Sallust.
I conjure you, my lord,—have done with these noxious dreams. Come with me; come up to the light of day!
The Voice.
[Nearer, underneath.] All my labour is vain.
Julian.
[Speaking down the passage to the right.] No sign, my brother?
The Voice.
Desolation and emptiness.
Julian.
Oh, Maximus!
Sallust.
Maximus!
Julian.
Go, I tell you! If I leave this house of corruption, it will be as Emperor.
Sallust.
I implore you; what seek you here in the darkness?
Julian.
Light. Go, go!
Sallust.
If Caesar loiters, I fear he will find the way barred against him.
[He goes by the passage on the left. A
little while afterwards, Maximus the
Mystic ascends the steps; he wears a
white sacrificial fillet round his brow;
in his hand is a long, bloody knife.
