Page:Man Who Laughs (Estes and Lauriat 1869) v2.djvu/55

Rh other. He who does not believe a little in the devil does not believe much in God. He who believes in the sun must believe in the shadow. The devil is the night of God. What is night? The proof of day."

Ursus here extemporized a fathomless combination of philosophy and religion. Minos remained pensive, and relapsed into silence. Ursus breathed again.

A sharp onslaught now took place, Æacus, the medical delegate, who had disdainfully protected Ursus against the theologian, now suddenly turned from auxiliary into assailant. He placed his closed fist on his bundle of papers, which was large and heavy, and Ursus received this apostrophe full in the breast:—

"It is proved that crystal is sublimated ice, and that the diamond is sublimated crystal. It is averred that ice becomes crystal in a thousand years, and crystal diamond in a thousand ages. You have denied this."

"Nay," replied Ursus, with sadness. "I only said that in a thousand years ice had time to melt, and that a thousand ages were difficult to count."

The examination went on; questions and answers clashed like swords.

"You have denied that plants can talk."

"Not at all; but to do so they must grow under a gibbet."

"Do you admit that the mandragora cries?"

"No; but it sings."

"You have denied that the fourth finger of the left hand has any specific virtue."

"I only said that to sneeze to the left was a bad sign."

"You have spoken rashly and disrespectfully of the phœnix."

"Learned judge, I merely said that when he wrote that the brain of the phœnix was a delicate morsel, but