The poem
Said Myrtias (a Syrian student in Alexandria; in the reign of Augustus Constans and Augustus Constantius; in part a pagan, and in part a christian); "Fortified by theory and study, I shall not fear my passions like a coward. I shall give my body to sensual delights, to enjoyments dreamt-of, to the most daring amorous desires, to the lustful impulses of my blood, without any fear, for whenever I want -- and I shall have the will, fortified as I shall be by theory and study -- at moments of crisis I shall find again my spirit, as before, ascetic."