Nevita.
Athanasius!
Priscus.
That mysterious bishop who, six years ago, vanished into the desert.
Julian.
A council of the church expelled him on account of his unseemly zeal. The Galileans were tractable under my predecessor.
Yes, just think of it—this raging fanatic has returned to Alexandria. His entrance was like a king’s; the road was strewn with carpets and green palm-branches. And what followed? What do you think? The same night a riot broke out among the Galileans. George, their lawful bishop, that right-minded and well-disposed man, whom they accused of lukewarmness in the faith, was murdered—torn to pieces in the streets of the city.
Nevita.
But, sire, how were things suffered to go so far? Where was the governor, Artemius?
Julian.