Page:Gesta Romanorum - Swan - Wright - 1.djvu/363

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Titus was Emperor of Rome, he made a decree that the natal day of his first-born son should be held sacred; and that, whosoever violated it by any kind of labor, should be put to death. This edict being promulgated, he called Virgil (57) to him and said, "Good friend, I have established a certain law; but as offences may frequently be committed without being discovered by the ministers of justice, we desire you to frame some curious piece of art, which may reveal to us every transgressor of the law." Virgil acquiesced, and immediately commenced his operations. He constructed a magic statue, and caused it to be erected in the midst of the city. By virtue of the secret powers with