“The Salapiæ will be lost, but every soul on board will be safely landed in Tarsus!” said Serenus.
“Thou speakest in no uncertain tone, O wise young Hebrew! Whence hast thou this knowledge?”
“O noble and brave Roman! only by the fulfilment of my prophecy can its truth be proven to thee. I ask thee not to believe, and am well persuaded that thou wilt abate no effort for salvation because of my assurance. Nay, I would have thee use the utmost diligence; for man must employ all the means, and fully co-operate with God in working out his own salvation.”
“Hast thou inquired of the God of the Hebrews and received this favoring answer from him?”
“My vision of the future cometh not from the special God of any race or tribe, but through the power which the universal Divine Spirit, that ruleth the world and all its elements, hath conferred upon man to read and interpret his laws.”
Vivian, though a man of much worldly wisdom, but dimly understood the meaning of Serenus, but yet deeply felt the superiority of the man who stood face to face with him. There was a positive spiritual influence and hope which came from contact with the young man which he could not divine.
“Wilt thou not acquaint me more fully of thy power? How canst thou read the fate of the Salapiæ, and that none on board of her shall perish, except that thy God hath given thee some visible token? And if thou hast [pg 287]received a sign, surely thou mayst show it me and reveal its significance. I would fain believe it, yet how can I be assured?”
“Thou art well skilled in the sailing of ships, and I will not question thy wisdom in thine own calling; but in a way of which I cannot tell thee, and which thou thinkest not of, every soul on board will come safely to Tarsus!”
“The gods grant that thy words may come to pass, but thou hast offered me no sign. I would that I had inquired of the oracle in the great temple of the Salaminian Jupiter. But thou dost count thy God greater than Jupiter?”
“Yea, he is the God above all gods! He is the All in All! His laws and methods are orderly and universal! His wisdom and love are already perfect, and we need not importune him to change his plans. We approach him, not by vain oblation or libation, but by communion and oneness of spirit. We lift ourselves into harmony with his beneficent and eternal order. Even the laws which produce wind and wave are good, but to narrow and perverted human vision they often appear evil.”