Fabiola : or, The church of the catacombs - Digital Repository Services

Asia, who believe that a god has lived amongst them, hut ho
fame to an evil end.
" When will the human mind find truth upon earth? It will
ever stand before an enigma, and never solve it, for that enigma
is itself."
She takes up a hook, in Qreek, an old work on history, which
relates the misfortunes of Cyrus, king of Persia. She has
scarcely read a few pages, when she seeks another chapter, nor
does that content her. "Always the same," murmured she,
"Cyrus hroke up and advanced: here he commenced; Cyrus
liked this, and wished that you also might partake of the
1 '
enjoyment.
" No Xenophon," she exclaims, " thou art ever bread without
salt, tasteless and unpalatable."
She seizes the scrolls and casts them down on the polished
Mosaic floor, so that they roll against the marble balustrades of
the balcony.
"O time! O time!" she continues, "how unjust thou art
sometimes with the works of the human mind! How often dost
thou break to pieces in thy iron mortar the best and most beautiful,
and scatterest it to the winds, scarcely leaving a remnant
for us, whilst thou carefully preservest in thy sanctuary, the
insipid and wearisome works, presenting
generation to anotherl
them anew from one
" But what want we with a book in this city I
"Athens lies open at iny feet a book of which Cecrops,
seventeen hundred years ago, wrote the title page, and Theseus,
the first chapter A work, each leaf of which tells of wisdom, of
power and of character. O let me read in thy pages, thou great,
thou lovely city!
"ATHENS THOU FKAREST THE OXJDS, and earnest the traces of
thy piety written on thy marble forehead on that Acropolis,
rich in temples.
" Countless statues hide the sanctuary of Pallas from my view.
Through gratitude to the gods, under whom ^Egides fought and
conquered, our forefathers erected the Parthenon,* and its
founder, the immortal Pericles, speaks from every column.
an earnest assurance to future ages, that a nation is never so
strong nor so powerful abroad, as when its religon is strictly
observed at home.
" Behold in the centre of the Parthenon, the colossal of the
Athenian Promachos. Her gigantic form, towers above terrace,
dome, and cupola; and her brazen plumed helmet and shining
spear, announce to (he distant lonely fisherman of Sunium, that
thou, lovely Athens! art under the protection of Pallas. f
" ATHENS THOU AKT JUST I and whoever doubts this; let him
look at the Areopagus on yonder hill, in whose hall of justice
lUc Archons, during the solemn silence of night, assembled
/. }' 1> I A .
in council, to pass judgment on the crimes, committed against
religion and the state.
" ATHENS THOU ART BRAVE! and if a barbarian knew nothing
of thy. fame, that statue of Apollo yonder, would break the sil-
ence, and retail to him, how the youths leaped and wrestled
thrc. iincl how they are to this day, a subject of astonishment to
the Romans.
" ATHENS THOU AUT THE SEAT OF SCIENCE, AND or WISDOM !
Thy Theatre, thy Lyceum, thy Sculpture-Halls, thy Academies,
thy Colonnades proclaim it.
" Truly all thy monuments are leaves in this wondrous book,
which thy sons have written, to declare to future ages, of what
greatness of mind mortals are capable."
\\ liil.-t Metella was in this excitement, thesun had moved nearer
to the olive groves, that lay between Athens and the sea, casting
a rosy hue upon the thousand statues of the Acropolis, as if they
were blushing at the praises Metella had just bestowed upon
them.
The Parthenon suffered the greatest devastation, In 1687, when the Venetians,
at Die lakiimof Athens, threw a bomb-shell into the powder magazine of the
Acropolis, by which the roof of the temple was blown iato the air. Still, at the
lay. a forest of magnificent columns stands: a splendid edifice over
which SWO years have pussrcl without entirely rti'stroyiiir; it.
i I'ronni. !n>- : md Pulla- arc cither names for Minerva. This famous etatue was
till standing in the fourth century, aft* the departure of AlrfMc.
At this moment, Mctella's blooming son and future heir, entered
the pavilion, lie saluted his mother and informed her, that her
slave-master, Bogus, had just returned from Smyrna; but that
he had brought nothing she had ordered, except an Asiatic slave.
He added that Bogus had related wonderful things of Smyrna,
which was almost entirely destroyed by an earthquake.
Metella, full of thought and astonishment, rose from her
couch, and leaving the pavilion sought Bogus, for further news
of Smyrna's fate; with whom we shall now leave her, till we
relate some features of her life.
Metella was by birth a Greek, and before her marriage, bore
the name of Chrysophora. She was acquainted from her youth
with all the works of the ancient writers. Her father was At-
ticus, who was born at Marathon, one hundred and four years
after the birth of Christ, and was one of the greatest mm of
Greece, a famous orator, a Roman consul, then tutor to Marcus
Aurelius, and at last, Prefect of Greece. Although this celebrated
man was such a favorite at the court of Home, and could
boast ef the personal friendship of the two Anthonys, he still remained
thoroughly Greek and prided himself on his noble birth,
which he traced as far back as Miltiades, who conquered the Persians
on the plains of Marathon.
Like a true Greek, he strove to keep up the renowned sports of
his country. The spectators assembled for the Olympic games,
were often parched lor want of water, and he caused an aqueduct
to be built for their convenience, at Olympia, by which he
won the applause of all Greece. In beautifying Athens, Atticus
gained great merit, but little thanks: the famous Odeon at the
entrance of the Acropolis, the ruins of which are still standing,
have immortalized his name. He had also the merit of erecting
an hospital, and cf beautifying the Stadium,* which accommodated
20,000 people.
In 'Adrian's time, there lived in Athens an estated Roman,
named Metellus, a man of noble descent, who could trace his
origin to that Metellus, who in the year 147 B. c. gave the deathblow
to the freedom of Greece. He had reached a middle age,
and retired into private life, where he first found time to think
of marriage. Whilst in Rome, he had told Atticus, the then consul,
of his desire to espouse his daughter, Chrysophora. She was
an only child, for her brother died young, and her mother.
Regilla, soon lollowed him. The negotiations in this business,
were attended with obstacles which could not be removed by
the suitor. The young and rich heiress, according to her father's
desire, was to give the preference to a son of Greece, to which
choice she evinced but little inclination, and Atticus was
obliged to take the petition of the suitor into consideration. In
addition to this, both Metellus and Chrysophora had attained
that age, recommended by Aristotle for a prudent marriage, f
Chrysophora had been seldom in Athens, while her father,
whom she always accompanied, was generally in active service.
Metellus having for some time sojourned chiefly in Greece, had
not seen her since her chidhood.
The circumstance of the betrothed, not knowing each other,
although they were shortly to be united, is frequently met with
amongst the ancients. J
As soon as the aged Atticns had signed the contract for his
daughter's marriage, Metellus, journeyed at once to Peloponnesus,
where Atticus so frequently resided towards the close of his life,
to go through the ceremony of the betrothal. It was early in
the morning, when he reached Elis. the longed-for house; and
he impatiently entreated his-future father-in-law to let him have
a sight of his bride. Atticus excused her, as she was still
occupied with her toilet. In fact, she had just ended her morn-
ing dream, as she was aroused by her slave, who announced to
her the unexpected arrival. Chrysophora, wishing to appear
in full holiday charms, ordered her slaves to bring forth her
* Stadium, where the bull fights were held.
t Aristotle says Vol. vii. 18, that Iho woman should marry at 18, and the man
at 87.
t We nre nllowcd to try Btone jug be/ore we purchase It, but the :
be MTU i.-i-t ihe iiiiu'ht not please, befor she in token home. Theophrajt oy.
Hyeronyui. Jovim i. 48.