SIMON.It is Mary,Who dwelleth in the Tower of Magdala.THE GUEST. See, how she kneels there weeping, and her tears Fall on his feet; and her long, golden hair Waves to and fro and wipes them dry again. And now she kisses them, and from a box Of alabaster is anointing them With precious ointment, filling all the house With its sweet odor!SIMON, aside,Oh, this man, forsooth,Were he indeed a Prophet, would have knownWho and what manner of woman this may beThat toucheth him! would know she is a sinner!CHRISTUS. Simon, somewhat have I to say to thee.SIMON. Master, say on.CHRISTUS.A certain creditorHad once two debtors; and the one of themOwed him five hundred pence; the other, fifty.They having naught to pay withal, he franklyForgave them both. Now tell me which of themWill love him most?SIMON.He, I suppose to whomHe most forgave.CHRISTUS.Yea, thou hast rightly judged.Seest thou this woman? When thine house I entered,Thou gavest me no water for my feet,But she hath washed them with her tears, and wiped themWith her own hair. Thou gavest me no kiss;This woman hath not ceased, since I came in,To kiss my feet. My head with oil didst thouAnoint not; but this woman hath anointedMy feet with ointment. Hence I say to thee,Her sins, which have been many, are forgiven,For she loved much.THE GUESTS.Oh, who, then, is this manThat pardoneth also sins without atonement?CHRISTUS. Woman, thy faith hath saved thee! Go in peace!THE SECOND PASSOVER.IBEFORE THE GATES OF MACHAERUSMANAHEM. Welcome, O wilderness, and welcome, night And solitude, and ye swift-flying stars That drift with golden sands the barren heavens, Welcome once more! The Angels of the Wind Hasten across the desert to receive me; And sweeter than men's voices are to me The voices of these solitudes; the sound Of unseen rivulets, and the far-off cry Of bitterns in the reeds of water-pools. And lo! above me, like the Prophet's arrow Shot from the eastern window, high in air The clamorous cranes go singing through the night. O ye mysterious pilgrims of the air, Would I had wings that I might follow you!I look forth from these mountains, and behold The omnipotent and omnipresent night, Mysterious as the future and the fate That hangs o'er all men's lives! I see beneath me The desert stretching to the Dead Sea shore, And westward, faint and far away, the glimmer Of torches on Mount Olivet, announcing The rising of the Moon of Passover. Like a great cross it seems, on which suspended, With head bowed down in agony, I see A human figure! Hide, O merciful heaven, The awful apparition from my sight!And thou, Machaerus, lifting high and black Thy dreadful walls against the rising moon, Haunted by demons and by apparitions, Lilith, and Jezerhara, and Bedargon, How grim thou showest in the uncertain light, A palace and a prison, where King Herod Feasts with Herodias, while the Baptist John Fasts, and consumes his unavailing life! And in thy court-yard grows the untithed rue, Huge as the olives of Gethsemane, And ancient as the terebinth of Hebron, Coeval with the world. Would that its leaves Medicinal could purge thee of the demons That now possess thee, and the cunning fox That burrows in thy walls, contriving mischief!Music is heard from within.Angels of God! Sandalphon, thou that weavest The prayers of men into immortal garlands, And thou, Metatron, who dost gather up Their songs, and bear them to the gates of heaven, Now gather up together in your hands The prayers that fill this prison, and the songs That echo from the ceiling of this palace, And lay them side by side before God's feet!He enters the castle.IIHEROD'S BANQUET-HALLMANAHEM. Thou hast sent for me, O King, and I am here.HEROD. Who art thou?MANAHEM.Manahem, the Essenian.HEROD. I recognize thy features, but what mean These torn and faded garments? On thy road Have demons crowded thee, and rubbed against thee, And given thee weary knees? A cup of wine!MANAHEM. The Essenians drink no wine.HEROD.What wilt thou, then?MANAHEM. Nothing.HEROD.Not even a cup of water?MANAHEM.Nothing.Why hast thou sent for me?HEROD.Dost thou rememberOne day when I, a schoolboy in the streetsOf the great city, met thee on my wayTo school, and thou didst say to me: HereafterThou shalt be king?MANAHEM.Yea, I remember it.HEROD. Thinking thou didst not know me, I replied: I am of humble birth; whereat thou, smiling, Didst smite me with thy hand, and saidst again: Thou shalt be king; and let the friendly blows That Manahem hath given thee on this day Remind thee of the fickleness of fortune.MANAHEM. What more?HEROD.No more.MANAHEM.Yea, for I said to thee:It shall be well with thee if thou love justiceAnd clemency towards thy fellow-men.Hast thou done this, O King?HEROD.Go, ask my people.MANAHEM. And then, foreseeing all thy life, I added: But these thou wilt forget; and at the end Of life the Lord will punish thee.HEROD.The end!When will that come? For this I sent to thee.How long shall I still reign? Thou dost not answer!Speak! shall I reign ten years?MANAHEM.Thou shalt reign twenty,Nay, thirty years. I cannot name the end.HEROD. Thirty? I thank thee, good Essenian! This is my birthday, and a happier one Was never mine. We hold a banquet here. See, yonder are Herodias and her daughter.MANAHEM, aside. 'T is said that devils sometimes take the shape Of ministering angels, clothed with air. That they may be inhabitants of earth, And lead man to destruction. Such are these.HEROD. Knowest thou John the Baptist?MANAHEM.Yea, I know him;Who knows him not?HEROD.Know, then, this John the BaptistSaid that it was not lawful I should marryMy brother Philip's wife, and John the BaptistIs here in prison. In my father's timeMatthias Margaloth was put to deathFor tearing the golden eagle from its stationAbove the Temple Gate,—a slighter crimeThan John is guilty of. These things are warningsTo intermeddlers not to play with eagles,Living or dead. I think the EsseniansAre wiser, or more wary, are they not?MANAHEM. The Essenians do not marry.HEROD.Thou hast givenMy words a meaning foreign to my thought.MANAHEM. Let me go hence, O King!HEROD.Stay yet awhile,And see the daughter of Herodias dance.Cleopatra of Jerusalem, my mother,In her best days, was not more beautiful.Music. THE DAUGHTER OP HERODIAS dances.HEROD. Oh, what was Miriam dancing with her timbrel, Compared to this one?MANAHEM, aside.O thou Angel of Death,Dancing at funerals among the women,When men bear out the dead! The air is hotAnd stifles me! Oh for a breath of air!Bid me depart, O King!HEROD.Not yet. Come hither,Salome, thou enchantress! Ask of meWhate'er thou wilt; and even unto the halfOf all my kingdom, I will give it thee,As the Lord liveth!DAUGHTER OF HERODIAS, kneeling.Give me here the headOf John the Baptist on this silver charger!HEROD. Not that, dear child! I dare not; for the people Regard John as a prophet.DAUGHTER OF HERODIAS.Thou hast sworn it.HEROD. For mine oath's sake, then. Send unto the prison; Let him die quickly. Oh, accursed oath!MANAHEM. Bid me depart, O King!HEROD.Good Manahem,Give me thy hand. I love the Essenians.He's gone and hears me not! The guests are dumb,Awaiting the pale face, the silent witness.The lamps flare; and the curtains of the doorwaysWave to and fro as if a ghost were passing!Strengthen my heart, red wine of Ascalon!IIIUNDER THE WALLS OF MACHAERUSMANAHEM, rushing out. Away from this Palace of sin! The demons, the terrible powers Of the air, that haunt its towers And hide in its water-spouts, Deafen me with the din Of their laughter and their shouts For the crimes that are done within! Sink back into the earth, Or vanish into the air, Thou castle of despair! Let it all be but a dream Of the things of monstrous birth, Of the things that only seem! White Angel of the Moon, Onafiel! be my guide Out of this hateful place Of sin and death, nor hide In you black cloud too soon Thy pale and tranquil face!A trumpet is blown from the walls.Hark! hark! It is the breath Of the trump of doom and death, From the battlements overhead Like a burden of sorrow cast On the midnight and the blast, A wailing for the dead, That the gusts drop and uplift! O Herod, thy vengeance is swift! O Herodias, thou hast been The demon, the evil thing, That in place of Esther the Queen, In place of the lawful bride, Hast lain at night by the side Of Ahasuerus the king!The trumpet again.The Prophet of God is dead! At a drunken monarch's call, At a dancing-woman's beck, They have severed that stubborn neck And into the banquet-hall Are bearing the ghastly head!A body is thrown from the tower.A torch of red Lights the window with its glow; And a white mass as of snow Is hurled into the abyss Of the black precipice, That yawns for it below! O hand of the Most High, O hand of Adonai! Bury it, hide it away From the birds and beasts of prey, And the eyes of the homicide, More pitiless than they, As thou didst bury of yore The body of him that died On the mountain of Peor! Even now I behold a sign, A threatening of wrath divine, A watery, wandering star, Through whose streaming hair, and the white Unfolding garments of light, That trail behind it afar, The constellations shine! And the whiteness and brightness appear Like the Angel bearing the Seer By the hair of his head, in the might And rush of his vehement flight. And I listen until I hear From fathomless depths of the sky The voice of his prophecy Sounding louder and more near!Malediction! malediction! May the lightnings of heaven fall On palace and prison wall, And their desolation be As the day of fear and affliction, As the day of anguish and ire, With the burning and fuel of fire, In the Valley of the Sea!IVNICODEMUS AT NIGHTNICODEMUS. The streets are silent. The dark houses seem Like sepulchres, in which the sleepers lie Wrapped in their shrouds, and for the moment dead. The lamps are all extinguished; only one Burns steadily, and from the door its light Lies like a shining gate across the street. He waits for me. Ah, should this be at last The long-expected Christ! I see him there Sitting alone, deep-buried in his thought, As if the weight of all the world were resting Upon him, and thus bowed him down. O Rabbi, We know thou art a Teacher come from God, For no man can perform the miracles Thou dost perform, except the Lord be with him. Thou art a Prophet, sent here to proclaim The Kingdom of the Lord. Behold in me A Ruler of the Jews, who long have waited The coming of that kingdom. Tell me of it.CHRISTUS. Verily, verily I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot Behold the Kingdom of God!NICODEMUS.Be born again?How can a man be born when he is old?Say, can he enter for a second timeInto his mother's womb, and so be born?CHRISTUS. Verily I say unto thee, except A man be born of water and the spirit, He cannot enter into the Kingdom of God. For that which of the flesh is born, is flesh; And that which of the spirit is born, is spirit.NICODEMUS. We Israelites from the Primeval Man Adam Ahelion derive our bodies; Our souls are breathings of the Holy Ghost. No more than this we know, or need to know.CHRISTUS. Then marvel not, that I said unto thee Ye must be born again.NICODEMUS.The mysteryOf birth and death we cannot comprehend.CHRISTUS. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and we hear The sound thereof, but know not whence it cometh, Nor whither it goeth. So is every one Born of the spirit!NICODEMUS, aside.How can these things be?He seems to speak of some vague realm of shadows,Some unsubstantial kingdom of the air!It is not this the Jews are waiting for,Nor can this be the Christ, the Son of David,Who shall deliver us!CHRISTUS.Art thou a masterOf Israel, and knowest not these things?We speak that we do know, and testifyThat we have seen, and ye will not receiveOur witness. If I tell you earthly things,And ye believe not, how shall ye believe,If I should tell you of things heavenly?And no man hath ascended up to heaven,But he alone that first came down from heaven,Even the Son of Man which is in heaven!NICODEMUS, aside. This is a dreamer of dreams; a visionary, Whose brain is overtasked, until he deems The unseen world to be a thing substantial, And this we live in, an unreal vision! And yet his presence fascinates and fills me With wonder, and I feel myself exalted Into a higher region, and become Myself in part a dreamer of his dreams, A seer of his visions!CHRISTUS.And as MosesUplifted the serpent in the wilderness,So must the Son of Man be lifted up;That whosoever shall believe in HimShall perish not, but have eternal life.He that believes in Him is not condemned;He that believes not, is condemned already.NICODEMUS, aside. He speaketh like a Prophet of the Lord!CHRISTUS. This is the condemnation; that the light Is come into the world, and men loved darkness Rather than light, because their deeds are evil!NICODEMUS, aside. Of me he speaketh! He reproveth me, Because I come by night to question him!CHRISTUS. For every one that doeth evil deeds Hateth the light, nor cometh to the light Lest he should be reproved.NICODEMUS, aside.Alas, how trulyHe readeth what is passing in my heart!CHRISTUS. But he that doeth truth comes to the light, So that his deeds may be made manifest, That they are wrought in God.NICODEMUS.Alas! alas!VBLIND BARTIMEUSBARTIMEUS. Be not impatient, Chilion; it is pleasant To sit here in the shadow of the walls Under the palms, and hear the hum of bees, And rumor of voices passing to and fro, And drowsy bells of caravans on their way To Sidon or Damascus. This is still The City of Palms, and yet the walls thou seest Are not the old walls, not the walls where Rahab Hid the two spies, and let them down by cords Out of the window, when the gates were shut, And it was dark. Those walls were overthrown When Joshua's army shouted, and the priests Blew with their seven trumpets.CHILION.When was that?BARTIMEUS. O my sweet rose of Jericho, I know not Hundreds of years ago. And over there Beyond the river, the great prophet Elijah Was taken by a whirlwind up to heaven In chariot of fire, with fiery horses. That is the plain of Moab; and beyond it Rise the blue summits of Mount Abarim, Nebo and Pisgah and Peor, where Moses Died, whom the Lord knew face to face? and whom He buried in a valley, and no man Knows of his sepulchre unto this day.CHILION. Would thou couldst see these places, as I see them.BARTIMEUS. I have not seen a glimmer of the light Since thou wast born. I never saw thy face, And yet I seem to see it; and one day Perhaps shall see it; for there is a Prophet In Galilee, the Messiah, the Son of David, Who heals the blind, if I could only find him. I hear the sound of many feet approaching, And voices, like the murmur of a crowd! What seest thou?CHILION.A young man clad in whiteIs coming through the gateway, and a crowdOf people follow.BARTIMEUS.Can it be the Prophet!O neighbors, tell me who it is that passes?ONE OF THE CROWD. Jesus of Nazareth.BARTIMEUS, crying.O Son of David!Have mercy on me!MANY OP THE CROWD.Peace. Blind Bartimeus!Do not disturb the Master.BARTIMEUS, crying more vehemently.Son of David,Have mercy on me!ONE OF THE CROWD.See, the Master stops.Be of good comfort; rise, He calleth thee!BARTIMEUS, casting away his cloak. Chilion! good neighbors! lead me on.CHRISTUS.What wilt thouThat I should do to thee?BARTIMEUS.Good Lord! my sight—That I receive my sight!CHRISTUS.Receive thy sight!Thy faith hath made thee whole!THE CROWD.He sees again!CHRISTUS passes on, The crowd gathers round BARTIMEUS.BARTIMEUS. I see again; but sight bewilders me! Like a remembered dream, familiar things Come back to me. I see the tender sky Above me, see the trees, the city walls, And the old gateway, through whose echoing arch I groped so many years; and you, my neighbors; But know you by your friendly voices only. How beautiful the world is! and how wide! Oh, I am miles away, if I but look! Where art thou, Chilion?CHILION.Father, I am here.BARTIMEUS. Oh let me gaze upon thy face, dear child! For I have only seen thee with my hands! How beautiful thou art! I should have known thee; Thou hast her eyes whom we shall see hereafter! O God of Abraham! Elion! Adonai! Who art thyself a Father, pardon me If for a moment I have thee postponed To the affections and the thoughts of earth, Thee, and the adoration that I owe thee, When by thy power alone these darkened eyes Have been unsealed again to see thy light!VIJACOB'S WELLA SAMARITAN WOMAN. The sun is hot; and the dry east-wind blowing Fills all the air with dust. The birds are silent; Even the little fieldfares in the corn No longer twitter; only the grasshoppers Sing their incessant song of sun and summer. I wonder who those strangers were I met Going into the city? Galileans They seemed to me in speaking, when they asked The short way to the market-place. Perhaps They are fishermen from the lake; or travellers, Looking to find the inn. And here is some one Sitting beside the well; another stranger; A Galilean also by his looks. What can so many Jews be doing here Together in Samaria? Are they going Up to Jerusalem to the Passover? Our Passover is better here at Sychem, For here is Ebal; here is Gerizim, The mountain where our father Abraham Went up to offer Isaac; here the tomb Of Joseph,—for they brought his bones Egypt And buried them in this land, and it is holy.CHRISTUS. Give me to drink.SAMARITAN WOMAN.How can it be that thou,Being a Jew, askest to drink of meWhich am a woman of Samaria?You Jews despise us; have no dealings with us;Make us a byword; call us in derisionThe silly folk of Sychar. Sir, how is itThou askest drink of me?CHRISTUS.If thou hadst knownThe gift of God, and who it is that sayethGive me to drink, thou wouldst have asked of Him;He would have given thee the living water.SAMARITAN WOMAN. Sir, thou hast naught to draw with, and the well Is deep! Whence hast thou living water? Say, art thou greater than our father Jacob, Which gave this well to us, and drank thereof Himself, and all his children and his cattle?CHRISTUS. Ah, whosoever drinketh of this water Shall thirst again; but whosoever drinketh The water I shall give him shall not thirst Forevermore, for it shall be within him A well of living water, springing up Into life everlasting.SAMARITAN WOMAN.Every dayI must go to and fro, in heat and cold,And I am weary. Give me of this water,That I may thirst not, nor come here to draw.CHRISTUS. Go call thy husband, woman, and come hither.SAMARITAN WOMAN. I have no husband, Sir.CHRISTUS.Thou hast well saidI have no husband. Thou hast had five husbands;And he whom now thou hast is not thy husband.SAMARITAN WOMAN. Surely thou art a Prophet, for thou readest The hidden things of life! Our fathers worshipped Upon this mountain Gerizim; and ye say The only place in which men ought to worship Is at Jerusalem.CHRISTUS.Believe me, woman,The hour is coming, when ye neither shallUpon this mount, nor at Jerusalem,Worship the Father; for the hour is coming,And is now come, when the true worshippersShall worship the Father in spirit and in truth!The Father seeketh such to worship Him.God is a spirit; and they that worship HimMust worship Him in spirit and in truth.SAMARITAN WOMAN. Master, I know that the Messiah cometh, Which is called Christ; and he will tell us all things.CHRISTUS. I that speak unto thee am He!THE DISCIPLES, returning.Behold,The Master sitting by the well, and talkingWith a Samaritan woman! With a womanOf Sychar, the silly people, always boastingOf their Mount Ebal, and Mount Gerizim,Their Everlasting Mountain, which they thinkHigher and holier than our Mount Moriah!Why, once upon the Feast of the New Moon,When our great Sanhedrim of JerusalemHad all its watch-fires kindled on the hillsTo warn the distant villages, these peopleLighted up others to mislead the Jews,And make a mockery of their festival!See, she has left the Master; and is runningBack to the city!SAMARITAN WOMAN.Oh, come see a manWho hath told me all things that I ever did!Say, is not this the Christ?THE DISCIPLES.Lo, Master, hereIs food, that we have brought thee from the city.We pray thee eat it.CHRISTUS.I have food to eatYe know not of.THE DISCIPLES, to each other.Hath any man been here,And brought Him aught to eat, while we were gone?CHRISTUS. The food I speak of is to do the will Of Him that sent me, and to finish his work. Do ye not say, Lo! there are yet four months And cometh, harvest? I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look upon the fields, For they are white already unto harvest!VIITHE COASTS OF CAESAREA PHILIPPICHRISTUS, going up the mountain. Who do the people say I am?JOHN.Some sayThat thou art John the Baptist; some, Elias;And others Jeremiah.JAMES.Or that oneOf the old Prophets is risen again.CHRISTUS. But who say ye I am?PETER.Thou art the Christ?Thou art the Son of God!CHRISTUS.Blessed art thou,Simon Barjona! Flesh and blood hath notRevealed it unto thee, but even my Father,Which is in Heaven. And I say unto theeThat thou art Peter; and upon this rockI build my Church, and all the gates of HellShall not prevail against it. But take heedYe tell no man that I am the Christ.For I must go up to Jerusalem,And suffer many things, and be rejectedOf the Chief Priests, and of the Scribes and Elders,And must be crucified, and the third dayShall rise again!PETER.Be it far from thee, Lord!This shall not be!CHRISTUS.Get thee behind me, Satan!Thou savorest not the things that be of God,But those that be of men! If any willCome after me, let him deny himself,And daily take his cross, and follow me.For whosoever will save his life shall lose it,And whosoever will lose his life shall find it.For wherein shall a man be profitedIf he shall gain the whole world, and shall loseHimself or be a castaway?JAMES, after a long pause.Why dothThe Master lead us up into this mountain?PETER. He goeth up to pray.JOHN.See where He standethAbove us on the summit of the hill!His face shines as the sun! and all his raimentExceeding white as snow, so as no fullerOn earth can white them! He is not alone;There are two with him there; two men of eld,Their white beards blowing on the mountain air,Are talking with him.JAMES.I am sore afraid!PETER. Who and whence are they?JOHN.Moses and Elias!PETER. O Master! it is good for us to be here! If thou wilt, let us make three tabernacles; For thee one, and for Moses and Elias!JOHN. Behold a bright cloud sailing in the sun! It overshadows us. A golden mist Now hides them from us, and envelops us And all the mountains in a luminous shadow! I see no more. The nearest rocks are hidden.VOICE from the cloud. Lo! this is my beloved Son! Hear Him!PETER. It is the voice of God. He speaketh to us, As from the burning bush He spake to Moses!JOHN. The cloud-wreaths roll away. The veil is lifted; We see again. Behold! He is alone. It was a vision that our eyes beheld, And it hath vanished into the unseen.CHRISTUS, coming down from the mountain. I charge ye, tell the vision unto no one, Till the Son of Man is risen from the dead!PETER, aside. Again He speaks of it! What can it mean, This rising from the dead?JAMES.Why say the Scribe!Elias must first come?CHRISTUS.He cometh first,Restoring all things. But I say to you,That this Elias is already come.They knew him not, but have done unto himWhate'er they listed, as is written of him.PETER, aside. It is of John the Baptist He is speaking.JAMES. As we descend, see, at the mountain's foot, A crowd of people; coming, going, thronging Round the disciples, that we left behind us, Seeming impatient, that we stay so long.PETER. It is some blind man, or some paralytic That waits the Master's coming to be healed.JAMES. I see a boy, who struggles and demeans him As if an unclean spirit tormented him!A CERTAIN MAN, running forward. Lord! I beseech thee, look upon my son. He is mine only child; a lunatic, And sorely vexed; for oftentimes he falleth Into the fire and oft into the water. Wherever the dumb spirit taketh him He teareth him. He gnasheth with his teeth, And pines away. I spake to thy disciples That they should cast him out, and they could not.CHRISTUS. O faithless generation and perverse! How long shall I be with you, and suffer you? Bring thy son hither.BYSTANDERS.How the unclean spiritSeizes the boy, and tortures him with pain!He falleth to the ground and wallows, foaming!He cannot live.CHRISTUS.How long is it agoSince this came unto him?THE FATHER.Even of a child.Oh, have compassion on us, Lord, and help us,If thou canst help us.CHRISTUS.If thou canst believe.For unto him that verily believeth,All things are possible.THE FATHER.Lord, I believe!Help thou mine unbelief!CHRISTUS.Dumb and deaf spirit,Come out of him, I charge thee, and no moreEnter thou into him!The boy utters a loud cry of pain, and then lies still.BYSTANDERS.How motionlessHe lieth there. No life is left in him.His eyes are like a blind man's, that see not.The boy is dead!OTHERS.Behold! the Master stoops,And takes him by the hand, and lifts him up.He is not dead.DISCIPLES.But one word from those lips,But one touch of that hand, and he is healed!Ah, why could we not do it?THE FATHER.My poor child!Now thou art mine again. The unclean spiritShall never more torment thee! Look at me!Speak unto me! Say that thou knowest me!DISCIPLES to CHRISTUS departing. Good Master, tell us, for what reason was it We could not cast him out?CHRISTUS.Because of your unbelief!VIIITHE YOUNG RULERCHRISTUS. Two men went up into the temple to pray. The one was a self-righteous Pharisee, The other a Publican. And the Pharisee Stood and prayed thus within himself: O God, I thank thee I am not as other men, Extortioners, unjust, adulterers, Or even as this Publican. I fast Twice in the week, and also I give tithes Of all that I possess! The Publican, Standing afar off, would not lift so much Even as his eyes to heaven, but smote his breast, Saying: God be merciful to me a sinner! I tell you that this man went to his house More justified than the other. Every one That doth exalt himself shall be abased, And he that humbleth himself shall be exalted!CHILDREN, among themselves. Let us go nearer! He is telling stories! Let us go listen to them.AN OLD JEW.Children, children!What are ye doing here? Why do ye crowd us?It was such little vagabonds as youThat followed Elisha, mucking him and crying:Go up, thou bald-head! But the bears—the bearsCame out of the wood, and tare them!A MOTHER.Speak not thus!We brought them here, that He might lay his handsOn them, and bless them.CHRISTUS.Suffer little childrenTo come unto me, and forbid them not;Of such is the kingdom of heaven; and their angelsLook always on my Father's face.Takes them in his arms and blesses them.A YOUNG RULER, running.Good Master!What good thing shall I do, that I may haveEternal life?CHRISTUS.Why callest thou me good?There is none good but one, and that is God.If thou wilt enter into life eternal,Keep the commandments.YOUNG RULER.Which of them?CHRISTUS.Thou shalt notCommit adultery; thou shalt not kill;Thou shalt not steal; thou shalt not bear false witness;Honor thy father and thy mother; and loveThy neighbor as thyself.YOUNG RULER.From my youth upAll these things have I kept. What lack I yet?JOHN. With what divine compassion in his eyes The Master looks upon this eager youth, As if he loved him!CHRISTUS.Wouldst thou perfect be,Sell all thou hast, and give it to the poor,And come, take up thy cross, and follow me,And thou shalt have thy treasure in the heavens.JOHN. Behold, how sorrowful he turns away!CHRISTUS. Children! how hard it is for them that trust In riches to enter into the kingdom of God! 'T is easier for a camel to go through A needle's eye, than for the rich to enter The kingdom of God!JOHN.Ah, who then can be saved?CHRISTUS. With men this is indeed impossible, But unto God all things are possible!PETER. Behold, we have left all, and followed thee. What shall we have therefor?CHRISTUS.Eternal life.IXAT BETHANYMARTHA busy about household affairs. MARY sitting at the feet of CHRISTUS.MARTHA. She sitteth idly at the Master's feet. And troubles not herself with household cares. 'T is the old story. When a guest arrives She gives up all to be with him; while I Must be the drudge, make ready the guest-chamber, Prepare the food, set everything in order, And see that naught is wanting in the house. She shows her love by words, and I by works.MARY. O Master! when thou comest, it is always A Sabbath in the house. I cannot work; I must sit at thy feet; must see thee, hear thee! I have a feeble, wayward, doubting heart, Incapable of endurance or great thoughts, Striving for something that it cannot reach, Baffled and disappointed, wounded, hungry; And only when I hear thee am I happy, And only when I see thee am at peace! Stronger than I, and wiser, and far better In every manner, is my sister Martha. Thou seest how well she orders everything To make thee welcome; how she comes and goes, Careful and cumbered ever with much serving, While I but welcome thee with foolish words! Whene'er thou speakest to me, I am happy; When thou art silent, I am satisfied. Thy presence is enough. I ask no more. Only to be with thee, only to see thee, Sufficeth me. My heart is then at rest. I wonder I am worthy of so much.MARTHA. Lord, dost thou care not that my sister Mary Hath left me thus to wait on thee alone? I pray thee, bid her help me.CHRISTUS.Martha, Martha,Careful and troubled about many thingsArt thou, and yet one thing alone is needful!Thy sister Mary hath chosen that good part,Which never shall be taken away from her!XBORN BLINDA JEW. Who is this beggar blinking in the sun? Is it not he who used to sit and beg By the Gate Beautiful?ANOTHER.It is the same.A THIRD. It is not he, but like him, for that beggar Was blind from birth. It cannot be the same.THE BEGGAR. Yea, I am he.A JEW.How have thine eyes been opened?THE BEGGAR. A man that is called Jesus made a clay And put it on mine eyes, and said to me: Go to Siloam's Pool and wash thyself. I went and washed, and I received my sight.A JEW. Where is he?THE BEGGAR.I know not.PHARISEES.What is this crowdGathered about a beggar? What has happened?A JEW. Here is a man who hath been blind from birth, And now he sees. He says a man called Jesus Hath healed him.
SIMON.It is Mary,Who dwelleth in the Tower of Magdala.
THE GUEST. See, how she kneels there weeping, and her tears Fall on his feet; and her long, golden hair Waves to and fro and wipes them dry again. And now she kisses them, and from a box Of alabaster is anointing them With precious ointment, filling all the house With its sweet odor!
SIMON, aside,Oh, this man, forsooth,Were he indeed a Prophet, would have knownWho and what manner of woman this may beThat toucheth him! would know she is a sinner!
CHRISTUS. Simon, somewhat have I to say to thee.
SIMON. Master, say on.
CHRISTUS.A certain creditorHad once two debtors; and the one of themOwed him five hundred pence; the other, fifty.They having naught to pay withal, he franklyForgave them both. Now tell me which of themWill love him most?
SIMON.He, I suppose to whomHe most forgave.
CHRISTUS.Yea, thou hast rightly judged.Seest thou this woman? When thine house I entered,Thou gavest me no water for my feet,But she hath washed them with her tears, and wiped themWith her own hair. Thou gavest me no kiss;This woman hath not ceased, since I came in,To kiss my feet. My head with oil didst thouAnoint not; but this woman hath anointedMy feet with ointment. Hence I say to thee,Her sins, which have been many, are forgiven,For she loved much.
THE GUESTS.Oh, who, then, is this manThat pardoneth also sins without atonement?
CHRISTUS. Woman, thy faith hath saved thee! Go in peace!
MANAHEM. Welcome, O wilderness, and welcome, night And solitude, and ye swift-flying stars That drift with golden sands the barren heavens, Welcome once more! The Angels of the Wind Hasten across the desert to receive me; And sweeter than men's voices are to me The voices of these solitudes; the sound Of unseen rivulets, and the far-off cry Of bitterns in the reeds of water-pools. And lo! above me, like the Prophet's arrow Shot from the eastern window, high in air The clamorous cranes go singing through the night. O ye mysterious pilgrims of the air, Would I had wings that I might follow you!
I look forth from these mountains, and behold The omnipotent and omnipresent night, Mysterious as the future and the fate That hangs o'er all men's lives! I see beneath me The desert stretching to the Dead Sea shore, And westward, faint and far away, the glimmer Of torches on Mount Olivet, announcing The rising of the Moon of Passover. Like a great cross it seems, on which suspended, With head bowed down in agony, I see A human figure! Hide, O merciful heaven, The awful apparition from my sight!
And thou, Machaerus, lifting high and black Thy dreadful walls against the rising moon, Haunted by demons and by apparitions, Lilith, and Jezerhara, and Bedargon, How grim thou showest in the uncertain light, A palace and a prison, where King Herod Feasts with Herodias, while the Baptist John Fasts, and consumes his unavailing life! And in thy court-yard grows the untithed rue, Huge as the olives of Gethsemane, And ancient as the terebinth of Hebron, Coeval with the world. Would that its leaves Medicinal could purge thee of the demons That now possess thee, and the cunning fox That burrows in thy walls, contriving mischief!
Music is heard from within.
Angels of God! Sandalphon, thou that weavest The prayers of men into immortal garlands, And thou, Metatron, who dost gather up Their songs, and bear them to the gates of heaven, Now gather up together in your hands The prayers that fill this prison, and the songs That echo from the ceiling of this palace, And lay them side by side before God's feet!
He enters the castle.
MANAHEM. Thou hast sent for me, O King, and I am here.
HEROD. Who art thou?
MANAHEM.Manahem, the Essenian.
HEROD. I recognize thy features, but what mean These torn and faded garments? On thy road Have demons crowded thee, and rubbed against thee, And given thee weary knees? A cup of wine!
MANAHEM. The Essenians drink no wine.
HEROD.What wilt thou, then?
MANAHEM. Nothing.
HEROD.Not even a cup of water?
MANAHEM.Nothing.Why hast thou sent for me?
HEROD.Dost thou rememberOne day when I, a schoolboy in the streetsOf the great city, met thee on my wayTo school, and thou didst say to me: HereafterThou shalt be king?
MANAHEM.Yea, I remember it.
HEROD. Thinking thou didst not know me, I replied: I am of humble birth; whereat thou, smiling, Didst smite me with thy hand, and saidst again: Thou shalt be king; and let the friendly blows That Manahem hath given thee on this day Remind thee of the fickleness of fortune.
MANAHEM. What more?
HEROD.No more.
MANAHEM.Yea, for I said to thee:It shall be well with thee if thou love justiceAnd clemency towards thy fellow-men.Hast thou done this, O King?
HEROD.Go, ask my people.
MANAHEM. And then, foreseeing all thy life, I added: But these thou wilt forget; and at the end Of life the Lord will punish thee.
HEROD.The end!When will that come? For this I sent to thee.How long shall I still reign? Thou dost not answer!Speak! shall I reign ten years?
MANAHEM.Thou shalt reign twenty,Nay, thirty years. I cannot name the end.
HEROD. Thirty? I thank thee, good Essenian! This is my birthday, and a happier one Was never mine. We hold a banquet here. See, yonder are Herodias and her daughter.
MANAHEM, aside. 'T is said that devils sometimes take the shape Of ministering angels, clothed with air. That they may be inhabitants of earth, And lead man to destruction. Such are these.
HEROD. Knowest thou John the Baptist?
MANAHEM.Yea, I know him;Who knows him not?
HEROD.Know, then, this John the BaptistSaid that it was not lawful I should marryMy brother Philip's wife, and John the BaptistIs here in prison. In my father's timeMatthias Margaloth was put to deathFor tearing the golden eagle from its stationAbove the Temple Gate,—a slighter crimeThan John is guilty of. These things are warningsTo intermeddlers not to play with eagles,Living or dead. I think the EsseniansAre wiser, or more wary, are they not?
MANAHEM. The Essenians do not marry.
HEROD.Thou hast givenMy words a meaning foreign to my thought.
MANAHEM. Let me go hence, O King!
HEROD.Stay yet awhile,And see the daughter of Herodias dance.Cleopatra of Jerusalem, my mother,In her best days, was not more beautiful.
Music. THE DAUGHTER OP HERODIAS dances.
HEROD. Oh, what was Miriam dancing with her timbrel, Compared to this one?
MANAHEM, aside.O thou Angel of Death,Dancing at funerals among the women,When men bear out the dead! The air is hotAnd stifles me! Oh for a breath of air!Bid me depart, O King!
HEROD.Not yet. Come hither,Salome, thou enchantress! Ask of meWhate'er thou wilt; and even unto the halfOf all my kingdom, I will give it thee,As the Lord liveth!
DAUGHTER OF HERODIAS, kneeling.Give me here the headOf John the Baptist on this silver charger!
HEROD. Not that, dear child! I dare not; for the people Regard John as a prophet.
DAUGHTER OF HERODIAS.Thou hast sworn it.
HEROD. For mine oath's sake, then. Send unto the prison; Let him die quickly. Oh, accursed oath!
MANAHEM. Bid me depart, O King!
HEROD.Good Manahem,Give me thy hand. I love the Essenians.He's gone and hears me not! The guests are dumb,Awaiting the pale face, the silent witness.The lamps flare; and the curtains of the doorwaysWave to and fro as if a ghost were passing!Strengthen my heart, red wine of Ascalon!
MANAHEM, rushing out. Away from this Palace of sin! The demons, the terrible powers Of the air, that haunt its towers And hide in its water-spouts, Deafen me with the din Of their laughter and their shouts For the crimes that are done within! Sink back into the earth, Or vanish into the air, Thou castle of despair! Let it all be but a dream Of the things of monstrous birth, Of the things that only seem! White Angel of the Moon, Onafiel! be my guide Out of this hateful place Of sin and death, nor hide In you black cloud too soon Thy pale and tranquil face!
A trumpet is blown from the walls.
Hark! hark! It is the breath Of the trump of doom and death, From the battlements overhead Like a burden of sorrow cast On the midnight and the blast, A wailing for the dead, That the gusts drop and uplift! O Herod, thy vengeance is swift! O Herodias, thou hast been The demon, the evil thing, That in place of Esther the Queen, In place of the lawful bride, Hast lain at night by the side Of Ahasuerus the king!
The trumpet again.
The Prophet of God is dead! At a drunken monarch's call, At a dancing-woman's beck, They have severed that stubborn neck And into the banquet-hall Are bearing the ghastly head!
A body is thrown from the tower.
A torch of red Lights the window with its glow; And a white mass as of snow Is hurled into the abyss Of the black precipice, That yawns for it below! O hand of the Most High, O hand of Adonai! Bury it, hide it away From the birds and beasts of prey, And the eyes of the homicide, More pitiless than they, As thou didst bury of yore The body of him that died On the mountain of Peor! Even now I behold a sign, A threatening of wrath divine, A watery, wandering star, Through whose streaming hair, and the white Unfolding garments of light, That trail behind it afar, The constellations shine! And the whiteness and brightness appear Like the Angel bearing the Seer By the hair of his head, in the might And rush of his vehement flight. And I listen until I hear From fathomless depths of the sky The voice of his prophecy Sounding louder and more near!
Malediction! malediction! May the lightnings of heaven fall On palace and prison wall, And their desolation be As the day of fear and affliction, As the day of anguish and ire, With the burning and fuel of fire, In the Valley of the Sea!
NICODEMUS. The streets are silent. The dark houses seem Like sepulchres, in which the sleepers lie Wrapped in their shrouds, and for the moment dead. The lamps are all extinguished; only one Burns steadily, and from the door its light Lies like a shining gate across the street. He waits for me. Ah, should this be at last The long-expected Christ! I see him there Sitting alone, deep-buried in his thought, As if the weight of all the world were resting Upon him, and thus bowed him down. O Rabbi, We know thou art a Teacher come from God, For no man can perform the miracles Thou dost perform, except the Lord be with him. Thou art a Prophet, sent here to proclaim The Kingdom of the Lord. Behold in me A Ruler of the Jews, who long have waited The coming of that kingdom. Tell me of it.
CHRISTUS. Verily, verily I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot Behold the Kingdom of God!
NICODEMUS.Be born again?How can a man be born when he is old?Say, can he enter for a second timeInto his mother's womb, and so be born?
CHRISTUS. Verily I say unto thee, except A man be born of water and the spirit, He cannot enter into the Kingdom of God. For that which of the flesh is born, is flesh; And that which of the spirit is born, is spirit.
NICODEMUS. We Israelites from the Primeval Man Adam Ahelion derive our bodies; Our souls are breathings of the Holy Ghost. No more than this we know, or need to know.
CHRISTUS. Then marvel not, that I said unto thee Ye must be born again.
NICODEMUS.The mysteryOf birth and death we cannot comprehend.
CHRISTUS. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and we hear The sound thereof, but know not whence it cometh, Nor whither it goeth. So is every one Born of the spirit!
NICODEMUS, aside.How can these things be?He seems to speak of some vague realm of shadows,Some unsubstantial kingdom of the air!It is not this the Jews are waiting for,Nor can this be the Christ, the Son of David,Who shall deliver us!
CHRISTUS.Art thou a masterOf Israel, and knowest not these things?We speak that we do know, and testifyThat we have seen, and ye will not receiveOur witness. If I tell you earthly things,And ye believe not, how shall ye believe,If I should tell you of things heavenly?And no man hath ascended up to heaven,But he alone that first came down from heaven,Even the Son of Man which is in heaven!
NICODEMUS, aside. This is a dreamer of dreams; a visionary, Whose brain is overtasked, until he deems The unseen world to be a thing substantial, And this we live in, an unreal vision! And yet his presence fascinates and fills me With wonder, and I feel myself exalted Into a higher region, and become Myself in part a dreamer of his dreams, A seer of his visions!
CHRISTUS.And as MosesUplifted the serpent in the wilderness,So must the Son of Man be lifted up;That whosoever shall believe in HimShall perish not, but have eternal life.He that believes in Him is not condemned;He that believes not, is condemned already.
NICODEMUS, aside. He speaketh like a Prophet of the Lord!
CHRISTUS. This is the condemnation; that the light Is come into the world, and men loved darkness Rather than light, because their deeds are evil!
NICODEMUS, aside. Of me he speaketh! He reproveth me, Because I come by night to question him!
CHRISTUS. For every one that doeth evil deeds Hateth the light, nor cometh to the light Lest he should be reproved.
NICODEMUS, aside.Alas, how trulyHe readeth what is passing in my heart!
CHRISTUS. But he that doeth truth comes to the light, So that his deeds may be made manifest, That they are wrought in God.
NICODEMUS.Alas! alas!
BARTIMEUS. Be not impatient, Chilion; it is pleasant To sit here in the shadow of the walls Under the palms, and hear the hum of bees, And rumor of voices passing to and fro, And drowsy bells of caravans on their way To Sidon or Damascus. This is still The City of Palms, and yet the walls thou seest Are not the old walls, not the walls where Rahab Hid the two spies, and let them down by cords Out of the window, when the gates were shut, And it was dark. Those walls were overthrown When Joshua's army shouted, and the priests Blew with their seven trumpets.
CHILION.When was that?
BARTIMEUS. O my sweet rose of Jericho, I know not Hundreds of years ago. And over there Beyond the river, the great prophet Elijah Was taken by a whirlwind up to heaven In chariot of fire, with fiery horses. That is the plain of Moab; and beyond it Rise the blue summits of Mount Abarim, Nebo and Pisgah and Peor, where Moses Died, whom the Lord knew face to face? and whom He buried in a valley, and no man Knows of his sepulchre unto this day.
CHILION. Would thou couldst see these places, as I see them.
BARTIMEUS. I have not seen a glimmer of the light Since thou wast born. I never saw thy face, And yet I seem to see it; and one day Perhaps shall see it; for there is a Prophet In Galilee, the Messiah, the Son of David, Who heals the blind, if I could only find him. I hear the sound of many feet approaching, And voices, like the murmur of a crowd! What seest thou?
CHILION.A young man clad in whiteIs coming through the gateway, and a crowdOf people follow.
BARTIMEUS.Can it be the Prophet!O neighbors, tell me who it is that passes?
ONE OF THE CROWD. Jesus of Nazareth.
BARTIMEUS, crying.O Son of David!Have mercy on me!
MANY OP THE CROWD.Peace. Blind Bartimeus!Do not disturb the Master.
BARTIMEUS, crying more vehemently.Son of David,Have mercy on me!
ONE OF THE CROWD.See, the Master stops.Be of good comfort; rise, He calleth thee!
BARTIMEUS, casting away his cloak. Chilion! good neighbors! lead me on.
CHRISTUS.What wilt thouThat I should do to thee?
BARTIMEUS.Good Lord! my sight—That I receive my sight!
CHRISTUS.Receive thy sight!Thy faith hath made thee whole!
THE CROWD.He sees again!
CHRISTUS passes on, The crowd gathers round BARTIMEUS.
BARTIMEUS. I see again; but sight bewilders me! Like a remembered dream, familiar things Come back to me. I see the tender sky Above me, see the trees, the city walls, And the old gateway, through whose echoing arch I groped so many years; and you, my neighbors; But know you by your friendly voices only. How beautiful the world is! and how wide! Oh, I am miles away, if I but look! Where art thou, Chilion?
CHILION.Father, I am here.
BARTIMEUS. Oh let me gaze upon thy face, dear child! For I have only seen thee with my hands! How beautiful thou art! I should have known thee; Thou hast her eyes whom we shall see hereafter! O God of Abraham! Elion! Adonai! Who art thyself a Father, pardon me If for a moment I have thee postponed To the affections and the thoughts of earth, Thee, and the adoration that I owe thee, When by thy power alone these darkened eyes Have been unsealed again to see thy light!
A SAMARITAN WOMAN. The sun is hot; and the dry east-wind blowing Fills all the air with dust. The birds are silent; Even the little fieldfares in the corn No longer twitter; only the grasshoppers Sing their incessant song of sun and summer. I wonder who those strangers were I met Going into the city? Galileans They seemed to me in speaking, when they asked The short way to the market-place. Perhaps They are fishermen from the lake; or travellers, Looking to find the inn. And here is some one Sitting beside the well; another stranger; A Galilean also by his looks. What can so many Jews be doing here Together in Samaria? Are they going Up to Jerusalem to the Passover? Our Passover is better here at Sychem, For here is Ebal; here is Gerizim, The mountain where our father Abraham Went up to offer Isaac; here the tomb Of Joseph,—for they brought his bones Egypt And buried them in this land, and it is holy.
CHRISTUS. Give me to drink.
SAMARITAN WOMAN.How can it be that thou,Being a Jew, askest to drink of meWhich am a woman of Samaria?You Jews despise us; have no dealings with us;Make us a byword; call us in derisionThe silly folk of Sychar. Sir, how is itThou askest drink of me?
CHRISTUS.If thou hadst knownThe gift of God, and who it is that sayethGive me to drink, thou wouldst have asked of Him;He would have given thee the living water.
SAMARITAN WOMAN. Sir, thou hast naught to draw with, and the well Is deep! Whence hast thou living water? Say, art thou greater than our father Jacob, Which gave this well to us, and drank thereof Himself, and all his children and his cattle?
CHRISTUS. Ah, whosoever drinketh of this water Shall thirst again; but whosoever drinketh The water I shall give him shall not thirst Forevermore, for it shall be within him A well of living water, springing up Into life everlasting.
SAMARITAN WOMAN.Every dayI must go to and fro, in heat and cold,And I am weary. Give me of this water,That I may thirst not, nor come here to draw.
CHRISTUS. Go call thy husband, woman, and come hither.
SAMARITAN WOMAN. I have no husband, Sir.
CHRISTUS.Thou hast well saidI have no husband. Thou hast had five husbands;And he whom now thou hast is not thy husband.
SAMARITAN WOMAN. Surely thou art a Prophet, for thou readest The hidden things of life! Our fathers worshipped Upon this mountain Gerizim; and ye say The only place in which men ought to worship Is at Jerusalem.
CHRISTUS.Believe me, woman,The hour is coming, when ye neither shallUpon this mount, nor at Jerusalem,Worship the Father; for the hour is coming,And is now come, when the true worshippersShall worship the Father in spirit and in truth!The Father seeketh such to worship Him.God is a spirit; and they that worship HimMust worship Him in spirit and in truth.
SAMARITAN WOMAN. Master, I know that the Messiah cometh, Which is called Christ; and he will tell us all things.
CHRISTUS. I that speak unto thee am He!
THE DISCIPLES, returning.Behold,The Master sitting by the well, and talkingWith a Samaritan woman! With a womanOf Sychar, the silly people, always boastingOf their Mount Ebal, and Mount Gerizim,Their Everlasting Mountain, which they thinkHigher and holier than our Mount Moriah!Why, once upon the Feast of the New Moon,When our great Sanhedrim of JerusalemHad all its watch-fires kindled on the hillsTo warn the distant villages, these peopleLighted up others to mislead the Jews,And make a mockery of their festival!See, she has left the Master; and is runningBack to the city!
SAMARITAN WOMAN.Oh, come see a manWho hath told me all things that I ever did!Say, is not this the Christ?
THE DISCIPLES.Lo, Master, hereIs food, that we have brought thee from the city.We pray thee eat it.
CHRISTUS.I have food to eatYe know not of.
THE DISCIPLES, to each other.Hath any man been here,And brought Him aught to eat, while we were gone?
CHRISTUS. The food I speak of is to do the will Of Him that sent me, and to finish his work. Do ye not say, Lo! there are yet four months And cometh, harvest? I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look upon the fields, For they are white already unto harvest!
CHRISTUS, going up the mountain. Who do the people say I am?
JOHN.Some sayThat thou art John the Baptist; some, Elias;And others Jeremiah.
JAMES.Or that oneOf the old Prophets is risen again.
CHRISTUS. But who say ye I am?
PETER.Thou art the Christ?Thou art the Son of God!
CHRISTUS.Blessed art thou,Simon Barjona! Flesh and blood hath notRevealed it unto thee, but even my Father,Which is in Heaven. And I say unto theeThat thou art Peter; and upon this rockI build my Church, and all the gates of HellShall not prevail against it. But take heedYe tell no man that I am the Christ.For I must go up to Jerusalem,And suffer many things, and be rejectedOf the Chief Priests, and of the Scribes and Elders,And must be crucified, and the third dayShall rise again!
PETER.Be it far from thee, Lord!This shall not be!
CHRISTUS.Get thee behind me, Satan!Thou savorest not the things that be of God,But those that be of men! If any willCome after me, let him deny himself,And daily take his cross, and follow me.For whosoever will save his life shall lose it,And whosoever will lose his life shall find it.For wherein shall a man be profitedIf he shall gain the whole world, and shall loseHimself or be a castaway?
JAMES, after a long pause.Why dothThe Master lead us up into this mountain?
PETER. He goeth up to pray.
JOHN.See where He standethAbove us on the summit of the hill!His face shines as the sun! and all his raimentExceeding white as snow, so as no fullerOn earth can white them! He is not alone;There are two with him there; two men of eld,Their white beards blowing on the mountain air,Are talking with him.
JAMES.I am sore afraid!
PETER. Who and whence are they?
JOHN.Moses and Elias!
PETER. O Master! it is good for us to be here! If thou wilt, let us make three tabernacles; For thee one, and for Moses and Elias!
JOHN. Behold a bright cloud sailing in the sun! It overshadows us. A golden mist Now hides them from us, and envelops us And all the mountains in a luminous shadow! I see no more. The nearest rocks are hidden.
VOICE from the cloud. Lo! this is my beloved Son! Hear Him!
PETER. It is the voice of God. He speaketh to us, As from the burning bush He spake to Moses!
JOHN. The cloud-wreaths roll away. The veil is lifted; We see again. Behold! He is alone. It was a vision that our eyes beheld, And it hath vanished into the unseen.
CHRISTUS, coming down from the mountain. I charge ye, tell the vision unto no one, Till the Son of Man is risen from the dead!
PETER, aside. Again He speaks of it! What can it mean, This rising from the dead?
JAMES.Why say the Scribe!Elias must first come?
CHRISTUS.He cometh first,Restoring all things. But I say to you,That this Elias is already come.They knew him not, but have done unto himWhate'er they listed, as is written of him.
PETER, aside. It is of John the Baptist He is speaking.
JAMES. As we descend, see, at the mountain's foot, A crowd of people; coming, going, thronging Round the disciples, that we left behind us, Seeming impatient, that we stay so long.
PETER. It is some blind man, or some paralytic That waits the Master's coming to be healed.
JAMES. I see a boy, who struggles and demeans him As if an unclean spirit tormented him!
A CERTAIN MAN, running forward. Lord! I beseech thee, look upon my son. He is mine only child; a lunatic, And sorely vexed; for oftentimes he falleth Into the fire and oft into the water. Wherever the dumb spirit taketh him He teareth him. He gnasheth with his teeth, And pines away. I spake to thy disciples That they should cast him out, and they could not.
CHRISTUS. O faithless generation and perverse! How long shall I be with you, and suffer you? Bring thy son hither.
BYSTANDERS.How the unclean spiritSeizes the boy, and tortures him with pain!He falleth to the ground and wallows, foaming!He cannot live.
CHRISTUS.How long is it agoSince this came unto him?
THE FATHER.Even of a child.Oh, have compassion on us, Lord, and help us,If thou canst help us.
CHRISTUS.If thou canst believe.For unto him that verily believeth,All things are possible.
THE FATHER.Lord, I believe!Help thou mine unbelief!
CHRISTUS.Dumb and deaf spirit,Come out of him, I charge thee, and no moreEnter thou into him!
The boy utters a loud cry of pain, and then lies still.
BYSTANDERS.How motionlessHe lieth there. No life is left in him.His eyes are like a blind man's, that see not.The boy is dead!
OTHERS.Behold! the Master stoops,And takes him by the hand, and lifts him up.He is not dead.
DISCIPLES.But one word from those lips,But one touch of that hand, and he is healed!Ah, why could we not do it?
THE FATHER.My poor child!Now thou art mine again. The unclean spiritShall never more torment thee! Look at me!Speak unto me! Say that thou knowest me!
DISCIPLES to CHRISTUS departing. Good Master, tell us, for what reason was it We could not cast him out?
CHRISTUS.Because of your unbelief!
CHRISTUS. Two men went up into the temple to pray. The one was a self-righteous Pharisee, The other a Publican. And the Pharisee Stood and prayed thus within himself: O God, I thank thee I am not as other men, Extortioners, unjust, adulterers, Or even as this Publican. I fast Twice in the week, and also I give tithes Of all that I possess! The Publican, Standing afar off, would not lift so much Even as his eyes to heaven, but smote his breast, Saying: God be merciful to me a sinner! I tell you that this man went to his house More justified than the other. Every one That doth exalt himself shall be abased, And he that humbleth himself shall be exalted!
CHILDREN, among themselves. Let us go nearer! He is telling stories! Let us go listen to them.
AN OLD JEW.Children, children!What are ye doing here? Why do ye crowd us?It was such little vagabonds as youThat followed Elisha, mucking him and crying:Go up, thou bald-head! But the bears—the bearsCame out of the wood, and tare them!
A MOTHER.Speak not thus!We brought them here, that He might lay his handsOn them, and bless them.
CHRISTUS.Suffer little childrenTo come unto me, and forbid them not;Of such is the kingdom of heaven; and their angelsLook always on my Father's face.
Takes them in his arms and blesses them.
A YOUNG RULER, running.Good Master!What good thing shall I do, that I may haveEternal life?
CHRISTUS.Why callest thou me good?There is none good but one, and that is God.If thou wilt enter into life eternal,Keep the commandments.
YOUNG RULER.Which of them?
CHRISTUS.Thou shalt notCommit adultery; thou shalt not kill;Thou shalt not steal; thou shalt not bear false witness;Honor thy father and thy mother; and loveThy neighbor as thyself.
YOUNG RULER.From my youth upAll these things have I kept. What lack I yet?
JOHN. With what divine compassion in his eyes The Master looks upon this eager youth, As if he loved him!
CHRISTUS.Wouldst thou perfect be,Sell all thou hast, and give it to the poor,And come, take up thy cross, and follow me,And thou shalt have thy treasure in the heavens.
JOHN. Behold, how sorrowful he turns away!
CHRISTUS. Children! how hard it is for them that trust In riches to enter into the kingdom of God! 'T is easier for a camel to go through A needle's eye, than for the rich to enter The kingdom of God!
JOHN.Ah, who then can be saved?
CHRISTUS. With men this is indeed impossible, But unto God all things are possible!
PETER. Behold, we have left all, and followed thee. What shall we have therefor?
CHRISTUS.Eternal life.
MARTHA busy about household affairs. MARY sitting at the feet of CHRISTUS.
MARTHA. She sitteth idly at the Master's feet. And troubles not herself with household cares. 'T is the old story. When a guest arrives She gives up all to be with him; while I Must be the drudge, make ready the guest-chamber, Prepare the food, set everything in order, And see that naught is wanting in the house. She shows her love by words, and I by works.
MARY. O Master! when thou comest, it is always A Sabbath in the house. I cannot work; I must sit at thy feet; must see thee, hear thee! I have a feeble, wayward, doubting heart, Incapable of endurance or great thoughts, Striving for something that it cannot reach, Baffled and disappointed, wounded, hungry; And only when I hear thee am I happy, And only when I see thee am at peace! Stronger than I, and wiser, and far better In every manner, is my sister Martha. Thou seest how well she orders everything To make thee welcome; how she comes and goes, Careful and cumbered ever with much serving, While I but welcome thee with foolish words! Whene'er thou speakest to me, I am happy; When thou art silent, I am satisfied. Thy presence is enough. I ask no more. Only to be with thee, only to see thee, Sufficeth me. My heart is then at rest. I wonder I am worthy of so much.
MARTHA. Lord, dost thou care not that my sister Mary Hath left me thus to wait on thee alone? I pray thee, bid her help me.
CHRISTUS.Martha, Martha,Careful and troubled about many thingsArt thou, and yet one thing alone is needful!Thy sister Mary hath chosen that good part,Which never shall be taken away from her!
A JEW. Who is this beggar blinking in the sun? Is it not he who used to sit and beg By the Gate Beautiful?
ANOTHER.It is the same.
A THIRD. It is not he, but like him, for that beggar Was blind from birth. It cannot be the same.
THE BEGGAR. Yea, I am he.
A JEW.How have thine eyes been opened?
THE BEGGAR. A man that is called Jesus made a clay And put it on mine eyes, and said to me: Go to Siloam's Pool and wash thyself. I went and washed, and I received my sight.
A JEW. Where is he?
THE BEGGAR.I know not.
PHARISEES.What is this crowdGathered about a beggar? What has happened?
A JEW. Here is a man who hath been blind from birth, And now he sees. He says a man called Jesus Hath healed him.