Hypatia - or New Foes with an Old Face

Street of Alexandria, built and fitted up

nge bursts of roaring, squealing, trumpeting from the Menagerie, a short way off, on the opposite side of the street. The attraction of the situation lay, perhaps, in the view which it commanded over the wall of the Museum gardens, of flower-beds, shrubberies, fountains, statues, walks, and alcoves, which had echoed for nearly seven hundred years to the w

mous library, founded by the father of Philadelphus, which hold in the time of Seneca, even after the destruction of a great part of it in Caesar's siege, four hundred thousand manuscripts. Ther

which it possessed, and, beside which, nothing was worth a moment's glance. For in the light arm-chair, reading a manuscript which lay on the table, sat a woman, of some five-and-twenty years, evidently the tutelary goddess of that little shrine, dressed in perfect keeping with the archaism of the chamber, in simple old snow-white Ionic robe, falling to the feet and reaching to the throat, and of that peculiarly severe and graceful fashion in which the upper part of the dress falls downward again from the neck to the waist in a sort of cape, entirely hiding the outline of the bust, while it leaves the arms and the point of the shoulders bare. Her dress was entirely without ornament, except the two narrow purple stripes down the front, which marked her rank as a Roman citizen, the gold embroidered shoes upon her feet, and the gold net, which looped back, from her forehead to her neck, hair the colour and gloss of which were hardly distinguishable fro

ance over the gardens of the Museum; her ripe curling Greek lips, such as we never s

and sages is dead? The beautiful can never die. If the gods have deserted their oracles, they have not deserted the souls who aspire to them. If they have ce

d dead to them.... To struggle to the last against the new and vulgar superstitions of a rotting age, for the faith of my forefathers, for the old gods, the old heroes, the old sages who gauged the mysteries of heaven and earth-and perhaps to conquer-at least to have my

ing like fear and disgust, as she saw, watching her from under the wall of the gardens opposite, a cr

e is, and get rid of her, before she fascinates me with that evil eye. Thank the gods, there she moves away! Foolish!-foolish of me, a philosopher.

d simple philosophic cloak which he wore as a sign of his profession. He paced impatiently up and down the chamber, while his keen, glittering eyes and restless gestures betokened intense inward thought.... 'I have it.... No; again it escapes-it

r, and eat. You have tas

work must be done if it cost me the squaring of the circle. How can

house of matter, we must wear our chain; even wear it gracefully, if we have the good taste; and make the base necessities of this body of shame symboli

d of eating. Stay, did I tell you? Six new pupils in the mathematic

That is my bitterest grief! to see those who have been pretending in the morning lecture-room to worship every word of mine as an oracle, lounging in the afternoon round Pelagia's litter; and then at night-for I know that they do it-the dice, and the wine, and worse

in spite of all the lofty impassibility which she felt bound to po

t short by the hasty entrance of a slave g

chariot has been at the gate for these fi

some affectation of indifference. 'And w

ifferent perfumes, a florid, delicate-featured man, gorgeously dresse

s to see in her priestess as lovely a likeness as ever of the goddess whom she serves.... Don't betray me,

ia, as she rose to greet him

out his incapacity for state secrets. After all, you know, it was your Minervaship which I cam

ng, and marrying, as usual, I believe

vely will, the next riot. It is really a great comfort to a statesman that the masses are so well aware that they deserve han

hook her

ate life, we do in public; and if we enthrone you queen of Alexandria, you must allow your courtiers and bodyguards a few court licences. Now don't sigh or I

d Hypatia, in a tone mos

st of humanities half-way between here and Thebes, tra

o whom

ans do breed! I was afraid of being crushed under

your excellency condescend t

eat brute himself, he has rank enough in his way,-boasts of his descent from some cannibal god or other,-really hardly deigned to speak to a paltry Roman governor, till his faithful and adoring bride interceded for me. Still, the fellow understood good living, and we celebrated our new treaty of friendship with noble libations-but I must

yr

yr

sti

tice, a governor must be content with doing very much what comes to hand. In abstract justice, now, I ought to nail up Cyril, deacons, distric

ar the

on his side? Am I to have the Constantinople riots re-enacted here? I real

reat duel which depends on you alone! Do not fancy that

stian, under a Christian and sainted emp

en the aristocracy and the mob,-between wealth, refinement, art, learning, all that makes a nation great, and the savage herd of child-breeders below, the many ignoble, who were m

prefect, with a shrug of his shoulders. 'I expect every ti

arning, authority, antiquity, birth, rank, the system of empire which has been growing up, fed by the accumulated wisdom of ages,-why, I say, should any of these things protect your life a moment from the fury of any beggar who believes that the Son of God died for

nd in the new-I mean the Catholic faith; but the world is full of inconveniences. The wise man does not quarrel with his creed for being disagreeabl

ilosophy be

age and-a great deal of favour; as is proved by my visiting you publicly at this moment, before I have given audience to one of t

e told

me even have a week's hunting in peace-that there is a plot on the part of the Jews to murder all the Christians. Here is the precious document-do look at it, in p

e that, your

conceive the missives which would be sent

ecure in the consciousness

nnocence? I shall l

u took notice of it. Whatever happened, y

their kind assistance, I dare not think. If those Christians would but lend me their money, instead of building

nd the honour of the empire. Are you to treat with a man who talks of the masses at Alexandria as "the flock whom th

lady, I have gi

is derived from a higher source than your own. The consequence is clear. If it be from a higher source than yours, of course it ought to control yours'; a

philosophers, however raised above your own bodies you may be, mus

private knowledge and concerns not him as bishop, but you as magistrate, you can only take it into co

Pulcheria? No, for then Alexandria had been dark, and Orestes missed the supreme happiness of k

a Christian,' answered

wed his way out past them and regained his chariot, chuckling over the rebuff which he intended to administer to Cyril, and comforting him

ge Hypatia might be, and what sort of glorious house she must live in, to be fit company for the great governor of Alexandria. Not that there was not many a sulky and lowering face among the mob, for the great majority of them were Christians, and very seditious and turbulent politicians, as Alexandrian

gorgeously bedizened as himself, lounged down the steps after h

y-ahem! martyr-brings you to Alexandria just as I want you? Get u

tion, which could not hide, and indeed was not intended to hide, the co

the Caesars bestow such an honour on the humblest of

orrow money of you,' answered Orestes, la

enough. My father made the gold, and if I spend it, I co

eans, is not this? And only on

y, or breaking one's peace of mind in some way or other. Besides, I have been pestered out of my life

worthy man as

nd excommunicating; bullying that bully, Andronicus; comforting old women, and giving pretty girls dowries; scribbling one half-hour on philosophy, and the next on farriery; sitting up all night writing hymns and drinking strong liquors; off again on horseback at four the next morning;

hters of your nation who might su

had burnt every homestead for miles through the province. But the daring old girl must do a little business for herself; so she went off, in the teeth of the barbarians, right away to the Atlas, bought all their lady prisoners, and som

u had suited yourself

l but one, who was a Jewess-so there were objections on the part of the Rabbis. Then I tried one, as Solomon did; but my "garden shut up," and my "sealed fountain" wanted me to be always in love with her,

ictho this very afternoon. Now listen a moment to base, earthly, and political business.

h it were true, and think, on the

saints, man! you

for aught I know or care, some such intention. They won't succeed, of course; and that is all you have to care for. But if you think it w

nd I must answer C

ons of our people. Now you can honestly sa

stronghold for poor statesmen.

ur excellenc

ence, or so

after it i

a comfort it is, now and

It can't be helped. If it ought to be, it will be-if it is, it ought to be. We did not make the world, and we are not responsible for it.-There is the sum and substance of all true wisdom, and the epitome of all that h

relly visage that tall fellow-deacon, or r

ther. Heaven give them pleasant

n in good earnest, had he been able to take the liberty-which w

? Why, he only returned

her door, as I came down the Museu

riages besides,

e corner now.-Chariots, litters, slaves, and fops.-When sh

on-'Where it ought to be, my father-i

own, Peter: and as long as they have their own

ir own were take

ery-these theatres of Satan, where the devil transforms himself into an angel of light, and apes Christian virtue, and bedizens his ministers like ministers of righteousness, as long as that lecture-room stands and the great and the powerful flock to it, to learn excuses

d the harbour, and then vanish suddenly up some dingy alley into the crowded misery of the sailors' quarter, we will leave them to go about their errand of mercy, an

tside the Pharos, Raphael-f

hey go

off three days ago; and the res

you have not hear

saints has the Count of Afric

mine. Only he is going to rebel

d Orestes, in a

, and att

poor miserable slave of a governor-speak low, for Heaven's

e,' quoth Raphael, as he walked coolly through

ew in after him, locked the door, threw himself into an arm-chair, put his hands on his knees,

out it. Tell me

, and playing with a jewelled dagger. 'I thought, of course, that you were in

s men, Romans especially, had a wild

s of yours too far! Do you know who I am, you accursed Jew? Tell me the whole tru

ewish blood still heat true, under all its affected shell of Neo-Platonist non

first man on earth who ever yet forced a

es. 'Here, slaves!' And h

oney-lenders, and die in about three days in a great deal of pain, having missed our assignation with old Miriam, lost your pleasantest companion, and left your own finances and those of the prefecture

ed into his chair again; and by the time that the slaves knocked at the door he had so

o laugh off matters. 'The same inc

out as much to me. He has fitted out an armament for Ostia, stopped his own wheat-ships, and is going to write to you to stop yours, and to starv

in very much

cted to-we will euphemise-unle

buried in

ously. And then, in sudden dread of having comm

me how you found out all this, or by Hercules (he had quite forgotten

ll wise governors know when they allow themselves time-that it is no use to bully a Jew; slid applied to me. I never lend money-it is unphilosophical: but I introduced him to old Miriam, who dare do business with the devil himself; and by th

e a true frie

pinch and pull me, and so making it a point of honour with me to tell you nothing but lies? Here comes Ganymede with the wine, just in

ascal! I was humbugged into giving two thousand gold pieces for him two years ago, he was so pretty-they said he was only just rising th

for killing

t enough to be

inst that his services dur

e saved

oo, as well as the emperor, may be

numerous for me to think of paying any

pur

fell into thought. Raphael

less I get home to luncheon at once, I shall hardly have time to find old

hat forc

ffians are with him to a man, if he can but scrape toget

t such a bad thought either. Anything is better than being governed by an idiot child and three canting nuns. I expect to be excommunicated every day for some offence against Pulcheria's prudery.... Heraclian emperor at Rome.... and I lord and master on

es went into his third