"It cannot be," responds the convincing John; "there have been too
many witnesses for that. We have seen the very wound made by the
spear of Longinus; we have heard his familiar voice; we have
received his blessing. Our number is our evidence; it cannot be
possible that all of us have been deceived. It is surely he, O
Roman soldier, unless the senses of the women and of ten honest men
are far astray. No other teacher of the East has ever come back
from the sepulcher. Look and see for yourself. Yonder is Joseph's
empty tomb. The Christus is himself the evidence."


What can Quintus do, in the face of such proof as this? He returns
to Scopus in wildest tumult. Little does he say to Aulus, his
chosen friend. The company of Longinus or the centurion he does
not seek. The time has come--as it comes to all--when he must
commune with himself, and make the decision confronting every soul
that has heard the resurrection story.




IV

CICERO OR CHRIST?

"The name of Jesus can still remove distractions from the minds of
men."--_Origen_.


Shall men believe in a future life because of Christ's return from