Let us follow Him Page 6

  CHAPTER VI.

  In the atrium, in spite of the fountain, the shady portico, and theearly hour, it was extremely hot, for the marble was heated by thespring sun; but at a distance from the house there grew an old,branching pistachio-tree, which shaded a considerable area round about.As the place was open, the breeze there was far greater than elsewhere;hence Cinna commanded to carry to that spot the litter, decked withhyacinths and apple-blossoms, in which Antea was resting. Then sittingnear her, he placed his palm on her hands, which were as pale asalabaster, and asked,--

  "Is it pleasant for thee here, carissima?"

  "Pleasant," answered she, in a scarcely audible voice.

  And she closed her eyes, as if sleep had seized her. Silence followed.Only the breeze moved with a rustling the branches of thepistachio-tree; and on the earth around the litter were quivering goldenspots, formed of sun-rays, which broke through between the leaves;locusts were hissing among the rocks.

  The sick woman opened her eyes after a moment.

  "Caius," said she, "is it true that in this country a philosopher hasappeared, who cures the sick?"

  "They call such men prophets here," answered Cinna. "I have heard ofhim, and I wished to bring him to thee, but it turned out that he was afalse miracle-worker. Besides, he blasphemed against the sanctuary andthe religion of this country; hence the procurator has delivered him todeath, and this very day he is to be crucified."

  Antea dropped her head.

  "Time will cure thee," said Cinna, seeing the sadness reflected on herface.

  "Time is at the service of death, not of life," answered she, slowly.

  And again silence ensued; round about the golden spots quiveredcontinually; the locusts hissed still more loudly, and from the cranniesof the cliff little lizards crept out onto stones, and sought sunnyplaces.

  Cinna looked from moment to moment at Antea, and for the thousandthtime despairing thoughts flew through his head. He felt that all meansof salvation had been spent, that there was no ray of hope, that soonthe dear form before him would become a vanishing shadow and a handfulof dust in a columbarium.

  Even now while lying with closed eyes in the litter decked with flowers,she seemed dead.

  "I will follow thee!" said Cinna, in his soul.

  Meanwhile steps were heard in the distance. Immediately Antea's facebecame white as chalk; from between her half-open lips came hurriedbreathing; her bosom heaved quickly. The ill-fated martyr felt sure thatthe crowd of invisible beings which preceded the corpse with glassy eyeswere drawing near. Cinna seized her hands and strove to pacify her.

  "Fear not, Antea; I hear those steps too. That is Pontius, who is comingto visit us," added he, after a while. In fact, the procurator, attendedby two slaves, appeared at the turn of the path. He was a man no longeryoung; he had an oval face carefully shaven, full of assumed dignity,and also of suffering and care.

  "A greeting to thee, noble Cinna, and to thee, divine Antea!" said he,as he came under the shade of the pistachio-tree. "After a cold nightthe day has grown hot. May it favor you both, and may the health ofAntea bloom like those hyacinths and those apple-tree twigs, which adornher litter."

  "Peace be with thee, and be greeted!" answered Cinna.

  The procurator seated himself on a piece of rock, looked at Antea,frowned imperceptibly, and answered,--

  "Loneliness produces sadness and sickness; but in the midst of crowdsthere is no place for fear, hence I will give one advice to thee.Unfortunately this is neither Antioch nor Caesarea; there are no gameshere, no horse-races; and were we to erect a circus, those madmen wouldtear it down the next day. Here thou wilt hear nothing but this phrase,'the law,' and everything disturbs that law. I would rather be inScythia."

  "Of what dost thou wish to speak, O Pilate?"

  "Indeed, I have wandered from my subject; but cares are the cause ofthis. I have said that among crowds there is no room for fear. Now yecan have a spectacle to-day. In Jerusalem, ye should be amused withsomething; above all, Antea should be in the midst of crowds at midday.Three men will die on the cross to-day; that is better than nothing!Because of the Pasch a mob of the strangest ruffians has come from outall this land to the city. Ye can look at those people. I will commandto give you a place apart near the crosses. I hope that the condemnedwill die bravely. One of them is a marvellous person: he calls himselfthe Son of God; he is as mild as a dove, and has really done nothing tomerit death."

  "And didst thou condemn him to the cross?"

  "I wanted to rid myself of trouble, and also avoid stirring up that nestof hornets that buzz around the temple; even as it is, they sendcomplaints to Rome against me. Besides, the accused is not a Romancitizen."

  "The man will not suffer less for that reason."

  The procurator made no answer, but after a while he began to speak, asif to himself,--

  "There is one thing that I do not like,--exaggeration. Whoever uses thatword before me takes away my cheerfulness for the day. The golden mean!that is what wisdom commands us to follow, as I think. And there is nota corner of the world in which that principle is less respected thanhere. How all this tortures me! how it tortures me! In nothing is thererepose, in nothing balance,--neither in men nor in nature. At present,for example, it is spring; the nights are cold; but during the day thereis such heat that it is difficult to walk on stones. It is long yet tillmidday, and see what is happening! Of the people--better not speak! I amhere, because I must be here. Never mind that! I might leave my subjecta second time. Go to witness the crucifixion. I am convinced that thatNazarene will die valiantly. I gave command to flog him, thinking inthat way to save him from death. I am not cruel. When he was lashed hewas as patient as a lamb, and he blessed the people. When he was coveredwith blood, he raised his eyes and prayed. That is the most marvellousperson that I have seen in my life. My wife has not given me a momentof peace because of him. 'Permit not the death of that innocent man!'this is what she has been dinning into my ears since daybreak. I wantedto save him. Twice I went to the bema and spoke to those priests andthat mangy rabble. They answered in one voice, raising their heads andopening their jaws to the ears, 'Crucify him!'"

  "Didst thou yield to them?" asked Cinna.

  "I did, for in the city there would be mobs, and I am here to keeppeace. I must do my duty. I dislike exaggeration, and, besides, I ammortally wearied; but when I undertake a thing, I do not hesitate tosacrifice the life of one man for the general welfare, especially whenhe is an unknown person whom no one will mention. All the worse for himthat he is not a Roman."

  "The sun shines not on Rome alone," whispered Antea.

  "Divine Antea," answered the procurator, "I might answer that on thewhole round of the earth the sun shines on Roman rule; therefore for thegood of that rule it is proper to sacrifice everything, and disturbancesundermine our authority. But, above all, I beg of thee not to ask me tochange the sentence. Cinna will tell thee that that cannot be, and that,once sentence is pronounced, Caesar alone can change it. Though I wished,I have not the power to change. Is that not the case, Caius?"

  "It is."

  But those words caused Antea evident pain, for she said, thinking ofherself, perhaps,--

  "Then it is possible to suffer and die without being guilty."

  "No one is without guilt," answered Pontius. "This Nazarene hascommitted no crime; hence I, as procurator, washed my hands. But as aman, I condemn his teaching. I conversed with him purposely rather long,wishing to test the man, and convinced myself that he announcesmonstrous things. The case is difficult! The world must stand on soundsense. Who denies that virtue is needed? Certainly not I. But even theStoics only teach men to endure opposition with calmness; they do notinsist that we should renounce everything, from our property to ourdinner. Answer, Cinna,--thou art a man of sound judgment,--what wouldstthou think of me were I, neither from one cause nor another, to bestowthis house in which thou art dwelling on those tattered fellows who warmthemselves in the sun at the Joppa gate? And he
insists on just suchthings. Besides, he says that we should love all equally: the Jews aswell as the Romans themselves, the Romans as the Egyptians, theEgyptians as the Africans, and so on. I confess that I have had enoughof this. At the moment when his life is in peril, he bears himself as ifthe question were of some one else; he teaches--and prays. It is not myduty to save a man who has no care for his own safety. Whoso does notknow how to preserve measure in anything is not a man of judgment.Moreover, he calls himself the Son of God, and disturbs the foundationson which society rests, and therefore harms people. Let him think whathe likes in his soul, if he will not raise disturbance. As a man, Iprotest against his teaching. If I do not believe in the gods, let usconcede that it is my affair. Still I recognize the use of religion, andI declare so publicly, for I judge that religion is a curb on people.Horses must be harnessed, and harnessed securely. Finally, death shouldnot be terrible to that Nazarene, for he declares that he will rise fromthe dead."

  Cinna and Antea looked at each other with amazement.

  "That he will rise from the dead?"

  "Neither more nor less; after three days. So at least his disciplesdeclare. I forgot to ask him myself. For that matter, it is all one,since death liberates a man from promises. And even should he not risefrom the dead, he will lose nothing, since, according to his teaching,genuine happiness and eternal life begin only after death. He speaks ofthis, indeed, as a man perfectly certain. In his Hades it is brighterthan in the world under the sun, and whoso suffers more in this worldwill enter that with greater certainty; he must only love, and love, andlove."

  "A wonderful doctrine," said Antea.

  "And these people here cry to thee, 'Crucify him!'?" inquired Cinna.

  "And I do not even wonder at this, for hatred is the soul of thispeople, for what, if not hatred, can demand that love be crucified?"

  Antea rubbed her forehead with her emaciated hand.

  "And is he certain that it is possible to live and be happy afterdeath?"

  "That is why neither the cross nor death terrify him."

  "How good that would be, Caius!"

  "How does he know this?" inquired she, after a while.

  The procurator waved his hand: "He says that he knows it from the Fatherof all, who for the Jews is the same as Jove for us, with thisdifference, that, according to the Nazarene, the Father alone is one andmerciful."

  "How good that would be, Caius!" repeated the sick woman.

  Cinna opened his lips as if to make some answer, but remained silent;and the conversation stopped. Evidently Pontius was continuing to thinkof the strange doctrine of the Nazarene, for he shook his head andshrugged his shoulders repeatedly. At last he rose and began to takeleave.

  All at once Antea said,--

  "Caius, let us go to look at that Nazarene."

  "Hasten," said Pilate, as he was going away; "the procession will movesoon."