'Alas! and is she this?'

'Alas! And why alas? How would the Gospel be glorified if heathens were
holier than Christians? It ought to be so, therefore it is so. If she
seems to have virtues, they, being done without the grace of Christ, are
only bedizened vices, cunning shams, the devil transformed into an
angel of light. And as for chastity, the flower and crown of all
virtues--whosoever says that she, being yet a heathen, has that,
blasphemes the Holy Spirit, whose peculiar and highest gift it is, and
is anathema maranatha for ever! Amen!' And Peter, devoutly crossing
himself, turned angrily and contemptuously away from his young
companion.

Philammon was quite shrewd enough to see that assertion was not
identical with proof. But Peter's argument of 'it ought to be, therefore
it is,' is one which saves a great deal of trouble...and no doubt he had
very good sources of information. So Philammon walked on, sad, he knew
not why, at the new notion which he had formed of Hypatia, as a sort
of awful sorceress--Messalina, whose den was foul with magic rites and
ruined souls of men. And yet if that was all she had to teach, whence
had her pupil Raphael learned that fortitude of his? If philosophy had,
as they said, utterly died out, then what was Raphael?

Just then, Peter and the rest turned up a side street, and Philammon and
Hieracas were left to go on their joint errand together. They paced on
for some way in silence, up one street and down another, till Philammon,
for want of anything better to say, asked where they were going.

'Where I choose, at all events. No, young man! If I, a priest, am to be
insulted by archdeacons and readers, I won't be insulted by you.'

'I assure you I meant no harm.'

'Of course not; you all learn the same trick, and the young ones catch
it of the old ones fast enough. Words smoother than butter, yet very
swords.'

'You do not mean to complain of the archdeacon and his companions?' said
Philammon, who of course was boiling over with pugnacious respect for
the body to which he belonged.

No answer.

'Why, sir, are they not among the most holy and devoted of men?'

'Ah--yes,' said his companion, in a tone which sounded very like
'Ah--no.'

'You do not think so?' asked Philammon bluntly.

'You are young, you are young. Wait a while till you have seen as much
as I have. A degenerate age this, my son; not like the good old times,
when men dare suffer and die for the faith. We are t