“And now, my brethren, how ought we to demean ourselves in these fateful times of disturbance?  As Christians; only—­or rather, by God’s aiding grace as Christians in the true sense of our Lord and Master, according to the precepts given by Him through the Apostles.  Their words shall be mine.  They say there are two paths—­the path of Life and the path of Death, and there is a great difference between them.  The path of Life is this:  First, Thou shalt love God who hath created thee; next thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself, and whatsoever thou wouldst men should do unto thee even so do unto them; but what thou wouldst not have done unto thee do thou not to them.  And the sum of the doctrine contained in these words is this:  Bless those that curse you, pray for your enemies and repent for those who persecute you, for ’if ye love them that love you what thank have ye?  Do not even the heathen the same?’ Love those that hate you and you will have no enemies.

“Take this teaching of the holy Apostles to heart this day.  Beware of mocking or persecuting those who have been your enemies.  Even the nobler heathen regarded it as an act of grace to respect the conquered foe, and to you, as Christians, it should be a law.  It is not so hard to forgive an enemy when we regard him as a possible friend in the future; and the Christian can go so far as to love him when he remembers that every man is his brother and neighbor, and equally precious in the sight of the Saviour who is dearer to us than life.

“The heathen, the idolater, is the Christian’s archfoe; but soon he will be in fetters at our feet.  And, then, my brethren, pray for him; for if the Almighty, who is without spot or stain and perfect beyond words, can forgive the sinner, ye who are base and guilty may surely forgive.  ‘Fishers of souls’ we all should be; try to fulfil the injunction.  Draw the enemy to you by kindness and love; show him by your example the beauty of the Christian life; let him perceive the benefits of Salvation; lead those whose gods and temples we have overthrown, into our churches; and when, after triumphing over those blind souls by the sword, we have also conquered them by love, faith and prayer—­when they can rejoice with us in the Redemption by our Lord Jesus Christ—­then shall we all be as one fold under one shepherd, and peace and joy shall reign in the city which is now torn by dissension and strife.”

At this point the preacher was interrupted, for a loud uproar broke out in the Narthex—­[The vestibule of the early Christian basilica which was open to penitents.]—­shouts and cries of men fighting, mingled with the dull roar of a bull.

The congregation started to their feet in extreme consternation, and the door was flung open and a host of heathen youths rushed into the nave, followed by an overwhelming force of Christians from whom they had sought refuge in the sanctuary.  Here they turned at bay to make a last desperate resistance.  Garlands, stripped of their leaves and flowers, still crowned their heads and hung over their shoulders.  They had been attacked close to the church, by a party of monks when in the act of driving a gaily-decorated steer to the temple of Apollo, in defiance of the Imperial edict; and the beast, terrified by the tumult, had rushed into the narthex for shelter.