[Quo Vadis by Henryk Sienkiewicz]@TWC D-Link book
Quo Vadis

CHAPTER XVII
10/15

"What kind of traitor?
A son of Judas, a son of his poison, a man who pretends to be a Christian, and goes to houses of prayer only to complain of the brotherhood to Caesar,--declaring that they will not recognize Caesar as a god; that they poison fountains, murder children, and wish to destroy the city, so that one stone may not remain on another.

Behold! in a few days a command will be given to the pretorians to cast old men, women, and children into prison, and lead them to death, just as they led to death the slaves of Pedanius Secundus.

All this has been done by that second Judas.

But if no one punished the first Judas, if no one took vengeance on him, if no one defended Christ in the hour of torment, who will punish this one, who will destroy the serpent before Caesar hears him, who will destroy him, who will defend from destruction our brothers in the faith of Christ ?" Urban, who had been sitting thus far on a stone, stood up on a sudden, and said,--"I will, father." Chilo rose also; he looked for a while on the face of the laborer, lighted up by the shining of the moon, then, stretching his arm, he put his hand slowly on his head.
"Go among Christians," said he, with solemnity; "go to the houses of prayer, and ask the brethren about Glaucus; and when they show him to thee, slay him at once in Christ's name!" "About Glaucus ?" repeated the laborer, as if wishing to fix that name in his memory.
"Dost thou know him ?" "No, I do not.

There are thousands of Christians in Rome, and they are not all known to one another.


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