Julian.
Did not Libanius remain the man he was, whether he took the affirmative in a disputation, or the negative? This lies deeper. Here it is action that must be faced. "Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's." In Athens I once made a game of that;—but it is no game. You cannot grasp it, you, who have never been under the power of the god-man. It is more than a doctrine he has spread over the world; it is an enchantment, that binds the soul in chains. He who has once been under it,—I believe he can never quite shake it off.
Maximus.
Because you do not wholly <g>will</g>.
Julian.
How can I <g>will</g> the impossible?
Maximus.
Is it worth while to <g>will</g> what is possible?
Julian.
Word-froth from the lecture-halls! You can no longer cram my mind with that. And yet
oh no, no, Maximus! But you cannot understand how it is with us. We are like vines transplanted into a new, strange soil; transplant us back again, and we die; yet in the new soil we cannot thrive.Maximus.
We? Whom do you call we?
Julian.
All who are under the terror of the revelation.