Her voice was so low he had to bend across her slender figure to catch the words.
“There is no other way but to repent, be baptized, leave off sin and follow the Light of the Eternal Son.”
So absorbed were the lovers they did not see the tall white figure of the great teacher Apollos approaching on the path, accompanied by the Princess Drusilla.
“What is—this thing you call sin, my Onesimus? Is it sin for me to love you as I do?”
“Sin is the shadow of self, shutting out the light of God.”
She pondered that. “And when I love you so you turn all life to rosy mist, do I love self?” she asked.
“Sin is anything that holds us in the realm of shadows, away from God. It may be crime that fetters us in blind dungeons without bars like the Queen Herodias up there in the turret. It may be gayety. It may be wealth. It may be fear. It may be love of flesh, or power. It may be anxious want. It may be doubt; but it is always shadow of self.”
“And what is repentance? Would it cut me off from you?”
“No, but it would cut you off from planning to gain power by snaring the Roman General yonder. Repentance is to cancel sin by sinning no more, forsaking self and following Light.”
She threw her bare arms about his shoulder. “But if I gained Titus, the Emperor’s son, I could have you too, Onesimus! You offer me a Shadow Kingdom I cannot see or touch with hands. I aim at Rome.”