CHAPTER XVII.
"IN PERICULIS TUTUS."
With this purpose the young Greek assuming his most decorous and soberattire, proceeded to what would now be called the bureau of theChancellor of the Exchequer. It was situated near the Forum, in thecloister around which were grouped the shops of the _argentarii_ and_mensarii_, or private and public bankers of Rome. It held about thesame relation to those that the Treasury Department at New York does tothe bankers' offices and Gold Board in Wall Street. On every side wereevidences of the concentrated wealth and power of the august mistress ofthe world. A vast granite building, as strong and solid as a prison, wasbefore him. Roman sentinels paced the street, hugging the wall to sharethe protection from the noontide heat offered by its grateful shade.Convoys of specie, guarded by cohorts of soldiers with unsheathedswords, were continually arriving or departing. Gangs of sturdy porters,naked to the waist, were conveying the heavy iron-bound coffers to andfrom the vaults. Officers were counting the tallies and checking thevouchers, giving and accepting receipts. Publicans and tax farmers ofmany hues and varied garbs were there from many distant climes--theswart Egyptian, the olive Syrian, the graceful Greek, the pale-facedyellow-haired German or Briton. But most prominent of all, everywherewas seen the pushing, aggressive, keen-eyed, hook-nosed Jew, who inevery age and every land seems to have had a genius for finance,banking, and the handling of money.
From the hundred provinces of Rome the tribute money wrung from wretchedpeasants, to support Imperial luxury, to maintain the conqueringlegions, to pay for the largess of corn that fed the Roman plebs, andfor the _f[e>]tes_ of the circus that amused them, and to carry on thevast governmental administration of the Empire--all poured into thisgreatest focus of moneyed wealth in the world. Like Daniel in Babylon,Adauctus, the Christian, was set over all this treasure, "because anexcellent spirit was in him, forasmuch as he was faithful, neither wasthere any error or fault found in him." The Emperors, when amidprevailing corruption, extortion, and fraud, they found an honestservant and able administrator, winked pretty hard at his privateopinions, so long as they did not conflict with his duty to the State.Hence, from the days of St. Paul, we find that enrolled among thefellowship of Christ's Church were "they of C[ae]sar's household;" andamong the epitaphs of the Catacombs we find frequent examples ofChristians of lofty rank, and holding important offices of trust; as forinstance: "Secretary of the Patrician Order," "Sergeant of theExchequer," "Prefect of the City," "Ex-Qu[ae]stor of the Sacred Palace,""Master of the Imperial Household," and the like.
Making his way to the private apartment, or office of Adauctus, theGreek found him dictating despatches to a secretary. At a nod from hischief, the secretary retired, and Adauctus, with warm interest,addressed Isidorus in the words:
"Right welcome, after your successful quest. You have skilfullyperformed a difficult task. The Empress is greatly gratified, and youmay count your fortune as good as made."
"Your Excellency is too kind," replied the Greek, with a gracefulsalutation; "I feel that I do not deserve your praise."
"Your modesty, my friend," remarked Adauctus with a smile, "shall notprevent your promotion, It is too rare a gift not to be encouraged."
"I have come, your Excellency," said Isidorus, with some degree oftrepidation, "upon a business that nearly concerns yourself, and some towhom you wish well."
"It is very good of you," Adauctus calmly replied, "but I do not thinkyou can give me any information that I do not already possess."
"I am in duty bound," continued the Greek, "to reveal to yourExcellency, what is a secret which is sedulously kept from yourknowledge. You have enemies who have vowed your destruction--thePrincess Fausta, Furca, the arch-priest of Cybele, and the Prefect Naso.They menace also the Empresses Prisca and Valeria, and others in highplaces suspected of Christianity."
"Is that all you can tell me?" asked Adauctus, with a smile. "Lookyou," and unlocking an ivory cabinet, he took out a wax-covered tableton which were inscribed the names of several other conspirators againsthis life, with the particulars of their plots.
"I have not sought one of these disclosures," he went on, "yet they havecome to me from trustworthy sources; sometimes from men who arethemselves Pagan, yet with honest souls that recoil from treachery andmurder."
"And you know all this and remain thus calm!" exclaimed the Greek inamazement.
"With such a sword of Damocles hanging over _my_ head, I am sure I couldneither eat nor sleep."
"Have you never read the words," asked Adauctus solemnly, "'The veryhairs of your head are all numbered?' and not a sparrow shall fallwithout your Father's notice. Have you never read of righteous Danielwhom his enemies cast into the lions' den, and how God shut the lions'mouths that they did him no harm. You have seen the pictured story inthe Catacombs. So will my God deliver me from the mouth of the lion,"and a look of heroic faith transfigured his face--"or," he whisperedlower, but with an expression of even more utter trust, "or give agreater victory and take me to Himself."
"Such stoical philosophy, my master," said the Greek with bated breath,"neither Zeno nor Seneca ever taught."
"Nay," said the noble Roman, "it is not stoicism, it is faith. Not inthe Porch or Academy is this holy teaching learned, but in the school ofJesus Christ."
"Oh, wretched coward that I am!" cried the Greek, with an impassionedaspiration after a moral courage which he felt almost beyond hiscomprehension, "would that I had such faith."
"Seek it, my brother," said Adauctus solemnly, "where alone it may befound, at the Cross of Christ. Whoso apprehends in his soul the meaningof the Great Sacrifice, will thenceforth count not his life dear untohim for the testimony of Jesus."
"But is the way of the Cross such a thorny, bloodstained path?" askedthe Greek, with quavering voice. "Are those noble souls, the highbornand beautiful Valeria, the good and gentle Callirho[e:], exposed to suchappalling perils?"
"We live in troublous times," answered Adauctus. "Christ came not tosend peace on the earth but a sword. Whoso will save his life bycowardice and treachery shall basely lose it. Whoso will lose it forChrist's sake shall gloriously and forever find it!"
These words burned into the heart and brain of the craven Greek, and hewinced and shrank beneath them as if a hot iron were searing hisquivering flesh.
"But we must hope for the best," went on Adauctus more cheerfully. "Wemust take every precaution. Life and liberty are glorious gifts. We maynot rashly imperil them. I trust that our august mistress, standing sonear the throne, stands in no peculiar peril; and you may be sure herpower will be used for the protection of her friends. So," he added witha laugh of keen intelligence, "if thou hast any special interest in thefair Callirho[e:], be sure she enjoys the most potent patronage in Rome."
"But you, take you no precaution for yourself?" entreated the Greek."You know not the bitterness of the jealousy and hate of your enemies."
"Oh, yes, I do," the Imperial treasurer calmly replied, "As for me, mywork is here. By ruling righteously and dealing justly I can preventmuch fraud, and wrong, and suffering. I can shield the innocent andfrustrate the villany of public thieves--and there are many such in thehigh places of this degenerate city. Our heroic ancestors decreed thatwe must never dispair of our country. But I confess, were it not forthat salt of Christian faith that preserves the old Roman world, Ibelieve it would sink into moral putrescence. It is this divine leavenwhich alone can leaven the whole mass."
Valeria, the Martyr of the Catacombs: A Tale of Early Christian Life in Rome Page 19
