Quo Vadis by Henryk Sienkiewicz (detective books to read .TXT) 📖
- Author: Henryk Sienkiewicz
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instant. The bacchantes screamed in heaven-piercing voices, and began
to hide in the chariots. Then some pillars which were burned through,
fell, scattered sparks, and increased the confusion. A blind dense wave
of people swept away Chilo, and bore him to the depth of the garden.
The pillars began to burn through in every direction and fall across the
streets, filling alleys with smoke, sparks, the odor of burnt wood and
burnt flesh. The nearer lights died. The gardens began to grow dark.
The crowds, alarmed, gloomy, and disturbed, pressed toward the gates.
News of what had happened passed from mouth to mouth, distorted and
increased. Some said that Cæsar had fainted; others that he had
confessed, saying that he had given command to burn Rome; others that he
had fallen seriously ill; and still others that he had been borne out,
as if dead, in the chariot. Here and there were heard voices of sympathy
for the Christians: “If they had not burned Rome, why so much blood,
torture, and injustice? Will not the gods avenge the innocent, and what
piacula can mollify them now?” The words innoxia corpora were repeated
oftener and oftener. Women expressed aloud their pity for children
thrown in such numbers to wild beasts, nailed to crosses or burned in
those cursed gardens! And finally pity was turned into abuse of Cæsar
and Tigellinus. There were persons, too, who, stopping suddenly, asked
themselves or others the question, “What kind of divinity is that which
gives such strength to meet torture and death?” And they returned home
in meditation.
But Chilo was wandering about in the gardens, not knowing where to go or
where to turn. Again he felt himself a weak, helpless, sick old man.
Now he stumbled against partly burnt bodies; now he struck a torch,
which sent a shower of sparks after him; now he sat down, and looked
around with vacant stare. The gardens had become almost dark. The pale
moon moving among the trees shone with uncertain light on the alleys,
the dark pillars lying across them, and the partly burnt victims turned
into shapeless lumps. But the old Greek thought that in the moon he saw
the face of Glaucus, whose eyes were looking at him yet persistently,
and he hid before the light. At last he went out of the shadow, in
spite of himself; as if pushed by some hidden power, he turned toward
the fountain where Glaucus had yielded up the spirit.
Then some hand touched his shoulder. He turned, and saw an unknown
person before him.
“Who art thou?” exclaimed he, with terror.
“Paul of Tarsus.”
“I am accursed!—What dost thou wish?”
“I wish to save thee,” answered the Apostle.
Chilo supported himself against a tree. His legs bent under him, and
his arms hung parallel with his body.
“For me there is no salvation,” said he, gloomily.
“Hast thou heard how God forgave the thief on the cross who pitied Him?”
inquired Paul.
“Dost thou know what I have done?”
“I saw thy suffering, and heard thy testimony to the truth.”
“O Lord!”
“And if a servant of Christ forgave thee in the hour of torture and
death, why should Christ not forgive thee?”
Chilo seized his head with both hands, as if in bewilderment.
“Forgiveness! for me, forgiveness!”
“Our God is a God of mercy,” said Paul.
“For me?” repeated Chilo; and he began to groan like a man who lacks
strength to control his pain and suffering.
“Lean on me,” said Paul, “and go with me.”
And taking him he went to the crossing of the streets, guided by the
voice of the fountain, which seemed to weep in the night stillness over
the bodies of those who had died in torture.
“Our God is a God of mercy,” repeated the Apostle. “Wert thou to stand
at the sea and cast in pebbles, couldst thou fill its depth with them?
I tell thee that the mercy of Christ is as the sea, and that the sins
and faults of men sink in it as pebbles in the abyss; I tell thee that
it is like the sky which covers mountains, lands, and seas, for it is
everywhere and has neither end nor limit. Thou hast suffered at the
pillar of Glaucus. Christ saw thy suffering. Without reference to what
may meet thee tomorrow, thou didst say, ‘That is the incendiary,’ and
Christ remembers thy words. Thy malice and falsehood are gone; in thy
heart is left only boundless sorrow. Follow me and listen to what I say.
I am he who hated Christ and persecuted His chosen ones. I did not want
Him, I did not believe in Him till He manifested Himself and called me.
Since then He is, for me, mercy. He has visited thee with compunction,
with alarm, and with pain, to call thee to Himself. Thou didst hate
Him, but He loved thee. Thou didst deliver His confessors to torture,
but He wishes to forgive and save thee.”
Immense sobbing shook the breast of the wretched man, sobbing by which
the soul in him was rent to its depths; but Paul took possession of him,
mastered him, led him away, as a soldier leads a captive.
After a while the Apostle began again to speak:—
“Come with me; I will lead thee to Him. For why else have I come to
thee?
“Christ commanded me to gather in souls in the name of love; hence I
perform His service. Thou thinkest thyself accursed, but I say: Believe
in Him, and salvation awaits thee. Thou thinkest that thou art hated,
but I repeat that He loves thee. Look at me. Before I had Him I had
nothing save malice, which dwelt in my heart, and now His love suffices
me instead of father and mother, wealth and power. In Him alone is
refuge. He alone will see thy sorrow, believe in thy misery, remove thy
alarm, and raise thee to Himself.”
Thus speaking, he led him to the fountain, the silver stream of which
gleamed from afar in the moonlight. Round about was silence; the
gardens were empty, for slaves had removed the charred pillars and the
bodies of the martyrs.
Chilo threw himself on his knees with a groan, and hiding his face in
his hands remained motionless. Paul raised his face to the stars. “O
Lord,” prayed he, “look on this wretched man, on his sorrow, his tears,
and his suffering! O God of mercy, who hast shed Thy blood for our
sins, forgive him, through Thy torment, Thy death and resurrection!”
Then he was silent; but for a long time he looked toward the stars, and
prayed.
Meanwhile from under his feet was heard a cry which resembled a groan,—
“O Christ! O Christ! forgive me!”
Paul approached the fountain then, and, taking water in his hand, turned
to the kneeling wretch,—
“Chilo!—I baptize thee in the name of the Father, Son, and Spirit.
Amen!”
Chilo raised his head, opened his arms, and remained in that posture.
The moon shone with full light on his white hair and on his equally
white face, which was as motionless as if dead or cut out of stone. The
moments passed one after another. From the great aviaries in the
gardens of Domitian came the crowing of cocks; but Chilo remained
kneeling, like a statue on a monument. At last he recovered, spoke to
the Apostle, and asked,—
“What am I to do before death?”
Paul was roused also from meditation on the measureless power which even
such spirits as that of this Greek could not resist, and answered,—
“Have faith, and bear witness to the truth.”
They went out together. At the gate the Apostle blessed the old man
again, and they parted. Chilo himself insisted on this, for after what
had happened he knew that Cæsar and Tigellinus would give command to
pursue him.
Indeed he was not mistaken. When he returned home, he found the house
surrounded by pretorians, who led him away, and took him under direction
of Scevinus to the Palatine.
Cæsar had gone to rest, but Tigellinus was waiting. When he saw the
unfortunate Greek, he greeted him with a calm but ominous face.
“Thou hast committed the crime of treason,” said he, “and punishment
will not pass thee; but if tomorrow thou testify in the amphitheatre
that thou wert drunk and mad, and that the authors of the conflagration
are Christians, thy punishment will be limited to stripes and exile.”
“I cannot do that,” answered Chilo, calmly.
Tigellinus approached him with slow step, and with a voice also low but
terrible,—
“How is that?” asked he. “Thou canst not, Greek dog? Wert thou not
drunk, and dost thou not understand what is waiting for thee? Look
there!” and he pointed to a corner of the atrium in which, near a long
wooden bench, stood four Thracian slaves in the shade with ropes, and
with pincers in their hands.
But Chilo answered,—
“I cannot!”
Rage seized Tigellinus, but he restrained himself yet.
“Hast thou seen,” inquired he, “how Christians die? Dost wish to die in
that way?”
The old man raised his pale face; for a time his lips moved in silence,
and he answered,—
“I too believe in Christ.”
Tigellinus looked at him with amazement. “Dog, thou hast gone mad in
fact!”
And suddenly the rage in his breast broke its bounds. Springing at
Chilo, he caught him by the beard with both hands, hurled him to the
floor, trampled him, repeating, with foam on his lips,—
“Thou wilt retract! thou wilt!”
“I cannot!” answered Chilo from the floor.
“To the tortures with him!”
At this command the Thracians seized the old man, and placed him on the
bench; then, fastening him with ropes to it, they began to squeeze his
thin shanks with pincers. But when they were tying him he kissed their
hands with humility; then he closed his eyes, and seemed dead.
He was alive, though; for when Tigellinus bent over him and inquired
once again, “Wilt thou retract?” his white lips moved slightly, and from
them came the barely audible whisper,—
“I cannot.”
Tigellinus gave command to stop the torture, and began to walk up and
down in the atrium with a face distorted by anger, but helpless. At last
a new idea came to his head, for he turned to the Thracians and said,—
“Tear out his tongue!”
THE drama “Aureolus” was given usually in theatres or amphitheatres, so
arranged that they could open and present as it were two separate
stages. But after the spectacle in the gardens of Cæsar the usual
method was omitted; for in this case the problem was to let the greatest
number of people look at a slave who, in the drama, is devoured by a
bear. In the theatres the role of the bear is played by an actor sewed
up in a skin, but this time the representation was to be real. This was
a new idea of Tigellinus. At first Cæsar refused to come, but changed
his mind at persuasion of the favorite. Tigellinus explained that after
what had happened in the gardens it was all the more his duty to appear
before the people, and he guaranteed that the crucified slave would not
insult him as had Crispus. The people were somewhat sated and tired of
blood-spilling; hence a new distribution of lottery tickets and gifts
was promised, as well as a feast, for the spectacle was to be in the
evening,
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