the ignorant?'

'I do no such thing. I live and act as seems good to me, that is all.
Should no one have the courage to do that, what hope would there be, O
Decius, for that most glorious liberty, the liberty of the mind?'

The listener bent his head abashed. Then Simplicius began to read from
the manuscript, and Decius, who knew Greek fairly well--he had lately
completed certain translations from Plato, left unfinished by
Boethius--gave reverent attention. At a certain point the philosopher
paused to comment, for the subject was difficult--nothing less than the
nature of God. In God, according to the system here expounded, there
are three principles or hypostases, united but unequal--the One, the
Intelligence, the Soul; which correspond, respectively, to the God of
Plato, the God of Aristotle, the God of Zeno. Usually curt and rather
dry in his utterances, Simplicius rose to a fervid eloquence as he
expounded this mysticism of Alexandria. Not that he accepted it as the
final truth, it was merely a step, though an important one, towards
that entire and absolute knowledge of which he believed that a glimpse
had been vouchsafed to him, even to him, in his more sublime hours. As
for Decius, the utmost effort never enabled him to attain familiarity
with these profound speculations: he was soon lost, and found his brain
whirling with words that had little or no significance. At home in
literature, in philosophy he did but strive and falter and lose
himself. When at length there came a silence, he sighed deeply, his
hand propping his forehead.

'Master, how few men can ever know God!'

'Few, few,' admitted the philosopher, his gaze upwards.

'I think I should be content,' said Decius, 'to love and praise Him.
Yet that meseems is no less hard.'

'No less,' was the reply. 'For, without knowledge, love and praise are
vain.'

But Decius' thought had another meaning.

CHAPTER XIV

SILVIA'S DREAM

It was the Paschal season, and Basil, careless at most times of
religious observances, did not neglect this supreme solemnity of his
faith. On Passion Day he fasted and received the Eucharist, Decius
doing the like, though with a half-smiling dreaminess which contrasted
with the other's troubled devotion. Since the death of Petronilla,
Basil had known moments of awe-stricken wonder or of gloomy fear such
as never before had visited him; for he entertained no doubt that his
imprecation had brought upon Petronilla her