"Yet still more terrible is the wrath of the Lamb."
"You speak an unintelligible language. What is the wrath of the Lamb?
You do not think on what is before you."
"My companions and friends have already endured all that you can inflict. I trust that I may have like fort.i.tude."
"Can you endure the terrors of the arena?"
"I hope to have more than mortal strength."
"Can you face the savage lions and tigers that will then rush upon you?"
"He in whom I trust will not desert me in my time of need."
"You are confident."
"I confide in Him who loved me and gave himself for me."
"Have you thought of the death by fire? Are you ready to meet the flames at the stake?"
"Alas! If I must bear it I will not shrink. At the worst it will soon be over, and then I shall be forever with the Lord."
"Fanaticism and superst.i.tion have taken complete possession of you. You know not what awaits you. It is easy to face threats, it is easy to utter words and make professions of courage. But how will it be with you when the dread reality comes upon you?"
"I will look to Him who never deserts his own in their hour of need."
"He has done nothing for you thus far!"
"He has done all for me. He gave his own life that I might live. Through him I receive a n.o.bler life than this which you take from me."
"This is but a dream of yours. How is it possible that a miserable Jew can do this."
"He was the fullness of the G.o.dhead; G.o.d manifest in the flesh. He suffered death of the body that we might receive life for the soul."
"Can nothing open your eyes? Is it not enough that thus far your mad belief has brought you nothing but misery and woe? Must you still hold on to it? When you see that death is inevitable will you not turn away from your errors?"
"He gives me strength to overcome death; I fear it not. I look upon death itself as but a change from this life of sorrow to an immortality of bliss. Whether I die by the wild beasts or by the flames it will be all the same. If I continue faithful he will support me and lead my soul at once to immortal life in heaven. The death which you threaten me with has no terrors; but the life to which you invite me is more terrible to me than a thousand deaths."
"For the last time we give you an opportunity. Rash youth, pause for one moment in your mad career of folly. Forget for an instant the insane counsels of your fanatical teachers. Think of all that has been said to you. Life is before you; life full of joy and pleasure; a life rich in every blessing. Honor, friends, wealth, power, all is yours. A n.o.ble name, and the possessions of your family, await you. They are all yours.
To gain them you have but to take this goblet and pour the libation on yonder altar. Take it. It is but a simple act. Perform it quickly. Save yourself from a death of agony."
Every eye was fixed upon Pollio as this last offer was held out to him.
Amazement had filled the minds of the spectators to find him thus far so unmoved. They could not account for it.
But even this last appeal had no effect. Pale but resolute, Pollio motioned away the proffered goblet.
"I will never be false to my Saviour."
At these words there was a moment"s pause. Then the chief magistrate spoke:
"You have uttered your own doom. Away with him," he continued, addressing the soldiery.
CHAPTER XIII.
THE DEATH OF POLLIO.
"Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life."
The sentence of Pollio was swift and sure. On the following day there was a spectacle at the Coliseum. Crowded to its topmost terrace of seats with the bloodthirsty Roman mult.i.tude, it displayed the same sickening succession of horrors which has been before detailed.
Gladiators again fought and slew one another singly and in mult.i.tudes.
There was every different mode of combat known in the arena, and of these the most deadly were sure to find the most favor.
Again were the ever-recurring scenes of blood and agony presented; the fierce champion of the day received the short-lived congratulations of the fickle spectators. Again man fought with man, or waged a fiercer contest with the tiger. Again the wounded gladiator looked up despairingly for mercy, but received only the signal of death from the pitiless spectators.
The satiated appet.i.tes of the mult.i.tude now demanded a larger supply of slaughter. The combats between men who were equally matched had lost their attraction for that day. It was known that Christians were reserved for the concluding spectacle, and the appearance of these was impatiently demanded.
Lucullus stood among the guards near the emperor"s seat. Yet his brow was more thoughtful, and his olden gayety had all departed.
High up among the loftier seats behind him was a pale stern face, that was conspicuous among all around it for the concentrated gaze which it fixed upon the arena. There was an expression of deep anxiety upon that face which made it far different from all within the vast inclosure.
Now the harsh sound of the gratings arose, and a tiger leaped forth into the arena. Throwing up its head and lashing its sides with its tail, it stalked about glancing with fiery eyes upon the vast a.s.semblage of human beings which hemmed it in.
Soon a murmur arose. A boy was thrust into the arena.
Pale in face and slight in limb, his slender form was nothing before the huge bulk of the furious beast. As if in derision, he was dressed like a gladiator.
Yet in spite of his youth and his weakness there was nothing in his face or manner that betrayed fear. His glance was calm and abstracted. He moved forward quietly to the center of the arena, and there, in the sight of all, he joined his hands together and lifted up his eyes and prayed.
Meanwhile, the tiger moved around as before. He had seen the boy, but the sight had no effect. He still raised his bloodshot eyes toward the lofty walls and occasionally uttered a savage growl.
The man with the stern sad face looked on with all his soul absorbed in that gaze.
There appeared to be no desire on the part of the tiger to attack the boy, who still continued praying.
The mult.i.tude now grew impatient. Murmurs arose and cries and shouts with the intention of maddening the tiger and urging him on.
But now, even in the midst of the tumult, there came forth the sound of a voice deep and terrible:
"How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not avenge our blood on them that dwell upon the earth?"
A deep stillness followed. Every one in surprise looked at his neighbor.
But the silence was soon broken by the same voice, which rang out in terrific emphasis:
"Behold, he cometh in the clouds, And every eye shall see him, And they also which pierced him, And all the kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him.
Even so. Amen!
Thou art righteous, O Lord, Which art, and wast, and shalt be, Because thou hast judged thus.