THE MOUTH OF GOLD. 
 
 A SERIES OF 
 
 DRAMATIC SKETCHES 
 
 ILLUSTRATING THE LIFE AND TIMES OF 
 
 CHRYSOSTOM. 
 
 BY EDWLN JOHNSO.y. 
 
 .N TOH 
 . n 
 
 A. S. BARNES & CO. 
 
 NEW YORK AND CHICAGO: 
 
 1873- 
 
Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1873, l/ 
 
 A. S. BARNES & CO. 
 In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 
 

 INTRODUCTORY NOTE. 
 
 THE materials for these sketches have been 
 derived mainly from the biographies of CHRYSOS- 
 TOM by Neander and Perthes. I have, in some 
 instances, followed closely the translation of the 
 latter work by Hovey and Ford. 
 
 It was not till the following pages had been 
 stereotyped that I learned of another biography, 
 recently issued in England by Rev. W. R. W. 
 Stephens, M. A. Its perusal might, here and 
 there, have given a different color to the repre 
 sentation I have made ; if indeed I might not have 
 deemed a version in the present form superflu 
 ous, in view of the elaborate and highly interest 
 ing treatment of the theme by the new volume. I 
 trust, however, that I have not seriously erred 
 from historical accuracy, and that books so essen 
 tially different in plan may be mutually helpful in 
 
 M41724 
 
4 Introductory Note. 
 
 diffusing a knowledge of one who well deserves 
 to be known and honored always and everywhere. 
 My aim being to present a condensed and, at 
 the same time, vivid picture of the man and of 
 the scenes and characters that surrounded him, 
 the dramatic form seemed to me suitable. But 
 my little book aspires not to the dignity of a 
 drama. It is only as the title page indicates : 
 
 a series of dramatic sketches. 
 
 E. J. 
 
 MAY, 1873. 
 
1O 
 
 S. K. J 
 
I. 
 
 PERSONS REPRESENTED. 
 
 JOHN, surname d CHRYSOSTOM. 
 PAULUS, a young man of Antioch. 
 FLAVIAN, " " " Rome. 
 GLAUCUS, " " " Antioch. 
 ACHMED, an Arabian trader. 
 ANTHUSA, mother of JOHN. 
 
 SCENE. Antioch, in Syria. 
 TIME. A. D. 370. 
 
SCENE 1. The Arcqfa 
 
 Enter PAULUS and FLAVUX. 
 
 > .> ^ - } 
 
 Paul. Is it not fair ? 
 
 Fla. More fair than you had told, 
 
 Or I had dreamed. The Greeks are only just 
 When from the brows of candidates at home 
 Athens and Corinth they withhold the crown, 
 Assigning it to this bright Syrian city, 
 As Paris gave the golden fruit to Venus. 
 Fit appellation joins the name when men 
 Do speak of ANTIOCH the beautiful. 
 
 Paul. See where her statue stands, a radiant queen 
 Whose feet rest on the rising river-god 
 Orontes. Lofty Libanus looks down, 
 With fostering love, upon the city s face, 
 Like a fond mother on the child she folds ; 
 And Taurus, towering opposite, defies 
 The harsh North-wind to march his forces hither. 
 
 Fla. A better safeguard than the circling hills 
 Hath set its sign upon yon crag you call 
 Mount Silphius, where the royal bird alighting 
 
8 The Month of Gold. 
 
 Informed Seleucus here to found his city. 
 
 Now crowns the height, as if from Rome transferred 
 
 A temple consecrate to Jupiter, 
 
 Whose power propitious can alone defend 
 
 Cities art d rn^i). ; 
 
 Paul. And yet we lack assurance 
 
 Tire king; of gods can curb the Vulcan crew 
 That underneath this soil are wont to work, 
 Till the tremendous blasting splits their roof 
 Which is our floor and we, poor souls, are put 
 In fear and peril of an utter fall 
 If piety can save, we are most safe : 
 For not alone to Jupiter we pray, 
 And to the host who hail him as their head ; 
 From Palestine are come the worshippers 
 Of Him they name Jehovah, Israel s God ; 
 A hundred thousand wear the title fixed 
 At Antioch first upon a feeble band 
 Who followed Christ i the title blazoned since 
 Upon imperial standards, and embraced 
 By multitudes throughout the realm. 
 
 Fla. Tell me 
 
 The manner of your Christian folk. 
 
 Paul. Why much 
 
 The manner of us all : for Antioch 
 Assimilates all strange diversity. 
 
Antioch. 9 
 
 As in the swift Orontes meet and merge 
 
 The waters trickling forth from far-off founts 
 
 Among the frozen hills, and those that leave, 
 
 Reluctantly, the flowery meads, and those 
 
 That plunge impetuous from the nearer heights, 
 
 So doth our social current sweep all sects 
 
 And sorts along in frolic motion. See ! 
 
 The stream is swelling now, as with a freshet. 
 
 The voice of Daphne calls her votaries ; 
 
 And through this arched and shady way they pour 
 
 The Greek and Arab, Persian, Jew and Gaul 
 
 Costumes and dialects diverse, but minds 
 
 Intent alike on pleasure, 
 
 Fla, Windingly, 
 
 Nor without stain of sordid contact runs 
 Orontes : if report be true, the tide 
 Of pleasure here runs at its wayward will, 
 And not too limpid ! {Enter GLAUCUS. 
 
 Paul. Here s a Christian friend. 
 Ho, Glaucus, whither bound ? and wherefore hold 
 Your course so breezily that lazy barques, 
 As this good friend from Rome and I myself, 
 Are like to be run down by you and sunk 
 Incontinently? 
 
 Glau. Pardon, Flavian; 
 
 Your pardon, both ; and for my punishment 
 
io The Mo lit k of Gold. 
 
 I ll let the charms that drew me, as with chains, 
 Float out of sight. Fortune may send betimes 
 This way some other fair for company. 
 Oh what were Daphne s fountains, groves and flowers 
 Without the light of love revealing them ? 
 
 Paul. Enough of that. But tell us of the race 
 Wherein your faction yesterday took part. 
 
 4< Sunt quos currictilo pulverem Olympicum 
 Collegisse juvat metaque fervidis 
 Evitata rotis palmaque nobilis " 
 
 Glau. And you not there ? 
 
 Paul. Nay ; for the envious wind, 
 
 Though fervently invoked to waft us up 
 From port Seleucia, where I met my friend, 
 Fell off, and left us, fretting at our fate, 
 To lie inert, while you and all the town 
 Enjoyed your holiday. 
 
 Glau. Rare holiday ! 
 
 The sun bade every vapor that could break 
 His view withdraw, and with wide-open eye 
 Gazed down upon the concave field that swarmed 
 With scholars, soldiers, citizens and priests, 
 Plebeians and patricians, beauty, youth 
 And honor. First the wrestlers played their part; 
 And then the rival ranks of green and blue, 
 Ranged opposite each other, watched the course. 
 
Antioch. 1 1 
 
 Fla. You wear the green. 
 
 Glau. And proud am I to wear it. 
 Four chariots, burnished bright as Phoebus own, 
 Flashed suddenly upon the field. Their steeds 
 The best of rich Arabia s race ill brooked 
 Restraint till all was ready. Ardent rays 
 Shot from their eyes and nostrils. On their backs 
 The gilded harnesses sat quivering. 
 Each lithe and keen-eyed charioteer braced firm 
 His feet, and tugged the reins, 
 
 A bugle note ! 
 
 And, as an arrow leaves the twanging cord, 
 Those eager steeds sprang forward. Then uprose 
 A shout from all the multitude \ but soon 
 Suspense kept silence, while, obscured in dust, 
 The champions sped from sight. The cloud of dust 
 Recedes and falls. But now another cloud 
 Arises. Scarcely seen at first, it grows 
 Substantial, growing nearer, moving on 
 Amidst a mingled murmur of applause 
 And rage, A chariot overturned ! A horse 
 Dragging his driver by the tangled reins 
 Lifeless, himself a mass of foam and blood ! 
 I marked, amidst the flying ruin, well 
 A badge of blue, and then I lent my voice 
 To swell the volumed note of victory. 
 
12 The Mouth of Gold. 
 
 Fla. The charioteer was dead ? 
 Glau. Never again 
 
 His skill shall threaten our defeat. The wreck 
 Was scarce removed when, following a sound 
 Like rumbling thunder, rushed four steeds in sight. 
 They rather flew than ran. The foremost pair 
 Were decked with green ; and at each moment made 
 A wider space behind their whirling wheels. 
 I wonder if our uproar reached you not 
 When, seizing Lucius from his glowing car, 
 We bore him on our shoulders to and fro ; 
 AVe soothed and crowned the panting steeds, and 
 
 danced, 
 
 And drained such bumpers as the god of wine 
 Himself might pour. 
 
 The vanquished soon forsook 
 The field. And prudently : for some light word 
 Of scorn, let fall by them or us, had struck 
 Perchance the signal of a bloody strife. 
 
 But why recall the taste of pleasures past ? 
 To-day holds to our lips a cup brimful 
 Of joyance. Come with me to Daphne s bowers. 
 
 Paul. Our feet shall follow yours more leisurely. 
 
 Glau. Then, for the present, Fare ye well. 
 
 Paul and Fla. Farewell. \Exit Glaucus. 
 
 Fla. If all the sect are weighted light as he, 
 
Antioch. 13 
 
 Tis hardly strange it has outstripped so soon 
 Religions older than itself. 
 
 Paul. Haply 
 
 The next whom we encounter may be one 
 Whom other than Olympic strifes inflame 
 An athlete on the philosophic field, 
 Delighting in the dust of disputation. 
 The web of gossamer is not so fine 
 As are the threads these subtle thinkers spin ; 
 Arid in the metaphysic mesh they lie, 
 Intent to catch and bind, with syllogism 
 And curious lore, the unwary and unskilled. 
 Or forth they sally, armed with wits more keen 
 Than are the blades Damascus fabricates. 
 Amidst the clash of words with words, we hear, 
 Confusedly, of Father and of Son, 
 Of substance and of essence infinite, 
 Of pre-existence and fatality, 
 Of angel natures and accomplishments, 
 And oh, I know not what of themes too high 
 Or quiddities too fine for mortal sight, 
 But all the more provocative of zeal, 
 As lightest tinder kindles quickest fire. 
 
 Fla. And have you none of those fanatic men 
 Who fly from life to dull monastic cells ; 
 Or who from caves and grottoes grim dislodge 
 
14 The Mouth of Gold. 
 
 The savage animals and reptile tribes, 
 
 To make themselves a tomb-like dwelling-place ? 
 
 Paul. Oh, yes ; yon hillsides swarm with holy 
 monks. 
 
 Fla. I see approaching us an old acquaintance. 
 
 [Enter ACHMED. 
 
 What brings thee hither, Achmed, from thy home 
 In far Arabia ? 
 
 Ach. Faith, a camel brought me. 
 Upon his ridgy back I rocked across 
 The desert, under skies of fire, to find 
 In Antioch, a Roman whom I met 
 Long since in Alexandria. Wherefore here ? 
 
 Fla. For pleasure, not for pelf. I ll warrant 
 
 thou 
 
 Art occupied with thoughts of gain. Tell us 
 We are no thieves what hast thou in thy pack ? 
 
 Ach. Stand close, and you shall hear. 
 
 Beyond that height 
 
 Which hides a curve in the Orontes, lies 
 A little camp. Ten camels crouch beneath 
 The sycamores that throw a friendly shade. 
 Arbutus, myrtle, bay and fig-tree grace 
 The shore that seems thrice beautiful to eyes 
 Accustomed to the sandy wastes. My men 
 Keep watch, while I within the city search 
 
Anthusa. \ 5 
 
 For some rich dealer who may buy with gold 
 My store of myrrh and aloes, grain and gum. 
 
 Paul. I know the man a Jew, whose pile of coin 
 Would scarce a diminution own, although 
 For all thy goods he gave thee twice their worth. 
 /Ve ll go together to his dismal house. 
 
 Ach. Why then I ll show you presently some 
 
 strings 
 
 Of pearls, more pure and large than ever yet 
 The brows or necks of empresses have worn. 
 I wish in answer to your courtesy 
 Your lady-loves might be festooned with them, 
 
 SCENE II. A Room in Ant huso s house. 
 Enter ANTHUSA and JOHN. 
 
 John. Urge me not, mother, to abide with thee, 
 But, with thy blessing, bid me seek the cloister. 
 
 Anth. Bethink thee how the Moabitess Ruth 
 Addressed to Naomi, who was her mother 
 By marriage only, words unlike to thine. 
 P ntreat me not to leave thee was her cry ; 
 
1 6 The Mouth of Gold. 
 
 But thine, Entreat me not stay with thee. 
 
 Oh dire fatality of modern days ! 
 
 The pulse of filial love no longer beats. 
 
 John. Not lack of filial love forbids my stay ; 
 But loyalty to One whose claim I hold 
 Superior to every human tie. 
 
 Anth. Yet Mary s son, whom death alone re 
 moved 
 
 From her whose soul was pierced with pain, left not 
 The widow childless. Mortal agony 
 Could not divide his thoughts from her. I see 
 To-day his look of tender pity fall 
 Upon another woman, and I hear 
 His voice address a well-beloved John : 
 Behold thy mother ! 
 
 While my bridal robe 
 Was bright, Death folded it away forever. 
 The meek and matron robe was mine ere yet 
 The years of youth were fled : but when he fell 
 On whom I leaned so lovingly, I clung 
 More close to one who wore his image dear. 
 This little one, I said, will be a man 
 When life with me has passed meridian. 
 As bees lay by in store for days of dearth, 
 I ll treasure up in him all precious things 
 Of strength, of knowledge and of piety : 
 
AntJiusa. 17 
 
 So, in my weak and wintry season, want 
 Shall touch me not. Alas ! thou wouldst defraud 
 And leave me twice a widow. Wait, I pray, 
 Till my removal hence shall break thy bonds. 
 
 John. My mother, this is not like thee. My boast 
 Has been that thou wert strong and full of faith, 
 Afraid of nothing but of sin. Full well 
 I know the story of thy life a life 
 Made up of sacrifice for God and me. 
 Though princely suitors came, they kneeled in vain 
 To win a heart pre-occupied. Thy home 
 An isle of peace amidst a sea of sin 
 Was kept for me, and here my mind was moulded. 
 As Moses trod the halls of palaces 
 And learned the lore of Egypt s heathen schools, 
 Yet kept the love of country and of God 
 A mother s lips and life had breathed upon him, 
 So fell away from me the arguments 
 Of Pagan teachers and the charms of vice, 
 Because I felt my mother s nobleness 
 And purity. Libanius himself, 
 My tutor, filled with scorn of Christian truth 
 And fired with proselyting zeal, exclaimed, 
 Before the miracle of character 
 
 Like thine, What mothers do these Christians 
 have ! 
 
1 8 The Mouth of Gold. 
 
 Anth. Thy praise is sweet, but sweeter is thy 
 presence. 
 
 John. Should I unlearn the lesson thou hast 
 
 taught, 
 
 And turn my back upon the chosen goal ? 
 Ambition marked for me a shining track : 
 By learning and by eloquence to win 
 The meed of praise and rich emolument 
 Within the forum. Soon I found what arts 
 And fallacies and modes unclean pollute 
 The fane of justice, taint the name of law, 
 And make the advocate himself too oft 
 The criminal. In sorrow and disgust 
 I turned away, resolved henceforth to be 
 CHRIST S advocate. The purpose thou didst bless. 
 
 Anth. But wherefore seek in cloistered solitude 
 To serve the Master who himself was found 
 In synagogues and in the market-place, 
 An open publisher of truth ? 
 
 John. To quench 
 
 The fires of sensual passion in ourselves 
 To scourge our pride and appetite to prune 
 The branches, that the fruit may thrive is not 
 The better part of service this ? But thou, 
 My mother, little can thy pure heart know 
 How stern the task imposed on grosser nature, 
 When it would conquer earthliness and rise 
 
AntJiusa. 19 
 
 Superior to self. I would have leave 
 To fight upon a vantage ground. 
 
 Anth. I doubt 
 
 The advantage, oh my son ; for so it seems 
 To my poor thought as if a nation pent 
 Within itself should breed intestine strife 
 And feverish anarchy; whereas if set 
 Confronting foreign arms, the factions all 
 Would league, to subjugate the common foe. 
 Disease but seldom dares to strike the man 
 W T ho comes to conquer it : more oft it seeks 
 The fugitive who yields to craven fear. 
 To govern, not exterminate the powers 
 Our Father gave, I deem the soul s high province. 
 The cross indeed is ours, but needing not 
 That we should seek for it nor fashion it : 
 In daily duties will its form appear. 
 
 John. I know not if the life monastic be 
 A cross in such a time, when riot reigns 
 With revelry, the State is stirred with strife, 
 The church itself is filled with worldliness, 
 With love of power and love of pleasures vain. 
 Well might we covet, as the Psalmist did, 
 * Wings like the dove that we might fly to rest. 
 
 Anth. Beware, or selfishness will steal and claim 
 The guise of virtue. Christ came down from rest 
 And residence celestial, here to toil 
 
20 The Month of Gold. 
 
 And die, that he might better a bad world. 
 He bids us follow him ; but sends a Dove 
 To brood with wings of comfort o er our hearts 
 And bear us oft in spirit home to rest. 
 Enough, till he shall call us hence forever. 
 
 John. I yield : and yet if in retiracy 
 And prayer and study of God s Book, the years 
 Might pass till I should hear the call divine 
 As Paul, the Apostle, heard it when he left 
 Arabian solitudes to preach the Christ, 
 So might I hope to be the minister 
 Of greater good to men. 
 
 Anth. I thank thee, Lord ! 
 
 Hadst thou, my son, from this thy youthful home 
 Gone forth to make a new one and a dearer, 
 My fondest earthly wish had been fulfilled. 
 Tis well : I question neither God nor thee. 
 Do thou His will. But oh, tis not His will 
 That I should lack the solace of thy face 
 And daily speech, till human love is lost 
 In love divine. Then, filial duty done, 
 Thou shalt be free, and God will show thy way 
 And crown thy life with good. 
 
 John. ^ Of such a mother, 
 
 The Lord help me to be a worthy son ; 
 And late receive her to His Paradise ! 
 
II. 
 
 PERSONS REPRESENTED, 
 
 CHRYSOSTOM, PAULUS, GLAUCUS. 
 C^SARIUS and HELLEBICHUS, Judges. 
 MACEDONIUS, a Monk. 
 SOOTHSAYER, Officers, Rioters. 
 
 SCENE. Antioch. 
 TIME. A. D. 387. 
 
SCENE I. The Market-place. 
 Enter PAULUS and GLAUCUS. 
 
 Paul. Whence is this preacher whom the general 
 
 voice 
 Declares a new Demosthenes ? 
 
 Glau. Twas here 
 
 In Antioch his youthful years were spent ; 
 Not heedlessly, like ours, but hovered o er 
 With love and counsel, as with angel wings. 
 Like Samuel in the temple, he grew up 
 A priest; the robe his saintly mother wrought 
 Of pure example and of precepts wise 
 Investing him. Of older men he seemed 
 The natural ruler ; but refused to wear 
 The name of bishop, and retired, when death 
 Had ended filial duty, to the cell 
 And cave. And now, as one who wandered far 
 To rob the hills and strain the streams of gold 
 Returns to spend his princely store, so he 
 Comes back to utter words so affluent 
 With wisdom and with grace, the multitude 
 Proclaim him CHRYSOSTOM, the Golden Mouth. 
 
24 The Month of Gold. 
 
 Paul. They say he deals with dialectics less 
 Than with the life ? 
 
 Glau. Why yes, the chemistry 
 
 Of light, or what the difference precise 
 May be between the beams of sun and moon 
 Doth not so much concern his thought as that 
 The light may penetrate the world, to cheer, 
 Reprove and purify. 
 
 Paul. Amidst the throng 
 
 Whom this new Orpheus with his music charms 
 Are met, they say, the human butterflies 
 And bees who once to gather sweets, and air 
 Their robes of gauzy grace found full employ. 
 But strange above all else that Rumor tells 
 Is this : that Glaucus, gayest of the gay, 
 Forsakes full oft the theatre, the grove 
 Where dance the nymphs around Apollo s statue, 
 The chariot-race, and every scene that once 
 Enchanted him, to hear the homilies 
 That pour persuasion from the Golden Mouth. 
 
 Glau. For my apology hear him thyself. 
 
 Paul. I will, upon occasion fit ; and bid 
 The giant who subdues you all overthrow 
 My hard and skeptic judgment if he can. 
 
 Glau. A giant not in stature, if in mind ; 
 Nor are his words as blows to break the will, 
 
The Riot. 2$ 
 
 But rather rays that melt the feelings, fire 
 
 The purpose, and consume the dross of self. 
 
 But yesterday the great assembly stood 
 
 Responsive to each glance his eye shot forth, 
 
 The changing thoughts that fell, like light and shade, 
 
 Upon his lips, or lent his voice its tone. 
 
 Paul. Pity such power were not employed to 
 
 quell 
 
 The rising waves of mutiny, that now 
 Do join the earthquake and the dearth to mar 
 Our state and spoil our dream of peace. 
 
 Glau. This was the very upshot of the speech 
 He gave us yesterday : Forbear, * he said, 
 The loud applauses fit for theatres ; 
 But lend the meed I covet fervently : 
 Arrest the rioters the idle mob 
 Of miscreants who supply for paltry pay 
 The noise that dancers and that demagogues 
 Delight in, and to whom the rude revolt, 
 The clamorous cry, the clash of arms are sport. 
 Say not, oh citizens, that prudence shuns 
 To make of these vile men sworn enemies. 
 The Baptist made an impious king his foe, 
 But prudent silence had been cowardice, 
 Than which the true man sooner chooses death. 
 Nor say the matter is not mine, as Cain 
 
26 The Mouth of Gold. 
 
 Cried out " Am I my brother s keeper?" Each 
 Is keeper to the rest, and all are bound 
 To keep the commonwealth from injury. 
 If you that hear would undertake the task 
 You should compel from Pagan and from Jew 
 The cry: "These Christians saved our capital! " 
 Nay, let one man be charged with holy zeal 
 His influence alone shall change a city ! 
 
 Paul. I would the eloquence had wrought so well 
 That bonds and banishment had rid our streets 
 Of all the cursed crew ill-fortune sends 
 To vex and do us harm. \Enter SOOTHSAYER. 
 
 What say the stars, 
 
 Whose eyes prophetic scan events to us 
 Yet unrevealed ? 
 
 Sooth. Of late the omens all 
 
 Are full of ire ; the planets move perturbed, 
 And every augury gives note of evil. 
 What wonder if the ancient gods do frown 
 When some new-fangled faith disputes their throne, 
 Destroys their altars, and instead of us, 
 Their ministers, admits an upstart race 
 Of Christian sorcerers and Jewish jugglers ? 
 But hark ! what sounds are these ? Already seems 
 The car of retribution rolling near. 
 
 [ They retire. A mob enters. 
 
The Riot. 27 
 
 First Rioter. Throw down the statues, and treat 
 them as you d treat the men they stand for. 
 
 Second Rioter. Why then here goes my sledge 
 hammer against the portly legs of the Emperor, to 
 bring him down from his airy grandeur, that he may 
 make obeisance to his mother earth. 
 
 Third Rioter. Man and wife are one, they say. 
 Tis fitting the Empress should share the fortunes of 
 her high and mighty lord, as, no doubt, she has 
 shared his counsels and has had a hand in laying 
 these outrageous imposts upon us. \^Beats down the 
 statue of the Empress. ] Your Majesty, how like you 
 a lowly life ? For fear the rest of your body should 
 be scornful toward your battered and broken limbs, 
 I ll proceed to deal a few blows promiscuously. 
 Zeus ! these magnates are made of stuff that almost 
 defeats the force of iron. 
 
 Fourth Rioter. Next comes this brazen Governor, 
 who, when we march to his mansion and implore that 
 he will abate the tax, whines out that he is only a 
 subordinate, and must do the bidding of the higher 
 powers. Down with thee, tool of tyranny ! 
 
 Ringleader. Clear the ground of the whole im 
 pertinent tribe set up here in the heart of your city 
 to remind you that you are slaves. 
 
 Mob. Down with oppression ! 
 
28 The Mouth of Gold. 
 
 Ringleader. Down with the taxes ! 
 Mob. Down with aristocracy ! 
 Ringleader. So far, well. Now make a circle and 
 we ll have a song : 
 
 Said the Big Man who sits 
 
 On the wonderful throne 
 1 Do you know, my dear spouse, 
 
 That the silver is gone ? 
 I ll send down to the South 
 
 To those Antioch kine, 
 And supply the sad drouth 
 
 From their udders so fine. 
 
 Wait aiuhile, little man, and we ll show you the trick 
 How the Antioch kine give their milkers a kick ! 
 
 Said the woman * My lord, 
 
 Get enough now, I pray ; 
 I ve not had a new robe 
 
 For a week and a day : 
 And those Antioch dogs 
 
 Lean they may be and lame, 
 But in forests and bogs 
 
 They ll find plenty of game. 
 Wait awhile, little woman* perhaps you are right, 
 But the Antioch dogs think their teeth made to bite ! 
 
 Quoth the Governor * Heu ! 
 
 Tis a pitiful case : 
 I must fleece my poor subjects 
 
 Or else lose my place ; 
 But the Antioch sheep, 
 
The Riot. 29 
 
 Though they bleat, must be sheared ; 
 With the rich favor keep 
 
 Nothing then need be feared. 
 Wait awhile , little man, you may witness some fun ; 
 For the Antioch sheep think theh legs made to run ! 
 
 Quoth the princes Tis vain 
 
 To deny sober facts : 
 We were made just to rule 
 And the rest to be taxed. 
 And those Antioch mules 
 
 Are most handy and tough 
 Only mind these two rules : 
 
 Starve and beat them enough. 
 Wait awhile, little men, for when you say Go I 
 The tough Antioch mules may presume to say No ! 
 
 Ringleader. It grows dark. I know of sundry 
 piles of timber and rags that would burn well and 
 give us light enough to see within the very walls 
 where live the lofty ones whose consciences will not let 
 them join the enterprize. How much sweeter the 
 sound of that word conscience than of its synonyme 
 cowardice. 
 
 Mob. Give us torches and we ll illuminate. 
 
 [ They set on fire several dwellings of the rich, but 
 are attacked by the military ; some of the leaders are 
 arrested, and quiet is restored, .] 
 
 Paul. I think we now may venture forth ; the storm 
 That sent us here for shelter is o erpast. 
 
30 The Mouth of Gold. 
 
 Sooth. Haply the shower is over; but the storm 
 Is just beginning : In the transient lull 
 Let us consult discretion and fly home. 
 
 SCENE II. Outside the church of Chrysostom. A 
 
 multitude, among them PAULUS and GLAUCUS. 
 
 Glau. We shall not get within the crowded walls : 
 But here his voice may reach us. 
 
 Paul. Listen now. 
 
 Chrys. I warned you, citizens myself forewarned 
 By influence from above in vain. A gang 
 Of aliens brought the pestilence of vice 
 To rage and ravage here. Unwise and weak, 
 We put them not in quarantine, and here 
 Behold we lie as men decreed to death. 
 Imperial wrath aroused may swoop with wings 
 Of war upon our city, and may fix 
 The talons of its vengeance in ourselves. 
 But I upbraid you not. I bid you prove 
 Repentance now by courage and by faith 
 That lifts the soul above tempestuous times. 
 
After the Riot. 31 
 
 I bid you hope. The Emperor, though quick 
 
 To anger, is not hard of heart. To him 
 
 Already flies our bishop, Flavian, 
 
 Whom years, and feebleness, and heavy cares 
 
 Would keep at home, but love for you impels 
 
 To try the argument with Majesty. 
 
 His holy countenance and snowy locks 
 
 Will plead ; and in his voice will blend the tones 
 
 Of pathos and authority, till ire 
 
 Within the royal breast will yield to pity. 
 
 I bid you hope \ for here may each and all 
 
 Address the MAJESTY on high, who turns 
 
 The hearts of kings, as streams that run not straight 
 
 From goal to goal but yield to many a check 
 
 And channel. See what cause for gratitude 
 
 Amidst our grief, for now no more the church 
 
 Is vacant, while the street is full ; no more 
 
 The voice of sinful revelry confounds 
 
 Our songs of praise; nor seems the Sacrecl Word 
 
 An empty sound. As when a tempest broods 
 
 Dark o er the deep the wandering craft take heed 
 
 And turn their prows and set their sails to seek 
 
 Safe harbor, till the roadstead void and still 
 
 Becomes a populous and vocal place, 
 
 While all the sea is desert so the haunts 
 
 Of vice and idleness, the very rqarts 
 
32 The Month of Gold. 
 
 Of industry are left to solitude 
 
 And silence, while the sanctuary finds 
 
 Not room enough to hold its guests, and truth 
 
 Reverberates in every conscience. Now 
 
 There needs no tongue to tell the vanity 
 
 Of wealth ; for while the rich, distracted, run 
 
 To make some safe deposit of their goods, 
 
 The light-equipped are ready for the march. 
 
 Oh let the lesson live in memory ; 
 
 Nor think that gold can bribe the King of kings 
 
 And bid the day of dissolution welcome. 
 
 When prayers are answered and the peril past 
 
 Let not your hearts forget their vows and turn 
 
 Again to vanity. 
 
 Glau. The air is stifling : 
 
 Come, let us walk and talk together. Well, 
 What thought you of our famous preacher, John ? 
 
 Paul. Of him I thought but little ; of the words 
 He uttered much and of the faith sublime 
 That animates his soul. The piety 
 That gives such triumph over trouble seems 
 Of priceless worth and sprung from truth divine. 
 
 Glau. Tis like my Paulus thus to Speak, in spite 
 Of prejudice. I would that mine had been 
 The true translation of the word of Christ, j 
 
 To teach my friend the way and truth and life. 
 
After the Riot. 33 
 
 Paul. Of late I saw and felt a something new 
 And not of earth, whene er I met with thee. 
 The gayety was gone, but in its place 
 Appeared such tranquil joy and purity 
 As if a babbling, effervescent rill 
 Had lost itself within the bosom broad 
 And deep of some bright lake wherein the heaven 
 Doth look to see another heaven. What means 
 This noise of wailing and of prayer that grows 
 More loud as we approach the Hall of Justice ? 
 
 Glau. The judges whom the Emperor deputes 
 To find the fountain-head of mutiny 
 Sit daily in the Hall, to try with words 
 And tortures all who are accused, or whom 
 They reckon cognizant of the affair. 
 The great and small, the rich and poor are seized 
 And held in durance ; while, without the court, 
 A crowd of sad petitioners pour forth 
 Their tearful lamentations and their prayers. 
 
 {Enter Officers. 
 
 First Officer. In the name of Theodosius, Emper 
 or, we arrest you for treason. 
 
 Glau. and Paul. We are no traitors. 
 
 Second Officer. Ha ! you cannot skulk under a lie 
 as you skulked in the shadow of the arcade, after 
 taking part in a high-handed outrage. A few turns 
 
34 The Mouth of Gold. 
 
 of the screw will be likely to quicken your memories 
 and squeeze out of your lips a little truth. 
 
 Second Officer. Along with you ! 
 
 Glau. A better One than we, and for our sake, 
 Endured the lot of shame and suffering : 
 The thought of Him shall bring relief to pain. 
 \They are taken into the Hall, Enter the street on 
 
 horseback the judges ; a company of monks , with 
 
 Macedonius at their head, meeting themJ\ 
 
 Mac. Alight, oh servants of an earthly lord, 
 And hear the mandates of the Lord of heaven ! 
 
 Cces. If with the sword and spear thou didst pre 
 sume 
 
 To stay our progress, or didst use the name 
 Of human potentate to give thy word 
 Authority, the answer should be made 
 Of scorn and steel ; but in thy coarse attire 
 And wasted form and sanctity of mien 
 We recognize supreme prerogative. 
 
 \They dismount. 
 
 Mac. Suspend the sword ; and bid your sovereign 
 
 think 
 
 Although a master he is but a man ; 
 And those whom he arrests are men, whom God 
 Hath made in his own image. If, to break 
 The brazen statue of the Emperor 
 
Easter. 35 
 
 Be criminal, what greater crime to break 
 Remorselessly the living statue formed 
 In likeness of the Lord ! A little gold 
 Will mould again the now demolished brass, 
 But with what price shall grief restore the lives 
 That rash revenge so easily destroyed ? 
 
 Cces and Helleb. Your words are oracles, and till 
 
 they reach 
 
 The royal ears and bring response, our work 
 Shall have an intermission. 
 
 Mac. Pax vobiscum. {Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE \\\.-The Church on the morning of Easter. 
 
 Enter Bishop FLAVIAN, CHRYSOSTOM, PAULUS, 
 
 GLAUCUS and people. 
 Chrys. When o er us hung the heavy clouds of 
 
 fear 
 
 I bade you praise the Lord, the ever good, 
 Nor surfer faith to fail. The clouds are past ; 
 The skies are full of cheer ! As when the hearts 
 That seemed but dead and sepulchred with Christ 
 
36 The Mouth of Gold. 
 
 With him arose, rejoicing over death, 
 
 So, on this Easter morn, our spirits spring 
 
 Elastic from the darkness into light. 
 
 When first the hand of retribution fell, 
 
 The great and rich in other days so proud 
 
 And potent thought alone of speedy flight 
 
 And safety for their goods : but men unknown, 
 
 Unarmed and poor, save for their faith in God, 
 
 Made haste to bring us help ; they stayed our doom, 
 
 Then vanished back from unfamiliar scenes 
 
 To their accustomed hills and trees and caves. 
 
 As angels came they, and as angels went. 
 
 And now returns, to crown our festival, 
 
 The shepherd who, to save his flock, deemed not 
 
 His own life dear, but braved the boisterous seas, 
 
 The wintry cold, the Emperor s kindled wrath. 
 
 As Moses pleaded, < Save the people, LORD, 
 
 Or let me perish with them ! So hath he, 
 
 Our father Flavian, implored for us ; 
 
 And not in vain ; he brings this royal letter : 
 
 [Reads.} 
 
 * The Lord of worlds for our sake took the form of a serv 
 ant ; and for those who nailed him to the cross he prayed : " Fa 
 ther, forgive them ! " What great thing is it if they who are 
 mere men forgive the injuries inflicted by those who are their 
 fellow-servants ? The Emperor freely pardons the offences of 
 his Antioch subjects, in the hope that his clemency may not be 
 
Easter. 37 
 
 i 
 
 lost upon them and that he himself may find mercy with the 
 Supreme Monarch. THEODOSIUS, Emperor. 
 
 {Outbreak of joy.] 
 Let gratulation rise to gratitude 
 And fill the numbers of our Easter hymn. 
 
 We sing of a Saviour ascended. 
 
 On earth once our sorrows he bore ; 
 But the shame and the grief are now ended, 
 He shall reign and rejoice evermore. 
 Hallelujah let us sing ! 
 
 Not sweet spices for the dead 
 But the palm and sceptre bring, 
 
 Crown the King and Conqueror s head ! 
 
 He hath broken death s ancient dominion ; 
 
 Tis no longer a terror to die. 
 With the strength of his sky-piercing pinion 
 Our hopes he hath lifted on high. 
 
 Praise the Lord of life and light ! 
 
 Lo an empty tomb is here ; 
 Where the Christ hath winged his flight 
 All that love him shall appear. 
 
 He has gone to his Capital splendid 
 Not as one might the conflict forsake, 
 
 But that we, by his succors befriended, 
 May in warfare his triumph partake. 
 
38 The Mouth of Gold. % 
 
 Praise the source of strength and grace, 
 Rich in mercy, clothed with power ! 
 
 Though we see not now his face 
 He is with us every hour. 
 
 When the forces of nature do mutiny, 
 
 When around us are riot and rage, 
 When God s law bids us quail neath its scrutiny, 
 He our sorrow and dread doth assuage. 
 For the quiet of our state, 
 
 For the quelling of our fear, 
 For our hope and joy elate 
 Sing we hallelujahs here ! 
 
III. 
 
 PERSONS REPRESENTED. 
 
 CHRYSOSTOM. 
 
 EUTROPIUS, Prime Minister. 
 EUDOXIA, Empress. 
 OLYMPIAS, A deaconess. 
 
 SCENE. Constantinople. 
 TIME. A. D. 398. 
 
SCENE L Room in the Royal Palace. 
 Enter EUTROPIUS and EUDOXIA. 
 
 Eut. My pretty Empress, I have caught and caged 
 For thee a singing bird whose fluent notes 
 Albeit sometimes sharp and shrill might move 
 The envy of the Attic groves. Commend 
 Thy servant s zeal and make his gift right welcome. 
 
 Eud. Arch plotter, what new feat hast thou ac 
 complished ? 
 
 Eut. Oh nothing to be named beside the feat 
 That won me reputation. 
 
 Eud. What was that ? 
 
 Eut. To teach an orphan maiden, young and fair, 
 Her place upon a height imperial; 
 To teach an Emperor her charms to choose 
 In place of hers to whom he was betrothed 
 The daughter of his Minister, Rufinus ; 
 And when the proud Prime Minister returned 
 From Antioch, flushed with hope which he had bought 
 By bloodshed when the wedding-day was come 
 And all the city blossomed forth in joy, 
 And myriad eyes, half-dazed with splendor, turned 
 
42 The Mouth of Gold. 
 
 Expectant toward the great Rufinus house 
 
 To pass that stately mansion by, and bear 
 
 The royal gifts within Eudoxia s door, 
 
 And lead her forth, with her own beauty crowned, 
 
 Amidst the chorus of a populace 
 
 Admiring and amazed ; and so to see 
 
 The orphan queen of more than half the world ! 
 
 Live I an age and with invention vex 
 
 My days and nights, never another prize 
 
 So rich shall compensate my pains. 
 
 Eud. My lord, 
 
 You do yourself injustice when you place 
 This vaunted exploit highest on your list. 
 
 Eut. Why what could higher stand ? 
 
 End. To take a slave 
 
 Whom masters could not keep, and whom at last 
 An officer bestowed upon his daughter 
 As one whose cunning hand was fit to braid 
 Her flowing tresses and to dress her head ; 
 To take this deft and dangerous chattel out 
 From bondage and advance him, step by step, 
 Till he should reach a round o erlooking all 
 The lords and princes of the land nay more, 
 Should make the throne itself subordinate, 
 Enact the policy, and sell for gold 
 The offices in all the realm, depose, 
 
The Court. 43 
 
 Imprison and confiscate, at his will 
 To him who wrought this marvel I award 
 The meed of genius unapproachable ! 
 
 Eut. Your majesty is pleased to flatter me. 
 
 Eiid. Do I not know what wily purpose planned 
 To make me Majesty ? Rufinus, foul 
 With murder of my guardian, was my foe : 
 If I should rise then he must fall ; and thou 
 By lifting me shouldst win the vacancy. 
 Because my face was fair and fortune smiled 
 The scheme succeeded : I am Empress; thou 
 Prime Minister; Rufinus 
 
 Eut. Stay, I like .._,*# 
 
 Not well to hear of him. 
 
 Eud. Tis certain quite 
 
 That//w# him thou wilt never hear, unless 
 Dead men return to life. The daughter must, 
 If still she lives, admire thee much ! 
 
 Eut. A truce. 
 
 Why do you not inquire about my bird ? 
 
 Eud. Your bird indeed ! He wears a golden name 
 And waits to wear the plumage of a bishop. 
 I heard to-day of his arrival here. 
 
 Eut. Not willingly did Antioch give her son, 
 To grace the grand metropolis ; and he 
 Was proof against persuasion : but the men 
 
44 The Mouth of Gold. 
 
 We sent had orders absolute to bring 
 Him hither, though by stratagem or force. 
 A message summoned him outside the town, 
 And there a carriage waited. Thrust within, 
 His angry questions Why? and Whither? met 
 A bland but blind response, till far away 
 The city had receded left to learn 
 Its loss upon the morrow, when the ship 
 That bore our bishop should her sails expand 
 To reach the port that never knew a peer. 
 
 End. Twas managed cleverly ; and we will make 
 The captive so contented he shall sing 
 His sweetest notes. No music to my ear 
 So pleasing as- the eloquence inspired 
 By sacred truth. Besides, I do confess 
 Our worldly, venal priesthood need the curb 
 This rigid hand will ply. Tell him, at once, 
 The Emperor and I must welcome him. 
 How, think you, will the proud Theophilus, 
 Of Alexandria, bear to see a man 
 Like this made Metropolitan, in place 
 Of one compliant whom he might employ 
 To serve his plans at court ? 
 
 Eut. Twill vex him sore. 
 
 Bid him attend the consecration here: 
 If he refuse to come, or to confirm 
 
Olympias. 45 
 
 The rite, I know a method magical 
 To break his stubborn will. 
 
 End. What is the magic ? 
 
 Eut. A certain passage of his history, 
 Recorded on a parchment, which divulged 
 Would serve his honors like a sudden frost 
 That makes the shining leaf a faded rag. 
 
 Eud. What should I do without Eutropius ? 
 
 [Exit EUT. 
 
 And yet I tremble lest his love of gold 
 And power should teach him treachery to me. 
 
 SCENE II. Room in the Bishops Palace CHRYSOS- 
 
 TOM at study. 
 Enter a priestly attendant. 
 
 Aft. Olympias, who serves the church so well, 
 Desires to see thee. 
 
 Chrys. Stay, till thou hast told, 
 
 More perfectly than I have learned as yet 
 Her character and life. 
 
 Att. Of noble birth 
 
 And rich and beautiful, she early knew 
 An orphan s lot, but learned from Christian lips 
 
46 The Month of Gold. 
 
 The law of piety ; and when, alas, 
 
 A brief-time bride, bereavement broke her heart, 
 
 Twas even like the breaking of the box 
 
 Of alabaster at the Master s feet : 
 
 For all her store of wealth and richer store 
 
 Of love were made an offering to the Lord, 
 
 And with the fragrance of her holy life 
 
 And kindly deeds the region round was filled. 
 
 The Emperor Theodosius thought her mad 
 
 To make such sacrifice while yet so young ; 
 
 And that her property might bide the time 
 
 Of her recovery, he locked it fast 
 
 Beneath a guardian s key. Her ready thanks 
 
 For such relief as left her free to run 
 
 With lightsome step along the heavenly path, 
 
 His purpose changed : he gave the treasures back. 
 
 Which she received indifferent, like some peak 
 
 Aloft that takes the clouds, not drinking them 
 
 But sending lavish currents down to drench 
 
 The thirsty lowlands, Others idly feast 
 
 And flourish on her gifts ; her garb is coarse 
 
 Her fare is meagre and her life a cross. 
 
 Our church has not another minister 
 
 Who serves with self-denial so intense. 
 
 Chrys. The church makes men of women ; while 
 the world 
 
Olympian. 47 
 
 Makes women those who should be men. The fops 
 
 Who promenade with painted cheeks, curled locks 
 
 And leer of license, give you these the name 
 
 That signifies self-rule and courage, strength 
 
 To do and suffer ? Twere profanity ! 
 
 We ll call the weaklings women if the word 
 
 Be not too pure and dignified. And they 
 
 Who in a woman s body bear a heart 
 
 So stout the devil cannot conquer it, 
 
 Nor fear of death nor tortures such as those 
 
 The mother of the Macabees endured 
 
 When in her presence all her sons were slain 
 
 Oh call them men if in that word is power 
 
 To tell what virtue grace divine bestows 
 
 Upon the weak. In Hebrew times there lived 
 
 A race of manly women on the steps 
 
 Of Christ and Paul such women waited, true 
 
 When trusted men were false. Thank God He gives 
 
 Us here such helpers. Bid Olympias come. 
 
 {Enter OLYMPIAS. 
 
 I greet thee as a woman whom the Lord 
 In love hath led to choose the better part. 
 
 Olym. To thee I yield the reverence due to one 
 Who fills with holy zeal a holy office. 
 If all were like thee ! But alas, the crime 
 Of that bad king in Persia s capital 
 
48 The Mouth of Gold. 
 
 Who in the golden chalices that once 
 
 Had served Jehovah s temple drank the wine 
 
 Of wassail, is repeated oft by men 
 
 Who make their priesthood servant of their sin. 
 
 Thy predecessor here, Nectarius, 
 
 Too fond of gain and luxury himself, " 
 
 Gave not good heed to his subordinates. 
 
 I would not censure ; but thy light hath made 
 
 The dark appear more palpable and sad. 
 
 Chrys. Lady, I prize thy praise but need thy 
 
 prayers : 
 
 Myself a man imperfect, set to rule 
 O er men of envy, fickleness and greed. 
 The indolent resent our call to prayer 
 That steals an hour from sleep ; the covetous 
 Lament their revenues reduced to build 
 A hospital for strangers ; and the lax 
 In morals hate the hand that would restrain. 
 The church scarce more alive than dead the court 
 Corrupt society a pestilence 
 What wonder if I sometimes cry with him 
 W 7 ho prophesied in old Jerusalem : 
 Oh that my head were waters and mine eyes 
 A fount of tears that I might weep the slain 
 By day and night. Amidst applause I preach 
 To those who gather in the house of God 
 
Olympias. 49 
 
 With vain display of robes and retinue, 
 And who depart the place to find 
 New entertainment at the games, where oft 
 With folly meet debauchery and shame. 
 I would I were once more an eremite 
 Amidst the wilds, less rude to me than pomp 
 And vice in Constantine s proud capital ! 
 
 Olym. Flee not, like Jonah, from the call of God 
 Who bids thee to this Nineveh proclaim 
 His messages of mercy and of woe. 
 Nor think thy work in vain : ajready rise 
 A multitude to call thee blessed. More 
 And more the bad shall fear thee and the good 
 Be comforted. 
 
 Chrys. Forgive the fretfulness 
 
 That courts reproof from kindly lips like thine. 
 I will resume my office and inquire 
 What service I may render thee. 
 
 Olym. My friend 
 
 And father, I would lay on thee the load 
 That wealth inherited hath laid on me. 
 At once relieve my anxious thought and rid 
 My conscience of a snare : for vanity 
 Full oft, with cunning malice, whispers me : 
 What merit in thy large beneficence ! 
 As statues stand the chu ches thou hast built , 
 
50 The Month of Gold. 
 
 The hospitals by thez endowed. Thy gifts 
 To rich and poor are destined to embalm 
 Thy memory. Help me to wrest away 
 This weapon from the fiendish hand that fain 
 Would slay my soul. 
 
 Chrys. Thy talent is thine own, 
 
 To use but not transfer. In open fight, 
 And not evasively, thy soul must win 
 Its amaranthine wreath of victory. 
 
 Olym. Why then, if thou decline the proffered 
 
 trust 
 
 Til make all comers free to take the store 
 Of wealth that cumbers me, till all is gone. 
 
 Chrys. I was an hungered and ye gave me food, 
 Was naked and ye clothed me : how shall Christ 
 Address such words to thee if carelessly 
 Thou give to those who have enough, and lose 
 Thereby the power to help the destitute ? 
 
 Olm. I had not thought of that, but of the scorn 
 Which piety should put on earthly goods. 
 
 Chrys. ( With earthly mammon win a heavenly 
 
 home/ 
 
 The Master saith. Full soon the tent will fall 
 That gives thy too impetuous spirit shelter, 
 And thou wilt need the friends thy charity 
 Hath made, to welcome thee within 
 
Olympias. 5 1 
 
 An everlasting and celestial house. 
 
 Olym. As if an angel spake I hear thy words : 
 Oh teach me alway what is right. 
 
 Farewell. 
 
 [Exit OLYMPIAS. 
 
 Chrys. {To attendant.] If ever thou incline to lose 
 
 thy faith 
 
 In human virtue or in heavenly grace 
 I bid thee think of her and such as she. 
 
 Att. I do not doubt thy words to her were wise ; 
 But if she follow them and scant the gifts 
 That make the rich more rich, resentment vile 
 Will couple scandal with her name and thine. 
 J Tis history inspires the prophecy. 
 
 Chrys. I will not think ingratitude so base 
 That it can wrong a saint like her unsullied. 
 
 Att. Heaven justify thy generous unbelief! 
 
IV. 
 PERSONS REPRESENTED. 
 
 CHRYSOSTOM, EUTROPIUS, EUDOXIA, OLYMPIAS, 
 ARCADIUS, Emperor. 
 Attendant and Officer. 
 
 SCENE. Constantinople. 
 TIME. A. D. 400. 
 
SCENE I. Room in the Royal Palace. 
 Enter ARCADIUS and EUTROPIUS. 
 
 Eut. This traitor, Tribigild, with all his Goths, 
 From Phrygia is moving like a cloud 
 Of wrath ; and Gainas whom we sent to stay 
 The storm augments it, joining force to force. 
 
 Arc. They send a messenger to bring the terms 
 Of their withdrawal hence in amity. 
 
 Eut. I know the terms proposed : Betray thy 
 
 friend j 
 
 Consent to be a ruler but in name, 
 While ruffians and barbarians usurp 
 The true authority ; in place of me, 
 Accept the minister they nominate, 
 And thou shalt have their pledge of peace a pledge 
 Whose worth is weighty as their honor is ! 
 Make haste to seize the bait, forgetting risk 
 Of future vengeance from a man whose wit 
 Hath made and may unmake a monarch s fortune. 
 
 Arc. Content. Prime Minister thou shalt remain 
 Though devils join the foes that plot thy fall. 
 
54 The Month of Gold. 
 
 Eut. There speaks an Emperor. My deeds shall 
 
 tell 
 My gratitude. What man can do will I. 
 
 \Exit EUTROPIUS. Enter military officer. 
 
 Off. Your Majesty, the frantic populace 
 Are surging at the palace gates. They cry 
 Down with Eutropius ! Give the worthless slave 
 To be an offering for the nation s life ! 
 
 [Enter EUDOXIA, leading her two children. 
 
 Eud. The peril is most imminent! Without, 
 A horde of heathen congregate in arms ; 
 Infuriate rebellion rocks the city. 
 And here, within our residence, we keep 
 The guilty cause of our calamity. 
 By all the loyalty a nation claims 
 From thee, its head ; by all thy love of life 
 And regal state ; by all the argument 
 The helplessness of children can address 
 To move a father s heart, and by the vows 
 That made thee mine, to cherish and defend me, 
 I do implore thee give Eutropius up 
 To sate the raging appetite of vengeance. 
 
 Arc. I thought thou didst regard him as a friend. 
 
 Eud. I feared him, and I felt his subtle skill 
 To fascinate whom he would make his prey : 
 Eut lately he has grown so insolent 
 
77/tf Invasion. 55 
 
 Of manner and his speech so menacing, 
 I hail the tempest that may shake him off 
 The fire wherein this viper may be burned. 
 
 Arc. My word is pledged to keep him safe from 
 harm. 
 
 End. Oh, thou hast pledges earlier and more 
 
 sacred. 
 
 Behold the partner of thy throne falls down 
 A suppliant at its footstool, and her tears, 
 So hot with love s intensity that ice 
 Would be inflamed beneath them, urge my suit, 
 And, moved by sympathy, and fear, these babes 
 With bitter cry appeal to thee for help. 
 
 Arc. Arise ; I am a man, not adamant 
 Nor metal to resist such melting pleas. 
 Eutropius must die, unless for him 
 Escape should open from the frenzied mob 
 And unrelenting soldiers to the place 
 Where fugitives, though tracked by justice, find 
 Security. 
 
 Eud. Behold the meet reward 
 Of cruelty and crime ! The ancient law 
 Of sanctuary was contemned by him 
 Who fain would find asylum now beneath 
 The altar of the house of God ; and when 
 Our holy bishop would not yield the lives 
 
The Month of Gold. 
 
 This impious slave desired, thy hand was moved 
 
 To sign the law s repeal. The door is shut ! 
 
 For him who showed no mercy there remains 
 
 No mercy more. [To the officer, 
 
 Arc. Assure the citizens 
 
 That their demands shall meet compliance. So 
 May peace return to our distracted state. [Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE ILThe Cathedral. 
 
 EUTROPIUS at the Altar. CHRYSOSTOM discoursing 
 from the pulpit to the people. 
 
 I bade you write on all things vanity ; 
 
 On beauty, splendor, wealth and noisy fame. 
 
 But in the peaceful, prosperous days my words 
 
 Were lost, like arrows shot into the sea. 
 
 Lo here a sermon superseding all 
 
 My lips would say. The tree that flourished fair 
 
 Is stripped of leaves and stands a naked trunk. 
 
 Where is the light that blazed refulgent round 
 
 The courtier s steps ? Where now the cheers that rang 
 
 Whene er the race-course or the theatre 
 
 Was graced and gladdened by his presence ? Where 
 
 The friends who wafted praises to his power 
 
The Altar. 57 
 
 As incense to a god ? It was a dream ! 
 The light has dawned, the vapor vanishes ! 
 
 \To EUTROPIUS. 
 
 Oh man, I mock thee not, but cite thee here 
 A witness for the truth. Thou hadst an idol : 
 Invoke thine idol, money, now to save thee. 
 Alas, it would have murdered thee. The church 
 Thou didst revile, its ministry didst menace ; 
 Its altars thou didst seek to bar against 
 Misfortune and misdeed : the first to seek 
 Forbidden shelter is thyself! Race-course 
 And theatre which thou didst patronize 
 Resound the cry : Give up the wretch to death ! 
 Thy boon companions are thine enemies : 
 Thy friends are they who felt thy biting scorn : 
 Thy safe asylum is the hated church. 
 Oh hadst thou heeded wisdom s voice ! but now 
 Thou liest abject and undone. 
 
 Kind friends, 
 
 The world s defeat is triumph to Christ s church. 
 Her glory is to shield the weak,whate er 
 The hostile forces that encompass them. 
 The people, Emperor and army stand 
 Arrayed against this cunning criminal : 
 Be ours the task to turn their rage to pity. 
 Say not that penitence will not suffice 
 
5 8 The Mouth of Gold. 
 
 To cleanse the guilt of his rapacity; 
 
 Say not his touch pollutes the sacred altar. 
 
 A sinner washed the Saviour s feet unblamed. 
 
 And who is he can pray ( Father forgive 
 
 As I forgive] while harboring revenge ? 
 
 Come, while I seek the Emperor, implore 
 
 With humble hearts the King who reigns supreme 
 
 That He will give this trophy to our altar. 
 
 \Clamor of troops without, crying, Surrender the rol- 
 
 .ber ! Give him up, or we will raze the house to 
 
 the ground?} 
 
 Be not affrighted, for the Lord is here : 
 The ship that Jesus sails in cannot sink. 
 
 SCENE III. A Room in Olympiad House. 
 
 Olym. How like a solitude the city seems 
 Since Chrysostom is absent. As, if rain 
 Or sunshine be withdrawn, the earth grows sad 
 And sere, though all the elements beside 
 Fulfil their functions we that serve with him 
 Do thirst and droop until his beaming face 
 Return and on our hearts the showers shall fall 
 Of his refreshing eloquence. We chide 
 
The Mission. 59 
 
 The zeal that bade him brave the boisterous seas 
 And penetrate the camp of barbarous men. 
 And yet how noble and how like himself! 
 For vile Eutropius he was moved to plead, 
 Till death, decreed, gave place to banishment: 
 No wonder that for those who well had served 
 The state but whom the angry Goths had doomed 
 To die, his dauntless heart should prompt this deed 
 Of dangerous enterprise. HAND that dost hold 
 The deep and hold the souls of men kind HEART 
 That dost regard our sad solicitude 
 MIND that dost plan the welfare of Thy church, 
 Oh give the faithful pastor sure defence ; 
 Make Thou his mission prosperous ; give him 
 The lives for which his own he perils ; bring 
 The wanderer safely, surely home ! Tis well 
 These walls are trusty ; else my meditations, 
 My very prayers, if breathed aloud, would be, 
 To men impure and envious, my accusers. 
 Oh evil and ungrateful days, when vows 
 Of consecration, witnessed by a life 
 Of self-denying zeal, impose no check 
 On slander. Oh ignoble souls that make 
 The purest friendship but a vulgar love, 
 As waters dull and darkened do display 
 A dull and darkened picture of the sky, 
 
 {Enter Attendant. 
 
60 The Month of Gold. 
 
 Att. Madame, our bishop is come home and brings 
 From Tribigild and Gainas pardon free 
 To them who wrought no wrong but whom revenge 
 For justice done by them condemned to death. 
 
 Olym. The news is pleasant and I thank thee 
 for it. 
 
 Att. I thought thou wouldst have clapped thy 
 
 hands and cried 
 
 For joy, when even I, who know him less, 
 Was half beside myself with ecstasy. 
 
 Olym. We must not suffer feeling to o erflow 
 The bounds of safe sobriety, nor fail 
 In joyful times to think how soon some grief 
 May follow and consume our joy. 
 
 Att. To pour 
 
 Away the sparkling foam from fortune s cup 
 And let the liquor cool before I quaffed it 
 I should not like. 
 
 Olym. We will not quarrel, child ; 
 
 Go you and join the general concourse ; give 
 The holy man my greeting. I will see him soon. 
 
 Att. [aside.} She should have welcomed him at 
 
 once, 
 With her own lips, and not with mine instead, [Exit. 
 
 Olym. Now, grateful heart, teach thou my lips 
 to sing, 
 
The Mission. 6 1 
 
 .Till prudence shall release my tethered steps 
 And give me leave, imblamedby jealous eyes, 
 To look upon my father and my friend. 
 
 From the wilderness and wave, 
 
 From the hosts of armed men, 
 lie who went the doomed to save 
 
 Safe himself returns again. 
 
 Welcome him ! 
 
 Rich and potent, whom his voice 
 
 Warns of peril, tells of peace, 
 Wins to make the better choice 
 
 Rank and wealth that ne er will cease 
 Welcome him ! 
 
 Ye that pine in poverty, 
 
 Ye that feel oppression s rod, 
 Hail your helper joyfully ; 
 
 With thanksgivings unto God 
 
 Welcome him ! 
 
 Flock, for whom the shepherd cares 
 
 With a thoughtful, constant love, 
 For his toils and tears and prayers 
 
 With the glad procession move ; 
 
 Welcome him ! 
 
 Chosen sharers of his joy, 
 
 Of his labor and his grief, 
 As ye prize the high employ 
 
 In his greeting be ye chief; 
 
 Welcome him ! 
 
V. 
 
 PERSONS REPRESENTED. 
 
 CHRYSOSTOM, PAULUS, FLAVIAN, GLAUCUS, OLYMPIAS. 
 THEODORA, a Deaconess. 
 Bishops , Officers and Messengers. 
 
 SCENE. Constantinople and neighborhood. 
 TIME. A. D. 403. 
 
SCENE I. Room in the Bishop s Palace. 
 Enter CHRYSOSTOM, PAULUS and FLAVIAN, 
 
 Chrys. \To Paulus.} To look upon thee is to 
 
 see again 
 
 My native city with its hills surrounded ; 
 The river winding through ; the long arcade, 
 With marble paved, with people dense ; the church 
 Where first I found my voice and felt the thrill 
 Of thoughts enkindled by the listening throng. 
 It is to live again the years of youth, 
 Whose memory is tender as the light 
 Of evening or the notes of distant music. 
 Where is the youth we loved to me a son, 
 To you a brother and a guide ? 
 
 Paul. You speak 
 
 Of Glaucus ? He who sometime trod 
 The treacherous ways of pleasure numbers now 
 His prayers within the hollow mountain side, 
 And makes his hermitage the haunt of thoughts 
 As high above this sensual earth as are 
 The paths of eagles over sordid dust. 
 
64 The Mouth of Gold. 
 
 Chrys. A blessed choice the company of God 
 And peace, in lieu of uproar and the strife 
 With wicked men ! Why was it not thine own ? 
 
 Paul. I sought indeed the solitude, but felt 
 An impulse such as sent Saint Christopher 
 To seek some active labor that might serve 
 His God. Not mine, like his, a giant s strength ; 
 Yet haply might I ferry o er the flood 
 Some feeble pilgrim to the promised land. 
 And therefore am I come, in hope that he 
 Who first my errant footsteps led aright 
 Will show me now the work that waits for me, 
 And teach me how I may perform it well. 
 And Flavian, who in Rome the pearl of price 
 Obtained, from Alexandrian schools resorts 
 To thee for wisdom and authority, 
 To help the triumph of the sacred cause. 
 
 Chrys. I greet you as my brethren much beloved. 
 The harvest fields are white, the laborers few : 
 From far Phoenicia, with its idol groves, 
 From barbarous Goths among the German wilds, 
 From multitudes of heathen here at home, 
 And half-instructed, faltering followers 
 Of Christ, the Macedonian message comes. 
 Oh were an apostolic zeal the mark 
 Of all who bear the name of laborers ! 
 
The Meeting. 65 
 
 Alas, the idle and the covetous 
 Encumber even our too slender ranks. 
 
 Fla. We would be taught what arguments to use 
 With unbelieving and with wayward men. 
 
 Chrys. All other arguments are weak and vain 
 Beside the logic of a holy life. 
 The eloquence of speech is mean compared 
 With that of conduct. Lo, the heavens are still 
 But they declare the glory of the Lord. 
 Even to them point not as witnesses, 
 But to the new creation wrought in Christ 
 Who sets discordant souls in harmony, 
 Fills all their faculties with holy light, 
 And lifts, above the low and changeful earth, 
 A radiant and immortal heaven of hope. 
 Not, if your gifts were miracles to still 
 The storm or raise the dead were ye so armed 
 As with consistency. For that which calms 
 The rage of passion and dissolves the spell 
 That binds the ethereal spirit in the dust 
 Doth demonstrate itself as most divine. 
 Let proud refinement, with its rhetoric, 
 Pronounce apostles and evangelists 
 Unfit for seats among philosophers, 
 And men of classic lore. A rustic sling, 
 The pebble picked from out the running brook, 
 
66 The Mouth of Gold. 
 
 In David s hand o erthrew the giant proud 
 For all his jointed mail and ponderous shield. 
 Celestial power, that nerved the stripling s arm, 
 More plain appeared because the means were 
 
 small. 
 
 And Christian truth, that in the forehead smites 
 Iniquity, proclaims itself from God 
 By reason of its very artlessness. 
 Its weakness is its strength ; its shame its glory. 
 Oppose malevolence and hate with love : 
 The deed of love shall give truth s word effect 
 That else were lost, like rain upon a rock. 
 Love is the power deific that can make 
 Of stony hearts the children of our God. 
 Spread its fine net to catch the souls astray : 
 Lest with the weapons of rebuke and scorn 
 You scare them into regions far remote, 
 Forever wandering and forever lost. 
 
 Paul. What shall we say to those who measure 
 
 faith 
 
 By rigid rules of reason, and deny 
 Whatever is broad or high beyond the range 
 Of human comprehension ? 
 
 Chrys. Say that faith 
 
 Is propped by reason, but hath wings to soar 
 Above it, as imagination hath 
 
The Meeting. 67 
 
 To leave the mathematic bounds of sense. 
 And say that he who will not worship save 
 A God whom reason comprehendeth well 
 Must idolize mere matter or mankind. 
 Only the spirit in us worshipped! 
 The Spirit infinite. 
 
 Paid. And what to those 
 
 Who call themselves f the pure and bid the guilty, 
 When once they hear the church s censure, seek 
 Her altar nevermore, though penitent ? 
 
 Chrys. Say that a sea without a wave to wash 
 The shore were less .a wonder than a soul 
 Without a sin ; that they account themselves 
 More pure than Paul who styled himself ( the chief 
 Of sinners, and forget the Master s word : 
 1 Till seven times seventy if* thy brother sin 
 And turn again repentantly, forgive. 
 But leave the lesson here. I would inquire 
 What tidings Flavian from the Orient brings ; 
 For dire disasters, flying thence, overcloud 
 And threaten us. Theophilus, whom I 
 Forgave for envy, caught in tricks of fraud, 
 Raves and invents revenge on every side, 
 Like some huge monster of the deep that, mad 
 With wounds, the water lashes into foam. 
 The monks, who in the Nitrian desert dwelt 
 
68 The Mouth of Gold. 
 
 At peace, because their leaders dared refuse 
 
 Connivance with his knavery feel his wrath ; 
 
 The charge of heresy is hotly hurled 
 
 Upon them ; fire and plunder spoil their home : 
 
 The sword pursues them into Palestine, 
 
 And to the shore where eighty men embark 
 
 In hope to find a refuge and redress 
 
 With us. Could I their piteous plea withstand* 
 
 I wrote in tears to beg Theophilus 
 
 Would take the offenders back. For answer cam< 
 
 A deputation to incriminate 
 
 The monks. In turn, they charged Theophilus 
 
 With crimes : and when I would have stayed thet 
 
 purpose 
 
 They sought the Empress and implored her help. 
 Her heart of tenderness and piety 
 Was touched. She promised ; and forthwith a court 
 Was summoned I the judge; Theophilus, 
 My brother bishop, the arraigned. Heard you 
 At home so much ? \To Flavian. 
 
 Fla. And more than this I heard : 
 The angry hierarch declares aloud 
 Constantinople shall receive him soon, 
 But not as one who meets a culprit charge ; 
 The tables shall be turned, and thou shalt stand 
 Thy trial at his judgment-seat. 
 
The Meeting. 69 
 
 Chrys, Tis well ; 
 
 I would not be his judge I fear him not 
 As mine. 
 
 Paul. Integrity is void of fear ; 
 But enemies can make the fairest life 
 Look infamous. Thine enemies are many : 
 The rich whose avarice thou hast rebuked, 
 The priests corrupt whom thou hast dared depose, 
 And one whose power the throne acknowledges. 
 
 Chrys. The pious Empress ? 
 
 Paul. Ay, her piety 
 
 Delights itself in churchly rites and gifts ; 
 Aud thus she veils her cruelty and greed. 
 As Herod hated John she hates the man 
 Whom royalty nor forms of sanctity 
 Can blind to sin. 
 
 Chrys. The words seem harsh, and yet 
 
 They match too well the deeds that late have moved 
 My sad surmise. 
 
 Paul. Heaven fend from thee all harm ! 
 
 But if affliction come, give us but leave 
 To share it with thee. 
 
 Chrys. God be with you both. 
 
SCENE II. A street. 
 
 Enter PAULUS and GLAUCUS, meeting. 
 
 Paul. What eye could recognize the Spring-time 
 
 tree 
 
 With all its wealth of leaf and song and flower 
 When Autumn ashes cover it ? And yet 
 The face emaciate in this solemn cowl 
 Brings back to memory one who sported erst 
 His colors gay, and sang with gleeful voice. 
 
 Glau. I had forgotten him. 
 
 Paid. But not thy friend ? 
 
 (*rlau. Oh no, and least of all the friend who 
 
 found 
 With me the Best of friends. 
 
 Paul. And may I know 
 
 What brings thee from thine aerie down to tread 
 The dusty level of this noisy world ? 
 
 Glau. The sounds are sifted that ascend toward 
 
 us : 
 
 The notes of common strife and grief and mirth 
 Fall heavy to the ground from which they sprung; 
 But sometimes, clear and loud as midnight bells. 
 The voices of events do call to us. 
 
The Conspiracy. Jl 
 
 And then -as angels, less of earth than AVC, 
 
 Have visited the rude abodes of men 
 
 We leave the silent solitudes, the air 
 
 And light that lave the upper realm, to mix 
 
 Once more in scenes renounced. The summons 
 
 came 
 
 To me when one I love and venerate 
 Was brought beneath the scourge of lying tongues, 
 And menaced with the forfeiture of life. 
 Our Lord Himself in sorrow s heavy hour 
 Would feel assured that faithful friends were nigh : 
 And who to Chrysostom should comfort bring 
 But we who to his holy teachings owe 
 Our comfort here and hope of heavenly life ? 
 
 Paul. A goodly company assemble now 
 Within his residence. Go we at once 
 To join our sympathy with theirs. 
 
 Glau. What course 
 
 Already hath the scheme nefarious run ? 
 
 Paul. Of many strands a cunning cord is wove, 
 To bind the faithful bishop where his work 
 And words will no more rouse the jealousy 
 Of rivals, nor the wrath of wicked men. 
 Within the dwelling of Eugraphia, 
 Whose dress indecorous had drawn the fire 
 Of censure from his lips, a conclave met 
 
72 The Month of Gold. 
 
 Of all the malcontents : the venal priests, 
 
 The hireling courtiers and the spiteful dames. 
 
 Imperial favor helped to hatch the plot 
 
 When all is ready comes Theophilus, 
 
 A train of cleric pomp attending him. 
 
 In yon Chalcedon he hath fixed his quarters : 
 
 But daily to and fro, between the town 
 
 And suburb,, swift this spider runs and spins 
 
 His web. At last within The Oak a church 
 
 So named, near by Chalcedon sits the court : 
 
 The long indictment is unrolled and read. 
 
 Oh wonderful ! The snows of Lebanon 
 
 Are blamed for blackness, and the light of heaven 
 
 Indicted for misleading men I 
 
 Glau^ What mean you ? 
 
 Paul. Of heresy, of falsehood and of fraud> 
 Of blasphemy, and gluttony and strife 
 Is he accused whose life-blood seems composed 
 Of self-denial, purity and peace ! 
 Here is the bishop s house beside the church. 
 
SCENE III. Hall in the palace of the Bishop. A 
 
 large company of ecclesiastics present and weeping. 
 
 Enter PAULUS and GLAUCUS. 
 
 Chrys. What mean ye, friends, to weep and break 
 
 my heart ? 
 
 For me to live is Christ j to die is gain. 1 
 This world is but a market-place wherein 
 We meet to buy and sell, and then go home. 
 Think not the Master will forget his church 
 Or fail to furnish helpers for her need. 
 In God, the Lord, forevermore rejoice. 
 
 {Enter deputation from Council. 
 With honors due your ranks I do salute 
 The legates of the sacerdotal Council 
 
 Messenger. {Reads, .] The Holy Synod of the Oak 
 to John : We have received charges against 
 thee of a thousand crimes ; therefore, appear and 
 answer? 
 
 Bishop Sallust. We deny that Theophilus has any 
 lawful jurisdiction in this diocese. 
 
 Bishop Serapion. He himself refused, on like 
 
74 The Mouth of Gold. 
 
 grounds, to appear at the citation of John : where 
 fore, if he is ready to correct his reading of the can 
 on, it behooves him to take the place of the accused 
 in this presence ; for ours is as legal a tribunal as 
 that which is set up at Chalcedon. 
 
 Chrys. The jurisdiction I indeed deny, 
 But will defend myself before the court, 
 If only they who are my enemies, 
 By word and deed pronounced, shall sit no more 
 Among my judges to discolor truth. 
 
 {Enter officer of the Crown. 
 
 Off. \Reads\ Hereby the Emperor orders the Bishop 
 John to obey the summons of the Holy Synod and 
 stand his trial at The Oak. ARCADIUS. 
 
 Chrys. The Emperor cannot unmake the right 
 Of the arraigned to claim a trial fair ; 
 And not for forty orders will I go, 
 Except by force, to let my honor fall 
 A prey to malice, under forms of law. 
 
 Egyptian Bishops. We have an answer ready for 
 this bold and blasphemous declaration ; The Coun 
 cil has decreed, that if the accused fail to appear he 
 shall be adjudged guilty, deposed from office and 
 committed to the Imperial power for the punishment 
 due to high treason. 
 
TJic Sentence. 75 
 
 Friends of Chrysostom. To the church ! To the 
 
 church ! 
 
 [T/iey move into the church adjoining. Chrysostom as 
 cends the pulpit and addresses the multitude who as 
 semble. 
 Chrys. The waves run high, the mighty floods are 
 
 out! 
 
 Yet fear we not ; the Rock is under us. 
 Of what should true believers be afraid ? 
 Of death ? Their Saviour lives, and they with him. 
 Of banishment ? The wide world is the Lord s. 
 Of loss of goods ? We nothing brought with us, 
 And nothing can we carry forth from life. 
 Good friends, be full of courage and of hope ! 
 Our souls no death nor distance can divide, 
 Nor can assaults Satanic shake the church. 
 Her ancient foes forgotten, while she lives 
 Her wall shall stand against the present shock 
 Unweakened, while the men that seek her harm 
 Shall perish. Mine is not an idle boast ; 
 I have the pledge of Christ his note of hand : 
 Where two or three are met am I. And this : 
 Lo, I am with you till the world shall end. 
 The Rock of Ages will resist the plots 
 And powers of hell. Exult and praise the Lord ! 
 So shall you comfort me, who, for your sake, 
 
76 The Mouth of GoUL 
 
 Would die a thousand deaths, nor count it more 
 Than duty from the shepherd to his flock. 
 
 A voice in the crowd. A more than mortal courage 
 animates him. Let us organize a guard, and, night 
 and day, defend this sacred house from the violence of 
 those who would rob the poor of their benefactor, 
 and religion of its ablest advocate and best repre 
 sentative. 
 
 All. Agreed ! Agreed ! Let us organize ! 
 
 SCENE IV. The sea-shore below the city. A multi 
 tude : among whom OLYMPIAS and THEODORA. 
 
 Theo. The sun, that seemed forever swallowed up 
 In clouds, with sudden splendor dazzles us. 
 Say, will he keep his prosperous course hence 
 forth, 
 Or soon again be lost to us unhappy ? 
 
 Olym. Alike in honor and in defamation 
 In wealth and poverty, our Chrysostom 
 Hath sung the self-same strain si Praise to God ; 
 And many a soul hath caught from him the song 
 
The Recall. 77 
 
 Unlearned before. I tremble lest on one 
 So patient and so pure, so full of love 
 And thankfulness vicissitude should try 
 Its full experiment. A jubilee 
 Awaits him now ; to-morrow mockery 
 And violence may drive him forth. My fears 
 Make discord in the anthem of my heart. 
 
 Theo. The crowd increases, and the port doth deck 
 Its dancing masts with flags and pennons bright. 
 A thousand hands a thousand torches grasp 
 That of the night will make another day. 
 The children come with garlands, and the bands 
 Are ready with their most melodious mirth. 
 Upon the topmost summit of the tower 
 The watchman gazes seaward, if afar 
 He may descry the longed-for sail. 
 
 {Enter FLAVIAN. 
 
 Fla. {To Olympias.~\ Lady, 
 
 Well met. I bore thy benefactions large 
 To those whom famine threatened, and I bring 
 A heavier load of thanks from them to thee. 
 
 Olym. Thou must consent to bear a burden still : 
 For weighty thanks are due to one who braved 
 The desert and the flood, that he might feed 
 A starving people. Gladly would we hear 
 At once the story of the expedition. 
 
78 . The Month of Gold. 
 
 Fla. Another day ; for now I thirst to know 
 The meaning of this scene. On every side 
 I ask, and get this only answer back : 
 * Our Chrysostom comes home to-night ! I left 
 A city that was sad, a church whose doors 
 Were sealed and guarded to defend the man 
 For whom the city now makes festival. 
 
 Olym. Three days within the holy house he 
 
 dwelt; 
 
 But when he heard that men in arms were sent 
 To apprehend him, forth, by secret ways, 
 He passed and gave himself into their hands. 
 By night fit darkness for dark deed they bore 
 The prisoner to the ship that o er the sea 
 Was wafted to Praenetus. Rid of him, 
 His foes with loud invectives filled the air. 
 But, as a conflagration draws the clouds, 
 Their fury wrought reaction and resistance : 
 Tumultuous debate drove peace away. 
 Nature herself gave utterance to her wrath, 
 And made the city tremble in her arms. 
 Affrighted conscience woke in many a breast, 
 And, as from Pilate s palace went of old 
 The hurried message, f Have thou nought to do 
 With that just man/ so from Eudoxia flew 
 A letter full of pleas and penitence. 
 
The Recall. 79 
 
 Come back, it said, thou holy man of God, 
 
 Whom wicked enemies have sorely wronged. 
 
 Hark to the signal ! Yes, he comes ! he comes ! 
 
 [ The ship enters the harbor. Chrysostom is received 
 with demonstrations of liveliest joy ; and a torch 
 light procession escorts him to the church^ where he 
 is made to ascend the pulpit.} 
 Chrys. What shall I say? Praise God forever- 
 more ! 
 
 I blessed Him when I went ; I bless Him now. 
 
 The winter and the summer are not same, 
 
 But both unite to fertilize the field. 
 
 The Lord bade me withdraw and brought me back : 
 
 He sent the storm and sends the welcome calm. 
 
 For both alike I bless His holy name. 
 
 Praise God in prosperous times they shall abide ; 
 
 Praise God in adverse times they shall depart. 
 
 LORD of the day and of the dark, 
 
 We glory in Thy gracious Name ; 
 No wind-blown, evanescent spark, 
 
 It burns a pure and steadfast flame. 
 
 Thy name is LOVE, resplendent still 
 
 When prosperous suns expire or glow ; 
 
 Its beams the sky of pleasure fill 
 
 And brightly tint griefs tearful bow. 
 
So The Mouth of Gold. 
 
 The silver and the sable threads 
 
 Together make life s fabric fair : 
 No perfect landscape but outspreads 
 Some sober glooms amid the glare. 
 
 Oh LOVE most fond and firm and wise ! 
 
 Lead us the way Thou choosest well. 
 Where er the changeful pathway lies 
 
 A constant joy with us shall dwell. 
 
VI. 
 PERSONS REPRESENTED. 
 
 CHRYSOSTOM, FLAVIAN, PAULUS, GLAUCUS, 
 OLYMPIAS, THEODORA. 
 
 SCENE. Constantinople and region of the Black Sea. 
 TIME. A. D. 404-407. 
 
SCENE I. The Bishop s house in Constantinople. 
 Enter CHRYSOSTOM and FLAVIAN. 
 
 Chrys. Again Herodias dances, and desires 
 The head of John. 
 
 Fla. I do not understand 
 
 What thou wouldst say. 
 
 Chrys. As if to cover up 
 
 The shame of short-lived penitence and fear, 
 Eudoxia dares with rites idolatrous 
 To challenge Heaven. Beside the church of God 
 She rears a silver statue of herself, 
 And bids the people bow and do it homage. 
 
 Fla. Thou wilt not think it duty to protest, 
 And on thy head bring down anew her wrath? 
 
 Chrys. What time the Babylonian King set up 
 A golden god in Dura, three brave men 
 Let not the seven-fold fires defeat their faith. 
 Shall we that live to-day be timorous 
 Before an irate woman, but provoke 
 With mad temerity the wrath of God ? 
 My office were a nest of nettles if, 
 For dignity and safety, I should teach 
 
84 The Mouth of Gold. 
 
 My voice to utter aught but truth, or keep 
 A treacherous silence. Nay, this haughty queen 
 Shall see her sin though fierce resentment fell 
 The hand that holds the mirror to her eyes. 
 
 Fla. Tis said that hired assassins wait and watch 
 To strike the dastard blow. 
 
 Chrys. And truly said. 
 
 The sanctity of home nor of God s house 
 Can lend protection to the man whose words 
 Are counted troublers unto Israel. 
 
 Fla. Elijah fled the rage of Jezebel ; 
 Wilt thou not, for our sake and that the cause 
 May yet receive thy service, fly the storm, 
 And in some foreign harbor furl the sails 
 That here so oft tempestuous winds have torn ? 
 
 Chrys. One only harbor may afford me peace. 
 < The servant is not greater than his lord ; 
 The Christ through warfare entered into rest, 
 And we must suffer if we will be saved. 
 I will not imitate the prophet s flight, 
 But wait till violence shall thrust me forth. 
 
 Fla. The same decree that sends my bishop hence 
 Shall give me leave to share his banishment. 
 
 Chrys. Adversity reveals the faithful friend : 
 Yet shalt thou serve me best by serving those 
 I leave as sheep amidst the howling wolves. 
 
The Letters. 85 
 
 SCENE II. Room in the house of Olympias. Olym- 
 pias reclining. A package of letters at her side. 
 
 Olym. Companions of my weary solitude, 
 Ye tell me more than on your leaves is written. 
 I look upon you and the past comes back, 
 In living pictures dark and tragical. 
 I see again that night when sacrilege 
 Our holy house invaded, and the songs 
 Of Easter-time were turned to cries of fear, 
 And the baptismal font with blood was filled ; 
 Not as when Pilate at the altar slew 
 For crime, but blood of youthful innocence.* 
 I see the white-robed throng, who with the morn 
 Should march with music forth to celebrate 
 The risen Lord and their own life renewed, 
 By force expelled; and, as a leaf-crowned oak 
 Stripped bare of foliage by a thunderbolt, 
 The church at once bereft of worshippers. 
 I stand again with all the company 
 Of those who serve with Chrysostom, to hear 
 His words of farewell and of earnest charge : 
 
86 The Month of Gold. 
 
 Cheerful the tones, but heard by heavy hearts. 
 
 So sound the fallen chieftain s rallying words 
 
 To soldiers who in grief around him wait. 
 
 Again I watch upon the shore where fades 
 
 From sight the sail for far Bithynia bound. 
 
 Again fierce conflagration turns to dust 
 
 The house of God : and we that weep the loss 
 
 Are dragged to court, as the incendiaries. 
 
 The insolent Optatus, in the place 
 
 For judgment made, accuses me in terms 
 
 Of common slander, whose rebuke should burn 
 
 Within the breast and break from out the lips 
 
 That hate me most : and he who would have helped 
 
 My weakness to sustain the blow, an exile. 
 
 Oh bitter months of persecution, pain 
 
 And grief! But ye have been my comforters, 
 
 Though oft renewing pain, epistles penned 
 
 In banishment. 
 
 Now let some fragrance steal 
 From out the store, to raise my fainting faith. 
 
 [ Takes up a letter and reads. 
 The heavenly consolation comes to me 
 As trouble calls. Who would have dreamed, my 
 
 friend, 
 
 That in the storm, begirt with fog and night, 
 My little barque should navigate at ease 
 
The Letters. 87 
 
 As if in quiet waters ? So it is. 
 I only pray thy happiness may be 
 Not less than mine. 1 
 
 Alas, a sterner storm 
 
 Drew nigh : the sentence came that banished him 
 To Cucusus, where torrid summers blaze, 
 And winters from the hills blow fiercely down, 
 And wild Isaurians devastate and kill. 
 Ah, then the wail that from our hearts arose 
 His own lament repeated. But anon 
 The wonted strain of Praise to God came back 
 To give us comfort, who in vain had sought 
 To tame the lioness who rules the state. 
 
 [ Takes a second letter. 
 Oh this from Caesarea brought a load 
 Of anguish \ for it told the woful tale 
 Of toilsome journey o er the rugged hills, 
 Beneath the blasting sun ; of sickness, want, 
 And flight from savage* men, where, in the dark, 
 Death laid his snares along the rocky slopes. 
 Yet gratitude toward God and human friends 
 Flows deep and strong through all the painful story. 
 
 \Looks at other letters. 
 And these from Cucusus. 
 
 {Reads. 
 1 Be not despondent ; 
 
88 The Mouth of Gold. 
 
 Nor exile nor imprisonment nor stripes 
 
 Are worthy to be called calamity , 
 
 But sin alone. Who injures not himself 
 
 Is safe. A little time, and all that mars 
 
 Our fair estate, shall pass away and leave 
 
 To immortality our wealth of joy. 
 
 From earthly help and earthly menacing 
 
 Look unto God, whose ways mysterious 
 
 Are ever merciful. To me, close-housed 
 
 7n wintry Cucusus, He sends the gifts 
 
 That solace and relieve adversity. 
 
 Sabiniana and Dioscurus 
 
 Have made a home for me ; and here my thoughts 
 
 Have leave to wander, though my feet are fast. 
 
 To far Phenida, Persia, Antioch, 
 
 And you that suffer in the Capital 
 
 My frequent words convey my sympathy. 
 
 Nor can the distance, nor the frowning hills 
 
 And hostile hordes deter but some, inflamed 
 
 With youthful zeal, resort to me, as one 
 
 From whom they hope to learn the way of life. 
 
 What cause for thanks ! although the best beloved 
 
 Are far away, and thronging cares do press 
 
 Their suit, sometimes, with importunity. J 
 
 Then came the short, impetuous summer heat, 
 
 Two dismal winters and the wild marauders. 
 
The Letters. 89 
 
 And then disease and tedious days and nights 
 
 And the dispersion, when in clefts and caves, 
 
 As they in ancient times of whom the world 
 
 Was all unworthy, he was forced to hide 
 
 From the Isaurians, with multitudes 
 
 Who, closely pent, feared famine and infection. 
 
 Through snow and ice, by day and night, they 
 
 reach 
 
 The tower of Arabissus, scarce alive. 
 Alas, I know not if he lives to-day; 
 And life to me amidst such misery 
 Seems sometimes but a burden hard to bear. 
 God pity my infirmity ! Again, 
 In silence, I will read this essay o er 
 Whose lofty argument unfolds the law : 
 ^No harm for them that injure not themselves? 
 
 [Enter Attendant and PAULUS. 
 Your looks report no happy news for me. 
 
 Paul. Nay, lady ; news that gives us all a pang : 
 The hounds that hunt -the deer have found again 
 His hiding-place, and drive him forth to seek 
 New covert or to die. 
 
 Olym. And can no bribe 
 
 Nor argument at our command restrain 
 These fierce barbarians ? are they so gross 
 In cruelty that they will rather kill 
 
90 The Mouth of Gold. 
 
 An innocent and helpless man than count 
 Whatever wealth we offer them his ransom ? 
 
 Paul. Indeed, I would our dealings were with 
 
 those 
 
 We call barbarians : some tenderness 
 Within their hearts might answer to our touch. 
 But fiercer, more relentless is the rage 
 That rules a woman s heart, when all the milk 
 Of natural gentleness has turned to gall, 
 Than is the violence of tribes untamed. 
 Eudoxia cannot sleep while burns the light 
 Of this pure life that shows her vanity 
 And sin. Not daring to extinguish it, 
 She would remove it where its power to draw 
 And to distress the gaze should cease : wherefore 
 She sends this order : 
 
 c Let two soldiers lead 
 The banished bishop forth to Pity us? 
 
 Olym. Where lies the place ? 
 
 Paul. Upon the empire s verge 
 
 Beneath Mount Caucasus, and on the shore 
 Where desolation looks along the sea. 
 To such a prison doth imperial wrath 
 Consign the prophet who would speak the truth. 
 
 Olym. Make haste to find what measures new 
 may move 
 
Terminus. 9* 
 
 This purpose from its bent, or by what mode 
 Some succor may be sent ere tis too late. 
 Oh that my will could break the bonds that bind 
 This feeble body down ! Then would I fly 
 To rescue him or perish at his side. 
 
 SCENE III. Church of St. Basiliscus in the province 
 of Pontus. 
 
 Enter two Soldiers. 
 
 First Sol. We ought to have heeded when he be 
 sought us to let him remain here till noon before at 
 tempting to proceed. Now we have had weary work 
 to bring him back more dead than alive. To force 
 him along was murder. 
 
 Second Sol. Have a care ! If thou accusest me of 
 murder I may feel obliged to save thee from the of 
 fence of lying, by matching deed to word. 
 
 First Sol. Be not angry; but I cannot see an in 
 offensive old man suffer without pity. 
 
 Second Sol. Pity is for women to feel. A Roman 
 soldier ought to know nothing but to obey orders. 
 
92 77/6- Mouth of Gold. 
 
 Besides, I like to give these holy people a little taste 
 of hardship. We get kicks and curses enough from 
 those in command : why not, when we have opportu 
 nity, pass some of them along to neighbors who are in 
 danger of being spoiled by indulgence ? If this 
 woe-begone prisoner dies on our hands, why, we 
 are saved the remainder of a most abominable jour 
 ney. I ll go to sleep here in the corner; and you, if 
 you choose, may devote your attentions to your charm 
 ing patient. 
 
 First Sol. [Goes to the chancel where Chrysostom 
 lies, attended by Christian women of the neighbor 
 hood.^ 
 
 Forgive, oh holy man, my partnership 
 In cruelties I could not turn aside. 
 
 Chrys. I owe thee not forgiveness, but my thanks 
 For gentleness and kindest sympathy. 
 What thanks are due the Lord, that mine should be 
 A fate so like to His who heard harsh words 
 From one who hung beside Him, but the scorn 
 Rebuked and turned to reverence and prayer 
 By one who from the other cross beheld 
 His spirit entering into Paradise. 
 Woman. [To her companions .] 
 Prepare a litter ; that, upon it laid, 
 He may be borne within some dwelling near. 
 
Terminus. 93 
 
 Chrys. Content ; the church of God hath been 
 
 my home ; 
 
 Here will I die. Last night I saw the saint 
 Whose bones beneath this altar wait the day 
 Of resurrection. As my weary load 
 Of corporal pain fell off in sleep and left 
 The spirit buoyant and unveiled, behold, 
 A spirit glorified appeared and said : 
 1 To-morrow thou shalt be with me in bliss/ 
 Kind friends, detain me not : but bring me here 
 The sacred symbols of my Saviour s death, 
 That once again with him assimilate 
 And crucified, I may be ready so 
 With him to rise and reign forevermore. 
 
 [He takes the communion. 
 Thank God for this ! Thank God for everything ! 
 
 [Dies. 
 
 First Sol. The words that oftenest left his living 
 
 lips 
 
 Seem lingering on them still. That settled smile 
 Hath in it Praise to God. Oh women, weep, 
 But not for him : weep for a world whose night 
 Hath lost its chiefest luminary. 
 
 Woman. Nay, 
 
 Within my heart a prophecy declares 
 The light, that sometime wandered midst the dark 
 
94 Tke Mouth of Gold. 
 
 And damp below, death s hand hath set on high, 
 
 A star whose beams shall shine undimmed by 
 
 years, 
 And draw the loving gaze of all the lands. 
 
 First Sol. With solemn ceremonies let us lay 
 The body to its rest beside the saint 
 Who long hath slumbered here. The time may be 
 When kings shall journey to this spot, and beg 
 The privilege to bear the dust away 
 Whose presence shall enrich the proudest shrine. 
 
 SCENE IV. OLYMPIAS house. Present OLYMPIAS, 
 THEODORA, and other deaconesses, PAULUS, FLA 
 VIAN, GLAUCUS, and other ministers and friends. 
 
 Glau. I loved him with you all, nor in my cell, 
 That shut from view the multitude of things 
 Within the earthly scene, was he forgotten 
 Who, on the earth, seemed yet a visitant 
 From heaven. I wrestled in my prayers for him. 
 But now he needs nor prayers nor sympathy 
 Save sympathy of joy ineffable. 
 
 Olym. But He who wept in grief beside the grave 
 
Laus Deo. 95 
 
 Of Lazarus, will not rebuke our tears 
 For one so brave and good, from earth and us 
 Removed. Oh, might we but have been with him 
 When through death s valley dark alone he passed ! 
 
 Fla. To me returns the ancient mystery, 
 How one who with such fervor served his God 
 Should fall beneath the scourge of sufferings 
 So keen and multiplied. 
 
 Paul. < Whom God doth love 
 
 He chastens : choicest gold doth tempt the art 
 Of the refiner and the graver most. 
 To prove the power of faith, the strong in faith 
 Must bear the weight of trials manifold, 
 That weak and unbelieving souls may see 
 And glorify celestial grace. 
 
 Theo. Whoso 
 
 Doth offer praise brings glory to our God. 
 In darksome night, as well as cheerful day 
 The song of praise our heaven-taught warbler sang. 
 
 All. Lord, teach our souls to sing that harmony : 
 Forever make us to rejoice in Thee ! 
 
96 The Month of Gqld. 
 
 THE VALLEY OF BERACHAH. 
 (n. Chron. xx.) 
 
 WHEN Judah s foes were all assembled 
 
 Within Tekoa s wilderness, 
 On pallid lips the accents trembled : 
 
 Save us, O Lord, in our distress ! 
 
 The answer came, their fears allaying, 
 * Ye shall not need to fight to-day ; 
 
 For I Myself, My power displaying, 
 Will sweep that hostile host away. 7 
 
 Forthwith, before the embattled legions, 
 A band of singers marched and sang; 
 
 And through those wild, infested regions 
 Praise to the Lord sublimely rang. 
 
 What frenzy then and dire delusion 
 
 That haughty, heathen host ran through ! 
 
 Brothers and allies, in confusion, 
 With sword and spear each other slew. 
 
 Till lo, the watchman, far off gazing, 
 Beheld an army melt as snow : 
 
 And only spoils of wealth amazing 
 And fallen forms the field to show. 
 
 In earth s wide wilderness are thronging 
 
 The ranks of evil and of care : 
 And ofttimes, sad with fear and longing, 
 
 We pour our plaints in bitter prayer. 
 
La us Deo. 97 
 
 Oh could we sing our Lord s sweet praises 
 
 Nor sin nor grief should do us harm ; 
 But as, when morn her banner raises 
 
 The wild beasts fly in strange alarm 
 
 Our fears themselves should feel a panic ; 
 
 Perplexity should loose its toils, 
 And from the fallen host Satanic 
 
 Our hands should gather happy spoils, 
 
 O THOU who art of grace the fountain, 
 
 Help us in praise to find employ, 
 Till we ascend Thy heavenly mountain, 
 
 With songs and everlasting joy ! 
 
NOTES. 
 
Page 7. * See where her statue stands, a radiant queen 
 Whose feet rest on the rising river-god, 
 OroHtes* 
 
 ALLEGORICAL STATUE or A.NTIOCH. 
 [From Conybeare and Hoivson s Life and Epistles of St. PauL % 
 
IO2 ^77*6 f Mouth of Gold. 
 
 Page 7. fifo\n>.t Syphilis, where the royal bird alighting 
 Informed Seleucus here to found his city? 
 
 According to tradition, the site of Antioch was determined by 
 the flight of an eagle, with a piece of the flesh which Seleucus 
 had offered in sacrifice. [See in Conybeare and Howson, vol. i. 
 p. 121. 
 
 Page 8. * the Vulcan crew 
 
 That underneath this soil are wont to work. 
 
 The city, some of whose characteristic physical and social 
 features are here pictured, has, during the last year, received an 
 almost finishing blow from its old enemy, the earthquakes. 
 
 Page 9 The voice of Daphne calls her votaries? 
 
 Through an arcade paved with marble the path led toward 
 Daphne, a pleasure grove five miles from the city. 
 
 " The establishment of a Greek Empire in Syria, on the death 
 of Alexander the Great, involved the introduction of Grecian 
 fable and mythology. Of all the fictions that poetry had ren 
 dered sacred and beautiful, there was none that experienced a 
 readier or more enthusiastic reception in the East than that 
 which had consecrated the fate of Daphne, and the story of 
 Apollo s love. The god and the nymph were both adopted by 
 the lively imaginations of their new votaries and 
 
 that sweet grove 
 Of Daphne by Orontes, 
 
 seemed fitter for the scene of such a tale than the cold clime of 
 Greece. Here summer was tempered in its heat by hundreds 
 
Notes. 103 
 
 of fountains ; and an impenetrable laurel shade, that extended 
 for miles, excluded the fiercer blaze of that sun whose worship 
 imparted its sacred character to the place, and made it religious. 
 The games which constituted so large a portion of the sacred 
 rites in Greece were here performed with enthusiasm and de 
 votion. Here, too, all who professed to worship were the vota 
 ries of love." \Lempriere > s Dictionary. Art. Daphne. 
 
 Page 9. Here 1 s a Christian friend? 
 
 It will be borne in mind that as the name of Christianity be 
 came popular, many entered the church who were altogether 
 wanting in the pure and self-denying spirit of the Master and his 
 first disciples. The prevalent apostasy rendered such charac 
 ters as that of Chrysostom the more noticeable and worthy of 
 honor. 
 
 Page 10. * From Port Seleucia? 
 
 The port was at the mouth of the Orontes, while Antioch 
 was a number of miles inland, but accessible by sail through the 
 windings of the river. 
 
 Page 12. The charioteer was dead. 1 
 
 The factious spirit and the sporting habit had wrought in 
 Antioch, as elsewhere, a hardness and brutality of feeling under 
 all the guise of gayety ; and not seldom the festive games ended 
 in hostile and sanguinary strife. 
 
 Page 15. Anthusa? 
 
 The mother of Chrysostom is to be ranked with MONICA, 
 the mother of Augustine, as an example of noble qualities and 
 
104 The Month of Gold. 
 
 of what such qualities in a mother may effect for her children, 
 and, through them, for the world. 
 
 Page 15. Libanius? 
 
 This man was distinguished alike for his learning and 
 teaching talent, and for his ardent championship of Paganism 
 against Christianity. Anthusa seems to have judged and 
 rightly that the faith she had inculcated on the mind of her son 
 would only be rendered the more indelible by contact with an 
 opposing faith. 
 
 Page 17* * The meek and matron robe was mine ere yet 
 The years of youth were fled? 
 
 The husband of Anthusa and father of Chrysostom was Se* 
 cundus, an officer of high rank. At the time of his death, the 
 son was just born and the mother only in her twentieth year. 
 
 Page 24. They say he deals with dialectics less 
 Than with the life? 
 
 " The Christian orators who preceded him had been ad 
 dicted to curious metaphysical disquisitions, and to fierce, ever- 
 returning controversies with Pagans, Jews, and heretics, so call 
 ed. Chrysostom was not wholly free from these defects ; yet 
 scarcely one of his predecessors so fully subordinated the sub 
 tlety of current dogmatic opinions to the interest of true piety 
 and practical morality." PanieL 
 
 Page 25. * The rising ivaz es of m^ttiny 
 
 Antioch was under the immediate rule of a Governor, who 
 was appointed by the Emperor at Constantinople. The present 
 
Notes. 105 
 
 Emperor, Theodosius the Great, had laid upon the city a tax dis 
 proportionate even to its abundant wealth. The dissatisfaction 
 was general. It might not however have led to turbulence but for 
 the action of a set of dissolute men who were habitually employed 
 as claqueurs at the theatres, and who were ready for any riotous 
 demonstration. 
 
 Page 41. And when the proud Prime Minister returned 
 
 From Antioch flushed ivith hope which he had bought 
 By bloodshed 
 
 Arcadius succeeded Theodosius, as Emperor of the East, in 
 the year 395. As he was a weak character, the ambitious 
 Prime Minister Rufinus aspired to be the power behind the 
 throne and more than the throne itself. To this end lie planned 
 a match between his daughter and the Emperor. But having 
 appointed a certain Lucian to office in Antioch, he was cha 
 grined to find that he had thereby incurred the displeasure of 
 Arcadius. To remedy which error he hastened to Antioch and, 
 upon some pretext, had Lucian arrested and put to death. But 
 so atrocious an expedient signally failed the beautiful ward 
 of the murdered man being at that moment the accepted bride 
 of the Emperor, through the cunning contrivance of the hair 
 dresser, Eutropius. 
 
 Page 44. the proud Theophilus, 
 Of Alexandria 
 
 Alexandria shared with Rome and Constantinople the honor 
 of being a capital of the Roman Empire. Its patriarch, there 
 fore, occupied a place of large power. Theophilus, the incum- 
 
IO6 The Mouth of Gold. 
 
 bent of the office at the present time, was a man of ability and 
 energy, but of selfish schemes : wont to accommodate himself to 
 circumstances, without overmuch regard for consistency or right 
 principle ; a natural enemy therefore of such a man as Joh; 
 Chrysostom. [Vide Neandet s History of the CJmrch. vol. i 
 pp. 689-692. 
 
 Page 45. Olympias who serves the church so well? 
 
 The office of deaconess was instituted in the Apostolic age, 
 and was of peculiar significance in Eastern countries, where the 
 habits of society precluded men, in great degree, from minister 
 ing to families. [Ibid. vol. i. p. 188. 
 
 Page 48. * The indolent resent our call to prayer 
 That steals an hour from sleep? 
 
 It was customary to have week-day services in the church 
 es ; but as most of the men made their business an excuse for 
 non-attendance, Chrysostom instituted a nightly service of one 
 hour. This, with the other requirements which his strict ideas 
 dictated, came into sharp collision with the easy, careless and 
 voluptuous style of things at the capital. 
 
 Page 53. This traitor Tribigild with all his Goths? 
 
 The Gothic provinces were at this time tributary to the Em 
 pire. But their Generals, Tribigild and Gainas, living at the 
 capital, became disgusted with the mercenary and oppressive 
 administration of Eutropius, and determined upon revolt, if 
 they could not otherwise secure his deposition. 
 
Notes. 107 
 
 Page 55. c Where fugitives, though tracked by justice, find 
 Security? 
 
 Like the ancient " cities of refuge," the Christian churches 
 were early recognized as inviolable asylums for all who fled to 
 them for protection. It was this right of sanctuary which Eutro- 
 pius had caused to be repealed, because it stood in the way of 
 his resentment. 
 
 Page 59. * The zeal that bade him brave the boisteroiis seas. 1 
 
 Not satisfied with the banishment of Eutropius, the Gothic 
 Generals demanded the surrender into their hands of three other 
 men who were in high office. With this demand the citizens 
 were wholly unwilling to comply. But in a noble spirit of self- 
 sacrifice the men voluntarily surrendered themselves, going into 
 the midst of the hostile camp. Chrysostom lost no time in fol 
 lowing them and pleading with the rough Generals for their safety. 
 
 Page 64. An impulse such as sent Saint Christopher 
 
 See the beautiful legend as told by Mrs. Jameson and the 
 author of the * Schonberg Cotta Family. 
 
 Page 67. When once they hear the church? s censure seek 
 Her altar nevermore, though penitent? 
 
 A sect, called Novatians, or Puritans, held that one who after 
 baptism had received censure for gross sin, ought never to be re 
 admitted to church fellowship, however he might repent and 
 hope for forgiveness with God. 
 
IOS Month of Gold. 
 
 Page 67. The monks who in the Nitrian desert dwelt? 
 
 In the north of Egypt were two parties of monks. One party, 
 residing in the Nitrian desert, accepted the doctrines of the cel 
 ebrated Origen of Alexandria. The other party, in the Scetic 
 desert, were strongly opposed to some of those doctrines. The- 
 ophilus, who had originally favored the Nitrian party, and had 
 induced some of the leading men of that order to enter his 
 service, found that they would not be subservient to his extrava 
 gant plans for spending the church revenues. Thereupon he 
 put forth an edict forbidding any one to read the works of 
 Origen. And when the monks would not obey, he instigated an 
 armed attack, whereby the cloisters were destroyed and the poor 
 monks, three hundred in number, were scattered. Eighty of 
 them fled to the vicinity of Jerusalem ; and on being driven 
 thence embarked for Constantinople to seek shelter within the 
 diocese of Chrysostom. \Perthes, pp. 159, 160. 
 
 Page 71. * Within the dwelling of Eugraphia? 
 
 She was one of three court ladies \vhom the bishop had ex 
 asperated by the faithful severity of his criticism. 
 
 Page 84. / see the white robed-throng who with the morn 
 Should march with music forth : 
 
 In the earlier ages of the Christian church, certain seasons 
 were regarded specially appropriate for the observance of the 
 ordinance of baptism ; and of these seasons Easter eve was held 
 to be the most sacred. Hence, in populous cities, multitudes, 
 amounting sometimes to thousands, were baptized on this anni 
 versary festival. The night time seems to have been chosen for 
 
Notes. 109 
 
 the rite, in order to impart to it greater solemnity, perhaps mys 
 tery. On Easter morn the newly baptized appeared clad in 
 white robes, emblematical of the new life of purity upon which 
 they had entered. [Translators note in Perthes, p. 185. 
 
 Page 93. * When kings shall journey to this spot, and beg 
 The privilege to bear the dust away 
 
 Arcadius died eight months a.ter Chrysostom. Thirty years 
 later, his son, Theodosius II. and the bishop Proclus brought 
 the remains of Chrysostom, with the greatest honors, from Asia 
 Minor to Constantinople. On the 27th of January, 438, The 
 odosius knelt down on his coffin and entreated forgiveness of the 
 sainted spirit for the injustice which his parents, and especially 
 his mother, had done him. Subsequently the bones of the now 
 canonized hero were removed to Rome, and, about two centuries 
 since, were deposited by Pope Urban VIII. in a chapel of St. 
 Peter s which still bears the name of Chrysostom. [Ibid. p. 231. 
 
 THE END. 
 
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