ous couples, and treading
in the wine and blood spilt upon the floor, he led her out of the house.

The sun had risen over the city. Long colonnades stretched on both sides
of the deserted street, and at the end shone the dome of Alexander's
tomb. Here and there on the pavement lay broken wreaths and extinguished
torches. Fresh wafts of the sea could be felt in the air. Paphnutius,
with a look of disgust, tore off his rich robe and trampled the
fragments under his feet.

"Thou hast heard them, my Thais!" he cried. "They have spat forth every
sort of folly and abomination. They dragged the Divine Creator of all
things down the gemonies(*) of the devils of hell, impudently denied the
existence of Good and Evil, blasphemed Jesus, and exalted Judas. And the
most infamous of all, the jackal of darkness, the stinking beast, the
Arian full of corruption and death, opened his mouth like a yawning
sepulchre. My Thais, thou hast seen these filthy snails crawling towards
thee and defiling thee with their sticky sweat; thou hast seen others,
like brutes, sleeping under the heels of their slaves; thou hast seen
them coupling like beasts on the carpet they had fouled with their
vomit; thou hast seen a foolish old man shed a blood yet viler than
the wine which flowed at his debauch, and at the end of the orgie throw
himself in the face of the unforeseen Christ. Praise be to God! Thou
hast seen error and recognised how hideous it was. Thais, Thais, Thais,
recall to mind the follies of these philosophers, and say if thou wilt
go mad with them! Remember the looks, the gestures, the laughs of their
fitting companions, those two lascivious and malicious strumpets, and
say if thou wilt remain like unto them."

(*) Steps on the Aventine Hill, leading to the Tiber, to
which the bodies of executed criminals were dragged to be
thrown into the river. The word is now obsolete, but was
employed by Ben Jonson (Sejanus) and Massinger (The Roman
Actor).--TRANS.

Thais, her heart stirred with horror and disgust at all she had seen
and heard that night, and feeling the indifference and brutality, the
malicious jealousy of women, the heavy weight of useless hours, sighed.

"I am weary to death, O my father! Where shall I find rest? I feel
that my face is burning, my head empty, and my arms are so tired that I
should not have the strength to seize happiness were it within reach of
my hand."

Paphnutius gazed at her wit