M1NUCIUS FELIX. 453 refreshour limbs,and thattheyieldingsand might sinkdown under our easy footstepswith excessivepleasure; Crecilius, observingan image of Serapis,raisedhishand to hismouth, as is the custom of the superstitiouscommon people,and presseda kisson itwith hislips. CHAPTER III. Argument. — Octavius,displeasedat the actof thissupersti tionsman, sharplyreproachesMinucius,on the ground thatthedisgraceof thiswickeddeed isreflectednot lesson himself,as Caciliushost,than on Cacilius. Then Octavius said: " It is not the part of a good man, my brotherMarcus, so to deserta man who abidesby your sideathome and abroad,inthisblindnessof vulgarignorance, as thatyou shouldsufferhim in such broad daylightas this to givehimselfup to stones,however theymay be carved into images,anointedand crowned ; sinceyou know that the dis grace of thishis errorredounds in no lessdegree to your discreditthan to his own." With thisdiscourseof his we passed overthe distancebetween the cityand the sea,and we were now walking on the broad and open shore. There the gently ripplingwave was smoothing the outsidesands,as if itwould levelthem fora promenade ; and as theseaisalways restless,even when the winds are lulled,itcame up on the shore,althoughnot with waves crestedand foaming,yet with waves crispedand curling. Just then we were excessively delightedat itsvagaries,as on thevery thresholdof thewater we were wetting the solesof our feet,and itnow by turns approachingbroke upon our feet,and now the wave retiring and retracingitscourse,sucked itselfback into itself.And thus,slowlyand quietlygoing along,we tracked the coastof the gently bending shore,beguilingthe way with stories. These storieswere relatedby Octavius,who was discoursing on navigation. But when we had occupied a sufficiently reasonabletime of our walk with discourse,retracingthe same