Page:The collected works of Henrik Ibsen (Volume 5).djvu/422

386 army you would seek to make men deem you a god,—and in that I dare not assist you.

What say you, my friends, to this speech?

It assuredly shows no less effrontery than ignorance.

You seem to forget, oh truth-loving Jovian, that the Emperor Antoninus, surnamed the Pious, has been worshipped in a special temple on the Roman forum as an immortal god. And not he alone, but also his wife, Faustina, and other Emperors before and after him.

I know it, sire,—but it was not given to our forefathers to live in the light of truth.

[With a long look at him.] Ah, Jovian!

Tell me,—last evening, when I was taking the omens for the coming night, you brought me a message just as I was laving the blood from my hands in the water of purification

Yes, my Emperor!

In my haste, I chanced to sprinkle a few drops of the water on your cloak. You shrank sharply backward and shook the water off, as if your cloak had been defiled.