I have heard men speak like thee in Athens, Paul answered slowly and sadly, and I said then that the wisdom of man is but foolishness in God’s sight.  But thy stay there was not long, and thou hast not spoken of my country, Egypt, Mathias answered, and rising from his seat he left the table and passed out on to the balcony like one offended, and, leaning his arms on the rail, he stood looking into the abyss.

A Jew of Alexandria, Manahem whispered in Paul’s ear, but he holds fast by the law in his own sense, and in telling of this Christ thou——­ We would hear of Peter, Saddoc interrupted, the fisherman thou foundest eating unclean meat with the Gentiles.  Have I not said, Paul answered, that what is eaten and what is drunk finds neither favour nor disfavour in God’s eyes—­that it is not by observance we are saved, but by faith in our Lord Jesus Christ that died to redeem us from the law, and was raised from the dead by his Father, and who appeared to the twelve and to five hundred others, some of whom are dead, but many are still alive?  But this Christ, who was he when he lived upon this earth?  Manahem inquired.  Son of the living God, Paul answered, that took on the beggarly raiment of human flesh at Nazareth, was baptized by John in Jordan, and preached in Galilee, went up to Jerusalem and was crucified by Pilate between two thieves; the third day he rose from the dead, that our sins——­ Didst say he was born in Nazareth?  Hazael asked, the word Nazareth having roused him from his reveries, and was baptized by John in Jordan, preached afterwards in Galilee, and suffered under Pilate?  Was crucified, Paul interjected; then you have heard, he said, of the resurrection?  Not of the resurrection; but we know that our Brother Jesus was born in Nazareth, was baptized in Jordan by John, preached in Galilee and suffered under Pilate.  Pilate condemned many men, Paul answered, a cruel man even among the Romans.  But born in Nazareth and was baptized by John didst say?  I said it, Hazael answered.  Which among you, Paul asked, looking into every face, is he?  Jesus is not here, Hazael replied, he is out with the flock.  He slept by thy side on this balcony last night.  We’ve listened to thy story with interest, Paul; we give thee thanks for telling it, and by thy leave we will return to our daily duties and to our consciences.

CHAP.  XXXVII.

One of the Essenes had left some quires of his Scriptures upon the table; Paul picked them up, but, unable to fix his attention, he walked out on to the balcony, and when the murmur of the brook began to exasperate him he returned to the domed gallery and walked through it with some vague intention of following the rubble path that led out on to the mountains, but remembering the Thracian dogs chained under the rocks, he came back and stood by the well, and in its moist atmosphere fell into argument with himself as to the cause of his disquiet, denying to himself that it was related in any way to the story he had heard from the Essenes—­that there was one amongst them, a shepherd from Nazareth, who had received baptism from John and suffered under Pilate, the very one whom he had heard talking that morning to Jacob about ewes and rams.  At last he attributed his disquiet to his anxiety for the safety of Timothy.