CREDO
Many days had passed. All was calm in Nemausus. The games were over.
The day succeeding that we have described was warm and spring‐like. The
sun shone brilliantly. Every trace of the snow had disappeared, and the
water‐fight in the amphitheater had surpassed the expectations of the
people. They had enjoyed themselves heartily.
All had returned to its old order. The wool merchant took fresh commands,
and sent his travelers into the Cebennæ to secure the winter fleeces. The
woman who had the flower‐shop sold garlands as fast as she could weave
them. The potter spread out a fresh collection of his wares and did a good
business with them.
The disturbances that had taken place were no more spoken about. The
deaths of Marcianus, Baudillas and Perpetua hardly occupied any thoughts,
save only those of their relatives and the Christians.
The general public had seen a show, and the show over, they had other
concerns to occupy them.
Now both Pedo and Blanda were free, and the long tarrying was over. They
had loved when young, they came together in the autumn of their lives.
In the heart of the Church of Nemausus there was not forgetfulness of its
heroes.
If the visitor at the present day to Nîmes will look about him, he will
find two churches, both recently rebuilt, in place of, and on the site of,
very ancient places of worship, and the one bears the name of St.
Baudille. If he inquire of the sacristan, “Mais qui, donc, était‐il, ce
saint?” then the answer given him will be: “Baudillas was a native of
Nîmes, a deacon, and a martyr.”
If he ask further, “But when?” Then the sacristan will probably reply with
a shrug: “Mais, monsieur; qui sait?”
In another part of the town is a second church, glowing internally with
color from its richly painted windows, and this bears the name of Ste.
Perpetue.
Does the visitor desire to be told whether it has been erected in honor
and in commemoration of the celebrated African martyrs Felicitas and
Perpetua, or of some local virgin saint who shed her blood for Christ,
then let him again inquire of the sacristan.
What his answer will be I cannot say.
The Bishop Castor remained much in his house. He grieved that he had not
been called to witness to the faith that was in him. But he was a humble
man, and he said to himself: “Such was the will of God, and that sufficeth
me.”
One evening he was informed that a man, who would not give his name,
desired to speak with him.
He ordered that he should be introduced.
When the visitor entered, Castor recognized Æmilius, but the man was
changed. Lines of thought and of sorrow marked his face, that bore other
impress as well of the travail of his soul within him. He seemed older,
his face more refined than before, there was less of carnal beauty, and
something spiritual that shone out of his eyes.
The bishop warmly welcomed him.
Then said Æmilius in a low tone, “I am come to thee for instruction. I
know but little, yet what I know of Christ I believe. He is not dead, He
liveth; He is a power; mighty is faith, and mighty is the love that He
inspires. _Credo._”
FOOTNOTES
1 So represented in paintings in the Catacombs. There were two
distinct types: the table in the Church and the tomb at the
Sepulcher of the Martyr.
2 St. Clement of Alexandria complained of the dainties provided for
the Agape: “The sauces, cakes, sugar‐plums, the drink, the
delicacies, the games, the sweetmeats, the honey.” The hour of
supper with the Romans was about 2 P.M.; that, therefore, was the
time for the love‐feast to begin.
3 In the recently‐exhumed house of Saints John and Paul, in the Cœlian
Hill at Rome, such bottles were discovered in the cellar.
4 Now Ambroix.
5 Certain Christians bought substitutes to sacrifice in their room and
receive a ticket (_libellus_) certifying that they had sacrificed.
The Church was a little perplexed how to deal with these timorous
members, who were termed _libellatics_.
6 I employ the term Duumvir for convenience. As already stated, there
were four chief magistrates, but two only had criminal jurisdiction.
7 “Erat et robur, locus in carcere, quo præcipitabatur maleficorum
genus, quod ante arcis robustis includebatur.”—LIV. 38, 39.
8 The prayer is given in the “Apostolic Constitutions,” viii. 37.
9 The casting into the lowest pit of the _robur_—sometimes termed the
_barathrum_—was not a rare act of barbarity. Jugurtha perished in
that of the Tullianum in Rome. “By Hercules!” said he as he was
being lowered into it, “your bath is cold!” S. Ferreolus, of Vienne,
was plunged into this horrible place in A.D. 304. He was young, and
by diving or by working at the grating he managed to escape much in
the manner described above. Thus through the sewer he reached the
Rhône, and swam across it. He was, however, recaptured and taken
back to Vienne, where he was decapitated. He is commemorated in the
diocese of Vienne on September 18th, and is mentioned by Sidonius
Apollinaris in the fifth century, and by Venantius Fortunatus in the
sixth. S. Gregory, the illuminator, was cast into the _barathrum_ by
Tiridates. Theodoret describes martyrs devoured by rats and mice in
Persia (“Hist. Eccl.,” v. 39).
10 This sign is now in the museum.
11 Fairies, adored at Nemausus.
12 The incident of the fall of snow occurring at the martyrdom of a
virgin saint is no picture of the author’s imagination. It occurred
at the passion of S. Eulalia of Merida, in A.D. 303, and is
commemorated in the hymn on her by Prudentius.
TRANSCRIBER’S NOTE
Variations in hyphenation or spelling have not been changed.
Changes, which have been made to the text:
page 55, “Nemauscan” changed to “Nemausean”
page 117, “alloted” changed to “allotted”
page 119, “exisiting” changed to “existing”
page 125, comma removed after “Baudillas”
page 278, “adsence” changed to “absence”
page 280, quote mark added before “Executioners”