“This decree,” he cried, turning towards Titus Claudius, "condemns the Nazarenes, because they regard the gods of the populace as unreal--as mere idols of the fancy. Well! And is it the right or the duty of the State, to take under its control any such matters of personal conviction? Where would you draw the line, ye assembled Fathers? Do you not perceive, that you are throwing away the last fragments of our liberties, if you assent to this law? What? You will kill the Nazarenes? Then you are equally bound to crush all, who refuse to acknowledge the love passages of Mars and Rhea Silvia as facts! And again I say, where do you draw the line? How far does the duty of a staunch citizen extend? Must an Athenian, for instance, give due guarantee, that he accepts the historical reality of Leda’s eggs? Is he required to believe in Danae’s golden shower, in Sisyphus[28] and his tormenting labor with the marble mass that forever rolls downwards? Nay, noble Fathers! Nothing like this has ever yet been heard of in Rome. Never yet has the State ventured to put forward any article of faith as a test and standard, and require every Roman citizen to be persuaded of its truth or lose his rights and privileges. What is the meaning of our old, beautiful and truly Latin word '_religio_?'[29] Nothing more than the holy dread, the heartfelt reverence of man before a higher power; but what that higher something may be, it contains no indication. It is left to each individual, to conceive of an idea which may satisfy his own soul and intellect. The measure now before you will drag this religion from the depths of men’s souls into the public street, as it were, in defiance of the original deep-felt sense of the word, and of the spirit of our traditions and customs; it will create a State-religion, and condemn every man’s opinions to wear at least the same livery. Assembled Fathers! Such a decree as this means ossification--spiritual ossification--of the age we live in, and for this, if for no other reason, it should be thrown out!" He paused; a dull, uneasy silence filled the room. The senators sat in consternation at the unheard-of audacity of the man, who could dare to defy Caesar’s omnipotence with such disinterested liberality. “He is uttering his own death-warrant,” whispered Sextus Furius. Gradually a low murmur arose and swelled by degrees. “Have you done?” asked the President, seeing that Cornelius Cinna gave no sign of resuming his seat.