result of the enterprise I should be thoroughly satisfied."

"I should rather carry a sheep which died of mange a month ago,"
answered the gladiator; "but give that purse, bestowed by the worthy
tribune, and I will bear thee to the gate."

"Mayst thou knock the great toe from thy foot," replied the Greek; "what
profit hast thou from the teachings of that worthy old man, who
described poverty and charity as the two foremost virtues? Has he not
commanded thee expressly to love me? Never shall I make thee, I see,
even a poor Christian; it would be easier for the sun to pierce the
walls of the Mamertine prison than for truth to penetrate thy skull of a
hippopotamus."

"Never fear!" said Croton, who with the strength of a beast had no human
feeling. "I shall not be a Christian! I have no wish to lose my
bread."

"But if thou knew even the rudiments of philosophy, thou wouldst know
that gold is vanity."

"Come to me with thy philosophy. I will give thee one blow of my head
in the stomach; we shall see then who wins."

"An ox might have said the same to Aristotle," retorted Chilo.

It was growing gray in the world. The dawn covered with pale light the
outlines of the walls. The trees along the wayside, the buildings, and
the gravestones scattered here and there began to issue from the shade.
The road was no longer quite empty. Marketmen were moving toward the