MINUCIUS FELIX. 503 consciousnessof your crime. But we maintainour modesty not in appearance,but in our heartwe gladlyabide by the bond of a singlemarriage; in the desireof procreating,we know eitherone wife,or none at all. We practisesharing in banquets,which are not only modest,but alsosober: for we do not indulge in entertainmentsnor prolong our feasts with wine ; but we temper our joyousnesswith gravity,with chaste discourse,and with body even more chaste— several of us unviolated; enjoy rather than make a boast of a per petual virginityof body. So far,in fact,are they from indulging in incestuousdesire,that with some even the modest intercourseof the sexescauses a blush. Neither do we at once standon the levelof the lowestof the people,if we refuseyour honours and purple robes; and we are not fastidious,ifwe allhave a discernmentof one good, but are assembled togetherwith the same quietnesswith which we live as individuals; and we are not garrulousin corners, althoughyou eitherblushor are afraidto hear us in public. And thatday by day the number of us isincreased,isnot a ground fora charge of error,but isa testimonywhich claims praise;for,in a fairmode of life,our actualnumber both continuesand abidesundiminished,and strangersincreaseit. Thus, in short,we do not distinguishour people by some smallbodilymark, as you suppose,but easilyenough by the sign of innocencyand modesty. Thus we love one another, to your regret,with a mutual love,because we do not know how to hate. Thus we call one another,to your envy, brethren,as being men born of one God and Parent, and companions in faith,and as fellow-heirsin hope. You, how ever,do not recogniseone another,and you are cruelin your mutual hatreds; nor do you acknowledge one another as brethren,unlessindeed forthe purposeof fratricide. CHAPTER XXXII. ARGuMENT. — Nor can it be said thatthe Christiansconceal what they worship becausetheyhave no templesand no