A bright spring morning shone over the ancient city of the Philistines. Here and there the white marble temples of Jupiter, and of Minerva, and of Apollo, glittered in all the beauty of their pillars, and their friezes, and their bas-reliefs. But high above the rest, and more sumptuous than all, glowed that of the god Marnas, the idol whom the inhabitants of Gaza delighted to honour. Had you stood by the great door of his temple, you might have seen a crowd of worshippers and a little company of priests offering their sacrifices, and praying that he would be pleased to prosper his own worshippers on his own day; that he would give fleetness to their horses; and that he would assist in rooting out the execrable sect of the Nazarenes and their crucified GOD from the face of the earth. The oxen were garlanded with flowers, the altars were wreathed with laurel, and the augurs were taking omens as to the success of the contest. The laurel leaves when cast into the fire gave a good omen; the chickens when fed at their troughs promised victory; and from the large size of the heart in one of the sacrificed beasts, the soothsayers drew the conclusion that the god had bid Ælius Flaccus to be of good courage. The report had spread through the city that Hilarion the wonder-worker had interested himself in the success of the Christian. Half-an-hour before midday crowds were flocking to the circus; the pagans, who were of the Red faction, wearing badges of that colour, and outnumbering their opponents, who were of the Green party, six or seven to one. They flocked in through the various doors of the circus; the officers whose duty it was marshalled the way for the more influential citizens; the poor locarii, who had come early to take the best places, sold them at the best bargain they could to the wealthier spectators; and so great was the interest in a contest, not so much between Italicus and Flaccus as between Marnas and the GOD of the Christians, that never had so brisk a trade been driven in the letting and underletting of seats as on that day. I have many times described to you the amphitheatres as they were in that age. Now I will tell you what the circus was like; and attend, or you will not understand the story.