CHAPTER XIV
TO THE LOWEST DEPTH
Baudillas found that there were already many in the prison, who had beenswept together by the mob and the soldiers, either for having refused toproduce an image, or for having declined to sacrifice. To his no smallsurprise he saw among them the wool-merchant Julius Largus Litomarus. Thecrowd had surrounded his house, and as he had not complied with theirdemands, they had sent him to the duumvir,(6) Petronius Atacinus, who hadconsigned him to prison till, at his leisure, he could investigate thecharge against him.
The two magistrates who sat in court and gave sentence were PetroniusAtacinus and Vibius Fuscianus, and they took it in turns to sit, eachbeing the acting magistrate for a month, when he was succeeded by theother. Atacinus was a humane man, easy-going, related to the best familiesin the place, and acquainted with such as he was not allied with by bloodor marriage. His position, in face of the commotion relative to themutilation of the image and the rescue of Perpetua, was not an easy one.
In Rome and in every other important city, the _flamen_, or chief priest,occupied a post of considerable importance and influence. He sat in theseat at the games and in the theater next to the chief magistrates, andtook precedence over every other officer in the town. Nemausus had such a_flamen_, and he was not only the official religious head in the place,but was also the _flamen Augustalis_, the pontiff connected with theworship of Augustus, which had become the predominant cult in NarboneseGaul, and also head of the College of the Augustals, that comprised thevery powerful body of freedmen. The priestess of the divine founder andgiver of the fountain shared his dignity and authority. Between them theycould exercise a preponderating power in the town, and it would be in vainfor Petronius Atacinus, however easy-going he might be, and disinclined toshed blood, to pass over what had been done without affording satisfactionto the pagan party moved and held together by the priesthood.
Yet the duumvir judged that it would be eminently unadvisable for him toproceed with too great severity, and to punish too many persons.Christianity had many adherents in the place, and some of these belongedto the noble, others to the mercantile, families. The general wish amongthe well-to-do was that there should be no systematic persecution. Aninquisitorial search after Christians would break up families, rouse angrypassions, and, above all, disturb business.
Petronius had already resolved on his course. He had used every sort ofevasion that could be practiced. He had knowingly abstained from enjoiningon the keepers of the city gates the requisition of a passport from suchas left the town. The more who fled and concealed themselves, the betterpleased would he be.
Nevertheless, he had no thought of allowing the mutilation of the statueto pass unpunished, and he was resolved on satisfying the priesthood byrestoring Perpetua to them. If he were obliged to put any to death, hewould shed the blood only of such as were inconsiderable and friendless.
There was another element that entered into the matter, and which helpedto render Atacinus inclined to leniency. The Caesar at the time was M.Aurelius Antoninus, commonly known as Caracalla. He had been brought upfrom infancy by a Christian nurse, and was thought to harbor a lurkingregard for the members of the religion of Christ. At any rate, hedisplayed no intolerance towards those who professed it. He was, himself,a ferocious tyrant, as capricious as he was cruel. He had murdered hisbrother Geta in a fit of jealousy, and his conscience, tortured byremorse, drove him to seek relief by prying into the mysteries of strangereligions.
The duumvir Atacinus was alive to the inclinations and the temper of theprince, and was the more afraid of offending him by persecution of theChristians, as the Emperor was about shortly to visit Gaul, and might evenpass through Nemausus.
If in such a condition of affairs the Christians were exposed to danger,it may well be inferred that, where it was less favorable, their situationwas surrounded with danger. They were at all times liable to fall victimsto popular tumults, occasioned sometimes by panic produced by anearthquake, by resentment at an accidental conflagration which the vulgarinsisted on referring to the Christians, sometimes by distress at thebreaking out of an epidemic. On such occasions the unreasoning rabbleclamored that the gods were incensed at the spread of the new atheism, andthat the Christians must be cast to the lions.
When Baudillas saw the wool merchant in the prison, he went to himimmediately. Litomarus was sitting disconsolately on a stone bench withhis back against the prison wall.
"I did not go to the Agape," said he; "I was afraid to do so. But I mightas well. The people bellowed under my windows like bulls of Bashan."
"And you did not exhibit an image?"
"No, I could not do that. Then the _viatores_ of the aediles took me incharge. I was hustled about, and was dragged off here. My wife fell downin a faint. I do not think she will recover the shock. She has been in aweak condition ever since the death of our little Cordula. We loved thatchild. We were wrapped up in her. Marcianus said that we made of thelittle creature an earthly idol, and that it was right she should be takenaway. I do not know. She had such winning ways. One could not help lovingher. She made such droll remarks, and screwed up her little eyes----"
"But before you were arrested, you thought considerately of Perpetua andher mother Quincta."
"I do not understand to what you refer."
"To the sending of litters for them."
"I sent no litters."
"Your slave Tarsius came to my house to announce that you had been pleasedto remember the ladies there taking refuge, and that you had placed yourtwo palanquins at their disposal."
"Tarsius said this?"
"Even Tarsius."
"Tarsius is a slippery rascal. He was very fond of our little Cordula, andwas wont to carry her on his shoulder, so we have liked him because ofthat. Nevertheless, he is--well, not trustworthy."
"May God avert that a trap has been laid to ensnare the virgin and hermother. Tarsius was expelled the Church for inebriety."
"I know nothing about the palanquins. I have but one. After the death oflittle Cordula, I did not care to keep a second. I always carry about withme a lock cut from her head after death. It is like floss silk."
The wool merchant was too greatly absorbed in his own troubles to giveattention to the matter that had been broached by the deacon. Baudillaswithdrew to another part of the prison in serious concern.
When day broke, Litomarus was released. His brother was a pagan and hadeasily satisfied the magistrate. This brother was in the firm, andtraveled for it, buying fleeces from the shepherds on the limestoneplateaux of Niger and Larsacus. He had been away the day before, but onhis return in the morning, on learning that Julius was arrested, he spokewith the duumvir, presented him with a ripe ewe's milk cheese just broughtby him from Larsacus, and obtained the discharge of Julius without furtherdifficulty.
Baudillas remained in prison that morning, and it was not till theafternoon that he was conducted into court. By this time the duumvir wastired and irritable. The _flamen_ had arrived and had spoken withAtacinus, and complained that no example had been made, that theChristians were being released, and that, unless some sharp punishmentswere administered, the people, incensed at the leniency that had beenexhibited, would break out in uproar again. Petronius Atacinus, angry,tired out, hungry and peevish, at once sent for the deacon.
The head of the god had been found in his house, and he had been seenconveying the rescued virgin from the fountain, and must certainly knowwhere she was concealed.
It was noticeable that nothing had been said about the punishing ofAEmilius. Even the god, as interpreted by the priestess, had made no demandthat he should be dealt with; in fact, had not mentioned him. The duumvirperfectly understood this reticence. AEmilius Lentulus belonged to a goodfamily in the upper town, and to that most powerful and dreaded of allprofessions--the law. Even the divine founder shrank from attacking amember of the long robe, and a citizen of the upper town.
When Baudillas appeared in court, the magistrate demanded an explanationof the fact of the broken head being found in his house, and further askedof him where Perpetua was concealed.
Baudillas would offer no explanation on the first head; he could not do sowithout incriminating his brother in the ministry. He denied that he hadcommitted the act of violence, but not that he knew who had perpetratedthe outrage. As to where Perpetua was, that he could not say, because hedid not know. His profession of ignorance was not believed. He wasthreatened with torture, but in vain. Thereupon the duumvir sentenced himto be committed to the _robur_, and consigned to the lowest depth thereof,there to remain till such time as he chose to reveal the requiredinformation.
Then Petronius Atacinus turned and looked at the _flamen_ with a smile,and the latter responded with a well-satisfied nod.
A Roman prison consisted of several parts, and the degree of severityexercised was marked by the portion of the _carcer_ to which the prisonerwas consigned. Roman law knew nothing of imprisonment for a term as apunishment. The _carcer_ was employed either as a place for temporarydetention till trial, or else it was one for execution.
The most tolerable portion of the jail consisted of the outer court, withits cells, and a hall for shelter in cold and wet weather. This was infact the common _atrium_ on an enlarged scale and without its luxuries.But there was another part of the prison entitled the _robur_, after theTullian prison at Rome. This consisted of one large vaulted chamber devoidof window, accessible only by the door, through the interstices of whichalone light and air could enter. It derived its name from oak beamsplanted against the walls, to which were attached chains, by means ofwhich prisoners were fastened to them. In the center of the floor was around hole, with or without a low breastwork, and this hole communicatedwith an abyss sometimes given the Greek name of _barathrum_, with conicaldome, the opening being in the center. This pit was deep in mire. Into itflowed the sewage of the prison, and the outfall was secured by agrating.(7) The title of _barathrum_ sometimes accorded to this lowerportion of the dungeon was derived from a swamp near Athens, in whichcertain malefactors were smothered.
When Jeremiah was accused before King Zedekiah of inciting the people tocome to terms with the Chaldeans, he was put into such a place as this.
"Then took they Jeremiah, and cast him into the dungeon of Malchiah, thatwas in the court of the prison, and they let down Jeremiah with cords. Andin the dungeon there was no water, but mire; so Jeremiah sunk in themire."
When Paul and Silas were at Philippi, they were imprisoned in the superiorportion of the _robur_, where were the stocks, whereas the other prisonerswere in the outer portion, that was more comfortable, and where they hadsome freedom of movement.
Baudillas turned gray with horror at the thought of being consigned to theawful abyss. His courage failed him and he lost power in his knees, sothat he was unable to sustain himself, and the jailer's assistants wereconstrained to carry him.
As he was conveyed through the outer court, those who were awaiting theirtrial crowded around him, to clasp and kiss his hand, to encourage him toplay the man for Christ, and to salute him reverently as a martyr.
"I am no martyr, good brethren," said the deacon in a feeble voice. "I amnot called to suffer for the faith, I have not been asked to sacrifice; Iam to be thrown down into the pit, because I cannot reveal what I do notknow."
One man, turning to his fellow, said, in a low tone: "If I were given mychoice, I would die by fire rather than linger in the pit."
"Will he die there of starvation?" asked another, "or will he smother inthe mire?"
"If he be sentenced to be retained there till he tells what he does notknow, he must die there, it matters not how."
"God deliver me from such a trial of my faith! I might win the crownthrough the sword, but a passage to everlasting life through that foulabyss--that would be past endurance."
As Baudillas was supported through the doorway into the inner prison, heturned his head and looked at the brilliant sky above the yard wall. Thenthe door was shut and barred behind him. All, however, was not absolutelydark, for there was a gap, through which two fingers could be thrust,under the door, and the sun lay on the threshold and sent a faintreflection through the chamber.
Nevertheless, on entering from the glare of the sun, it seemed toBaudillas at first as though he were plunged in darkness, and it was notfor some moments that he could distinguish the ledge that surrounded thewell-like opening. The jailer now proceeded to strike a light, and aftersome trouble and curses, as he grazed his knuckles, he succeeded inkindling a lamp. He now produced a rope, and made a loop at one end abouta short crosspole.
"Sit astride on that," said he curtly.
Baudillas complied, and with his hands grasped the cord.
Then slowly he was lowered into the pitch blackness below. Down--down--downhe descended, till he plashed into the mire.
The jailer holding the lamp, looked down and called to him to release therope. The deacon obeyed. There he stood, looking up, watching the dancingpole as it mounted, then saw the spark of the lamp withdrawn; heard theretreating steps of the jailer, then a clash like thunder. The door of the_robur_ was shut. He was alone at the bottom of this fetid abyss.
Then he said, and tears coursed down his cheeks as he said it: "Thou hastlaid me in the lowest pit--in the place of darkness and in the grave."
Perpetua. A Tale of Nimes in A.D. 213 Page 14