Mrs. Opimian. I think I have heard something like your Greek word before.
The Rev. Dr. Opimian. Agapêmonê, my dear. You may have heard the word Agapêmonê.
Mrs. Opimian. That is it. And what may it signify?
The Rev. Dr. Opimian. It signifies Abode of Love: spiritual love of course.
Mrs. Opimian. Spiritual love, which rides in carriages and four, fares sumptuously, like Dives, and protects itself with a high wall from profane observation.
The Rev. Dr. Opimian. Well, my dear, and there may be no harm in all that.
Mrs. Opimian. Doctor, you are determined not to see harm in anything.
The Rev. Dr. Opimian. I am afraid I see more harm in many things than I like to see. But one reason for not seeing harm in this Agapêmonâ matter is, that I hear so little about it The world is ready enough to promulgate scandal; but that which is quietly right may rest in peace.
Mrs. Opimian. Surely, doctor, you do not think this Agapemone right?
The Rev. Dr. Opimian. I only say I do not know whether it is right or wrong. It is nothing new. Three centuries ago there was a Family of Love, on which Middleton wrote a comedy. Queen Elizabeth persecuted this family; Middleton made it ridiculous; but it outlived them both, and there may have been no harm in it after all.