The Kingdom of the Wicked (36 page)

       Matthias got up from the grass, spitting out an olive pit first, and spoke thus:

       'Father Peter, as I must call him, and brothers in the faith I put the matter plainly. We followers of the Lord Jesus, blessed be his name, came to his teaching not as a new thing but as the fulfilment of a very old thing. His coming was foretold by the prophets, his lineage is of the House of David, his messiahship came as a salvation to the Jewish people. If I may put it simply — the Jews first, the Gentiles after. This sums up the mission of our brother Paul, who first enters the synagogue of any town he visits, addressing Jews who may or may not accept the word, but also those Gentile Godfearers, as they are called, who, in his experience, have been quicker than the Jews to follow and absorb the new teaching. Now a Gentile who follows Christ follows also the law which preceded Christ. He is bound to the law of Moses. He is bound to the acceptance of circumcision, to the abhorrence of unclean food, to the avoidance of fornication and the forbidden degrees of marriage —’

       Peter cut in here, saying: 'You mean he must conform as a Jew before he can conform as a Nazarene. I sense in Matthias's words a certain rebuke of myself as the one who baptized the Roman centurion Cornelius into the faith without demanding that he change his eating habits or have his foreskin cut. But we have no ordinance which compels the baptized Gentile to accept the laws of Jewry. That must be made clear. The faith is for all. Foreskin-cutting does not come into it.'

       A priest of low rank stood up to say: 'I am not yet a follower of Christ, though I — and many of my brothers here present — am inclined to his way. Indeed, we Pharisees, who accept the resurrection of the body, are halfway there. But you cannot expect us, who call ourselves Jews and, though ready for the act of baptism, must always call ourselves such, to accept the modes of the Gentiles. More, you cannot even expect us to mingle with Gentiles and call them our brothers, since, according to our prior beliefs, they are an unclean people.'

       Peter cried out angrily at that, having that vision to support him: 'Nothing that God has created can be called unclean. That too must be made clear. Jesus Christ enjoins brotherhood on all who follow him. Circumcision and food laws do not come into it. Brothers, listen.' For there were some belligerent mutterings going on there on the Mount of Olives, an olive being, as you may know, an emblem of peace. 'Listen, I tell you.' They listened, most of them. 'A good while away God made choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. And God, who knows the hearts of men, gave the Gentiles the Holy Spirit, even as he did to us. And he made no distinction between us and them, cleansing their hearts by faith. Now why do you make a trial of God, that you should try to put a yoke on the necks of Christ's disciples which neither our fathers nor ourselves were able to bear? What we believe is this: that we shall all be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus — Jew and Gentile alike.'

       There were more murmurings and one or two shouts from the back. Another man in priest's robes got up, older than the other, and spoke reasonably. He said: 'We get reports of the evangelizing work of the man whom we remember as Saul, and of the others. We hear that the Gentile converts to your faith, not yet mine, regard themselves as a special and privileged people who follow their own laws, or the lack of them. They shout out about being saved by the Lord Jesus, who has cleansed them of all sin, past, present and to come. So they can behave as they wish, jumping into bed with their mothers and grandmothers and nieces and daughters, nephews and sons too for all we know. Outside any decent law, do you follow me? Love one another, and we all know what that can mean. Only the Jewish faith lays down what you may and may not do. Eat a bit of pork and you'll end up eating dogshit and saying how good it is with a little mustard. Fornicate freely and you'll start buggering sheep. What I'm saying is this: this story of universal love and everlasting life isn't enough. People have to behave. People have to have clean genitals and not carry the muck of the towns and the sand of the desert inside their prepuces. Nazarenes have to be Jews first. I propose that that be laid down as a fundamental law.' And he sat again on the grass, applauded by many. James the Little, who no longer needed the distinguishing sobriquet, James the only James, James stood and said:

       'Brothers, listen. We know that long centuries ago God went first to the Gentiles, looking among them for a people who would follow his law. He found the Jews instead, but he said that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord, and, and now I quote sacred scripture, "all the Gentiles upon whom my name is called". What I conclude from this is that we stop troubling the Gentiles about these matters, but that we write letters to our new churches in Asia, telling them not to worship idols, not to commit fornication, not to bugger and sodomize, not to eat food that's been strangled and contains blood. Will not this serve our need? Compromise is always to be followed. And that compromise weds the word of Moses to the word of Christ.'

       'They have to be circumcised,' somebody shouted, and others took up the cry. Peter, angry, yelled:

       'Is the spread of our faith wholly to be tied to — What's the word, John Mark?'

       'Coition. The organs of generation.'

       'What I say is that a good deal of the work of our men in the Asian provinces is spent fighting goddesses who stand for —’

       'Coition.'

       'Coition. People fornicating around and getting blessed by a goddess for doing it. In those places of the Gentiles you could say that the big enemy is the female genitals. And here in Jerusalem some of you people are making the genitals of men into a kind of rod forbidding entry into the Lord's congregation. What we're supposed to be concerned with is the soul and love and salvation. You make all that of less importance than having a piece of skin snipped off your —’

       'Organ of generation.'

       'Organ of generation.'

       But the demand for Nazarene Gentile circumcision went on. 'We'll mention it in a letter,' James called. Somehow he had not thought that the spread of the faith and its organization would entail the writing of letters. Christ had never written any. None of them were letterwriters. Paul was different, of course. He represented the new way. On his brief visit to Caesarea with the famine relief money he had been writing letters all day long. They had never had anything in writing before.

       Marcus Julius Tranquillus received a letter, a note rather, telling him to watch his step and signed Quidam amicus. He had destroyed the note on receiving it, but he sat now in the diningroom of the little rented house on the Janiculum brooding about it. He was not watching his step. He was taking action. Tonight he had an appointment. Why night? Narcissus, the Greek freedman, had said night and he had his reasons. The trouble was that it was dangerous to have enemies at night. During the day you could avoid them. Night was different.

       Sara was clearing the table after their evening meal, and Julius's brother-in-law Caleb sat at the table trying to force a white grape into the mouth of little Ruth, who resented being weaned and spat out solidities. But she sucked the scant juice of the grape.

       'Time for her bed,' Sara told her brother, taking the child.

       'I must get work,' Caleb said. 'Get married. Set up a family of my own.'

       'If by that,' Sara said, 'you mean you've outstayed your welcome here —’

       'No. Just restless. And whatever the work is, it won't be my real work.'

       'Killing the Romans. Not very complimentary to your Roman brother-in-law.'

       'Oh,' Caleb said, 'Julius thinks as I do. The Roman Empire is a great sham. Foul with corruption and yet it thinks it has this mission to clean up the world. I don't want to kill Romans. Not ordinary ones. They're just human beings. The Roman state is something else.'

       'Julius gets paid by the Roman state,' Sara said, rocking the baby in her arms. 'But thank Jupiter or somebody he's no longer serving the wife of the Roman state.'

       'I didn't know that,' Caleb said. 'When did that happen?’

       ‘Eh? What? When did what happen?'

       'He wasn't listening,' Sara said. 'He was brooding about being removed from the beauteous company of the divine Messalina.'

       'I have to go out,' Julius said.

       'Tonight? Why?'

       'I have to go to the Palatine.'

       'Walk? It's a long way.'

       'Only a mile or so. Downhill. Something to do with being given a new commission perhaps.'

       'And yet you look gloomy. I do honestly believe,' Sara said, 'that you miss the divine Messalina.'

       'Don't tease me,' Julius said. 'I never felt safe. And don't use words like divine. There ought to be an opposite to that word, but I don't know what it is.'

       'There's an opposite in Hebrew,' Caleb said.

       'She gave off a kind of — I don't know how to describe it.’

       ‘She looked like ice,' Sara said.

       'You've never seen ice.'

       'I've seen her. Admittedly only from a distance. Beautiful like ice.’

       ‘No ice there, I can tell you. Sizzling imperial smiles. When she — Never mind.'

       'When she what?' Caleb asked.

       'When she asked for discretion. That was her big word. But now I have to be indiscreet. Caleb — I mean, Metellus — We have to be discreet there, don't we? There's something — Never mind.'

       'The Jews are coming back to Rome,' Caleb said. 'The Romans can't do without us. The synagogues will be opening up soon. With Roman troops outside to stop riots.'

       When Sara took little Ruth to her cradle in the main bedroom, Julius said: 'What I wanted to say was — will you walk with me as far as the Palatine?'

       'Gladly. But is it —'

       'No, it's not safe. Nothing's ever safe these days. Especially at night.’

       ‘Shall I bring my —?'

       'Yes, bring that. I may be foolish, but a married man has to be — well, cautious. You'll understand that one of these days.'

       'I've learned to understand about caution.'

       He put a shine on his dagger while Sara sang little Ruth to sleep:

              'When the wolf howls

                     Feel no fear.

              Romulus and Remus

                     Dropped no tear

              When they heard the wolf's howl

                     Drawing near.

              Mamma is coming. Mamma is here.'

       Julius went first down the hill, limping still, cloaked, sword gripped under his cloak. Caleb, dressed like a Roman citizen, followed after. The Via Aurelia was empty of traffic. When they had passed the Marine Theatre three men jumped on Julius from some arbutus shrubs. Caleb ran thirty paces and was athletic with his dagger. He struck down one of the assailants. This assailant tried to crawl back to the bushes in his blood. The other two ran off. 'Not very efficient,' Caleb said. 'We'd better question this one. Looks as though it's too late, though. See that gash. At last I've killed a Roman.'

       'No need for questioning. I expected something like this.'

       Julius felt safe after passing the Palatine sentries. He was known, there was no password to utter. He stated his business and was taken a long way to a room with a desk and a lot of scrolls on it. He had to wait a while before Narcissus appeared. He told Narcissus what had happened on his way there.

       'There's no need,' Narcissus said, 'to stand stiffly to attention. You're not on parade.' He was very Greek, and he wore his curled hair long and over his ears to obscure the piercings that had accommodated earrings, badges of slavery long done. Manumission. A freedman. The Greeks were best at the higher administration. There were a lot of pierced ears on the Palatine. He was much shorter than Julius. He invited him to be seated. They sat. Narcissus said: 'You have reason to believe that you were set upon for a special reason? I mean, these were not just common footpads?'

       'I was expecting that some way would be sought of — keeping my mouth closed. If my brother-in-law had not been with me this mouth would have been closed for ever.'

       'Yes yes yes. Your brother-in-law, whoever he is, deserves well of you and, I suppose, of the state. A brave Roman of the kind we're always hearing about but rarely see.'

       'He happens to be a Jew.'

       'A Jew? Oh yes, they're coming back, aren't they? I said to Caesar that you couldn't really keep them out. A sop to senators who owed the Jews money. Well, now you must come and talk to the Emperor.'

       'I hadn't expected Julius was startled. 'What I mean is —’

       'He's only just back from Ostia. The new harbour, you know. One of his pet schemes. And tomorrow morning he's off to Neapolis. Tonight seemed the best time. Come with me.'

       Narcissus led him down many corridors and towards the imperial suite, which was guarded. The guard was being changed, though without the bark of orders. Julius knew the captain of the guard, one Flaccus. They nodded at each other. Narcissus said, as they trod carpeting, soft to Claudius's ailing feet: 'The Emperor knows you and thinks well of you. That you were wounded in the British campaign is enough to gain his affection. You have little need to be concerned about the future of your career if — well, all goes as we pray it will.'

       'Amen.'

       'What's that word?'

       'I'm sorry, sir, it just slipped out. A word I learned. From my wife. Hebrew.'

       'You know Hebrew?'

       'Not much.'

       'But some. I see, I see.' Narcissus knocked on a door and at once entered. 'I beg the Emperor's pardon,' he said, though with no tone of sincerity. The Emperor had been nursing in his lap a personable young woman whom Julius recognized as the imperial niece Agrippina. She ran out very rapidly by a side door. Claudius, somewhat embarrassed, said: