Serenus interposed,—
“I beseech you, my friends, bestow no undue praise; for if any good cometh through my hand, it is not I, but the Spirit of Truth which worketh through me.”
Amabel turned her eyes lovingly upon her husband, and said,—
“Behold I have learned that when the Spirit of Truth taketh possession of a soul it becometh one with him, so that they are no longer twain! The New Faith, which is the awakening of the Spirit already within, cometh into manifestation in the deeds performed.”
Serenus gave her an approving smile. “Thou hast spoken wisely. The inner or spiritual self is the veritable man, and he waiteth for the comprehension of the divine sonship.”
“I perceive that the sensuous or flesh-man is not truly man at all,” said Marcius. “How all the so-called philosophies of the world have erred! Doth it not seem marvellous that I, a Roman, have so soon become convinced of the truth and beauty of the New Faith? At times I feel doubtful of my identity, and wonder if I am myself!”
“Thou wert not changed by the logic and reasoning of the intellect,” said Serenus, “for a religious belief from without is slow and uncertain in its operation. But when there was commended to thee the natural outworking of the Godlike image within, anon thou felt the New Faith living in thy heart, and needed not an argument, after the manner of men.”
Rebecca, turning towards Serenus, and recalling their conversation in the Holy City, observed,—
“Verily, I believe that from my early youth I have felt some quickening of the Spirit in the depths of my heart, but knew not what it might be. Being taught that the faith of the Chosen People was handed down from without, its ceremonial formality smothered the inner flame. But the touch of thy faith, which thou gavest me on the [pg 387]day of the mad rush in the Temple court, kindled a new life of which I had but a dim perception before. And now, behold since I have been with Amabel, it hath waxed stronger!”
“I am moved to confess,” said Marcius, “that I loathed the manner of my early life even before I knew Serenus and the New Faith. Once I heard a voice from beyond the borders of the grave which rebuked me, and showed plainly the life of the unseen, and that virtue hath its reward, and vice its natural penalty. Then I became thoughtful, and repented of many of my evil deeds. But yet I remained long in the ignorance or twilight of Truth, until the sunlight of the New Faith, which hath come to me through Serenus, quickly dispelled the darkness that surrounded me. This not so much by his words of teaching, as by the contagion of the Spirit that filleth him.”