The Silver Chalice [antikvár]

PROLOGUE --he richest man in Antiocil, by common report, was Ignatius, the dealer in olive oil. He had groves that extended as far as the eye could see in every direction and he lived in a marble palace on the Colonnade. He had been born in the same Pisidian village as Theron, who supported his family by selling ink and pens made of the split ends of reed. Theron found it hard to support his family in a one-room lodging a quite considerable distance away from the Colonnade. One day in the heat of summer, when no one ventured out to engage in trade, least of all to buy pens, the great man came on foot to the hole in the wall where Theron sat with his unwanted wares. The latter could not be convinced at first that he was being paid this great honor and was slow in returning the salutation, "Peace be with you." The oil merchant, gasping for breath and slightly purple of cheek, stepped inside to escape the sun, which was beadng down on the street with all the fury of the fires of atonement. Making room for himself beside his one-time friend, be went directly to the object of his visit. "Theron, you have three sons. I have none." Theron nodded. He realized that he was singularly blessed in the possession of three sons who had survived the hazards of childhood. "Is my memory to be lost through lack of children?" asked Ignatius, his voice rising to an unhappy pitch. "Is my spirit to wander after death with no one to come back to, as a moth flies to the flame?" The awe Theron had felt at the start was giving place to the ease of old acquaintance. After all, had not he and this corpulent merchant been raised in houses of equal size? Had they not stolen fruit together and fished in the same stream? "It is perhaps your thought to adopt a son," said the seller of pens. "My old friend," said Ignatius, "if you are willing, I shall buy one of your sons and adopt him as my own. He shall have as much love as though he came from my own loins. When the time comes for me to die, he shall inherit everything I possess." Theron's heart gave an exultant tug, although he did not allow any of