“You think this persecution, then, will be soon at an end?” asked Jucundus.
“I judge by the past,” answered Agellius; “there have been times of trial and of rest hitherto, and I suppose it will be so again. And one place has hitherto been exempt from the violence of our enemies, when another has been the scene of it.”
“A new time is coming, trust me,” said Jucundus, gravely. “Those popular commotions are all over. What happened two days ago is a sample of what will come of them; they have received their coup-de-grâce. The State is taking up the matter, Rome itself, thank the gods! a tougher sort of customer than these villain ratcatchers and offal-eaters, whom you had to do with two days since. Great Rome is now at length in earnest, my boy, which she ought to have been a long time back, before you were born; and then you know,” and he nodded, “you would have had no choice; you wouldn’t have had the temptation to make a fool of yourself.”
“Well, then,” answered Agellius, “if a new time is really coming, there is less chance than ever of my continuing here.”
“Now be a sensible fellow, as you are when you choose,” said his uncle; “look the matter in the face, do. You cannot wrestle with impossibilities, you cannot make facts to pattern. There are lawful religions, there are illicit. Christianity is illicit; it [pg 243]is not tolerated; that’s not your fault; you cannot help it; you would, if you could; you can’t. Now you have observed your point of honour; you have shown you can stand up like a man, and suffer for your own fancy. Still Rome does not give way; and you must make the best of it. You must give in, and you are far too good (I don’t compliment, I speak my mind), far too amiable, excellent, sweet a boy for so rascally a superstition.”
“There is something stronger than Rome,” said the nephew almost sternly.
Jucundus cut him short. “Agellius!” he said, “you must not say that in this house. You shall not use that language under my roof. I’ll not put up with it, I tell you. Take your treason elsewhere.... This accursed obstinacy!” he said to himself; “but I must take care what I am doing;” then aloud, “Well, we both of us have been railing; no good comes of railing; railing is not argument. But now, I say, do be sensible, if you can. Is not the imperial government in earnest now? better late than never, but it is now in earnest. And now mark my words, by this day five years, five years at the utmost,—I say by this day five years there will not be a single ragamuffin Christian in the whole Roman world.” And he looked fierce. “Ye gods! Rome, Rome has swept from the earth by her very breath conspiracies, confederacies, plots against her, without ever failing; she will do so now with this contemptible, Jew-begotten foe.”
“In what are we enemies to Rome, Jucundus?” said Agellius; “why will you always take it for granted?”
“Take it for granted!” answered he, “is it not on the face of the matter? I suppose they are enemies to a state, whom the state calls its enemies. Besides, why a pother of words? Swear by the genius of the emperor, invoke the Dea Roma, sacrifice to Jove; no, not a bit of it, not a whisper, not a sign, not a grain of incense. You go out of your way to insult us; and then you come with a grave face, and say you are loyal. You kick our shins, and you wish us to kiss you on both cheeks for it. A few harmless ceremonies; we are not entrapping you; we are not using your words against yourselves; we tell you the meaning beforehand, the whole meaning of them. It is not as if we tied you to the belief of the nursery: we don’t say, ‘If you burn incense, you profess to believe that old Jupiter is shivering atop of Olympus;’ we don’t say, ‘You swear by the genius of Cæsar, therefore he has a genius, black, or white, or piebald,’ No, we give you the meaning of the act; it is a mere expression of loyalty to the empire. If then you won’t do it, you confess yourself ipso facto disloyal. It is incomprehensible.” And he had become quite red.
“My dear uncle,” said Agellius, “I give you my solemn word, that the people whom you so detest do pray for the welfare of the imperial power continually, as a matter of duty and as a matter of interest.”