingly close-set trees ; so that the Romans before the enemy attacked them were tired out with cutting, and road and bridge making, and many other things of the sort they had to do. They had in train also many carts and beasts of burden, as in time of peace, and not a few children and women and a numerous other attendance followed after, so that it formed on that account a much scattered line of march. Meanwhile rains with high winds came on, and dis persed them still more ; while the ground, having become slippery around the roots and [fallen] trunks of trees, made
ARMINIUS DESTROYS VARUS'S ARMY. 121
them stumble in walking, and the tree-tops breaking off and falling threw them into confusion.
The Romans being thus in such helplessness, the barbarians suddenly from every direction at once, through the dense coverts before mentioned, surrounded them, who were used to beaten roads, and at first shot at them from a distance ; then, as no one defended himself and many were wounded, they joined battle : for the Romans, not marching in any order, but promiscuously among the carts and the unarmed, could not easily be collected into any sort of bodies ; and being singly always fewer than their assailants, they suffered much without being able to retaliate.
Then they encamped there, having chosen as suitable a place as was feasible on a wooded mountain ; and having after wards burned and broken up most of the vehicles not absolutely indispensable to them, and drawn themselves up in order of battle, they marched somewhat better on the following day, so that they managed to advance into a cleared space, though they by no means escaped without bloodshed. Then setting out into the woods, they were again attacked ; and though they defended themselves against their assailants, they profited scarcely at all by it, for this reason : that being collected in a narrow space, cavalry and infantry crowded together in the same spot, when they were attacked many fell by each other's means and many on account of the trees.
So the third day came to them on the march : and again a furious rain and violent wind, beating on them, not only hin dered them from either going forward or standing firmly, but deprived them of the use of their weapons and armor ; for neither their arrows, javelins, nor shields being other than quite soaked through, they could not be used effectively. To the enemy, as they were mostly destitute of armor and able to advance or retreat in safety, these things mattered less. By this time also the natives were far more numerous (for at the outset the rest were hesitating, and only joined them for the sake of the spoil) ; and the Romans being fewer (for many had been killed in the previous battles), they were more easily surrounded and slain.
Varus, therefore, and others of most distinction, fearing lest they might be taken alive and put to death by these fiercest of enemies (for they were wounded), summoned fortitude for a deed of dreadful necessity, for they slew themselves. When
122 ARM1NIUS DESTROYS VARUS'S ARMY.
this was announced, no one defended himself any longer, even if his strength was sufficient for it : all imitated their leader, and, casting away their arms, suffered whoever would to kill them ; for no one could fly, however much he wished. So now every man and beast could be safely slain. And all might have been killed or captured, had not the barbarians been occupied in plundering the spoil ; whereby the strongest made their escape.
[Gap in MS. here. But Zonaras, a Byzantine compiler of the twelfth cen tury, who in this part not only uses Dion Cassius as his chief authority, but often copies his very words, has the following passage, which sup plies it:—]
The barbarians captured all the fortifications but one, which kept them so busy that they neither crossed the Rhine nor invaded Gaul. But that one they were not able to master, because they were unskilled in the art of besieging, and the Romans showered darts upon them, by which they were driven back and many slain. After this, learning that the Romans had placed a guard at the Rhine, and that Tiberius was ad vancing with a powerful army, many abandoned the attempt on the fortification ; and the rest, drawing away from it so as not to suffer harm from those within, guarded the roads, hoping to capture them by starvation.
But the Romans within, so long as they had plenty of provisions, remained in the place waiting for succor ; then, as no one brought help to them and they were suffering from hunger, watching for a stormy night they stole away (there were few soldiers and many non-combatants), and
passed the first and second fortress [of the barbari ans] in safety ; but when they reached the third they were discovered, by reason of the women and children continually calling to the grown men for help, from fear and fatigue in the darkness and cold. But the trumpeters who were with them, playing a brisk march, made the enemy believe
night had fallen and they could not see) that they had come from Asprenas. By this means they checked the pursuit; and Asprenas, hearing what had happened, did really bring succor to them. And some of those captured gained their freedom afterward, being ransomed by their relatives ; for that was permitted to be done if they would remain outside Italy.
(for
ECLOGUE. 123
ECLOGUE.
On the Accession of a Young Emperob.
Bt calpurnius siculus.
(Translated for this work. )
[Nothing whatever is known of the author but his name, and his date has been set all the way from the time of Nero (a. d. 54-68) to that of Car in us (283). But internal evidence seems to fix the first of his eleven eclogues (here trans lated) in October, 238, three months after the accession of Gordian III. He imitated not only Virgil but Virgil's imitators ; but he is the first talented ex tant follower of Virgil in the bucolics. ]
Ornitus —
Not yet are the sun-horses tamed as the summer declines to its
end,
Though under the weight of the juice-laden clusters the wine
presses bend,
And with guttering murmur the foamy new must gushes into
the air. Corydon —
Ornitus, look, notice the cows that my father gave into my care, How under their broad shaggy flanks they are quietly folding
the knee.
Why should not we repose too in the shade of this neighboring
tree?
Why shield our blistering faces with only a cap from the heat ?
Ornitus —
Rather this grove, brother Corydon ; there let us seek a retreat In the grots of our father Faunus, where the pine forest sheds Its slender tresses, and softens the glare of the sun on our heads; Where under its roots the great beech-tree shelters the bubbling
spring,
And amid its wide-spreading branches entangles the shadows
bearing Faun. Ornitus —
Take then these pipes, and if any choice air you have mastered, play on;
Nor shall my flute to accompany fail you — a workmanlike deed Of versatile Lygdon's, made recently out of a fully grown reed.
they fling. Corydon —
Wherever you call me, Ornitus, I follow; for while my delight, My Leuce, denies me embraces and all the enjoyments of night, She has made a clear path for my use to the shrine of the horn-
124 ECLOGUE.
And now we will lie down together, out of the sunshine's reach. But what is the holy inscription I see carven here on the beech, Which some one I know not has lately engraved with a hurrying
blade ? Corydon —
Do you notice how green, too, the message has kept all the tracings he made,
Not yawning in open-mouthed rifts as of so many mouths gone adry ?
Bring your eyes nearer, Ornitus — you can read quicker than I Writing carved high on the bark of a tree ; for your father before
you
Was lengthy and bulky between joints ; and likewise the mother
that bore you,
Not being jealous, injected no dwarfishness into your blood.
Ornitus —
No shepherd, no wandering wayfarer did this in trifling mood ; The god himself sung it — naught cattle-bred my reading of it
espies,
Nor marks the inspired composition the use of our mountain
cries. Corydon —
Marvels you tell ; so let not your eyes wander, but hasten along, And read out for both of us straightway the lines of this heavenly
" Faunus am I, sprung from jEther ; the mountain and wood are my care;
song. Ornitus (reads) —
I sing to the people good tidings; delight in this fashion to bear
Such jubilant songs of what waits them from Fate's manifested decree.
Denizens ye of the forest, rejoice with me ; every man's cattle at last
May wander at large without danger; the shepherd, no longer afraid,
Cares not at night his inclosure to guard with fascine barricade ; No longer the plunderer skulking lays snares for the sheep on
their way,
Nor loosing the draught-horses' halter, decamps in the night with
his prey.
Peace and security with us, the golden age is reborn ;
Bountiful Justice at last upon earth is allowed to return, Cleansed from her filth and her mold; a blest era succeeds to the
gloom,
ECLOGUE.
125
Led by a youth, who has sported with issues of law from the womb.
While he rules in his godhead, Bellona, the worst of the heavenly band,
Bound by him with her hands tied behind her and stripped of her weapons shall stand,
Turning her old lacerations against her own maddening breast; And e'en as all nations have known civil war at her evil behest, So will she war with herself; for no Philips has Rome now to
mourn,
Nor triumphs to lead with herself as the chief of the captives
forlorn.
Off to the dungeons of Tartarus all the War brood shall take
flight,
Bury their heads in the shadows, and fear to come forth to the
light.
Snow-white Peace shall be with us; nor white as to visage
alone, —
Such as full oft was the masking, all open hostilities done,
Of her who when far-off assailants were vanquished, by am
bushes laid
Spread terror and hate through the people, with silent and
treacherous blade.
All the crimes of the feigners of peace he has ordered to pack
and be gone
Far, far away, and fair Clemency buries the swords that are
drawn.
With no funeral pomp of a Senate in chains will his service of
gore
Weary the headsman ; with prisons o'erflowing, no more
Shall the Curia count the few Fathers still left from the Senate
of yore.
Quiet profound shall there be, with the drawing of weapons
unknown,
That shall call back fresh reigns of old Saturn to Latium's long
desecrate throne;
Fresh reigns of Numa, who first to the hot-hearted Roman array, Exulting in slaughter, and burning afield to engage in the fray, Taught the employments of peace, and with arms become silent
around,
Ordered the flutes for the sacrifice, not for the battle, to sound. No more shall the shade of a phantom distinction be sold on the
block,
Nor, silenced, the powerless fasces and judgment seat naught but
a mock
126 ECLOGUE.
Shall a consul accept ; but with law's return, justice for all shall there come,
Giving us back both the guise and the wont of the Forum of Home.
Jubilate, ye of the uttermost race next the South Wind that lies, Tills the boisterous Boreal region, or neighbors the Orient skies, Or dwells in the realm of the Sunset, or burns in the middlemost
air.
Notice ye how shines the twentieth night in the heaven so fair ? How it shows us the peace-bringing comet set off with its radiant
glow ?
How the limpid star is transmitted unmarred to the watchers
below?
Does the torch, as it oft has, besprinkle the heavens from pole
unto pole
With fires all ensanguined, and sparkle with blood flaming over
the whole ?
Not such as the present the past was, when, Caesar snatched off
in his prime,
It pointed to fatal embroilments, the people chastised for the
crime.
Most plainly a true god has taken the weight of the empire at
last,
In his strong arms upbearing so that unshaken through all
has passed;
No crash of its fall shall resound through the world when it
changes its head,
Nor shall Rome from its punishments deem that the holy
Penates are dead,
The sun set save now that longingly sees one arise in the
sky. " Corydon —
Ornitus, just now, as though filled with the sense that the god was anigh,
trembled a feeling stole o'er me where terror and joy inter twine;
But now of the eloquent Faun let us worship the godhead be nign.
Ornitus —
We will voice in his honor the carols the god has himself brought
us here,
And out from the flute's polished throat shall the music sound
lofty and clear
Perchance Meliboeus may waft to reach the great Emperor's
ear.
it
it
it,
;
I ;
it
KING GOLL.
KING GOLL. (THIRD century. ) Bt W. B. YEATS.
Mine was a chair of skins and gold, Wolf-breeding mountains, galleried Eman, Mine were clan Morna's tribes untold, Many a landsman, many a seaman.
Chaired in a cushioned otter skin,
Fields fattening slow, men wise in joy,
I ruled and ruled my life within, Peace-making, mild, a kingly boy.
And every whispering old man said, Bending low his fading head,
" This young man brings the age of gold. "
(They will not hush, the leaves aflutter round me— the beech leaves old. )
Splashed all with clay and journey dull, Cried a herald, " To our valleys
Comes a sea king masterful
To fill with cows his hollow galleys. " From rolling valley and rivery glen, With horsemen hurrying near and far,
I drew at evening my mailed men,
And under the blink o' the morning star Fell on the pirates by the deep,
And they inherit the great sleep.
These hands slew many a seaman bold.
(They will not hush, the leaves aflutter round me — the beech leaves old. )
But slowly as I shouting slew
And trampled in the bubbling mire,
In my most secret spirit grew
A fever and a whirling fire.
I paused — the stars above me shone, And shone around the eyes of men ;
I paused — and far away rushed on,
Over the heath and spongy fen,
And crumpled in my hands the staff
Of my long spear with scream and laugh
12T
KING GOLL.
And song that down the valleys rolled. (They will not hush, the leaves aflutter round me
the beech leaves old. )
And now I wander in the woods Where summer gluts the golden bees, Or in autumnal solitudes
Arise the leopard-colored trees ;
Or where along the wintry strands The cormorants shiver on their rocks, I wander on and wave my hands, And sing and shake my heavy locks. The gray wolf knows me ; by one ear I lead along the woodland deer,
And hares run near me growing bold.
(They will not hush, the leaves aflutter round me the beech leaves old. )
Once, while within a little town
That slumbered 'neath the harvest moon, I passed atiptoe up and down, Murmuring a mountain tune
Of how I hear on hill heads high
A tramping of tremendous feet.
I saw this harp all songless lie
Deserted in a doorway seat,
And bore it to the woods with me.
Of some unhuman misery
Our married voices wildly trolled.
(They will not hush, the leaves aflutter round me the beech leaves old. )
And toads, and every outlawed thing, With eyes of sadness rose to hear, From pools and rotting leaves, me sing The song of outlaws and their fear. My singing sang me fever-free ;
My singing fades, the strings are torn ; I must away by wood and sea
And lift an ulalu forlorn,
And fling my laughter to the sun — For my remembering hour is done — In all his evening vapors rolled.
(They will not hush, the leaves aflutter round me the beech leaves old. )
Gathering Fuel
After the etching by Frederick Slocomb
TRUE FASTING, AND PURITY OF BODY.
TRUE FASTING, AND PURITY OF BODY.
(From "The Pastor" of Hennas. )
[Hermas Is the name assigned to the unknown author of this work of fiction, from its frequent occurrence in the hook, hut without reason. The work was exceedingly popular in the early Church ; it seems to have been written in Rome, toward the end of Hadrian's reign. ]
While fasting and sitting on a certain mountain, and giv ing thanks to the Lord for all His dealings with me, I see the Shepherd sitting down beside me, and saying, " Why have you come hither [so] early in the morning ? " " Because, sir," I answered, " I have a station. " " What is a station? " he asked. " I am fasting, sir," I replied. " What is this fasting," he con tinued, "which you are observing? " "As I have been accus tomed, sir," I reply, "so I fast. " "You do not know," he says, " how to fast unto the Lord : this useless fasting which you observe to Him is of no value. " " Why, sir," I answered, "do you say this? " "I say to you," he continued, "that the fasting which you think you observe is not a fasting. But I will teach you what is a full and acceptable fasting to the Lord. Listen," he continued : " God does not desire such an empty fasting. For fasting to God in this way you will do nothing for a righteous life ; but offer to God a fasting of the following kind : Do no evil in your life, and serve the Lord with a pure heart : keep His commandments, walking in His precepts, and let no evil desire arise in your heart ; and believe in God. If you do these things, and fear Him, and abstain from every evil thing, you will live unto God ; and if you do these things, you will"keep a great fast, and one acceptable before God.
Hear the similitude which I am about to narrate to you relative to fasting. A certain man had a field and many slaves, and he planted a certain part of the field with a vine yard, and selecting a faithful and beloved and much valued slave, he called him to him, and said, 'Take this vineyard which I have planted, and stake it until I come, and do noth ing else to the vineyard ; and attend to this order of mine, and you shall receive your freedom from me. ' And the master of the slave departed to a foreign country. And when he was gone, the slave took and staked the vineyard; and when he
VOL. VII. —9
130 TRUE FASTING, AND PURITY OF BODY.
had finished the staking of the vines, he saw that the vineyard was full of weeds. He then reflected, saying, 'I have kept
I will
this order of my master :
yard, and it will be more beautiful when dug up ; and being free of weeds, it will yield more fruit, not being choked by them. ' He took, therefore, and dug up the vineyard, and rooted out all the weeds that were in it. And that vineyard became very beautiful and fruitful, having no weeds to choke it. And after a certain time the master of the slave and of the field returned, and entered into the vineyard. And seeing that the vines were suitably supported on stakes, and the ground, moreover, dug up, and all the weeds rooted out, and the vines fruitful, he was greatly pleased with the work of his slave. And calling his beloved son who was his heir, and his friends who were his councilors, he told them what orders he had given his slave, and what he had found performed. And they rejoiced along with the slave at the testimony which his master bore to him. And he said to them, 'I promised this slave freedom if he obeyed the command which I gave him, and he has kept my command, and done besides a good work to the vineyard, and has pleased me exceedingly. In return, therefore, for the work which he has done, I wish to make him coheir with my son, because, having good thoughts, he did not neglect them, but carried them out. ' With this resolution of the master his son and friends were well pleased, viz. that the slave should be coheir with the son. After a few days the master made a feast, and sent to his slave many dishes from
dig
up the rest of this vine
the table. And the slave receiving the dishes that were sent him from his master took of them what was sufficient for him self, and distributed the rest among his fellow-slaves. And his fellow-slaves rejoiced to receive the dishes, and began to pray for him, that he might find still greater favor with his master for having so treated them. His master heard all these things that were done, and was again greatly pleased with his conduct. And the master again calling together his friends and his son, reported to them the slave's proceeding with regard to the dishes which he had sent him. And they were still more satis fied that the slave should become coheir with his son. "
I said to him, " Sir, I do not see the meaning of these simili tudes, nor am I able to comprehend them, unless you explain them to me. " " I will explain them all to you," he said, " and whatever I shall mention in the course of our conversations I
TRUE FASTING, AND PURITY OF BODY. 131
will show you. [Keep the commandments of the Lord, and you will be approved, and inscribed amongst the number of those who observe His commands. ] And if you do any good beyond what is commanded by God, you will gain for yourself more abundant glory, and will be more honored by God than you would otherwise be. If, therefore, in keeping the com mandments of God, you do, in addition, these services, you will have joy if you observe them according to my command. " I said to him, " Sir, whatsoever you enjoin upon me I will ob serve, for I know"that you are with me. " "I will be with you," he replied, because you have such a desire for doing good ; and I will be with all those," he added, " who have such a desire. This fasting," he continued, " is very good, provided the commandments of the Lord be observed. Thus, then, shall you observe the fasting which you intend to keep. First of all, be on your guard against every evil word, and every evil desire, and purify your heart from all the vanities of this world. If you guard against these things, your fasting will be perfect. And you will do also as follows. Having fulfilled what is written, in the day on which you fast you will taste nothing but bread and water ; and having reckoned up the price of the dishes of that day which you intended to have eaten, you will give it to a widow, or an orphan, or to some person in want, and thus you will exhibit humility of mind, so that he who has received benefit from your humility may fill his own soul, and pray for you to the Lord. If you observe fasting, as I have commanded you, your sacrifice will be acceptable to God, and this fasting will be written down : and the service thus performed is noble, and sacred, and acceptable to the Lord. These things, there fore, shall you thus observe with your children, and all your house, and in observing them you will be blessed ; and as many as hear these words and observe them shall be blessed ; and whatsoever they ask of the Lord they shall receive. "
I prayed him much that he would explain to me the simili tude of the field, and of the master of the vineyard, and of the slave who staked the vineyard, and of the stakes, and of the weeds that were plucked out of the vineyard, and of the son, and of the friends who were fellow-councilors, for I knew that all these things were a kind of parable. And he answered me, and said : " You are exceedingly persistent with your questions. You ought not," he continued, " to ask any questions at all ; for if it is needful to explain anything, it will be made known
132 TRUE FASTING, AND PURITY OF BODY.
to you. " I said to him, "Sir, whatsoever you show me, and do not explain, I shall have seen to no purpose, not understand ing its meaning. In like manner also, if you speak parables to me, and do not unfold them, I shall have heard your words in vain. " And he answered me again, saying, "Every one who is the servant of God, and has his Lord in his heart, asks of Him understanding, and receives it, and opens up every para ble ; and the words of the Lord become known to him which are spoken in parables. But those who are weak and slothful in prayer, hesitate to ask anything from the Lord ; but the Lord is full of compassion, and gives without fail to all who ask Him. But you, having been strengthened by the holy Angel, and having obtained from Him such intercession, and not being slothful, why do you not ask of the Lord understand ing and receive it from Him ? " I said to him, " Sir, having, you with me, I am necessitated to ask questions of you, for you show me all things, and converse with me ; but if I were to see or hear these things without you, I would then ask the Lord to explain them. "
" I said to you a little ago," he answered, " that you were cunning and obstinate in asking explanations of the parables ; but since you are so persistent, I shall unfold to you the mean ing of the similitudes of the field, and of all the others that follow, that you may make them known to every one. Hear now," he said, " and understand them. The field is this world ; and the Lord of the field is He who created, and perfected, and strengthened all things ; [and the son is the Holy Spirit ;] and the slave is the Son of God ; and the vines are this people, whom He Himself planted ; and the stakes are the holy angels of the Lord, who keep His people together; and the weeds that were plucked out of the vineyard are the iniquities of God's servants ; and the dishes which He sent him from His table are the commandments which He gave His people through His Son ; and the friends and fellow-councilors are the holy angels who were first created; and the Master's absence from home is the time that remains until His appear ing. " I said to him, " Sir, all these are great, and marvelous, and glorious things. Could I, therefore," I continued, " under stand them ? No, nor could any other man, even if exceedingly wise. Moreover," I added, " explain to me what I am about to ask you. " " Say what you wish," he replied. " Why, sir," I asked, "is the Son of God in the parable in the form of a slave ? "
TRUE FASTING, AND PURITY OF BODY. 133
" Hear," he answered, " the Son of God is not in the form of a slave, but in great power and might. " " How so, sir? " I said; "I do not understand. " " Because," he answered, " God planted the vineyard, that is to say, He created the people, and gave them to His Son ; and the Son appointed His angels over them to keep them ; and He Himself purged away their sins, having suffered many trials and undergone many labors, for no one is able to dig without labor and toil. He Himself, then, having purged away the sins of the people, showed them the paths of life by giving them the law which He received from His Father. [You see," he said, " that He is the Lord of the people, having received all authority from His Father. ] And why the Lord took His Son as councilor, and the glorious angels, regarding the heirship of the slave, listen. The holy, preexistent Spirit, that created every creature, God made to dwell in flesh, which He chose. This flesh, accordingly, in which the Holy Spirit dwelt, was nobly subject to that Spirit, walking religiously and chastely, in no respect defiling the Spirit ; and accordingly, after living excellently and purely, and after laboring and cooperating with the Spirit, and hav ing in everything acted vigorously and courageously along with the Holy Spirit, He assumed it as a partner with it. For this conduct of the flesh pleased Him, because it was not defiled on the earth while having the Holy Spirit. He took, there fore, as fellow-councilors His Son and the glorious angels, in order that this flesh, which had been subject to the body with out a fault, might have some place of tabernacle, and that it might not appear that the reward [of its servitude had been lost] ; for the flesh has been found without spot or defilement, in which the Holy Spirit dwelt [will receive a reward]. You now have the explanation of this parable also. "
" I rejoice, sir," I said, " to hear this explanation. " " Hear," again he replied : " Keep this flesh pure and stainless, that the Spirit which inhabits it may bear witness to it, and your flesh may be justified. See that the thought never arise in your mind that this flesh of yours is corruptible, and you misuse it by any act of defilement. If you defile your flesh, you will also defile the Holy Spirit ; and if you defile your flesh [and spirit], you will not live. "
134 THE CONSERVATISM OP HEATHENDOM.
THE CONSERVATISM OF HEATHENDOM. By CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA.
[Titus Flavius Clemens, " Alexandrinus," one of the chief and earliest philosophers who constructed the metaphysical bases of historic Christian doc trine, enrolled as a saint until Benedict XIV. struck his name off the calendar, flourished about a. d. 200. He was a pagan, converted to Christianity. His birth place is uncertain, but he became presbyter of the church of Alexandria. Origen was his pupil. Nothing is known of his further fortunes or time of death. He was a man of immense learning, both in Greek literature and philosophy and Christian speculation, and of the loftiest life. ]
But you say it is not creditable to subvert the customs handed down to us from our fathers. And why, then, do we not still use our first nourishment, milk, to which our nurses accustomed us from the time of our birth? Why do we increase or dimin ish our patrimony, and not keep it exactly the same as we got it? Why do we not still vomit on our parents' breasts, or still do the things for which, when infants, and nursed by our moth ers, we were laughed at, but have corrected ourselves even if we did not fall in with good instructors ? Then, if excesses in the indulgence of the passions, though pernicious and dangerous, yet are accompanied with pleasure, why do we not in the conduct of life abandon that usage which is evil, and provocative of pas sion, and godless, even should our fathers feel hurt, and betake ourselves to the truth, and seek Him who is truly our Father, rejecting custom as a deleterious drug ? For of all that I have undertaken to do, the task I now attempt is the noblest, viz. to demonstrate to you how inimical this insane and most wretched custom is to godliness. For a boon so great, the greatest ever given by God to the human race, would never have been hated and rejected, had not you been carried away by custom, and then shut your ears against us ; and just as unmanageable horses throw off the reins, and take the bit between their teeth, you rush away from the arguments addressed to you, in your eager desire to shake yourselves clear of us, who seek to guide the chariot of your life, and, impelled by your folly, dash towards the precipices of destruction, and regard the holy word of God
as an accursed thing. The reward of your choice, therefore, as described by Sophocles, follows : —
The mind a blank, useless ears, vain thoughts.
And you know not that, of all truths, this is the truest, that the good and godly shall obtain the good reward, inasmuch as they
THE CONSERVATISM OF HEATHENDOM. 135
held goodness in high esteem ; while, on the other hand, the wicked shall receive meet punishment. For the author of evil, torment has been prepared ; and so the prophet Zecharias threat ens him : " He that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee ; lo, is not this a brand plucked from the fire ? " What an infatuated desire, then, for voluntary death is this, rooted in men's minds ! Why do they flee to this fatal brand, with which they shall be burned, when it is within their power to live nobly according to God, and not according to custom ? For God bestows life freely ; but evil custom, after our departure from this world brings on the sinner unavailing remorse with punishment. By sad experi ence, even a child knows how superstition destroys and piety saves. Let any of you look at those who minister before the idols, their hair matted, their persons disgraced with filthy and tattered clothes ; who never come near a bath, and let their nails grow to an extraordinary length, like wild beasts ; many of them castrated, who show the idol's temples to be in reality graves or prisons.