UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS LIBRARY AT URBANA-CHAMPAIQN BQOKSTac- i\S CENTRAL CIRCULATION AND BOOKSTACKS The person borrowing this material is responsible for its renewal or return before the Latest Date stamped below. You may be charged a minimum fee of $75.00 for each non-returned or lost item. Theft, mutilation, or defacement of library materials can be causes for student disciplinary action. All materials owned by the University of Illinois Library are the property of the State of Illinois and are protected by Article 1 6B of Illinois Criminal Law and Procedure. TO RENEW, CALL (217) 333-8400. University of Illinois Library at Urbana-Champaign my ?, '^ wn? When renewing by phone, write new due date below previous due date. LI 62 ZEN ON, AN HISTORICAL NARRATIVE OF THE EAELY DAYS OF CHRISTIANITY. BY THE REV. RICHARD COBBOLD, A.M., R.D., RECTOR OF WORTHAM ; AUTHOR OF THE HISTORIES OF MARGARET CATCIIPOLE, MARY ANNE WELLINGTON, &c. Not many mighty, not many noble, are called."—! Cor. 1. 26. Recants d^trttioii. IN THREE VOLUMES. VOL. I. LONDON: HENRY COLBURN, PUBLISHER GREAT MARLBOROUGH STREET. 1847. LONDON : HARRISON AND CO., PRINTERS, ST. martin's lane. own private apartment, and give vent to tlie rage which tlie fancied indignity of the refusal of one of his nobles to attend his summons had occa- sioned. Most men cool upon reflection, and, when seated in their own solitary studies, weigh with care and caution their future steps. It seemed to Domitian, as if the fatal augury ZENON. 65 wliich foretold tlie defection of his nobles was about to be accomplished. '' Zenon comes not ! — Zen on comes not !'' exclaimed the tyrant, and stamped his ivory inlaid pavement as if he would break it to pieces. " To what purport am I the ruler of Rome, if I am to be thus bearded by a se- nator? Is this the beginning of my downfall '^. Shall a noble refuse to come, in the very face of all my people ? I will have signal ven- geance for this I Yes, Rome shall find that I am an Emperor ! As public as the insult has been, so public shall be the reparation I" He paced his room with rapidity, clutched the dagger which he always carried in his gir- dle, and looked the very personification of a demon. After venting his madness in passionate exclamations and attitudes of determined fury, he cast himself on his couch, and lay a VOL. I. F 66 ZENON. few minutes as if he were in sleep. But during that interval of apparent slumber he was in- tently ruminating upon his plans. Never was Domitian known to forgive an insult to his dignity, though he thought nothing of insult- ing the whole Senate. lie looked upon them in that light which, alas! they were but too ready to shine in, the light of slaves — slaves certainly of a higher order, but not less obse- quious than timid. His carriage towards them Y>^as accompanied by a certain dictatorial elo- quence and address, as if he would have them feel it an honour to receive his commands ; but which they in honour dared not to disobey, any more than any of the household slaves whose lives were in his hands. Laws there were, and good ones too, in the State, but the Emperor's will was law, and law made to suit his own purposes according to his fancy. He rose from his coucli, took a secret in- ZENON. Q7 strument from his pocket, toucliecl a spring in his tahlinum, and dre\Y therefrom a dark-look- ing book, called his BOOK OF DEATH, wherein he recorded the names of those whom he doomed to destruction, together with the manner of their deaths, the date of them^ and by whom to be executed. To this book no one had access but him- self; he closed it upon the entrance of his chamberlain, or whenerer he summoned a slave to do his bidding. He had a supersti- tious dread lest any one should see into it, for an augur had foretold that " the sight of a book should cause his death.'' As no other book, which he knew, could betray his secret yisitations, he kept this with the utmost cau- tion ; but he was proportionately fond, as men often are, of that which is the object of their fatality. He placed this terrible manuscript before F 2 C8 ZENON. liira, and, witli as mucli deliberation as if he had been transcribing a simple order for the good of his people, he wrote, " Zenon dies ! How 1 In the Amphitheatre of Vespasian. Bj whom condemned ? By the Senate. When ? To-morrow. In what way'? To be devoured by wild beasts ! — Domitian.^' Having written this, his purpose was quickly fixed. Stephanus was summoned to his presence. An order was issued for a herald to summon the Senate to assemble in judicial form, at the Emperor's palace, at the ninth hour. The seal of office was affixed thereto, and that day beheld the Senate of Rome assembled to sit in judgment upon one of their own body. But, before the hour of meeting arrived, Zenon had sought out his friend Flavins Clemens ; for, leaving the house of the Bishop, he bent his steps to the noble mansion of his ZENON. 69 friend. Clemens had not long returned from the Amphitheatre ; he felt the deepest de- jection pass over his mind as he entered his own atrium or domestic hall, where his wife, Domitilla, her cousin Flaminia, and all the maidens of his house, were engaged in S23in- ning wool. He entered, not with his usual lordly smile of satisfaction. He felt a ponderous weight at his heart, which not even the cheerful sight of his domestic hearth could dispel. " Dismiss jour maidens, Domitilla." *• Maidens, retire," was the immediate order of the matron. " Shall Flaminia remain or depart 1 Some- thing unusually moves you. Flavins. Is it secret 1" ''I wish Flaminia to remain, if she can summon courage to hear somewhat of her philosopher." 70 ZENON. . ^'Ofwliomr' " Of Zcnon." A Llush mantled tlie clicck of tlie Roman virgin, for she had never breathed to any but Flavia Domitilla the feeling of admiration which arose in her heart for Zenon. And evea tlie staid and portly matron looked at her lord with surprise, as if he had been 'guilty of a breach of confidence in thus betraying his knowledge of her cousin's affection. The maidens had retired, and the chaste Elaminia was standing ready to obey the in- dication of her friend to depart, when Clemens again said^ " Maiden, retire not ; resume thy seat, and, if thou canst, tliy labours. I have a heavy heart, and over my soul there seems to be such a brooding shadow of gloom, that your united endeavours must disperse it with lofty conversation. I am not wont, most ZENON. 71 noble lady, to speak at any time witli timi- dity, and as far as myself am concerned^ I have no fears ; but, lady, next to tliee, tbou art aware Zenon stands nearest my heart. My gloom, my sorrow, my disturbed aflfections, are on his account. I fear his death-warrant is signed!" No Roman matron, educated as became her, ever interrupted her lord ; much less did a maiden, who sat in subjection to the mistress of the house, ycnturc to introduce a word. Schooled to subdue themselves, these ladies exhibited only in the pallor of their faces the deep emotions of their hearts. Do- mitilla knew when she should reply, and observing that the cadence of her husband'a Toice was definite, she rested from her em- ployment, and ejaculated, "The gods forbid! what is the cause of death'?" "He has offended the Emperor. Ob, 72 ZENON. Domitilla, this is sufficient! Alas, life is not in the hands of the gods, but in those of Domitian/^ "How has he offended'?" " By refusing to obey the summons of the Emperor/' " For what purpose 1 " " To see the gladiators in the Amphitheatre. I hare been exalted to-day, lady. I have had my seat not only in the Emperor's litter, but I have sat under his canopy, and never did Rome shine out more brilliantly than she did this day. I chanced to meet Zenon as the procession of the Emperor advanced along the Via Flaminia. I knew his detestation of these ferocious exhibitions, as he styles them, since he has imbibed this new philo- sophy, and had only time to give him an invitation to supper this evening, as the Emperor's litter advanced. It appears that ZENON. 73 he saw Zenon depart from me, and when lie came up to me, he condescended to offer me a seat with himself, and asked me whom I was talking with'? When he understood it to be Zenon, he inquired the cause of his absence, and seemed to me suspicious of his loyalty. I dared not tell him of his attach- ment to this sect of Christians, whom some call Nazarenes, because I know the Emperor thinks that every nobleman in Rome degrades himself by speaking to one of this low-lived sect : what then would he say, did he know that Zenon was become one of them 1 "I was speaking of Domitian's treatment last night of all his senators, and I spake with trembling, and, as he smiled at our timidity, I could not help thinking what a noble countenance he wore. ' I wish, Zenon,' said I, ' that my philosophy rose superior to the fear of the Emperor.' 'I will teach thee,' 74 ZENON. said lie, ' how to fear no man/ And for this purpose he promised to be here from the ninth to the eleventh hour. " The Emperor sent a herald for him, whilst for a long time he seemed interested in the sports of the arena. Apparently in good humour with himself and those around him, as if he would make up for his rude- ness the day before, he gave his senators a more than commonly courteous reception ; and, upon every occasion that he could, he exer- cised that best prerogative of princes, mercy. The gladiators fought with confidence, the senators seemed flattered, and the people happy. On a sudden, however, in the very height of the games, he appeared to think of Zcnon. The herald returned. The Em- peror looked at him inquiringly. "With pom- pous cadence the man exclaimed, ' Zenon com^s not T ZENON. 75 "Oh! the dark visage of the Emperor! never did I see so terrific a change ! Not the darkest frown of Acheron coukl be as sombre as his majesty ! Death seemed to conquer life in him, and, though himself a living man, lie seemed to look on all others as if they were but dead before him. "He spared not after this a single gladiator of the circle. He doomed them all — yes, without any consideration of their merits, or deference to his people — to death. Had not sickness overwhelmed his brain, and he re- quired rest, the consequence had been fearful. He did but mutter to himself those haughty words, ' Zenon comes not,' and, as if his soul was bent on vengeance, he quitted the Am- phitheatre." " Zenon, then, was true to his philosophy V "He was! but will he be so stilH To decline coming to the Circus, or even to resist 76 ZENON. the bidding of the Emperor, ^ill not prove that he fears not his cruelties. But he is a wonderful instance of firmness in these days, when all around him are as vacillating as a weathercock." At this moment a slave announced the arrival of Zenon. He entered with per- fect unconsciousness of terroi', and with such a calm demeanour as, under existing circumstances, and after such a conversation, must have created admiration in a Roman matron. " Welcome, good Zenon !"' exclaimed his host, Flavins Clemens. " Thou art come not only to teach us, but to show us the truth of thy doctrine. Thou dost bear in thy coun- tenance the evidence of its force ; for never did I see less sign of terror in any human features. "Welcome, dear friend, to the house of Flavins Clemens ! Domitilla welcomes thee, ZENON. 77 and our cousin Flaminia asks permission to hear thine arguments, that she likewise may not fear the Emperor." " Oh Clemens, often have I urged thee not to use tlie common speech of Rome, that of saying things in the most approved speech, accurate in words, but in nothing else. Taste is finely cultivated in Rome, but in that taste there is so much affectation of sen- sibility without the least sincerity, that I had rather be one of Afric's wildest sons, or wander in the deserts of Arabia and speak truth, than live among the senators of Rome, when I cannot rely upon their veracity." " Now, Zcnon, thou art too severe ; Domi- tilla and Flaminia can attest that before thine entrance we were conversing concerning the position in which thou now standest with the Emperor; and wx did not expect, knowing as we do his nature, to see thee, under thy T8 ZENON. present circumstances, \Tear so placid a coun- tenance. Few wlio displease Domitian are as little free from fear as thou art. I did not therefore use that Roman style of diction which thou hast so sharply condemned : I did but speak the truth."^ " Your pardon then that I had so mistaken your intentions! I was not aware that I ex- hibited any uncommon placidity in my fea- tures, nor that I was under the ban of the Emperor." "What!" exclaimed his friend, whilst the astonished matron and her generous-hearted cousin looked at him with amazement : *'hast thou not refused to obey the Emperor's man- date r' '• In what way '? " " By not coming to the Amphitheatre." " I thought that mandate only given to those whom he had treated so haughtily last night." ZENON. 79 "Didst tlioii not receive a special summons by tlie herald of tlie Emperor, after thou hadst left me in the morning "i " "No, I did not." " Then thou didst not refuse to come "? " " How could I wlien I never received his bidding r' " How strange ! how strange ! Domitian, with his eagle glance beheld me conversing with thee, and dispatched a herald for thee. He returned : he said not that he found thee not, but his pompous words were, ' Zenon comes not!' The enraged Emperor retired from the show, muttering this brief sentence between his teeth, as if thou hadst defied his omnipotence, and insulted him in the face of Rome. Oh, Zenon, death will be thy doom, ay, before to-morrow's eve, or else there is still that long lost virtue of mercy in the heart of Domitian." 80 ZENON. *' Mj noble friend, I am not in the least to blame for this mistake. I saw not the he- rald of the Emperor. I was not at home, but at the house of the venerable Clemens, the bishop of the Hebrew and Gentile Church in Rome. Thence have I been with that de- spised race, the Christians, to their house of prayer, and have been much more refreshed there than I should have been at the cruel sights of the arena." " But the Emperor thinks thou art disloyal, that thy not coming was contumacious, and that thou dost defy his power ! " " Now the God whom I serve forbid such an evil possession in the Emperor ! Thou knowest -Zenon, that I hate those sights, that I deem them contrary to all humanity, and flagrant violations of divine justice ; I hate these sights; but obedience to the powers of the State, I should not think of disputing. ZEXOX. 81 saying- in the idolatrous T^'orsllip of the gods or of the Emperor of Rome." " "Wouldst thou then have come, hadst thou received the summons'?" " Assuredly I should ; and even there, if commanded by the Emperor to give my rea- sons for staying away, I should have told him my abhorrence of such scenes. My duty would have taken me to the Amphitheatre, but I should have felt it my duty to tell Domitian that those savage shows were beneath the dignity of a civilized State, and far beneath the glory of an Emperor." " How strange ! how passing strange ! But hast thou no fears now, my friend, knowing the fierce nature of the man, whom certainly thy innocence has provoked ?" " One of my firmest principles, Clemens, is, never while I am innocent of any intentional oiFence in the eye of man, to fear anything from man." yoL. I. a 82 ZENON. " But dost tliou not fear the torture ? Dost thou not fear tlie sword 1 Dost thou not fear to be crucified bj the order of Domitian V " For what '? and wherefore V " Because he can kill thee." " He cannot kill me, Clemens.'^ " What '? Art thou invidnerable V "I do not mean that he cannot crush my bones to atoms, that he cannot spiU my blood, that he cannot nail me, as Nero did St. Peter, to the cross, or behead me, as he did St. Paul ; but my body is not the whole of me, my friend : he cannot touch my soul. I fear not him wlio can kill my body, but Him only who can kill my soul ; but to this soul, life and immortality are brought to light, and none can deprive mc of them." " Oh, Zenon ! how I wish that, like thee, I could sec this light, which seems to enlarge the nature of man, and to raise his soul aboYe himself! Do teach me this philosophy !" ZENON. 83 "Mj noble friend, it is no pliilosophj or power of reasoning, according to the schools, T^hich shall teach thee this wisdom. I have no great argument of words or casuistry to engage thine ears or please thine intellectual powers. I have a simple truth to unfold, which, if God prepare thy heart for its re- ception, it will not be in me to withhold a Tvisdom, that shall arm thee against all terrors and prepare thee for a glory far brighter than any which the triumphs of Rome can confer." " And wilt thou reveal it to us ? "We do desire to hear thee, Zenon, and are persuaded that we shall profit by thine experience.'' A herald entered from the Emperor. " Instanter, Flaviu^ Clemens, thou and all the Senate must wait upon the Emperor! - Ha, Zenon here ! I have a command for thee ! Wherever I find thee, in whatsoever house or place, to keep thee there a prisoner, until the g2 84 ZENON. summons of the Emperor and the Senate shall call thee to answer the accusation brought against thee." "Flavins Clemens, I, tlij guest, am now a prisoner in thj house." "I will be bound for thee, Zenon!" "No ! go thou to tlie Senate. There, if thou darest, speak as thou hast occasion, and tell the Emperor I am innocent. Are the Lictors with thee. Herald?" "They are here with due authority. It giieves me to have to chain thee; but my orders are peremptory." " Do thy duty ! — Friend, farewell! If these noble ladies can bear with my company, I will discourse with tlicm, though in these chains. It will not be long before I receive my sum- mons to follow thee. Noble ladies, may I crave your pity T " Most gladly would we alleviate your suf- ZENON. 85 ferings; and if our presence can in any way aitord you comfort, we will gladly stay with you. Our cocnaculum I fear will be neglected." " Nay, Domitilla, let my friend partake of your frugal meal! I must away. The herald leaves the Lictors at the door; Zenon will remain with you; and, if he is not disgraced by those chains, be not thou ashamed of him or them." Flavins Clemens took his departure, leaving his wife and cousin to perform the duties of hospitality, whilst he obeyed the summons to the judgment, which by anticipation he per- ceived would be against Zenon. Even in his chains he accompanied the ladies from the atrium to the ca3naculum; and, whilst the slaves looked upon Zenon as a dead man, these higli-born dames received the greatest comfort in finding their guest cheerful, though thoughtful, easy, calm, and wise in conversa- 86 ZENON. tion, and in no manner distressed even by his bonds. Great souls are free, though galling chains may bind Their limbs and bodies to the martyr's stake. Great in their faith, their freedom is from God ; 'Tis peace within, a perfect harmless peace, Where violence is banish'd; even foes Are there regarded; and their fervent prayers, Free as their souls, ascending up to God, Claim that forgiveness for their enemies, Which they, infuriate, unto them deny. ZENON. 87 CHAPTER V. THE ACCUSATION. No sooner was it known in Rome that the Senate was to be assembled in the royal palace, and that the Emperor had sufficiently recovered to be able to preside over it, than men began to talk of the purpose for which they were summoned. Few were aware of the real cause. Some went, imagining that busi- ness of a warlike cliaracter was under delibe- ration ; others, that some law relative to the public games was to be enacted. There were 88 ZENOX. those who thought indeed that some fresh insult was to be offered to their body; and some supposed that it concerned the Atheists, as the Christians were then called, because thej had no risible symbol of divinity, but professed only to worship their God " in spirit and in truth/'' It was impossible for men who had no key to the secret to conjecture; for the tyrant neither revealed his intentions, nor suffered men to speak of them with im- punity — so completely enslaved were the nobles of Rome. But go they must at the Emperor's bidding, whether it were to receive insults, to make laws, to give an opinion as to the cooking of a turbot, or to sit in judgment upon a case of life and death. The great room, dedicated to Domitian's favourite deity, Minerva, was upon this occa- sion thrown open. It was the most splendid apartment in his palace. It had been the study ZENON. 89 of every sculptor in RoDie to decorate it with some appropriate clevicc, calculated to im- mortalize its owner. In tlie centre of that circular hall, on a noble pedestal of marble, stood the goddess, the celebrated statue which was brought from Greece, and said to hayc fallen from heayen into the city of Troy, which had been preserved with sacred care by its peo- ple, and which was carried away, by force and stealth, by Diomedes and Ulysses. Be that as it might, whether the identical statue of such notoriety, or not, the Emperor worshipped it as such. It was that of a female, with a hel- met on her head and a nodding plume rising aloft over her brow, and bending formidably over the centre of the face. Her countenance was expressive of stern grandeur, and her attitude meant to express majestic dignity. Armed from head to foot, w^ith a spear in one hand and a shield in the other, with the head 00 ZENON. of the Gorgon for its centre, she looked in her- self calm and dignified, whilst the horrible monster on her shield, with snakes for hair, was enough to strike terror into pagans, who imagined that she had the power of petrifying therewith all beholders. It was to this goddess that Domitian paid all his court. He kissed her sandals every day, and vowed upon all great occasions to consult her. Round the room were paintings in fresco, of the wars of Pallas. She was seen lending her aid in all the conquests of Rome, and especially in subduing the Britons and the Germans, and presiding over the splendidly painted triumphs of Domitian. The tyrant had been offering sacrifice in her temple, and now returned to receive the Sena- tors of Rome in her august presence. Benches were placed around in the form of the amphi- theatre, and in front of the goddess was a ZENON. 91 throne of gold, on wliicli the proud Roman loved to sit in his most gloomj hours, that he might brood over the supposed influences and wishes of his dark deitj. That throne was covered with the most beautiful Tjrian purple cloth, fringed with gold, and stars of the brightest silver. The seats around were of worked stufi", of the richest and costliest kind. The pavement was of the most beauti- ful terra cotta; each slab being inlaid with pebbles most intricately wrought, and each with a different device. But, in front of the throne, as if in honour of the presiding god- dess, every slab had the aegis of Minerva set with the most valuable stones which could be procured. Mirrors of the largest and purest light, in frames of white marble, illuminated the apartment, so that it seemed like an inter- minable suite of rooms, looking one into the other. 92 ZENON. By way of contrast to the gorgeous extra- yagance displayed around was the purpose for which the assembly was convened. One hour before the ninth, Domitian had summoned his secretary, to inquire if he had prepared the speech of accusation, according to the terms which he had dictated to him ; and, learning that it was done according to his orders, he rewarded Statins, and sent him home. Glan- cing over this production with the eye of jealousy, he scrutinized tlie epithets to see if they were such as a god should use to his inferior deities, and, vainly imagining that his own empire represented a specimen of heavenly rule, he looked upon himself as Jupiter among the gods. Here he corrected — there he obli- terated — to other parts lie nodded assent, until he found that lie could mould it accord- ing to his fancy; and, being blessed with a good memory, he had but to read once or twice, ZENON. 03 and every passage was familiar to him. It was said tliat this facility was confined to those speeches which he had himself dictated, which suited his evil genius, and were consequently familiar to his cruel mind. The Senate, assembling at the appointed hour, took their seats as men who dared not even whisper a thought upon the cause of their summons. Conscious of their servility, of their lost power, of their fawning depend- ence upon the Emperor's will, never did they look more pitiful than when they found them- selves in Domitian's most splendid room, in the presence of his favourite goddess. They were seated some time in silence, before the throne was occupied, nor dared one say to the other, "AVliat is if?" or even sigh over his slavery, lest those sighs should be noted in the tyrant's black book. It was something to feel that degradation, but it 94 ZENON. required fortitude and a sense of liberty, the more singular because then so little clierislied, though bombastically talked of, to assert the independence of a Roman. The Senators, in their gravity, looked more like statues pe- trified by the Gorgon's head than living noblemen. Power, absolute power, given into the hands of one man, or into the hands of any one body of men, generally leads to the greatest tyranny ; but where the nobles are the slaves of the king, there independence is totally lost. So was it in those days in Rome, though here and there a sense of jus- tice might arise and produce a burst of vigour, which, if followed up, would have breathed and gained more breath from freedom. All reason, all wisdom, all power, seemed to centre in the will of the Emperor, if men might judge by the behaviour of the Senate. ZENON. 95 The Emperor enters, the senators rise. He bows to Minerva ; they bend to him. There was always an appearance of dignity about Domitian, whenever he appeared in public. Though timid and superstitious in the ex- treme, when by himself, yet when he came before the council of his nation, no man knew better how to look the Emperor; and what terror was in his countenance ! Assuminor his most gracious smile, though the most consum- mate cruelty reigned in his soul, he said, " Senators of Rome, be seated.'^ All were silent in a moment, and seated in the most anxious attitudes of suspense. The Emperor alone remained standing. He cast one furtive glance around him, even behind his throne, surveying the mirror, and, as if lie saw no one but himself, and was satisfied therewith, he gathered up the folds of his imperial robe, and thus commenced his oration : — 9G ZENON. *' Fathers of the Roman people, and friends of the Emperor, who is the friend of Jove, I have summoned jou to meet me this daj upon a matter inyolving the dignity of tlie empire, and I may say the safety of your own body. For all men will acknowledge that, if your august personages be insulted, your safety, and that of the commonwealth, is endangered. AYhat, then, Romans, shall be said, if he who is exalted by your choice and made to stand in the place of his ancestors ; if he who once, like yourselves, acknowledged the su- premacy of the Emperor, and set a good example of obedience to a father and a bro- ther, whom he had exalted over his own head, — I say, Romans, if he be insulted, what danger does there not arise to every man throughout the whole world ! For, if the Em- peror's person be not held sacred, and his man- dates be not obeyed, in whom shall any power ZENON. 97 be vested, and by whom shall jour laws be administered 1 " I enter not, Romans, into jour private houses, to hear the manner in which jou maj there choose to speak familiarlj of the gods and me, nor do I violate jour Penates, to see what respect jou have at jour own hearths; but this I affirm, and with an assurance of the firmness and stabilitj of mj position, that, if JOU met with insult from anj of jour house- hold, JOU would immediatelj order him to b3 hurled from the Tarpeian Rock. I will sup- pose that thou, Valens, hadst this daj ordered anj of thj household to attend thee to the Forum or the Amphitheatre, and that thou hadst sent an express command to the effect that thj servant should follow thee to the place appointed, wouldst thou not have expected his attendance 1 Wouldst thou not have looked for him ? Would he not have VOL. I. H 98 ZENON. "been bound, even 'with his life, to obey thee ? Tell me, then, wise Valens, what would have been thj feelings, hadst thou received an insulting message, in the stead of his attendance ! Roman Senators, accustomed as ye are to command, how could je bear the indignity of your slaves'? Would ye not be justified in making a public example of such a one^ When was it ever heard of, from the days of Romulus to those in which we live, that a slave could beard his master with im- punity 1 ** And thou, venerable Vetus, what wouldst thou say, if, as Consul, thou didst find thy lictors disobedient to thine orders'? All Rome would support thee in the discharge of thy duty, and would call thee pusillanimous, if thou didst not make that lictor a public example, that other consuls might be sup- ported. ZENON. 09 "It may be something noble, Fathers, to look over private injuries, though we all know that our domestic regulations should be observed with strictness, lest we become careless of the public welfare ; and I, for one, would never overlook a domestic crime, lest I should be too lenient in the cause of my country; but it would be weakness indeed, and worthy only of the meanest plebeian, to overlook a public injury, when it detracts from the rigid severity of the office which we hold. Proportionate, then, most noble Se- nators, to the publicity of an insult, should be the severity of its punishment. "0 Pallas ! wouldst thou countenance rebel- lion '? Wouldst thou, sprung from Jove, and endued with the wisdom of thy great parent, countenance rebellion among the gods above 1 I know thou wouldst not. By the spear and shield which thou dost hold, vengeance, justi- h2 100 ZENON. fying vengeance, -would be tlij decision ; and to defend thyself, thine altar, thy father's head, and all the obedient in heaven, thou "s^'ouldst expose the Gorgon's head, and send the rebels to destruction. Assist us now, Pallas ! assist us now to assert the dignity of our person and the wisdom of our empire : for hither, into thy presence, favouring deity, I have summoned the Senators of Rome, that thou mightest in this extremity aid us in our decision. Be favourable, then, to justice, and permit me to lay before these, thj^ de- voted servants, the plain reason why they are here before thee, and what thou dost expect of them in justification of the rights of tlie people, the rights of the Senate, and the rights of the Emperor ! " noble Senators, ye representatives of the ancient dignity of our eternal city, tell me if to me, as your ruler, be not delegated that ZENON. 101 power, which ye wish to sec exercised in Rome. As je are the guardians of pubHc morals ; as je are the administrators of the laws of the people ; as je are the judges to whom, in great matters, the whole world looks up for justice — say, have ye not met this day, in virtue of such authority,^ to receive the commands of your Emperor? Were it an atheist upon whom I would call upon you to proceed to judgment — one who, from dull, weak, or deranged intellect, could never dis- tinguish between right and wrong — I might rather plead with you for pity, though even by a madman your Emperor ought not to be insulted, for such should be secured though thought to utter prophecies. But when I tell you, that I have personally been insulted by one of your own body, in the face of the whole nation, tell me, Romans, what punishment can be too severe for such a delinquent ! 102 ZENQN, " It was not an accidental disrespect : it was not a momentary ebullition of mere ca^ price. I have reason to believe, and the gods above have revealed it to me, that there is at this moment a most dangerous conspiracy floating, as the Tiber, through the city. Yes, Fathers, and some of you, I have reason to fear, are already too deeply concerned in this wicked plot against the sacred person of the chief deity in Rome. I am exalted to dis- charge a duty, and, by the hope I have of being numbered with the constellations, I will never suffer my sacred person to be insulted, lest my future glory should be tarnished by the frowns of Pallas. I warn you all to take care how you offend the god of Rome. I tell you plainly, noble Senators, loth as I am to degrade your body in the eyes of the people, that even your high dignity shall not screen you from vengeance, if you persist in your ZENON. 103 iniquity. I hear that some of jou do actually screen the offender — naj, that he is at this moment a favoured guest in the hall of one now seated Tvdth you ! Yes, Senators, and that one nearest our royal person — one whom I have placed too near me, and too publicly this day, raised his head above most of you, so that you cannot be mistaken in Ids person. "I perceive that your eyes are bent upon Flavins Clemens. I wonder that he is not confounded — I wonder how he can look Pallas in the face and not be petrified. But there are some men, Romans, whom nothing can shame — men incapable of respect to their fathers, who would as soon take the venerable hair into their hands, and tear their hoary locks from their heads, as they would eat their herbs in haste and give the gods no thanks. Upon Flavins Clemens I have heaped honours ; 104 ZENON. I raised liim to the dignity of tlie Consulate, I poured upon his head the oil of consecra- tion, and esteemed him as mj dearest friend. I found him a man of talent, and promoted his views, poor but honourable, and therefore I made him rich. His couch was straw, and lo ! he reclines now upon purple. His house had but one door, frequented only by him- self; and now he ranks among the most splendid for his noble mansion, gold-studded doors, and Grecian porticoes. He was scarcely able to command one slave, and now he almost vies with royalty in the number of his attendants. His litter is carried by ten, and his head is exalted among you. Who is greater among you than Flavins Clemens — who more liberal, more profuse, and more sump- tuous in his entertainments, and at whose cost '{ Who gave him these, and more than these, but his Father, the Emperor ^ Not ZENON. 105 only is he freed from the commonest toil wliich some of the noblest of jou exercise in your avocations, he commands secretaries to write his thoughts, poets to speak his praise, and reporters to tell him the proceedings of the Senate. He enjoys all things luxuriously, and even sleeps conscious that he is nearly allied to the Emperor. "To crown all my gifts I have given him my niece Domitilla, and what would he have more 1 what would he aim at beyond his pos- sessions 'i Is it at the imperial diadem '? Senators, how would he use it 1 The man who can screen the enemy of his benefactor, deserves himself to be treated as an enemy. He is worse than an open foe. He is a secret friend, a hidden dagger, wherewith to strike the heart of his father. " Romans, can the savage Gaul, the bar- barous Briton, the wild Scythian, or the black 106 ZENON. Ethiopian, be as bad as he 1 Can the fiuioua Parthian, the wild untameable child of the desert be as ungrateful 1 Egypt has not a crocodile on the banks of her alluTial river^ basking in the slimy mud, amidst the rising rice, half as deceitful. Her cry is for food, that she may seize the tender mother anxious for her young, and she profits by her deceit : but for what is this haughty senator, now daring to look me in the face, thus secretly plotting among my enemies 1 He is the boon com- panion of Nerva, the friend of Orfetus and Rufus, whom I have banished from Rome, and I can prove that the magician ApoUonius, of whom you have all heard so much, is in secret correspondence with this noble kins- man of mine, whom, before you all, I this day- accuse of harbouring mine enemy. He looks as though he would deny my assertion. Let him do it if he can. Let him answer this ZENON. 107 qnestiou which I now put to him before you all — ' Is not Zenon now in custody in thy house V " To some this question may appear para* doxical: but, Romans, I must prove this man to be my enemy, and then the intimacy subsisting between one who calls himself my friend and relatiye and this most insolent and audacious senator. Ye know, noble Romans, that I this day gave you honour in the sight of all nations ; that I invited you to become yourselves the observation of my people, before the whole Amphitheatre. You must have seen how I acknowledged my relation Flavins Clemens, when I took him to the arena in my own litter. I gave him favour in your sight, and probably might have created some sort of jealousy of his greatness: but you would never envy him his exaltation, had you known, as I now do, his utter unworthiness, 108 ZENON. " Degraded Senator, crucifixion v^ere too good for thee! Thou hast lied to the Em- peror, cherished his foe, and thyself been the agent of his obduracy. Thou art known, as others are, but I shall pause in my line of accusation, for I see many downcast coun- tenances, which have more modesty in them than thou dost possess. Thou dost seem to confront even Pallas herself; but the goddess tells me that thy destiny is sealed, as thy perfidy is discovered. " You must understand. Senators, that, as I proceeded in my litter to tlie Amphitheatre, I espied from a distance along the Flaminiau Way, Flavins Clemens in close conversation with some one, who, I well knew, must be of patrician blood, or he would not have been seen in the broad day, in the sight of the senators of Rome, in such close and intimate acquaintance with him. !My surprise was there- ZENON. 109 fore excited when, as the procession approached, in which many of jou, honourable men, accompanied me, the stranger parted com- pany with Flarius Clemens and seemed to hasten from the spot on his way to the Tiber. " Ye know the distinction I conferred upon this man by giving him permission to sit, in the sight of all Rome, with her Emperor. I inquired who the stranger was ; and learned that it was Zenon, son of the brave conqueror of Britain, and one whom, for the sake of his father, I had raised to the dignity of consul. Surprised that he did not attend the first summons to the Amphitheatre, I sent a special herald to command his attendance, and reserved for him a royal favourite seat, at the foot of the podium beneath my own canopy. Mark, Romans, that this senator. Flavins Clemens, pretended to excuse him 110 ZENON. from liis disrespect bj saying, tliat lie could not liave known that my invitation was a general one, and meant to include all of noble birth who were not actually ill or absent at the time from Rome. This was but a pre- tence, for he must have known at the moment the contumacious disposition of his friend : for, at that very time, I have been since in- formed, he went to meet the enemies of our State. "Yet om' herald was sent to the hall of his ancestors, by the direction of Flavins Clemens, as if he was to be found at the foot of the Cailian Hill, and would come, of course, honoured by my especial bidding. He was not there, but was met, as I understand, coming from the Palatine Bridge. Will you credit what I now tell you, ye Senators, that this rebellious servant sent me word by my own herald that he despised my message ZENON. Ill and would not obey me? ' Tell jour master/ sajs he, * Zenon comes not T "Ye heard, some of jou, this message delivered. je gods of Rome, what will ye next permit 1 How know I now that my person is safe even in my own hall? Jupiter, why did not thy forked lightning strike the traitor down? Why, Vulcan, didst thou not instantly hurl him into the fiery furnace ? Ye have seen the indignity thus put upon yom- exalted servant, and have per- mitted it for justice sake to become ripe for judgment ! " I was confounded. Senators ! Yourselves must have perceived that I was speechless from this ingratitude. I was overcome by sickness, and, but for the cheering aid of Pallas and her counsel in this affair, I had sunk under this unexpected blow, and should have fainted from astonishment. But Pallas counselled me. 112 ZENON. She persuaded me to assemble all the senators of Rome and make this case their own. She counselled me to secure the person of Zenon, and bring him before jou all, that he may re- ceive the due reward of his iniquity. Plis per- son is secured. He w^as found sheltered in the liouse of Flavins Clemens ; and your lictors are at this time his keepers. "Hear it, ye gods above! A Roman senator, wlio ought to have brought the pro- scribed Zenon to justice, entertains him in his house, and even allows him to be the compa- nion of his virtuous wife and cousin ! Mark this, ye gods, and show the senators of Rome what he deserves ! " But I will not, at this moment, venture any further to expose his treachery ; every breast must have received a pang! I shall find time and opportunity to deal with Flavins Clemens as he deserves. I shall but give you ZENON. 113 power to decide in tlie case of Zenon. I shall trust to jour severity, Romans, to de- clare what punishment should be his. A pub- lic one I shall insist upon ; ay, and a speedy one also — for to-morrow is not too soon for your Emperor's justification in the face of Rome. I shall the more confidently leave this to your decision, as I am persuaded you will set your mark of displeasure thereupon by the most public severity. It is not enough that a man be condemned — it is not enough that he should be banished. I have been too lenient in this respect, and I repent that I had any pity upon those who are gone out from your body. " Show then, wise Senators, your sense of honour for your Emperor, and I am persuaded that you will give me some appropriate testi- mony of your abhorrence of this crime, by de- creeing an adequate punishment, such as none VOL. I. I 114 ZENON. of jou would like to undergo. To-morrow, Rome will be assembled, and the fiercest wild beasts will be exposed to view. I confess, Romans, no propitiation you could make to me would be so consonant with mj sense of your loyalty and my conviction of the just punish- ment of such an offender, as to see him torn limb from limb by these wild beasts. What, though he be a noble ; is he not amenable to your laws '? And shall he violate that first great law of obedience, which your body de-. creed to the person of Augustus, namely, that the Emperor's mandate should be impera- tive ? " I will not longer dwell upon this matter. I will take my seat, and await the residt of your earnest deliberation. I shall but hold converse with Pallas, whilst ye deliberate upon your duty. Decide, therefore, Romans, and that quickly, for I have conspirators con- ZENON. 115 nected with tliis man to look after, and I would dispose of his case immediatelj." Thus having ended his harangue, he seated himself before his goddess, and, in attitude of profound meditation, seemed wrapt in ab- stracted contemplation. I2 116 ZENON. CHAPTER VI. THE CHRISTIAN CONVERSATION. While this scene was acting in the palace of Domitian, a widely different one took place in the house of Flavins Clemens. There, ac- tually in chains, sat in the presence of two noble ladies, the very being whose conduct was. then impeached by the Emperor. A contrast, indeed, to the proud tyrant who was then in- venting instruments of death in his heart, to torture the innocent man who unconsciously ZENON. 117 had provoked his wrath, and who merited onlj his esteem. Zenon, however, was not embarrassed. He seemed even more graceful, honourable, noble, and engaging, thus enduring misfortune, than when he had first entered the atrium of his friend. He was seated in the ca3naculum, and partook with cheerfulness of the repast placed before him. His conversation, too, was ele- vated, natural, and easy, though it must be confessed that, under the virtuous restraint of Roman manners, the hearts of those worthy ladies fluttered for the imminent danger in which their guest was placed. Well did that royal female know the temper and habits of her uncle. She knew his disposition so well that she felt convinced she was holding con- verse with one whom she could scarcely expect ever to see again. The very circumstances under which he was 118 ZENON. tlien seated naturally led to seriousness of conversation. A female lieart can never be closed against pitj for the condemned or the proscribed, even when it owns the justice of the judgment pronounced ; but, when unme- rited death threatens the good and just, the innocent and noble-minded, pity then becomes such an absorbing feeling as to create a sort of veneration more pure than mere mortal admiration. The virtuous Flavia Domitilla and the not less virtuous Flaminia seemed exalted, by the composed dignity of their guest; and, when the slaves had retired from the coenacu- lum, they could not help questioning their friend upon the state of his feelings at that moment. "Noble Zenon,'' said the matron, "though thou art in chains, yet, if there is anything we can do for thee, command our services. Can ZENON. 119 "we not send some messenger to tliine abode, to apprize tliine aged mother of tLj situation 1 Or hast thou no friends thou wouldst like to see at this dread period ? Command this house to serve thee ! We should all be glad so to do. Mj husband's friend is mine own, and he would justly accuse me of neglect, if I were unmindful of anything which he would have done/' "Most noble lady, I sincerely thank thee, and deeply I feel that this attention is th^ more generous, because thou seest me a poor prisoner in thine own house. I would not, howeyer, involve any of my household, and especially my beloved parent, in any provoca- tion which the Emperor may at this time entertain against me ; and therefore, noble lady, I would not distress her or thee, by making her over-anxious for her son ; and yet lady, I will in some sort be troublesome to 120 ZENON. thee, for but a short space, and that for pen and paper to write to mj friend Clemens, the bishop of those poor Christian souls who wor- ship God in spirit and in truth. I feel that the prayers of the faithful will strengthen me to bear the wrath of Domitian with unflinching firmness. Should I be heard before him, I am persuaded that I should be able to substan- tiate my own innocence : but, should I be con- demned unheard, I shall receive help from my God to endure the infliction with which the Emperor may be pleased to visit me." "And who and what is thj God, who is so pow^erful as to sustain thee, as he now does, under the terrors of the fiercest of mankind V " The God of the Christians, noble ladj, is above all the gods of the earth, though His worshippers are despised as if thej had. no God — as if thcj were the lowest of all mankind, ignorant, mean-spirited, weak and. ZENON. 121 wicked. Once, ladj, I thought this very people were such, and when I saw them going to none of our consecrated temples, acknowledg- ing neither Jupiter, Juno, Pallas, Apollo, Mars, Bacchus, Vulcan, Mercury, nor any of these deities, whom Rome extols, in my own mind I set them down as impious. No noble acts seemed to inspire them to great designs; they had no sacrifices, no altars, no victims, no augurs, hierophants, or soothsayers ; neither did they take part in any of our games, our shows of gladiators, or our victims. They bought no chaplets, they dedicated no costly sacrifices, they bent to no images, they walked not as other Romans did, with countenances dignified in their expression, but ever seeming to be lowly in their deportment, so that I confess I could see nothing in them to ad- mire. " It was my duty to see more of their for-. 122 ZENON. titude, however, than most men ; for, as cap- tain of the guard in the days of Nero, I had to carry into execution his Ycngeance upon their body. I had to superintend the punish- ment of many. I saw two such venerable beings sidTer, one beheaded, and the other crucified with his head downward, that I marvelled at the love, the indescribable love, of all their followers. I saw these two eminent apostles suffer ; I heard their prayers, which to me seemed so fervent, and so earnest, and so composed, and yet so m-gent, that I said within myself, ' These men must worship a real God, although I cannot see Him.' I pitied, as one woidd naturally pity, suffering huma- nity. 1 regretted that I had to carry Nero's orders into execution. "One of those divine men said to me, * Brother Zcnon ! I accept thee ; thou art mine already. I love thee, and will tell thee thou ZEN ON. 123 shalt one day have the joy that I now expe- rience ; thou wilt believe in Jesus, as I do, and wilt gladly sufi'cr for the truth's sake/ I can- not tell thee, lady, how deeply I was smitten by this declaration, though I did not think I could ever possess the firmness of those men, and meet the cruel death they met with forti- tude. "'All the gods of Rome,' said the other to me, ' all the gods of Rome are devils ! and thou, Zenon, wilt know it, and be persuaded of it before long ! In the mean time, go to Linus, and tell him thou dost desire to know the truth. This persecution will soon end, and thou shalt be converted/ " "What suffering patience ! what joy in death ! what blessing of the sword and the hand that held it ! Could the Emperor have witnessed the joy with which these Christians welcomed death, if he meant to punish them 124 ZENON. seyerelj, he would have spared them that which was to them the crown of immortalitj. Some were beheaded instantly, and without a murmur ; some were boiled in caldrons ; one man, even in the face of the Emperor, thrust his hand into the burning fire, and asked him if his god would enable him to do that with- out agony. There he held it until it dropped off, and jet his countenance exhibited nothing but determined resolution and calm resigna- tion. Others were crucified. And all called upon the name of Jesus, as their God. " In a word, most noble Flavia, I found my- self cast down with grief, with thought, with distraction. I was convinced that the forti- tude of these Christians was something more noble than I could fully comprehend. I per- ceived that they were endued with a strength of spirit insuperable. I had a desire to know their God. I visited Linus, who was then ZENON. 125 Bishop of the Gentile Churcli ; I found him expecting me and rejoiced to instruct me ; I became his disciple — I am a Christian, and now, like those who have gone before me, I am ready, if such be the w^ill of God, to suffer for the truth's sake. We pray for each other, lady, and it is on this account I desire to write a few lines to my friend and pastor, Clemens, now his successor, and crave of you the re- quired indulgence." *'It is granted immediately, and heartily do I wish thou wouldst grant us a sight thereof. Thou hast interested me deeply in the cause of Christians ; and whilst I see thee as thou art, I could wish myself of the same spirit." "Most gladly, lady, shalt thou see my letter, and God be praised that He inclines thine heart to pity us ! May He open thy soul to an earnest longing after the knowledge which we have of the true God and his Son 126 ZENON. Jesus Clirist ! I tliank you both for your kindness, and may He who strengthens me, reward you also!'' The letter was written, and, as might be supposed, it was read with the deepest interest by these two Roman ladies, who beheld the writer with feelings of sincere commiseration. It was as follows : — • *'Zenon, the prisoner of the Lord, in the house of Flayius Clemens, sends his greeting to his beloved pastor, master, and friend in Christ, Clemens, ordained successor of St. Paul and St. Peter, in the Chm'ch of the Gentiles, Apostle of Rome. Beloved father and reverend teacher, thou who hast instructed me in the ways of truth and righteousness, accept my humble request made this day in my bonds, I pray thee, thou servant of the Lord, put up thy prayers in behalf of one fallen under the displeasure of the Emperor of Rome. For I ZENON. 127 know tliey shall turn to good account in my support. Tiiou mayest readily believe, dear friend, that for no fault of mine committed against the Emperor am I now in chains. He thinks, indeed, that I disregarded his mandate, and refused to obey his summons. He sent his herald for me, at the time we were deeply engaged in receiving the messengers from the Church of Corinth; and thou knowest that I did not leave thy presence until the noon-day hour of prayer was over. After leaving thee, I came hither to the house of my friend, Flavins Clemens, whom God protect and com- fort for his love to me. For I greatly fear, that upon him and his family will fall the dis- pleasure of the Emperor, inasmuch as I am found his guest. I pray thee, father in Christ, make mention in thy prayers of both him and all his house, that the gifts of the Lord may be poured upon them, and that they may be comforted. 128 ZENON. *'01i, the infirmities of our poor mortal nature ! How little does the Emperor know the lojaltj of Christians! Oh, that God may be pleased to open the eyes of the ruler of Rome, and let him see how faithful are his Christian subjects! " That my danger may appear to thee in its true light, I can inform thee, through the honourable lady of this house and her cousin, that I am expecting every moment to receive my summons or my sentence. Flavins Cle- mens and the Senate are assembled at the palace of Domitian, to sit in judgment upon thy servant. Thou knowest tliat it was always considered unlawful, and is so in the provinces to this day, for a Roman to be condemned un- heard; but here the Emperor's fiat, as thou hast but recently heard, is the law of Rome. The lictors are at the door of this nobleman, and await only the orders of the Senate. God ZENON. 129 only can tell ^\licre I may be an hour lience ; pray, therefore, and let the prayers of the Churcli be offered up for me, ifinvorthy sinner as I am to receive any consideration or pity at her hands. I persecuted her children by the order of Nero. I gave to death her brightest ornaments, and reported their con- stancy to my master. Oh, Clemens, thou knowest all the rest I "Should I bring persecution upon the Church, by this my unknown offence, how greatly shall I grieve; but, if for her I should be counted worthy to suffer, oh, may thy prayers and those of the Lord's children pre- vail to have me strenojthened from above ! "A mighty work is close at hand; for the nobles of Rome must now have their attention called to Christianity, and some will be found worthy to bear witness to the truth. Send, if thou canst, to my house, and obtain thence my VOL. I. K 130 ZENON. MSS. of the Books of Moses, and mj copy of the Gospel written by Matthew, with the translation and notes thereupon by thyself. I would that my benefactors in this house should see and understand the great works and words of God from the beginning. '' These enlightened ladies have been reading the history of the Jews, by Flavius Josephus, which the Emperor has lent them from the royal library, and which history, as fast as it was written, he had the public spirit to have transcribed for the several public institutions in Rome and for private individuals, by scribes appointed by himself to the work. I wonder if the Emperor has read those manuscripts. How singular that he should be an instru- ment of proving the truth to future gene- rations, and he be the SAvorn enemy to both Jews and Gentiles ! " Conceal if thou canst my present suffer- ZENON. 131 ings from mine aged motlier ; if not, I know, 0, Clemens, that thou wilt not fail to do thy best to comfort her declining years. Tell her, I suffer gladly, yes, very joyfully, for the truth's sake. I can write no more at this time, but my fervent love to all my flock. May the Lord, the chief Shepherd, preserve them, lead them into sweet pastures, and bless thee, good Clemens, and the whole Cliurch of Christ, at Rome and throughout the world. Com- mend me to all that are in thy house. — • Farewell." This epistle was quickly forwarded to its destination by the hands of a confidential servant. The interesting conversation was renewed, and the prisoner in bonds had the ineffable delight of seeing how the Lord opened the hearts of his hearers to receive the truth. " ladies," continued Zenon, '-' what ido- k2 132 ZENON. latries and crimes have not tlic Roman nation committed ! Thou sayest truly, Flavia Domitilla, that thou art surprised tliat God should permit Titus to lead captive so many of the Jewish people ; but had Rome been so favoured with tlie light of truth from above, had she received the signs and wonders, and marvellous loving kindnesses of the Lord, and had such mighty acts been done in her as have been done in Jerusalem, she would have been penitent and not ungrateful. But her gods are dumb idols, her laws human inven- tions, her rites superstitious, and her people knew not the Lord of Hosts. Rome has ad- vanced to be the conqueror of Judea, not for any great virtue in her people, but because the Lord's people have become wicked, have renounced the allegiance due to their own king, have crucified their King of kings, and therefore are they dispersed throughout all the ZENON. 133 regions of Uie world. But the Christians escaped the dreadful siege of Jerusalem, and are gone forth conquering and to conquer in their Master's name. God has sent salvation even to the conquerors of the world, that they may be subdued to Ilis word. Rome will become Christian. Her emperors will be the first nursing fathers of the Christian Church. All her gods will be cast down, her temples will vanish, and the name of the Lord shall flourish ! " But her people are naturally superstitious ; they arc attached to the splendour of human worship. Our most enlightened scholars and philosophers tell us they do not worship the statue itself, but the god whom it represents. Most noble lady, our God is beyond all visible representation to human eyes, and we can only judge of His power by his almighty works seen from the foundation of the world. 134 ZENON. Pic is not like Jupiter Tonans, Jupiter Ammon, Jupiter Stator, or Jupiter Capi- toliniis/' "And jet tliou tellest us that thy God assumed the human form, and came down upon the earth 1" " I told thee, ladj, that He sent his Son into the world, to take our nature into his, to restore to it its immortality. He did so truly. He came, according to God^s earliest promise, to make atonement in the flesh for the sins of the whole world. And that atonement Jesus made, when our Roman governor in Judea nailed Him to the cross. He consented — for all power was his, and he could haye annihilated legions of Roman soldiers; He came to fulfil the Scriptures, submitted to that cruel death formerly so ignominious, now honoured, indeed, by his blood shed upon that cross. He died upon ZENON. 135 it, was buried, rose again, ascended into heaven, sent the IIolj Spirit wlio now rules in our liearts, works bj us and with us, and will raise us again, witli bodies like our Saviour's, though we be here eaten bj wild beasts or burnt to death. But, ladies, the Scriptures I have sent for will inform you more fully of these things, and, should you require further information and I be spared, most gladly will I aid your researches and direct you in the truth. May you, ladies, flee from all superstition, and not only you, but Rome likewise ! May faith be given you to believe what you read, and to see, not with your natural eye, but with the eye of the spirit, the deep things of God. Hark ! I hear a stir in the court." It was a messenger from the Senate : " Zenon must go before the Emperor." " Ladies, farewell ! Think not of me nor 136 ZENON. of my chains ; think only of the truth, and, when voii have read those Scriptures, restore them again to the Church. God's peace be with jou, farewell !" His chains were gathered up with com- posure, and the prisoner, with more freedom than the senators of Rome possessed, de- parted. " Oh ! true nobility of mind ! What freedom to be free from chains of death, Unshackled in the spirit, though the limbs Be worn and weiirhted with the iron links." ZENON. 137 CHAPTER VII. THE PAUSE. What a scene of confusion was going on in the Emperor's palace at the time when the unfortunate Zenon was speaking so interest- ingly to his noble hostess ! A pause had certainly ensued after the thundering address of the passionate monarch. It was the pause of absolute command, which looks for instant obedience without hesitation. Though the language of appeal had for form's sake been addressed to the Senate, the tyrant did not 138 ZENON. expect anything but immediate compliance with his TV ill. He had accused a senator to his face, one whom he had raised to the height of dignity, and conceived that he had a perfect right to degi'ade him when he pleased. Expecting to find a ready, submissive, and flattering address in reply, he had concluded in his own mind that an instantaneous condemnation awaited the victim of his accusations. But for the thought of affording his senators a fatal and signal example of his wrath, and so making himself a terror to their senses, he would never have summoned them to his palace. He wanted not power to try, condemn, and execute any one ; neither needed he to con- sult any of his subjects upon the kind of death he might think fit to order. He could issue his mandate to the public executioner, and the prison, the sword, the axe, the rack, or ZENON. 139 the wild beasts, were liis engines of wrath, and no one could oppose him. But, when once he had appealed to the senators for a sentence, though he had hinted at the one he expected to be given, he could not but wait until it came. He had seated himself, and seemed to be the rerj image of dignified composure. A tyrant's patience is soon exhausted. Men accustomed to submission from nobles and authorities brook not with indifference any delay in their expectations. Nor did Domi- tian anticipate the slightest hesitation. Yet there was a stir among the senators. There was a whispering, an indistinct murmuring, as if there was a doubt in the matter. The eyes of the judge expanded, as he saw the two consuls leave their seats, and confer with several senators. " Ha ?' thought the Emperor, " have I dele- gated part of my authority to a resisting 140 ZENON. senate 1 Is my will to be questioned ? Am I to be doubted T His arm dropped upon the side of his throne, and his attitude of ease was changed for one of intense inquisi- tiyeness. His fierj eje became restless, his brow knitted, his lips quivered, and his face assumed the horrible expression of disturb- ance which it had worn that day in the Amphitheatre. Yet the pause continued. The senators leaned one towards another, and their conversation, suppressed as it was, filled the tyrant with suspicion. He changed his position. He became rest- less, looked around at the mirrors and at the doors of the spacious apartment. The more they paused, the more impatient he became, until, the murmuring becoming louder, he could no longer restrain the imperious impetu- osity of his disposition, but stamped on the floor of his throne, exclaiming with vehemence, ''' To your seats, senators !" ZENON. 141 There was a pause even to tliis command. The nobles went not coward-like to their places, but leisurely, as if thej were not de- termined exactly to finish their consultation, or might have something to say in opposition to the accusation. The fury of Domitiau could wait no longer. lie rose; and with impassioned gesture spake, — " Ye gods of Rome ! am I to be obeyed ? To your scats, Senators! or not one of you shall ever sit again. Do ye dare to talk when your Emperor commands silence ? Do ye dare to stand there, murmuring in his pre- sence, when his voice has once reached your ears, to be seated ^ I note thy disrespect, Valens, and will degrade thee from th}' con- sular dignity, if thou darest to show one mo- ment's hesitation. Command, — compel the Senators to their seats, or I will command and compel my body-guard to lay you all prostrate. 142 ZENON. Now, Roman Senators, what is it that je con- verse with yourselves about ? I have told jou a fact — I have become accuser — jou your- selves are witnesses, and I expect instantly the record of your sentence. Are ye all silent ? Whence, then, this murmur ? Is there none to answer me ^ Are ye all dumb dogs, and must ye be sacrificed, like those who gave no notice of the enemy's approach '? Silent all ? No sentence '? Romans, speak ! I command thee, Vetus, as the oldest man in this assem- bly, deliver thou the sentence of the Senate." " As yet I know it not, dread Emperor." " What ! Thou knowest it not ? Yc liave not yet determined! Romans, ye were not wont to pause ! What has possessed you 1 I command you, by Jove himself — or by Pallas, in whose presence I stand, speak out any man who has aught to say. By all the gods, I swear his person shall be sacred 1" ZENON. 143 Nicomedes, tlie generous Nicomcdes, whose spirit iDrompted Lim to sacrifice himself for his brother senators, at once offered his person for a target for tlie fierj darts of Domitian. " I rise, niightj Emperor, not because I am foremost in any opposition to thj just will, nor because I am superior to the rest of the senators before thee ; but that wc may not seem wanting in respect for thy person, or insensible to thy most potent remarks." " Well," said the Emperor, seating himself, "speakest thou of thyself, for thyself alone, or for the body to which thou dost belong?" " I speak not for myself, Emperor, but for those privileges, which from time immemo- rial have been the rights of Romans. I know that the senators placed in the hands of Augustus thy predecessor, the absolute rule and sovereignty of the Empire. We arc not 144 ZENON. disposed, any of us, to dispute that dread sovereignty, Caesar, or to be disobedient to tliy will ; but, when appealed to by that au- thority which we are so ready and willing to admit, and appealed to for judgment in any matter, especially one involving thy Majesty's sacred person and dignity, it would ill become our grave body to give no consideration to thy weighty words, and not to reply to thee with becoming language. For no man, Cgesar, who ever went before thee, (and may none succeed thee for a long season, Pallas preserving thee,) can be a better judge of the exact, and careful, and proper manner in which thou oughtest to be addressed. Thou art learned, King ! learned in the ways of men, and dost comfort thyself as it becomes the dread sovereign of Rome. " Regard thou then thyself; and marvel not that we shoidd hesitate to address one whom ZENON. 145 \re all look upon as tlie guardian god of Rome ; nor think we dare to speak without well weighing our words, and previously consider- ing the terms of that address. Romans, Caesar ! possess not the eloquence of the Em- peror. He can without any premeditation address the world ; we cannot, as we ought, approach thee. " Hence was our delay. For we considered two things ; first, who it was we had to speak to, and for what purpose. We abhor the ene- mies of the Emperor, and are persuaded that any insult offered to him must be ofiered to the whole Roman people ; and therefore, if we regard not ourselves, we ought at least to re- gard thine honour, Caesar I and that we do so, our very silence, our very dread of not ad- dressing thee in proper terms, must be argu- ment sufficiently potent to persuade thee that, so far from any intentional slight or disrespect, VOL. I. L 146 ZENON. the senators of Rome did mean only to consult thine honour. " Pardon, therefore, most mighty Caesar, the feeble words of such an orator as myself. I am not worthy to address such an august person, yet, knowing, as I do, that thy word, once spoken, is irrevocable, I have taken cou- rage, under the promise that thou wilt not, as far as I am personally concerned, be offended with me. " I must crave also yom- consideration, noble Senators, if I feebly express your opi- nions upon the late atrocious conduct of a rebellious subject towards his sovereign. You all know the relation in which we stand to the Emperor's person ; that it is as sacred in our eyes as the very goddess of wisdom now before us, and that we should as soon dream of dis- respect to the gods as to the person of the Emperor. His wisdom is little inferior to that ZENON. 147 of Pallas, and Mercury cannot speak in the presence of mortals, tlioiigli commissioned by Jove himself, with half the eloquence of Do- mitian. " So powerfully has he represented to us the insult which has this day been shown to his person, that I conceive we have but one course to adopt in our view of the deserts of such a subject. Death of any kind is the due reward of one who disobeys the edicts of the Emperor. We are all persuaded, Caesar, that such a one fully deserves to be torn limb from limb on the arena. We should not hesitate in giving it as our decided sentence that such is his just punishment. " But why, mighty monarch ! why hast thou appealed to the conscript fathers of the Roman people 1 We fully acknowledge thy power, thine absolute power, to send to judg- ment such an impious traitor. We are per- L 2 148 ZENON. siiadcd that it ^yas Pallas who ruled thj coun- sels, when thou didst deign to send for us, to sit in judgment upon a senator of Rome. We are grateful, Emperor, to thee and the gods for this condescension. We feel the respect shown to us very deeply, and here, with one united voice, we pray thee, Pallas, convince our ruler of our gratitude. Thou only canst guide and guard him. Be favourable for ever to our prayers ; and, as we are thus honoured by his wisdom, may we find favour in his sight by this reply ! "0 dread Emperor! excellent art tliou in all thy decisions, remarkable for the per- spicacity of thine apprehension, and equally happy in thy decisions: incline thine ear to the language of just praise, and hear the sen- timents of thy people. Tliy senators adore thee : they serve thee faithfully ; they admi- nister thy laws, raise thy supplies, support ZENON. 149 thine honour and th j fame, to the very borders of the world. The distant Gauls, and the more distant Britons, who inhabit the ex- treme west, acknowledge thj supremacy. All Afric's sons bow before thee ; the Scythians are subject to thy yoke, and north and south, and east and west, as far as the rays of Apollo from his burning chariot can glance, behold alone the dignity of Rome's great ruler. What, then, is a mortal, that he dares to insult thy majesty 1 mighty Emperor, thou hast consulted us, that we may see thy justice, that we may decree that the wretch may be brought before thee, and receive our united detestation. " We are astonished, indeed, that any one dare to impugn thine authority. We are not to suppose, Emperor, that this act of thine, in assembling us to hear this accusation and to deliberate thereupon, could be intended 150 ZENON. for any other purpose than that all Rome might see and admire thy justice. Thine elo- quence \ye have often heard ; thy clemency we daily see ; and great in the annals of our country will ever be the virtues of Do- mitian. "We know that thou has sent for us, on purpose that we may see the man who has offered thee this public insult, and hear what defence he can possibly make before thee. We have no power, great Domitian, as thou very well knowest, we have no power to con- demn a noble Roman to death, without the form of a hearing before his accuser. Thou only hast that power, and, since thou hast summoned us to give a verdict before thee, we know, Emperor, that we cannot do so with- out risking thy displeasure, by acting contrary to the laws of Rome. We have no doubt, indeed, of the culpability of Zenon, and also ZENON. 151 of his amenability to public justice ; but, when called to judgment by thy fiat, we should only mock thy sense of justice and trifle with the laws of our country, did we not deliver our opinion as thou hast required it at our hands. " We are of opinion, mighty judge, that we cannot legally decide upon the sentence justly due to one of noble birth, without hear- ing his reply to thine accusation. We are aware that thou knowest this to be our only legal course, and we should dread thy ven- geance did we act illegally. " Let, then, the accused be sent for ; let him stand before thee and Pallas, and, in our hear- ing, answer to the accusation which thou hast made against him. Thy great generosity and judgment will be appreciated by all thy people, and we especially, Emperor, shall be warned by this instance of thy justice, lest 152 ZENON. we should CA'cr stand in tlie same situation. Do not, then, deny to us the merit of good intention in this delivery of our sentiments, for I declare before the gods, and before Pallas, in whose presence I bow, that thou, Em- peror, art the adored of thy Senate, of thine army, and of all the world. "Pardon my feeble expression, and attri- bute my defects herein not to any want of affection for thy person, but purely to the very critical position in which thine own wisdom and thine own speech have placed me. If I have failed, Emperor, I pray thy generous consideration of mine imperfections. If I have found favour with thee in my speech, I shall know that Pallas is satisfied with the conduct of thy senators, having moved thee to accept our decision as most consonant with the duties we owe to thee, to the gods, and to Rome." ZENON. 153 Thus did the generous Nicomcdcs interfere to stay the immediate wrath of tlie Emperor, and induce him to be satisfied with the loyalty of the Senate. Slavish and flattering in the extreme was the language used, but it was in accordance with the customary terms in which the heathen emperors were wont to receive the homage of the Senate. It spake more forcibly the abject condition of the nobles of Rome than the individual submission of the speaker. His real motive was to obtain a hearing for Zenon, and a word of explanation for Flavins Clemens, without any impeach- ment of the veracity of the accuser or the possibility of giving offence. It so far suc- ceeded as to produce the desired hearing, but it failed not to tell the Emperor that Nicomedes was a person dangerous to his authority, inasmuch as his powers of speech were great. He had so ably stated the opi- 154 ZENON. nion of the Senate, and with such deference for the authority of the Emperor, that he could not well refuse to accept and agree to the terms of this decision. Still there rankled in the heart of Domitian the most blood-thirsty vengeance. Yet, he actually smiled upon his auditors ; the m-ost awful prelude, as they knew by experience, and a sure one, too, of destruction to the accused. " Senators,'' replied the Emperor, " I accept the ingenious apology made for you by Nico- medes, and confess that he has, in a gi'eat degree, pacified my feelings of resentment at your seeming inattention to my demands. He has rightly stated the motive which influenced me with regard to your assembling here ; al- though I do not exactly hold with his argu- ment that you have no power to condemn any one unheard, even though he may chance to be ZENON. 155 a noble Roman. When I give a command, eurelj it should supersede all law. It ought always to be inserted in jour code : ' provided that the Emperor doth not decree otherwise, such and such is the regular course of law/ When I say 'condemn/ you Senators ought not to hesitate ; you should accept it as my conviction, and your duty. "But, that I may not seem to be insensible to your proffered sense of duty and respect to my person, I will admit Zenon to your pre- sence. Let two of your own body repair with my summons to the house of Flavius Clemens, and see that Zenon be brought before Pallas and myself. I shall await your return. Thou, Nicomedes, as thou dost appear to know so well the laws of Rome, wouldst probably like to be his advocate. Go thou, as one to whose care I confide the prisoner, and whom I expect to bring him hither. Away with thee'/' 156 ZENON. Nicomecles, therefore, hastened with the guard to bring up the body of Zenon before the Emperor and the Senate. He well knew that he could speak few words of consolation to the noble ladies concerning Flayius Clemens, he had therefore directed the officials to bring Zenon out into the street. There apologizing to him for not entering the hall, he gave him to understand the danger in which his host was then placed, and begged of him in his defence to endeayour to set him right with the Emperor, which the prisoner, who needed no prompting on this point, promised to do. ZENON. 157 CHAPTER VIII. THE TRIAL. Before that assembly, chained and led be- tween two soldiers, appeared Zenon, the sena- tor, now the prisoner of the State. All who entered that room where Pallas stood, with her formidable spear and ajgis, made obeisance to tlie Deity and then to the Emperor. It was customary for all Romans to bow down the head and arms to the goddess, whenever they entered or made their exit. Zenon was a Christian, one who would not bow to the gods 158 ZENON. of Rome, whom lie looked upon as so many demons, and tlieir statues the mere imagina- tion and work of men's minds and hands. The senators bowed, but Zenon walked erect, and stood before the Emperor. There was no expression of defiance in his counte- nance, no impudence or mad forward boldness in his manner, but a quiet self-possession, arising from the secret turning of his heart in prayer to Him who ruled and overruled the passion of his accuser to his own wise pur- poses. Domitian's countenance exhibited anger, re- venge, passion, hatred, indignation, and con- tempt. Zenon's expressed only peace and love. "Thou hast not bowed to the goddess/' said one of his conductors, as he led him past her statue to the foot of the Emperor's throne. "Neither do I intend so to do," was his calm reply. ZENON. 159 Fortunately at the moment the Emperor's head -^-as averted for the pui'pose of looking at the mirror behind him, to see if any person was reflected therein. The fear of treachery was a tormentor of the heart of Domitian, and yery seldom was he free from this sensation. It was said in Rome, that there was not a senator who could keep his eye fixed upon Domitian's ; that he had so fierce a look, that few could withstand its earnest gaze. He was hke the rattlesnake, which fu-st catches the eye of the bird, and then fixes it, until his formidable terrors shake the nerves of the poor creature and she falls an easy victim to his dart. Domitian looked at Zenon with the fiercest expression, as if he would annihilate him ; but the calm and stedfast look of the Christian, full of resignation, quiet self-possession, and even pitying respect, was a wide contrast to 160 ZENON. all beholders. He did not tremble, for he knew no fear of men. He had nothing to say until he knew his accusation, so that he stood only in expectation of that complaint. He had no dread of the Emperor's power, because he knew that he had neyer intentionally pro- voked his displeasure. All around him, how- ever, were pale with the conscious conviction that nothing which the accused might say would in the least tend to pacify the accuser. If they felt glad that they had so far suc- ceeded as to place Zenon before the Emperor for trial, they knew that they had done all they could ; and that, if the tyrant demanded it, they must bow to his vengeance, and give their verdict according to his direction. And yet there was something new in the position in which they were then placed — and men always feel a deep degree of interest in anything which raises in them the slightest ZENON. 161 hope of success, even when their case is most desperate. These senators stood in more fear of the Emperor than thej did of the gods. The latter thej could appease with sacrifices, tlie former nothing could propitiate ^yhen once his anger was aroused. lie thouglit, however, to conduct himself with perfect com- posure, and made sure of his victim when he said, " Senators of Rome, the man who has this daj insulted you, in his disrespect to the Emperor, now stands before you. According to your laws, he cannot be condemned unheard, when once an appeal is made to the Senate. I, having consulted you in this case, I do now demand your sentence. The man is before you, and you can put any question to him you please. He stands accused by the Em- peror of having refused to answer in person the summons sent by an especial messenger, the royal herald, to make his appearance at VOL. I. M 162 ZENON. the Ampliitlieatre. What sajest thou to this, thou traitor V' " Only, Emperor, that it is not true !'' " Dost thou dare to tell me to mj face that I speak falsely '?" " I told thee no such thing, monarch ! I said that it was not true that I refused to attend to the Emperor's mandate. How could I, since I never saw thy herald, nor he me, nor heard of thy summons '? I am innocent of any offence in thy sight. Had I been so disrespectful as to refuse obedience, as thy subject, Emperor, I should merit the sen- tence of this assembly : but, being innocent of any such intention, I only ask, Emperor, that the lierald who heard me refuse thy summons be brought before the Senate, and questioned upon this very point. If he be confronted with me, and I be unable to prove his statement false, then let me be con- ZENON. 163 demned. But if it shall be proved that I have done nothing worthy of these bonds nor of death, why should I be as I am, and be condemned to die ? Both thou and the Senate would be sorry to punish an innocent person ! I am innocent of any disrespect towards thee. Thou hast not a more loyal subject, though I hope thou hast many such. I beseech thee, Emperor ; let the herald be called!" " Senators," replied Domitian, " you your- selves can bear me witness, that what I stated is correct. Did ye not hear the reply given aloud in the Circus 1 Did ye not observe the very terms of that reply 1 How insulting was the direct refusal to obey my call ! Was it ever known in Rome that a herald, and especially one from the Emperor, dared to neglect his duty"? Ye know Pavidus, that he neither would nor dared utter a false reply. The man is laconic in all his answers. M 2 164 ZENON. lie is positive in tlie delivery of our orders, and equally strict in his replies. " I will answer for it, that the response he gave was correct, and for what reason Zenon chooses thus to increase his own shame and confusion, I know not. lie can but add to his guilt in thus venturing to impeach the veracity of one known only for the most exact and cautious delivery of his answers. Per- suaded as I am, that this line of defence will but involve him in degradation, I would fain persuade him at once to conduct himself as a man convinced of the just cause for wrath which I have, and not to be so obstinate as to defend it, but to appeal to yourselves and me for mercy. Ye heard the herald exclaim aloud, ' Zenon comes not !' " Ye know, senators, the nature of these words. They are not words which admit of iiny excuse. They are words of positive ZENON. 165 defiance. They do not imply tliat he could not come — that he was prevented, by unavoid- able absence — that he was ill — gone to the funeral of a friend — or that he was eniraired in the worship of the gods. They state con- cisely, clearly, positively, and without equivo- cation, ' Zcnon will not come !^ " That such was the intention of the herald in his reply, both you and I must in common reason fully admit. I will venture to affirm, ay, and to promise pardon if it were other- wise, that Pavidus received that answer from the lips of Zenon himself A falsehood from a herald is, as you all know, Romans, certain death. Why should Zenon accuse him of a false declaration '? Is it not very sus- picious. Senators, that he should see the Em- peror coming and flee from him ? Why did he not accept the general invitation ? Why did he not, knowing, as he must have done. 166 ZENON. tlic magnificence about to be displayed in the celebrated contests of the arena, desire, as all Romans do, to see these famous sights '? He evidently knew that they were given by me for the public entertainment; what then but personal hostihty and disloyalty to the Em- peror could cause him to deny himself a gratification so congenial to the dispositions of all the nobility '? " 0, Caius Manlius Yalens, 0, Oaius Antis- tins Yetus, ye can both remember his father, the brave governor of Britain, Ostorius Sca- pula ! He would not so have fled from the presence of his Emperor. But this comes of ennobling a foreign race in Rome. What though his mother, still living in Rome, Zeno- nia Ostoria, was related to the bold Caracta- cus, and had been espoused by the victorious leader of our forces, there truly appears to be in the present descendant, Zenon, a greater ZENON. 167 resemblance to that bold unbending Briton, tlian to a Roman noble. Ye can well remem- ber the speech of that captive to the Emperor. " So it seems this half-blood noble, raised to the dignity of a knight for his father's valour, chooses to exhibit his British blood in setting at nought the authorities of Rome. I take it, Senators, that the obstinacy of his disposi- tion arises from his innate audacity. Is it not almost certain, then, that his very pre- judices, inborn as they are, should have ope- rated thus naturally in producing the reply ^vhich the ftiithful Pavidus has stated '? At all events, Senators, there is more pro- bability of falsehood in such a man's pro- ceedings, than in the conduct, the well known and upright conduct, of my herald. You see a motive in the contumacious be- haviour of this half-bred Roman; but what motive can you apply to Pavid\is for his in- yention — Zenon comes not! 168 ZENON. " But, that I may not, now that I have pLaccd the culprit before you for judgment, seem to be unjust, in not confronting liim with his first accuser, let Pavidus be instantly sum- moned. I will stake my crown that he de- livered Zenon's message without the least falsification. Tell Stephanus to summon the herald." All the Senators seemed rejoiced at the Emperor's impartiality; and, to speak him fair in one thing, Domitian did always like impartiality in public acts of justice. It was in private acts of violence tliat he exhibited that deadly ferocity of nature which knew no justice whatsoever, lie would hear no private petitions for mercy : he would suffer no pro- strate intercessor to come between him and liis wrath. He sent an executioner, and, when men inquired the cause of the death of any one, it was enougli to say that the Emperor ZENON. 1G9 did it, and every tongue was silenced. No trial — no petition — no cause — no time for either. ''Take such a man's head, and place it on my palace-gates," — and there it was before the Emperor could receive any petition or prayer in his behalf. Zenon was perfectly composed, deeply en- gaged in prayer, and resolved to speak the truth boldly, let the consequences be vrhat they might. He seemed to be aware that circumstances were in no way favourable to his cause ; and yet the innocence of his own heart told him that if God were for him, no man could prevail against him. He patiently awaited the arrival of Pavidus. He came not : messenger after messenger was sent to every place in Rome — no one could find him. And as each arrival brought no tidings of his com- ing, the dark brow of Domitian exhibited the utmost discontent. 170 ZENON. " Romans, this is a mjsterj !" lie exclaimed, "there is some deep-laid scheme in this, to avert the course of justice. You might be sure there was some intrigue going on, hj the boldness of the prisoner. Well might he profess that the testimony of Paridus would not prore his guilt, if he knew that the witness could not appear against him. My suspicions are more strong than ever that Zenon is a traitor. He has taken an unusual line of defence ; he has found means to put the herald out of the way, well knowing the punishment that awaits him. Zenon, Zenon! is it not enough to insult the Emperor, to deny his right of com- mand over thee, but thou must also make sure of thine own life by taking away the life of another ? I am persuaded, ye gods, that Pavidus is privately slain. He well knew that he would probably be summoned, and this knew Zenon also ; to the one, this was ZENON. 171 cause of terror : to the other, it was cause of most decided patience and expectation. " I saj again, Senators, mj conviction is, that Pavidus is slain. Zenon has friends, — friends, too, near the person of the Emperor, who could have access to mj presence when- soever the J claimed it. Yes, Senators, Flavins Clemens is the friend of Zenon, and this matter looks too nearly allied to conspiracy not to make even the most simple among us suspicious of an evil design. I scarcely know how, ye gods, to contain mine anger ! I can see clearly through this wickedness, and I will not suppose you, any of you, so blind as not to perceive the deep-laid scheme of ini- quity, planned and executed with such con- summate skill as to give it an appearance of innocence. " Oh, noble Romans, is it thus ye will be trifled with ? Shall such evident si^ns of 172 ZENON. treachery stare you in the face, and will ye not be convinced 1 Pallas has not been in- voked in vain : she has opened our eyes. We can see now the drift of this man's confidence in our presence. ' Let the herald be sum- moned ! ' Yes, he might well exclaim, ' Let the herald be summoned !' when he knew that he had found means to send him to the shades of Pluto. "Observe, ye Senators, tlie different mo- tives of these men. Pavidus was anxious to be called before me, even when I did not expect that you ^> juld see the least occasion for his summons. He heard of your assem- bling, and by Stephanas desired that he might be called into my presence, to corroborate and explain the impious conduct of Zenon. Flavins Clemens knew of this, for Flavia Domitilla was with Domitia, my wife, at that time, and was doubtless privy to the anxiety of Pavidus. ZE^'ON. 173 You sec, Senators, that Zcuon is intimate with Flavins Clemens : he is taken into cus- tody in his house, in the very company of DomitiUa and Fhiminia, her cousin. Well might he be of good cheer, and even of in- indifferent countenance, when he knew that Pavidus could never appear against him. wise Pallas ! how dost thou bring the secrets of conspirators to light and guard the ho- nour of the upright! Is such iniquity to be endured '? " Is there any longer occasion for continuing this trial 1 Look at it \ic\\, ye Ptomans, and let me not imagine that ye have no un- derstanding. Noble brothers. Flavins Clemens and Zenon, ye are fit companions for each other. Ye ouglit to live and die together, but that it would be too great an honour for you both. " By virtue, Romans, of that authority 174 ZENON. •which I possess, I at once attach the person of Flayius Clemens, and command that he be committed to the same dungeon with Zenon, as soon, Senators, as je in jour wisdom shall have decided upon the verdict. Re- member, I ask nothing of jou bj way of considtation concerning Flavins Clemens. I have not appealed to the Senate for their decision regarding hi in. I claim the privilege of committing him without the form of trial, and shall dispose of him according to mj own judgment. Now, Senators, I await jour decision with respect alone to Zenon.'^ The whole Senate seemed to feel the terror of the moment. Thej looked at Flavins Clemens; the deepest anxiety was displajed in his countenance, and reflected bj their own. Thej looked on Zenon; not a wrinkle of care "was upon his brow ; his countenance seemed to shine with conscious innocence, and he ZENON. 175 looked as if lie could speak and clear up eycrj mjsterj. Nor was liis heart disturbed bj any fears wliatever. He was ready to die, or to reply. He felt that a crisis was at band, and tliat be must now depend upon otber eyi- dencc to prove bis innocence. He could but pray earnestly and devoutly for Flavins Cle- mens and bis noble ladies; for well did be understand, as well did all tbe senators of Rome, tbat notbing could avert tbe deatb-blow of Clemens. Tbe scowl of tbe tyrant told tbe malignity of bis soul, for bis countenance was fiery red ; bis visage resembled all tbe darkest gloom of deatli, and be looked like tbe most cruel exe- cutioner. Nicomedes saw tbat tberc was no cbancc for bis friend Clemens, unless, indeed, Zenon, wbo appeared so composed, sbould be able to 176 ZENON. clear him from tlie imputation of treason. Again ^vitli generosity did this senator rise and interpose his observations between tlie inflated Emperor and his victim. " Pallas has inspired thee, Emperor, with all the wisdom of the C^rsars. Thou hast at once so clearly opened our eyes, tliat we can but see, as thou dost, the strongest appearance of suspicion. The circumstances, as thou hast laid them before us, are too convincing for tiie slightest hesitation. Thou art wiser tlian all the philosophers of Rome, for they do but speak their minds in dark oracular sayings, which leave nothing but impenetrable mystery for man to dwell upon ; but thou, Emperor, hast so clearly shown us the wisdom of the case, that we are thereby enlightened. AYe have but to liear what Zenon can now say, and then we irive our verdict." ZENON. 177 ■ Even Zcnon would not ycnturc to speak without the permission of the Emperor : and to have seen the fierce expression of disgust which tlien inflamed Domitian would have discomposed any other man than a Christian. But to his heart and mind the words of the Prophet Isaiah were then present : " Fear ye not the reproach of men, neither be ye afraid of their reviliugs ; for the moth shall eat them up like a garment, and the worm shall eat them like wool: but my righteousness shall be for ever, and my salvation from generation to generation/' The tyrant glanced at Nicomcdes such a vengeful look that the senators feared like- wise for him. "Nicomedes, art thou a traitor? Must I again have to note tliy forward mind ? Ilast thou again dared to interpose thy observations? A^OL. I. K 178 ZENON. Thoii art too ambitions, tlioii meddling Senator! Cross not mj path, or I sliall stop thee. Thou dost give courage to the accused. But let him speak. Speak, Zenon. What liast thou to saj V ZENON. 179 CHAPTER IX. ZENON'S DEFENCE. " I KNOW nothing, Emperor, of the ab- sence of Pavidus. I have not seen him for many days, and scarcely have I spoken ten words to him, or he ten words to me, in the course of thy reign over us. He was certainly well known to me personally as thy herald; but I think, Emperor, I speak correctly, when I state that he was never sent to me or mine upon any message affecting thy royal person until this day ; and, as 1 before n2 180 ZENON. stated, I hare not seen or lieard of him this day. " Abhorrent as such savage scenes of blood- shed are to me, and glad as I am to avoid them, believing, Emperor, that many wise men of thine own fostering are of the same opinion as myself, that these cruel combats are be- neath the dignity of a civilized State, I should nevertheless have considered it my duty to obey the summons to such a scene, had I known that thou didst command my coming. *' I say again, Emperor, that I have no pleasure in attending any of those games in which the Romans take such great delight, — not because I disregard my countrymen, but because these sports are not congenial to- my principles and disposition, which cannot admit that there is pleasure in any pursuit which will not bear the test of mature reflection » ZENON. 181 *' Tlie son of Ostorius Scapula is bj birth a Roman, though his mother was a British lady nearly allied to the Queen of the Iceni ; nor wilt thou accuse the son of any want of bravery, as he served faithfully among the German cohorts, which so signally graced thy triumphs. Young he may be, compared with many of thy warriors, but inexperienced neither in the use of arms nor in the ways of men, he is not a whit behind the noblest of thy nobles in the discharge of his duty. His ancestors were greatly esteemed in Rome, nor less so in Britain his maternal race ; though thou, Emperor, hast cast reflection upon his origin, as if he wxre only of slavish caste. Thou hast imputed to him disloyalty and falsehood. Know, Emperor, that he who has the least nobility of British blood in his veins is guilty of neither. My father lost his life in Britain; my mother lost her 182 ZENON. country, when she married a Roman. Romans are not disloyal, and Britons never tell a lie. There is as much virtue in the latter as in the former ; and the individual whom thou hast this day brought in chains before the Senate respects the virtues of both his parents. I am incapable of disloyalty, and equally incapable of falsehood. " The very argument, Emperor, which thou hast used with skill and address, will tell as much against as for the justice of thy position. Pavidus is not forthcoming. Thou dost argue therefrom that I have slain him, or that some friend of mine has caused him to be taken out of the way. I hope successfully to prove that in this thou art mistaken. It is easy, Emperor, to assert that such is not the case ; but, if I can show that I was in the company of many witnesses, who can all bear testimony to my never having heard ZENON. 183 the proclamation of tlij herald, this accusa- tion must fall to the ground. Thy good sense and keen judgment will convince thee at once, Emperor, that the absence of thy herald could not be occasioned by any secret work of my hands. The motive thou hast imputed to me being absent, the action could not be present with me. "I would first draw thine attention and that of all the Senate to the great probability that, if Pavidus be missing, he has taken him- self out of the way at this moment. What less probable than that any friend of mine should venture upon such a step, well know- ing that, should he be detected in such a pro- ceeding, his own life and mine would be justly forfeited to the State. Should detection not follow, what more evident, than that my cause would be deteriorated in the sight of thee, Emperor, and before all Rome ? My hope 184 ZENON. was, that such an idea would be prevented bj the personal appearance of Pavidus. I both was and am anxious that he should come, and his non-appearance will soon tell as much against him as it does now, in thine ejes, Emperor, make for him. " Thou hast declared to the Senate that Pavidus was anxious to see thee, after he heard that thou hadst sent to summon me before thj judgment-seat. Thou hast made it appear as if he were anxious to corroborate the statement that he made before thee and the Assembly of Rome; but by thine own showing, Emperor, thou didst not admit him to thy presence ; how, then, dost thou conclude that it was for the purpose of corro- boration 1 This is thine own conclusion, not borne out by any collateral evidence. Thou dost not state that he sent thee word of such intent, but that he desired to speak to thee, ZENON. 185 because he knew that I was to come before thee. Thou didst not grant him an audience. Whj nof? It was natural for an accuser to wish for confirmation of his position, that his evidence might not be supposititious, which I maintain this accusation now purely to be. Circumstantial it is not, for there are no con- necting links to hold the chain of circumstances together. " Thou hast built upon two very simple grounds the most suspicious matter of this case ; and hast condemned in thy mind a relative of thine own. First, thou dost presume that my intimacy with Flavins Clemens is the cause of some disloyalty to thy person and dishonesty in this matter; and that, because I was a guest in his house at the time I was taken into custody, he, and his amiable lady, thine own niece, have conspired to take away the life of thy herald. 186 ZENON. "0 Emperor, I beseech tliee by the love thou bearest towards thy relatives, think ■without prejudice of these things. Can friend- ship, yes, friendship, which has subsisted so long between Flavins Clemens and myself, have so. unworthy a motive as this to bind us together ? Thou knowest, Emperor, that we were boys educated by the same tutors and brought up as friends. It is no new, fanciftd, and ephemeral feeling that has united us, but mutual respect and estimation for the quaHties of mind and disposition, which have awakened and matured our friendship; for, though we differ very materially upon many points, yet we have ever given each other credit for can- dour and honesty, and have treated each other with esteem. "Never did I hear that noble Roman or his virtuous lady utter one sentence of disre- spect towards thy person or thine opinions. ZENON. 187 I know, Emperor, that tliey have ever stood in awe of thy person, and have always been as anxious to please thee as to avoid thy displeasure. Before the whole Senate of E-ome, I disclaim, as much for Flavins Cle- mens as for myself, any imputation whatever upon our loyalty. " If it be necessary now for me to prove what I have stated, namely, that I was in the company of others from the time of the as- sembHng of the Circus to the time of my being taken into custody, and that they, as well as myself, never heard the summons of the he- rald, I think that thou wilt perceive at once, Emperor, that it is more probable that thine herald wanted to explain the cause of his report, and that in contradiction of thine assumption rather than in corroboration there- o£ ** It does appear to me, knowing, as I do, 188 ZENON. tliat Pavidus must have been a\yare that I never heard thy summons, and that lie never saw me, it does appear to me that his re- quired interview was for the purpose of making known this truth. He being denied this explanation, and fearful that I should be able to prove, as I hope to do, mj innocence, has taken flight before the dreaded exposition of his ambiguous reply. Nothing is more common, Emperor, than for men self-ac- cused, who know they have betrayed their trust, to dread the day of explanation. Guilt will flee when no man shall pursue. The mind, conscious that it cannot bear the light of truth, seeks to hide itself in darkness. " What, then, I would ask, is more pro- bable, than that Pavidus has made away with himself? I know not that it is so; but I have equally a right to think it, as to be ac- cused of having murdered him. It is the same ZENON. 189 thing to be the occasion of murder bj the em- ployment of an agent for that purpose as to be the very perpetrator of the deed. Could I have been guilty of any sucli work, I should have been worthy of death at thy hands. But blood-guiltiness, Emperor, lies not upon my hands, in either sense, and my conscience is as free from self-accusation as I would that thou couldst free me from any such imputa- tion. " But I shall now proceed to clear myself, if possible, from these accusations, by means which I had hoped might have been dispensed with. Had Pavidus appeared, the line of defence I now take up would not have been called for, because I feel convinced that I should have palpably refuted his arguments from his own mouth. "But now, Emperor, I must appeal to thy candour, to thy sense of justice, to tliiue 190 ZENON. earnest love of judicial truth, to bear me out in the line I am compelled to adopt. " Mj witnesses are ready without summon- ing. I have friends, Emperor, who would not desert me in the hour of my utmost need — men whose constancy and love of truth have stood the test of the severest trials ; who never shrink in the hour of danger, but are as ready to lay down their Kves for me as I am for them. I would not have had them called into this assembly could I have avoided it, because I know the natural prejudices which have been imbibed against them both by thy mighty predecessors and by the present majority of the nobles of Rome. But no imputation lies upon their honour, none upon their conduct, and none ought to lie upon their credit and veracity, among Romans, civilized and cele- brated throughout tlie world for their love of truth, their general regard for justice, and ZENON. 191 their so often admitted maxim, that 'No man ought to be supposed capable of uttering a falsehood until he be found guilty of some fraud/ " It troubles me, Emperor, to be obliged to call into jour presence witnesses, who would themselves be gladly excused coming into the public tribunals of imperial justice. They would rather rejoice in the quiet unim- peachable progress of inoffensive life than be summoned to appear in a matter of public justice. But, when one of their members is impugned, they are ready to suffer with him, should occasion arise for the exercise of their principles. " I do not doubt that, without these walls, there are numbers at this moment quietly await- ing my discharge or my condemnation, that they may rejoice or weep with me. These arc the most peaceable of thy subjects, Emperor ! 192 ZENON. men who are never found in any broils, either of the State, or of the street, but whose mis- fortune it is not to be more known and valued for the purity of their lives, the piety of their conduct, and the excellency of their faith. I mean, Emperor, the Cliristians !" A murmur ran throuMi the Senate at this declaration. It would baffle description to attempt to give a delineation of the sudden change of countenance which came over the Senators of Rome, as Zenon spake of the merits of a race at that time greatly increas- ing in numbers, but as greatly opposed by the body of nobles, by the Emperor, by his officers of every degree, and by hundreds and thou- sands of Romans, who were studiously taught to avoid their society, to detest their company, and not to be such mean, ignorant, besotted, creatures, as to have any thing to do with Christians. ZENON. 193 Prejudice was at tliat time at its height in Rome, and the suspicion of disaffection and intrigue among that race and among the Jews had alike been awakened in the Emperor's mind. Prophecies had been invented bj the augurs declaring that Domitian's empire should be dissolved bj the Christians ; and, as he knew no distinction between Jews and Chris- tians, and had himself read the works of Josephus, who, wonderful to relate, lived not only in his days but under his patronage, he at once conceived the idea that Zenon, Flavins Clemens, and his own relatives, were con- spiring with all the Christians and Jews to dethrone him. Superstition was ever the peculiar feature in the Roman people. No race of men ever had a greater degree of that infatuation than they had. They were always looking for signs, omens, and tokens from the gods above, and VOL. I. 194 ZENON. conceiyed tliat tliey received them, not only from the entrails of their sacrifices, the flight of birds, the crowing of fowls, or the yarious atmospheric phenomena of the day, but from the yerj words of criminals. And now Domitian's imagination was either deceiving his eye-sight, or he was determined to deceive others. He started from his throne. He lifted up his hands with emotion, and though with him it was a well- trained habit never to interrupt any one when speaking, more especially a pleader before him, yet now, as if impelled by irresistible impulse, he exclaimed, looking at Pallas, " See, Senators, the goddess lifts her segis!" As if transfixed with astonish- ment, he remained a moment like one in rap- ture of amazement beyond the powers of speech. Infatuation is as catching a disease as any ZENON. 195 other epidemic, canci tlic senators at once im- bibing the prepossession which had taken the Emperor, caught his air of astonishment, and did wonderfully increase the rapture of Domi- tian. All, save Nicomedes and Clemens, saw, or pretended to see, the statue of Minerva raise her shield. Is it wonderful that men should see with the Emperor's eyes'? If they saw with their own, the same deception must at once have come upon them all, for, excepting the two just mentioned, the consuls and the sena- tors raised their arms and exclaimed, "We saw it! It is wonderful! What does it portend 1'' Yet there stood Pallas, stiff, as she was stone, immoveable, save by some external force, and as little regarding anything the Emperor did or said as if she was then a block of Parian marble not yet severed from the island rock. Zenon smiled with pity on the deluded, if 2 196 ZENON. not deluding, Emperor. lie smiled with con- tempt on tlic statue of the goddess, and looked with deep concern on the faltering and bewil- dered senators. Having once been interrupted by the Em- peror, it became his duty to be silent until called upon to proceed. It was a very serious matter, however, both to him and others, to answer the next question put to him from the throne. " Be seated, Senators, and recover your- selves from your alarm. I know the intentions of the goddess ; but, before I explain them, I must put one plain question, both to the cri- minal before you and those whom I consider his coadjutors in this assembly. " Art thou a Christian, Zenon V^ ■"' I am, Emperor ! and I would to God thou wert one also. Thou wouldst soon per- ceive that this stone, which thou callest a god- ZENON. 197 dess, can neither see, hear, nor move, lias no shape nor form, save what men have given to it, and is insensible to wisdom as to speech, touch, or action." " Silence ! " exclaimed the enraged monarch. " Dost thou dare to profane the presence of our deity V " I profane nothing, Emperor ; for this, which thou callest a deitj, is nothing — nothing but stone, the work of Grecian sculptors, and is not worthy to be called a god." " Silence, I say, proud boaster, or thy head shall fall at her feet as an atonement for thy impiety. Speak only when we command thee, and simply according to our questions ! Si- lence ! I have done with thee. I will hear no more of thy defence. Guards, bid my sol- diers disperse the Christians from before my palace gates, and, if any be found loitering about the streets of Rome, let them be slain. 108 ZENON. Proclaim aloud that those who wish to save their lives must keep at home. " I wonder, Senators, that je are not afraid of being murdered as ye return to your own halls. I have had intimation some days since of an expected insurrection, and Pallas, whom ye saw just now giving such evident tokens of her favour, confirms the report of those wise men who have made known to me this mystery. It is well we know it in time and are prepared to meet it. The first fruits of it are among your own body. Zenon is a Christian, a de- spiser of our gods and a bold declaimer against the virtue and the wisdom of Pallas. Our time-hallowed institutions he dishonours and would overturn our gods ! What else would he not do '? If our gods are nothing in his sight nor in the sight of Christians, what can lue expect to be 1 and he, who would destroy the former, would soon rebel against the latter. ZENON. 199 I say that lie is a rebel before you this day> and is worthy of death ; I leave his case in your hands ; I expect your verdict. ^' Flavins Clemens, art thou a Christian V "No, I am not, most mighty Emperor; I am not worthy to be one." Zenon turned, he looked at the countenance of his friend, lifted up his eyes to heaven, and exclaimed, "God be praised!" " Nicomedes," said the monarch, " art thou one of them V " I bear at present, Emperor, no such de- signation. I hesitate not to say, however, that I have many poor friends among them, upon whom I am glad to bestow my bounty, as long as they are what I have uniformly found them to be, peaceable and quiet citizens, good and loyal subjects, dutiful to their parents, respectful to their superiors, and what they all profess to be, the friends of each other in. 200 ZENON. adrersitj, and loving all men, even their enemies." " Thine admiration, Kicomedes, ^vill soon ripen into intimacy. Both thou and Flavins Clemens have good opinions of these Christians. lie has a very intimate friend in this insulting criminal, and tells the Senate his high admira- tion of them, by pronouncing himself unworthy of them. Perhaps Zenon will make him more worthy, and admit him into his fraternity, wife and family as well. Nicomedes, thou wilt not open thine eyes to the deceit of this rebel and his company. I will say, however, that thou hast had thy desire for him, a fair trial ; and, witnessing, as thou must have done, the interference of the goddess, indignant at the violation of her sanctity, I think that even thou wilt be somewhat shaken in thy pertinacious attachment to these children of Judea. ZENON. 201 " I am content to let the matter go before the Senate for their verdict. I will not admit Christians to be witnesses in this case, though Zenon should call any of the nobles of Rome, were they such. These Christians will hold by each other even unto death, in their mad per- suasions, and proclaim, as they always do, the innocence of their lives. But, for sedition, im- piety, rebellion, profanation, and bold asser- tion, they have not their equals throughout the wide world. I leave Zenon in your hands, Senators; let your verdict be according to your conviction. Ye have heard his defiance of your gods : argue, therefore, whether he did not this day defy my authority. I ask not your opinions concerning others, but simply with regard to this man; had I known he were a Christian, T should not have appealed to you concerning him. He is the first of your class who has become a Cliristian. 202 ZENON. I leave him to you, and aT^ait jour deci- sion/' All present perceived the evident hatred which Domitian exhibited in his contemptu- ous treatment of Flavins Clemens and Nico- medes. No two men, however, were more respected among them than these two were; and the J secretly rejoiced at the boldness which they had that day exhibited in the face of the Emperor and the Senate. Hopes arose, that one day the voice of the ancient representatives of the people might be heard without dread, though as yet they would not venture to oppose the absolute will of the tyrant. The only two who dared to do so were evidently included with the criminal in the displeasure of the Emperor. Where fear oppresses the human mind, and exercises an influence in the immediate presence of the object of terror, liberty cannot be expected, ZENON. 203 unless under the glorious consciousness of self- immolation. The cost must be counted, not according to selfish gain, among such cringing parasites as then formed the Senate of Rome, but according to the dictates of conscience, founded upon such wisdom as looks to the joy and comfort of thousands, who may never even know the extent of magnanimity required to make the sacrifice. Nicomedes was a man of this noble temper, one who pitied the sufferings of his country- men under the supercilious domination of the tyrant Domitian. He was an enlightened heathen, pure in his views of natm-e, and the duties of humanity, noble in his defence of the innocent, generous in his bearing to the unfortunate, and liberal towards all who con- lucted themselves with propriety, though they differed from him in religion. He was in fact a noble Roman, and tliough not so far hum- 204 ZENON. bled as to become a Christian, jet was he desirous of serving so truly good and peace- able a race. He admired their constancy in adversity, their great love to each other, their very reasonable doubt and distrust of the powers of the gods of Rome, and looked upon them as philosophers of the rarest kind, be- cause they had no apparent desire to refuse to reveal any of their mysteries. He had visited numbers of them in the days of the tyrant Nero, and had administered to their temporal wants, had been blessed by many of them at the time of their peril, and had been prayed for as fervently as if he were one of their own body. He admired Zenon. He loved his noble de- claration of the truth. He saw the Emperor^s rage ; he pitied him in his soul ; and wished that he might ever be as calm as Zenon, under the weight of the Emperor's displeasure. ZENON. 205 Little did he or Flavins Clemens then sup- pose how near they were to the kingdom of God, how soon to bok the converts to Christi- anity, the companions of Zenon, and to seal their testimony to the truth even with their Mood ! They refused, under the ban of Domitian, to join in the sentence of the Senate. Tliey gave in no opinion; and, when they heard the Consuls yield their verdict of "Guilty" and declare Zenon worthy of the punish- ment of the Emperor's expressed mode of death, they shuddered for the iniquity of that sentence, and rejoiced that they had declined joining in the verdict. So near do good men come to the very borders of Christianity ! The sentence was given by the tyrant, that Zenon should be made a public spectacle in the arena, to be devoured by wild beasts, on a day appointed by the Emperor, with the com- 206 ZENON. mon riglit of a Roman to defend himself; and that, meanwhile, Flavins Clemens and Nico- medes should be committed to the same dun- geon, to partake of the philosophy of their friend, until the Emperor's pleasure should be known concerning them. The guards did then- office. Zenon, Nico- medes, and Flavins Clemens, were committed to the dungeon of Domitian; and the Sena- tors of Rome dispersed to their respective homes, each man ashamed of his own pusil- lanimity. ZENON. 207 CHAPTER X. THE ASTROLOGER. To follow the Senators of Rome to tlicir couches that night, and to dive into their nocturnal cogitations, woidd be to learn a lesson of shame, which would fill men with abhorrence. A whole Senate, save two, were dismissed with honour and jet felt none, were eulogized bj the Emperor jet felt ashamed, disgraced and stung to the quick, each man detesting himself for his cowardice, and jet secretlj rejoicing that he was not like Zenon, 208 ZENON. Flavius Clemens, or Nicomecles, committed to the dungeons of the State. Men despise themselves for their worthless conduct, and jet rejoice that thej have not displeased a worthless tyrant. AVhat a com- pliment it must be to men in power, to find men cringing before them even though they hate them! Domitian's momentary displea- sure with himself gave w^ay to the most un- bounded confidence in his own wisdom. He had feared the rising independence of the Senate, and was glad to find that he had crushed it at the moment of its hopes. He had sought but the punishment of Zenon, whose offence was trivial, and had got now into his power two of the wealthiest of the nobles of Rome, whose goods must now become confiscated to his own use. The Emperor thought of the value of their property, and in what way it might be best dedicated to his own maornificcnce. ZENON. 209 He had now arrived at the summit of his own self-exaltation, and resolved to show to all Rome what he alone imagined a species of self-devotion. As if he were showing self- denial, self-sacrifice, a deliberate punishment of himself for the benefit of future example, he resolved that his relative Flavins Clemens should never again see his household gods. He entered his palace flushed with the conquest he had gained over the slavish fears of tlie Senators, and, as in general an intemperate man, he called for a goblet of wine, and in- sisted upon the presence of Domitia. " Parthenius," he said to his Chamberlain, *' I shall need thj assistance. Let two of the lictors be in readiness to obey my commands, meanwhile let my banquet be prepared. Let the astrologers, poets, musicians, and orators, assemble in my theatre. I shall enjoy their effusions after the tedious law combat I have VOL. I. p 210 ZENON. had this evening with mj Senators. Send Domitia unto me." Sui-prised at the unexpected summons, the wife of Domitian, the Empress of Rome, made her appearance as quickly as she could, in all the regal state of her dignity. "Thou majest dismiss thine attendants, Domitia. I would converse with thee a few minutes upon affairs concerning our own in- terest." Domitia waved her hand for her attendants to depart, and she remained alone with the Emperor. *' Hast thou lately seen thy cousin Domitilla and her companion V " I saw them this very day." " Then I charge thee sec them again this very night, and let me see thee afterwards. Thou must be the bearer to them of painful tidings. Flavins Clemens is doomed to death. ZENON. 211 Never more is he to see the gods of his hearth. He is in the dungeon beneath mj palace, and ere the morrow's sun shall gild the seven hills, he shall die the death of a traitor." "Oh! Domitian, am I to be the bearer of such tidings '? black Fate, to what hast thou doomed me ! Spare me the agonj, dread Emperor ! Spare me this painful dutj. Is there no mercy with thee 1 Hast thou shut out every sense of pity '? Domitian, spare me the agony of such a fate ! Let me inter- cede, Emperor ! By all the days of favour thou hast shown me, by the love thou hast borne me since thou didst tear the partner of my early years away, spare ! spare thy cousin ! What crime can he have been guilty of that thou shouldst send him to the shades of Tartarus so silently ! Ah ! wliy this cruelty'? Clemens never wronged thee, and his wife, my sweet companion Domitilla, must p2 212 ZENON. I be the bearer of tlij husband^s death-blow? let me kneel and pray thy mercy ! Let me say to her, *Tliy husband was doomed to death, but I have saved him Y Emperor, give me this joy." " By the gods above I swear that he shall die!" " Oh ! dreadful oath ! swear not another." *'By the gods above, by Jupiter, and by my defender Pallas, thou Domitia shalt be the bearer of these tidings to my kinswoman. If she be like him, she also shall perish. Go, haste thou, say that she never again shall wel- come Flavins Clemens to his home." " But why, Emperor, dost thou single me out to carry this death-warrant V " Simply because I choose to do so, and thou hadst better obey without any further question." " I will ask but tliis. Should they desire ZENON. 213 to saj one parting farewell word, for I know, dread monarcli, that tlicj love one another, may I permit the interview V " Yes, provided thou dost let me know the exact manner in which thej behaved them- selves, their conversation, as nearly as thou canst deliver it. Yes, yes, I give thee my signet which will admit thee and these twain unto the dungeon. Norbanus has its counter- part, and to him I have confided the care of these three friends, Zenon, Flavins, and Nico- medes. Go, Domitia, and remember thou must be here before the hour of midnight if thou wouldst be spared the bloody scene of death I Go — my will is fixed, my orders are given, my word must be obeyed." Domitia retired. She bent her head to her lord, but she could not fail to feel that he was a cruel tyrant, capable of any crime. It was part of his refinement of cruelty to 214 ZEXON. exult in the sufferings of his victims, and, -svith a show of feeling for their situation, as if he reallj commiserated their unhappy lot, he would pretend to be kind to them at the moment of their death ! dreadful tyrant ! hard in- fernal man ! He knew no fear of doing any deed, he dreaded no responsibility. Even that very night in which he had appointed the executioners to do their duty, named the very hour, and signed the death-warrant of two of his most faithful subjects, he was entertain- ing and diverting his mind with revellings, speeches, fooleries, and music, as if he would drive away thought until he knew that the deeds of horror were perpetrated. All the scenes connected with the events of that hour cannot be related at once. But, whilst the bloody tyrant was thus engaged, rioting in his intemperate folly, and preparing the instruments of death for others, ZENON. 215 God Tvas bringing about bis day of vengeance out of tbe yerj acts wbicb be \^^as perpe- trating: so assuredly are wicked men set in sbppery places, and tumbled down lieadlong to tbeir own destruction. Princes wlio will not take pleasure in doing tbe will of tbe God of Wisdom, Love, and Peace, must at last be sub- ject to bis displeasure. For He is no respecter of persons, tbougb He places eacb man in bis station in life to use and not abuse tbat station. In tbe midst of bis revelries, tbat memorable niglit, be bad summoned Ascle- terion tbe astrologer to answer for bis predic- tions. " How now, tbou wise pbilosopber '? I bear tbat tbou dost dare to prognosticate in Rome tbe manner of tbe Emperor's deatb. Wbat dost tbou say of it V " I say tbat tbou sbalt die !" " Die, yes, I know it ; but tbou dost trum- 216 ZENON. pet forth thine auguries as if I should not die a natural death/' " Wouldst thou hear the truth, Emperor, without persecuting thine astrologer, I would tell thee, even as I tell thy citizens, what shall befal thee. Thou art yet in the prime of life. No grey hairs are to be seen upon thy brow, thy cheeks are smooth, thy beard doth curl, and thine eye is bright. Thou dost enjoy the revels of this night. Thy minstrels sing ; the trumpets sound; the cymbals dash; thine orators praise thee; all men fear thee, and thou dost seem to enjoy life, but thou dost not enjoy it. I can read terror in thine eye, distrust in thy countenance, and the lines of death in thy destiny. Thou shalt never be an old man, never have a grey hair, never have an illness, never send for thy physician. Battle shall not disturb thee. Archers shall not hit thee. The bed of sick- ZENON. 217 ness sliall not be thy lot. Beware thou of the hour before midnight on tlie fourth day of the ides of September next. Be absent that day, if thou canst, from thine own house; leave thy wife and family ; let not any one approach thee — for thou shalt die. Thy cruelties shall live beyond thee, thou shalt not be honoured with a weeping funeral array. Thy glory sliall pass from thee, and all thy pomp perish in that hour. Fare thee well!" " Hold, thou wise astrologer : thou dost know so well the day of my death, dost thou know the day and manner of thine own'?" "I know that I shall die before thee, and be devoured by dogs. If this be not true in me, then shall thine own not come to pass. But if thou findest this true, so shalt thou find the other. Look to it, Emperor ! Fare thee well !" "Fool, thou dost beHe thyself, and yet speak truth in one sense. Die thou slialt 218 ZENON. before me ; but I will take care tliat the dogs shall not derour thee. Go thy way — depart ! ■ — Parthenius, see that man slain, ay, slain this very hour. Follow his steps, thy life shall be for his, if thou dost not see it taken. Guard thou his body, raise a funeral pile, and see it burned to ashes. We shall then see if he speaks the truth. Away with him! Dogs shall not devour him ; and the fourth day be- fore the ides of September shall have no ter- rors for a Caesar.'"' So quick, so cruel, so capricious, so revenge- ful, and yet so fearful and superstitious was this haughty bloody monster. Not a hundred yards from his palace, the cry of mui'der presently arose, but 'twas the Emperor's command, and no man dared to question it. Ascleterion was slain ; and his body was dragged into the corner of the Emperor's garden. Slaves soon raised the funeral pile, and ZENON. 219 the corpse Tv^as laid upon it. Doinitian, in liis revels, thought not of the possibility of dogs devouring it ; but, whilst the goblet was lifted to his lips, the murmurs of the skies gave token of a coming storm. How differently were the Christians employed at that moment. The good Bishop, who, with many Christians, dispersed by the guards from the palace, had retired to his own quarter of the city, assembled the wliole body of the Church, and spent that bitter night in prayer. For Zenon were the prayers of the Church offered up, that he might have consolation in his sufferings, and not be left alone in his dis- tress ; for the friend of Zenon, the noble Fla- vins Clemens, that he might be converted and strengthened, and even for the tyrant himself, that he might be overruled for good, that he might become a Christian, and no longer be a persecuting tyrant. 220 ZENON. Oh, the depths of Christian lore, which in that day were so strongly agitated! How- were souls inspired Avith the glowing warmth of fraternity, when persecutions, perils, and death were the riches which Christians were to expect in this life! but, if this were al], they were indeed of all men most mi- serable. But it was not all — they looked for, ay, they were assured of better things, they estimated strictly the joy of present things, and their loss, and the prospect of future glory. They were men, and felt as men, but the Holy Spirit overruled their natural feel- ings, making their love towards each other so purely spiritual that they were ready to lay down their lives for their brethren. That night of terror, in which their beloved friend Zcnon, who acted as the secretary and chief presbyter under Clemens, was suffering hardship like a good soldier of Christ Jesus, ZENON. 221 that niglit tlie Christians spent in prayer for him. Their prayers prevailed, for Zenon was comforted ; he was even happy, cheerful, and more than ever elevated with thankfulness to God, that he was deemed worthy of this per- secution. If the Church presented a picture of sub- mission, and, prostrate before the Lord, prayed for Zenon's safety, he indeed had a glorious help in those dark hours of his dungeon's gloom. lie had a happiness such as none but they who worship God in spirit and in truth can expect. Flavins Clemens, Nicomedes, and Zenon, were committed to the same dungeon, a dark, vaulted, damp, and dreary place, where reptiles which hated the sun dragged their bodies over the bricks, leaving behind them a slimy trail of silvery lustre. But one couch of straw was in that dreary cavern. A single lamp, with oil sufficient for 222 ZENON. one night, was fixed or held in the grasp of the metal claw of an eagle fastened to the wall. A bowl of water, with one flat cake of bread, was all the food before them, and, as the accommodation was prepared but for one, it was very wisely concluded that the other two would not long want any other than the grave. But which was to enjoy that straw-covered couch, which to hope for ano- ther day's light, was the question among the three, solved soon by the wisdom given to Zenon, and by him made use of, as will be presently seen, for the most glorious and blessed purposes. What is a dungeon to the soul of a happy Christian ? Which was the happier being, — ■ Domitian, reigning in luxury in the gorge- ously painted rooms above them, and driving away thought by dissipation, or the perse- cuted souls beneath him on the cold damp ZENON. 223 floor, with bread and water and straw, ex- pecting deatli, but fearing it not, because tliey knew their consciences were burdened with no eyil thoughts. Horror reigned above them ; but peace came into their hearts. How blessedly thej were employed will be gathered from the following chapter. Let it suffice for this, that, as we come in and go out of the world naked and destitute, so it is not the couch of down that is easy, but he that rests upon either straw or feathers, if his conscience is but calm, and his heart fixed in love. blessed state ! Happy mayst thou be, reader, to love the Lord thy God, and his Son Jesus Christ, and sleep soundly on the floor of a dungeon, or the downy bed of a palace. May God bless thee with sweet peace and rest ! 224 ZENON. CHAPTER XL THE CONVERSION. They were friends, truly enjoying friend- ship, who in that calamitous night spent a few sweet hours together, never more fully to enjoy each other's society until the resurrec- tion of the just. The Spirit of God had brought them together, and as they had, at least two of them, exhibited the noblest love to Zcnon, so now it became his duty to show that gratitude which his never-dying religion prompted in his soul. ZENON. 225 Great, indeed, had been the moral courage displayed by these noble Romans ; heathen though they were, and at that time only phi- losophically enlightened men, who regarded humanity, philanthropy, courage, and genero- sity, as virtues which drove away the fears of a tyrant, even though their lives might be sacrificed to his vengeance. Moral courage is a quality of wisdom, which wise heathens cultivated thinking it acceptable to their deities. Marcus Curtius exhibited it by plunging into the yawning gulf which suddenly opened in tlie Forum. Greeks and Romans, as well as barbarians of every age, have shown this species of daring, wliich men have considered a wonderful elevation. Death, however, may be despised by many, without any other idea than that of moral bravery, prompted by the love of fame among men ; but Christianity alone teaches how to VOL. I. Q 226 ZENON. fortify the spirit ^ith perfect composure, and enables a man to "possess his soul in patience" at moments of the most extreme horror. " I perceive, mj dear friends," said Zenon, " that you are in imminent danger. I would gladly die for you, and before you, if it would spare your lives ; but I find that I am to live, and that you two will be taken from me. I know this by the very nature of appearances in this dungeon. Accommodation is made for but one, and, as my sentence is to be torn to death by wild beasts in the public Amphi- theatre, I may have a few days longer to live ; but I am persuaded that you are to be immediate victims to the tyrant's wrath.'' " He surely dare not slay us uncondemned. without a trial, or even a hearing,'' said Ni- comedes. "He assuredly dare do anything, and he ZENON. 227 will do, during his daj, whatsoever he chooses. You both know him well. He will kill any- one who offends him, and he will slay you both this very night." " I am ready to die," exclaimed Nicomedes, " if only my countrymen could be released from the chains of the oppressor. my country, my countrymen, how have I gloried in your prosperity ! But to see you now degraded beneath the ban of a tyrant, how gladly would I pay the forfeit of my exist- ence, could I see you free from the tyranny of Domitian! I fear, however, that Romans have lost all public virtue, and are driven into their own selfishness, for none seek the good of others so much as their own." "Not so, Nicomedes; the Christians, despised as they may be in Rome, would have every citizen set free from the dread of man, but it must be from a different motive than mere q2 228 ZENON. opposition to power. They cannot encourage rebellion, nor would tliej ever join in destroy- ing the governors or governments under whose laws they abide ; yet they would lay doAvn life for the profession of love, peace, and liberty which they enjoy. They know no compromise with immorality, impiety, violence, hatred, wrath, and sedition. They possess a liberty which they can always enjoy, since it is the liberty 'of love. They do nothing to disgrace themselves, nothing to provoke the displeasure of other men, save expressing their horror of idolatry, and their resisting, even unto death, the sacrificing unto devils. Superstition they abhor — priestcraft tliey abjure — deceit they hate — strife they avoid ; tlie true God they worship : they fear not death, because they know that they shall be restored to life." '' Tell me," said Flavius Clemens, " who, ZENON. 229 and \\liat is tlij God, for, Avhosoevcr lie maj be, lie fortifies tlij mind with the most won- derful philosophy. I have seen thy compo- sure this day, when annihilation stared thee in the face, and 1 longed for thy spirit/^ " Say not, Flavins, that I ever thought of annihilation. The spirit I possess can never be annihilated ; no, it will live longer than the sun, the moon, the stars, and all the glorious things of creation, w^hicli the eye of mortal man can behold. I shall never die : my soul shall live for ever ; and though my body may be killed, and the particles thereof be scattered by the four winds of heaven, yet shall it shortly live again, stand up in new strength, arise from the dead, and, like my soul, become immortal!" " IIow knowst thou this, and who shall raise thy body again?" " Even He who originally made it." 230 ZENON. " And who is heV " Tlie one true and everlasting God, wlio has revealed Himself to man, and has made atonement, the only atonement for a guilty world, by giving up his Son Jesus Christ to be 2)ut to death by those very men whom he came to save. All the gods of Rome are but inventions, ignorant dumb idols, devils as- suming a right to be worshipped by blinding the eyes of Romans, and making them attri- bute to a block of marble, virtues which God alone can possess. " Was it ever known that Jupiter, or Juno, or Mars, or Bacchus, or Apollo, or Minerva, raised the dead to life 1 No. The utmost idea of immortality which you Romans can reach is an existence separate from the body, and to be enjoyed in the presence of your deities, to be placed among the constellations, and to be worshipped of men. Hence are all ZENON. 231 jour costlj offerings, which in fact are offered to devils, and not to a God at all. The God we Christians worship requires no such sacri- fices on our parts, since His Son consented to be our sacrifice for sin and an example that we should follow in his steps ! " Your time is rerj short, or I would gladly open our parchments and read and explain the true history of man, man's fall, and man's redemption. What I can do I will ; and may God open your hearts to receive the engrafted Word which shall yet enlighten and enliven you unto eternity." It would have done the heart of any Christians good to see the longing anxious desire after immortality which then came tipon these noble Romans. In a dark un- healthy dungeon, with but one lamp glim- mering through the sombre vaidt, and be- neath the rays of that lamp, stood Zenou, 232 ZENOK preaching, as it might truly be said, the ever- lasting truths which he had learned from his tutor Linus, the first Bishop of the Gentile Church at Rome, and his friend and father, Clemens, then his successor. " Dear friends," he exclaimed, "the hours that Vi'e spend together in this place are but short, and sliort at best the Avhole of those that we spend in the flesh. Yet, short as they are, nothing but the goodness of God can make them sufficient for the great work which we hare to do. God has done much for you, in a very short time. I perceive that He has awakened in you a desire for the tmth — a desii'e to know something satisfactory beyond the grave, something which to your nobly in- quiring minds may be an answer to the thirst for comfort which He has himself inspired. Your philosophers have taught you many maxims. They have opened to your minds the views ZENON. 233 of nature, and have made you perceive that Idolatry is the curse of Home. But they hare never gone beyond that negative kind of teaching, which disapproves and only knows how to find out errors, without the means of correction. " I have a very different course of instruc- tion to pursue : this very hour must add jour souls to immortality, or they are lost. Disperse at once from your minds philosophy, falsely so called, and idolatry, truly so desig- nated. Dispel even the arguments of Plato, and drive away the notions of Pythagoras, Socrates, or any of the various teachers, who, however learned in their theories, can only guess at immortality. I have to reveal to you the truth — ay, the true God and eternal life ! " Time will not now suffice to let me show you the follies of those fancies which have ound such reception among Romans. I be- 234 ZENON. seecli joii abandon all preconceived prejudices, and hear a plain statement of truth, as well as I can narrate it! Would that Clemens •were here to prove that which I praj God you may have grace to receive ! " We have all one common origin, we are descended from one common pair, our first parents — Adam and Eve. God created them after He had made all things ready for their formation. Of the dust of the ground He made the first man, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of Life, that portion of Himself which was Life, in which likeness man became a living soul. Innocent, pure, and spotless, not knowing evil, man was created; and as every thing else created had a partner, so God saw fit to take out of the man He had made a rib, and made it a woman. Adam called this woman's name Eve. " God saw fit to give man a law to live by, ZENON. 235 a law of Life, tlie transgression of which should be death. It consisted of but one simple command, not to eat of the fruit of a certain tree in the garden, which God had placed there as a test of his obedience. Im- mortality was attached to his obedience, immortality for himself and his posterity : and death for himself and his seed for ever, if he should disobey. " The serpent, who is the deyil, persuaded Eve to eat of that tree, and she persuaded her husband, and death in consequence thereof is the lot of all. ' In Adam all die.' But God's Son proposed a plan to restore immortality to the soul of man, by which he should regain the Hfe he had forfeited. The word was spoken of God. The promise was given to fallen man. ' The seed of the woman shall bruise the serpent's head.' ''In due time, the obscurity of this promise 236 ZENON. became less, and its apparent intention more conspicuous. God called Abraham the Father of the Jews, and renewed the promise, that in ' his seed all the families of the earth should be blessed/ Among his children was to arise the Saviour, the seed of the woman which was to bruise the serpent's head. Prophets foretold the time of his coming — who he was to be, namely, ' The Son of God,' the life he was to lead, the manner of his birth, death, and resur- rection, the atonement he should make for the world, the salvation he should give, the glory which he should be to God on high, and the joy to man on earth. " Within this century, this wonderful deli- verer, Jesus Christ, the Word, Power, and Wisdom of God — God Himself — became incar- nate, was born of a pure virgin, and raised up in Judea ; went about doing good, speaking as never man spake, working miracles, healing all ZENON. 237 kinds of diseases, driving out devils, preaching the Gospel to the poor, acknowledging Himself to be the Lord God — the Eternal Son of the Father. He was despised and rejected even by those to whom He was sent, and at last deli- vered up to the judgment of our own governor of Judea, Pontius Pilate, and bj him, though confessed to be an innocent person, condemned to death. He declared that He should rise from the dead on the third day. On that day He arose ! He was seen of individuals and by a numerous company of His disciples ; He ascended from the presence of His chosen friends into heaven, and sent down the Holy Ghost, by whose power the knowledge of Christianity is dispersed over the world, and the souls of men are converted from their state of darkness and death into the light of life. " Though Jesus Christ be not visible to our eyes, yet we expect His coming again to judge 238 ZENON. US all ; to give to us according to our deserts ; as we have done to others, so \vill He do to us. He has commissioned His disciples to go and preach this . Gospel to all nations, that the whole world may become of one and the same religion, and live according to the laws which Christ has given us. Now, faith has been my supporter through the trials of this day ; yes, faith in Jesus Christ that I am His and He is mine. It was prayer to Him which supported me before Domitian, and enabled me to re- ceive wisdom to answer him. I was like you, my dear friends — a heathen, an unconverted heathen ; and, had not God taken compassion upon me, I should have lived and died a heathen, and should not have known the joy and hope and promise of heaven in Jesus and the resurrection. But my faith is fixed, and I have a sweet hope that I may be an instru- ment of God's mercy to your souls. Time ZENON. ^ 239 will not allow me to enter more fully into these things. I have told you my religion and the way to life eternal is to obey the Word of God." " And what wouldst thou, Zenon, that we should now do to attain eternal life"?'' ex- claimed Flavins Clemens. "Do ye believe in Jesus Christ, and the power of his resurrection V " I do believe what thou hast told me, and oh that I could see more and more of this wonderful religion ! Oh that my belief could be advanced to the same faith that thou hast ! Nicomedes, dost not thou believe the same V " I do, indeed, dear friend, and through the veil of darkness I can see a glimmering light of hope that seems to show me the path of righteousness — not my own, but that of Him of whom Zenon speaks. But we require to be put upon that path ; and, Zenon, canst not thou assist US'?'' 240 ZENON. "I can, my dear friends in Christ, I can, I will; not doing mine own will, but the will of God from mj heart. Repent of all jour sins. Ay, you have been idolaters, carnal, timid, fearful men, full of ignorance and sin. You both wish heartily that you had known the Lord before. Ye repent V "Ay, w^e do indeed of everything except this blessed moment in Avhich we hear the truth. This dungeon * is pleasanter than our halls. It is the seat of mercy from above, beyond the reach of the tyrant. Oh, Zenon, what can we do V " Believe ! believe ! repent, and look here, here is water! Oh let me baptize you, and call upon the name of the Lord." Zenon baptized them both ; for a long time he prayed with them, encouraged them to hope for mercy, and spake to them again and again of Jesus and the resurrection. It was a glo- ZENON. 241 rious, a heavenly night to them, which seemed indeed, and was what it seemed, more bright to their souls than the broad and open day. They blessed even the tyrant's cruelty, that it should have permitted them to spend their last hours together in love. They partook together of the bread and the water, and were more refreshed than if they had been banqueting with the tyrant at his splendidly covered table. In that prison Flavins Clemens and the noble Nicomedes were converted to Christi- anity ; and thougli the elements above them gave indications of angry import, yet there was a peace within the breasts of those sin- cere converts which visited not the heart of the tyrant. Whilst these dear friends were favoured with every comfort of hope, every joy of fel- lowship, and were fulfilling the law of love, Domitian sat in a room above them filled with yoL. I. R 242 ZENON. the terrors of superstition, tlie consciousness that he deserved condemnation, and unable to pacify his mind, on account of the thundering elements of the air. Such a storm had seldom passed over Rome as that night burst upon the city. The lightning ran along the ground, the thunder seemed to shake the fabric of Vespa- sian's Amphitheatre ; the ^Yind roared through the battlements of the palace, and the coward who had been watching the funeral pile burn- ing in his own vast garden court, and had seen his slaves carry out the body of the soothsayer, and lay it on the top of the pile, beheld with amazement the hurricane sweep away the fiery faggots, and saw the body fall to the ground. He saw more. The terrified slaves fled, the doors of the court were blown open, and a pack of prowling dogs, scenting the half burnt carcase, came and devoured the remains, even ZENON. 243 before the tyrant's eyes. It is said that he remained fixed to the spot, without the power to utter one word — convinced by the irresistible evidence then before him that there was to be an end, a speedy end, to his career, even on the day and hour appointed. END OF VOL. I. R 2 LONDON : HARKISON AND CO., PRINTEHS, ST. martin's lane. 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