Gorgo shook her head.

“That all sounds very beautiful and good; it is required of the Christian, and sometimes, no doubt, fulfilled; but the Stoa demands the same virtues of its disciples.  You, Constantine, knew Damon the Stoic, and you will remember how strictly he enjoined on all that they should rise superior to pain and grief.  And then, when his only daughter lost her sight—­she was a great friend of mine—­he behaved like one possessed.  My father, too, has often spoken to you of philosophy as a help to contemning the discomforts of life, and bearing the sports of Fate with a lofty mind; and now?  You should see the poor man, reverend Father.  What good have all the teachings of the great master done him?”

“But he has lost so much—­so much!” sighed Constantine thinking of his own loss; and Eusebius shook his head.

“In sorrow such as his, no philosophy, no mental effort can avail.  The blows that wound the affections can only be healed by the affections, and not by the intellect and considerations of reason.  Faith, child!  Faith is the true Herb of Grace.  The intellect is its foe; the feelings are its native soil where it finds constant nourishment; and however deep the bleeding wound of the mourner may be, Faith can heal it and reconcile the sufferer to his loss.  You have been taught to value a fine understanding, to measure everything by it, to build everything on its decisions.  To you the knowledge you have attained to by argument and inference is supreme; but the Creator has given us a heart as well as a brain; our affections, too, stir and grow in their own way, and the knowledge they can attain to, my child, is Faith.  You love—­and Love is part of your affections; and now take my advice; do not let that reasoning intelligence, which has nothing to do with love, have anything to say in the matter; cherish your love and nurture it from the rich stores of your heart; thus only can it thrive to beauty and harmony.—­And this must suffice for to-day, for I have already kept the wounded waiting too long in the Serapeum.  If you desire it, another time I will show you Christianity in all its depth and beauty, and your love for this good man will prepare the way and open your heart to my teaching.  A day will come when you will be able to listen to the voice of your heart as gladly as you have hitherto obeyed the dictates of your intellect; something new will be born in you which you will esteem as a treasure above all you ever acquired by reason and thought.  That day will assuredly dawn on you; for he whom you love has opened the path for you that leads to the gates of Truth; and as you seek you will not fail to find.—­And so farewell.  When you crave a teacher you have only to come to him —­and I know he will not have long to wait.”

Gorgo looked thoughtfully at the old man as he went away and then went with Constantine to see his parents.  It was in total silence that they made their way along the short piece of road to the house of Clemens.  Lights were visible in the viridarium and the curtains of the doorway were drawn back; as they reached the threshold Constantine pointed to a bier which had been placed in the little court among the flower-beds; his parents were on their knees by the side of it.