But the ring is very old; it has been worn by many of my ancestors, to them it came, and from one who suffered martyrdom in the times of Diocletian.' 'Then, indeed, I did well,' replied Marcus, 'to leave it on your finger during your sickness.

I looked at it and saw that it was a Christian seal.

Had it been one of those which are yet seen too often, with the stamp of a daemon, I should have plucked it off, and perhaps have destroyed it.

The ring of a blessed martyr I Let us seek, let us seek! But, brother Basil,' he added gravely, 'has there passed through your heart no evil thought?
I like not this falling of the ring.' Basil held up his wasted hand with a smile.
'True, true; you have lost flesh.

Be thankful for it, dear brother; so much the easier you combat with him whose ally is this body of death.
True, the ring may have fallen simply because your finger was so thin.
But be warned, O Basil, against that habit of mind which interprets in an earthly sense things of divine meaning.' 'I had indeed let my thoughts dwell upon worldliness,' Basil admitted.
The monk smiled a satisfied reproof.
'Even so, even so! And look you! In the moment of your avowal my hand falls upon the ring.' Rejoicing together, they inspected it.