Books: Quo Vadis A Narrative of the Time of Nero

H >> Henryk Sienkiewicz >> Quo Vadis A Narrative of the Time of Nero

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But Chilo fell to dissuading and entrcating them by all the gods not
to do so. Croton was taken only f or clef ence against attack in
case they were recognized, not to carry off the girl. To take her
when there were only two of them was to expose themselves to
death, and, what was worse, they might let her out of their hands,
and then she would hide in another place or leave Rome. And what
could they do? Why not act with certainty? Why expose
themselves to destruction and the whole undertaking to failure?

Though Vinicius restrained himself with the greatest effort from
seizing Lygia in his arms at once, right there in the cemetery, he
felt that the Greek was right, and would have lent ear, perhaps, to
his counsels, had it not been for Croton, to whom reward was the
question.

"Lord, command that old goat to be silent," said he, "or let me drop
my fist on his head. Once in Buxentum, whither Lucius Saturnius
took me to a play, seven drunken gladiators fell on me at an inn,
and none of them escaped with sound ribs. I do not say to take the
girl now from the crowd, for they might throw stones before our
feet, but once she is at home I will seize her, carry her away, and
take her whithersoever thou shalt indicate."

Vinicius was pleased to hear those words, and answered, -- "Thus
let it be, by Hercules! To-morrow we may not find her at home; if
we surprise them they will remove, the girl surely."

"This Lygian seems tremendously strong!" groaned Chio.

"No one will ask thee to hold his hands," answered Croton.

But they had to wait long yet, and the cocks had begun to crow
before dawn when they saw Ursus coming through the gate, and
with him Lygia. They were accompanied by a number of other
persons. It seemed to Chilo that he recognized among them the
Great Apostle; next to him walked another old man, considerably
lower in stature, two women who were not young, and a boy, who
lighted the way with a lantern. After that handful followed a
crowd, about two hundred in number; Vinicius, Chio, and Croton
walked with these people.

"Yes, lord," said Chio, "thy maiden is under powerful protection.
That is the Great Apostle with her, for see how passing people
kneel to him."

People did in fact kneel before him, but Vinicius did not look at
them. He did not lose Lygia from his eyes for a moment; he
thought only of bearing her away and, accustomed as he had been
in wars to stratagems of all sorts, he arranged in his head the whole
plan of seizure with soldierly precision. He felt that the step on
which he had decided was bold, but he knew well that bold attacks
give success generally.

The way was long; hence at moments he thought too of the gulf
which that wonderful religion had dug between him and Lygia.
Now he understood everything that had happened in the past, and
why it had happened. He was sufficiently penetrating for that.
Lygia he had not known hitherto. He had seen in her a maiden
wonderful beyond others, a maiden toward whom his feelings were
inflamed: he knew now that her religion made her different from
other women, and his hope that feeling, desire, wealth, luxury,
would attract her he knew now to be a vain illusion. Finally he
understood this, which he and Petronius had not understood, that
the new religion ingrafted into the soul something unknown to that
world in which he lived, and that Lygia, even if she loved him,
would not sacrifice any of her Christian truths for his sake, and
that, if pleasure existed for her, it was a pleasure different
altogether from that which he and Petronius and Caesar's court and
all Rome were pursuing. Every other woman whom he knew might
become his mistress, but that Christian would become only his
victim. And when he thought of this, he felt anger and burning
pain, for he felt that his anger was powerless. To carry off Lygia
seemed to him possible; he was almost sure that he could take her,
but he was equally sure that, in view of her religion, he himself
with his bravery was nothing, that his power was nothing, and that
through it he could effect nothing. That Roman military tribune,
convinced that the power of the sword and the fist which had
conquered the world, would command it forever, saw for the first
time in life that beyond that power there might be something else;
hence he asked himself with amazement what it was. And he could
not answer distinctly; through his head flew merely pictures of the
cemetery, the assembled crowd, and Lygia, listening with her
whole soul to the words of the old man, as he narrated the passion,
death, and resurrection of the God-man, who had redeemed the
world, and promised it happiness on the other shore of the Styx.

When he thought of this, chaos rose in his head. But he was
brought out of this chaos by Chilo, who fell to lamenting his own
fate. He had agreed to find Lygia. He had sought for her in peril of
his life, and he had pointed her out. But what more do they want?
Had he offered to carry the maiden away? Who could ask anything
like this of a maimed man deprived of two fingers, an old man,
devoted to meditation, to science, and virtue? What would happen
were a lord of such dignity as Vinicius to meet some mishap while
bearing the maiden away? It is true that the gods are bound to
watch over their chosen ones, -- but have not such things happened
more than once, as if the gods were playing games instead of
watching what was passing in the world? Fortune is blindfold, as is
well known, and does not see even in daylight; what must the case
be at night? Let something happen, -- let that Lygian bear hurl a
millstone at the noble Vinicius, or a keg of wine, or, still worse,
water, -- who will give assurance that instead of a reward blame
will not fall on the hapless Chio? He, the poor sage, has attached
himself to the noble Vinicius as Aristotle to Alexander of
Macedon. If the noble lord should give him at least that purse
which he had thrust into his girdle before leaving home, there
would be something with which to invoke aid in case of need, or to
influence the Christians. Oh, why not listen to the counsels of an
old man, counsels dictated by experience and prudence?

Vinicius, hearing this, took the purse from his belt, and threw it to
the fingers of Chilo.

"Thou hast it; be silent!"

The Greek felt that it was unusually heavy, and gained confidence.

"My whole hope is in this," said he, "that Hercules or Theseus
performed deeds still more arduous; what is my personal, nearest
friend, Croton, if not Hercules? Thee, worthy lord, I will not call a
demigod, for thou art a full god, and in future thou wilt not forget a
poor, faithful servant, whose needs it will be necessary to provide
for from time to time, for once he is sunk in books, he thinks of
nothing else; sonic few stadia of garden land and a little house,
even with the smallest portico, for coolness in summer, would
befit such a donor. Meanwhile I shall admire thy heroic deeds
from afar, and invoke Jove to befriend thee, and if need be I will
make such an outcry that half Rome will be roused to thy
assistance. What a wretched, rough road! The olive oil is burned
out in the lantern; and if Croton, who is as noble as he is strong,
would bear me to the gate in his arms, he would learn, to begin
with, whether he will carry the maiden easily; second, he would
act like IEneas, and win all the good gods to such a degree that
touching the result of the enterprise I should be thoroughly
satisfied."

"I should rather carry a sheep which died of mange a month ago,"
answered the gladiator; "but give that purse, bestowed by the
worthy tribune, and I will bear thee to the gate."

"Mayst thou knock the great toe from thy foot," replied the Greek;
"what profit hast thou from the teachings of that worthy old man,
who described poverty and charity as the two foremost virtues?
Has he not commanded thee expressly to love me? Never shall I
make thee, I see, even a poor Christian; it would be easier for the
sun to pierce the walls of the Mamertine prison than for truth to
penetrate thy skull of a hippopotamus."

"Never fear!" said Croton, who with the strength of a beast had no
human feeling. "I shall not be a Christian! I have no wish to lose
my bread."

"But if thou knew even the rudiments of philosophy, thou wouldst
know that gold is vanity."

"Come to me with thy philosophy. I will give thee one blow of my
head in the stomach; we shall see then who wins."

"An ox might have said the same to Aristotle," retorted Chilo.

It was growing gray in the world. The dawn covered with pale
light the outlines of the walls. The trees along the wayside, the
buildings, and the gravestones scattered here and there began to
issue from the shade. The road was no longer quite empty.
Marketmen were moving toward the gates, leading asses and
mules laden with vegetables;, here and there moved creaking carts
in which game was conveyed. On the road and along both sides of
it was a light mist at the very earth, which promised good weather.
People at some distance seemed like apparitions in that mist.
Vinicius stared at the slender form of Lygia, which became more
silvery as the light increased.

"Lord," said Chio, "I should offend thee were I to foresee the end
of thy bounty, but now, when thou hast paid me, I may not be
suspected of speaking for my own interest only. I advise thee once
more to go home for slaves and a litter, when thou hast learned in
what house the divine Lygia dwells; listen not to that elephant
trunk, Croton, who undertakes to carry off the maiden only to
squeeze thy purse as if it were a bag of curds."

"I have a blow of the fist to be struck between the shoulders, which
means that thou wilt perish," said Croton.

"I have a cask of Cephalonian wine, which means that I shall be
well," answered Chio.

Vinicius made no answer, for he approached the gate, at which a
wonderful sight struck his eyes. Two soldiers knelt when the
Apostle was passing; Peter placed his hand on their iron helmets
for a moment, and then made the sign of the cross on them. It had
never occurred to the patrician before that there could be
Christians in the army; with astonishment he thought that as fire in
a burning city takes in more and more houses, so to all
appearances that doctrine embraces new souls every day, and
extends itself over all human understandings. This struck him also
with reference to Lygia, for he was convinced that, had she wished
to flee from the city, there would be guards willing to facilitate her
flight. He thanked the gods then that this had not happened.

After they had passed vacant places beyond the wall, the
Christians began to scatter. There was need, therefore, to follow
Lygia more from a distance, and more carefully, so as not to rouse
attention. Chilo fell to complaining of wounds, of pains in his legs,
and dropped more and more to the rear. Vinicius did not oppose
this, judging that the cowardly and incompetent Greek would not
be needed. He would even have permitted him to depart, had he
wished; but the worthy sage was detained by circumspection.
Curiosity pressed him evidently, since he continued behind, and at
moments even approached with his previous counsels; he thought
too that the old man accompanying the Apostle might be Glaucus,
were it not for his rather low stature.

They walked a good while before reaching the Trans-Tiber, and
the sun was near rising when the group surrounding Lygia
dispersed. The Apostle, an old woman, and a boy went up the
river; the old man of lower stature, Ursus, and Lygia entered a
narrow vicus, and, advancing still about a hundred yards, went into
a house in which were two shops, -- one for the sale of olives, the
other for poultry.

Chilo, who walked about fifty yards behind Vinicius and Croton,
halted all at once, as if fixed to the earth, and, squeezing up to the
wall, began to hiss at them to turn.

They did so, for they needed to take counsel.

"Go, Chio," said Vinicius, "and see if this house fronts on another
street." Chio, though he had complained of wounds in his feet,
sprang away as quickly as if he had had the wings of J~Iercury on
his ankles, and returned in a moment.

"No," said he, "there is but one entrance."

Then, putting his hands together, he said, "I implore thee, lord, by
Jupiter, Apollo, Vesta, Cybele, Isis. Osiris, Mithra Baal, and all the
gods of the Orient and the Occident to drop this plan. Listen to
me --"

But he stopped on a sudden, for he saw that Vinicius's face was
pale from emotion, and that his eyes were glittering like the eyes
of a wolf. It was enough to look at him to understand that nothing
in the world would restrain him from the undertaking. Croton
began to draw air into his herculean breast, and to sway his
undeveloped skull from side to side as bears do when confined in a
cage, but on his face nut the least fear was evident.

"I will go in first," said he.

"Thou wilt follow me," said Vinicius, in commanding tones.

And after a while both vanished in the dark entrance.

Chilo sprang to the corner of the nearest alley and watched from
behind it, waiting for what would happen.

Chapter XXII

ONLY inside the entrance did Vinicius comprehend the whole
difficulty of the undertaking. The house was large, of several
stories, one of the kind of which thousands were built in Rome, in
view of profit from rent; hence, as a rule, they were built so
hurriedly and badly that scarcely a year passed in which numbers
of them did not fall on the heads of tenants. Real hives, too high
and too narrow, full of chambers and little dens, in which poor
people fixed themselves too numerously. In a city where many
streets had no names, those houses had no numbers; the owners
committed the collection of rent to slaves, who, not obliged by the
city government to give names of occupants, were ignorant
themselves of them frequently. To find some one by inquiry in
such a house was often very difficult, especially when there was no
gate-keeper.

Vinicius and Croton came to a narrow, corridor-like passage
walled in on four sides, forming a kind of common atrium for the
whole house, with a fountain in the middle whose stream fell into
a stone basin fixed in the ground. At all the walls were internal
stairways, some of stone, some of wood, leading to galleries from
which there were entrances to lodgings. There were lodgings on
the ground, also; some provided with wooden doors, others
separated from the yard by woollen screens only. These, for the
greater part, were worn, rent, or patched.

The hour was early, and there was not a living soul in the yard. It
was evident that all were asleep in the house except those who had
returned from Ostrianum.

"What shall we do, lord?" asked Croton, halting.

"Let us wait here; some one may appear," replied Vinicius. "We
should not be seen in the yard."

At this moment, he thought Chio's counsel practical. If there were
some tens of slaves present, it would be easy to occupy the gate,
which seemed the only exit, search all the lodgings
simultaneously, and thus come to Lygia's; otherwise Christians,
who surely were not lacking in that house, might give notice that
people were seeking her. In view of this, there was risk in
inquiring of strangers. Vinicius stopped to think whether it would
not be better to go for his slaves. Just then, from behind a screen
hiding a remoter lodging, came a man with a sieve in his hand, and
approached the fountain.

At the first glance the young tribune recognized Ursus.

"That is the Lygian!" whispered Vinicius.

"Am I to break his bones now?"

"Wait awhile!"

Ursus did not notice the two men, as they were in the shadow of
the entrance, and he began quietly to sink in water vegetables
which filled the sieve. It was evident that, after a whole night spent
in the cemetery, he in-tended to prepare a meal. After a while the
washing was finished; he took the wet sieve and disappeared
behind the screen. Croton and Vinicius followed him, thinking that
they would come directly to Lygia's lodgings. Their astonishment
was great when they saw that the screen divided from the court,
not lodgings, but another dark corridor, at the end of which was a
little garden containing a few cypresses, some myrtle bushes, and a
small house fixed to the windowless stone wall of another stone
building.

Both understood at once that this was for them a favoring
circumstance. In the courtyard all the tenants might assemble; the
seclusion of the little house facilitated the enterprise. They would
set aside defenders, or rather Ursus, quickly, and would reach the
street just as quickly with the captured Lygia; and there they would
help themselves. It was likely that no one would attack them; if
attacked, they would say that a hostage was fleeing from Caesar.
Vinicius would declare himself then to the guards, and summon
their assistance.

Ursus was almost entering the little house, when the sound of steps
attracted his attention; he halted, and, seeing two persons, put his
sieve on the balustrade and turned to them.

"What do ye want here?" asked he.

"Thee!" said Vinicius.

Then, turning to Croton, he said in a low, hurried voice:

"Kill!"

Croton rushed at him like a tiger, and in one moment, before the
Lygian was able to think or to recognize his enemies, Crown had
caught him in his arms of steel.

Vinicius was too confident in the man's preternatural strength to
wait for the end of the struggle. He passed the two, sprang to the
door of the little house, pushed it open and found himself in a
room a trifle dark, lighted, however, by a fire burning in the
chimney. A gleam of this fire fell on Lygia's face directly. A
second person, sitting at the fire, was that old man who had
accompanied the young girl and Ursus on the road from
Ostrianum.

Vinicius rushed in so suddenly that before Lygia could recognize
him he had seized her by the waist, and, raising her, rushed toward
the door again. The old man barred the way, it is true; but pressing
the girl with one arm to his breast, Vinicius pushed him aside with
the other, which was free. The hood fell from his head, and at sight
of that face, which was known to her and which at that moment
was terrible, the blood grew cold in Lygia from fright, and the
voice died in her throat. She wished to summon aid, but had not
the power. Equally vain was her wish to grasp the door, to resist.
Her fingers slipped along the stone, and she would have fainted but
for the terrible picture which struck her eyes when Vinicius rushed
into the garden.

Ursus was holding in his arms some man doubled back
completely, with hanging head and mouth filled with blood. When
he saw them, he struck the head once more with his fist, and in the
twinkle of an eye sprang toward Vinicius like a raging wild beast.

"Death!" thought the young patrician.

Then he heard, as through a dream, the scream of Lygia, "Kill
not!" He felt that something, as it were a thunderbolt, opened the
arms with which he held Lygia; then the earth turned round with
him, and the light of day died in his eyes.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Chilo, hidden behind the angle of the corner house, was waiting
for what would happen, since curiosity was struggling with fear in
him. He thought that if they succeeded in carrying off Lygia, he
would fare well near Vinicius. He feared Urban no longer, for he
also felt certain that Croton would kill him. And he calculated that
in case a gathering should begin on the streets, which so far were
empty, -- if Christians, or people of any kind, should offer
resistance, -- he, Chio, would speak to them as one representing
authority, as an executor of Caesar's will, and if need came, call
the guards to aid the young patrician against the street rabble --
thus winning to himself fresh favor. In his soul he judged yet that
the young tribune's method was unwise; considering, however,
Croton's terrible strength, he admitted that it might succeed, and
thought, "If it go hard with him, Vinicius can carry the girl, and
Croton clear the way." Delay grew wearisome, however; the
silence of the entrance which he watched alarmed him.

"If they do not hit upon her hiding-place, and make an uproar, they
will frighten her."

But this thought was not disagreeable; for Chilo understood that in
that event he would be necessary again to Vinicius, and could
squeeze afresh a goodly number of sestertia from the tribune.

"Whatever they do," said he to himself, "they will work for me,
though no one divines that. O gods! O gods! only permit me--"

And he stopped suddenly, for it seemed to him that some one was
bending forward through the entrance; then, squeezing up to the
wall, he began to look, holding the breath in his breast.

And he had not deceived himself, for a head thrust itself half out
of the entrance and looked around. After a while, however, it
vanished.

"That is Vinicius, or Croton," thought Chilo; "but if they have
taken the girl, why does she not scream, and why are they looking
out to the street? They must meet people anyhow, for before they
reach the Carmn~ there will be movement in the city -- What is
that? By the immortal gods!"

And suddenly the remnant of his hair stood on end.

In the door appeared Ursus, with the body of Croton hanging on
his arm, and looking around once more, he began to run, bearing it
along the empty street toward the river.

Chilo made himself as flat against the wall as a bit of mud.

"I am lost if he sees me!" thought he.

But Ursus ran past the corner quickly, and disappeared beyond the
neighboring house. Chio, without further waiting, his teeth
chattering from terror, ran along the cross street with a speed
which even in a young man might have roused admiration.

"If he sees mc from a distance when he is returning, he will catch
and kill me," said he to himself. "Save me, Zeus; save me, Apollo;
save me, Hermes; save me, O God of the Christians! I will leave
Rome, I will return to Mesembria, but save me from the hands of
that demon!"

And that Lygian who had killed Croton seemed to him at that
moment some superhuman being. While running, he thought that
lie might be some god who had taken the form of a barbarian. At
that moment he believed in all the gods of the world, and in all
myths, at which he jeered usually. It flew through his head, too,
that it might be the God of the Christians who had killed Croton;
and his hair stood on end again at the thought that he was in
conflict with such a power.

Only when he had run through a number of alleys, and saw some
workmen coming toward him from a distance, was he calmed
somewhat. Breath failed in his breast; so he sat on the threshold of
a house and began to wipe, with a corner of his mantle, his
sweat-covered forehead.

"I am old, and need calm," said he.

The people coming toward him turned into some little side street,
and again the place round about was empty. The city was sleeping
yet. In the morning movement began earlier in the wealthier parts
of the city, where the slaves of rich houses were forced to rise
before daylight; in portions inhabited by a free population,
supported at the cost of the State, hence unoccupied, they woke
rather late, especially in winter. Chio, after he had sat some time
on the threshold, felt a piercing cold; so he rose, and, convincing
himself that he had not lost the purse received from Vinicius,
turned toward the river with a step now much slower.

"I may see Croton's body somewhere," said he to himself. "O gods!
that Lygian, if he is a man, might make millions of sestertia in the
course of one year; for if he choked Croton, like a whelp, who can
resist him? They would give for his every appearance in the arena
as much gold as he himself weighs. He guards that maiden better
than Cerberus does Hades. But may Hades swallow him, for all
that! I will have nothing to do with him. He is too bony. But where
shall I begin in this case? A dreadful thing has happened. If he has
broken the bones of such a man as Croton, beyond a doubt the soul
of Vinicius is puling above that cursed house now, awaiting his
burial. By Castor! but he is a patrician, a friend of Caesar, a
relative of Petronius, a man known in all Rome, a military tribune.
His death cannot pass without punishment. Suppose I were to go to
the pretorian camp, or the guards of the city, for instance?"

Here he stopped and began to think, but said after a while, -- "Woe
is me! Who took him to that house if not I? His freedmen and his
slaves know that I came to his house, and some of them know with
what object. What will happen if they suspect me of having
pointed out to him purposely the house in which his death met
him? Though it appear afterward, in the court, that I did not wish
his death, they will say that I was the cause of it. Besides, he is a
patrician; hence in no event can I avoid punishment. But if I leave
Rome in silence, and go far away somewhere, I shall place myself
under still greater suspicion."