What function does it serve to cut a man in five pieces? None. Save that it is the difference between banality and bewilderment. One blow kills. Four make a miracle. With Scipio thus in five pieces, most people would not look for an ordinary slayer. The Eastern Empire these days is a credulous place. It doesn’t take much to get people shouting "sorcery"—and if you wanted to hide an ordinary sort of murder, you could do worse than blame a ghost.