hen our greetings were over,
Probus said, continuing as it seemed a conversation just broken off,

'I did all I could to prevent it, but the voice of numbers was against
me, and of authority too, and, both together, they prevailed. You, I
believe, stood neuter, or indeed, I may suppose, knew nothing about the
difference?'

'As you suppose,' replied the elder Demetrius, 'I knew nothing of it,
but designed the work and have completed it. Here it is.' And going to
the same cabinet, again opened the doors and displayed the contents.
Probus surveyed them with a melancholy air, saying, as he did so,

'I could bear that the vessels, used for the purpose to which these are
destined, should be made of gold, or even of diamond itself, could mines
be found to furnish it, and skill to hollow it out. For, we know, the
wine which these shall hold is that which, in the way of symbol, shadows
forth the blood of Christ which, by being shed on the cross, purchased
for us this Christian truth and hope; and what should be set out with
every form of human honor, if not this?'

'I think so,' replied Demetrius; 'to that which we honor and reverence
in our hearts we must add the outward sign and testimony; especially
moreover if we would affect, in the same way that ours are, the minds of
others. Paganism understands this; and it is the pomp and magnificence
of her ceremony, the richness of the temple service, the grandeur of her
architecture, and the imposing array of her priests in their robes,
ministering at the altars or passing through the streets in gorgeous
procession, with banners, victims, garlands, and music, by which the
populace are gained and kept. That must be founded on just principles,
men say, on which the great, the learned, and the rich, above all the
State itself, are so prompt to lavish so much splendor and wealth.'

'But here is a great danger,' Probus replied. 'This, carried too far,
may convert religion into show and ostentation. Form and ceremony, and
all that is merely outward and material, may take the place of the
moral. Religion may come to be a thing apart by itself, a great act, a
tremendous and awful rite, a magnificent and imposing ceremony, instead
of what it is in itself, simply a principle of right action toward man
and toward God. This is at present just the character and position of
the Roman religion. It is a thing that is to be seen at the temples, but
nowhere else; it is a worship through sacrifices