When he had taken his seat at the table by Lucilia, like a man who has time before him, he asked, throwing his head back and clasping his hands across his knee:
“Well, father ... and to-day is the last meeting?”
“As you say,” replied the high-priest.
“I must confess, that the matter has remained almost unknown to me.... I have been so absorbed in study, that I have hardly time to frequent the baths....”
“You are three-and-twenty, Quintus! When do you propose to take a proper interest in the great concerns of the Empire?”
“Indeed I generally follow them all with eager interest. It is only that just lately, at this moment....”
“This is the very moment, when all who are well-affected ought to cling together and show their zeal in action.”
“It is said, that the decree you propose is excessively severe,” said Quintus after a pause.
“It will answer its purpose.”
“And will be issued unmodified?”