man
I think she is one of the gods. I think she comes from Nubia.
first man
I am sure she is the daughter of the Emperor. Her nails are stained with henna. They are like the petals of a rose. She has come here to weep for Adonis.
second man
She is one of the gods. I do not know why she has left her temple. The gods should not leave their temples. If she speaks to us let us not answer, and she will pass by.
first man
She will not speak to us. She is the daughter of the Emperor.
myrrhina
Dwells he not here, the beautiful young hermit, he who will not look on the face of woman?
first man
Of a truth it is here the hermit dwells.
myrrhina
Why will he not look on the face of woman?
second man
We do not know.
·115· myrrhina
Why do ye yourselves not look at me?
first man
You are covered with bright stones, and you dazzle our eyes.
second man
He who looks at the sun becomes blind. You are too bright to look at. It is not wise to look at things that are very bright. Many of the priests in the temples are blind, and have slaves to lead them.
myrrhina
Where does he dwell, the beautiful young hermit who will not look on the face of woman? Has he a house of reeds or a house of burnt clay or does he lie on the hillside? Or does he make his bed in the rushes?
first man
He dwells in that cavern yonder.
myrrhina
What a curious place to dwell in!
first man
Of old a centaur lived there. When the hermit came the centaur gave a shrill cry, wept and lamented, and galloped away.
second man
No. It was a white unicorn who lived in the cave. When it saw the hermit coming the unicorn knelt down and ·116· worshipped him. Many people saw it worshipping him.
first man
I have talked with people who saw it.
…..
second man
Some say he was a hewer of wood and worked for hire. But that may not be true.
…..
myrrhina
What gods then do ye worship? Or do ye worship any gods? There are those who have no gods to worship. The philosophers who wear long beards and brown cloaks have no gods to worship. They wrangle with each other in the porticoes. The [ ] laugh at them.
first man
We worship seven gods. We may not tell their names. It is a very dangerous thing to tell the names of the gods. No one should ever tell the name of his god. Even the priests who praise the gods all day long, and eat of their food with them, do not call them by their right names.
myrrhina
Where are these gods ye worship?
·117· first man
We hide them in the folds of our tunics. We do not show them to any one. If we showed them to any one they might leave us.
myrrhina
Where did ye meet with them?
first man
They were given to us by an embalmer of the dead who had found them in a tomb. We served him for seven years.
myrrhina
The dead are terrible. I am afraid of Death.
first man
Death is not a god. He is only the servant of the gods.
myrrhina
He is the only god I am afraid of. Ye have seen many of the gods?
first man
We have seen many of them. One sees them chiefly at night time. They pass one by very swiftly. Once we saw some of the gods at daybreak. They were walking across a plain.
myrrhina
Once as I was passing through the market place I heard a sophist from Cilicia say that there is only one God. He said it before many people.
·118· first man
That cannot be true. We have ourselves seen many, though we are but common men and of no account. When I saw them I hid myself in a bush. They did me no harm.
myrrhina
Tell me more about the beautiful young hermit. Talk to me about the beautiful young hermit who will not look on the face of woman. What is the story of his days? What mode of life has he?
first man
We do not understand you.
myrrhina
What does he do, the beautiful young hermit? Does he sow or reap? Does he plant a garden or catch fish in a net? Does he weave linen on a loom? Does he set his hand to the wooden plough and walk behind the oxen?
second man
He being a very holy man does nothing. We are common men and of no account. We toil all day long in the sun. Sometimes the ground is very hard.
myrrhina
Do the birds of the air feed him? Do the jackals share their booty with him?
·119· first man
Every evening we bring him food. We do not think that the birds of the air feed him.
myrrhina
Why do ye feed him? What profit have ye in so doing?
second man
He is a very holy man. One of the gods whom he has offended has made him mad. We think he has offended the moon.
myrrhina
