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diff --git a/old/12821.txt b/old/12821.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..1224c2e --- /dev/null +++ b/old/12821.txt @@ -0,0 +1,14514 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Brook Kerith, by George Moore + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Brook Kerith + A Syrian story + +Author: George Moore + +Release Date: July 5, 2004 [EBook #12821] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE BROOK KERITH *** + + + + +Produced by Jonathan Ingram, Wilelmina Malliere and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team. + + + + + + + +THE BROOK KERITH + +A SYRIAN STORY + +BY GEORGE MOORE + +1916 + + + + + +A DEDICATION + + +My dear Mary Hunter. It appears that you wished to give me a book for +Christmas, but were in doubt what book to give me as I seemed to have +little taste for reading, so in your embarrassment you gave me a Bible. +It lies on my table now with the date 1898 on the fly-leaf--my constant +companion and chief literary interest for the last eighteen years. +Itself a literature, it has led me into many various literatures and +into the society of scholars. + +I owe so much to your Bible that I cannot let pass the publication of +"The Brook Kerith" without thanking you for it again. Yours always, +George Moore. + + + + +THE BROOK KERITH + + +CHAP. I. + + +It was at the end of a summer evening, long after his usual bedtime, +that Joseph, sitting on his grandmother's knee, heard her tell that Kish +having lost his asses sent Saul, his son, to seek them in the land of +the Benjamites and the land of Shalisha, whither they might have +strayed. But they were not in these lands, Son, she continued, nor in +Zulp, whither Saul went afterwards, and being then tired out with +looking for them he said to the servant: we shall do well to forget the +asses, lest my father should ask what has become of us. But the servant, +being of a mind that Kish would not care to see them without the asses, +said to young Saul: let us go up into yon city, for a great seer lives +there and he will be able to put us in the right way to come upon the +asses. But we have little in our wallet to recompense him, Saul +answered, only half a loaf and a little wine at the end of the bottle. +We have more than that, the servant replied, and opening his hand he +showed a quarter of a shekel of silver to Saul, who said: he will take +that in payment. Whereupon they walked into Arimathea, casting their +eyes about for somebody to direct them to the seer's house. And seeing +some maidens at the well, come to draw water, they asked them if the +seer had been in the city that day, and were answered that he had been +seen and would offer sacrifice that morning, as had been announced. He +must be on his way now to the high rock, one of the maidens cried after +them, and they pressed through the people till none was in front of them +but an old man walking alone, likewise in the direction of the rock; +and overtaking him they asked if he could point out the seer's house to +them, to which he answered sharply: I am the seer, and fell at once to +gazing on Saul as if he saw in him the one that had been revealed to +him. For you see, Son, seers have foresight, and the seer had been +warned overnight that the Lord would send a young man to him, so the +moment he saw Saul he knew him to be the one the Lord had promised, and +he said: thou art he whom the Lord has promised to send me for +anointment, but more than that I cannot tell thee, being on my way to +offer sacrifice, but afterwards we will eat together, and all that has +been revealed to me I will tell. You understand me, Son, the old woman +crooned, the Lord had been with Samuel beforetimes and had promised to +send the King of Israel to him for anointment, and the moment he laid +eyes on Saul he knew him to be the king; and that was why he asked him +to eat with him after sacrifice. Yes, Granny, I understand: but did the +Lord set the asses astray that Saul might follow them and come to Samuel +to be made a King? I daresay there was something like that at the bottom +of it, the old woman answered, and continued her story till her knees +ached under the boy's weight. + +The child's asleep, she said, and on the instant he awoke crying: no, +Granny, I wasn't asleep. I heard all you said and would like to be a +prophet. A prophet, Joseph, and to anoint a king? But there are no more +prophets or kings in Israel. And now, Joseph, my little prophet, 'tis +bedtime and past it. Come. I didn't say I wanted to anoint kings, he +answered, and refused to go to bed, though manifestly he could hardly +keep awake. I'll wait up for Father. + +Now what can the child want his father for at this hour? she muttered as +she went about the room, not guessing that he was angry and resentful, +that her words had wounded him deeply and that he was asking himself, in +his corner, if she thought him too stupid to be a prophet. + +I'll tell thee no more stories, she said to him, but he answered that he +did not want to hear her stories, and betwixt feelings of anger and +shame his head drooped, and he slept in his chair till the door opened +and his father's footsteps crossed the threshold. + +Now, he said to himself, Granny will tell Father that I said I'd like to +be a prophet. And feigning sleep he listened, determined to hear the +worst that could be said of him. But they did not speak about him but of +the barrels of salt fish that were to go to Beth-Shemish on the morrow; +which was their usual talk. So he slipped from his chair and bade his +father good-night. A resentful good-night it was; and his good-night to +his grandmother was still more resentful. But she found an excuse for +his rudeness, saying that his head was full of sleep--a remark that +annoyed him considerably and sent him upstairs wishing that women would +not talk about things they do not understand. I'll ask Father in the +morning why Granny laughed at me for saying I'd like to be a prophet. +But as morning seemed still a long way ahead he tried to find a reason, +but could find no better one than that prophets were usually old men. +But I shall be old in time to come and have a beard. Father has a beard +and they can't tell that I won't have a beard, and a white one too, so +why should they-- + +His senses were numbing, and he must have fallen asleep soon after, for +when he awoke it seemed to him that he had been asleep a long time, +several hours at least, so many things had happened or seemed to have +happened; but as he recovered his mind all the dream happenings melted +away, and he could remember only his mother. She had been dead four +years, but in his dream she looked as she had always looked, and had +scolded Granny for laughing at him. He tried to remember what else she +had said but her words faded out of his mind and he fell asleep again. +In this second sleep an old man rose up by his bedside and told him that +he was the prophet Samuel, who though he had been dead a thousand years +had heard him say he would like to be a prophet. But shall I be a +prophet? Joseph asked, and as Samuel did not answer he cried out as +loudly as he could: shall I? shall I? + +What ails thee, Son? he heard his grandmother calling to him, and he +answered: an old man, an old man. Ye are dreaming, she mumbled between +sleeping and waking. Go to sleep like a good boy, and don't dream any +more. I will, Granny, and don't be getting up; the bed-clothes don't +want settling. I am well tucked in, he pleaded; and fell asleep praying +that Granny had not heard him ask Samuel if he would be a prophet. + +A memory of his dream of Samuel came upon him while she dressed him, and +he hoped she had forgotten all about it; but his father mentioned at +breakfast that he had been awakened by cries. It was Joseph crying out +in his dream, Dan, disturbed thee last night: such cries, "Shall I? +Shall I?" And when I asked "What ails thee?" the only answer I got was +"An old man." + +Dan, Joseph's father, wondered why Joseph should seem so disheartened +and why he should murmur so perfunctorily that he could not remember his +dream. But if he had forgotten it, why trouble him further? If we are to +forget anything it were well that we should choose our dreams; at which +piece of incredulity his mother shook her head, being firm in the belief +that there was much sense in dreams and that they could be interpreted +to the advantage of everybody. + +Dan said: if that be so, let him tell thee his dream. But Joseph hung +his head and pushed his plate away; and seeing him so morose they left +him to his sulks and fell to talking of dreams that had come true. +Joseph had never heard them speak of anything so interesting before, and +though he suspected that they were making fun of him he could not do +else than listen, till becoming convinced suddenly that they were +talking in good earnest without intention of fooling him he began to +regret that he had said he had forgotten his dream, and rapped out: he +was the prophet Samuel. Now what are you saying, Joseph? his father +asked. Joseph would not say any more, but it pleased him to observe that +neither his father nor his granny laughed at his admission, and seeing +how interested they were in his dream he said: if you want to know all, +Samuel said he had heard me say that I'd like to be a prophet. That was +why he came back from the dead. But, Father, is it true that we are his +descendants? He said that I was. + +A most extraordinary dream, his father answered, for it has always been +held in the family that we are descended from him. Do you really mean, +Joseph, that the old man you saw in your dream told you he was Samuel +and that you were his descendant? How should I have known if he hadn't +told me? Joseph looked from one to the other and wondered why they had +kept the secret of his ancestor from him. You laughed at me yesterday, +Granny, when I said I'd like to be a prophet. Now what do you say? +Answer me that. And he continued to look from one to the other for an +answer. But neither had the wit to find an answer, so amazed were they +at the news that the prophet Samuel had visited Joseph in a dream; and +satisfied at the impression he had made and a little frightened by their +silence Joseph stole out of the room, leaving his parents to place +whatever interpretation they pleased on his dream. Nor did he care +whether they believed he had spoken the truth. He was more concerned +with himself than with them, and conscious that something of great +importance had happened to him he ascended the stairs, pausing at every +step uncertain if he should return to ask for the whole of the story of +Saul's anointment. It seemed to him to lack courtesy to return to the +room in which he had seen the prophet, till he knew these things. But he +could not return to ask questions: later he would learn what had +happened to Samuel and Saul, and he entered the room, henceforth to him +a sacred room, and stood looking through it, having all the +circumstances of his dream well in mind: he was lying on his left side +when Samuel had risen up before him, and it was there, upon that spot, +in that space he had seen Samuel. His ancestor had seemed to fade away +from the waist downwards, but his face was extraordinarily clear in the +darkness, and Joseph tried to recall it. But he could only remember it +as a face that a spirit might wear, for it was not made up of flesh but +of some glowing matter or stuff, such as glow-worms are made of; nor +could he call it ugly or beautiful, for it was not of this world. He had +drawn the bed-clothes over his head, but--impelled he knew not why, for +he was nearly dead with fright--he had poked his head out to see if the +face was still there. The lips did not move, but he had heard a voice. +The tones were not like any heard before, but he had listened to them +all the same, and if he had not lost his wits again in an excess of fear +he would have put questions to Samuel: he would have put questions if +his tongue had not been tied back somewhere in the roof of his mouth. +But the next time he would not be frightened and pull the bed-clothes +over his head. + +And convinced of his own courage he lay night after night thinking of +all the great things he would ask the old man and of the benefit he +would derive from his teaching. But Samuel did not appear again, perhaps +because the nights were so dark. Joseph was told the moon would become +full again, but sleep closed his eyes when he should have been waking, +and in the morning he was full of fear that perhaps Samuel had come and +gone away disappointed at not finding him awake. But that could not be, +for if the prophet had come he would have awakened him as he had done +before. His ancestor had not come again: a reasonable thing to suppose, +for when the dead return to the earth they do so with much pain and +difficulty; and if the living, whom they come to instruct, cannot keep +their eyes open, the poor dead wander back and do not try to come +between their descendants and their fate again. + +But I will keep awake, he said, and resorted to all sorts of devices, +keeping up a repetition of a little phrase: he will come to-night when +the moon is full; and lying with one leg hanging out of bed; and these +proving unavailing he strewed his bed with crumbs. But no ancestor +appeared, and little by little he relinquished hope of ever being able +to summon Samuel to his bedside, and accepted as an explanation of his +persistent absence that Samuel had performed his duty by coming once to +visit him and would not come again unless some new necessity should +arise. It was then that the conviction began to mount into his brain +that he must learn all that his grandmother could tell him about Saul +and David, and learning from her that they had been a great trouble to +Samuel he resolved never to allow a thought into his mind that the +prophet would deem unworthy. To become worthy of his ancestor was now +his aim, and when he heard that Samuel was the author of two sacred +books it seemed to him that his education had been neglected: for he had +not yet been taught to read. Another step in his advancement was the +discovery that the language his father, his granny and himself spoke was +not the language spoken by Samuel, and every day he pressed his +grandmother to tell him why the Jews had lost their language in Babylon, +till he exhausted the old woman's knowledge and she said: well now, Son, +if you want to hear any more about Babylon you must ask your father, for +I have told you all I know. And Joseph waited eagerly for his father to +come home, and plagued him to tell him a story. + +But after a long day spent in the counting-house his father was often +too tired to take him on his knee and instruct him, for Joseph's +curiosity was unceasing and very often wearisome. Now, Joseph, his +father said, you will learn more about these things when you are older. +And why not now? he asked, and his grandmother answered that it was +change of air that he wanted and not books; and they began to speak of +the fierce summer that had taken the health out of all of them, and of +how necessary it was for a child of that age to be sent up to the hills. + +Dan looked into his son's face, and Rachel seemed to be right. A thin, +wan little face, that the air of the hills will brighten, he said; and +he began at once to make arrangements for Joseph's departure for a hill +village, saying that the pastoral life of the hills would take his mind +off Samuel, Hebrew and Babylon. Rachel was doubtful if the shepherds +would absorb Joseph's mind as completely as his father thought. She +hoped, however, that they would. As soon as he hears the sound of the +pipe, his father answered. A prophecy this was, for while Joseph was +resting after the fatigue of the journey, he was awakened suddenly by a +sound he had never heard before, and one that interested him strangely. +His nurse told him that the sound he was hearing was a shepherd's pipe. +The shepherd plays and the flock follows, she said. And when may I see +the flock coming home with the shepherd? he asked. To-morrow evening, +she answered, and the time seemed to him to loiter, so eager was he to +see the flocks returning and to watch the she-goat milked. + +And in the spring as his strength came back he followed the shepherds +and heard from them many stories of wolves and dogs, and from a shepherd +lad, whom he had chosen as a companion, he acquired knowledge of the +plumage and the cries and the habits of birds, and whither he was to +seek their nests: it had become his ambition to possess all the wild +birds' eggs, one that was easily satisfied till he came to the egg of +the cuckoo, which he sought in vain, hearing of it often, now here, now +there, till at last he and the shepherd lad ventured into a dangerous +country in search of it and remained there till news of their absence +reached Magdala and Dan set out in great alarm with an armed escort to +recover his son. He was very angry when he came upon him, but the +trouble he had been put to and the ransom he had had to pay were very +soon forgotten, so great was his pleasure at the strong healthy boy he +brought back with him, and whose first question to Rachel was: are there +cuckoos in Magdala?--Father doesn't know. His grandmother could not tell +him, but she was willing to make inquiries, but before any news of the +egg had been gotten the hope to possess it seemed to have drifted out of +Joseph's mind and to seem even a little foolish when he looked into his +box, for many of his egg shells had been broken on the journey. See, +Granny, he said, but on second thoughts he refused to show his chipped +possessions. But thou wast once as eager to learn Hebrew, his +grandmother said, and the chance words, spoken as she left the room, +awakened his suspended interests. As soon as she returned she was beset +by questions, and the same evening his father had to promise that the +best scribe in Galilee should be engaged to teach him: a discussion +began between Dan and Rachel as to the most notable and trustworthy, and +it was followed by Joseph so eagerly that they could not help laughing; +the questions he put to them regarding the different accomplishments of +the scribes were very minute, and the phrase--But this one is a Greek +scholar, stirred his curiosity. Why should he be denied me because he +knows Greek? he asked, and his father could only answer that no one can +learn two languages at the same time. But if he knows two languages, +Joseph insisted. I cannot tell thee more, his father answered, than that +the scribe I've chosen is a great Hebrew scholar. + +He was no doubt a great scholar, but he was not the man that Joseph +wished for: thin and tall and of gentle appearance and demeanour, he did +not stir up a flame for work in Joseph, who, as soon as the novelty of +learning Hebrew had worn off, began to hide himself in the garden. His +father caught him one day sitting in a convenient bough, looking down +upon his preceptor fairly asleep on a bench; and after this adventure he +began to make a mocking stock of his preceptor, inventing all kinds of +cruelties, and his truancy became so constant that his father was forced +to choose another. This time a younger man was chosen, but he succeeded +with Joseph not very much better than the first. After the second there +came a third, and when Joseph began to complain of his ignorance his +father said: + +Well, Joseph, you said you wanted to learn Hebrew, and you have shown no +application, and three of the most learned scribes in Galilee have been +called in to teach you. + +Joseph felt the reproof bitterly, but he did not know how to answer his +father and he was grateful to his grandmother for her answer. Joseph +isn't an idle boy, Dan, but his nature is such that he cannot learn from +a man he doesn't like. Why don't ye give him Azariah as an instructor? +Has he been speaking to thee about Azariah? Dan asked. Maybe, she said, +and Dan's face clouded. + + + + +CHAP. II. + + + +We are to understand, Son, Dan said, on hearing that the fourth +preceptor whom he had engaged to teach his son Hebrew had failed to give +satisfaction, that you cannot learn from anybody but Azariah. Now, will +you tell us what there is in Azariah more than in Shimshai, Benaiah or +Zebad? and he waited for his son to speak, but as Joseph did not answer +he asked: is it because he looks more like a prophet than any of the +others? And Joseph, who still dreaded any allusion to prophets, turned +into his corner mortified. But Rachel came forward directly and taking +the child by the shoulders led him back to his father, asking Dan with a +trace of anger in her voice why he should think it strange that the +child should prefer to learn from Azariah rather than from a withered +patriarch who never could keep his eyes open but always sat dozing in +his chair like one in a dream. + +It wasn't, Granny, because he went to sleep often; I could have kept him +awake by kicking him under the table. Joseph stopped suddenly and looked +from one to the other. Why then? his father asked, and on being pressed +to say why he didn't want to learn Hebrew he said he had come to hate +Hebrew, an admission which rendered his parents speechless for a moment. +Come to hate Hebrew, they repeated one after the other till frightened +by their solemnity Joseph blurted out: you wouldn't like Hebrew if the +scholar's fleas jumped on to you the moment you began. And pulling up +his sleeves Joseph exhibited his arms. How could I learn Hebrew with +three fleas biting me and all at one time, one here, another there and a +third down yonder. He always has three or four about him. No, Father, +don't, don't ask me to learn Hebrew any more. But, Joseph, all Hebrew +scholars haven't fleas about them. An unbelieving face confronted them, +and Joseph looked as if he were uncertain whether he should laugh or +cry: but seeing that his parents liked his story he began to laugh. +We've tried several preceptors but you're hard to please, Joseph. Now +what fault did you find with--and while Dan searched his memory for the +name Joseph interjected that the little fellow whose back bulged like +Granny's chest wouldn't let him read the interesting parts of the +Scriptures but kept him always at the Psalms and the Proverbs. And he +was always telling me about Hillel, who was a good man, but good men +aren't as interesting as prophets, Joseph rapped out. And wilt thou tell +us what he told thee about these pious men? Dan asked, a smile playing +about his long thin mouth. That the law didn't matter as long as we were +virtuous, Joseph muttered, and he was always explaining the stories that +I understood quite well when Granny told them. So it was Hiram that +confirmed you in your distaste for Hebrew, Dan said, and the child stood +looking at his father, not quite sure if it would be in his interest to +accept or repudiate the suggestion. He would have refused to give a +direct answer (such is the way of children) but the servant relieved him +of his embarrassment: Azariah was at the gate asking for shelter from +the rain. + +From the rain! Dan said, rising suddenly. It is coming down very fast, +Mother, but we were so engaged in listening to Joseph that we didn't +hear it. Shall we ask him in, Joseph? The child's face lighted up. Now +isn't it strange, Rachel said, he should be here to-day? We haven't seen +him for months, and now in the middle of a talk about tutors--aren't you +going to ask him in? Of course, Dan said, and he instructed the servant +to ask the scribe to come upstairs. And now, Joseph, I hope you'll +listen to all that Azariah says, giving quiet and reasonable answers. +And not too many questions, mind! + +Joseph promised to be good and quiet and to keep himself from putting +questions. I will listen attentively, he said, and he seized on the last +chance available to his tongue to tell that he had often seen Azariah in +the lanes. He doesn't see us, he walks like one in a dream, his hair +blowing in the wind. But when he does see us he speaks very kindly ... I +think I'd like to learn Hebrew from him. Rachel laid her finger on her +lips; the door opened and Azariah advanced into the room with a long +grave Jewish stride, apologising to Dan as he came for his sudden +intrusion into their midst, mentioning the heavy rain in a graceful +phrase. Joseph, who was on the watch for everything, could see that his +father was full of respect for Azariah, and hearing him say that it was +some years since Azariah had been in his house he began to wonder if +there had been a quarrel between them; it seemed to him that his father +was a little afraid of Azariah, which was strange, for he himself did +not feel in the least afraid of Azariah but an almost uncontrollable +desire to go and sit on his knee. + +Here is my boy Joseph: and, Azariah, you will be interested to hear that +we were talking about you for the last quarter of an hour. + +Azariah raised his thick eyebrows and waited to be told how he had come +to be the subject of their talk, though he half knew the reason, for in +a village like Magdala it soon gets about that four preceptors have been +sent away unable to teach the rich man's son. He has made up his mind, +Dan said, to learn Hebrew and Greek from none but you. No, Father, I +didn't make up my mind. But I couldn't learn from the others and I told +you why. Are you sure that you can learn from me? Azariah asked. Joseph +became shy at once, but he liked to feel Azariah's friendly hand upon +his shoulder, and when Dan asked the scribe to be seated Joseph followed +him, and standing beside his chair asked him if he would teach him +Hebrew, a question Azariah did not answer. You will teach me, he +insisted, and Dan and Rachel kept silence, so that they might better +observe Joseph working round Azariah with questions; and they were +amused, for Joseph's curiosity had overcome his shyness; and, quite +forgetful of his promise to listen and not to talk, he had begun to beg +the scribe to tell him if the language they spoke had been brought back +from Babylon, and how long it was since people had ceased to speak +Hebrew. Azariah set himself to answer these questions; Joseph gave him +close attention, and when Azariah ceased speaking he said: when may I +begin my lessons? And he put the question so innocently that his father +could not help laughing. But, Joseph, he said, Azariah has not yet +promised to teach you, and I wouldn't advise him to try to teach a boy +that has refused to learn from four preceptors. But it will be different +with you, Sir, Joseph murmured, taking Azariah's hand. You will teach +me, won't you? When will you begin? + +Azariah answered that it could not be this week, for he was going to +Arimathea. The town we came from, Dan said. I am still known as Dan of +Arimathea, though I have lived here twenty years. I too shall be known +as Joseph of Arimathea, Joseph interjected. I'd like to be Joseph of +Arimathea much better than Joseph of Magdala. + +You needn't shake your head at Magdala, Dan said. Magdala has done well +for us. To which Joseph answered nothing, but it was not long, however, +before he went to his father saying that he would like to go to +Arimathea, and in charge of Azariah. + +You are asking too much, Joseph, his father answered him. No, I don't +think I am, and his honour Azariah doesn't think so, Joseph cried, for +his heart was already set upon this holiday. Azariah has perhaps +promised to teach you Hebrew. Isn't that enough? his father remarked. +Now you want him to take you to Arimathea. But if he likes to take me, +Joseph replied, and he cast such a winning glance at Azariah that the +scribe was moved to say that he would be glad to take charge of the boy +if his parents would confide him to his care. Whereupon Joseph threw his +arms about his father, but finding him somewhat indifferent he went to +his grandmother, who welcomed his embrace, and in return for it pleaded +that the boy should not be denied this small pleasure. But Dan, who only +half liked to part with his son, tried to hide his feelings from his +mother, who had guessed them already, with a joke, saying to Azariah +that he was a brave man to undertake the charge of so wayward a boy. I +shall not spoil him, and if he fails to obey he'll have to find someone +else to teach him Hebrew, Azariah answered. I think the rain is now +over, he said. Some drops were still falling but the sky was +brightening, and he returned from the window to where Joseph was +standing, and laying his hand on his head promised to come for him in +the morning. + +We shall hear no more about fleas preventing thee from study, Dan said +to his son, and very much offended Joseph withdrew to his room, and +stood looking at the spot in which he had seen Samuel, asking himself if +the prophet would appear to him in Arimathea and if it would be by the +fountain whither the maidens used to come to draw water. Samuel and the +maidens seemed to jar a little, and as he could not think of them +together he fell to thinking of the rock on which the seer used to offer +sacrifices. It was still there and somebody would be about to direct +them to it, and it would be under this rock that Azariah would read to +him all that Samuel had said to Saul. But we shall be riding all day, he +said to himself, Arimathea must be a long long way from here, and he +fled downstairs to ask his father if Azariah would call for him at the +head of a caravan, whether he would ride on a camel or a mule or a +horse: he thought he would like to ride a camel, and awoke many times in +the night, once rolling out of his bed, for in a dream the ungainly +animal had jolted him from off his hump. + +And the old woman's patience was nigh exhausted when he cried: Granny, +it is day, and bade her leave her bed and come to the window to tell him +if day were not breaking; but she answered: get thee back to thy bed, +for 'tis the moon shining down the sky, simpleton. The sun won't give +way an hour to the moon nor the moon an hour to the sun because thou'rt +going to Arimathea. And methinks, Joseph, that to some the morrow is +always better than to-day, and yesterday better than either,--a remark +that puzzled Joseph and kept him from his rest. Didst never hear, +Joseph, that it is a clever chicken that crows in the egg? the old woman +continued, and who knows but Azariah will forget to come for thee! He +won't forget, Granny, Joseph uttered in so doleful a tone that Rachel +repented and promised Joseph she would wake him in time; and as she had +never failed to keep her promise to him he allowed sleep to close his +eyelids. And once asleep he was hard to awaken. At six in the morning +sleep seemed to him better than Arimathea, but once awake Rachel could +not hand him his clothes fast enough; he escaped from her hands, +dressing himself as he ran into the lanes, and while tying his sandals +at the gate he forgot them and stood at gaze, wondering whether Azariah +would come to fetch him on a horse or an ass or a mule or a camel. + +At last the sound of hooves came through the dusk, and a moment after +some three or four camels led the way; and there were horses too and +asses and mules, and the mules were caparisoned gaily, the one reserved +for Joseph's riding more richly than the others--a tall fine animal by +which he was proud to stand, asking questions of the muleteer, while +admiring the dark docile eyes shaded with black lashes. Now why do we +delay? he asked Azariah, who reminded him--and somewhat tritely--that he +had not yet said good-bye to his parents. But they know I'm going with +you, Sir, he answered. Azariah would not, however, allow Joseph to mount +his mule till he had bidden good-bye to his father and grandmother, and +he brought the boy back to the house, but without earning Dan's +approval, who was ashamed before Azariah of his son's eagerness to leave +home; a subtlety that escaped Rachel who chided Dan saying: try to +remember if it wasn't the same with thee, for I can remember thine eyes +sparkling at the sight of a horse and thy knees all of an itch to be on +to him. Well, said Dan, he'll have enough riding before the day is over, +and I reckon his little backside will be sore before they halt at the +gates of Arimathea; a remark that caused Rachel to turn amazed eyes on +her son and to answer harshly that since he had so much foresight she +hoped he had not forgotten to tell Azariah that Joseph must have a long +rest at midday. But thy face tells me no order has been given for the +care of the child on the journey. But Azariah cannot be far on his way. +I'll send a messenger to caution him that Joseph has his rest in the +shade. + +Dan let her go in search of the messenger and moved around the room +hoping (he knew not why) that the messenger would not overtake the +caravan, the which he very nearly missed doing, for while Rachel was +instructing the messenger, Joseph was asking Azariah if he might have a +stick to belabour his mule into a gallop. The cavalcade, he said, needed +a scout that would report any traces of robbers he might detect among +the rocks and bushes. But we aren't likely to meet robber bands this +side of Jordan, Azariah said, they keep to the other side; and he told +Joseph, who was curious about everything, that along the Jordan were +great marshes into which the nomads drove their flocks and herds in the +spring to feed on the young grass. So they are there now, Joseph replied +meditatively, for he was thinking he would like better to ride through +marshes full of reeds than through a hilly country where there was +nothing to see but the barley-fields beset by an occasional olive garth. +But hooves were heard galloping in the rear and when the messenger +overtook the caravan and blurted out Rachel's instructions, Joseph's +face flushed. Now what can a woman know, he cried, about a journey like +this? Tell her, he said, turning to the messenger, that I shall ride and +rest with the others. And as an earnest of his resolve he struck the +messenger's horse so sharply across the quarters that the animal's head +went down between his knees and he plunged so violently that the +messenger was cast sprawling upon the ground. The cavalcade roared with +laughter and Joseph, overjoyed at the success of his prank, begged +Azariah to wait a little longer, for he was curious to see if the +messenger would succeed in coaxing his horse. At present the horse +seemed in no humour to allow himself to be mounted. Whenever the +messenger approached he whinnied so menacingly that everybody laughed +again. Is there none amongst ye that will help me to catch the horse? +the poor messenger cried after the departing travellers. We have a long +day's march in front of us, Azariah said; and he warned Joseph not to +beat his mule into a gallop at the beginning of the journey or he would +repent it later, words that came true sooner than Joseph had expected, +for before midday he was asking how many miles would bring them to the +caravansary. In about another hour, Azariah answered, and Joseph said he +had begun to hate his mule for it would neither trot nor gallop, only +walk. Thou'rt thinking of the nomads and would like to be after them +flourishing a lance, Azariah said, and--afraid that he was being laughed +at--Joseph made no answer. + +After the rest at midday it seemed to him to be his duty to see that his +mule had been properly fed, and he bought some barley from the +camel-driver, but while he was giving it to his mule Azariah remarked +that he was only depriving other animals of their fair share of +provender. It is hard, he said, to do good without doing wrong to +another. But the present is no time for philosophy: we must start again. +And the cavalcade moved on through the hills, avoiding the steep ascents +and descents by circuitous paths, and Joseph, who had not seen a +shepherd leading his flock for some years, became all of a sudden +delighted by the spectacle, the sheep running forward scenting the fresh +herbage with which the hills were covered as with dark velvet. + +A little later they came into view of a flock of goats browsing near a +wood, and Azariah sought to improve the occasion by a little +dissertation on the destructive nature of the goat. Of late years a +sapling rarely escaped them, and still more regrettable was the +carelessness of the shepherd who left the branches they had torn down to +become dry like tinder. He spoke of many forest fires, and told all the +stories he could remember in the hope of distracting Joseph's thoughts +from the length of the journey. We are now about half-way, he said, +disguising the truth. We shall see the city upon the evening glow in +about another hour. The longest hour that I have ever known, Joseph +complained two hours later; and Azariah laid his cloak over Joseph's +saddle. Dost feel more comfortable? A little, the child answered. At the +sight of the city thy heart will be lifted again and the suffering +forgotten. And Joseph believed him, but towards the end of the day the +miles seemed to stretch out indefinitely and at five o'clock he was +crying: shall we ever get to Arimathea, for I can sit on this mule no +longer, nor shall I be able to stand straight upon my legs when I +alight. + +Azariah promised they would be at the gates in a few minutes, but these +few minutes seemed as if they would never pass away, but they did pass, +and at the gateway Joseph toppled from his mule and just managed to +hobble into the inn at which they were to sleep that night: too tired to +eat, he said, too tired, he feared, to sleep. Azariah pressed him to +swallow a cup of soup and he prepared a hot bath for him into which he +poured a bottle of vinegar; an excellent remedy he reported this to be +against stiffness, and it showed itself to be such: for next morning +Joseph was quite free from stiffness and said he could walk for miles. +Samuel's rock cannot be more than a few hundred yards distant, so miles +are not necessary, Azariah answered, as they stepped over the threshold +into a delightful morning all smiles and greetings and subtle +invitations to come away into the forest and fields, full of promises of +flowers and songs, but in conflict with their project, which was to +inquire out their way from the maidens at the fountain, who would be +sure to know it, and in its shade to read the story of David and Goliath +first and other stories afterwards. But the gay morning drew their +thoughts away from texts, and without being aware of their apostasy they +had already begun to indulge in hopes that the maidens would be late at +the fountain and leave them some time to loiter by the old aqueduct that +brought the water in a tiny stream to fall into a marble trough: an +erstwhile sarcophagus, maybe, Azariah said, as he gathered some water +out of it with his hands and drank, telling Joseph to do likewise. + +There were clouds in the sky, so the sun kept coming and going. A great +lantern, Joseph said. That God holds in his hands, Azariah answered; and +when tired of waiting for maidens who did not appear their beguilement +was continued by shadows advancing and retreating across the roadway. +The town was an enchantment in the still limpid morning, but when they +rose to their feet their eyes fell on a greater enchantment--the hills +clothed in moving light and shade so beautiful that the appeal to come +away to the woods and fields continued in their hearts after they had +lowered their eyes and would not be denied, though they prayed for +strength to adhere to their original project. It had died out of their +hearts through no fault of theirs, as far as they could see; and +wondering how they might get remission from it they strode about the +city, idly casting their eyes into ravines whither the walls dropped, +and raising them to the crags whither the walls rose: faithful servants, +Azariah said, that have saved the city many times from robbers from the +other side of Jordan. + +Joseph's thoughts were far away on the hillside opposite amid the woods, +and Azariah's voice jarred. By this time, he said, the maidens are +drawing water. But perhaps, Joseph answered, none will be able to tell +us the way to the rock, and if none has heard for certain on which rock +Samuel offered sacrifice we might go roaming over the hills and into +forests yonder to find perhaps some wolf cubs in a cave. But a she-wolf +with cubs is dangerous, Azariah replied. If we were to try to steal her +cubs, Joseph interjected. But we don't want to meddle with them, only to +see them. May we go roaming to-day, Sir, and read the story of David and +Goliath to-morrow? The boy's voice was full of entreaty and Azariah had +very little heart to disappoint him, but he dared not break an +engagement which he looked upon as almost sacred; and walked debating +with himself, asking himself if the absence of a maiden at the fountain +might be taken as a sign that they were free to abandon the Scriptures +for the day, only for the day. And seeing the fountain deserted Joseph +cried out in his heart: we are free! But as they turned aside to go +their way a maiden came with a pitcher upon her head; but as she had +never heard of the rock, nor indeed of Samuel, Joseph was certain that +God had specially designed her ignorant, so that they might know that +the day before them was for enjoyment. You said, Sir, that if none could +direct us we might leave the story until to-morrow. I did not say that, +Azariah answered. All the same he did not propose to wait for another +maiden more learned than the first, but followed Joseph to the gates of +the city, nor did he raise any objection to passing through them, and +they stood with their eyes fixed on the path that led over the brow down +into the valley, a crooked twisting path that had seemed steep to +Azariah's mule overnight and that now seemed steeper to Azariah. And +will seem still steeper to me in the evening when we return home tired, +he said. But we shall not be tired, Joseph interposed, we need not go +very far, only a little way into the forest. And he did not dare to say +more, lest by some careless word he might provoke an unpremeditated +opposition. + +He dreaded to hear the words on Azariah's lips: you have come here with +me to learn Hebrew and may not miss a lesson.... If he could persuade +Azariah into the path he would not turn back until they reached the +valley, and once in the valley, he might as well ascend the opposite +hill as go back and climb up the hill whence they had come. I am afraid, +said Azariah, that this cool morning will pass into a very hot day: the +clouds that veil the sky are dispersing. We shall not feel the heat once +we are in the forest, Joseph replied, and the path up yonder hill is not +so steep as the paths we go down by. You see the road, Sir, twisting up +the hillside, and it is planned so carefully to avoid a direct ascent +that a man has just belaboured his ass into a trot. They have passed +behind a rock, but we shall see them presently. + +Azariah waited a moment for the man and ass to reappear, but after all +he was not much concerned with them, and began to descend unmindful of +the lark which mounted the sky in circles singing his delirious song. +Joseph begged Azariah to hearken, but his preceptor was too much +occupied with the difficulties of the descent, nor could he be persuaded +to give much attention to a flight of doves flying hither and thither as +if they had just discovered that they could fly, diving and wheeling +and then going away in a great company, coming back and diving again, +setting Joseph wondering why one bird should separate himself from the +flock and alight again. Again and again this happened, the flock +returning to release him from his post. Were the birds playing a sort of +game? Frolicking they were, for sure, and Joseph felt he would like to +have wings and go away with them, and he wished Azariah would hasten, so +pleasant it was in the valley. + +A pleasant spacious valley it was, lying between two hills of about +equal height: the hill they had come down was a little steeper than the +hill they were about to go up. Joseph noticed the shadows that fell from +the cliffs and those that the tall feathery trees, growing out of the +scrub, cast over the sunny bottom of the valley, a water-course probably +in the rainy season; and he enjoyed the little puffing winds that came +and went, and the insects that came out of their hiding-places to enjoy +the morning. The dragonflies were bustling about their business: what it +was not easy to discover, but they went by in companies of small flies, +with now and then a great one that rustled past on gauzy wings. And the +bees were coming and going from their hive in the rocks, incited by the +fragrance of the flowers, and Joseph watched them crawling over the +anemones and leaving them hastily to bury their blunt noses in the +pistils of the white squills that abounded everywhere in the corners, in +the inlets and bays and crevices of the rocks. Butterflies, especially +the white, pursued love untiringly in the air, fluttering and hovering, +uniting and then separating--aerial wooings that Joseph followed with +strained eyes, till at last the white bloom passed out of sight; and he +turned to the dragonflies, hoping to capture one of the fearful kind, +often nearly succeeding, but failing at the last moment and returning +disappointed to Azariah who, seated on a comfortable stone, waited till +Joseph's ardour should abate a little. These stones will be too hot in +another hour, he said. But it will be cool enough under the boughs, +Joseph answered. Perhaps too cool, Azariah muttered, and Joseph wondered +if it were reasonable to be so discontented with the world, especially +on a morning like this, he said to himself; and to hearten Azariah he +mentioned again that the path up the hillside zigzagged. You'll not feel +the ascent, Sir. To which encouragement Azariah made no answer but drew +Joseph's attention to the industry of the people of Arimathea. The eager +boy could spare only a few moments for the beauty of the fig and +mulberry leaves showing against the dark rocks, but he snuffed the scent +the breeze bore and said it was the same that had followed them +yesterday. The scent of the vine-flower, Azariah rejoined. The hillsides +were covered with the pale yellow clusters. But I thought, Joseph, that +you were too tired yesterday to notice anything. Only towards the end of +the journey, Joseph muttered. But what are you going to do, Sir? he +asked. I am going to run up the hill. You may run if you please, the +preceptor answered, and as he followed the boy at a more leisurely pace +he wondered at Joseph's spindle shanks struggling manfully against the +ascent. He will stop before the road turns, he said, but Joseph ran on. +He is anxious to reach the top, Azariah pondered. There is some pleasant +turf up there full of flowers: he'll like to roll like a young donkey, +his heels in the air, Azariah said to himself as he ascended the steep +path, stopping from time to time that he might better ponder on the +moral of this spring morning. He will roll among the grass and flowers +like a young donkey, and then run hither and thither after insects and +birds, his heart aflame with delight. He desires so many things that he +knows not what he desires, only that he desires. Whereas I can but +remember that once I was as he is to-day. So the spring is sad for the +young as well as for the old. + +But old as he was he was glad to feel that he was still liable to the +season's thrill in retrospect at least, and he asked himself questions: +how many years ago is it since...? But he did not get further with his +recollections. The ascent is too steep, he said, and he continued the +ascent thinking of his breath rather than of her. + +Joseph stood waiting on the edge of the rocks and cried out in the +fulness of his joy on seeing his preceptor appear above the cliff, and +at once fell to rolling himself over and over. Just as I expected he +would, Azariah remarked to himself. And then, starting to his feet, +Joseph began gathering flowers, but in a little while he stood still, +his nosegay dropping flower by flower, for his thoughts had taken +flight. The doves, the doves! he cried, looking into the blue and white +sky. The doves have their nests in the woods, the larks build in the +grass he said, and asked Azariah to come with him. The nest was on a +tuft of grass. But I've not touched them, he said. Three years ago I +used to rob all the nests and blow the eggs, you see, for I was making a +collection. Azariah asked him if the lark would grieve for her eggs, and +Joseph answered that he supposed she would soon forget them. Hark to his +singing! and he ran on into the outskirts of the woods, coming back a +few minutes afterwards to ask Azariah to hasten, for the wood was more +beautiful than any wood he had ever seen. And if you know the trees in +which the doves build I will climb and get the nest. Doves build in +taller trees than these, in fir-trees, Azariah answered. But this is a +pretty wood, Joseph. And he looked round the quiet sunny oak wood and +began his relation that this wood was probably the remains of the +ancient forests that had covered the country when the Israelites came +out of the north of Arabia. How long ago was that, Sir? Joseph asked, +and Azariah hazarded the answer that it might be as many as fifteen +hundred years ago. How old is the oldest oak-tree? Joseph inquired, and +Azariah had again to hazard the answer that a thousand years would make +an old tree. And when will these trees be in leaf, Sir, and may we come +to Arimathea when they are in leaf? And look, somebody has been felling +trees here. Who do you think it was, Sir? Azariah looked round. The +forest must have been supplying the city with firewood for many years, +he said. All these trees are young and they are too regularly spaced for +a natural growth. But higher up the hills the woods are denser and +darker, and there we may find some old trees. Any badgers and foxes? +Joseph asked, and shall we see any wolves? + +The sunny woods were threaded with little paths, and Joseph cast curious +eyes upon them all. The first led him into bracken so deep that he did +not venture farther, and the second took him to the verge of a dark +hollow so dismal that he came running back to ask if there were +crocodiles in the waters he had discovered. He did not give his +preceptor time to answer the difficult question, but laid his hand upon +his arm and whispered that he was to look between two rocks, for a +jackal was there, slinking away--turning his pointed muzzle to us now +and then. To see he isn't followed, Azariah added: and the observation +endeared him so to Joseph that the boy walked for a moment pensively in +the path they were following. It turned into the forest, and they had +not gone very far before they became aware of a strange silence, if +silence it could be called, for when they listened the silence was full +of sound, innumerable little sounds, some of which they recognised; but +it was not the hum of the insects or the chirp of a bird or the +snapping of a rotten twig that filled Joseph with awe, but something +that he could neither see, nor hear, nor smell, nor touch. The life of +the trees--is that it? he asked himself. A remote and mysterious life +was certainly breathing about him, and he regretted he was without a +sense to apprehend this life. + +Again and again it seemed that the forest was about to whisper its +secret, but something always happened to interrupt. Once it was +certainly Azariah's fault, for just as the trees were about to speak he +picked up a leaf and began to explain how the shape of an oak leaf +differed from that of the leaf of the chestnut and the ash. A patter was +heard among the leaves. There she goes--a hare! Joseph said, and a +moment afterwards a white thing appeared. A white weasel, Azariah said. +Shall we follow him? Joseph asked, and Azariah answered that it would be +useless to follow. We should soon miss them in the thickets. And he +continued his discourse upon trees, hoping that Joseph would never again +mistake a sycamore for a chestnut. And what is that tree so dark and +gloomy rising up through all the other trees, Joseph asked, so much +higher than any of them? That is a cedar, Azariah said. Do doves build +in cedars? Azariah did not know, and the tree did not inspire a climb: +it seemed to forbid any attempt on its privacy. Do trees talk when they +are alone? Joseph asked Azariah, and his preceptor gave the very +sensible answer that the life of trees is unknown to us, but that trees +had always awakened religious emotions in men. The earliest tribes were +tree-worshippers, which was very foolish, for we can fell trees and put +them to our usage. + +They had come to a part of the forest in which there seemed to be +neither birds nor beasts and Joseph had begun to feel the forest a +little wearisome and to wish for a change, when the trees suddenly +stopped, and before them lay a sunny interspace full of tall grass with +here and there a fallen tree, and on these trees prone great lizards +sunned themselves, nodding their heads in a motion ever the same. +Something had died in that beautiful interspace, for a vulture rose +sullenly and went away over the top of the trees, and Azariah begged +Joseph not to pursue his search but to hasten out of the smell of the +carrion that a little breeze had just carried towards them. Besides, +this thick grass is full of snakes, he said, and the words were no +sooner out of his mouth than a snake issued from a thick tuft, stopped +and hissed. Snakes feed on mice and rats? Joseph asked, and come out of +their holes to catch them, isn't that so, Sir? Everything is out this +sunny morning, seeking its food, Azariah answered: snakes after mice, +vultures after carrion. This way, Joseph--yonder we may rest awhile, but +we must be careful not to sit upon a snake; that knoll yonder is free +from vermin, for the trees that grow about it are fir-trees and snakes +do not like any place where they can easily be detected. And they sat on +the fibrous ground and looked up into the darkness of the withered +pines--withered everywhere except in the topmost branches that alone +caught the light. A sad place to sit in, Joseph said. Don't you feel the +sadness, Sir? Azariah answered that he did. But it is preferable to +snake-bites, he added. At that moment slowly flapping wings were heard +overhead. It is the vulture returning, Azariah whispered to Joseph, and +he is bringing a comrade back to dinner. To a very smelly dinner, Joseph +rejoined. The breeze had veered suddenly and they found themselves again +in the smell of carrion. + +We must go on farther, Azariah said, and after passing into many quiet +hollows and ascending many crests the path to which they had remained +faithful debouched at last on broken ground with the tail end of the +forest straggling up the opposite hillside in groups and single trees. I +know where we are now, Joseph cried. Do you not remember, Sir--Joseph's +explanation was cut short by the sight of some shepherds sitting at +their midday meal, and hunger falling suddenly upon Azariah and Joseph, +both began to regret they had not brought food with them. But Azariah +had some shekels tied in his garment, and for one of these pieces of +silver the shepherds were glad to share their bread and figs with them +and to draw milk for them from one of the she-goats. From which shall I +draw milk? the shepherd asked his mate, and the mate answered: +White-nose looks as if her udder is paining her. She lost her kid +yesterday. He mentioned two others: Speckled and Long-ears. Whichever +would like her milk drawn off will answer to thy call, the shepherd +answered, and the goat came running to him as if glad to hear her name. +White-nose, isn't it? Joseph asked, and he gathered a branch for her, +and while she nibbled he watched the milk drawn off and drank it foaming +and warm from the jug, believing it to be the sweetest he had ever +drunk, though he had often drunk goat's milk before. Azariah, too, vowed +that he had never drunk better milk and persuaded the shepherds into +discourse of their trade, learning much thereby, for these men knew +everything that men may know about flocks, having been engaged in +leading them from pasture to pasture all their lives and their fathers +before them. + +After telling of many famous rams they related the courage and fidelity +of their dogs, none of which feared a wolf, and they mentioned that two +had been lost in an encounter with a leopard--but the flock had been +saved. As much as wolves the shepherds feared the eagles. There are a +dozen nests in yon mountain if there be one. Take the strangers up the +hillside, mate, so that they may get a sight of the birds. And Azariah +and Joseph followed the shepherd up to the crags and were shown some +birds wheeling above rocks so steep that there was no foothold for man. +Or else we should have had their nests long ago, the shepherd said. Now +here is a bear's trail. He's been seeking water here, but he didn't get +any; he came by here, and my word, he's been up here after wild bees. +The shepherd showed scratches among the dropping resin, saying: it was +here that he clawed his way up. But did he get the honey? Joseph asked, +a question the shepherd could not answer; and talking about bears and +honey and eagles and lambs and wolves and lions, the afternoon passed +away without their feeling it, till one of the shepherds said: it is +folding-time now; and answering to different calls the flocks separated, +and the shepherds went their different ways followed by their flocks. + +The sunset had begun to redden the sky, and the shadows of the trees +drew out as they crossed the hillside and descended by the steep path +into the valley. The ascent that faced them was steep indeed, and +Azariah had to rest several times, but at last they reached the slope on +which the city was built: but they did not enter the gates yet awhile +but stood looking back, thinking of the day that had gone by. We shall +remember this day always, Joseph said, if we live to be as old as the +patriarchs. Was it then so wonderful? Azariah asked, and Joseph could +only answer: yes, very wonderful. Didn't you think so? and tell me, he +added, is it true that God is going to destroy the world and very soon? +Why do you ask, Joseph? Azariah replied, and Joseph answered: because +the world is so very beautiful. I never saw the world before to-day. My +eyes were opened, and I shall be sorry if God destroys the world, for I +should like to see more of it. But why should he make a beautiful world, +and then destroy it? Don't you think he will relent when the time comes +and the day be as beautiful as it was this morning? Azariah answered him +that God does not relent, for He knows the past and future as well as +the present, and that the world was not as beautiful as it seems to be, +for man is sinning always, though certainly God said all things are +beautiful. But perhaps we sinned this morning in the sight of God. We +sinned? Joseph repeated. How did we sin? Have you forgotten, Azariah +answered, that it was arranged that we should spend the day reading the +Scriptures, and we've spent it talking to shepherds? Was that a sin? +Joseph asked. We can read the Scriptures to-morrow; if the day be +clouded and rain comes, we can read them indoors. If the day be clouded, +Azariah replied smiling. But was not thy life dedicated to Samuel? Thou +hast forgotten him. But the world is God's world. Joseph answered that +he had forgotten his vow, and all that evening, in spite of Azariah's +gentleness with him, he was pursued by the memory of the sin he had +committed. In Samuel's own city he had broken his vow! And Azariah heard +the boy blubbering in the darkness that night. + + + + +CHAP. III. + + +He should not have interrupted the manifestations of joy at his return +with: when may I go to Arimathea again? And his second question was +hardly less indiscreet: why did we leave Arimathea? His father answered: +because it suited us to do so; and Joseph withdrew to Rachel who was +never gruff with him. But despite her bias in favour of all he said and +did she reproved him, saying that he should not ask as soon as he +returned home when he was going away again. I am glad in a way, Granny, +but there's no forest here. Dan left the room, and the boy would tell +no more but burst into tears, asking what he had done to make Father so +angry. Rachel could not tell him with safety, and Joseph, thinking that +perhaps something unpleasant had happened to his father in the forest (a +wolf may have bitten him there), spoke of the high rock on the next +occasion and of the story of Jonathan and David that Azariah had read to +him. You will ask him to come here one night, Father, and translate it +to you? Promise me that you will. But I can read Hebrew, Dan replied, +and there is no reason for those wondering eyes. Thy Granny will tell +thee. But, Father--Joseph stopped suddenly. It had come into his mind to +ask his father how it was that he had never read the story of Jonathan +and David to him, but his interest in the matter dying suddenly, he +said: to-morrow I begin my lessons, and Azariah tells me that I must +have a copy of the Scriptures for my very own use. Now where are thy +thoughts? In a barrel of salt fish? Father, do listen. I'd like to learn +Hebrew from bottom to top and from top to bottom and then sideways, so +as to put the Scribes in Jerusalem to shame when you send me thither for +the Feast of the Passover. And thou'lt mind that my Scriptures be made +by the best Scribe in Galilee and on the best parchment, promise me, +Father! + +Dan promised his son that no finer manuscript should be procurable in +Galilee. But the making of this magnificent copy would delay for many +months Joseph's instruction in Hebrew, and Joseph was so impatient to +begin that he lay awake that night and in the morning ransacked his +father's rooms, laying hands on some quires of his father's Scriptures; +and no sooner out of the house than a great fear fell upon him that he +might be robbed: the quires were hidden in his vest suddenly and he +walked on in confidence, also in a great seriousness, going his way +melancholy as a camel, his head turned from the many temptations that +the way offered to him--the flower in the cactus hedge was one. He +passed it without picking it, and further on he allowed a strange +crawling insect to go by without molestation, and feeling his mood to be +exceptional he fell to thinking that his granny would laugh, were she to +see him. + +He was not, however, afraid of her laughing: women had no sense of the +Word of God, he muttered. There were nests in the trees, but he kept +himself from looking, lest a nest might inspire him to climb for it. But +nobody could climb trees with several quires of Scriptures under his +arm. He would lose his grip and fall, or else the Scriptures would fall, +and if a thief happened to be going by it would be easy for him to pick +up the quires and away with them before it would be possible for Joseph +to slide down the tree and raise a hue and cry. + +The lanes through which his way took him were frequented by boys, +ball-players every one of them, and at this time ball-playing was a +passion with Joseph and he would steal away whenever he got a chance and +spend a whole day in an alley with a number of little ragamuffins. And +if he were to meet the tribe, which was as likely as not at the next +turning, he must tell them that he was going to school and dared not +stop. But they would jeer at him. He might give them his ball and in +return they might not mock at him. He walked very quietly, hoping to +pass unobserved, but a boy was looking over the cactus hedge and called +to him, asking if he had brought a ball with him, for they had lost +theirs. He threw his ball to him. But aren't you coming to play with +us? Not to-day, Joseph answered. I'm on my way to school. Well, +to-morrow? Not to-morrow. I may not play truant from learning, Joseph +answered sententiously, walking away, leaving his former playmates +staring after him without a word in their mouths. But by the next day +they had recovered their speech and cried out: the fishmonger's son is +going by to his lessons and dare not play at ball. Azariah would whip +him if he did. One a little bolder than the rest dangled a piece of rope +in his face saying: this is what you'd get if you stayed with us. He was +moved to run after the boy and cuff him, but the quires under his arms +restrained him and he passed on, keeping a dignified silence. Soon +thou'lt be reading to us in the synagogues! was the last jeer cried +after him that day, but for many a day he caught sight of a face +grinning at him through the hedge, and the way to his lessons became +hateful. + +As he showed no sign of anger, the persecution grew wearisome to the +persecutors, and soon after he discovered another way to Azariah. But +this way was beset with women, whose sex impelled a yearning for this +tall lithe boy with the gazelle-like eyes. Joseph was more inclined to +the welcome of the Greek poets and sculptors who stopped their mules and +leaning from high saddles spoke to him, for he was now beginning to +speak Greek and it was pleasant to avail himself of the advantages of +the road to chatter his Greek and to acquire new turns of phrases. Why +not? since it seemed to be the wish of these men to instruct him. My +very model! a bearded man cried out one morning, and stopping his mule +he bent from the saddle towards Joseph and asked him many questions. +Joseph told him that he was on his way to his lessons and that he +passed through this lane every morning. At these words the sculptor's +eyes lighted up, for he had accepted Joseph's answer as a tryst, and +when Joseph came through the lane next day he caught sight of the +sculptor waiting for him and--flattered--Joseph entered into +conversation with him, resisting, however, the sculptor's repeated +invitation that Joseph should come to sit to him--if not for a statue, +for a bust at least. But a bust is a graven image, Joseph answered, and +as the point was being debated a rich merchant came by, riding a white +horse that curveted splendidly, and Joseph, who was interested in the +horse, referred the difficulty they were engaged in to the merchant. +After some consideration of it he asked the meaning of the scrolls that +Joseph carried in his hand, feigning an interest in them and in Azariah. +Who is he? he asked, and Joseph answered: a very learned man, my tutor, +to whom I must be on my way. And with a pretty bow he left merchant and +sculptor exchanging angry looks. + +But the sculptor knowing more of Joseph than the merchant--that he would +be passing through the lane on the morrow at the same time--and as the +boy's beauty was of great importance to him, kept another tryst, waiting +impatiently, and as soon as Joseph appeared he began to beseech him to +come to Tiberias and pose in his studio for a statue he was carving, +offering presents that would have shaken many determinations. But Joseph +was as firm to-day as he was yesterday. I must be going on to my Hebrew, +he said, and he left the sculptor cast away in dreams. He had not gone +very far, however, before he met the merchant, who happened to be +passing through the lane again, and seeing Joseph his eyes lighted up +with pleasure, and after speaking to him he dismounted from his mule and +showed him a beautiful engraved dagger which Joseph desired ardently; +but a present so rich he did not care to accept, and hurried away, nor +did he look back, so busy was he inventing reasons as he went for the +delay. + +I do not deny, Sir, that I'm past my time, but not by an hour; at most +by half an hour. Playing at ball again, and in the purlieus of the +neighbourhood, against your father's instructions! Azariah said, his +face full of storm. No, Sir, I have put ball-playing out of my mind; or +Hebrew has put it out of my mind, and Greek too has had a say in the +matter. The delay was caused by meeting a sculptor who asked me to pose +before him for a statue. And what was thy answer to him? That we were +forbidden by our laws to look upon graven images. And what answer did he +give to that very proper answer? Azariah asked, somewhat softened. Many +answers, Sir, and among them was this one: that there was no need for me +to look upon the statue he was carving. The answer that one might expect +from a Greek, Azariah rapped out, one that sets me thinking that there +is more to be said against the Greek language than I cared to admit to +thy father when last in argument with him on the subject. But, Sir, you +will not forbid me the reading of Menander for no better reason than +that a Greek asked that he might carve a statue after me, for what am I +to blame, since yourself said my answer was commendable? And in these +words there was so plaintive an accent that Azariah's heart was touched, +for he guessed that the diverting scene in which the slave arranges for +a meeting between the lovers was in the boy's mind. + +At that moment their eyes went together to the tally on the wall, and +pointing to it Joseph said it bore witness to the earnestness with which +he had pursued his studies for the last six months, and Azariah was +forced to admit there was little to complain of in the past, but he had +noticed that once a boy came late for his lessons his truancy became +common. Moreover, Sir, my time is of importance, Azariah declared, his +hairy nostrils swelling at the thought of the half hour he had been kept +waiting. But may we finish Menander's comedy? Joseph asked, for he was +curious to learn if Moschion succeeded in obtaining his father's leave +to marry the girl he had put in the family way. The lovers' plan was to +ingratiate themselves with the father's concubine and to persuade her to +get permission to rear and adopt the child. Yes, Joseph, the father +relents. But it would please me, Sir, to learn why he relents. And +Joseph promised that he would be for a whole year in advance of his time +rather than behind it. He did not doubt that he would be able to keep +his promise, for he had found a new way to Tiberias; a deserted way it +seemed to be at first, and most propitious, without the temptations of +ball-players, but as the season advanced the lane became infested by +showmen on their way to Tiberias: mummers, acrobats, jugglers, +fortune-tellers, star-mongers, dealers in charms and amulets, and Joseph +was tempted more than once to stop and speak with these random folk, but +the promise he had given Azariah was sufficiently powerful to inspire a +dread and a dislike of these, and to avoid them he sought for a third +way to Tiberias and found one: a path through an orchard belonging to a +neighbour who was glad to give him permission to pass through it every +morning, which he did, thereby making progress in his studies till one +day, by the stile over which his custom was to vault into the quiet +lane, he came suddenly upon what seemed to him like a small encampment: +wayfarers of some sort he judged them to be, but of what sort he could +not tell at first, there being some distance and the branches of an +apple-tree between him and them. + +But as he came through the trees, he decided in his mind that they were +the servitude of some great man: varlets, hirelings or slaves. But his +eyes fell on their baskets and--deceived by the number and size of +these--the thought crossed his mind that they might be poulterers on +their way to Tiberias. But whatever their trade they had no right to +encamp in the orchard, and he informed them politely that the orchard +belonged to friends of his, and that large and fierce dogs were loose +about the place. For his warning they thanked him, saying they'd make +off at once; remarking as they made their preparations for going that +they did not think they were doing any harm by coming into the orchard, +having only crossed the stile to rest themselves. + +Going with poultry to Tiberias? Joseph said. Not with poultry, Sir, the +varlets answered. We are not poulterers, but cockers. Cockers! Joseph +repeated, and on reading the blank look in his face they told him they +were the servants of a great Roman who had sent them in search of +fighting cocks; for a great main was going to be fought that day in +Tiberias. We are his cockers, a man said (he spoke with some slight +authority, the others seemed to be in his charge), and have been far in +search of these birds. He pointed to the baskets and asked Joseph if he +would care to see the cocks, and as if to awaken Joseph's curiosity he +began to tell their pedigrees. That one, he said, is a Cilician and of a +breed that has won thousands of shekels, and a bird in the basket next +him is a Bythinian brown-red, the victor in many a main, and the birds +in the next three baskets are Cappadocian Duns, all of celebrated +ancestry, for our master will have none but the finest birds; and if you +happen to know of any good birds, price will not stand in the way of our +purchasing them. Joseph answered that he had not heard of any, but if he +should--You'll not forget us, said a small meagre woman with black +shining eyes in a colourless face, drab as the long desert road she had +come by. Joseph promised; and then a short thick-set man with matted +hair, and sore eyes that were always fixed on the ground, opened one of +the baskets and took out a long lean bird, which he held in shining +fingers for Joseph's admiration. Listen to him, cried the woman in a +high thin voice. Listen to him, for no one can set a cock a-sparring +like him. The servants consulted among themselves in a language Joseph +did not understand, and then, as if they had come to an agreement among +themselves, the foreman said, approaching Joseph and cringing a little +before him, that if the little master could assure them they would not +be disturbed by dogs, they would like to show him the cocks. A little +exercise, the man said, would be of advantage to the birds--to those +that were not fighting that morning--he added, and the man whom the +woman nicknamed The Heeler, a nickname acquired from the dexterity with +which he fitted the cock's heels with soft leather pads, said: you see, +master, they may fight and buffet one another for a space without +injury. + +Joseph watched the birds advance and retire and pursue each other, and +after this exhibition they were put back into their baskets and covered +with hay. So you are the Heeler? Joseph asked. The man grinned vacantly, +and the woman answered for him. There is none like him in this country +for fixing a pair of spurs, for cutting the tail and wings and +shortening the hackle and the rump feathers. You see, young Master, the +comb is cut close so that there shall be no mark for t'other bird's +bill. And who knows but you'd like to see the spurs, Master. And she +showed him spurs of two kinds, for there are cocks that fight better +with long spurs and cocks that fight better with short. And how many +days does it take to train a cock? Joseph asked, and they began to tell +him that a fighting cock must be fed with bread and spring water, and +have his exercise--running and sparring--every day. It was the woman +that kept Joseph in chat, for the men were busy carrying the baskets +over the stile and placing them in mule cars that were waiting in the +lane. But, young Master, she said, if you've never seen a cock-fight +come with us, for a better one you'll never live to see. The best birds +in Western Asia will be in Tiberias to-day. Joseph did not answer this +invitation at once, for he did not altogether like this woman nor her +manner of standing near to him, her black shining eyes fixed upon him. +But he was like one infected, and could not escape from his desire to +see a cock-fight. He knew that Azariah would never forgive him for +keeping him waiting ... waiting for how long? he asked himself. Till he +cares to wait no longer, his conscience answered him. He was going to +get into great trouble, but he could not say no to the cockers, and he +followed them, asking himself when he should escape from the evil spirit +which--at their instigation, perhaps--had taken possession of him. A +moment after he was assuring himself that the folk he had fallen in with +were ignorant of everything but cockering, without knowledge of +witchcraft, star-mongering or sortilege--the servants of some great +Roman, without doubt, which was sufficient assurance that though they +might be cock stealers on occasion they were not kidnappers. Besides, in +frequented lanes and in Tiberias the stealing of a boy was out of the +question, and after seeing one or two cocks killed he could return home, +for he need not wait till the end. He could not help himself, he must +see the great red and yellow bird strike his spur through the head of +his adversary, as the Heeler told him he had never failed to do in many +combats. And he would not fail now, though he was two years old, which +is old for a fighting cock. You see, little Master, the woman said, they +be not as quick on their legs as they get older, nor are they as eager +to fight. To-day's battle will be his last--win or lose--and if he +conies out alive at the end he'll go to the hens, which will be more +frolicsome than having spurs driven into his neck as happened three +months gone by, but it didn't check his spirit, she continued, he killed +his bird and let off one great crowing before he toppled over: we +thought he was gone, but I sucked his wound, bathed it with salt and +water, and you see he's none the worse to-day. + +At every turning of the lane the demon seemed to propel Joseph more +violently, till at last he put Azariah out of his head and began to ask +himself if he would be guilty of any great sin in going to see the +cock-fight? Of any sin greater than that of following the custom of the +heathen? His father might be angry, but there'd be no particular +atonement: a fast day, or some study of the law, no more, for he'd be +careful not to raise his eyes to the gods and goddesses that beset the +streets and public places in Tiberias. And on this resolve he followed +the cockers into the city. He was glad to see that many statues stood on +the roofs of the buildings and so far away that no faces or limbs were +visible; but the statues in the streets were difficult to avoid seeing. +Worst of all, the cock-fight that he thought would be fought in the open +air had been arranged to happen in a great building--a theatre or +circus--he did not know which. Joseph had never seen so great a crowd +before, and the servants he had come with pointed out to him their +master among a group of Romans. The Jews from Alexandria, he was told, +came to these games, and this caused his conscience to quicken, for he +had heard his father speak of the Alexandrian Jews as heretics. Azariah +did not hold such orthodox views, but what his tutor's views were about +cock-fighting Joseph did not know; and when he asked if he might +approach the ring he was told that the circle about the ring was for the +Romans and those whom they might invite, but he'd be able to see very +well from where he was. + +The Romans seemed to him an arrogant and proud people; and, conscious of +an innate hostility, he watched them as they leaned over the railing +that enclosed the fighting ring, talking among themselves, sometimes, +however, deigning to call a Jew to join them. The Jews came to them +obsequiously, hoping that the honour bestowed upon them did not escape +notice; and Joseph's ear caught servile phrases: young Sir, it is +reported you've a bird that will smite down all comers, and, Sir, we can +offer you but a poor show of birds. Those at Rome---- + +A sudden silence fell, which was broken by the falling of dice, and +Joseph was told that the throw would decide which seven birds were to +begin.... We have won the throw, was whispered in his ear. We've the +advantage. But why it was an advantage to fight from the right rather +than from the left Joseph was too excited to inquire, for the cocks had +just been put into the ring or pit, and Joseph recognised the tall lank +bird that the Heeler had taken out of his basket in the orchard. He's +fighting to-day with long spurs, he was told. But why does he fight the +other bird--a yearling? he heard the woman ask; and he saw a black cock +crouch to meet the red in deadly fight. Must one die? he asked, but the +cockers were too intent on the battle to answer his question. The birds +re-sparred and leaped aside, avoiding each other's rushes, and before +long it became clear even to Joseph that their bird, though stronger +than the younger bird, did not spring as high or as easily. A good bird, +he heard the servants say: there'll be a battle for it, my word, there +will, and our bird will win if the young one doesn't get his stroke in +quickly; an old bird will tire out a young bird.... As these words were +spoken, the black cock dashed in, and with a quick stroke sent his spur +through the red bird's head. He's gone this time beyond thy care! And +tears came into Lydia's eyes. I'm sorry, I'd have liked to have seen him +end his days happily among the hens, a-treading of them. Joseph felt he +had not rightly understood her, and when he inquired out her meaning +from her, she told it with so repulsive a leer that he could not conquer +a sudden dislike. He moved away from her immediately and asked her no +more questions. + +More cocks were set to fight, and they fought to the death always: only +once did a cock turn tail and refuse to continue the combat. To persuade +him to be brave, the slave in charge placed him breast to breast with +his adversary, but despite all encouragement he turned tail and hid +himself in the netting. Now what will happen to him? Joseph asked. First +he'll be cut and then fattened for the spit or the gridiron, the Heeler +answered. Look, young Master, and turning his eyes whither the Heeler's +finger pointed, Joseph saw the bird's owner sign to the slave that he +was to twist the bird's neck; which was done, and the poltroon went into +a basket by himself--he did not deserve to be with those that had been +slain in combat. + +The ring was now covered with blood and feathers, and two slaves came +with buckets of water and brushes to clean it, and while this office was +being performed many fell to drinking from flasks which their slaves +handed to them. The man who had told his slave to wring his cock's neck +regretted that he had done so. The merited punishment would have been +to hand the bird over to a large ape, that would have plucked the bird +feather by feather, examining each feather curiously before selecting +the next one; and he swore a great oath by Jupiter and then, as if to +annoy the Jews, by Jehovah, that the next of his birds that refused +combat should be served this way. Our master will not put us on the +cross for so misjudging a bird's courage, Joseph heard the Heeler say; +and Lydia sidled up against Joseph, and it was her thigh as much as the +memory of the oaths he had heard uttered and that were being uttered and +that would be uttered again as soon as the fighting commenced that set +him thinking of Azariah scanning the tally on the wall--vowing that he +would teach him no more; but the tally, which Joseph knew well, showed +that he had not missed an hour for many months. But a whole day's +absence was something more than any truancy he had ever indulged in +before, and the only reason he could give for it would be the +inacceptable one that the cockers had bidden a demon take possession of +him. + +Another pair of cocks was already in the ring: two young birds trained +to the finest distinction, and they sparred so lustily that even the +experts could not predict the victor. But there was no heart in Joseph +for more cock-fighting, and he viewed with disgust the mean vile faces +that leered at him while he thanked them for the occasion which he owed +them of overlooking so much fine sport. But they were a scurvy lot, +viler than he had supposed, though he had suspected from the first that +they were nurturing some trick against him. And he searched himself, for +he would willingly give them money to be rid of them. But how much will +they accept? he asked himself, as he searched his pockets ... his money +was gone! Stolen, no doubt, but by whom? By the cockers standing around +him, quarrelling and railing at each other, levelling accusations right +and left--the Heeler wrangling with Lydia, saying it was she that had +asked the young penniless to come with them. A mercy it was that he +didn't call me a ragamuffin, Joseph said to himself. He was not without +some apprehension that they might detain him till a ransom was paid, and +right glad to perceive himself free to go: having gotten his money they +wished to be rid of him quietly; and he too, wishing to avoid attracting +attention, slunk out of Tiberias without laying complaint before the +magistrate. + +It was unlikely that his money would be found upon the thieves and his +father would be very angry indeed if he were obliged to go to Tiberias +to bear witness to the truth of his story that his son, while on his way +to his tutor's--Joseph stopped to consider the eventualities, and he +heard in imagination the tale unfolding. Azariah might be called! And if +he were, he would tell he had been kept waiting all day, and the jealous +neighbours would be glad to send round to commiserate with his father. +It seemed to Joseph that he had escaped lightly with the loss of a few +shekels. But what reason should he give for coming home so late? He'd +have to say where he had spent the day. Azariah would tell of his +absence from his lessons. Ah, if he had foreseen all these worries, he +wouldn't have gone to Tiberias.... Should he say he had been out fishing +on the lake? The fishers would not betray him, but they might; and he +could not bring himself to tell his father a lie. So did he argue with +himself as he walked, saying that he had not done worse than--But what +had happened at home? Something must have happened, for the gates were +open. The gate-keeper, where was he? And his wonder increased as he +reached the house, for all the servants seemed to be running to and fro. +The Lord be praised for sending you back to us! they exclaimed. You +thought then that the Lord had taken me from you? Joseph asked, and the +man replied that they had been searching for him all day--sending +messengers hither and thither, and that in the afternoon a boat had +hoisted sail and put out for the fishing fleet, thinking that Simon +Peter might be able to give tidings of Master Joseph. But why all this +fuss? Joseph said, because I come home a little later than usual. Your +father, Master Joseph, is beside himself, and your grandmother--Joseph +left the man with the end of the sentence on his tongue. + +So you've returned at last! his father cried on seeing him, and began at +once to tell the anxiety he had suffered. Nor was Rachel without her +word, and between their reproofs it was some time before Joseph began to +apprehend the cause of the tumult: Azariah had laid a long complaint of +truancy! As to that, Joseph answered tartly, he has little to complain +of. And he spoke of the pact between them, relating that seven or eight +months before he had promised Azariah not to be past his time by five +minutes. Look to his tally, Father: it will tell that I have kept my +word for eight months and more and would have kept it for the year +if--Be mindful of what he is saying to thee, Dan. Look well to the tally +before condemning, Rachel cried. Wouldst have it then, woman, Azariah +lied to me? Not lied, but was carried beyond himself in a great heat of +passion at being kept waiting, Rachel answered. He said that he enjoyed +teaching thee, Joseph, God having granted thee a good intelligence and +ways of comprehension. But he couldn't abide seeing thee waste thy time +and his. We're willing and ready to hear about this absence and the +cause of it, Dan interposed. So get on with the story: where hast thou +been? Out with it, boy. Where hast thou been? + +The bare question could only be met by the bare answer: watching a +cock-fight in Tiberias; and to save his parents from much +misunderstanding, he said he must begin at the beginning. Dan would have +liked a straight answer, but Rachel said the boy should be suffered to +tell his story his own way; and Joseph told a fine tale, the purport of +which was that he had sought for a by-way to Tiberias, the large lanes +being beset by acrobats, zanies, circus riders and the like, and had +found one through Argob orchard and had followed it daily without +meeting anyone for many months, but this morning as he came through the +trees he had caught sight of an encampment; some cockers on their way to +Tiberias, where a great main was to be fought. And it was the cocks of +Pamphilia that had--He stopped, for the great change that had come over +his parents' faces set him wondering if his conduct was as shameful as +their faces seemed to affirm. He could not see that he had sinned +against the law by going to Tiberias, though he had associated himself +with Gentiles and for a whole day ... he had eaten in their company, but +not of any forbidden meat. And while Joseph sought to mitigate his +offence to himself, his father sat immersed in woe, his head in his +hands. What calamity, he cried, has fallen on my house, and how have I +sinned, O Lord, that punishment should fall upon me, and that my own son +should be chosen to mete out my punishment? My house is riven from +rafter to foundation stone. But, Father, at most--It seemed useless to +plead. He stood apart; his grandmother stood silent and grave, not +understanding fully, and Joseph foresaw that he could not count upon +her to side with him against his father. But if his father would only +tell him if he had sinned against the law, instead of rending his +garments, he would do all the law commanded to obtain forgiveness. Was +there, he asked, anything in the law against cock-fighting? or in the +traditions? It was a pastime of the heathen: he knew that, and had hoped +a day of fasting might be suggested to him, but if this offence was more +serious than he had supposed he besought his father to say so. Tell me, +Father, have I sinned against the law? + +The question seemed to exasperate his father who at last cried out: of +what value may be thy Hebrew studies and a knowledge of the language, if +the law be not studied with Azariah? Does not the Book of Leviticus ever +lie open before thee? How has the law been affronted? The law given by +the Lord unto Moses. My own son asks me this. "And if a soul sin and +hear the voice swearing and is a witness whether he has sinned or known +of it, if he did not utter it, then he shall bear his iniquity." Was +there no swearing at thy cock-fight? Plenty, I reckon. All day was spent +listening to swearing, hearing the name of the Lord taken in vain: a +name we don't dare to pronounce ourselves. Joseph sat dumbfounded. So +Azariah never taught thee the law? All the time goes by wasted in the +reading of Greek plays. We read Hebrew and speak it, Joseph answered, +and it was your wish that I should learn Greek. And, Father, is there +any reason to worry over a loss of repute? For my sin will be known to +nobody but God, unless told by thee, and thou'lt keep it secret. Or told +by Azariah, Dan answered moodily, who never teaches the law, but likes +Greek plays better. Well, thou shalt hear the law from me to-night, for +I can read Hebrew, not, belike, as well as Azariah, but I can read +Hebrew all the same. Mother, hand me down the Scriptures from the shelf. + + + + +CHAP. IV. + + +Well, Dan, you must make up your mind whether you are going to look out +for one who will teach him better, or let him remain with Azariah, who +likes teaching him, for he is a clever but oft-times an idle boy. I +don't know that I should have said idle, she added, and sat thinking of +what word would describe Joseph's truancy better than idle, without, +however, finding the word she needed, and her thoughts floated away into +a long consideration of her son's anger, for she could see he was angry +with Azariah. But the cause of his anger she could not discover. It +could not be that he was annoyed with Azariah for coming to complain +that he was often kept waiting: and it was on her tongue to ask him why +he was so gloomy, why he knitted his brows and bit his lips. But she +held back the question, for it would not be long before Dan would let +out his secret: he could not keep one. And Dan, knowing well his own +weakness and his mother's shrewdness (she would soon be guessing what +was passing in his mind), began to animadvert on Azariah for his +residence in Tiberias, a pagan city--his plan for leading her on a false +trail. Others, he said, spoke more unfavourably than he did; and he +continued in this strain until Rachel, losing patience, interrupted him +suddenly saying that Azariah did not live in Tiberias. If not in +Tiberias, he answered, in a suburb, and within a stone's throw of the +city walls. But what has that got to do with Joseph? Rachel asked. What +has it got to do with Joseph! Dan growled, when to reach the scribe's +house he has to pass through lanes infested with the off-scourings of +the pagan world: mummers, zanies, jugglers, dancers, whores from +Babylon. Did ye not hear him, woman, describe these lanes, saying that +he had to change his course three times so that he might keep his +promise to Azariah, and are ye not mindful that he told me, and you +sitting there listening on that very stool, that the showmen he met in +Argob orchard put a spell upon him, and that it was the demon that had +obtained temporary lodgment in him that had bidden him to Tiberias to +see the cock-fight: Jews from Alexandria, heretics, adventurers, +beggars, aliens! Look ye here, Dan, Rachel said, he is a proud boy and +may thank thee little for--There are others to teach him, Dan +interrupted, and continued to walk up and down the room, for he wished +to make an end of this talk with his mother. But he hadn't crossed the +room twice when he was brought to a full stop, having remembered +suddenly that it is always by such acts as he was now meditating that +fathers lose the affections of their sons. If he were to drag Joseph +away from Azariah, from whom he was learning Hebrew and Greek, Joseph +might begin to look upon him as a tyrant. His mother was a sharp-witted +woman, and very little was needed to set her thinking. She had an +irritating way of looking as it were into his mind, and if she were to +suspect him of jealousy of Azariah he would never have a moment's peace +again. + +But what in the world may we understand from all this bear-dancing up +and down the room? asked Rachel. Ye must know if you are going to +withdraw the boy from his schooling. + +Dan cast an angry glance at his mother and hated her; and then his heart +misgave him, for he knew that he lacked courage to take Joseph out of +his present schooling, and dared not divide his house against himself, +or do anything that might lose him his son's love and little by little +cause himself to be looked upon as a tyrant. He knew himself to be a +weak man, except in the counting-house; he knew it, and must stifle his +jealousy of Azariah, who had forgiven Joseph his truancy and was the +only one that knew of the excursion into Tiberias. But Azariah's +indulgence did not altogether please him. He began to suspect it and to +doubt if he had acted wisely in not ordering Joseph away from Azariah: +for Azariah was robbing him, robbing him of all that he valued in this +world, his son! And it seemed to him a little later in the day, as he +closed his ledger, that he had come to be disregarded in his own house; +and he thought he would have liked much better to stay away, to dine in +the counting-house, urging a press of business. The first thing he would +hear would be "Azariah." The hated name was never off the boy's lips: he +talked of nothing else but Azariah and Hebrew and Greek and the learned +Jews whom he met at Azariah's house. + +Dan sat looking into the dusk asking himself if his bargain were not +that his son should learn the Greek language but not Greek literature, +which is full of heresy, he said to himself; and he returned home +determined to raise the point; but Joseph told him, and he thought +rather abruptly, that it was only through Greek literature that one +could learn Greek in Tiberias--the spoken language was a dialect. + +It may have been that Joseph perceived that praise of Azariah caused his +father to writhe a little, and--curious to observe the effect--he spoke +more of Azariah than he would have done otherwise, and laid an accent on +his master's learning, and related incidents in which his master +appeared to great advantage, causing his father much perplexity and pain +of mind, till at last, unable to bear the torture any longer, he +said--the words slipped from him incontinently--you're no better than a +little Azariah! and, unable to contain himself, he rushed from the room, +leaving Joseph and Rachel to discuss his vehemence and discover motives +which he hoped would not include the right one. But afraid that he had +betrayed his jealousy of Azariah he returned, and to mislead his mother +and son he began to speak of the duty of the pupil to the master, +telling Joseph he must submit himself to Azariah in everything: by +representing Azariah as one in full authority he hoped to overcome his +influence and before many months had passed over a different accent was +notable in Joseph's voice when he spoke of Azariah; but he continued +with him for two more years. And it was then that Dan set himself to +devise plans to end his son's studies in Hebrew and Greek. + +Joseph knows now all that Azariah can teach him, and it is high time +that I took him in hand and taught him his trade. But though determined +to rid himself of Azariah he felt he must proceed gently (if possible, +in conjunction with his mother); he must wait for an occasion; and while +he was watching for one it fell out that Joseph wearied of Azariah and +went to his father saying that he had learnt Hebrew and could speak +Greek, so there was no use in his returning to Azariah any more. At +first his parents could only think that he had; quarrelled with Azariah, +but it was not so, they soon discovered that he had merely become tired +of him--a change that betokened a capricious mind. A growing boy is full +of fancies, Rachel said: an explanation that Dan deemed sufficient, and +he was careful not to speak against Azariah lest he should turn his +son's thoughts back on Greek literature, or Greek philosophy, which is +more pernicious even than the literature. He did not dare to ask Joseph +to come down to the counting-house, afraid lest by trying to influence +him in one direction he might influence him in the opposite direction. +He deemed it better to leave everything to fate, and while putting his +trust in God Dan applied himself to meditate on the young man's +character and his tastes, which seemed to have taken a sudden turn; for, +to his father's surprise, Joseph had begun to put questions to him about +the sale of fish, and to speak of visiting Tyre and Sidon with a view to +establishing branch houses--extensions of their business. His father, +while approving of this plan, pointed out that Tyre and Sidon being +themselves on the coast of the sea could never be as good customers as +inland cities, sea fish being considered, he thought mistakenly, +preferable to lake. He had been doing, it is true, a fair trade with +Damascus, but whereas it was impossible to reckon on Damascus it seemed +to him that their industry might be extended in many other directions. +And delighted with the change that had come over his son he said that he +would have tried long ago to extend his business, if he had had +knowledge of the Greek language. + +He spoke of Heliopolis, and proposed to Joseph that he should go there +and establish a mart for salt fish as soon as he had mastered all the +details of the trade, which would be soon: a very little application in +the counting-house would be enough for a clever fellow like Joseph. + +As he said these words his eyes met Rachel's, and as soon as Joseph left +the room she asked him if he believed that Joseph would settle down to +the selling of salt fish: a question which was not agreeable to Dan, who +was at that moment settling himself into the conviction that Joseph had +begun to evince an aptitude for trade that he himself did not acquire +till many years older, causing him to flame up as might be expected +against his mother, telling her that her remarks were most mischievous, +whether she meant them or not. He hoped Joseph was not the young man +that she saw in him. Before he could say any more Joseph returned, and +linked his arm into his father's, and the twain went away together to +the counting-house, Dan enamoured of his son but just a little afraid +all the same that Joseph might weary of trade in the end, just as he had +wearied of learning. He was moved to speak his fear to Joseph, but on +consideration he resolved that no good could come of such confidences, +and on the evening of the first day in the counting-house he whispered +to Rachel that Joseph had taken to trade as a duck to the water, as the +saying is. + +Day after day he watched his son's progress in administration, saying +nothing, waiting for the head clerk to endorse his opinion that there +were the makings of a first-rate man in Joseph. He was careful not to +ask any leading questions, but he could not refrain from letting the +conversation drop, so that the clerk might have an opportunity of +expressing his opinion of Master Joseph's business capacities. But the +clerk made no remark: it might as well have been that Joseph was not in +the counting-house; Dan had begun to hate his clerk, who had been with +him for thirty years. He had brought him from Arimathea and couldn't +dismiss him; he could only look into his eyes appealingly. At last the +clerk spoke, and his words were like manna in the desert; and, +overjoyed, Dan wondered how it was that he could have refrained so long. +It was concerning a certain falling off in an order: if Master Joseph +were to go on a circuit through the Greek cities--Dan could have thrown +his arms about his clerk for these words, but it were better to +dissimulate. You think then that Joseph understands the business +sufficiently? The clerk acquiesced, and it was a great day, of course, +the day Joseph went forth; and in a few weeks Dan had proof that his +confidence in his son's business aptitudes was not misplaced. Joseph +showed himself to be suited to the enterprise by his engaging manner as +well as by his knowledge of Hebrew and Greek, the two languages +procuring him an admission into the confidences of Jew and Gentile +alike. + +The length of these excursions was from three to four weeks, and when +Joseph returned home for an interval his parents disputed as to whether +he should spend his holiday in the counting-house or the dwelling-house. +So to avoid giving offence to either, and for his own pleasure Joseph +often spent these days on the boats with the fishers, learning their +craft from them, losing himself often in meditations how the draught of +fishes might be increased by a superior kind of net: interested in his +trade far too much, Rachel said. His mind seemed bent on it always; +whereas she would have liked to have heard him tell of all the countries +he had been to and of all the people he had seen, but it was always +about salt fish that he was talking: how many barrels had gone to this +town, and how many barrels to another, and the new opening he had +discovered for salt fish in a village the name of which he had never +heard before. + +Rachel's patience with Joseph was long but at last she lost patience and +said she would be glad when the last barrel of salt fish came out of the +lake, for it would not be till then that they would have time to live +their lives in peace and comfort. She gathered up her knitting and was +going to bed, but Joseph would not suffer her to go. He said he had +stories to tell her, and he fell to telling of the several preachers he +had heard in the synagogues, and his voice beguiled the evening away so +pleasantly that Rachel let her knitting drop into her lap and sat +looking at her grandson, stupefied and transported with love. + +Dan's love for his son was more tender in these days than it had ever +been before, but Rachel looked back, thinking the old days were better, +when Joseph used to come from Azariah's talking about his studies. It +may be that Dan, forgetful of his jealousy, looked back to those days +gone over with a certain wistfulness. A boy is, if not more interesting, +at least more unexpected, than a young man. In the old days Dan did not +know what sort of son God had given him, but now he knew that God had +given him the son he always desired, and that Azariah's tending of the +boy's character had been kind, wise and salutary, as the flower and +fruit showed. But in the deepest peace there is disquiet, and in the +relation of his adventures Joseph had begun to display interest in +various interpretations of Scripture which he had heard in the +synagogues--true that he laughed at these, but he had met learned +heretics from Alexandria in Azariah's house. Dan often wondered if these +had not tried to impregnate his mind with their religious theories and +doctrines, for being without religious interests, Dan was strictly +orthodox. + +He did not suspect Azariah, whom he knew to be withal orthodox, as much +as Azariah's friend, Apollonius, the Alexandrian Jew. But though he kept +his ears open for the slightest word he could not discover any trace of +his influence. If his discourse had had any effect, it was to make +Joseph more than ever a Pharisee. He was sometimes even inclined to +think that Joseph was a little too particular, laying too much stress +upon the practice of minute observances, and he began to apprehend that +there was something of the Scribe in Joseph after all. The significance +of his mother's words becoming suddenly clear to Dan, he asked himself +if it were not yet within the width of a finger that Joseph would tire +of trade and retire to Jerusalem and expound the law and the traditions +in the Temple. His vocation, Dan was of opinion, could not yet be +predicted with any certainty: he might go either way--to trade or to +religious learning--and in the midst of these meditations on his son's +character Dan remembered that some friends had come to see Joseph at the +counting-house yesterday. Joseph had taken them out into the yard and +they had talked together, but it was not of the export of salt fish they +had spoken, but of the observances of the Sabbath. Dan had listened, pen +in hand, his thoughts suspended, and had heard them devote many minutes +to the question whether a man should dip himself in the nearest brook if +he had accidentally touched a pig. He had heard them discuss at length +the grace that should be used before eating fruit from a tree, and +whether it were necessary to say three graces after eating three kinds +of fruit at one meal. He had heard one ask if a sheep that had been +killed with a Greek knife could be eaten, and he had heard Joseph ask +him if he knew the sheep had been killed with a Greek knife and the man +confess that he had not made inquiry. If he had known-- + +Dan did not hear the end of the sentence, but imagined that it ended in +a gesture of abhorrence. In his day religion was limited to the law of +Moses, a skein well combed out, but the Scribes in Jerusalem had knotted +and twisted the skein. He had heard Joseph maintain, and stiffly too, +that an egg laid on the day after the Sabbath could not be eaten, +because it had been prepared by the hen on the Sabbath. But one can't +always be watching hens, he said to himself, and the discussion of such +points seeming to him unmanly, he drew back the window-curtain and fell +into admiration of his son's slim loins and great shoulders. Joseph was +laughing with his companions at that moment and his teeth glistened, +every one white and shapely. Why do such discussions interest him? Dan +asked, for his eyes are soft as flowers; and he envied the woman that +Joseph would resort unto in the night. But very often men like Joseph +did not marry, and a new disquietude arose in his mind: he wanted +children, grandchildren. In a few years Joseph should begin to look +round.... Meanwhile it might be well to tell him that men like Hillel +had always held that it is after the spirit rather than the letter we +should strive, and that in running after the latter we are apt to lose +the former, and he accepted the first opportunity to admonish Joseph, +who listened in amazement, wondering what had befallen his father, whom +he had never heard speak like this before. All the same he hearkened to +these warnings and laid them in his memory, and fell to considering his +father as one who had just jogged along the road that he and his +ancestors had come by, without much question. But if his father had set +himself to consider religions, and with that seriousness they deserved, +he would not keep back any longer the matter on which he had long +desired to speak to him. + +The young men to whom he had just bidden good-bye were all going to +Jerusalem, whither Dan was accustomed to go every year for the Feast of +the Passover, but last year the journey thither had fatigued him unduly, +and it seemed to Joseph that this year he should go to Jerusalem in his +father's place; and when he broached the subject, Dan, who had been +thinking for some time that he was not feeling strong enough for this +journey, welcomed Joseph's proposal--a most proper presence Joseph's +would be at the Feast. Joseph had come to the age when he should visit +Jerusalem, but he did not readily understand this sudden enthusiasm. If +he wanted to go to Jerusalem to the Feast of the Passover, why had he +not said so before? And Dan, whose thoughts reached back to the +discussion overheard in the yard, was compelled to ask Joseph if it were +for the purpose of discussing the value of certain minute points of law +that he wished to go to Jerusalem. At which Joseph was astonished that +his father should have asked him such a thing.... Yet why not? For +awhile back he was discussing such very points with some young gossips. +His tongue wagged as was its wont on all occasions, though his mind was +away and he suddenly stopped speaking; and when the stirring of his +father's feet on the floor awakened him, he saw his father sitting pen +in hand watching him and no doubt asking himself of what great and +wonderful thing his son was thinking. + +Once again actuality disappeared. He stood engulfed in memories of +things heard in Azariah's house: or things only half heard, for he had +never thought of them since. The words of the Jews he met there had +fallen dead at the time, but now he remembered things that had passed +over his mind. The heresies of the Jews in Alexandria awoke in him, and +a marvellous longing awoke to see the world. First of all he must begin +with Jerusalem, and he bade his father good-bye with an eagerness not +too pleasant to the old man. + + + + +CHAP. V. + + +Gone to the study of the law! Dan said, as he walked up and down the +room, glancing often into Joseph's letter, for it figured to him the +Temple with the Scribes meditating on the law, or discussing it with +each other while their wives remained at home doing the work. So do +their lives pass over, he said, in the study of the law. Nothing else is +to them of any worth.... My poor boy hopes that I shall forgive him for +not returning home after the Feast of the Passover! Does he suspect that +I would prefer him indifferent to the law in Magdala, rather than +immersed in it at Jerusalem? A little surprised and shocked at the +licentiousness of his thoughts, he drew them into order with the +admission that it is better in every way that a young man should go to +Jerusalem early in his life and acquire reverence for the ritual and +traditions of his race, else he will drift later on into heresy, or +maybe go to live in cities like Tiberias, amongst statues. But why do I +trouble myself like this? For there was a time before I had a son, and +the time is getting very close now when I shall lose him. And Dan stood +swallowed up in the thought of the great gulf into which precarious +health would soon pitch him out of sight of Joseph for ever. It was +Rachel coming into the room that awoke him. She too! he muttered. He +began to fuss about, seeking for writing materials, for he was now +intent to send Joseph a letter of recommendation to the High Priest, +having already forgotten the gulf that awaited him, in the pleasurable +recollection of the courtesy and consideration he received from the most +distinguished men the last time he was in Jerusalem--from Hanan the son +of Seth and father-in-law of Kaiaphas: Kaiaphas was now High Priest, the +High Priest of that year; but in truth, Hanan, who had been High Priest +before him, retained all the power and importance of the office and was +even called the High Priest. Dan remembered that he had been received +with all the homage due to a man of wealth. He liked his wealth to be +acknowledged, for it was part of himself: he had created it; and it was +with pride that he continued his letter to Hanan recommending his son to +him, saying that anything that was done to further Joseph's interests +would be a greater favour than any that could be conferred on himself. + +The letter was sent off by special messenger and Joseph was enjoined to +carry it himself at once to Hanan, which he did, since it was his +father's pleasure that he should do so. He would have preferred to be +allowed to pick his friends from among the people he met casually, but +since this was not to be he assumed the necessary reverence and came +forward in the proper spirit to meet Hanan, who expressed himself as +entirely gratified by Joseph's presence in Jerusalem and promised to +support his election for the Sanhedrin. But if the councillors reject +me? For you see I am still a young man. The innocency of Joseph's remark +pleased Hanan, who smiled over it, expressing a muttered hope that the +Sanhedrin would not take upon itself the task of discussing the merits +and qualifications of those whom he should deem worthy to present for +election. The great man purred out these sentences, Joseph's remark +having reminded him of his exalted position. But thinking his remark +had nettled Hanan, Joseph said: you see I have only just come to +Jerusalem; and this remark continued the flattery, and with an impulsive +movement Hanan took Joseph's hands and spoke to him about his father in +terms that made Joseph feel very proud of Dan, and also of being in +Jerusalem, which had already begun to seem to him more wonderful than he +had imagined it to be: and he had imagined it very wonderful indeed. But +there was a certain native shrewdness in Joseph; and after leaving the +High Priest's place he had not taken many steps before he began to see +through Hanan's plans: which no doubt are laid with the view to impress +me with the magnificence of Jerusalem and its priesthood. He walked a +few yards farther, and remembered that there are always dissensions +among the Jews, and that the son of a rich man (one of first-rate +importance in Galilee) would be a valuable acquisition to the priestly +caste. + +But though he saw through Hanan's designs, he was still the dupe of +Hanan, who was a clever man and a learned man; his importance loomed up +very large, and Joseph could not be without a hero, true or false; so it +could not be otherwise than that Hanan and Kaiaphas and the Sadducees, +whom Joseph met in the Sanhedrin and whose houses he frequented, +commanded his admiration for several months and would have held it for +many months more, had it not been that he happened to be a genuinely +religious man, concerned much more with an intimate sense of God than +with the slaying of bullocks and rams. + +He had accepted the sacrifices as part of a ritual which should not be +questioned and which he had never questioned: yet, without discussion, +without argument, they fell in his estimation without pain, as naturally +as a leaf falls. A friend quoted to him a certain well-known passage in +Isaiah, and not the whole of it: only a few words; and from that moment +the Temple, the priests and the sacrifices became every day more +distasteful to him than they were the day before, setting him pondering +on the mind of the man who lives upon religion while laughing in his +beard at his dupe; he contrasted him with the fellow that drives in his +beast for slaughter and pays his yearly dole; he remembered how he loved +the prophets instinctively though the priests always seemed a little +alien, even before he knew them. Yet he never imagined them to be as far +from true religion (which is the love of God) as he found them; for they +did not try to conceal their scepticism from him: knowing him to be a +friend of the High Priest, it had seemed to them that they might indulge +their wit as they pleased, and once he had even to reprove some priests, +so blasphemous did their jests appear to him. An unusually fat bullock +caused them to speak of the fine regalement he would be to Jahveh's +nostrils. One sacristan, mentioning the sacred name, figured Jahveh as +pressing forward with dilated nostrils. There is no belly in heaven, he +said: its joys are entirely olfactory, and when this beast is smoking, +Jahveh will call down the angels Michael and Gabriel. As if not +satisfied with this blasphemy, as if it were not enough, he turned to +the sacristans by him, to ask them if they could not hear the angels +sniffing as they leaned forward out of their clouds. My priests are +doing splendidly: the fat of this beast is delicious in our nostrils; +were the words he attributed to Jahveh. Michael and Gabriel, he said, +would reply: it is indeed as thou sayest, Sire! + +Joseph marvelled that priests could speak like this, and tried to forget +the vile things they said, but they were unforgettable: he treasured +them in his heart, for he could not do else, and when he did speak, it +was at first cautiously, though there was little need for caution; for +he found to his surprise that everybody knew that the Sadducees did not +believe in a future life and very little in the dogma that the Jews were +the sect chosen by God, Jahveh. He was their God and had upheld the +Jewish race, but for all practical purposes it was better to put their +faith henceforth in the Romans, who would defend Jerusalem against all +barbarians. It was necessary to observe the Sabbath and to preach its +observances and to punish those who violated it, for on the Sabbath +rested the entire superstructure of the Temple itself, and all belief +might topple if the Sabbath was not maintained, and rigorously. In the +houses of the Sadducees Joseph heard these very words, and their crude +scepticism revolted his tender soul: he was drawn back to his own sect, +the Pharisees, for however narrow-minded and fanatical they might be he +could not deny to them the virtue of sincerity. It was with a delightful +sense of community of spirit that he returned to them, and in the +conviction that it would be well to let pass without protest the +observances which himself long ago in Galilee began to look upon with +amusement. + +A sudden recollection of the discussion that had arisen in the yard +behind the counting-house, whether an egg could be eaten if it had been +laid the day after the Sabbath, brought a smile to his face, but a +different smile from of yore, for he understood now better than he had +understood then, that this (in itself a ridiculous) question was no +more serious than a bramble that might for a moment entangle the garment +of a wayfarer: of little account was the delay, if the feet were on the +right road. Now the scruple of conscience that the question had awakened +might be considered as a desire to live according to a law which, +observed for generations, had become part of the national sense and +spirit. On this he fell to thinking that it is only by laws and +traditions that we may know ourselves--whence we have come and whither +we are going. He attributed to these laws and traditions the love of the +Jewish race for their God, and their desire to love God, and to form +their lives in obedience to what they believed to be God's will. Without +these rites and observances their love of God would not have survived. +It was not by exaggeration of these laws but by the scepticism of the +Sadducees that the Temple was polluted. If the priests degraded religion +and made a vile thing of it, there were others that ennobled the Temple +by their piety. + +And as these thoughts passed through Joseph's mind, his eyes went to the +simple folk who never asked themselves whether they were Sadducees or +Pharisees, but were content to pray around the Temple that the Lord +would not take them away till they witnessed the triumph of Israel, +never asking if the promised resurrection would be obtained in this +world--if not in each individual case, by the race itself--or whether +they would all be lifted by angels out of their graves and carried away +by them into a happy immortality. + +The simple folk on whom Joseph's eyes rested favourably, prayed, +untroubled by difficult questions: they were content to love God; and, +captured by their simple unquestioning faith, which he felt to be the +only spiritual value in this world, he was glad to turn away from both +Sadducees and Pharisees and mix with them. Sometimes, and to his great +regret, he brought about involuntarily the very religious disputations +that it was his object to quit for ever when he withdrew himself from +the society of the Pharisees. A chance word was enough to set some of +them by the ears, asking each other whether the soul may or can descend +again into the corruptible body; and it was one day when this question +was being disputed that a disputant, pressing forward, announced his +belief that the soul, being alone immortal, does not attempt to regain +the temple of the body. A doctrine which astonished Joseph, so simple +did it seem and so reasonable; and as he stood wondering why he had not +thought of it himself, his eyes telling his perplexity, he was awakened +from his dream, and his awakening was caused by the word "Essene." He +asked for a meaning to be put upon it, to the great astonishment of the +people, who were not aware that the fame of this third sect of the Jews +was not yet spread into Galilee. There were many willing to instruct +him, and almost the first thing he learnt about them was that they were +not viewed with favour in Jerusalem, for they did not send animals to +the Temple for sacrifice, deeming blood-letting a crime. A still more +fundamental tenet of this sect was its denial of private property: all +they had, belonged to one brother as much as to another, and they lived +in various places, avoiding cities, and setting up villages of their own +accord; notably one on the eastern bank of the Jordan, from whence +recruiting missionaries sometimes came forth, for the Essenes disdained +marriage, and relied on proselytism for the maintenance of the order. +The rule of the Essenes, however, did not exclude marriage because they +believed the end of the world was drawing nigh, but because they wished +to exclude all pleasure from life. To do this, to conceive the duty of +man to be a cheerful exclusion of all pleasure, seemed to Joseph +wonderful, an exaltation of the spirit that he had not hitherto believed +man to be capable of: and one night, while thinking of these things, he +fell on a resolve that he would go to Jericho on the morrow to see for +himself if all the tales he heard about the brethren were true. At the +same time he looked forward to getting away from the seven windy hills +where the sun had not been seen for days, only grey vapour coiling and +uncoiling and going out, and where, with a patter of rain in his ears, +he was for many days crouching up to a fire for warmth. + +But in Jericho he would be as it were back in Galilee: a pleasant winter +resort, to be reached easily in a day by a path through the hills, so +plainly traced by frequent usage that a guide was not needed. A servant +he could not bring with him, for none was permitted in the cenoby, a +different mode and colour of life prevailing there from any he ever +heard of, but he hoped to range himself to it, and--thinking how this +might be done--he rode round the hillside, coming soon into view of +Bethany over against the desert. From thence he proceeded by long +descents into a land tossed into numberless hills and torn up into such +deep valleys that it seemed to him to be a symbol of God's anger in a +moment of great provocation. Or maybe, he said to himself, these valleys +are the ruts of the celestial chariot that passed this way to take +Elijah up to heaven? Or maybe ... His mind was wandering, and--forgetful +of the subject of his meditation--he looked round and could see little +else but strange shapes of cliffs and boulders, rocks and lofty scarps +enwrapped in mist so thick that he fell to thinking whence came the +fume? For rocks are breathless, he said, and there are only rocks here, +only rocks and patches of earth in which the peasants sow patches of +barley. At that moment his mule slid in the slime of the path to within +a few inches of a precipice, and Joseph uttered a cry before the gulf +which startled a few rain-drenched crows that went away cawing, making +the silence more melancholy than before. A few more inches, Joseph +thought, and we should have been over, though a mule has never been +known to walk or to slide over a precipice. A moment after, his mule was +climbing up a heap of rubble; and when they were at the top Joseph +looked over the misted gulf, thinking that if the animal had crossed his +legs mule and rider would both be at the bottom of a ravine by now. And +the crows that my cry startled, he said, would soon return, scenting +blood. He rode on, thinking of the three crows, and when he returned to +himself the mule was about to pass under a projecting rock, regardless, +he thought, of the man on his back, but the sagacious animal had taken +his rider's height into his consideration, so it seemed, for at least +three inches were to spare between Joseph's head and the rock. Nor did +the mule's sagacity end here; for finding no trace of the path on the +other side he started to climb the steep hill as a goat might, +frightening Joseph into a tug or two at the bridle, to which the mule +gave no heed but continued the ascent with conviction and after a little +circuit among intricate rocks turned down the hill again and slid into +the path almost on his haunches. A wonderful animal truly! Joseph said, +marvelling greatly; he guessed that the path lay under the mass of +rubble come down in some landslip. He knew he would meet it farther on: +he may have been this way before. A wonderful animal all the same, a +perfect animal, if he could be persuaded not to walk within ten inches +of the brink! and Joseph drew the mule away to the right, under the +hillside, but a few minutes after, divining that his rider's thoughts +were lost in those strange argumentations common to human beings, the +mule returned to the brink, out of reach of any projecting rocks. He was +happily content to follow the twisting road, giving no faintest +attention to the humped hills always falling into steep valleys and +always rising out of steep valleys, as round and humped as the hills +that were left behind. Joseph noticed the hills, but the mule did not: +he only knew the beginning and the end of his journey, whereas Joseph +began very soon to be concerned to learn how far they were come, and as +there was nobody about who could tell him he reined up his mule, which +began to seek herbage--a dandelion, an anemone, a tuft of wild +rosemary--while his rider meditated on the whereabouts of the inn. The +road, he said, winds round the highest of these hills, reaching at last +a tableland half-way between Jerusalem and Jericho, and on the top of it +is the inn. We shall see it as soon as yon cloud lifts. + + + + +CHAP. VI. + + +A few wanderers loitered about the inn: they came from Mount Sinai, so +the innkeeper said; he mentioned that they had a camel and an ass in the +paddock; and Joseph was surprised by the harshness with which the +innkeeper rushed from him and told the wanderers that they waited in +vain. + +They were strange and fierce, remote like the desert, whence they had +come; and he was afraid of them like the innkeeper, but began to pity +them when he heard that they had not tasted food for a fortnight, only a +little camel's milk. They're waiting for me to give them the rinsings, +the innkeeper said, if any should remain at the bottom of the barrel: +you see, all water has to be brought to the inn in an ox-cart. There's +no well on the hills and we sell water to those who can afford to pay +for it. Then let the man drink his fill, Joseph answered, and his wife +too. And his eyes examined the woman curiously, for he never saw so mean +a thing before: her small beady eyes were like a rat's, and her skin was +nearly as brown. Twenty years of desert wandering leave them like +mummies, he reflected; and the child, whom the mother enjoined to come +forward and to speak winningly to the rich man, though in her early +teens was as lean and brown and ugly as her mother. Marauders they +sometimes were, but now they seemed so poor that Joseph thought he could +never have seen poverty before, and took pleasure in distributing figs +amongst them. Let them not see your money when you pay me, the innkeeper +said, for half a shekel they would have my life, and many's the time +they'd have had it if Pilate, our governor, had not sent me a guard. The +twain spoke of the new procurator till Joseph mounted his mule. I'll see +that none of them follow you, the innkeeper whispered; and Joseph rode +away down the lower hills, alongside of precipices and through narrow +defiles, following the path, which debouched at last on to a shallow +valley full of loose stones and rocks. I suppose the mule knows best, +Joseph said, and he held the bridle loosely and watched the rain, +regretting that the downpour should have begun in so exposed a place, +but so convinced did the animal seem that the conduct of the journey +should be left entirely to his judgment that it was vain to ask him to +hasten his pace, and he continued to clamber down loose heaps of stones, +seeking every byway unnecessarily, Joseph could not help thinking, but +bringing his rider and himself safely, he was forced to admit, at the +foot of the hills over against Jericho. Another toiling ascent was +begun, and Joseph felt a trickle of rain down his spine, while the mule +seemed to debate with himself whether shelter was to be sought, and +spying a rock a little way up the hillside he trotted straight to it and +entered the cave--the rock projected so far beyond a hill that it might +be called a cave, and better shelter from the rain they could not have +found. A wonderful animal, thou'rt surely, knowing everything, Joseph +said, and the mule shook the rain out of his long ears, and Joseph stood +at the mouth of the cave, watching the rain falling and gathering into +pools among the rocks, wondering the while if this land was cast away +into desert by the power of the Almighty God because of the worship of +the Golden Calf; and then remembering that it was cast into desert for +the sins of the cities of the plain, he said: how could I have thought +else? As soon as this rain ceases we will go up the defile and at the +end of it the lake will lie before us deep down under the Moab +mountains. He remembered too that he would have to reach to the cenoby +before the day was over, or else sleep in Jericho. + +The sky seemed to be brightening: at that moment he heard footsteps. He +was unarmed and the hills were infested by robbers. The steps continued +to approach.... + +His hope was that the man might be some innocent shepherd in search of a +lost ewe: if he were a robber, that he might pass on, unsuspicious of a +traveller seeking shelter from the rain in a cave a little way up the +hillside. The man came into view of the cave and stood for some time in +front of it, his back turned to Joseph, looking round the sky, and then, +like one who has lost hope in the weather, he hastened on his way. As +soon as he was out of sight, Joseph led out his mule, clambered into the +saddle, and digging his heels into the mule's sides, galloped the best +part of a mile till he reached the Roman fort overlooking the valley. If +a robber was to emerge, a Roman soldier would speedily come to his +assistance; but behind him and the fort were some excellent +lurking-places, Joseph thought, for robbers, and again his heels went +into his mule. But this time, as if he knew that haste was no longer +necessary, the mule hitched up his back and jangled his bells so loudly +that again Joseph's heart stood still. He was within sight of Jericho, +but half-way down the descent a group of men were waiting, as if for +travellers. His best chance was to consider them as harmless passengers, +so he rode on, and the beggars--for they were no more--held up maimed +leprous limbs to excite his pity. + +He was now within two miles of Jericho, and he rode across the sandy +plain, thinking of the Essenes and the cenoby on the other side of +Jordan. He rode in full meditation, and it was not till he was nigh the +town of Jericho that he attempted to think by which ford he should cross +Jordan: whether by ferry, in which case he must leave his mule in +Jericho; or by a ford higher up the stream, if there was a ford +practicable at this season; which is doubtful, he said to himself, as he +came within view of the swollen river. And he hearkened to one who +declared the river to be dangerous to man and beast: but another told +him differently, and being eager to reach the cenoby he determined to +test the ford. + +If the water proved too strong he would return to Jericho, but the mule +plunged forward, and at one moment it was as like as not that the flood +would carry them away into the lake beyond, but Joseph's weight enabled +the animal to keep on his hooves, and the water shallowing suddenly, the +mule reached the opposite bank. It was my weight that saved us, Joseph +said; and dismounting, he waited for the panting animal to recover +breath. We only just did it. The way to the cenoby? he called out to a +passenger along the bank, and was told he must hasten, for the Essenes +did not receive anybody after sunset: which may or may not be true, he +muttered, as he pursued his way, his eyes attracted and amused by the +long shadow that himself and his mule projected over the wintry earth. +He was tempted to tickle the animal's long ears with a view to altering +the silhouette, and then his thoughts ran on into the cenoby and what +might befall him yonder; for that must be it, he said, looking forward +and discovering a small village on the lower slopes of the hills, on the +ground shelving down towards the river. + +His mule, scenting food and rest, began to trot, though very tired, and +half-an-hour afterwards Joseph rode into a collection of huts, +grouped--but without design--round a central building which he judged to +be an assembly hall whither the curators, of whom he had heard, met for +the transaction of the business of the community. And no doubt, he said, +it serves for a refectory, for the midday meal which gathers all the +brethren for the breaking of bread. As he was thinking of these things, +one of the brethren laid hands on the bridle and asked him whom he might +be wishing to see; to which question Joseph answered: the Head. The +brother replied: so be it; and tethered the mule to a post at the corner +of the central hut, begging Joseph to enter and seat himself on one of +the benches, of which there were many, and a table long enough to seat +some fifty or sixty. + +He recognised the place he was in as the refectory, where the rite of +the breaking of bread was accomplished. To-morrow I shall witness it, he +said, and felt like dancing and singing in his childish eagerness. But +the severity of the hall soon quieted his mood, and he remembered he +must collect his thoughts and prepare his story for recital, for he +would be asked to give an account of himself. As he was preparing his +story, the president entered: a tall man of bulk, with the pallor of age +in his face and in the hand that lifted the black taffeta cap from his +head. The courteousness of the greeting did more than to put Joseph at +his ease, as the saying is. In a few moments he was confiding himself to +this man of kindly dignity, whose voice was low, who seemed to speak +always from the heart, and it was wholly delightful to tell the great +Essene that he was come from Galilee to attend the Feast of the Passover +in his father's place, and that after having allied himself in turn to +the Sadducees and the Pharisees he came to hear of the Essenes: I have +come thither, hoping to find the truth here. You have truthful eyes, +said the president; and, thus encouraged, Joseph told that there were +some in the Temple, the poor who worship God daily with a whole heart. +It was from them, he said, that I heard of your doctrines. Of which you +can have obtained only the merest outline, the president answered; and +perhaps when you know us better our rule may seem too hard for you to +follow, or it may be that you will feel that you are called to worship +God differently from us. But it matters naught how we worship, if our +worship come from the heart. + +The word "heart" startled Joseph out of himself, and his eyes falling at +that moment on the Essene he was moved to these words: Father, I could +never disobey thee. Let me stay, put me to the tests. But the tests are +long, the president answered; we would not suffer you to return to +Jericho to-night, even if you wished it. Your mule is tired and would be +swept away by the descending flood. You will remain with us for to-night +and for as long after it as pleases you--to the end of your +probationship and after, if you prove yourself worthy of admission. +Meanwhile you will be given a girdle, a white garment and a little axe. +You will sleep in one of the outlying huts. Come with me and I will take +you round our village. We shall meet on our way some of the brothers +returning from their daily tasks, for we all have a craft: many of us +are husbandmen; the two coming towards us carrying spades are from the +fields, and that one turning down the lane is a shepherd; he has just +folded his flock, but he will return to them with his dogs, for we +suffer a great deal from the ravages of wild beasts with which the woods +are thronged, wolves especially. In our community there are healers, and +these study the medicinal properties of herbs. If you resolve to remain +with us, you will choose a craft. + +Joseph mentioned that the only craft he knew was dry-salting, and it was +disappointing to hear that there were no fish in the lake. + +There is a long time of probationship before one is admitted, the +president continued, and when that is concluded another long time must +pass over before the proselyte is called to join us at the common +repasts. Before he breaks bread with us he must bind himself by oath to +be always pious towards the Divinity, to observe justice towards men, +and to injure no one voluntarily or by command: to hate always the +unjust and never to shrink from taking part in the conflict on the side +of the just; to show fidelity to all and especially to those who rule. +Thou'lt soon begin to understand that rule doesn't fall to anyone except +by the will of God. I have never deserved to rule, but headship came to +me, he added half sadly, as if he feared he had not been sufficiently +exacting. After asking Joseph whether he felt himself strong enough to +obey so severe a rule, he passed from father to teacher. Every one of +us must love truth and make it his purpose to confute those who speak +falsehood; to keep his hands from stealing and his soul from unjust +gain. He must never conceal anything from a member of the order, nor +reveal its secrets to others, even if he should have to suffer death by +withholding them; and above all, while trying to engage proselytes he +must speak the doctrines only as he has heard them from us. Thou'lt +return perhaps to Jerusalem.... + +He broke off to speak to the brothers who were passing into the village +from their daily work, and presented Joseph as one who, shocked by the +service of the Sadducees in the Temple, had come desiring admission to +their order. At the news of a new adherent, the faces of the brothers +became joyous; for though the rule seems hard when related, they said, +in practice, even at first, it seems light enough, and soon we do not +feel it at all. + +They were now on the outskirts of the village, and pointing to a cabin +the Essene told Joseph that he would sleep there and enter on the morrow +upon his probationship. But, Father, may I not hear more? If a brother +be found guilty of sin, will he be cast out of the order? The president +answered that if one having been admitted to their community committed +sins deserving of death, he was cast out and often perished by a most +wretched fate, for being bound by oath and customs he could not even +receive food from others but must eat grass, and with his body worn by +famine he perishes. Unless, the president added, we have pity on him at +the last breath and think he has suffered sufficiently for his sins. + + + + +CHAP. VII. + + +The hut that Joseph was bidden to enter was the last left in the cenoby +for allotment, four proselytes having arrived last month. + +No better commodity have we for the moment, the curator said, struck by +the precarious shelter the hut offered--a crazy door and a roof that let +the starlight through at one end of the wall. But the rains are over, he +added, and the coverlet is a warm one. On this he left Joseph, whom the +bell would call to orison, too tired to sleep, turning vaguely from side +to side, trying to hush the thoughts that hurtled through his clear +brain--that stars endure for ever, but the life of the palm-tree was as +the life of the man who fed on its fruit. The tree lived one hundred +years, and among the Essenes a centenarian was no rare thing, but of +what value to live a hundred years in the monotonous life of the cenoby? +And in his imagination, heightened by insomnia, the Essenes seemed to +him like the sleeping trees. If he remained he would become like them, +while his father lived alone in Galilee! Dan rose up before him and he +could find no sense in the assurances he had given the president that he +wished to be admitted into the order. He seemed no longer to desire +admission, and if he did desire it he could not, for his father's sake, +accept the admission. Then why had he talked as he had done to the +president? He could not tell: and it must have been while lying on his +right side, trying to understand himself, what he was and why he was in +the cenoby, that he fell into that deep and dreamless sleep from which +he was awakened by a bell, and so suddenly that it seemed to him that he +had not been asleep more than a few minutes. It was no doubt the bell +for morning prayer: and only half awake he repaired with the other +proselytes to the part of the village open to the sunrise. + +All the Essenes were assembled there, and he learnt that they looked +upon this prayer of thanksgiving for the return of light as the +important event of the day. He joined in it, though he suspected a +certain idolatry in the prayer. It seemed to him that the Essenes were +praying for the sun to rise; but to do this would be to worship the sun +in some measure, and to look upon the sun as in some degree a God, he +feared; but the Essenes were certainly very pious Jews. What else they +were, time would reveal to him: a few days would be enough; and long +before the prayer was finished he was thinking of his father in Galilee +and what his face would tell, were he to see his son bowing before the +sun. But the Essenes were not really worshipping the sun but praying to +God that the sun might rise and give them light again to continue their +daily work. One whole day at least he must spend in the cenoby, +and--feeling that he was becoming interested again in the Essenes--he +began to form a plan to stay some time with them. + +On rising from his knees, he thought he might stay for some weeks. But +if the Essene brotherhood succeeded in persuading him that his fate was +to abandon his father and the trade that awaited him in Galilee and the +wife who awaited him somewhere? His father often said: Joseph, you are +the last of our race. I hope to see with you a good wife who will bear +you children, for I should like to bless my grandchildren before I die. +The Essenes would at least free him from the necessity of telling his +father that there was no heart in him for a wife; and if he did not take +a wife, he might become---- One of the curators whispered to him the use +he should make of the little axe, and he followed the other proselytes; +and having found a place where the earth was soft, each dug a hole about +a foot deep, into which they eased themselves, afterwards filling up the +hole with the earth that had been taken out. Joseph then went down with +them to a source for purifications, and these being finished the +proselytes grouped themselves round Joseph, anxious to become acquainted +with the last recruit, and asking all together what provision of food he +had made for himself for that day: if he had made none, he would have to +go without food, for only those who were admitted into the order were +suffered to the common repasts. A serious announcement, he said, to make +to a man at break of day who knew nothing of these things yesterday, and +he asked how his omission might be repaired. He must ask for permission +to go to Jericho to buy food. As he was going there on a mule, he might +bring back food not only for himself but for all of them: enough lentils +to last a week; and he inquired what else they were permitted to eat--if +eggs were forbidden? At which the proselytes clapped their hands. A +basket of eggs! A basket of eggs! And some honey! cried another. Figs! +cried a third; we haven't tasted any for a month. But my mule's back +will not bear all that you require, Joseph answered. Our mule! cried the +proselytes; all property is held in common. Even the fact of my mule +having become common property, Joseph said, will not enable him to +carry more than his customary burden, and the goods will embarrass me. +If the mule belongs to the community, then I am the mule driver, the +provider of the community. Constituted such by thy knowledge of the +aptitudes and temper and strength of the animal! cried a proselyte after +him, and he went away to seek out one of the curators; for it is not +permissible for an Essene to go to Jericho without having gotten +permission. Of course the permission was at once granted, and while +saddling his mule for the journey the memory of the river overnight now +caused Joseph to hesitate and to think that he might find himself return +empty-handed to the plump of proselytes now waiting to see him start. + +But if thou crossed the river yesterday, there is no reason why thou +shouldn't cross it in safety now, cried one. But forget not the basket +of eggs, said a second. Nor the honey, mentioned a third, and a fourth +called after him the quality of lentils he enjoyed. The mind of the +fifth regarding food was not expressed, for a curator came by and +reproved them, saying they were mere belly-worshippers. + +There will be less water in the river than there was overnight, the +curator said, and Joseph hoped he was right, for it would be a harsh and +disagreeable death to drown in a lake so salt that fish could not live +in it. True, one would escape being eaten by fishes; but if the mule be +carried away, he said to himself, drown I shall, long before I reach the +lake, unless indeed I strike out and swim--which, it seemed to him, +might be the best way to save his life--and if there be no current in +the lake I can gain the shore easily. But the first sight of the river +proved the vanity of his foreboding, for during the night it had emptied +a great part of its flood into the lake. The struggle in getting his +mule across was slight; still slighter when he returned with a sack of +lentils, a basket of eggs, some pounds of honey and many misgivings as +to whether he should announce this last commodity to the curator or +introduce it surreptitiously. To begin his probationship with a +surreptitious act would disgrace him in the eyes of the prior, whose +good opinion he valued above all. So did his thoughts run on till he +came within sight of a curator, who told him that sometimes, on the +first day of probationship, honey and figs were allowed. + +The cooking of the food and the eating of it in the only cabin in which +there were conveniences for eating helped the time away, and Joseph +began to ask himself how long his cloistral life was going to endure, +for he seemed to have lost all desire to leave it, and had begun to turn +the different crafts over in his mind and to debate which he should +choose to put his hand to. Of husbandry he was as ignorant as a crow, +nor could he tell poisonous pastures from wholesome, nor could he help +in the bakery. At first venture there seemed to be no craft for him to +follow, since fish did not thrive in the Salt Lake and the fisherman's +art could not be practised, he was told, in the Jordan, for the Essenes +were not permitted to kill any living thing. + +While laying emphasis on this rule, the curator cracked a flea under his +robe, but Joseph did not call his attention to his disobedience, but +bowed his head and left him to the scruple of conscience which he hoped +would awaken in him later. + +Before this had time to come to pass, the curator called after him and +suggested that he might teach Hebrew to the four proselytes, whose +knowledge of that language had seemed to Mathias, their instructor, +disgracefully weak. They were all from Alexandria, like their teacher, +and read the Scriptures in Greek; but the Essenes, so said the curator, +must read the Scriptures in Hebrew; and the teaching of Hebrew, Mathias +said to Joseph, takes me away from my important work, but it may amuse +you to teach them. Our father may accept you as a sufficient teacher: go +to him for examination. + +A little talk and a few passages read from the Scriptures satisfied the +president that Joseph was the assistant teacher that had been so long +desired in the community, and he spoke to Joseph soothingly of Mathias, +whose life work was the true interpretation of the Scriptures. But did +the Scriptures need interpretation? Joseph asked himself, not daring to +put questions to the president; and on an early occasion he asked +Mathias what the president meant when he spoke of a true interpretation +of the Scriptures, and was told that the true meaning of the Scriptures +lay below the literal meaning. There can be no doubt, he said, that the +Scriptures must be regarded as allegories; and he explained to Joseph +that he devoted all his intellect to discovering and explaining these +allegories, a task demanding extraordinary assiduity, for they lay +concealed in what seemed to the vulgar eye mere statements of fact: as +if, he added scornfully, God chose the prophets for no better end than a +mere relation of facts! He was willing, however, to concede that his +manner of treating the Scriptures was not approved by the entire +community, but in view of his learning, the proselytes were admitted to +his lectures--one of the innovations of the prior, who, in spite of all, +remained one of his supporters. + +To the end of his life Joseph kept in his memory the moment when he sat +in the corner of the hall, his eyes fixed upon Mathias's young and +beautiful profile, clear cut, hard and decisive as the profiles of the +young gods that decorated the Greek coins which shocked him in Caesarea. +His memory of Mathias was as partial; but he knew the president's full +face, and while pondering on it he remembered that he had never seen him +in profile. Nor was this all that set the two men apart in Joseph's +consciousness. The prior's simple and homely language came from the +heart, entered the heart and was remembered, whereas Mathias spoke from +his brain. The heart is simple and always the same, but the brain is +complex and various; and therefore it was natural that Mathias should +hold, as if in fee, a great store of verbal felicities, and that he +should translate all shades of thought at once into words. + +His mind moved in a rich, erudite and complex syntax that turned all +opposition into admiration. Even the president, who had been listening +to theology all his life and had much business to attend to, must fain +neglect some of it for the pleasure of listening to Mathias when he +lectured. Even Saddoc, the most orthodox Jew in the cenoby, Mathias +could keep as it were chained to his seat. He resented and spurned the +allegory, but the beautiful voice that brought out sentence after +sentence, like silk from off a spool, enticed his thoughts away from it. +The language used in the cenoby was Aramaic, and never did Joseph hear +that language spoken so beautifully. It seemed to him that he was +listening to a new language and on leaving the hall he told Mathias that +it had seemed to him that he was listening to Aramaic for the first +time. Mathias answered him--blushing a little, Joseph thought--that he +hoped one of these days, in Egypt perhaps, if Joseph ever went there, to +lecture to him in Greek. He liked Aramaic for other purposes, but for +philosophy there was but one language. But you speak Greek and are now +teaching Greek, so let us speak it when we are together, Mathias said, +and if I detect any incorrectness I will warn you against it. + +That Mathias should choose to speak to him in Greek was flattering +indeed, and Joseph, who had not spoken Greek for many months, began to +prattle, but he had not said many words before Mathias interrupted him +and said: you must have learnt Greek very young. This remark turned the +talk on to Azariah; and Mathias listened to Joseph's account of his +tutor carelessly, interrupting him when he had heard enough with a +remark anent the advancement of the spring, to which Joseph did not know +how to reply, so suddenly had his thoughts been jerked away from the +subject he was pursuing. You have the full Jewish mind, Mathias +continued; interested in moral ideas rather than beauty: without eyes +for the village. True that you see it in winter plight, but in the near +season all the fields will be verdant and the lintels running over with +flowers. He waited for Joseph to defend himself, but Joseph did not know +for certain that Mathias was not right--perhaps he was more interested +in moral ideas than in beauty. However this might be, he began to +experience an aversion, and might have taken leave of Mathias if they +had not come upon the president. He stopped to speak to them; and having +congratulated Mathias on having fortuned at last on an efficient teacher +of Hebrew and Greek, and addressed a few kindly words directly to Joseph +and taken his hand in his, the head of the community bade them both +good-bye, saying that important business needed his presence. He sped +away on his business, but he seemed to leave something of himself +behind, and even Mathias was perforce distracted from his search of a +philosophic point of view and indulged himself in the luxury of a simple +remark. His goodness, he said, is so natural, like the air we breathe +and the bread we eat, and that is why we all love him, and why all +dissension vanishes at the approach of our president; a remarkable man. + +The most wonderful I have ever seen, Joseph answered: a remark that did +not altogether please Mathias, for he added: his power is in himself, +for he is altogether without philosophy. + +Joseph was moved to ask Mathias if the charm that himself experienced +was not an entire absence of philosophy. But he did not dare to rouse +Mathias, whom he feared, and his curiosity overcame his sense of loyalty +to the president. If he were to take his leave abruptly, he would have +to return alone to the village to seek the four proselytes, but their +companionship did not attract him, and he found himself at that moment +unable to deny himself the pleasure of the sweet refreshing evening air, +which as they approached the river seemed to grow sweeter. The river +itself was more attractive than he had yet seen it, and there was that +sadness upon it which we notice when a rainy day passes into a fine +evening. The clouds were rolling on like a battle--pennants flying in +splendid array, leaving the last row of hills outlined against a clear +space of sky; and, with his eyes fixed on the cliffs over against the +coasts of the lake, Mathias let his thoughts run after his favourite +abstractions: the relation of God to time and place. As he dreamed his +metaphysics, he answered Joseph's questions from time to time, +manifesting, however, so little interest in them that at last Joseph +felt he could bear it no longer, and resolved to leave him. But just as +he was about to bid him good-bye, Mathias said that the Essenes were +pious Jews who were content with mere piety, but mere piety was not +enough: God had given to man a mind, and therefore desired man to +meditate, not on his own nature--which was trivial and passing--but on +God's nature, which was important and eternal. + +This remark revealed a new scope for inquiry to Joseph, who was +interested in the Essenes; but his search was for miracles and prophets +rather than ideas, and if he tarried among the Essenes it was because he +had come upon two great men. He fell to considering the question afresh, +and--forgetful of Mathias's admonitions that the business of man is to +meditate on the nature of God--he said: the Essenes perform no miracles +and do not prophesy;--an interruption to Mathias's loquacity which the +other took with a better grace than Joseph had expected--for no one ever +dared before to interrupt Mathias. Joseph had done so accidentally and +expected a very fine reproof, but Mathias checked his indignation and +told Joseph that Manahem, an Essene, had foreknowledge of future events +given to him by God: for when he was a child and going to school, +Manahem saw Herod and saluted him as king of the Jews; and Herod, +thinking the boy was in jest or did not know him, told him he was but a +private citizen; whereat Manahem smiled to himself, and clapping Herod +on the backside with his hand said: thou wilt be king and wilt begin thy +reign happily, for God finds thee worthy. And then, as if enough was +said on this subject, Mathias began to diverge from it, mixing up the +story with many admonitions and philosophical reflections, very wise and +salutary, but not what Joseph cared to hear at that moment. He was in +no wise interested at that moment to hear that he had done well in +testing all the different sects of the Jews, and though the Essenes were +certainly the most learned, they did not possess the whole truth. With a +determination that was impossible to oppose, Mathias said: the whole +truth is not to be found, even among the Essenes, and, my good friend, I +would not encourage in you a hope that you may be permitted ever during +your mortal life to discover the whole truth. It exists not in any +created thing: but glimpses of the light are often detected, now here, +now there, shining through a clouded vase. But the simile, he added, of +the clouded vase gives rise to the thought that the light resides within +the vase: the very contrary of which is the case. For there is no light +in the vase itself: the light shines from beyond the skies, and I should +therefore have compared man to a crystal itself that catches the light +so well that it seems to our eyes to be the source of light, which is +not true in principle or in fact, for in the darkness a crystal is as +dark as any other stone. In such part do I explain the meaning that the +wicked man, having no divine irradiation, is without instruction of God +and knowledge of God's creations; he is as a fugitive from the divine +company, and cannot do else than hold that everything is created from +the world to be again dissolved into the world. And being no better than +a follower of Heraclitus--But who is Heraclitus? Joseph asked. + +A clouded face was turned upon Joseph, and for some moments the sage +could not collect his thoughts sufficiently to answer him. Who is +Heraclitus? he repeated, and then, with a general interest in his pupil, +he ran off a concise exposition of that philosopher's doctrine--a +mistake on his part, as he was quick enough to admit to himself; for +though he reduced his statement to the lowest limits, it awakened in +Joseph an interest so lively that he felt himself obliged to expose this +philosopher's fallacies; and in doing this he was drawn away from his +subject, which was unfortunate. The hour was near by when the Essenes +would, according to rule, retire to their cells for meditation, +and--foreseeing that he could not rid himself of the burden which +Joseph's question imposed upon him--he abandoned Heraclitus in a last +refutation, to warn Joseph that he must not resume his questions. + +But if I do not ask at once, my chance is gone for ever; for your +discourse is like the clouds, always taking new shapes, Joseph pleaded. +In dread lest all be forgotten, I repeat to myself what you have said, +and so lose a great deal for a certain remembrance. + +Joseph's manifest delight in his statement of the doctrines of +Heraclitus, and his subsequent refutation of the heathen philosopher +caused Mathias to forget temporarily certain ideas that he had been +fostering for some days--that God, being the designer and maker of all +things, and their governor, is likewise the creator of time itself, for +he is the father of its father, and the father of time is the world, +which made its own mother--the creation. So that time stands towards God +in the relation of a grandson; for this world is a young son of God. On +these things the sage's thoughts had been running for some days past, +and he would have liked to have expounded his theory to Joseph: that +nothing is future to God: creations and the very boundaries of time are +subject. + +He said much more, but Joseph did not hear. He was too busy memorising +what he had already heard, and during long hours he strove to come to +terms with what he remembered, but in vain. The more he thought, the +less clear did it seem to him that in eternity there is neither past nor +future, that in eternity everything is present. Mathias's very words; +but when he said them, there seemed to be something behind the words; +while listening, it seemed to Joseph that sight had been given to him, +but his eyes proved too weak to bear the too great illumination, and he +had been obliged to cover them with his hands, shutting out a great deal +so that he might see just a little ... as it were between his fingers. +As we think of God only under the form of light, it seemed to him that +the revelation entered into him by his eyes rather than by his ears. He +would return to the sage every day, but what if he were not able to +remember, if it were all to end in words with nothing behind the words? +The sage said that in a little while the discourses would not seem so +elusive and evanescent. At present they seemed to Joseph like the mist +on the edge of a stream, and he strove against the belief that a +philosopher is like a man who sets out to walk after the clouds. + +Such a belief being detestable, he resolved to rid himself of it, and +Mathias would help him, he was sure, and in this hope he confided his +life to him, going back to the night when Samuel appeared to him, and +recounting his father's business and character, introducing the +different tutors that were chosen for him, and his own choice of +Azariah, to whom he owed his knowledge of Greek. To all of which the +philosopher listened complacently enough, merely asking if Azariah +shared the belief prevalent in Galilee that the world was drawing to a +close. On hearing that he did, he seemed to lose interest in Joseph's +story of Azariah's relations to his neighbours, nor did he seem unduly +afflicted at hearing that only the most orthodox views were acceptable +in Galilee. His indifference was disheartening, but being now deep in +his biography, Joseph related perforce the years he spent doing his +father's business in northern Syria, hoping as he told his story to +awaken the sage's interest in his visit to Jerusalem. The Sadducees did +not believe that Jahveh had resolved to end the world and might be +expected to appear in his chariot surrounded by angels blowing trumpets, +bidding the dead to rise. But the Pharisees did believe in the +resurrection--unfortunately including that of the corruptible body, +which seemed to present many difficulties. He was about to enter on an +examination of these difficulties, but the philosopher moved them aside +contemptuously, and Joseph understood that he could not demean himself +to the point of discussing the fallacies of the Pharisees, who, Joseph +said, hope to stem the just anger of God on the last day by minute +observances of the Sabbath. Mathias raised his eyes, and it was a +revulsion of feeling, Joseph continued, against hypocrisy and +fornication, that put me astride my mule as soon as I heard of the +Essenes, the most enlightened sect of the Jews in Palestine. That you +should be among them is testimony of their enlightenment.... Mathias +raised his hand, and Joseph's face dropped into an expression of +attention. Mathias was willing to accede that much, but certain +circumlocutions in his language led Joseph to suspect that Mathias was +not altogether satisfied with the Essenes. He seemed to think that they +were too prone to place mere piety above philosophy: a mistake; for our +intellect being the highest gift we have received from God, it follows +that we shall please him best by using it assiduously. He spoke about +the prayers before sunrise and asked Joseph if they did not seem to him +somewhat trite and trivial and if he did not think that the moment would +be more profitably spent by instituting a comparison between the light +of the intellect and that of the sun? + +Mathias turned to Joseph, and waited for him to confess his +perplexities. But it was hard to confess to Mathias that philosophy was +useless if the day of judgment were at hand! He dared not speak against +philosophy and it was a long time before Mathias guessed his trouble, +but as soon as it dawned on him that Joseph was in doubt as to the +utility of philosophy, his face assumed so stern an expression that +Joseph began to feel that Mathias looked upon him as a fool. It may have +been that Joseph's consternation, so apparent on his face, restored +Mathias into a kindly humour. Be that as it may, Mathias pointed out, +and with less contempt than Joseph expected, that the day of judgment +and philosophy had nothing in common. We should never cease to seek +after wisdom, he said. Joseph concurred. It was not, however, pleasing +to Joseph to hear prophecy spoken of as the outpourings of madmen, +but--having in mind the contemptuous glance that would fall upon him if +he dared to put prophecy above philosophy--he held his peace, venturing +only to remark that no prophets were found in Judea for some hundreds of +years. Except Manahem, he added hurriedly. But his remembrance of +Manahem did not appease the philosopher, who dropped his eyes on Joseph +and fixed them on him. The moment was one of agony for Joseph. And as if +he remembered suddenly that Joseph was only just come into the district +of the Jordan, Mathias told with some ironical laughter that the +neighbourhood was full of prophets, as ignorant and as ugly as hyenas. +They live, he said, in the caves along the western coasts of the Salt +Lake, growling and snarling over the world, which they seem to think +rotten and ready for them to devour. Or else they issue forth and entice +the ignorant multitude into the Jordan, so that they may the more easily +plunge them under the flood. But of what use to speak of these crazed +folk, when there are so many subjects of which philosophy may gracefully +treat? + +Prophets in caves about the Salt Lake! Joseph muttered; and a great +desire awakened in him to see them. But you're not going in search of +these wretched men? Mathias asked, and his eyes filled with contempt, +and Joseph felt that Mathias had already decided that all intellectual +companionship was henceforth impossible between them. He was tempted to +temporise. It was not to discuss the resurrection that he desired to see +these men, but for curiosity; and during the long walk he would meditate +on Mathias's doctrines.... Mathias did not answer him, and Joseph, +seeing him cast away in philosophy and unable to advise him further, +went to the president to ask for permission to absent himself for two +days from the cenoby, a permission that was granted willingly when the +object of the absence was duly related. + + + + +CHAP. VIII. + + +There was one John preaching in the country about the Jordan: the +Baptist, they call him, the president said. But go, Joseph, and see the +prophets for thyself. I shall be rare glad to hear what thou hast to +say! And he pressed Joseph's hand, sending him off in good cheer. Banu, +ask for Banu! were the last words he called after him, and Joseph hoped +the ferryman would be able to point out the way to him. Oh yes, I know +the prophet; the ferryman answered: a disciple of John, that all the +people are following. But there be a bit of a walk before thee, and one +that'll last thee till dawn, for Banu has been that bothered by visits +these times, that he has gone up the desert out of the way, for he be +preparing himself these whiles. For what? Joseph asked. The ferryman did +not know; he told that John was not baptizing that morning, but for why +he did not know. As like as not he be waiting for the river to lower, he +said. At which Joseph had half a mind to leave Banu for John; but a +passenger was calling the ferryman from the opposite bank and he was +left with incomplete information and wandered on in doubt whether to +return in quest of the Baptist or make the disciple his shift. + +The way pointed out to him lay through the desert, and to find Banu's +cave without guidance would not be easy, and after having found and +interrogated him the way would seem longer to return than to come. But, +having gone so far, he could not do else than attempt the hot weary +search. And it will be one! he said, as he picked his way through the +bushes and brambles that contrive to subsist somehow in the flat sandy +waste lying at the head of the lake. But as he proceeded into the desert +these signs of life vanished, and he came upon a region of craggy and +intricate rocks rising sometimes into hills and sometimes breaking away +and littering the plain with rubble. The desert is never completely +desert for long, and on turning westward as he was directed, Joseph +caught sight of the hill which he had been told to look out for--he +could not miss it, for the evening sun lit up a high scarp, and on +coming to the end of a third mile the desert began to look a little less +desert, brambles began again. Banu could not be far away. But Joseph did +not dare to go farther. He had been walking for many hours, and even if +he were to meet Banu he could not speak to him, so closely did his +tongue cleave to the sides of his mouth. But these brambles betoken +water, he said; and on coming round a certain rock bulging uncouth from +the hillside, he discovered a trickle, and a few paces distant, Banu, +ugly as a hyena and more ridiculous than the animal, for--having no +shirt to cover his nakedness--he had tressed a garland of leaves about +his waist! Yet not so ugly at second sight as at first, for he sees God, +Joseph said to himself; and he waited for Banu to rise from his knees. + +Even hither do they pursue me, Banu's eyes seemed to say, while his +fingers modestly rearranged his garland; and Joseph, who began to dread +the hermit, begged to have the spring pointed out to him that he might +drink. Banu pointed to it, and Joseph knelt and drank, and after +drinking he was in better humour to tell Banu that Mathias, the great +philosopher from Alexandria, scorned the prophecies that the end of the +world could not be delayed much longer. And, as John is not baptizing +these days, I thought I'd come and ask if we had better begin to prepare +for the resurrection and the judgment. On hearing Joseph's reasons for +his visit, the hermit stood with dilated eyes, as if about to speak. But +he did not speak; and Joseph asked him what would become of the world +after God destroyed it. Before answering, Banu stooped down, and having +filled his hand with sand and gravel he said: God will fill his hand +with earth, but not this time to make a man and woman, but out of each +of his hands will come a full nation, and these he will put into full +possession of the earth, for his chosen people will not repent.... + +But the ferryman told me that John gathered many together and was +baptizing in Jordan? Joseph inquired. To which Banu answered naught, but +stood looking at Joseph, who could scarce bring himself to look at Banu, +though he felt himself to be in sore need of some prophetic confirmation +of the date of the judgment. Is John the Messiah, come to preach that +God is near and that we must repent in time? he asked; to which the +hermit replied that the Messiah would have many fore-runners, and one of +these would give his earthly life as a peace-offering, but enraged +Jahveh would not accept it as sufficient and would return with the +Messiah and destroy the world. I am waiting here till God bids me arise +and preach to men, and the call will be soon, Banu said, for God's wrath +is even now at its height. But do thou go hence to John, who has been +called to the Jordan, and get baptism from him. But John is not +baptizing these days, the river being in flood, Joseph cried after him. +That flood will pass away, Banu answered, before the great and +overwhelming flood arises. Will the world be destroyed by water? At this +question Banu turned towards the hillside, like one that deemed his last +exhortation to be enough, and who desired an undisturbed possession of +the solitude. But at the entrance of the cave he stopped: the track is +easy to lose after nightfall, he said, and panthers will be about in +search of gazelles. Thou wouldst do well to remain with me: my cave is +secure against wild beasts. Look behind thee: how dark are the rocks and +hills! Joseph cast his eyes in the direction of Jericho and thanked God +for having put a kind thought into the hermit's mind, for the landscape +was gloomy enough already, and an hour hence he would be stumbling over +a panther in the dark, and the sensation of teeth clutching at his +throat and of hind claws tearing out his belly banished from his mind +all thoughts of the unpleasantness of passing a night in a narrow cave +with Banu, whom he helped to close the entrance with a big stone and to +pile up other stones about the big stone making themselves safe, so Banu +said, from everything except perhaps a bear. + +The thought of the bear that might scrape aside the stone kept Joseph +awake listening to Banu snoring, and to the jackals that barked all +night long. They are quarrelling among themselves, Banu said, turning +over, for the jackals succeeded in waking him, quarrelling over some +gazelle they've caught. A moment after, he was asleep again, and Joseph, +despite his fear of the wild beasts, must have dozed for a little while, +for he started up, his hair on end. A bear! a bear! he cried, without +awakening Banu, and he listened to a scratching and a sniffling round +the stones with which they had blocked the entrance to the cave. Or a +panther, he said to himself. The animal moved away, and then Joseph lay +awake hour after hour, dropping to sleep and awakening again and again. + +About an hour after sunrise, Banu awakened him and asked him to help him +to roll the stones aside; which Joseph did, and as soon as they were in +the dusk he turned out of his pockets a few crusts and some cheese made +out of ewe's milk, and offered to share the food with his host; but +Banu, pointing to a store of locusts, put some of the insects into his +mouth and told Joseph that his vow was not to eat any other food till +God called him forth to preach; which would be, he thought, a few days +before the judgment: a view that Joseph did not try to combat, nor did +he eat his bread and cheese before him, lest the sight of it should turn +the prophet's stomach from the locusts. It was distressing to watch him +chewing them; they were not easy to swallow, but he got them down at +last with the aid of some water obtained from the source, and during +breakfast his talk was all the while of the day of judgment and the +anger of God, who would destroy Israel and build up another nation that +would obey him. It would be three or four days before the judgment that +God would call him out to preach, he repeated; and Joseph was waiting to +hear how far distant were these days? A month, a year, belike some +years, for God's patience is great. He stopped speaking suddenly, and +throwing out his arms he cried out: he has come, he has come! He whom +the world is waiting for. Baptize him! Baptize him! He whom the world is +waiting for has come. + +But for whom is the world waiting? Joseph asked; and Banu answered: +hasten to the Jordan, and find him whom thou seekest. + + + + +CHAP. IX. + + +I shall pray that the Lord call thee out of the desert to join thy voice +with those already preaching, Joseph cried; and the hermit answered him: +let us praise the Lord for having sent us the new prophet! But do thou +hasten to John, he called after Joseph, who ran and walked alternately, +striving up every hillock for sight of the ferryman's boat which might +well be waiting on this side for him to step on board; Joseph being in a +hurry, it would certainly be lying under the opposite bank, the ferryman +asleep in it, and so soundly that no cries would awaken him. + +But Joseph's fortune was kinder than he anticipated, for on arriving at +the Jordan he found himself at the very spot where the ferryman had tied +his boat and--napping--awaited a passenger. So rousing him with a great +shout, Joseph leaped on board and told the old fellow to pull his +hardest; but having been pulling across the Jordan for nigh fifty +years, the ferryman was little disposed to alter his stroke for the +pleasure of the young man, who, he remembered, had not paid him +over-liberally yester-evening; and in the mid-stream he rested on his +oars, so that he might the better discern the great multitude gathered +on yon bank. For baptism, he said; or making ready to go home after +baptism, he added; and letting his boat drift, sat discoursing on the +cold of the water, which he said was colder than he ever knew it before +at this season of the year: remarks' that Joseph considered well enough +in themselves, but out of his humour. So ye be craving for baptism, the +ferryman said, and looked as if he did not care a wild fig whether +Joseph got it that morning or missed it. But there was no use arguing +with the ferryman, who after a long stare fell to his oars, but so +leisurely that Joseph seized one of them and--putting his full strength +upon it--turned the boat's head up-stream. + +There be no landing up-stream anywhere, so loose my oars or I'll leave +them to thee, the ferryman growled, and we shall be twirling about +stream till midday and after. But I can row, Joseph said. Then row! and +the ferryman put the other oar into his hand. But we shall be quicker +across if thou'lt leave them to me. And as this seemed to Joseph the +truth, he fell back into his seat, and did not get out of it till the +boat touched the bank. But he jumped too soon and fell into the mud, +causing much laughter along the bank, and not a few ribald remarks, some +saying that he needed baptism more than those that had gotten it. But a +hand was reached out to him, and that he should ask for the Baptist +before thinking of his clothes showed the multitude that he must be +another prophet, which he denied, calling on heaven to witness that he +was not one: whereupon he was mistaken for a great sinner, and heard +that however great his repentance it would avail him nothing, for the +Baptist was gone away with his disciple. Joseph, thinking that he had +left the Baptist's disciple in the desert, began to argue that this +could not be, and raved incontinently at the man, bringing others round +him, till he was hemmed into a circle of ridicule. Among the multitude +many were of the same faith as Joseph himself, and these drew him out of +the circle and explained to him that the Baptist baptized in the river +for several hours, till--unable to bear the cold any longer--he had gone +away, his teeth chattering, with Jesus the Essene. + +Jesus the Essene! Joseph repeated, but before he could inquire further, +men came running along the bank, saying they had sins to repent, and on +hearing that the Baptist was gone and would not return that day, they +began to tell each other stories of the great cloud that was seen in the +east, bearing within it a chariot; and from the chariot angels were seen +descending all the morning with flaming swords in their hands. Get thee +baptized! they shouted, and clamoured, and pushed to and fro--a +thronging gesticulating multitude of brown faces and hooked noses, of +bony shoulders and striped shirts. Get thee baptized before sunset! +everybody was crying. And Joseph watched the veils floating from their +turbans as they fled southwards. On what errand? he asked; in search of +the Baptist or the new disciple Jesus? Not the new disciple, was the +answer he got back; for Jesus leaves baptism to John. But why doesn't +Jesus baptize? Joseph asked, since he is a disciple of the Baptist. If +baptism be good for him, it is good enough for another. And so the +multitude seemed to think, and were confounded till one amongst them +said that Jesus might not be endowed with the gift of baptism; or belike +have accepted baptism from John for a purpose, it having been prophesied +that the Messiah would have a forerunner. But who, asked many voices +together, has said that Jesus is the Messiah? some maintaining that +Jesus was the lesser prophet. But this contention was not agreeable to +all, some having, for, reasons unknown to Joseph, ranged themselves +already alongside of Jesus, believing him to be greater than John, yet +not the final prophet promised to Israel. And these came to blows with +the others, who looked upon John as the Messiah, and Jesus as the one +whom John had called to his standard: a recruit--nothing. Skinny fists +were striving in the air and--thrusting himself between two +disputants--Joseph begged them to tell him if Jesus, John's disciple, +was from the cenoby? Yea, yea, he heard from all sides; the shepherd of +the brotherhood--that one who follows their flocks over the hills; but +not being sure of his mission, he has gone into the desert to wait for a +sign. An Essene, but one that was seldom in the cenoby, more often to be +met on the hills with his flocks. A shepherd? Joseph asked. Yea, and it +was among the hills that John met him, and seeing a prophet in him spoke +to him, and Jesus, seeing that another prophet was risen up in Israel, +had thrown his flute away and gone to the president to ask for leave to +preach the baptism of repentance unto men, for the grand day is at hand. +Joseph having heard this before, heeded only tidings of the new prophet, +when a woman pressing forward shouted: a pleasant voice to hear on the +mountain-side, said she; and another added: the hills will seem lonely +without his gait. A great slinger, cried a third. But why did he come +to John for baptism, knowing himself to be the greater prophet? A +question that started them all wrangling again, and crying one against +the other that repentance was necessary, or else the Lord would desert +them or choose another race. + +These are irksome gossips, a man said to Joseph; but come with me and +I'll tell thee much about him. No better shepherd than he ever ranged +the hills. I wouldn't have thee forget, mate, another man said, that +he's gone without leaving us his great cure for scab. True for thee, +mate, answered the first, for a great forgetfulness has been on him this +time past.... A great cure, certainly, which he might have left us. And +the twain fell to discussing their several cures for scab. Another +shepherd came by and passed the remark that Jesus knew the hills like +one born among them. But neither could tell whence he came, nor did they +know if he brought the cure for scab with him, or learnt it at the +cenoby. The brotherhood has secrets that it is forbidden to tell. I be +with thee on this matter, said another shepherd, that wherever he goes, +he'll be a prize to a master, for the schooling he has been through will +stand to him. + +The last of this chatter that came to Joseph's ears was that Jesus could +do as much with sheep as any man since Abraham, and--satisfied with this +knowledge--he took his leave of the shepherds, certain that Jesus must +have been among the Essenes for many years before God called to him to +leave his dogs and to follow John, whom he began to recognise as greater +than himself, but whom he was destined to supersede, as John's own +disciple, Banu, testified in the desert before Joseph's own eyes. He +remembered how Banu saw John in a vision plunging Jesus into Jordan. Of +trickery and cozenage there was none: for the men along these banks bore +witness to the baptism that Joseph would have seen for himself if he had +started a little earlier; nor could the Jesus who came to John for +baptism be other than the young shepherd whom Joseph had seen, at the +beginning of his novitiate, walking with the president in deep converse; +the president apparently trying to dissuade him from some project. +Joseph could not remember having heard anyone speak so familiarly or so +authoritatively to the president, a man some twenty years older; and he +wondered at the time how a mere shepherd from the hills could talk on an +equality, as if they were friends, with the president. The shepherd, he +now heard, was an Essene, but he lived among the hills, and Joseph +remembered the striped shirt, the sheepskin and the long stride. His +memory continued to unfold, and he recalled with singular distinctness +and pleasure the fine broad brow curving upwards--a noble arch, he said +to himself--the eyes distant as stars and the underlying sadness in his +voice oftentimes soft and low, but with a cry in it; and he remembered +how their eyes met, and it seemed to Joseph that he read in the +shepherd's eyes a look of recognition and amity. + +And now, as he walked from the Jordan to the cenoby, he remembered how, +all one night after that meeting, dreams of a mutual destiny plagued +him: how he slept and was awakened by visions that fled from his mind as +he strove to recall them. But was this young shepherd the one that Banu +saw John baptize in the Jordan? It cannot be else, he said to himself. +But whither was Jesus gone? Did the brethren know, and if they did know +would they tell him? It was against the rule to put questions: only the +president could tell him, and he dared not go to the president. Yet +consult somebody he must; and a few days afterwards he got leave again +to visit Banu, whom he found lying in his cave, sick: not very sick; +though having eaten nothing for nearly two days he begged Joseph to +fetch him a little water from the rock; which Joseph did. After having +drunk a little the hermit seemed to revive, and Joseph related how he +missed Jesus on the bank and had no tidings of him except that he was +gone into the desert to meditate. But the desert is large, and I know +not which side of the lake he has chosen. To which Banu answered: John +is baptizing in the Jordan; get thee baptized and repent! On which he +reached out his hand to his store of locusts, and while munching a few +he added: the Baptist is greater than Jesus, and he is still baptizing. +Get thee to Jordan! At this Joseph took offence and returned to the +cenoby with the intention of resuming his teaching. But he was again so +possessed of Jesus that he could not keep his mind on the lesson before +him: a pupil was often forced to put a question to him in a loud voice, +and perhaps to repeat it, before Joseph's sick reverie was sufficiently +broken for him to formulate an answer. The pain of the effort to return +to them was so apparent in his face that the pupils began to be sorry +for him and kept up a fire of questions, to save him from the melancholy +abstractions to which he lately seemed to have become liable. The cause +of his grief they could not guess, but he was not sure they did not +suspect the cause; and so the classes in which he heretofore took so +much pleasure came to be dreaded by him. Every moment except those in +which he sat immersed in dreams was a penance and a pain; and at last he +pleaded illness, and Mathias took his class, leaving Joseph to wander +as far as he liked from the cenoby, which had become hateful to him. + +He was often met in the public gardens in Jericho, watching the people +going by, vaguely interested and vaguely wearied by the thoughts that +their different shows called up in his mind; and he was always painfully +conscious that nothing mattered: that the great void would never be +filled up again: and that time would not restore to him a single desire +or hope. Nothing matters, he often said to himself, as he sat drawing +patterns in the gravel with his stick. Yet he had no will to die, only +to believe he was the victim of some powerful malign influence. + +One day as he sat watching the wind in the palm-trees, it seemed to him +that this influence, this demon, was always moving behind his life, +disturbing and setting himself to destroy any project that Joseph might +form. Another day it seemed to Joseph that the demon cast a net over +him, and that--entangled in the meshes--he was being drawn--Somebody +spoke to him, and he awoke so affrighted that the gossip could hardly +keep himself from laughing outright. If the end of the world were at +hand, let the end come to pass! he said; but he did not go to John for +baptism. He knew not why, only that he could not rouse himself! And it +was not till it came to be rumoured in Jericho that a prophet was gone +to Egypt to learn Greek that he awoke sufficiently to ask why a Jewish +prophet needed Greek. The answer he got was that the new doctrine +required a knowledge of Greek; Greek being a world-wide language, and +the doctrine being also world-wide. As there was but one God for all +the world, it was reasonable to suppose that every man might hope for +salvation, be he Jew or Gentile. It seemed to Joseph that this doctrine +could only emanate from the young shepherd he had met in the cenoby, and +he joined a caravan, and for fifteen days dreamed of the meeting that +awaited him at the end of the journey--and of the delightful instruction +in Greek that he was going to impart to Jesus. The heights of Mount +Sinai turned his thoughts backward only for a moment, and he continued +his dream of Jesus, continuing without interruption along the +shell-strewn shores of the Sea of Arabah, on and on into the peninsula, +till he stepped from the lurching camel into the great caravanserai in +Alexandria. + +Without exactly expecting to find Jesus waiting for him in the street, +he had dreamed of meeting him somewhere in the city. He was sure he +would recognise that lean face, lit with brilliant eyes, in any crowd, +and the thought of getting news of Jesus in the synagogues in some sort +drowsed in his mind. As Jesus did not happen to be waiting outside the +caravanserai, Joseph sought him from synagogue to synagogue, without +getting tidings of him but of another, for the camel-drivers at Mount +Sinai had not informed him wrongly: a young Jew had passed through the +city on his way to Athens, but as he did not correspond to Joseph's +remembrances of Jesus, Joseph did not deem it to be worth his while to +follow this Jew to Athens. He remained in Alexandria without forming any +resolutions, seeking Jesus occasionally in the Jewish quarters; and when +they were all searched he returned to the synagogues once more and began +a fresh inquisition, but very soon he began to see that the faces about +him were overspread with incredulous looks and smiles, especially when +he related that his friend was the young prophet discovered by John +among the hills of Judea, tending sheep. + +What tale is this that he tells us? the Jews asked apart; but finding +Joseph well instructed and of agreeable presence and manner, they made +much of him. If Galilee could produce such a man as Joseph, Galilee was +going up in the world. We will receive thee and gladly, but speak no +more to us of thy shepherd prophet, and betake thyself to our schools of +philosophy, which thou'lt enjoy, for thy Greek is excellent. But who +taught thee Greek? And while Joseph was telling of Azariah, little +smiles played about his eyes and mouth, for the incredulity of the +Alexandrian Jews had begotten incredulity in him, and he began to see +how much absurdity his adventure made show for. The Alexandrian Jews +liked him better for submitting himself so cheerfully to their learning +and their ideas, and he became a conspicuous and interesting person, +without knowledge that he was becoming one. Nor was it till having +moulded himself, or been moulded, into a new shape that he began to +think that he might have done better if he had left the moulding to God. +His conscience told him this and reminded him how he vowed himself to +Jesus, whom Banu saw in a vision. All the same he remained, not +unnaturally, a young man enticed by the charm of the Greek language, and +the science of the Alexandrian philosophers, who were every one +possessed of Mathias's skill in dialectics. They all knew Mathias and +were imbued with much respect for him as a teacher, and were willing to +instruct Joseph in psychology, taking up the lesson where Mathias closed +the book. So, putting his conscience behind him, Joseph listened, his +ears wide open and his mind alert to understand that it was a child's +story--the report in Jerusalem that the end of the world was +approaching, and that God would remould it afresh--as if God were human +like ourselves, animated with like business and desires! He heard for +the first time that to arrive at any clear notion of divinity we must +begin by stripping divinity of all human attributes, and when every one +is sloughed, what remains? Divinity, Joseph answered; and his instructor +bowed his head, saying: here is no matter for reflection. + +The philosophers were surprised to learn that in Jerusalem many still +retained the belief that God was no more than a man of colossal stature, +angry, revengeful, and desirous of burnt offerings and of prayers which +were little better; that the corruptible body could be raised from the +dead and given back to the soul for a dwelling. That Jerusalem had +fallen so low in intellect was not known to them; and Joseph, feeling he +was making a noise in the world, admitted that despite the knowledge of +the Greek language he accepted the theory that the soul was created +before the body and waited in a sort of dim hall, hanging like a bat, +for the creation of the body which it was predestined to descend into, +till the death of the body released it. He was, however, now willing to +believe that the souls of all the wise men mentioned in the books of +Moses were sent down to earth as to a colony; great souls could not +abide like bats in the darkness, but are ever desirous of contemplation +and learning. And on pursuing this thought in the Greek language, which +lends itself to subtle shades of thought, he discovered that there are +three zones: the first zone is reason, the second passion and the third +appetite. And this his first psychological discovery was approved by his +teacher, and many months were passed over in agreeable exercises of the +mind of like nature, interrupted only by letters from his father, asking +him when he proposed to return home. + +After reading one of these letters, his unhappiness lasted sometimes +for a whole day, and it was revived many times during the week; but +philosophy enabled him to resist the voice of conscience still a little +while, and even a letter relating the death of his grandmother did not +decide his departure. It seemed at first to have decided him, and he +told all his friends that he was leaving with the next caravan. But of +what use, he asked himself, for me to return to Galilee? Granny is in +her grave: could I bring her back to life I would return! So he remained +in Egypt for some time longer, and what enforced his return were the +long plains, in which oxen drew the plough from morning till evening; +and he had begun to long for clouds and for the hills, and the desire to +escape from the plain grew stronger every day till at last he could not +do else than yield to it. By the next caravan, he said to himself. + +In Egypt he had met no prophet, only philosophers, and becoming once +more obsessed by miracles, he hastened to Banu, but of Jesus Banu could +only tell him that he was doing the work that our Father had given him +to do. Which is more than thou art doing. Go and get baptism from John! +Go back to Jericho and wait for a sign, leaving me in peace, for I need +it, having been troubled by many, eager and anxious about things that do +not matter. I will indeed, Joseph replied, for nothing matters to me +since I cannot find him. And he returned to Jericho, saying to himself +that Jesus must be known to every shepherd; perhaps to that one, he +said, running to head back his flock, which has been tempted by a patch +of young corn; Joseph stood at gaze, for the shepherd wore the same +garb as Jesus had done: a turban fixed on the head with two tiring-rings +of camel's hair, with veils floating from the shoulders to save the neck +from the sun. Jesus, too, wore a striped shirt, and over it was buckled +a dressed sheepskin; and Joseph pondered on the shepherd's shoon, on his +leathern water-bottle, on his long slender fingers twitching the thongs +of the sling. He had been told that no better slinger had been known in +these hills than Jesus. But he had left the hills and had gone, whither +none could tell! He was gone, whither no man knew, not even Banu. He is +about his Father's work, was all Banu could say; and Joseph wandered on +from shepherd to shepherd, questioning them all, and when none was in +sight he cried again Jesus's name to the winds, and never passed a cave +without looking into it, though he had lost hope of finding him. But he +continued his search, for it whiled the time away, though it did nothing +else, and one day as he lay under a rock, watching a shepherd passing +across the opposite hillside, he tried to summon courage to call him; +but judging him to be one of those whom he had already asked for tidings +of Jesus, he let him go, and fell to thinking of the look that would +come into the shepherd's face on hearing the same question put to him +again. A poor demented man! he would mutter to himself as he went away. +Nor was Joseph sure that his mind was not estranged from him. He could +no longer fix it upon anything: it wandered as incontinently as the wind +among the hills, and very often he seemed to have come back to himself +after a long absence, but without any memory. Yet he must have been +thinking of something; and he was trying to recall his thoughts, when +the shepherd came back into view again and Joseph remarked to himself +that he was without a flock. He seemed to be seeking something, for +from a sheer edge he peered down into the valley. A ewe that has fallen +over, no doubt, Joseph thought; but what concern of mine is that +shepherd who has lost a ewe, and whether he will find his ewe or will +fail to find it? Of no concern whatever, he said to himself, +and--forgetful of the shepherd--he began to watch the evening gathering +in the sky. Very soon, he said, the hills will be folded in a dim blue +veil, and sleep will perchance blot out the misery that has brooded in +me all this livelong day, he muttered. May I never see another, but +close my eyes for ever on the broad ruthless light. Of what avail to +witness another day? All days are alike to me. + +It seemed to Joseph that he was of a sort dead already, for he could +detach himself from himself, and consider himself as indifferently as he +might a blade of grass. My life, he said, is like these bare hills, and +the one thing left for me to desire is death. + +A footstep aroused him from his dream. The man whom he had seen on the +hillside yonder had crossed the valley, and he began to describe the +animals he had lost, before Joseph recovered from his reverie. No, he +said, I have seen no camels. Camels might have passed him by without his +seeing them, but there was no obligation on him to confide his misery to +the shepherd, a rough, bearded man in a sheepskin, who thanked him and +was about to go, when Joseph called after him: if you want help to seek +your camels, I'll come with you. Even the company of this man were +better than his loneliness; and together they crossed some hills. Why, +there be my camels, as I'm alive! the camel-driver cried. Joseph had +brought him luck, for in a valley close at hand the camels were found, +staring into emptiness. Strange abstractions! Joseph said to himself, +and then to the camel-driver: since I have found your camels, who knows +but that you may tell me of one Jesus, an Essene from the cenoby on the +eastern bank of the Jordan? A shepherd of these hills? the man asked, +and Joseph replied: yes, indeed. To which the camel-driver answered: if +I hear of him, I'll send him a message that you are looking for him, and +I'll send you word that he has been found. But you'll never find him, +Joseph answered. You didn't think you would find my camels, the driver +replied; but so it fell out, and if I could only find a few more camels, +or the money to buy them, I could lay down a great trade in figs between +Jericho and Jerusalem; he related simply, not knowing that the man he +was talking to could give him all the money he required; telling that +figs ripen earlier in Jericho, especially if the trees have the +advantage of high rocks behind them. + +It pleased Joseph to listen to his patter: it seemed to him that his +father was talking to him, and he was plunged in such misery that he had +to extricate himself somehow. So he signed the deed that evening, and +within a month a caravan laden with figs went forth and wended its way +safely to Jerusalem. Another caravan followed a few weeks after, and +still larger profits were made, and these becoming known to certain +thieves, the next caravan was waylaid and driven away to the coast, and +the figs shipped to some foreign part or sold to unscrupulous dealers, +who knew them to be stolen. The loss was so great that Gaddi said to +Joseph: if we lose a second caravan we shall be worse off than we were +when we began, and we shall lose a third and a fourth, unless the +robbers be driven out of their caves. Let us then go to the Roman +governor, Pilate, and lay our case before him. Joseph had no fault to +find with Gaddi's words, and he said: it may be that I shall go to +Pilate myself, for I am known to him through my father, who trades +largely between Tiberias and Antioch with salt fish. + +It so happened that Pilate had received instructions from Rome to give +every protection to trade, it being hoped thereby to win the Jews from +religious disputations, which always ended in riots. Pilate therefore +now found the occasion he needed. Joseph had brought it to him, for the +ridding of the road between Jerusalem and Jericho would evince his +ability as administrator; and with his hand in his beard, his fine eyes +bent favourably upon Joseph, he promised that all the forces of the +Roman Empire would be employed to smoke out these nests of robbers. From +the account given by Joseph of the caves, he did not deem it worth +while to send soldiers groping through the darkness of rocks; he was of +opinion that bundles of damp straw would serve the purpose admirably; +and turning to the captain of the guard he appealed to him, and got for +answer that a few trusses of damp straw would send forth such a reek +that all within the cave would be choked, or reel out half blinded. + +Joseph reminded Pilate and the captain of the guard that the openings of +the caves were not always accessible, but abutted over a ledge away down +a precipitous cliff. It might be necessary to lower soldiers down in +baskets, or the caves might be closed with mortised stones. Joseph's +counsel was wise; the closing of the caves proved very efficacious in +ridding the hills of robbers, though in some cases the robbers managed +to pick a way out, and then sought other caves, which were not difficult +to find, the hills abounding in such places of hiding. A cave would +sometimes have two outlets, and it was hard to get the shepherds to +betray the robbers, their fear of them was so great. But within six +months the larger dens were betrayed, and while the robbers writhed the +last hours of their lives away on crosses, long trains of camels and +asses pursued their way from Jericho to Jerusalem and back again, +without fear of molestation, the remnant of robbers never daring to do +more than draw away a single camel or ass found astray from the +encampment. + +The result of all this labour was that figs were no longer scarce in +Jerusalem; and when a delay in bringing wheat from Moab was announced to +Pilate, he sent a messenger to Joseph, it having struck him that the +transport service so admirably organised by them both was capable of +development. A hundred camels, Joseph answered, needs a great sum, but +perhaps Gaddi, my partner, may have some savings or my father may give +me the money. + +And with Pilate's eyes full upon him, Joseph sat thinking of the lake, +recalling every bight and promontory, and asking himself how it was that +he had not thought of Galilee for so long a time. He longed to set eyes +on Magdala, and he would have ridden away at once, but an escort would +have to be ordered, for a single horseman could not ride through Samaria +without a certainty of being robbed before he got to the end of his +journey. Pilate's voice roused Joseph from his reverie, and after +apologising to the Roman magistrate for his absentmindedness, he went +away to consult hurriedly with Gaddi, and then to make preparations for +the journey. It was a journey of three days on horseback, he was told, +but of two days only on camel-back, for a camel can walk three miles an +hour for eighteen hours. But what should I be doing on a camel's back +for eighteen hours? Joseph cried, and the driver showed Joseph how with +his legs strapped on either side of the beast he could lie back in the +pack and sleep away many hours. Your head, sir, would soon get +accustomed to the rocking. But I should have to leave my horse behind, +Joseph said. He was fain to see his father and the lake; he was already +there in spirit, and would like to transport his cumbersome body there +in the least possible time; but he could not separate himself from +Xerxes, a beautiful horse that he had brought with him from Egypt--a +dark grey--a sagacious animal that would neigh at the sound of his voice +and follow him like a dog, and when they encamped for the night, wander +in search of herbage and come back when he was called, or wait for him +like a wooden horse at an inn door. + +Horse and horseman seemed a match the morning they went away to Galilee +together, Xerxes all bits and bridles, stirrups and trappings, and +Joseph equipped for the journey not less elaborately than his horse. He +wore a striped shirt and an embroidered vest with two veils falling from +his turban over his shoulders, and as he was not going to visit the +Essenes, he did not forget to provide himself with weapons: a curved +scimitar hung by his side and the jewelled hilt of a dagger showed above +his girdle. His escort not having arrived yet, he waited; taking +pleasure in the arch of Xerxes' neck when the horse turned his head +towards him, and in the dark courageous eyes and the beautifully turned +hoof that pawed the earth so prettily. At last the five spearmen and +their captain appeared, and Xerxes, who seemed to recognise the escort +as a sign for departure, presented his left side for Joseph to mount +him. As soon as his master was in the saddle, he shook his accoutrements +and sprang forward at the head of the cavalcade, Joseph crying back: he +must have the sound of hoofs behind him. He could refuse his horse +nothing, and suffered him to canter some few hundred yards up the road, +though it was not customary to leave the escort behind, and when Joseph +returned, the foreman told him, as he expected he would, that it would +be well not to tire his horse by galloping him at the beginning of the +journey, for a matter of thirty miles lay in front of them. Thirty miles +the first day, he said, and fifty the second day; for by this division +he would leave twenty-five miles for the third day; and Joseph learnt +that the captain had arranged the journey in this wise for the sake of +the inns, for though they would meet an inn every twenty miles, there +were but three good inns between Jerusalem and Tiberias. He had +arranged too with a view to the rest at midday. Our way lies, he said, +through the large shallow valley, and that is why I started at six. It +is about four hours hence, so we shall be through it well before noon. +But why must we pass through it before noon? Joseph asked. Because, the +captain answered, the rocks on either side are heated after noon like +the walls of an oven, and man and beast choke in it. But once we get out +of the valley, we shall have pleasant country. You know the hills, Sir; +and Joseph remembered the rounded hills and Azariah's condemnation of +the felling of the forests, a condemnation that the captain agreed with; +for though it was true that the woods afforded cover for wolves, still +it was not wise to fell the trees; for when the woods go, the captain +said, the country will lose its fertility. He was a loquacious fellow, +knowing the country well, wherefore pleasant to ride alongside of, and +the hours passed quickly, hearing him relate his life. And when after +two days' riding Joseph wearied of his foreman's many various relations, +his eyes admired the slopes, now greener than they would be again till +another year passed. The fig-trees were sending out shoots, the vines +were in little leaf, and the fragrance of the vineyards and fig gardens +was sweet in the cool morning when the dusk melted away and +rose-coloured clouds appeared above the hills; and as Joseph rode he +liked to think that the spectacle of the cavalcade faring through the +vine-clad hills would abide in his memory, and that in years to come he +would be able to recall it exactly as he now saw it--all the faces of +the spearmen and their odd horses; even his foreman's discourses would +become a pleasure to remember when time would redeem them of triteness +and commonplace; the very weariness he now experienced in listening to +them would, too, become a perennial source of secret amusement to him +later on. But for the moment he could not withstand his foreman a moment +longer, and made no answer when he came interrupting his meditations +with tiresome learning regarding the great acacia-tree into whose shade +Joseph had withdrawn himself. He was content to enjoy the shade and the +beauty of the kindly tree that flourished among rocks where no one would +expect a tree to flourish, and did not need to be told that the roots of +a tree seek water instinctively, and that the roots of the acacia seek +water and find it, about three feet down. The acacia gave the captain an +opportunity to testify of his knowledge, and Joseph remembered suddenly +that he would be returning to Jerusalem with him in three days, for not +more than three days would his escort remain in Galilee, resting their +horses, unless they were paid a large sum of money; and with that escort +idle in the village the thought would never be out of his mind that in a +few days he would be listening to his foreman all the way back to +Jerusalem. + +Impossible! He couldn't go back to Jerusalem in three days, nor in three +weeks. His father would be mortally grieved if he did; and Pilate +himself would be surprised to see him back so soon and think him lacking +altogether in filial affection if, after an absence of more than two +years, he could stay only three days with his father. He must, however, +send a letter to Pilate and one that consisted with all the +circumstances. The barely stirring foliage of the acacia inspired a +desire of composition: a more favourable moment than the present, or a +more inspiring spot, he did not think he would be likely to find. He +called for his tablets and fell to thinking, but hardly filled in the +first dozen lines when his foreman--this time apologising for the +intrusion--came to tell him that if he wished to reach Magdala that +evening they must start at once. He could not but acquiesce, and--as if +contemptuous of the protection of his escort--he rode on in front, +wishing to be left alone so that he might seek out the terms of his +letter, and his mood of irritated perplexity did not pass away till he +came within sight of the great upland, rising, however, so gently that +he did not think Xerxes would mind ascending it at a gallop. As soon as +he reached the last crest, he would see the lake alone, having--thanks +to the speed of Xerxes--escaped from his companions for at least five +minutes. He looked forward to these moments eagerly yet not altogether +absolved from apprehension of a spiritual kind, for the lake always +seemed to him a sort of sign, symbol or hieroglyphic, in which he read a +warning addressed specially, if not wholly, to himself. The meaning that +the lake held out to him always eluded him, and never more completely +than now, at the end of an almost windless spring evening. + +It came into view a moment sooner than he thought for, and in an +altogether different aspect--bluer than ever seen by him in memory or +reality--and, he confessed to himself, more beautiful. Like a great harp +it lay below him, and his eyes followed the coast-lines widening out in +an indenture of the hills: on one side desert, on the other richly +cultivated ascents, with villages and one great city, Tiberias--its +domes, cupolas, towers and the high cliffs abutting the lake between +Tiberias and Magdala bathed in a purple glow as the sun went down. My +own village! he said, and it was a pleasure to him to imagine his father +sipping sherbet on his balcony, in good humour, no doubt, the weather +being so favourable to fish-taking. Now which are Peter's boats among +these? he asked himself, his eyes returning to the fishing fleet. And +which are John's and James's boats? He could tell that all the nets were +down by the reefed sails crossed over, for the boats were before the +wind. A long pull back it will be to Capernaum, he was thinking, a +matter of thirteen or fourteen miles, for the leading boat is not more +than a mile from the mouth of the Jordan. Then, raising his eyes from +the fishing-boats, he followed the coast-lines again, seeking the shapes +of the wooded hills, rising in gently cadenced ascents. + +A more limpid evening never breathed upon a lake! he said; and when he +raised his eyes a second time they rested on the ravines of Hermon far +away in the north, still full of the winter's snow; and--being a +Galilean--he knew they would keep their snow for another month at least. +The eagerness of the spring would then be well out of the air; and I +shall be thinking, he continued, of returning to Jerusalem and +concerning myself once more with Pilate's business. But what a beautiful +evening! still and pure as a crystal. + +A bird floated past, his black eyes always watchful. The bird turned +away to join his mates, and Joseph bade his escort watch the flock: a +bird here and a bird there swooping and missing and getting no doubt +sometimes a fish that had ventured too near the surface--that one +leaving his mates, flying high towards Magdala, to be there, he said, in +a few minutes, by my father's house; and in another hour thou shalt be +in thy stable, thy muzzle in the corn, he whispered into his horse's +ear; and calling upon his comrades to put their heels into their tired +steeds, he turned Xerxes into the great road leading to Tiberias. + +But there were some Jews among the escort who shrank from entering a +pagan city. Their prejudices might be overcome with argument, but it +were simpler to turn their horses' heads to the west and then to the +north as soon as the city was passed. The detour would be a long one, +but it were shorter than argument: yet argument he did not escape from, +for as they rode through the open country behind Tiberias, some declared +that Herod was not a pure Jew; and to make their points clearer they +often reined up their horses, to the annoyance of Joseph, who could not +bring the discussion to an end without seeming indifferent to the law +and the traditions. But, happily, it had to end before long, for within +three miles of Magdala they were riding in single file down deep lanes +along whose low dykes the cactus crawled, hooking itself along. One lane +led into another. A network of deep lanes wound round Magdala, which, +judging by the number of new dwellings, seemed to have prospered since +Joseph had last seen it. Humble dwellings no doubt, Joseph said to +himself, but bread is not lacking, nor fish. Then he thought of the +wharves his father had built for the boats, and the workshops for the +making of the barrels into which the fish was packed. Magdala owed its +existence to Dan's forethought, and he had earned his right, Joseph +thought, to live in the tall house which he had built for his pleasure +in a garden amid tall acacia-trees that every breeze that blew up from +the lake set in motion. + +If ever a man, Joseph thought, earned his right to a peaceable old age +amid pleasant surroundings, that man was his father; and he thought of +him returning from his counting-house to his spacious verandah, thinking +of the barrels of salt fish that he would send away the following week, +if the fishers were letting down their nets with fortunate enterprise. + + + + +CHAP. X. + + +A very good guessing of his father's wonts and thoughts was that of +Joseph while riding from Tiberias, for as the horsemen came up the lane +at a canter the old man was wending homeward from his counting-house, +wishing Peter and Andrew, James and John and the rest good fortune with +their nets, or else, he had begun to think, the order from Damascus +cannot----- The completed sentence would probably have run: cannot be +executed, but the sound of the hooves of Joseph's horse checked the +words on his lips and he had to squeeze himself against the ditch, to +escape being trodden upon. Joseph sprang from the saddle. Father, I +haven't hurt you, I hope? I was dreaming. Why, Joseph, it is you! You +haven't hurt me, and I was dreaming too. But what a beautiful horse you +are riding! Aren't you afraid he will run away? Up and down these lanes +he would give us a fine chase. No, Joseph replied, he'll follow me. And +the horse followed them, pushing his head against Joseph's shoulder from +time to time; but Joseph was too much engaged with his father to do more +than whistle to Xerxes when he lingered to browse. + +As we rode past Tiberias, I had imagined you, Father, sitting in the +verandah drinking sherbet. We will have some presently, Dan answered. I +was detained at my business. Tell me, Father, how are the monkeys and +the parrots? Much the same as you left them, Dan answered, as he laid +his hand on the latch of the large wooden gate. A servant came forward +to conduct them, and Joseph threw his reins to him. + +A monkey came hopping across the sward and jumped on to Joseph's +shoulder. Another came, and then a third. Dan would have been annoyed if +the monkeys had not recognised Joseph, for it seemed to him quite +natural that all things should love Joseph. You see, he continued, the +parrots are screaming and dancing on their perches, waiting for you to +scratch their polls. Joseph complied, and then Dan wearied of the +monkeys, which were absorbing Joseph's attention, and drove them away. +You haven't told me that you're glad to be back in Galilee in front of +that beautiful lake. Jerusalem has its temple but God made the lake +himself. But you don't seem as pleased to be back as I'd like. Father, +it is of thee I'm thinking and not of temples or lakes, Joseph answered, +and for a moment Dan could not speak, so deep was his happiness, and so +intense. Overcome by it, they walked a little way and Joseph followed +his father up the tall stairs on to the verandahed balcony, and when +they had drunk some sherbet and Joseph had vowed he had not tasted any +like it, Dan interposed suddenly: but thou hast not told me, Joseph, how +thou camest by thy beautiful horse. He came from Egypt, Joseph answered +casually, and was about to add that he was an Egyptian horse, but on +second thoughts it seemed to him that it would be well not to speak the +word "Egypt" again: to do so might put another question into his +father's mouth; he would not commit himself to a rank lie, and to tell +that he had gone to Egypt could not do else than lead him into an +intricate story which would indispose his father to listen to Pilate's +projects, or at least estrange Dan's mind from a calm judgment of them; +so he resolved to omit all mention of Banu, Jesus and Egypt and to begin +his narrative with an account of his meeting with the camel-driver +Gaddi. But the camel-driver seemed to be the last person that Dan was +interested in. But he's my partner! Joseph exclaimed, and it was he who +sent me to Pilate. I'll tell thee about the Essenes afterwards. And +feeling that he had at last succeeded in fixing his father's attention +on that part of the story which he wished to tell him, Joseph said: an +excellent governor, one who is ready to listen to all schemes for the +furtherance of commercial enterprise in Judea: he has ridded the hills +of the robbers; and his account of the summer in the desert with the +Roman soldiers, smoking out nest after nest and putting on crosses those +that were taken alive interested the old man. I wish he would start on +Samaria, Dan mentioned casually; and Joseph replied, and he will as soon +as he is certain that he can rely on the help of men like thee. Pilate's +favour is worth winning, Father, and it can be won. I doubt thee not, +but wilt tell how it may be won, my boy? By falling in with his +projects, Joseph answered, and began his relation. And when he had +finished, Dan sat meditating, casting up the account: Pilate's good will +is desirable, he said, but a large sum of money will have to be +advanced. But, Father, the carrying trade has been a great success. +Well, let us go into figures, Joseph. And they balanced the profits +against the losses. Without doubt thou hast done well this last half +year, Dan said, and if business don't fall away---- But, Father, Joseph +interrupted, think of the profit my account would have shown if we had +not lost two convoys. The loss has already been very nearly paid off. +There are no more robbers and the demand for figs is steady in +Jerusalem. Figs ripen much earlier---- Say no more, Joseph. My money is +thy money, and if fifty camels be wanted, thou shalt have them. 'Tis the +least I can do for thee, for thou hast ever been a frugal son, Joseph, +and art deserving of all I have. So Pilate has heard of my fish-salting +and maybe that was why he met thee on such fair terms. That has much to +do with it, Joseph replied, and he watched the look of satisfaction that +came into his father's face. But tell me, Joseph, has all this long time +been spent smoking out robbers? Tell me again of their caves. Well, +Father, the caves often opened on to ledges, and we had to lower the +soldiers in baskets. + +And the tale how one great cavern was besieged amused the old man till +he was nigh to clapping his hands with delight and to reminding Joseph +of the time when he used to ask his grandmother to tell him stories. +Were she here she'd like to hear thee telling thy stories. Thou wast in +her thoughts to the last and now we shall never see her any more, +however great our trouble may be; and in the midst of a great silence +they fell to thinking how the same black curtain would drop between them +and the world. She has gone away to Arimathea, Joseph, whence we came +and whither I shall follow her. We go forward a little way but to go +back again. But I can't talk of deaths and graves. Go on telling me +about Pilate and the robbers, for I've been busy all day in the +counting-house adding up figures, and to listen to a good tale is a rare +distraction. Yet I wouldn't talk of them either, Joseph, but of thyself +and thy horse that all the country will be talking about the day after +to-morrow, when thou'lt ride him into the town. And now say it, Joseph: +ye are a wee bit tired, isn't that so? Nay, Father, not a bit. We have +come but twenty miles from the last halt, and as for the telling of my +story, maybe the loose ends which I've forgotten for the moment will +unravel themselves while we're talking of fish-salting--of the many +extra barrels you've sent out. Now, Father, say how many? At it, Joseph, +as beforetimes, rallying thy old father! Well, I've not done so badly, +but a drop in the year's trading is never a pleasant thought, though it +be but a barrel. And he began again his complaint against the government +of Antipas, who had never encouraged trade as he should have done. Now, +if we had a man here such as thy friend Pilate, I'd not be saying too +much were I to say that my trade could be doubled. But Pilate has no +authority in Galilee. Joseph thought that Pilate's authority should be +extended. But how can that be done? Dan inquired, and being embarrassed +for an answer, Joseph pressed Dan to confide in him, a thing which Dan +showed no wish to do; but at last his reluctance was overcome, and shyly +he admitted that his despondency had nothing to do with Antipas nor with +a casual drop in the order from Damascus, but with a prophet that was +troubling the neighbourhood. A very dangerous prophet, too, is this one; +but I am afraid, Joseph, we don't view prophets in exactly the same +light. Joseph was about to laugh, but seeing the smile coming into his +eyes, his father begged him to wait till he heard the whole story. + +He called up all his attention into his face, and the story he heard was +that the new prophet, who came up from Jordan about a year ago, was +preaching that the Lord was so outraged at the conduct of his chosen +people that he had determined to destroy the world, and might begin the +wrecking of it any day of the week. But before the world ends there'll +be wars. Joseph said: but there has been none, nor have I heard rumours +of any. We don't hear much what's going on up here in Galilee, Dan +answered, and he continued his story: the new prophet had persuaded many +of the fishers to lay down their nets. Simon Peter, thou rememberest +him? Well, he's the prophet's right-hand man, and now casts a net but +seldom. And thou hast not forgotten James and John, sons of Zebedee? +They come next in the prophet's favour, and there are plenty of others +walking about the village, neglecting their work and telling of the +judgment and the great share of the world that'll come to them when the +prophet returns from heaven in a chariot. Among them is Matthew, a +publican, the only one that can read or write. You don't remember him? +Now I come to think on it, he was appointed soon after thou wentest to +Jerusalem. Soon after I went to Jerusalem? Joseph asked; was the prophet +preaching then? No. It all began soon after thy departure for Jerusalem +about a year ago; a more ignorant lot of fellows thou'st be puzzled to +find, if thou wert to travel the world over in search of them. The +prophet himself comes from the most ignorant village in +Galilee--Nazareth. But why look like that, Joseph? What ails thee? Go +on, Father, with thy telling of the prophet from Nazareth. He started in +Nazareth, Dan answered, but none paid any heed to him but made a mock of +him, for he'd have us believe that he is the Messiah that the Jews have +been expecting for many a year. But it was predicted that the Messiah +will be born in Bethlehem; and everybody knows that Jesus was born in +Nazareth. There's some talk, too, that he comes from the line of David, +but everybody knows that Jesus is the son of Joseph the Carpenter. His +mother and his brothers tried all they could do to dissuade him from +preaching about the judgment, which he knows no more about than the +next one, but he wouldn't listen to them. A good quiet woman, his +mother; I know her well and am sorry for her; but she has better sons in +James and Jude. Joseph her husband, I knew him in days gone by--a +God-fearing honest man, whom one could always entrust with a day's work. +He doted on his eldest son, though he never could teach him to handle a +saw with any skill, for his thoughts were always wandering, and when an +Essene came up to Galilee in search of neophytes, Jesus took his fancy +and they went away together. But what ails thee? As soon as Joseph could +get control of his voice, he asked his father if the twain were gone +away together to the cenoby on the eastern bank of Jordan, and Dan +answered that he thought he had heard of the great Essenes' encampment +by the Dead Sea. A fellow fair-spoken enough, Dan continued, that has +bewitched the poor folk about the lakeside. But, Joseph, thy cheek is +like ashes, and thou'rt all of a tremble: drink a little sherbet, my +boy. No, Father, no. Tell me, is the Galilean as tall or as heavy as I +am, or of slight build, with a forehead broad and high? And does he walk +as if he were away and in communion with his Father in heaven? But what +ails thee, my son? What ails thee? He came from the cenoby on the +eastern shores of the Jordan? Joseph continued; and has been here nearly +two years? He received baptism from John in the Jordan? Isn't that so, +Father? I know naught of his baptism, Dan answered, but he'll fall into +trouble. I was with Banu, Joseph said, when the hermit saw him in a +vision receiving baptism from John; but though I ran, I was too late, +and ever since have sought Jesus, in Egypt and afterwards among the +hills of Judea. I can't tell thee more at present, but would go out into +the garden or perhaps wander by myself for a little while under the +cliffs by the lake. Thou'lt forgive me this sudden absence, Father? + +Dan put down his glass of sherbet and looked after his son. He had been +so happy for a little while, and now unhappiness was by again. + + + + +CHAP. XI. + + +The dogs barked as he unlocked the gate, but a few words quieted them +(they still remembered his voice) and he crept upstairs to his room, +weary in body and sore of foot, for he had come a long way, having +accompanied Jesus, whom he had met under the cliffs abutting the lake, +to the little pathway cut in the shoulder of the hill that leads to +Capernaum. He had not recognised him as he passed, which was not +strange, so unseemly were the ragged shirt and the cloak of camel's or +goat's hair he wore over it, patched along and across, one long tatter +hanging on a loose thread. It caught in his feet, and perforce he +hitched it up as he walked, and Joseph remembered that he looked upon +the passenger as a mendicant wonder-worker on his round from village to +village. But Jesus had not gone very far when Joseph was stopped by a +memory of a face seen long ago: a pale bony olive face, lit with +brilliant eyes. It is he! he cried; and starting in pursuit and quickly +overtaking Jesus, he called his name. Jesus turned, and there was no +doubt when the men stood face to face that the shepherd Joseph had seen +in the cenoby in converse with the president, and the wandering beggar +by the lake shore, were one and the same person. Jesus asked him which +way he was walking, and he answered that all directions were the same +to him, for he was only come out for a breath of fresh air before +bed-time. But thinking he had expressed himself vulgarly, he added other +words and waited for Jesus to speak of the beauty of God's handiwork. +Jesus merely mentioned in answer that he was going to Capernaum, where +he lodged with Simon Peter. But he had not forgotten the brotherhood by +the Dead Sea, and invited Joseph to accompany him and tell him of those +whom he had left behind. We are of the same brotherhood, he said; and +then, as if noticing Joseph's embarrassment, or you are a proselyte, +maybe, who at the end of the first year retired from the order? Many do +so. Joseph did not know how to answer this question, for he had not +obtained permission from the president to seek Jesus in Egypt, and it +seemed to him that the most truthful account he could give of himself at +the cenoby was to say that he was not there long enough to consider +himself even a proselyte. He lived in the cenoby as a visitor, rather +than as one attached to the order; but how far he might consider himself +an Essene did not matter to anybody. Besides he wished to hear Jesus +talk rather than to talk about himself, so he compared his residence +with the Essenes to a clue out of which a long thread had unravelled: a +thread, he said, that led me into the desert in search of thee. + +Jesus had known Banu, in the desert, and listened attentively while +Joseph told him how Banu was interrupted while speaking of the +resurrection by a vision of John baptizing Jesus, and had bidden him go +to Jordan and get baptism from John. But it was not John's baptism I +sought, but thee, and I arrived breathless, to hear that thou hadst gone +away with him, John not being able to bear the cold of the water any +longer. Afterwards I sought thee hither and thither, till hearing of +thee in Egypt I went there and sought thee from synagogue to synagogue. + +A man travels the world over in search of what he needs and returns home +to find it, Jesus answered gently, and in a tenderer voice than his +scrannel peacock throat would have led one to expect. And as if +foreseeing an ardent disciple he began to speak to Joseph of God, his +speech moving on with a gentle motion like that of clouds wreathing and +unwreathing, finding new shapes for every period, and always beautiful +shapes. He often stopped speaking and his eyes became fixed, as if he +saw beyond the things we all see; and after an interval he would begin +to speak again; and Joseph heard that he had met John among the hills +and listened to him, and that if he accepted baptism from him it was +because he wished to follow John: but John sought to establish the +kingdom of God within the law, and so a dancing-girl asked for his head. +It seemed as if Jesus were on the point of some tremendous avowal, but +if so it passed away like a cloud, and he put his hand on Joseph's +shoulder affectionately and asked him to tell him about Egypt, a country +which he said he had never heard of before. Whereupon Joseph raised his +eyes and saw in Jesus a travelling wonder-worker come down from a +northern village--a peasant, without knowledge of the world and of the +great Roman Empire. At every step Jesus' ignorance of the world +surprised Joseph more and more. He seemed to believe that all the +nations were at war, and from further discourse Joseph learnt that Jesus +could not speak Greek, and he marvelled at his ignorance, for Jesus only +knew such Hebrew as is picked up in the synagogues. He did not seek to +conceal his ignorance of this world from Joseph, and almost made parade +of it, as if he was aware that one must discard a great deal to gain a +little, as if he would impress this truth upon Joseph, almost as if he +would reprove him for having spent so much time on learning Greek, for +instance, and Greek philosophy. He treated these things as negligible +when Joseph spoke of them, and evinced more interest in Joseph himself, +who admitted he had returned from philosophy to the love of God. + +Now sitting on his bed, kept awake by his memories, Joseph relived in +thought the hours he had spent with Jesus. He seemed to comprehend the +significance of every word much better now than when he was with Jesus, +and he deplored his obtuseness and revised all the answers given to +Jesus. He remembered with sorrow how he tried to explain to Jesus the +teaching of the Alexandrian philosophers regarding the Scriptures, +paining Jesus very much by his recital but he had continued to explain +for the sake of the answer that he knew would come at last. It did come. +He remembered Jesus saying that philosophies change in different men, +but the love of God is the same in all men. A great truth, Joseph said +to himself, for every school is in opposition to another school. But how +did Jesus come to know this being without philosophy? He had been +tempted to ask how he was able to get at the truth of things without the +Greek language and without education, but refrained lest a question +should break the harmony of the evening. The past was not yet past and +sitting on his bed in the moonlight Joseph could re-see the plain +covered with beautiful grasses and flowers, with low flowering bushes +waving over dusky headlands, for it was dark as they crossed the plain; +and they had heard rather than seen the rushing stream, bubbling out of +the earth, making music in the still night. He knew the stream from +early childhood, but he had never really known it until he stood with +Jesus under the stars by the narrow pathway cut in the shoulder of the +hill, whither the way leads to Capernaum, for it was there that Jesus +took his hands and said the words: "Our Father which is in Heaven." At +these words their eyes were raised to the skies, and Jesus said: whoever +admires the stars and the flowers finds God in his heart and sees him in +his neighbour's face. And as Joseph sat, his hands on his knees, he +recalled the moment that Jesus turned from him abruptly and passed into +the shadow of the hillside that fell across the flowering mead. He heard +his footsteps and had listened, repressing the passionate desire to +follow him and to say: having found thee, I can leave thee never again. +It was fear of Jesus that prevented him from following Jesus, and he +returned slowly the way he came, his eyes fixed on the stars, for the +day was now well behind the hills and the night all over the valley, +calm and still. The stars in their allotted places, he said: as they +have always been and always will be. He stood watching them. Behind the +stars that twinkled were stars that blazed; behind the stars that +blazed were smaller stars, and behind them a sort of luminous dust. And +all this immensity is God's dwelling-place, he said. The stars are God's +eyes; we live under his eyes and he has given us a beautiful garden to +live in. Are we worthy of it? he asked; and Jew though he was he forgot +God for a moment in the sweetness of the breathing of earth, for there +is no more lovely plain in the spring of the year than the Plain of +Gennesaret. + +Every breath of air brought a new and exquisite scent to him, and +through the myrtle bushes he could hear the streams singing their way +down to the lake; and when he came to the lake's edge he heard the +warble that came into his ear when he was a little child, which it +retained always. He heard it in Egypt, under the Pyramids, and the +cataracts of the Nile were not able to silence it in his ears. But +suddenly from among the myrtle bushes a song arose. It began with a +little phrase of three notes, which the bird repeated, as if to impress +the listener and prepare him for the runs and trills and joyous little +cadenzas that were to follow. A sudden shower of jewels it seemed like, +and when the last drops had fallen the bird began another song, a +continuation of the first, but more voluptuous and intense; and then, as +if he felt that he had set the theme sufficiently, he started away into +new trills and shakes and runs, piling cadenza upon cadenza till the +theme seemed lost, but the bird held it in memory while all his musical +extravagances were flowing, and when the inevitable moment came he +repeated the first three notes. Again Joseph heard the warbling water, +and it seemed to him that he could hear the stars throbbing. It was one +of those moments when the soul of man seems to break, to yearn for that +original unity out of which some sad fate has cast it--a moment when the +world seems to be one thing and not several things: the stars and the +stream, the odours afloat upon the stream, the bird's song and the words +of Jesus: whosoever admires the stars and flowers finds God in his +heart, seemed to become all blended into one extraordinary harmony; and +unable to resist the emotion of the moment any longer, Joseph threw +himself upon the ground and prayed that the moment he was living in +might not be taken from him, but that it might endure for ever. But +while he prayed, the moment was passing, and becoming suddenly aware +that it had gone, he rose from his knees and returned home mentally +weary and sad at heart; but sitting on his bedside the remembrance that +he was to meet Jesus in the morning at Capernaum called up the ghost of +a departed ecstasy, and his head drowsing upon his pillow he fell +asleep, hushed by remembrances. + + + + +CHAP. XII. + + +A few hours later he was speeding along the lake's edge in the bright +morning, happy as the bird singing in the skies, when the thought like a +dagger-thrust crossed his mind that being the son of a rich man Jesus +could not receive him as a disciple, only the poor were welcome into the +brotherhood of the poor. His father had told him as much, and the beggar +whom he had met under the cliffs, smelling of rags and raw garlic, +expressed the riches of simplicity. Happy, happy evening, for ever gone +by! Happy ignorance already turned into knowledge! For in Peter's house +Jesus would hear that the man whom he had met under the cliffs was the +son of the fish-salter of Magdala, and perhaps they knew enough of his +story to add, who has been making money in Jerusalem himself and has no +doubt come to Galilee to engage his father in some new trade that will +extort more money from the poor. He is not for thy company. A great +aversion seized him for Capernaum, and he walked, overcome with grief, +to the lake's edge and stooped to pick up a smooth stone, thinking to +send it skimming over the water, as he used to when a boy; but there was +neither the will nor the strength in him for the innocent sport, and he +lay down, exhausted in mind and body, to lament this new triumph of the +demon that from the beginning of his life thwarted him and interrupted +all his designs--this time intervening at the last moment as if with a +purpose of great cruelty. This demon seemed to him to descend out of the +blue air and sometimes to step out of the blue water, and Joseph was +betimes moved to rush into the lake, for there seemed to him no other +way of escaping from him. Then he would turn back from the foam and the +reeds, and pray to the demon to leave him for some little while in +peace: let me be with Jesus for a little while, and then I'll do thy +bidding. Tie the tongues of those that would tell him I'm the son of a +rich man--Simon Peter, James and John, sons of Zebedee. James would say +a word in his favour, but Jesus would answer: why did he not tell these +things to me overnight? And if he loves me, why does he not rid himself +of the wealth that separates him from me? + +Well, young Master, cried somebody behind him, now what be ye thinking +over this fine morning? Of the fish the nets will bring to be safely +packed away in your father's barrels? My father's barrels be accursed! +Joseph exclaimed, springing to his feet. And why dost thou call me +master? I'm not master, nor art thou servant. And then, his eyes opening +fully to the external world, he recognised the nearly hunchback Philip +of Capernaum--a high-necked, thick-set fellow, in whom a hooked nose and +prominent eyes were the distinguishing features. A sail-maker, that +spoke with a sharp voice, and Joseph remembered him as combining the +oddest innocence of mind regarding spiritual things with a certain +shrewdness in the conduct of his business. Thy voice startled me out of +a dream, Joseph said, and I knew not what I said. Beg pardon, +Master--but the word "Sir" you like no better, and it would sound +unseemly to call you "Joseph" and no more. As we are not born the same +height nor strength nor wits, such little differences as "Sir" and +"Master" get into our speech. All those that love God are the same, and +there is neither class nor wealth, only love, Joseph answered +passionately. That is the teaching of the new prophet Jesus, Philip +replied, his yapping voice assuming an inveigling tone or something like +one. I was in Magdala yester evening, and spent the night in my debtor's +house, and as we were figuring out the principal and interest a +neighbour came in, and among his several news was that you were seen +walking with Jesus by the lake in the direction of Capernaum. We were +glad to hear that, for having only returned to us last night you did not +know that Jesus has become a great man in these parts, especially since +he has come to lodge in Simon Peter's house. That was a great step for +him. But I must be hastening away, for a meeting is at Simon Peter's +house. And I have promised Jesus to be there too, Joseph answered. Then +we may step the way out together, Philip answered, looking up into +Joseph's face, and--as if he read there encouragement to speak out the +whole of his mind--he continued: + +I was saying that it was a great step up for him when Simon Peter took +him to lodge in his house, for beforetimes he had, as the saying is, no +place to lay his head: an outcast from Cana, whither he went first to +his mother's house, and it is said he turned water into wine on one +occasion at a marriage feast; but that cannot be true, for if it were, +there is no reason that I can see why he should stay his hand and not +turn all water into wine. To which Joseph replied that it would be a +great misfortune, for the greater part of men would be as drunk as Noah +was when he planted a vineyard, and we know how Lot's daughters turned +their father's drunkenness to account. Moreover, Philip, if Jesus had +turned all the water into wine there would be no miracle, for a miracle +is a special act performed by someone whom God has chosen as an +instrument. It is as likely as not, Master, that you be right in what +you say, for there's no saying what is true and what is false in this +world, for what one man says another man denies, and it is not even +certain that all men see and hear alike. But, Philip, thou must remember +that though men neither hear nor see alike, yet the love of God is the +same in every man. But is it? Philip asked. For can it be denied that +some men love God in the hope that God may do something for them, while +others love God lest he may punish them. But methinks that such love as +that is more fear than love; and then there are others that can love +God--well, just because it seems to them that God is by them, just as +I'm by you at the present moment. Jesus is such an one. But there be not +many like him, and that was why his teaching found no favour either in +Cana or in Nazareth. In them parts they knew that he was the carpenter's +son, and his mother and his brothers and sisters were a hindrance to +him, for thinking him a bit queer, they came ofttimes to the synagogues +to ask him to come home with them, for they are shrewd enough to see +that such talk as his will bring him no good in the end, for priests are +strong everywhere and have the law of the land on their side, for +governors would make but poor shift to govern without them. But why +then, Philip, shouldst thou who art a cautious man, be going to Peter's +house to meet him? Well, that's the question I've been asking myself all +the morning till I came upon you. Master, sitting by the lake, and not +unlikely you were asking yourself the same question, sitting over yonder +by the lake all by yourself. He casts a spell upon me, I'm thinking, and +has, it would seem to me, cast one upon you, for you went a long way +with him last night, by all accounts. I'd have it from thee, Philip, +how long he has been in these parts? Well, I should say it must be two +years or thereabouts that he came up from Jericho, staying but a little +while in Jerusalem and going on to his mother at Cana, and afterwards +trying his luck, as I have said, in Nazareth. But his mother hasn't seen +him for many a year? He has been away since childhood, living with a +certain sect of Jews called the Essenes, and it was John---- Yes, I know +John was baptizing in Jordan, Joseph interrupted, and he baptized Jesus. +And after that he went into the desert, said Philip hurriedly, for he +did not like being interrupted in his story. He came up to Nazareth, I +was saying, about two years ago, but was thrown out of that city and +came here; he was more fortunate here, picking up bits of food from the +people now and then, who, thinking him harmless, let him sleep in an odd +hole or corner; but he must have often been like dying of hunger by the +wayside, for he was always travelling, going his rounds from village to +village. But luck was on his side, and when he was near dying a +traveller would come by and raise him and give him a little wine. He is +one of those that can do with little, and after the first few months he +had the luck to cast out one or two devils, and finding he could cast +out devils, he turned to the healing of the sick; and many is the +withered limb that he put right, and many a lame man he has set walking +with as good a stride as we are taking now, and many a blind man's eyes +he has opened, and the scrofulous he cured by looking at them--so it is +said. And so his fame grew from day to day; the people love him, for he +asks no money from them, which is a sure way into men's affections; but +those whose children he has cured cannot see him go away hungry, and +they put a loaf into his shirt, for he takes anything that he can get +except money, which he will not look upon. There has been no holier man +in these parts, Sir, these many years. The oldest in the country cannot +remember one like him--my father is nearer ninety than eighty, and he +says that Jesus is a greater man than he ever heard his father tell of, +and he was well into the eighties before he died. Now, Sir, as we are +near to Peter's house, you'll not mind my telling you that there is no +"Sir" or "Master" at Peter's house. But, Philip, has it not already been +said that thou mayst drop such titles as "Sir" and "Master" in +addressing me? And wert thou not at one with me that we should be more +courteous and friendly one between the other without them? Well, yes, +Master, I do recollect some such talk between us, but now that we be +coming into Capernaum it would be well that I should call you "Joseph," +but "Joseph" would be difficult to me at first, and we are all brothers +amongst us, only Jesus is Master over all of us, and God over him. But +it now strikes my mind that I have not told you how Jesus and Peter +became acquainted. + +One day as Jesus was passing on his rounds a man ran out of his house +and besought him to help him to stop some boys who were playing drums +and fifes and psalteries, saying to him: I know not who thou art, but my +wife's mother is dying of fever, and the boys jeer at me and show no +mercy. Let us take stones and cast them at them. But Jesus answered: no +stone is required; and turning to the boys he said: boys, all this woman +asks of you is to be allowed to die in quiet, and you may ask the same +thing some day, and that day may not be long delayed. Whereupon the boys +were ashamed, and Jesus followed Peter into his house and took his +wife's mother's hand and lifted her up a little and placed her head upon +the pillow and bade her sleep, which she did, and seeing that he had +such power Peter asked him to remain in the house till his mother-in-law +opened her eyes, which he did, and he has been there ever since. Now +here we are at the pathway through which Jesus comes and goes every day +on his mission of healing and preaching the love of God. Your father, +Sir, is much opposed to Jesus, who he says has persuaded Peter away from +his fishing and James and John and many others, but no doubt your father +told you these things last night. + + + + +CHAP. XIII. + + +Yonder is Capernaum--or it would have been more in our speech had I +said, why, brother, yonder is Capernaum. But habit's like a fly, +brother, it won't leave us alone, it comes back however often and +angrily we may drive it away. + +Joseph made no reply, hoping by silence to quiet Philip's tongue which +returned to the attack, he was fain to admit, not altogether unlike a +fly. He tried not to hear him, for the sight of the town at the head of +the lake awakened recollections of himself and his nurse walking +valiantly, their strength holding out till they reached Capernaum, but +after eating at the inn they were too weary to return to Magdala on foot +and Peter had had to take them back in his boat. Peter's boat was his +adventure in those days, and strangely distinct the day rose up in his +mind that he and Peter had gone forth firm in the resolution that they +would ascend the Jordan as far as the waters of Merom. They succeeded in +dragging the boat over the shallows, but there was much wind on the +distant lake. Peter thought it would not be well to venture out upon it, +and Andrew thought so too. He was now going to see those two brothers +again after a long absence and was not certain whether he was glad or +sorry. It seemed to him that the lake, its towns and villages, were too +inseparably part of himself for him to wish to see them with the +physical eyes, and that it would be wiser to keep this part of Galilee, +the upper reaches of the lake at least, for his meditations; yet he did +not think he would like to return to Magdala without seeing Capernaum. +Perhaps because Jesus was there. That Jesus should have pitched upon +Capernaum as a centre revived his interest in it, and there was a +certain pathetic interest attached to the memory of a question he once +put to his father. He asked him if Capernaum was the greatest city in +the world, and for years after he was teased till Capernaum became +hateful to him; but Capernaum within the last few minutes regained its +place in his affections. And as the town became hallowed in recollection +he cried out to Philip that he could not go farther with him. Not go any +farther with me, Philip answered: now why is that, brother, for Peter is +waiting to see you and will take on mightily when I tell him that you +came to the head of the lake with me and turned back. But it is Peter +whom I fear to meet, Joseph muttered, and then at the sight of the long +lean street slanting down the hillside towards the lake, breaking up +into irregular hamlets, some situated at the water's edge close to the +wharf where Peter's boats lay gently rocking, he repeated: it is Peter +that I fear. But unwilling to take Philip into his confidence he turned +as if to go back to Magdala without further words, but Philip restrained +him, and at last Joseph confessed his grief--that being the son of a +rich man he was not eligible to the society of the poor. You will ask +me, he said, to give up my money to the poor, a thing I would willingly +do for the sake of Jesus, whom I believe to be God's prophet; but how +can I give that which does not belong to me--my father's money? That was +my grief when you found me sitting on the stone by the lake's edge. + +Whereupon Philip stood looking at Joseph as one suspended, for the first +time understanding rightly that the rich have their troubles as well as +the poor. At last words coming to him he said: money has been our +trouble since Jesus drew us together, for we would do without money and +yet we know not how this is to be done. Like you, Sir, I'm asking if I'm +to sell my sails, those already out and those in the unrolled material, +and if I do sell and give the money to the poor how am I to live but by +begging of those that have not given their all? But why should I worry +you with our troubles? But your troubles are mine, Joseph answered; and +Philip went away to fetch Peter, who, he said, would be able to tell him +if Jesus could accept a rich man as a disciple. If a man that has a +little be permitted to remain, who is to say how much means +interdiction? Joseph asked himself as he kept watch for Peter to appear +at the corner of the street. And does he know the Master's mind enough +to answer the question of my admission or---- The sentence did not +finish in his mind, for Peter was coming up the street at that moment, a +great broad face coming into its features and expression. The same +high-shouldered fisher as of yore, Joseph said to himself, and he sought +to read in Peter's face the story of Peter's transference from one +master to another. It wasn't the approach of the Great Day, he said, for +Peter never could see beyond his sails and the fins of a fish; and if +Jesus were able to lift his thoughts beyond them he had accomplished a +no less miracle than turning water into wine. + +Well, young Master, he said, we're glad to have you back among us +again. There be no place like home for us Galileans. Isn't that so? And +no fishing like that on these coasts? But, Peter, Joseph interrupted, my +father tells me that thou hast laid aside thy nets--but that isn't what +I'm here to talk to thee about, he interjected suddenly, but about Jesus +himself, whom I've been seeking for nearly two years, very nearly since +I parted from you all, well nigh two years ago, isn't it? I've sought +him in the hills of Judea, in Moab, in the Arabian desert and all the +way to Egypt and back again. It's about two years since you went away on +your travels, Master Joseph, and a great fine story there'll be for us +to listen to when our nets are down, Peter said. I'd ask you to begin it +now, Master Joseph, weren't it that the Master is waiting for us over +yonder in my house. And from what Philip tells me you would have my +advice about joining our community, Master Joseph. You've seen no doubt +a good deal of the Temple at Jerusalem and know everything about the +goings on there, and are with us in this--that the Lord don't want no +more fat rams and goats and bullocks, and incense is hateful in his +nostrils. So I've heard. They be Isaiah's words, aren't they, young +Master? But there's no master here, only Jesus: he is Master, and if I +call you "Master" it is from habit of beforetimes. But no offence +intended. You always will be master for me, and I'll be servant always +in a sense, which won't prevent us from being brothers. The Master +yonder will understand and will explain it all to you better than I.... +And Peter nodded his great head covered with frizzly hair. But, Peter, I +am a rich man, and my father is too, and none but the poor is admitted +into the Community of Jesus. That's what affrights him, Peter--his +money, Philip interjected, and I have been trying to make him understand +that Jesus won't ask him for his father's money, he not having it to +give away. I'm not so sure of that, Peter said. The Master told us a +story yesterday of a steward who took his master's money and gave it to +the poor, he being frightened lest the poor, whom he hadn't been +over-good to in his lifetime, might not let him into heaven when he +died. And the Master seemed to think that he did well, for he said: it +is well to bank with the poor. Them were his very words. So it seems to +thee, Peter, that I should take my father's money? Joseph asked. Take +your father's money! Peter answered. We wouldn't wrong your father out +of the price of two perch, and never have done, neither myself nor John +and James. Now I won't say as much for---- We love your father, and +never do we forget that when our nets were washed away it was he that +gave us new ones. I am sure thou wouldst not wrong my father, Joseph +answered, and he refrained from asking Peter to explain the relevancy of +the story he had just told lest he should entangle him. It is better, he +said to himself, to keep to facts, and he told Peter that even his own +money was not altogether his own money, for he had a partner in Jericho +and it would be hard to take his money out of the business and give it +all to the poor. Giving it to the poor in Galilee, he said, would +deprive my camel-drivers of their living. Which, Peter observed, would +be a cruel thing to do, for a man must be allowed to get his living, +whether he be from Jericho or Galilee, fisher or camel-driver or +sail-maker. Which reminds me, Philip, that thou be'st a long time over +the sail I was to have had at the end of last month. And the twain began +to wrangle so that Joseph thought they would never end, so prolix was +Philip in his explanations. He had had to leave the sail unsewn, was all +he had to say, but he embroidered on this simple fact so largely that +Joseph lost patience and began to tell them he had come to Galilee, +Pilate wishing him to add the portage of wheat from Moab to the trade +already started in figs and dates. So Pilate is in the business, Peter +ejaculated, for Peter did not think that a Jew should have any dealings +with Gentiles, and this opinion, abruptly expressed, threw the discourse +again into disarray. But Pilate is in Jerusalem, Joseph began. And has +he brought the Roman eagles with him? Peter interrupted. And seeing that +these eagles would lead them far from the point which he was anxious to +have settled--whether the trade he was doing between Jerusalem and +Jericho prevented him from being a disciple--Joseph began by assuring +Peter that the eagles had been sent back to Caesarea. Caesarea, Peter +muttered, our Master has been there, and says it is as full as it can +hold of graven images. Well, Peter, what I have come to say is, that +were I to disappoint Pilate he might allow the robbers to infest the +hills again, and all my money would be lost, and my partner's money, and +the camel-drivers would be killed; and if my convoys did not arrive in +Jerusalem there might be bread riots. How would you like that, Peter? + +Now what do ye say to that, Peter? and Philip looked up into Peter's +great broad face. Only this, Peter answered, that money will shipwreck +our Community sooner or later--we're never free from it. Like a fly, +Philip suggested, the more we chase it away the more it returns. The fly +cannot resist a sweating forehead, Philip, Peter said. Thine own is more +sweaty than mine, Philip retorted, and a big blue fly is drinking his +belly full though thou feelest him not, being as callous as a camel. The +Master's teaching is, Peter continued, having driven off the fly, that +no man should own anything, that everyone should have the same rights, +which seems true enough till we begin to put it into practice, for if I +were to let whosoever wished take my boats and nets to go out fishing, +my boats and nets would be all at the bottom of the lake before the sun +went down as like as not, for all men don't understand fishing. As we +must have fish to live I haven't parted with my boats; but every time we +take that turning down yonder to the lake's edge and I see my boats +rocking I offer up a little prayer that the Master may be looking the +other way or thinking of something else. James and John, sons of +Zebedee, are of the same mind as myself--that we shouldn't trouble the +Master too closely with the working out of his teaching. The teaching is +the thing. Why, they be coming towards us, as sure as my name's Simon +Peter, sent perhaps by the Master to fetch us, so long have we been away +talking. + +Joseph turned to greet the two young men, whom he had known always; as +far back as he could remember he had talked to them over the oars, and +seen them let down the nets and draw up the nets, and they had hoisted +the sail for his pleasure, abandoning the fishing for the day, knowing +well that Joseph's father would pay them for the time they lost in +pleasing his son. And now they were young men like himself, only they +knew no Greek; rough young men, of simple minds and simple life, who +were drawn to Jesus--James a lean man, whose small sullen eyes, dilatory +speech and vacant little laugh used to annoy Joseph. James always asked +him to repeat the words though he had heard perfectly. Joseph liked John +better, for his mind was sturdy and his voice grew sullen at any word of +reproof and his eyes flamed, and Joseph wondered what might be the +authority that Jesus held over him, a rough turbulent fellow, whom +Joseph had always feared a little; even now in their greeting there was +a certain dread in Joseph, which soon vanished, for John's words were +outspoken and hearty. We're glad to have you back again amongst us, +Master, I've been saying since I left Capernaum this morning. But +"Master" is a word, John, that I've heard isn't used among you. Truly it +is not used among the brotherhood, John answered. And I came to ask +admission, Joseph said. Well, that be good news, Master--brother I +should say, for our Master will be glad to meet thee. But that, Philip +began, is just the matter we were speaking of among ourselves before we +saw thee coming towards us. For there be a difficulty. He be as earnest +as any of us, but our rule is what thou knowest it to be. Despite John's +knowledge of the rule Philip began the story, and again he was so prolix +in it that Joseph, wishing John to decide on the strict matter of it, +and not to be lost in details, some of which were true and some of which +were false and all confused in Philip's telling, interrupted the +narrator, saying that he would give all the money that was strictly his, +but his father's he couldn't give nor his partner's. We've many camels, +he said, in common, and how are these to be divided? Nor is it right, it +seems to me, that my partner should be left with the burden of all the +trade we have created together; yet it is hard that I who have sought +Jesus in the deserts of Judea as far as Egypt, and found him in Galilee, +at home, should be forced to range myself apart from him, with whom my +heart is. Would that the Master were here to hear him speak, Philip +interjected. He was with the Master last night, and the Master was well +pleased with him. It all depends on what mood the Master be in, John +answered, and they all fell to asking each other what the Master's mood +was that morning. But it would seem that all read him differently, and +it was with joy at the prospect of a new opinion that they viewed Judas +coming towards them. + +And taking Judas into the discussion Peter said: now I've two boats, and +John and James have four, so we aren't without money though our riches +are small compared with the young Master's. Are we to sell our boats and +give the money to the poor, and if we do who then will look after the +Master's wants? They are small it is true, a bit of fish and bread every +day, and a roof over his head; but who will give him a roof if mine be +taken from me? Is not this so? All seemed in agreement, and Peter +continued: I am thinking, John, that our new brother might help us to +buy the Master a new cloak, for his is falling to pieces and my wife's +mother is weary with patching it. He cured her of the fever, but she +thinks that a great cost is put upon me and would ask the Master +something for his keep. Whereupon John spoke out that the story of his +mother-in-law was for ever the same; and seeing that he was offending +Peter with the words he addressed against his wife's mother, though +indeed Peter liked her not too much himself, Joseph put his hand in his +pocket and said: here are some shekels, go and buy Jesus a cloak, but +say not to him whence the money came. + +Say not to him! Judas interjected. No need to tell him that can read the +thoughts in the mind. It would be better for the young Master to give +him one of his old cloaks. Jesus would question the new cloak and say it +savours of money. He sees into the heart. We have tried to keep things +from him before, Judas continued turning to Joseph.... It is our duty to +save him as much as we can. Peter has done much and I've shared the +expense with Peter, though I am a poor man; we pick the stones from his +path, for he walks with his eyes fixed upon the Kingdom of God always. +Yes, he sees into our hearts, Philip interrupted, and reads through all +we are thinking even before the thoughts come into our minds. It is as +Philip says, Judas muttered: our hearts are open to him always. But +James, who had not spoken till now, put forward the opinion, and no one +seemed inclined to gainsay it, that if Jesus knew men's thoughts before +they came into men's minds he must be warned of them by the angels. He +goes into the solitude of the mountains to converse with the angels, +James said--for what else? Moses went into the clefts of Mount Sinai, +Joseph added, and he asked Peter to tell him if Jesus believed that the +soul existed apart from the body, at which question Peter was fairly +embarrassed, for the soul must be somewhere, he said, and if there be no +body to contain it---- You must ask the Master about these things, we +have not considered them. All the same we are glad that you are with us +and ready to follow him into danger, for if the Sadducees and Pharisees +are against him we are with him. Is that not so, sons of Zebedee? + +At the challenge the two lads came forward again and all began to talk +of the Kingdom of Heaven, and the enthusiasm of the disciples catching +upon Joseph he, too, was soon talking of the Kingdom that was to come, +and whether they should all go down to Jerusalem together to meet the +Kingdom and share it, or wait for it to appear in Galilee. Share and +share alike, Joseph said. Ay, ay, sure we shall, and enjoy it, Peter +rolled out at his elbow. But we must set our hearts in patience, for +there be a rare lot to be converted yet. Every man must have his chance, +and seeing Jesus coming towards him Peter waited till Jesus was by him. +Haven't I thy promise, Master, he asked, laying his hand on Jesus' +shoulder, that my chair in Kingdom Come will be next to thine? Before +Jesus could answer John and James asked him if their chairs would not be +on his left and right. But not next to the Master's, Peter answered. I'm +on the right hand of the Master, and my brother Andrew on the left. Look +into his face and read in it that I have said well. But the disciples +were not minded to read the Master's face as Peter instructed them to +read it, and might have come to gripping each other's throats if Jesus +had not asked them if they would have the fat in the narrow chairs and +the thin in the wide, as often happens in this world. The spectacle of +Peter trying to sit on James' chair set them laughing, and as if to make +an end of an unseemly disputation John asked the Master whither they +were going to cure the sick that day? To which question Jesus made no +answer, for he felt no power on him that day to cure the sick or to cast +out demons. You'll see him do these things on another occasion, Peter +whispered in Joseph's ear; to-day he's deep in one of his meditations, +and we dare not ask him whither he be going, but must just follow him. +As likely as not he'll lead us up into the hills for---- But I see +Salome coming this way. You know her sons, John and James. The woman +bears me an ill will and would have my chair set far down, belike as not +between Nathaniel and Philip, who as you have noticed do not hold their +heads very high in our company. But let us hasten a little to hear what +she has to say. Listen, 'tis as I said, Master, Peter continued; you +heard her ask him that her sons should sit on either side of him. Now +mark his answer, if he answers her; I doubt if he will, so dark is his +mood. + +But dark though it was he answered her with a seeming cheerfulness that +in the coming world there is neither weariness of spirit nor of body, +and therefore chairs are not set in heaven. A fine answer that, and +Peter chuckled; too wise for thee. Go home and ponder on it. We shall +lie on couches when we are not flying, he added, and being in doubt he +asked Joseph if the heavenly host was always on the wing. A question +that seemed somewhat silly to Joseph, though he could not have given his +reason for thinking it silly. Peter called on Jesus to hasten for the +disciples were half way up the principal street at a turning whither +their way led through the town by olive garths and orchards, and finding +a path through these they came upon green corn sown in patches just +beginning to show above ground, and the fringe of the wood higher up the +hillside--some grey bushes with young oaks starting through them, still +bare of leaves, ferns beginning to mark green lanes into the heart of +the woods, and certain dark wet places where the insects had already +begun to hum. But when the wood opened out the birds were talking to one +another, blackbird to blackbird, thrush to thrush, robin to robin, kin +understanding kin, and every bird uttering vain jargon to them that did +not wear the same beak and feathers, just like ourselves, Joseph said to +himself and he stood stark before a hollow into which he remembered +having once been forbidden to stray lest a wolf should pounce upon him +suddenly. Now he was a man, he was among men, and all had staves in +their hands, and the thoughts of wolves departed at the sight of a wild +fruit tree before which Jesus stopped, and calling John and James to +him, as if he had forgotten Peter, he said: you see that tree covered +with beautiful blossoms, but the harsh wind which is now blowing along +the hillside will bear many of the blossoms away before the fruit begins +to gather. And the birds will come and destroy many a berry before the +plucker comes to pick the few that remain for the table. How many of you +that are gathered about me now---- He stopped suddenly, and his eyes +falling on John he addressed his question directly to him as if he +doubted that Peter would apprehend the significance of the parable. But +Joseph, whom it touched to the quick, was moved to cry out, Master, I +understand; restraining himself, however, or his natural diffidence +restraining him, he could only ask Peter to ask Jesus for another +parable. Peter reproved Joseph, saying that it were not well to ask +anything from the Master at present, but that his mood might improve +during the course of the afternoon. Thomas, who did not know the Master +as well as Peter, could not keep back the question that rose to his +lips. Our trade, he said, is in apricots, but is it the same with men as +with the apricots, or shall we live to see the fruit that thou hast +promised us come to table? Whereupon James and John began to ask which +were the blossoms among them that would be eaten by the birds and +insects and which would wither in the branches. Shall I feed the +insects, Master? Matthew asked, or shall I be eaten by the birds? A +question that seemed to everyone so stupid that none was surprised that +Jesus did not answer it, but turning to Philip he asked him: canst thou +not, Philip, divine my meaning? But Philip, though pleased to come under +the Master's notice, was frightened, and could think of no better answer +than that the apricots they would eat in Paradise would be better. For +there are no harsh winds in Paradise, isn't that so, Master? Thy +question is no better than Salome's, Jesus answered, who sees Paradise +ranged with chairs. Then everyone wondered if there were no chairs nor +apricots in Paradise of what good would Paradise be to them; and were +dissatisfied with the answer that Jesus gave to them, that the soul is +satisfied in the love of God as the flower in the sun. But with this +answer they had to content themselves, for so dark was his face that +none dared to ask another question till Matthew said: Master, we would +understand thee fairly. If there be no chairs nor apricots in Paradise +there cannot be a temple wherein to worship God. To which Jesus +answered: God hath no need of temples in Paradise, nor has he need of +any temple except the human heart wherein he dwells. It is not with +incense nor the blood of sheep and rams that God is worshipped, but in +the heart and with silent prayers unknown to all but God himself, who +knows all things. And the day is coming, I say unto you, when the Son of +Man shall return with his Father to remake this world afresh, but before +that time comes you would do well to learn to love God in your hearts, +else all my teaching is vainer than any of the things in this world that +ye are accustomed to look upon as vain. Upon this he took them to a +mountain-side where the rock was crumbling, and he said: you see this +crumbling rock? Once it held together, now it is falling into sand, but +it shall be built up into rock again, and again it shall crumble into +sand. At which they drew together silent with wonder, each fearing to +ask the other if the Master were mad, for though they could see that the +rock might drift into sand, they could not see how sand might be built +up again into rock. + +Master, how shall we know thee when thou returnest to us? Wilt thou be +changed as the rock changes? Wilt thou be sand or rock? It was Andrew +that had spoken; and Philip answered him that the Master will return in +a chariot of fire, for he was angry that a fellow of Andrew's stupidity +should put questions to Jesus whether they were wise or foolish; but +could they be aught else than foolish coming from him? Andrew, +persisting, replied: but we may not be within sight of the Master when +he steps out of his chariot of fire, and we are only asking for a token +whereby we may know him from his Father. My Father and thy Father, +Andrew, Jesus answered, the Father of all that has lived, that lives, +and that shall live in the world; and the law over the rock that +crumbles into sand and the sand that is built up into rock again, was in +that rock before Abraham was, and will abide in it and in the flower +that grows under the rock till time everlasting. But, Master, wilt thou +tell us if the rock we are looking upon was sand or rock in the time of +Abraham? Philip asked, and Jesus answered him: my words are not then +plain, that before that rock was and before the sand out of which the +rock was built, was God's love--that which binds and unbinds enduring +always though the rock pass into sand and the sand into rock a thousand +times. + +And it was then that a disciple poked himiself up to Jesus to ask him if +they were not to believe the Scriptures. He answered him that the +Scriptures were no more than the love of God. This answer did not quell +the dissidents, but caused them to murmur more loudly against him, and +Jesus, though he must have seen that he was about to lose some +disciples, would retract nothing. The Scriptures are, he repeated, but +the love of God. He that came to betray him said: and the Gentiles that +haven't the Scriptures? Jesus answered that all men that have the love +of God in their hearts are beloved by God. Is it then of no value to +come of the stock of Abraham? the man asked, and Jesus replied: none, +but a loss if ye do not love God, for God asks more from those whose +minds he has opened than from those whose minds he has suffered to +remain shut. At which Peter cried: though there be not a pint of wine in +all heaven we will follow thee, and though there be no fish in heaven +but the scaleless that the Gentiles eat---- He stopped suddenly and +looked at Jesus, saying: there are no Gentiles in heaven. Heaven is open +to all men that love God, Jesus said, and after these words he continued +to look at Peter, but like one that sees things that are not before him; +and the residue followed him over the hills, saying to themselves: he is +thinking about this journey to Jerusalem, and then a little later one +said to the others: he is in commune with the spirits that lead him, +asking them to spare him this journey, for he knows that the Pharisees +will rise up against him, and will stone him if he preach against the +Temple. What else should he preach against? asked another disciple; and +they continued to watch Jesus, trying to gather from his face what his +thoughts might be, thinking that his distant eyes might be seeking a +prediction of the coming kingdom in the sky. We might ask him if he sees +the kingdom coming this way, an apostle whispered in the ear of +another, and was forthwith silenced, for it was deemed important that +the Master should never be disturbed in his meditations, whatever they +might be. + +He stood at gaze, his apostles and his disciples watching from a little +distance, recalling the day his dog Coran refused to follow him, and +seeing that the dog had something on his mind, he left his flock in +charge of the other dogs and followed Coran to the hills above the Brook +Kerith, down a little crumbling path to Elijah's cave. He found John the +Baptist, and recognising in him Elijah's inheritor--at that moment a +flutter of wings in the branches awoke him from his reverie, and seeing +his disciples about him, he asked them whose inheritor he was. Some said +Elijah, some said Jeremiah, some said Moses. As if dissatisfied with +these answers, he looked into their faces, as if he would read their +souls, and asked them to look up through the tree tops and tell him what +they could see in a certain space of sky. In fear of his mood, and lest +he might call them feeble of sight or purblind, his disciples, or many +among them, fell to disputing among themselves as to what might be +discerned by human eyes in the cloud; till John, thinking to raise +himself in the Master's sight, so it seemed to Joseph (who dared not +raise his eyes to the sky, but bent them on the earth), said that he +could see a chariot drawn by seven beasts, each having on its forehead +seven horns; the jaws of these beasts, he averred, were like those of +monkeys, and in their paws, he said, were fourteen golden candlesticks. +Andrew, being misled by the colour of the cloud which was yellow, said +that the seven beasts were like leopards; whereas Philip deemed that +the beasts were not leopards, for him they were bears; and they began to +dispute one with the other, some discerning the Father Almighty in a +chariot, describing him to be a man garmented in white; his hair is like +wool, they said. And seated beside him Matthew saw the Son of Man with +an open book on his knees. But these visions, to their great trouble, +did not seem to interest Jesus; or not sufficiently for their intention; +and to the mortification of Peter and Andrew, James and John, he turned +to Thaddeus and Aristion and asked them what they saw in the clouds, and +partly because they were loath to say they could see naught, and also +thinking to please him, they began to see a vision, and their vision was +an angel whom they could hear crying: at thy bidding, O Lord; on which +he emptied his vial into the Euphrates, and forthwith the river was +turned to blood. The second angel crying likewise, at thy bidding, O +Lord, emptied his vial; and when the third angel had emptied his, three +animals of the shape of frogs crawled out of the river; and then from +over the mountains came a great serpent to devour the frog-shapen +beasts, and after devouring them he vomited forth a great flood, and the +woman that had been seated on it was borne away. It was Thaddeus that +spoke the last words, and he would have continued if Jesus' eyes had not +warned him that the Master was thinking of other things, perhaps seeing +and hearing other things. It is known to you all, he said, that Jeremiah +kneels at the steps of my Father's throne praying for the salvation of +Israel? Therefore tell me what is your understanding of the words +"praying for the salvation of Israel"? Was the prophet praying that +Israel might be redeemed from the taxes the Romans had imposed upon +them? Being without precise knowledge of how much remission Jeremiah +might obtain for them, it seemed to them that it would be well to say +that Jeremiah was praying to God to delay no longer, but send the +Messiah he had promised. At which Jesus smiled and asked them if the +Messiah would remit the taxes; and the disciples answered craftily that +the Messiah would set up the Kingdom of God on earth: in which kingdom +no taxes are levied, Jesus replied. Come, he said, let us sit upon these +rocks and talk of the great prophecies, for I would hear from you how +you think the promised kingdom will come to pass. And the disciples +answered, one here, one there, and then in twos and threes. But, Master, +thou knowest all these things, since it is to thee our Father has given +the task of establishing his Kingdom upon earth; tell us, plague us no +longer with dark questions. We are not alone, Thaddeus cried, a rich +man's son is amongst us. If he have come amongst us God has sent him, +Jesus said, and we should have no fear of riches, since we desire them +not. This kindness heartened Joseph, who dared to ask Jesus how he might +disburden himself of the wealth that would come to him at his father's +death. + +As no such dilemma as Joseph's had arisen before, all waited to hear +Jesus, but his thoughts having seemingly wandered far, they all fell to +argument and advised Joseph in so many different ways that he did not +know to whom to accede so contradictory were all their notions of +fairness; and, the babble becoming louder, it waked Jesus out of his +mood, and catching Joseph's eyes, he asked him if he whom our Father +sent to establish his Kingdom on earth would not have to give his life +to men for doing it. A question that Joseph could not answer; and while +he sought for the Master's meaning the disciples began again aloud to +babble and to put questions to the Master, hurriedly asking him why he +thought he must die before going up to heaven. Did not Elijah, they +asked, ascend into heaven alive in his corporeal body?--and the cloak he +left with Elisha, Aristion said, might be held to be a symbol of the +fleshly body. This view was scorned, for the truth of the Scriptures +could not be that the disciples inherited not the spiritual power of the +prophet, but his fleshly show. Then the fate of Judas the Gaulonite +rising up in Peter's mind, he said: but, Master, we shall not allow thee +to be slain on a cross and given as food to the birds. The disciples +raised their staves, crying, we're with thee, Master, and the forest +gave back their oaths in echoes that seemed to reach the ends of the +earth; and when the echoes ceased a silence came up from the forest that +shut their lips, and, panic-stricken, all would have run away if Peter +had not drawn the sword which he had brought with him in case of an +attack by wolves, and swore he would strike the man down that raised his +hand against the Master. To which Jesus replied that every man is born +to pursue a destiny, and that he had long known that his led to +Jerusalem, whereupon Peter cried out: we'll defend thee from thyself; +for which words Jesus reproved him, saying that to try to save a man +from himself were like trying to save him from the decree that he brings +into the world with his blood. And what is mine, Master? It may be, +Jesus answered, to return to thy fishing. Whereupon Peter wept, saying: +Master, if we lose thee we're as sheep that have lost their shepherd, a +huddled, senseless flock on the hillside, for we have laid down our nets +to follow thee, believing that the Kingdom of God would come down here +in Galilee rather than in Jerusalem; pray that it may descend here, for +thou'lt be safer here, Master; we have swords and staves to defend +thee--so let us kneel in prayer and ask the Lord that he choose Galilee +rather than Judea for the setting up of his kingdom. To which Jesus +answered nothing, and his face was as if he had not heard Peter; and +then Peter's fears for Jesus' life, should he go to Jerusalem, seemed to +pass on from one to the other, till all were possessed by the same fear, +and Peter said: let us lift up our hearts to our Father in Heaven and +pray that Jesus be not taken from us. Let us kneel, he said, and they +all knelt and prayed, but to their supplication Jesus seemed +indifferent. And seeing they were unable to dissuade him from Jerusalem, +Peter turned to Joseph. Here is one, he said, who knows the perils of +Jerusalem and will bear witness, that if thou preach that God have no +need of a Temple or a sacrifice, thou'lt surely be done to death by the +priests. + +Peter's sudden appeal to his knowledge of the priests of Jerusalem awoke +Joseph, who was wholly absorbed in his love of Jesus, and thought only +of rushing forward and worshipping; but he was held back and strained +forward at the same time, and seeing he was overcome, Peter did not +press him for an answer, and Joseph fell back among the crowd, ashamed, +thinking that if Peter came to him again he would speak forthright. He +had words that would bring him into the sympathy of Jesus, but instead +of speaking them he stood, held at gaze by the beauty of the bright +forehead, large and arched; and so exalted were the eyes that Joseph +could not think else than that Jesus was looking upon things that his +disciples did not see. It seemed to Joseph that Jesus was meditating +whether he should confide all he saw and heard to his disciples. He +waited, tremulous with expectation, watching the thin scrannel throat +out of which rose a voice to which the ear became attuned quickly and +was gratified as by a welcome dissonance. It rose up among the silence +of the pines, and the delight of listening to it, Joseph thought, was so +near to intoxication that he would have pressed forward if he had not +remembered suddenly that he was a new-comer into the community; one who +might at any moment be driven out of it because he possessed riches +which he could not unburden himself of. So he kept his seat in the +background among the casual followers, by two men whose accents told him +they were Samaritans, and these now seemed within the last few minutes +to have become opposed to Jesus, and Joseph wondered at the change that +had come over them and lent an ear to their discourse so that he might +discover a reason for it. And it was not long before he discovered that +their objection related to the Book of Daniel, for they were of the sort +that receive no Scriptures after the five Books of the Law. + +Joseph knew the book less perhaps than any other book of the Scriptures; +he had looked into it with Azariah, but for a reason which he could not +now discover he had read it with little attention; and since his +schooldays he had not looked into it again. Peter and Andrew and John +and James were listening intently to the story of Nebuchadnezzar's dream +for the sake of the story related and without thought of what might be +Jesus' purpose in relating it. But to Joseph Jesus' purpose was the +chief interest of the relation; and the purpose became apparent when he +began to tell how the great statue seen by Nebuchadnezzar in his dream, +whose head was gold, whose arms and breast were silver, whose belly was +brass, and whose legs and feet were iron and clay intermingled, was +overthrown by a stone that hand had not cut out of the mountain. This +stone became forthwith as big as a mountain and filled the whole earth, +and Joseph fell to thinking if this stone were the fifth kingdom which +the Messiah would set up when the Roman kingdom had fallen to dust, or +whether the stone were the Messiah himself. And while Joseph sat +thinking he heard suddenly that when Nebuchadnezzar looked into the +furnace and saw the four men whom he had ordered to be thrown into it +walking through the flames safely, he said: and the form of the fourth +is like the son of God. + +The story wholly delighted the disciples; and they asked Jesus to tell +them the further adventures of Daniel, and as if wishing to humour them +he began to relate that a hand had appeared writing on the wall during +the great feast at Babylon, a story to which Joseph could give but +little heed, for his imagination was controlled by the words, "whose +form is like the son of God"--an inspiration on the part of the +Babylonian king. If ever a man had seemed since to another like the son +of God, Jesus was that man; and Joseph asked himself how it was that +these words had passed over the ears of the disciples--over the ears of +those who knew Jesus' mind, if any could be said to know Jesus' mind. +Jesus, though he lived near them and loved them, lived in the world of +his own thoughts, which, so it seemed to Joseph, he could not share with +anybody. Not one of the men he had gathered about him, neither Peter, +nor John, nor James, had noticed the notable words: "And the form of the +fourth is like the son of God." It was for these words, Joseph felt +sure, that Jesus had related the story of Daniel in the furnace. But his +disciples had not apprehended the significance; and like one whose +confidence was unmoved by the slowness or the quickness of his +listeners, almost as if he knew that the real drift of his speech was +beyond his hearers, Jesus began to tell that Darius' counsellors had +combined into a plot against Daniel and succeeded in it so well that +Daniel and his companions were cast in a den of lions. But there being +nothing in the story that pointed to the setting up of the Kingdom of +God upon earth, Joseph was puzzled to understand why Jesus was at pains +to relate it at such length. Was it to amuse his disciples? he asked +himself, but no sooner had he put the question to himself than the +purpose of the relation passed into his mind. Jesus had told the +marvellous stories of Daniel's escapes from death so that his disciples +might have no fear that the priests of Jerusalem would have power to +destroy him: whomsoever God sends into the world to do his work, Jesus +would have us understand, are under God's protection for ever and ever; +and Joseph rejoiced greatly at having discovered Jesus' intent, and for +a long time the glen, the silent forest and the men sitting listening to +the Master were all forgotten by him. He even forgot the Master's +presence, so filled was he by the abundant hope that his divination of +the Master's intent marked him out as one to be associated with the +Master's work--more than any one of those now listening to him, more +than Peter himself. + +And so sweet was his reverie to him that he regretted the passing of it +as a misfortune, but finding he was in spirit as well as in body among +realities, he lent his ear to the story of the four winds that had +striven upon the great sea and driven up four great beasts. These beasts +Joseph readily understood to be but another figuration of the four great +empires; the Babylonian, the Persian, and the Grecian had been blown +away like dust, and as soon as the fourth, the Roman Empire, was broken +into pieces the kingdom of the whole world would be given to the people +of the saints of the Most High. It was Philip the nearly hunchback that +asked Jesus for an explanation of this vision--saying, and obtaining the +approval of several for the question, would he, Jesus, acquiesce in this +sharing of the earth among the angels who had not seen him, nor heard +him, nor served him upon earth. If the earth is to be shared among the +angels we follow thee in vain, he muttered; and Joseph felt that he +could never speak freely again with Philip for having dared to interrupt +the Master and weary him with questions that a child could answer. To +whom Philip said: but you, young Master, that have received good +instruction in Hebrew and Greek from the scribe Azariah, and have +travelled far, do you answer my question. If the earth is to be shared +among angels---- He was not allowed to repeat more of his question, for +a clamour of explanation began among the disciples that the earth would +not be shared among the angels of God--God would find his people +repentant when he arrived with his son. At last the assembly settled +themselves to listen to the story of the vision in which a ram pushed +westward and northward and southward, till a he-goat came from the +west--one with a notable horn between the eyes, and butted the ram till +he had broken his two horns. Joseph had forgotten these visions, and he +learnt for the first time, so it seemed to him, that the goat meant the +Syrian king, Antiochus, who had conquered Jerusalem, polluted the +sanctuary and set up heathen gods. But how are all these visions +concerned with the setting up of the Kingdom of God on earth? and Jesus' +purpose did not appear to him till Daniel heard a voice between the +banks of the Ula crying: make this man understand. Joseph understood +forthwith that Jesus' purpose was still the same, to make it plain to +the disciples that Daniel was protected and guided by God, and, that +being so, Jesus could go to Jerusalem fearing nothing, he being greater +than Daniel. So he sat immersed in belief, hearing but faintly the many +marvellous things that Daniel heard and saw, nor did he awake from his +reverie till Jesus announced that Gabriel flew about Daniel at the hour +of the evening oblation, telling him that seventy weeks was the measure +of time allowed by God to make reconciliation for iniquity and bring +everlasting righteousness, and build Jerusalem unto the Messiah; and +that after three score and two weeks the Messiah should be cut off but +not for himself. + +The words "cut off but not for himself" troubled Joseph, and he pondered +them, while the disciples marvelled at hearing Jesus speak of these +things (he seemed to know the Scriptures by rote), and his voice went +upward into the silence of the firs, and they heard as if in a dream +that the king of the south should come into his kingdom and return to +his own land. But his sons shall be stirred up and shall revolt against +him, Jesus said, and the disciples marvelled greatly, for Jesus made +clear the meaning that lay under these dark sayings, and they heard and +understood how the robbers of the people should exalt themselves and +establish a vision; but these shall fall and the king of the north shall +come and cast up mounds and take the fortified cities. And they heard of +destructions and leagues and armies and sanctuaries that were polluted, +and of peoples who did not know their God, but who nevertheless became +strong; and they heard of Edom and Moab and the children of Ammon, but +at the end of all these troubles the Tabernacle was placed between the +seas of the glorious holy mountain. And that day the fishers from the +lake of Galilee and others heard that Michael had told the people of +Israel that those that were dead should rise out of the earth and come +into everlasting life. But can the dead be raised up and come to life in +their corruptible bodies? asked the Samaritans that sat by Joseph, and +their mutterings grew louder, and they denied that the prophet Daniel +had spoken truth in this and many other things, and as he had not spoken +truth he was a false prophet; whereupon so great a clamour arose that +the wild beasts in the ravine began to growl, being awaked in their +lairs. The disciples, foreseeing that it would soon be dark night in the +forest, fell to seeking the way back to Capernaum, the Galileans in one +group with Jesus among them, the Samaritans speeding away together and +stopping at times for fresh discussion with the Galileans, asking among +many other things how the corruptible body might be raised up to heaven +and live indulging in the many imperfections inherent in our bodies. It +was vain to ask them what justice there would be if the men that had +died before the coming of the Kingdom of God were not raised up into +heaven. If this were true the dead had led virtuous lives in vain; they +might for all it had profited them have lived like the heathen. + +It was at Capernaum that the truth became manifest that not only was +Daniel denied, but Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, all the prophets since +Moses, at which the disciples were greatly incensed and raised their +staves against the Samaritans, but Jesus dissuaded his followers, and +the dissidents were suffered to depart unhurt. Let them go, Jesus said, +for they are in the hands of God, like ourselves, and he bade them all +good-night, and there seemed to Joseph to be a great sadness in Jesus' +voice, as if he felt that in this world there was little else but +leave-taking. + +Joseph too resented this parting, though it was for but a few hours; he +would unite himself to Jesus, become one, as the mother and the unborn +babe are one--he would be of the same mind and flesh; all division +seemed to him loss, till, frightened at his own great love of Jesus, he +stopped in the Plain of Gennesaret, star-gazing. But the stars told him +nothing, and he walked on again. And it was about a half-hour's walk +from Magdala that he overtook the Samaritans, who sought to draw him +into argument. But he was in no humour for further discussion, and +dismissed them, saying: what matter if all the prophets were false since +the promised Messiah is among us. He has come, he has come! he repeated +all the way home: and at every flight of the high stairs he tried to +collect his thoughts. But his brain was whirling, and he could only +repeat: he has come, he has come! + + + + + +CHAP. XIV. + + +It seemed to Joseph as he hurried along the Plain of Gennesaret that the +sun shone gayer than his wont, but as he approached Capernaum he began +to think that the sun had risen a little earlier than his wont. Nobody +was about! He listened in vain for some sound of life, till at last his +ear caught a sound as of somebody moving along the wharves, and, going +thither, he came upon Peter storing his oars in the boathouse. Making +ready, Joseph said, for fishing? You don't see, Master, that I'm putting +my oars away, but I'd as lief take them out again and fish till evening. +Here was a mysterious answer from the least mysterious of men, and Peter +continued in his work, throwing the oars into a corner like one that +cared little if he broke them, and kicking his nets aside as if he were +never going to let them down again into the lake: altogether his mood +was of an exasperation such as Joseph had never suspected to be possible +in this good-humoured, simple fellow. Had he been obliged to leave the +community or sell his boats? If that were so, his chance (Joseph's +chance) of entering the community was a poor one indeed; and he begged +Peter to relate his trouble to him--for trouble there had been last +night, he was sure of it. + +Trouble there always is in this world, Peter answered, so long as I've +known it, and will be till God sets up his kingdom. The sooner he does +it the better, so say I. But I don't know about the saints we heard of +yesterday, what they have to do with it. The Master's mood is stranger +than I ever can recollect it, he said, standing up straight and looking +Joseph in the eyes. It was yourself that said it yesterday, Peter, +Joseph rejoined. I'm thinking it may have been the Samaritans that vexed +him. Peter lifted his heavy shoulders and muttered: the Samaritans? We +give no heed to them: and he began to speak, at first with diffidence; +Joseph had to woo him into speaking, which he did; but after the first +few minutes Peter was glib enough, telling Joseph that last night there +had been stirs and quarrels among the disciples regarding his boats, and +John's and James' boats too, he said, and by the jealous and envious, he +muttered, who would like to come between us and the Master. Joseph asked +who had raised the vexatious question, but Peter avoided it, and went +about the wharf grunting that none could answer it: was it to Matthew, +the publican, he was to give his boats? one, he said, who never was on +the water in his life till I took him out for a sail a week come +Tuesday. A fine use they'd be to him but to drown himself. A puff of +wind, and not knowing how to take in a reef, the boat would be over in a +jiffy and the nets lost. Now who would be the better for the loss of my +nets? answer me that. And I'd like to be told when my boats and nets +were at the bottom of the lake to whom would the Son of Man turn for a +corner in which to lay his head, or for a bite or a sup of wine. John +and James would give their boats to Judas belike, and he'd bring home +about as much fish as would---- But I'm thinking of your father. What +will he be saying to all this, and his business dwindling all the while, +and we beggars?--the words with which my wife roused me this morning. Of +course, says she, if the stone that never was cut out of the mountain +with hands is going to be slung and send the Romans toppling, I've +naught to say against sharing, but the Kingdom had better come quickly, +Simon Peter, if thou'lt fish no more; and the woman is right, say I, +though I hold with every word that falls from the Master's lips, only +this way it is, he looks to my fishing for his support, and Miriam is +quick to remind me of that. A good woman, one that has been always +yielding to my will and never had a word against our lodger, but sets +the best before him out of thankfulness for his saving of her mother's +life, though one more mouth in a house is always a drain, if the Master +is as easily fed as a sparrow. But restive she is now about the delay: +as I was saying just now she wakes me up with a loud question in my ear: +now, Simon Peter, answer me, art thou going into Syria to bid the blind +to see, the lame to walk, and the palsied to shake no more, or art thou +going to thy trade? for in this house there be four little children, +myself, their mother, and thy mother-in-law. I say nothing against the +journey if it bring thee good money, or if it bring the Kingdom, but if +it bring naught but miracles there'll be little enough in the house to +eat by the time ye come back. And, says she, the feeding of his children +is a nobler work for a married man (she speaks like that sometimes) than +bidding those to see who would belike be better without their eyes than +with them. You wouldn't think it, but 'tis as I say: she talks up to me +like that, and ofttimes I've to go to the Master and ask him to quiet +her, which he rarely fails to do, for she loves him for what he has done +for her mother, and is willing to wait. But last night when the +busybodies brought her news that the Master had been preaching in the +forest, of the sharing of the world out among the holy saints, she gave +way to her temper and was violent, saying, by what right are the saints +of the most high coming here to ask for a share of this world, as if +they hadn't a heaven to live in. You see, good Master, there's right on +her side, that's what makes it so hard to answer her, and I'm with her +in this, for by what right do the holy saints down here ask for a share +in the world, that's what keeps drumming in my head; and, as I told you +a while ago, I'd as lief put out upon the lake and fish as go to Syria +for nothing, say the word---- And leave the Master to go alone? Joseph +interposed. Well, I suppose we can't do that, Peter answered, and then +it seemed to Joseph wiser not to talk any more, but to allow things to +fashion their own course, which they did very amiably, in about an +hour's time the little band going forth, Joseph walking by Peter's side, +hoping that he would not have to wait long before seeing a miracle. + +Their first stop was at Chorazin, about five miles distant, and the sick +began to rise quickly from their beds, and Jesus had only to impose his +hands for the palsied to cease quivering. The laws of nature seemed +suspended and Joseph forgot his father at Magdala and likewise Pilate's +business which had brought him to Galilee. It will have to wait, he +said, talking with himself, and now certain that he had come upon him +whom he had always been seeking; it was as lost time to look at anything +but Jesus, or to hear any words but his, or to admire aught but the +manifestations of his power; and every time a sick man rose from his bed +Joseph thanked God for having allowed him to live in the days of the +Messiah. He saw sight restored to the blind, hearing to the deaf, +swiftness of foot to cripples, issues of blood that had endured ten +years stanched; the cleansing of the leper had become too common a +miracle; he looked forward to seeing demons taking flight from the +bodies of men and women, and accepted Peter's telling that the day could +not be delayed much longer when he would see some dead man rise up in +his cere-clothes from the tomb. He found no interest but in the +miraculous, and his one vexation of spirit was that Jesus forbade his +disciples (among whom Joseph now counted himself) to tell anybody that +he was the Messiah. + +In every town they were welcomed by the Gentiles as well as by the Jews, +which was surprising, and set Joseph's wits to work; and these being +well trained, he soon began to apprehend that the Jews accepted the +miracles as testimony that Jesus was really the Messiah and that his +teaching was true; whereas the Gentiles admired the miracles for their +own sake, failing, however, and completely, to see that because he cured +the blind, the palsied, the scrofulous and the halt, they should no +longer visit their temples and sacred groves, and admire no more Pan's +huge sexuality and hang garlands upon it, nor carve images of Diana and +Apollo. Such abstinence they could not comprehend, and deemed it enough +that they were ready to proclaim him a god on the occasion of every +great miracle, a readiness that gave great scandal and caused many Jews +to turn away from Jesus. It was not enough that he should repudiate this +godhead; and the hardness of heart and narrowness of soul that he +encountered among his own people afflicted Jesus as much as did the +incontinency of the Gentiles, whom he sometimes met, bearing images in +procession, going towards some shrine--the very same who had listened to +his teaching in the evening. Joseph once dared throw himself in front of +one of these processions, and he begged the processionists to Pan to +throw aside the garlands and wreaths they had woven. This they would not +do, but out of respect to the distinguished strangers that had come to +their town they listened for some minutes to his relation that on the +last day the dead would be roused by the trumpets of angels to attend +the judgment and that the man Jesus before them--the Messiah announced +hundreds of years ago in many a prophetic book--would return to earth in +a chariot of fire by his Father's side, the Judgment Book in his hands. +May we now proceed on our way? they asked, but Joseph besought them to +listen to him for another few minutes, and thinking he had perhaps +explained the resurrection badly, and forthwith calling to mind the +philosophy of Egypt and Mathias, he asked them to apprehend that it +would not be the corruptible body that would rise from the dead but the +spiritual body, whereby he only succeeded in perplexing still further +the minds of the worthy pagans of Caesarea Philippi, and provoking stirs +and quarrels among his own people. + +The processionists took advantage of this diversion of opinion among the +Jews to pass on and dispose of their wreaths and votive offerings as it +pleased them to do. But on their way back they begged Jesus to perform +some more miracles, which he refused to do, and to their great amazement +he left them for the Tyrians and Sidonians. But the same difficulties +occurred in Tyre and Sidon, the Gentiles accepting the miracles with +delight but paying little heed to the doctrine. They begged him to +remain with them and offered gifts for his services as healer, but he +refused these and returned to Galilee, having performed miracles of all +sorts, without, however, having bidden a dead man rise from the grave, +to the great disappointment of Joseph, who would have liked to witness +this miracle (the greatest of all); seemingly it was not his lot. Peter +bade him hope!--the great miracle might happen in Galilee, and as such a +miracle would evince the truth of Jesus' Messiah-ship even to his +father, Joseph remained in Capernaum, going out in the boats with Jesus +and his disciples, sailing along the shores till the people gathered in +numbers sufficient for an exhortation. As there were always many +Pharisees and Sadducees among the crowds assembled to hear the Master, +he did not land, but preached standing up in the bow, Peter vigilant +with an oar, for priests are everywhere enemies of reformation and +instigate attacks upon reformers, and those made on Jesus were often so +violent that Peter had to strike out to the right and left, but he +always managed to get free, and they sailed for less hostile coasts or +back to the wharf at Capernaum. + +It once occurred to them to try their luck with the Gadarenes, and it +was in returning from their coasts one evening that Peter's boat was +caught in a great storm and that Joseph was met by one of his father's +servants as he jumped ashore. The man had come to tell him that if he +wished to see his father alive he must hasten to Magdala, and Joseph +glared at him dumbfounded, for he had suspected all along that he had +little or no right at all to leave his father for Jesus. I did not know +I was like this, he blurted out to himself. And as much to silence his +accusing conscience as anything else he questioned the stupid messenger, +asking him if his father had seen a physician, and if the physician had +held out any hopes of a recovery. But the thin and halting account which +was all the messenger could give only increased Joseph's alarm, and it +was with much difficulty that he learnt from him that the master had +brought some walnuts to the parrots, and just after giving a nut to the +green parrot had cried out to Tobias that a great pain had come into his +head. Joseph dug his heels into his ass's side and cried to the +messenger: and then? The messenger answered that the pain in the back of +his father's head had become so great that he had begun to reel about, +overthrowing one of the parrots on its perch. The parrot flew at master, +thinking he had done it---- Never mind the parrot, Joseph replied +angrily, confusing the messenger, who told him that the master had +entered the house on Tobias' arm, and had sat down to supper but had +eaten nothing to speak of. None of us dared to go to bed that night, the +messenger continued. We sat up, expecting every moment somebody to come +down from the room overhead to tell us that the master was dead. The +next part of the messenger's story was like a tangled skein, and Joseph +half heard and half understood that the great physician that had come +from Tiberias had said that he must awaken the master out of the swoon +and at any cost. He kept bawling at him, the messenger said. Bawling at +him, Joseph repeated after the messenger, and the messenger repeated the +words, bawling at him, and saying that the physician said the master's +swoon was like a wall and that he must get him to hear him somehow. He +said the effort would cost your father, Sir, a great deal, but he must +get him to hear him. The story as the servant related it seemed +incredible, but he reflected that servants' stories are always +incredible, and Joseph learned with increasing wonder that Dan had heard +the physician and sat up in bed and spoken reasonably, but had fallen +back again unconscious, and that the physician on leaving him said that +they must get his mouth open somehow and pour a spoonful of milk into +his mouth, and call upon him as loudly as they could to swallow. What +physician have they sent for? Joseph asked the messenger, but he could +not remember the name. + +It was Ecanus who was sitting by Dan's bedside when Joseph arrived, and +Joseph learnt by careful nursing and feeding him every ten minutes there +was just a chance of saving Dan's life. + +For seven days Dan's life receded, and it was not till the eighth day +the wheel of life paused on the edge of the abyss. Dan, with his eyes +turned up under the eyelids, only the white showing, lay motionless; and +it was not till the morning of the ninth day that the wheel began to +revolve back again; but so slow were its revolutions that Joseph was in +doubt for two or three days. But on the fifth day he was sure that Dan +was mending, and in about three days more the pupils of Dan's eyes +looked at his son's from under the eyelids. He spoke a few words and +took his milk more easily, without being asked to swallow. The pains in +his head returned with consciousness; he often moaned; the doctor was +obliged to give him opiates, but he continued to mend and in three weeks +was speaking of going out to walk in the garden. To gain his end he +often showed a certain childish cunning, urging Joseph on one occasion +to go to the verandah to see if somebody was coming up the garden, and +as soon as Joseph's back was turned he slipped out of bed with the +intention of getting to his clothes. He fell, without, however, hurting +himself, and was put back to bed and kept there for three more weeks +before he was allowed a short walk. Even then the concession seemed to +be given too soon; for he could not distinguish the different trees, nor +could he see the parrots, though he could hear them, and he remained in +purblindness for some two or three weeks; but his sight returned, and he +said to Joseph: that is a palm-tree and that is a pepper-tree. Joseph +answered that he said truly and hastened across the garden to meet +Ecanus, for he desired to ask him privily if his father were out of all +danger; and the answer to his question was that Dan's life would pass +away in a swoon like the one he had just come out of, but he might swoon +many times--two or three times, perhaps oftener--before he swooned for +the last time. More than that Ecanus could not say. A silence fell +suddenly between them, and wondering what term of life his father had +still to traverse before he swooned into eternity, Joseph followed the +physician through the wilting alleys, seeking the shadiest parts, for +the summer was well-nigh upon them now. + +At the end of one of these, out of the sun's rays, the old man lay +propped up among cushions, dreaming, or perhaps only conscious, of the +refreshing breeze that came and went away again. But he awoke at the +sound of their steps on the sanded paths, and raised his stick as a sign +to them to come to him, and, seeing that he wished to speak, Joseph +leaned over his chair, putting his ear close to his father's face, for +Dan's speech was still thick and often inarticulate. Thou wast nearly +going down in the storm, he said, and Joseph could hardly believe that +he heard rightly, for what could his father know of the storm on the +lake, he being in a deep swoon at the time beyond the reach of words. He +asked his father who had told him of the storm, but Dan could say no +more than that a voice had told him that there was a great storm upon +the lake and that Joseph was in it. Miracle upon miracle! Joseph cried, +and he related his escape from shipwreck; how when coming in Peter's +boat from the opposite shores the wind had risen, carrying the lake in +showers over the boat till all were wetted to their skins. But, +unmindful of these showers, Jesus had continued his teaching, even after +a great wave wrenched away a plank or part of one. Master, if the boat +be not staunched we perish, Peter said, for which Jesus rebuked Peter +and called them all to come forward and kneel closer about him. Kneel, +he said, your faces towards me, and forget the plank and remember your +sins. We could not do else but as we were bidden, and we all knelt about +him, our thoughts fixed as well as we were able to fix them on our sins, +but the water was coming into the boat all the while, and in the midst +of our prayers we said: in another moment we perish if he stay not the +wind and waves. We thought that he would stand up in the bow and +command, but he remained seated, and continued to teach us, but the wind +lulled all the same, and when we looked round the boat was staunch +again, and we made the wharf at Capernaum easily. + +Ecanus, who was a man of little faith, asked Joseph if he had seen +anybody put his hand to the plank and restore it to its place, and +Joseph answered that all were grouped round the Master praying, and that +none had fallen away from the group. But there were some in the boat +that saw a little angel speeding over the waves. Philip saw both wings +and the angel's feet, but I had only a glimpse. If you would only let me +bring him to you---- But, reading his father's face, Joseph continued: +if you haven't faith, Father, he couldn't do anything for thee. Father, +let me bring him. This shows no distrust in your power, he interjected +suddenly, turning to Ecanus. Each man has powers given to him; some are +physical and some spiritual; some are powerful in one element and some +in another. But no magician that I have met has power over fire and +water. Only those into whom God has descended can command both fire and +water alike. And he related that when they passed through Chorazin and a +woman ran out of her house crying that her little boy had fallen into +the fire, Jesus had asked her if she had applied any remedy, and on her +saying she had not, he had said: then I will cure him. With his breath +he restored him, and five minutes after the child was playing with his +little comrades in the street. If, however, she had poured oil on the +wounds he couldn't have cured them, Joseph explained, for his affinity +with fire would have been interrupted. In the village of Opeira a child +while carrying a kettle of boiling water from the fire tipped it over, +burning a good deal of the flesh of one foot, which, however, healed +under Jesus' breath almost as soon as he had breathed upon it. And yet +another child was healed of the croup, but this time it was John who +imposed his hands: Jesus had transmitted some of his power over the ills +of the flesh to the disciples. On Dan asking if Joseph had seen Jesus +cast out devils, Joseph replied that he had, but it would take some time +to tell the exordium. Whereupon Ecanus remembered that other patients +waited for his attendance and took his leave, warning Joseph before +leaving against the danger of tiring his father, a thing that Joseph +promised not to do; but as soon as the door closed after the physician +Dan began to beg so earnestly for stories that Joseph could not do else +than tell him of the miracle he had witnessed. Better to submit, he +thought, than to agitate his father by refusal; and he began this +narrative; the morning of the storm, which they would not have succeeded +in weathering had it not been for the intervention of the angel. Jesus +and some of the disciples, including Joseph, had set their sail for the +Gadarene coasts; and finding a landing-place by a shore seeming +desolate, they proceeded into the country; and while seeking a +sufficient number to exhort and to teach, their search led them past +some broken ruins, shards of an old castle, apparently tenantless. They +were about to pass it without examination when a wailing voice from one +of the turrets brought them to a standstill. They were not at first +certain whether the wailing sound was the voice of the wind or a human +voice, but they had hearkened and with difficulty had separated the +doleful sound into: woe! woe! woe! unto thee Jerusalem, woe! woe! It +sounds to me, Peter said, like one that is making a mock of thee, +Master. Having heard that thou foretellest woe to Chorazin---- But +Judas, seeing a cloud gathering on Peter's face, nudged Peter, and the +twain went up together and some minutes after returned with a half-naked +creature, an outcast whom they had found crouching like a jackal in a +hole among the stones, one clearly possessed by many devils. Now as all +were in wonder what his history might be, a swineherd passing by at the +time told them how the poor, naked creature would take a beating or a +gift of food for his singing with the same gentle grace. The words had +hardly passed the swineherd's lips than the possessed began to sing: + + Woe! woe! woe! the winds are wailing. + The four great sisters, the winds of the world, + Call one to the other, and it is thy doom + They are calling, Jerusalem. + Woe! woe! woe! + The North brings ruin, the South brings sorrow, + The East wind grief, and the West wind tears + For Jerusalem. + Woe! woe! woe! + +And he sung this little song several times, till the hearts of the +disciples hardened against the outcast and they were minded to beat him +if he did not cease; but the swineherd warned them that a surer way to +silence him was by giving him some food; and while he stood by eating, +the swineherd confided the story of the fool, or as much of it as he +knew, to Jesus. The fool, he said, came from Jerusalem some two years +ago. He had been driven out of the Temple, which he frequented daily, +crying about the courts the song with which he wearied you just now, +till the most patient were unable to bear it any longer; and every time +he met a priest he looked into his face and sang: woe! woe! woe! unto +Jerusalem, and whenever he met a scribe he would cry: woe! woe! woe! +unto Jerusalem, hindering them in their work about the Temple. Some +stones were thrown, but enough life was left in him to crawl away, and +as soon as he recovered from his wounds he was about again, singing his +melancholy ditty (he knows but one). He was told if he did not cease he +would be beaten with rods, but he could not cease it, and started his +ditty again as soon as he could bear a shirt on his back; and then he +must have travelled up here afoot, picking up a bit here and a bit +there, getting a lift in an ox-cart. He is without memory of anything, +who he is, where he came from, or who taught him his song. He does not +know why he chose that broken tower for a dwelling, nor do we, but +fortunately it stands in a waste. We hear him singing as we go by to our +work and pitch him scraps of food from time to time. We hear him as we +return in the evening to our homes making his melancholy dwelling sadder +with his song. But he is a harmless, poor fool, save for the annoyance +of his song, which he cannot stanch any more than the wind in the broken +turrets. A harmless fool who will follow whosoever asked him to follow, +unafraid, and taking a blow or a hunch of bread in the same humour, and +distinguishing no man from the next one. + +As the swineherd said these words the fool said: Jesus, thou hast come +to my help, but woe to thee, Son of God, thou wilt suffer thy death in +Jerusalem; and looking up into Jesus' face more intensely: oh, Son of +Man, what aileth thee or me? And knowest thou anything of the cloud of +woe that hangs over Jerusalem? To which Jesus made no answer, but called +upon the devils to say how many there were, and they answered: three. +Then depart ye three, Jesus replied, and was about to impose his hands +when the three devils asked whither they should go, to which Jesus +answered: ye must seek another refuge, for here ye cannot remain. Seek +among the wolves and foxes. But these will flee from us, the devils +answered; allow us to enter the hogs rooting the ground before thee. But +at this the swineherd cried out: forbid the devils to enter into my +hogs, else they will run over the cliffs and drown themselves in the +sea. Though you are Jews, and do not look favourably on hogs, they are +as God made them. To which Jesus answered, turning to his disciples: the +man speaks well, for if unclean they be, it was the will of God that +made them so. And taking pity on the hogs that were rooting quietly, +unaware of the devils eager to enter into them, he said: there are +statues of gods and goddesses in Tiberias, enter into them. And +immediately the devils took flight, giving thanks to Jesus as they +departed thither. + +Joseph waited a moment and tried to read his father's face. But Dan's +face remained fixed, and as if purposely, which vexed Joseph, who cried: +now, Father, you may believe or disbelieve, or be it thou'rt naturally +averse from Jesus, but thou knowest as well as I do that two days after +the great storm a statue of the goddess Venus fell from her pedestal in +the streets of Tiberias and was broken. But, Joseph, when the statue +fell I was sick and had no knowledge of the fall. But if a statue of the +goddess Venus did fall from her pedestal, I'd ask why the devils should +choose to destroy false gods? Were it not more reasonable for them to +uphold the false gods safe and secure on their pedestals? The gods were +overthrown for a sign that the devils had left the fool's body, Joseph +answered. But why, Dan replied, didn't three statues fall?--a statue for +each devil--and whither did the devils go? That one statue should fall +was enough for a sign, Joseph said, but no more would he say, for his +father's incredulity irritated him, and seeing that he had angered his +son, Dan stretched his hand to him and said: perhaps we are more eager +to believe when we are young than when we are old. And he asked Joseph +to tell him of some other miracle that he might have seen Jesus perform. + +Joseph had seen Jesus perform many other miracles, but he was loath to +relate them, for none, he felt sure, would impose upon his father the +belief that Jesus was the Messiah that was promised to the Jews. All the +same the miracle of the woods rose in his mind, and so plainly that he +could not keep the story back, and almost before he was aware of it he +began the relation, telling how Jesus, James, John, Andrew, and himself +were at table, mingling jest with earnest (Peter was not with them, +being kept at home, for his wife was in child-birth at the time), when +the women of the village were heard running up the street crying +together to the men to take part in the chase of the wild man of the +woods, who had come down amongst them once more questing the flesh of +women. But this time we'll put a stop to his leaping, they cried. A +goatherd coming from the hills has seen him enter a cave and as soon as +he has folded his goats he will lead us to it. But the villagers were in +no mood for waiting; the goats could be folded by another; and the +goatherd was bidden and obliged to leave his goats and lead the way, +Jesus and his disciples following with the others through the forest +till we came to a ravine. And the goatherd said: look between yon great +rocks, for it was between them he passed out of my sight. And let one of +you creep in after him, but I must return to my goats, having no +confidence that they have been properly folded for the night. The +goatherd would have run away if he hadn't been held fast, and there +were questions as to who would enter. The first said "no," the second +the same, giving as reason that they were not young or strong enough, +whereas the goatherd was both, and none better endowed for the struggle; +and the people became of one mind that they must beat the goatherd with +the crows if he did not go down into the cave, but Jesus, arriving in +time, said: it is not lawful to break into any man's dwelling with +crows, nor to kill him because his sins affront you; let us rather give +him means to cut himself free from sins. At which words the people were +near to jeering, for it seemed to them that Jesus knew little of the man +they were pursuing, and they knew not what to understand when he asked +if any among them had a long, sharp knife, and there was a movement as +if they were about to leave him; but one man said: thou shalt have mine, +Master, and, taking it out of his girdle, he gave it to Jesus, who +tested it with his thumb, and, satisfied with it, laid it on the rock +beside the cave. But the people began to mutter: he will use the knife +against us, Master. Not against you, Jesus answered, but against +himself, thereby defending himself against himself. There were +mutterings among the people, and some said that his words were too hard +to understand, but all were silent as soon as Jesus raised his hands and +stepped towards the cave, and began to breathe his spirit against the +lust that possessed the man's flesh. We must return here, he said, with +oil and linen cloths. At which all wondered, not knowing what meaning to +put upon his words, but they believed Jesus, and came at daybreak to +meet him at the edge of the forest and followed the path as before till +they came to the hillside. The man was no longer hidden in his cave, but +sat outside by the rock on which Jesus had laid the knife, and Jesus +said: happy is he born into the world without sting, and happy is he out +of whom men have taken the sting before he knew it, but happier than +these is the man that cuts out the part that offends him, setting the +spirit free as this man has done. + +Joseph ceased speaking suddenly and stood waiting for his father to +admire the miracle he had related, but Dan's tongue struggled with +words; and Joseph, being taken as it were with another flux of words, +and like one apprehensive of the argument that none shall undo God's +handiwork, set out on the telling that the cause of man's lust of women +was that God and the devil had a bet together--the devil saying that if +God let him sting a man in a certain part of his hide he would get him +in the end despite all that God might do to save him from hell. To which +God, being in the humour, consented, and the sting was put into nearly +all men. A few the devil overlooked, and these have much spared to them, +and those out of whom the sting is taken in childhood are fortunate, but +those who, like the wild man of the wood, cut the sting out of their own +free will are worthy of all praise; and he cited the authority of Jesus +that man should mutilate his body till it conform perforce to his piety. +But the story of man's fall is told differently in the Book of Genesis, +my son. The admonition that he was laying violent hands on a sacred book +startled Joseph out of his meditations, and in some confusion of words +and mind he began to prevaricate, saying that he thought he had made +himself clear: the release of pious souls from the bondage of the flesh +was more important than the continuance of the impious. Moreover in the +days of Moses, Israel was not steeped in as many iniquities as she is +now, and the Day of Judgment was not so close at hand. More men meant +more sins, and sin has become so common that God can endure the torture +no longer.... Again Joseph ceased speaking suddenly and, almost agape, +stood gazing into his father's face, reading therein a great perplexity, +for Dan was asking himself for what good reason had God given him so +strange a son. He would have been content to let the story pass into +another, but Joseph was waiting for him to speak, and speaking +incontinently he said he had heard that in the Temple of Astoreth the +Phoenician youths often castrated themselves with shards of shells or +pottery and threw their testicles in the lap of the goddess crying out: +art thou satisfied now, Astoreth? But he did not know of any text in +their Scriptures that counselled such a practice; and the introduction +of it seemed to savour of borrowing from the heathen. Whereupon Joseph +averred that whereas the wont of the Phoenician youths is without +reason, the same could not be said of Jesus' device to save a soul. To +which Dan rejoined that the leaving of the knife for the man to mutilate +himself with, seemed to him to be contrary to all the rumours of Jesus +that had come to his ears. I have heard that he would set the law aside +and the traditions of our race, declaring the uncircumcised to be +acceptable to God as the Jew; that he sits down to food with the +uncircumcised and lays no store on burnt offerings. Nor did Isaiah, +Joseph interrupted, and circumcision is itself a mutilation. I do not +contest its value, mark you; but if thou deny'st that Jesus was right to +leave a knife whereby the sinner might free himself from sin thou must +also deny circumcision. Circumcision is the sign of our race, Dan +answered. A physical sign, an outward sign, Joseph cried, and he asked +his father to say if the Jews would ever forget priests and ritual; and +he reminded his father that the once sinner, now a holy anchorite, did +not bring an appetency into the world that could be overcome by prayer, +and so had to resort to the knife that he might live in the spirit. It +seems to me, Joseph, that we should live as God made us, for better or +worse. But, Father, once you admit circumcision---- A man should not be +over-nice, Joseph, and though it be far from my thought to wish to see +thee a fornicator or adulterer it would rejoice me exceedingly to see +grandchildren about me. There is a maiden---- Another reason, Father, of +which I have not yet spoken makes the marriage of the flesh seem a +vanity to me, and that is---- I know it well, Joseph, that the great +day is coming when the world will be remoulded afresh. But, Father, do +ye believe in nothing but observances? Tell me, Joseph, did thy prophet +ever raise anybody from the dead? Yes, and hoping to convince his father +by another miracle he fell to telling eagerly how a young girl who was +being carried to the grave was called back to life. + +She was, he said, coming from her wedding feast. And he told how there +were in the village two young girls, one as fair as the other, rivals in +love as well as in beauty, both having the same young man in their +hearts, and for a long time it seemed uncertain which would get him; for +he seemed to favour them alternately, till at length Ruth, unable to +bear her jealousy any longer, went to the young man, saying that she was +close on a resolve to see him no more. Your lover? he answered, his +cheek blanching, for he dearly loved her. I haven't gotten a lover, she +said; only a share in a lover. Your words, Ruth, relieve me of much +trouble, he replied, and took her in his arms and said: it was a good +thought that brought you hither, for if you hadn't come I might never +have been able to decide between you, but your coming has given me +strength, and now I know which I desire. And then it was the girl's +cheek that grew pale, for he hadn't answered at once which he would +have. Which? she asked, and he replied: you, not Rachel. If that be so, +she answered, I am divided between joy and sorrow; gladness for myself, +sorrow for my friend; and it behoves me to go to her and tell her of her +loss. I am the chosen one, she said to Rachel, who turned away, saying: +had I gone to him and asked him to choose between us he would have +chosen me. He couldn't do else. + +She began to brood and to speak of a spell laid upon the young man, and +her visits to a sorceress came to be spoken about so openly that it was +against the bridegroom's wish that Rachel was asked to the wedding +feast; but Ruth pleaded, saying that it would be no feast for her if +Rachel did not present herself at the table. The twain sat opposite each +other at table, Rachel seemingly the happier, eating, drinking, +laughing, foretelling that Mondis would fill Ruth's life with happiness +from end to end. Thou wilt never see the face of an evil hour, she said, +and Ruth in her great joy answered: Rachel, I know not why he didn't +choose thee; thou'rt so beautiful; and the young Mondis wooed her at the +table, to Ruth's pleasure, for she knew of his thankfulness to Rachel +for allowing the wedding to pass in concord, without a jarring note. + +She seemed to listen to him as a sister might to a beloved brother, and +as the wedding feast drew to a close she said: Ruth shall drink wine +with me, and the cups were passed across the table, and laughter and +jest flowed on for a while. But soon after drinking from Rachel's cup +Ruth turned pale and, leaning back into the arms of her bridegroom, she +said: I know not what ails me.... And then a little later on she was +heard to say: I am going, and with a little sigh she went out of her +life, lying on her bridegroom's arm white and still like a cut flower. +The word "poison" swelled up louder and louder, and all eyes were +directed against Rachel, who to prove her innocence drank the wine that +was left in Ruth's glass; but it was said afterwards that she had not +drunk out of the cup that she had handed to Ruth. Be this as it may, a +house of joy was turned into a house of tears. Bridegroom, parents and +friends fell into procession, and we who were coming down the street +met the bier, and after hearing the story of the girl's death Jesus +said: let me speak to her, and, leaning over her, he whispered in her +ear, and soon after we thought it was the wind that stirred the folds of +her garments, but her limbs were astir in them; the colour came back to +her cheeks; she raised herself on her bier, and with his bride in his +arms the bridegroom worshipped Jesus as a god; but Jesus reproved him, +saying: it was by the power of God working through me that she was +raised from the dead: give thanks to him who alone merits our thanks. +But Rachel, who had been following the bier in great grief, hanging on +the bridegroom's arm could not contain herself at the sight of Ruth +raised from the dead, and it wrenching her reason out of her control +compelled her to call upon the people to cast out the Nazarene, who +worked cures with the help of the demons with whom he was in league, +which proved to everybody that her friendly words to Ruth at the feast +were make-believe, and that she had been plotting all the while how she +might ruin her. + +At the sight of Ruth beautiful and living naught mattered to Rachel but +revenge, and she crossed the street as if with the intention of striking +her with a dagger, but as she approached Jesus the flame of fury died +out of her face, and like one overwhelmed with a great love she cast +herself at his feet, and could not be removed. Why do you turn the woman +from me? he asked. Whatever her sins may have been they are forgiven, +for she loves me. But she loved the other man five seconds before, Dan +submitted, and Joseph replying to him said: she only knew that passion +of the flesh which we share with the beasts of the fields, the fowls of +the air and the fish in the sea. But now she loves Jesus as we love +him--with the spirit. And next day she brought all her wealth to him; +the golden comb she was wont to wear in her hair she would place in his; +and the silks and linen in which she was wont to clothe herself she laid +at his service; but he told her to sell all these things and give the +money to the poor. Give to the poor! That is what I hear always, cried +Dan; but if we gave all to the poor we would be as poor as the very +poorest; and where, then, would the money come from with which we now +help the poor? + +Give to the poor that thou mayest become worthy of a place in the world +to come. This world is but a shadow--an illusion, Joseph answered +defiantly. Thou hast that answer for everything, Joseph; and another day +when I'm stronger I'll argue that out with thee. I have tired thee, +Father; but if I've told you many stories it was because---- Because, +Dan retorted, thou wouldst have Jesus cast his spells over me. But I've +no use for them; thou art enough. + +And while Joseph debated how he might convince his father that the girl +was really dead, Dan asked for news of Rachel, and Joseph answered that +she was with them every day, that their company had been increased by +several devoted women. Thou hast talked enough, Father, and more than +enough; if Ecanus were to return he would accuse me of planning to talk +you to death. + + + + +CHAP. XV. + + +Like every other old Jew, Dan liked the marvellous, and listened to his +son's stories, not knowing whether he believed or disbelieved, nor +seeking to inquire; content to enjoy the stories as they went by, he +listened, suffering such a little disappointment when his son's voice +ceased as he might at the death of a melodious wind among the branches, +the same little sadness. Moreover, while Joseph talked he had his +attention, and it irritated him to see Joseph's thoughts wander from him +in search of parrots and monkeys; and he begged his son to tell him +another miracle, for he was sure that Joseph had not told him the last +one. Joseph pleaded that there was no use relating miracles to one who +only believed in ancient miracles, a statement that Dan combated, saying +that one could like a story for its own sake. Like a Gentile, Joseph +interposed gaily, bringing all the same a cloud into his father's face, +which he would have liked to disperse with the relation of another +miracle, but he continued to plead that he had told all his stories. +There was, however, a certain faint-heartedness in his pleading, and Dan +became more certain than ever that his son was holding back a miracle, +and becoming suddenly curious, he declared that Joseph had no right to +hold back a story from him, for to do that provoked argument, and +argument fatigued him. + +Joseph thought the device to extort a story from him, which he did not +wish to tell, a shabby one, but, fearing to vex his father in his +present state of health, he began to think it would be better to tell +him the miracle he had heard of that morning at Capernaum; but, still +loath, he tried instead to divert his father's attention from Jesus, +reminding him of the numerous matters that would have to be settled up +between them, especially Dan's responsibility in the new adventure, the +transport of grain from Moab to Jerusalem. Dan's curiosity was not to be +diverted, and seeing him give way to his rage like a petulant child, +Joseph decided that he must tell him, and he began with a disparagement +of his story, the truth of which he did not vouch for. At Capernaum they +were all telling how some two or three weeks ago Jesus heard God +speaking within him, and, naming those he wished to accompany him, led +them through the woods, up the slow ascending hills in silence, no word +being exchanged between him and them. Every one of the disciples was +aware that the Master was in communion with his Father in heaven, and +that his communion was shared by them as long as a word was not spoken. +A word would break it; and so they journeyed with their eyes set upon +the stars or upon the ground, never daring to look for Jesus, who +remained amongst them for an hour or more and then seemed to them to +pass into shadow, only his voice remaining with them bidding them to +journey on, which they did, each man in his faith, until they reached a +lonely hill on the top of which stood a blighted tree. Why, Master, they +asked, have you led us hither? and, receiving no answer, they looked +round for Jesus, but he was missing, and, thinking they walked too fast +and had left him on the road behind them, they returned to the place +where he had last spoken to them; and, not finding him there, they +returned to the hill-top, and, seeing him among the white branches +waiting for them, they knelt and prayed. When the stars began to grow +dim they heard a voice cry out: behold he is with you, he who brings +salvation to all men, Jew and Gentile; and ye twelve are bidden to carry +the joyful tidings to the ends of the earth. + +At these words the disciples rose from their knees and looked round +astonished, for only four had gone with Jesus up the hillside, but +twelve were kneeling at the foot of the tree, and the four that had come +with Jesus knew not how the eight were gathered with them, nor could the +eight tell how they reached the hill-top, nor what spirit guided them +thither. The day is breaking, someone said; and looking towards the +east they saw innumerable angels and all of them singing hosanna; +hosannas fell from the skies and blossoms from the tree; for the tree +was no longer a blighted but a quickened tree. Jesus was amongst them, +talking to them, telling those who were standing around him that they +were chosen by his Father in heaven first of all, and then by him, to +carry the joyful tidings to the ends of the earth, and they all +answered: we heard the words that thou hast spoken, Master. And he +answered: ye have heard truly, and I am here to carry out my Father's +will; ye shall go forth and bring salvation to all, Jew and Gentile +alike. + +Father, of what art thou thinking--that the twelve slept and dreamed? +But before Dan could find an answer to his son's question Joseph sank +away into regrets that he had acceded to his father's request and told +him this last miracle, and that he had not been able to disguise the +fact, in the telling, that Jesus had chosen as his apostles those who +accompanied him into the mountains. He intended to omit all mention of +this election, but it slipped from him unawares in the excitement of the +telling, and now to divert his father's thoughts from the unfortunate +admission Joseph called to one of the parrots and spoke cheerfully to +the bird, and to the monkey that came hopping across the sward and +jumped into his arms; but Dan knew his son's face too well to be +deceived by the poor show Joseph could paint upon it, and guessing that +his father divined the truth, words deserted him altogether. He sat +striving against regret and hoping that his father did not think he +loved him less than he loved Jesus. At last something had to be said, +and Dan could find nothing better to say than: Joseph, there is gloom in +thy face; but be not afraid to tell me if thou art disappointed that +thou wert not with Jesus when his Father spoke to him out of heaven, and +thereby missed being among the apostles. For this suspicion Joseph +rebuked his father, but as it was his dearest wish to be numbered +amongst the apostles his rebukes were faint, and feeling he was making +bad worse, he put as bold a face upon it as he could, saying to his +father that he would have liked to have been numbered among the twelve, +but since it did not befall he was content; and to himself that he was +younger than any that were elected, and if one of them were to die he +would be called to fill his place. + +So much admission was forced upon him, for it was important that his +father should accept his absence from the mountain that day as a +sufficient reason for his not having been elected an apostle, the real +reason being, not his absence from the mountain, but the fact that he +chose to turn aside from Jesus and leave him to attend his father's +sick-bed. That was the sin he was judged guilty of, an unpardonable act +in Jesus' mind, and one that discredited Joseph for ever, proving him +for good and all to be unworthy to follow Jesus, which might be no more +than the truth. He could follow Jesus' way of thinking, apprehending it +remotely; but to his father, Jesus present teaching, that one must learn +to hate one's father and one's mother, one's wife and one's children +before one can love God, would be incomprehensible; and he would be +estranged from Jesus for ever, as many of the disciples had been that +morning by such ultra-idealism. It would have been better to have +withheld the miracle, he said to himself, and then he lost himself +thinking how the election of the apostles had dropped from him, for it +had nothing to do with the miracle, and then awakening a little from his +reverie he assured himself that his father must never know, for Dan +could never understand Jesus in his extravagant moods. But if some +accident should bring the knowledge to his father? It wasn't likely that +this could happen, for who knew it? Hardly was it known among those whom +he had met that morning as he crossed the Plain of Gennesaret. He had +seen the disciples with Jesus, Jesus walking ahead with Peter and with +James and John, to whom he addressed not a word, the others following +him shamefacedly at a little distance. One of his black moods is upon +him, Joseph said to himself, and gliding in among the crowd he +questioned the nearest to him, who happened to be Judas, who told him +that Jesus didn't know for certain if he were called to go to Jerusalem +for the Feast of the Tabernacles. The Master foresees his death in +Jerusalem, but he is not sure if it be ordained for this year or the +next. Peter would dissuade him, he added, and in the midst of his +wonderment Joseph heard from Judas that Jesus had elected his apostles, +and now Joseph remembered how, speaking out of his heart, he uttered a +little cry and said: it was because I am a rich man that he didn't think +of me. But Judas answered that there might be another reason, to which +he replied: there can be no other reason except the simple one--I wasn't +there and he didn't think of me. But Judas murmured that there might be +another reason--he never allows a disciple to desert him, whatever +reason may be for so doing. But there was no desertion on my part. My +father's illness! Wait in any case, Judas had said, till the Master has +fallen out of his mood, for he is in his blackest now; we dare not speak +to him. But I couldn't believe that that could make any difference, +Joseph said to himself, and he put the monkey away from him somewhat +harshly, and fell to thinking how he ran to Jesus, his story on his +lips. But it all seemed to drift away from him the moment he looked upon +Jesus, so changed was he from the Jesus he had seen in the cenoby, a +young man of somewhat stern countenance and cold and thin, with the neck +erect, walking with a measured gait, whose eyes were cold and distant, +though they could descend from their starry heights and rest for a +moment almost affectionately on the face of a mortal. That was two years +ago. And the Jesus whom he met in rags by the lake-side one evening and +journeyed with as far as Caesarea Philippi, to Tyre and Sidon, was no +doubt very different from the severe young man he had seen in the +monastery. He had grown older, more careworn, but the first Jesus still +lingered in the second, whereas the Jesus he was looking at now was a +new Jesus, one whom he had seen never before; the cheeks were fallen in +and the eyes that he remembered soft and luminous were now concentrated; +a sort of malignant hate glowered in them: he seemed to hate all he +looked upon; and his features seemed to have enlarged, the nose and chin +were more prominent, and the body was shrunken. A sword that is wearing +out its scabbard was the thought that passed through Joseph's frightened +mind; and frightened at the change in Jesus' appearance, and still more +by the words that were hurled out at him, when intimidated and +trembling, he babbled out: my father lay between life and death for +eight days and came out of his swoon slowly. He could say no more, the +rest of his story was swallowed up in a violent interruption, Jesus +telling him that there was no place among his followers for those who +could not free themselves from such ghosts as father, mother and +children and wife. + +Jesus had flung his father's wealth and his own in his face, and his own +pitiful understanding that had not been able to see that this world and +the world to come were not one thing but twain. And whosoever chooses +this world must remain satisfied with its fleshly indulgences and its +cares and its laws and responsibilities, and whoso ever chooses the +Kingdom of Heaven must cast this world far from him, must pluck it, as +it were, out of his heart and throw it away, bidding it depart; for it +is but a ghost. All these, he said, pointing to his apostles, have cast +their ghosts into the lake. The apostles stood with eyes fixed, for they +did not understand how they had despoiled themselves of their ghosts, +and only Peter ventured into words: all my family is in the lake, +Master; and at his simplicity Jesus smiled, then as if to compensate +him for his faith he said: I shall come in a chariot sitting on the +right hand of our Father, the Judgment Book upon my lap. As the rocks of +this world are shaken and riven by earthquakes, my words shall sunder +father from son, brother from brother, daughter from mother; the ties +that have been held sacred shall be broken and all the things looked +upon as eternal shall pass away even as the Temple of Jerusalem shall +pass away. My words shall sunder it Beam by beam, pillar by pillar, and +every stone of it shall be scattered. For I say unto you that God is +weary of the fat of rams and goats, and incense delights his nostrils; +it is not our flocks and herds that our Father desires nor the +sweet-smelling herbs of this world, but a temple in which there shall be +nothing but the love of God. It is for the building of this temple that +I have been called hither; and not with hands during laborious years +will it be built, but at once, for the temple that I speak to you of, is +in the heart of every man; and woe, woe, woe, I say unto you who delay +to build this temple, for the fulfilment of the prophecies is at hand, +and when the last day of this world begins to dawn and the dead rise up +seeking their cere-clothes it will be too late. Woe! woe! woe! unto +thee, Chorazin, Bethsaida and Magdala, for you have not repented yet, +but still choose the ghosts that haunt the sepulchres out of which ye +shall be called soon; too soon for many; for I say unto you that it is +not the dead that sleep but the living. At these words there were +murmurings among the disciples, and they said, turning from one to the +other: he says we sleep, brother, but this is not true. He mocks at us. +But Jesus, as if he did not hear these rebukers, and moved as if by a +sudden sympathy for Joseph, said: here is one that left me to attend +his father's sick-bed, but I would have you understand me in this, that +if we would love God we must abandon father, mother, wife and children, +for there is not room in our hearts for two loves. Ye say that I lay +heavy burdens on your backs, but I say unto you that I lay no burdens on +your backs that I did not first weigh upon my own shoulders; for have I +not denied myself brothers and sisters, and did I not say to my mother, +who came to dissuade me: God chose thee as a vehicle to give to man a +redeemer to lead him out of this kingdom of clay. Thou hast done it and +so there is no further need of thee. Out of this corruptible body I +shall rise in Jerusalem, my mission accomplished, into the incorruptible +spirit. His passion rising again and into flood, he seemed like one +bereft of reason, for he said that all men must drink of his blood if +they would live for ever. He who licked up one drop would have +everlasting life. Joseph recalled the murmurings that followed these +words, but Jesus would not desist. These murmurings seemed to sting him +to declare his doctrine to the full, and he added that his flesh, too, +was like bread, and that any crumb would give to him who ate it a place +before the throne of the Almighty. Whereupon many withdrew, murmuring +more loudly than before, saying among themselves: who is this man that +asks us to assuage our thirst with his blood and our hunger with his +flesh? Moses and Elijah did not ask such things. Who is he that says he +will scatter the Temple to build up another? + +Many other animadversions Joseph remembered among the multitude, and he +recalled them one by one, pondering over each till one of the monkeys +sprang into his arms and snatched some flowers out of his hand and +hobbled away shrieking, awaking Dan, who had been dozing, and who, +seeing whence the shrieking came, closed his eyes again. While his +father slept Joseph remembered that Peter, John and James stood by the +Master throughout the dissidence. But what answer will they give, Joseph +asked himself, when they are questioned as to what the Master meant when +he said that they must drink his blood and eat his flesh? What answer +will they make when the people question them in the different +countries?--for they are to go to every part of the world, carrying the +joyful tidings. It seemed to Joseph that the apostles would be able to +make plain these hard sayings even less well than he, and he could not +make plain to anybody what the Master had meant, and still less would he +be able to convince others that the Master had said well that a man must +leave his father though he were dying. He said that he should leave his +father unburied, the dead not needing our care, for they are the living +ones, and the hyenas and crows would find to eat only that which had +always been dead. Of course if the old world were going out and the new +coming in, it mattered very little what happened within the next +twenty-four hours. But was the new world as near as that? He wondered! +It might be nearer still without his being able to leave his father to +die among strangers, and a feeling rose up within him that he knew he +would never be able to subdue though he were to gain an eternity of +happiness by subduing it; and, pursuing this thread of thought, he came +to the conclusion that he was a very weak creature, neither sufficiently +enamoured of this world nor of the next; so he supposed Jesus was right +to discard him, for, as he knew himself, he would be an insufficient +apostle, just as he was an insufficient son. But his father did not +think him a bad son. He raised his eyes, and, finding his father's eyes +upon him, he remembered that he had left him because he wished to see +the world, to go to Jerusalem, to live with the Essenes, to go to Egypt; +and that he had remained away for nearly two years, and had returned to +settle a business matter between himself and his father. Therefore it +was not love of his father but a business matter that brought him back +from Egypt; and now he was going to leave his father again, though he +knew that his father wished him to marry some lusty girl, who would bear +healthy children. + +If he were a good son he would take a maid to bed. But that he couldn't +do! I am afraid, he said, speaking suddenly out of his thoughts, I'm not +the son you deserve, Father. I'm not a bad son, but I'm not the son God +should have given you. Thou shouldst not say that, Joseph, for we have +loved each other dearly. It is true that I hoped to see little children +about me, and it may be that hope will never be fulfilled, which is sad +to think on. I've never seen thee over-busy with one of our serving +girls, nor caught thee near her bed, and the family will end with, thee, +and the counting-house will end with me, and these things will happen +through no fault of mine or thine, Joseph. Our lives are not planned by +ourselves, and when life comes sweetly to a man a bitter death awaits +him, for death is bitter to those that have lived in ease and health as +I have done. I am still obdurate, for I can sit down to a meal with +pleasure, but a time will come when I shall not be able to do this, and +then the sentence that the Lord pronounced over all flesh will seem easy +to bear, and the grandchildren I have not gotten will be desired no +longer; only the peace of the grave, where there is no questioning nor +dainties. But, Father, this world is but the shadow of a reality beyond +the grave, and I beseech you to believe in your eternity and in mine. In +the eternity of my body or of my soul--which, Joseph? Thou knowest not, +but of this we are sure, that there is little time left for me to love +you in this comfortable land of Galilee. And, this being so, I will ask +you to promise me that thou wilt not leave Judea in my lifetime. Thou'lt +have to go to Jerusalem, for business awaits you there, and to Jericho, +perhaps, which is a long way from Galilee, but I'd not have thee leave +Judea to preach a strange creed to the Gentiles. I know no reason now, +Father, for me to leave Judea, since I am not among the chosen. If thou +hadst been, Joseph, thou wouldst not have left me in these last years of +my life? Jesus is dear to thee, but he isn't thy father, and every +father would like his son to be by him when the Lord chooses to call +him. I would have thee within a day's journey or two; death comes +quicker than that sometimes, but we must risk something. I'd have thee +remain in Judea so that thou mayest come, if thou art called, to receive +my last blessing. I'd have thee close my eyes, Joseph. The children I'll +forgive thee, if thou wilt promise me this. I promise it, Father, and +will hold to my promise if I live beyond thee. If thou livest beyond me, +Joseph? Of course thou wilt live many years after me. But, Joseph, I +would have thee shun dangerous company. And guessing that his father had +Jesus in his mind, Joseph asked him if it were so, and he answered that +it was so, saying that Jesus was no new thing in Judea, and that the +priests and the prophets have ever been in strife. That is my meaning, +he said. The exactions of the priests weigh heavily, and Jesus is right +in this much, that priests always have been, and perhaps always will be, +oppressors of the poor; they are strong, and have many hirelings about +them. Thou hast heard of the Zealots, Son, who walk in the streets of +Jerusalem, their hands on their knives, following those who speak +against the law and the traditions, and who, when they meet them, put +their knives into their ribs, and when the murdered man falls back into +their arms call aloud for help? So do the priests free themselves from +their opponents, and, my good son, Joseph, think what my grief would be +if I were to receive tidings that thou hadst been slain in the streets. +Dost think that the news would not slay me as quickly as any knife? I +ask little of thee, Joseph, the children I'll forgo, but do thou +separate thyself from these sectaries during my lifetime. Think of me +receiving the news of thy death; an old man living alone among all his +riches without hope of any inheritance of his name. But, Joseph, I can't +put away altogether the hope that the day will come when thou'lt look +more favourably on a maid than now. Thy thoughts be all for Jesus, his +teaching, and his return to this world, sitting by the side of his +Father in a fiery chariot, but maybe the day will come when these hopes +will fade away and thy eyes will rest upon a maid. It is strange that +thou shouldst be so unlike me. I was warmer-blooded at thy age, and when +I saw thy mother----Father, the promise is given to thee already, and my +hand upon it. I'll not see Jesus during thy life. If the sudden news of +my death were to kill thee, I should be thy murderer. Jesus will forgive +thee these few years, Dan said. The expression on Joseph's face changed, +and Dan wondered if Jesus were so cruel, so hard, and so self-centred +that he would not grant his son a few years, if he were to ask it, so +that he might stay by his father's bedside and close his eyes and bury +him. It seemed from Joseph's face that Jesus asked everything from his +disciples, and if they did not give everything it was as if they gave +nothing. + +And while Dan was thus conferring with his own thoughts he heard Joseph +saying that if he were to keep the promise he had just given, not to see +Jesus again, he must not remain in his neighbourhood. Yes, that is so, +Joseph; go to Jerusalem. And the old man began to babble of the +transport of figs from Jericho, till Joseph could not do else than +ponder on the grip of habit on a man's heart, and ask himself if the +news of his death would affect his father's health more than the news +that there was no further demand in Damascus for his salt fish. He +repented the thought as soon as it had passed through his mind, and he +understood that, however much it would cost him, he must go away to +Jerusalem. He dared not risk the accusation that would for ever echo in +his heart: my father has no peace by day, nor rest at night, he is +thinking always that a Zealot's knife is in my back. But after my +father's death--His thoughts brought him back again to a sudden shame of +himself. I am like that, he said, and shall always be as I am. And, not +daring to think of himself any more, he jumped to his feet: I must tell +my servant that I shall start soon after daybreak. + + + + +CHAP. XVI. + + +And on his arrival in Jerusalem Joseph stood for a moment before his +camel thanking the beast for his great, rocking stride, which has given +me, he said, respite from thinking for two whole days and part of two +nights. But I cannot be always on the back of a camel, he continued, and +must now rely on my business to help me to forget; and he strove to +apply his mind to every count that came before him, but in the middle of +every one his thoughts would fly away to Galilee, and the merchant +waiting to receive the provisions he had come to fetch wondered of what +the young man was thinking, and the cause of the melancholy that was in +his face. + +He was still less master of his thoughts when he sat alone, his ledger +before him; and finding he could not add up the figures, he would +abandon himself without restraint to his grief; and very often it was so +deep that when the clerk opened the door it took Joseph some moments to +remember that he was in his counting-house; and when the clerk spoke of +the camel-drivers that were waiting in the yard behind the +counting-house for orders, it was only by an effort of will that he +collected his thoughts sufficiently to realise that the yard was still +there, and that a caravan was waiting for orders to return to Jericho. +The orders were forgotten on the way to the yard, and the clerk had to +remind him, and sometimes to say: Master, if you'll allow me, I will +settle this business for you. + +Joseph was glad of his clerk's help, and he returned to the ledger, and, +staring at figures which he did not see, he sat thinking of Jesus, of +the night they walked by the lake's edge, of the day spent in the woods +above Capernaum, and the various towns of Syria that they visited. It +seemed to him that the good days had gone over for ever, and it was but +a sad pleasure to remember the pagans that liked Jesus' miracles without +being able to abandon their own gods. Only Peter could bring a smile +into his face; a smile wandered round his lips, for it was impossible to +think of Peter and not to smile. But the smile faded quickly and the old +pain gripped his heart. + +I have lost Jesus for ever, he said, and at that moment a sudden rap at +his door awoke him from his reveries. He was angry with his clerk, but +he tried to disguise his anger, for he was conscious that he must +present a very ridiculous appearance to his clerk, unless, indeed, which +was quite likely, his clerk was indifferent to anything but the business +of the counting-house. Be this as it may, he was an old and confidential +servant who made no comments and asked no questions. Joseph was +grateful to his clerk for his assumed ignorance and an hour later Joseph +bade him good-night. I shall see thee in the morning, to which Samuel +answered: yes, sir; and Joseph was left alone in the crowded street of +Jerusalem, staring at the passengers as they went, wondering if they +were realities, everyone compelled by a business or a desire, or merely +shadows, figments of his imagination and himself no more than a shadow, +a something that moved and that must move across the valley of +Jehoshaphat and up the Mount of Olives. Why that way more than any other +way? he asked himself: because it is the shortest way. As if that +mattered, he added, and as soon as he reached the top of the Mount of +Olives he looked over the desert and was surprised by the smallness of +the hills; like the people who lived among them, they seemed to him to +have dwindled. The world is much smaller than I thought, he said. That +is it, the world seems to have dwindled into a sort of ash-heap; life +has become as tasteless as ashes. It can only end, he said to himself, +by my discovering something that interests me, but nothing interests me +except Jesus. Lack of desire, he said, is my burden, for, desiring one +thing too much, I have lost desire for all else, and that is why life +has come to me like an ash-heap. + +As the days went by he began to feel life more oppressive and +unendurable, till one evening the thought crossed his mind that change +of scene might be a great benefit to him. If he were to go to Egypt, he +would journey for fifteen days through the desert, the rocking stride of +the camel would keep him from thinking, and he might arrive in Egypt +eager to listen to the philosophers again. But the temptations that +Egypt presented faded almost as soon as they had arisen, and he deemed +that it might be better for him to choose a city oversea. A sea voyage, +he thought, will cheer me more than a long journey across the desert, +and Joppa is but a day's journey from Jerusalem. But the shipping is +more frequent from Caesarea, and it is not as far; and for a moment it +seemed to him that he would like to be on board a ship watching the +wind making the sail beautiful. But to what port should he be making +for? he asked. Why not to Greece?--for there are philosophers as great +or greater than those of Alexandria. But philosophers are out of my +humour, he added, and, putting Athens aside, he bethought himself of +Corinth, and the variegated world he would meet there. From every port +ships come to Corinth, bringing different habits, customs, languages, +religions; and for the better part of the evening Corinth seemed to be +his destination. + +Corinth was famous for its courtesans, and he remembered suddenly that +the most celebrated were collected there; and it may have been the +courtesans that kept him from this journey, and his thoughts turning +from vice to marriage a bitterness rose up in his mind against his +father for the persistency with which Dan reminded him in and out of +season that every man's duty is to bring children into the world. + +It had seemed to him that in asking him to take a wife to his discomfort +his father was asking him too much, and he had put the question aside; +but he was now without will to resist any memory that might befall him, +and for the first time he allowed his thoughts to dwell on his father's +implied regret that he had never caught his son near a servant girl's +bed. His unwillingness to impugn his father's opinions kept him +heretofore from pondering on his words, but feeling his life to be now +broken and cast away, there seemed to arise some reasons for an +examination of his father's words. They could not mean anything else +than that a young man was following the natural instincts if he lingered +about a young girl's room; and that to be without this instinct was +almost a worse misfortune than to be possessed by it to the practical +exclusion of other interests. + +His father, it is true, may have argued the matter out with himself +somewhat in this fashion: that love of women in a man may be controlled; +and looking back into his own life he may have found this view +confirmed. Joseph remembered that his grandmother often spoke to him of +Dan's great love of his wife, and it might be that he had never loved +another woman; few men, however, were as fortunate as his father, and +Joseph could not help thinking that it were better to put women out of +his mind altogether than to become inflamed by the sight of every woman. +He believed that was why he had always kept all thoughts of women out of +his mind; but it seemed to him now that a wife would break the monotony +that he saw in front of him, and were he to meet a woman such as his +father seems to have met he might take her to live with him. He thought +of himself as her husband, though he was by no means sure that married +life was a possible makeshift for the life he sought and was obliged to +forgo, but as life seemed an obligation from which he could not +reasonably escape he thought he would like to share it with some woman +who would give him children. His father desired grandchildren, and since +he had partly sacrificed his life for his father's sake, he might, it +seemed to him, sacrifice himself wholly. But could he? That did not +depend altogether on himself, and with the view to discovering the turn +of his sex instinct he called to mind all the women he had seen, asking +himself as each rose up before him if he could marry her. There were +some that seemed nearer to his desire than others, and it was with the +view to honourable marriage that he called upon his friends, and his +father's friends, and passed his eyes over all their daughters; but the +girl whose image had lingered more pleasantly than any other in his +memory had married lately, and all the others inspired only a physical +aversion which he felt none would succeed in overcoming. He had seen +some Greek women, and been attracted in a way, for they were not too +like their sex; but these Jewish women--the women of his race--seemed to +him as gross in their minds as in their bodies, and it surprised him to +find that though many men seemed to think as he did about these women, +they were not repelled as he was, but accepted them willingly, even +greedily, as instruments of pleasure and afterwards as mothers of +children. But I am not as these men are, he said; my father must bear +his sorrow like another; and in meditation it seemed to him that it +would not be reasonable that his father should get everything he desired +and his son nothing. + +His father had gotten more out of life than ever he should get; he would +have his son till he died (so far as he could he would secure him that +satisfaction), and after death this world and its shows concern us not. +But it may well be that we die out of one life to be born into another +life, that everything that passes is replaced by an equivalent, he said, +repeating the words of a Greek philosopher to whom he had been much +addicted in happy days gone by, and that reality is but an eternal +shaping and reshaping of things. All that is beyond doubt, he continued, +is that things pass too quickly for us to have any certain knowledge of +them, our only standard being our own flitting impressions; and as all +men bring a different sensitiveness into the world, knowledge is a word +without meaning, for there can be no knowledge. Every race is possessed +of a different sensitiveness, he said, as he passed up the Mount of +Olives on his way home. We ask for miracles, but the Greeks are +satisfied with reason. Am I Greek or Jew? he asked, for he was looking +forward to some silent hours with a book of Greek philosophy and hoped +to forget himself in the manuscript. But he could not always keep his +thoughts on the manuscript, and, forgetful of Heraclitus, he often sat +thinking of Jesus' promise--that one morning men would awake to find +that God had come to judge the world and divide it among those that +repented their sins. He remembered he had forfeited his share in the +Kingdom for his father's sake, or had he been driven out of the +community because his belief in the coming of the Kingdom was +insufficient? It is true that his belief had wavered, but he had always +believed. Even his natural humility, of which he was conscious, did not +allow him to doubt that his belief in Jesus was less fervid than that of +Peter, James, John and the residue. The conviction was always quick in +him that he felt more deeply than these publicans and fishers, yet Jesus +retained them and sent him away. + +The manuscript glided from his hand to the floor, and his thoughts +wandered back to Alexandria, and he sat thinking that death must be +rather the beginning than the end of things, for it were impossible to +believe that life was an end in itself. Heraclitus was right: his +present life could be nothing else but the death of another life. And as +if to enforce this doctrine a recollection of his grandmother intruded +upon his meditation. She was seventy-eight when she died, and her +intellect must have faded some months before, but with her passing one +of the servants told him that a curious expression came into her face--a +sort of mocking expression, as if she had learnt the truth at last and +was laughing at the dupes she left behind. She lay in a grave in +Galilee, under some pleasant trees, and while thinking of her grave it +occurred to him that he would not like to be put into the earth; his +fancy favoured a tomb cut out of the rocks in Mount Scropas, for there, +he said to himself, I shall be far from the Scribes and Pharisees, and +going out on the terrace he stood under the cedars and watched for an +hour the outlines of the humped hills that God had driven in endless +disorder, like herds of cattle, all the way to Jericho, thinking all the +while that it would be pleasant to lie out of hearing of all the silly +hurly-burly that we call life. But the hurly-burly would not be silly if +Jesus were by him, and he asked himself if Jesus was an illusion like +all the rest, and as soon as the pain the question provoked had died +away, his desire of a tomb took possession of him again, and it left him +no peace, but led him out of the house every evening, up a zigzagging +path along the hillside till he came to some rocks over against the +desert. I shall lie in quiet here till he calls me, on a couch embedded +in the wall and surmounted by an arch--but if he should prefer me to +rise out of an humble grave? That I may not know, only that the poorest +is not as unhappy as I, so I may as well have a tomb to my liking. + +It was a long time since he had come to a resolve, and having come to +one at last, he was happier. And in more cheerful mood he decided that +now that the site was settled it would be well to seek information as to +which are the best workmen to employ on the job. + +But for him whose thoughts run on death nothing is harder to settle than +where his bones shall lie; and next time he visited the hillside Joseph +came upon rocks facing eastward, and it seemed to him that the rays of +the rising sun should fall on his sepulchre; but a few days later, +coming out of his house in great disquiet, it seemed to him he would lie +happy if his tomb were visited every evening by the peaceful rays of the +setting sun, and he asked himself how many years of life he would have +to drag through before God released him from his prison. If he wished +to die he could, for our lives are in our own hands. But he did not know +that he cared to die and, overpowered with grief, he abandoned himself +to metaphysical speculation, asking himself again if it were not true +that to be born into this world meant to pass out of one life into +another; therefore, if so, to die in this world only meant to pass into +another, a life unknown to us, for all is unknown--nothing being fixed +or permanent. We cannot bathe twice in the same river, so Heraclitus +said, but we cannot bathe even once in the same river, he added; and to +carry the master's thought a stage further was a pleasure, if any moment +of his present life could be called pleasurable. He heard these sayings +first in Alexandria, and, looking towards Jerusalem, he tried to recall +the exact words of the sage regarding the futility of sacrifice. Our +priests try, said Heraclitus, to purify themselves with blood and we +admire them, but if a filthy man were to roll himself in the mud in the +hope of cleaning himself we should think he was mad. In some such wise +Heraclitus spoke, but it seemed to Joseph he had lost something of the +spirit of the saying in too profuse wording of it. As he sought for the +original epitome he heard his name called, and awaking from his +recollections of Alexandria he looked up and saw before him a young man +whom he remembered having seen at the Sanhedrin. Nicodemus was his name; +and he remembered how the fellow had kept his eyes on him for one whole +evening, trying at various times to engage him in talk; an insistent +fellow who, despite rebuffs, had followed him into the street after the +meeting, and, refusing to be shaken off, had led the way so skilfully +that Joseph found himself at last on Nicodemus' doorstep and with no +option but to accept Nicodemus' invitation to enter. He did not like the +fellow, but not on account of his insistence; it was not his insistence +that had prejudiced him against him as much as the young man's +elaboration of raiment, his hairdressing above all; he wore curls on +either side that must have taken his barber a long while to prepare, and +he exhaled scents. He wore bracelets, and from his appearance Joseph had +not been able to refrain from imagining lascivious pictures on the walls +of his house and statues in the corners of the rooms--in a word, he +thought he had been persuaded to enter an ultra-Greek house. + +In this he was, however, mistaken, and in the hour they spent together +his host's thoughts were much less occupied than Joseph expected them to +be with the jewels on his neck and his wrists, and the rich tassels on +his sash. He talked of many things, but his real thoughts were upon +arms; and he showed Joseph scimitars and daggers. Despite a long +discussion on the steel of Damascus, Joseph could not bring himself to +believe that Nicodemus' interests in heroic warfare were more than +intellectual caprice: and he regarded as entirely superficial Nicodemus' +attacks on the present-day Jews, whose sloth and indolence he reproved, +saying that they had left the heroic spirit brought out of Arabia with +their language, on the banks of the Euphrates. One hero, he admitted, +they had produced in modern times (Judas Maccabeus), and Joseph heard +for the first time that this great man always had addressed his soldiers +in Hebrew. All the same he did not believe that Nicodemus was serious in +his passionate demands for the Hebrew language, which had not been +spoken since the Jews emerged from the pastoral stage. We should do +well, Nicodemus said, to engage others to look to our flocks and herds, +so that we may have leisure to ponder the texts of Talmud, nor do I +hesitate to condemn my own class, the Sadducees, as the least worthy of +all; for we look upon the Temple as a means of wealth, despising the +poor people, who pay their half-shekel and bring their rams and their +goats and bullocks hither. + +He could talk for a long time in this way, his eyes abstracted from +Joseph, fixed on the darkness of the room. While listening to him Joseph +had often asked himself if there were a real inspiration behind that +lean face, carven like a marble, with prominent nose and fading chin, or +if he were a mere buffoon. + +He succeeded in provoking a casual curiosity in Joseph, but he had not +infected Joseph with any desire of his acquaintance; his visits to the +counting-house had not been returned. Yet this meeting on the hillside +was not altogether unwelcome, and Joseph, to his surprise, surveyed the +young man's ringlets and bracelets with consideration; he admired his +many weapons, and listened to him with interest. He talked well, telling +that the sword that hung from his thigh was from Damascus and +recommending a merchant to Joseph who could be trusted to discover as +fine a one for him. It was not wise to go about this lonely hillside +unarmed, and Joseph was moved to ask him to draw the sword from its +scabbard, which Nicodemus was only too glad to do, calling Joseph's +attention to the beautiful engraving on the blade, and to the hilt +studded with jewels. He drew a dagger from his jacket, a hardly less +costly weapon, and Joseph was too abashed to speak of his buckler on his +left arm and the spear that he held in his right hand. But, nothing +loath, Nicodemus bubbled into explanation. It was part of his project to +remind his fellow-countrymen that they too must arm themselves if they +ever wished to throw off the Roman yoke. + +So long as the Romans substitute a Hebrew word or letter for the head of +Tiberius on the coin we pay the tribute willingly, he said as they +followed the crooked path through the rocks up the hillside towards +Joseph's house. And in reply to Joseph, who asked him if he believed in +the coming end of the world, he answered that he did, but he interpreted +the coming end of the world to mean the freeing of the people of Israel +from the Roman yoke, astonishing Joseph by the vigour of his reply; for +Joseph was not yet sure which was the truer part of this young man, the +ringlets and the bracelets or the shield and the spear. + +He was partial to long silences; and the next of these was so long that +Joseph had begun to wonder, but when they reached the crest of the hill +he burst into speech like a bird into song, asking what was happening in +Galilee, avouching much interest in Jesus, whom he had heard of, but had +never seen. Joseph, guessing that it was to obtain news of Jesus that +Nicodemus sought him on the hillside, told him that he had not spoken of +Jesus for many weeks, and found a sudden relief in relating all he knew +about him: how Jesus said that father, mother, brother and sister must +be abandoned. Yes, he had said, we must look upon all sacrifice as +naught if we would obtain our ancient kingdom and language. But the +Essenes have never spoken like that, Nicodemus urged: he is not an +Essene, nor Moses, nor Elijah, nor Jeremiah. He is none of these: he is +Judas Maccabeus come to life again: and henceforth I shall look upon +myself as his disciple. + +He spoke so loudly that any passer-by might have caught up his words; +and there was danger from Joseph's servants, for they were now standing +by his gate. He looked round uneasily, and as Nicodemus showed no signs +of taking leave of him, he thought it would be more prudent to ask him +into the house, warning him, however, that he had no beautiful things to +show him in the way of engraved weapons, swords from Damascus or daggers +from Circassia. It was not, however, to see beautiful weapons that +Nicodemus inclined; only so far as they related to Jesus was he +interested in arms; and he besought Joseph to tell him more of Jesus, +whom he seemed to have already accepted as the leader of a revolt +against the Romans. But Joseph, who had begun to fear the young man, +protested that Jesus' Kingdom was not of this earth, thinking thereby to +discredit Jesus in Nicodemus' eyes. Nicodemus was not to be put off so +easily: the Jews spoke of the Kingdom of Heaven so that they might gain +the kingdom of earth. A method not very remarkable for its success, +Joseph interposed. The Romans do otherwise, never thinking about the +Kingdom of Heaven, but only of riches and vainglory, whereas Jesus, he +said, says it is as hard for the rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven +as it would be for a sword to pass through the eye of a needle. A sword +through the eye of a needle, Nicodemus repeated, walking up and down the +floor, stamping his lance as he went. He is the leader we have been +waiting for. But it is not always thus that he speaks, Joseph +interposed, I have heard him myself say: it is as hard for a rich man to +enter heaven as it would be for a cow to calve in a rook's nest. As he +went to and fro Nicodemus muttered: there is much to be said for this +revision of his words. Jesus wishes to reach the imagination of the poor +that know not swords. And he spoke for a long time of the indolence of +the rich, of their gross pleasures and sensual indulgences. But we must +give them swords, he added under his breath, as if he were speaking for +himself alone and did not wish Joseph to hear, and then, awaking from +his reverie, he turned to his host: tell me more of this remarkable man. +And Joseph, who was now a little amused at his guest's extravagances, +asked him if he knew the answer he had given to Antipas, who had invited +him to his court in Tiberias in consequence of the renown of his +miracles. Wishing to witness some exhibition of his skill, Antipas +seated himself in imperial fashion on his highest throne, and, drawing +his finest embroideries about him, asked Jesus if he had seen anybody +attired so beautifully before, to which Jesus, who stood between two +soldiers, a beggar in rags, before the king, replied: I have indeed; +pheasants and peacocks, for nature apparelled them. Neither Moses nor +Elijah nor Jeremiah, Nicodemus declared, could have invented a reply +more apt. He asked Joseph if any further doubt lingered in his mind that +Jesus was the prophet promised to the Jews. How I envy thy intercourse +with him, he cried. How I envy thee, for thou art the friend of him that +will overthrow the Romans. + +Overthrow the Romans! Joseph repeated to himself, and as soon as his +guest had left his house he was brought to a presentiment of the danger +he incurred in allowing this man to come to his house: a young man who +walked about extravagantly armed would, sooner or later, find himself +haled before Pilate. Joseph felt that it would be better to refuse to +see him if he called at the counting-house: an excuse could be found +easily: his foreman might say: Master is away in Jericho. But when +Nicodemus called a few weeks afterwards Joseph was constrained to tell +his foreman to tell Nicodemus that he would see him. The truth was, +Joseph was glad of an interruption, for his business was boring him more +than it did usually, but he liked to pretend to himself that he could +not escape from Nicodemus. + +A new opinion of Nicodemus began to shape itself in his mind when +Nicodemus said that many and many a year will have to pass before that +can be done with success, and the Roman rule is so light that the people +feel it not. It saves us from quarrels among ourselves, and who have +quarrelled as bitterly as we have done? Joseph's heart softened at this +appreciation of the Jewish people, and they began to talk in sympathy +for the first time, and it was a pleasure to find themselves in this +agreement, that before the Jews could conquer the Romans they would have +to conquer themselves. He is more cautious than I thought for, Joseph +muttered as he returned to his camel-drivers, for his guest had departed +suddenly without giving any reason for his visitation. A spy he cannot +be, Joseph said to himself. I stand too well with Pilate to be suspected +of schemes of mutiny. But he will soon come under the notice of Pilate; +and Joseph was not surprised when Pilate asked him if he knew an +extravagantly dressed young man, Nicodemus by name. Joseph replied that +he did, giving Pilate to understand that Nicodemus was no more than one +of the many eccentrics to be found in every city, with a taste for the +beauty of engraved swords, and little for the use of these weapons; and +Pilate, who seemed to be of the same opinion himself, suddenly asked him +if he had ever met in Galilee one named Jesus. Jesus from Nazareth, +Pilate said; and Joseph watched the tall, handsome, pompous Roman, one +of those intelligently stupid men of which there are so many about. He +arrived, Pilate continued, in Jerusalem yesterday with a number of +Galileans, all talking of the resurrection, and news has just reached me +that he had been preaching in the Temple, creating some disturbance, +which will, I hope, not be repeated, for disturbances in the Temple lead +to disturbances in the streets. Does your father know this new prophet? +As Joseph was about to answer one of Pilate's apparitors entered +suddenly with papers that demanded the procurator's attention. We will +talk over this on another occasion, Pilate said as he bent over the +papers, and Joseph went out muttering: so he has come, so he has come to +Jerusalem at last. + +At any moment he might meet Jesus, and to stop to speak to him in the +street would, in a sense, involve a profanation of his oath to his +father; and he knew he could not turn aside from Jesus. He must +therefore refrain from going up to Jerusalem and transact his business +from his house by means of messengers. But if Pilate were to send for +him? We cannot altogether avoid risk, he said to himself. I can do no +more than remain within doors. + +It was not many days afterwards that one of his servants came suddenly +into the room. Nicodemus, Sir, is waiting in the hall and would see you, +though I told him you were engaged with business. He says the matter on +which he is come to speak to you is important. Well, then, let me see +him, Joseph answered. + +Now, what has happened? he asked. Has he said anything that the +Sanhedrin will be able to punish him for? He threw some more olive roots +on the fire and told the servant to bring a lamp. A lamp, he said, will +be welcome, for this grey dusk is disheartening. + +The weather is cold, so draw your chair near to the fire. I am glad to +see you. The men waited for the servant to leave the room. We shall be +more comfortable when the curtains are drawn. The lamp, I see, is +beginning to burn up.... Nicodemus sat grave and hieratic, thin and +tall, in the high chair, and the gloom on his face was so immovable that +Joseph wasted no words. What has fallen out? he said, and Nicodemus +asked him if he knew Phinehas, the great money-changer in the Temple. +Joseph nodded, and, holding his hands before the fire, Nicodemus told +his story very slowly, exasperating Joseph by his slowness; but he did +not dare to bid him to hasten, and, holding himself in patience, he +listened to him while he told that Phinehas was perhaps the worst of the +extorters, the most noisy and arrogant, a vicious and quarrelsome man, +who, yester-morning, was engaged with a rich Alexandrian Jew, Shamhuth, +who had lately arrived from Alexandria and was buying oxen, rams and +ewes in great numbers for sacrifice. We wondered at his munificence, +Nicodemus said, not being able to explain it to ourselves, for the Feast +of the Tabernacles is over; and our curiosity was still more roused when +it became known that he was distributing largess. The man's appearance +aroused suspicion, for it is indeed a fearful one. From his single eye +to his chin a fearful avariciousness fills his face, and the empty, +withered socket speaks of a close, sordid, secret passion, and so +clearly that Jesus said: that man has not come to glorify God nor to +repent of his sins. He is guilty of a great crime, and he would have it +forgiven him. But the crime? Of what crime is he guilty? we asked. Jesus +did not answer us, for at that moment some young man had come to listen +to him, and the man's crime appeared to him as of little importance +compared to his own teaching. Has he come, we asked, to pray that his +sight may be restored to him? Jesus motioned to us that that was so; and +he also bade us be silent, for stories of miracles have a great hold +upon the human mind, and Jesus wished to teach some young men who had +come to ask him how they were to live during these last days. But +myself, consumed with desire to hear the man's story, mingled with the +herdsmen who had brought in the cattle, and inquired how Shamhuth had +lost his eye. None could tell me, and I failed to get tidings of him +till I came upon an Alexandrian Jew who told me a strange story. +Shamhuth's money came from his friend's wife, whom he married after +causing him to be killed by hirelings; and when his senses tired of her +he persuaded her daughter to come over to him in the night. Shamhuth +always walked praying aloud, his eyes cast down lest they should fall +upon a woman, and his wife did not suspect him. But one night she was +bidden in a dream to seek her husband, and rising from her bed she +descended and opened the door very softly, not wishing to disturb him in +his sleep. The sight that met her eyes kindled such a great flame of +hate in her that she returned to her room for a needle, and placing her +hands upon her daughter's mouth she quickly pricked out both her eyes, +and then, approaching her husband, she pricked out his right eye, and +was about to prick out the other, but he slid from her hands and +escaped, blind of an eye, to Jerusalem, bringing with him great sums of +money in the hope that he may purchase a miracle, which is a great +blasphemy in itself, and shows what the man really is in his heart. + +Such was the story that the Alexandrian Jew, who knew him, told us; and +as soon as these abominations became known in the Temple a riot began, +and somebody cried: the adulterer must be put away. Whereupon Phinehas, +seeing the large profits he had expected vanishing, turned to Jesus and +said: it is thou who hast brought this disaster upon me, lying Galilean, +who callest thyself the son of David, when all know ye to be the son of +Joseph the Carpenter. + +Son of David! Son of David! How can that be? the people began to ask +each other, and in the midst of their questioning a great hilarity broke +over them. In great wrath Jesus overturned Phinehas' table, and Phinehas +would have overthrown Jesus had not Peter, who had armed himself with a +sword, raised it. The people became like mad: tables were broken for +staves, some rushed away to escape with a whole skin, and the frightened +cattle dashed among them, a black bull goring many. And in all the mob +Jesus was the fiercest fighter, lashing the people in the face with the +thongs of the whip he had taken from a herdsman, and felling others with +the handle. The cages of the doves were broken, the birds took flight, +and the priests, at their wits' end, called for the guards to come down +from the porticoes, and it was not till much blood had been spilt that +order was restored. Joseph asked how Phinehas came out of all this +trouble, and heard that he had escaped without injury. Merely losing a +few shekels, not more, though he deserved to lose his life, for he +placed his money above the Temple, not caring whether it was polluted by +the presence of an adulterer, only thinking of the great profit he could +make out of the man's sins, differing in no wise in this from the +priests and sacristans. + +Jesus should never have gone to the Temple nor come to Jerusalem, Joseph +said. But in this Nicodemus could not agree with him, for if Jesus were +the Messiah his mission was nothing less than to free Jerusalem from the +Roman yoke. But he should have brought a larger body of disciples with +him--some thousands, instead of a few hundreds--not enough to bring +about the abolition of the Temple, which, according to Nicodemus, was +the Galilean's project--one more difficult to accomplish than he thinks +for. The Romans support the Temple, he cried, because the Temple divides +us. I say it myself, Sadducee though I am. + +It was these last words that proved to Joseph that the ringlets and +bracelets did not comprise the whole of this young man's soul, and he +was moved forthwith to confide the story of his father's sickness to +him, dwelling on all its consequences: he had not been elected an +apostle, and Jesus consequently had no one by to tell him that he must +not speak of the abolition of the law in Jerusalem. But if he did not +come to incite the people against the Temple, for what did he come? +Nicodemus asked. You've heard him preach in Galilee, tell me who he is, +and in what does his teaching consist?--a direct question that prompted +Joseph to relate his associations with the Essenes, Banu, John, the +search for Jesus in Egypt and among the Judean hills--a long story I'm +afraid it is, Joseph mentioned apologetically to Nicodemus, who begged +him to omit no detail of it. Nicodemus sat with his eyes fixed on Joseph +while Joseph told of the discovery of Jesus in Galilee among his +father's fishermen; and as if to excuse the almost immodest interest +awakened in Nicodemus, Joseph murmured that the story owed nothing to +his telling of it; he was telling it as plainly as it could be told for +a purpose; Nicodemus must judge it fairly. Resuming his narrative, +Joseph related the day spent in the forest and Jesus' interpretation of +the prophecies. Nicodemus cried: he is the stone cut by no hand out of +the mountain; the idol shall fall, and the stone that felled it shall +grow as big as a mountain and fill the whole earth. + + + + +CHAP. XVII. + + +As they sat talking the servant brought in a letter which, he said, has +just arrived from Galilee. The messenger rode the whole journey in two +days, Sir, and you'll have to do the same, Sir, and to start at once if +you would see your father alive. If I would see my father alive! if I +would see my father alive! Joseph repeated, and, seizing Nicodemus by +the hand, he bade him farewell. + +Let an escort be called together at once, he cried, and an hour later he +was on the back of a speedy dromedary riding through the night, his mind +whirling with questions which he did not put to the messenger, knowing +he could not answer any of them. And they rode on through that night and +next day, stopping but once to rest themselves and their animals--six +hours' rest was all he allowed himself or them. Six hours' rest for +them, for him not an hour, so full was his mind with questions. He rode +on, drinking a little, but eating nothing, thinking how his father's +life might be saved, of that and nothing else. Were they feeding him +with milk every ten minutes?--he could not trust nurses, nobody but +himself. Were they shouting in his ear, keeping him awake, as it were, +stimulating his consciousness at wane? + +Once, and only once, while attending on his father did Joseph remember +that if his father died he would be free to follow Jesus: a shameful +thought that he shook out of his mind quickly, praying the while upon +his knees by the bedside that he might not desire his father's death. +As the thought did not come again, he assumed that his prayer was +granted, and when he returned to Jerusalem a month later (the new year +springing up all about him), immersed in a sort of sad happiness, +thanking God, who had restored his father to health (Joseph had left Dan +looking as if he would live to a hundred), a strange new thought came +into his mind and took possession of it: the promise given his father +only bound him during his father's lifetime; at his father's death he +would be free to follow Jesus; but the dead hold us more tightly than +the living, and he feared that his life would be always in his father's +keeping. + +He was about his father's business in the counting-house; his father +seemed to direct every transaction, and, ashamed of his weakness, he +refrained from giving an order till he heard, or thought he heard, his +father's voice speaking through him, and when he returned to his +dwelling-house, over against the desert, it often seemed to him that if +he were to raise his eyes from the ashes in which some olive roots were +burning he would see his father, and as plain as if he were before his +eyes in the flesh. But my father isn't dead, so what is the meaning of +this dreaming? he cried one evening; and, starting out of his chair, he +stood listening to the gusts whirling through the hills with so +melancholy a sound that Joseph could not dismiss the thought that the +moment was fateful. His father was dying ... something was befalling, or +it might be that Jesus was at the door asking for him. The door opened, +and he uttered a cry: what is it? Nicodemus, the servant answered, has +come to see you, Sir. And he waited for his order to bid the visitor to +enter or depart. + +His master seemed unable to give either order, and stood at gaze till +the servant reminded him that Nicodemus was waiting in the hall; and +then, as if yielding to superior force, Joseph answered he was willing +to receive the visitor, regretting his decision almost at once, while +the servant descended the stairs, and vehemently on seeing Nicodemus, +who entered, the lamplight falling upon him, more brilliantly apparelled +than Joseph had ever seen him. A crimson mantle hung from his shoulders +and a white hand issuing from a purfled sleeve grasped a lance; weapons, +jewelled and engraved, appeared among the folds of his raiment, and he +strode about the room in silence, as if he thought it necessary to give +Joseph a few moments in which to consider his war gear (intended as an +elaborate piece of symbolism). In response to the riddle presented, +Joseph began to wonder if Nicodemus regarded himself rather as a riddle +than as a reality--a riddle that might be propounded again and again, or +if he could not do else than devise gaud and trappings to conceal his +inner emptiness, a dust-heap of which he himself was grown weary. A +great deal of dust-heap there certainly is, Joseph said to himself as +his eyes followed the strange figure prowling along and across the room, +breaking occasionally into speech. But he could not help thinking that +beneath the dust-heap there was something of worth, for when Nicodemus +spoke, he spoke well, and to speak well means to think well, and to +think well, Joseph was prone to conclude, means to act well, if not +always, at least sometimes. But could an apt phrase condone the +accoutrements? He had added a helmet to the rest of his war gear, and +the glint of the lamplight on the brass provoked Joseph to beg of him to +unarm and relate his story, that burdens you more than your armour, he +said. At these words Nicodemus was raised from the buffoon to a man of +sense and shrewdness. I have come here, he said, to speak to you about +Jesus. But the story is a somewhat perilous one, and as it rains no +longer I will walk with you along the hillside and tell it to you. + +He raised his hand to Joseph, forbidding him to speak, and it was not +till they reached a lonely track that Nicodemus stopped suddenly: his +death had been resolved upon, he said, and the two men stood for a +moment looking into each other's eyes without speaking. It was Nicodemus +who fell to walking again and the relation of circumstances. He had come +straight from the Sanhedrin, where he defended Jesus against his enemies +and accusers at some personal risk, as he was quickly brought to see by +Raguel's retort: and art thou too a Galilean? And walking with his eyes +on the ground, as if communing with himself, Nicodemus related that +there was now but one opinion in the Sanhedrin: Jesus and Judaism were +incompatible; one or the other must go. Better that one man should +perish than that a nation should be destroyed, he said, are the words +one hears. Stopping again, he said, looking Joseph in the face: it is +believed that sufficient warrant for his death has been gotten, for he +said not many days ago he could destroy the Temple and build it again in +three days, which can be interpreted as speech against the law. Joseph +asked that a meaning should be put on the words, and Nicodemus answered +that Jesus spoke figuratively. To his mind the Temple stood for no more +than observances from which all spiritual significance had faded long +ago, and Jesus meant that he could and would replace dead formulae by a +religion of heart: the true religion which has no need of priests or +sacrifices. We must persuade him to leave Jerusalem and return to +Galilee, Joseph cried, his voice trembling. By no means, by no means, +Nicodemus exclaimed, raising his voice and stamping his lance. He has +been called to the work and must drive the plough to the headland, +though death be waiting him there. But he can be saved, I think, +Nicodemus continued, his voice assuming a thoughtful tone, for though he +has spoken against the law the Jews may not put him to death: his death +can be obtained only by application to Pilate. Will Pilate grant it to +please the Jews? Joseph asked. The Romans are averse, Nicodemus +answered, from religious executions and will not comprehend the putting +to death of a man for saying he can destroy the Temple and build it +again in three days. + +Nicodemus became prolix and tedious, repeating again and again that it +was the second part of the sentence that would save Jesus, for it was +obvious that though a man might destroy the Temple in three days (a +great fire would achieve the destruction in a few hours), he could not +build it again in three days. This second part of the sentence proved +beyond doubt that Jesus was speaking figuratively, and the Romans would +refuse to put a man to death because he was a poet and spoke in symbols +and allegories. The Romans were hard, but they were just; and he spoke +on Roman justice till they came round the hills shouldering over +against Bethany, and found themselves in the midst of a small group of +men taking shelter from the wind behind a large rock. Why, Master, it is +you. And Joseph recognised Peter's voice, and afterwards the voices of +James and John, who were with him, called to Matthew and Aristion, who +were at some little distance, sitting under another rock, and the five +apostles crowded round Joseph, bidding him welcome, Peter, James and +John demonstratively, and Aristion and Matthew, who knew Joseph but +little, giving him a more timid but hardly less friendly welcome. We did +not know why you had left us, they said. But it is pleasant to find you +in Jerusalem, for we are lonely here, Matthew said, and the +Hierosolymites mock at us for not speaking as they do. But you are with +us here, young Master, as you were in Galilee? John asked. We knew not +why you left us. But we did, John, Peter interposed, we knew well that +Jesus said to him, when he returned from his father's sick-bed, that +those who would follow him must leave father and mother, brother and +sister, wives and children to live and die by themselves, which is as we +have done. Yes, Sir, Peter continued, freeing himself from John and +turning to Joseph, we've left this world behind us, or if not this world +itself, the things of this world: our boats and nets, our wives and our +children. All that Jesus calls our ghostly life we have thrown into the +lake. My wife and children and mother-in-law are all there, and John and +James have left their mother, Salome. But, said James, the neighbours +will not be lacking to give her a bite if she wants something when she +is hungry. She'll be getting men to fish for her, for we've left her +our boats and nets. They've done this, Peter chimed in, and my wife and +children will have to be fishing for themselves; but we hope they'll +manage to get somehow a bite and a sup of something till the Kingdom +comes, which we hope will not be delayed much longer, for we like not +Jerusalem, and being mocked at in the Temple. But say ye, Master, that +we've done wrong in leaving our wives and children to fish for +themselves? It seemed hard at first, and you were weak, Master, and +stayed with your father; but after all he has money and could pay for +attendance, whereas our wives and little ones have none; ourselves will +be in straits to get our living if the Kingdom be delayed in its coming, +for what good are fishermen except along the sea coast or where there is +a lake or a river, and here there isn't enough water for a minnow to +swim in. Our wives and our children are better off than we are, for +they'll be getting someone to fish for them, and will stand at the doors +at Capernaum waiting for the boats to return, praying that the nets +weren't let down in vain; but we aren't as sure of the Kingdom as we +were of a great take of fishes in Galilee when the wind was favourable +to fishing. Not that we'd have you think our faith be failing us; we be +as firm as ever we were, as John and James will be telling you. And +Peter, interrupting them again, reminded Joseph that if they lacked +faith the promised Kingdom would not come. + +It was Jesus' faith that upheld us, John said, pushing Peter aside, and +the promises he made us that we might hear the trumpets of the cherubims +and seraphims announcing the Kingdom at any moment of the day or night. +And making himself the spokesman of the five, John told Joseph and +Nicodemus that Jesus now looked upon the arrival of the Kingdom as a +very secondary matter, and his own death as one of much greater import. +He says that he'll have to give his blood to the earth and his flesh to +the birds of the air else none will believe his teaching. He says that +God demands a victim; and looks upon him as the victim; but if that be +so, the world will get his teaching and we shall get nothing, for we +know his teaching of old. + +As Peter has told you, James interrupted, there be no water here, not a +spring nor a rivulet, nothing in which a fish could live; we're +fishermen stranded in a desert without boats or nets, which would be of +no use to us, nor am I gainsaying it; but if he gives himself as a +victim how shall we get back to Galilee? He now talks not of these +matters to us, but of his Father only, and of doing his Father's will. +He seems to have forgotten us, and everything else but his Father and +his Father's will, and we cannot make him understand when we try that we +shall want money, that money will be wanting to get us back to Galilee, +nor does he hear us when we say: our nets and our boats may have passed +into other hands. We know not what is come over him; he's a changed man; +a lamb as long as you're agreeing with him, but at a word of +contradiction he's all claws and teeth. + +The walk is a long one, Matthew interjected, and the taxes will be +collected by the time we get back if the Kingdom don't come, and sore of +foot I'll be sitting in a desolate house without wife or children or +fire in the hearth. But we have faith, they all cried out together, and +having followed Jesus so far we'll follow him to the end. But we are +glad, Sirs, James said, that you've come, for you'll see Jesus and tell +him that we would like to have a word from him as to when we may expect +the Kingdom; and a word, too, as to what it will be like; whether +there'll be rivers and lakes well stocked with fish in it, and whether +our chairs shall be set; Peter on the Master's right hand to be sure, we +are all agreed as to that. But you remember, Master, our mother, Salome, +how she took Jesus aside and said that myself and John were to be on his +left with Andrew one below us? Peter began to raise his voice, and, +straightening his shoulders, he declared that his brother Andrew must +sit on Jesus' left. You remember, Master? I remember, Joseph +interrupted, that the Master answered you all saying that every chair +had been made and caned and cushioned before the world was. You can't +have forgotten, Peter, this saying: that every one would find a chair +according to his measure? Yes, Master, he did say something like that. +I'm far from saying we'd all sit equally easy in the same chairs, and if +the chairs were before the world was, all I can say is that there seems +to have been a lack of foresight, for how could God himself know what +our backsides would be like years upon years before they came into +being. + +About that we will speak later; but now point out the house of Simon the +Leper to us where Jesus lodges, Joseph asked. You see yon house, James +replied, and they went forward together, meeting on the way thither +several apostles and many disciples; and these accompanied Joseph and +Nicodemus to the door, telling them the while that Jesus had driven them +out of the house. It is a main struggle that is going by in him, Philip +said, and so we left him, being afraid of his looks. Isn't that so, +Bartholomew? And they all acquiesced, and Bartholomew nodded, saying: +yes, we were afraid of his looks. It was then that Simon the Leper +opened the door, and Joseph, remembering his promise to his father, laid +his hand on Nicodemus' shoulder: I may not enter, he said. I have come +thus far but may not go into the house; but do you go in and tell him, +Nicodemus, that in spirit I am with him. + +On these words Nicodemus passed into the house, leaving Joseph in the +centre of a small crowd of apostles, disciples and sympathisers in +several degrees, all eager to talk to him and to hear him say that they +had but to follow Jesus to Jerusalem and the Scribes and Pharisees would +give way before them at once. You that are of the Sanhedrin should know +if we are strong enough to cast them out of the Temple. But, my good +men, I know nothing of your plot to clear the Temple of its thieves, +Joseph answered, and there'll always be thieves in this world, wherever +you go. But the Day of Judgment is approaching. When may we expect his +second coming? somebody shouted from out of a group of men standing a +little way back from the others, and the cry was taken up. He is coming +with his Father in a chariot, one said. With our Father, somebody +interrupted, and an eddying current of theology spread through the +crowd. I've come from Galilee, from my father's sick-bed, and know +nothing of your numbers and have not seen him these many months, Joseph +said. He is the true Messiah, and we believe in him, was an unexpected +utterance; but Joseph was not given time to ponder on it, for a woman, +thrusting her way up to him, cried out in his face: he can destroy the +Temple and build it again in three days. And when Joseph asked her who +had said that, she told him that Jesus had said it. He turned to Peter, +John and James to ask them the meaning of these words. What did Jesus +mean when he said he could destroy the Temple and build it again in +three days? He means, said half-a-dozen voices, that the priests and the +Scribes are to be cast out, and a new Temple set up, for the pure +worship of the true God, who desires not the fat of rams. Joseph +understood that the rams destined for sacrifice were to be given to the +poor. + +If you don't mind, will you be telling us why you refuse to go up with +Nicodemus to ask Jesus to delay no longer, but to lead us into +Jerusalem? he was asked, and perforce had to answer that Nicodemus +wished to talk privily to Jesus, at which they pressed round him, and +from every side the question was put to him: is he going to lead us into +Jerusalem? And then Joseph began to understand that these people would +find themselves on the morrow, or perhaps the next day, fighting with +the Roman legions, and, knowing how the fight would end, he answered +them that the Romans would be on the side of the priests and Scribes. +Whereupon they tore their garments and cast dust on their heads, and in +his attempt to pacify them he asked if it would not be better for Jesus +to go up to Galilee and wait till the priests were less prepared to +resist him. No, no, to Jerusalem, to Jerusalem, they cried on every +side, and voices were again raised, and the Galileans admitted that they +had come down from Galilee for this revolution, and had been insulted in +the Temple by the Scribes, and laughed at, and called "foolish +Galileans"; but they would show the Scribes what the Galileans could do. +Was it true that Jesus was the Messiah promised to the Jewish people by +the prophet Daniel?--and while Joseph was seeking an answer to this +question a woman cried: you're not worthy of a Messiah, for do you not +know that he is the one promised to us in Holy Writ? And do not his +miracles prove that he is the Messiah we have been waiting for? None but +the true Messiah could have rid my son of the demon that infested him +for two years; and with these words gaining the attention of the crowd +she related how the ghost of a man long dead had come into her boy when +he was but fourteen, bringing him to the verge of death in two years--a +pale, exhausted creature, having no will of his own nor strength for +anything. But how, asked Joseph, do you know that the demon was the +ghost of a man that had lived long ago? Because in life he had dearly +loved his wife, but had found her to be unfaithful to him and had died +of grief twenty years ago, and was captured then by the beauty of my +boy; and his grief entered into the boy and abode in him, and would have +destroyed him utterly if Jesus had not imposed his hands upon him and +put the vampire to flight. Whither I know not, but my boy is free. It is +as the woman says, a man cried out, for I've seen the boy, and he is +free now of the demon. My limb, too, is proof that Jesus is a prophet. +And the lion-hunter told how in a fight with a great beast his thigh had +been dislocated; and for seven years he had walked with a crutch, but +the moment Jesus imposed his hands upon him the use of his limb was +given back to him. + +Another came forward and showed his arm, which for many a year had hung +lifeless, but as soon as Jesus took it in his hand the sinews reknit +themselves, and now it was stronger than the other. And then a woman +pressed through the crowd, and she wished everybody to know that a flux +of blood that had troubled her for seven years had been healed. But the +people were bored with accounts of miracles and were now anxious to hear +from Joseph if Jesus was going up to Jerusalem for the Feast of the +Passover. But, my friends, I have but just returned from Galilee, and +have come from there to learn these things. He is watching for a sign +from his Father in heaven, a woman cried, shaking her head. A man tried +to get some words privily with Joseph: will he speak against the taxes? +he asked, but before he could get any further Nicodemus appeared in the +doorway, and the people pressed round him, asking what Jesus had said to +him, and if he were coming down to speak to them. But before Nicodemus +could answer any of them the lion-hunter cried out that a priest was not +so terrible a beast as a lion, and while he was with them Jesus had +nothing to fear. At which his enemy in the crowd began to jeer, saying: +Asiel wears the lion's skin, we all know, but he has never told anybody +who killed the lion for him. And the men might have hit each other if +the woman who suffered for seven years had not cried out: now, what are +you fighting for? know ye not that Jesus cannot come down to us, for he +is waiting for a sign from his Father? From our Father, John thundered +out. Nicodemus said he had spoken truly, and the crowd followed +Nicodemus and Joseph a little way. Do not return to the house of Simon +the Leper. Leave Jesus in peace to-night to pray, meditate, and rest, +for he needs rest. He'll lead you to Jerusalem as soon as he gets a sign +from our Father which is in heaven, Nicodemus said. + +At these words the people dispersed in great joy, and Joseph and +Nicodemus walked on together in silence, till Joseph, feeling that they +were safely out of hearing, asked if Jesus spoke of his intention to +take Jerusalem by assault. Nicodemus seemed to examine his memory for a +moment, and then, as if forgetting Joseph's question, he began to tell +that Jesus was standing in the middle of the room when he entered, +seemingly unaware that his disciples were assembled about the house. His +eyes fixed, as it were, on his thoughts or ideas, he did not hear the +door open, and to get his attention Nicodemus had to lay his hand upon +his arm. At his touch Jesus awoke from his dream, but it seemed quite a +little while before he could shake himself free from his dream, and was +again of this world. Joseph asked Nicodemus to repeat his first words. +Was he violent or affectionate? Affectionate, gentle, and winning, +Nicodemus answered. A few moments of sweetness, and then he seemed +suddenly to become old and wild and savage. + +The two men stopped on the road, and Nicodemus looking into Joseph's +eyes, said: I asked him if he were going up to Jerusalem for the Feast +of the Passover, and after speaking a few words on the subject he broke +out, coiling himself like a diseased panther meditating on its spring, +and as if uncertain if he could accomplish it, he fell back into a chair +and into his dream, out of which he spoke a few words clear and +reasonable; and then with a concentrated hate he spoke of the Temple as +a resort of thieves and of the priests as the despoilers of widows and +orphans, saying that the law must be abrogated and the Temple destroyed. +Until then there would be no true religion in Judea. It is like that he +speaks now; the one-time reformer sees clearly that the Temple must go. +And would he, Joseph asked, build another in its place? I'm not sure +that he would. I put the question to him and he was uncertain if the old +foundations could be used. The old spirits of lust, and blood, and money +would haunt the walls, and as fast as we raised up a new Temple the +spirits would pull it down and rebuild it as it was before. We are +forbidden by the law of Moses to create any graven image of man, of bird +or beast. Would that Moses had added: build no walls, for as soon as +there are walls priests will enter in and set themselves upon thrones. +The priests have taken the place of God, and I have come, he said, to +cast them out of their thrones, and to cut the knot of the bondage of +the people of Israel. I come, he said, with a sword to cut that knot, +which hands have failed to loosen, and in my other hand there is a +torch, and with it I shall set fire to the thrones. All the world as ye +know it must be burnt up like stubble, for a new world to rise up in its +place. In the beginning I spoke sweet words of peace, and they were of +no avail to stay the sins that were committed in every house; so now I +speak no more sweet words to anybody, but words that shall divide father +from son, and mother from daughter, and wife from husband. There is no +other way to cure the evil. What say I, he cried, cure! There is none. +The evil must be cut down and thrown upon the fire, and whosoever would +be saved from the fire must follow me. The priests hate me and call me +arrogant, but if I seem arrogant to them it is because I speak the word +of God. + +And then, seizing me by the shoulder, he said: look into my eyes and +see. They shall tell thee that those who would be saved from the fire +must follow me. I am the word, the truth, and the life. Follow me, +follow me, or else be for ever accursed and destroyed and burnt up like +weeds that the gardener throws into heaps and fires on an autumn +evening. Yes, he cried, we are nearing the springtime when life shall +begin again in the world. But I say to thee that this springtime shall +never come to pass. Never again shall the fig ripen on the wall and the +wheat be cut down in the fields. Before these things come to pass in +their natural course the Son of Man shall return in a chariot of fire to +make an end of things; or if thou wilt thou can say that he'll come not +to make an end but a new beginning, a world in which justice and peace +shall reign. And it is for this end I offer myself, a victim to appease +our Father in heaven. I'm the sacrifice and the communion, for it is no +longer the fat of rams that my Father desires, but my blood, only that; +only my blood will appease his wrath. As I have said, I am the +communion, and thou shalt eat my flesh and drink my blood, else perish +utterly, and go into eternal damnation. But I love thee and---- And +after a pause he said: those that love God are loved by me, and +willingly and gladly will I yield myself up as the last sacrifice. + +Nicodemus stopped, for his memory died suddenly, and, unable to discover +anything in the blank, he turned to Joseph and said: he speaks with a +strange, bitter energy, like one that has lost control of his words; he +is hardly aware of them, nor does he retain any memory of them. They are +as the wind, rising we know not why, and going its way unbidden. I have +seen him like that in Galilee, Joseph answered. Ah! Nicodemus answered +suddenly, I remember, but cannot put words upon it. He said that before +the world was, he and his Father were one, and that his great love of +man induced him to separate himself---- + +At that moment a man came out from the shadow of a rock and approached +the wayfarers, who drew back quickly, thinking they were about to be +attacked. It is Judas, Joseph whispered, one of the apostles. You have +seen Jesus? Judas asked breathlessly, and when Nicodemus told how Jesus +had said he would go up to Jerusalem for the Passover he cried out: to +lead us against the Temple? He must be saved. From what? Nicodemus +asked: from his mission? He must go on to the end with the work he has +been called out of heaven to accomplish. I can see that you have been +speaking with him. Called out of heaven to accomplish! And then, +clasping his hands, Judas looked with imploring eyes upon them: save +him, he cried, save him, for if not, I must myself, for every day his +pride redoubles and now he believes himself to be the Messiah, the +Messiah as sent by God, Judas cried. By whom else could he be sent? +Joseph replied. If he be not taken by the priests and put to death he +will be driven by the demon into the last blasphemy; one which no Jew +has yet committed even in his heart, and if that word be spoken all will +be accomplished, and the Lord will choose another nation from among the +Gentiles. He will declare himself God, Judas continued. Nicodemus and +Joseph raised their hands. He speaks already of the time before the +world was, when he and his Father were one; and setting aside the +Scriptures in his madness he has begun to imagine that the angels that +revolted against God were changed into men, and given the world for +abode till their sins so angered the Father (remark you, of whom Jesus +was then a part) that he determined to destroy the world; at which Jesus +in his great love of men (or of fallen angels, for betimes he doesn't +know what he is saying) said he would put Godhead off and become man, +and give his life as atonement for the sins of men. Sirs, I'll ask you +how God or man may by his death make atonement for the sins that men +have committed? Hear me to the end, for as many minutes as you have +listened, I have listened hours. By this sacrifice of his life his +teaching will become known to men and he will reign the one and only +king till the world itself crumbles and perishes. Then he will become +one with his Father, and from that moment there will be but one God. +These are the thoughts, noble Sirs, on which he is brooding, and if he +go up to yon town it will be to---- Judas could not bring himself to +pronounce the words "declare himself God," so blasphemous did they seem +to him. And before the wayfarers could ask him, as they were minded to, +if he were sure that he had rightly understood Jesus, the apostle had +bidden them farewell, and, running up a by-track, disappeared into the +darkness, leaving behind him a memory of a large bony nose hanging over +a thin black moustache that barely covered his lips. + +As they walked towards the city, over which the moon was hanging, +filling the valleys and hills with strange, fantastical shadows, they +remembered the black, shaggy eyebrows, the luminous eyes, and the +bitter, penetrating voice, and they remembered the gait, the long +striding legs as they hastened up the steep path; even the pinched back +often started up in their memory. And the next three or four days they +sought him in the crowds that assembled to make the triumphal entry +with Jesus into Jerusalem, but he was not to be seen; and if he had been +among the people they could not fail to have discovered him. He is not +here to welcome Jesus, Joseph muttered under his breath, and added: can +it be that he has deserted to the other side? + +He is a sort of other Jesus, Nicodemus said. But yonder Jesus comes +riding on an ass, on which a crimson cloak has been laid. As Jesus +passed Nicodemus and Joseph he waved his hand, and there was a smile on +his lips and a light in his eye. He seems to have become suddenly young +again, Joseph said. He is exalted, Nicodemus added sadly, by his +following. And they counted about fifty men and women. Does he think +that with these he will drive the Pharisees and Sadducees out of the +Temple? he added. He is happy again, Joseph answered. See how he lifts +up the fringe of the mantle they have laid upon the ass, and admires it. +His face is happier than we have seen it for many a day. He likes the +people to salute him as the Son of David. Yet he knows, Nicodemus said, +that he is the son of Joseph the Carpenter. Ask him to beg the people +not to call him the Son of David, Joseph pleaded. And, running after the +ass, Nicodemus dared to say: ask the people not to call thee the Son of +David, for it will go against thee in the end. But Jesus' heart at that +moment was swollen with pride, and he answered Nicodemus: what thou +hearest to-day on earth was spoken in heaven before our Father bade the +stars give light. Be not afraid for my sake. Remember that whomsoever my +Father sends on earth to do his business, him will he watch over. He has +no eyes for me, Joseph said sadly, for I left him to attend my father in +sickness. And, taking Nicodemus' arm, he drew him close, that he might +more safely whisper that two men seemed to be searching in their +garments as if for daggers. Nicodemus knew them to be hirelings in the +pay of the priests. Look, he said, how their hands fidget for their +daggers; the opportunity seems favourable now to stab him; but no, the +crowd closes round his ass again, and the Zealots draw back. God saved +Daniel from the flames and the lions, Joseph answered. But will he, +Nicodemus returned, be able to save him from the priests? + + + + +CHAP. XVIII. + + +Nicodemus invited Joseph to follow Jesus, saying that at a safe distance +he would like to see him ride through the gates into the city; but +Joseph, sorely troubled in his mind, could not answer him, and an hour +later was hastening along the Jericho road, praying all the while that +he might be given strength to keep the promise he had given to his +father. But no sooner was he in Jericho than he began to feel ashamed of +himself, and after resisting the impulse to return to Jesus for two +days he yielded to it, and returned obediently the way he had come, +uncertain whether shame of his cowardice or love was bringing him back. +One or the other it must be, he said, as he came round the bend in the +road into Bethany; and it was soon after passing through that village, +somewhere about three o'clock, that he met his masons coming from Mount +Scropas. Coming from my tomb, he said to himself, and, reining up his +horse and speaking to them, he heard that his tomb was finished. We've +chiselled a great stone to be rolled into the doorway, he heard one of +the masons say; another uttered vauntingly that the stone closed the +tomb perfectly, and Joseph was about to press his horse forward when the +men called after him, and, gathering about his stirrup, they related +that Jesus of Nazareth had been tried and condemned by Pilate that +morning, and was now hanging on a cross, a-top of Golgotha, one of the +masons said: you can see him yourself, Master, if you be going that way, +and between two thieves. One of them was to have been Jesus Bar-Abba, +but the people cried out that he was to be released instead of Jesus. As +Joseph repeated the words, Bar-Abba instead of Jesus, as if he only half +understood them, the masons reminded him that it was the custom to +deliver up a prisoner to the people at the time of the Passover. At the +time of the Passover, he repeated.... At last, realising what had +happened, his face became overwrought; his eyes and mouth testified to +the grief he was suffering; and he pressed his spurs to his horse's +side, and would have been away beyond call if two of his workmen had not +seized the bridle and almost forced the horse on his haunches. Loose my +bridle, Joseph cried, astonished and beside himself. A moment with you, +Master. Be careful to speak no word in his favour, and make no show of +sympathy, else a Zealot's knife will be in your back before evening, for +they be seeking the Galileans everywhere, at the priests' bidding. +Before Joseph could break away he heard that the priests stirred up the +people against Jesus, giving it forth against him that he had come to +Jerusalem to burn down the Temple, and would set up another--built +without the help of hands, of what materials he did not know, but not +of stones nor wood, yet a Temple that will last for ever, the mason +shouted after Joseph, who had stuck his spurs again into his horse and +was riding full tilt towards a hill about half-a-mile from the city +walls. On his way thither he met some of the populace--the remnant +returning from the crucifixion--and he rode up the ascent at a gallop in +the hope that he might be in time to save Jesus' life. + +He knew Pilate would grant him almost any favour he might ask; but +within fifty yards of the crosses his heart began to fail him, for, +whereas the thieves were straining their heads high in the air above the +crossbar, Jesus' head was sunk on to his chest. He died a while ago, the +centurion said, and as soon as he was dead the multitude began to +disperse, the Sabbath being at hand; and guessing Joseph to be a man of +importance, he added: if you like I'll make certain that he is dead, +and, taking his spear from one of the soldiers, he would have plunged it +into Jesus' side, but Joseph, forgetful of the warning he had received, +on no account to show sympathy with Jesus, laid his hand on the +spear-head, saying: respect the dead. As you will, the centurion +replied, and gave the spear back to the soldier, who returned to his +comrades, it being his turn to cast the dice. They have cast dice, the +centurion continued, and will divide the clothes of these men amongst +them; and, hearing the words, one of the soldiers held up the rags that +had come to him, while another spread upon the ground Jesus' fine cloak, +the one that Peter had bought for Jesus with money that Joseph gave to +him. That he should see the cloak again, and on such an occasion, +touched his heart. It was a humble incident in a cruel murder committed +by a priest; and the thought crossed Joseph's mind that he might +purchase the cloak from the soldier, but, remembering the warning he had +received, he did not ask for the cloak, nor did he once lift his eyes to +Jesus' face, lest the sight of it should wring his heart, and being +overcome and helpless with grief, the priests and their hirelings might +begin to suspect him. + +He strove instead to call reason to his aid: Jesus' life being spent, +his duty was to obtain the body and bury it: far worse than the death he +endured would be for his sacred body to be thrown into the common ditch +with these malefactors. I know not how you can abide here, he said to +the centurion; their groans make the heart faint. We shall break their +bones presently; the Jews asked us to do this, for at six o'clock their +Sabbath begins. And in this the thieves are lucky, for were it not for +their Sabbath they would last on for three or four days: the first day +is the worst day; afterwards the crucified sinks into unconsciousness, +and I doubt if he suffers at all on the third day, and on the fourth day +he dies. But, Sir, what may I do for you? I've come for the body of this +man, Joseph answered; for, however erring, he was not a thief, and +deserves decent burial. You can come with me to testify that I've buried +it in a rock sepulchre, the stone of which yourself shall roll into the +door. To which the centurion answered that he did not dare to deliver up +the body of Jesus without an order from Pilate, though he was dead. Dead +an hour or more, truly dead, he added. Pilate will not refuse his body +to me, Joseph replied. Pilate and I are well acquainted; we are as +friends are; you must have seen me at the Praetorium before now, coming +to talk with the procurator about the transport of wheat from Moab, and +other things. + +These words filled the centurion with admiration, and, afraid to seem +ignorant, he said he remembered having seen Joseph and knew him to be a +friend of Pilate. Well then, come with me at once to Jerusalem, Joseph +said coaxingly, and you'll see that Pilate will order thee to deliver +the dead unto me. But the centurion demurred, saying that his orders +were not to leave the gibbets. Upon my own word, Pilate will not deliver +up the body unless I bring you with me; I shall require you to testify +of the death. So come with me. The unwillingness of the centurion was +reduced to naught at the mention of a sum of money, and, giving orders +to his soldiers that nothing was to be done during his absence, he +walked beside Joseph's horse into Jerusalem, telling to Joseph as they +went the story of the arrest in the garden, the haling of Jesus before +the High Priest, and the sending of him on to Pilate, who, though +unwilling to confirm the sentence of death, was afraid of a riot, and +had yielded to the people's wish. The account of the scourging of Jesus +in the hall of the palace, and the bribing of the soldiers by the Jews +to make a mocking-stock of Jesus, was not finished when Joseph, who had +been listening without hearing, said: here is the door. + +And while they waited for the door to be opened, and after the +doorkeeper had opened it, the centurion continued to tell his tale: how +a purple cloak was thrown upon the shoulders of Jesus, a reed put into +his hand, and a crown of thorns pressed upon his forehead. We wondered +how it was that he said nothing. We have come to see his worship, Joseph +interrupted; and the doorkeeper, who knew Joseph to be a friend of +Pilate, was embarrassed, for Pilate had sent down an order that he would +see no one again that day; but, like the centurion, he was amenable to +money, and consented to take in Joseph's name. There was no need to give +him money, he would not have dared to refuse Pilate's friend, the +centurion said as they waited. + +Word came back quickly that Joseph was to be admitted, and after +begging Pilate to forgive him for intruding upon his privacy so late in +the day, he put his request into words, saying straight away: I have +come to ask for the body of Jesus, who was condemned to the cross at +noon. At these words Pilate's face became overcast, and he said that he +regretted that Joseph had come to ask him for something he could not +grant. It would have been pleasant to leave Jerusalem knowing that I +never refused you anything, Joseph, for you are the one Jew for whom I +have any respect, and, I may add, some affection. But why, Pilate, +cannot you give me Jesus' body? His body, is that what you ask for, +Joseph? It seemed to me that you had come to ask me to undo the sentence +that I pronounced to-day at noon. The body! Is Jesus dead then? The +centurion answered for Joseph: yes, sir; he died to-day at the ninth +hour. I put a lance into him to make sure, and blood and water came from +his side. At which statement Joseph trembled, for he was acquiescing in +a lie; but he did not dare to contradict the centurion, who was speaking +in his favour for the sake of the money he had received, and in the hope +of receiving more for the lie that he told. On the cross at noon and +dead before the ninth hour! Pilate muttered: he could but bear the cross +for three hours! After the scourging we gave him, Sir, the centurion +answered, he was so weak and feeble that we had to pass on his cross to +the shoulders of a Jew named Simon of Cyrene, who carried it to the top +of the mount for him. If he be dead there is no reason for my not giving +up the body, Pilate answered. Which I shall bury, Joseph replied, in my +own sepulchre. What, Joseph, have you already ordered your sepulchre? To +my eyes you do not look more than five or six and twenty years, and to +my eyes you look as if you would live for sixty more years at least; but +you Jews never lose sight of death, as if it were the only good. We +Romans think so too sometimes, but not so frequently as you. + +And then this tall, grave, handsome man, whose face reflected a friendly +but somewhat formal soul, took Joseph by the arm and walked with him up +and down the tessellated pavement, talking in his ear, showing himself +so well disposed towards him that the centurion congratulated himself +that he had accepted Joseph's bribe. If I had only known that you were a +close friend, Pilate said to Joseph--but if I had known as much it would +only have made things more difficult for me. A remarkable man. And now, +on thinking it over, it must have been that I was well disposed to him +for that reason, for there could have been no other; for what concern of +mine is it that you Jews quarrel and would tear each other to pieces for +your various beliefs in God and his angels? So Jesus was your friend? +Tell me about him; I would know more about him than I could learn from a +brief interview with him in the Praetorium, where I took him and talked +to him alone. A brief account I pray you give me. And Joseph, who was +thinking all the while that the Sabbath was approaching, gave to Pilate +some brief account of Jesus in Galilee. + +So you too, Joseph, are susceptible to this belief that the bodies of +men are raised out of the earth into heaven? I would ask you if the body +is ridded of its worms before it is carried away by angels. But I see +that you are pressed for time; the Sabbath approaches; I must not detain +you, and yet I would not let you go without telling you that it pleases +me to give his body for burial. A body deserves burial that has been +possessed by a lofty soul, for how many years, thirty? I would have +saved him if it had been possible to do so; but he gave me no chance; +his answers were brief and evasive; and he seemed to desire death; +seemingly he looked upon his death as necessary for the accomplishment +of his mission. Have I divined him right? Joseph answered that Pilate +read Jesus' soul truly, which flattered Pilate and persuaded him into +further complaint that if he had not saved Jesus it was because Jesus +would not answer him. He seemed to me like a man only conscious of his +own thoughts, Pilate said; even while speaking he seemed to rouse hardly +at all out of his dream, a delirious dream, if I may so speak, of the +world redeemed from the powers of evil and given over to the love of +God. This, however, he did say: that any power which I might have over +him came to me from above, from his Father which is in heaven, else I +could do nothing; and there was bitterness in his voice as he spoke +these words, which seemed to suggest that he was of opinion that his +Father had gone a little too far in allowing the Jews to send him to me +to condemn to death. + +His Father in heaven and himself are one, and yet they differ in this. +So he was your friend, Joseph? If I had known it there would have been +an additional reason for my trying to save him from the hatred of the +Jews; for I hate the Jews, and would willingly leave them to-morrow. But +they cried out: you are not Caesar's friend; this man would set up a new +kingdom and overthrow the Romans; and, as I have already told you, +Joseph, I asked Jesus if he claimed to be King of the Jews, but he +answered me: you have said it, adding, however, that his kingdom was not +of this world. Evasive answers of that kind are worthless when a mob is +surging round the Praetorium. A hateful crowd they looked to me; a cruel, +rapacious, vindictive crowd, with nothing in their minds but hatred. I +suspect they hated him for religious reasons. You Jews are--forgive me, +Joseph, you are an exception among your people--a bitter, intolerant +race. You would not allow me to bring the Roman eagles to Jerusalem, for +you cannot look upon graven things. All the arts you have abolished, and +your love of God resolves itself into hatred of men; so it seems to me. +It would have pleased me very well indeed to have thwarted the Jews in +their desire for this man's life, but I was threatened by a revolt, and +the soldiers at my command are but auxiliaries, and not in sufficient +numbers to quell a substantial riot. I will tell you more: if the legion +that I was promised had arrived from Caesarea the lust of the Jews for +the blood of those that disagree with them would not have been +satisfied. I went so far as to send messengers to inquire for the +legion. But the man is dead now, and further talking will not raise him +into life again. You have come to ask me for his body, and you would +bury it in your own tomb. It is like you, Joseph, to wish to honour your +dead friend. Methinks you are more Roman than Jew. Say not so in the +hearing of my countrymen, Joseph replied, or I may meet my death for +your good opinion. + +The Sabbath is now approaching, and you'll forgive me if I indulge in no +further words of thanks, Pilate. I may not delay, lest the hour should +come upon me after which no work can be done. Not that I hold with such +strict observances. A good work done upon the Sabbath must be viewed +more favourably by God than a bad work done on another day of the week. +But I would not have it said that I violated the Sabbath to bury Jesus. +As you will, my good Joseph, Pilate said, and stood looking after Joseph +and the centurion, who, as they drew near to the gate of the city, +remembered that a sheet would be wanted to wrap the body in. Joseph +answered the centurion that there was no time for delay, but the +centurion replied: in yon shop sheets are sold. Moreover, you will want +a lantern, Sir, for the lifting of the body from the cross will take +some time, and the carrying of it to the tomb will be a slow journey for +you though you get help, and the day will be gone when you arrive. You +had better buy a lantern, Sir. Joseph did as he was bidden, and they +hurried on to Golgotha. + +Nothing has been done in my absence? the centurion asked the soldiers, +who answered: nothing, Sir; and none has been here but these women, whom +we did not drive away, but told that you were gone with one Joseph of +Arimathea to get an order from Pilate for the body. That was well, the +centurion answered. And now do you loose the cords that bind the hands, +and get the dead man down. Which was easy to accomplish, the feet of the +crucified being no more than a few inches from the ground; and while +this was being done Joseph told the centurion that the women were the +sisters of Lazarus, whom Jesus had raised from the dead; a story that +set the Roman soldiers laughing. Can a man be raised from the dead? they +asked; and if this man could do such a thing how is it that he did not +raise himself out of death into life? To which neither Joseph nor the +two women made any answer, but stood, their eyes fixed on their +thoughts, asking themselves how they were to carry Jesus to the +sepulchre, distant about a mile and a half. And it not seeming to them +that they could carry the body, the centurion offered Joseph the help of +one of his soldiers, which they would have accepted, but at that moment +an ox-cart was perceived hastening home in the dusk. Joseph, going after +the carrier, offered him money if he would bring the body of one of the +crucified to the sepulchre in Mount Scropas for him. To which the +carrier consented, though he was not certain that the job might not +prevent him from getting home before the Sabbath began. But he would see +what could be done. + +Jesus was laid on the ox-cart, and Mary, Martha and Joseph following it +reached Mount Scropas, in which was the tomb, before sunset. As I told +thee with half-an-hour for thee to get home before the Sabbath, Joseph +said to the carrier, his eyes fixed on the descending sun. Now take this +man by the feet and I'll take him by the head. But will you not light +the lantern, Sir? the carrier said; for though there be light on the +hillside, it will be night in the tomb, and we shall be jostling our +heads against the stone and perhaps falling over the dead man.... I have +steel and tinder. Wherefrom the lantern was lit and given to Martha, who +lighted them into the tomb, Joseph and the carrier bearing the body, +with Mary following. + +Jesus was laid on the couch beneath the arch, and when Mary and Martha +had drawn the sheet over his face Joseph turned to the women, saying: +now do you go hence to Bethany and prepare spices and cloths for the +embalmment, and come hither with them in the early morning the day after +the Sabbath. The carrier, who was standing by waiting for his wage, +received it thankfully. Now, Master, if you want another shoulder to +help with that sealing stone, I can give it you. But Joseph, looking at +the stone, said it would offer no trouble to him, for he believed in his +strength to do it, though the carrier said: it looks as if two men, or +more like three, would be needed. But it is as you like, Master. On this +he went to his oxen, thinking of the Sabbath, and whether Joseph had +forgotten how near it was to them. He hasn't blown out his lantern yet. +My word, he be going back into the tomb, the carrier said; maybe he's +forgotten something, or maybe to have a last look at his friend. He +talks like one in a dream, or one that hadn't half recovered his wits. + +And it was just in the mood which the carrier divined that Joseph +entered the tomb: life had been coming and going like a dream ever since +he met the masons; and asking himself if he were truly awake and in his +seven senses, he returned to bid Jesus a last farewell, though he would +not have been astonished if he sought him in vain through the darkness +filled with the dust of freshly cut stones and the smell thereof. But +Jesus was where they had laid him; and Joseph sate himself by the dead +Master's side, so that he might meditate and come to see better into the +meanings of things, for all meaning seemed to have gone out of life for +him since he had come up from Jericho. The flickering shadows and lights +distracted his meditation, and set him thinking of the masons and their +pride in their work; he looked round the sepulchre and perceived it to +be a small chamber with a couch at the farther end.... Martha and Mary +have gone, he said to himself, and he remembered he had bidden them go +hence to prepare spices, and to return after the Sabbath. Which they +will do as soon as the Sabbath is over, he repeated to himself, as if to +convince himself that he was not dreaming.... God did not save him in +the end as he expected he would, he continued: he'd have done better to +have given Pilate answers whereby Pilate would have been able to save +him from the cross. Pilate was anxious to save him, but, as Nicodemus +said, Jesus had come to think that it had been decreed in heaven that +his blood must be spilt, so that he might rise again, as it were, out of +his own blood, to return in a chariot with his Father in three days.... +But will he return to inhabit again this beautiful mould? Joseph asked, +and striving against the doubt that the sight of the dead put into his +mind, he left the tomb with the intention of rolling the stone into the +door. Better not to see him than to doubt him, he said. But who will, he +asked himself, roll away the stone for Martha and Mary when they come +with spices and fine linen for the embalming? His mind was divided +whether he should close the tomb and go his way, or watch through the +Sabbath, and while seeking to come upon a resolve he was overcome by +desire to see his dead friend once more, and he entered the tomb, +holding high the lantern so that he might better see him. But as he +approached the couch on which the body lay he stopped, and the colour +went out of his face; he trembled all over; for the sheet with which +Martha and Mary covered over the face had fallen away, and a long tress +of hair had dropped across the cheek. He must have moved, or angels must +have moved him, and, uncertain whether Jesus was alive or dead, Joseph +remembered Lazarus, and stood watching, cold and frightened, waiting for +some movement. + +He is not dead, he is not dead, he cried, and his joy died, for on the +instant Jesus passed again into the darkness of swoon. Joseph had no +water to bathe his forehead with, nor even a drop to wet his lips with. +There is none nearer than my house, he said. I shall have to carry him +thither. But if a wayfarer meets us the news that a man newly risen from +the tomb was seen on the hillside with another will soon reach +Jerusalem; and the Pharisees will send soldiers.... The tomb will be +violated; the houses in the neighbourhood will be searched. Why then did +he awaken only to be taken again? Jesus lay as still as the dead, and +hope came again to Joseph. On a Sabbath evening, he said, I shall be +able to carry him to my house secretly. The distance is about +half-a-mile. But to carry a swooning man half-a-mile up a crooked and +steep path among rocks will take all my strength. + +He took cognisance of his thews and sinews, and feeling them to be +strong and like iron, he said: I can do it, and fell to thinking of his +servants loitering in the passages, talking as they ascended the stairs, +stopping half-way and talking again, and getting to bed slowly, more +slowly than ever on this night, the night of all others that he wished +them sound asleep in their beds. Half-a-mile up a zigzagging path I +shall have to carry him; he may die in my arms; and he entertained the +thought for a moment that he might go for his servants, who would bring +with them oil and wine; but dismissing the thought as unwise, he left +the tomb to see if the darkness were thick enough to shelter himself and +his burden. + +But Jesus might pass away in his swoon. If he had some water to give +him. But he had none, and he sat by the couch waiting for Jesus to open +his eyes. At last he opened them. + +The twilight had vanished and the stars were coming out, and Joseph said +to himself: there will be no moon, only a soft starlight, and he stood +gazing at the desert showing through a great tide of blue shadow, the +shape of the hills emerging, like the hulls of great ships afloat in a +shadowy sea. A dark, close, dusty night, he said, and moonless, deserted +by every man and woman; a Sabbath night. On none other would it be +possible. But thinking that some hours would have to pass before he +dared to enter his gates with Jesus on his shoulder, he seated himself +on the great stone. Though Jesus were to die for lack of succour he must +wait till his servants were in bed asleep. And then? The stone on which +he was sitting must be rolled into the entrance of the tomb before +leaving. He had told the carrier that he would have no trouble with it, +and to discover that he had not boasted he slid down the rock, and, +putting his shoulder to it, found he could move it, for the ground was +aslant, and if he were to remove some rubble the stone would itself roll +into the entrance of the tomb. But he hadn't known this when he refused +the carrier's help. Then why?... To pass away the time he fell to +thinking that he had refused the carrier's aid because of some thought +of which he wasn't very conscious at the time; that he had been +appointed watcher, and that his watch extended through the night, and +through the next day and night, until Mary and Martha came with spices +and linen cloths. + +The cycle of his thoughts was brought to a close and with a sudden jerk +by some memory of his maybe dying friend; and in his grief he found no +better solace than to gaze at the stars, now thickly sown in the sky, +and to attempt to decipher their conjunctions and oppositions, trying to +pick out a prophecy in heaven of what was happening on earth. + +His star-gazing was interrupted suddenly by a bark. A jackal, he said. +Other jackals answered the first bark; the hillside seemed to be filled +with them; but, however numerous, he could scare them away; a wandering +hyena scenting a dead body would be more dangerous, for he was +weaponless. But it was seldom that one ventured into the environs of +the city; and he listened to the jackals, and they kept him awake till +something in the air told him the hour had come for him to go into the +tomb and carry Jesus out of it ... if he were not dead. He slid down +from the rock again, and no sooner did he reach the ground than he +remembered having left Galilee to keep his promise to his father; but, +despite his obedience to his father's will, had not escaped his fate. In +vain he avoided the Temple and refused to enter the house of Simon the +Leper.... If he were to take Jesus to his house and hide him he would +become a party to Jesus' crime, and were Jesus discovered in his house +the angry Pharisees would demand their death from Pilate. If he would +escape the doom of the cross he must roll the stone up into the entrance +of the sepulchre.... A dying man perceives no difference between a +sepulchre and a dwelling-house. He would be dead before morning; before +the Sabbath was done for certain; and Mary and Martha would begin the +embalmment on Sunday. He would be dead certainly on Sunday morning, and +dead men tell no tales, so they say. But do they say truly? The dead are +voiceless, but they speak, and are closer to us than the living; and for +ever the spectre of that man would be by him, making frightful every +hour of his life. Yet by closing up the sepulchre and leaving Jesus to +die in it he would be serving him better than by carrying him to his +house and bringing him back to life. To what life was he bringing him? +He could not be kept hidden for long; he could not remain in Jerusalem, +and whither Jesus went Joseph would follow, and his bond to his father +would be broken then in spirit as well as in fact. A cold sweat broke +out on his forehead and for a long time his mind seemed like a broken +thing and the pieces scattered; and as much exhausted as if he had +carried Jesus a mile on his shoulders, he stooped forward and entered +the tomb, without certain knowledge whether he was going to kiss Jesus +and close the tomb upon him or carry him to his house about a +half-an-hour distant. + +As he drew the cere-cloths from the body, a vision of his house rose up +in his mind--a large two-storeyed house with a domed roof, situated on a +large vineyard on the eastern slopes of the Mount of Olives, screened +from the highway by hedges of carob, olive garths and cedars. And this +house seemed to Joseph as if designed by Providence for the concealment +of Jesus. The only way, he muttered, will be to lift him upon my +shoulders, getting the weight as far as I can from off my arms. If he +could walk a little supported on my arm. He questioned Jesus, but Jesus +could not answer him; and there seemed to be no other way but to carry +him in his arms out of the tomb, place him on the rock, and from thence +hoist him on to his shoulders. + +Jesus was carried more easily than he thought for, as easily carried as +a child for the first hundred yards, nor did he weigh much heavier for +the next, but before three hundred yards were over Joseph began to look +round for a rock against which he might rest his burden. + +One of the hardships of this journey was that howsoever he held Jesus he +seemed to cause him great pain, and he guessed by the feel that the body +was wounded in many places; but the stars did not show sufficient light +for him to see where not to grasp it, and he sat in the pathway, +resting Jesus across his knees, thinking of a large rock within sight of +his own gates and how he would lean Jesus against it, if he managed to +carry him so far. He stopped at sight of something, something seemed to +slink through the pale, diffused shadows in and out of the rocks up the +hillside, and Joseph thought of a midnight wolf. The wolves did not +venture as near the city, but--Whatever Joseph saw with his eyes, or +fancied he saw, did not appear again, and he picked up his load, +thinking of the hopeless struggle it would be between him and a grey +wolf burdened as he was. He could not do else than leave Jesus to be +eaten, and his fear of wolf and hyena so exhausted him that he nearly +toppled at the next halt. A fall would be fatal to Jesus, and Joseph +asked himself how he would lift Jesus on to his shoulder again. He did +not think that he could manage it, but he did, and staggered to the +gates; but no sooner had he laid his burden down than he remembered that +he could not ascend the stairs without noise. The gardener's cottage is +empty; I will carry him thither. The very place, Joseph said, as he +paused for breath by the gate-post. I must send away the two +men-servants, he continued, one to Galilee and the other to Jericho. The +truth cannot be kept from Esora. I need her help: I can depend upon her +to cure Jesus of his wounds and keep the young girl in the house, +forbidding her the garden while Jesus is in the cottage. The danger of +dismissal would be too great, she would carry the story or part of it to +Jerusalem, it would spread like oil, and in a few days, in a few weeks +certainly, the Pharisees would be sending their agents to search the +house. With Jesus hoisted on to his shoulder he followed the path +through the trees round the shelving lawn and crossed the terrace at the +bottom of the garden. He had then to follow a twisting path through a +little wood, and he feared to bump Jesus against the trees. The path led +down into a dell, and he could hardly bear up so steep was the ascent; +his breath and strength were gone when he came to the cottage door. + +Fortune seems to be with us, he said, as he carried Jesus through the +doorway, but he must have a bed, and fortune is still with us, they +haven't removed the bed; and as soon as Jesus was laid upon it he began +to remember many things. He must go to the house and get a lamp, and in +the house he remembered that he must bring some wine and some water. He +noticed that his hand and his sleeve were stained with blood. He must +have been badly scourged, he said, and continued his search for bottles, +and after mixing wine and water he returned to the gardener's cottage, +hoping that casual ministrations would relieve Jesus of some of the pain +he was suffering till Esora would come with her more serious remedies in +the morning. + +He put the lamp on a chair on the opposite side of the bed and turned +Jesus over and began to pick out of the wounds the splinters of the rods +he had been beaten with, and after binding up the back with a linen +cloth he drew Jesus' head forward and managed to get him to swallow a +little wine and water. I can do no more, he said, and must leave him.... +It will be better to lock the door; he must bide there till I hear Esora +on the stairs coming down from her room. She is always out of bed first, +and if luck is still with us she will rise early this morning. + +He tried to check his thoughts, but they ran on till he remembered that +he must fetch the lantern forgotten among the rocks, and that he should +follow the twisting path up and down the hillside seemed more than he +could accomplish. Strength and will seemed to have departed from him; +yet he must go back to fetch the lantern. He had left it lighted, and +some curious person might be led by the light ... the open sepulchre +would attract his eye, and he might take up the light and discover the +tomb to be empty. It wasn't likely, but some such curious one might be +on the prowl. Now was the only safe time to fetch the lantern. He +daren't leave it.... At the first light Mary and Martha would be at the +sepulchre, and the finding of a lantern by the door of the empty +sepulchre would give rise to-- + +He passed through his gates, locking them after him, too weary to think +further what might and might not befall. + + + + +CHAP. XIX. + + +And when he returned with the lantern he had forgotten he threw himself +on his bed, remembering that he must not sleep, for to miss Esora as she +came downstairs would mean to leave Jesus in pain longer than he need be +left. But sleep closed his eyelids. Sleep! He did not know if he had +slept. The room was still quite dark, and Esora did not come down till +dawn; and, sitting up in his bed, he said: God saved him from death, or +raised him out of death, but he has not raised him yet into heaven. He +is in the gardener's cottage! If only Esora can cure him of his wounds, +he continued, he and I might live together in this garden happily. + +He closed his eyes so that he might enjoy his dream of Jesus' +companionship, but fell into a deeper sleep, from which he was awakened +by the sound of footsteps on the stairs. It is Esora trying to descend +without awakening me, he said. But nobody was on the stairs, and he +stood listening on the landing, asking himself if Esora was at work so +early. And then it seemed to him that he could hear somebody in her +pantry.... To make sure he descended and found her before her table +brushing the clothes he had thrown off. You must have been in my room +and picked up my clothes without my hearing you, he said; it was not +till you were on the second flight of stairs that I awoke. I didn't know +that you rose so early, Esora. It is still dusk. And if I didn't, +Master, I don't know how the work would get done. But the Sabbath, +Joseph rejoined; and incontinently began to discuss the observances of +the Sabbath with her. But even on the Sabbath there is work to be done, +she answered; your clothes--a nice state you brought them home in, and +if they were not cleaned for you, you could not present yourself in the +synagogue to-day. But, Esora, Joseph answered faintly, I don't see why +you should be up and at work at this hour and that girl, Matred, still +asleep. Does she never help you in your work? Esora muttered something +that Joseph did not hear, and in answer to his question why she did not +rouse Matred from her bed she said that the young require more sleep +than the old; an answer that surprised Joseph, for he had never been +able to rid himself of his first impression of Esora. He remembered when +he was a child how he hated her long nose, her long yellow neck and her +doleful voice always crying out against somebody, her son, her +kitchen-maid, or Joseph himself. She used to turn him out of her kitchen +and larder and dairy, saying that his place was upstairs, and once +raised her hand to him; later she had complained to his father of his +thefts; for he brought his dogs with him and stole the larder key and +cut off pieces of meat for them, and very often dipped jars into the +pans of milk that were standing for cream. His father reproved him, and +from that day he hated Esora, casting names at her, and playing many +pranks upon her until the day he tipped a kettle of boiling water over +his foot while running to scald the wasps in their nest--one of the +apes was stung; it was to avenge the sting he was running, and no one +had known how to relieve his suffering; his father had gone away for the +doctor, but Esora, as soon as she heard what had happened, came with her +balsam, and it subdued the pain almost miraculously. + +After his scalding Joseph brought all his troubles to her to be cured, +confiding to her care coughs, colds, and cut fingers; and, as she never +failed to relieve his pain, whatever it was, he began to look upon her +with respect and admiration. All the same something of his original +dislike remained. He disliked her while he admired her, and his +suspicion was that she loved him more for his father's sake than for his +own---- It was his father who sent her from Galilee to look after him. +There was no fault to find with her management, but he could not rid his +mind of the belief that she was a hard task-mistress, and often fell to +pitying the servants under her supervision, yet here she was up at five +while Matred lay drowsing. This testimony of her kind heart was +agreeable to him, for he had need of all her kindness and sympathy that +morning--only with her help could Jesus be cured of his wounds and the +story of his escape from the cross he kept a secret. He was in her +hands, and, confident of her loyalty to him, he told her that he had +left his door open because he wished to speak to her before the others +were out of bed. + +She lifted her face till he saw her dim eyes, perhaps for the first +time: but ye haven't been in bed, and there be dust on thy garments, and +blood upon thy hands and sleeves. Yes, Esora, my cloak is full of dust, +and the blood on my sleeve is that of a man who lies wounded in the +gardener's cottage belike to death. But thou canst cure him and wilt +keep the secret of his burial if we have to bury him in the garden. It +may be that some day I'll tell thee his story, but think now only how +thou mayst relieve his suffering. Another time thou shalt hear +everything; but now, Esora, understand nobody must know that a man is in +the gardener's cottage. It is a matter of life and death for us. I am +here to serve you, Master, and it matters not to me what his story may +be; but tell how he is wounded; are the wounds the clean wounds of the +sword or the torn wounds of rods? If he have been scourged---- A cruel +scourging it must have been, Joseph answered. Now, before we go, Esora, +understand that I shall send the two men away, one to Galilee and one to +Jericho. Better both should go to Jericho, she said. I'd trust neither +in Jerusalem. Let them go straight from here as soon as the Sabbath is +over, the journey is shorter, and they'll be as well out of the way in +one country as in the other. Esora is wiser than I, Joseph thought, and +together they shall go to Jericho, and with an important message. But to +whom? Not to Gaddi, who might come up to Jerusalem to see me. I'll send +a letter to Hazael, the Essene, and after having delivered the message +they can remain at the caravanserai in Jericho. Some excuse that will +satisfy Gaddi must be discovered, Esora. I shall find one later. Both +the men are now in bed, but if for some reason one of them should come +down to the gardener's cottage! It isn't likely, Esora answered. Not +likely, Joseph replied; but we must guard against anything. If thou +knewest the risk! I'll lock the door of the passage leading to their +rooms, and I'll do it at once. Give me the keys. She handed him the +keys, and, having locked the men in, he returned, saying: the wounded +man, whom thou'lt cure, Esora, may be here for a month or more, and till +he leaves us thou must watch the girl and see she doesn't stray through +the garden. I can manage her, Esora answered. But now about the poor man +who is waiting for attendance in the gardener's cottage. What have ye +done for him, Master? I picked from his back the splinters I could see +by the light of the lamp, and gave him some wine and water, and laid him +on a linen cloth. The old woman muttered that the drawing of the cloth +from the wound would be very painful. I dare say it will, Joseph +returned, but I knew not what else to do, and it seemed to relieve him. +Can you help him, Esora? Yes, I can; and she began telling him of her +own famous balsam, the secret of which was imparted to her by her +mother, who had it from her mother; and her great-grandmother learnt it +from an Arabian. But knowledge of the balsam went back to the Queen of +Sheba, who brought the plant to King Solomon. Thou must have seen the +bush in the garden in Galilee. It throws a white flower, like the +acacia, and the juice when drawn passes through many colours, honey +colour and then green. The Egyptians use it for many sicknesses, and it +heals wounds magically. The sweet liquor pours from cuts in the +branches, and care must be taken not to wound them too sorely. This +plant fears the sword, for it heals sword wounds, so the cuts in the +tree are best made with a sharp flint or shell, these being holier than +steel. If thou hast missed the bush in Magdala, Master, thou must have +seen it in Jericho, for I brought some seeds from Galilee to Jericho and +planted them by the gardener's cottage. Esora, all that thou tellest me +about the balsam is marvellous. I could listen to thee for hours, and +thou'lt tell me about thy grandmother and the Arabian who taught her how +to gather the juice of the plant, but we must be thinking now of my +friend's agony. Hast any of thy balsam ready, or must thou go to Jericho +for the juice?--you draw the juice from the tree? No, Master, Esora +answered him, I have here in my press a jar of the balsam, and, going to +her press, she held the jar to Joseph, who saw a white, milky liquid, +and after smelling and liking its sweet smell he said: let us go at +once. But thou mustn't hurry me, Master; I'm collecting bandages of fine +linen and getting this kettle of water to boil; for this I learnt from a +man who learnt it from the best surgeons in Rome: that freshly boiled +water holds no more the humours that make wounds fructify, and if boiled +long enough the humours fall to the bottom. I strain them off, and let +the water cool. Thou mustn't hurry me; what I do, I do well, and at my +own pace; and I'll not touch a wound with unclean things. Now I'll get +some oil. Some hold Denbalassa is best mixed with oil, but I pour oil +upon the balm after I have laid it on the wound, and by this means it +will stick less when it is removed. But is thy friend a patient man? +Wounds from scourging heal slowly; the flesh is bruised and many humours +must come away; wounds from rods are not like the clean cut of a sword, +which will heal under the balm when the edges have been brought together +carefully, so that no man can find the place. This balm will cure all +kinds of coughs, and will disperse bile as many a time I have found. +Some will wash a wound with wine and water, but I hold it heats the +blood about the wound and so increases the making of fresh humours. Now, +Master, take up the pot of water and see that ye hold it steady. I'll +carry the basket containing the oil and the balm.... It was the Queen of +Sheba who first made the balm known, because she gave it to Solomon. But +we must keep the flies from him; and while I'm getting these things go +to him and take with thee a fine linen cloth; thou'lt find some pieces +in that cupboard, and a hammer and some nails. I'm thinking there are +few flies in the gardener's cottage, half of it being underground; but +hasten and nail up the linen cloth over the window, for the first sun +ray will awaken any that are in the cottage, and, if there aren't any, +flies will come streaming in from the garden as soon as the light comes, +following the scent of blood. No, not there, a little to the right, he +heard her crying, and, finding a piece of linen and a hammer and some +nails, he went out into the greyness still undisturbed by the chirrup of +a half-awakened bird. + +On either side of the shelving lawn or interspace were woods, the +remains of an ancient forest that had once covered this hillside; paths +wound sinuously through the woods, and, taking the one he had followed +overnight, he passed under sycamore boughs, through some woodland to the +terrace that he had crossed last night with a naked man on his +shoulders. And he remembered how hard it had been to keep to the path +overnight, and how fortunate it was that the gardener's cottage was not +locked, for if he had had to lay Jesus down he would never have been +able to lift him up again on to his shoulder. He had done all he could +to relieve his suffering. But Jesus, he said to himself, is lying in +agony, and if he has regained consciousness he may believe himself +buried alive. I must hasten. Yet when he arrived at the cottage he did +not enter it at once, but stood outside listening to the moans of the +wounded man within, which were good to hear in this much that they were +an assurance that he was still alive. At last he pushed the door open +and found Jesus moving his head from side to side, unable to rid himself +of a fly that was crawling about his mouth. Joseph drove it away and +gave Jesus some more weak wine and water, which seemed to soothe him, +and feeling he could do no more he sat down by the bedside to wait for +Esora. A few minutes after he heard her steps and she came into the +cottage with balsam and bandages in a basket, divining before any +examination Jesus' state. He is in a bad way; you've given him wine and +water, but he'll need something stronger, and, taking a bottle from her +basket, she lifted Jesus' head so that he might drink from it. It will +help him to bear the pain of the dressing, she said. Now, Master, will +you roll him over on to his side, so that I may see his back. The pain, +she said, looking up, when we remove this cloth on which you have laid +him will almost kill him, but we must get it off. The water with which +I'll cleanse the wound, you'll find it in that basket: it is cool enough +now to use. Take him by the wrists and pull him forward, keeping him in +a sitting position. Which Joseph did, Esora washing his back the while +and removing the splinters that Joseph missed overnight. And, taking +pleasure in her ministrations, she steeped a piece of linen in the balm, +and over the medicated linen laid a linen pad, rolling a bandage round +the chest; and the skill with which she wound it surprised Joseph and +persuaded him that the worst was over and there was no cause for further +fear, a confidence Esora did not share. He'll rest easier, she said, and +will suffer no pain at the next dressing; for the oil will prevent the +balm from sticking. We can roll him on his back now, and without asking +any question she dressed his hands and feet. + +Joseph thanked her inwardly for her reticence, and he nailed up the fine +linen cloth before the window, saying: now he is secure from the flies. +But one or two have got in already, Esora answered, and one or two will +trouble the sick man as much as a hundred. We can't leave him alone; +one of us must watch by his side; for he is still delirious and knows +not yet what has befallen him nor where he is. If he were to return to +clear reason and find the door locked he might lose his reason for good +and all, and if we left the door open he might run out into the garden. +It isn't safe to leave him. + +And perceiving all she said to be sound sense, Joseph took counsel with +her, and his resolve was that the two men-servants should remain in +their house till the sunset That I should send them away to Jericho on +my own horses will surprise them, he said to himself, but that can't be +altered. A long, weary day lies before us, Esora, and we shall have to +take it in turns, and neither can be away for more than two hours at a +time from the house. Matred will be asking for instructions whether she +is to feed the poultry or to kill a chicken. Though it be the Sabbath, +she'll find reasons to be about because we would have her indoors. And +when I'm watching by the sick man, Esora returned, she'll be asking: +where, Master, is Esora? Thou'lt have to invent excuses. We've forgotten +the servants, Esora. Give me the key. I must run with it and unlock the +door of the passage. Do you wait here till I return. + +He hoped to find his servants asleep, and his hopes were fulfilled; and +after rousing them with vigorous reproof for their laziness, he +descended the stairs, thinking of the letter he would devise for them to +carry to Jericho. These men, Sarea and Asiel, were his peril. Once they +were away on their journey to Jericho he would feel easier. But all +these hours I shall suffer, he said. But, Master, they know the cottage +to be empty. One never can think, my good Esora, whither idle men will +be wandering, and the risk is great. Having gone so far we must have +courage, Esora answered. Now give me the key, and I'll lock myself in +with him; we'll take it in turns, and the day will not be as long +passing as you think for. It is now six o'clock, he answered: twelve +hours will have to pass away before the men start for Jericho. And then +the night will be before us, replied Esora. I hadn't thought of the +night, Joseph answered, and she reminded him that it might be days +before his friend, who had been scourged, could recover sufficiently for +him to leave. For he won't always remain here, she added. No! no! Joseph +replied, and gave her the key of the cottage, and returned to the house +to tell Sarea and Asiel that he hoped they would remain indoors during +the Sabbath, for he wished them to start for Jericho as soon as the +Sabbath was over. They shall ride my horses, he said to himself, and +bear letters that will detain them in Jericho for some weeks, and if +Jesus be not well enough to leave me, another letter will delay their +return. It can be so arranged, with a little luck on our side! + +The lantern suddenly flashed into his mind. He had left it on the table +in his room and Esora would see it. But why shouldn't she see the +lantern? The centurion and the carrier and Martha and Mary all knew that +he had brought from Jerusalem a sheet in which to wrap the body of +Jesus, and a lantern to light their way into the tomb. It would be in +agreement with what he had already said to tell that he brought the +lantern back with him, nor would it have mattered if he had not returned +to the tomb to fetch the lantern. The lantern would not cast any +suspicion upon him. But he had done well to refrain from closing the +sepulchre with the stone, for the story of the resurrection would rise +out of the empty tomb, and though there were many among the Jews who +would not believe the story, few would have the courage to inquire into +the truth of a miracle. + +A faint smile gathered on his lips, and he began to wonder what the +expression would be on the faces of Martha and Mary when they came to +him on the morrow with the news that Jesus had risen from the dead. + + + +CHAP. XX. + + +He said to himself that they would start at dawn, and getting to the +sepulchre soon after three, and finding it empty, would come running to +him, and, so that himself might open the gate to them, he ordered his +watch (it should have ended by midnight) to continue till four o'clock. +And, sitting by the sick man's side, he listened expectant for the hush +that comes at the end of night. At last it fell upon his ear. The women +are on their way to the sepulchre, he said, and in about an hour and a +half I'll hear the bell clang. But the bell clanged sooner than he +thought for; and so impatient was he to see them that he did not +remember to draw his cloak about him as if he were only half dressed (a +necessary thing to do if he were to deceive them) till he was in the +middle of the garden. But feigning of disordered raiment was vanity, for +the women were too troubled to notice that he had not kept them waiting +long enough to testify of any sudden rousing from his bed, and began to +cry aloud as he approached: he has risen, he has risen from the dead as +he promised us. Joseph came towards them yawning, as if his sleep were +not yet dispersed sufficiently for him to comprehend them; and he let +them through the gate, inviting them into his house; but they cried: +he's risen from the dead. The sepulchre is empty, Mary cried, +anticipating her sister's words, and we have come to you for counsel. +Are we to tell what we have seen? Seen! said Joseph. Forthwith both +began to babble about a young man in a white raiment. His counsel to +them was neither to spread the news nor to conceal it. Let the apostles, +he began--but Martha interrupted him, saying: they are all in hiding, in +great fear of the Pharisees, who have power over Pilate, and he will +condemn them all to the cross, so they say, if they do not escape at +once into Galilee. But since we can vouch that we found the stone rolled +away and a young man in white garments in the sepulchre, we are +uncertain that they may not take courage and delay their departure, for +they can no longer doubt the second coming of the Lord in his chariot of +fire by the side of his Father, the Judgment Book upon his lap. Those +that have already gone will return, Mary answered; and our testimony +will cause the wicked Pharisees to repent before it be too late. His +words were that his blood was the means whereby we might rise into +everlasting life. + +Martha then broke in with much discourse, which Joseph interrupted with +a question: had the young man they saw in the tomb spoken to them? The +sisters were taken aback, and stood asking each other what he said, +Martha saying one thing and Mary another; and so bewildered were they +that Joseph bade them return to Bethany and relate to Lazarus, and any +others of their company they might meet, all they had seen and heard: if +you've heard anything, he added. Then thou believest Jesus to be risen +from the dead, they cried through the bars as he locked the gates. Yes, +I believe that Jesus lives. Will he return to us? Martha cried; and +Joseph as he crossed the garden heard Mary crying through the dusk: +shall we see him again? A fine story they'll relate, one which will not +grow smaller as it passes from mouth to mouth. Sooner or later it will +reach Pilate, and Pilate's first thought will be: the centurion told me +that Jesus died on the cross after three hours; and I believed him, +though it was outside of all reason to suppose the cross could kill a +man in three hours. But if the Pharisees should go to Pilate and say to +him: the rumour is about that Jesus has risen from the dead. Will you, +Pilate, cause a search to be made from house to house? Pilate would +answer that the law had been fulfilled, and that the testimony of his +centurion was sufficient; for he hated the Pharisees and would refuse +any other answer; but Pilate might send for him, Joseph; and Joseph fell +to wondering at the answers he would make to Pilate, and at the +duplicity of these, for he had never suspected himself of cunning. But +circumstances make the man, he said, and before Jesus passes out of my +keeping I shall have learnt to speak even as he did in double meanings. + +He lay down to sleep, and when he rose it was time to go to help Esora +to change the bandages, and while they were busy unwinding them (it was +towards the end of the afternoon) they were interrupted suddenly in +their work by Matred's voice in the garden calling: Esora, where are +you? and, not getting an answer from Esora, she cried: Master! Master! A +moment after her voice came from a different part of the garden, and +Joseph said to Esora: she'll be knocking at the door in another minute; +she mustn't come hither. Go and meet her, Esora, and as soon as the +girl is safe come back to me. It shall be as thou sayest, Master; but +meanwhile hold the man forward; let him not fall back upon the pillow, +for it will stick there and my work will be undone. To which Joseph +obeyed, himself quaking lest the Pharisees had come in search of Jesus, +saying to himself: the Pharisees might be persuaded that Jesus is risen +from the dead, but the Sadducees do not believe in the resurrection. +What answer shall I give to them? + +At last he heard Esora's voice outside: fear nothing, Master, for +friends have come; one named Cleophas and another are here with a story +of a miracle, and, unable to rid myself of them without rudeness, I +asked them into the house, saying that you had business (meaning that we +must finish dressing this poor man's wounds), but as soon as your +business was finished you would go to meet them. You spoke as you should +have spoken, Joseph answered her, and went towards the house certain and +sure that they too came to tell Jesus' resurrection; and the moment he +entered it and saw his guests, their faces and demeanour told him that +he guessed rightly. Leaning towards them over the table familiarly, so +as to help them to narrate simply, he heard Cleophas, whom the friend +elected as spokesman, say they heard Martha and Mary telling they had +found the stone rolled away, and a young man in white raiment seated +where Jesus was overnight, and from him they had learnt that he whom +they sought was risen from the dead. So we said to one another: if he +sent an angel to tell these women of his resurrection he will not forget +us, for we loved him; and in hopes of getting news of him in the +country, and that we might better think of him, we agreed to walk +together to Emmaus; for when a man is sad he likes to be with another +one who may share his sadness, and Khuza and I have always loved the +same Jesus of Nazareth. + +We walked sadly, without speech, indulging in recollections of Jesus, +and were half-way on our journey when a wayfarer approached us and asked +us the cause of our grief. We asked him in reply if he were the only one +in Jerusalem that had not heard speak of Jesus of Nazareth, a great +prophet before God and the people. Do you not know that our priests and +our rulers condemned him who we hoped would deliver Israel and to-day is +the third day since all that has befallen? Some women of our company +told us this morning that they had been to the sepulchre at daybreak and +found nobody, but had seen angels, who told them that he lived; and then +others of our company went to the sepulchre and they found that the +women spoke truthfully; the tomb was empty of all but the cere-cloths. +So did we tell the story to the wayfarer, who then asked us whither our +way was, and we told him to Emmaus, and that our hope was our Master +might send an angel to us with news of himself. It was with that hope +that we left the city. And your way, honoured Sir? and he answered me, +to Emmaus, and perceiving him as we walked thither to be a pious man, +and more learned than ourselves in the Scriptures, we begged him to +remain with us. He seemed averse, as if he had business farther on, but +myself and my friend here, Khuza, persuaded him to stay and sup with us, +so that we might tell our memories of him that was gone. But he seemed +to know all we related to him of Jesus, interrupting us often with: as +was foretold in the Scriptures, giving us chapter and verse; and +enlivened by a glass of good wine, he spoke to us of the fruit of the +vine which Jesus would drink with us in the Kingdom of his Father; and +he broke bread and shared it with us, as it was meet that the head of +the house should, and the gesture with which he broke it is one of our +memories of Jesus. We fell to dreaming ourselves back in Galilee, and +the intonations of Jesus' voice and the faces of the apostles were all +remembered by us. We don't know for how long we dreamed, but when our +eyes were opened to reality again we saw that our friend, who was +anxious to continue his journey, had risen and gone away without bidding +us good-bye, belike not wishing to disturb the current of our +recollections. Did we not feel something strange while he was with us? +my friend asked me, so to my friend here I put the question: did not our +hearts burn while he spoke to us on the road hither? and I cited +prophecies that were testimony that the Messiah must suffer before he +entered into glory. And Khuza answered: did you not recognise him, +Cleophas, by the way in which he broke bread? Now you speak of it, I +replied-- + +Our eyes that had not seen saw, and we knew that Jesus had been with us, +and hurried to Jerusalem to tell the apostles that we had seen him. But +their hearts are hard and narrow and dry, as Jesus himself well knew, +and as he said would be evinced at the striking of the hour, and when we +told Peter that Martha and Mary had been to the sepulchre and found the +stone rolled away he answered: I too have visited the sepulchre and saw +nothing. It was open, but I saw no young man sitting in white raiment, +nor did an angel greet me. John said: three days have now passed away +since he was put on the cross, and in three days he was to have returned +in a chariot of fire by the side of his Father and made a great Kingdom +of happiness and peace in this country. But he hasn't come; he has +deceived us and put our lives in jeopardy, for if the Pharisees find us +here they'll bring us before Pilate, who is a man without mercy, and +eleven more will hang on crosses. + +Salome, mother of John and James, too, got in her word and railed +against Jesus for having brought them all from Galilee for naught. John +and James, he promised me, were to sit on either side of him in Kingdom +Come. Whereupon Peter said: thou liest, woman. I was to sit on his right +hand. And while these disciples disputed on Jesus' words Bartholomew +praised Judas, who had withdrawn as soon as Jesus began to talk of the +angels that would surround the chariot. Thomas reproved Bartholomew, +saying that Jesus never said that there would be angels; and they all +began to wrangle, asking each other how many angels would be required to +match a Roman legion. Nor were they sure that Jesus said he was God's +own son, and equal to God; at which many were scandalised and turned +away their faces; nor could they say that they had not desired to find a +god in him on account of the chairs. I'm not speaking of James and John. +And then the ugly twain turned upon us, saying that we--myself and +Khuza--were but disciples and could baptize with water, but not with the +holy breath, which was reserved for the apostles; nor with fire. At his +words the lightning flashed into the room, and John said: we are in the +midst of a great miracle--the baptism by fire of the apostles. And when +the storm ceased they were all mixed in a dispute about the imposition +of hands; of this right they were the inheritors, so they said, and all +were resolved to practise it as soon as they got back to Galilee, from +whence they had foolishly strayed, abandoning their boats and nets. On +the morrow they would return thither and pray that the Lord, who is the +only god of Israel, would forgive them and send them a great draught of +fish, which they hoped your father, Sir, would pay for at more than +ordinary price to recompense them for what they lost by following the +Master hither. + +Joseph would have asked him if Nathaniel and Thomas and Bartholomew +denied Jesus as well as Peter and James and John: if there was not one +among the eleven that had faith that he might return. But prudence +restrained him from putting needless questions, for Cleophas was +loquacious, and he had only to listen to hear that Peter and James and +John were eager that it should be known that they no longer believed +Jesus to be the true Messiah that the Jews were waiting for. It is said, +Khuza interrupted, becoming suddenly talkative in his turn, it is said +that they are afraid lest the agents of the Pharisees should discover +them. Many left for Galilee on the Friday evening, and in three days the +fishers he brought hither will be letting down their nets again and the +publican Matthew will start on his round asking for the taxes. All will +be-- + +But, said Joseph, whose thoughts had gone back to the great draught of +fish which Peter and John hoped his father would pay for above the usual +price so that they might be recompensed for their journey to Jerusalem, +you did not come to me to pray me to write to my father that he may +punish the apostles for their lack of faith by refusing to buy their +fish? No, it wasn't for that we came hither, Khuza answered quickly, and +Cleophas looked at him, wondering if he would have the courage to put +into words the cause of their visit. We thought that because Pilate had +given the body of Jesus to you to lay in your sepulchre, and as you were +the last to see him, you might come into Jerusalem with us and declare +the miracle to the people. You see, Sir, Martha and Mary have testified +to the rolling back of the stone, and no more is needed than your word +for all to believe. Joseph looked in their faces for some moments, +unable to reply to them; and then, collecting his thoughts as he spoke, +he impressed upon Cleophas and Khuza that for him to go down to +Jerusalem and proclaim his belief in the resurrection would only anger +the Pharisees and give rise to further persecutions. It will be better, +he said, to let the truth leak out and convince men naturally, without +suspicion that we are attempting to deceive them with testimony which +their hearts are already hardened against. This answer, which showed a +knowledge of men that Joseph did not know he possessed, satisfied both +Cleophas and Khuza, and perceiving that they were detaining Joseph they +rose to go. On the way to the gate Joseph's words lighted up in their +minds: he said it would be not well for him to go down to Jerusalem and +proclaim his belief in the resurrection; therefore he believed in the +resurrection, and, unable to restrain his curiosity, Khuza besought him +to answer if Jesus ever said that it would be his corruptible body or a +spiritual body (a sort of spirit of sense) that would ascend. It could +not be the fleshy body which eats and drinks and passes soil and water, +for unless there be in heaven corners where one can loosen one's belt +the body would be gravely incommoded; and he began to argue, placing his +foot so that Joseph could not close the gate, saying that if the +corruptible body had not ascended into heaven it must be upon earth. But +where-- + +Joseph's cheek paled, and Cleophas, noticing the pallor and interpreting +it to mean Joseph's anger against his friend for his insistence in +putting questions which Joseph could not answer--for had he not rolled +up the stone of the sepulchre and sealed it and gone his way?--took his +friend by the arm and said: we must leave Joseph of Arimathea some time +to attend to his business. We are detaining him. Come, Khuza, we are +trespassing on his time. Joseph smiled in acquiescence; but Khuza, who +was still anxious to learn how many Roman soldiers equalled one angel, +hung on until Joseph's patience ran dry. At last Cleophas got him away, +and no sooner were their backs turned than Joseph forgot them completely +as if they had never been: for Esora had said that she hoped to be able +to get Jesus to swallow a little soup, and he hastened his steps, +anxious to know if she had succeeded. + +I got him to swallow two or three spoonfuls, she said, and they seem to +have done him good. Dost think he seems to be resting easier? Yes; but +the fever hasn't left him. His brain is still clouded and feeble. This +is but the third day, she replied. Truthfully I can say that I've never +seen any man scourged like this one. It is more than the customary +scourging; the executioners must have gotten an extra fee. As she had +seen men crucified in Tiberias and Caesarea, he asked her if it were +common for the crucified to live after being lifted from the cross. +Those that haven't been on the cross more than two days are brought back +frequently, but the third day ends them, so great are the pains in the +head and heart. But I knew one--and she began to relate the almost +miraculous recovery of a man who had been on the cross for nearly three +days, and had been brought back by strong remedies to live to a good old +age. But none die on the first day? Joseph said, and Esora answered that +she never heard of anyone that died so quickly; without, however, asking +Joseph if the man before them had been lifted down from the cross the +first, second or third day. + +He expected her to ask him if Cleophas had come to warn him that +inquiries were on foot regarding the disappearance of the body of one of +the crucified, but she asked no questions, and he knew not whether she +refrained from discretion or because her interest in things was dying. +Not dying but dead, he said to himself as he scanned the years that her +face and figure manifested, and judged them to be eighty. + +Now Esora, I'll go and lie down for a little while, and lest I should +oversleep myself I'll tell the girl to call me. But how shall I +recompense thee for this care, Esora? I am too old, Master, to hope for +anything but your pleasure, she answered, and when he returned she told +him that Jesus was fallen into another swoon, and they began talking of +the sick man. His mind wanders up and down Galilee, she said. And now +I'll leave you to him. I've that girl on my mind. And while Jesus slept, +Joseph pondered on the extraordinary adventure that he found himself on, +giving thanks to God for having chosen him as the humble instrument of +his will. + + + + +CHAP. XXI. + + +It was after she had persuaded him to take a little soup, which he did +with some show of appetite, that Esora began to think she might save +him: if his strength does not die away, she said. But will it? Joseph +inquired. Not if he continues to take food, she replied; and two hours +later she returned to the bedside to feed him again, and for a few +seconds he was roused from his lethargy; but it was not till the seventh +day that his eyes seemed to ask: who art thou, and who am I? And how +came I hither? Thou'rt Jesus of Nazareth, and I am Joseph of Arimathea, +whom thou knewest in Galilee, and it was I that brought thee hither, but +more than that I dare not tell lest too much story should fatigue thy +brain. I do not remember coming here. Where am I? Is this a holy place? +Was a prophet ever taken away to heaven from here? Afraid to perplex the +sick man, Joseph answered that he never heard that anything of the sort +had happened lately. But thou canst tell me, Jesus continued, why +thou'rt here? Thou'rt the rich man's son. Ah, yes, and my sorrow for +some wrong done to thee brought thee hither. His eyelids fell over his +eyes, and a few minutes afterwards he opened them, and after looking at +Joseph repeated: my sorrow brought thee here; and still in doubt as to +what answer he should make, Joseph asked him if he were glad he was by +him. Very glad, he said, and strove to take Joseph's hand. But my hand +pains me, and the other hand likewise; my feet too; my forehead; my +back; I am all pain. Thou must have patience, Esora broke in, and the +pain will pass away. Who is that woman? A leper, or one suffering from a +flux of blood? Tell her I cannot impose my hands and cast out the wicked +demon that afflicts her. He mustn't be allowed to talk, Esora said; he +must rest. And on these words he seemed to sink into a lethargy. Has he +fallen asleep again? It is sleep or lethargy, she answered, and they +went to the door of the cottage, and, leaning against the lintels, stood +balancing the chances of the sick man's recovery. + +We can do no more, she said, than we are doing. We must put our trust in +my balsam and give him food as often as he'll take it from us. Which +they did day after day, relieving each other's watches, and standing +over Jesus' bed conferring together, wondering if he cared to live or +would prefer that they suffered him to die.... + +For many days he lay like a piece of wreckage, and it was not till the +seventh day that he seemed to rouse a little out of his lethargy, or his +indifference--they knew not which it was. In answer to Esora he said he +felt easier, and would be glad if they would wheel his bed nearer to the +door. Outside is the garden, he whispered, for I see boughs waving, and +can hear the bees. Wilt thou let me go into the garden? As soon as I've +removed the dressing thou shalt have a look into the garden, Esora +replied, and she called upon Joseph to pull Jesus forward. All this, she +said, was raw flesh a week ago, and now the scab is coming away nicely; +you see the new skin my balsam is bringing up. His feet, too, are +healing, Joseph observed, and look as if he will be able to stand upon +them in another few days. Wounds do not heal as quickly as that, Master. +Thou must have patience. But he'll be wanting a pair of crutches very +soon. We might send to Jerusalem for a pair. There is no need to send to +Jerusalem, he answered. I think I'd like to make him a pair. Anybody can +make a pair of crutches, however poor a carpenter he may be; and every +evening as soon as his watch was over he repaired to the wood-shed. They +won't be much to look at, Esora reflected, but that won't matter, if he +gets them the right length, and strong. + +Come and see them, he said to her one evening, and when she had admired +his handiwork sufficiently he said: tell me, Esora, is a man's mind the +same after scourging and crucifixion as it was before? Esora shook her +head. I suppose not, Joseph continued, for our minds draw their lives +from our bodies. He'll be a different man if he comes up from his +sickness. But he may live to be as old as I am, or the patriarchs, she +returned. With a different mind, he added. So I've lost him in life whom +I saved from death. + +Esora did not ask any questions, and fearing that her master might tell +her things he might afterwards regret having said, she remarked that +Jesus would be needing the crutches in about another week. + +And it was in or about that time, not finding Jesus in the cottage, they +came down the pathway in great alarm, to be brought to a sudden stop by +the sight of Jesus sitting under the cedars. How did he get there? Esora +cried, for the crutches were in the wood-shed. They were, Esora, but I +took them down to the cottage last night, and seeing them, and finding +they fitted him, he has hobbled to the terrace. But he mustn't hobble +about where he pleases, Esora said. He is a sick man and in our charge, +and if he doesn't obey us he may fall back again into sickness. The +bones have not properly set---- We don't know that any bones were +broken, do we, Esora? We don't; for the nails may have pierced the feet +and hands without breaking any. But, Master, look! Didst ever see such +imprudence? Go! drive away my cat, or else my work will be undone. + +Her cat, large, strong and supple as a tiger, had advanced from the +opposite wood, and, unmindful of a bitch and her puppies, seated himself +in the middle of the terrace. As he sat tidying his coat the puppies +conceived the foolish idea of a gambol with him. The cat continued to +lick himself, though no doubt fully aware of the puppies' intention, and +it was not till they were almost on him that he rose, hackle erect, to +meet the onset in which they would have been torn badly if Jesus had not +hopped hastily forward and menaced him with his crutches. Even then the +puppies, unmindful of the danger, continued to dance round the cat. You +little fools, he will have your eyes, Jesus cried, and he caught them up +in his arms, but unable to manage them and his crutches together, he +dropped the crutches and started to get back to his seat without them. + +It was this last imprudence that compelled Esora to cry out to Joseph +that her work would be undone if Joseph did not run at once to Jesus and +give him his crutches: now, Master, I hope ye told him he must leave +cats and dogs alone, she said as soon as Joseph returned to her. If he +doesn't we shall have him on our hands all the winter. All the winter! +Joseph repeated. It is for thee to say, Master, how long he is to stay +here; three weeks, till he is fit to travel, or all the winter, it is +for you to say. Fit to travel, Joseph repeated. Why should he leave when +he is fit to travel? he asked. Only, Master, because it will be hard to +keep him in hiding much longer. Secrets take a long time to leak out, +but they leak out in the end. But I may be wrong, Master, in thinking +that there is a secret. I hardly know anything about this man, only that +thou broughtest him back one night. So thou'rt not certain then that +there is a secret, Esora? Joseph said. I won't say that, Master, for I +can see by his back that he has been scourged, and cruelly, she +answered. His hands and feet testify that he has been on the cross. +Therefore, Joseph interposed, thou judgest him to be a malefactor of +some sort. Master, I would judge no one. He is what thou choosest to +tell me he is. Come then, Esora, Joseph replied, and I will tell thee +his story and mine, for our stories have been strangely interwoven. But +the telling will take some time. Come, let us sit in the shade of the +acacia-trees yonder; there is a seat there, and we shall be in view of +our sick man, ready to attend upon him should he require our attention. + +She sat listening, immovable, like a figure of stone, her hands hanging +over her knees. And when he told how Jesus opened his eyes in the tomb, +and how he carried him through the rocks, seeking perhaps to astonish +her a little by his account of the darkness, and the wild beasts, he +said: now tell me, Esora, if I could have done else but bring him here +on my shoulders. True it is that Pilate believed he was giving me not a +live but a dead body; but Pilate wouldn't expect me to go to him with +the tidings that Jesus was not dead, and that he might have him back to +hoist on to a cross again. Pilate did not want to give him up for +crucifixion. He found no fault with him. Dost understand, Esora? I +understand very well, Master, that Pilate would think thee but a false +friend if you had acted differently. He would not have thanked thee if +thou hadst brought back this man to him. But, Esora, thy face wears a +puzzled look. One thing puzzles me, she answered, for I cannot think +what could have put it into his head that he was sent into the world to +suffer for others. For are we not all suffering for others? + +The simplicity of her question took Joseph aback, and he replied: I +suppose thou'rt right in a way, Esora. Thou hast no doubt suffered for +thy parents; I have suffered for my father. I left Galilee to keep my +promise not to see Jesus; when I heard he was going to ride into +Jerusalem in triumph on an ass from Bethany I ran away to Jericho. Could +a man do more to keep his promise? But it was of no avail, for we may +not change in our little lives the fate we were branded with a thousand +years before we were born. + +Thou'rt of one mind with me, Esora, that I couldn't have left him to die +in the sepulchre? Thou couldst not have done such a thing and remained +thyself; and it was God that gave you those fine broad shoulders for the +burden. I saw thee a baby, and thou hast grown into a fine image like +those they've put up to Caesar in Tiberias; and then, as if abashed by +her familiarity, she began: Master, I wouldn't wish him to return to +Jerusalem, for they would put him on the cross again, but he had better +leave Judea. Art thou weary, Esora, of attendance on him? Joseph asked, +and the servant answered: have I ever shown, Master, that I found +attendance on him wearisome? He is so gentle and patient that it is a +pleasure to attend on him, and an honour, for one feels him to be a +great man. The highest I have met among men, Joseph interposed, and I +have searched diligently, wishing always to worship the best on earth. +He is that, and maybe there's no better in heaven; after God comes +Jesus. + +It wouldn't be a woman then that thou wouldst choose to meet in heaven, +but a man? Men love women, Joseph said, for their corruptible bodies, +and women love men for theirs; but even the lecher would choose rather +to meet a man in heaven, and the wanton another woman. If we would +discover whom we love most, we can do so by asking ourselves whom we +would choose to meet in heaven. Heaven without Jesus would not be heaven +for me. But if he be not the Messiah after all? Esora asked. Should I +love him less? he answered her. None is as perfect as he. I have known +him long, Esora, and can say truly that none is worthy to be the carpet +under his feet. + +I have never spoken like this before, but I am glad to have spoken, for +now thou understandest how much thou hast done for me. Thou and thy +balsam and thy ministration. My balsam, she answered, has done better +than I expected it would do. Thou sawest his back this morning. One can +call it cured. His hands and feet have mended and his strength is +returning. In a few days he will be fit to travel. This is the third +time, Esora, that thou hast said he'll be able to travel soon--yet thou +sayest he is so patient and gentle that it is a pleasure to attend on +him; and an honour. But, Master, the danger is great, and every day +augments the danger. Secrets, as I've said, take a long time to leak +out, but they leak out in time. Her words are wise, he thought to +himself, and he overlooked her, guessing her to have shrunken to less +than her original size; she seemed but a handful of bones and yellow +skin, but when she looked up in his face her eyes were alive, and from +under a small bony forehead they pleaded, and with quavering voice she +said: let him go, dear Master, for if the Pharisees seek him here and +find him, he will hang again on the cross. Thou wouldst have me tell +him, Esora, that rumours are about that he did not die on the cross and +that a search may be made for him. I wouldn't have thee speak to him of +Pilate or his crucifixion, Master, for we don't know that he'd care to +look back upon his troubles; he might prefer to forget them as far as he +is able to forget them. But thou canst speak to him of his health, +Master, which increases every day, and of the benefit a change would be +to him. Speak to him if thou wouldst of a sea voyage, but speak not of +anything directly for fear of perplexing him. Lead rather than direct, +for his mind must be a sort of maze at present. A great deal has +befallen, and nothing exactly as he expected. Nor would I have thee +speak to him of anything but actual things; speak of what is before his +eyes as much as possible; not a word about yesterday or of to-morrow, +only so far as his departure is concerned. Keep his thoughts on actual +things, Master: on his health, for he feels that, and on the dogs about +his feet, for he sees them; he takes an interest in them; let him speak +to thee of them, which will be better still, and in your talk about dogs +many things will happen. The hills about Caesarea may be mentioned; see +that they are mentioned; ask him if they are like the hills above +Jericho. I cannot tell thee more, Master, but will pray that thou mayest +speak the right words. + +A shrewd old thing, Joseph thought, as he went towards Jesus, looking +back once to see Esora disappearing into the wood. She'd have me keep +his thoughts on actual things, he continued, and seeing that Jesus had +called the puppies to him and was making himself their playmate, he +asked him if he were fond of dogs; whereupon Jesus began to praise the +bitch, saying she was of better breeding than her puppies, and that when +she came on heat again she should be sent to a pure Thracian like +herself. Joseph asked, not because he was interested in dog-breeding, +but to make talk, if the puppies were mongrels. Mongrels, Jesus +repeated, overlooking them; not altogether mongrels, three-quarter bred; +the dog that begot them was a mongrel, half Syrian, half Thracian. I've +seen worse dogs highly prized. Send the bitch to a dog of pure Thracian +stock and thou'lt get some puppies that will be the sort that I used to +seek. + +Joseph waited, for he expected Jesus to speak of the Essenes and of the +time when he was their shepherd; but Jesus' thoughts seemed to have +wandered from dogs, and to bring them back to dogs again Joseph +interposed: thou wast then a shepherd? But Jesus did not seem to hear +him, and as he was about to repeat his question he remembered that Esora +told him to keep to the present time. We do not know, she said, that he +remembers, and if he has forgotten the effort to remember will fatigue +him, or it may be, she had added, that he wishes to keep his troubles +out of mind. A shrewd old thing, Joseph said to himself, and he sat by +Jesus considering how he might introduce the subject he had come to +speak to Jesus about, the necessity of his departure from Judea. But as +no natural or appropriate remark came into his mind to make, he sat like +one perplexed and frightened, not knowing how the silence that had +fallen would be broken. It is easy, he thought, for Esora to say, speak +only of present things, but it is hard to keep on speaking of things to +a man whose thoughts are always at ramble. But if I speak to him of his +health an occasion must occur to remind him that a change is desirable +after a long or a severe illness. It may have been that Joseph did not +set forth the subject adroitly; he made mention, however, of a +marvellous recovery, and as Jesus did not answer him he continued: Esora +thought that thou wouldst be able to get as far as the terrace in +another week, but thou'rt on the terrace to-day. Still Jesus did not +answer him, and feeling that nothing venture nothing win, he struck +boldly out into a sentence that change of air is the best medicine after +sickness. Jesus remaining still unresponsive, he added: sea air is +better than mountain air, and none as beneficial as the air that blows +about Caesarea. + +The word Caesarea brought a change of expression into Jesus' face, and +Joseph, interpreting it to mean that Jesus was prejudiced against those +coasts, hastened to say that a sick man is often the best judge of the +air he needs. But, Joseph, I have none but thee, Jesus said; and the two +men sat looking into each other's eyes, Joseph thinking that if Jesus +were to recover his mind he would be outcast, as no man had ever been +before in the world: without a country, without kindred, without a +belief wherewith to cover himself; for nothing, Joseph said to himself +as he sat looking into Jesus' eyes, has happened as he thought it would; +and no man finds new thoughts and dreams whereby he may live. I did not +foresee this double nakedness, or else might have left him to die on the +cross. Will he, can he, forgive me? A moment afterwards he recovered +hope, for Jesus did not seem to know that the hills beyond the terrace +were the Judean hills, and then, as if forgetting the matter in hand +(his projected residence in Caesarea), he began to speak of Bethlehem, +saying he could not think of Bethlehem without thinking of Nazareth, a +remark that was obscure to Joseph, who did not know Nazareth. It was to +make some answer--for Jesus seemed to be waiting for him to answer--that +Joseph said: Nazareth is far from Caesarea, a remark that he soon +perceived to be unfortunate, for it awakened doubts in Jesus that he was +no longer welcome in Joseph's house. Why speakest thou of Caesarea to me? +he said. Is it because thou wouldst rid thyself of me? Whereupon Joseph +besought Jesus to lay aside the thought that he, Joseph, wished him +away. I would have thee with me always, deeming it a great honour; but +Esora has charge of thy health and has asked me to say that a change is +needed. + +My health, Jesus interrupted. Am I not getting my strength quickly? do +not send me away, Joseph, for I am weak in body and in mind; let me stay +with thee a little longer; a few days; a few weeks. If I go to Caesarea I +must learn Greek, for that is the language spoken there, and thou'lt +teach me Greek, Joseph. Send me not away. But there is no thought of +sending thee away, Joseph answered; my house is thy house for as long as +thou carest to remain, and the words were spoken with such an accent of +truth that Jesus answered them with a look that went straight to +Joseph's heart; but while he rejoiced Jesus' mind seemed to float away: +he was absent from himself again, and Joseph had begun to think that all +that could be said that day had been said on the subject of his +departure from Judea, when a little memory began to be stirring in +Jesus, as Esora would say, like a wind in a field. + +I remember thee, Joseph, as one to whom I did a great wrong, but what +that wrong was I have forgotten. Do not try to recall it, Joseph said to +him, no wrong was done, Jesus. Thou'rt the rich man's son, he said, and +what I remember concerning thee is thy horse, for he was handsomer than +any other. His name was Xerxes. Dost still ride him? Is he in the +stables of yon house? He was sold, Joseph answered, to pay for our +journey in Syria, and some of the price went to pay for thy cloak. The +cloak on my shoulders? Jesus asked. The cloak on thy shoulders is one of +my cloaks. Thou earnest here naked. I was carried here by an angel, +Jesus replied, for I felt the feathers of his wings brush across my +face. But why that strange look, Joseph?--those curious, inquisitive +eyes? It was an angel that carried me hither. No, Jesus, it was I that +carried thee out of the sepulchre up the crooked path. What is thy +purpose in saying that it was no angel but thou? Jesus asked; and +Joseph, remembering that he must not say anything that would vex Jesus, +regretted having contradicted him and tried to think how he might mend +his mistake with words that would soothe Jesus; but, as it often is on +such occasions, the more we seek for the right words the further we seem +to be from them, and Joseph did not know how he might plausibly unsay +his story that he had carried him without vexing Jesus still further: he +is sure an angel carried him, Joseph said: he felt the feathers of the +wings brush across his face, and he is now asking himself why I lied to +him. + +As Joseph was thinking that it might be well to say that Bethlehem was +like Nazareth, he caught sight of Jesus' face as pale as ashes, more +like a dead face than a living, and fearing that he was about to swoon +again or die, Joseph called loudly for Esora, who came running down the +pathway. + +Thou mustn't call for me so loudly, Master. If Matred had heard thee and +come running---- But, Esora, look. As likely as not it is no more than a +little faintness, she said. He has been overdoing it: running after +puppies, and talking with thee about Caesarea. But it was thyself told me +to ask him to go to Caesarea for change of air. Never mind, Master, what +I told thee. We must think now how we shall get him back to bed. Do thou +take one arm and I'll take the other. + + + + +CHAP. XXII. + + +Jesus did not speak about angels again, and one morning at the end of +the week before going away to Jerusalem to attend to some important +business Joseph, after a talk with Esora, turned down the alley with the +intention of asking Jesus to leave Judea. It would have been better, she +said to herself, if he had waited till evening; these things cannot be +settled off-hand; he'll only say the wrong thing again, and she stood +waiting at her kitchen door, hoping that Joseph would stop on his way +out to tell her Jesus' decision, but he went away without speaking, and +she began to think it unlikely that anything was decided. He is +soft-hearted and without much will of his own, she said.... Jesus is +going to stay with us, so we may all hang upon crosses yet, unless, +indeed, Master comes to hear something in Jerusalem that will bring him +round to my way of thinking. He believes, she continued, that Jesus is +forgotten because the apostles have returned to their fishing, but that +cannot be; the two young women that came here one Sunday morning with a +story about an empty sepulchre have found, I'll vouch, plenty of eager +gossips, and a smile floated round her old face at the additions she +heard to it yester morning at the gates. But no good would come of my +telling him, she meditated, for he'd only say it was my fancies, though +he has to acknowledge that I am always right when I speak out of what he +calls my fancies. In about three weeks, she muttered, the stories that +are going the round will begin to reach his ears. + +The old woman's guess was a good one. It was about that time the +camel-drivers, assembled in the yard behind the counting-house, began to +tell that Jesus had been raised from the dead, and their stories, being +overheard by the clerk, were reported to Joseph. The Pharisees are angry +with Pilate for not having put a guard of soldiers over the tomb, the +clerk was saying, when Joseph interjected that a guard of soldiers would +be of no avail if God had wished to raise Jesus from the dead. The point +of their discourse, the clerk continued, is that no man but Jesus died +on the cross in three hours; three days, Sir, are mentioned as the usual +time. It is said that a man, Sir, often lingers on until the end of the +fourth day. Joseph remained, his thoughts suspended, and the clerk, +being a faithful servant, and anxious for Joseph's safety, asked if he +might speak a word of counsel, and reading on Joseph's face that he was +permitted to speak, he said: I would have you make an end of these +rumours, Sir, and this can be done if you will attend the next meeting +of the Sanhedrin and make plain your reason for having gone to Pilate to +ask him for the body. As it seemed to Joseph that his clerk had spoken +well, he attended the next meeting of the Council, but the business that +the councillors had come together for did not admit of interruption for +the sake of personal explanation, however interesting, and the hostility +of everybody to him was notable from the first. Only a few personal +friends spoke to him; among them was Nicodemus, who would not be +dismissed, but went away with him at the close of the meeting, +beseeching him not to cross the valley unarmed, and if thou wouldst not +draw attention to thyself by the purchase of arms, he said, I will give +thee the arms thou needest for thyself and will arm some camel-drivers +for thee. I thank thee, Nicodemus, but if I were to return home +accompanied by three or four armed camel-drivers I should draw the +attention of Jerusalem upon me, thereby quickening the anger of the +Pharisees, and my death would be resolved upon. But art thou sure that +the hirelings of the priests haven't been told to kill thee? Nicodemus +asked. Pilate's friendship for me is notorious, Joseph replied. I'm not +afraid, Nicodemus, and it is well for me that I'm not, for assassination +comes to the timorous. That is true, Nicodemus rejoined, our fears often +bring about our destiny, but thou shouldst avoid returning by the +valley; return by the eastern gate and on horseback. But that way, +Joseph answered, is a lonely and long one, and thinking it better to put +a bold face on the matter, though his heart was beating, he began to +speak scornfully of the Pharisees who, seemingly, would have consented +to a desecration of the Sabbath. He had done no more than any other Jew +who did not wish the Sabbath to be desecrated, and remembering suddenly +that Nicodemus would repeat everything he said, he spoke again of +Pilate's friendship, and the swift vengeance that would follow his +murder. Pilate is my friend, and whoever kills me makes sure of his own +death. I do not doubt that what thou sayest is true, Joseph, but Pilate +may be recalled, and it may suit the next Roman to let the priests have +their way. I am going to Egypt to-morrow, he said suddenly. To Egypt, +Joseph repeated, and memories awoke in him of the months he spent in +Alexandria, of the friends he left there, of the Greek that he had taken +so much trouble to perfect himself in, and the various philosophies +which he thought enlarged his mind, though he pinned his faith to none; +and reading in his face the pleasure given by the word Egypt, Nicodemus +pressed him to come with him: all those who are suspected of sympathy +with Jesus, he said, will do well to leave Judea for a year at least. +Alexandria, as thou knowest, having lived there, is friendly to +intellectual dispute. In Alexandria men live in a kingdom that belongs +neither to Caesar nor to God. But all things belong to God, Joseph +replied. Yes, answered Nicodemus; but God sets no limits to the mind, +but priests do in the name of God. Remember Egypt, where thou'lt find +me, and glad to see thee.... + +On these words the men parted, and Joseph descended into the valley a +little puzzled, for the traditionalism of Nicodemus seemed to have +undergone a change. But more important than any change that may have +happened in Nicodemus' mind was the journey to Egypt, that he had +proposed to Joseph. Joseph would like to go to Egypt, taking Jesus with +him, and as he walked he beheld in imagination Jesus disputing in the +schools of philosophy, but if he were to go away to Egypt the promise to +his father would be broken fully. If his father were to fall ill he +might die before the tidings of his father's illness could reach him; a +year's residence in Egypt was, therefore, forbidden to him; on the top +of the Mount of Olives he stopped, so that he might remember that +Nicodemus' disposition was always to hear the clashing of swords; spears +are always glittering in his eyes for one reason or another, he said, +and though he would regret a friend's death, he would regard it as being +atoned for if the brawl were sufficiently violent. He has gone to Egypt, +no doubt, because it is pleasing to him to believe his life to be in +danger. He invents reasons. Pilate's recall! Now what put that into his +mind? He may be right, but this Mount of Olives is peaceful enough and +the road beyond leading to my house seems safe to the wayfarer even at +this hour. He followed the road in a quieter mood, and it befell that +Esora opened the gates to him, for which he thanked her abruptly and +turned away, wishing to be alone; but seeing how overcast was his face, +she did not return to her kitchen as she had intended, but remained with +him, anxious to learn if the rumours she knew to be current had reached +his ears. She would not be shaken off by silence, but followed him down +the alley leading to Jesus' cottage, answering silence by silence, +certain in this way to provoke him thereby into confidences. They had +not proceeded far into the wood before they came upon Jesus in front of +a heap of dead leaves that he had raked together. A great many had +fallen, he said, and the place was beginning to look untidy, so I +thought I would gather them for burning. Thou must not tire thyself, +Joseph answered, as he passed on with Esora, asking her as they went +through the autumn woods if Jesus found the rake for himself or if she +gave it to him. He asked me if he might be allowed to feed the chickens, +she said, and I would have let him if Matred's window did not overlook +the yard. Master, the hope of getting him out of Judea rests upon the +chance that he may recover his mind, and staring at the desert all day +won't help him. He musn't brood, and as there is no work like raking up +leaves to keep a man's thought off himself, unless, indeed, it be +digging, I thought I had better let him have the rake. But if Matred +should meet him? Joseph asked. She will see the new gardener in him, +that will be all. I told her last night, Esora continued, that we were +expecting the new gardener, and she said it would be pleasant to have a +man about the house again. But he musn't attempt any hard work like +digging yet awhile; he has done enough to-day; I'll go and tell him to +put away the rake and pass on to his supper. She waited for Joseph to +answer, but he was in no humour for speech, and she left him looking at +the hills. + +A cloud lifts, and we are; another cloud descends, and we are not; so +much do we know, but we are without sufficient sight to discover the +reason behind all this shaping and reshaping, for like all else we +ourselves are changing as Heraclitus said many years ago. + +And while thinking of this philosopher, whose wisdom he felt to be more +satisfying than any other, he paced back and forth, seeking a little +while longer to untie the knot that all men seek to untie, abandoning at +last, saying: fate tied it securely before the beginning of history, and +on these words he ran up the steps of his house, pausing on the +threshold to listen, for he could distinguish Esora's voice, and +Matred's; afterwards he heard Jesus' voice, and he said: Jesus eats with +my servants in the kitchen! This cannot be, and he very nearly obeyed +the impulse of the moment, which was to call Jesus and tell him to come +and eat his supper with him. To do this, however, would draw Matred's +attention to the fact that Jesus was not of her company but of her +master's, and distinctions between servants and master, he continued, +are not for him, who thinks in eternal terms. + +He sat at table, his thoughts suspended, but awakening suddenly from a +reverie, of which he remembered nothing, he rose from his seat and went +to the kitchen door, regretting that he was not with Jesus, for to miss +his words, however slight they might be, seemed to him to be a loss that +could not be repaired. They are listening to him, he said, with the same +pleasure that I used to do, watching his eyes lighting his words on +their way. + +At that moment a shuffling of feet sent him back to his seat again, and +he put food into his mouth just in time to escape suspicion of +eavesdropping. I thought, Master, that thy supper was finished, and that +I might take away the plates. I've hardly begun my supper, Esora. Your +voices in the kitchen prevented me from eating. We are sorry for that, +Master, she replied. Make no excuses, Esora. I said it was the voices in +the kitchen that disturbed me, but in truth it was my own thoughts, for +I have heard many things to-day in Jerusalem. Esora's face brightened +and she said to herself: my words to him are coming true. Sit here, +Esora, and I'll tell thee what I've heard to-day. And while Matred +listened to Jesus in the kitchen Esora heard from Joseph that the +camel-drivers had been talking of the resurrection in the yard behind +the counting-house, and that his clerk's advice to him had been to +attend the Sanhedrin, and make plain that his reason for going to Pilate +to ask for the body of Jesus was because he did not wish a desecration +of the Sabbath. But he had only met a show of dark faces, and left the +meeting in company with Nicodemus. Esora, is our danger as great as this +young man says it is? Master, I have always told thee that as soon as +Jesus leaves Judea he will be safe from violence, from death, and we +shall be safe too, but not till then. But how are we to persuade him to +leave Judea, Esora? Thou must try, Master, to persuade him, there is no +other way. He is talking now with Matred in the kitchen. Ask him to come +here, and thou'lt see, Esora, the sad face that uplifts when I speak to +him of Caesarea. I'll speak for thee, Master, she answered, and going to +the door she called Jesus to them, and when he stood before them she +said: have I not proved a good physician to thee? To-day thy back gives +thee no trouble. Only aching a bit, he answered, from stooping, but +that will pass away. And my balsam having cured thy feet and hands is it +not right that I should take a pride in thee? And, smiling, Jesus +answered: had I voice enough I would call the virtue of thy balsam all +over the world. My balsam has done well with thee, but a change is +needed to restore thee to thyself, and seeing a cloud come into his +face, she continued: we weren't talking of sending thee to Caesarea, for +it is of little use to send a man in search of health whither he is not +minded to go. Our talk was not of Caesarea. But of what city then? Jesus +asked, and Esora began to speak of Alexandria, and Joseph, thinking that +she repeated indifferently all that she had heard of that city from him, +interrupted her and began to discourse about the several schools of +philosophy and his eagerness to hear Jesus among the sages. But why +should thy philosophers listen to me? Jesus asked. Because thou'rt wise. +No man, he replied, is wise but he who would learn, and none is foolish +but he who would teach. If there are learners there must be teachers, +Joseph said, and he awaited Jesus' answer eagerly, but Esora, fearing +their project would be lost sight of in argument, broke in, saying: +neither teaching nor learning avails, but thy health, Jesus, and +to-morrow a caravan starts for Egypt, and we would know if thou'lt join +it, for one whom thou knowest goes with it, a friend, one Nicodemus, a +disciple, whose love for thee is equal to my master's. + +Jesus' face darkened, but he said nothing, and Esora asked him if he did +not care to travel with Nicodemus, and he answered that if he went to +Egypt he would like to go with Joseph. But my master has business here, +and may not leave it easily. Is this so, Joseph? Jesus asked, and Joseph +answered: it is true that I have business here, but there are other +reasons, and weightier ones than the one Esora has put before thee, why +I may not leave Jerusalem and go to live in Egypt. But wouldst thou have +me go to Egypt with Nicodemus, Joseph? Jesus asked, and Joseph could not +do else than say that the companion he would choose would not be one +whose tongue was always at babble. But wilt thou go to Egypt, he asked, +if I tell thee that it is for thy safety and for ours that we propose +this voyage to thee? And Jesus answered: be it so. + +Then, Jesus, we'll make plans together, Esora and myself, for thy +departure; and having thanked him, Jesus returned to Matred in the +kitchen, and they could hear him talking with her while they debated, +and as soon as the kitchen door closed Joseph told Esora that he could +not break the promise he gave to his father, and it was this very +promise that she strove to persuade him to forgo. For it is the only +way, she said, and he, agreeing with her, said: though I have promised +my father not to keep the company of Jesus, it seems to me that I should +be negligent in my duty towards Jesus if I did not go with him to Egypt; +and Esora said: that is well said, Master, and now we will go to our +beds. God often counsels us in sleep and warns us against hasty +promises. + +And it was as he expected it would be: he was that night disturbed by a +dream in which his father appeared to him wearing a distressful face, +saying: I have a blessing that I would give to thee. There were more +words than this, but Joseph could not remember them; but the words he +did remember seemed to him a warning that he must not leave Judea; and +Jesus was of one mind with him when he heard them related on the +terrace. A son, he said, must be always obedient to his father, and love +him before other men. + +Whereupon Esora, who was standing by when these words were spoken, was +much moved, for she, too, believed in dreams and their interpretation, +and she could put no other interpretation upon Joseph's dream than that +he was forbidden to go to Egypt. But Joseph might write, she said, to +some of his friends in Egypt, and they could send a friend, if they +wished it, who would meet Jesus at Jericho; and this plan was in dispute +till all interest in Egypt faded from their minds, and they began to +talk of other countries and cities; of Athens and Corinth we were +talking, Joseph said to Esora, who had come into the room, and of India, +of Judea. But if Jesus were to go to India we should never see him +again, she answered. It is thy good pleasure, Master, to arrange the +journey, and when it is arranged to thy satisfaction thou'lt tell me, +though I do not know why thou shouldst consult me again. I came to tell +thee that one of thy camel-drivers has come with the news that the +departure of the caravan for Egypt has been advanced by two days. But if +thou'rt thinking of Egypt no longer I may send him away. Tell him to +return to the counting-house, and that there is no order for to-day, +Joseph replied. You will settle the journey between you, Esora said, +turning back on her way to the kitchen to speak once more. She would +have me go, Jesus said. Put that thought out of thy mind, Joseph replied +quickly, for it is not a true thought. Thou shouldst have guessed +better; it is well that thou goest, but we must find the country and the +city that is agreeable to thee, and that will be discovered in our talk +in the next few days, to which Jesus answered nothing; and at the end of +the next few days, though much had been said, it seemed to Joseph that +Jesus' departure was as far away as ever. It has become, he said to +Esora, a little dim. I know nothing, he continued, of Jesus' mind. + +On these words he went to his counting-house distracted and sad, +expecting to hear from his clerk that the story of Jesus' resurrection +was beginning to be forgotten in Jerusalem, but the clerk knew nothing +more, and was eager to speak on another matter. Pilate had sent +soldiers to prevent a multitude from assembling at the holy mountain, +Gerezim, for the purpose of searching for some sacred vessels hidden +there by Moses, so it was said. Many had been slain in the riot, and the +Samaritans had made representations to Vitellius, artfully worded, the +clerk said, and dangerous to Pilate, for Vitellius had a friend whom he +would like to put in Pilate's place. Joseph sat thinking that it was not +at all unlikely he was about to lose his friend and protector, and the +clerk, seeing his master troubled, dropped in the words: nothing has +been settled yet. Joseph gave no heed, and a few days afterwards a +messenger came from the Praetorium to tell Joseph that Pilate wished to +see him. We shall not meet again, Joseph, unless you come to Rome, and +you must come quickly to see me there, for my health is declining. We +have been friends, such friends as may rarely consist with Roman and +Hebrew, he said, and the words stirred up a great grief in Joseph's +heart, and when he returned that evening to his house he was overcome by +the evil tidings, but he did not convey them to Esora that evening, nor +the next day, nor the day afterwards, and they becoming such a great +torment in his heart he did not care to go to his counting-house, but +remained waiting in his own rooms, or walking in the garden, startled by +every noise and by every shadow. + +Day passed over day, and it was one of the providers that came to the +gates that brought the news of Pilate's departure to Esora, and when she +had gotten it she came to Joseph, saying: so your friend Pilate has been +ordered to Rome? He has, indeed, Joseph answered, overcome by the +intrigues of the Samaritans, who sought to assemble together, not so +much to discover sacred vessels as to bring about a change of +government. We are beset with danger, Esora, for it has come to my mind +that the stories about the resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth may be +kindled again, and it will not be difficult to incite the priests +against me; everybody is saying that I was the last man to see Jesus, +and must know where his body is hidden; that is enough for the priests, +and they will send up a band of Zealots to seek him in this garden. +There is no place here where we can hide him from them. That is why I +haven't been to my counting-house for three days, fearing to leave thee +and Matred alone with him, for they would surely choose the time when I +was away in Jerusalem to plunder my house. As he was saying these things +Matred came into the room with some wood for the fire, but before +throwing the logs on the hearth that Jesus carried up she looked at +them, and it seemed to Joseph her eyes were full of suspicion, and as +soon as she left the room he said: now why did she bring the logs into +the room while we were talking of Jesus, and why did she mention that he +carried them up this afternoon, having felled a dead tree this morning? + +Esora tried to persuade him that his fears were imaginary, but she too +feared that Matred might begin to suspect that Jesus was no ordinary +gardener; she had said, ye speak strangely in Galilee, and to kindle the +story again it would only be necessary for somebody to come up to the +gates and ask her if one, Jesus, a Galilean, was known to her, one that +Pilate condemned to the cross. Her answer would be: there is one here +called Jesus, he is a Galilean, and may have been on the cross for aught +I know. And such answer would be carried back to the priests, who would +order their hirelings to make a search for Jesus, and the master and +servant often sat of an evening listening to the wind in the chimney, +thinking it was warning them of the raid of the Jews. If a tree fell it +was an omen, and they related their dreams to each other in the alleys +of the gardens, till it occurred to them that to be seen in long +converse together would awaken Matred's suspicion. The shutters were put +up and they sat in the dark afraid to speak lest the walls had ears. + +Esora, who was the braver of the two, often said, Master, strive to +quell thy fears, for the new procurator has given pause to the story of +the resurrection. We have heard little of it lately, and Jesus is +beginning to be forgotten. Not so, Esora, for to-day I heard--and Joseph +began a long relation which ended always with the phrase: we are beset +with danger. We have been saying that now for a long while, Esora +answered, yet nothing has befallen us yet, and what cannot be cured must +be endured. We must bear with him. If, Esora, I could bring myself to +break all promises to my father and go away with him to Egypt this +misery would be ended. Master, thou canst not do this thing; thou hast +been thinking of it all the winter, and were it possible it would be +accomplished already. If it hadn't been for that dream--and Joseph began +to relate again the dream related many times before. Forget thy dream, +Master, Esora said to him, for it will not help us; as I have said, what +cannot be cured must be endured. We must put our trust in time, which +brings many changes; and in the spring something will befall; he'll be +taken from us. The spring, Esora? And in safety? Tell me, and in safety? +Nay, Master, I cannot tell thee more than I have said; something will +befall, but what that thing may be I cannot say. Will it be in the +winter or in the spring? It will be in February or March, she said. It +was, however, before then, in January (the winter being a mild one, the +birds were already singing in the shaws), that a camel-driver came to +the house on the hillside to tell Joseph that a camel had been stolen +from them on their way from Jericho to Jerusalem during the night or in +the early morning, and with many words and movements of the hands, that +irritated Joseph, he sought to describe the valley where they pitched +their tent. Get on with thy story, Joseph said; and the man told that +they had succeeded in tracking the band, a small one, to a cave, out of +which, he said, it will be easy to smoke them if Fadus, the procurator, +will send soldiers at once, for they may go on to another cave, not +deeming it safe to remain long in the same one. Didst beg the camel +back from the robbers? Joseph asked, for he was not thinking of the +robbery, but of his meeting with Fadus. No, Master, there was no use +doing that. They would have taken our lives. But we followed them, +spying them from behind rocks all the way, and the cave having but one +entrance they can be smoked to death with a few trusses of damp straw. +But care must be taken lest our camel perish with them. If we could get +them to give up the camel first, I'm thinking-- + +It was a serious matter to hear that robbers had again established +themselves in the hills; and while Joseph pondered the disagreeable +tidings a vagrant breeze carried the scent of the camel-driver's +sheepskin straight into Jesus' nostrils as he came up the path with a +bundle of faggots on his shoulders. He stopped at first perplexed by the +smell and then, recognising it, he hurried forward, till he stood before +the spare frame and withered brown face of the desert wanderer. + +Joseph looked on puzzled, for Jesus stood like one in ecstatic vision +and began to put questions to the camel-driver regarding the quality of +the sheep the shepherds led, asking if the rams speeded, if there were +many barren ewes in the flock, and if there was as much scab about as +formerly, questions that one shepherd might put to another, but which +seemed strangely out of keeping with a gardener's interests. + +The camel-driver answered Jesus' question as well as he was able, and +then, guessing a former shepherd in the gardener, he asked if Jesus had +ever led a flock. Joseph tried to interrupt, but the interruption came +too late; Jesus blurted out that for many years he was a shepherd. And +who was thy master? the camel-driver asked; Jesus answered that he was +in those days an Essene living in the great settlement on the eastern +bank of Jordan. Whereupon the camel-driver began to relate that Brother +Amos was not doing well with the sheep and that some of the brethren +were gone to the Brook Kerith and had taken possession of a cave in the +rocks above it. The camel-driver was about to begin to make plain this +Amos' misunderstanding of sheep, but Jesus interrupted him. Who may +their president be? he asked; and with head bent, scratching his poll, +the camel-driver said at last that he thought it was Hazael. Hazael! +Jesus answered, and forthwith his interest in the camel-driver began to +slacken. The anemone is on the hills to-day, he said, and Joseph looked +at him reproachfully; his eyes seemed to say: hast forgotten so easily +the danger we passed through by keeping thee here, counting it as +nothing, so great was our love of thee?--and Jesus answering that look +replied: but, Joseph, how often didst thou speak to me of Caesarea, +Alexandria, Athens, and other cities. Esora, too, was anxious that I +should leave Judea ... for my sake as well as yours. India was spoken +of, but the Brook Kerith is not twenty odd miles from here and I shall +be safe among the brethren. Why this silence, Joseph? and whence comes +this change of mood? Jesus asked, and Joseph began to speak of the +parting that awaited them. But there'll be no parting, Jesus interposed. +Thou'lt ride thy ass out to meet me, and we shall learn to know each +other, for thou knowest nothing of me yet, Joseph. Thou'lt bring a loaf +of bread and a flagon of wine in thy wallet, and we shall share it +together. I shall wait for thy coming on the hillside. Even so, Jesus, I +am sad that our life here among the trees in this garden should have +come to an end. We were frightened many times, but what we suffered is +now forgotten. The pleasure of having thee with us alone is remembered. +But it is true we have been estranged here. May we start to-night? Jesus +asked, and Joseph said: if a man be minded to leave, it is better that +he should leave at once. + + + + +CHAP. XXIII. + + +An hour later, about two hours before midnight, they were riding into +the desert, lighted by a late moon and incommoded by two puppies that +Jesus could not be dissuaded from bringing with him: for if Brother Amos +give up his flock to me, he argued, I shall need dogs. But Brother Amos +will give thee his dogs, Joseph said. A shepherd, Jesus answered, cannot +work with any dogs but his own. But what has become of the dogs that +were left behind? Joseph asked, and not being able to tell him, Jesus +fell to wondering how it was he had forgotten his dogs. At that moment +one of the puppies cried to be let down: see how well he follows, Jesus +said, but hardly were the words past his lips than the puppy turned +tail, and Jesus had to chase him very nearly back to Bethany before he +allowed himself to be overtaken and picked up again. The way is long, +Joseph cried, more than seven hours to the city of Jericho, and if these +chases happen again we shall be overtaken by the daylight. One of my +caravans starts from Jericho at dawn; and if we meet it I shall have my +camel-drivers round me asking pertinent questions and may be compelled +to return with them to Jericho. Come, Jesus, thine ass seems willing to +amble down this long incline; and dropping the reins over the animal's +withers, and leaning back, holding a puppy under each arm, Jesus allowed +the large brown ass he was riding to trot; it was not long before he +left far behind the heavy weighted white ass, which carried Joseph. + +Now seeing the distance lengthening out between them Joseph was tempted +to cry to Jesus to stop, but dared not, lest he might awaken robbers +(their strongholds having lately been raided by soldiers), and he had in +mind the fugitives that might be lurking in the hills, so instead of +crying to Jesus to hold hard, he urged his ass forward. But the best +speed he could make was not sufficient to overtake the nimbly trotting +brown ass, and the pursuit might have been continued into Jericho if +Jesus had not been suddenly behoven by the silence to stop and wait for +Joseph to overtake him, which he did in about ten minutes, whispering: +ride not so fast, robbers may be watching for travellers. Not at this +hour, Jesus replied; and he prepared to ride on. This time one of the +puppies succeeded in getting away and might have run back again to +Bethany had not Joseph leapt from his ass and driven him back to Jesus +with loud cries that the ravines repeated again and again. If there were +robbers asleep, thy cries would awaken them. True, true, Joseph replied; +I forgot; and he vowed he would not utter another word till they passed +a certain part of the road, advantageous, he said, to robbers. No +better spot between Jerusalem and Jericho for murder and robbery, he +continued: cast thine eyes down into the ravine into which he could +throw us. But if a robber should fall upon me do not stay to defend me; +ride swiftly to the inn for help, and, despite the danger, Joseph rode +in front of Jesus, sustained by the hope that the good fortune that +attended him so far would attend him to the end. And they rode on +through the grey moonlight till a wolf howled in the distance. Joseph +bent over and whispered in Jesus' ear: hold thy puppies close to thy +bosom, Jesus, for if one be dropped and start running back to Bethany he +will be overtaken easily by that wolf and thou'lt never hear of him +again. Jesus held the puppies tighter, but there was no need to do so, +for they seemed to know that the howl was not of their kin. The wolf +howled again, and was answered by another wolf. The twain have missed +our trail, Joseph said, and had there been more we might have had to +abandon our asses. If we hasten we shall reach the inn without +molestation from robbers or wolves. How far are we from the inn, Jesus? +About two hours, Jesus answered, and Joseph fell to gazing on the hills, +trying to remember them, but unable to do so, so transformed were they +in the haze of the moonlight beyond their natural seeming. They +attracted him strangely, the hills, dim, shadowy, phantasmal, rising out +of their loneliness towards the bright sky, a white cliff showing +sometimes through the greyness; the shadow of a rock falling sometimes +across a track faintly seen winding round the hills, every hill being, +as it were, a stage in the ascent. + +As the hills fell back behind the wayfarers the inn began to take shape +in the pearl-coloured haze, and the day Joseph rested for the first time +in this inn rose up in his memory with the long-forgotten wanderers whom +he had succoured on the occasion: the wizened woman in her black rags +and the wizened child in hers. They came up from the great desert and +for the last fifteen days had only a little camel's milk, so they had +said, and like rats they huddled together to eat the figs he +distributed. + +He had seen the inn many times since then and the thought came into his +mind that he would never see it again. But men are always haunted by +thoughts of an impending fate, he said to himself, which never befalls. +But it has befallen mine ass to tire under my weight, he cried. He must +be very tired, Jesus answered, for mine is tired, and I've not much more +than half thy weight; and the puppies are tired, tired of running +alongside of the asses, and tired of being carried, and ourselves are +tired and thirsty; shall we knock at the door and cry to the innkeeper +that he rouse out of his bed and give us milk for the puppies if he have +any? I wouldn't have him know that I journeyed hither with thee, Joseph +replied, for stories are soon set rolling. Esora has put a bottle of +water into the wallet; the puppies will have to lap a little. We can +spare them a little though we are thirstier than they. She had put bread +and figs into the wallet, so they were not as badly off as they thought +for; and eating and drinking and talking to the puppies and feeding them +the while, the twain stood looking through the blue, limpid, Syrian +night. + +At the end of a long silence Jesus said: the dawn begins; look, Joseph, +the stars are not shining as brightly over the Jericho hills as they +were. But Joseph could not see that the stars were dimmer. Are they not +with-drawing? Jesus asked, and then, forgetful of the stars, his +thoughts went to the puppies: see how they crouch and tremble under the +wall of the garth, he said. There must be a wolf about, he said, and +after he had thrown a stone to hasten the animal's departure he began to +talk to the puppies, telling them they need have no fear of wolves, for +when they were full-grown and were taught by him they would not hold on +but snap and snap again. That is how the Thracian dogs fight, like the +wolves, he said, turning to Joseph. He is thinking, Joseph said to +himself, of sheep and dogs and being a shepherd again. But of-what art +thou thinking, Joseph?--of that strip of green sky which is the dawn? I +can see, now, that thy shepherd eyes did not deceive thee, Joseph +answered. The day begins again; and how wonderful is the return of the +day, hill after hill rising out of the shadow. An old land, he said, +like the end of the world. Why like the end of the world? Jesus asked. +Joseph had spoken casually; he regretted the remark, and while he sought +for words that would explain it away a train of camels came through the +dusk rocking up the hillside, swinging long necks, one bearing on its +back what looked like a gigantic bird. A strange burden, Joseph said, +and what it may be I cannot say, but the camels are my camels, and thou +art safe out of sight under the wall of this garth. + +A moment after the word that the master had bidden a halt was passed up +the line, and one of the camel-drivers said: she stopped half-an-hour +ago to drop her young one, and we put him on the dam's back, and she +doesn't feel his weight. We shall rest for an hour between this and +Jerusalem, and when we lift him down he'll find the dug. But I've a +letter for you, Master, from Gaddi, who wishes to see you. I thought to +deliver it in Jerusalem. It was fortunate to meet you here. Gaddi will +see you half-a-day sooner than he hoped for. I shall get to him by +midday, Joseph said, raising his eyes from the letter. By midday, +Master? Why, in early morning I should have thought for, unless, indeed, +you bide here till the innkeeper opens his doors. I have business, +Joseph answered, with the Essenes that have settled in a cave above the +Brook Kerith. About whom, the camel-driver interjected, there be much +talk going in Jericho. They've disputed among themselves, some remaining +where they always were on the eastern bank of the Jordan, but ten or a +dozen going to the Brook Kerith, with Hazael for their president. And +for what reason? Joseph inquired. I have told you, Master, all I know, +and since you be going to the Brook Kerith the brethren themselves will +give reasons better than I can, even if I had heard what their reasons +be for differing among themselves. Whereupon Joseph bade his caravan +proceed onward to Jerusalem. + +We shall be surprised here by the daylight if we delay any longer, he +said, returning to Jesus, and, mounting their asses, they rode down the +hillside into a long, shallow valley out of which the track rose upwards +and upwards penetrating into the hills above Jericho. + + + + +CHAP. XXIV. + + +Now it is here we leave the track, Jesus said, and he turned his ass +into a little path leading down a steeply shelving hillside. We shall +find the brethren coming back from the hills, if they aren't back +already. It is daylight on the hills though it is night still in this +valley; and looking up they saw a greenish moon in the middle of a +mottled sky of pink and grey. Over the face of the moon wisps of vapour +curled and went out: and the asses, Joseph said, are loath to descend +the hillside for fear of this strange moon, or it may be they are +frightened by the babble of this brook; it seems to rise out of the very +centre of the earth. How deep is the gorge? Very deep, Jesus answered; +many hundred feet. But the asses don't fear precipices, and if ours are +unwilling to descend the hillside it is because the paths do not seem +likely to lead to a stable; so would I account for their obstinacy. I'll +not ride down so steep a descent, and Joseph slipped from his ass's +back; and, rid of his load, the ass tried to escape, but Jesus managed +to turn him back to Joseph, who seized the bridle. Dismount, Jesus, he +cried, for the path is narrow, and to please him Jesus dismounted, and, +driving their animals in front of them, they ventured on to a sort of +ledge. + +It passed under rocks and between rocks to the very brink of the +precipice as it descended towards the bridge that spanned the brook some +hundreds of feet lower down. Already our asses scent a stable, Jesus +said; he called after them to stop, and the obedient animals stopped and +began to seek among the stones for a tuft of grass or a bramble. I see +no place here for a hermitage, Joseph said, only roosts for choughs and +crows. There have been hermits here always, Jesus answered. We shall +pass the ruins of ancient hermitages farther down on this side above the +bridge. The bridge was built by hermits who came from India, Jesus said. +And was destroyed, Joseph interjected, by the Romans, so that they might +capture the robbers that infested the caves. But the Essenes must have +repaired the bridge lately, Jesus replied, and he asked Joseph how long +the Essenes had been at the Brook Kerith. My camel-driver did not say, +Joseph answered, and Jesus pointed to the ledge that the Essenes must +have chosen for a dwelling: it cannot be else, he said; there is no +other ledge large enough to build upon in the ravine; and behind the +ledge thou seest up yonder is the large cave whither the ravens came to +feed Elijah. If the brethren are anywhere they are on that ledge, in +that cave, and he asked Joseph if his eyes could not follow the building +of a balcony: thine eyes cannot fail to see it, for it is plain to mine. +Joseph said he thought he could discern the balcony. But how do we reach +it? We aren't angels, he said. We shall ascend, Jesus answered, by a +path going back and forth, through many terraces. Lead on, Joseph +answered. But stay, let us admire the bridge they have built and the +pepper-trees that border it. I am glad the Romans spared the trees, for +men that live in this solitude deserve the beauty of these pepper-trees. +Jesus said: yonder is the path leading to the source of the brook; +fledged at this season with green reeds and rushes. They have built a +mill I see! turned by the brook and fed, no doubt, by the wheat thy +camels bring from Moab. But the Essenes seem late at work this morning. + +As he spoke these words an old man appeared on the balcony, and Joseph +said: that must be Hazael, but his beard has gone very white. It is +Hazael, our president, Jesus answered. Let us go to him at once, and +still driving the asses in front of them and carrying the puppies in +their arms they worked their way up through the many terraces; not one +is more than three feet wide, yet in every one are fig-trees, Jesus +remarked, and there seem to be vines everywhere, for though the Essenes +drink no wine, they sell their grapes to be eaten or to be turned into +wine, Joseph. Our rule is not to kill, but we sell our sheep, and alas! +some go to the Temple and are offered in sacrifice. I used to weep for +my sheep, he muttered, but in this world---- + +The steep ascent checked further speech, and they walked to the east and +then to the west, back and forth, fifty little journeys taking them up +to the cenoby. The great door was opened to them at once, and Hazael +came forward to meet them, giving his left hand to Joseph and his right +to Jesus, whom he drew to his bosom. So, my dear Jesus, thou hast come +back to us, Hazael said, and he looked into Jesus' face inquiringly, +learning from it that it would not be well to ask Jesus for the story of +what had befallen him during the last three years; and Joseph gave +thanks that Hazael was possessed of a mind that saw into recesses and +appreciated fine shades. + +We are glad to have thee back again, Jesus; and thou hast come to stay, +and perhaps to take charge of our flock again, which needs thy guidance. +How so? Jesus asked. Hasn't the flock prospered under Brother Amos? Ah! +that is a long story, Hazael answered. We'll tell it thee when the time +comes. But thou hast brought dogs with thee, and of the breed that our +shepherds are always seeking. + +It was thus that Jesus and Hazael began to talk to each other, leaving +Joseph to admire the vaulting of the long dwelling, and to wander out +through the embrasure on to the balcony, from whence he could see the +Essenes going to their work along the terraces. Among the ruins of the +hermitage on the opposite side above the bridge, a brother fondled a pet +lamb while he read. He is one, Joseph said to himself, that has found +the society of this cenoby too numerous for him, so he retired to a +ruin, hoping to draw himself nearer to God. But even he must have a +living thing by him; and then, his thoughts changing, he fell to +thinking of the day when he would ride out to meet Jesus among the +hills. His happiness was so intense in the prospect that he delighted in +all he saw and heard: in the flight of doves that had just left their +cotes and were flying now across the gorge, and in the soothing chant of +the water rising out of the dusk. + +Jesus had told him that the gorge was never without water. The spring +that fed it rose out of the earth as by enchantment. Hazael's voice +interrupted his reveries: would you like, Sir, to visit our house? he +asked, and he threw open the door and showed a great room, common to +all. On either side of it, he said, are cells, six on one side, four on +the other, and into these cells the brethren retire after breaking +bread, and it is in this domed gallery we sit at food. But Jesus has +spoken to thee of these things, for though we do not speak to strangers +of our rule of life, Jesus would not have transgressed in speaking of it +to thee. Joseph asked for news of Banu, and was sorry to hear that he +had been killed and partially eaten by a lion. + +The tidings seemed to affect Jesus strangely; he covered his face with +his hands, and Hazael repented having spoken of Banu, guessing that the +hermit's death carried Jesus' thoughts into a past time that he would +shut out for ever from his mind. He atoned, however, for his mistake by +an easy transition which carried their discourse into an explanation of +the dissidence that had arisen among the brethren, and which, he said, +compelled us to come hither. The Essenes are celibates, and it used to +be my duty to go in search of young men whom I might judge to be well +disposed towards God, and to bring them hither with me so that they +might see what our life is, and, discovering themselves to be true +servants of the Lord, adopt a life as delightful and easy to those who +love God truly as it is hard to them whose thoughts are set on the world +and its pleasures. I have travelled through Palestine often in search of +such young men, and many who came with me are still with me. It was in +Nazareth that we met, he said, and he stretched his hand to Jesus. Dost +remember? And without more he pursued his story. + +The brother, however, who succeeded me as missionary brought back only +young men who, after a few months trial, fell away. It would be unjust +for me to say that the fault was with the missionary: times are not as +they used to be; the spirit of the Lord is not so rife nor so ardent now +as it was once, and the dwindling of our order was the reason given for +the proposal that some of us should take wives. The argument put forward +was that the children born of these marriages would be more likely than +other children to understand our oaths of renunciation of the world and +its illusions. It was pleaded, and I doubt not in good faith, that it +were better the Essenes should exist under a modified and more worldly +rule than not to exist at all; and while unable to accept this view we +have never ceased to admire the great sacrifice that our erstwhile +brethren have made for the sake of our order. That the large majority +was moved by such an exalted motive cannot be doubted; but temptations +are always about; everyone is the Adam of his own soul, and there may +have been a few that desired the change for less worthy motives. There +was a brother---- + +At that moment an accidental tread sent one of the puppies howling down +the dwelling, and Hazael, fearing that he might fall into the well and +drown there, sent Jesus to call him back. The puppy, however, managed to +escape the well in time, and the pain in his tail ceasing suddenly he +ran, followed by his brother, out of the cenoby on to the rocks. I must +go after them, for they will roll down the rocks if left to themselves, +Jesus cried. A matter of little moment, Hazael replied, compared with +the greater calamity of drowning himself in the well, for it is of +extraordinary depth and represents the labour of years. Wonderful are +the works of man, he added. But greater are the works of God, Joseph +replied. You did well to correct me, Hazael answered, for one never +should forget that God is over all things, and the only real +significance man has, is his knowledge of God. But we were speaking of +the exodus of a few monks from the great cenoby on the eastern side of +Jordan. + +We came hither for the reason that I have told. We left protesting that +even if it were as our brethren said, and that the children of Essenes +would be more likely than the children of Pharisees and Sadducees to +choose to worship God according to the spirit rather than to wear their +lives away in pursuit of vain conformity to the law--even if this were +so, we said, man can only love God on condition that he put women aside, +for woman represents the five senses: pleasure of the eyes, of the ears, +of the mouth, of the finger-tips, of the nostrils: we did not fail to +point out that though our brethren might go in and unto them for worthy +motives, yet in so doing they would experience pleasure, and sexual +pleasure leads to the pleasure of wine and food. One of the brethren +said this might not be so if elderly women were chosen, and at first it +seemed as if a compromise were possible. But a moment after, a brother +reminded us that elderly women were not fruitful. To which I added +myself another argument, that a different diet from ours is necessary to +those who take wives unto themselves. Thou understandest me, Joseph? +Women have never been a temptation to me, Joseph answered, nor to Jesus, +and in meditative mood he related the story of the wild man in the +woods, at the entrance of whose cave Jesus had laid a knife so that he +might cut himself free of temptation. + +At this Hazael was much moved, and they talked of Jesus, Joseph saying +that he had suffered cruelly for teaching that the Kingdom of God is in +our own hearts; for to teach that religion is no more than a personal +aspiration is to attack the law, which, though given to us by Moses, +existed beforetimes in heaven, always observed by the angels, and to be +observed by them for time everlasting. Jesus, then, set himself against +the Temple? Hazael said slowly, looking into Joseph's eyes. In a +measure, Joseph answered, but it was the priests who exasperated the +people against him, and what I have come here for, beyond his +companionship on the journey is to beg of you to put no questions to +him. A day may come when he will tell his story if he remain with thee. +Here he is safe, Hazael said, and I pray God that he may remain with us. +But where is Jesus? Hazael asked, and they sought him in the terraces, +where the monks were at work among the vines. See our fig-trees already +in leaf. Without our figs we should hardly be able to live here, and it +is thy transport that enables us to sell our grapes and our figs and the +wine that we make, for we make wine, though there are some who think it +would be better if we made none. + +It was thou that urged Pilate to free these hills from robbers, and +hadst thou not done so we shouldn't have been able to live here. But I'm +thinking of so many things that I have lost thought of him whom we seek. +He cannot have passed this way, unless, indeed, he descended the terrace +towards the bridge, and he could hardly have done that. He has gone up +the hills, and they will help to put the past out of his mind. And, +talking of Jesus' early life in the cenoby, and of his knowledge of +flocks and suchlike, Hazael led Joseph through the long house and up +some steps on to a rubble path. The mountain seems to be crumbling, +Joseph said, and looked askance at the quiet room built on the very +verge of the abyss. Where thou'lt sleep when thou honourest us with a +visit, Hazael said, which will be soon, we trust, he continued; for we +owe a great deal to thee, as I have already explained, and now thou +com'st with a last gift--our shepherd. + +On these words they passed under an overhanging rock which Joseph said +would fall one day. One day, replied the Essene, all the world will +fall, and I wish we were as safe from men as we are from this rock. Part +of the bridge over the brook is of wood and it can be raised. But the +ledge on which we live can be reached only from the hills by this path, +and it would be possible to raid us from this side. Thou seest here a +wall, a poor one, it is true; but next year we hope to build a much +stronger wall, some twenty feet high and several feet in thickness, and +then we shall be secure against the robbers if they would return to +their caves. We have little or nothing to steal, but wicked men take +pleasure in despoiling even when there is nothing to gain: our content +would fill them with displeasure, he said, as he sought the key. + +But on trying the door it was found to be unlocked, and Joseph said: it +will be no use building a wall twenty feet high to secure yourself from +robbers if you leave the door unlocked. It was Jesus that left the door +unlocked, Hazael answered, he must have passed this way, we shall find +him on the hillside; and Joseph stood amazed at the uprolling hills and +their quick descents into stony valleys. Beyond that barren hill there +is some pasturage, Hazael said; and in search of Jesus they climbed +summit after summit, hoping always to catch sight of him playing with +his dogs in the shadow of some rocks, but he was nowhere to be seen, and +Hazael could not think else than that he had fallen in with Amos and +yielded to the beguilement of the hills, for he has known them, Hazael +continued, since I brought him here from Nazareth, a lad of fifteen or +sixteen years, not more. We shall do better to return and wait for him. +He will remember us presently. To which Joseph answered, that since he +was so near Jericho he would like to go thither; a great pile of +business awaited his attention there, and he begged Hazael to tell Jesus +that he would return to bid him good-bye on his way back to Jerusalem +that evening, if it were possible to do so. + + + + +CHAP. XXV. + + +It was as Hazael had guessed: the puppies had scampered up the loose +pathway leading to the hills; Jesus had let them through the door, and +had followed them up the hills, saying to himself: they have got the +scent of sheep. + +The stubborn, unruly ground lay before him just as he remembered it, +falling into hollows but rising upwards always, with still a little +grass between the stones, but not enough to feed a flock, he remarked, +as he wandered on, watching the sunrise unfolding, and thinking that +Amos should be down by the Jordan, and would be there, he said to +himself, no doubt, were it not for the wild beasts that have their lairs +in the thickets. Whosoever redeems the shepherd from the danger of +lions, he added, as he climbed up the last ascents, will be the great +benefactor. But the wolves perhaps kill more sheep than lions, being +more numerous. It was at this moment that Brother Amos came into sight, +and he walked so deep in meditation that he might have passed Jesus +without seeing him if Jesus had not called aloud. + +Why, Jesus, it is thou, as I'm alive, come back to us at last. Well, +we've been expecting thee this long while. And thou hast not come back +too soon, as my poor flock testifies. I'm ashamed of them; but thou'lt +not speak too harshly of my flock to Hazael, who thinks if he complains +enough he'll work me up into a good shepherd despite my natural turn for +an indoor life. But I'd not have thee think that the flock perished +through my fault, and see in them a lazy shepherd lying always at length +on the hillside. I walk with them in search of pasture from daylight +till dark, wearing my feet away, but to no purpose, as any man can see +though he never laid eyes on a sheep before. But it was thou, Brother, +that recommended me for a shepherd, and I can think of naught but my +love of wandering with thee on the hills, and listening to thee prating +of rams and ewes, that put it into my head that I was a shepherd by +nature and thy successor. + +Thou wast brought up to the flock from thy boyhood, and a ram's head has +more interest for thee than a verse of Scripture; thy steady, easy gait +was always the finest known on these hills for leading a flock; but my +feet pain me after a dozen miles, and a shepherd with corny feet is like +a bird with a torn wing. Thou understandest the hardship of a shepherd, +and that one isn't a shepherd for willing it; and I rely on thee, +Brother, to take my part and to speak up for me when Hazael puts +questions to thee. So thou wouldst be freed from the care of the flock? +Jesus said. My only wish, he answered. But thou'lt make it clear to +Hazael that it was for lack of a good ram the flock fell away. I gave +thee over a young ram with the flock, one of the finest on these hills, +Jesus said. Thou didst; and he seemed like coming into such a fine +beast, Amos answered, that we hadn't the heart to turn him among the +ewes the first year but bred from the old fellow. An old ram is a waste, +Jesus replied, and he would have said more if Amos had not begun to +relate the death of the fine young beast that Jesus had bred for the +continuance of the flock. We owe the loss of him, he said, to a ewe that +no shepherd would look twice at, one of the ugliest in the flock, she +seemed to me to be and to everybody that laid his eyes on her, and she +ought to have been put out of the flock, but though uninviting to our +eyes she was longed for by another ram, and so ardently that he could +not abide his own ewes and became as a wild sheep on the hills, always +on the prowl about my flock, seeking his favourite, and she casting her +head back at him nothing loath. + +It would have been better if I had turned the evil ewe out of the flock, +making him a present of her, but I kept on foiling him; and my own ram, +taking rage against this wild one, challenged him, and one day, seeing +me asleep on the hillside, the wild ram came down and with a great bleat +summoned mine to battle. It seemed to me that heaven was raining +thunderbolts, so loud was the noise of their charging; and looking out +of my dreams I saw the two rams backing away from each other, making +ready for another onset. My ram's skull was the softer, he being a +youngling, it had been already shaken in several charges, and it was +broken in this last one, a terrible one it was, I can still hear them, +they are still at it in my mind--the ewes of both flocks gathered on +different sides, spectators. + +But where were thy dogs all this while? Jesus inquired. My dogs! If I'd +had a Thracian he never would have suffered that the sheep killed each +other. A Thracian would have awakened me. My dogs are of the soft Syrian +breed given to growling and no more. The wild ram might have become tame +again, and would doubtless have stayed with me as long as I had the ewe; +but he might have refused to serve any but she. No man can say how it +would have ended if I had not killed him in my anger. So thou wast left, +Jesus remarked, without a serviceable ram. With naught, Amos sighed, but +the old one, and he was that weary of jumping that he began to think +more of his fodder than ewes. Without money one can't get a well-bred +ram, as I often said to Hazael, but he answered me always that he had no +money to give me, and that I must do as well as I could with the ram I +had.... He is gone now, but before he died he ruined my flock. + +It is true that the shepherd's labour is wasted without a good ram, +Jesus repeated. Thou speakest but the truth, Amos replied; and knowing +the truth, forget not to speak well of me to Hazael, as a shepherd, +finding reason that will satisfy him for the dwindling of the flock that +henceforth will be in thy charge. Jesus said that he was willing to +resume his charge, but did not know if Hazael and the brethren would +receive him back into the order after his long absence. Amos seemed to +think that of that there could be no doubt. All will be glad to have +thee back ... thou'rt too useful for them to slight thee, he cried back, +and Jesus returned to the cenoby dreaming of some grand strain that +would restore the supremacy of the flock. + +As he passed down the gallery Hazael, who was sitting on the balcony, +cried to him; Joseph, he said, waited an hour and has gone; he had +business to transact in Jericho. But, Jesus, what ails thee? It seems +strange, Jesus answered, he should have gone away like this. But have I +not told thee, Jesus, that he will return this evening to wish thee +good-bye. But he may not be able to return this evening, Jesus replied. +That is so, Hazael rejoined. He said that he might have to return to +Jerusalem at once, but he will not fail to ride out to meet thee in a +few days. But he will not find me on the hills, no tryst has been made, +Jesus said, as he turned away; and guessing his intention to be to leave +at once for Jericho, Hazael spoke of Joseph's business in Jericho, and +how displeased he might be to meet Jesus in the middle of his business +and amongst strangers. The Essenes are not well looked upon in +Jerusalem, he said. We do not send fat rams to the Temple. Fat rams, +Jesus repeated. Amos has been telling me that what lacks is a ram, and +the community had not enough money to buy one. That is true, Hazael +said. Rams are hard to get even for a great deal of money. Joseph might +lend us the money, he is rich. He will do that, Jesus answered, and be +glad to do it. But a ram must be found, and if thou'lt give me all the +money thou hast I will go in search of one. Joseph will remit to thee +the money I have taken from thee when he returns. It will be a surprise +for him to find in the flock a great fine ram of the breed that I +remember to have seen on the western hills. I'll start at daybreak. Thou +shalt have our shekels, Hazael said; they are few, but the Lord be with +thee and his luck. + + + + +CHAP. XXVI. + + +His was the long, steady gait of the shepherd, and he had not proceeded +far into the hills before he was looking round acknowledging them, one +after the other; they were his friends, and his sheep's friends, having +given them pasturage for many a year; and the oak wood's shade had been +friendly beforetimes to himself and his sheep. And he was going to rest +in its shade once more. At noon he would be there, glad of some water; +for though the day was still young the sun was warm, the sky told him +that before noon his tongue would be cleaving to the sides of his mouth; +a fair prediction this was, for long before the oak wood came into sight +he had begun to think of the well at the end of the wood, and the +quality of the water he would find in it, remembering that it used to +hold good water, but the shepherds often forgot to replace the stopper +and the water got fouled. + +As he walked his comrades of old time kept rising up in his memory one +by one; their faces, even their hands and feet, and the stories they +told of their dogs, their fights with the wild beasts, and the losses +they suffered from wolves and lions in the jungles along the Jordan. In +old times these topics were the substance of his life, and he wished to +hear the shepherds' rough voices again, to look into their eyes, to talk +sheep with them, to plunge his hands once more into the greasy fleeces, +yes, and to vent his knowledge, so that if he should happen to come upon +new men they would see that he, Jesus, had been at the job before. + +Now the day seems like keeping up, he said; but there was a certain fear +in his heart that the valleys would be close and hot in the afternoon +and the hill-tops uninviting. But his humour was not for fault-finding; +and with the ram in view always--not a long-legged brute with a face +like a ewe upon him, but a broad, compact animal with a fine woolly +head--he stepped out gaily, climbing hill after hill, enjoying his walk +and interested in his remembrance of certain rams he had once seen near +Caesarea, and in his hope of possessing himself of one of these. With +money enough upon me to buy one, he kept saying to himself, I shouldn't +come back empty-handed. But, O Lord, the the day is hot, he cried at the +end of the fourth hour. But yonder is the oak wood; and he stopped to +think out the whereabouts of the well. A moment after he caught sight of +a shepherd: who is, no doubt, by the well, he said. He is, and trying to +lift out the stopper; and the shepherd, catching sight of Jesus, called +him to come to his help, saying that it would need their united strength +to get it out. We're moving it, the shepherd cried after a bit. We are, +Jesus replied. How is the water? Fair enough if thy thirst be fierce, +the shepherd replied. There is better about a mile from here, but I see +thou'rt thirsty. + +As soon as the men had quenched their thirst, the sheep came forward, +each waiting his turn, as is their wont; and when the flock was watered +it sought the shade of a great oak, and the twain, sitting under the +burgeoning branches, began to talk. It was agreed between them that it +would not do to advise anybody to choose shepherding as a trade at +present, for things seemed to be going more than ever against the +shepherd; the wild animals in the thickets along the Jordan had +increased, and the robbers, though many had been crucified, were +becoming numerous again; these did not hesitate to take a ewe or wether +away with them, paying little for it, or not paying at all. But art thou +a shepherd? Jesus answered that he had been a shepherd--an erstwhile +Essene, he said; one that has returned to the brethren. The Essenes are +good to the poor, the shepherd said, and glad to hear he was talking to +a mate, he continued his complaint, to which Jesus gave heed, knowing +well that it would not be long before they would be speaking of the +breed of sheep best suited to the hills; the which came to pass, for, +like Jesus, he lacked a good ram, and for the want of one, he said, his +flock had declined. The better the breed, he continued, the more often +it required renewing, and his master would not pay money for new blood, +so he was thinking of leaving him; and to justify his intention he +pointed out the ram to Jesus that was to serve the flock that autumn, +asking him how a shepherd could earn with such a one the few lambs that +he receives in payment if the flock increase under his care. He's four +years old if he's a day, Jesus muttered. He is that, the shepherd +answered; yet master told me yesterday he must serve another season, for +he won't put his hand in his pocket, rams being so dear; but nothing, +say I, is dearer than an old ram. I'm with thee in that, Jesus answered; +and my plight is the same as thine. I'm searching for a ram, and have a +friend who would pay a great sum of money for one if one of the style I +am looking for can be found. + +Well, luck will be with thee, but I know no ram on these hills that I'd +pay money for, the shepherd answered, none we see is better than yon +beast, and he is what thou seest him to be, a long-backed, long-legged, +ugly ram that would be pretty tough under the tooth, and whose fleece a +shepherd would find thin in winter-time. + +But there were once fine sheep on these hills, Jesus answered, and I +remember a ram---- Ay, mate, thou mayest well remember one, and I think +I know the shepherd that thou'rt thinking of, but he that owns the breed +will not sell a ram for the great sums of money that have been offered +to him, for his pride is to keep the breed to himself. We've tried to +buy, and been watching this long while for a lucky chance to drive one +away, for a man that has more than he needs and will not sell aught +thereof calls the thief down into his house, as it were, creating the +thief out of an honest man, for which he deserves to be punished. But +the rich are never punished and this man's shepherds are wary, and his +dogs are fierce, and none has succeeded yet in getting a sample of the +breed. + +But where may this man be found? Jesus asked, and the shepherd mentioned +a village high up on the mountains over against the sea. But go not +thither, for twenty miles is a long walk if the end of it be but jeers +and a scoffing. A scoffing! Jesus returned. Ay, and a fine one in thine +ears; and a fine thirst upon thee, the shepherd continued, and turning +to the oak-tree he began to cut branches to feed his goats. Twenty miles +uphill in front of me, Jesus meditated, with jeers and scoffings at the +end of the journey, of which I have had plenty; and he began to walk +quickly and to look round the hills in search of pasture for a flock, +for these hills were but faintly known to him. It isn't reasonable that +a man will not part with a ram for a great sum of money, he said, and +though he may not sell the lamb to his neighbours, whom he knows for +rascals, he may sell to the Essenes, whose report is good. And he +continued his way, stopping very often to think how he might find a +bypath that would save him a climb; for the foot-hills running down from +west to east, off the main range, formed a sort of gigantic ridge and +furrow broken here and there, and whenever he met a shepherd he asked +him to put him in the way of a bypath; and with a word of counsel from a +shepherd and some remembrance he discovered many passes; but despite +these easy ways the journey began to seem very long, so long that it +often seemed as if he would never arrive at the village he was seeking. +He told me I'd find it on the last ridge looking seaward. He said I +couldn't miss it; and shading his eyes with his hand, Jesus caught sight +of some roofs that he had not seen before. Maybe the roofs, he said, of +the village in which I shall find my ram, and maybe he who will sell me +the ram sits under that sycamore. If such be my fortune he will rise to +meet me, Jesus continued, and he strove against the faintness coming +over him. Is there a fountain? he asked. By that arch the fountain +flows, drink thy fill, wayfarer. His sight being darkened he could not +see the arch but stumbled against it and stood there, his face white and +drawn, his hand to his side, till, unable to bear up any longer, he +fell. + +Somebody came to him with water, and after drinking a little he revived, +and said he could walk alone, but as soon as they loosed him he fell +again, and when lifted from the ground a second time he asked for the +inn, saying he had come a long way. Whereupon a man said, thou shalt +rest in my house; I guess thee to be a shepherd, though thy garb isn't +altogether a shepherd's. But my house is open to him who needs food and +shelter. Lean on my arm. + +Let me untie thy sandals, were the next words Jesus heard, and when his +feet were bathed and he had partaken of food and drink and was rested, +the villager, whom Jesus guessed to be a shepherd, began to ask him +about the length of the journey from Jericho to Caesarea: we're three +hours from Caesarea, he said; thou must have been walking many hours. +Many hours indeed, Jesus answered. I've come from the Brook Kerith, +which is five miles from Jericho. From the Brook Kerith? the villager +repeated. A shepherd I guessed thee to be. And a fair guess, Jesus +answered. A shepherd I am and in search of a ram of good breeding, sent +on hither by a shepherd. He did but make sport of thee, the villager +answered, for it is I that own the breed that all men would have. So a +shepherd sent thee hither to buy a ram from me? No, Jesus replied, he +said thou wouldst not sell. Then he was an honester shepherd than I +thought for: he would have saved thee a vain journey, and it would have +been well hadst thou listened to his counsel, for I will not part with +the breed; and my hope is that my son will not be tempted to part with +the breed, for it is through our sheep that we have made our riches, +such small riches as we possess, he added, lest he should appear too +rich in the eyes of a stranger. If thou'lt not sell I must continue my +journey farther, Jesus answered. In quest of a ram? the shepherd said. +But thou'lt not find any but long-backed brutes tucked up in the belly +that offend the eye and are worse by far than a hole in the pocket. With +such rams the hills abound. But get thee the best, though the best may +be bad, for every man must work according to his tools. + +If thou asked me for anything but my breed of sheep I would have given +it, for thy face and thy speech please me, but as well ask me for my +wife or my daughter as for my rams. Be it so, Jesus answered, and he +rose to continue his way, but his host said that having taken meat and +drink in his house he must sleep in it too, and Jesus, being tired, +accepted the bed offered to him. He could not have fared farther; there +was no inn nor public guest-room, and in the morning his host might be +in the humour to part with a ram for a great sum of money. But the +morning found his host in the same humour regarding his breed of +sheep--determined to keep it; but in all other things willing to serve +his guest. Jesus bade him good-bye, sorry he could not persuade him but +liking him all the same. + +In two hours he was near the cultivated lands of Caesarea, and it seemed +to him that his best chance of getting news of a ram would be to turn +westward, and finding bed and board in every village, he travelled far +and wide in search of the fine rams that he had once caught sight of in +those parts. But the rams of yore seemed to have disappeared altogether +from the country: thou mayest journey to Caesarea and back again, but +thou'lt not find anything better than that I offer thee one man said to +Jesus, whereupon Jesus turned his back upon Caesarea and began the return +journey sad and humble, but with hope still a-flutter in his heart, for +he continued to inquire after rams all the way till he came one bright +morning to the village in which lived the owner of the great breed of +sheep that he coveted, honourably coveted, he muttered to himself, but +coveted heartily. + +The sun was well up at the time, and Jesus had come by the road leading +up from the coast. He had passed over the first ridge, and had begun to +think that he must be near the village in which the man lived who owned +the great breed of sheep when his thoughts were interrupted by a lamb +bleating piteously, and, looking round, he saw one running hither and +thither, seeking his dam. Now the lamb seeming to him a fine one, he was +moved to turn back to the village to tell the man he had lodged with +that a lamb of his breed had lost the ewe. Thou sayest well, the man +answered, and that lamb will seek vainly, for the ewe hurt her hoof, and +we kept her in the house so that she might be safer than with my +shepherd out on the hills, and the luck we have had is that a panther +broke into our garden last night. We thought he had killed the lamb as +well, but he only took the ewe, and the lamb thou bringest me tidings +of will be dead before evening. My thanks to thee, shepherd, for thy +pains. But, said Jesus, thou'lt sell me the lamb that runs bleating +after ewe, on the chance that I shall rear him? Whereat the villager +smiled and said: it seems hard to take thy money for naught, for thou +hast a pleasant face; but who knows what luck may be with thee. For a +shekel thou shalt have the lamb. Jesus paid the shekel, and his eyes +falling upon a bush in whose stems he knew he should find plenty of sap, +he cut some six or seven inches off, and, having forced out the sap, +showed it to the villager, and asked him for a rag to tie round the end +of it. I hardly know yet what purpose thou'lt put this stem to, the +shepherd said, but he gave Jesus the rag he asked for, and Jesus +answered: I've a good supply of ewe's milk drawn from the udder scarce +an hour ago. Thou hast ewe's milk in thy bottle! the villager said. Then +it may be I shall lose my breed through thoughtlessness. And it was with +a grave face that he watched Jesus tie a rag around the hollow stem. + +He put the stem into the lamb's jaws and poured milk down it, feeding +the lamb as well as the ewe could have done. It may be I shall get him +home alive, Jesus muttered to himself. Thou'lt do it, if luck be with +thee, and if thou canst rear him my breed has passed from me. Thou'lt be +rewarded for taking my shekel, Jesus answered. A fine lamb for a month, +the villager remarked. One that will soon begin to weigh heavy in my +bosom, Jesus answered; a true prophecy, for after a few miles Jesus was +glad to let him run by his side; and knowing now no other mother but +Jesus, he trotted after him as he might after the ewe: divining perhaps, +Jesus said to himself, the leathern bottle at my girdle. + +But very soon Jesus had to carry him again, and, despite his weight, +they were at noon by the well at the end of the oak wood. Lamb, we'll +sleep awhile together in a pleasant hollow at the edge of the wood. Lay +thyself down and doze. The lamb was obedient, but before long he awoke +Jesus with his bleating. He wants some milk, he said, and undid the +leather girdle and placed the feeding-pipe into the lamb's mouth. But +before giving him milk he was moved to taste it: for if the milk be +sour---- The milk has soured, he said, and the poor bleating thing will +die in the wood, his bleatings growing fainter and fainter. He'll look +into my face, wondering why I do not give him the bottle from which he +took such a good feed only a few hours ago; and while Jesus was thinking +these things the lamb began to bleat for his milk, and as Jesus did not +give it to him he began to run round in search of the ewe, and Jesus let +him run, hoping that a wild beast would seize and carry him away and +with his fangs end the lamb's sufferings quicker than hunger could. + +But no wolf or panther was in the thicket, and the lamb returned to him: +brought back, he said, by a memory of the bottle. But, my poor wee lamb, +there is no sweet milk in my bottle, only sour, which would pain thee. +Think no more of life, but lie down and die: we shall all do the same +some day.... Thy life has been shorter than mine, and perhaps better for +that. No, I've no milk for thee and cannot bear to look in thy face: run +away again in search of the ewe and find instead the panther that took +her. Poor little lamb, dying for milk in this wild place. So thou hast +returned to me, having found neither ewe nor panther. Go, and seek a +wolf, he will be a better friend to thee than I. + +He had seen many lambs die and did not understand why he should feel +more pain at this lamb's death than another's. But it was so; and now +all his hopes and fears centred in this one thing that Fate had +confided to his bosom. A little milk would save it, but he had no milk. +He might pick him up and run, calling to the shepherds, but none would +hear. I cannot listen to his bleating any longer, he said, and tried to +escape from the lamb, but he was followed round the trees, and just as +he was about to climb into one out of the lamb's sight his nostrils +caught the scent of fleeces coming up the hillside. A shepherd is +leading his flock to the well-head, he said, so, wee lamb, thou wilt not +die to-day, and, addressing himself to the shepherd, he said: I've got a +lamb of the right breed, but have no milk to give him. Canst thou pay +for it? the shepherd asked; and Jesus said, I can, and the shepherd +called a ewe and the lamb was fed. + +Well, luck is in thy way, the shepherd said, for I was on my way to +another well, and cannot tell what came into my mind and turned me from +it and brought me up here. Every life, Jesus said, is in the hands of +God, and it was not his will to let this lamb die. Dost believe, the +shepherd answered, that all is ordered so? And Jesus answered him: +thou'lt fill my bottle with milk? The shepherd said: I will; but thou +hast still a long way before the lamb can be fed again. Hide thy bottle +under a cool stone in yon forest and in the evening the milk will still +be sweet and thou canst feed thy lamb again and continue thy journey by +starlight. But these hills are not my hills; mine are yonder, Jesus +said, and at night all shapes are different. No matter, the way is +simple from this well, the shepherd answered, and he gave Jesus such +directions as he could follow during the night. Now mind thee, he +continued, look round for a shepherd at daybreak. He'll give thee fresh +milk for thy lamb and by to-morrow evening thou'lt be by the Brook +Kerith. And this advice appearing good to Jesus, he turned into the +shade of the trees with his lamb, and both slept together side by side +till the moon showed like a ghost in the branches of the trees. + +It was time then to feed the lamb, and the milk being sweet in the +bottle, the lamb drank it greedily; and when he had drunk enough Jesus +was tempted to drink what the lamb could not drink, for he was thirsty +after eating his bread, but he went to the well and took a little water +instead, and lay down, telling the lamb that he might sleep but a little +while, for they must be ready at midnight to travel again. If we meet a +shepherd thou livest, if he fail us thou diest. Jesus said, and seeing a +shepherd leaving a cavern at dawn with his flock, Jesus called to him +and bought milk from him and once more the twain continued their +journey, the lamb becoming so dependent on the shepherd that Jesus took +pleasure sometimes in hiding himself behind a rock, and as soon as the +lamb missed him he would run to and fro bleating in great alarm till he +found Jesus; and when he came upon him he thrust his nozzle into Jesus' +hand. + +It was then more than at any time he delighted in being carried. No, my +good lamb, I've carried thee far and now can barely carry myself to the +bridge; and the lamb had to follow to the bridge, and they began to +ascend the terraces together, but the steep ascents very soon began to +tire him, and the lamb lay down and bleated for Jesus to take him up in +his arms, which he did, but, overcome with the weariness of a long +journey, he had to lay him down after a few paces. Yet he would not +surrender the lamb to the brethren who came and offered to carry him, +saying: I have carried him so far and will carry him to the end, but ye +must let me rest on your arms. Meanwhile, fetch me a little milk, for +the lamb has had all that I could buy from the shepherds on the hills, +and do not ask how I became possessed of this lamb, for I am too tired +to tell the story. So did he speak, holding the lamb to his bosom; and +leaning on the arm of one of the brethren while another pushed from +behind, and in this exhausted state he reached the cenoby. + +Now I must feed my lamb; go to Brother Amos and ask him to bring some +ewe's milk at once. But the brethren were loath to go, saying: Brother +Amos is feeding his sheep far from here, but will return in the evening. +But the lamb must be fed every three or four hours, Jesus answered, and +do ye go at once to Amos and tell him to bring the milk at once. He must +not be kept waiting for his milk. Now look at him and say if any of ye +have seen a finer lamb. I can speak no more, but will sleep a little as +soon as I have placed him in a basket. But wake me up as soon the milk +comes, for I will trust none to feed him but myself, and he dropped off +to sleep almost on these words. + +The Essenes, understanding that the lamb had caused Jesus a long search, +went after Amos as they were bidden, and finding him not as far as they +thought for with his flock, they related to him Jesus' request that he +should bring some ewe's milk at once, which he did, and seeing Jesus in +deep sleep he said: it is a pity to waken him, for I know how to feed a +lamb as well as he does. May I not? But the Essenes said: he'll be vexed +indeed if the lamb be fed by any but him. So be it, Amos answered; and +they roused Jesus with difficulty, for his sleep was deep, and when he +opened his eyes he knew not where he was for some time. At last memory +returned to him, and, struggling from the couch, he said: I must feed my +lamb. The milk is fresh from the ewe? he asked. Yes, Jesus, Amos +answered, I have just drawn it from the udder. As soon as he is old +enough to run with the flock I'll bring him, Jesus said, and thou'lt be +free to return to the Scriptures. + +And having asked that he might be awaked in four hours his eyes closed, +which is not to be wondered at, he having slept hardly at all for four +days. Does he put his lamb before the Scriptures? the Essenes asked each +other, and they withdrew, shaking their heads. + + + + +CHAP. XXVII. + + +Jesus fell back into sleep as soon as the lamb was fed, and it was in +this second sleep of more than six hours that he regained his natural +strength. Has Joseph returned? he asked on awakening, and the brother +nearest him answered that he had not; whereupon Jesus asked that Hazael +should come to him, and he said to him: Hazael, Joseph told thee that as +soon as his business was transacted in Jericho he would return hither, +and if that were not possible the delay would not be long. But four days +have passed and we haven't seen him nor have we news of him. Now how is +this? He couldn't have heard in Jericho nor in Jerusalem of my faring +among the hills of Caesarea in search of a lamb. It was only on those +hills that I might find a lamb that would recover for us the strength +that has gone out of the flock. And I would that Joseph were here to see +him that I've brought back. My heart misgives me. Thou'lt feed him in my +absence, he said to one of the brethren, and I'll go down on to the +terraces and wander across the bridge, for on the hills over yonder I +may catch sight of Joseph coming to meet me. Can none tell me if he will +come from Jericho or Jerusalem? A brother cried that he would feed the +lamb as Jesus directed, and the brethren at work among the fig-trees +spoke to each other of the grief visible on Jesus' face as he passed +them and questioned each other and sought a reason for it. Has the lamb +fallen sick? one asked, and on that thought they ran up the terraces to +inquire for the lamb, who, that day, had been given the name of Caesar. +The lamb sleeps in peace, Hazael answered, but Jesus, his saviour, has +gone out in great disorder of mind to get tidings of Joseph, the great +trader in figs and dates. He promised to return the same evening after +transacting his business in Jericho, Hazael continued. Four days have +passed away without news of him; some misfortune may have befallen him. +May have! Hazael repeated under his breath as he walked away. _Has_ +befallen him without doubt. + +The brethren waited for Jesus to return, but he did not return to them; +and at nightfall a watch was set at the bridge head, and the same was +done for many succeeding days, till the story reached the Brook Kerith +that Joseph had been killed in the streets of Jerusalem by order of the +Zealots. Priests never forget to revenge themselves on those that do not +submit to their ideas and exactions, Hazael muttered, thereby stirring +the curiosity of the brethren; but he could not tell them more, Joseph's +relation having been insufficient to make plain the truth that Joseph, +as Jesus' friend, must have earned the High Priest's displeasure. A very +little suspicion, he said to himself, is enough to bring about the death +of a man in our days; and the priests were always jealous and afraid of +prophets. Is then our Jesus a prophet? Saddoc asked, and Manahem's eyes +were full of questions. I can tell ye no more than I've said already, +Hazael answered, and the brethren forgot their curiosity, for their +hearts were stirred with pity. A great grief it surely will be, they +said to one another, when Jesus returns and hears that his friend is +dead, and they asked which among them should be the one to tell him of +this great loss that had befallen him. Not I, said one, nor I, another +answered, and as they passed into their cells it was the opinion of all +that Hazael should tell him. + +Next morning when they came forth from their cells, after giving thanks +for the returning light, they stood on the hillside, hoping that every +minute would bring them sight of Jesus returning. At last a shepherd +came through the dusk, but it was not Jesus but Amos coming towards +them, and the news he brought was that he had met Jesus on the hills +wandering like one of disordered mind. He has taken my sheep from me and +has lost them, I fear. But why, the brethren cried, didst thou leave thy +sheep to him? To which Amos could make no straightforward answer: all he +knew was that he had met Jesus and been greatly frightened by his speech +and his show of gestures and demeanour. All the same, he said, I felt I +had better let him have the sheep. And the brethren said: ruin has +befallen us this time. We know the reason of the disordered mind that +thou tellest of. Joseph was slain by the Zealots in Jerusalem by order +of the priests, and the tidings must have come to Jesus as he wandered +out on to the hills seeking his friend, and it was they that robbed him +of his mind. We are ruined, the brethren cried, for our sheep are with +him, and he without thought for anything but his grief. Amos could not +answer them nay, for their words seemed to him but the truth, and they +all returned to the cenoby to mourn for Jesus and themselves till Jesus +was brought back to them by some shepherds who found him wandering, +giving no heed to the few sheep that followed him; only a few had +escaped the wolves, and the brethren charged Amos with the remnant, +muttering among themselves: his heart is broken. He is without knowledge +of us or the world around him. But why does he turn aside from our +dwelling preferring to lie with his dogs under the rocks? It is for that +our dwelling reminds him of Joseph. It was here he saw him last, Manahem +replied. It will be well to leave him to wander at will, giving him food +if his grief allows him to come for it; any restraint would estrange him +from us, nor may we watch him, for when the mind is away man is but +animal; and animals do not like watchful eyes. We may only watch over +him lest he do himself bodily harm, Eleazar said, There is no harm, +Manahem said, he can do himself, but to walk over the cliffs in a dream +and so end his misery. We would not that the crows and vultures fed on +Jesus, Caleb answered. We must watch lest he fall into the dream of his +grief.... But he lives in one. Behold him now. He sees not the cliffs +over yonder nor the cliffs beneath. Nor does he hear the brook murmur +under the cliffs. Grief is a wonderful thing, Manahem said, it +overpowers a man more than anything else; it is more powerful even than +the love of God, but it wears away; and in this it is unlike the love of +God, which doesn't change, and many of us have come here so that we may +love God the better without interruptions. It is strange, Eleazar said, +that one who loves God as truly as Jesus, should abandon himself to +grief. Eleazar's words caused the Essenes to drop into reveries and +dreams, and when they spoke out of these their words were: his grief is +more like despair. And in speaking these words they were nearer the +truth than they suspected, for though Jesus grieved and truly for +Joseph, there was in his heart something more than mortal grief. + +It often seemed to him as he sat gazing across the abyss that his +temerity in proclaiming himself the Messiah was punished enough by +crucifixion: the taking from him of the one thing that crucifixion had +left behind often put the thought into his mind that God held him +accursed; and in his despair he lost faith in death, believing he would +be held accursed for all eternity. He forgot to take food and drink; he +fed upon his grief and would have faded out of life if Caesar had not +conceived a dislike to his keeper and run bleating among the rocks till +he came upon Jesus whom he recognised at once and refused to leave, +thrusting a nozzle into Jesus' hand and lying down by his side. Nor +could the brethren beguile the lamb from Jesus with milk, and Jesus +taking pity on the faithful animal said: give me the feeding bottle, I +will feed him. Whereupon Caesar began to bleat, and so cheerfully, that +all conceived a new affection for him, but he had none for anybody but +Jesus, whom he followed about the cliffs as a dog might, lying down at +his side. + +The twain strayed together whither there was scarce foothold for either, +and the brethren said as they watched them: if Caesar were to miss his +footing and fall over the edge, the last link would be broken and Jesus +would go over after him. But sheep and goats never miss their footing, a +brother answered. It is fortunate, another replied, that Caesar should +have attached himself to Jesus. He seems to say, I get happier and +happier every day, and his disposition will react on Jesus and may win +him out of his melancholy. + +And it seemed as if the brother had guessed rightly, for though Jesus' +face showed no interest in the brethren, nor in the cenoby, he seemed to +enjoy the sympathy of the dumb animal. He liked to call to Caesar and to +lay his hand upon Caesar's head, and to look into his eyes, and in those +moments of sympathy the brethren said: he forgets his grief. But Caesar +is coming into ramhood, Saddoc answered, and will have to go away with +the flock. There were brethren who cried out against this: let the flock +perish rather than Jesus should be deprived of Caesar. Wouldst have him +remain when he is a great ram? Manahem asked, and the others answered: +yes, for Jesus takes no thought for anything but Caesar, and the +brethren conferred together, and spent much thought in trying to +discover a remedy other than Caesar for Jesus' grief. + +But one day Jesus said to the brethren: Caesar is coming into ramhood, +and I must take him away to the hills, he must come with me and join the +ewes. Art thou going to be our shepherd again? said they. If ye will +entrust the flock to me. My thoughts will never wander from it again. +Jesus spoke the words significantly, and many of the brethren believed +that he would prove himself to be the great shepherd that he was of +yore, but others said: his grief will break out upon him on the hills; +but these counsels were overruled by Manahem and Saddoc. Jesus, Saddoc +said, never smiles and his words are few, but he is himself again, and +the best shepherd that ever walked these hills is worse than he, so it +is said. He lost a few sheep, Manahem said, in the first days of his +great grief, but his mind is altogether now on the encouragement of the +flock and Amos is wearied of it and would return to the reading of the +Scriptures. Thou speakest well, Manahem, Saddoc returned, for it was in +his mind as it was in Manahem's that the sight of men and the sound of +men's voices were a torture to Jesus, and that he longed for solitude +and silence and the occupation of the flock. + +The cenoby will never be the same again without our pet, some of the +brethren cried, but others said: it must be so. We'll go to see Caesar's +lambs, they cried, as he was being led away. There will be no lambs by +Caesar this spring, Jesus answered. He'll run with the ewes and that's +about all; for a ram is not fit for service till he is two years old. +Whereupon the distraction of Jesus' grief being removed from the +cenoby, the Essenes fell to talking again of the great schism and what +came of it. Are our brothers happier in wedlock than we are in celibacy? +was the question they often put to each other on the balcony; and a +sudden meeting of thoughts set them comparing the wives beyond Jordan +with the ewes of the hills. Which are the most fruitful? they asked +themselves; and it was averred that though twin lambs were of equal +worth, it might fall out in the strange destinies that beset human life +that one of human twins might be a robber and the other a devout Essene. + +On a balcony overhanging an abyss some hundred feet in depth, through +which a brook sings a monotonous song, men may dream a long while on the +problem of destiny, and on awaking from their different meditations it +was natural that they should speak about the difficulties the brethren +by the lake would experience when they set themselves to discover women +who would accept the rule of life of the Essenes and for no enjoyment +for themselves, but that the order might not perish, and with it +holiness pass out of the world. + +Of what women will they possess themselves? a brother often asked. Not +Jewish women, who would prefer to join themselves with Pharisees or +Sadducees rather than with Essenes, and the converts, the brother +continued, that might be made among the Gentile women from Mesopotamia +and Arabia could not be counted upon to produce pious children, though +the fathers that begot the children might be themselves of great piety. +These words put the thought into another brother's mind, that a woman +is never faithful to one man, an abiding doctrine among the Essenes: and +the group of three, Caleb, Eleazar and Benjamin, began to speak of the +stirs and quarrels that these converts would provoke in the cenoby. For +even amongst those who have renounced women, there are always a few that +retain a longing for women in their heart, and the smouldering embers +will burst into flame at the sight of woman. Is not that so, Benjamin? +There is much truth in thy words, Caleb, Benjamin answered, and I would +know if they partition off the women into an enclosure by themselves, +and only take them out at a time judged to be the fruitfullest, for it +is not lawful for us to experience pleasure, and as soon as the women +are with child, the brethren we have left behind, I trust, withdraw from +the company of their wives. Unless, said Eleazar, all the rules of our +order be abolished. We did well to leave them, Caleb answered. And then, +posing his small fat hands on the parapet, he said: women have ever been +looked upon as man's pleasure, and our pleasures are as wolves, and our +virtues are as sheep, and as soon as pleasure breaks into the fold the +sheep are torn and mangled. We're better here with our virtues than they +by the lake with their pleasures. + +Trouble has begun amongst them already, Eleazar said, and Benjamin +turned to ask him if he had gotten news of the brethren by the lake; and +he answered that yesterday a shepherd told him that many brothers had +left the settlement. We did well, Caleb said, to cherish our celibacy, +and the price of living on this rock was not too high a price for it. +But tell us what thou hast heard, Eleazar. Eleazar had heard that +troubles were begun, but he hoped children would bring peace to all. But +all women aren't fruitful, Caleb said, and Benjamin was vexed with +Eleazar because he hadn't asked how many women were already quick. And +they fell to talking scandal, putting forward reasons why some of the +brethren should separate themselves from their wives. + +Perhaps we shall never know the why and the wherefore, Eleazar said, it +being against our rules to absent ourselves without permission from the +cenoby, and if we were to break this rule, Hazael might refuse to +receive us again. We should wander on the hills seeking grass and roots, +for our oaths are that we take no food from strangers. Yet I'd give much +to hear how our brethren, for they are our brethren, fare with their +wives. + +And when they met on the balcony, the elder members of the community, +Hazael, Mathias, Saddoc and Manahem, like the younger members conferred +together as to whether any good could come to those that had taken wives +to themselves for their pleasure. Not for their pleasure, Hazael said, +but that holiness may not pass out of the world for ever. But as +holiness, Mathias was moved to remark, is of the mind, it cannot be +affected by any custom we might impose upon our corporeal nature. +Whereupon a disputation began in which Manahem urged upon Mathias that +if he had made himself plain it would seem that his belief was that +holiness was not dependent upon our acts; and if that be so, he asked, +why do we live on this ledge of rock? To which question Mathias +answered that the man whose mind is in order need not fear that he will +fall into sin, for sin is but a disorder of the mind. + +A debate followed regarding the relation of the mind to the body and of +the body to the mind, and when all four were wearied of the old +discussion, Saddoc said: is it right that we should concern ourselves +with these things, asking which of the brothers have taken wives, and +how they behave themselves to their wives? It seems to me that Saddoc is +right, these matters don't concern us who have no wives and who never +will have. But, said Manahem, though this question has been decided so +far as our bodies are concerned, are we not justified in considering +marriage as philosophers may, no subject being alien to philosophy? Is +not that so, Mathias? No subject is alien to philosophy, Mathias agreed, +to which Saddoc replied: we could discuss this matter with profit if we +knew which of the brothers had taken to himself a wife; but only rumours +reach us here; and the brethren looked across the chasm, their thoughts +crossing it easily and passing over the intervening hills down into the +plains and over Jordan. We should no doubt be content, said Manahem, +with our own beliefs, and abide in the choice that we have made without +questioning it further, as Hazael has said. Yet it is hard to keep +thoughts of the brethren we have left out of our minds. How are we, +Hazael, to remain unmoved when rumours touching on the lives of those we +have left behind reach us? Is it not merely natural that we should +desire to hear how our brethren fare in married life? Dost think, +Hazael, that those we left behind never ask each other how we fare in +our celibacy? Man is the same all the world over inasmuch as he would +like to hear he has avoided the pitfall his brother has fallen into. It +is said, Manahem continued, that the elders yonder are disturbed now as +to whether they too should take wives, though in the great disputation +that we took part in, it was decided that marriage should be left to the +younger and more fruitful. Wherefore, if it is said that trouble has +come, Hazael answered, we should be sorry for our weak brethren, and if +stories reach us, he continued, we should receive them with modesty: we +should not go out to seek stories of the misfortunes of those who have +not been as wise as we, and of all we should not wish to go down to +Jordan to inquire out the truth of these stories; Caleb and Benjamin ask +betimes for leave to visit them. Eleazar, too, has asked; but I have +refused them always, knowing well whither their curiosity would lead +them. Lest, Mathias interposed, they bring back the spirit and sense of +women with them. + +A flock of doves crossing over the chasm on quick wings put an end to +the discourse, and as no more stories reached them who dwelt in the +cavern above the Brook Kerith regarding the behaviour of the wives to +their husbands and of the husbands towards their wives, the thoughts of +the younger brethren reverted to Caesar, and to the admiration of the +ewes for his beauty. A year later, when Jesus came down from the hills, +he was met with cries of: how fares it with Caesar? Does he tire on the +hills? When will the ewes begin to drop their lambs? A buzz of talk +began at once in the cenoby when the news arrived that Caesar's lambs +were appearing, but the brethren could not conceal their disappointment +that they should look like the lambs they had seen before. We expected +the finest lambs ever seen on these hills, they said, and thou hast no +more word to say in praise of them than that they are good lambs. Jesus +answered that in two months he would be better able to judge Caesar's +lambs, and to choose amongst them some two or three that would continue +the flock worthily. Which? the brethren asked, but Jesus said a choice +would be but guess-work at present, none could pick out the making of a +good ram till past the second month. Caleb marked one which he was sure +would be chosen later, and Benjamin another, and Eleazar another; but +when the time came for Jesus to choose, it was none of these that he +chose, and on hearing of their mistakes, the brethren were disappointed, +and thought no more of the flock, asking only casually for Caesar, and +forgetting to mourn his decease at the end of the fourth year; his +successor coming to them without romantic story, the brethren were from +henceforth satisfied to hear from time to time that the hills were free +from robbers; that the shepherds had banded together in great wolf +hunts; and that freed from their natural enemies, the wolves and +robbers, the flock had increased in numbers beyond the memory of the +oldest shepherd on the hills. + + + + +CHAP. XXVIII. + + + +The brethren waxed rich, and after their midday meal they talked of the +exceeding good fortune that had been vouchsafed to them, dwelling on the +matter so earnestly that a scruple sometimes rose up in their hearts. +Did we do well to forgo all troubles? Do the selfish find favour in +God's sight? they were asking, when Caleb said: we have visitors to-day, +and looking across the chasm they saw three men emerging from the shadow +of the high rock. They may be robbers, Benjamin cried, and we would do +well to tell the brethren working along the terraces to pass the word +down to him who stands by the bridge-head that he is to raise the bridge +and refuse to lower it till the strangers speak to him of their +intentions and convince him that they are peaceful. That is well said, +Benjamin, Eleazar replied: Amos, who is standing by the fig-tree yonder, +will pass on the word. They cried out to him and watched the warning +being passed from Essene to Essene till it reached the brother standing +by the bridge-head. He looked in the direction of the strangers coming +down the path, and then in haste set himself to pull the ropes and press +the levers whereby the bridge was raised and lowered. Now they are +speaking across the brook to each other, Benjamin said: and the group on +the balcony saw the bridge being let down for the strangers to cross +over. It seems to me, Benjamin continued, Bartholomew might have spent +more time inquiring out their intentions. But we are many and they are +few, Caleb answered, and the Essenes on the balcony watched somewhat +anxiously Bartholomew conducting the strangers back and forth through +the terraces. Is not Bartholomew as trustworthy as any amongst us? +Eleazar asked. It isn't likely that he would mistake robbers for +pilgrims; and as if Bartholomew divined the anxiety of those above him +he called up the rocks that the visitors he was bringing were Essenes +from the lake. Essenes from the lake! Caleb cried. Then we shall learn, +Eleazar replied, which is preferable, celibacy or marriage. But we +mustn't speak at once to them of such matters. We must prepare food for +them, which they will require after their long journey. Our president +will be with you in a moment, Bartholomew said, addressing Shallum, a +tall thin man, whose long neck, sloping shoulders and dark round eyes +reminded his brethren of an ungainly bird. His companions, Shaphan and +Eleakim, were of different appearances. Shaphan's skull, smooth and +glistening, rose, a great dome above a crumpled face; he moped like a +sick monkey, dashing tears from his eyes continually, whereas Eleakim, a +sprightly little fellow with half-closed eyes like a pig, agreed that +Shallum should speak for them. Shallum began: we are, as you have +already heard, from the great cenoby at the head of the lake and, +therefore, I need not tell you the reason why you are here and why the +residue are yonder, but will confine myself to the story of our flight +from the lake to the brook. Honourable President and Brethren, it is +known unto you that the division of our order was not brought about by +any other reason than a dispute on both sides for the maintenance of the +order. We know that, Hazael answered, and attribute no sinfulness to the +brethren that differed from us. Our dream, Shallum continued, was to +perpetuate holiness in this world, and our dream abides, for man is a +reality only in his dreams; his acts are but a grotesque of his dream. + +At these words the Essenes gathered close together, and with brightening +eyes listened, for they interpreted these words to mean that the +brethren by the lake had fallen headlong into unseasonable pleasures, +whereof they were now reaping the fruit: no sweet one, if the fruit +might be judged by the countenances of their visitors. As I have said, +Shallum continued, it was with us as it has been with men always--our +acts became a mockery of our dreams almost from the beginning, for when +you left us we gave out that we were willing to receive women who would +share our lives and with us perpetuate holiness. We gave out that we +were willing to view all who came and consider their qualifications, and +to take them as wives if they should satisfy us, that they would obey +our rule and bear children; but the women that came in response to our +advertisement, though seemingly of pious and honourable demeanour, were +not satisfied with us. Our rule is, as you brethren know well, to wear +the same smock till it be in rags, and never to ask for a new pair of +sandals till the last pieces of the old pair have left our feet. We +presented, therefore, no fair show before the women who came to us, and +when our rule was told to them, they withdrew, dissatisfied with our +appearances, with the food we ate, and the hours we kept, and of all +with the rule that they should live apart from us, only keeping company +with us at such times when women are believed to be most fruitful. Such +was the first batch in brief; the second batch (they came in batches) +pleaded that they could not be wives for us, it being that we were held +in little esteem by the Sadducees and the Pharisees, and we were +reproved by them for not sending animals for sacrifice to the Temple, a +thing that we must do if we would have them live with us. But it being +against our rule to send animals to the Temple for sacrifice, we bade +them farewell and sent forth messengers into other lands, inviting the +Gentiles to come to us to receive instruction in the Jewish religion, +with promises to them that if our rule of life was agreeable to them, +and they were exact in the appointments of all rites and ceremonies, we +should be willing to marry them after their time of probationship was +over. On this second advertisement, women came to us from Arabia and +Mesopotamia, and though we did not approve of the fine garments they +wore and the sweet perfumes that trailed after them, we liked these +things, as all men do, with our senses; and our minds being filled with +thoughts of the children that would continue the order of the Essenes, +we spoke but little against the fine linen that these women brought and +the perfumes they exhaled, whereby our ruin was consummated. Joazabdus, +our president, himself fell into the temptation of woman's beauty and +was led into sinful acquiescence of a display of the images she had +brought with her; for without a display of them on either side of the +bridal bed she would not permit his embraces. She was of our religion in +all else, having abjured her gods and goddesses at every other moment of +the day and night; but licence of her body she could not grant except +under the eyes of Astarte, and Joazabdus, being a weak man, allowed the +images to remain. As soon as the news of these images spread, we went in +deputation to our president to beg him to cast out the images from our +midst, but he answered us: but one image remains--that of Astarte: none +looks upon it but she, and if I cast out the image that she reverences +she will go hence and with the fruit of my body within her body, and a +saint may be lost to us. But we answered him that even as Jacob set up +parti-coloured rods before the conceiving ewes that they might bear +parti-coloured lambs, so to gaze in the marriage-bed upon the image of +Astarte would surely stamp upon the children that might come the image +of that demon. But he was not to be moved, whereupon we withdrew, saying +to one another: we shall not move him out of his wickedness; and that +was why we went to his brother Daddeus and asked him to accept the +headship of the community in his brother's place. And seeing that he was +unwilling to set himself against his brother, we said: our God comes +before all things, and here we have heathen goddesses in our midst; and +the end of it was that Cozby, that was the Chaldean woman's name, put +poison into Daddeus' food, thinking to establish her rule thereby, but +as soon as the death of Daddeus became known many left the cenoby +polluted in their eyes by heathenism and murder. + +So it always falls out, Hazael cried, wine and women have lost the world +many saints. Wine deceives the minds of those that drink it, and it +exalts men above themselves, and leads them into acts that in any other +moment they would shrink from, leaving them more stupid than the +animals. Nor is the temptation of women less violent than that of wine. +Women's beauty is even more potent, for once a man perceives it he +becomes as if blind to all other things; his reason deserts him, he +broods upon it by day, and falls at last, as our brother has told us, +into unseasonable pleasures, like Solomon himself, about whom many +things are related, but not so far as I know that he became so +intoxicated with women's various beauty that he found his pleasure at +last in his own humiliation. If Solomon did not, others have; for there +is a story of a king that allowed his love of a certain queen to take so +great a hold upon him that he asked her to come up the steps of his +throne to strike him on the face, to take his crown from his head and +set it upon her own. This was in his old age, and it is in old age that +men fall under the unreasonable sway of women--he was once a wise man, +so we should refrain from blame, and pity our brethren who have fallen +headlong into the sway of these Chaldean and Arabian women. I might say +much more on this subject, but words are useless, so deeply is the +passion for women ingrained in the human heart. Proceed, therefore, +Brother: we would hear the trouble that women have brought on thee, +Brother Eleakim. At once all eyes were turned towards the little fellow +whose wandering odours put into everybody's mind thoughts of the great +price he must have paid in bracelets and fine linen, but Eleakim told a +different story--that he was sought for himself alone, too much so, for +the Arabian woman that fell to his lot was not content with the chaste +and reasonable intercourse suitable for the begetting of children, the +reason for which they had met, but would practise with him heathen +rites, and of a kind so terrible that one night he fled to his president +to ask for counsel. But the president, who was absorbed in his own +pleasures, drove him from his door, saying that every man must settle +such questions with his wife. Hazael threw up his hands. Say no more, +Brother Eleakim, thou didst well to leave that cenoby. We welcome thee, +and having heard thee in brief we would now hear Brother Shaphan. At +once all eyes were turned towards the short, thick, silent man, who had +till now ventured into no words; and as they looked upon him their +thoughts dwelt on the strange choice the curator had made when he chose +Brother Shaphan for a husband; for though they were without knowledge of +women, their sense told them that Brother Shaphan would not be pleasing +to a woman. But Eleakim's story had prepared them for every strange +taste, and they waited eagerly for Shaphan. But Shaphan had not spoken +many words when tears began to roll down his cheeks, and the brethren of +the Brook Kerith bethought themselves that it might be a kindly act to +avert their eyes from him till he recovered his composure; but as his +grief continued they sought to comfort him, telling him that his +troubles were now ended. He would not, however, lift his face from his +hands at their entreaty, and his companions said that the intervals +between his tears since he was married were never long. At these words +Shaphan lifted his face from his hands and dashed some tears from his +eyelids. He will tell us now, the brethren said to themselves, but he +only uttered a few incoherent words, and his face sank back into his +hands. + +And it was then that Jesus appeared at the end of the domed gallery. +Hazael signed to one of the brethren to bring a chair to him, and when +Jesus was seated Hazael told him who the strangers were in these words: +great trouble has fallen upon our order, he said, the wives the brethren +have taken unto themselves against my counsel have not obeyed their +husbands. Wilt tell our Brother Jesus the trouble that has befallen +those that stayed by the lake, Shallum? I will, Shallum replied, for it +will please him to hear my story and it will be a satisfaction to me to +tell the quarrels that set my wife and me apart till at last I was +forced to send her back to her own people. My story will be profitable +to you, though you are without wives, for to err is human. The brethren +were at once all ear for the new story, but Shallum was so prolix in his +telling of his misfortunes that the brethren begged him to tell them +again of the ranging of the gods and goddesses on either side of the +president's marriage-bed. He paid no heed to them, however, but +proceeded with his own story, and so slow was his procedure that Hazael +had to interrupt him again. Shallum, he said, it is clear to me that our +shepherd has come with some important tidings to me, and it will be +kind of thee to forgo the rest of thy story for the present at least, +till I have conferred with our shepherd. I should have been loath, Jesus +interposed, to interrupt a discourse which seems to be pleasing to you +all and which would be to me too if I had knowledge of the matters which +concern you, but the differences of men with their wives and wives with +their husbands are unknown to me, my life having been spent on the hills +with rams and ewes. As he said these words a smile came into his eyes. +The first smile I have seen on his face for many years, Hazael said to +himself, and Jesus continued: I have left my flock in charge of my +serving boy, for I have come to tell the president that he must not be +disappointed if many sheep are lost on the hills this year; robbers +having hidden themselves again in the caves and fortified themselves +among cliffs so difficult that to capture them soldiers must be let down +in chests and baskets--a perilous undertaking this is, for the robbers +are armed and determined upon revolt against Herod, who they say is not +a Jew, and holds his power in Judea from the Romans. They are robbers +inasmuch as they steal my sheep, but they are men who value their +country higher than their lives. This I know, for I have conferred with +them: and Jesus told the Essenes a story of an old man who lived in a +cave with his family of seven, all of whom besought him to allow them to +surrender to the Romans. Cowards, he said, under his breath, and made +pact with them that they should come out of the cave one by one, which +they did, and as they came he slew them and threw their bodies into the +precipice, sons and daughters, and then he slew his wife, and after +reproaching Herod with the meanness of his family, although he was then +a king, he threw himself from the cliff's edge. + +It is a great story that thou tellest, Jesus, Manahem said, and it is +well to hear that there are great souls still amongst us, as in the days +of the Maccabees. However this may be, Saddoc interposed, these men in +their strife against the Romans must look to our flocks for food. Three +sheep were taken from me last night, Jesus answered, and the rest will +go one by one, two by two, three by three, unless the revolt be quelled. +And if the revolt be not quelled, Saddoc continued, the robbers will +need all we have gotten, which is little; they may even need our cave +here, and unless we join them they will cast us over the precipices. It +was to ask: are we to take up arms against these robbers that I came +hither, Jesus said. You will confer amongst yourselves, brethren, Hazael +said, and will forgive me if I withdraw: Jesus would like to speak with +me privately. + +The Essenes bowed, and Hazael walked up the domed gallery with Jesus, +and as soon as they disappeared at the other end Shallum began: your +shepherd tells you the truth; the hills are once more infested with the +remains of Theudas' army. But who may Theudas be? one of the brethren +asked. So you have not heard, Shallum cried, of Theudas, and you living +here within a few miles of the track he followed with his army down to +Jordan. Little news reaches us here, Saddoc said, and he asked Shallum +to tell of Theudas, and Shallum related how Theudas had gathered a great +following together in Jerusalem and provoked a great uprising of the +people whom he called to follow him through the gates of the city, which +they did, and over the hills as far as Jordan. The current of the river, +he said, will stop, and the water rise up in a great wall as soon as I +impose my hands. We have no knowledge if the waters would have obeyed +his bidding, for before the waters had time to divide a Roman soldier +struck off the prophet's head and carried it to Jerusalem on a spear, +where the sight of it was well received by the priests, for Theudas +preached against the Temple, against the law, and the traditions as John +and his disciples had done beforetimes. A great number, he continued, +were slain by the Roman soldiers, and the rest dispersed, having hidden +themselves in the caves, and become robbers and rebels. Nor was Theudas +the last, he began again, there was another, an Egyptian, a prophet or a +sorcerer of great repute, at whose bidding the people assembled when he +announced that the walls of the city would fall as soon as he lifted up +his hands. They must follow him through the breach into the desert to +meet the day of judgment by the Dead Sea. And what befell this last +prophet? Saddoc asked. He was pursued by the Roman soldiers, Eleakim +cried, starting out of a sudden reverie. And was he taken prisoner? +Manahem asked. No, for he threw a rope into the air and climbed out of +sight, Eleakim answered. He must have been a great prophet or an angel +more like, for a prophet could not climb up a rope thrown into the air, +Caleb said. No, a prophet could not do that. But it is easier, Shaphan +snorted, to climb up a rope thrown into the air than to return to a +wife, if the flesh be always unwilling. At the words all eyes were +turned to Shaphan, who seemed to have recovered his composure. It is a +woeful thing to be wedded, he cried. But why didst thou accept a wife? +Manahem asked. Why were ye not guided by our counsels? We hoped, Shaphan +said, to bring saints into the world and we know not yet that robbers +may not be the fruit of our wives' wombs. But if the flesh was always +unwilling, Manahem answered, thou hast naught to fear. It would be +better, Shallum interrupted, to turn us adrift on the hills than that we +should return to the lake where all is disorder now. Ye are not many +here, Eleakim said, to defend yourselves against robbers, and we have +hands that can draw swords. Our president alone can say if ye may +remain, Manahem said; he is in the gallery now and coming towards us. +Our former brethren, Hazael, have renounced their wives, Manahem began, +and would return to us and help to defend our cave. You come submissive +to our wisdom? Hazael asked. The three strangers replied that they did +so, and Hazael stood, his eyes fixed on the three strangers. We will +defend you against robbers if these would seek to dispossess you of your +cave, Eleakim cried. We have but two cells vacant, Hazael said. It +matters not to us where we sleep if we sleep alone; and the president +smiling at Shaphan's earnestness said: but three more mouths to feed +will be a strain upon our stores of grain. Even though there be three +more mouths to feed, Shallum answered, there will be six more hands to +build a wall against the robbers. To build a wall against robbers? +Hazael said. It is a long while we have been dreaming of that wall; and +now it seems the time has come to hold a council. We have been speaking +of a wall to protect us against robbers ever since we came here, Manahem +cried, and Saddoc answered: we have delayed too long, we must build: the +younger brethren will reap the benefit of our toil. + +We all seem to be in favour of the wall, Hazael said. Are there no +dissentients? None. For the next year or more we shall be builders +rather than interpreters of the Scriptures. Mathias will come to the +wall to discourse to us, Caleb interjected, and Saddoc answered him: +whatsoever may befall us, we are certain of one thing, we shall always +be listening to Mathias. But Mathias is a man of great learning, Caleb +replied. Of Greek learning may be, Saddoc answered. But even that is not +sure, some years ago---- But if Greek wisdom be of no value why is it +taught here? Caleb interrupted, and the old Essene answered: that Greek +wisdom was not taught in the Brook Kerith, but Greek reasoning was +applied to the interpretation of Scripture. But there will be no +occasion for Mathias' teaching for some years. Years, sayest thou, +Saddoc? Amos interjected. I spoke plainly, did I not? Saddoc answered. +If it will take us years to build the wall, Amos said, we may as well +save ourselves the trouble of becoming builders, for the robbers will be +upon us before it is high enough to keep them out; we shall lose our +lives before a half-finished wall, and methinks I might as well have +been left to my flock on the hills. Thou speakest truly, Saddoc replied, +for I doubt if thou wilt prove a better builder than thou wast a +shepherd. If my sheep were poor, thy interpretations of the Scriptures +are poorer still, Amos said, and the twain fell to quarrelling apart, +while the brethren took counsel together. If this mischief did not +befall them, and a wall twenty feet high and many feet in thickness were +raised, would they be able to store enough food in the cave to bear a +three-months' siege? And would they be able to continue the cultivation +of their figs along the terrace if robbers were at the gates? But a +siege, Manahem answered these disputants, cannot well be, for the +shepherds on the hills would carry the news of the siege to Jericho, +whence troops would be sent to our help, and at their approach the +robbers would flee into the hills. What we have to fear is not a siege, +but a sudden assault; and from a successful assault a wall will save us. +That is true, Saddoc said. And to defend the wall we must possess +ourselves of weapons, Caleb, Benjamin and Eleakim cried; and Shallum +told them that a certain hard wood, of which there was an abundance in +Jericho, could be shaped into cutlasses whereby a man's head might be +struck off at a blow. + +At these words the brethren took heart, and Hazael selected Shallum for +messenger to go to Jericho for the wood, and a few days afterwards the +Essenes were busy carving cutlasses for their defence, and designing a +great wall with towers, whilst others were among the cliffs hurling down +great masses of stone out of which a wall would soon begin to rise. + +And every day, an hour after sunrise, the Essenes were quarrying stone +and building their wall, and though they had designed it on a great +scale, it rose so fast that in two months they were bragging that it +would protect them against the great robber, Saulous, a pillager of many +caravans, of whom Jesus had much to say when he came down from the +hills. The wall will save you, Jesus said, from him. But who will save +my flock from Saulous, who is besieged in a cave, and comes forth at +night to seek for food for himself and his followers? But if the cave is +besieged? Caleb said, laying down his trowel. The cave has two +entrances, Jesus answered, and he told them that his belief now was that +what remained of the flock should be sent to Jerusalem for sale. The +rams, of course, should be kept, and a few of the best ewes for a flock +to be raised in happier times. These were his words one sad evening, and +they were so convincing that the builders laid down their trowels and +repaired to the vaulted gallery to sit in council. But while they sat +thinking how they might send representatives to the procurator the +robbers were preparing their own doom by seizing a caravan of more than +fifty camels laden with wheat for Jerusalem. A very welcome booty no +doubt it was considered by the robbers, but booty--was not their only +object? They hoped, as the procurator knew well, to bring about an +uprising against Roman rule by means of bread riots, and this last raid +provided him with a reason for a grand punitive expedition. Many troops +of soldiers were sent out with orders to bring all that could be taken +alive into Jerusalem for crucifixion, no mean punishment when carried +out as the procurator meditated it. He saw it in his thoughts reaching +from Jerusalem to Jericho, and a death penalty for all. Pilate's methods +of smoking the robbers out of their caves has not proved a sufficient +deterrent, he said to himself, and a smile came into his face and he +rubbed his hands when the news of the first captures was brought to him, +and every day small batches were announced. We shall wait, he said, +until we have fifty-three, the exact number of camels that were stolen, +and then the populace shall come out with me to view them. The spectacle +will perhaps quench the desire of robbery in everybody who is disposed +to look upon it as an easy way of gaining a livelihood. And the renown +of this crucifixion will spread through Judea. For three days at least +malefactors will be seen dying at distances of half-a-mile, and lest +their sufferings should inspire an attempt at rescue, a decree shall be +placed over every cross that any attempt at rescue will be punishable by +crucifixion, and to make certain that there shall be no tampering with +Roman justice, the soldiers on guard shall be given extra crosses to be +used if a comrade should cut down a robber or give him drugs to mitigate +his agony. And all this was done as had been commanded. The robbers were +exposed at once on the road from Jerusalem, and it was on the first day +of the great crucifixion that Jesus, coming round the shoulder of the +hill with his flock, was brought to a sudden stop before a group of +three. + +These, about six or seven hours, a Roman soldier said, in answer to +Jesus' question as to the length of time they had been on their crosses, +not more than six hours, the soldier repeated, and he turned to his +comrade for confirmation of his words. Put a lance into my side, a +robber cried out, and God will reward thee in heaven. Thou hast not +ceased to groan since the first hour. But put a lance into my side, the +robber cried again. I dare not, the soldier answered. Thou'lt hang +easier to-morrow. But all night I shall suffer; put a lance into my +side, for my heart is like a fire within me. And do the same for me, +cried the robbers hanging on either side. All night long, cried the +first robber, the pain and the ache and the torment will last; if not a +lance, give me wine to drink, some strong, heady wine that will dull the +pain. Thy brethren bear the cross better than thou. Take courage and +bear thy pain. I was not a robber because I wished it, my house was set +on fire as many another to obtain recruits. Yon shepherd is no better +than I. Why am I on the cross and not he? His turn may come, who knows, +though he stands so happy among his sheep. To-night he will sleep in a +cool cavern, but I shall linger in pain. Give me drink and I will tell +thee where the money we have robbed is hidden. The money may not be in +the cave, and if it be we might not be able to find it, the soldier +answered; and the crucified cried down to him that he could make plain +the spot. The soldier was not, however, to be bribed, and they told the +crucified that the procurator was coming out to visit the crosses on the +morrow, and would be disappointed if he found dead men upon them instead +of dying men. Shepherd, the soldiers will not help us, canst thou not +help us? Happy shepherd, that will sleep to-night amongst thy sheep. +Come by night and give us poison when these soldiers are asleep. We +will reward thee. Lift not thy hand against Roman justice, the soldier +said to Jesus, lest thou takest his place on the cross. Such are our +orders. + +Jesus hurried away through the hills, pursued by memories of the +crucified robbers, and he went on and on, with the intent of escaping +from their cries and faces, till, unable to walk farther, he stopped, +and, looking round, saw the tired sheep, their eyes mutely asking him +why he had come so far, passing by so much good herbage without halting. +Poor sheep, he said, I had forgotten you, but there is yet an hour of +light before folding-time. Go, seek the herbage among the rocks. My +dogs, too, are tired, he added, and want water, and when he had given +them some to drink he sat down, hoping that the crucified might not +return to his eyes and ears. But he need not have hoped: he was too +tired to think of what he had seen and heard, and sat in peace watching +the sunset till, as in a vision, a man in a garden, in an agony of +doubt, appeared to him. He was betrayed by a disciple and taken before +the priests and afterwards before Pilate, who ordered him to be scourged +and crucified, and beneath his cross the multitude passed, wagging their +heads, inviting him to descend if he could detach himself from the +nails. A veil fell and when it was lifted Joseph was bending over him, +and soon after was carrying him to his house. The people of that time +rose up before him: Esora, Matred, and the camel-driver, the scent of +whose sheepskin had led him back to his sheep, and he had given himself +to their service with profit to himself, for it had kept his thoughts +from straying backwards or forwards, fixing them in the present. He had +lived in the ever-fleeting present for many years--how many? The +question awoke him from his reverie, and he sat wondering how it was he +could think so quietly of things that he had put out of his mind +instinctively, till he seemed to himself to be a man detached as much +from hope as from regret. It was through such strict rule that I managed +to live through the years behind me, he said; I felt that I must never +look back, but in a moment of great physical fatigue the past returned, +and it lies before me now, the sting taken out of it, like the evening +sky in tranquil waters. Even the memory that I once believed myself to +be the Messiah promised to the Jews ceases to hurt; what we deem +mistakes are part and parcel of some great design. Nothing befalls but +by the will of God. My mistakes! why do I speak of them as mistakes, for +like all else they were from the beginning of time, and still are and +will be till the end of time, in the mind of God. His thoughts continued +to unroll, it was not long before he felt himself thinking that the +world was right to defend itself against those that would repudiate it. +For the world, he said to himself, cannot be else than the world, a +truth that was hidden from me in those early days. The world does not +belong to us, but to God. It was he that made it, and it is for him to +unmake it when he chooses and to remake us if he chooses. Meanwhile we +should do well to accept his decrees and to talk no more of destroying +the Temple and building it up again in three days. Nor should we trouble +ourselves to reprove the keepers of the Temple for having made +themselves a God according to their own image and likeness, with +passions like a man and angers like a man, thereby falling into +idolatry, for what else is our God but an Assyrian king who sits on a +throne and metes out punishments and rewards? It may be that the priests +will some day come into the knowledge that all things are equal in God's +sight, and that he is not to be won by sacrifices, observances or +prayers, that he has no need of these things, not even of our love, or +it may be that they will remain priests. But though God desires neither +sacrifices, observances, nor even love, it cannot be that we are wholly +divorced from God. It may be that we are united to him by the daily +tasks which he has set us to perform. + +Jesus was moved to put his pipes to his lips, and the sheep returned to +him and followed him into the cavern in which they were to sleep that +night. + + + + +CHAP. XXIX. + + +It is a great joy to return to thought after a long absence from it, and +Jesus was not afraid, though once his conscience asked him if he were +justified in yielding himself unreservedly to reason. A man's mind, he +answered, like all else, is part of the Godhead; and at that moment he +heard God speaking to him out of the breeze. My beloved son, he said, we +shall never be separated from each other again. And Jesus replied: not +again, Father, for thou hast returned to me the God that I once knew in +Nazareth and in the hills above Jericho, and lost sight of as soon as I +began to read the Book of Daniel. How many, he asked himself, have been +led by reading that book into the belief that they were the precursors +of the Messiah? We know of Theudas and the Egyptian, and there were many +others whose names have not reached us. But I alone believed myself to +be the Messiah. He was astonished he could remember so great a sin and +not fear God. But I cannot fear God, for I love God, he said; my God +neither forgives nor punishes, and if we repent it should be for our own +sakes and not to please God. Moreover, it must be well not to waste too +much time in repentance, for it is surely better to understand than to +repent. We learn through our sins. If it had not been for mine, I +should not have learnt that quires and scrolls lead men from God, and +that to see and hear God we have only to open our eyes and ears. God is +always about us. We hear him in the breeze, and we find him in the +flower. He is in these things as much as he is in man, and all things +are equal in his sight; Solomon is no greater than Joshbekashar. + +He had not remembered the old shepherd, who had taught him all he knew +about sheep, for many a day. It is nigh on five and forty years, he said +to himself, since he called me to hold the ewes while he made them clean +for the winter. It was in yon cave the flock was folded when I laid +hands on the ewes for the first time and dragged them forward for him to +clip the wool from the rumps. He could see in his memory each different +ewe trotting away, looking as if she were thankful for the shepherd's +kind office towards her. There was something extraordinarily restful in +his memory of old Joshbekashar, and to prolong it Jesus fell to +recalling the old man's words; and every little disjointed sentence +raised up the old man before him. It was but three times that I held the +ewes for him, so it cannot be much more than forty years since that +first clipping. Now I come to think on it, the clipping befell on a day +like to-day. We'll clip our ewes to-day, and it was with a sense of +memorial service in his mind that he called to young Jacob to come to +his aid, saying: Joshbekashar's flock was always folded in yon cave for +this clipping, the only change is that I am the clipper and thou'rt +holding them for me. There are forty-five to be clipped, and just the +same as before each ewe will trot away into the field looking as if she +were thankful at having been made clean for the winter. On these words +both fell to their work, and the cunning hand spent no more than a +minute over each. Stooping over ewes makes one's back ache, he said, +rising from the last one, using the very same words he heard forty years +before from Joshbekashar: time brings back the past! he said. We repeat +the words of those that have gone before while doing their work; and it +is likely we are doing God's work as well by making the ewes clean for +the winter as by cutting their throats in the Temple. All the same +stooping over ewes makes one's back ache, he repeated, for the words +evoked the old shepherd, and he waited for Jacob to answer in the words +spoken by him forty years ago to Joshbekashar. Himself had forgotten his +words, but he thought he would recognise them if Jacob were inspired to +speak them. But Jacob kept silence for shame's sake, for his hope was +that the flock would be given to his charge as soon as old age obliged +Jesus to join his brethren in the cenoby. + +Thou'lt be sorry for me, lad, I know that well, but thou hast begun to +look forward to the time when thou'lt walk the hills at the head of the +flock like another; it is but proper that thou shouldst, and it is but +natural that the time should seem long to thee; but take on a little +patience, this much I can vouch for, every bone in me was aching when I +left the cavern this morning, and my sight is no longer what it was. +Master Jesus, I'd as lief wait; the hills will be naught without thee. +Dost hear me, Master? Jesus smiled and dropped back into his meditations +and from that day onward very little sufficed to remind him that he +would end his days in the cenoby reading the Scriptures and interpreting +them. In the cenoby, he said, men do not think, they only read, but in +the fields a shepherd need never lose sight of the thought that leads +him. A good shepherd can think while watching his sheep, and as the +flock was feeding in good order, he took up the thread of a thought to +which he had become attached since his discovery that signs and sounds +of God's presence are never lacking on earth. As God's constant +companion and confidant he had come to comprehend that the world of +nature was a manifestation of the God he knew in himself. I know myself, +he said one day, but I do not know the God which is above, for he seems +to be infinite; nor do I know nature, which is beyond me, for that, too, +seems to run into infinite, but infinite that is not that of God. A few +moments later it seemed to him he might look upon himself as an islet +between two infinities. But to which was he nearer in eternity? Ah, if +he knew that! And it was then that a conviction fell upon him that if he +remained on the hills he would be able to understand many things that +were obscure to him to-day. It will take about two years, he said, and +then many things that are dark will become clear. Two infinites, God and +nature. At that moment a ewe wandering near some scrub caught his +attention. A wolf, he said, may be lurking there. I must bring her back; +and he put a stone into his sling. A wolf is lurking there, he +continued, else Gorbotha would not stand growling. Gorbotha, a +golden-haired dog, like a wolf in build, stood snuffing the breeze, +whilst Thema, his sister, sought her master's hand. A moment after the +breeze veered, bringing the scent to her, and the two dogs dashed +forward into the scrub without finding either wolf or jackal lying in +wait. All the same, he said, a wolf or a jackal must have been lying +there, and not long ago, or else the dogs would not have growled and +rushed to the onset as they did. + +They returned perplexed and anxious to their master, who resumed his +meditation, saying to himself that if aching bones obliged him to return +to the cenoby he would have to give up thinking. For one only thinks +well in solitude and when one thinks for oneself alone; but in the +cenoby the brethren think together. All the same my life on the hills is +not over yet, and an hour later he put his pipes to his lips and led his +flock to different hills, for, guided by some subtle sense, he seemed to +divine the springing up of new grass; and the shepherds, knowing of this +instinct for pasturage, were wont to follow him, and he was often at +pains to elude them, for on no hillside is there grass enough for many +flocks. + +My poor sheep, he said, as he watched them scatter over a grassy +hillside. Ye're happy this springtime for ye do not know that your +shepherd is about to be taken from you. But he has suffered too much in +the winter we've come out of to remain on the hills many more years. +Before leaving you he must discover a shepherd that will care for you as +well as I have done. Amos is dead; there is no one in the cenoby that +understands sheep. Would ye had speech to counsel me. But tell me, what +would ye say if I were to leave you in Jacob's charge? He stood waiting, +as if he expected the sheep to answer, and it was then it began to seem +to Jesus he might as well entrust his flock to Jacob as to another. + +He had sent him out that morning with twenty lambs that were yet too +young to run with the flock, and he now stood waiting for him, thinking +that if he lost none between this day and the end of the summer, the +flock might be handed over to him. Every young man's past is tarnished, +he continued, for he could not forget that Jacob had begun by losing his +master's dogs, two had been killed by panthers. Nor was this the only +misfortune that had befallen him. Having heard that rain had fallen in +the west, he set out for Caesarea to redeem his credit, he hoped, but at +the end of the fourth day he could find no cavern in which to fold his +sheep, and he lay down in the open, surrounded by his flock, +unsuspicious that a pack of wolves had been trailing him from cavern to +cavern since he left the Jordan valley--the animals divining that their +chance would come at last. It would have been better, Jacob said, if the +wolves had fallen upon him, for after this disaster no one would employ +him, and he had wandered an outcast, living on the charity of shepherds, +sharing a little of their bread. But such charity could not last long +and he would have had to sit with the beggars by the wayside above +Jericho if Jesus had not given his lambs into his charge, by this act +restoring to Jacob some of his lost faith in himself. He had gone away +saying to himself: Jesus, who knows more than all the other shepherds +put together, holds me to be no fool, and one day I'll be trusted again +with a flock. I'm young and can wait, and, who knows, Jesus may tell me +his cure for the scab, and by serving him I may get a puppy when Thema +has a litter. In such wise Jacob looked to Jesus and Thema for future +fortune, and as he came over the ridge and caught sight of Jesus waiting +for him, he said: call up thy dogs, Master, lest they should fall upon +mine and upon me. Gorbotha has already risen to his feet and Thema is +growling. + +Jesus laid his staff across their backs. What, will ye attack Jacob, he +cried, and what be your quarrel with his dogs? Poor Syrian dogs, Jacob +answered, that would be quickly killed by thine. If I had had dogs like +Gorbotha and Thema the wolves would not---- But, Jacob, thou wouldst +have lost thy dogs as well as thy sheep. What stand could any dogs make +against a pack of wolves, and a shepherd without dogs is like a bird +without wings, as Brother Amos used to say. Yes, that is just it, Jacob +replied, struck by the aptness of the comparison. Thou art known, Jesus, +to be the most foreseeing shepherd on the hills; but the flock would not +have increased without thy dogs. Abdiel is great in his knowledge of +dogs, and he told me that he had never known any like thine, Master. +Come now, Thema, Jesus cried. Come, lie down here; lay thy muzzle +against my knee. And growl not at Jacob or I'll send thee away. So +Abdiel spoke of my dogs! They are well enough, one can work with them. +But I've had better dogs. Whereupon Jesus told a story how one night he +had lain under a fair sky to sleep and had slept so soundly that the +rain had not wakened him, but Boreth--that was the dog's +name--distressed at the sight of me lying in the rain, began to lick my +face, and when I had wrung out my cloak he led me to a dry cave unknown +to me, though I thought I knew every one in these hills. He must have +gone in search of one as soon as it began to rain, and when he found a +dry one he came back to awaken me. More faithful dogs, he said, there +never were than these at my feet, but I've known stronger and fiercer. +But I'd tell thee another story of Boreth, and he related how one night +in December as he watched, having for his protection only Boreth (his +other dogs, Anos and Torbitt, being at home, one with a lame paw, the +other with puppies), he had fallen asleep, though he knew robbers were +about in the hills, especially in the winter months, he said; but I knew +I could count on Boreth to awake me if one came to steal the sheep. Now +what I'm about to say, Jacob, happened at the time of the great rain of +December, when the nights are dark about us. I was sleeping in a +sheltered place in the coign of a cliff, the flock was folded and Boreth +was away upon his rounds, and it was then that two robbers stole into +the cave. One was about to plunge his dagger into me, but I had time to +catch his wrist and to whistle; and in a few seconds Boreth leapt upon +the robber that was seeking to stab me. He bit his neck and shoulder; +and then, leaving that robber disabled, he attacked the robber's mate, +and it was wonderful how he crept round and round in the darkness, +biting him all the time, and then pursuing the two he worried them up +the valley until his heart misgave him and he thought it wouldn't be +safe to leave me alone any longer. But Gorbotha would defend thee +against a robber, Jacob said, and he called to the dog, but Gorbotha +only growled at him. Have patience with them, Jesus rejoined; I'll not +feed them for three days, and after feeding them thou'lt take them to +the hills, and when they have coursed and killed a jackal for thee it +may be that they'll accept thee for master. But these Thracians rarely +love twice. Come, Jacob, and we'll look into thy flock of lambs and take +counsel together. They seem to be doing fairly well with thee--a bit +tired, I dare say thou hast come a long way with them. We walked too +fast, Jacob answered, saying he had had to go farther than he thought +for in search of grass, and had found some that was worth the distance +they had journeyed, for the lambs had fallen to nibbling at once. Fell +to nibbling at once, did they? Jesus repeated When they're folded with +the ewes, thou'lt put into their jaws a stick to keep them from sucking. +And without waiting for Jacob to answer he asked which of all these +lambs he would choose to keep for breeding from. Jacob pointed out first +one and then another; but Jesus shook his head and showed him a lamb +which Jacob had not cast his eyes over and said: one may not say for +certain, but I shall be surprised if he doesn't come into a fine, +broad-shouldered ram, strong across the loins and straight on his legs, +the sort to get lambs that do well on these hills. And thou'lt be well +advised to leave him on his dam another hundred days; shear him, for it +will give him strength to take some wool from him, but do not take it +from his back, for he will want the wool there to protect him from the +sun. And all the first year he will skip about with the ewes and jump +upon them, but it will be only play, for his time has not yet come; in +two more years he'll be at his height, serving ten ewes a day; but keep +him not over-long; thou must always have some new rams preparing, else +thy flock will decline. The ram thou seest on the right is old, and must +soon be replaced. But the white ram yonder is still full of service: a +better I've never known. The white ram is stronger than the black, +though the black ewe will turn from him and seek a ram of her own +colour. I've known a white ram so ardent for a black ewe that he fought +the black ram till their skulls cracked. Master, it is well to listen to +thee, Jacob interrupted, for none knows sheep like thee, but as none +will ever give me charge of a flock again, thy teaching is wasted upon +me. Look to the ewes' teeth, Jacob, and to their udders; see that the +udders are sound. Master, never before didst thou mock at me, who am for +my misfortunes the mocking-stock of all these fields. In what have I +done wrong? That my lambs are a bit tired is all thou hast to blame me +for to-day. Jacob, I'm not mocking at thee, but looking forward a +little, for time is on thy side and will soon put thee in charge of a +flock again. Time is on my side, Jacob repeated. If I understand thee +rightly, Master, thy meaning is, that the hills are beginning to weary +thee. Look into my beard, Jacob, and see how much grey hair is in it, +and my gait is slower than it used to be, a stiffness has come upon me +that will not wear out, and my eyes are not as keen as they were, and +when I see in thee a wise shepherd, between the spring and autumn, it +may be that Hazael, our president, at my advice, will entrust my flock +to thy charge. + + + + +CHAP. XXX. + + +So thou thinkest, Eliab, that the autumn rains will make an end of him. +And maybe of thee too, Bozrah, Eliab returned. A hard life ours is, even +for the young ones. Hard bread by day and at night a bed of stones, a +hard life from the beginning one that doesn't grow softer, and to end in +a lion's maw at fifty is the best we can hope for. For us, perhaps, +Bozrah answered; but Jesus will go up to the cenoby among the rocks and +die amongst the brethren reading the Scriptures. If the autumn rains +don't make an end of him, Eliab interjected testily, as if he did not +like his forecast of Jesus' death to be called into question. As I was +saying, a shepherd's life is a hard one, and when the autumn rains make +an end of him, the brethren will be on the look-out for another +shepherd, and there's not one amongst them that would bring half the +flock entrusted to him into the fold at the end of the year. The best of +us lose sheep: what with---- + +The flock will go to Jacob, the lad he's been training to follow him +ever since his friend was killed, Havilah remarked timidly. Eliab and +Bozrah raised their eyes, and looked at Havilah in surprise, for a +sensible remark from Havilah was an event, and to their wonder they +found themselves in agreement with Havilah. The flock would go to Jacob +without doubt. Of course, Havilah cried, excited by the success of his +last remark, he be more than fifty. Thou mightst put five years more to +the fifty and not be far wrong, Bozrah interposed. Havilah was minded to +speak again, but his elders' looks made him feel that they had heard him +sufficiently. Now, Bozrah, how many years dost thou make it since Joseph +of Arimathea was killed? How many years? Bozrah repeated. I can't tell +thee how many years, but many years.... Stay, I can mark the date down +for thee. It was about ten years before Theudas (wasn't that his name?) +led the multitude over these hills. A great riot that was surely--fires +lighted at the side of the woods for the roasting of our lambs, and +many's the fine wood that was turned to blackened stems and sad ashes in +those days. It comes back to me now, Eliab interjected. Theudas was the +name. I'd forgotten it for the moment. He led the multitude to Jordan, +and while he was bidding the waters divide to let him across the Romans +had his head off. It was nigh ten years before that rioting Gaddi's +partner was killed in Jerusalem. I believe thee to be right, Bozrah +replied, and they talked of the different magicians and messiahs that +were still plaguing the country, stirring them up against the Romans. +But, cried Bozrah suddenly, the story comes back to me. Not getting any +news of his friend, Jesus left his flock with Jacob, and came down to +the pass between the hills where the road descends to the lake to +inquire from the beggars if they had seen Gaddi's partner on his way to +Jerusalem or Jericho, and seeing the lepers and beggars gathering about +Jesus, I came down to hear what was being said, but before I got as far +I saw Jesus turn away and walk into the hills. It was from the beggars +and lepers that I heard that Joseph had been killed in the streets of +Jerusalem. Thou knowest how long beggars take to tell a story; Jesus +was far away before they got to the end of it, simple though it was. I'd +have gone after him if they'd been quicker. More of the story I don't +know. It was just as thou sayest, mate, Eliab answered, and thou'lt bear +me out that it was some months after, maybe six or seven, that Jesus was +seen again leading the flock. I remember the day I saw him, for wasn't I +near to rubbing my eyes lest they might be deceiving me--I remember, +Eliab continued, it comes back to me as it does to thee, for within two +years he had gathered another handsome flock about him. A fine shepherd, +Havilah said. None better to be found on the hills. Thou speakest well, +Eliab answered him, and for thee to speak well twice in the same day is +well-nigh a miracle. Belike thou'lt awake one morning to find thyself +the Messiah Israel is waiting for, so great is thy advancement of late +in good sense. Havilah turned aside, and Eliab, divining his wounded +spirit, sought to make amends by offering him some bread and garlic, but +Havilah went away, a melancholy, heavy-shouldered young man, one that, +Eliab said, must feel life cruelly, knowing himself as he must have done +from the beginning to be what is known as a good-for-nothing. And it was +soon after Havilah's departure that Jesus returned to the shepherds and, +stopping in front of Eliab and Bozrah, he said: I've come back, mates, +to give you my thanks for many a year of good-fellowship. So the time +has come for us to lose thee, mate, Eliab answered. We are sorry for it, +though it isn't altogether unlocked for. We were saying not many moments +ago, Bozrah interjected, that the life on the hills is no life for a man +when he has gone fifty, and thou'lt not see fifty again: no, and not by +three years, Jesus answered. It was just about fifty years that the +feeling began to come over me that I couldn't fight another winter, and +to think of Jacob, who is waiting for a flock, and he may as well have +mine during my life as wait for my death to get it. Better so, said +Eliab, whose wont it was to strike his word in whenever the speaker +paused. He did not always wait for the speaker to pause, and this trick +being known to Bozrah, he said, and by all accounts thou hast made a +true shepherd of him, passing over to him all thy knowledge. A lad of +good report, Jesus answered, who had fallen on a hard master, a thing +that has happened to all of us in our time, Bozrah interjected. He's not +the first that fell out of favour, for that his ewes hadn't given as +many lambs as they might have done. Nor was there anything of neglect in +it, but such a bit of ill luck as might run into any man or any man +might run up against. He was told, said Eliab, who could not bear anyone +to tell a story but himself, that though he were to bring the parts of +the sheep the wolf had left behind to his master he would have to seek +another master. Such severity frightens the shepherd, and the wolf +smells out the frightened shepherd, Jesus said, and he told his mates +that he had not found Jacob lacking in truthfulness nor in natural +discernment, and he asked them to give all their protection to Jacob, +who will, he said, go forth in charge of our flock to-morrow. + +The shepherds said again that they were sorry to lose Jesus, and that +the hills would not seem like the hills without him, and Jesus answered +that he, too, would be lonely among the brethren reading the Scriptures. +When one is used to sheep one misses them sorely, Eliab said, there's +always something to learn from them; and he began to tell a story; but +before he had come to the end of it Jesus' thoughts took leave of the +story he was listening to, and he turned away, leaving the shepherd with +his half-finished story, and walked absorbed in his thoughts, immersed +in his own mind, till he had reached the crest of the next hill and was +within some hundred yards of the brook. It was then that he remembered +he had left them abruptly in the middle of a half-finished relation, and +he stopped to consider if he should return to them and ask for the end +of the story. But fearing they would think he was making a mocking-stock +of them, he sighed, and was vexed that they had parted on a seeming lack +of courtesy: on no seeming lack, on a very clear lack, he said to +himself; but it would be useless to return to them; they would not +understand, and a man had always better return to his own thoughts. +Repent, repent, he said, picking up the thread of his thoughts, but +acknowledgment comes before repentance, and of what help will repentance +be, for repentance changes nothing, it brings nothing unless grief +peradventure. I was in the hands of God then just as I am now, and +everything within and without us is in his hands. The things that we +look upon as evil and the things that we look upon as good. Our sight is +not his sight, our hearing is not his hearing, we must despise nothing, +for all things come from him, and return to him. I used, he said, to +despise the air I breathed, and long for the airs of paradise, but what +did these longings bring me?--grief. God bade us live on earth and we +bring unhappiness upon ourselves by desiring heaven. Jesus stopped, and +looking through the blue air of evening, he could see the shepherds +eating their bread and garlic on the hillside. Folding-time is near, he +said to himself, but I shall never fold a flock again.... + +His thoughts began again, flowing like a wind, as mysteriously, arising +he knew not whence, nor how, his mind holding him as fast as if he were +in chains, and he heard from within that he had passed through two +stages--the first was in Jerusalem, when he preached against the priests +and their sacrifices. God does not desire the blood of sheep, but our +love, and all ritual comes between us and God ... God is in the heart, +he had said, and he had spoken as truly as a man may speak of the +journey that lies before him on the morning of the first day. + +In the desert he had looked for God in the flowers that the sun called +forth and in the clouds that the wind shepherded, and he had learnt to +prize the earth and live content among his sheep, all things being +the gift of God and his holy will. He had not placed himself above the +flowers and grasses of the earth, nor the sheep that fed upon them, nor +above the men that fed upon the sheep. He had striven against the memory +of his sin, he had desired only one thing, to acknowledge his sin, and +to repent. But it seemed to him that anger and shame and sorrow, and +desire of repentance had dropped out of his heart. It seemed to him as +he turned and pursued his way that some new thought was striving to +speak through him. Rites and observances, all that comes under the name +of religion estranges us from God, he repeated. God is not here, nor +there, but everywhere: in the flower, and in the star, and in the earth +underfoot. He has often been at my elbow, God or this vast Providence +that upholds the work; but shall we gather the universal will into an +image and call it God?--for by doing this do we not drift back to the +starting-point of all our misery? We again become the dupes of illusion +and desire; God and his heaven are our old enemies in disguise. He who +yields himself to God goes forth to persuade others to love God, and +very soon his love of God impels him to violent words and cruel deeds. +It cannot be else, for God is but desire, and whosoever yields to desire +falls into sin. To be without sin we must be without God. + +Jesus stood before the door of the cenoby, startled at the thoughts that +had been put into his mind, asking himself if any man had dared to ask +himself if God were not indeed the last uncleanliness of the mind. + + + + +CHAP. XXXI. + + +If thou wouldst not miss Mathias' discourse, Brother Jesus, thou must +hasten thy steps. He is telling that the Scriptures are but allegories. +Some of us are opposed to this view, believing that Adam and Eve +are--Yea, Brother, and my thanks to thee for thy admonishment, Jesus +said, for he did not wish to discredit Mathias' reputation for +theological argument; but no sooner was he out of sight of the +gate-keeper than he began to examine the great rock that Joseph had +predicted would one day come crashing down, and, being no wise in a +hurry, fell to wondering how much of the mountain-side it would bring +with it when it fell. At present it projected over the pathway for +several yards, making an excellent store-house, and, his thoughts +suspended between the discussion that was proceeding regarding Adam and +Eve--whether the original twain had ever lived or were but allegories +(themselves and their garden)--he began to consider if the brethren had +laid in a sufficient stock of firewood, and how long it would take him +to chop it into pieces handy for burning. He would be glad to relieve +the brethren from all such humble work, and for taking it upon himself +he would he able to plead an excuse for absenting himself from Mathias' +discourses. Hazael would not refuse to assign to him the task of feeding +the doves and the cleaning out of their coops; he would find occupation +among the vines and fig-trees--he was something of a gardener--and +Hazael would not refuse him permission to return to the hills to see +that all was well with the flocks. Jacob will need to be looked after; +and there are the dogs; and if they cannot be brought to look upon Jacob +as master their lives will be wasted, he said. + +I seem to read supper in their eyes, he said, and having tied them up +supperless he visited the bitch and her puppies. Brother Ozias hasn't +forgotten to feed her. There is some food still in the platter. But they +must submit, he continued, his thoughts having returned to his dogs, +Theusa and Tharsa, and then he stood listening, for he could hear +Mathias' voice. The door of the lecture-room is closed; if I step softly +none will know that I have returned from the hills, and I can sit +unsuspected on the balcony till Mathias' allegories are ended, and +watching the evening descending on the cliff it may be that I shall be +able to examine the thoughts that assailed me as I ascended the +hillside; whether we pursue a corruptible or an incorruptible crown the +end is the same, he said. It was not enough for me to love God, I must +needs ask others to worship him, at first with words of love, and when +love failed I threatened, I raved; and the sin I fell into others will +fall into, for it s natural to man to wish to make his brother like +himself, thereby undoing the work of God. Myself am no paragon; I +condemned the priests whilst setting myself up as a priest, and spoke of +God and the will of God though in all truth I had very little more +reason than they to speak of these things. God has not created us to +know him, or only partially through our consciousness of good and evil. +Good and evil do not exist in God's eyes as in our eyes, for he is the +author of all, but it may be that our sense of good and evil was given +to us by him as a token of our divine nature. If this be true, why +should we puzzle and fret ourselves with distinctions like Mathias? It +were better to leave the mystery and attend to this life, casting out +desire to know what God is or what nature is, as well as desire for +particular things in this world which long ago I told men to +disregard.... A flight of doves distracted his attention, and a moment +after the door of the lecture-room opened and Saddoc and Manahem +appeared, carrying somebody dead or who had fainted. As they came across +the domed gallery towards the embrasure Jesus heard Manahem say: he will +return to himself as soon as we get him into the air. And they placed +him where Jesus had been sitting. A little water, Saddoc cried, and +Jesus ran to the well, and returning with a cup of water he stood by +sprinkling the worn, grey face. The heat overcame me, he murmured, but I +shall soon be well and then you will bear me back to hear--The sentence +did not finish, and Jesus said: thou'lt be better here with me, Hazael, +than listening to discourses that fatigue the mind. Mathias is very +insistent, Manahem muttered. He is indeed, Saddoc answered. And while +Jesus sat by Hazael, fearing that his life might go out at any moment, +Manahem reproved Saddoc, saying that whereas duty is the cause of all +good, we have only to look beyond our own doors to see evil everywhere. +Even so, Saddoc answered, what wouldst thou? That the world, Manahem +answered, was created by good and evil angels. Whereupon Saddoc asked +him if he numbered Lilith, Adam's first wife, among the evil angels. A +question Manahem did not answer, and, being eager to tell the story, he +turned to Jesus, who he guessed did not know it, and began at once to +tell it, after warning Jesus that it was among their oldest stories +though not to be found in the Scriptures. She must be numbered among the +evil angels, he said, remembering that Saddoc had put the question to +him, for she rebuked Adam, who took great delight in her hair, combing +it for his pleasure from morn to eve in the garden, and left him, saying +she could abide him no longer. At which words, Jesus, Adam sorrowed, and +his grief was such that God heard his sighs and asked him for what he +was grieving, and he said: I live in great loneliness, for Lilith, O +Lord, has left me, and I beg thee to send messengers who will bring her +back. Whereupon God took pity on his servant Adam and bade his three +angels, Raphael, Gabriel and Michael, to go away at once in search of +Lilith, whom they found flying over the sea, and her answer to them was +that her pleasure was now in flying, and for that reason I will not +return to Adam, she said. Is that the answer we are to bring back to +God? they asked. I have no other answer for him, she answered, being in +a humour in which it pleased her to anger God, and the anger that her +words put upon him was so great that to punish her he set himself to the +creation of a lovely companion for Adam. Be thou lonely no more, he said +to Adam. See, I have given Eve to thee. Adam was never lonely again, but +walked through a beautiful garden, enjoying Eve's beauty unceasingly, +happy as the day was long, till tidings of their happiness reached +Lilith, who by that time had grown weary of flying from sea to sea: I +will make an end of it, she said, and descending circle by circle she +went about seeking the garden, which she found at last, but failing to +find the gate or any gap in the walls she sat down and began combing her +hair. Nor was she long combing it before Lucifer, attracted by the +rustling, came by, saying: I would be taken captive in the net thou +weavest with thy hair, and she answered: not yet; for my business is in +yon garden, but into it I can find no way. Wilt lend me thy sinewy +shape, Lucifer? for in it I shall be able to glide over the walls and +coil myself into the tree of forbidden fruit, and I shall persuade Eve +as she passes to eat of it, for it will be to her great detriment to do +so. But of what good will that be to me? Lucifer answered, wouldst thou +leave me without a shape whilst thou art tempting Eve? Thy reward will +be that I will come to thee again when I have tempted Eve and made an +end of her happiness. We shall repeople the world with sons and +daughters more bright and beautiful and more supple than any that have +ever been seen yet. All the same, Lucifer answered, not liking to part +with his shape. But as his desire could not be gainsaid, he lent his +shape to Lilith for an hour. And it was in that hour our first parents +fell into sin, and were chased from the garden. Did she return to +Lucifer and fulfil her promise or did she cheat him? Saddoc asked. As +Manahem was about to answer Saddoc intervened again: Manahem, thou +overlookest the fact that Mathias holds that the Garden of Eden and Adam +and Eve, to say nothing of Lilith, are a parable, and his reason for +thinking thus is, as thou knowest well, that the Scriptures tell us that +after eating of the forbidden fruit Adam and Eve sought to hide +themselves from God among the trees. + +He holds as thou sayest, Saddoc, that the garden means the mind of man +as an individual; and he who would escape from God flees from himself, +for our lives are swayed between two powers: the mind of the universe, +which is God, and the separate mind of the individual. Then, if I +understand thee rightly, Manahem, and thy master, Mathias, the +Scriptures melt into imagery? What says Jesus? This, Saddoc, that it was +with such subtleties of discourse and lengthy periods that Mathias +fatigued our Father till he fainted away in his chair. Jesus is right, +Manahem answered; it was certainly Mathias' discourse that fatigued our +Father, so why should we prolong the argument in his face while he is +coming back to life? + +It was not the length of Mathias' discourse, nor his eloquence, Hazael +said, that caused my senses to swoon away. My age will not permit me to +listen long. I would be with Jesus, and I would that ye, Saddoc and +Manahem, return to the lecture-room at once, else our brother will think +his discourse has failed. Jesus is here to give the attendance I +require. Go, hasten, lest ye miss any of his points. The brethren were +about to raise a protest, but at a sign from Jesus they obeyed; Mathias' +voice was heard as soon as the door of the lecture-room was opened, but +the brethren did not forget to close it, and when silence came again +Hazael said: Jesus, come hither, sit near me, for I would speak to thee, +but cannot raise my voice. Thou'lt sleep here to-night, and to-morrow we +shall meet again. And this is well, for my days are numbered. I shall +not be here to see next year's lambs and to agree that this new shepherd +shall be recompensed by a gift of eighteen, as is the custom. And Jesus, +understanding that the president was prophesying his own death, said: +why speakest like this to me who have returned from the hills to +strangers, for all are strangers to me but thou. I shall be sorry to +leave thee, Jesus, for our lives have been twisted together, strands of +the same rope. But it must be plain to thee that I am growing weaker; +month by month, week by week, my strength is ebbing. I am going out; but +for what reason should I lament that God has not chosen to retain me a +few months longer, since my life cannot be prolonged for more than a few +months? My eighty odd years have left me with barely strength enough to +sit in the doorway looking back on the way I have come. Every day the +things of this world grow fainter, and life becomes to me an unreal +thing, and myself becomes unreal to those around me; only to thee do I +retain anything of my vanished self. So why should I remain? For thy +sake, lest thou be lonely here? Well, that is reason enough, and I will +bear the burden of life as well as I can for thy sake. A burden it is, +and for a reason that thou mayest not divine, for thou art still a young +man in my eyes, and, moreover, hast not lived under a roof for many +years listening to learned interpretations of Scripture. Thou hast not +guessed, nor wilt thou ever guess, till age reveals it to thee, that as +we grow old we no longer concern ourselves to love God as we used to +love him. No one would have thought, not even thou, whose mind is always +occupied with God, and who is more conscious of him perhaps than any one +I have known, no one, I say, not even thou, would have thought that as +we approach death our love of God should grow weaker, but this is so. In +great age nothing seems to matter, and it is this indifference that I +wish to escape from. Thou goest forth in the morning to lead thy flock +in search of pasture, if need be many hours, and God is nearer to us in +the wilderness than he is among men. This meaning, Jesus said, that +under this roof I, too, may cease to love God? Not cease to love God: +one doesn't cease to love God, Hazael answered. But, Hazael, this night +I've yielded up the flocks to a new shepherd, for my limbs have grown +weary, and what thou tellest me of old age frightens me. Thou wouldst +warn me that God is only loved on the hills under the sky---- I am too +weak to choose my thoughts or my words, and many things pass out of my +mind, Hazael answered. Had I remembered I shouldn't have spoken. But why +not speak, Father? Jesus asked, so that I may be prepared in a measure +for the new life that awaits me. Life never comes twice in the same way, +Hazael replied; nor do the same things befall any two men. I know not +what may befall thee: but the sky, Jesus, will always be before thine +eyes and the green fields under thy feet, even while listening to +Mathias. But thou didst live once under the sky, Jesus said. Not long +enough, Hazael murmured, but the love of God was ardent in me when I +walked by day and night, sleeping under the stars, seeking young men who +could give up their lives to the love of God and bringing them back +hither into the fold of the Essenes. In those days there was little else +in me but love of God, and I could walk from dusk to dusk without +wearying; twelve and fifteen hours were not too many for my feet: my +feet bounded along the road while my eyes followed white clouds moving +over the sky; I dreamed of them as God's palaces, and I saw God not only +in the clouds but in the grass, and in the fields, and the flower that +covers the fields. I read God in the air and in the waters: and in every +town in Palestine I sought out those that loved God and those that could +learn to love God. I could walk well in those days, fifteen hours were +less than as many minutes are now. I have walked from Jerusalem to Joppa +in one day, and the night that I met thy father outside Nazareth I had +walked twelve hours, though I had been delayed in the morning: eight +hours before midday, and after a rest in the wood I went on again for +several hours more, how many I do not know, I've forgotten. I did not +know the distance that I had walked till I met thy father coming home +from his work, his tools in the bag upon his shoulder. His voice is +still in my ear. But if it be to Nazareth thou'rt going, come along with +me, he said. And I can still hear ourselves talking, myself asking him +to direct me to a lodging, and his answering: there's a house in the +village where thou'lt get one, and I'll lead thee to it. But all the +beds in that house were full; we knocked at other inns, but the men and +women and children in them were asleep and not to be roused; and if by +chance our knocking awakened somebody we were bidden away with threats +that the dogs would be loosed upon us. Nazareth looks not kindly on the +wayfarer to-night, I said. Yet it shall not be said that a stranger had +to sleep in the streets of Nazareth, were thy father's very words to me, +Jesus. Come to my house, he said, though it be small and we have to put +somebody out of his bed, it will be better than that our town should +gain evil repute. Thou canst not have forgotten me coming, for thy +father shook thee out of thy sleep and told thee that he wanted thy bed +for a stranger. I can see thee still standing before me in thy shift, +and though the hours I'd travelled had gone down into my very marrow, +and sleep was heavy upon my eyes, yet a freshness came upon me as of the +dawn when I looked on thee, and my heart told me that I had found one +that would do honour to the Essenes, and love God more than any I had +ever met with yet. But I think I hear thee weeping, Jesus. Now, for what +art thou weeping? There is nothing sad in the story, only that it is a +long time ago. Our speech next day still rings in my ear--my telling +thee of the Pharisees that merely minded the letter of the law, and of +the Sadducees that said there was no life outside this world except for +angels. It is well indeed that I remember our two selves sitting by the +door on two stools set under a vine, and it throwing pretty patterns of +shadow on the pavement whilst we talked--whilst I talked to thee of the +brethren, who lived down by the Bitter Lake, no one owning anything more +than his fellow, so that none might be distracted from God by the +pleasures of this world. I can see clearly through the years thy face +expectant, and Nazareth--the deeply rutted streets and the hills above. + +The days that we walked in Nazareth are pleasant memories, for I could +never tell thee enough about the Essenes: their contempt of riches, and +that if there were one among them who had more than another, on entering +the order he willingly shared it. We were among the hills the day that I +told thee about the baker; how he put a platter with a loaf on it before +each of the brethren, how they broke bread, deeming the meal sacred, and +it was the next day that we bade farewell to thy father and thy mother +and started on our journey; a long way, but one that did not seem long +to us, so engaged were we with our hopes. It was with me thou sawest +Jerusalem for the first time; and I remember telling thee as we +journeyed by the Jordan seeking a ford that the Essenes looked upon oil +as a defilement, and if any one of them be anointed without his +approbation it is wiped off, for we think to be sweaty is a good thing, +and to be clothed in white garments, and never to change these till they +be torn to pieces or worn out by time. + +And of the little band that came with us that day from Galilee there +remain Saddoc, Manahem and thyself. All of you learnt from me on the +journey that we laboured till the fifth hour and then assembled together +again clothed in white veils, after having bathed our bodies in cold +water. But, Jesus, why this grief? Because I am going from thee? But, +dear friend, to come and to go is the law of life, and it may be that I +shall be with thee longer than thou thinkest for; eighty odd years may +be lengthened into ninety: the patriarchs lived till a hundred and more +years, and we believe that the soul outlives the body. Out of the +chrysalis we escape from our corruptible bodies, and the beautiful +butterfly flutters Godward. Grieve for me a little when I am gone, but +grieve not before I go, for I would see thy face always happy, as I +remember it in those years long ago in Nazareth. Jesus, Jesus, thou +shouldst not weep like this! None should weep but for sin, and thy life +is known to me from the day in Nazareth when we sat in the street +together to the day that thou wentest to the Jordan to get baptism from +John. + +Ah! that day was the only day that my words were unheeded. But I am +saying things that would seem to wound thee, and for why I know not! +Tell me if my words wound or call up painful memories. Thy suffering is +forgotten, or should be, for if ever any man merited love and admiration +for a sincere and holy life thou---- I beg of thee, Father, not to say +another word, for none is less worthy than I am. The greatest sinner +amongst us is sitting by thee, one that has not dared to tell his secret +to thee.... The memory of my sin has fed upon me and grown stronger, +becoming a devil within me, but till now I have lacked courage to come +to thee and ask thee to cast it out. But now since thou art going from +us this year or the next, I wouldn't let thee go without telling it; to +none may I tell it but to thee, for none else would understand it. I am +listening, Jesus, Hazael answered. + +The mutter of the water in the valley below them arose and grew louder +in the silence; as Jesus prepared to speak his secret the doors of the +lecture-room opened and the monks came out singing: + + In the Lord put I my trust: + How say ye to my soul, Flee + As a bird to your mountain? + For, lo, the wicked bend their + Bow, they make ready their arrow + Upon the string, that they may privily + Shoot at the upright in heart. + If the foundations be destroyed, what + Can the righteous do? + For the righteous Lord loveth + Righteousness; his countenance + Doth behold the upright. + +The words of the psalm are intended for me, Jesus whispered, and now +that the brethren are here I may not speak, but to-morrow---- There may +be no to-morrow for us, the president answered. Even so, Jesus answered, +I cannot speak to-night. It is as if I were bidden to withhold my secret +till to-morrow. We know not why we speak or why we are silent, but +silence has been put upon me by the words of the psalm. Be it so, the +president answered, and he was helped by Saddoc and Manahem to his feet. +Our Brother Jesus, he said, has given over the charge of our flocks to a +young shepherd in whom he has confidence, and Jesus sleeps under a roof +to-night, the first for many years, for, like us, he is getting older, +and the rains and blasts of last winter have gone into his bones. All +the cells, Father, Saddoc replied, are filled. I know that well, Saddoc, +Hazael said as he went out; Jesus can sleep here on these benches; a +mattress and a cloak will be sufficient for him who has slept in +caverns, or in valleys on heaps of stones that he piled so that he might +not drown in the rains. Manahem will get thee a mattress, Jesus; he +knows where to find one. I am strong enough to walk alone, Saddoc. And +disengaging himself from Saddoc's arm he walked with the monks towards +his cell, joining them in the psalm: + + All the powers of the Lord + Bless ye the Lord; praise and + Exalt him above all for ever. + +As the doors of the cell closed Saddoc approached Jesus, and, breaking +his reverie, he said: thou hast returned to us at last; and it was not +too soon, for the winter rains are cold on bones as old as thine. But +here comes Manahem with a mattress for thee. On the bench here, Manahem; +on the bench he'll lie comfortably, and we'll get him a covering, for +the nights are often chilly though the days be hot, we must try to make +a comfortable resting-place for him that has guarded our flocks these +long years. Wilt tell us if thou beest glad to yield thy flock to Jacob +and if he will sell ewes and rams to the Temple for sacrifice? Ask me +not any questions to-night, Brother Saddoc, for I'm troubled in mind. +Forgive me my question, Jesus, Saddoc answered, and the three Essenes, +leaning over the edge of the gorge, stood listening to the mutter of the +brook. At last, to break the silence that the brook rumpled without +breaking, Jesus asked if a wayfarer never knocked at the door of the +cenoby after dark asking for bread and board. None knows the path well +enough to keep to it after dark, Saddoc said; though the moon be high +and bright the shadows disguise the path yonder. The path is always in +darkness where it bends round the rocks, and the wayfarer would miss his +footing and fall over into the abyss, even though he were a shepherd. +Thyself wouldst miss it. Saddoc speaks well; none can follow the path, +Manahem said, and fortunately, else we should have all the vagrants of +the country knocking at our door. + +We shall have one to-night--vagrant or prophet, Jesus said, and asked +his brethren to look yonder; for it seemed to him that a man had just +come out of the shadow of an overhanging rock. Manahem could see nobody, +for, he said, none could find the way in the darkness, and if it be a +demon, he continued, and fall, it will not harm him: the devil will hold +him up lest he dash himself at the bottom of the ravine. But if it be a +man of flesh and blood like ourselves he will topple over yon rock, and +Manahem pointed to a spot, and they waited, expecting to see the shadow +or the man they were watching disappear, but the man or the shadow kept +close to the cliffs, avoiding what seemed to be the path so skilfully +that Saddoc and Manahem said he must know the way. He will reach the +bridge safely, cried Saddoc, and we shall have to open our doors to him. +Now he is crossing the bridge, and now he begins the ascent. Let us pray +that he may miss the path through the terraces. But would you have him +miss it, Saddoc, Jesus asked, for the sake of thy rest? He shall have my +mattress; I'll sleep on this bench in the window under the sky, and +shall be better there: a roof is not my use nor wont. But who, said +Saddoc, can he be?--for certainly the man, if he be not an evil spirit, +is coming to ask for shelter for the night; and if he be not a demon he +may be a prophet or robber: once more the hills are filled with robbers. +Or it may be, Jesus said, the preacher of whom Jacob spoke to me this +evening; he came up from the Jordan with a story of a preacher that the +multitude would not listen to and sought to drown in the river, and our +future shepherd told me how the rabble had followed him over the hills +with the intent to kill him. Some great and terrible heresy he must be +preaching to stir them like that, Manahem said, and he asked if the +shepherd had brought news of the prophet's escape or death. Jesus +answered that the shepherd thought the prophet had escaped into a cave, +for he saw the crowd dispersing, going home like dogs from a hunt when +they have lost their prey. If so, he has been lying by in the cave. Who +can he be? Saddoc asked. Only a shepherd could have kept to the path. +Now he sees us ... and methinks he is no shepherd, but a robber. + +The Essenes waited a few moments longer and the knocking they had +expected came at their door. Do not open it, Saddoc cried. He is for +sure a robber sent in advance of his band, or it may be a prisoner of +the Romans, and to harbour him may put us on crosses above the hills. We +shall hang! Open not the door! If it be a wayfarer lost among the hills +a little food and water will save him, Jesus answered. Open not the +door, Jesus; though he be a prophet I would not open to him. A prophet +he may be, and no greater danger besets us, for our later prophets +induced men to follow them into the desert, promising that they should +witness the raising of the dead with God riding the clouds and coming +down for judgment. I say open not the door to him, Jesus! He may be one +of the followers of the prophets, of which we have seen enough in these +last years, God knows! The cavalry of Festus may be in pursuit of him +and his band, and they have cut down many between Jerusalem and Jericho. +I say open not the door! We live among terrors and dangers, Jesus; open +not the door! Hearken, Saddoc, he calls us to open to him, Jesus said, +moving towards the door. He is alone. We know he is, for we have seen +him coming down a path on which two men pass each other with difficulty. +He is a wayfarer, and we've been safe on this ledge of rock for many +years; and times are quieter now than they have been since the dispersal +of the great multitude that followed Theudas and were destroyed, and the +lesser multitude that followed Banu; they, too, have perished. + +Open not the door, Jesus! Saddoc cried again. There are Sicarii who kill +men in the daytime, mingling themselves among the multitude with daggers +hidden in their garments, their mission being to stab those that disobey +the law in any fraction. We're Essenes, and have not sent blood +offerings to the Temple. Open not the door. Sicarii or Zealots travel in +search of heretics through the cities of Samaria and Judea. Open not the +door! Men are for ever fooled, Saddoc continued, and will never cease to +open their doors to those who stand in need of meat and drink. It will +be safer, Jesus, to bid him away. Tell him rather that we'll let down a +basket of meat and drink from the balcony to him. Art thou, Manahem, for +turning this man from the door or letting him in? Jesus asked. There is +no need to be frightened, Manahem answered; he is but a wanderer, +Saddoc. A wanderer he cannot be, for he has found his way along the path +in the darkness of the night, Saddoc interjected. Open not the door, I +tell thee, or else we all hang on crosses above the hills to-morrow. +But, Saddoc, we are beholden to the law not to refuse bed and board to +the poor, Manahem replied, returning from the door. If we do not open, +Jesus said, he will leave our door, and that will be a greater +misfortune than any that he may bring us. Hearken, Saddoc! He speaks +fair enough, Saddoc replied; but we may plead that after sunset in the +times we live in---- But, Manahem, Jesus interjected, say on which side +thou art.... We know there is but one man; and we are more than a match +for one. Put a sword in Saddoc's hand. No! Manahem! for I should seem +like a fool with a sword in my hand. Since thou sayest there is but one +man and we are three, it might be unlucky to turn him from our doors. +May I then open to him? Jesus asked, and he began to unbar the great +door, and a heavy, thick-set man, weary of limb and mind, staggered into +the gallery, and stood looking from one to the other, as if trying to +guess which of the three would be most likely to welcome him. His large +and bowed shoulders made his bald, egg-shaped skull (his turban had +fallen in his flight) seem ridiculously small; it was bald to the ears, +and a thick black beard spread over the face like broom, and nearly to +the eyes; thick black eyebrows shaded eyes so piercing and brilliant +that the three Essenes were already aware that a man of great energy had +come amongst them. He had run up the terraces despite his great +girdlestead and he stood before them like a hunted animal, breathing +hard, looking from one to the other, a red, callous hand scratching in +his shaggy chest, his eyes fixed first on Saddoc and then on Manahem and +lastly on Jesus, whom he seemed to recognise as a friend. May I rest a +little while? If so, give me drink before I sleep, he asked. No food, +but drink. Why do ye not answer? Do ye fear me, mistaking me for a +robber? Or have I wandered among robbers? Where am I? Hark: I am but a +wayfarer and thou'rt a shepherd of the hills, I know thee by thy garb, +thou'lt not refuse me shelter. And Jesus, turning to Saddoc and Manahem, +said: he shall have the mattress I was to sleep upon. Give it to him, +Manahem. Thou shalt have food and a coverlet, he said, turning to the +wayfarer. No food! he cried; but a drink of water. There is some ewe's +milk on the shelf, Manahem. Thou must be footsore, he said, giving the +milk to the stranger, who drank it greedily. I'll get thee a linen +garment so that thou mayst sleep more comfortable; and I'll bathe thy +feet before sleep; sleep will come easier in a fresh garment. But to +whose dwelling have I come? the stranger asked. A shepherd told me the +Essenes lived among the rocks.... Am I among them? He told me to keep +close to the cliff's edge or I should topple over. We watched thee, and +it seemed every moment that thou couldst not escape death. It will be +well to ask him his name and whence he comes, Saddoc whispered to +Manahem. The shepherd told thee that we are Essenes, and it remains for +thee to tell us whom we entertain. A prisoner of the Romans---- A +prisoner of the Romans! Saddoc cried. Then indeed we are lost; a +prisoner of the Romans with soldiers perhaps at thy heels! A prisoner +fled from Roman justice may not lodge here.... Let us put him beyond our +doors. And becoming suddenly courageous Saddoc went up to Paul and tried +to lift him to his feet. Manahem, aid me! + +Jesus, who had gone to fetch a basin of water and a garment, returned +and asked Saddoc and Manahem the cause of their unseemly struggle with +their guest. They replied that their guest had told them he was a +prisoner of the Romans. Even so, Jesus answered, we cannot turn him from +our doors. These men have little understanding, Paul answered. I'm not a +criminal fled from Roman justice, but a man escaped from Jewish +persecution. Why then didst thou say, cried Saddoc, that thou'rt a +prisoner of the Romans? Because I would not be taken to Jerusalem to be +tried before the Jews. I appealed to Caesar, and while waiting on the +ship to take me to Italy, Festus gave me leave to come here, for I heard +that there were Jews in Jericho of great piety, men unlike the Jews of +Jerusalem, who though circumcised in the flesh are uncircumcised in +heart and ear. Of all of this I will tell you to-morrow, and do you tell +me now of him that followed me along the cliff. We saw no one following +thee; thou wast alone. He may have missed me before I turned down the +path coming from Jericho. I speak of Timothy, my beloved son in the +faith. What strange man is this that we entertain for the night? Saddoc +whispered to Manahem. And if any disciple of mine fall into the hands of +the Jews of Jerusalem---- We know not of what thou'rt speaking, Jesus +answered; and it is doubtless too long a story to tell to-night. I must +go at once in search of Timothy, Paul said, and he turned towards the +door. The moon is setting, Jesus cried, and returning to-night will mean +thy death over the cliffs edge. There is no strength in thy legs to keep +thee to the path. I should seek him in vain, Paul answered. Rest a +little while, Jesus said, and drink a little ewe's milk, and when thou +hast drunken I'll bathe thy feet. + +Without waiting for Paul's assent he knelt to untie his sandals. We came +from Caesarea to Jericho to preach the abrogation of the law. What +strange thing is he saying now? The abrogation of the law! Saddoc +whispered to Manahem. The people would not listen to us, and, stirred up +by the Jews, they sought to capture us, but we escaped into the hills +and hid in a cave that an angel pointed out to us. Hark, an angel +pointed out a cave to him! Manahem whispered in Saddoc's ear. Then he +must be a good man, Saddoc answered, but we know not if he speaks the +truth. We have had too many prophets; he is another, and of the same +tribe, setting men by the ears. We have had too many prophets! + +Now let me bathe thy feet, which are swollen, and after bathing Paul's +feet Jesus relieved him of his garment and passed a white robe over his +shoulders. Thou'lt sleep easier in it. They would have done well to +hearken to me, Paul muttered. Thou'lt tell us thy story of ill treatment +to-morrow, Jesus said, and he laid Paul back on his pillow, and a moment +after he was asleep. + + + + +CHAP. XXXII. + + +Jesus feared to awaken him, but was constrained at last to call after +him: thou'rt dreaming, Paul. Awake! Remember the Essenes ... friends, +friends. But Paul did not hear him, and it was not till Jesus laid his +hand on his shoulder that Paul opened his eyes: thou hast been dreaming, +Paul, Jesus said. Where am I? Paul inquired. With the Essenes, Jesus +answered. I was too tired to sleep deeply, Paul said, and it would be +useless for me to lie down again. I am afraid of my dreams; and together +they stood looking across the abyss watching the rocks opposite coming +into their shapes against a strip of green sky. + +The ravine was still full of mist, and a long time seemed to pass before +the bridge and the ruins over against the bridge began to appear. As the +dawn advanced sleep came upon Paul's eyelids. He lay down and dozed +awhile, for about an hour, and when he opened his eyes again Jesus' +hand was upon his shoulder and he was saying: Paul, it is now daybreak: +at the Brook Kerith we go forth to meet the sunrise. To meet the +sunrise, Paul repeated, for he knew nothing of the doctrine of the +Essenes. But he followed Jesus through the gallery and received from him +a small hatchet with instructions how he should use it, and a jar which +he must fill with water at the well. We carry water with us, Jesus said, +for the way is long to the brook; only by sending nearly to the source +can we reach it, for we are mindful not to foul the water we drink. But +come, we're late already. Jesus threw a garment over Paul's shoulder and +told him of the prayers he must murmur. We do not speak of profane +matters till after sunrise. He broke off suddenly and pointed to a place +where they might dig: and as soon as we have purified ourselves, he +continued, we will fare forth in search of shepherds, who, on being +instructed by us, will be watchful for a young man lost on the hills and +will direct him to the Essene settlement above the Brook Kerith. Be of +good courage, he will be found. Hadst thou come before to-day myself +would be seeking him for thee, but yesterday I gave over my flock to +Jacob, a trustworthy lad, who will give the word to the next one, and he +will pass it on to another, and so the news will be carried the best +part of the way to Caesarea before noon. It may be that thy companion +has found his way to Caesarea already, for some can return whither they +have come, however long and strange the way may be. Pause, we shall hear +Jacob's pipe answer mine. Jesus played a few notes, which were answered +immediately, and not long afterwards the shepherd appeared over a ridge +of hills. Thy shepherd, Paul said, is but a few years younger than +Timothy and he looks to thee as Timothy looks to me. Tell him who I am +and whom I seek. Jacob, Jesus said, thou didst tell me last night of a +preacher to whom the multitude would not listen, but sought to throw +into the Jordan. He has come amongst us seeking his companion Timothy. +The twain escaped from the multitude, Jacob interjected. That is true, +Jesus answered, but they ran apart above the brook, one keeping on to +Caesarea, this man followed the path round the rocks (how he did it we +are still wondering) and climbed up to our dwelling. We must find his +companion for him. Jacob promised that every shepherd should hear that a +young man was missing. As soon as a shepherd appears on yon hillside, +Jacob said, he shall have the word from me, and he will pass it on. +Jesus looked up into Paul's anxious face. We cannot do more, he said, +and began to speak with Jacob of rams and ewes just as if Timothy had +passed out of their minds. Paul listened for a while, but finding little +to beguile his attention in their talk, he bade Jesus and Jacob good-bye +for the present, saying he was returning to the cenoby. I wonder, he +said to himself, as he went up the hill, if they'd take interest in my +craft, I could talk to them for a long while of the thread which should +always be carefully chosen, and which should be smooth and of equal +strength, else, however deftly the shuttle be passed, the woof would be +rough. But no matter, if they'll get news of Timothy for me I'll listen +to their talk of rams and ewes without complaint. It was kind of Jacob +to say he did not think Timothy had fallen down a precipice, but what +does he know? and on his way back Paul tried to recall the ravine that +he had seen in the dusk as he leaned over the balcony with Jesus. And as +he passed through the domed gallery he stopped for a moment by the well, +it having struck him that he might ask the brother drawing water to come +with him to look for Timothy. If my son were lying at the bottom of the +ravine, he said, I should not be able to get him out without help. Come +with me. + +The Essene did not know who Paul was, nor of whom he was speaking, and +at the end of Paul's relation the brother answered that there might be +two hundred feet from the pathway to the brook, more than that in many +places; but thou'lt see for thyself; I may not leave my work. If a man +be dying the Essene, by his rule, must succour him, Paul said. But I +know not, the Essene answered, that any man be dying in the brook. We +believe thy comrade held on to the road to Caesarea. So it may have +befallen, Paul said, but it may be else. It may be, the Essene answered, +but not likely. He held on to the road to Caesarea, and finding thee no +longer with him kept on--or rolled over the cliff, Paul interrupted. +Well, see for thyself; and if he be at the bottom I'll come to help +thee. But it is a long way down, and it may be that we have no rope long +enough, and without one we cannot reach him, but forgive me, for I see +that my words hurt thee. But how else am I to speak? I know thy words +were meant kindly, and if thy president should ask to see me thou'lt +tell him I've gone down the terraces and will return as soon as I have +made search. This search should have been made before. That was not +possible; the mist is only; just cleared, the brother answered, and +Paul proceeded up and down the terraces till he reached the bridge, and +after crossing it he mounted the path and continued it, venturing close +to the edge and looking down the steep sides as he went, but seeing +nowhere any traces of Timothy. Had he fallen here, he said to himself, +he would be lying in the brook. But were Timothy lying there I could not +fail to see him, nor is there water enough to wash him down into Jordan. +It must be he is seeking his way to Caesarea. Let it be so, I pray God, +and Paul continued his search till he came to where the path twisted +round a rock debouching on to the hillsides. We separated here, he said, +looking round, and then remembering that they had been pursued for +several miles into the hills and that the enemy's scouts might be +lurking in the neighbourhood, he turned back and descended the path, +convinced of the uselessness of his search. We parted at that rock, +Timothy keeping to the left and myself turning to the right, and if +anything has befallen he must be sought for by shepherds, aided by dogs. +Only with the help of dogs can he be traced, he said, and returning +slowly to the bridge, he stood there lost in feverish forebodings, new +ones rising up in his mind continually, for it might well be, he +reflected, that Timothy has been killed by robbers, for these hills are +infested by robbers and wild beasts, and worse than the wild beasts and +the robbers are the Jews, who would pay a large sum of money for his +capture. + +And his thoughts running on incontinently, he imagined Timothy a +prisoner in Jerusalem and himself forced to decide whether he should go +there to defend Timothy or abandon his mission. A terrible choice it +would be for him to have to choose between his duty towards men and his +love of his son, for Timothy was more to him than many sons are to their +fathers, the companion of all his travels and his hope, for he was +falling into years and needed Timothy now more than ever. But it was not +likely that the Jews had heard that Timothy was travelling from Jericho +to Caesarea, and it was a feverish imagination of his to think that they +would have time to send out agents to capture Timothy. But if such a +thing befell how would he account to Eunice for the death of the son +that she had given him, wishing that somebody should be near him to +protect and to serve him. He had thought never to see Eunice again, but +if her son perished he would have to see her. But no, there would be no +time--he had appealed to Caesar. He must send a letter to her telling +that he had started out for Jericho. A dangerous journey he knew it to +be, but he was without strength to resist the temptation of one more +effort to save the Jews: a hard, bitter, stiff-necked, stubborn race +that did not deserve salvation, that resisted it. He had been scourged, +how many times, at the instigation of the Jews? and they had stoned him +at Lystra, a city ever dear to him, for it was there he had met Eunice; +the memories that gathered round her beautiful name calmed his disquiet, +and the brook murmuring under the bridge through the silence of the +gorge disposed Paul to indulge his memory, and in it the past was so +pathetic and poignant that it was almost a pain to remember. But he must +remember, and following after a glimpse of the synagogue and himself +preaching in it there came upon him a vision of a tall, grave woman +since known to him as a thorn in his flesh, but he need not trouble to +remember his sins, for had not God himself forgiven him, telling him +that his grace was enough? Why then should he hesitate to recall the +grave, oval face that he had loved? He could see it as plainly in his +memory as if it were before him in the flesh, her eyes asking for his +help so appealingly that he had been constrained to relinquish the crowd +to Barnabas and give his mind to Eunice. And they had walked on +together, he listening to her telling how she had not been to the +Synagogue for many years, for though she and her mother were proselytes +to the Jewish faith, neither practised it, since her marriage, for her +husband was a pagan. She had indeed taught her son the Scriptures in +Greek, but no restraint had been put upon him; and she did not know to +what god or goddess he offered sacrifice. But last night an angel +visited her and told her that that which she had always been seeking +(though she had forgotten it) awaited her in the synagogue. So she had +gone thither and was not disappointed. I've always been seeking him of +whom thou speakest. Her very words, and the very intonation of her voice +in these words came back to him; he had put questions to her, and they +had not come to the end of their talk when Laos, calling from the +doorstep, said: wilt pass the door, Eunice, without asking the stranger +to cross it? Whereupon she turned her eyes on Paul and asked him to +forgive her for her forgetfulness, and Barnabas arriving at that moment, +she begged him to enter. + +And they had stayed on and on, exceeding their apportioned time, +Barnabas reproving the delay, but always agreeing that their departure +should be adjourned since it was Paul's wish to adjourn it. So Barnabas +had always spoken, for he was a weak man, and Paul acknowledged to +himself that he too was a weak man in those days. + +Laos seemed to love Barnabas as a mother, and Laos and Eunice were +received by me into the faith, Paul said. On these words his thoughts +floated away and he became absorbed in recollections of the house in +Lystra. The months he had spent with these two women had been given to +him, no doubt, as a recompense for the labours he had endured to bring +men to believe that by faith only in our Lord Jesus Christ could they be +saved. He would never see Lystra again with his physical eye, but it +would always be before him in his mind's eye: that terrible day the Jews +had dragged him and Barnabas outside the town rose up before him. Only +by feigning death did they escape the fate of Stephen. In the evening +the disciples brought them back. Laos and Eunice sponged their wounds, +and at daybreak they left for Derbe, Barnabas saying that perhaps God +was angry at their delay in Lystra and to bring them back to his work +had bidden the Jews stone them without killing them. Eunice was not sure +that Barnabas had not spoken truly, and Paul remembered with gratitude +that she always put his mission before herself. Thou'lt be safer, she +said, in Derbe, and from Derbe thou must go on carrying the glad tidings +to the ends of the earth. But thou must not forget thy Galatians, and +when thou returnest to Lystra Timothy will be old enough to follow thee. +He had fared for ever onwards over seas and lands, ever mindful of his +faithful Galatians and Eunice and her son whom she had promised to him, +and whom he had left learning Greek so that he might fulfil the duties +of amanuensis. + +The silence of the gorge and the murmur of the brook enticed +recollections and he was about to abandon himself to memories of his +second visit to Lystra when a voice startled him from his reverie, and, +looking round, he saw a tall, thin man who held his head picturesquely. +I presume you are our guest, and seeing you alone, I laid my notes aside +and have come to offer my services to you. Your services? Paul repeated. +If you desire my services, Mathias replied; and if I am mistaken, and +you do not require them, I will withdraw and apologise for my intrusion. +For your intrusion? Paul repeated. I am your guest, and the guest of the +Essenes, for last night Timothy and myself were assailed by the Jews. By +the Jews? Mathias replied, but we are Jews. Whereupon Paul told him of +his journey from Caesarea, and that he barely escaped drowning in the +Jordan. In the escape from drowning Mathias showed little interest, but +he was curious to hear the doctrine that had given so much offence. I +spoke of the Lord Jesus Christ, Paul answered, the one Mediator between +God and man who was sent by his Father to redeem the world. Only by +faith in him the world may be saved, and the Jews will not listen. A +hard, bitter, cruel race they are, that God will turn from in the end, +choosing another from the Gentiles, since they will not accept him whom +God has chosen to redeem men by the death and resurrection from the dead +of the Lord Jesus Christ, raised from the dead by his Father. Mathias +raised his eyes at the words "resurrection from the dead." Of whom was +Paul speaking? He could still be interested in miracles, but not in the +question whether the corruptible body could be raised up from earth to +heaven. He had wearied of that question long ago, and was now propense +to rail against the little interest the Jews took in certain +philosophical questions--the relation of God to the universe, and +suchlike--and he began to speak to Paul of his country, Egypt, and of +Alexandria's schools of philosophy, continuing in this wise till Paul +asked him how it was that he had left a country where the minds of the +people were in harmony with his mind to come to live among people whose +thoughts were opposed to his. That would be a long story to tell, +Mathias answered, and I am in the midst of my argument. + +The expression that began to move over Mathias' face told Paul that he +was asking himself once again what his life would have been if he had +remained in Alexandria. Talking, he said, to these Essenes who stand +midway between Jerusalem and Alexandria my life has gone by. Why I +remained with them so long is a question I have often asked myself. Why +I came hither with them from the cenoby on the eastern bank, that, too, +is a matter that I have never been able to decide. You have heard, he +continued, of the schism of the Essenes. How those on the eastern bank +believe that the order can only be preserved by marriage, while those on +the western bank, the traditionalists up there on that rock in that +aerie, would rather the order died than that any change should be made +in the rule of life. In answer to a question from Paul he said he did +not believe that the order would survive the schism. It may be, too, +that I return to Alexandria. No man knows his destiny; but if you be +minded, he said, to hear me, I will reserve a place near to me. My mind +is distracted, Paul replied, by fears for the safety of Timothy; and +perhaps to save himself from Mathias' somewhat monotonous discourse he +spoke of his apostolic mission, interesting Mathias at once, who began +to perceive that Paul, however crude and elementary his conceptions +might be (so crude did they appear to Mathias that he was not inclined +to include them in his code of philosophical notions at all), was a +story in himself, and one not lacking in interest; his ideas though +crude were not common, and their talk had lasted long enough for him to +discern many original turns of speech in Paul's incorrect Greek, +altogether lacking in construction, but betraying constantly an abrupt +vigour of thought. He was therefore disappointed when Paul, dropping +suddenly the story of the apostolic mission, which he had received from +the apostles, who themselves had received it from the Lord Jesus Christ, +began to tell suddenly that on his return from his mission to Cyprus +with Barnabas he had preached in Derbe and Lystra. It was in Lystra, he +cried, that I met Timothy, whom I circumcised with my own hand; he was +then a boy of ten, and his mother, who was a pious, God-fearing woman, +foresaw in him a disciple, and said when we left, after having been +cured by her and her mother of our wounds, when thou returnest to the +Galatians he will be nearly old enough to follow thee, but tarry not so +long, she added. But it was a long while before I returned to Lystra, +and then Timothy was a young man, and ever since our lives have been +spent in the Lord's service, suffering tortures from robbers that sought +to obtain ransom. We have been scourged and shipwrecked. But, said +Mathias, interrupting him, I know not of what you are speaking, and Paul +was obliged to go over laboriously in words the story that he had +dreamed in a few seconds. And when it was told Mathias said: your story +is worth telling. After my lecture the brethren will be glad to listen +to you. But, said Paul, what I have told you is nothing to what I could +tell; and Mathias answered: so much the better, for I shall not have to +listen to a twice-told story. And now, he added, I must leave you, for I +have matter that must be carefully thought out, and in those ruins +yonder my best thinking is done. + +Speak to the Essenes; tell them of my conversion? Paul repeated. Why +not? he asked himself, since he was here and could not leave till +nightfall. Festus had given him leave to go to Jericho to preach while +waiting for the ship that was to take him to Rome, and he had found in +Jericho the intolerance that had dragged him out of the Temple at +Jerusalem; circumcision of the flesh but no circumcision of the +spirit.... But here! He had been led to the Essenes by God, and all that +had seemed dark the night before now seemed clear to him. There was no +longer any doubt in his mind that the Lord wished his chosen people to +hear the truth before his servant Paul left Palestine for ever. He had +been led by the Lord among these rocks, perhaps to find twelve +disciples, who would leave their rocks when they heard the truth of the +death and ascension of Jesus of Nazareth and would carry the joyful +tidings to the ends of the earth. + + + + +CHAP. XXXIII. + + +The Essenes, ten in number, were seated in an embrasure. A reader had +been chosen (an elder) to read the Scriptures, and the attention of the +community was now engaged in judgment of his attempt to reconcile two +passages, one taken from Numbers in which it is said that God is not as +man, with another passage taken from Deuteronomy in which God is said to +be as man. He had just finished telling the brethren that these two +passages were not in contradiction, the second being introduced for the +instruction of the multitude and not because the nature of man is as +God's nature, and, on second thoughts, he added: nor must it be +forgotten that the Book of Deuteronomy was written when we were a +wandering tribe come out of the desert of Arabia, without towns or +cities, without a Temple, without an Ark--ours having fallen into the +hands of the Philistines. He continued his gloss till Mathias held up +his hand and asked Hazael's permission to speak: the words that had been +quoted from Deuteronomy, those in which the Scriptures speak of God as +if he were a man, attributing to him the acts and motives of man, were +addressed, as our reader has pointed out, to men who had hardly advanced +beyond the intelligence of childhood, whose minds were still simple and +unable to receive any idea of God except the primitive notion that God +is a greater man. Now the reason for my interruption is this: I should +like to point out that for those who have passed beyond this stage, +whose intelligence is not limited to their imagination, and whose will +is not governed by selfish fears and hopes, there is another lesson in +the words: we can rise to the consciousness of God as an absolute Being, +of whom we know only that he is, and not what he is, and this is what is +meant when God is spoken of by the name I am that I am. + +Eleazar was minded to speak: Mathias begged of him not to withhold his +thoughts, but to speak them, and it was at this moment that Paul +entered, walking softly, lest his footsteps should interrupt Eleazar, +whom he heard say that he disagreed with the last part of Mathias' +speech, inasmuch as it would be against the word of the Scriptures and +likewise against all tradition to accept God as no more than the +absolute substance, which strictly taken would exclude all differences +and relation, even the differences and relation of subject and object in +self-consciousness. I shall not be lacking in appreciation of the wisdom +of our learned brother, Paul heard him say, if I venture to hold to the +idea of a God whom we know at least to be conscious, for he says: I am, +a statement which had much interest for Paul; and while considering it +he heard Manahem say: it is hard to conceive of God except as a high +principle of being and well-being in the universe, who binds all things +to each other in binding them to himself. Then there are two Gods and +not one God, Saddoc interposed quickly, an objection to which Manahem +made this answer: not two Gods but two aspects, thereby confuting Saddoc +for the moment, who muttered: two aspects which have, however, to be +reduced to unity. + +Paul's eyes went from Saddoc to Mathias, and he thought that Mathias' +face wore an expression of amused contempt as he listened and called +upon other disputants to contribute their small thoughts to the +discussion. Encouraged by a wave of his hand, Caleb ventured to remark: +there is God and there is the word of God, to which Hazael murmured this +reply: there is only one God; one who watches over his chosen people and +over all the other nations of the earth. But does God love the other +nations as dearly as the Hebrew people? Manahem asked, and Hazael +answered him: we may not discriminate so far into the love of God, it +being infinite, but this we may say, that it is through the Hebrew +people that God makes manifest his love of mankind, on condition, let it +be understood, of their obedience to his revealed will. And if I may add +a few words to the idea so eloquently suggested by our Brother Mathias, +I would say that God is the primal substance out of which all things +evolve. But these words must not be taken too literally, thereby +refusing to God a personal consciousness, for God knows certainly all +the differences and all the relations, and we should overturn all the +teaching of Scripture and lose ourselves in the errors of Greek +philosophy if we held to the belief of a God, absolute, pure, simple, +detached from all concern with his world and his people. But in what +measure, Manahem asked, laying his scroll upon his knees and leaning +forward, his long chin resting on his hand, in what measure, he asked, +speaking out of his deepest self, are we to look upon God as a conscious +being; if Mathias could answer that question we should be grateful, for +it is the question which torments every Essene in the solitude of his +cell. + +Has any other brother here a word to say? Now you, Brother Caleb? I am +sure there is a thought in your heart that we would all like to hear. +Brother Saddoc, I call upon thee! Brother Saddoc seemed to have no wish +to speak, but Mathias continued to press him, saying. Brother Saddoc, +for what else hast thou been seeking in thy scroll but for a text +whereon to base an argument? And seeing that it was impossible for him +to escape from the fray of argument, Brother Saddoc answered that he +took his stand upon Deuteronomy. Do we not read that the Lord thy God +that goeth before thee shall fight for thee, and in the desert thou hast +seen that he bore thee, as a man bears his sons, all the way that ye +went till ye came unto this place. But Saddoc, Eleazar interrupted, has +forgotten that one of the leading thoughts in this discourse is that the +words in Deuteronomy were written for starving tribes that came out of +Arabia rather than for us to whom God has given the land of Canaan. We +were then among the rudiments of the world and man was but a child, +incapable, as Mathias has said, of the knowledge of God as an absolute +being. But then, answered Saddoc, the Scriptures were not written for +all time. Was anything, Mathias murmured, written for all time? Paul was +about to ask himself if Mathias numbered God among the many things that +time wastes away when his thought was interrupted by Manahem asking how +we are to understand the words, the heavens were created before the +earth. Do the Scriptures mean that intelligence is prior to sense? +Mathias' face lighted up, and, foreseeing his opportunity to make show +of his Greek proficiency he began: heaven is our intelligence and the +earth our sensibility. The spirit descended into matter, and God created +man according to his image, as Moses said and said well, for no creature +is more like to God than man: not in bodily form (God is without body), +but in his intelligence; for the intelligence of every man is in a +little the intelligence of the universe, and it may be said that the +intelligence lives in the flesh that bears it as God himself lives in +the universe, being in some sort a God of the body, which carries it +about like an image in a shrine. Thus the intelligence occupies the same +place in man as the great President occupies in the universe--being +itself invisible while it sees everything, and having its own essence +hidden while it penetrates the essences of all other things. Also, by +its arts and sciences, it finds its way through the earth and through +the seas, and searches out everything that is contained in them. And +then again it rises on wings and, looking down upon the air and all its +commotions, it is borne upwards to the sky and the revolving heavens and +accompanies the choral dances of the planets and stars fixed according +to the laws of music. And led by love, the guide of wisdom, it proceeds +still onward till it transcends all that is capable of being apprehended +by the senses, and rises to that which is perceptible only by the +intellect. And there, seeing in their surpassing beauty the original +ideas and archetypes of all the things which sense finds beautiful, it +becomes possessed by a sober intoxication, like the Corybantian +revellers, and is filled with a still stronger longing, which bears it +up to the highest summit of the intelligible world till it seems to +approach to the great king of the intelligible world himself. And while +it is eagerly seeking to behold him in all his glory, rays of divine +light are pouring forth upon it which by their exceeding brilliance +dazzle the eyes of the intelligence. + +Whilst he spoke, his periods constructed with regard for every comma, +Mathias' eyes were directed so frequently towards Paul that Paul could +not but think that Mathias was vaunting his knowledge of Greek +expressly, as if to reprove him, Paul, for the Aramaic idiom that he had +never been able to wring out of his Greek, which he regretted, but +which, after hearing Mathias, he would not be without; for to rid +himself of it he would have to sacrifice the spirit to the outer form; +as well might he offer sacrifice to the heathen gods; and he could not +take his eyes off the tall, lean figure showing against the blue sky, +for Mathias spoke from the balcony, flinging his grey locks from his +forehead, uncertain if he should break into another eloquent period or +call upon Paul to speak. He was curious to hear Paul, having divined a +quick intelligence beneath an abrupt form that was withal not without +beauty; he advanced towards Hazael and, leaning over his chair, +whispered to him. He is telling, Paul said to himself, that it would be +well to hear me as I am about to start for Rome to proclaim the truth in +that city wherein all nations assemble. Well, let it be so, since it was +to this I was called hither. + +Hazael raised his eyes and was about to ask Paul to speak, but at that +moment the bakers arrived with their bread baskets, and the Essenes +moved from the deep embrasure in the wall into the domed gallery, each +one departing into his cell and returning clothed in a white garment and +white veil. Paul was about to withdraw, but Hazael said to him: none +shares this repast with us; it is against the rule; but so many of the +rules of the brethren have been set aside in these later days that, with +the consent of all, I will break another rule and ask Paul of Tarsus to +sit with us though he be not of our brotherhood, for is he not our +brother in the love of God, which he has preached travelling over sea +and land with it for ever in his mouth for the last twenty years. +Preaching, Paul answered, the glad tidings of the resurrection, +believing myself to have been bidden by the same will of God that called +me hither and saved me from death many times that I might continue to be +the humble instrument of his will. I will tell you that I was behoven to +preach in Jericho--called out of myself--God knowing well they would not +hear me and would drive me into the mountains and turn my feet by night +to this place. Be it so, Paul, thou shalt tell thy story, the president +answered, and the cook put a plate of lentils before the brethren and +the baker set by each plate a loaf of bread, and everyone waited till +the grace had been repeated before he tasted food. The peace, concord +and good will; all that he had recommended in his Epistles; Paul saw +around him, and he looked forward to teaching the Essenes of the +approaching end of the world, convinced that God in his great justice +would not allow him, Paul, to leave Palestine without every worthy +servant hearing the truth. So he was impatient to make an end of the +food before him, for the sustenance of the body was of little importance +to him, its only use being to bear the spirit and to fortify it. He took +counsel therefore with himself while eating as to the story he should +tell, and his mind was ready with it when the president said: Paul, our +meal is finished now; we would hear thee. + + + + +CHAP. XXXIV. + + +Yesterday the Jews would have thrown me into the Jordan or stoned me +together with Timothy, my son in the faith, who instead of following me +round the hill shoulder kept straight on for Caesarea, where I pray that +I may find him. These things you know of me, for three of the brethren +were on that balcony yesternight when, upheld by the will of God, my +feet were kept fast in the path that runs round this ravine. The Jews +had abandoned their hunt when I arrived at your door, awakening fear in +Brother Saddoc's heart that I was a robber or the head of some band of +robbers. Such thoughts must have disturbed his mind when he saw me, and +they were not driven off when I declared myself a prisoner to the +Romans; for he besought me to depart lest my presence should bring all +here within the grip of the Roman power. A hard and ruthless power it +may be, but less bitter than the power which the Jews crave from the +Romans to compel all to follow not the law alone, but the traditions +that have grown about the law. But you brethren who send no fat rams to +the Temple for sacrifice, but worship God out of your own hearts, will +have pity for me who have been persecuted by the Jews of Jerusalem (who +in their own eyes are the only Jews) for no reason but that I preach the +death and the resurrection from the dead of our Lord Jesus Christ, whose +apostle I am, being so made by himself when he spoke to me out of the +clouds on the road to Damascus. + +Of this great wonder you shall hear in good time, but before beginning +the story you have asked me to relate I would before all calm Brother +Saddoc's fears: I am no prisoner as he imagines me to be, but am under +the law to return to Caesarea, having appealed to Caesar as was my right +to do, being a Roman citizen long persecuted by the Jews; and I would +thank you for the blankets I enjoyed last night and for the bread I have +broken with you. Also for the promise that I have that one of you shall +at nightfall put me on the way to Caesarea and accompany me part of the +way, so that I may not fall into the hands of my enemies the Jews, of +Jerusalem, but shall reach Caesarea to take ship for Rome. None of you +need fear anything; you have my assurances; I am here by the permission +of the noble Festus. + +And now that you have learnt from me the hazard that cast me among you I +will tell you that I am a Jew like yourselves: one born in Tarsus, a +great city of Cilicia; a Roman citizen as you have heard from me, a +privilege which was not bought by me for a great sum of money, nor by +any act of mine, but inherited from my father, a Hebrew like yourselves, +and descended from the stock of Abraham like yourselves. And by trade a +weaver of that cloth of which tents are made; for my father gave me that +trade, for which I thank him, for by it I have earned my living these +many years, in various countries and cities. At an early age I was a +skilful hand at the loom, and at the same time learned in the +Scriptures, and my father, seeing a Rabbi in me, sent me to Jerusalem, +and while I was taught the law I remember hearing of the Baptist, and +the priests of the Temple muttering against him, but they were afraid to +send men against him, for he was in great favour with the people. +Afterwards I returned to Tarsus, where I worked daily at my loom until +tidings came to that city that a disciple of John was preaching the +destruction of the law, saying that he could destroy the Temple and +build it up again in three days. We spoke under our breaths in Tarsus of +this man, hardly able to believe that anyone could be so blasphemous and +reprobate, and when we heard of his death upon a cross we were overjoyed +and thought the Pharisees had done well; for we were full of zeal for +the traditions and the ancient glory of our people. We believed then +that heresy and blasphemy were at an end, and when news came of one +Stephen, who had revived all the stories that Jesus told, that the end +of the world was nigh and that the Temple could be destroyed and built +up again, I laid my loom aside and started for Jerusalem in great anger +to join with those who would root out the Nazarenes: we are now known as +Christians, the name given to us at Antioch. + +I was telling that I laid aside my loom in Tarsus and set out for +Jerusalem to aid in rooting out the sect that I held to be blasphemous +and pernicious. Now on the day of my arrival in that city, while coming +from the Temple I saw three men hurrying by, one whose face was white as +the dead, with a small crowd following; and everyone saying: not here, +not here! And as they spoke stones were being gathered, and I knew that +they were for stoning the man they had with them, one Stephen, they +said, who had been teaching in the Temple that Jesus was born and died +and raised from the dead, and that since his death the law is of no +account. So did I gather news and with it abhorrence, and followed them +till they came to an angle, at which they said: this corner will do. +Stephen was thrown into it, and stones of all kinds were heaped upon him +till one spattered his brains along the wall, after which the crowd +muttered, we shall have no more of them. + +That day I was of the crowd, and the stone that spattered the brains of +Stephen along the wall seemed to me to have been well cast; I hated +those who spoke against the law of our fathers, which I held in +reverence, as essential and to be practised for all time; and the mild +steadfastness in their faces, and the great love that shone in their +eyes when the name of our Lord Jesus Christ was mentioned, instead of +persuading me that I might be persecuting saints, exasperated me to +further misdeeds. I became foremost in these persecutions, and informed +by spies of the names of the saints, I made search in their houses at +the head of armed agents and dragged them into the synagogue, compelling +them to renounce the truth that the Messiah had come which had been +promised in the Scriptures. Nor was I satisfied when the last Nazarene +had been rooted out of Jerusalem, but cast my eyes forward to other +towns, into which the saints might have fled, and, hearing that many +were in Damascus, I got letters from the chief priests and started forth +in a fume of rage which I strove to blow up with the threats of what we +would put the saints to when we reached Damascus. But while the threats +were on my lips there was in my heart a mighty questioning, from which I +did not seem to escape, perhaps because I had not thrown a stone but +stood by an approving spectator merely. I know not how it was, but as we +forded the Jordan the cruelties that I had been guilty of, the +inquisitions, the beatings with rods, the imprisonment--all these things +rose up in my mind, a terrible troop of phantoms. Gentle faces and words +of forgiveness floated past me one night as we lay encamped in a great +quarry, and I asked myself again if these saints were what they seemed +to be; and soon after the thought crossed my mind that if the Nazarenes +were the saints that they seemed to be, bearing their flogging and +imprisonments with fortitude, without complaint, it was of persecuting +God I was guilty, since all goodness comes from God. + +I had asked for letters from Hanan, the High Priest, that would give me +the right to arrest all ill thinkers, and to lead them back in chains to +Jerusalem, and these letters seemed to take fire in my bosom, and when +we came in view of the town, and saw the roofs between the trees, I +heard a voice crying to me: Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? It is +hard for thee to kick against the pricks; and trembling I fell forward, +my face upon the ground, and the Lord said: I am Jesus whom thou +persecutest. Arise, and go into the city and it shall be told to thee +what thou must do; by these words appointing me his apostle and +establishing my rights above those of Peter or John or James or any of +the twelve who walked with him whilst he lived as a man in Galilee. My +followers, who were merely stricken, but not blinded as I was, took me +by the arm and led me into Damascus, where I abode as a blind man till +Ananias laid his hands upon me and the scales fell from my eyes, and I +cried out for baptism, and having received baptism, which is spiritual +strength, and taken food, which is bodily, I went up to the synagogue to +preach that Jesus is the son of God, and continued till the Jews in that +city rose up against me and would have killed me if I had not escaped by +night, let down from the wall in a basket. + +From Damascus I went into Arabia, and did not go up to Jerusalem for +three years to confer with the apostles, nor was there need that I +should do so, for had I not received my apostleship by direct +revelation? But after three years I went thither, hearing that the +persecutions had ceased, and that some of those whom I had persecuted +had returned. The brother of Jesus, James, had come down from Galilee +and as a holy man was a great power in Jerusalem. His prayers were +valued, and his appearance excited pity and belief that God would +hearken to him when he knelt, for he was naked but for a coarse cloth +hanging from his neck to his ankles. Of water and cleanliness he knew +naught, and his beard and hair grew as the weeds grow in the fields. +Peter, too, was in Jerusalem, and come into a great girth since the toil +of his craft, as a fisher, had been abandoned, as it had to be, for, as +ye know, it is dry desert about Jerusalem, without lakes or streams. But +he lived there better than he had ever lived before, by talking of our +Lord Jesus Christ, of whom it was no longer a danger to talk, for James +had made his brother acceptable in Jerusalem by lopping from him all +that was Jesus, making him according to his own image; with these +Christians he no longer stood up as an opponent of the law, but as one +who believed in it, who had said: I come not to abolish the law but to +confirm it. So did his brother James interpret Jesus to me who had heard +Jesus speak out of the spirit, and when I answered that he had said too +that he had come to abolish the law, James answered only that his +brother had said many things and that some were not as wise as others. +Peter, who was called upon to testify that Jesus wished the Jews to +remain Jews, and that circumcision and all the observances were needed, +answered that he did not know which was the truth, Jesus not having +spoken plainly on these matters, and neither one nor the other seemed to +understand that it was of no avail that Jesus should have been born, +should have died and been raised from the dead by his Father if the law +were to prevail unchanged for evermore. To James and to Peter Jesus was +a prophet, but no more than the prophets, and unable to understand +either Peter or Jesus, I returned to Tarsus broken-hearted, for there +did not seem to be on earth a true Christian but myself, and I knew not +whom to preach to, Gentiles or Jews. Only of one thing was I sure, that +the Lord Jesus Christ had spoken to me out of the clouds and ordained me +his apostle, but he had not pointed out the way, and I mourned that I +had gone up to Jerusalem, and abode in Tarsus disheartened, resuming my +loom, sitting at it from daylight till dark, waiting for some new sign +to be given me, for I did not lose hope altogether, but, knowing well +that the ways of Providence are not immediate, waited in patience or in +such patience as I might possess myself. Barnabas I had forgotten, and +he was forgotten when I said that I had met none in Jerusalem that could +be said to be a follower of the Master. + +It was Barnabas who brought me to James, the brother of the Lord, and to +Peter, and told them that though I had persecuted I was now zealous, and +had preached in many synagogues that Christ Jesus had died and been +raised from the dead. But whether they feared me as a spy, one who would +betray them, or whether it was that our minds were divided upon many +things, I know not, but Barnabas could not persuade them, and, as I have +said, I left Jerusalem and returned to Tarsus, and resumed my trade, +until Barnabas, who had been sent to Antioch to meet some disciples, +said to them, but there is one at Tarsus who has preached the life and +death of our Lord Jesus Christ and brought many to believe in him. So +they said to him: go to Tarsus for this man and bring him hither. And +when they had seen and conferred with me and knew what sort of man I +was, Barnabas said, with your permission and your authority, Paul and I +will start together for Cyprus, for that is my country, and my friends +there will believe us when we tell them that Jesus was raised from the +dead and was seen by many: first by Martha and Mary, the sisters of +Lazarus, and afterwards by Peter and by the apostles and many others. As +the disciples were willing that we should go to preach the Gospel in +Cyprus, we went thither furnished with letters, and received a kindly +welcome from everybody, as it had been foretold by Barnabas, and many +heard the Gospel, and if my stay among you Essenes could be prolonged +beyond this evening and for several days I could tell you stories of a +great magician and how he was confuted by me by the grace of God working +through me, but as everything cannot be told in the first telling I will +pass from Cyprus back to Antioch, where we rested awhile, so that we +might tell the brethren of the great joy with which the faith had been +received in Cyprus, of the churches we founded and our promise to the +Cyprians to return to them. + +And so joyful were the brethren in Antioch at our success that I said to +Barnabas: let us not tarry here, but go on into Galatia. We set out, +accompanied by John Mark, Barnabas' cousin, but he left us at Perga, +being afraid, and for his lack of courage I was unable to forgive him, +thereby estranging myself later on from Barnabas, a God-fearing man. But +to tell you what happened at Lystra. We found the people there ready to +listen to the faith, and it was given to me to set a cripple that had +never walked in his life straight upon his feet, and as sturdily as any. +The people cried out at this wonder, the gods have come down to us, and +when the rumour reached the High Priest that the gods had come to their +city, he drove out two oxen, garlanded, and would have sacrificed them +in our honour, but we tore our garments, saying, we are men like +yourselves and have come to preach that you should turn from vanities +and false gods and worship the one true living God, who created the +earth, and all the firmament. The people heard us and promised to abjure +their idolatries, and would have abjured them for ever if the Jews from +the neighbouring cities had not heard of our preaching and had not +gathered together and denounced us in Lystra, where there were no Jews, +or very few. Nor were they content with denouncing us, but on a +convenient occasion dragged Barnabas and myself outside the town, stoned +us and left us for dead, for we, knowing that God required us, feigned +death, thereby deceiving them and escaping death we returned to the town +by night and left it next day for Derbe. + +Now, Essenes, this story that I tell of what happened to us at Lystra +has been told with some care by me, for it is significant of what has +happened to me for twenty years, since the day, as you have heard, when +the Lord Jesus himself spoke to me out of the clouds and appointed me to +preach the Gospel he had given unto me, which, upheld by him, I have +preached faithfully, followed wherever I went by persecution from Jews +determined to undo my work. But undeterred by stones and threats, we +returned to Lystra and preached there again, and in Perga and Attalia, +from thence we sailed to Antioch, and there were great rejoicings in +Saigon Street, as we sat in the doorways telling of the churches that we +founded in Galatia, and how we flung open the door of truth to the +pagans, and how many had passed through. + +But some came from Jerusalem preaching that the uncircumcised could not +hope for salvation, and that there could be no conversion unless the law +be observed, and the first observance of the law, they said, is +circumcision. We answered them as is our wont that it is no longer by +observances of the law but by grace, through our Lord Jesus Christ, that +men may be saved; and we being unable to yield to them or they to us, it +was resolved that Barnabas and Titus, a Gentile that we brought over to +the faith, should go to Jerusalem. + +On the way thither we preached that the Saviour promised to the Jews had +come, and been raised from the dead, and the Samaritans hearkened and +were converted in great numbers, and the news of these conversions +preceding us the joy among the brethren was very great, for you, who +know the Scriptures, need not be told that the conversion of the +Gentiles has been foretold; nor was it till we began to talk about the +abrogation of the law that James and the followers of James rose up +against us. We wondered, and said to each other: were ever two brothers +as unlike as these? Though myself had never seen the Lord in the flesh, +I knew of him from Peter, and we whispered together with our eyes fixed +on the long, lean man whose knees were reported callous from kneeling in +the Temple praying that God might not yet awhile destroy the world. It +was sufficient, so it was said, for him to hold up his hand to perform +miracles, and we came to dislike him and to remember that he had always +looked upon Jesus our Lord with suspicion during his lifetime. Why then, +we asked, should he come into power derived from his brother's glory? + +He seemed to be less likely than any other Jew to understand the new +truth born into the world. So I turned from him to Peter, in whom I +thought to find an advocate, knowing him to be one with us in this, +saying that it were vain to ask the Gentiles to accept a yoke which the +Hebrews themselves had been unable to bear; but Peter was still the +timid man that he had ever been, and myself being of small wit in large +and violent assemblies said to him: thou and I and James will consult +together in private at the end of this uproar. But James could not come +to my reason, saying always that the Gentiles must become Jews before +they became Christians; and remembering very well all the trouble and +vexation the demand for the circumcision of Titus had put upon me (to +which I consented, for with a Jew I am a Jew so that I may gain them), +and how he had submitted himself lest he should be a stumbling-block, I +said to Timothy, my own son in the faith, thy mother and grandmother +were hearers of the law, and he answered, let me be a Jew externally, +and myself took and circumcised. A good accommodation Peter thought this +to be, and I said to Peter, henceforth for thee the circumcised and for +me the uncircumcised. Against which Peter and James had nothing to say, +for it seemed to them that the uncircumcised were one thing in Jerusalem +and another thing beyond Jerusalem. But I was glad thus to come to terms +with them, thinking thereby to obtain from them the confirmation of my +apostleship, though there was no need for any such, as I have always +held, it having teen bestowed upon me by our Lord Jesus Christ himself; +and holding it to be of little account that they had known our Lord +Jesus in the flesh, I said to their faces, it were better to have known +him in the spirit, thereby darkening them. It might have been better to +have held back the words. + +Myself and Barnabas and Titus returned to Antioch and it was some days +after that I said to Barnabas: let us go again into the cities in which +we have preached and see if the brethren abide in our teaching and how +they do with it. But Barnabas would bring John Mark with him, he who had +left us before in Perga from cowardice of soul. Therefore I chose Silas +and departed. He was our warrant that we were one with the Church of +Jerusalem, which was true inasmuch as we were willing to yield all but +essential things so that everybody, Jews and Gentiles, might be brought +into communion with Jesus Christ. + +We went together to Lystra and Mysia, preaching in all these towns, and +the brethren were confirmed in their faith in us, and leaving them we +were about to set out for Bithynia and would have gone thither had we +not been warned one night by the Holy Breath to go back, and instead we +went to Troas, where one night a vision came to me in my sleep: a man +stood before me at the foot of my bed, a Macedonian I knew him to be, by +his dress and speech, for he spoke not the broken Greek that I speak, +but pure Greek, the Greek that Mathias speaks, and he told me that we +were to go over into Macedonia. + +To tell of all the countries we visited and the towns in which we +preached, and the many that were received into the faith, would be a +story that would carry us through the night and into the next day, for +it would be the story of my life, and every life is long when it is put +into words; nor would the story be profitable unto you in any great +measure, though it be full of various incidents. But I am behoven to +tell that wherever we went the persecution that began in Lystra followed +us. As soon as the Jews heard of our conversions they assembled either +to assault us or to lay complaints before the Roman magistrates, as they +did at Philippi, the chief city of Macedonia. Among my miracles was the +conversion of a slave, a pythonist, a teller of fortunes, a caster of +horoscopes, who brought her master good money by her divinations, and +seeing that he would profit thereby no longer, he drew myself and Silas +into the market-place and calling for help of others had us brought +before the rulers, and the pleading of the man was, and he was supported +by others, that we taught many things that it was not lawful of them, +being Jews, to hearken to, and the magistrates, wishing to please the +multitude, commanded us to be beaten, and when many stripes had been +laid on us we were cast into prison, and the jailer being charged to +keep us in safety thrust our feet into the stocks. + +Myself and Silas prayed and sang praises unto God despite our wounds, +and as if in response there was a great earthquake, and the prison was +shaken and all the doors opened, on seeing which the keeper of the +prison drew his sword and would have fallen upon it, believing that the +prisoners had fled, if I had not cried to him in a loud voice: there is +no reason to kill thyself, for thy charges are here. What may I do to be +saved? he said, being greatly astonished at the miracle, and we +answered: believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. Thereupon he invited us into +his house and set food before us, and he was baptized and bidden to have +no fear, for we confided to him that we were Romans, and that the +magistrates would tremble when they heard that they had ordered a +citizen of Rome to be beaten and him uncondemned. Why, he asked, did ye +not declare yourselves to be Romans? Because, we answered, we were +minded to suffer for our Lord Jesus Christ's son, at which he wondered +and gave thanks. He was baptized by us, and when he had carried the news +of their mistake to the ears of the magistrates they sent sergeants +saying that we were to be allowed to go. But we refused to leave the +prison, saying, we are Romans and have been beaten uncondemned. Let the +magistrates come to fetch us. Which message being taken to them they +came beseeching us to go, and not to injure them, for they had done +wrong unwittingly, and taking pity of them for the sake of our Lord +Jesus Christ we passed into Thessalonica, where I preached in the +synagogues for three Sabbaths and reasoned with the Jews, showing them +passages in the Scriptures confirming all that we said to them about the +Christ that had suffered and been raised from the dead. Some believed, +and others assaulted the house of Jason, in which we were living, and +the Romans were perplexed to know how to keep order, for wherever we +went there were stirs and quarrels among the Jews, the fault being with +them and not with us. In Corinth too the Jews pleaded against us before +the Roman magistrates and---- + + + + +CHAP. XXXV. + + +A sudden dryness in Paul's throat prevented him from finishing his +sentence, and he asked for a cup of water, and having drained it he put +down the cup and said, looking round, I was speaking to you about +Corinth. The moment seemed a favourable one to Mathias to ask a +question. How was it, he said, that you passed on to Corinth without +stopping at Athens? I made stay at Athens, Paul answered, and I thank +you, Mathias, for having reminded me of Athens, for the current of my +discourse had borne me past that city, so eager was I to tell of the +persecutions of the Jews. We are all Jews here! I speak only of the +Hierosolymites who understand only that the law has been revealed, and +we have only to follow it; though, indeed, some of them cannot tell us +why we should follow any law, since they do not believe in any life +except the sad life we lead on the surface of this earth. + +But you asked me, Mathias, about Athens. A city of graven images and +statues and altars to gods. On raising my eyes I always saw their marble +deities--effigies, they said, of all the spirits of the earth and sea +and the clouds above the earth and the heavens beyond the clouds. +Whereupon I answered that these statues that they had carved with their +hands could in no wise resemble any gods even if the gods had existence +outside of their images, for none sees God. Moses heard God on Mount +Sinai, but he saw only the hinderparts; which is an allegory, for there +are two covenants, and I come to reveal---- Whereat they were much +amused and said: if Moses saw the hinderparts why should we not see the +faces, for our eyes see beauty, whereas the Hebrews see but the +backside? At which I showed no anger, for they were not Jews, but +strove, as it is my custom, to be all things to all men. The Jews +require a miracle, the Greeks demand reason, and therefore I asked them +why they set up altars to the unknowable God. And they said: Paul, thou +readest our language as badly as thou speakest it; we have inscriptions +"to unknown gods" but not to the unknowable God. Didst go to school at +Tarsus, yet canst not tell the plural from the singular? To which I +answered: then you are so religious-minded that you would not offend any +god whose name you might not have heard, and so favour him by the +inscription to an unknown God? But some of your philosophers, Athenians, +call God unknowable. I knew this before I learnt how superstitious ye +are. Ye are all alike ignorant since God left you to your sins for your +idolatry; God, unknown or unknowable, has been made manifest to us by +our Lord Jesus Christ, who was born like us all for a purpose, his +death, which was to save the world from its sins, whereupon, greedy for +a story, they began to listen to me, and I had their attention till I +came to these words--"And was raised by his Father from the dead." Paul, +they answered, we will listen another day to the rest of this story of +thy new divinity. + +A frivolous people, Mathias, living in a city of statues in the air, and +in the streets below a city of men that seek after reason, and would +explain all things in the heavens above and the earth beneath by their +reason, and only willing to listen to the story of a miracle because +miracles amuse them. A race much given to enjoyment, like women, +Mathias, and among their mountains they are not a different race from +what they are in the city, but given to milking goats and dancing in the +shade to the sounds of a pipe, and dreaming over the past glories of +Athens, that are dust to-day though yesterday they were realities, a +light race that will be soon forgotten, and convinced of their +transience I departed for Corinth, a city of fencing masters, merchants, +slaves, courtesans, yet a city more willing to hearken to the truth than +the light Athenians, perhaps because it has much commerce and is not +slothful in business, a city wherein I fortuned upon a pious twain, +Aquila and Priscilla, of our faith, and of the same trade as myself, +wherefore we set up our looms together in one house and sold the cloths +as we weaved them, getting our living thereby and never costing the +faithful anything, which was just pride, and mine always, for I have +travelled the world over gaining a living with my own hands, never +taking money from anybody, though it has been offered to me in plenty by +the devout, thinking it better to be under no obligation, for such +destroys independence.... + +Once only was this rule broken by me. In Macedonia, a dyer of purple---- +But Lydia's story concerns ye not, therefore I will leave her story +untold and return to Corinth, to Priscilla and Aquila, weavers like +myself, with whom I worked for eighteen months, and more than that; +preaching the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ to all who +would hear us when our daily work was done, until the same fate befell +us--the intervention of the Jews, who sought to embroil us, as +beforetimes, with the Romans. + +We preached in the synagogues on the Sabbath and I upheld the faith I +had come to preach: that the Messiah promised to the Jews had lived and +had died for us. Whereupon there was a great uproar among the Jews, who +would not believe, and so I tore my garments and said: then I will go +forth to the Gentiles, and find believers in our Lord Jesus Christ, and +leave you who were elected by God as his chosen people, who were his by +adoption, a privilege conferred upon you throughout the centuries, the +race out of whom came the patriarchs, and Jesus Christ himself in the +flesh. I will leave you, for you are not worthy and will perish as all +flesh perishes; will drift into nothingness, and be scattered even as +the dust of the roads is scattered by the winds. My heart is broken for +you, but since ye will it so, let it be so. + +So did I speak, but my heart is often tenderer than my words, and I +strove again to be reconciled with the Jews, and abode in Corinth +proving their folly to them by the Scriptures till again they sought to +rid themselves of me by means of the Romans, saying before Gallic: this +fellow persuadeth men to worship God contrary to the law. But Gallic, +understanding fully that his judgment seat had not been set up for the +settling of disputes of the spirit, but of the things of this world, +drove the Jews out of his court, and there was an uproar and Sosthenes, +a God-fearing man, was beaten. Yet for the sake of the race of the +patriarchs, the chosen people of God, I abode in Corinth till the close +of the second year, when news reached me of the many dissensions that +had arisen in Jerusalem. + +The old questions always stirring: whether the Gentiles should be +admitted without circumcision and if the observances of the law were +sufficient; if salvation could be obtained by works without faith, and +many other questions that I thought had long been decided; in the hope +of putting an end to these discussions, which could only end in schism, +I bade the brethren good-bye on the wharf, and, shaving my head as a +sign of my vow to keep the Feast of Pentecost, I set sail with Aquila +and Priscilla for Syria and left them at Ephesus, though there were many +Christians there who prayed me to remain and speak to them; but pointing +to my shaved head, I said, my vow! and went down to Jerusalem and kept +the Feast of Pentecost and distributed money among the poor, which had +been given to me by the churches founded by me in Macedonia, in Greece +and Syria. + +I hoped to escape from discussion with James, the brother of the Lord, +for of what good could it be to discuss once again things on which it is +our nature to think differently, but upheld by hope that the Jews might +be numbered among the faithful at the last day I told him that the Jews +were the root of the olive-trees whose branches had been cut, and had +received grafts, but let not the grafts, I said, indulge in vainglory; +it is not the branches that bear the root, but the root that bears the +branches. And many other things of this sort did I say, wishing to be in +all things conciliatory; to be, as usual, all things to all men; but +James, the brother of the Lord, answered that Jesus had not come to +abrogate the law but to confirm it, which was not true, for the law +stood in no need of confirmation. James could do that as well as his +brother and better, and Peter not being there to bear witness of the +teaching of Jesus (he too had gone forth upon a mission with John Mark +as an interpreter, for Peter cannot speak Greek), Silas, who was with +me, was won over by James, and easily, for Silas was originally of the +Church of Jerusalem; as I have already told you, he had been sent with +us to Antioch. + +But I would not weary you with such small matters as Silas' desertion of +me to join Peter, who was preaching in Syria, and whose doctrine he said +was nearer to Jesus' than mine, it having been given to him by Jesus, +whom he had known in the flesh. So be it, I said to Silas, and went +without him to Antioch, a city dear to me for that it was there the word +Christian was spoken for the first time; my return thither was +fortunate, for there I met Barnabas, whom it was pleasant after these +many years to meet again, all memory of our dissension was forgotten, +which was no great matter, it having arisen out of no deeper cause than +my refusal to travel with John Mark, his cousin. Titus was there too, +and we had much to tell each other of our travels and the conversions we +had made, and all was joy amongst us; and our joy was increased by +Peter, who appeared amongst us, bringing Silas with him, who must have +been grieved though he said nothing to me of it; but who must have seen +that the law to which he was attached was forgotten at Antioch; not by +us only, but by his new leader, Peter, who mixed like ourselves with the +Gentiles and did not refuse to eat with them. + +A moment indeed of great joy this was, but it did not last longer than +many other moments of the same kind with which my life has been +sprinkled. James, the brother of the Lord, sent up agents to Antioch +with letters signed by himself. They had come to tell the people that I +had not authority to teach, and could not be considered by anybody as a +true apostle, for I had not known the Christ, it was said: and when I +answered them that my authority came straight from him, they began to +make little of my revelation, saying: even if thou didst hear the Christ +on the road to Damascus, as thou sayest, it was but for a few minutes, +and he couldn't teach thee all his doctrine in a few minutes. A year or +more would be required. Thou wast deceived. No vision can be taken as of +equal evidence to the senses. Those that we see in a vision may be but +the evil spirits that, if it were possible, would deceive the very +elect. If we question an apparition it answers anything that we wish. +The spectre shines for an instant and disappears quickly before one has +time to put further questions; the thoughts of the dreamer are not under +his control. To see the Son of God outside of the natural flesh is +impossible. Even an angel wishing to be seen has to clothe himself in +flesh. Nor were they satisfied with such sayings as these, but mentioned +the vision of infidels and evil livers, and to support their argument +thus quoted Scripture, proving that God sent visions when he was +irritated. As in Numbers, murmured Eleazar. And likewise in Exodus, said +Manahem, and he turned over the quires before him. These emissaries and +agents asked me how it was that even if Jesus had appeared to me he +could not have instructed me wrongly. If I wished to prove the truth of +my vision it were better for me to accept the teaching of the apostles, +who had received it directly from him; to which I made answer: my +revelation was not from Jesus when he lived in the flesh, but from the +spiritual Jesus; the spirit descended out of heaven to instruct me, and +if God has created us, which none will deny, he has created our souls +wherewith to know him, and he needs not the authority of other apostles +who speak as men, falling into the errors that men must fall into when +they speak, for every man's truth is made known unto him by God. + +One day we came out of a house heated with argument, and as we loitered +by the pavement's edge regretting we had not said certain things whereby +we might have confuted each other, we came upon Peter in a public inn, +eating and drinking with the uncircumcised, whereupon the Hierosolymites +said we see now what ye are, Peter, a Jew that eats with Gentiles and of +unclean meats. Peter did not withstand them and say as he should have +done: how is it that you call them that God has made unclean? but being +a timid man and anxious always to avoid schism, he excused himself and +withdrew, and was followed by Barnabas and Silas. + +It was for this that I withstood him before all in the assembly, +reproaching him for his inconsequences, saying to him: if thou that art +a Jew livest according to the manner of Gentiles, how is it that thou +wouldst compel the Gentiles to live as the Jews do? and until this man +came thou wert one with us, saying as we say, that none is justified by +conforming to the law and practising it, but by the faith in Jesus +Christ. But if we seek justification in Christ, and in him alone, and +yet are found to be sinners, of what help is Christ then to us? Is he a +minister of sinners? God forbid! By his life and death he abolished the +law, whereby we might live in faith in Christ, for the law stands +between us and Christ. I say unto thee, Peter, that if Christ was +crucified for me I live in Christ; no longer my own life of the flesh, +but the spiritual life that Christ has given me. I say unto thee +likewise, that if we care only to know Christ through the law then +Christ has died in vain. To which Peter answered nothing, but went his +way, as is his custom, in silence, and my grief was great; for I could +see that the many were shocked, and wondered at our violence, and could +not have said else than that we were divided among ourselves, though +they said it under their breath. Nor did peace come till the emissaries +of James left us to go to the churches I had founded in Galatia and undo +the work I had done there. Whereupon I collected all my thoughts for an +epistle that would comfort those, and enable them to resist, saying: +though an angel from heaven tell you a different doctrine from the one +that I have taught you, listen not to him. Copies of this letter were +sent to the churches that I had founded, but the sending of the letter +did not calm my anger. An angry soul I have been since God first +separated me from my mother's womb, gaining something on one side and +losing on the other side; but we make not ourselves; God makes us. And +there is a jealousy still within me; I know it and have suffered from +it, and never did it cause me greater suffering than in those days in +Antioch. My jealousy was like a hungry animal, gnawing at my ribs till, +unable to bear it any longer, and seeing in visions all that I had +raised pulled down, I started with Titus and travelled all over Galatia +and Phrygia to Bithynia, along the shores of Pontus, and returned back +again, informing the kindly, docile souls, who loved us in their +weakness, of Lystra, Derbe and other towns, setting up my loom and +preaching every evening the coming of the Lord, whither I went in +Macedonia, Thessalonica, Iconium, Laodicea, not forgetful of Colossae +for two years or more (I have forgotten), and then hearing that Apollos, +an Alexandrian Jew of great learning, our most notable convert, of whom +I have not spoken, for there is no time to speak of everything, had +taken ship at Corinth for Ephesus, I returned the way I had come along +the coast to meet him there, likewise many good friends, Aquila and +Priscilla, who were working at their looms, gathering a faithful circle +about them. We set up shop again as we had done at Corinth, Aquila, +Priscilla and myself worked at our looms all day, and preached in the +evening in and about the city, and on the Sabbath in the synagogue. + + + + +CHAP. XXXVI. + + +In Ephesus stands a temple said to be one of the wonders of the world, +the Temple of Diana; pilgrims come to it from all countries, and buy +statues of the goddess to set upon their tables (little silver statues), +and as the making of these is the principal industry in that city, the +silversmiths raised cries against me in the theatre, where once I stood +up to address the people. Great is Diana, goddess of the Ephesians! they +cried out, and would have thrown me to the beasts. Yea, I fought with +the beasts, for they were nothing else, and had not Aquila and Priscilla +risked their lives to save me I should have perished that day. That day +or another day; it matters not; we all perish sooner or later. My life +has never been my concern, but God's, a thing upheld by God for so many +years that I shun danger no longer. It has even come to pass that I am +lonely in security, withdrawn from God in houses, and safe in his arms +when clinging to a spar in the dark sea. God and our Lord Jesus Christ, +his beloved son, have walked on either side of me in mountain passes +where robbers lie in wait. We are nearer to God in hunger and thirst +than when the mouth is full. In fatigue rather than in rest, and to know +oneself to be God's servant is good cheer for the traveller, better than +the lights of the inn showing over the horizon, for false brethren may +await him in the inn, some that will hale him before rulers, but if he +knows that he is God's servant he will be secure in his own heart, where +alone security matters. + +It may have been my sin to weary too often at the length of the journey, +and to cry out to the Lord Jesus to make an end of it. It may have been +that I was often too eager to meet my death and to receive the reward of +all my labour, but who shall judge me? Our Lord Jesus Christ is the only +judge and his reign shall endure over this world till the last man has +vanished into death. And when the last man has perished? Mathias asked. +Paul answered: Jesus shall pass into his Father's keeping and again +there shall be but one God. But, Paul, Mathias rejoined, if I understand +thee rightly, there are now two Gods, and our hope is that in time to +come the twain may turn to one. Paul was about to answer, but his lips +were parched, and he raised the cup of water to his lips, and when he +had drunk he was about to answer Mathias, but Hazael said: Mathias, we +are all eager to hear the story of Paul's own life. There will be time +afterwards to discuss his doctrine. Mathias waved his hand, a sign that +Paul might continue his story, which he did. + +From Ephesus we returned to Corinth and to Macedonia, and dreams began +to take hold on us of longer journeys than any we had yet undertaken; we +dreamed of Rome, and then of Spain, for all should hear the joyful +tidings that there is salvation for all, and we live in dread that the +judgment may come upon the world before the distant countries have heard +that the Christ has been born and has died and been raised by his Father +from the dead, thereby abolishing the law, which was no longer needed, +faith in Christ being sufficient. But if the judgment comes before all +men have heard of the Christ, then is God unjust. God forbid: our sloth +and tardy feet are responsible. Our fear is for the Jews that have +closed their ears to the truth, and, therefore, we were warned not to +leave Palestine without a last effort to save them. Once more my soul +said unto me: Paul, go to Jerusalem, for the last time enter the Temple +and comply with all the law, for these things matter not whether they be +done or left undone; all that matters is that Jerusalem should accept +Jesus. Be all things, once more, to all men. And it was after this +command, given to me in the silence of the night, that I took leave of +the brethren at Ephesus, saying to them: brethren, you knew from the +first day that I came unto Asia what manner of man had come among you, +directing you only towards repentance towards God, and faith in our Lord +Jesus Christ. I would indeed remember all I said on that occasion, for I +spoke well, the Holy Ghost being upon me, putting the very words of the +leave-taking into my mouth that I should speak, words which I cannot +find again, but which were written by me afterwards, as I wished them to +be preserved for the use of the faithful. They shall be sent to you. But +in this moment I'm too tired to remember them, and will continue my +story, telling how when the sails of the ship were lifted we came with a +straight course unto Coos, and the day following unto Rhodes, and thence +Patara, and finding a ship about to start for Phoenicia, we went aboard +and set forth again. We left Cyprus on the left, and were landed at +Tyre, where there were many disciples who said to me that I must not go +to Jerusalem. We kneeled on the shore and prayed; and when we had taken +leave of one another, and I had said: my face you shall see no more, we +took ship, and they returned home. + +Next day we were at Caesarea and went to the house of Philip the Apostle +(him of many daughters, and all prophetesses), and lived with him, +tarrying till there came from Judea Agabus, who, when he saw me, took my +girdle and bound his own hands and feet, and said: so at Jerusalem shall +the Jews bind him that owns this girdle, and they shall deliver him into +the hands of the Gentiles. At which all my disciples there wept, and I +said: why do ye weep? for your weeping breaks my heart. Think not of +what this man has said, even if he has spoken the truth, for I am ready +to die for the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. I comforted them and went +up to Jerusalem, and was received by the brethren. James and all the +elders were present, and after having heard from me how widely the name +of our Lord Jesus Christ had been made known to the Gentiles and to the +Jews that lived among the Gentiles, they answered: brother, there are a +great many believers among the Jews, and all here are ardent followers +of the law, and these have heard that thou teachest to the Jews in exile +that Moses may be forsaken, and that they need not circumcise their +children and may set aside our customs. Now, Paul, they asked, what +favour dost thou expect from us if these things be as they have been +reported to us? And being sure within myself that it was not counsel +they sought from me, but words out of my own mouth whereby they might +stir up the people against me, I answered only: upon whose testimony do +ye say these things? There are, they said, four holy men, who are under +a vow; go with them and purify thyself and pay the money they need for +the shaving of their heads and all other expenses. Whereupon I was much +angered, seeing the snare that they were laying for me, but, as I have +told you, my rule is always to be all things to all men, and remembering +that though Jesus Christ our Lord has set us free from the law, it would +be better to forgo this liberty than to scandalise a brother, I said: I +will do, brethren, as you ask, and went with the four poor men to the +Temple and remained there with them for five days, abstaining from wine, +and cutting off--well, there was little hair for me to cut off, but what +there was I cut off. + +All went well during the first days, but the emissaries and agents of +James, seeing that my devotion in the Temple might win over the Jews to +me, laid another snare, and I was accused of having held converse with +Trophimus, an uncircumcised Greek, in the street the day of my arrival +in Jerusalem, and this not being a sufficient offence to justify them in +stoning me as they had stoned Stephen before my eyes, it was said that I +had brought him into the Temple, and the agents of the priests came on +the fifth day to drag me out and kill me in some convenient byway, the +sacristans closing the doors of the Temple behind me. We will make an +end of this mischief, the hirelings said, and began to look around for +stones wherewith to spatter out my brains; they cast off their garments +and threw dust into the air, and I should have met my death if the noise +had been any less, but it was even greater than the day Stephen died, +and the Roman guard came upon the people and drew me out of their hands, +saying: what is the meaning of this? The Jews could not tell them so +great was their anger. + +We'll take him to the castle, the centurion said, and the crowd +followed, pressing upon us and casting stones at me till the soldiers +had perforce to draw their swords so as to get me to the castle alive. +We were thrown hither and thither, and the violence of the crowd at the +foot of the stairs and the pressure obliged the soldiers to carry me up +the steps in their arms. So I turned to the Chief Captain, who was +trying in vain to calm the rioters, and said to him in Greek: may I +speak to them? So thou canst speak Greek? he answered, surprised, and +gave me leave to speak, and I said: Hebrews, listen to a Hebrew like +yourselves, and I told of the vision on the road to Damascus, to which +they listened, but as soon as the tale was over they cried: remove him +from this world, he is not fit to live. At these words the centurion, +who was anxious to appease the people, signed to his apparitors to seize +me, and before I had time to make myself heard these strapped me to the +whipping-post, my hands above me. But is it lawful to scourge a Roman +and he uncondemned? I said to the centurion next to me. Whereupon the +lictors withdrew and the centurion turned to the Chief Captain, who +looked me up and down, for, as you see, my appearance did not command +respect. Is it true that thou'rt a Roman citizen? he asked, and I +answered, yes, and he was astonished, for he had paid a great deal of +money for the title. But I was born free, I answered him, confusing and +perplexing him and putting a great fear in his heart that belike his +office might be taken from him for having tied a Roman citizen to the +whipping-post, merely that and nothing more. + +It was to gain my favour that he promised to summon a council (the +Sanhedrin), and on the day appointed, ordering my chains to be unlocked, +introduced me to the Jews as a free man, saying he would remain to hear +the discussion. Brothers, I have lived till to-day in good conscience +before God. On that the High Priest ordered those that stood by him to +strike me on the face. God shall strike thee, thou whited wall, I +answered him, for thou sittest to judge me according to the law, and +breaking the law thou orderest me to be struck. Those that were present +said: so that is how thou revilest the High Priest. I did not know he +was the High Priest, I answered: if I had I should not have spoken as I +spoke, for is it not written, thou must not insult the chief of thy +people? + +As I spoke these words, I saw that the assembly was divided into two +parts, that each part was inspired by different ideas, and that one +part, the Sadducees, were determined upon my death. Therefore my words +were, brothers, I am a Pharisee and the son of a Pharisee, do you know +of what they accuse me? Of saying that the dead will be raised out of +their graves for judgment, a thing which you all believe. So did I +divide my enemies, persuading the Pharisees thereby to defend me, and +they, believing the story I told of my vision on the road to Damascus, +said: let us hear nothing against him, a spirit or angel may have spoken +to him. But the Sadducees were the stronger party, and dividing the +Pharisees with their arms many rushed to kill me, and they would have +done this if the Captain of the Guard had not sent soldiers to my +assistance, who with difficulty rescued me from the Jews and brought me +back to the castle. + +I was sorry for the Captain of the Guard, who came to me and said: I +know not how this will end or what to do with thee, and I answered him: +there are knots in every business, and the clever man unties them, and +thou'lt find a way of untying this knot in thy sleep to-night.... And I +likewise, which was true, for a vision came to me that night, Jesus +himself, and he said: thou hast testified of me in Jerusalem and thou +shalt testify of me in Rome, and Jesus having said this much, I knew +that I should go to Rome, how I should go I knew not, but I knew that I +should go and had no fear when my sister's son, my nephew, came to me +next day and said: forty of the Jews have banded together to kill thee, +Uncle, and this is how they will do it. They will present a petition to +the Chief Captain to have thee down among the council again so that they +may question thee regarding some points of the law which they affirm +thou hast transgressed. Thou must not go down to them, Uncle, for they +have knives concealed under their cloaks, and are upon oath neither to +eat nor to drink until they have killed thee. + +So they are base enough for this, I answered, but I'll outwit them, and +calling to the centurion said: take this young man to the Chief Captain +of the Guard; he has matter to relate which the Chief Captain should +hear at once, and when he had told the plot Chief Captain Lysias said: +they have sworn in vain. Thou shalt go with me to Caesarea and under a +strong guard, two hundred soldiers, seventy horsemen, and two hundred +spearmen; these will be able to resist any attack that the Jews may +attempt even should they hear of thy departure. At nine o'clock to-night +I shall put into thy hand a letter to Felix, the Governor, telling him +that I know nothing against thee that merits death or prison. The orders +of the Captain of the Guard were carried out punctually; we marched all +night, arriving at Antipatris in the morning, which is about half-way +between Jerusalem and Caesarea, and all danger of surprise being now over +the escort divided, the four hundred men returning to Jerusalem, myself +going on to Caesarea with the horsemen, to be judged by Felix, who said: +I shall sit in judgment as soon as thy accusers arrive from Jerusalem. + +And it was five days afterwards that my accusers began to come into +Caesarea, Ananias arriving first with some of the elders and with one +named Tertullus, who began his speech against me with many coaxings of +the Governor, saying that it was through him that Palestine enjoyed its +great peace and prosperity and for these gifts he was truly thankful, +and though he feared he might prove tedious, still he would hope that +Felix in his great clemency might allow him to say a few further words +about a pestilential fellow, an agent of sedition among the Jews +throughout the world, and a ringleader of the sect known as the +Nazarenes: one who came to Jerusalem but to profane the Temple, and +wishing, he said, to judge him for his blasphemy according to our law, +we laid hands upon him, but the Captain, Lysias, came upon us and with +great violence took him out of our hands, and after hearing him +disputing with us in the council said, I find no fault with him but will +send him to the noble Felix. And you, most noble Felix, have sent for +us, and we have come, and feel right well that we have not come in vain, +for your knowledge and your justice are known in all the world. He said +these things and many more of this sort till he feared that his first +words were coming true and that he was beginning to weary Felix, which +was the truth, for Felix raised his hand for me to speak, whereupon +without cozenage and without preamble I told Felix that I had gone to +Jerusalem with alms collected from all parts of the world for the poor +and also for worship in the Temple. Why then, if I am the pestilential +fellow that Tertullus says I am, is it that the Jews allowed me the +Temple to abide therein for five days and that they have not brought +witnesses to testify that they found me disputing therein or stirring +the people to riot in the synagogue and in the city. And I see none here +to bear witness that I do not believe in all that is written in the law +and in the prophets; only that I believe with a great part of the +citizens of Jerusalem that the dead will be raised from their graves for +judgment at the last day. If I am guilty of heresy so are many others +here. But you Essenes do not hold with the Pharisees, that the +corruptible body is raised from the dead, you believe that the soul only +is immortal; I believe that there is a spiritual body also which is +raised; and Paul turned his searching eyes on Mathias, in whose mind an +answer began to form, but before he had time to speak it the brethren +began to evince a desire that Paul should continue his story. + +Felix after hearing me bade the Jews return to Jerusalem. I will deliver +no sentence until I have conferred with Lysias, he said. The Jews +returned discomfited, and Felix said to my jailer, let him be relieved +of his chains and be free to see his friends and disciples and to preach +what he pleases. Nor was this all: Felix came with his wife, Drusilla, +who was a Jewess, and she heard me tell Felix that there would be a +judgment, and he answered: speak to me again of this, and they came to +me many times to hear of the judgment, and to hint at a sum of money +which would be easy for me to collect; my disciples would pay for my +liberty and the money would enable him to risk the anger of the Jews, +who, he said, desired my death most savagely. + +But I was of no mind to ask my disciples to pay for my release; and then +Felix, desirous of obtaining the good will of the Jews, put chains upon +me again, and so left me for two years, till Festus was appointed in his +place. + +It was three days after Festus had disembarked at Caesarea that he went +up to Jerusalem, and no sooner had he arrived there than the High Priest +asked for audience and besought him to send for Paul that he might be +judged in Jerusalem; the intention of the High Priest being that I +should be waylaid and killed by a highwayman among the hills. But Festus +thought it was unnecessary to bring me to Jerusalem, for he was about to +return to Caesarea. Come, he said, with me, and accuse this man, and they +agreed. And it was ten days afterwards that Festus returned to Caesarea +and commanded me to be brought before his judgment seat. The Jews that +had come with him sat about, and with many voices complained against me +of blasphemy, but their accusations were vain, for I answered: I have +not offended against the law of the Jews nor against Caesar, and they +answered, so thou sayest, but wilt thou come to Jerusalem to be judged +by us? and Festus, who now only thought to avoid trouble and riot, said +to me, will you go to Jerusalem that I may hear you? + +But, Lord Festus, I answered, you can hear me here as well as in +Jerusalem, and these men desire but my death and ask that I shall be +brought to Jerusalem to kill me secretly, therefore I appeal to Caesar. + +Whereupon Festus answered that he had no fault to find with me, but +since I had appealed to Caesar I must go by the next ship, and as there +would be none for some weeks Festus, who had said to King Agrippa and +Berenice, when they came to pay a visit to the new governor, and, being +Jews, were curious about my gospel, I find no fault with this man and +would have set him at liberty, but he has appealed to Caesar and by the +next ship he goes to Rome, permitted me my liberty to go whither I +pleased and to preach as I pleased in the city and beyond the city if I +pleased. Whereupon I notified to Festus I would go to Jericho, a two +days' journey from Caesarea, and he said, go, and in three weeks a ship +will be here to take thee to Rome. But he said: if the Jews should hear +of thee thou'lt lose thy life, and he offered me a guard, which I +refused as useless, knowing well that I should not meet my death at +Jericho. Why cherish a love for them that hate thee? he said, and I +answered: they are my own people, and my heart was filled again with the +memory of the elect race that had given birth to the prophets. Shall +these go down dead into their graves never to rise again, God's chosen +people? I asked myself, and set out with Timothy, my son in the faith, +for Jericho, a city I had never seen nor yet the banks of Jordan down +which Jesus went for John's baptism. But for these things I had little +thought or care, but was as if propelled by some force that I could not +understand nor withstand; and a multitude collected and hearkened to the +story of my conversion on the road to Damascus, but discontent broke out +among them when I said that Jesus had come neither to confirm nor to +abolish the law, that the law was well while we were children but now we +could only enter into eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ our +Lord. + +The rest of my story you know: how we fled into the hills for our lives' +sake, and how Timothy in the dark of the evening kept to the left +whereas I came round the shoulder of the hill and was upheld in the path +by God, who has still need of me. His ways are inscrutable, for, wishing +to bring me to you, he sent me to preach in Jordan and urged the Jews to +threaten me and pursue me into the hills, for he wished you holy men who +live upon this ridge of rock in piety, in humility, in content, in peace +one with the other, fearing God always, to hear of Jesus and his +resurrection from the dead and the meaning thereof, which is that Christ +came to redeem us from the bondage of the law and that sense of sin +which the law reveals unceasingly and which terrifies and comes between +us and love of Jesus Christ, who will (at the sound of the last trump) +raise the incorruptible out of the corruptible. Even as the sown grain +is raised out of its rotten grave to nourish and rejoice again at the +light, so will ye nourish again in the fields of heaven, never again to +sink into old age and death if you have faith in Christ, for you have +all else, fear of God, and charity, piety and humility, brotherly love, +peace and content in the work that the day brings to your hands and the +pillow that the night brings to your head for reward for the work done. +God that knows all knew you were waiting on this margin of rock for the +joyful tidings, and he sent me as a shepherd might send his servant out +to call in the flock at the close of day, for in his justice he would +not have it that ten just men should perish. He sent me to you with a +double purpose, methinks, for he may have designed you to come to my +aid, for it would be like him that has had in his heart since all time +my great mission to Italy and Spain, to have conceived this way to +provide me with new feet to carry the joyful tidings to the ends of the +earth; and now I stand amazed, it being clear to me that it was not for +the Jews of Jericho that I was sent out from Caesarea but for you. + +Paul waited for one of the Essenes to answer, and his eyes falling on +Mathias' face he read in it a web of argument preparing wherein to catch +him, and he prayed that God might inspire his answers. At last Mathias, +in clear, silvery voice, broke the silence that had fallen so suddenly, +and all were intent to hear the silken periods with which the Egyptian +thanked Paul for the adventurous story he had related to them, who, he +said, lived on a narrow margin of rock, knowing nothing of the world, +and unknown to it, content to live, as it were, immersed in God. Paul's +narrative was full of interesting things, and he regretted that Paul was +leaving them, for he would have liked to have given longer time to the +examination of the several points, but his story contained one thing of +such great moment that he passed over many points of great interest, and +would ask Paul to tell them why the resurrection of Jesus Christ should +bring with it the abrogation of the law of Moses. If the law was true +once, it was true always, for the law was the mind and spirit and +essence of God. That is, he continued, the law spiritually understood; +for there are those among us Essenes who have gone beyond the letter. I, +too, know something of that spiritual interpretation, Paul cried out, +but I understand it of God's providence in relation to man during a +certain period; that which is truth for the heir is not truth to the +lord. Mathias acquiesced with lofty dignity, and continued his +interrogation in measured phrases: that if he understood Paul rightly, +and he thought he did, his teaching was that the law only served to +create sin, by multiplying the number of possible transgressions. Thy +meaning would seem to be that Jews as well as Gentiles sin by acquiring +consciousness of sin, but by faith in Jesus Christ we get peace with God +and access unto his grace. Upon grace, Paul, we see thee standing as on +a pedestal crying out, sin abounds but grace abounds, fear not sin. The +words of my enemies, Paul cried, interrupting; sin so that grace may +abound, God forbid. Those that are baptized in Christ are dead to sin, +buried with him to rise with him again and to live a new life. The old +man (that which we were before Christ died for us) was crucified with +Christ so that we might serve sin no longer. Freed from the bondage of +the law and concupiscence by grace we are saved through faith in our +Lord Jesus Christ from damnation. It is of this grace that we would hear +thee speak. Do we enter into faith through grace? Mathias asked, and, +having obtained a sign of assent from Paul, he asked if grace were other +than a free gift from God, and he waited again for a sign of assent. +Paul nodded, and reminded him that God had said to Moses, I will have +mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I +will have compassion. Then, Mathias said, the law of Moses is not +abrogated, thou leanest upon it when it suiteth thy purpose to lean, and +pushest it aside when it pleases thee to reprove us as laggards in +tradition and among the beginnings of things. It was lest some mood of +injustice might be imputed to God in neglecting us that we were invited +to become thy disciples, and to carry the joyful tidings into Italy and +Spain. But we no longer find those rudiments in the law. We read it with +the eyes of the mind, and we receive not from thy lips that God is like +a man--a parcel of moods, and obedient to them. It is true that God +justifies whom he glorifies, Paul answered, but for that he is not an +unjust God. If he did not spare his son, but delivered him to death that +we might be saved, will he not give us all things? Who shall accuse +God's elect? He that chose them? Who will condemn them? Christ that will +sit on the right hand of his Father, that intercedes for us? Neither +death nor life nor angels can separate me from the love of our Lord +Jesus Christ, and if I came hither it is for the sake of my brothers, my +kinsmen that might be saved. God has not broken his promise to his +chosen people. A man may be born an Israelite and not be one; we are +true Israelites, not by birth but by election. God calls whom he +pleases, and without injustice. But, brethren, Mathias would ask of me: +why does God yet find a fault though none may resist his will? We dare +not reason with God or ask him to explain his preferences. Does the vase +ask the potter: why hast thou made me thus? Had not the potter power +over the clay to make from the same lump two vases, one for noble and +the other for ignoble use. Not in discourse of reason is the Kingdom of +God, but in its own power to be and to grow, and that power is +manifested in my gospel. + +The approval of the brethren whitened Mathias' cheek with anger, and he +answered Paul that his denial of the law did not help him to rise to any +higher conception of the deity than to compare him to a potter, and he +warned Paul that to arrive at any idea of God we must forget potters, +rejecting the idea of a maker setting out from a certain moment of time +to shape things according to a pattern out of pre-existing matter. And I +would tell thee before thou startest for the end of the earth that the +Jesus Christ which has obsessed thee is but the Logos, the principle +that mediates between the supreme God and the world formed out of +matter, which has no being of its own, for being is not in that mere +potency of all things alike, which thou callest Power, but in Divine +Reason. + +I have heard men speak like thee in Athens, Paul answered slowly and +sadly, and I said then that the wisdom of man is but foolishness in +God's sight. But thy stay there was not long, and thou hast not spoken +of my country, Egypt, Mathias answered, and rising from his seat he left +the table and passed out on to the balcony like one offended, and, +leaning his arms on the rail, he stood looking into the abyss. + +A Jew of Alexandria, Manahem whispered in Paul's ear, but he holds fast +by the law in his own sense, and in telling of this Christ thou---- We +would hear of Peter, Saddoc interrupted, the fisherman thou foundest +eating unclean meat with the Gentiles. Have I not said, Paul answered, +that what is eaten and what is drunk finds neither favour nor disfavour +in God's eyes--that it is not by observance we are saved, but by faith +in our Lord Jesus Christ that died to redeem us from the law, and was +raised from the dead by his Father, and who appeared to the twelve and +to five hundred others, some of whom are dead, but many are still alive? +But this Christ, who was he when he lived upon this earth? Manahem +inquired. Son of the living God, Paul answered, that took on the +beggarly raiment of human flesh at Nazareth, was baptized by John in +Jordan, and preached in Galilee, went up to Jerusalem and was crucified +by Pilate between two thieves; the third day he rose from the dead, that +our sins---- Didst say he was born in Nazareth? Hazael asked, the word +Nazareth having roused him from his reveries, and was baptized by John +in Jordan, preached afterwards in Galilee, and suffered under Pilate? +Was crucified, Paul interjected; then you have heard, he said, of the +resurrection? Not of the resurrection; but we know that our Brother +Jesus was born in Nazareth, was baptized in Jordan by John, preached in +Galilee and suffered under Pilate. Pilate condemned many men, Paul +answered, a cruel man even among the Romans. But born in Nazareth and +was baptized by John didst say? I said it, Hazael answered. Which among +you, Paul asked, looking into every face, is he? Jesus is not here, +Hazael replied, he is out with the flock. He slept by thy side on this +balcony last night. We've listened to thy story with interest, Paul; we +give thee thanks for telling it, and by thy leave we will return to our +daily duties and to our consciences. + + + + +CHAP. XXXVII. + + +One of the Essenes had left some quires of his Scriptures upon the +table; Paul picked them up, but, unable to fix his attention, he walked +out on to the balcony, and when the murmur of the brook began to +exasperate him he returned to the domed gallery and walked through it +with some vague intention of following the rubble path that led out on +to the mountains, but remembering the Thracian dogs chained under the +rocks, he came back and stood by the well, and in its moist atmosphere +fell into argument with himself as to the cause of his disquiet, denying +to himself that it was related in any way to the story he had heard from +the Essenes--that there was one amongst them, a shepherd from Nazareth, +who had received baptism from John and suffered under Pilate, the very +one whom he had heard talking that morning to Jacob about ewes and rams. +At last he attributed his disquiet to his anxiety for the safety of +Timothy. + +All the same, he said, it was strange that Pilate should have put one +from the cenoby on the cross, another Jesus of Nazareth.... It might be +that this Essene shepherd and his story were but a trap laid for him by +the Jews! But no---- + +Paul remembered he had written a long epistle to the Galatians reproving +them for lack of faith, and now he found himself caught in one of those +moments to which all flesh seems prone. But no; the cause of his +disquiet was Timothy; Jesus had promised him news of Timothy, else he +would not have delayed so long among these clefts. He might start at +once; but he would not be able to find the way through these hills +without a guide, and he could not leave till he heard from this Essene +why Pilate had ordered him to be scourged. What crime was he guilty of? +A follower he was, no doubt, of Judas the Gaulonite, else Pilate would +not have ordered him to be crucified. But the reason for his having left +the wilderness? There must be one, and he sought the reason through the +long afternoon without finding one that seemed plausible for more than a +few minutes. + +The drone of the brook increased his agitation and the day was well-nigh +spent when the doors of the cells opened and the brethren began to +appear in their white garments; and when they had found seats about the +table Paul related that he was waiting for Jesus to return from the +hills. + +At last he heard one say: here is Jesus, and at the sound of the +familiar name Paul started up to meet him, and speaking the first words +that came to his lips he asked him if it were true that he was from +Nazareth and had received baptism from John and suffered under Pilate. I +was born in Nazareth, but what of that? Why dost thou look into my face +so steadfastly? Because this noon, Paul answered, while thou wast with +thy flock, I was moved to tell the brethren of Jesus of Nazareth, who +died on the cross to redeem us, for I would that all you here should +join with us and carry the joyful tidings to Italy and Spain. The doors +are open---- + +Hazael coming from his cell at that moment stayed the words that had +risen up in Paul's mind, and he looked at the president as if he +expected him to speak, but Hazael sank into his chair and soon after +into his own thoughts. So thy name is Jesus and thou'rt from Nazareth? +Paul said, turning to the shepherd, and Jesus answered: I was born in +Nazareth and my life has been lived among these hills. Our guest, Saddoc +said, interrupting, has told us the story of his life, and he hopes to +persuade us to leave this gorge and go with him to Italy and on to +Spain. To Spain? Jesus asked. To carry the joyful tidings that the doors +of salvation are now open to all, Saddoc answered. He has told us that +he was once a great persecutor of Christians. Of Christians? Jesus +repeated. And who are they? The Christians are they that believe the +Messiah promised to the Jews was raised by God from the dead, Saddoc +replied, and our guest would have us go with him to Spain, for on the +road to Damascus he had a vision, and nearly lost his sight in it. And +ever since he has been preaching that the doors are open to all. He is +the greatest traveller the world has ever known. Christ is a Greek word, +Manahem said, for it seemed to him that Saddoc was speaking too much, +and that he could give Jesus a better account of Paul's journeyings, his +conversions of the Gentiles and the persecutions that followed these +conversions: for the Jews, Manahem said, have been on his track always, +and his last quarrel with them was yester even by the Jordan, where he +was preaching with Timothy. They lost each other in the hills. Of +Timothy I have news, Jesus answered. He met a shepherd in the valley who +pointed out the way to Caesarea to him, and it may be that he is not far +from that city now. Then I will go to Caesarea at once, Paul cried. I +have promised to put thee on the direct road, Jesus said, but it is for +thee to choose another guide, he added, for Paul's face told him the +thoughts that were passing in Paul's mind: that he would sooner that any +other of the brethren should guide him out of the wilderness. After +looking at Paul for some time he said: I've heard from Manahem and +Saddoc that thou wast a persecutor of Christians, but without +understanding, so hurried was the story. And they tell me, Paul said, +that thou'rt from Nazareth and suffered under Pilate. More than that +they do not seem to know; but from what they tell me thy story resembles +that of our Lord Jesus Christ who was betrayed in a garden and was +raised from the dead. At the words, who was betrayed in a garden, a +light seemed to break in Jesus' face and he said: some two years of my +life are unknown to anybody here, even Hazael does not know them, and +last night I was about to tell them to him on the balcony. + +You all remember how he was carried out of the lecture-room on to this +balcony by Saddoc and Manahem, who left him with me. I had just returned +from the mountain, having left my flock with Jacob, our new shepherd, +and Hazael, who recovered his senses quickly in the evening air, begged +me to tell him of Jacob's knowledge of the flock, and I spoke to him +highly of Jacob.... Hazael, have I thy permission to tell the brethren +here assembled the story I began to tell thee last night, but which was +interrupted? The old man raised his head and said: Jesus, I hearken, go +on with thy story. + +Brethren, yester evening I returned from the hills after having left our +flock in charge of Jacob. You know, brethren, why I confided the flock +to him. After fifty (I am fifty-five) our steps are no longer as alert +as they were: an old man cannot sleep in a cavern like a young man nor +defend himself against robbers like a young man, and yesternight was the +first night I spent under a roof for many a year, and under that roof I +am to live henceforth with you here, tending on our president, who needs +attention now in his great age. These things were in his mind and in +mine while we sat on the balcony last night taking the air. Hazael had +spoken his fear that the change from the hills to this dwelling would +prove irksome to me at first, and our talk turned upon the life I have +led since boyhood. Our president seemed to think that the better life is +to live under the sky and the sure way to happiness is in solitude: he +had fallen to admiration of my life spent among the hills, and had +spoken to me of the long journeys he used to undertake in his youth over +Palestine, seeking for young men in whom he foresaw the making of good +Essenes; many of you here are his discoveries, myself certainly. We +indulged in recollection, and listening to him my thoughts were back in +Nazareth, and I waited for him to tell me how one night he met my +father, Joseph the carpenter, returning home after his day's work, and +seeing in him a native of the district, he addressed himself to him and +begged my father to point out the road to Nazareth. My father answered: +I am going thither, thou canst not do better than follow me. So the two +fared on together, talking of a lodging for the night, my father fearing +that no house would be open to a stranger, which was the truth. They +knocked at many, but received only threats that the dogs would be turned +upon them if they did not hasten away. My father said: never shall it be +rumoured in Nazareth that a stranger was turned away and had to sleep in +the streets. Thou shalt have my son's bed, and taking Hazael by the hand +my father urged him and forced him into our house. Thou shalt sleep in +my house, my father said, and shook me out of my sleep, saying, Jesus, +thy bed is wanted for a stranger, and to this day I remember standing in +my smock before Hazael, my eyes dazed with sleep. + +Next day Hazael was teaching me; and it pleasing him to see in me the +making of a good Essene, and my father being willing that I should go (a +good carpenter he did not see in me), he took me away with him through +Samaria into Jerusalem, and we struck across the desert, descending the +hills into the plain of Jericho, and crossed the Jordan. + +After a year's probationship I was admitted into the order of the +Essenes and was given choice of a trade, and it was put forth that I +should follow the trade of my father or work amid the fig-trees along +our terraces, but my imagination being stirred by the sight of the +shepherds among the hills, I said, let me be one. And for fifteen years +I led my flock, content to see it prosper under my care, until one day, +spying two wolves scratching where I knew there was a cave, an empty one +I thought, the hermit having been taken by wolves not long before, I +couched my spear and went forward; at sight of me and my dogs the wolves +fled, as I expected they would, and the hermit that had come to the cave +overnight came out, and after thanking me for driving off the wolves +asked me if I could guide him to a spring of pure water. Thou'rt not far +from one, I said, for the cave he had come to live in was situated in +the valley of the leopard's den, which is but half-a-mile from our +brook. I will go thither with thee this evening, but first drink from my +water-bottle, I said, for I could see he needed water, and I spoke to +him of the number of hermits we had lost lately from wild animals, but +he did not heed me, and as soon as he had soothed his parched tongue +with my water-bottle he began to tell me that he had come from the +shores of the Dead Sea and was about to begin to preach the baptism of +repentance for the remission of sins, and that we must not indulge in +hope of salvation because we have Abraham for our father. + +His words seemed to be true words, and I pondered on them, and along the +Jordan everybody was asking whether he was the promised Christ. I walked +miles to hear him, leaving my flock in another's charge, or waited for +him to return to his cave, and often spent the night watching over him +lest a wild beast should break in upon him while he slept. I had known +none but my brethren, nor any city, and John had travelled through all +Judea, and it was from him I learnt that the world was nearing its end, +and that if man did not repent at once God would raise another race out +of the stones by the wayside, so needful was the love of man to God; and +though it had always seemed to me God was gentler than he seemed to be +in John's prophesying, yet his teaching suddenly seemed to be right to +me. I got baptism from him in Jordan and went into the wilderness to +read the Book of Daniel, in which he said all had been foretold, and, +having read, at his advice I bade farewell to the brethren. Manahem, +Saddoc, Mathias, Caleb and Eleazar remember my departure; you regretted +it and tried to dissuade me, but I answered you, saying that God had +called me to preach in my own country, Galilee, that whosoever has two +coats should give one to the poor; for it is the poor that will +intercede for us on the last day; and, carrying John's doctrine further, +I declared that it were easier for a sword to pass through an eye of a +needle than for a rich man to go to heaven, which may be true, but such +judgments should be left to God, and, carrying it still further, I said +it was as hard for a rich man to go to heaven as for cow to calve in a +rook's nest. + +In my teaching I wandered beyond our doctrines and taught that this +world is but a mock, a shame, a disgrace, and that naught was of avail +but repentance. John's teaching took possession of me, but I would not +have you think here that I am about to lay my sins at John's door, for +sin it is for a man to desire that which God has not given, and I should +have remained an Essene shepherd following my flocks in the hills, +whereas John did well to come out of his desert and preach that the end +of the world was approaching and that men must repent, for God willed +him to preach these things. His teaching was true when he was the +teacher, but when I became his disciple his teaching became false; it +turned me from my natural self and into such great harshness of mind +that in Nazareth when my mother came with my brothers and sisters to the +synagogue I said, woman, I have no need of thee, and when Joseph of +Arimathea returned to me after a long attendance by his father's bedside +(his father had lain in a great sickness for many months; it was through +Joseph's care that he had been saved from death, Joseph was a good son), +I told him he must learn to hate his father and his mother if he would +become worthy to follow me. But my passion was so great in those days +that I did not see that my teaching was not less than blasphemy against +God, for God has created the world for us to live in it, and he has put +love of parents into our hearts because he wishes us to love our +parents, and if he has put into the heart of man love of woman, and into +the heart of woman love of man, it is because he wishes both to enjoy +that love. + +I fear to think of the things I said at that time, but I must speak of +them. One man asked me before he left all things to follow me if he +might not bury his father first. I answered, leave the dead to bury +their dead, and to another who said, my hand is at the plough, may I not +drive it to the headland, I answered: leave all things and follow me. My +teaching grew more and more violent. It is not peace, I said, that I +bring to you, but a sword, and I come as a brand wherewith to set the +world in flame. I said, too, that I came to divide the house; to set +father against mother, brother against brother, sister against sister. I +can see that my remembrance of him who once was wounds the dear brethren +with whom I have lived so long; I knew it would be hard for you to hear +that an Essene had broken the rules of a holy order, and it is hard for +me to stand before you and tell that I, who was instructed by Hazael in +all the pious traditions of our race, should have blasphemed against +God's creation and God's own self. You will thrust me through the door +as an unworthy brother, saying, go, live in the wilderness, and I shall +not cry out against my expulsion through the hills and valleys, but +continue to repent my sins in silence till death leads me into silence +that never ends. You are perhaps asking yourselves why I returned here: +was it to hide myself from Pilate and the Jews? No, but to repent of the +evil seed that I had sown that I returned here; and it was because he +wished me to repent that God took me down from the cross and cured me of +my wounds in Joseph's house and sent me here to lead the sheep over the +hills, and it was he who put this last confession into my mouth. + +It seems to me that in telling this story, brethren, I am doing but the +work of God; no man strays very far from the work that God has decreed +to him. But in the time I am telling I was so exalted by the many +miracles which I had performed by the power of God or the power of a +demon, I know not which, that I encouraged my disciples to speak of me +as the son of David, though I knew myself to be the son of Joseph the +carpenter; and when I rode into Jerusalem and the people strewed palms +before me and called out, the son of David, and Joseph said to me, let +them not call thee the son of David, I answered in my pride, if they did +not call it forth the stones themselves would. In the days I am telling, +pride lifted me above myself, and I went about asking who I was, Moses, +Elijah, Jeremiah or the Messiah promised to the Jews. + +A madman! A madman, or possessed by some evil spirit, Paul cried out, +and rising to his feet he rushed out of the cenoby, but nobody rose to +detain him; some of the Essenes raised their heads, and a moment after +the interruption was forgotten. + +A day passed in the great exaltation and hope, and one evening I took +bread and broke it, saying that I was the bread of life that came down +from heaven and that whosoever ate of it had everlasting life given to +him. After saying these words a great disquiet fell upon me, and calling +my disciples together I asked them to come to the garden of olives with +me. And it was while asking God's forgiveness for my blasphemies that +the emissaries and agents of the priests came and took me prisoner. + +At the touch of their hands the belief that I was the Messiah promised +to the Jews rose up in my heart again, and when the priests asked me if +I were the Christ, the Son of the Blessed, I answered, I am, and ye +shall see the son of man sitting on the right hand of God; and it was +not till I was hanging on the cross for upwards of two hours that the +belief I had come down from heaven to do our Father's will faded; again +much that I had said seemed to me evil and blasphemous, and feeling +myself about to die I called out to my Father, who answered my call at +once, bringing Joseph of Arimathea to the foot of the cross to ask the +centurion for my body for burial. But the centurion could not deliver me +unto him without Pilate's order, and both went to Pilate, and he gave me +to Joseph for burial. + +Nor did our Father allow the swoon to be lifted till Joseph entered the +tomb to kiss me for the last time. It was then he opened my eyes and I +saw Joseph standing by me, a lantern in his hand, looking at me ... for +the last time before closing the tomb. + +He lifted me on to his shoulder and carried me up a little twisting path +to his house, and an old woman, named Esora, attended to my wounds with +balsam, and when they were cured Joseph began to tell me that my stay in +his house was dangerous to him and to me, and he vaunted to me in turn +Caesarea and Antioch as cities in which I should be safe from the Jews. +But my mind was so weak and shaken that his reasons faded from my mind +and I sat smiling at the sunlight like one bereft of sense. Strive as he +might, he could not awaken me from the lethargy in which I was sunken, +and every day and every week increased his danger and mine; and it was +not till the news came that my old comrades had come to live in the +Brook Kerith that my mind began to awaken and to move towards a +resolution; an outline began to appear, when I said, I have led my sheep +over the hills yonder many a time, and tempted me to speak of you till +the desire arose in me to see you again. You remember our arrival one +morning at daybreak and my eagerness to see the flock. + +Brother Amos was glad to see me back again, and in talking of the flock +Joseph was almost forgotten, which shows how wandering my mind was at +the time.... He left without seeing me, but not without warning Hazael +not to question me else my mind might yield to the strain, saying that +it hung on a thread, which was true, and I remember how for many a year +every cliff's edge tempted me to jump over. Joseph was gone for ever, +and the memory of my sins were as tongues of flame that leaped by turns +out of the ashes. But the fiercest ashes grow cold in time; we turn them +over without fear of flame, and last night I said to Hazael as we sat +together, there is a sin in my life that none knows of, it is buried +fathoms deep out of all sight of men, and Hazael having said there was +little of the world's time in front of him, I felt suddenly I could not +conceal from him any longer the sin that Joseph had not dared to tell +him--that I had once believed myself to be a precursor of the Messiah +like many that came before me, but unlike any other I began to believe +myself to be the incarnate word. + +A soft, vague sound, the gurgle of the brook, rose out of the stillness, +as it flowed down the gorge from cavern to cavern. + +After a little while Hazael called to Manahem and bade him relate to +Jesus the story Paul had told them, and when Jesus had heard the story +he was overtaken with a great pity for Paul. But thinkest that he will +believe thee? Hazael asked, lifting his chin out of his beard, and the +calm of Jesus' face was troubled by the question and he sank upon a +stool close by Hazael's chair. What may we do? he muttered, and the +Essenes withdrew, for they guessed that the elders had serious words to +speak together. + +Thou hast heard my story, Hazael; nothing remains now but to bid +farewell to thy old friend. To say farewell, Jesus, Hazael repeated, why +should we say farewell? Hazael, the rule of our order forbids me to +stay, Jesus answered; those who commit crimes like mine are cast out and +left to starve in the desert. But, Jesus, Hazael replied, thou knowest +well that none here would put thee beyond the doors. Thy crimes, +whatever they may have been, are between thee and God. It is for thee to +repent, and from hill-top to hill-top thou hast prayed for forgiveness, +and through all the valleys. All things in the end rest with him. Speak +to us not of going. But if God had forgiven me, Jesus answered, and my +blasphemies against him, he would not have sent this man hither. And +what dost thou propose to do? Hazael asked, raising his head from his +beard and looking Jesus in the face. + +To go to Jerusalem, Jesus answered, and to tell the people that I was +not raised from the dead by God to open the doors of heaven to Jews and +infidels alike. But who will believe thee to be Jesus that Pilate +condemned to the cross? Hazael asked. Twenty years have gone over and +they will say: a poor, insane shepherd from the Judean hills. Be this as +it may, my repentance will then be complete, Jesus muttered. But thou +hast repented, Hazael wailed in his beard. But, Jesus, all religions, +except ours, are founded on lies, and there have been thousands, and +there will be thousands more. Why trouble thyself about the races that +cover the face of the earth or even about thine own race. Let thy +thoughts not stray from this group of Essenes whom thou hast known +always or from me who found thee in Nazareth and took thee by the hand. +Why think of me? It is enough to remember that all good and all evil +(that concern us) proceeds from ourselves. Hast not said to me that God +has implanted a sense of good and evil in our hearts and that it is by +this sense that we know him rather than through scrolls and miracles? +Abide by thy own words, Jesus. Be not led away again by an impulse, and +go not forth again, for it is by going forth, as thou knowest, that we +fall into sin. Wouldst try once more to make others according to thine +own image and likeness, to make them see and hear and feel as thou +feelest, seest and hearest; but such changes may not be made by any man +in another. We may not alter the work of God, and we are all the works +of God, each shaped out of a design that lay in the back of his mind for +all eternity. We cannot reshape others nor ourselves, and why do I tell +things thou knowest better than I? The thoughts that I am teaching now +are thine own thoughts related to me often on thy return from the hills +and collected by me in faithful memory. Hast forgotten, Jesus, having +said to me, the world cannot be remoulded, all men may not be saved, +only a few, by the grace of God? I said these things to thee, Hazael, +but what did I say but my thoughts, and what are my thoughts? Lighter +than the bloom of dandelion floating on the hills. It is not to our own +thoughts we must look for guidance but God's thoughts, which are deep in +us and clear in us, but we do not listen and are led away by our reason. +My sin was to have preached John as well as myself. I strayed beyond +myself and lost myself in the love of God, a thing a man may do if he +love not his fellows. My sin was not to have loved men enough. But we +are as God made us, and must do the best we can with ourselves. + +Jesus waited for Hazael to answer him, but Hazael made no answer, but +sat like a stone, his head hanging upon his chest. Why dost thou not +answer, Hazael? he said, and Hazael answered: Jesus, my thoughts were +away. I was thinking of last night, of our talk together in that +balcony--I was thinking, Jesus, how sweet life is in the beginning, and +how it grows bitter in the mouth; and the end seems bitter indeed when +we think of the gladness that day when we walked through the garlanded +streets of our first day together in Nazareth. It was in the springtime +of our lives and of the year. How delightful it was for me to find one +like thee so eager to understand the life of the Essenes: so eager to +join us. Such delight I shall not find again. We spoke last night of our +journey from Nazareth to Jerusalem and across the Jordan. Thou wouldst +not follow thy father's trade, but would lead flocks from the hills, and +becamest in time the best shepherd, it is said, ever known in the hills. +No one ever had an eye for a ram or ewe like thee, and of thy cure for +scab all the shepherds are envious. We were proud of our shepherd, but +he met John and came to me saying that God had called him to go forth +and convert the world. Since God has placed thee here, I said, how is it +that he should come and call thee away now? And thou wast eager with +explanation up and down the terraces till we reached the bridge. We +crossed it and followed the path and under the cliffs till we came to +the road that leads to Jerusalem. It was there we said farewell. Two +years or more passed away, and then Joseph brought thee back. A tired, +suffering man whose wits were half gone and who recovered them slowly, +but who did not recover them while leading his flock. How often have we +talked of its increase, and now we shall never talk again of rams and +ewes nor of thy meditations in the desert and on the hill-tops and in +the cave at night. So much to me were these sweet returnings of thee +from the hills that my hope was that the dawn was drawing nigh when thou +wouldst return no more to the hills, and yesternight was a happy night +when we sat together on the balcony indulging in recollection, thinking +that henceforth we should live within sight of each other's faces +always. My hope last night was that it would be thou that wouldst close +my eyes and lay me in a rock sepulchre out of reach of the hyenas. But +my hopes have all vanished now. Thou art about to leave me. The +brethren? No, they will not leave me, but even should all remain, if +thou be not here I shall be as alone. + +But, Hazael, all may be as thou sayest, the Jews will welcome me, Jesus +answered. I am no longer the enemy; Paul is the enemy of Judaism and I +am become the testimony. Judaism, he says, is the root that bears the +branches, and if I go to Jerusalem and tell the Jews that the Nazarene +whom Pilate put upon the cross still lives in the flesh, they will +rejoice exceedingly, and send agents and emissaries after him wherever +he goes. Paul persecuted me and my disciples, and now it would seem that +my hand is turned against him. Remain with us, Hazael cried. Forget the +world, leave it to itself and fear not; one lie more will make no +difference in a world that has lived upon lies from the beginning of +time. A counsel that tempts me, for I would begin no persecution against +Paul, but the lie has spread and will run all over the world even as a +single mustard seed, and the seed is of my sowing; all returns to me; +that Paul was able to follow the path is certain testimony that he was +sent by God to me, and that I am called to be about my Father's work. As +thou sayest, things repeat themselves. Farewell, Hazael. Farewell, my +father in the faith. So there is no detaining thee, my dear son, and, +rising from his seat, Hazael put a staff in Jesus' hand and hung a scrip +about his neck. If thy business be done perhaps---- But no, let us +indulge in no false hopes. Neither will look upon the other's face +again. Jesus did not answer, and returning to the balcony Hazael said: I +will sit here and watch thee for the last time. + +But Jesus did not raise his eyes until he reached the bridge, and then +he took the path that led by the cenobies of other days, and walked +hastily, for he was too agitated to think. A little in front of him, +some hundred yards, a great rock overhung the path, and when he came +there he stopped, for it was the last point from which he could have +sight of the balcony. As he stood looking back, shading his eyes with +his hand, he saw two of the brethren come and touch Hazael on the +shoulder. As he did not raise his head to answer, they consulted +together, and Jesus hurried away lest some sudden and impetuous emotion +should call him back from his errand. + + + + +CHAP. XXXVIII. + + +A small black bird with yellow wings, usually met with along the brook +flitting from stone to stone, diverted his thoughts from Jerusalem and +set him wondering what instinct had brought the bird up from the brook +on to a dry hill-top. The bird must have sensed the coming rain, he +said, and he came up here to escape the torrent. On looking round the +sky for confirmation of the bird's instinct, he saw dark clouds +gathering everywhere and in a manner that to his shepherd's eye +betokened rain. The bird seems a little impatient with the clouds for +not breaking, he continued, and at that moment the bird turned sharply +from the rock on which he was about to alight, and Jesus, divining a +cause for the change of intention, sought behind the rock for it and +found it in a man lying there with foam upon his lips. He seemed to +Jesus like one returning to himself out of a great swoon, and helping +him to his feet Jesus seated him on a rock. In a little while, Paul +said, I shall be able to continue my journey. Thou'rt Jesus whom I left +speaking in the cenoby. Give me a little water to drink. I forgot to +fill the bottle before I left the brook, Jesus answered. There is a +little left, but not the fresh water that I would like to give thee, +Paul, but water from overnight. It matters not, Paul said, and having +drunk a little and bathed his temples, Paul asked Jesus to help him to +his feet, but after a few yards he tottered into Jesus' arms and had to +rest again, and while resting he said: I rushed out of the cenoby, for I +felt the swoon was nigh upon me. I am sorry to have interrupted thy +discourse, he added, but refrain from repeating any of it, for my brain +is too tired to listen to thee. Thou'lt understand the weakness of a +sick man and pardon me. Now I'm beginning to remember. I had a promise +from thee to lead me out of this desert. Yes, Paul, I promised to guide +thee to Caesarea---- But I rushed away, Paul said, and thou hast followed +me, knowing well that I should not find my way alone to Caesarea. I +should have missed it and perhaps fallen into the hands of the Jews or +fallen over the precipice and become food for vultures. Now my strength +is coming back to me, but without thee I shall not find my way out of +the desert. Fear nothing, Paul, I shall not leave thee till I have seen +thee safely on thy way to Caesarea or within sight of that city. Thou +hast come to guide me? Paul asked, looking up. Yes, to guide thee, Paul, +to accompany thee to Caesarea, if not all the way the greater part of it, +Jesus answered. Thou'lt sleep to-morrow at a village about two hours +from Caesarea, and there we shall part. But be not afraid. I'll not leave +thee till thou'rt safe out of reach of the Jews. But I must be at +Caesarea to-morrow, Paul said, or else my mission to Italy and Spain will +be delayed, perhaps forfeited. My mission to Spain, dost hear me? Do not +speak of thy mission now, Jesus answered, for he was afraid lest a +discussion might spring up between him and Paul, and he was glad when +Paul asked him how it was he had come upon him in this great wilderness. +He asked Jesus if he had traced his footsteps in the sand, or if an +angel had guided him. My eyes are not young enough to follow footsteps +in the sand, Jesus replied, and I saw no angel, but a bird turned aside +from the rock on which he was about to alight abruptly, and going to +seek the cause of it I found thee.... Now if thy strength be coming back +we will try to walk a little farther. + +I'll lean on thee, and then, just as if Paul felt that Jesus might tell +him once again that he was Jesus of Nazareth whom Pilate had condemned +to the cross, he began to put questions: was Jesus sure that it was not +an angel disguised as a bird that had directed him? Jesus could only +answer that as far as he knew the bird was a bird and no more. But birds +and angels are alike contained within the will of God; whereupon Paul +invited Jesus to speak of the angels that doubtless alighted among the +rocks and conversed with the Essenes without fear of falling into sin, +there being no women in the cenoby. But in the churches and synagogues +it was different, and he had always taught that women must be careful to +cover their hair under veils lest angels might be tempted. For the +soiled angel, he explained, is unable to return to heaven, and therefore +passes into the bodies of men and women and becomes a demon, and when +the soiled angel can find neither men nor women to descend into they +abide in animals, and become arch demons. + +Paul, who had seemed to Jesus to have recovered a great part of his +strength, spoke with great volubility and vehemence, saying that angels +were but the messengers of God, and to carry on the work of the world +God must have messengers, but angels had no power to carry messages from +man back to God. There was but one Mediator, and he was on the point of +saying that this Mediator was Jesus Christ our Lord, but he checked +himself, and said instead that the power to perform miracles was not +transmitted from God to man by means of angels. Angels, he continued, +were no more than God's messengers, and he related that when he had shed +a mist and darkness over the eyes of Elymas, the sooth-sayer in Cyprus, +he had received the power to do so direct from God; he affirmed too, and +in great earnestness, that it was not an angel but God himself that had +prompted him to tell the cripple at Iconium to stand upright on his +feet; he had been warned in a vision not to go into Bithynia; and at +Troas a man had appeared to him in the night and ordered him to come +over to Macedonia, which was his country; he did not know if the man was +a real man in the flesh or the spirit of a man who had lived in the +flesh: but he was not an angel. Of that Paul was sure and certain; then +he related how he had taken ship and sailed to Samothrace, and next day +to Neopolis, and the next day to Philippi, and how in the city of +Thyatira he had bidden a demon depart out of a certain damsel who +brought her master much gain by soothsaying. And for doing this he had +been cast into prison. He knew not of angels, and it was an earthquake +that caused the prison doors to open and not an angel. Peter had met +angels, but he, Paul, had never met one, he knew naught of angels, +except the terrible Kosmokratores, the rulers of this world, the +planetary spirits of the Chaldeans, and he feared angel worship, and had +spoken to the Colossians against it, saying: remember there is always +but one Mediator between God and man, Jesus Christ our Lord, who came to +deliver us from those usurping powers and their chief, the Prince of the +Powers of the Air. They it was, as he had told the Corinthians, that +crucified the Lord of glory. But perhaps even they may be saved, for +they knew not what they did. + +Jesus was afraid that Paul's vehemence would carry him on into another +fit like the one that he had just come out of, and he was glad to meet a +shepherd, who passed his water-bottle to Paul. Fill thy bottle from +mine, the shepherd said to Jesus, and there is half-a-loaf of bread in +my wallet which I'd like thee to have to share with thy traveller in the +morning, else he will not be able to begin the journey again. Nay, do +not fear to take it, he said, my wife'll have prepared supper for me. +Jesus took the bread and bade his mate farewell. There is a cave, Paul, +Jesus said, in yonder valley which we can make safe against wolves and +panthers. Lean on my arm. Thy head is still a trouble; drink a little +more water. See, the shepherd has given me half-a-loaf, which we will +share in the morning. Come, the cave is not far: in yon valley. Paul +raised his eyes, and they reasoned with vague, pathetic appeal, for at +that moment Jesus was the stronger. Since it must be so, I'll try, he +said, and he tottered, leaning heavily on Jesus for what seemed to him a +long way and then stopped. I can go no farther; thou wouldst do well to +leave me to the hyenas. Go thy way. But Jesus continued to encourage +him, saying that the cave in which they were to rest was at the end of +the valley, and when Paul asked how many yards distant, he did not +answer the exact distance, but halved it, so that Paul might be +heartened and encouraged, and when the distance mentioned had been +traversed and the cave was still far away he bore with Paul's reproaches +and answered them with kindly voice: we shall soon be there, another few +steps will bring us into it, and it isn't a long valley; only a gutter, +Paul answered, the way the rains have worn through the centuries. A +strange desert, the strangest we have seen yet, and I have travelled a +thousand leagues but never seen one so melancholy. I like better the +great desert. I have lived all my life among these hills, Jesus replied, +and to my eyes they have lost their melancholy. + +All thy life in these deserts, Paul replied eagerly, and his manner +softened and became almost winning. Thou'lt forgive, he said, any +abruptness there may have been in my speech, I am speaking differently +from my wont, but to-morrow I shall be in health and able to follow thee +and to listen with interest to thy tales of shepherding among these +hills of which thou must know a goodly number. My speech is improving, +isn't it? answer me. Jesus answered that he understood Paul very well; +and could tell him many stories of flocks, pillaging by robbers and +fights between brave Thracian dogs and wolves, and if such stories +interested Paul he could relate them. But here is our cave, he said, +pointing to a passage between the rocks. We must go down on our hands +and knees to enter it; and in answer to Paul, who was anxious to know +the depth of the cave, Jesus averred that he only knew the cave through +having once looked into it. The caves we know best are the vast caves +into which the shepherd can gather his flocks, trusting to his dogs to +scent the approach of a wild animal and to awaken him. Go first and I'll +follow thee, and Jesus crawled till the rocks opened above him and he +stood up in what Paul described as a bowel in the mountain; a long cave +it was, surely, twisting for miles through the darkness, and especially +evil-smelling, Paul said. Because of the bats, Jesus answered, and +looking up they saw the vermin hanging among the clefts, a sort of +hideous fruit, measuring three feet from wing to wing, Paul muttered, +and as large as rats. We shall see them drop from their roosts as the +sky darkens and flit away in search of food, Jesus said. Paul asked what +food they could find in the desert, and Jesus answered: we are not many +miles from Jericho and these winged rats travel a long way. In Brook +Kerith they are destructive among our figs; we take many in traps. Our +rule forbids us to take life, but we cannot lose all our figs. I've +often wondered why we hesitate to light bundles of damp straw in these +caves, for that is the way to reduce the multitudes, which are worse +than the locusts, for they are eaten; and Jesus told stories of the +locust-eating hermits he had known, omitting, however, all mention of +the Baptist, so afraid was he lest he might provoke Paul into +disputation. See, he said, that great fellow clinging to that ledge, he +is beginning to be conscious of the sun setting, and a moment after the +bat flopped away, passing close over their heads into the evening air, +followed soon after by dozens of male and female and many half-grown +bats that were a few months before on the dug, a stinking colony, that +the wayfarers were glad to be rid of. But they'll be in and out the +whole night, Jesus said, and I know of no other cave within reach where +we can sleep safely. Sometimes the wild cats come after them and then +there is much squealing. But think no more of them. I will roll up my +sheepskin for a pillow for thee, and sleep as well as thou mayest, +comrade, for to-morrow's march is a long one. + + + + + +CHAP. XXXIX. + + +It was as Jesus had said, the bats kept coming in and going out all the +night through, and their squeakings as they settled themselves to sleep +a little before dawn awakened Paul, who, lifting his head from the +sheepskin that Jesus had rolled into a comfortable pillow for him, spied +Jesus asleep in a corner, and he began to ask himself if he should +awaken Jesus or let him sleep a little while longer. But myself, he +said, must escape from the stifle of this cave and the reek of the bats, +and, dropping on his hands and knees, he crawled into the air. + +It was a great joy to draw the pure air into his lungs, to drink a deep +draught, and to look round for a wild cat. One may be lurking, he said, +impatient for our departure, and as soon as we go will creep in and +spring among the roosts and carry off the flopping, squeaking morsel. +But if a cat had been there licking her fur, waiting for the tiresome +wayfarers to depart, she would have remained undiscovered to Paul's +eyes, so thick was the shadow, and it was a long time before the valley +lengthened out and the rocks reassumed their different shapes. + +He was in a long narrow valley between steep hills, with a path +zigzagging up the hillside at the farther end, among rocks that set Paul +thinking of the little that would remain of his sandals before they +reached Caesarea. + +A long day's march of twelve or thirteen hours lay before him, one that +he would have been able to undertake in the old days without a thought +of failure, but it was over and above his strength to-day. But was it? +It seemed to him that he could walk a long way if the present breeze +that had come up with the day were to continue. It came up the valley, +delicious as spring water, but suddenly he recognised in it the smell of +a wild animal; the sour smell of wolves, he said to himself, and looking +among the rocks he spied two large wolves not more than fifty yards +distant. It is fortunate, he said, that the wind is blowing from them to +me, else they would have scented me; and Paul watched the lolloping gait +of the wolves till they were out of sight, and then descending from the +rock he returned to the cave, thinking he had done wrong to leave it, +for he had entrusted himself to Jesus, and perforce to clear his +conscience had to confide to him he had been out in the valley and seen +two wolves go by. But they did not scent me, the wind being +unfavourable. If they had, and been hungry, it might have gone hard with +thee, Jesus said, and then he spoke of Bethennabrio, a village within a +dozen miles of Caesarea in which Paul would sleep that night. Thou canst +not get to Caesarea to-night, Jesus affirmed to him, and they resumed +their journey through a country that seemed to grow more arid and +melancholy as they advanced. + +Paul complained often that he had come by a more direct and a better way +with Timothy, but Jesus insisted that the way they were going was not +many miles longer than the way Paul had come by. Moreover, the way he +was taking was safer to follow. The Jews of Jericho had had many hours +in which to lay plans for his capture, but Jesus thought that if Paul +would believe in him he would be able to get him in safety to the +village of Bethennabrio, where Paul thought he would be safe; the Jews +would not dare to arrest a Roman prisoner, one who had been ordered by +Festus to Italy to receive Caesar's judgment within a few miles of +Caesarea. Thou'lt be within two hours of Caesarea, Jesus said, and can +look forward to seeing your comrade Timothy the next day. Jesus' words +brought comfort to Paul's heart and helped him to forget his feet that +were beginning to pain him. But a long distance would still have to be +traversed, and his eyes wandered over the outlines of the round-backed +hills divided by steep valleys, so much alike that he asked himself how +it was that Jesus could distinguish one from the other; but his guide +seemed to divine the way as by instinct, and Paul struggled on, +encouraged by a promise of a half-hour's rest as soon as they reached +the summit of the hill before them. But no sooner had they reached it +than Jesus said, come behind this rock and hide thyself quickly. And +when he was safely hidden Jesus said, now peep over the top and thou'lt +see a shepherd leading his sheep along the hillside. What of that? Paul +answered, and Jesus said, not much, only I am thinking whether it would +be well to let him go his way without putting a question to him, or +whether it would be better to leave thee here while I go to him with the +intention of finding out from him if there be tidings going about that +one Paul of Tarsus, a spreader of great heresies, a pestilential fellow, +a stirrer-up of sedition, has been seen wandering, trying to find his +way back to Caesarea. + +The shepherd was passing away over the crest of the hill when Jesus +said, the pretext will come to me on my way to him. Do thou abide here +till I return, and Paul watched him running, lurching from side to side +over the rough ground towards the shepherd, still far away. Will he +overtake him before he passes out of sight and hearing? he asked +himself. + +The sheep were running merrily, and the breeze carried down to Paul's +ear the sound of the pipe, setting him thinking of the Patriarchs and +then of his guide; only mad, he said, in one corner of his brain, +convinced that he returned to the Essenes because he had said in +Jerusalem that he was the Messiah. A strange blasphemy, he muttered, and +yet not strange enough to save the brethren from the infection of it. It +would seem that they believe with him that he suffered under Pilate, +without knowing, however, for what crime he was punished; and a terrible +curiosity arose in Paul to learn the true story of his guide's life, +who, he judged, might be led into telling it if care were taken not to +arouse his suspicion. But these madmen are full of cunning, he said to +himself, and when Jesus returned Paul asked if he had discovered from +the shepherd if an order was abroad from Jericho to arrest two itinerant +preachers on their way to Caesarea. Jesus answered him that he had put no +direct question to the shepherd. He had talked to him of the prospect of +future rains, and we were both agreed, Jesus said, that the sky looked +like rain, and he told me we should find water in the valley collected +in pools among the rocks; he mentioned one by a group of fig-trees which +we could not miss seeing. Thou art safe, Paul, have no fear for thy safe +arrival at Caesarea at midday to-morrow. If a search had been ordered to +arrest two wayfarers my shepherd would have heard of it, for it was +about here that they would try to intercept us, and we shall do well to +turn into a path that they will overlook even if they have sent out +agents in pursuit of thee and Timothy. + + + + +CHAP. XL. + + +By midday they reached a region more rugged than the one they had come +out of. The path they followed zigzagged up steep ascents and descended +into crumbling valleys and plains filled with split stones, rubble and +sand, a desert truly, without sign of a living thing till the shadow of +an eagle's wings passed over the hot stones. Jesus told Paul that the +birds nested up among the clefts yonder and were most destructive in the +spring when the ewes were lambing. Having to feed three or four eaglets, +he said, the birds would descend on the flocks, the she-eagle, the +larger, stronger and fiercer, will attack and drive off even the dog +that does not fear a wolf, yet I have seen, he continued, a timid ewe, +her youngling behind her in a coign in the hill, face the bird fiercely +and butt it till she lost her eyes, poor ewe, for I came up too late +with my staff. And the lamb? Paul inquired: was far away, Jesus +answered, aloft among the eaglets. + +Jesus had stories of wolves and hyenas to beguile the way with, and he +pointed with his staff to the narrow paths above them up which they +would have to climb. But be not discouraged, he said, we shall be in a +better country presently; as soon as we pass the hill yonder we shall +begin to descend into the plain, another three leagues beyond yon hill +we shall be where we bid each other farewell. Paul answered he was +leaving Palestine for ever. His way was first to Italy and then to Spain +and afterwards his life would be over, his mission fulfilled, but he was +glad to have been to Jericho to have seen the Jordan, the river in which +John had baptized Jesus. He was sorry now when it was too late that he +had never been to Galilee, and Jesus told of wooded hills rising gently +from the lake shore, and he took pleasure in relating the town of +Magdala and the house of Dan of Arimathea, Joseph's father, and the +great industry he had established there; he continued talking, showing +such an intimate and personal knowledge of Galilee that Paul could not +doubt that he was what he professed to be, a Nazarene. There were +hundreds of Nazarenes, many of which were called Jesus: but there was +only one Jesus of Nazareth. He did not say this to Jesus; but after +Jesus had asked him how it was that he who had travelled the world over +had never turned into Galilee, he replied that the human life of Jesus +in Galilee concerned him not at all and his teaching very little. He +taught all the virtues, but these were known to humanity from the +beginning; they are in the law that God revealed to Moses. Even pagans +know of them. The Greeks have expounded them excellently well. A teacher +Jesus was and a great teacher, but far more important was the fact that +God had raised him from the dead, thereby placing him above all the +prophets and near to God himself. So I have always taught that if Jesus +were not raised from the dead our teaching is vain. A miracle, he said, +and he looked into Jesus' face just as if he suspected him to be +thinking that something more than a miracle was needed to convince the +world of the truth of Paul's doctrine. A miracle, to the truth of which +more than five hundred have already testified. First he appeared to Mary +and Martha, afterwards to Cleophas and Khuza. On the way to Emmaus he +stayed and supped with them and afterwards he appeared to the twelve. +Hast met all the twelve and consulted with them? Jesus asked, and Paul, +a little irritated by the interruption, answered that he had seen Peter +and John and James and Philip but he knew not the others; and, of +course, James, the brother of the Lord. Tell me about him, Jesus +answered. He admits Jesus as a prophet among the others but no more, and +observes the law more strictly than any other Jew, a narrow-minded bigot +that has opposed my teaching as bitterly as the priests themselves. It +was he who, Paul began, but Jesus interrupted and asked about Peter. +Where was he? And what doctrine is he preaching? Paul answered that +Peter was at Antioch, though why he should choose to live there has +always seemed strange to me, for he does not speak Greek. But what trade +does he follow? Jesus asked. There are marshes and lakes about Antioch, +Paul replied, and these are well stocked with fish, of a quality +inferior, however, to those he used to catch in the lake of Gennesaret, +but still fish for which there is some sale. He and John own some boats +and they ply up and down the marshes, and draw up a living in their +nets, a poor and uncertain living I believe it to be, for they are often +about telling stories to the faithful of our Lord Jesus Christ, who pay +them for their recitals. One is always with them, a woman called Rachel. +It is said that she poisoned a rival at a wedding, a girl called Ruth +whom Jesus raised from the dead. Ruth went to her husband, but Rachel +followed Jesus of Nazareth.... Thou'rt a Galilean, Paul said, and know +these stories better than I. + +As they walked on together, Paul's thoughts returned to the miracle of +his apostleship, received, he said, by me from Jesus Christ our Lord +himself on the road to Damascus. Thy brethren have doubtless related the +story to thee how in my journey from Jerusalem to Damascus, full of +wrath to kill and to punish the saints, I was blinded by a great light +from the skies, and out of a cloud Jesus Christ our Lord spoke to me: +Paul! Paul! he cried, why persecutest thou me? Ever since I have +preached that there is but one Mediator between God and man--Christ +Jesus our Lord, and if I ran out whilst thou wast telling thy story, +crying, he is mad, he is mad! it was because it seemed to me that thou +wert speaking by order of the Jews who would ensnare and entrap me or +for some other reason. None may divine men's desire of soul, unless an +evil spirit has descended into thee I may not divine any reason for thy +story. There is some mistake that none would regret more than thou, for +thou wouldst hear the truth from me this day, thereby gaining +everlasting life. Why dost thou not answer me, Jesus? Because thou'rt +waiting to hear from me the words that our Lord Jesus Christ spoke to +me? My brethren have told it to me, Jesus answered. And thou believest +it not? Paul cried. I believe, Jesus answered, that the Jesus that spake +to thee out of a cloud never lived in the flesh; he was a Lord Jesus +Christ of thy own imagining, and I believe, too, that if we had met in +Galilee thou wouldst not have heeded me, and thou wouldst have done +well, for in Galilee I was but a seeker; go thou and seek and be not +always satisfied with what first comes to thy hand. + +These words provoked a great rage in Paul, and believing Jesus to be an +evil spirit come to tempt him, he turned fiercely upon him, threatening +him with his staff, bidding him begone. But as he could not desert Paul +in the wilderness Jesus dropped behind him and directed Paul's journey, +bidding him tread here and not there, to avoid the hill in front of him, +and to keep along the valley. + +In this way they proceeded for about another hour, and then Jesus cried +out to Paul: yonder are the fig-trees where the shepherd told me to look +for a pool among the rocks after the late rains. Art overcome, Paul, +with the long march and the heat? Rest. Let me untie thy sandals. Alas! +they are worn through and will scarce carry thee into Bethennabrio. But +they must carry me thither, Paul answered, and if there be water in the +pool after we have drunken and filled our water-bottle I'll loose the +thongs and bathe my feet. + +The season was advanced, but there were still leaves on the fig-trees, +and among the rocks some water had collected, and having drunk and +filled the water-bottle, Jesus loosed the thongs of Paul's sandals and +bound his feet with some bandages torn from his own clothing. He broke +the bread that the passing shepherd had given him, but Paul could eat +very little so overcome was he with fatigue. I shall try to eat after I +have slept a little, and having made his head comfortable with his +sheepskin, Jesus watched him doze away. + +Soon after the warm rocks brought sleep to Jesus' eyes, and he fell +asleep trying to remember that he had nothing more explicit to rely upon +than his own declaration (where should it be made, in the streets to the +people or in the Sanhedrin to the priests?) that he was Jesus of +Nazareth whom Pilate condemned to the cross, only his own words to +convince the priests and the people that he was not a shepherd whom the +loneliness of the hills had robbed of his senses. He could not bring the +Essenes as testimony, nor could they if they came vouch for the whole +truth of his story. + + + + +CHAP. XLI. + + +Hast slept well, Paul, and hath sleep refreshed thee and given thee +strength to pursue thy journey? Paul answered that he was very weary, +but however weary must struggle on to Caesarea. Thy strength wilt not +suffer thee to get farther than Bethennabrio, and to reach Bethennabrio +I must make thy sandals comfortable, Jesus answered, and on these words +he knelt and succeeded in arranging the thongs so that Paul walked +without pain. + +They walked without speaking, Paul afraid lest some chance word of his +might awaken Jesus' madness, and Jesus forgetful of Paul, his mind now +set on Jerusalem, whither he was going as soon as Paul was safely out of +the way of the Jews. Each shut himself within the circle of his own +mind, and the silence was not broken till Paul began to fear that Jesus +was plotting against him, and to distract Jesus' mind from his plots, if +he were weaving any, he ventured to compare the country they were +passing through with Galilee, and forthwith Jesus began to talk to Paul +of Peter and John and James, sons of Zebedee, mentioning their +appearances, voices, manner of speech, relating their boats, their +fishing tackle, the fish-salting factory at Magdala, Dan, and Joseph his +son. He spoke volubly, genially, a winning relation it was of the +fishing life round the lake, without mention of miracles, for it was not +to his purpose to convince Paul of any spiritual power he may have +enjoyed, but rather of his own simple humanity. And Paul listened to all +his narratives complacently, still believing his guide to be a madman. +If thou hadst not run away crying, he is mad, he is mad! thou wouldst +have heard how my crucifixion was brought about; how my eyes opened in +the tomb and---- Interrupting Jesus, Paul hastened to assure him that if +he cried out, he is mad, he is mad, he had spoken the words unwittingly, +they were put into his mouth by the sickness in which Jesus had +discovered him. And the sickness, he admitted, might have been brought +about by the shock of hearing thee speak of thyself as the Messiah. But, +Paul, I did not speak of myself as the Messiah, but as an Essene who +during some frenzied months believed himself to be the Messiah. But, +shepherd, Paul answered, the Messiah promised to the Jews was Jesus of +Nazareth, who was raised by his Father from the dead, and thou sayest +that thou art the same. If thou didst once believe thyself to be the +Messiah thou hast repented thy blasphemy. Let us talk no more about the +Messiah. In the desert these twenty years, Jesus answered. But not till +now did I know my folly had borne fruit. Nor do I know now if Joseph +knew that a story had been set going. It may be that the story was not +set going till after his death. Now it seems too late to go into the +field thou hast sown with tares instead of corn. To which Paul answered: +it is my knowledge of thy seclusion among rocks that prompts me to +listen to thee. The field I have sown like every other field has some +tares in it, but it is full of corn ripening fast which will be ready +for the reaping when it shall please the Lord to descend with his own +son, Jesus of Nazareth, from the skies. As soon as the words Jesus of +Nazareth had left his lips Paul regretted them, for he did not doubt +that he was speaking to a madman whose name, no doubt, was Jesus, and +who had come from Nazareth, and having got some inkling of the true +story of the resurrection had little by little conceived himself to be +he who had died that all might be saved; and upon a sudden resolve not +to utter another word that might offend the madman's beliefs, he began +to tell that he had brought hope to the beggar, the outcast, to the +slave; though this world was but a den of misery to them, another world +was coming to which they might look forward in full surety; and many, he +said, that led vile lives are now God-fearing men and women who, when +the daily work is done, go forth in the evening to beseech the multitude +to give some time to God. + +In every field there are tares, but there are fewer in my field than in +any other, and that I hold to be the truth; and seeing that Jesus was +listening to his story he began to relate his theology, perplexing Jesus +with his doctrines, but interesting him with the glad tidings that the +burden of the law had been lifted from all. If he had stopped there all +would have been well, so it seemed to Jesus, whose present mind was not +able to grasp why a miracle should be necessary to prove to men that the +love of God was in the heart rather than in observances, and the miracle +that Paul continued to relate with so much unction seemed to him so +crude; yet he once believed that God was pleased to send his only +begotten son to redeem the world by his death on a cross. A strange +conception truly. And while he was thinking these things Paul fell to +telling his dogma concerning predestination, and he was anxious that +Jesus should digest his reply to Mathias, who had said that +predestination conflicted with the doctrine of salvation for all. But +Jesus, who was of Mathias' opinion, refrained from expressing himself +definitely on the point, preferring to forget Paul, so that he might +better consider if he would be able to make plain to Paul that miracles +bring no real knowledge of God to man, and that our conscience is the +source of our knowledge of God and that perhaps a providence nourishes +beyond the world. + +Meanwhile Paul continued his discourse, till, becoming suddenly aware +that Jesus' thoughts were far away, he stopped speaking; the silence +awoke Jesus from his meditation, and he began to compare Paul's +strenuous and restless life with his own, asking himself if he envied +this man who had laboured so fiercely and meditated so little. And Paul, +divining in a measure the thoughts that were passing in Jesus' mind, +began to speak to Jesus of our life in the flesh and its value. For is +it not true, he asked, that it is in our fleshly life we earn our +immortal life? But, Paul, Jesus said, it seems unworthy to love virtue +to gain heaven. Is it not better to love virtue for its own sake? I have +heard that question many times, Paul answered, and believe those that +ask it to be of little faith; were I not sure that our Lord Jesus Christ +died, and was raised by his Father from the dead, I should turn to the +pleasures of this world, though there is but little taste in me for +them, only that little which all men suffer, and I have begged God to +redeem me from it, but he answered: my grace suffices. + +A great pity for Paul took possession of Jesus, and seeking to gain him, +Jesus spoke of the Essenes and their life, and the advantage it would be +to him to return to the Brook Kerith. Among the brethren thou'lt seek +and find thyself, and every man, he continued, is behoven sooner or +later to seek himself; and thyself, Paul, if I read thee rightly, hath +always been overlooked by thee, which is a fault. So thou thinkest, +Jesus, that I have always overlooked myself? But which self? For there +have been many selves in me. A Pharisee that went forth from Jerusalem +with letters from the chief priests to persecute the saints in Damascus. +The self that has begun to wish that life were over so that I may be +brought to Christ, never to be separated again from him. Or the self +that lies beyond my reason, that would hold me accursed from Christ, if +thereby I might bring the whole world to Christ in exchange: which self +of those three wouldst thou have me seek and discover in the Brook +Kerith? He waited a little while for Jesus to answer, then he answered +his own question: my work is my conscience made manifest, and my soul is +in the Lord Jesus Christ that was crucified and raised from the dead by +his Father. He lives in me, and it is by his power that I live. + +The men stopped and looked into each other's eyes, and it seemed to them +that no two men were so irreparably divided. Thou must bear with me, +Paul, Jesus said, a little while longer, till we reach a certain +hillside, distant about an hour's journey from this valley. I must see +thee to a place of safety, and the thoughts in my mind I will consider +while we strive up these sand-hills. Now if thy sandals hurt thee tell +me and I will arrange the thongs differently. Paul answered that they +were easy to wear, and they toiled up the dunes in silence, Paul +thinking how he might persuade this madman to return to his cenoby and +leave the world to him. + +There are some, he said, as they came out of a valley, that think the +time is long deferred before the Lord will come. Thou'rt Jesus of +Nazareth, I deny it not, but the Jesus of Nazareth that I preach is of +the spirit and not of the flesh, and it was the spirit and not the flesh +that was raised from the dead. Thy doctrine that man's own soul is his +whole concern is well enough for the philosophers of Egypt and Greece, +but we who know the judgment to be near, and that there is salvation for +all, must hasten with the glad tidings. Wilt tell me, Paul, of what +value would thy teaching be if Jesus did not die on the cross? Many +times and in many places I have said my teaching would be as naught if +our Lord Jesus had not died, Paul answered. Are not my hands and feet +testimony, Paul, that I speak the truth? Look unto them. Pilate put many +beside thee on the cross, Paul replied, and, as I have told thee, my +Christ is not of this world. If he be not of this world, is he God or +angel? Jesus asked, and Paul said: neither, but God's own son, chosen by +God from the beginning to redeem the world, not the Jews only, but all +men, Gentiles and Jews alike. Thou hast asked me to look into thy hands +and feet, but what testimony may be a few ancient scars to me that heard +our Lord Jesus Christ speak out of the clouds? Thou wast not in the +cenoby when I told my story, hoping thereby to get a dozen apostles to +accompany me to Spain, a wide and difficult country I'm told, a dozen +would not be too many; but thou wast not there to hear what befell me on +the road to Damascus, whither I was going to persecute the saints; and +again a great pity for Paul took possession of Jesus as he listened to +the story. Were I to persuade him that there was no miracle, his mind +would snap, Jesus said to himself, and he figured Paul wandering +demented through the hills. + +And when Paul came to the end of his story he seemed to have forgotten +the man walking by his side. He is rapt, Jesus said to himself, in the +Jesus of his imagination. And when they had walked for another hour +Jesus said: seest the ridge of hills over yonder? There we shall find +the village, two hours' march from Caesarea. The sea rises up in front of +thee and a long meandering road will lead thee into Caesarea. At yonder +ridge of hills we part. And whither goest thou? Paul asked. Returnest +thou to the Brook Kerith? I know not whither I go, but a great seeming +is in my heart that it will not be to the Brook Kerith nor to Jerusalem. +To Jerusalem? Paul repeated. What persuasion or what desire would bring +thee to that accursed city of men more stubborn than all others? I left +the Brook Kerith, Paul, after listening to Hazael for a long while; he +sought to dissuade me against Jerusalem, but I resisted his counsel, +saying that now I knew thee to be preaching the resurrection of Jesus of +Nazareth from the dead, thereby leading the people astray, I must return +to Jerusalem to tell the priest that he whom they believed to be raised +from the dead still lived in the flesh. However mad thou beest, the +priests will welcome thy story and for it may glorify thee or belike put +thee on the cross again. But this is sure that emissaries will be sent +to Italy and Spain, who will turn the people's mind from the truth; and +the testimony of the twelve that saw Jesus and of the five hundred that +saw him afterwards will be as naught; and the Jews will scoff at me, +saying: he whom thou declarest was raised from the dead lives; and the +Gentiles will scoff and say: we will listen to thee, Paul, another day; +and the world will fall back into idolatry, led back into it by the +delusions of a madman. The word of God is a weak thing, Paul, Jesus +answered, if it cannot withstand and overcome the delusions of a madman, +and God himself a derision, for he will have sent his son to die on the +cross in vain. Of the value of the testimony of the twelve I am the +better judge. Then thou goest to Jerusalem, Paul asked, to confute me? +No, Paul, I shall not return to Jerusalem. Because, Paul interrupted, +thou wouldst not see the world fall back into idolatry? Thou art a good +man despite---- Despite my delusions, Jesus said, interrupting Paul. So +thou'rt afraid the world will fall back into idolatry?--yet Jesus of +Nazareth has been proclaimed by thee as the Messiah, a man above +mankind. A spiritual being, higher than the angels, therefore, in a way, +part and parcel of the Godhead though not yet equal to God. Thinkest, +Paul, that those that come after thee will not pick up the Messiah where +thou hast left him and carry him still further into deity? + +It is not fear of idolatry, Paul, that turns me from Jerusalem. The +world will always be idolatrous in some sort of fashion. Bear that well +in mind whither thou goest. The world cannot be else than the world. + +Let us sit here, Paul answered, for I would hear thee under this rock in +front of this sea; thou shalt tell me how thou earnest into these +thoughts. Thou, a shepherd among the Judean hills. Jesus answered him: +the things that I taught in Galilee were not vain, but I only knew part +of the truth, that which thou knowest, that sacrifices and observances +are vain; and when I went to Jerusalem the infamy of the Temple and its +priests became clear to me, and I yielded to anger, for I was possessed +of a great desire to save the people. The Scribes and Pharisees +conspired against me, and I was brought before the High Priest, who rent +his garments. We have but little time to spend together, and rather than +that story I would hear thee tell of the thoughts that came to thee +whilst thou didst lead thy flocks over the hills. + +For many years, Paul, there were no thoughts in my mind, or they were +kept back, for I was without a belief; but thought returned to my +desolate mind as the spring returns to these hills; and the next step in +my advancement was when I began to understand that we may not think of +God as a man who would punish men for doing things they have never +promised not to do, or recompense them for abstinence from things they +never promised to abstain from. Soon after I began to comprehend that +the beliefs of our forefathers must be abandoned, and that if we would +arrive at any reasonable conception of God, we must not put a stint upon +him. And as I wandered with my sheep he became in my senses not without +but within the universe, part and parcel, not only of the stars and the +earth, but of me, yea, even of my sheep on the hillside. All things are +God, Paul: thou art God and I am God, but if I were to say thou art man +and I am God, I should be the madman that thou believest me to be. That +was the second step in my advancement; and the third step, Paul, in my +advancement was the knowledge that God did not design us to know him but +through our consciousness of good and evil, only thus far may we know +him. So thou seest, Paul, he has not written the utmost stint of his +power upon us, and this being so, Paul--and who shall say that it is not +so--it came to me to understand that all striving was vain, and worse +than vain. The pursuit of a corruptible crown as well as the pursuit of +an incorruptible crown leads us to sin. If we would reach the sinless +state we must relinquish pursuit. What I mean is this, that he who seeks +the incorruptible crown starts out with words of love on his lips to +persuade men to love God, and finding that men do not heed him he begins +to hate them, and hate leads on into persecution. Such is the end of all +worship. There is but one thing, Paul, to learn to live for ourselves, +and to suffer our fellows to do likewise; all learning comes out of +ourselves, and no one may communicate his thought; for his thought was +given to him for himself alone. Thou art where I was once, thou hast +learnt that sacrifices and observances are vain, that God is in our +heart; and it may be that in years to come thy knowledge will be +extended, or it may be that thou hast reached the end of thy tether: we +are all at tether, Paul. + +Wouldst thou have me learn, Jesus, that God is to be put aside? Again, +Paul, thou showest me the vanity of words. God forbid that I should say +banish God from thy hearts. God cannot be banished, for God is in us. +All things proceed from God; all things end in God; God like all the +rest is a possession of the mind. He who would be clean must be obedient +to God. God has not designed us to know him except through our +conscience. Each man's conscience is a glimpse. These are some of the +things that I have learnt, Paul, in the wilderness during the last +twenty years. But seek not to understand me. Thou canst not understand +me and be thyself; but, Paul, I can comprehend thee, for once I was +thou. Whither goest thou? Paul cried, looking back. But Jesus made no +answer, and Paul, with a flutter of exaltation in his heart, turned +towards Caesarea, knowing now for certain that Jesus would not go to +Jerusalem to provoke the Jews against him. Italy would therefore hear of +the life and death of our Lord Jesus Christ that had brought salvation +for all, and Spain afterwards. Spain, Spain, Spain! he repeated as he +walked, filled with visions of salvation. He walked with Spain vaguely +in his mind till his reverie was broken by the sound of voices, and he +saw people suddenly in a strange garb going towards the hillside on +which he had left Jesus; neither Jews nor Greeks were they, and on +turning to a shepherd standing by he heard that the strangely garbed +people were monks from India, and they are telling the people, the +shepherd said, that they must not believe that they have souls, and that +they know that they are saved. What can be saved but the spirit? Paul +cried, and he asked the shepherd how far he was from the village of +Bethennabrio. Not more than half-an-hour, the shepherd answered, and it +was upon coming into sight of the village that Paul began to trace a +likeness between the doctrines that Jesus had confided to him and the +shepherd's story of the doctrines that were being preached by the monks +from India. His thoughts were interrupted by the necessity of asking the +first passenger coming from the village to direct him to the inn, and it +was good tidings to hear that there was one. + +However meagre the food might be, it would be enough, he answered, and +while he sat at supper he remembered Jesus again, and while thinking of +his doctrines and the likeness they bore to those the Indians were +preaching, some words of Jesus returned to him. He had said that he did +not think he was going back to the Brook Kerith, and it may well be, +Paul muttered, that in saying those words he was a prophet without +knowing it. The monks from India will meet him in the valley, and if +they speak to him they will soon gather from him that he divined much of +their philosophy while watching his flock, and finding him to be of +their mind they may ask him to return to India with them and he will +preach there. + +Sleep began to gather in Paul's eyes and he was soon dozing, thinking in +his doze how pleasant it was to lie in a room with no bats above him. A +remembrance of the smell kept him awake, but his fatigue was so great +that his sleep grew deeper and deeper and many hours passed over, and +the people in the inn thought that Paul would never wake again. But this +long sleep did not redeem him from the fatigue of his journeys. He could +not set out again till late in the afternoon, and it was evening when he +passed over the last ridge of hills and saw the yellow sands of Caesarea +before him. The sky was grey, and the rain that Jesus had foreseen was +beginning to fall, and it was through shades of evening that he saw the +great mole covered with buildings stretching far into the sea. Timothy +will be waiting for me at the gate if he has not fallen over a +precipice, he said, and a few minutes after he caught sight of Timothy +waiting for him. Paul opened his arms to him. Thoughtest that I was lost +to thee for ever, Timothy? God whispered in my ears, Timothy answered, +that he would bring thee back safely, and the ship is already in offing. +It would be well to go on board now, for at daybreak we weigh anchor. +Thou'lt sleep better on board. And Paul, who was too weary even to +answer, allowed himself to be led. And, too weary to sleep, he lay +waking often out of shallow sleeps. He could hear Timothy breathing by +his side, and when he raised his eyes he saw the stars that were to +guide them along the coasts; but the beauty of the stars could not blot +out of his mind the shepherd's face: and Paul's thoughts murmured, he +who believed himself the Messiah and still thinks he is Jesus of +Nazareth which was raised by his Father from the dead. Yet without his +help I should not have reached Caesarea. It then seemed to Paul that the +shepherd was an angel in disguise sent to his aid, or a madman. A madman +with a strange light in his eyes, he continued, and fell to thinking if +the voice that spoke out of the cloud bore any likeness to the voice +that had compelled his attention for so long a term on the hillside. But +a bodily voice, he said, cannot resemble a spiritual voice, and it is +enough that the Lord Jesus spoke to me, and that his voice has abided in +me and become my voice. It is his voice that is now calling me to Rome, +and it is his voice that I shall hear when my life is over, saying: +Paul, I have long waited for thee; come unto me, faithful servant, and +receive in me thy gain and the fruit of all thy labour. He repeated the +words so loudly that Timothy awoke, and at the sight of the young man's +face the present sank out of sight and he was again in Lystra, and on +looking into the young man's eyes he knew that Timothy would remind him +always of the woman in Lystra whom he would never see again. Of what art +thou thinking, Paul? The voice seemed to come from the ends of the +earth, but it came from Timothy's lips. Of Lystra, Timothy, that we +shall never see again nor any of the people we have ever known. We are +leaving our country and our kindred. But remember, Timothy, that it is +God that calls thee Homeward. And they sat talking in the soft starlight +of what had befallen them when they separated in the darkness. Timothy +told that he remembered the way he had come by sufficiently not to fall +far out of it, and that at daybreak he had met shepherds who had +directed him. He had walked and he had rested and in that way managed to +reach Caesarea the following evening. A long journey on foot, but a poor +adventure. But thou hast been away three days, three days and three +nights.... How earnest thou hither? Thy eyes are full of story. A fair +adventure, Timothy, and he related his visit to the Essenes and their +dwelling among the cliffs above the Brook Kerith. A fair adventure +truly, Timothy. Would I'd been with thee to have seen and heard them. +Would indeed that we had not been separated---- He was about to tell the +shepherd's story but was stopped by some power within himself. But how +didst thou come hither? Timothy asked again, and Paul answered, the +Essenes sent their shepherd with me. Timothy begged Paul to tell him +more about the Essenes, but the sailors begged them to cease talking, +and next day the ship touched at Sidon, and Julius, in whose charge Paul +had been placed, gave him the liberty to go unto his friends and to +refresh himself. + +The sea of Cilicia was beautifully calm, and they sailed on, hearing all +the sailors, who were Greek, telling their country's legends of the wars +of Troy, and of Venus whose great temple was in Cyprus. After passing +Cyprus they came to Myra, a city of Cilicia, and were fortunate enough +to find a ship there bound for Alexandria, sailing from thence to Italy. +Julius put them all on board it; but the wind was unfavourable, and as +soon as they came within sight of the Cnidus the wind blew against them +and they sailed to Crete and by Salome till they came to a coast known +as the Fair Havens by the city of Lasea, where much time was spent to +the great danger of the ship, and also to the lives of the passengers +and the crew as Paul fully warned them, the season, he said, being too +advanced for them to expect fair sailings. I have fared much by land and +sea, he said, and know the danger and perils of this season. He was not +listened to, but the Haven being not safe in winter they loosed for +Phoenice; and the wind blew softly, and they mocked Paul, but not long, +for a dangerous wind arose known as euroclydon, against which the ship +could not bear up, and so the crew let her drive before it till in great +fear of quicksands they unloaded the ship of some cargo. And next day, +the wind rising still higher, they threw overboard all they could lay +hands upon, and for several days and nights the wrack was so thick and +black overhead that they were driven on and on through unknown wastes of +water, Paul exhorting all to be of good cheer, for an angel of God had +exhorted him that night, telling that none should drown. + +And when the fourteenth day was spent it seemed to the sailors that they +were close upon land. Upon sounding they found fifteen fathoms, and +afraid they were upon rocks, they cast out anchors. But the anchors did +not hold, and the danger of drowning became so great as the night +advanced that the sailors would have launched a boat, but Paul besought +them to remain upon the ship; and when it was day they discovered a +certain creek in which they thought they might beach the ship, which +they did, and none too soon, for the ship began to break to pieces soon +after. But shall our prisoners be supposed to swim ashore? the soldiers +asked, and they would have killed the prisoners, but the centurion +restrained them, for he was minded to save Paul's life, and all reached +the shore either by swimming or clinging to wreckage which the waves +cast up upon the shore. + +They were then upon the island of Melita, where Paul was mistaken for a +murderer because a viper springing out of a bundle of sticks fastened on +his hand. But he shook off the beast into the fire and felt no harm, and +the barbarians waited for him to swell and fall down suddenly, but when +he showed no sign of sickness they mistook him for a god, and in fear +that they would offer sacrifices in his honour, as the priests of Lystra +wished to do when he bade the cripple stand straight upon his feet, he +told them that he was a man like themselves; he consented, however, that +they should bring him to Publius, the chief man of the island, who lay +sick with fever and a flux of blood, and he rose up healed as soon as +Paul imposed his hand upon him. And many other people coming, all of +whom were healed, the barbarians brought him presents. + +After three months' stay they went on board a ship from Alexandria, +whose sign was Castor and Pollux, and a fair wind took them to Syracuse, +where they tarried three days; a south wind arose at Rhegium and carried +them next into Puteoli, where Paul found the brethren, who begged the +centurion Julius to allow him to remain with them for a few days, and on +account of his great friendship and admiration of Paul he allowed him to +tarry for seven days. + +From Puteoli Paul and Timothy and Aristarchus went forward towards Rome +with the centurion, and the news of their journey having preceded them +the brethren came to meet them as far as The Three Taverns.... With +great rejoicing they all went on to Rome together, and when they arrived +in Rome the centurion delivered the prisoners to the Captain of the +Guard, but Paul was permitted to live by himself with a soldier on guard +over him, and he enjoyed the right to see whom he pleased and to teach +his doctrine, which he did, calling as soon as he was rested the chiefs +of the Jews together, and when they were come together he related to +them the story of the persecutions he had endured from the Jews from the +beginning, and that he had appealed to Caesar in order to escape from +them. He expounded and testified the Kingdom of God, persuading them on +all matters concerning Jesus, his birth, his death and his resurrection, +enjoining them to look into the Scriptures and to accept the +testification of five hundred, many of whom were still alive, while some +were sleeping. He spoke from morning to evening. + +The rest of his story is unknown. + + + + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Brook Kerith, by George Moore + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE BROOK KERITH *** + +***** This file should be named 12821.txt or 12821.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/2/8/2/12821/ + +Produced by Jonathan Ingram, Wilelmina Malliere and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team. + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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