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029 - Book 4 Chapter I · Last Days of Pompeii

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  Speaker 1: Book four, Chapter one of Last Days of Pompeii. This
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  Speaker 1: is a LibriVox recording or LibriVox recordings are in the
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  Speaker 1: public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit
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  Speaker 1: LibriVox dot org. Recording by Christine Blaschford. Last Days of
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  Speaker 1: Pompey by Edward G. Bulwer Lytton Book four, Chapter one,
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  Speaker 1: Reflections on the zeal of the early Christians. Two men
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  Speaker 1: come to a perilous resolve. Walls have ears, particularly sacred walls.
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  Speaker 1: Whoever regards the early history of Christianity will perceive how
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  Speaker 1: necessary to its triumph was that fierce spirit of zeal, which,
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  Speaker 1: fearing no danger, accepting no compromise, inspired its champions and
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  Speaker 1: sustained its martyrs. In a dominant church, the genius of
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  Speaker 1: intolerance betrays its cause. In a weak and persecuted church,
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  Speaker 1: the same genius mainly supports. It was necessary to scorn,
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  Speaker 1: to loathe, to abhor the creeds of other men in
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  Speaker 1: order to conquer the temptations which they presented. It was
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  Speaker 1: necessary rigidly to believe not only that the Gospel was
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  Speaker 1: the true faith, but the sole truth faith that saved,
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  Speaker 1: in order to nerve the disciple to the austerity of
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  Speaker 1: its doctrine, and to encourage him to the sacred and
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  Speaker 1: perilous chivalry of converting the polytheist and the heathen. The
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  Speaker 1: sectarian sternness, which confined virtue in heaven to a chosen few,
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  Speaker 1: which saw demons in other gods, and the penalties of
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  Speaker 1: hell in other religions, made the believer naturally anxious to
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  Speaker 1: convert all to whom he felt the ties of human affection,
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  Speaker 1: and the circle thus traced by benevolence to man was
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  Speaker 1: yet more widened by a desire for the glory of God.
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  Speaker 1: It was for the honour of the Christian faith that
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  Speaker 1: the Christian boldly forced its tenets upon the skepticism of some,
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  Speaker 1: the repugnance of others, the sage contempt of the philosopher,
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  Speaker 1: the pious shudder of the people. His very intolerance supplied
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  Speaker 1: him with his fittest instruments of success, and the soft
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  Speaker 1: heathen began at last to imagine there must, indeed be
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  Speaker 1: something holy in a zeal wholly foreign to his experience,
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  Speaker 1: which stopped at no obstacle, dreaded no danger, and even
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  Speaker 1: at the torture or on the scaffold, referred a dispute
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  Speaker 1: far other than the calm differences of speculative philosophy, to
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  Speaker 1: the tribunal of an eternal judge. It was thus that
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  Speaker 1: the same fervor which made the churchmen of the Middle
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  Speaker 1: Age of Bigot without mercy, made the Christian of the
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  Speaker 1: early days a hero without fear. Of these more fiery, daring,
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  Speaker 1: and earnest natures, not the least ardent was Olynthus, no
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  Speaker 1: sooner had Episodes been received by the rites of Baptism
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  Speaker 1: into the bosom of the Church, than the Nazarene hastened
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  Speaker 1: to make him conscious of the impossibility to retain the
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  Speaker 1: office and robes of priesthood. He could not, it was evident,
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  Speaker 1: profess to worship God and continue even outwardly to honor
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  Speaker 1: the idolatrous altars of the fiend. Nor was this all.
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  Speaker 1: The sanguine and impetuous mind of olynthus beheld in the
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  Speaker 1: power of Episodes the means of divulging to the deluded people,
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  Speaker 1: the juggling mysteries of the orocular isis. He thought Heaven
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  Speaker 1: had sent this instrument of his design in order to
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  Speaker 1: disabuse the eyes of the crowd and prepare the way
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  Speaker 1: perchance for the conversion of a whole city. He did
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  Speaker 1: not hesitate then, to appeal to all the new kindled
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  Speaker 1: enthusiasasm of Episodes, to arouse his courage and to stimulate
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  Speaker 1: his zeal. They met according to previous agreement the evening
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  Speaker 1: after the baptism of Episodes in the grave of Cybele,
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  Speaker 1: which we have before described, at the next solemn consultation
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  Speaker 1: of the Oracle, said olynthus, as he proceeded in the
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  Speaker 1: warmth of his address, advance yourself to the railing, proclaim
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  Speaker 1: aloud to the people the deception they endure. Invite them
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  Speaker 1: to enter, to be themselves the witness of the gross
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  Speaker 1: but artful mechanism of imposture. Thou hast described to me.
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  Speaker 1: Fear not. The Lord who protected Daniel shall protect thee. We,
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  Speaker 1: the community of Christians, will be amongst the crowd. We
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  Speaker 1: will urge on the shrinking and in the first flush
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  Speaker 1: of the popular indignation, and shame I myself upon those
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  Speaker 1: very altars, will plant the palm branch typical of the Gospel,
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  Speaker 1: and to my tongue shall descend the rushing spirit of
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  Speaker 1: the Living God. Heated and excited as he was, this
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  Speaker 1: suggestion was not unpleasing to Episodes, he was rejoiced at
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  Speaker 1: so early an opportunity of distinguishing his faith in his
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  Speaker 1: new sect, and to his holier feelings were added those
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  Speaker 1: of a vindictive loathing at the imposition he had himself suffered,
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  Speaker 1: and a desire to avenge it. In that sanguine and
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  Speaker 1: elastic overbound of obstacles, the rashness necessary to all who
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  Speaker 1: undertake venturous and lofty actions. Neither Olynthus nor the proselyte
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  Speaker 1: perceived the impediments to the success of their scheme which
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  Speaker 1: might be found in the reverence superstition of the people themselves,
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  Speaker 1: who would probably be loathe before the sacred altars of
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  Speaker 1: the great Egyptian Goddess to believe even the testimony of
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  Speaker 1: her priest against her power. Episodes then assented to this
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  Speaker 1: proposal with a readiness which delighted Olynthus. They parted with
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  Speaker 1: the understanding that Olynthus should confer with the more important
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  Speaker 1: of his Christian brethren on his great enterprise, should receive
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  Speaker 1: their advice and their assurances of the support on the
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  Speaker 1: eventful day. It so chanced that one of the festivals
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  Speaker 1: of Isis was to be held on the second day
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  Speaker 1: after this conference. The festival proffered a ready occasion for
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  Speaker 1: the design. They appointed to meet once more on the
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  Speaker 1: next evening at the same spot, and in that meeting
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  Speaker 1: were finally to be settled the order and details of
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  Speaker 1: the disclosure for the following day. It happened that the
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  Speaker 1: later part of this conference had been held near the
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  Speaker 1: sassylum or small chapel, which I have described in the
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  Speaker 1: early part of this work, And so soon as the
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  Speaker 1: forms of the Christian and the priest had disappeared from
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  Speaker 1: the grove, a dark and ungainly figure emerged from behind
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  Speaker 1: the chapel. I have tracked you with some effect, my
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  Speaker 1: brother Flaman soliloquized the eavesdropper. You, the Priest of Isis,
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  Speaker 1: have not, for mere idle discussion conferred with this gloomy
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  Speaker 1: Christian alas that I could not hear all your precious
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  Speaker 1: plot enough. I find at least that you meditate revealing
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  Speaker 1: the sacred mysteries, and that tomorrow you meet again at
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  Speaker 1: this place to plan the how and the when may
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  Speaker 1: Osiris sharpen my ears, then to detect the whole of
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  Speaker 1: your unheard of audacity. When I have learned more, I
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  Speaker 1: must confer at once with our bases, we will frustrate you,
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  Speaker 1: my friends, deep as you think yourselves. At present, my
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  Speaker 1: breast is a locked treasury of your secret. Thus muttering
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  Speaker 1: Calanus for it was, he wrapped his row around him
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  Speaker 1: and strode thoughtfully homeward. End of Chapter one