Well, Karnis son of Hiero--and who am I ?" "Olympius--the great Olympius!" cried Karnis, eagerly grasping the offered hand.

"May all the gods bless this happy day!" "All the gods ?" repeated the philosopher.

"Is that what you say?
Then you have not crawled under the yoke of the cross ?" "The world can rejoice only under the auspices of the gods!" cried Karnis excitedly.
"And it shall rejoice still, we will save it from gloom!" added the other with a flash of vehemence.
"The times are fateful.

We must fight; and no longer over trifles; we cannot now break each other's heads over a quibble, or believe that the whole world hangs on the question whether the instant of death is the last minute of this life or the first of the next.

No--what now remains to be decided is whether the old gods shall be victorious, whether we shall continue to live free and happy under the rule of the Immortals, or whether we shall bow under the dismal doctrine of the carpenter's crucified son; we must fight for the highest hopes and aims of humanity." "I know," interrupted Karnis, "you have already done battle valiantly for great Serapis.