Page:Ben-Hur a tale of the Christ.djvu/256

Rh &quot;Name him, name him!&quot; they demanded.

&quot;I will,&quot; he said, the next lull. &quot;He who to the perfection of Rome hath added the perfection of the East; who to the arm of conquest, which is Western, hath also the art needful to the enjoyment of dominion, which is Eastern.&quot;

&quot;Perpol! His best is a Roman, after all,&quot; some one shouted; and there was a great laugh, and long clapping of hands—an admission that Messala had the advantage.

&quot;In the East,&quot; he continued, &quot;we have no gods, only Wine, Women, and Fortune, and the greatest of them is Fortune; wherefore our motto, ’Who dareth what I dare?’—fit for the senate, fit for battle, fittest for him who, seeking the best, challenges the worst.&quot;

His voice dropped into an easy, familiar tone, but with out relaxing the ascendency he had gained.

&quot;In the great chest up in the citadel I have five talents coin current in the markets, and here are the receipts for them.&quot;

From his tunic he drew a roll of paper, and, flinging it on the table, continued, amidst breathless silence, every eye having him in view fixed on his, every ear listening:

&quot;The sum lies there the measure of what I dare. Who of you dares so much? You are silent. Is it too great? I will strike off one talent. What! still silent? Come, then, throw me once for these three talents—only three; for two; for one—one at least—one for the honor of the river by which you were born—Rome East against Rome West!—Orontes the barbarous against Tiber the sacred!&quot; He rattled the dice overhead while waiting.

&quot;The Orontes against the Tiber!&quot; he repeated, with an increase of scornful emphasis.

Not a man moved; then he flung the box upon the table, and, laughing, took up the receipts.

&quot;Ha, ha, ha! By the Olympian Jove, I know now ye have fortunes to make or to mend; therefore are ye come to Antioch. Ho, Cecilius!&quot;

&quot;Here, Messala!&quot; cried a man behind him; &quot;here am I, perishing in the mob, and begging a drachma to settle with