“Heliopolis, from which both Greeks and Romans have derived their wisdom; Plato himself has been here.”
“Can Leontopolis also be seen from here?”
“You see the pinnacles of its temple two miles northward.”
“But that is the land of Goshen, which our father Abraham visited, and which Jacob had portioned out to him,” said the Hebrew, turning to his wife, who only answered with an inclination of her head. Then, speaking to the Roman, he continued, “Israel wandered from Egypt to Canaan. But after the Babylonish captivity a part of them returned and settled down here. You know that.”
“Yes, I know that. And now the Israelites here have increased till they number many thousand souls, and have built a temple for themselves, which you see standing in the distance. Did you know that?”
“Yes, something about it. So that, then, is Roman territory?”
“Yes. Everything is Roman now—Syria, Canaan, Greece, Egypt—Germany, Gaul, Britain; the world belongs to Rome, according to the prophecy of the Cumaean Sibyl.”
“Good! But the world is to be redeemed through Israel, according to God’s promise to our father Abraham.”
“I have heard that fable also, but for the present Rome has the fulfilment of the promise. Do you come from Jerusalem?”
“I come through the desert like the others, and I bring wife and child with me.”