“Not a bit of it,” said Jucundus, confidently, “not a shadow of reproach; why should I reproach you? We can’t be wise all at once; I had my follies once, as you may have had yours. It’s natural you should grow more attached to things as they are,—things as they are, you know,—as time goes on. Marriage, and the preparation for marriage, sobers a man. You’ve been a little headstrong, I can’t deny, and had your fling in your own way; but ‘nuces pueris,’ as you will soon be saying yourself on a certain occasion. Your next business is to consider what kind of a marriage you propose. I suppose the Roman, but there is great room for choice even there.”

It is a proverb how different things are in theory and when reduced to practice. Agellius had thought of the end more than of the means, and had had a vision of Callista as a Christian, when the question of rites and forms would have been answered by the decision of the Church without his trouble. He was somewhat sobered by the question, though in a different way from what his uncle wished and intended.