imitate Nature, when in her being and action I encounter so
much that is contradictory to my human reason, which is a part of the
divine?"

Here she hesitated, and the expression of her face suddenly changed.

She had advanced close to Barine and, while standing directly in front
of her, her eyes had rested on the gem which adorned her arm above the
elbow.

Was it this which agitated Cleopatra so violently that her voice lost
its bewitching melody, as she went on in a harsh, angry tone?--"So that
is the source of all this misfortune. Even as a child I detested
that sort of arbitrary judgment which passes under the mask of stern
morality. There is an example! Do you hear the howling of the storm? In
human nature, as well as in the material world, there are tempests and
volcanoes which bring destruction, and, if the original character of any
individual is full of such devastating forces, like the neighbourhood
of Vesuvius or Etna, the goal to which his impulses would lead him is
clearly visible. Ay, the Stoic is not allowed to destroy the harmony and
order of things in existence, any more than to disturb those which are
established by the state. But to follow our natural impulses wherever
they lead us is so perilous a venture, that whoever has the power to fix
a limit to it betimes is in duty bound to do so. This power is mine, and
I will use it!"

Then, with iron severity, she asked: "As it seems to be one of the
demands of your nature, woman, to allure and kindle the hearts of all
who bear the name of man, even though they have not yet donned the garb
of the Ephebi, so, too, you seem to appear to delight in idle ornaments.
Or," and as she spoke she touched Barine's shoulder"--or why should you
wear, during the hours of slumber, that circlet on your arm?"

Barine had watched with increasing anxiety the marked change in the
manner and language of the Queen. She now beheld a repetition of what
she had experienced at the Adonis festival, but this time she knew what
had roused Cleopatra's jealousy. She, Barine, wore on her arm a gift
from Antony. With pallid face she strove to find a fitting answer, but
ere she could do so Iras advanced to the side of the incensed Queen,
saying: "That circlet is the counterpart of the one your august husband
bestowed upon you. The singer's must also be a gift from Mark Antony.
Like every one else in the world, she deems the noble Imperator the
greatest man of his day. Who can blame her