,,life ,,of ,,christ                    
,,life ,,of ,,christ                    
by                                      
,,giovanni ,,papini                     
,freely translated from the ,italian    
by                            ,,dorothy 
,,canfield ,,fisher                     
,,new ,,york                            
,,harcourt1 ,,brace ,,and ,,company     
,,copyright1 #aibc1 ,,by                
,,harcourt1 ,,brace ,,and ,,company1    
,,inc4                                  
,,printed ,,in ,,the ,u4 ,s4 ,a4 ,,by   
,,the ,,quinn  ,,boden ,,company        
,,rahway1 ,n4 ,j4                       
,,translator',s ,,note      ,the ,king  
,james ,english version has been        
followed in the ,bible quotations  of   
this translation1 except in a few cases 
where an alteration in the  ,revised    
,version was evidently the result of a  
better understanding of  the original   
,greek or ,hebrew text4    ,for the form
 of proper names1 the spelling of the   
,century ,dictionary has  been used as a

 rule2 for names not given in the       
,century1 the form  current in the usual
 standard works4 ,since this book is    
intended to be  popular rather than     
either scholarly or archological1 it was
 thought  best to use the name-forms    
best known to most readers4    ,it will 
be noted that a number of the quotations
 are mosaics made up of  phrases taken  
from different parts of the ,bible and  
put together to make  one passage4 ,this
 not being the ,english usage in such   
matters1 it seems  desirable to call the
 reader's attention to the character of 
such  quotations4    ,the only other    
explanation which may be necessary is in
 connection with  the omission of       
occasional sentences1 paragraphs and of 
one or two  chapters4 ,in the case of   
individual sentences or phrases1 they   
were  usually omitted because they      
contained an allusion sure to be obscure
 to  non-,italian readers4 ,a           
characteristic example of such omissions
 is in  the scene of the crucifixion    

where ,christ is described as being     
nailed  to the cross with outstretched  
arms like an owl nailed with            
outstretched  wings to a barn-door4     
,this revolting country-side custom     
being unknown  to ,american readers1 a  
reference to it could only cloud the    
passage4    ,since translators into     
,english who omit passages are usually  
accused of  suppressing valuable        
material which might displease          
too-narrow  ,anglo-,saxon readers1 it is
 perhaps as well to explain that the    
excision  of paragraphs here and there1 
and of a few chapters1 is in no sense an
  expurgation1 because this ,life of    
,christ is very much of the same        
quality throughout4 ,it simply seemed to
 me that such occasional  lightening of 
the text would make it more acceptable  
to ,english-speaking  readers1 so much  
less tolerant of long descriptions and  
minute  discussions than ,italians4     
,i quite realize that this may seem a   
slight and arbitrary basis for  making  

actual excisions in an author's work1   
and ,i understand that the  translator  
is not at all responsible for the matter
 which he translates1  but only for the 
truthfulness with which he presents the 
text given him  to set into another     
language4 ,i was moved first by the fact
 that the  passages omitted are of no   
more importance than any other passages 
in  the book2 and secondly by the       
author's wish expressly stated in his   
,introduction1 to have this a readable  
book which will hold those who  pick it 
up1 rather than to have it a book of    
exact learning or great  literature4    
,this translation was made with the     
purpose of allowing the  general        
,american reading-public to form an     
opinion on a book which has  aroused a  
great deal of discussion in modern      
,italy2 and to carry out  this purpose1 
the occasional omissions mentioned and a
 certain freedom  in the rendering of   
the ,italian seemed to me justifiable4  
,dorothy ,canfield ,fisher4             

,,introduction                          
#a      ,for five hundred years those   
who call themselves free spirits because
  they prefer prison life to army       
service have been trying desperately to 
kill ,jesus a second time--to kill ,him 
in the hearts of men4    ,the army of   
,his enemies assembled to bury ,him as  
soon as they thought  they heard the    
death-rattle of ,christ's second death4 
,presumptuous  donkeys mistaking        
libraries for their stables1 top-heavy  
brains  pretending to explore the       
highest heavens in philosophy's drifting
  balloon1 professors poisoned by the   
fatal strong drink of philology and     
metaphysics1 armed themselves4          
,paraphrasing the rallying-cry of ,peter
  the ,hermit to the crusaders1 they    
shouted 8,man wills it60 as they set    
out on their crusade against the ,cross4
 ,certain of them drew on their         
boundless imaginations to evolve what   
they considered proof positive of  a    
fantastic theory that the story of the  

,gospel is no more than a legend  from  
which we can reconstruct the natural    
life of ,jesus as a man1  one-third     
prophet1 one-third necromancer1         
one-third demagogue1 a man who  wrought 
no miracles except the hypnotic cure of 
some obsessed devotees1  who did not die
 on the cross1 but came to ,himself in  
the chill of the  sepulcher and         
reappeared with mysterious airs to      
delude men into  believing that ,he had 
risen from the dead4    ,others         
demonstrated as certainly as two and two
 make four that ,jesus was  a myth      
developed in the time of ,augustus and  
of ,tiberius1 and that all  the ,gospels
 can be reduced to a clumsy mosaic of   
prophetic texts4 ,others  conceived of  
,jesus as a good1 well-meaning man1 but 
too high-flown and  fantastic1 who went 
to school to the ,greeks1 the           
,buddhists1 and the  ,essenes and       
patched together ,his plagiarisms as    
best ,he could to support  ,his claim to
 be the ,messiah of ,israel4 ,others    

made ,him out to be an  unbalanced      
humanitarian1 precursor of ,rousseau and
 of divine democracy2  an excellent man 
for his time but who to-day would be put
 under the care  of an alienist4 ,others
 to get rid of the subject once for all 
took up  the idea of the myth again1 and
 by dint of puzzlings and comparisons   
concluded that ,jesus never was born    
anywhere in any spot on the globe4      
,but who could have taken the place of  
the man they were trying to  dispose of8
 ,the grave they dug was deeper every   
day1 and still they  could not bury ,him
 from sight4    ,then began the         
manufacture of religions for the        
irreligious4 ,during the  whole of the  
nineteenth century they were turned out 
in couples and half  dozens at a time3  
the religion of ,truth1 of the ,spirit1 
of the  ,proletariat1 of the ,hero1 of  
,humanity1 of ,nationalism1 of          
,imperialism1  of ,reason1 of ,beauty1  
of ,peace1 of ,sorrow1 of ,pity1 of the 
,ego1 of the  ,future and so on4 ,some  

were only new arrangements of           
,christianity1  uncrowned1 spineless    
,christianity1 ,christianity without    
,god2 most of  them were political1 or  
philosophic1 trying to make themselves  
out  mystics4 ,but faithful followers of
 these religions were few and their     
ardor faint4 ,such frozen abstractions1 
although sometimes helped along  by     
social interest or literary passions1   
did not fill the hearts which  had      
renounced ,jesus4    ,then attempts were
 made to throw together facsimiles of   
religion which  would make a better job 
of offering what men looked for in      
religion4  ,free-,masons1               
,spiritualists1 ,theosophists1          
,occultists1 ,scientists1  professed to 
have found the infallible substitute for
 ,christianity4 ,but  such mixtures of  
moldy superstition and worm-eaten       
necromancy1 such a  hash of musty       
rationalism and science gone bad1 of    
simian symbolism and  humanitarianism   
turned sour1 such unskillful            

rearrangements of ,buddhism1            
manufactured-for-export1 and of betrayed
 ,christianity1 contented some          
thousands of leisure-class women1 of    
condensers of the void 444 and went  no 
further4    ,in the meantime1 partly in 
a ,german parsonage and partly in a     
professor's chair in ,switzerland1 the  
last ,anti-,christ was making ready4    
8,jesus10 he said1 coming down from the 
,alps in the sunshine1 8,jesus          
mortified mankind2 sin is beautiful1    
violence is beautiful4 ,everything  that
 says #8yes' to ,life is beautiful40    
,and ,zarathushtra1 after having  thrown
 into the ,mediterranean the ,greek     
texts of ,leipzig and the works  of     
,machiavelli1 began to gambol at the    
feet of the statue of ,dionysius  with  
the grace that might be expected of a   
,german1 born of a ,lutheran  minister1 
who had just stepped down from a chair  
in a ,swiss ,university4  ,but1 although
 his songs were sweet to the ear1 he    
never succeeded in  explaining exactly  

what he meant when he spoke of this     
adorable 8,life0  to which men should   
sacrifice such a living part of         
themselves as their  need to repress    
their own animal instincts3 nor could he
 ever say in  what way ,christ1 the true
 ,christ of the ,gospels1 opposed       
,himself to  life1 ,he who wanted to    
make life higher and happy4 ,and the    
poor  syphilitic ,anti-,christ1 when    
insanity was close upon him1 signed his 
last letter1 8,the ,crucified ,one40    
#b      ,and still ,christ is not yet   
expelled from the earth either by the   
ravages of time or by the efforts of    
men4 ,his memory is everywhere3 on  the 
walls of the churches and the schools1  
on the tops of bell-towers  and of      
mountains1 in street-shrines1 at the    
heads of beds and over  tombs1 thousands
 of crosses bring to mind the death of  
the ,crucified  ,one4 ,take away the    
frescoes from the churches1 carry off   
the pictures  from the altars and from  
the houses1 and the life of ,christ     

fills  museums and picture-galleries4   
,throw away breviaries and missals1 and 
you find ,his name and ,his words in all
 the books of literature4 ,even  oaths  
are an involuntary remembrance of ,his  
presence4    ,when all is said and done1
 ,christ is an end and a beginning1 an  
abyss of  divine mystery between two    
divisions of human history4 ,paganism   
and  ,christianity can never be welded  
together4 ,before ,christ and ,after    
,christ6 ,our era1 our civilization1 our
 life1 begins with the birth of         
,christ4 ,we can seek out what comes    
before ,christ1 we can acquire          
information about it1 but it is no      
longer ours1 it is signed with other    
signs1 limited by other systems1 no     
longer moves our passions2 it may be    
beautiful1 but it is dead4 ,csar was    
more talked about in his time than      
,jesus1 and ,plato taught more science  
than ,christ4 ,people still discuss  the
 ,roman ruler and the ,greek            
philosopher1 but who nowadays is hotly  

for  ,csar or against him2 and where now
 are the ,platonists and the            
anti-,platonists8    ,christ1 on the    
contrary1 is still living among us4     
,there are still  people who love ,him  
and who hate ,him4 ,there is a passion  
for the love of  ,christ and a passion  
for ,his destruction4 ,the fury of so   
many against  ,him is a proof that ,he  
is not dead4 ,the very people who devote
  themselves to denying ,his ideas and  
,his existence pass their lives in      
bringing ,his name to memory4    ,we    
live in the ,christian era1 and it is   
not yet finished4 ,if we are to         
understand the world1 our life1         
ourselves1 we must refer to ,christ4    
,every age must re-write its own        
,gospel4 ,more than any other1 our own  
age  has so re-written its own ,gospel1 
and therefore the author ought perhaps  
to justify himself for having written   
this book4 ,but the justification1  if  
there is need of such1 will be plain to 
those who read it4    ,there never was a

 time more cut off from ,christ than    
ours1 nor one which  needed ,him more4  
,but to find ,him1 the old books are not
 enough4 ,no life  of ,christ1 even if  
it were written by an author of greater 
genius than  any who has ever lived1    
could be more beautiful and perfect than
 the  ,gospels4 ,the candid sobriety of 
the first four stories can never be     
improved upon by any miracle of style   
and poetry4 ,and we can add very  little
 to the information they give us4       
,but who reads the ,gospels nowadays8   
,and who could read them1 even if he    
set himself at it4 ,glosses of          
philologists1 comments of the exegetical
  experts1 varying readings of erudite  
marginal editors1 emendations of        
letters1 such things can provide        
entertainment for patient brains4 ,but  
the heart needs something more than     
this4    ,every generation has its      
preoccupations and its thoughts1 and its
 own  insanities4 ,the old ,gospels must
 be re-translated for the help of the   

lost4 ,if ,christ is to remain alive in 
the life of men1 eternally present  with
 us1 it is absolutely necessary to      
resuscitate ,him from time to  time2 not
 to color ,him with the dyes of the     
present day1 but to  represent with new 
words1 with references to things now    
happening1 ,his  eternal truth and ,his 
never-changing story4    ,the world is  
full of such bookish resuscitations of  
,christ1 learned or  literary3 but it   
seems to the author of this one that    
many are  forgotten1 and others are not 
suitable4 ,to write the history of the  
stories of ,christ would take another   
book and one even longer than this  one4
 ,but it is easy to divide into two     
great divisions those which are  best   
known and most read3 7#a7 ,those written
 by orthodox authors for the  use of the
 orthodox2 7#b7 and those written by    
scientists for the use of               
non-believers4 ,neither the first nor   
the second can satisfy those who  are   
seeking in such lives for ,life4        

#c      ,the lives of ,jesus written for
 pious readers exhale1 almost all of    
them1  a sort of withered mustiness1 the
 very first page of which repels        
readers used to more delicate and       
substantial fare4 ,there is an odor of  
burnt-out lamp-wick1 a smell of stale   
incense and of rancid oil that  sticks  
in the throat4 ,you cannot draw a long1 
free breath4 ,the reader  acquainted    
with the biographies of great men       
written with greatness1 and  possessing 
some notions of his own about the art of
 writing and of  poetry1 who            
incautiously picks up one of these pious
 books1 feels his  heart fail him as he 
advances into this flabby prose1 torpid1
 tangled1  patched up with commonplaces 
that were alive a thousand years ago1   
but  which are now dead and petrified4  
,it is even worse when these worn-out   
old hacks try to break into the lyric   
gallop or the trot of eloquence4  ,their
 faded graces1 their ornamentations of  
countrified purisms1 of  8fine writing0 

fit for provincial academies1 their     
artificial warmth  cooled down to       
tepidity by unctuous dignity1 discourage
 the endurance of  the boldest reader4  
,and when they are not engulfed in the  
thorny  mysteries of scholasticism1 they
 fall into the roaring eloquence of the 
,sunday sermon4 ,in short1 these are    
books written for readers who believe   
in ,jesus1 that is1 for those who could1
 in a way1 get along without  them4 ,but
 ordinary people1 indifferent people1   
irreverent people1  artists1 those      
accustomed to the greatness of          
,antiquity and to the  novelty of       
,modernity1 never look at even the best 
of such volumes2 or if  they pick them  
up1 let them fall at once4 ,and yet     
these are the very  people whom such a  
book should win because they are those  
whom ,christ  has lost1 they are those  
who to-day form public opinion and count
 in the  world4    ,another sort of     
books1 those written by the learned men 
for the  neutrals1 succeed even less in 

turning towards ,christ the souls that  
have not learned the way to             
,christianity4 ,in the first place they 
almost  never have any intention of     
doing this1 and in the second place they
  themselves1 almost all of them1 are   
among those who ought to be brought     
back to the true and living ,christ4    
,furthermore1 their method which is1  as
 they say1 historical1 scientific1      
critical1 leads them to pause over      
texts and external facts1 to establish  
them or to eliminate them1 rather  than 
to consider the meaning and the value   
and the light which1 if they  would1    
they could find in those texts and those
 facts4 ,most of them try  to find the  
man in the ,god1 the actual external    
facts of the miracles1  the legend in   
the tradition and1 above all1 they are  
on the look-out for  interpolations1 for
 falsifications and apocrypha in the    
first part of  ,christian literature4   
,those who do not go so far as to deny  
that ,jesus  ever lived1 take away from 

the testimony about ,him everything they
 can1  and by dint of 8ifs0 and 8buts0  
and doubts and hypotheses1 so far from  
writing any definite story themselves1  
succeed in spoiling the story  contained
 in the ,gospels4 ,in short1 such       
historians with all their  confusion of 
fret-work and bunglings1 with all the   
resources of textual  criticism1 of     
mythology1 of paleography1 of           
archeology1 of ,greek and  ,hebrew      
philology1 only triturate and liquefy   
the simple life of ,christ4  ,the most  
logical conclusion to draw from their   
rambling incoherent talk  is that ,jesus
 never did appear on the earth1 or if by
 chance ,he really  did appear1 that we 
know nothing certain about ,his life4   
,christianity  still exists1 of course1 
in spite of such conclusions1 and       
,christianity  is a fact not easily     
disregarded4 ,to offset this fact the   
best these  enemies of ,christ can do is
 to search through the ,orient and      
,occident  for the origins1 as they say1

 of ,christianity1 their intention being
  quite openly to parcel it out among   
its predecessors1 ,jewish1 ,greek1 for  
that matter ,hindu and ,chinese1 as if  
to say3 8,you see1 your ,jesus at       
bottom was not only a man1 but a poor   
specimen of a man1 since he said        
nothing that the human race did not know
 by heart before his day40    ,one might
 ask these deniers of miracles how they 
explain the miracle of  a syncretism of 
old traditions which has grown about the
 memory of an  obscure plagiarist1 an   
immense movement of men1 of thoughts1 of
  institutions1 so strong1              
overwhelmingly strong1 as to change the 
face of  the earth for centuries4 ,but  
this question1 and many others1 we will 
not  put to them1 at least for the      
present4    ,in short1 when in looking  
for light we pass from the bad taste of 
the  devotional compilers to the writers
 who monopolize 8historic truth0 we     
fall from pietistic boredom into sterile
 confusion4 ,the pious writers  are     

unable to lead men to ,christ1 and the  
8historians0 lose ,him in  controversy4 
,and neither one nor the other tempt men
 to read4 ,they may  differ from each   
other in matters of faith1 but they     
resemble each other  in the uncouthness 
of their style4 ,and unctuous rhetoric  
is as  distasteful to cultivated minds1 
even superficially acquainted with the  
divine idyll and divine tragedy of the  
,gospels1 as is the  cold-heartedness of
 learned writers4 ,so true is all this  
that even  to-day1 after the passage of 
so many years1 after so many changes of 
taste and opinion1 the only life of     
,jesus which is read by many lay        
readers is that of the apostate priest1 
,renan1 a book which all true           
,christians dislike for its dilettante  
attitude1 insulting even in  praise1 and
 which every real historian distrusts   
because of its  compromises and its     
insufficient scholarship4 ,but although 
this book of  ,renan's seems written by 
a skeptical romancer1 wedded to         

philology1 or  by a ,semitic scholar    
suffering from literary nostalgia1 it   
has the  merits of being really         
8written10 that is1 of getting itself   
read1 even  by those who are neither    
believers nor specialists4    ,to make  
itself readily read is not the only     
value nor the greatest which  a book can
 have1 and the writer who contents      
himself with that alone and  who thinks 
of nothing else shows that vanity rather
 than ardor is his  motive-power4 ,but  
let us admit that to be readable is a   
merit and not a  small merit for a book1
 especially when it is not intended as a
 tool for  study1 but when it aims at   
the mark called1 8moving the emotions10 
or to  give it its real name1 when its  
aim is to 8transform human beings40     
,the author of the present book         
finds--and if he is mistaken he will be 
very glad to be convinced by any one who
 sees more clearly than he--that  in the
 thousands of books which tell the story
 of ,jesus1 there is not  one which     

seeks1 instead of dogmatic proofs and   
learned discussions1 to  give food fit  
for the soul1 for the needs of men of   
our time4    ,the book we need is a     
living book1 to make ,christ more       
living1 to set  ,christ the             
,ever-,living with loving vividness     
before the eyes of living  men1 to make 
us feel ,him as actually and eternally  
present in our lives4  ,we need a book  
which would show ,him in all ,his living
 and present  greatness--perennial and  
yet belonging intimately to us          
moderns--to those  who have scorned and 
refused ,him1 to those who do not love  
,him because  they have never seen ,his 
true face2 which would show how much    
there is  of supernatural and symbolic  
in the human1 obscure1 simple and humble
  beginning of ,his life1 and how much  
familiar humanity1 how much             
simple-hearted plainness shines out when
 ,he becomes a ,heavenly ,deliverer  at 
the end of ,his life1 when ,he becomes a
 martyr and rises again  divinely from  

the dead4 ,we need a book which would   
show in that tragic  epic1 written by   
both ,heaven and earth1 the many        
teachings suited to us1  suited to our  
time and to our life1 which can be found
 there1 not only  in what ,christ said1 
but in the very succession of events    
which begin in  the stable at ,bethlehem
 and end in the cloud over ,bethany4 ,a 
book  written by a layman for the laymen
 who are not ,christians or who are     
only superficially ,christians1 a book  
without the affectations of             
professional piety and without the      
insipidity of scientific literature1    
called 8scientific0 only because it     
perpetually fears to make the  slightest
 affirmation4 ,a book1 in short1 written
 by a modern writer who  respects and   
understands his art1 and knows how to   
hold the attention  even of the hostile4
                                        
#d      ,the author of this book does   
not pretend to have written such a book2
  but at least he has tried as far as   

his capacities can take him1 to draw    
near to that ideal4    ,let him state at
 once with sincere humility that he has 
not written a  8scientific history40 ,in
 the first place because he could not2  
in any  case because he would not1 even 
if he had possessed all the necessary   
learning4 ,he warns the reader1 among   
other things1 that this book was        
written 7almost all of it7 in the       
country1 in a distant and sparsely      
settled countryside with very few books 
at hand1 with no advice from  friends or
 revision from masters4 ,it will1       
therefore1 never be cited by  higher    
criticism or by those who scrutinize    
original sources with a  microscope2 but
 that is of little importance compared  
to the possibility  of its doing a      
little good to a few souls1 even to one 
alone4 ,for as he  has explained1 the   
author wishes this book to be another   
coming of  ,christ and not another      
burial4    ,the author bases his book on
 the ,gospels2 as much1 let it be       

understood1  on the synoptic ,gospels as
 on the fourth4 ,he confesses that he   
has no  interest in the endless         
dissertations and disputes over the     
authority of  the four ,gospels1 over   
their dates and interpolations1 over    
their mutual  relationship1 and over    
their probabilities and sources4 ,we    
have no older  nor no other documents1  
contemporaneous1 ,jewish or ,pagan1     
which would  permit us to correct them  
or to deny them4 ,he who goes into all  
this  minute investigation can destroy  
many doctrines1 but he cannot advance   
the true knowledge of ,christ by a      
single step4 ,christ is in the ,gospels1
  in the apostolic tradition1 and in the
 ,church4 ,outside of that is  darkness 
and silence4 ,he who accepts the four   
,gospels must accept them  wholly1      
entire1 syllable by syllable1--or else  
reject them from the first  to the last 
and say1 8,we know nothing40 ,to attempt
 in these texts to  differentiate what  
is sure from what is probable1 what is  

historic from  what is legendary1 what  
is original from what has been added1   
the  primitive from the dogmatic is a   
hopeless undertaking1 which almost      
always ends in defeat1 in the despair of
 the readers1 who in the midst  of this 
hubbub of contradictory systems1        
changing from one decade to  another1   
end by understanding nothing and by     
letting it all drop4 ,the  most famous  
,new ,testament authorities agree on    
only one thing1 that the  ,church was   
able to select in the great mass of     
primitive literature the  oldest        
,gospels thought up to that time to be  
the most reliable4 ,no more  need be    
asked4    ,in addition to the ,gospels1 
the author of this book has had before  
his  eyes 8the ,logia and the ,agrapha10
 which seemed to have the most          
evangelical flavor1 and also some       
apocryphal texts used with judgment4    
,and finally nine or ten modern books   
which he had at hand4    ,it seems to   
him as well as he can judge1 that he has

 departed sometimes  from ordinary ideas
 and that he has painted a ,christ who  
has not always  the perfunctory features
 of the ordinary holy picture1 but he is
 not  sure of this nor does he value any
 new thing which may be in this book1   
written more in the hope of having it a 
good book than of having it a  beautiful
 book4 ,it is rather more likely that he
 has repeated things  already said by   
others1 of which he in his ignorance has
 never heard4 ,in  these matters1 the   
subject1 which is truth1 is unchangeable
 and there  can be nothing new except   
the manner of presenting it in a form   
more  efficacious because it may be more
 easily grasped4    ,just as he has     
tried to avoid the thorns of erudite    
criticism on the one  hand1 he has no   
pretensions1 on the other1 of going too 
deeply into the  mysteries of theology4 
,he has approached ,jesus with the      
simple-heartedness of longing and of    
love1 just as during ,his life-time  ,he
 was approached by the fishermen of     

,capernaum1 who were1 fortunately  for  
them1 even more ignorant than the       
author4 ,holding loyally to the  words  
of the orthodox ,gospels and to the     
dogmas of the ,catholic ,church1  he has
 tried to represent those dogmas and    
those words in unusual ways1  in a style
 violent with contrasts and with        
foreshortening1 colored with  crude and 
vividly felt words1 to see if he could  
startle modern souls  used to highly    
colored error1 into seeing the truth4   
,the author claims the right to take to 
himself the words of ,st4 ,paul3  8,to  
them that are without law1 ,i became as 
without law that ,i might gain  them    
that are without law4 ,to the weak      
became ,i as weak that ,i might  gain   
the weak2 ,i am made all things to all  
men1 that ,i might by all  means save   
some4 ,and this ,i do for the ,gospel's 
sake40    ,the author has tried to      
present not only the ,hebrew world1 but 
the world  of antiquity1 hoping to show 
how new and how great ,christ was       

compared  to those who preceded ,him4   
,he has not always followed the         
chronological  order of events1 because 
it better suited his aims1 which are not
 7as he  has said7 entirely historical1 
to gather together certain groups of    
thoughts and facts and to throw a       
stronger light on them instead of       
leaving them to be scattered here and   
there in the course of the  narrative4  
,in order not to give a pedantic look to
 the book he has suppressed all         
references to quotations and has used no
 foot-notes4 ,he did not wish to  seem  
what he is not1 a learned bibliographer1
 and he did not wish to  have his work  
smell1 however faintly1 of the oil of   
the lamp of  erudition4 ,those who      
understand these things will recognize  
the un-named  authorities1 and the      
solutions which the author has chosen   
when  confronted with certain problems  
of concordance4 ,the others1 those who  
are only trying to see how ,christ      
appeared to one of them1 would be       

wearied by the apparatus of textual     
learning and by dissertations at the    
bottom of the pages4 ,one word only must
 be said here in connection with  the   
sinning woman weeping at ,jesus' feet3  
although it is generally  understood    
from the ,gospel story that there were  
two different scenes  and two different 
women1 the author for artistic purposes 
has allowed  himself to treat them as   
one1 and he asks a pardon for this which
 he  hopes will be easily granted since 
there is no question of dogma  involved4
    ,he must warn the reader that he    
refrained from developing the episodes  
where the ,virgin ,mother appears1 in   
order not to lengthen too greatly a     
book already long1 and especially       
because of the difficulty of showing  by
 passing allusions all the rich wealth  
of religious beauty which is in  the    
figure of ,mary4 ,another volume would  
be necessary for that1 and the  writer  
is tempted to try if ,god grants him    
life and sight to 8say of her  what was 

never said of any woman40    ,those who 
are experienced in reading the ,gospels 
will realize that other  things of      
lesser importance have been shortened   
and some others1 on the  contrary1      
lengthened more than is customary4 ,some
 have seemed to the  writer more        
appropriate than the others for his     
purpose1 which is1 to  use an expression
 now out of date and distasteful to     
sophisticated  people1 the purpose of   
edification4                            
#e      ,this book is meant to be a     
book--the author knows how he will be   
jeered  at--of edification4 ,not in the 
meaning of mechanical bigotry1 but in   
the  human and manly meaning of the     
8refashioning0 of souls4    ,to build1  
or as the old word expressed it1 to     
edify a house1 is a great  and holy     
action2 to make a shelter against winter
 and the night4 ,but to  build up or    
edify a soul1 to construct it with      
stones of truth6 ,when  there is talk of
 edification you see in it only an      

abstract word worn  out with use4 ,to   
edify in the original meaning was to    
construct walls4  ,who of you has ever  
thought of all that goes into the making
 of a house1  a house firm on the earth1
 and honestly built1 with well-plumbed  
walls1  with a good sheltering roof8    
,think of all that is needed to build a 
house3 well-squared stones1 well-baked  
bricks1 sound beams1  freshly-burned    
lime1 fine1 clean sand1 cement that has 
not lost its  strength through age6 ,and
 then patient1 expert workmen to put    
each thing  in its place1 to join the   
stones perfectly one by one1 not to put 
too  much water or too much sand in the 
mortar1 to keep the walls damp1 to  know
 how to fill in the chinks1 to smooth   
the rough-cast plaster6 ,all  this so   
that a house may go up day by day       
towards heaven1 a man's house1  the     
house where he will bring his wife1 the 
house where his children  will be born1 
where he can invite his friends4    ,but
 most people think that to make a book  

it is enough to have an idea  and then  
to take so many words and put them      
together4 ,not so4 ,a kiln of  tiles1 a 
pile of rocks1 are not a house4 ,to     
build up a house1 to build  up a book1  
to build up a soul1 are undertakings    
which require all of a  man's power4    
,the aim of this book is to build up    
,christian souls because  that seems to 
the writer at this time in this country 
an urgent need4 ,he  who has written it 
cannot now say whether he will succeed  
or not4 ,but  readers will recognize1 he
 hopes1 that it is a real book and not a
  collection of scraps1 not an          
assemblage of little pieces1 a book that
  may be mediocre and mistaken1 but     
which is constructed3 a work built up   
as well as edifying or building up2 a   
book with its own plan and its own      
architecture1 a real house with its     
atrium and its architraves1 with its    
divisions and its vaultings--and also   
with some openings towards heaven  and  
over the fields4    ,the author of this 

book is1 or would fain be1 an artist1   
and in writing  it he could not forget  
his own character4 ,but he declares here
 that he  has not wished to create a    
work of ,belles ,lettres1 or as they say
 now1  of 8pure poetry10 because at     
least for this time truth is dearer to  
him  than beauty4 ,but if his powers as 
a writer1 however feeble they may be1   
as a writer loving his art1 are         
sufficient to persuade one more soul1 he
  will be more thankful than ever in his
 life for the gifts which he has        
received4 ,his inclination towards      
poetry has perhaps been of use to him   
in rendering fresher and more vivid the 
picture of those things which  seem     
petrified in the usual hieratic         
consecrated wording4    ,the man of     
imagination sees everything as though it
 were new3 every  great star1 wheeling  
in the night1 might lead you to the     
house hiding  the ,son of ,god2 every   
stable has a manger which1 filled with  
dry hay and  clean straw1 might become a

 cradle2 every bare mountain top flaming
 with  light in the golden mornings     
above the still somber valley1 might be 
,sinai or ,mt4 ,tabor3 in the fires in  
the stubble1 or in the charcoal  kilns  
shining on the evening hills you can see
 the flame lighted by ,god  to guide you
 in the desert2 and the column of smoke 
rising from the poor  man's hearth shows
 the road from afar to the returning    
laborer4 ,the ass  who carries the      
shepherdess just come from her milking  
is the one ridden  towards the tents of 
,israel1 or the one which went down     
towards  ,jerusalem for the feast of the
 ,passover4 ,the dove cooing on the edge
 of  the slate roof is the same that    
announced the end of the great          
punishment to the ,patriarch1 or the    
same that descended on the waters of    
the ,jordan4 ,for the poet everything is
 of equal value and omnipresent1  and   
all history is sacred history4    ,the  
author begs the pardon of his austere   
contemporaries if rather more  than is  

fitting he lets himself go to what is   
nowadays disdainfully  dubbed eloquence1
 illegitimate issue of pompous rhetoric 
and  illegitimate mother of overemphasis
 and other dropsical growths of         
elocution4    ,he knows very well that  
eloquence displeases moderns as bright  
red cloth  displeases the fine city     
lady1 as the organ in a church          
displeases  minuet dancers1 but he has  
not always succeeded in dispensing with 
it4  ,when it is not borrowed           
declamation1 eloquence is the ardent    
expression  of faith1 and in an era     
which has no faith there is no place for
  eloquence4 ,and yet the life of ,jesus
 is such a drama and such a poem  that  
in place of the words1 worn thread-bare1
 which have at our  disposition1 we     
should use only those 8torn and         
sentient0 words of which  ,passavanti   
speaks4 ,bossuet1 who knew something    
about eloquence1 once  wrote3 8,plt     
,dieu que nous puissions dtacher de     
notre parole tout se  qui delecte       

l'esprit1 tout ce qui surprend          
l'imagination1 pour ne  laisser que la  
verit toute simple1 la seule force et   
l'efficace toute  pure du ,saint        
,esprit1 nulle pense que pour           
convertir40    ,very true1 but difficult
 to achieve4    ,at times the author of 
this book would have liked to possess an
  eloquence vivid and powerful enough to
 shake all hearts1 an imagination  rich 
enough to transport the soul by         
enchantment into a world of light1  of  
gold and of fire4 ,yet at other times he
 almost regretted that he was  too much 
the artist1 too much the man of letters1
 too much given to  inlaying and        
chiseling1 and that he did not know how 
to leave things in  their powerful      
nudity4    ,only when he has finished a 
book does an author know how he ought to
  have written it4 ,when he has set down
 the last word1 he ought to turn  back1 
begin at the beginning1 and do it all   
over again with the  experience acquired
 in the work4 ,but who has1 ,i do not   

say the energy to  do this1 but even the
 conception that it ought to be done4   
,if on some of its pages this book      
sounds like a sermon1 there is no  great
 harm done4 ,in these days when for the 
most part only women1 and an  occasional
 old man1 go to listen to the preaching 
in churches1 where  mediocre things are 
often said in a mediocre manner1 but    
where more  often still1 truths are     
repeated which ought not to be          
forgotten1 we  must think of the others1
 of the scholarly men1 of               
8intellectuals10 of  the sophisticated1 
of those who never enter a church1 but  
sometimes step  into a book-shop4 ,for  
nothing in the world would they listen  
to a  friar's sermon1 but they          
condescend to read it when it is printed
 in a  book4 ,and let it be said once   
and for all1 this book is specially     
written for those who are outside the   
,church of ,christ2 the others1  those  
who have remained within1 united to the 
heirs of the ,apostles1 do  not need my 

words4    ,the author excuses himself   
for having written a book with so many1 
with  too many pages1 on only one theme4
 ,now that most books--even his own     
books--are only bundles of pages taken  
out of journals1 or short-winded  little
 stories1 or short notes taken from     
note-books1 and generally do  not go    
beyond two or three hundred pages1 to   
have written more than four  hundred    
pages on one theme will seem a          
tremendous presumption4 ,the book       
certainly will seem long to modern      
readers used to light wafers rather     
than to substantial home-made loaves4   
,but books1 like days1 are long or      
short1 according to what you put into   
them4 ,and the author is not so  cured  
of his pride as to think that this book 
will remain unread on  account of its   
length1 and he flatters himself that it 
may be read with  less tedium than other
 books that are shorter4 ,so difficult  
it is to  cure oneself of conceit--even 
for those whose wish it is to cure      

others4                                 
#f      ,some years ago the author of   
this book wrote another to describe the 
melancholy life of a man who wished for 
a moment to become ,god4 ,now in  the   
maturity of his years and of his        
consciousness he has tried to write  the
 life of a ,god who made ,himself man4  
,this same writer in those days let his 
mad and voluble humor run wild  along   
all the roads of paradox1 holding that a
 consequence of the  negation of        
everything transcendental was the need  
to despoil oneself of  any bigotry1 even
 profane and worldly1 to arrive at      
integral and perfect  atheism2 and he   
was logical as the 8black cherubim0 of  
,dante1 because  there is only one      
choice allowed man1 the choice between  
,god and  nothingness4 ,when man turns  
from ,god there is no valid reason to   
uphold  the idols of the tribe or any   
other of the old fetiches of reason or  
of  passion4 ,in those proud and        
feverish days he who writes affronted   

,christ  as few men before him have ever
 done4 ,and yet scarcely six years      
afterwards 7but six years of great      
travail and devastation without and     
within his heart71 after long months of 
agitated meditations1 he  suddenly      
interrupted another work begun many     
years ago1 and almost as if  urged and  
forced by a power stronger than himself1
 he began to write  this book about     
,christ which seems to him insufficient 
expiation for his  guilt4 ,it has       
happened often to ,christ that ,he has  
been more tenaciously  loved by the very
 men who hated ,him at first4 ,hate is  
sometimes only  imperfect and           
unconscious love3 and in any case it is 
a better  foundation for love than      
indifference4    ,how the writer came to
 discover ,christ again1 by himself1    
treading many  roads1 which all brought 
him to the foot of the ,mount of the    
,gospel1  would be too long and too hard
 a story to tell4 ,but there is a       
significance not perhaps wholly personal

 and private in the example of a  man   
who always from his childhood felt a    
repulsion for all recognized  forms of  
religious faith1 and for all churches1  
and for all forms of  spiritual         
vassalage and who passed1 with          
disappointments as deep as the          
enthusiasms had been vivid1 through many
 experiences1 the most varied  and the  
most unhackneyed which he could find1   
who had consumed in  himself the        
ambitions of an epoch unstable and      
restless as few have  been1 and who     
after so many wanderings1 ravings and   
dreamings1 drew near  to ,christ4    ,he
 did not turn back to ,christ out of    
weariness1 because his return to        
,christ made life become more difficult 
and responsibilities heavier to  bear2  
not through the fears of old age1 for he
 can still call himself a  young man2   
and not through desire for worldly fame1
 because as things go  nowadays he would
 receive more commendation if he        
continued in his old  ideas4 ,but this  

man1 turning back to ,christ1 saw that  
,christ is  betrayed1 and1 worse than   
any affront to ,him1 that ,he is being  
forgotten4 ,and he felt the impulse to  
bring ,him to mind and to defend  ,him4 
,for not only ,his enemies have left    
,him1 and despoiled ,him2 the very ones 
who were ,his disciples when ,he was    
alive only half understood ,him1 and    
deserted ,him at the end2 and many of   
those who were born in ,his church      
disobey ,his commands1 care more for    
,his painted pictures than for ,his     
living example1 and when they have worn 
out their lips and knees in             
materialistic piety1 think they are     
quits with ,him1 and that they have     
done what ,he asked of man1--what ,he   
still is asking1 what ,he has been      
asking desperately and always in vain   
for nineteen hundred years4    ,a story 
of ,christ written to-day is an answer1 
a necessary reply1 an  inevitable       
conclusion4 ,the balance of modern      
public opinion is against  ,christ4 ,a  

book about ,christ's life is therefore a
 weight thrown into the  scales1 in     
order that from the eternal war between 
love and hate there  may result at least
 the equilibrium of justice4 ,and if the
 author is  called a reactionary1 that  
is nothing to him4 ,the man who is      
thought to  be behind the times often is
 a man born too soon4 ,the setting sun  
is the  same which at that very moment  
colors the early morning of a distant   
country4 ,christianity is not a piece of
 antiquity now assimilated1 in as  far  
as it had anything good1 by the         
wonderful and not-to-be-improved  modern
 consciousness2 but it is for very many 
something so new that it  has not even  
yet begun4 ,the world to-day seeks for  
peace rather than for  liberty1 and the 
only certain peace is found under the   
yoke of ,christ4    ,they say that      
,christ is the prophet of the weak1 and 
on the contrary ,he  came to give       
strength to the languishing1 and to     
raise up those trodden  under foot to be

 higher than kings4 ,they say that ,his 
is the religion of  the sick and of the 
dying1 and yet ,he heals the sick and   
brings the  sleeping to life4 ,they say 
that ,he is against life1 and yet ,he   
conquers  death2 that ,he is the ,god of
 sadness1 and yet ,he exhorts ,his      
followers  to be joyful and promises an 
everlasting banquet of joy to ,his      
friends4  ,they say that ,he introduced 
sadness and mortification into the      
world1  and on the contrary when ,he was
 alive ,he ate and drank1 and let ,his  
feet  and hair be perfumed1 and detested
 hypocritical fasts1 and the            
penitential mummeries of vanity4 ,many  
have left ,him because they never  knew 
,him4 ,this book is especially for such 
readers4    ,this book is written1 if   
you will pardon the mention1 by a       
,florentine1 a  son of the only nation  
which ever chose ,christ for its ,king4 
,savonarola  first had the idea in      
#adie1 but could not carry it through4  
,in spite of  a threatening siege1 it   

was taken up in #aebg and approved by a 
great  majority4 ,over the door of the  
,palazzo ,vecchio1 between ,michael     
,angelo's  ,david and ,bandinelli's     
,hercules1 a marble tablet was built    
into the  wall1 with these words3       
,,jesus ,,christus ,,rex ,,florentini   
,,populi ,p4 ,,decreto ,,electus4       
,although changed by ,cosimo1 this      
inscription is still there2 the decree  
was never formally abrogated and denied1
 and even to-day after four  hundred    
years of usurpations1 the writer of this
 book is proud to call  himself a       
subject and soldier of ,christ the      
,king4                                  
,,life ,,of ,,christ      ,jesus was    
born in a stable1 a real stable1 not the
 bright1 airy portico  which ,christian 
painters have created for the ,son of   
,david1 as if  ashamed that their ,god  
should have lain down in poverty and    
dirt4 ,and  not the modern              
,christmas-eve 8,holy ,stable0 either1  
made of plaster of  ,paris1 with little 

candy-like statuettes1 the ,holy        
,stable1 clean and  prettily painted1   
with a neat1 tidy manger1 an ecstatic   
,ass1 a contrite  ,ox1 and ,angels      
fluttering their wreaths on the         
roof--this is not the  stable where     
,jesus was born4    ,a real stable is   
the house1 the prison of the animals who
 work for man4  ,the poor1 old stable of
 ,christ's old1 poor country is only    
four rough  walls1 a dirty pavement1 a  
roof of beams and slate4 ,it is dark1   
reeking4  ,the only clean thing in it is
 the manger where the owner piles the   
hay  and fodder4    ,fresh in the clear 
morning1 waving in the wind1 sunny1     
lush1  sweet-scented1 the spring meadow 
was mown4 ,the green grass1 the long1   
slim blades were cut down by the scythe2
 and with the grass the  beautiful      
flowers in full bloom--white1 red1      
yellow1 blue4 ,they withered  and dried 
and took on the one dull color of hay4  
,oxen dragged back to  the barn the dead
 plunder of ,may and ,june4 ,and now    

that grass has become  dry hay and those
 flowers1 still smelling sweet1 are     
there in the ,manger  to feed the slaves
 of man4 ,the animals take it slowly    
with their great  black lips1 and later 
the flowering fields1 changed into moist
 dung1  return to light on the litter   
which serves as bedding4    ,this is the
 real stable where ,jesus was born4 ,the
 filthiest place in the  world was the  
first room of the only ,pure ,man ever  
born of woman4 ,the  ,son of ,man1 who  
was to be devoured by wild beasts       
calling themselves  men1 had as ,his    
first cradle the manger where the       
animals chewed the cud  of the          
miraculous flowers of ,spring4    ,it   
was not by chance that ,christ was born 
in a stable4 ,what is the world  but an 
immense stable where men produce filth  
and wallow in it8 ,do they  not daily   
change the most beautiful1 the purest1  
the most divine things  into excrements8
 ,then1 stretching themselves at full   
length on the piles  of manure1 they say

 they are 8enjoying life40 ,upon this   
earthly pig-sty1  where no decorations  
or perfumes can hide the odor of filth1 
,jesus  appeared one night1 born of a   
stainless ,virgin armed only with       
innocence4                              
,,the ,,ox ,,and ,,the ,,ass      ,first
 to worship ,jesus were animals1 not    
men4 ,among men ,he sought out  the     
simple-hearted3 among the simple-hearted
 ,he sought out children4  ,simpler than
 children1 and milder1 the beasts of    
burden welcomed ,him4    ,though humble1
 though servants of beings weaker and   
fiercer than they1  the ass and the ox  
had seen multitudes kneeling before     
them4 ,christ's  own people1 the people 
of ,jehovah1 the chosen people whom     
,jehovah had  freed from ,egyptian      
slavery1 when their leader left them    
alone in the  desert to go up and talk  
with the ,eternal1 did they not force   
,aaron to  make them a ,golden ,calf to 
worship8 ,in ,greece the ass was sacred 
to  ,ares1 to ,dionysius1 to            

,hyperborean ,apollo4 ,balaam's ass1    
wiser than the  prophet1 saved him by   
speaking4 ,oxus1 ,king of ,persia1 put  
an ass in the  temple of ,ptha1 and had 
it worshiped4 ,and ,augustus1 ,christ's 
temporal  sovereign1 had set up in the  
temple the brazen statue of an ass1 to  
commemorate the good omen of his meeting
 on the eve of ,actium an ass  named    
8,the ,victorious40    ,up to that time 
the ,kings of the earth and the populace
 craving material  things had bowed     
before oxen and asses4 ,but ,jesus did  
not come into the  world to reign over  
the earth1 nor to love material things4 
,he was to  bring to an end the bowing  
down before beasts1 the weakness of     
,aaron1  the superstition of ,augustus4 
,the beasts of ,jerusalem will murder   
,him1  but in the meantime the beasts of
 ,bethlehem warm ,him with their breath4
  ,in later years1 when ,jesus went up  
to the city of death for the ,feast of  
the ,passover1 ,he was mounted on an    
ass4 ,but ,he was a greater prophet     

than ,balaam1 coming not to save the    
,jews alone but all men3 and ,he did    
not turn back from ,his path1 no1 not   
though all the mules of ,jerusalem      
brayed against him4                     
,,the ,,shepherds      ,after the       
animals came those who care for animals4
 ,even if the ,angel had  not announced 
the great birth1 they would have gone to
 the stable to see  the son of the      
stranger woman4 ,shepherds live almost  
always alone and  far away4 ,they know  
nothing of the distant world1 nor of the
 feast-days  of the earth4 ,they are    
moved by whatever happens near to them1 
even if  it is but a little thing4      
,but as they were watching their flocks 
in the long winter night1 they  were    
shaken by the light and by the words of 
the ,angel4 8,fear not1 for  behold ,i  
bring you good tidings of great joy4444 
,glory to ,god in the  highest and on   
earth peace to men of good will40 ,in   
the dim light of the  stable they saw a 
beautiful young woman gazing silently at

 her son4 ,and  as they saw the baby    
with ,his eyes just open1 ,his delicate 
rosy flesh1  ,his mouth which had not   
yet eaten1 their hearts softened4 ,the  
birth of a  new man1 a soul just become 
incarnate taking upon itself to suffer  
with  other souls1 is always a miracle  
so deep as to move to pity even the     
simple-hearted who do not understand it4
 ,for the shepherds forewarned1  this   
new-born child was not just a baby1 but 
,he for whom their suffering  race had  
been waiting1 for a thousand years4     
,the shepherds offered what little they 
had1 that little which is so  great when
 offered with love4 ,they carried the   
white offerings of their  craft1 milk1  
cheese1 wool1 the lamb4 ,even to-day in 
our mountains1 where  one finds the last
 dying traces of hospitality and        
fraternal feeling1 as  soon as a wife is
 delivered of a child1 the sisters1     
wives and daughters  of the shepherds   
come hurrying to her2 and not one of    
them empty-handed4  ,one has three or   

four eggs still warm from the nest1     
another a cup of  freshly drawn milk1   
another a little cheese1 another a      
pullet to make  broth for the new       
mother4 ,a new being has begun his      
suffering3 the  neighbors hasten to     
carry their offerings almost as though  
to console  the mother4    ,themselves  
poor the old-time shepherds did not look
 down on the poor4  ,simple as children 
they loved children4 ,they came of a    
race born of the  ,shepherd of ,ur1     
saved by the ,shepherd of ,madian4      
,their first kings had  been            
shepherds--,saul and ,david--shepherds  
of herds before being shepherds  of     
tribes4 ,but these shepherds of         
,bethlehem1 8unknown to the hard        
world10 were not proud4 ,a poor man was 
born among them and they looked  on ,him
 with affection and lovingly brought    
,him their poor riches4 ,they  knew that
 this boy1 born of poor people in       
poverty1 born of common  people in the  
midst of common people1 was to be the   

redeemer of the  humble1 of those men of
 good will1 on whom the ,angel had      
called down  peace4                     
,,the ,,wise ,,men      ,some days after
 this1 three wise men came from ,chaldea
 and knelt before  ,jesus4 ,they came   
perhaps from ,ecbatana1 perhaps from the
 shores of the  ,caspian ,sea4 ,mounted 
on their camels with their full-stuffed 
saddle-bags1 they had forded the ,tigris
 and the ,euphrates1 crossed the  great 
desert of the nomad tribes1 followed    
along the ,dead ,sea4 ,they were  guided
 to ,judea by a new star like the comet 
which appears every so  often in the sky
 to announce the birth of a prophet or  
the death of a  ,csar4 ,they had come to
 adore a ,king1 and they found a nursing
 baby1  poorly swaddled1 hidden within a
 stable4 ,almost a thousand years before
  this1 a ,queen of the ,east had come  
on a pilgrimage to ,judea1 and she1     
too1 had carried gifts1 gold1 fragrant  
perfumes and precious stones2 but  she  
had found on the throne the greatest    

king who had ever reigned in  ,jerusalem
 and from him had learned what no one   
else had been able to  teach her4       
,the wise men found no king4 ,they found
 a new-born baby1 a tiny boy1 who  could
 neither ask nor answer questions1 a boy
 who in ,his maturity was to  disdain   
material treasures1 and the learning    
which is based on material  things4     
,they were not kings1 these wise men1   
but in ,media and ,persia they were  the
 masters of kings4 ,the kings ruled over
 the people1 but the wise men  directed 
the kings4 ,they alone could communicate
 with ,alma ,mazda1 the  good ,god4     
,they alone knew the future1 and        
,destiny4 ,they killed with  their own  
hands the enemies of men and of the     
harvests1 snakes1 harmful  insects1     
birds of prey4 ,they purified souls1    
they purified the fields4  ,except from 
their hands ,god accepted no sacrifices4
 ,no king began a war  without          
consulting them4 ,theirs were the       
secrets of heaven and earth4 ,in  the   

name of science and religion they held  
first rank in the nation4 ,in  the midst
 of a people sunk in material things    
they represented the  ,spirit4 ,it was  
fitting that they should come to kneel  
before ,jesus4  ,after the animals which
 are ,nature1 after the ,shepherds which
 are the  common people1 this third     
power which is knowledge knelt at the   
manger  in ,bethlehem4 ,the old priestly
 caste of the ,orient made its act of   
submission before the new ,lord1 who was
 to send ,his ,gospel to the west4  ,the
 learned men knelt before ,him who was  
to set above the learning of  words and 
numbers the new wisdom of love4         
,symbolizing the old theology bowing    
before the final revelation1 the  wise  
men at ,bethlehem knelt before          
,innocence3 ,wealth prostrated itself   
at the feet of ,poverty4    ,they       
offered gold to ,jesus3 gold which ,he  
was to tread under foot4 ,they  offered 
it not because ,mary in her poverty     
might need it for the  journey1 but in  

anticipation of the command1 8,sell all 
that thou hast  and give it to the      
poor40 ,they offered ,him frankincense1 
not to drown  the stench of the stable1 
but as a token that their own ritual was
  ended2 that their altars would need   
smoke and perfume no longer4 ,they      
offered ,him myrrh knowing that this boy
 would die young1 and ,his mother1      
smiling now1 would need spices to embalm
 the dead body4    ,kneeling in their   
pontifical robes upon the bedding of    
straw1 they1 the  mighty1 the learned1  
the soothsayers1 offered themselves as  
pledges of  the obedience of the world4 
,jesus now had received all ,his        
rightful investitures4 ,the wise men had
  scarcely gone when persecutions were  
begun by those who were to hate ,him  to
 the day of ,his death4                 
,,octavius ,,augustus      ,when ,christ
 appeared upon the earth1 criminals     
ruled the world  unopposed4 ,he was born
 subject to two sovereigns1 the stronger
 far away  at ,rome1 the weaker and     

wickeder close at hand in ,judea4       
,one lucky adventurer after wholesale   
slaughter had seized the empire1        
another had murdered his way to the     
throne of ,david and ,solomon4 ,each    
rose to high position through trickery1 
through civil wars1 betrayals1  cruelty1
 massacres4 ,they were born to          
understand one another1 were1 as a      
matter of fact1 friends and accomplices1
 as far as was possible between  a      
subordinate rascal and his rascal chief4
    ,son of the usurer of ,velletri1    
,augustus showed himself cowardly in war
  and vindictive in victory1 false to   
his friends1 cruel in reprisals4 ,to  a 
condemned man who begged only for burial
 he answered1 8,that is the  business of
 the vultures40 ,to the ,perugians      
begging for mercy during the  massacre  
he cried1 8,moriendum esse60 ,on a mere 
suspicion he wanted to  tear out the    
eyes of the ,praetor ,quintus ,gallius  
before ordering his  throat cut4        
,possessed of the empire1 with his      

enemies crushed and  scattered1 with the
 power all in his own hands1 he put on a
 mask of  mildness and of his youthful  
vices kept only his lust4 ,it was told  
of  him1 that in his youth1 he had sold 
his body twice1 first to ,csar1 and     
again in ,spain to ,hirtius for #cjj1jjj
 sestertia4 ,now he amused himself  with
 the wives of his friends1 with almost  
public adulteries1 and with  posing as  
the restorer of morality4    ,this      
filthy1 sickly man was sovereign of the 
western world when ,jesus  was born1 nor
 did he ever know that ,one had been    
born who would bring  the dissolution of
 all that he had founded4 ,the facile   
philosophy of the  plump little         
plagiarist ,horace was enough for him1  
8,to-day let us enjoy  wine and love3   
hopeless death awaits us3 there is not a
 day to be lost60  ,in vain ,virgil1 the
 man of the countryside1 friend of      
woods1 of quiet  flocks and golden bees1
 he who had gone down with neas to see  
the  sufferers in ,avernus and poured   

his restless melancholy into the music  
of poetry2 in vain ,virgil1 the loving  
pious ,virgil1 had foretold a new  era1 
a new order and a new race1 a kingdom of
 heaven less spiritual1  less brilliant 
than that which ,jesus was to announce1 
but infinitely  nobler and purer than   
the kingdom of ,hell which was then     
making ready4  ,in vain1 because        
,augustus saw in these words only a     
pastoral fancy and  perhaps believed    
that he1 the corrupt master of the      
corrupt1 was the  proclaimed ,saviour   
and restorer of the reign of ,saturn4   
,but his vassal of ,judea1 his great    
,oriental client1 may have had a        
presentiment of the birth of ,jesus1 of 
the true ,king1 who was coming to       
supplant the king of evil4              
,,herod ,,the ,,great      ,herod was a 
monster1 one of the most perfidious     
monsters of the many  which have sprung 
from the burning deserts of the ,east4  
,he was not a  ,jew1 nor a ,greek1 nor a
 ,roman4 ,he was an ,idumean1 a         

barbarian who  prostrated himself before
 ,rome1 and aped the ,greeks the better 
to secure  his dominion over the ,jews4 
,son of a traitor1 he had usurped the   
kingdom  of his sovereign from the last 
unfortunate ,hasmonans4 ,to legalize his
  treachery he married their niece1     
,mariamne4 ,afterwards1 on a baseless   
suspicion1 he had her killed4 ,it was   
not his first crime4 ,he had had his    
brother-in-law1 ,aristobulus1           
treacherously drowned4 ,he had condemned
 his  other brothers-in-law1 ,joseph and
 ,hyrcanus the ,second 7last of the     
conquered dynasty74 ,not content with   
having killed ,mariamne1 he put her     
mother1 ,alexandra1 to death as well1   
and finally1 the sons of ,baba1  merely 
because they were distant relatives of  
the ,hasmonans4 ,in the  meantime he    
amused himself with burning alive ,juda 
of ,sarafaus and  ,matthew of ,margoloth
 with other heads of the ,pharisees4    
,later1 afraid  that the sons he had had
 by ,mariamne would wish to avenge their

 mother1  he had them strangled4        
,himself at the point of death he gave  
the order  to kill a third son1         
,archelaus4 ,voluptuous1 suspicious1    
impious1 greedy  of gold and of glory1  
he never knew peace at home1 in ,judea  
or in his  own heart4 ,in order that he 
might bury the recollection of his      
assassinations he gave the ,roman people
 a present of three hundred  talents to 
spend in festivals4 ,he humiliated      
himself before ,augustus to  make him   
the accomplice of his infamies and1     
dying1 left him ten  thousand drachmas  
and1 in addition1 a ship of gold and one
 of silver for  ,livia4    ,this        
half-civilized ,arab attempted to       
conciliate the ,greeks and the  ,jews4  
,he succeeded in bribing the degenerate 
posterity of ,socrates so  that in      
,athens they put up a statue to him1 but
 the ,jews hated him to  the day of his 
death4 ,it did him no good1 in their    
eyes1 to build up  ,samaria and restore 
the temple of ,jerusalem4 ,he was       

always1 for them1  the heathen and the  
usurper4    ,apprehensive like all      
ageing evil-doers1 and like all new-made
 princes1  he shivered at every         
fluttering leaf1 every shifting shadow4 
,superstitious like all ,orientals1     
credulous of presages and soothsayers1  
he readily believed the three wise men  
when they said1 that led by a  star1    
they had come from the interior of      
,chaldea towards the country  which he  
had fraudulently stolen4 ,any pretender 
to the throne1 even a  fantastic one1   
could make him tremble1 and when he knew
 from the wise  men that a ,king of     
,judea was born1 his uneasy1 barbarian's
 heart gave a  great leap of fear4      
,seeing that the astrologers did not    
come back to  tell him the place where  
the new nephew of ,david had appeared1  
he  ordered that all the boy babies of  
,bethlehem should be killed4            
,,the ,,innocents      ,nobody ever knew
 how many children were sacrificed to   
the terror of  ,herod4 ,it was not the  

first time in ,judea that even nursing  
children had  been put to the sword4    
,this same ,hebrew people had punished  
in the olden  times cities of their     
enemies by the massacre of the old men1 
the wives1  the young men and the boys4 
,they saved only the virgins to make    
them  slaves and concubines4 ,god       
,himself1 the jealous ,jehovah1 had     
often given  the order for the          
slaughter1 and now the ,idumean applied 
to the people  who had accepted him1 the
 ,mosaic law of an eye for an eye and a 
tooth  for a tooth4    ,we do not know  
how many of the ,innocents there were1  
but if we can  believe ,macrobius we    
know that among them was a little son of
 ,herod who  was at nurse in ,bethlehem4
 ,for the old ,king1 wife-killer and    
son-killer1  who knows but that this was
 a form of retribution3 who knows but   
that he  suffered when they brought him 
news of the mistake8 ,a short time after
  this he also was to die1 suffering    
from loathsome disease4 ,his body  began

 to putrefy while still alive4 ,worms   
consumed his organs4 ,burnt up  with    
fevers1 gasping1 he could scarcely draw 
his tainted breath4  ,disgusting to     
himself1 he tried to kill himself with a
 knife at table1  and finally died1     
after having given ,salome orders to    
have many young  prisoners killed4      
,the massacre of the ,innocents was the 
last act of the reeking1 bloody  old    
man4 ,there is a prophetic meaning in   
this immolation of the  ,innocents      
around the cradle of an ,innocent1 this 
holocaust of blood for  a new-born      
child1 a child destined to offer ,his   
blood for the pardon of  the guilty1    
this human sacrifice for ,one1 who in   
,his turn was to be  sacrificed4 ,after 
,his death thousands and thousands were 
to die for the  sole crime of having    
believed in ,his resurrection4 ,he was  
born to die  for others and as if to    
expiate ,his birth1 behold1 here are    
thousands  born who die for ,him4       
,there is a tremendous mystery in this  

blood-offering of the pure1 in the      
death of so many of ,his contemporaries4
 ,they belonged to the generation  which
 was to betray and crucify ,him4 ,but   
those who were killed by the  soldiers  
of ,herod that day did not see ,him1 did
 not grow up to see their  ,lord killed4
 ,they saved ,him with their death1 and 
saved themselves  forever4 ,they were   
innocent and they remained innocent for 
all eternity4  ,their fathers and their 
surviving brothers avenged them later1  
but they  will be pardoned because 8they
 know not what they do60                
,,the ,,flight ,,into ,,egypt      ,a   
,christian poet1 an ,italian1 sang this 
lullaby to the new-born ,jesus3         
,sleep1 baby1 do not weep1              
,sleep1 heavenly babe4                  
,over your head1 the tempests shall not 
dare to rage6    ,but the son of ,mary  
did not make ,himself man in order to   
sleep1 and the  tempests raged1 but ,he 
was not afraid4    ,better than         
,siddharta1 ,he deserves the name of the

 ,awakened one4 ,how can  ,he sleep in  
the stable1 where the donkey brays1     
precursor of all donkeys  who will bray 
against ,him3 where the ox lows1 waiting
 until the other  oxen speak at ,his    
presence2 where the shepherds question  
,him2 where the  wise men give ,him     
their blessing8 ,how can ,he sleep when 
the shuffling  steps of ,herod's        
assassins draw near8 ,how can ,he ever  
sleep up to that  last night when ,he   
will agonize under the olive trees1 amid
 the sleeping  bodies of the ,eleven8   
,and ,mary cannot sleep4 ,in the evening
 as soon as the houses of ,bethlehem    
disappear in the darkness and the first 
lamps are lighted1 the mother  steals   
away like a fugitive4 ,she is snatching 
a life away from the ,king1  she is     
saving a hope for the people as she     
presses upon her breast her  man-child1 
her hope1 her sorrow4    ,she goes      
towards the west1 she crosses the old   
land of ,canaan and comes  by easy      
stages--the days are short--to the      

,nile1 to that country of  ,mizraim     
which had cost so many tears to her     
ancestors fourteen centuries  before4   
,jesus1 who carried on the work of      
,moses and at the same time demolished  
the work of ,moses1 goes back over the  
route taken by the first redeemer4      
,when the ,jews were under the whip of  
the ,egyptian slaves1 oppressed1        
mistreated1 ill-used1 the ,shepherd of  
,median made himself the ,shepherd  of  
,israel1 and led his hard-headed people 
across the desert till they  were in    
sight of the ,jordan and of the         
miraculous vineyards4 ,the people  of   
,jesus left ,chaldea with ,abraham and  
came with ,joseph into ,egypt4  ,moses  
led them from ,egypt toward ,canaan4    
,now the greatest of the  liberators1 in
 danger of his life1 went back to the   
banks of that river  where the first    
,saviour had been saved from the water  
and had saved his  brothers4    ,egypt1 
the rich spawning-bed of all the        
infamies and all the  magnificences of  

the first epoch1 that ,african ,india1  
where the waves of  history broke and   
died1 where but a few years before1     
,pompey and ,antony  had finished the   
dream of ,empire and of life1 this      
prodigious country1  born of water1     
burned by the sun1 covered with the     
blood of many  peoples1 inhabited by    
many animal-gods1 this country1         
paradoxical and  supernatural1 was by   
contrast the predestined asylum for the 
fugitive4    ,the wealth of ,egypt was  
in mud1 in the rich snake-breeding mud  
which the  ,nile rolled out each year   
upon the desert4 ,death was the         
obsession of  ,egypt4 ,the soft1        
prosperous people of ,egypt would not   
accept death1  denied death1 thought    
they could conquer death with graven    
images1 with  embalmings1 with          
sculptured representation of            
flesh-and-blood bodies4  ,the rich1     
portly ,egyptian1 son of mud1 adorer of 
the sacred bull1 and  the dog-headed    
god1 could not resign himself to dying4 

,he manufactured  for his second life   
immense necropolises full of bandaged   
and perfumed  mummies1 of images of wood
 and marble1 and raised up pyramids over
 his  corpses1 as if stone and mortar   
might save them from decay4    ,when    
,jesus could speak1 ,he was to pronounce
 the verdict against ,egypt3  the ,egypt
 which is not only on the banks of the  
,nile1 the ,egypt which  has not yet    
disappeared from the face of the earth  
along with its kings1  its sparrow-hawks
 and its serpents4 ,christ was to give  
the final and  eternal answer to the    
terror of the ,egyptians4 ,he was to    
condemn the  wealth which comes from mud
 and returns to mud1 and all the        
fetiches of  the pot-bellied            
river-dwellers of the ,nile1 and ,he was
 to conquer death  without sculptured   
tombs1 without mortuary kingdoms1       
without statues of  granite and basalt4 
,his victory over death is won by       
teaching that sin  is greedier than     
worms and that spiritual purity is the  

only aromatic  which preserves from     
decay4    ,the worshipers of mud and of 
animals1 the servants of riches and of  
the  ,beast1 could not save themselves4 
,their tombs1 high as mountains though  
they be1 decked out like queens'        
palaces1 white and fair to see as those 
of the ,pharisees1 guard only ashes1    
dust returning again to dust1 even  as  
the dead bodies of animals4 ,death      
cannot be conquered by copying life  in 
wood and stone4 ,stone crumbles away and
 turns to dust1 wood rots and  turns to 
dust1 and both of them are mud--eternal 
mud4                                    
,,the ,,lost ,,found      ,but the exile
 in ,egypt was short4 ,jesus was brought
 back1 held in ,his  mother's arms1     
rocked throughout the long journey by   
the patient step of  the ass1 to ,his   
father's house in ,nazareth1 humble     
house and shop where  the hammer pounded
 and the rasp scraped until the setting 
of the sun4    ,the canonical gospels   
say nothing of these years3 the         

,apocrypha give  many details but       
unworthy of belief4 ,luke1 the wise     
doctor1 is content  to set down that the
 boy grew and was strong2 that is1 that 
he was not  sickly and overworked4 ,he  
was a boy developed as he should be3    
healthy1  a bearer of health1 as was    
fitting in one who was to restore health
 to  others by the mere touch of ,his   
hand4    ,every year1 says ,luke1 the   
parents of ,jesus went to ,jerusalem for
 the  feast of unleavened bread in      
memory of the escape from ,egypt4 ,they 
went  with a crowd of neighbors1        
friends1 and acquaintances to keep each 
other  company on the journey4 ,they    
were cheerful like people going to a    
festival rather than to a service in    
memory of a solemn crisis3 for the      
,passover had become at ,jerusalem a    
great feast day1 when all the ,jews     
scattered about the ,empire came        
together4    ,on the twelfth ,passover  
after the birth of ,jesus1 as the group 
from  ,nazareth was returning from the  

holy city1 ,mary found that her son was 
not with them4 ,all day long she sought 
for ,him1 asking every  acquaintance1   
but in vain4 ,the next morning the      
mother turned back1  retraced her steps 
over the road and went up and down the  
streets and  open places of ,jerusalem1 
fixing her dark eyes on every boy she   
met1  asking the mothers standing in the
 open doors1 begging her countrymen  not
 yet gone1 to help her find her lost    
son4 ,a mother who has lost her  son    
does not rest until she has found him2  
she thinks no more of  herself1 she does
 not feel weariness1 effort1 hunger4    
,she does not shake  the dust from her  
clothes nor arrange her hair4 ,she cares
 not for the  curious glances of the    
passers-by4 ,her distracted eyes see    
nothing but  the image of him1 who is no
 longer beside her4    ,finally on the  
third day she came to the ,temple1      
looked about in the  courts1 and saw at 
last in the shadow of a portico a group 
of old men  talking4 ,she came up       

timidly1 for those men with long cloaks 
and long  beards seemed people of       
importance who would pay no attention to
 a plain  woman from ,galilee1 and      
discovered in the center of the circle  
the  waving hair1 the shining eyes1 the 
tanned face1 the fresh lips of her      
,jesus4 ,those old men were talking with
 her son of the ,law and the  ,prophets4
 ,they were asking ,him questions and   
,he was answering2 ,he put  questions to
 them in ,his turn and they marveled at 
,him1 astonished that  a boy should know
 the words of the ,lord so well4 ,but   
,he remembered the  books which ,he had 
heard read out in the little ,synagogue 
of ,nazareth3  and ,his memory had      
retained every syllable4    ,mary       
remained for a few moments gazing at    
,him1 hardly believing her  eyes4 ,her  
heart1 a moment before beating fast with
 fear1 was now beating  fast with       
astonishment4 ,but she could not        
restrain herself any more and  suddenly 
in a loud voice called ,him by name4    

,the old men took themselves  off and   
the mother snatched her son to her      
breast and silently clasped  ,him to    
her1 the tears which she had kept back  
till then raining down on  ,his face4   
,she clutched ,him1 took ,him away1 and 
then1 certain that she had ,him with    
her1 that she had not lost ,him1 the    
happy mother remembered the  despairing 
mother1 8,son1 why hast thou thus dealt 
with us8 behold1 thy  father and ,i have
 sought thee sorrowing40    8,how is it 
that ye sought me8 wist ye not that ,i  
must be about my  ,father's business80  
,weighty words1 especially when said by 
a twelve-year-old boy to a mother  who  
had sought ,him for three long days4    
,and1 the ,evangelist goes on1 8,and    
they understood not the saying which  he
 spake unto them40 ,but after so many   
centuries of ,christian experience  we  
can understand those words1 which seemed
 at first sight to be hard  and proud4  
,how is it that ye sought me8 ,do you   
not know that ,i can never be lost1     

that ,i can never be lost by any one1   
even those who will bury me under  the  
earth8 ,i will be everywhere where any  
one believes in me1 even if  they do not
 see me with their eyes4 ,i cannot be   
lost from any man1 by  any man1 provided
 that he hold me in his heart4 ,i shall 
not be lost  alone in the desert nor    
alone on the waters of the lake1 nor    
alone in  the garden of olives1 nor     
alone in the tomb4    8,and who is this 
father of whom you speak to me8 ,he is  
the legal father1  the human father1 but
 my real ,father is in heaven4 ,he is   
the ,father who  spoke to the patriarchs
 face to face1 who put words into the   
mouths of  the prophets4 ,i know what   
,he told them of me1 ,his eternal       
wishes1 the  laws ,he has given to ,his 
people1 the covenant which ,he has      
signed with  all men4 ,if ,i am to do   
what ,he has commanded me1 ,i must be   
busy about  what is truly ,his4 ,what is
 a legal1 temporal tie confronted with a
  mystic1 spiritual and eternal bond80  

,,the ,,woodworker      ,but the hour   
for really leaving ,his home had not    
come for ,jesus4 ,the  voice of ,john   
had not yet been heard2 and with ,his   
father and mother ,he  once more went   
along the road to ,nazareth and returned
 to ,joseph's shop  to help him in his  
trade4    ,jesus did not go to school to
 the ,scribes nor to the ,greeks4 ,but  
,he did  not lack for teachers4 ,three  
teachers ,he had1 greater than all the  
learned3 work1 nature and the ,book4    
,it must never be forgotten that ,jesus 
was a working man and the adopted  son  
of a working man3 that ,he was born     
poor1 among people who worked  with     
their hands2 before ,he gave out ,his   
gospel ,he earned ,his daily  bread with
 the labor of ,his hands4 ,those hands  
which blest the  simple-hearted1 which  
cured the lepers1 which gave light to   
the blind1  which brought the dead to   
life1 those hands which were pierced    
with  nails upon the cross1 were hands  
which had been bathed with the sweat of 

labor1 hands which had known the        
numbness of work1 hands which were      
callous with work1 hands which had held 
the tools of work1 which had  driven    
nails into wood1 the hands of a working 
man4    ,before being a workman of the  
spirit1 ,jesus was a man who worked with
  material things4 ,he was poor before  
,he summoned the poor to ,his table1  to
 the festival of ,his ,kingdom4 ,he was 
not born into a wealthy family1  into   
the house of luxury on a bed covered    
with purple and fine linen4  ,descendant
 of kings1 ,he lived in a woodworker's  
shop3 ,son of ,god ,he was  born in a   
stable4 ,he did not belong to the caste 
of the great1 to the  aristocracy of    
warriors1 to the circles of the rich1 to
 the ,sanhedrim of  the priests4 ,he was
 born into the lowest class of the      
people1 the class  which has below it   
only the vagabonds1 the beggars1 the    
fugitives1 the  slaves1 the criminals1  
the prostitutes4 ,when ,he became no    
longer a  manual worker1 ,he went down  

lower yet in the eyes of respectable    
folk1  and sought ,his friends in that  
miserable huddle which is even below the
  common people4 ,but until that day    
when ,jesus1 before going down into the 
,inferno of the dead1 went down into the
 ,inferno of the living1 ,his  position 
was that of a poor working man and      
nothing more1 in the  hierarchy of      
castes which eternally separates men4   
,jesus' trade is one of the four oldest 
and most sacred of men's  occupations4  
,the trades of the peasant1 the mason1  
the smith1 and the  carpenter are1 among
 the manual arts1 those most impregnated
 with the  life of man1 the most        
innocent and the most religious4 ,the   
warrior  degenerates into a bandit1 the 
sailor into a pirate1 the merchant into 
an adventurer1 but the peasant1 the     
mason1 the smith1 the carpenter do  not 
betray1 cannot betray1 do not become    
corrupt4 ,they handle the most  familiar
 materials1 and their task is to        
transform them visibly into  visible1   

solid1 concrete creations1 useful to all
 men4 ,the peasant  breaks the clod and 
takes from it the bread eaten by the    
saint in his  grotto and the murderer in
 his prison2 the mason squares the stone
 and  builds up the house of the poor   
man1 the house of the king1 the house of
  ,god4 ,the smith heats and fashions   
the iron to give a sword to the         
soldier1 a plowshare to the peasant1 a  
hammer to the carpenter4 ,the  carpenter
 saws and nails the wood to construct   
the door which protects  the house from 
the thieves1 to make the bed on which   
thieves and  innocent people die4       
,these plain things1 these common1      
ordinary1 usual things1 so usual1       
common and ordinary that they pass      
disregarded under our eyes used to  more
 complicated marvels1 are the simplest  
creations of man1 but more  miraculous  
and essential than any later inventions4
    ,jesus1 the carpenter1 lived in ,his
 youth in the midst of these things1    
made them with ,his hands1 and for the  

first time by means of these  things    
manufactured by ,him1 entered into      
communion with the daily life  of men1  
with the most intimate and sacred life1 
home life4 ,he made the  table around   
which it is so sweet to sit in the      
evening with one's  friends1 even if one
 of them is a traitor2 the bed whereon  
man draws his  first and last breath2   
the chest where the country wife keeps  
her poor  clothes1 her aprons1 her      
handkerchiefs for festivals1 and the    
starched  white shirts for great days4  
,he made the kneading trough where the  
flour  is put1 and the leaven raises it 
until it is ready for the oven2 and the 
arm-chair where the old men sit around  
the fire of an evening to talk of       
never-returning youth4    ,often while  
the thin1 light shavings curled up under
 the steel of ,his  plane and the       
sawdust rained down on the ground1      
,jesus must have thought  of the        
promises of the ,father1 of the         
prophecies of old time1 of what ,he  was

 to create1 not with boards and rules1  
but with spirit and truth4    ,his trade
 taught ,him that to live means to      
transform dead and useless  things into 
living and useful things3 that the      
meanest material  fashioned and shaped  
can become precious1 friendly1 useful to
 men3 that  the only way to bring       
salvation is to transform2 and that just
 as a  child's crib or a wife's bed can 
be made out of a log of olive wood1     
gnarled1 knotty and earthy1 so the      
filthy money-changer and the wretched   
prostitute can be transformed into true 
citizens of the ,kingdom of  ,heaven4   
,,fatherhood      ,in nature where the  
sun shines on the good and on the bad1  
where wheat  ripens and grows golden to 
give bread to ,jew and heathen1 where   
the  stars shine on the shepherd's cabin
 and the murderer's prison2 where  grape
 clusters turn purple and swell to give 
wine to the wedding banquet  and to the 
orgies of assassins2 where the birds of 
the air freely  singing find their food 

without fatigue1 where thieving foxes   
also have  their refuge and the lilies  
of the field are clad in more splendor  
than  kings1 ,jesus found the earthly   
confirmation of ,his eternal certainty  
that ,god is not a ,master who punishes 
one day of enjoyment by a thousand      
years of reproach1 nor a fierce war-like
 ,jehovah who commands the              
extermination of enemies1 nor a kind of 
grand sultan who delights in  being     
served by satraps of high lineage and   
keeps close watch that his  servants    
execute to the last detail the rigorous 
ritualistic etiquette  of that ,regia   
,curia1 which is the ,temple4    ,as a  
,son1 ,christ knew that ,god is ,father3
 ,father of all mankind and not  only of
 the people of ,abraham4 ,the love of a 
husband is strong but  carnal and       
jealous4 ,the love of a brother is often
 poisoned with envy2  that of a son     
stained with rebellion2 that of a friend
 spotted with  deceit2 that of a master 
swollen with condescending pride2 only  

the love  of a father towards his       
children is perfect love1 pure1         
disinterested  love4 ,the father does   
for his son what he would do for no one 
else4 ,his  son is his creation1 flesh  
of his flesh and of his bone1 grown up  
by his  side day by day1 a completion   
and a complement of his own being4 ,the 
old  man lives again in the young man4  
,the past sees itself in the future4 ,he
  who has lived sacrifices himself for  
him who is to live4 ,the father  lives  
in the son1 and feels himself exalted4  
,this child was born to him  in a moment
 of passion in the arms of the woman    
chosen from among all  other women1 born
 through the divine anguish of this     
woman1 cared for  and preserved by his  
own tears and sweat4 ,he has seen him   
grow up at his  feet1 he has warmed his 
cold little hands between his own1 he   
has heard  his first words1 eternal     
miracle ever new6 ,he has seen his first
  wavering footsteps on the floor of his
 house4 ,little by little1 he has  seen 

a soul shine out in that body created by
 him1 a new human soul1  unique treasure
 beyond price6 ,little by little on that
 face he has seen  his own features and 
those of the child's mother1 of that    
woman with  whom only in this common    
fruit is he corporeally identified4 ,a  
human  couple who long to become one    
body through love1 attain this unity    
only  in a child4 ,in the presence of   
this new being1 his creation1 he feels  
himself a creator1 beneficent1 powerful1
 happy4 ,because the son looks to  his  
father for everything1 and in his       
childhood has faith only in his  father1
 feels safe only near his father1 his   
father knows that he must  live for him1
 suffer for him1 work for him4 ,a father
 is a ,god on earth  for a son1 and a   
son is almost a ,god for the father4    
,in the love of a father there is no    
trace of a brother's perfunctory  sense 
of duty1 no trace of a friend's         
self-interest and rivalry1 of a  lover's
 lustful desire1 a servant's pretense of

 faithfulness4    ,the love of a father 
is pure love1 the only true love1 the   
only love  rightly to be called love4   
,purged of any elements foreign to its  
essence1 it is the happiness of         
sacrificing oneself for the happiness of
  others4    ,this idea of ,god as      
,father1 which is one of the great new  
ideas of the  gospel of ,christ1 this   
profoundly renovating idea that ,god is 
,father and  loves us as a father loves 
his children1 not as a king loves his   
slaves2  and gives daily bread to all   
his children and has a loving welcome   
even  for those who sin if only they    
return to lean their heads upon his     
breast3 this idea which closes the epoch
 of the old covenant and marks  the     
beginning of the new covenant1 ,jesus   
found in nature4 ,as ,son of ,god  and  
one with the ,father1 ,he had always    
been conscious of this paternity        
scarcely glimpsed by the most luminous  
of the prophets4 ,but now sharing  all  
human experience ,he saw it reflected   

and as it were revealed in the  universe
 and ,he was to use the most beautiful  
images of the natural  world to transmit
 to men the first of ,his joyful        
messages4                               
,,the ,,country      ,jesus1 like all   
great souls1 loved the country4 ,the    
sinner craving  purification1 the saint 
moved to prayer1 the poet eager to      
create1 take  refuge on the mountains in
 green shadows1 by the sound of the     
water1 in  the midst of fields which    
perfume heaven1 or on steep desert hills
  parched by the sun4 ,jesus took ,his  
language from the country3 ,he hardly   
ever uses learned words1 abstract       
conceptions1 drab and generalizing      
terms4 ,his talk blossoms with colors1  
is perfumed by odors of field and  of   
orchard1 is peopled by the figures of   
familiar animals4 ,he saw in ,his       
,galilee the figs swelling and ripening 
under the great1 dark leaves3 ,he  saw  
the dry tendrils of the vine greened    
over with leaves1 and from the          

trellises the white and purple clusters 
hanging down for the joy of the         
vintage2 ,he saw from the invisible     
seed1 the mustard raise itself up  with 
its rich light branches1 ,he heard in   
the night the mournful rustle  of the   
reeds shaken by the wind along the      
ditches3 ,he saw the seed of  grain     
buried in the earth and its resurrection
 in the form of a full  ear2 when the   
air first began to be warm1 ,he saw the 
beautiful red1  yellow and purple lilies
 in the midst of the tender green of the
 wheat3  ,he saw the fresh tufts of     
grass1 luxuriant to-day and to-morrow   
dried  and cast into the oven2 ,he saw  
the peaceful animals and the harmful    
animals1 the dove a little vain of its  
brilliant neck1 cooing of love on  the  
roof1 the eagle swooping down with      
widespread wings upon its prey2  the    
swallows of the air which like kings    
cannot fall if it is not ,god's  wish3  
the crows tearing flesh from carrion    
with their beaks2 the loving  mother-hen

 calling the chickens under her wings   
when the sky darkens and  thunders2 the 
treacherous fox1 after its kill1        
slinking back into its  dark lair2 and  
the dogs under the table of their       
masters begging for  scraps that fall to
 the ground4 ,he saw the serpent        
writhing through the  grass and the dark
 viper hiding among the scattered stones
 of the tombs4    ,born among the       
shepherds1 ,he who was to become        
shepherd of men knew and  loved the     
flocks2 the ewes searching for the lost 
lamb1 the lambs  bleating weakly1 and   
sucking1 almost hidden under their      
mother's woolly  bodies1 the flocks     
sweltering on the thin hot pastures of  
their hills2  ,he loved with equal love 
the tiny seed which you can scarcely see
 on the  palm of your hand and the      
ancient fig tree1 casting its shade over
 the  poor man's house2 the birds of the
 air which sow not neither do they      
reap2 the fish silvering the meshes of  
the nets to feed ,his faithful2  and    

raising ,his eyes in the sultry evenings
 of gathering storm1 ,he saw  the       
lightning flashing out of the east and  
shattering the darkness of  the night1  
even into the west4    ,but ,jesus did  
not read only in the open many-colored  
book of the world4  ,he knew that ,god  
spoke to men through angels1 patriarchs 
and prophets4  ,his words1 ,his laws1   
,his victories are written in the ,book4
 ,jesus knew  the magic black signs by  
which the dead pass on to those not yet 
born1  the thoughts and memories of     
olden times4 ,jesus read only the books 
where ,his ancestors had set down the   
story of ,his people1 the will of  the  
,lord1 the vision of the ,prophets1 but 
,he knew them in the letter and  spirit 
better than the scribes and the doctors3
 and that knowledge gave  ,him the right
 to leave off being scholar and to      
become teacher4                         
,,the ,,old ,,covenant      ,among all  
peoples the ,jew was the most happy and 
the most unhappy4 ,his  story is a      

mystery which begins with the idyl in   
the ,garden of ,eden and  ends with the 
tragedy of the hill of ,golgotha4 ,his  
first parents were  molded by the       
luminous hands of ,god1 were made       
masters of ,paradise1 the  country of   
eternal1 fertile summer1 set in the     
midst of rivers1 where  the rich        
,oriental fruits hung down ready to     
their hand1 heavy with pulp  in the     
shade of the new young leaves4 ,the     
new-created sky1 not yet  sullied by    
clouds1 not yet riven by lightning1 or  
harassed by winds1  watched over the    
first two with all its stars4    ,the   
first couple had as their duty to love  
,god and to love each other4  ,this was 
the ,first ,covenant4 ,weariness        
unknown1 grief unknown1 unknown  death  
and its terror6 ,the first disobedience 
brought the first exile2  the man was   
condemned to work1 the woman to bring   
forth her young in  pain4 ,work is      
painful1 but it brings the reward of    
harvests2 to give  birth means          

suffering1 but it brings the consolation
 of children4 ,and  yet even these      
inferior and imperfect felicities passed
 away like leaves  devoured by worms4   
,for the first time brother killed      
brother3 human  blood fallen on the     
earth became corrupt1 gave forth an     
exhalation of  sin3 the daughters of men
 united themselves with demons and from 
them  were born giants1 fierce hunters  
and slayers of men1 who turned the      
world into a bloody hell4    ,then ,god 
sent ,his second punishment3 to purify  
the world in an  exterminating baptism  
,he drowned in the waters of the flood  
all men and  their crimes4 ,one only1 a 
righteous man1 was saved and with him   
,god  signed the ,second ,covenant4     
,with ,noah there began the happy days  
of antiquity1 the epoch of the          
patriarchs1 nomad shepherds1            
centenarians who wandered between       
,chaldea  and ,egypt searching for      
grazing lands1 for wells1 and for peace4
 ,they  had no fixed country1 no houses1

 no cities4 ,they brought along in      
caravans1 numerous as armies1 their     
fruitful wives1 their loving sons1      
their docile daughters-in-law1 their    
innumerable descendants1 obedient       
man-servants and maid-servants1 goring1 
bellowing bulls1 cows with  hanging     
udders1 playful calves1 rams and strong 
smelling he-goats1 mild  sheep laden    
with wool1 great earth-colored camels1  
mares with round  cruppers1 she-goats   
holding their heads high and stamping   
impatiently2  and hidden in the         
saddle-bags1 vases of gold and silver1  
domestic idols  of stone and metal4     
,arrived at their destination1 they     
spread their tents near a cistern1  and 
the patriarch sat out under the shade of
 the oaks and sycamores  contemplating  
the great camp from which rose up the   
smoke of the fires1  the sound of the   
bustling steps of the women and         
herdsmen1 the mooings1  the brayings1   
the bleating of the animals4 ,and the   
patriarch's heart was  filled with      

content to see all this progeny issued  
from his seed1 all  these1 his herds1   
the human increase and the animal       
increase multiplying  year by year4     
,in the evening1 he raised his eyes to  
greet the first punctual star  which    
shone like white fire on the summit of  
the hill2 and sometimes his  curled     
white beard shone in the white light of 
the moon1 which for more  than a century
 he was wont to see in the sky at night4
    ,sometimes an angel of the ,lord    
came to visit him1 and before giving the
  message with which he was charged1 ate
 at his table4 ,or1 in the heat of  the 
day1 the ,lord ,himself1 in the garb of 
a pilgrim1 came and sat down  with the  
old man in the shadow of the tent where 
they talked with each  other1 face to   
face1 like two old friends who come     
together to discuss  their affairs4 ,the
 head of the tribe1 master of the       
servants1 became a  servant in his turn1
 listened to the commands and counsels  
and promises  and prophecies of his     

divine master4 ,and between ,jehovah and
 ,abraham was  signed the ,third        
,covenant1 more solemn than the other   
two4    ,the son of a patriarch1 sold by
 his brothers as a slave1 rises to power
  in ,egypt1 and calls his race to him4 
,the ,jews think that they have found  a
 fatherland and grow great in numbers   
and riches4 ,but they allow  themselves 
to be seduced by the gods of ,egypt1 and
 ,jehovah prepares the  third           
punishment4 ,the envious ,egyptians     
reduce them to abject slavery4  ,that   
the punishment may be longer1 ,jehovah  
hardens the heart of ,pharaoh1  but     
finally raises up the second ,saviour1  
who leads them forth from  their        
sufferings and from the mud of ,egypt4  
,their trials are not yet finished3 for 
forty years they wander in the  desert4 
,a pillar of cloud guides them by day   
and a pillar of fire by  night4 ,god has
 assured them a ,land of ,promise1 with 
rich grazing lands1  well-watered1      
shaded by grape-vines and olives4 ,but  

in the meantime they  have neither water
 to drink nor bread to eat1 and they    
yearn for the  flesh-pots of ,egypt4    
,god brings water gushing from a rock2  
and manna and  quails fall from heaven2 
but tired and uneasy1 the ,jews betray  
their  ,god1 make a calf of gold and    
worship it4 ,moses1 saddened like all   
prophets1 misunderstood like all        
saviours1 followed unwillingly like all 
discoverers of new lands1 falls back of 
the restive and rebellious crowd  and   
begs ,god to let him lie down forever4  
,but at any cost1 ,jehovah  desires to  
sign the ,fourth ,covenant with ,his    
people4 ,moses goes down  from the      
smoke-capped thundering mountain1 with  
the two tables of stone  whereon the    
very finger of ,god has written the ,ten
 ,commandments4    ,moses is not to see 
the ,promised ,land1 the new ,paradise  
to be  reconquered in place of the lost 
,paradise4 ,but the divine pledge is    
kept3 ,joshua and the other heroes cross
 the ,jordan1 enter into the land  of   

,canaan1 and conquer the people2 the    
cities fall at the breath of  their     
trumpets2 ,deborah can sing her song of 
triumph4 ,the people carry  with them   
the ,god of battles1 hidden behind the  
tents1 on a cart drawn  by oxen4 ,but   
the enemies are numerous and have no    
mind to give way to  the newcomers4 ,the
 ,jews wander here and there1 shepherds 
and brigands1  victorious when they     
maintain the covenants of the ,law1     
defeated when  they forget them4    ,a  
giant with unshorn hair kills1          
single-handed1 thousands of ,philistines
  and ,amalekites1 but a woman betrays  
him2 enemies blind him and set him  to  
turn a mill4 ,heroes alone are not      
enough4 ,kings are needed4 ,a young  man
 of the tribe of ,benjamin1 tall and    
well-grown1 while looking for his       
father's strayed asses1 is met by a     
,prophet who anoints him with the       
sacred oil1 and makes him king of all   
the people4 ,saul becomes a  powerful   
warrior1 overcomes the ,ammonites and   

,amalekites and founds a  military      
kingdom1 dreaded by neighboring tribes4 
,but the same prophet  who made him     
king1 now aroused against him1 raises up
 a rival4 ,david1  the boy shepherd1    
kills the king's giant foe1 tempers with
 his harp the  black rages of the king1 
is loved by the king's oldest son1      
marries the  daughter of the king1 is   
among the king's captains4 ,but ,saul1  
suspicious  and unbalanced1 wishes to   
kill him4 ,david hides himself in the   
caves of  the mountains1 becomes a      
robber chief4 ,he goes into the service 
of the  ,philistines1 and when they     
conquer and kill ,saul on the hills of  
,gilboa1  he becomes in his turn king of
 all ,israel4 ,the bold sheep-tender1   
great  as poet and as king1 yet cruel   
and lustful1 founds his house in        
,jerusalem1 and with the aid of his     
gibborim1 or body-guard1 overcomes  and 
subjugates the surrounding kingdoms4    
,for the first time1 the ,jew is        
feared3 for centuries after this he was 

to long for the return of ,david1  and  
to hope for a descendant of ,david to   
save him from his abject  subjugation4  
,david is the ,king of the sword and of 
song4 ,solomon is the ,king of gold  and
 of wisdom4 ,gold is brought to him as a
 tribute3 he decks with gold  the first 
sumptuous house of ,jehovah4 ,he sends  
ships to faraway ,ophir in  search of   
gold2 the ,queen of ,sheba lays down    
sacks of gold at his feet4  ,but all the
 splendor of gold and the wisdom of     
,solomon are not enough to  save the    
king from impurity and his kingdom from 
ruin4 ,he takes strange  women to wife  
and worships strange gods4 ,the ,lord   
pardons his old age1  in memory of his  
youth1 but at his death the kingdom is  
divided and the  dark and shameful      
centuries of the decadence begin4 ,plots
 in the palace1  murders of kings1      
revolts of chiefs1 wretched civil wars1 
periods of  idol-worship followed by    
passing reforms1 fill the period of the 
separation4 ,prophets appear and        

admonish1 but the kings turn a deaf ear 
or drive them away4 ,the enemies of     
,israel grow more powerful4 ,the        
,phnicians1 the ,egyptians1 the         
,assyrians1 the ,babylonians1 one after 
another1 invade the two kingdoms1 extort
 tribute and finally1 about #fjj  years 
before the birth of ,jesus1 ,jerusalem  
is destroyed1 the temple of  ,jehovah is
 demolished and the ,jews are led as    
slaves to the rivers of  ,babylon4 ,the 
cup of their infidelity and of their    
sins runs over and the  same ,god who   
liberated them from the slavery of the  
,egyptians gives them  over as slaves to
 the ,babylonians4 ,this is the fourth  
punishment and the  most terrible of all
 because it is to have no end4 ,from    
that time on1  the ,jews were always to 
be dispersed among strangers and subject
 to  foreigners4 ,some of them were to  
return to reconstruct ,jerusalem and its
  temple1 but the country1 invaded by   
the ,scythians1 tributary to the        
,persians1 conquered by the ,greeks1 was

 after the last attempt of the          
,maccabeans finally given over to the   
hands of a dynasty of ,arab  barbarians1
 subject to the ,romans4    ,this race1 
which for so many years lived rich and  
free in the desert1  and for a day was  
master of kingdoms and believed itself1 
under the  protection of its ,god1 the  
first people of the earth1 was now      
reduced in  numbers1 spurned and        
commanded by foreigners1 was the        
laughing-stock of  the nations1 the ,job
 among peoples4 ,after the death of     
,jesus1 its fate  was to be harder yet3 
,jerusalem destroyed for the second     
time3 in the  devastated province only  
,greeks and ,romans holding sway1 and   
the last  fragments of ,israel scattered
 over the earth like dust of the street 
driven before the sirocco4    ,never    
were people so loved nor so dreadfully  
chastised by their ,god4  ,chosen to be 
the first1 they were the servants of the
 last4 ,aspiring to  have a victorious  
country of their own1 they were exiles  

and slaves in  other men's lands4       
,although more pastoral than warlike1   
they never were at peace either  with   
themselves or with others4 ,they fought 
with their neighbors1 with  their       
guests1 with their leaders4 ,they fought
 with their prophets and  with their    
,god ,himself4    ,breeding-ground of   
corruption1 governed by men guilty of   
homicide1  treachery1 adultery1 incest1 
robbery1 simony and idolatry1 yet their 
women gave birth to the most perfect    
saints of the ,orient1 upright1         
admonishing1 solitary prophets2 and     
finally from this race was born the     
,father of the new saints1 ,he who had  
been awaited by all the ,prophets4      
,this people which created no           
metaphysics nor science1 nor music1 nor 
sculpture1 nor art1 nor architecture of 
its own1 wrote the grandest  poetry of  
antiquity1 glowing with sublimity in the
 ,psalms and in the  ,prophets1         
inimitably tender in the stories of     
,joseph and ,ruth1 burning  with        

voluptuous passion in the ,song of      
,songs4    ,grown up in the midst of the
 cults of local rustic gods1 they       
conceived  the love of ,god1 the one    
universal ,father4 ,rich in gold and    
lands1 they  could boast in their       
prophets of the first defenders of the  
poor1 and  they conceived of the        
negation of riches4 ,the same people who
 had cut  the throat of human victims on
 their altars1 and massacred whole      
cities  of guiltless people1 gave       
disciples to ,him who preached love for 
our  enemies4 ,this people1 jealous of  
their jealous ,god1 always betrayed ,him
  to run after other gods4 ,of their    
temple1 three times built and three     
times destroyed1 nothing remains but a  
piece of a wall1 barely enough so  that 
a line of mourners may lean their heads 
against it to hide their  tears4    ,but
 this perplexing and contradictory      
people1 superhuman and wretched1  the   
first and the last of all1 the happiest 
and the most unhappy of all1  although  

it serves other nations1 still dominates
 other nations with its  money and with 
its ,bible4 ,although without a country 
of its own for  centuries1 it is among  
the owners of all countries4 ,although  
it  crucified its greatest ,son with    
,his blood1 it divided the history of   
the  world into two parts3 and the      
progeny of those god-killers has become 
the most infamous but the most sacred of
 all the peoples4                       
,,the ,,prophets      ,never was a      
people so warned as were the ,jews1 from
 the beginning of the  temporal kingdom 
to its dismemberment3 in the great days 
of the  victorious ,kings1 in the       
sorrowful days of exile1 in the evil    
days of  slavery1 in the tragic days of 
the dispersion4    ,india has its       
ascetics1 who hide themselves in the    
wilderness to conquer  the body and     
drown the soul in the infinite4 ,china  
had its familiar  sages1 peaceful       
grandfathers who taught civic morality  
to working people  and emperors4 ,greece

 had her philosophers1 who in their     
shady porticos  contrived harmonious    
systems and dialectic pitfalls4 ,rome   
had its  lawgivers who recorded on      
bronze for the peoples and the centuries
 the  rules of the highest justice      
attainable to those who command and     
possess4 ,the ,middle ,ages had their   
preachers1 who wore themselves out in   
the effort to arouse drowsy             
,christianity to a remembrance of the   
,passion  and the terror of ,hell4 ,the 
,jewish people had the ,prophets4       
,the ,prophets did not give forth their 
prophecies in caves1 spitting out       
saliva and words together from their    
tripods4 ,they spoke of the future1  but
 not merely of the future4 ,they        
foretold things not yet happened1 but   
they also brought to mind the past4     
,they possessed time in its three       
phases2 deciphering the past1           
illuminating the present and threatening
  the future4    ,the ,jewish ,prophet  
is a voice speaking1 or a hand writing1 

a voice  speaking in the palace of the  
,king or in the caves of the mountains1 
on  the steps of the ,temple and in the 
precincts of the capitol4 ,he is a      
voice that prays1 a prayer that         
threatens1 a threat that breaks out into
  divine hope4 ,his heart is afflicted1 
his mouth is full of bitterness1  his   
arm is raised1 pointing out punishment  
to come2 he suffers for his  people2    
because he loves his people1 he         
vituperates them3 he punishes  them that
 they may be purified2 and after        
massacres and flames1 he  teaches the   
resurrection and the life1 triumph and  
blessedness1 the  reign of the new      
,david and the ,covenant not to be      
broken4    ,the ,prophet leads the      
idolater back to the true ,god1 reminds 
the  perjurer of his oath1 recalls      
charity to the oppressor1 purity to the 
corrupt1 mercy to the fierce1 justice to
 kings1 obedience to rebels1  punishment
 to sinners1 humbleness to the proud4   
,he goes before the king  and reproaches

 him1 he goes down among the dregs of   
the people and  scourges them3 he greets
 priests with blame2 presents himself to
 the  rich and brings them to confusion4
 ,he announces consolation to the poor1 
recompense to the afflicted1 health to  
the sick1 liberation to enslaved        
peoples1 the coming of the conqueror to 
the humiliated nation4    ,he is not a  
king1 nor a prince1 nor a priest1 nor a 
scribe3 he is only a  man1 a poor1      
unarmed man1 without investitures and   
without followers4 ,he  is a solitary   
voice1 a lamenting voice grieving1 a    
puissant voice  howling and calling down
 shame1 a voice which calls to          
repentance and  promises eternity4      
,the ,prophet is not a philosopher2 it  
matters little to him whether the  world
 be made of water or of fire1 if water  
and fire cannot purify men's  souls4    
,he is a poet1 but without will or      
consciousness that he is1 when the      
fullness of his indignation and the     
splendor of his vision create  powerful 

images which rhetoricians never could   
invent4 ,he is not a  priest1 for he has
 never been anointed in the temple by   
the mercenary  guardians of the ,book2  
he is not a ,king1 for he does not      
command armed  men1 and as sword has    
only the ,word which comes from on high2
 he is not  a soldier1 but he is ready  
to die for his ,god and his people4     
,the prophet is a voice speaking in the 
name of ,god2 a hand writing at  ,god's 
dictation2 he is a messenger sent by    
,god to warn those wandering  from the  
right path1 who have forgotten the      
,covenant4 ,he is the  secretary1 the   
interpreter1 and the delegate of ,god1  
and thus superior  to the ,king who does
 not obey ,god1 superior to the priest  
who does not  understand ,god1 to the   
people who have deserted ,god to run    
after idols  of wood and stone6    ,the 
,prophet is the man who sees with a     
troubled heart but with clear  eyes the 
evil which reigns to-day1 the punishment
 which will come  to-morrow1 and the    

kingdom of happiness which will follow  
punishment and  repentance4    ,he      
speaks in the name of the mute1 he is a 
hand for him who cannot  write1 a       
defender for the people scattered and   
oppressed1 an advocate  for the poor1 an
 avenger for the humble who cry out     
under the heel of  the powerful4 ,he is 
not on the side of those who tyrannize1 
but of those  who are trodden under     
foot4 ,he does not seek out the satiated
 and the  greedy1 but the hungry and the
 wretched4    ,a troublesome importunate
 and inopportune voice1 hated by the    
great1 out  of favor with the crowd1 not
 always understood even by his          
disciples4  ,like a hyena scenting from 
far the stench of carrion1 like a raven 
always croaking out the same cry1 like a
 hungry wolf howling on the  mountain   
top1 the prophet goes up and down the   
streets of ,israel  followed by         
suspicion and malediction4 ,only the    
poor and the oppressed  bless him2 but  
the poor are weak and the oppressed can 

only listen in  silence4 ,like all loud 
truthtellers1 who disturb the slumbering
  majority1 who unsettle the sordid     
peace of the masters1 he is avoided     
like a leper1 persecuted like an enemy4 
,kings can barely tolerate him1  priests
 regard him as an enemy1 the rich detest
 him4    ,elijah is forced to flee      
before the wrath of ,jezebel1 slayer of 
prophets2 ,amos is banished beyond      
,israel by ,amaziah1 priest of ,bethel2 
,isaiah is killed by the order of       
,manesseh2 ,urijah cut down by ,king    
,jehoiakim2 ,zacharias stoned between   
the temple and the altar2 ,jonah  thrown
 into the sea2 the sword is prepared for
 the neck of ,john1 and the  cross is   
ready from which ,jesus will hang4 ,the 
,prophet is an accuser1  but men are not
 willing to admit that they are guilty4 
,he is an  intercessor1 but the blind   
are not willing to be guided by the     
enlightened4 ,he is an announcer1 but   
the deaf do not hear his promises4  ,he 
is a saviour1 but men rotting in fatal  

diseases delight in their  maladies and 
refuse to be cured4 ,yet the word of the
 ,prophets shall be  the eternal        
testimony in favor of this race which   
exterminated them but  was capable of   
generating them4 ,and the death of a    
prophet1 who is more  than all the      
prophets1 shall suffice to expiate the  
crimes of all the  other peoples who    
grub about in the dirt of the earth4    
,,he ,,who ,,will ,,come      ,in the   
house at ,nazareth ,jesus meditates on  
the ,commandments of the ,law1  and in  
the fiery laments of the ,prophets ,he  
recognizes ,his destiny4 ,the  promises 
are insistent like knocking on          
obstinately closed doors4 ,they  are    
repeated1 reiterated1 never denied1     
always confirmed4 ,precise1  minute with
 irrefutable testimony1 they foretell   
the story4 ,when ,jesus  at the         
beginning of ,his thirtieth year        
presents ,himself to men as the  ,son of
 ,man1 ,he knows what awaits ,him1 even 
to the last3 ,his life to come  is      

already set down day by day in pages    
written before ,his earthly  birth4     
,he knows that ,god promised ,moses a   
new prophet1 8,i will raise them up a   
prophet from among their brethren1 like 
unto thee1 and will put my words  in his
 mouth2 and he shall speak unto them all
 that ,i shall command  him40 ,god will 
make a new covenant with ,his people4   
8,not according to  the covenant that ,i
 made with their fathers 444 but ,i will
 put my law in  their inward parts1 and 
write it in their hearts4444 ,i will    
forgive  their iniquity1 and ,i will    
remember their sin no more40 ,a covenant
  inscribed upon souls and not upon     
stone2 a covenant of forgiveness and    
not of punishment6    ,the ,messiah will
 have a precursor to announce ,him4     
8,behold1 ,i will send  my messenger1   
and he shall prepare the way before me40
    8,for unto us a child is born1 unto 
us a son is given3 and the government   
shall be upon his shoulder3 and his name
 shall be called ,wonderful1            

,counsellor1 the mighty ,god1 the       
everlasting ,father1 the ,prince of     
,peace40 ,but the people will be blind  
to ,him and will not listen to ,him3    
8,make the heart of this people fat1 and
 make their ears heavy1 and shut  their 
eyes3 lest they see with their eyes1 and
 hear with their ears1 and  understand  
with their hearts1 and convert1 and be  
healed40    8,and he shall be a stone of
 stumbling and for a rock of offence to 
both  the houses of ,israel1 for a gin  
and for a snare to the inhabitants of   
,jerusalem40    ,he will not magnify and
 flaunt ,himself3 ,he will not come in  
proud  triumph1 8,rejoice greatly1 ,o   
daughter of ,zion1 shout ,o daughter of 
,jerusalem1 behold thy ,king cometh unto
 thee3 he is just and having  salvation1
 lowly and riding upon an ass1 and upon 
a colt1 the foal of an  ass40    ,he    
will bring justice and will lift up the 
unhappy2 8444 because the  ,lord hath   
anointed me to preach good tidings unto 
the meek2 he hath sent  me to bind up   

the broken-hearted1 to proclaim liberty 
to the captives1  and the opening of the
 prison to them that are bound2 444 to  
comfort all  that mourn40 8,the meek    
also shall increase their joy in the    
,lord1 and  the poor among men shall    
rejoice in the ,holy ,one of ,israel4   
,for the  terrible one is brought to    
naught1 and the scorner is consumed1 and
 all  that watch for iniquity are cut   
off40    8,then the eyes of the blind   
shall be opened1 and the ears of the    
deaf  shall be unstopped4 ,then shall   
the lame man leap as an hart1 and the   
tongue of the dumb sing40    8,i1 the   
,lord1 have called thee in righteousness
 444 to open the blind  eyes1 to bring  
out the prisoners from the prison1 and  
them that sit in  darkness from the     
prison-house40    ,but ,he will be      
vilified and tortured by the very people
 ,he comes to  save3 8he hath no form   
nor comeliness2 and when we shall see   
him1 there  is no beauty that we should 
desire him4 ,he is despised and rejected

 of  men2 a man of sorrows and          
acquainted with grief3 and we hid as it 
were  our faces from him2 he was        
despised and we esteemed him not4       
8,surely he hath borne our griefs and   
carried our sorrows3 yet we did  esteem 
him stricken1 smitten of ,god1 and      
afflicted4    8,but he was wounded for  
our transgressions1 he was bruised for  
our  iniquities3 the chastisement of our
 peace was upon him2 and with his       
stripes we are healed4 ,all we like     
sheep have gone astray2 we have  turned 
every one to his own way2 and the ,lord 
hath laid on him the  iniquity of us    
all4    8,he was oppressed1 and he was  
afflicted1 yet he opened not his mouth3 
he  is brought as a lamb to the         
slaughter1 and as a sheep before her    
shearers is dumb1 so he openeth not his 
mouth 444 for he was cut off out  of the
 land of the living3 for the            
transgression of my people was he       
stricken4    8,yet it pleased the ,lord 
to bruise him2 he hath put him to grief3

 when  thou shalt make his soul an      
offering for sin1 he shall see his seed1
 he  shall prolong his days1 and the    
pleasure of the ,lord shall prosper in  
his hand4 ,he shall see of the travail  
of his soul and shall be  satisfied3 by 
his knowledge shall my righteous servant
 justify many2 for  he shall bear their 
iniquities4 ,therefore will ,i divide   
him a portion  with the great1 and he   
shall divide the spoil with the strong2 
because  he hath poured out his soul    
unto death2 and he was numbered with the
  transgressors2 and he bare the sins of
 many1 and made intercession for  the   
transgressors40    ,he will not draw    
back before the vilest insults4 8,i gave
 my back to the  smiters1 and my cheeks 
to them that plucked off the hair3 ,i   
hid not my  face from shame and         
spitting40    ,all will be against ,him 
in the supreme moment4 8,they have      
spoken against  me with a lying tongue4 
,they compassed me about also with words
 of  hatred2 and fought against me      

without a cause4 ,for my love they are  
my  adversaries40    ,the son cries to  
the ,father3    8,thou hast known my    
reproach1 and my shame1 and my dishonor3
 mine  adversaries are all before thee4 
8,reproach hath broken my heart2 and ,i 
am full of heaviness3 and ,i looked  for
 some to take pity1 but there was none2 
and for comforters1 but ,i  found none4 
8,they gave me also gall for my meat2   
and in my thirst they gave me  vinegar  
to drink40    ,they pierce ,him with    
nails and divide ,his clothes among     
themselves4    8,for dogs have compassed
 me3 the assembly of the wicked have    
inclosed  me3 they pierced my hands and 
my feet    8444 they look and stare upon
 me4 ,they part my garments among them1 
and  cast lots upon my vesture40    ,too
 late they will understand what they    
have done and will repent4    8444 and  
they shall look upon me whom they have  
pierced1 and they shall  mourn for him1 
as one mourneth for his only son1 and   
shall be in  bitterness for him1 as one 

that is in bitterness for his first     
born40    8,yea1 all kings shall bow    
down before him3 all nations shall serve
 him4    8,for he shall deliver the     
needy when he crieth2 the poor also1 and
 him  that hath no helper4 ,he shall    
spare the poor and needy1 and shall save
  the souls of the needy40    8,the sons
 also of them that afflicted thee shall 
come bending unto thee2  and all they   
that despised thee shall bow themselves 
down at the soles  of thy feet40        
8,for behold1 the darkness shall cover  
the earth1 and gross darkness the       
people3 but the ,lord shall arise upon  
thee1 and his glory shall be seen  upon 
thee4    8,and the ,gentiles shall come 
to thy light1 and kings to the          
brightness  of thy rising4    8,lift up 
thine eyes round about1 and see3 all    
they gather themselves  together1 they  
come to thee3 thy sons shall come from  
far1 and thy  daughters shall be nursed 
at thy side40    8,behold1 ,i have given
 him for a witness to the people1 a     

leader and  commander to the people4    
,behold1 thou shalt call a nation that  
thou  knowest not1 and nations that knew
 not thee shall run into thee because   
of the ,lord thy ,god40    ,these and   
other words are remembered by ,jesus in 
the vigil before ,his  departure4 ,he   
foresees it all and does not turn away  
from it4 ,from now  on ,he knows ,his   
fate1 the ingratitude of heart1 the     
deafness of ,his  friends1 the hatred of
 the powerful1 the scourgings1 the      
spittings1  insults1 scoffings1 obloquy1
 piercing of the hands and feet1        
tortures  and death4 ,he knows that the 
,jews1 carnal-minded materialists       
embittered  by humiliation1 full of     
rancor and evil thoughts1 are not       
awaiting a  poor1 gentle1 despised      
,messiah4 ,they all1 except a few of    
clear and  prophetic vision1 are        
dreaming of a terrestrial ,messiah1 an  
armed ,king1  a second ,david1 a warrior
 who will shed real blood1 the red blood
 of  enemies1 who will rebuild more     

splendidly than ever the palace of      
,solomon and the ,temple4 ,all the kings
 will bring tribute to ,him1 not        
tribute of love and reverence1 but of   
massy gold and silver coin4 ,this       
earthly ,king will revenge ,himself on  
the enemies of ,israel1 on those who    
make ,israel suffer1 who hold the people
 of ,israel in slavery4 ,the slaves     
will be masters and the masters slaves1 
and all the countries of the  world will
 have their capital at ,jerusalem and   
crowned kings will kneel  before the    
throne of the new king of ,israel4 ,the 
fields of ,israel will  be more fertile 
than all the others1 their pastures     
richer1 their flocks  will multiply     
endlessly1 wheat and barley will be     
harvested twice a  year1 the ears of    
wheat will be heavier than in the past1 
and two men  will bend under the weight 
of a single bunch of grapes4 ,there will
 not  be enough wine-skins to contain   
the vintage nor enough jars to hold all 
the oil1 and honey will be found in the 

hollows of the trees and in the  hedges 
of the roads4 ,the branches of the trees
 will break under the  weight of the    
fruit1 and the fruit will be pulpy and  
sweet as it never  was before4    ,this 
is the ,messiah expected by the ,jews   
who surround ,jesus4 ,he knows ,he      
cannot give them what they seek1 that   
,he cannot be the victorious  warrior   
and the proud king towering up among    
subject kings4 ,he knows  that ,his     
kingdom is not of this earth and that   
,he will be able to offer  only a little
 bread1 all ,his blood and all ,his     
love4 ,they will not  believe in ,him1  
will torture ,him and will kill ,him as 
a false pretender4  ,he knows all that4 
,he knows it as if ,he had seen it with 
,his eyes and  endured it with ,his body
 and soul4 ,but ,he knows that the seed 
of ,his  word thrown into the earth     
among thistles and thorns1 trampled     
under  foot by assassins1 will start    
into life when spring comes4 ,at first  
beaten down by the wind1 little by      

little it will grow1 until finally it   
becomes a tree stretching its branches  
up to the sky1 covering the earth  with 
the boughs4 ,and all men can sit round  
about it1 remembering the  death of ,him
 who planted it4                        
,,the ,,prophet ,,of ,,fire      ,while 
,jesus1 in the poor little work-shop at 
,nazareth1 was handling the  ax and the 
square1 a voice was raised in the desert
 towards ,jordan and  the ,dead ,sea4   
,last of the ,prophets1 ,john the       
,baptist called the ,jews to  repent1   
announced the approach of the ,kingdom  
of ,heaven1 predicted the  coming of the
 ,messiah1 reproved the sinners who came
 to him1 and plunged  them into the     
water of the river1 that this outer     
washing might be the  beginning of an   
inner purification4    ,in that dark age
 of the ,herods1 old ,judea profaned by 
the ,idumean  usurpers1 contaminated by 
,greek infiltration1 scorned by the     
,roman  soldiery2 without ,king1 without
 unity1 without glory2 already half     

dispersed throughout the world2 betrayed
 by their own priests2 always           
remembering the grandeur of their       
earthly kingdom of a thousand years     
ago2 always obstinately hoping for a    
great vengeance1 for a miraculous       
resurrection1 for a return of victory in
 a triumph of its ,god1 in the  coming  
of a ,saviour1 of a liberator1 of an    
anointed one who should reign  in a new 
,jerusalem stronger and more beautiful  
than that of ,solomon1 and  from        
,jerusalem dominate all the peoples1    
overcome all other monarchs1  conquer   
all empires and bring happiness to its  
nation and to all  men1--old ,judea     
hating its masters1 robbed by the       
publicans1 plagued by  the mercenary    
scribes and by the hypocritical         
,pharisees1 old ,judea  divided1        
humiliated1 plundered and yet in spite  
of all its shame full of  faith for the 
future1 willingly lent an ear to the    
voice of the desert1  and hastened to   
the banks of the ,jordan4    ,john's    

figure was one to conquer the           
imagination4 ,a child sprung by a       
miracle from parents of great age1 he   
was set apart from his birth to be      
,nazir--pure4 ,he had never cut his     
hair1 had never tasted wine or cider1   
had never touched a woman nor known any 
love except that for ,god4 ,while  he   
was still young1 he had left his        
parents' home and buried himself in  the
 desert4 ,there he lived for many years 
alone1 without a house1  without a tent1
 without servants1 with nothing of his  
own except what he  had on his back4    
,wrapped in his camel's skin1 his flanks
 girt by a  leather belt1 tall1 bony1   
baked by the sun1 his chest hairy1 his  
hair  hanging long on his shoulders1 his
 long beard almost covering his face1   
his piercing eyes flashed like lightning
 from under his busy eyebrows  when from
 his mouth hidden by his beard burst out
 the tremendous words  of his           
maledictions4    ,this hypnotic wild    
man1 solitary as a ,yogi1 despising     

pleasure like a  stoic1 seemed to those 
whom he baptized the last hope of a     
despairing  people4    ,jesus heard the 
people talk of those 8washed ones0 who  
returned from  ,jordan and took up their
 former lives1 as in the morning a      
garment is  resumed which was thrown    
away with relief the evening before2 and
 ,he  understood that ,his day grew     
near4 ,he was now in ,his thirtieth     
year1 the  right and destined age4      
,before he is thirty1 a man is only a   
sketch1 an  approximation1 dominated by 
the common sentiments and common loves  
of  all4 ,he does not know men well1 and
 hence cannot love them with that  love1
 sweet with compassion1 with which they 
should be loved4 ,and  without knowing  
them or knowing how to love them1 he    
cannot speak with  authority1 cannot    
make himself heard1 has not the power of
 saving them4                           
,,the ,,first ,,annunciation      ,the  
desert sun burned ,john's body and his  
fiery longing for the ,kingdom  burned  

like a flame in his soul4 ,he was the   
foreteller of fire4 ,he saw  in the     
,messiah1 soon to appear1 the master of 
flame4 ,the ,new ,king will  be a fierce
 husbandman4 ,every tree which bringeth 
not forth good fruit  is hewn down and  
cast into the fire4 ,he will thoroughly 
purge ,his floor  and gather ,his wheat 
into the garner1 but ,he will burn up   
the chaff with  unquenchable fire4 ,he  
will be a baptizer who will baptize with
 fire4    ,rigid1 wrathful1 harsh1      
shaggy1 quick to insult1 impatient and  
impetuous1 ,john was not gentle with    
those who came to him4 ,he took no      
satisfaction in having drawn them to    
take this first step towards            
repentance4 ,when ,pharisees and        
,sadducees1 notable men1 learned in the 
,scriptures1 esteemed by the crowd1 of  
authority in the temple came to be      
baptized1 he shamed them more than the  
others4 8,o generation of vipers1  who  
hath warned you to flee from the wrath  
to come8 ,bring forth  therefore fruits 

meet for repentance3 ,and think not to  
say within  yourselves1 ,we have        
,abraham for our father3 for ,i say unto
 you1 that ,god  is able of these stones
 to raise up children unto ,abraham40   
,you who lock yourselves up into houses 
of stone as vipers hide  themselves     
under the rocks1 you ,pharisees and     
,sadducees1 are harder than  stone3 your
 minds are petrified in the letter and  
the rites of the law3  your selfish     
hearts are stony3 to the hungry who ask 
bread of you1 you  give a stone1 and you
 throw the stone at him who has sinned  
less than  you4 ,you ,pharisees and     
,sadducees1 you are haughty statues of  
stone which  only fire can conquer1     
since water poured over you is quickly  
dried up4  ,but ,god1 who from a handful
 of earth made ,adam1 could make from   
stones  from the shore1 with rocks from 
the cliff1 other men1 other living      
beings1 other sons for ,himself4 ,he    
could change granite into flesh and     
soul1 while you have changed soul and   

flesh into granite4 ,it is not  enough  
therefore to bathe in the ,jordan4 ,that
 ablution is holy and  salutary4 ,change
 your life1 do the opposite of what you 
have done until  now1 if you do not wish
 to be burned up by ,him1 who will      
baptize by  fire4 8,and the people asked
 him1 saying1 ,what shall we do then8   
,he  answereth and saith unto them1 ,he 
that hath two coats1 let him impart to  
him that hath none1 and he that hath    
meat1 let him do likewise40    8,then   
came also publicans to be baptized and  
said unto him1 ,master1 what  shall we  
do8 ,and he said unto them1 ,exact no   
more than that which is  appointed you4 
8,and the soldiers likewise demanded of 
him1 saying1 ,and what shall we  do8    
,and he said unto them1 ,do violence to 
no man1 neither accuse any  falsely2 and
 be content with your wages40           
,compelling1 almost superhuman when he  
announced the terrible separation  of   
the good from the bad1 ,john becomes    
commonplace when he descends to         

particulars and falls1 one might say1   
exactly into the ,pharisean  tradition4 
,his only advice is to give alms1 to    
give away the  superfluous4 ,from the   
publicans he asks only strict justice3  
let them  take what has been allotted   
and nothing more4 ,to the fierce1       
thieving  tribe of soldiers1 he         
recommends only discretion6 8,be        
satisfied with  your pay and do not     
rob40 ,this is nothing more or less than
 the ,mosaic  law4 ,long before him1    
,amos and ,isaiah had gone further4     
,now is the time for the accuser of the 
,dead ,sea to give way to the  liberator
 of the ,sea of ,tiberias4 ,the lot of  
precursors is hard3 they  know1 but are 
not permitted to see2 they arrive on the
 banks of the  ,jordan1 but do not enjoy
 the promised land2 they make plain the 
path for  him who comes after them1 but 
will pass beyond them4 ,they prepare the
  throne and do not seat themselves on  
it4 ,they are servants of the master    
whom often they do not meet face to     

face4 ,perhaps the fierceness of ,john  
is justified by this consciousness of   
being an ambassador and nothing  more4  
,a consciousness which is never envious1
 but which leaves a tinge  of sadness1  
even in his humility4 ,they came from   
,jerusalem to ask him  who he was1      
8,what then8 ,art thou ,elias80    8,no4
 ,i am not40    8,art thou that         
,prophet80    8,and he answered1 ,no40  
8,art thou the ,christ80    8,no4444 ,he
 said1 ,i am the voice of one crying in 
the wilderness4444 ,he  it is1 who      
coming after me is preferred before me1 
whose shoe's latchet  ,i am not worthy  
to unloose40    ,at ,nazareth1 in the   
meantime1 an unknown working man was    
lacing up ,his  shoes with ,his own     
hands to go out to the wilderness1      
resounding with  the voice which three  
times had thundered1 8,no40             
,,the ,,vigil      ,john called sinners 
to wash in the river before repenting4  
,jesus  presented ,himself to ,john to  
be baptized4 ,did ,he then acknowledge  

,himself a sinner8    ,the texts are    
explicit3 the prophet preached the      
baptism of repentance  in remission of  
sins4 ,he who went to him acknowledged  
himself a sinner2  he who goes to wash1 
feels himself polluted4    ,the fact    
that we know nothing of the life of     
,jesus from ,his twelfth to  ,his       
thirtieth year1 exactly the years of    
fallible adolescence1 of  hot-blooded   
youth1 has given rise to the idea that  
,he was in that  period1 or at least    
held ,himself to have been1 a sinner    
like other men4  ,the three remaining   
years of ,his life are the most brightly
 lighted by  the words of the four      
,gospels because in thinking of the     
dead1 what we  most vividly remember are
 their words and deeds during the last  
days of  their lives4 ,nothing of what  
we know of those three years gives any  
indication of this supposed existence of
 sin in ,christ's life between  the     
innocence of its beginning and the glory
 of its ending4    ,there is not even   

the appearance of a conversion in       
,christ's life4 ,his  first words have  
the same accent as the last4 ,the spring
 from which they  run is clear from the 
first day2 there is no muddy sediment of
 evil4 ,he  begins with frank absolute  
certainty1 with the recognizable        
authority of  purity4 ,you can feel that
 ,he has left nothing turbid back of    
,him4 ,his  voice is clear and limpid1 a
 melodious song not roughened by the    
sour  lees of voluptuous pleasure1 or by
 the hoarseness of repentance4 ,the     
transparent serenity of ,his look1 of   
,his smile and of ,his thought is not   
the calm which comes after the clouds of
 the tempest1 or the uncertain          
whiteness of the dawn which slowly      
conquers the malign shadow of the       
night3 it is the clearness of ,him who  
was born only once1 and remained a      
youth even into ,his maturity3 the      
limpidity1 the transparency1 the        
tranquillity1 the peace of a day which  
ends in night1 but is not  darkened     

until evening3 eternal day1 childhood   
intact and untarnished  until death4    
,he goes about among the impure with the
 natural simplicity of the poor  among  
sinners1 with the natural strength of   
the sound man among the  sick1 with the 
natural boldness of health4 ,on the     
other hand1 the man  who has been       
converted is always at the back of his  
mind a little  troubled4 ,a single drop 
of bitterness1 a light shadow of        
impurity1 a  fleeting suggestion of     
temptation is enough to drive him back  
into  anguish4 ,he always feels a doubt 
that he may not have rid himself wholly 
of the old ,adam1 that he may not have  
wholly destroyed but only stunned  the  
,other1 who lived in his body4 ,he has  
paid so much for his salvation1  and it 
seems to him so precious but so frail1  
that he is always afraid  of putting it 
into jeopardy or of losing it4 ,he does 
not shun sinners1  but he approaches    
them with an involuntary shudder1 with a
 scarcely  confessed fear of fresh      

contagion1 a dread lest the sight of the
  vileness where he also took delight   
will renew unbearably the  recollection 
of his shame1 will drive him to despair 
of his ultimate  salvation4 ,when a     
servant becomes a master he is never on 
familiar terms  with his servants4 ,when
 a poor man becomes rich he is not      
generous with  the poor4 ,a converted   
sinner is not always a friend of        
sinners4 ,that  remnant of pride which  
sticks fast in the hearts even of saints
 mingles  with his compassion4 ,why do  
sinners not do what he has done8 ,the   
way is  open to all1 even to the        
wickedest1 the most hardened3 the prize 
is  great1 why do they remain down      
there1 plunged in black ,hell8    ,and  
when the converted sinner speaks to his 
brothers to convert them1 he  cannot    
refrain from dwelling on his own        
experience1 his fall1 his  liberation4  
,it may be only that he wishes to be    
helpful1 rather than to  vaunt himself1 
but in any case he is always eager to   

point to himself as  a living and       
present example of the sweetness of     
salvation4    ,the past can be          
renounced1 but not destroyed4 ,it       
reveals itself almost  unconsciously in 
the very men who begin life with a      
second birth of  repentance4 ,in the    
story of ,jesus no sign of a different  
way of life  before conversion ever     
shows itself in any allusion or in any  
implicit  meaning1 is not recognizable  
in the smallest of ,his acts1 in the    
most  obscure of ,his words4 ,his love  
for sinners has nothing of the feverish 
obstinacy of the proselytizing penitent4
 ,it is a natural love1 not a  dutiful  
love4 ,it is brotherly love without any 
implications of reproach1  spontaneous  
friendly fraternity needing to make no  
effort to overcome  repugnance4 ,it is  
the attraction towards the impure of the
 pure who has  no fear of being soiled  
and knows that ,he can                  
cleanse--disinterested  love--love felt 
by the saints in the supreme moments of 

their  holiness--love beside which all  
other love seems vulgar--such love as no
  man saw before ,jesus6 ,love which is 
rarely found again1 and only in  memory 
and in imitation of ,his love--love     
which will always be called  ,christian1
 and by any other name--never6 ,divine  
love--,christ's love6 ,love6    ,jesus  
came among the sinners1 but ,he was no  
sinner4 ,he came to bathe in  the water 
running before ,john1 but ,he had no    
inner stain4 ,the soul of  ,jesus was   
that of a child1 so childlike as to     
outdo sages in wisdom and  saints in    
sanctity4    ,he was no rigorous        
,puritan4 ,he never felt the terror of  
the morally  shipwrecked man barely     
saved from destruction4 ,he was no      
overscrupulous  ,pharisee4 ,he knew what
 was sin and what was right and ,he did 
not lose  the spirit in the labyrinth of
 the letter4 ,he knew life2 ,he did not 
refuse life which though not a good in  
itself is a prerequisite  condition of  
all good things4 ,eating and drinking   

are not wrong1 nor  looking at people1  
nor sending a friendly look to the thief
 lurking in  the shade1 nor to the woman
 who has colored her lips to hide the   
traces  of unasked kisses4              
,,the ,,baptism      ,and yet ,jesus    
came in the midst of a crowd of sinners 
to immerse ,himself  in the ,jordan4    
,the problem is not mysterious for him  
who sees something  beyond the most     
familiar meaning in the rite            
reinstituted by ,john4 ,the  case of    
,jesus is unique4 ,the baptism of ,jesus
 is like others  superficially1 but is  
justified in other ways4 ,baptism is not
 only a  washing of the flesh as a      
symbol of the will to cleanse the soul1 
a  remnant of the primitive analogy of  
water which washed away material  stains
 and can wash away spiritual stains4    
,this physical metaphor is  useful to   
the symbolism of the crowd1 is a        
necessary ceremony for the  carnal eye  
of the many who need a material help to 
believe in the  immaterial4 ,but it was 

not made for ,jesus4    ,he went to     
,john that the prophecy of the precursor
 might be fulfilled4  ,his kneeling down
 before the prophet of fire was a       
recognition of ,john's  quality of true 
announcer1 of his worth as a loyal      
ambassador who has  done his duty who   
can say now that his work is finished4  
,jesus  submitting ,himself to this     
symbolical investiture really invests   
,john  with the legitimate title of     
precursor4    ,jesus1 about to begin a  
new epoch of ,his life1 ,his true life1 
bore  witness by ,his immersion in water
 to ,his willingness to die1 but at the 
same time to ,his certainty that ,he    
would rise again4 ,he did not go down   
to the ,jordan to cleanse ,himself1 but 
to show that ,his second life was       
beginning and that ,he will not die1 but
 only seem to die1 just as ,he  only    
seemed to be purified by the waters of  
the ,jordan4                            
,,the ,,desert      ,as soon as ,jesus  
emerged from the water ,he went into the

 desert4 ,from  the multitude to        
solitude6 ,until then ,he had lived     
among the waters and  the fields of     
,galilee and in the green meadows along 
the ,jordan4 ,now ,he  went up on the   
rocky mountains whence no springs arise1
 where no seed  sprouts1 where the only 
living creatures are snakes4 ,until then
 ,he had  lived among the working men of
 ,nazareth1 among ,john's penitents2 now
 ,he  goes up on the solitary mountains 
where no human face is seen1 where no   
human voice is heard4 ,the ,new ,man    
puts the desert between himself and     
humanity4    ,the person who says1 8woe 
to the solitary60 only gives the measure
 of  his own cowardice4 ,society is a   
sacrifice1 meritorious in proportion to 
its hardness4 ,for those rich in soul1  
solitude is a prize and not an          
expiation1 a period of sure value1 a    
time when inner beauty is created1  a   
reconciliation with the absent4 ,only in
 solitude do we live with our  peers1   
with those solitary souls who think the 

great-hearted thoughts  which console us
 in the absence of other consolations4  
,the people who cannot endure solitude  
are the mediocre and the mean4  ,they   
have nothing to offer1 they are afraid  
of themselves1 of their own  emptiness4 
,they are condemned to the eternal      
solitude of their own  minds1 a desolate
 inner desert where the poisonous plants
 of waste lands  are the only things to 
grow4 ,they are restless1 unquiet1      
dejected when  they cannot forget       
themselves in others1 deafen themselves 
with the  words of others4 ,they delude 
themselves with the factitious life of  
others who are in their turn deluded by 
it4 ,they cannot live without  mingling1
 a passive atom1 in the streams which   
overflow every morning  from the sewers 
of the cities4    ,jesus lived among men
 and ,he was to return among men because
 ,he loved  them4 ,but in the years to  
come ,he often hid ,himself1 to be      
alone1 far  even from ,his disciples4   
,to love men1 you need from time to time

 to  depart from them3 far from them1 we
 draw near to them4 ,the small soul     
remembers only the evil they have done  
him4 ,his night is restless with        
bitterness and his mouth poisoned with  
anger4 ,the great soul remembers        
benefits alone1 and thankful for a few  
good deeds1 forgets the great  evils he 
has endured4 ,even those which were not 
pardoned at the moment  are blotted out 
from his heart1 and having renewed his  
original love for  his brothers1 he goes
 back to men4    ,for ,jesus these forty
 days of solitude are the last of ,his  
preparation4  ,for forty years the      
,jewish people 7prophetic symbol of     
,christ7 wandered  in the desert before 
entering into the kingdom promised by   
,god4 ,for  forty days ,moses remained  
close to ,god to hear ,his laws2 for    
forty days  ,elijah wandered in the     
desert fleeing the vengeance of the     
wicked queen4    ,so also the time      
allotted to the new liberator before    
announcing the  promised kingdom was    

forty days of close communion with ,god 
to receive  the supreme inspiration4    
,but even in the desert ,he was not to  
be  entirely alone3 about ,him          
throughout the vigil will be animals and
  angels2 beings inferior to man and    
beings superior2 those who pull man     
down and those who lift him up2 beings  
all matter1 beings all spirit4    ,born 
an animal1 man struggles to become an   
angel4 ,he is matter changing  by slow  
transmutation into spirit4 ,if the      
animal gets the upper hand1  man        
descends below the level of the beasts  
because he puts the remnants  of his    
intelligence at the service of          
bestiality3 if the angel conquers1  man 
becomes the equal of angels1 and instead
 of being a mere soldier in  the army of
 ,god1 partakes of divinity itself4 ,but
 the fallen angel  condemned to wear the
 form of a beast is the astute and      
tenacious enemy  of all men who wish to 
climb that height from which he was cast
 down4  ,jesus is the enemy of the      

material world1 of the bestial life of  
the  many4 ,he was born into the world  
in order that beasts should become men1 
and men become angels4 ,he was born to  
change the world and to conquer  it1 to 
fight with the king of the world1 that  
enemy of ,god and of men1  the malign1  
the suborner1 the seducer4 ,he was born 
to drive ,satan from  the earth as ,his 
father drove him from ,heaven4          
,therefore at the end of the forty days1
 ,satan came into the desert to  tempt  
his enemy4                              
,,the ,,adversary      ,our slavery to  
matter is branded on our lives by the   
daily need of our  bodies for food1 and 
,jesus wished to conquer our slavery to 
matter4  ,whenever ,he shared human     
lives1 ,he consented to eat and drink1  
because  ,his friends did1 because it is
 right to give to the flesh that which  
belongs to the flesh1 and finally as a  
visible protest against the             
hypocritical fasts of the ,pharisees4   
,the last act of ,his earthly mission   

was a supper1 but the first after ,his  
baptism was a fast4 ,alone where  ,his  
abstinence could not shame ,his         
simple-hearted companions1 where it     
could not be confused with ostentatious 
piety1 ,he forgot to eat4    ,but after 
forty days ,he was hungry4 ,satan1      
tenacious and invisible1 was  waiting   
for this moment of material need1 and   
seized on it4 ,the  ,adversary spoke3   
8,if thou be the ,son of ,god command   
this stone that it  be made bread40     
,the reproof was prompt3 8,it is written
 that man shall not live by bread       
alone1 but by every word of ,god40      
,satan did not admit a defeat1 and from 
the top of a mountain showed ,him  all  
the kingdoms of the earth3 8,all this   
power will ,i give thee1 and the  glory 
of them3 for that is delivered unto me2 
and to whomsoever ,i will ,i  give it4  
,if thou therefore wilt adore me1 all   
shall be thine40    ,and ,jesus         
answered1 8,get thee behind me1 ,satan3 
for it is written thou  shalt worship   

the ,lord thy ,god1 and him only shalt  
thou serve40    ,then ,satan took ,him  
to ,jerusalem and set ,him on the       
pinnacle of the  ,temple1 8,if thou be  
the ,son of ,god cast thyself down from 
hence40    ,but ,jesus answered quickly3
 8,it is written2 thou shalt not tempt  
the  ,lord thy ,god40    8,and when the 
,devil had completed every temptation10 
,luke goes on1 8he  departed from him   
for a season40 ,we shall see his return 
and his last  effort4    ,this dialogue 
seems at first sight only a bandying    
about of ,scriptural  texts4 ,satan and 
,jesus do not use their own words1 but  
compete by means  of quotations from the
 ,scriptures4 ,we seem to be listening  
to a  theological dispute2 but as a     
matter of fact it is the first ,parable 
of  the ,gospels acted out and not put  
into words4    ,it is not surprising    
that ,satan should have come with the   
absurd hope of  causing ,jesus to fall4 
,it is not surprising that ,jesus since 
,he was a  man should have undergone    

temptation4 ,satan only tempts the great
 and  pure4 ,to the others he does not  
need even to murmur a word of           
invitation4 ,they are already his1 from 
their childhood on4 ,he need give       
himself no trouble to win their         
allegiance1 they are in his arms before 
he summons them4 ,and yet many of them  
do not know that he exists4 ,he  never  
has presented himself to them because   
they obey him from a  distance4 ,thus1  
not having known him1 they are ready to 
deny him4 ,the  devil's cohorts do not  
believe in the devil4 ,it was said of   
old that the  devil's shrewdest ruse was
 to spread abroad the rumor of his      
death4 ,he  takes all forms1 so         
beautiful sometimes that no one         
recognizes him4 ,the  ,greeks1 for      
instance1 marvels of intelligence and   
elegance1 had no place  for ,satan in   
their mythology1 because all their      
,gods1 when closely  examined1 show the 
horns of ,satan under their crowns of   
laurel and grape  leaves4 ,satanical is 

tyrannical and lustful ,jove1 adulterous
 ,venus1  ,apollo the flayer1 murderous 
,mars1 drunken ,dionysius4 ,they were so
  astute1 the gods of ,greece1 that they
 gave the people love-potions and       
distilled perfumes to keep them from    
detecting the stench of the evil  that  
consumes the world4    ,but if many do  
not know him and laugh at him as at a   
specter invented in  church for the     
needs of penitents1 there are some who  
cry out upon those  who know him but do 
not follow him4 ,he seduced the         
innocence of the  first two created     
beings1 he suborned ,david the strong1  
corrupted  ,solomon the wise1 accused   
,job the righteous before the throne of 
,god4  ,satan tempts and always will    
tempt all the saints who hide themselves
 in  the desert1 all those who love     
,god4 ,the more we go away from him the 
closer he is2 the higher we are1 the    
more he rages to bring us low2 he  can  
soil only that which is clean and he    
gives no care to the filth  which       

spontaneously ferments under the hot    
breath of animality4 ,to be  tempted by 
,satan is a proof of purity1 a sign of  
greatness1 and shows a  man that he is  
on the upward path4 ,he who has known   
,satan and has seen  him face to face1  
may well have hope for himself4 ,more   
than any other1  ,jesus merited this    
consecration4 ,satan challenged ,him    
twice and tempted  ,him once4 ,he asked 
,him to transform dead matter into      
matter that gives  life and to cast     
,himself down from a height so that ,god
 by saving ,him  should proclaim ,him as
 ,his true son4 ,he offered ,him the    
possession and  the glory of earthly    
kingdoms on condition that instead of   
serving ,god  ,jesus should promise to  
serve the ,demon4 ,he asks material     
bread and a  material miracle of ,him   
and promises ,him material power4 ,jesus
 does not  take up the challenge and    
refuses what is offered4    ,he is not  
the fleshly1 temporal ,messiah1 desired 
by the ,jewish crowd1  the material     

,messiah such as the ,tempter in his    
baseness imagines ,him4  ,he did not    
come to bring food to bodies but food to
 souls1--truth1 that  living food4 ,when
 ,his brothers1 far from home1 lack     
bread enough for  their hunger1 ,he will
 break the few loaves which ,his        
disciples bring and  all will have      
enough and they will fill baskets with  
the remnants4 ,but  except in cases of  
necessity ,he will not be the           
distributor of that  bread which comes  
from the earth and returns to earth4 ,if
 ,he should  change the stones of the   
street into bread1 every one would      
follow ,him  through love of his own    
body and would pretend to believe       
everything ,he  said4 ,even the dogs    
would come to ,his banquet4 ,but this   
,he does not  wish4 ,those who follow   
,him must believe in ,his word in spite 
of hunger1  grief and poverty4 ,thus    
those who wish to follow ,him must leave
 behind  them fertile fields1 they must 
leave behind them money which can be    

changed into bread4 ,they must go with  
,him without knapsack or payment1  with 
one garment1 and live like the birds of 
the air1 husking ears of  grain in the  
fields1 or begging alms at house doors4 
,one can live  without terrestrial      
bread3 a fig left on the tree among the 
leaves1 a  fish drawn from the lake can 
take the place of bread4 ,but no man can
  live without heavenly bread1 if he    
wishes to escape eternal death1 which   
is the portion of those who have never  
tasted it4 ,man does not live by  bread 
alone1 but by love1 fervor1 and truth4  
,jesus is ready to transform  the       
,kingdom of ,earth into the ,kingdom of 
,heaven1 furious bestiality into  happy 
sanctity1 but ,he does not deign to     
transform stones into bread1  matter    
into other matter4    ,for similar      
reasons ,jesus refused the other        
challenge4 ,men love the  wonderful1 the
 visibly wonderful1 the prodigy1 the    
physical  impossibility made possible   
before their eyes4 ,they hunger and     

thirst  after portents4 ,they are ready 
to prostrate themselves before the      
wonder-worker even if he is an evil man 
or a charlatan4 ,from ,jesus they  all  
asked for a ,sign1 meaning by that1 a   
gigantic juggling feat2 but ,he  always 
refused4 ,he did not wish to persuade by
 means of the miraculous4  ,he consented
 to cure the sick--especially those sick
 in spirit and  sinners--but ,he often  
avoided the occasion even for these     
miracles1 and  ,he begged those cured   
not to speak the name of their healer4  
,and ,he  never used this power for ,his
 own safety1 not even at ,gethsemane    
when  ,satan tempted ,him to put away   
the cup of death from ,his lips1 nor    
when  ,he was nailed to the cross and   
,satan repeated his challenge by the    
mouth  of the ,jews4 8,if thou art the  
,son of ,god1 come down from the cross  
and  save thyself40 ,in the night of    
,his vigil and in the high noon of ,his 
death1 ,he resisted ,satan and had      
recourse to no miracle to save ,himself4

  ,men must believe ,him in spite of all
 contrary evidence1 believe in ,his     
divinity even when confronted with what 
seems ,his common humanity4 ,it is  no  
fit deed for ,jesus needlessly to throw 
,himself down from the ,temple2  to     
bring an end to the pain of another with
 the sole purpose of  conquering men1   
and fascinating them with wonder and    
terror2 to put ,god  to a test1 to force
 ,him as it were1 to accomplish a rash  
and superfluous  miracle1 only in order 
that ,satan may not win the infamous    
wager founded  on sarcasm and on        
arrogance4 ,loving1 it is to human      
hearts ,he wishes to  speak2 sublime in 
character1 ,he wishes to bring sublimity
 into human  lives2 a pure spirit1 ,he  
wishes to purify other spirits2         
deep-hearted1  to light the flame of    
love in others2 a great spirit1 to bring
 greatness  to little1 mean1 neglected  
souls4 ,instead of throwing ,himself    
like a  vulgar magician from the        
precipice which is below the ,temple1   

,he will go  up from the ,temple upon   
the ,mount to give out from on high the 
beatitudes of the ,kingdom of ,heaven4  
,the offer of the ,kingdoms of the      
,earth must have been horrible to ,him1 
and still more the price that ,satan    
asked4 ,satan has the right to offer    
what is his4 ,the ,kingdoms of the      
,earth are founded on force and         
maintained with deceit4 ,they are       
,satan's own country1 they are his      
,paradise regained4 ,satan sleeps every 
night on the pillows of the  powerful4  
,they pay material tribute to him1 and  
give him daily offerings  in thought and
 deed4 ,but ,jesus could have taken away
 their ,kingdoms from  the ,kings       
without bending knee to the ,adversary4 
,he had only to offer  men bread without
 work4 ,if like a juggling mountebank   
,he had opened a  public theater of     
popular miracles1 the multitude would   
have acclaimed  ,him4 ,had ,he wished to
 seem the ,messiah for whom the ,jews   
had been  longing during their dreary   

slavery1 ,he could have corrupted them  
with  plenty and with marvels1 ,he could
 have made of every land a country of   
grace and enchantment and ,he could have
 occupied at once every seat of  the    
procurators of ,satan4    ,but ,jesus   
does not wish to be the restorer of the 
fallen kingdom1 the  conqueror of       
hostile empires4 ,authority is of little
 importance to ,him  and glory still    
less4 ,the ,kingdom which ,he announces 
and prepares has  nothing in common with
 the ,kingdoms of the ,earth4 ,his      
,kingdom is  destined rather to bring to
 naught the ,kingdoms of the ,earth4    
,the  ,kingdom of ,heaven is in us4 ,any
 day when a soul has turned to          
righteousness the ,kingdom of ,heaven is
 enlarged because it has acquired  a new
 citizen1 snatched from the ,kingdom of 
,earth4 ,when every one is  good and    
righteous1 when all love their brothers 
as fathers love their  sons1 when even  
enemies love one another 7if there still
 are enemies71  when no one thinks of   

amassing treasure1 and instead of taking
 away from  others1 every one gives     
bread to the hungry and clothing to     
those who  are cold1--where on that day 
will be the ,kingdom of the ,earth8     
,where will  be the need for soldiers   
when no one wishes to enlarge his own   
land by  stealing that of his neighbor8 
,what need will there be for ,kings when
  every one has his law in his          
conscience and when there are no armies 
to  command nor judges to select8 ,what 
need will there be for money and for    
tribute when every one is sure of his   
living and satisfied with it1 and  there
 are no wages to be paid to soldiers and
 servants8 ,when every one's  soul is   
transformed1 those so-called foundations
 of life which are named  ,society1     
,country and ,justice will vanish like  
the hallucinations of a  long night4    
,the word of ,christ needs neither money
 nor armies4 ,and if it  really becomes 
the universal life of the conscience1   
everything that  binds and blinds men1  

necessary unjust power1 the criminal    
glory of  battles1 will fall like       
morning mists before sunlight and wind4 
,the  ,kingdom of ,heaven within is ,one
 and it will take the place of the      
,kingdoms of ,earth1 which are many4    
,the liberated spirit will scarcely     
remember despotic matter4 ,men will no  
longer be divided into ,kings and       
subjects1 masters and slaves1 rich and  
poor1 the arrogantly virtuous1  the     
humble sinners1 free and prisoners4 ,the
 sun of ,god will shine on  all1 the    
citizens of the ,kingdom will be one    
family of fathers and  brothers and the 
gates of ,paradise will be open again to
 the sons of  ,adam become as gods4     
,jesus conquered ,satan in ,himself and 
now came out of the desert to  conquer  
him among men4                          
,,the ,,return      ,as soon as ,jesus  
came again among men1 ,he learned that  
the ,tetrarch  7second husband of       
,herodias7 had imprisoned ,john in the  
fortress of  ,machaerus4 ,the voice     

crying in the wilderness was stilled and
 pilgrims  to the ,jordan saw no more   
the long shadow of the wild ,baptizer   
fall  across the water4    ,he had done 
his work and was now to give way to a   
more powerful voice4  ,john waited in   
the blackness of the prison until his   
bloody head was  carried on a golden    
platter to the banquet--almost the last 
dish served  to that evil woman1        
betrayer of men4    ,now ,jesus         
understands that ,his day is at hand1   
and crossing ,samaria ,he  returns into 
,galilee to announce at once the coming 
of the ,kingdom4 ,he  does not go to    
,jerusalem1 the city of the great king1 
the capital4 ,jesus  comes to destroy   
that ,jerusalem of stone and arrogance1 
proud on its  three hills1 hard of heart
 like the stones4 ,the men whom ,jesus  
comes to  combat are precisely those who
 glory in great cities1 in the capitals1
  in the ,jerusalems of the world4      
,at ,jerusalem live the powerful of the 
world1 the ,romans1 masters of the      

world and of ,judea1 with their soldiers
 in arms4 ,jerusalem is ruled by  the   
representatives of the ,csars2 of       
,tiberius1 the drunken assassin1  the   
perfidious heir of ,augustus1 the       
hypocritical voluptuary1 and of  ,julius
 the adulterous spendthrift4 ,at        
,jerusalem live the ,high ,priests1  the
 old custodians of the ,temple1 the     
,pharisees1 ,sadducees1 ,scribes1 the   
,levites and their guards1 the          
descendants of those who pursued and    
killed the prophets1 the petrifiers of  
the ,law1 the bigots of the  letter1 the
 haughty depositories of arid           
fanaticism4 ,at ,jerusalem are  the     
treasurers of ,god1 the treasurers of   
,csar1 the guardians of the  treasure1  
the lovers of wealth2 the ,publicans    
with their excisemen and  parasites1 the
 rich with their servants and their     
concubines1 the  merchants with their   
crowded shops2 money bags clinking with 
shekels in  the warmth of the bosom     
above the heart4    ,jesus comes to     

combat all these4 ,he comes to conquer  
the masters of the  earth--the earth    
which belongs to all2 to confound the   
masters of the  word--the word which    
should be spoken freely wherever ,god   
wishes2 to  condemn the masters of gold1
 base1 perishable and fatal element4 ,he
  comes to overthrow the kingdom of the 
soldiers of ,rome who oppress  bodies2  
the kingdom of the priests of the       
,temple who oppress souls2 the  kingdom 
of the heapers-up of money who oppress  
the poor4 ,he comes to  save bodies1    
souls1 the poor2 ,he teaches liberty1 in
 opposition to ,rome2  setting at naught
 the doctrines of the ,temple1 ,he      
teaches love2 ,he  teaches poverty      
against all the ideals of the rich4     
,he does not wish to begin ,his message 
in ,jerusalem where ,his enemies1       
gathered together1 are the strongest4   
,he wishes to surround the city1  take  
it from the outside1 arrive there later 
with a following behind  ,him1 when     
already the ,kingdom of ,heaven has     

begun slowly to lay siege to  it4 ,the  
,conquest of ,jerusalem will be the last
 test1 the supreme trial1  the great    
battle1 the tremendous battle between   
the greater than the  ,prophets and     
,jerusalem1 slayer of ,prophets4 ,if ,he
 should go to ,jerusalem  now 7where ,he
 will enter presently as a king and     
whence ,he will be  buried as a         
criminal7 ,he would be taken prisoner at
 once and would not  be able to sow ,his
 word on less ungrateful1 less stony    
soil4    ,jerusalem like all            
capitals--great sewers to which flow the
 refuse1 the  outcasts1 the rubbish of  
the nations--is inhabited by a mob of   
frivolous1  elegant1 idle1 skeptical and
 indifferent people1 by a ceremonious   
patrician class who have kept only the  
tradition of ritual and the  sterile    
rancor of their decadence2 by an        
aristocracy of property owners  and     
speculators who belong to the herd of   
,mammon1 and by a rebellious1  restless1
 ignorant crowd1 controlled only by the 

superstition of the  ,temple and the    
fear of the foreigner's sword4          
,jerusalem was not fit soil  for the    
sowing of ,jesus4    ,a man from the    
provinces1--therefore healthy and       
solitary--,he goes back to  ,his        
province4 ,he wishes to carry the       
tidings of good news to those who  were 
to be the first to receive ,him1 to the 
poor and the humble because  the tidings
 are specially for them1 because they   
have long been waiting  for them1 and   
because more than any others1 they will 
rejoice4 ,jesus'  coming into the world 
is for the poor4 ,therefore leaving     
,jerusalem1 ,he  arrives in ,galilee1   
enters into the ,synagogue and begins to
 teach4                                 
,,the ,,reign ,,of ,,god      ,the first
 words of ,jesus are few and simple1    
very much like those of  ,john1 8,the   
time is accomplished2 the ,kingdom of   
,god is at hand2 repent  and believe the
 ,gospel40    ,bare words1              
incomprehensible to moderns by their    

very sobriety4 ,to  understand them and 
to understand the difference between the
 message of  ,john and the message of   
,jesus1 they need to be translated into 
our  language1 filled again with their  
eternally living meaning4    8,the time 
has come60 ,the time for which men have 
been waiting1 which  they have          
prophesied and announced4 ,john said    
that a ,king would come  ready to found 
the new ,kingdom1 the ,kingdom of       
,heaven4 ,the ,king has come  and       
announces that the doors of the ,kingdom
 are open4 ,he is the guide1  the path1 
the hand1 before being ,king in all the 
splendor of ,his  celestial glory4      
,when ,jesus says 8,the time is         
accomplished10 he does not refer to the 
exact date1 to the fact that it was the 
fifteenth year of the reign of          
,tiberius4 ,the time of ,jesus is now   
and always is eternity4 ,the moment of  
,his appearance1 the moment of ,his     
death1 the moment of ,his return1 the   
moment of ,his perfect triumph1 has not 

yet arrived1 not even yet6 ,and  yet1 at
 every moment the time is accomplished1 
every hour is the  fullness of time1 on 
condition that the workers are ready4   
,every day is  ,his2 ,his era is not    
written down in numbers3 there is no    
chronology in  eternity4 ,every time a  
man tries to enter into the ,kingdom1   
confirms the  ,kingdom by believing1    
enriches the ,kingdom1 consolidates1    
defends1  proclaims its perpetual       
sanctity and its perpetual rightness in 
opposition to all the inferior kingdoms 
7inferior because they are  human1 not  
divine1 earthly not heavenly7 then      
always the time is  accomplished4 ,this 
time is called the epoch of ,jesus1 the 
,christian era1  the ,new ,covenant4    
,not quite two thousand years divides us
 from that  time2 not quite two days1   
because for ,god1 and for men of        
understanding1  a thousand years are as 
a day4 ,the time is ripe2 even to-day we
 are in  the fullness of time4 ,jesus   
calls us even now4 ,the second day has  

not  yet expired1 the foundations of the
 ,kingdom are scarcely begun4 ,we who   
live to-day1 this year1 in this century 
7and we shall not always be  alive1 and 
we shall perhaps not see the end of this
 year1 and certainly  we shall not see  
the end of this century71 we1 ,i say1   
the living1 can  take part in this      
,kingdom1 enter into it1 live in it1    
enjoy it4 ,the  ,kingdom is not the     
worn-out fancy of a poor ,jew nearly    
twenty centuries  ago2 it is not an     
archaism1 a dead memory1 a bygone       
frenzy4 ,the ,kingdom  is of to-day1 of 
to-morrow1 of always2 a reality of the  
future always  just-realized1 alive1    
actual1 ours2 a work started a short    
time ago1 a  work to which every one is 
free to put his hand to take it up1 to  
carry  it on4 ,the word seems old1 the  
message dim with antiquity repeated by  
the echoes of two thousand years1 but   
the ,kingdom--as a fact1 true1          
accomplished--is new1 young1 born       
yesterday1 still to grow1 to flower1 to 

prosper4 ,jesus threw the seed into the 
earth1 but the seed has scarcely        
germinated in two thousand years passed 
like a stormy winter1 in the  space of  
sixty human generations4 ,is it perhaps 
possible that our own  time after the   
flood of blood is the divine and        
longed-for period8    ,what this        
,kingdom is1 we shall learn page by page
 in the words of ,jesus2  but we must   
not imagine it as a new ,paradise of    
,delight1 as a wearisome  ,arcady of    
beatitude1 as an immense choir singing  
,hosannahs with their  feet on the      
clouds and their heads among the stars4 
,christ describes the ,kingdom of ,god  
as opposed to the ,kingdom of ,satan1   
as the antithesis of the ,kingdom of    
,earth4 ,the ,kingdom of ,satan is the  
,kingdom of evil1 of deceit1 of cruelty1
 of pride1 the ,kingdom of  baseness4   
,therefore the ,kingdom of ,god means   
the ,kingdom of good1 of  sincerity1 of 
love1 of humility1 the ,kingdom of the  
lofty4    ,the ,kingdom of ,earth is the

 ,kingdom of matter and of flesh1 the   
,kingdom  of gold1 hatred1 avarice1     
sensuality1 the ,kingdom of all things  
loved by  evil and distraught men4 ,the 
,kingdom of ,heaven is to be the        
opposite of  this3 the ,kingdom of the  
spirit and of the soul1 the ,kingdom of 
renunciation and of purity2 the ,kingdom
 of all things valued by men who  know  
the worthlessness of everything else in 
comparison4 ,god is ,father  and        
,goodness2 ,heaven is above the earth1  
hence it is the spirit4 ,heaven  is     
,god's home4 ,the spirit is the dominion
 of goodness4 ,all that crawls  on the  
earth1 grubs in the earth1 takes        
pleasure in matter--that is  bestiality2
 all that lives with upraised eyes1     
desiring ,heaven1 wishing  to live      
forever in ,heaven--that is ,holiness4  
,most men are beasts4 ,it is  ,christ's 
will that these beasts become saints4   
,this is the simple and  ever-living    
meaning of the ,kingdom of ,god1 and the
 ,kingdom of ,heaven4    ,the ,kingdom  

of ,god is of men and for men4 ,the     
,kingdom of ,heaven is in  us4 ,begin at
 once3 it is our work1 for our happiness
 in this life on  this earth4 ,it       
depends on our will1 on our response    
given or withheld4  ,become perfect and 
the ,kingdom will extend even on earth4 
,the ,kingdom of  ,god will be founded  
among men4    ,it is true that ,jesus   
added 8repent10 but the old word has    
been  distorted from its true and       
magnificent meaning4 ,the word of       
,mark----should not be translated       
8repent02  means rather  the changing of
 the mind1 the transformation of the    
soul4 ,metamorphosis  is a change of    
form2 8metanoia10 a changing of the     
spirit4 ,it ought  rather to be         
translated 8conversion10 that is1 the   
renewing of the inner  life of man4 ,the
 idea of 8repentance0 is only an        
illustration of  ,christ's command4     
,as one of the conditions of the arrival
 of the ,kingdom and at the same  time  
as the very substance of the new order1 

,jesus demands complete  conversion1 a  
revolution of life and of the common    
values of life1 a  transmutation of     
feelings1 of opinions1 of intentions4   
,this ,he called1  speaking to          
,nicodemus1 8the second birth40 ,little 
by little ,he was to  explain in what   
way this total transformation of the    
ordinary human soul  is to be effected4 
,all ,his life was devoted to this      
teaching and to  setting the example4   
,but in the meantime1 ,he contented     
,himself with  adding one conclusion1   
8,believe in the ,gospel40    ,by       
8,gospel0 men nowadays mean usually the 
book where the quadruple story  of      
,jesus is printed2 but ,jesus neither   
wrote books nor thought of  volumes4 ,by
 8,gospel0 ,he meant1 according to the  
plain and sweet meaning  of the word1   
8good tidings40 ,jesus is a messenger   
7in ,greek 8angel07 who  brings good    
tidings3 ,he brings the cheerful message
 that the sick will  be cured1 that the 
blind will see1 the poor will be        

enriched with  imperishable riches1 that
 the sad will rejoice1 that sinners will
 be  pardoned1 the unclean purified1    
that the imperfect can become perfect1  
that animals can become saints1 and     
saints become angels1 like unto ,god4   
,if this ,kingdom is to come1 if        
everybody is to prepare himself for its 
coming1 we must believe in the message1 
believe that the ,kingdom is  possible  
and near4 ,if there is no faith in this 
promise1 no one will do  what must be   
done to fulfill the promise4 ,only the  
certainty of the  truth of this good    
tidings1 only the conviction that the   
,kingdom is not  the lie of an          
adventurer or the hallucination of an   
obsessed zealot2  only the certainty of 
the sincerity and validity of the       
message can  arouse men to put their    
hands to the great work of its          
foundation4    ,with those few words1   
obscure to the majority of men1 ,jesus  
began ,his  teaching4 ,the fullness of  
time1 the need to begin at once6 ,the   

coming of  the ,kingdom1 victory of     
spirit over matter2 of good over bad1 of
 the  saint over the beast4             
8,metanoia0--the total transformation of
 the soul4  ,the ,gospel--the cheerful  
assurance that all this is true and     
eternally  possible4                    
,,capernaum      ,jesus taught ,his     
,galileans on the threshold of their    
shabby little white  houses1 on the     
small shady open places of their cities 
or the shore of  the lake1 leaning      
against a beached boat1 ,his feet on the
 stones1  towards evening when the sun  
sank red in the west1 summoning men to  
rest4    ,many listened to ,him and     
followed ,him because1 says ,luke3 8,his
 word was  with authority40 ,the words  
were not wholly new1 but the man was    
new1 and  new was the warmth of ,his    
voice1 and the good done by that voice1 
overflowing from ,his heart and going   
straight to the hearts of others4  ,the 
accent of those words was new1 and new  
the sense that they took in  that mouth1

 lighted by ,his look4    ,here was no  
prophet of the mountains shouting in    
waste places1 far from  men1 solitary1  
distant1 forcing others to come to him  
if they wished to  hear him4 ,here was a
 prophet living like a man among other  
men1 a friend  of all1 friendly to the  
unfriended1 an easy-going and           
companionable  comrade1 searching out   
,his brothers where they work in the    
houses1 in  the busy streets1 eating    
their bread and drinking wine at their  
tables1  lending a hand with the        
fisherman's nets1 with a good word for  
every  man1 for the sad1 for the sick1  
for the beggar4    ,the simple-hearted1 
like animals and children1 know         
instinctively who  loves them1 they     
believe him1 are happy when he comes    
7their very faces  suddenly             
transfigured7 and are sad when he goes4 
,sometimes they cannot  bring themselves
 to leave him and follow him to the     
death4    ,jesus spent ,his time with   
them walking from one region to another1

 or  talking1 seated among ,his friends4
 ,always dear to ,him was the sunny     
shore of the lake1 along the curve of   
quiet clear water scarcely ruffled  by  
the wind from the desert1 dotted with a 
few boats silently tacking  back and    
forth4 ,the western coast of the lake   
was ,his real ,kingdom2  there ,he found
 ,his first listeners1 ,his first       
converts1 ,his first  disciples4    ,if 
,he returned to ,nazareth1 ,he stayed   
there but a short time4 ,he was to  go  
back later1 accompanied by the ,twelve  
and preceded by the renown of  ,his     
miracles1 and they were to treat ,him as
 all the cities of the  world1--even the
 most renowned for amenity1 ,athens and 
,florence1 have  treated those of their 
citizens who made them great above      
others4 ,after  ridiculing ,him 7they   
had seen ,him as a child1 it is out of  
the question  that ,he can have become a
 great prophet7 they tried to cast ,him 
down  from the precipice4    ,in no city
 did ,he make a long stay4 ,jesus was a 

wanderer1 such a man as  is called a    
vagabond by the pot-bellied and         
sedentary citizen rooted to  his        
threshold4 ,his life is an eternal      
journey4 ,before that other ,jew who    
was condemned to immortality by one     
condemned to death1 ,he is the true     
,wandering ,jew4 ,he was born on a      
journey4 ,still a baby at the breast1   
,he  was carried along the sun-parched  
road to ,egypt2 from ,egypt ,he came    
back  to the waters and greenness of    
,galilee4 ,from ,nazareth ,he often went
 to  ,jerusalem for the ,passover4 ,the 
voice of ,john called ,him to the       
,jordan3  an inner voice drove ,him out 
into the desert2 and after the forty    
days  of hunger and the ,temptation1 ,he
 began ,his restless vagabond life from 
city to city1 from village to village1  
from mountain to mountain1 across       
,palestine4 ,most often we find ,him in 
,galilee1 in ,capernaum1 ,chorazin1 in  
,cana1 in ,magdala1 in ,tiberias1 but   
often ,he crosses ,samaria to sit down  

near the well of ,sychar4 ,we find ,him 
from time to time in the ,tetrarchy  of 
,philip at ,bethsaida1 at ,gadara1 at   
,csarea1 also at ,gerasa in the  ,perea 
of ,herod ,antipas4 ,in ,judah ,he often
 stops at ,bethany1 a few miles  away   
from ,jerusalem1 or at ,jericho1 but ,he
 did not shrink from  journeying outside
 the limits of the old kingdom and from 
going down  among the ,gentiles4 ,we    
find ,him in ,phnicia1 in the regions of
 ,tyre and  ,sidon1 and in ,syria1 if   
the transfiguration took place on the   
summit of  ,mt4 ,hermon4 ,after the     
resurrection ,he appears in ,emmaus1 on 
the banks of  ,his lake of ,tiberias and
 finally at ,bethany near ,lazarus'     
house1 where  ,he leaves ,his friends   
forever4    ,he is the traveler without 
rest1 the wanderer with no home1 the    
wayfarer  for love's sake1 the voluntary
 exile in ,his own country2 ,he says    
,himself  that ,he has not a stone on   
which to lay ,his head1 and it is true  
that ,he  has no bed where ,he may lie  

down at night1 nor a room that ,he can  
call  ,his own4 ,his real home is the   
road which takes ,him along with ,his   
first  friends in search of new friends4
 ,his bed is the furrow in a field1 the 
bench of a boat1 the shadow of an olive 
tree4 ,sometimes ,he sleeps in the      
houses of those who love ,him1 but only 
for short periods4    ,in the early days
 we find ,him most often at ,capernaum1 
,his journeys  began there and ended    
there4 ,matthew calls it 8,his city40   
,situated on  the caravan route which   
from ,damascus crosses ,iturea and goes 
towards  the sea1 ,capernaum had become 
little by little a commercial center of 
some importance4 ,artisans1 bargainers1 
brokers1 and shopkeepers had come  there
 to stay4 ,men of finance--as flies     
swarm on rotten pears--had come  there2 
publicans1 excise men and other fiscal  
tools4 ,the little  settlement1         
half-rustic1 half a fishing village1 had
 become a mixed and  composite city     
where the society of the times--even to 

soldiers and  prostitutes--was fully    
represented4 ,and yet ,capernaum1 lying 
along the  lake1 freshened by the air   
from the near-by hills and by the breeze
 from  the water1 was not a prey to     
stagnation and decay like the ,syrian   
cities  and ,jerusalem4 ,there were     
still peasants who went out to their    
fields  every day1 and fishermen who    
every day went forth to their boats4    
,good1  poor1 simple1 warm-hearted      
people who talked of other matters than 
money  and gear4 ,among them a man could
 draw his breath freely4    ,on the     
,sabbath ,jesus went to the ,synagogue4 
,everybody had the right to  enter      
there1 to read aloud and also to expound
 what had been read4 ,it  was a plain   
house1 a bare room where people went    
with their friends and  brothers to     
reason together and dream of ,god4      
,jesus stood up1 had some one give ,him 
one of the scrolls of the  ,scriptures  
7more often the ,prophets than the ,law7
 and recited in a  tranquil voice two1  

three1 four or more verses4 ,then ,he   
commenced to  speak with a bold and     
forceful eloquence which put the        
,pharisees to  confusion1 touched       
sinners1 won the poor1 and enchanted    
women4    ,suddenly the old text was    
transfigured1 became transparent1       
belonged to  their own times2 it seemed 
a new truth1 a discovery they had made1 
a  discourse heard for the first time2  
the words withered by antiquity1  dried 
up by repetition1 took on life and      
color2 a new sun gilded them  one by    
one1 syllable by syllable2 fresh words  
coined at that moment1  shining before  
their eyes like an unexpected           
revelation4                             
,,poor ,,people      ,nobody in         
,capernaum could remember having heard  
such a ,rabbi4 ,the  ,sabbaths when     
,jesus spoke1 the ,synagogue was full1  
the crowd overflowed  out on the street1
 everybody was there who could come4    
,the gardener  comes1 who for that day  
had left his spade1 and no longer turned

 his  water wheel to irrigate the green 
rows of his garden1 and the smith1 the  
good country smith1 black with smoke and
 dust every day1 but on the  ,sabbath   
washed1 neatly dressed1 his face still a
 little dusky1 although  scrubbed and   
rinsed in many waters like his hands1   
with his beard combed  and anointed with
 cheap ointment 7but still perfumed like
 a rich man's  beard71 the smith all    
whose days are spent before the fire1   
sweaty and  dirty except this day which 
is the ,sabbath1 when he comes to the   
,synagogue to hear the ancient word of  
the ,ancient of ,days1 the ,god of  his 
fathers4 ,he comes devoutly1 but he     
comes too because his family1 his       
friends1 his neighbors come there1 and  
he finds them all together1 and  he     
comes also because the day is long 7all 
that long holiday without any  work1    
without any hammer in his hand1 without 
the pincers7 and in  ,capernaum there is
 nothing to do on ,sabbaths except go to
 the ,synagogue4  ,the mason comes1 he  

who has worked on this little house of  
the ,synagogue  and made it small       
because the ,elders--good1 ,god-fearing 
people1 but  inclined to be stingy--did 
not wish to spend too much4 ,the mason  
still  feels his arms a little numb and 
lame from his six days' labor1 no       
longer keeps track of the stones which  
he has laid in courses and the  trowels 
full of mortar which he has thrown      
between the stones during the  week4    
,the mason puts on his new clothes      
to-day and sits down on the  ground1 he 
who on all other days stands upright1   
active1 watchful so  that the work may  
go well1 and the employer be satisfied2 
the good mason  too has come to the     
house which seems to him partly his own4
    ,the fishermen have come too1 the   
young and the old1 both of them with    
faces tanned by the sun and with eyes   
half-shut from the constant glare  of   
sunlight reflected by the water4 7,the  
old man is handsomer because of  the    
contrast of his white hair and white    

beard with his weather-beaten  and      
wrinkled face47 ,the fishermen have     
turned over their boats on the  sand1   
have left them tied to a stake1 have    
spread the nets on the roof  and have   
come to the ,synagogue1 although they   
are not used to being  within walls and 
perhaps continue to hear a confused     
murmur of water  lapping about the bow4 
,the peasants of the neighboring        
countryside are here too1 prosperous    
farmers who have put on a tunic as good 
as anybody's1 who are satisfied  with   
the harvest almost ready for the scythe4
 ,they do not mean to forget  ,god who  
brings the grain to a head and makes the
 grape-vine to blossom4  ,there are     
shepherds come in to town that morning1 
shepherds and  goat-herds with the smell
 of their flocks still on them1         
shepherds who  live all the week in the 
mountain-pastures without seeing a soul1
  without exchanging a word1 alone with 
their quiet animals peacefully  grazing 
on the new grass4    ,the smaller       

property owners1 the small business men1
 the gentry of  ,capernaum1 all have    
come4 ,they are men of weight and piety4
 ,they stand  in the front row1 serious1
 their eyes cast down1 satisfied with   
the  business of the last few days and  
satisfied with their conscience  because
 they have observed the law without     
failing and are not  contaminated4 ,the 
line of their well-clad backs can be    
seen1 bowed backs  but broad and        
masterful1 employers' backs1 backs of   
people in harmony  with the world1 and  
with ,god1 backs full of authority and  
of religion4  ,there are also transient 
foreigners1 merchants going towards     
,syria or  returning to ,tiberias4 ,they
 have come from condescension or from   
habit1  perhaps to try to pick up a     
customer1 and they stare into           
everybody's  face with the arrogance    
which money gives to poverty-stricken   
souls4    ,at the back of the room 7for 
the ,synagogue is only a long           
white-washed  room a little larger than 

a school1 than an inn1 than a kitchen7  
the  poor of the countryside are huddled
 together like dogs near a door1 like   
those who always stand in fear of being 
sent away4 ,the poorest of all1  those  
who live by odd jobs1 by ungracious     
charity and also--oh1  poverty6--by some
 discreet theft1 the ragged1 the        
vermin-ridden1 the  timid1 the wretched2
 old widows whose children are far away1
 young  orphans not yet able to earn a  
living1 hump-backed old men with no     
acquaintances1 strengthless invalids1   
those who are incurably sick1  those    
whose wits no longer rightly serve them1
 who have no  understanding1 who cannot 
work4 ,the weak in mind1 the weak in    
body1 the  bankrupt1 the rejected1 the  
abandoned1 those who one day eat and the
  next day do not1 who never have enough
 to satisfy their hunger1 those  who    
pick up what others throw away1 the     
pieces of dry bread1 fish-heads1        
fruit-cores and skins2 and sleep now    
here and now there1 and suffer from  the

 winter cold and every year wait for    
summer1 paradise of the poor1  for then 
there are fruits to be plucked along the
 roads4 ,they too1 the  beggars1 the    
wretched1 the ragamuffins1 the sickly   
and the weaklings1  when the ,sabbath   
comes1 go to the ,synagogue to hear the 
stories of the  ,bible4 ,they cannot be 
sent away3 they have as much right to be
 there as  any one1 they are sons of the
 same ,father and servants of the same  
,lord4  ,on that day they feel a little 
comforted in their poverty because they 
can hear the same words heard by the    
rich and the strong4 ,here they are  not
 served with another sort of food1      
poorer and coarser1 as happens in  the  
houses where the owner eats the best and
 the beggar on the threshold  must      
content himself with scraps4 ,here the  
fare is the same for the man  of        
possessions and him who has nothing4    
,the words of ,moses are the same1      
everlastingly the same for him who owns 
the fattest flock and for him  who has  

not even a quarter of lamb on ,passover 
day4 ,but the words of the  ,prophets   
are sweeter to them than those of       
,moses1 harder on the great of  the     
world1 but kinder for the humble4 ,the  
poverty-stricken throng at the  back of 
the ,synagogue waits every ,sabbath for 
somebody to read a chapter  from ,amos  
or from ,isaiah because the ,prophets   
take the part of the poor1  and announce
 the punishment and the new world4 8,and
 he who was clothed  with purple shall  
be made to handle dung40    ,and behold 
on that ,sabbath there was ,one who came
 expressly for them1  who talked for    
them1 who had come back from the desert 
to announce good  tidings for the poor  
and the sick4 ,no one had ever spoken of
 them as ,he  did1 no one had shown so  
much love for them4 ,like the old       
prophets1 ,he  had for them a special   
affection which offended more fortunate 
men1 but  which filled their hearts with
 comfort and hope4    ,when ,jesus had  
finished speaking they observed that the

 elders1 the  bourgeois1 the masters1   
lords1 ,pharisees1 men who knew how to  
read and  make money1 shook their heads 
forebodingly1 and got up1 making wry    
faces  and nodding among themselves1    
half contemptuous1 half scandalized2 and
  as soon as they were outside1 muttered
 a grumbling of prudent  disapprobation 
through their great black and silver    
beards4 ,but no one  laughed4    ,the   
merchants followed them1 erect1 already 
thinking of the next day2  there        
remained behind the working men1 the    
poor1 the shepherds1 the  peasants1 the 
gardeners1 the smiths1 the fishermen1   
and all the herd of  beggars1 orphans   
without inheritance1 old men without    
health1 homeless  outcasts1 friendless  
unfortunates1 penniless men1 the        
diseased1 the  maimed1 the worn-out1 the
 rejected4 ,they could not take their   
eyes from  ,jesus1 they would have liked
 ,him to go on speaking1 to reveal the  
day of  the ,new ,kingdom when they too 
would have their return for all this    

misery1 and see with their own eyes the 
day of reckoning4 ,the words of  ,jesus 
had made their bruised and weary hearts 
beat faster4 ,a gleam of  light1 a      
glimpse of the sky and of glory1 the    
hallucination of  prosperity1 of        
banquets1 of repose and abundance1      
sprang up from those  great words in the
 rich souls of the poor4 ,perhaps they  
scarcely  understood what the ,master   
meant to say1 and perhaps the ,kingdom  
glimpsed by them had some resemblance to
 a materialistic ,land of  ,cockaigne4  
,but no one loved ,him as they did4 ,no 
one will ever love ,him  like the poor  
of ,galilee1 hungering after peace and  
truth4 ,even those  who were less       
destitute1 the day-laborers1 the        
fishermen1 the working  men1 though less
 hungry for bread1 loved ,him for the   
love of those poor4    ,and when ,he    
came out from the ,synagogue all those  
stood waiting in the  street to see ,him
 again4 ,they followed ,him timidly as  
if in a dream2  when ,he entered into   

the house of a friend to eat they were  
almost  jealous and some waited outside 
the door until ,he reappeared2 then1    
grown more bold1 they accosted ,him and 
went along together beside the  shores  
of the lake4 ,others joined them on the 
way1 and now one and now  another 7they 
were braver under the open sky and      
outside the ,synagogue7  began asking   
questions4 ,and ,jesus paused and       
answered this obscure crowd  with words 
never to be forgotten4                  
,,the ,,first ,,four      ,among the    
fishermen of ,capernaum1 ,jesus found   
,his first disciples4  ,almost every day
 ,he was on the beach of the lake2      
sometimes the boats  were going out1    
sometimes they were coming in1 the sails
 swelling in the  breeze2 and from the  
barks the barefooted men climbed down1  
wading  knee-deep in water1 carrying the
 baskets filled with the wet silver of  
dead fish piled together1 good and bad1 
and with the old dripping nets4    ,they
 put out sometimes at nightfall when    

there was a moon1 and came back  early  
in the morning just after the setting of
 the moon and before  sunrise4 ,often   
,jesus was waiting for them on the      
strand and was the  first to greet them4
 ,but the fishing was not always good1  
sometimes they  came back empty-handed1 
tired and depressed4 ,jesus greeted them
 with  words which cheered them1 and the
 disappointed men1 although they had    
not slept1 listened to ,him willingly4  
,one morning two boats came back        
towards ,capernaum while ,jesus standing
 by the lake was talking to the  people 
who had gathered around ,him4 ,the      
fishermen disembarked and began  to     
arrange the nets2 then ,jesus entered   
into one of the boats and asked  them to
 put it out a little from the land so   
that ,he might not be  pressed upon by  
the crowd4 ,upright near the rudder ,he 
taught those who  had remained on the   
land1 and when ,he had left speaking ,he
 said to  ,simon1 8,launch out into the 
deep1 and let down your nets for a      

draught40    ,and ,simon1 son of ,jona1 
owner of the boat1 answered1 8,master1  
we have  toiled all the night and have  
taken nothing1 nevertheless at thy word1
 ,i  will let down the net40    ,when   
they were only a short distance from the
 bank1 ,simon and ,andrew1  his brother1
 threw out into the water a large net4  
,and when they drew it  back it was so  
full of fish that the meshes were almost
 breaking4 ,then  the two brothers      
called their partners in the other boat1
 that they  should come to help them1   
and they threw out the net again and    
drew it  up again full4 ,simon1 ,andrew 
and the others cried out 8a miracle60   
and  thanked ,jesus1 who had brought    
them this good luck4 ,simon1 impulsive  
by  nature1 threw himself at the knees  
of their guest crying1 8,depart from    
me2 for ,i am a sinful man1 ,o ,lord40  
,but ,jesus1 smiling1 said1 8,follow me1
 and ,i will make you fishers of  men40 
,when they went back to the shore they  
pulled the boat up on the land1  and    

leaving their nets1 the two brothers    
followed ,him4 ,and a few days  after   
this1 ,jesus saw the other two brothers1
 ,james and ,john1 sons of  ,zebedee1   
who were partners of ,simon and ,andrew1
 and he called them1  while they were   
mending the broken nets2 and they too   
said farewell to  their father1 who was 
in the boat with the sailors1 and       
leaving the  broken nets half-mended1   
followed ,him4 ,jesus was no longer     
alone3 four  men1 two pairs of brothers 
more deeply brothers in this common     
faith1  were ready to accompany ,him    
wherever ,he wished to go1 to break     
bread  with ,him1 to repeat ,his words1 
to obey ,him as a father1 and more than 
a  father4 ,four poor fishermen1 four   
plain men of the lake1 men who did not  
know how to read1 nor indeed how to     
speak correctly1 four humble men  whom  
no one else would have been able to     
distinguish from others1 were  called by
 ,jesus to found with ,him a kingdom    
which was to occupy all the  earth4 ,for

 ,him they left their faithful boats    
which they had put out  into the water  
so many times1 and so many times tied up
 to the wharf2  they left the old fish  
nets which had drawn from the water     
thousands of  fish2 they left their     
father1 their family1 their home4 ,they 
left all  that to follow this man who   
did not promise money or lands and spoke
  only of love1 of poverty and          
perfection4 ,thus if their spirit always
  remained too low to understand their  
master1 always a little rustic and      
common1 and if sometimes they doubted   
and were uncertain and did not          
understand ,his truths and ,his         
parables1 and at the end abandoned ,him1
  all will be pardoned to them for the  
candid1 unquestioning promptness  with  
which they followed ,him at the first   
call4    ,who among us to-day1 among all
 those now living1 would be capable of  
imitating those four poor men of        
,capernaum8 ,if a prophet should come   
and  say to the merchant1 8,leave your  

bank and your counter02 and to the      
,professor1 8,come down from your chair 
and throw away your books02 and to  the 
statesman1 8,give up your portfolios and
 your lies which are only  nets for     
catching men02 and to the working man1  
8,put away your tools for  ,i will give 
you other work02 and to the farmer1     
8,stop in the middle of  the furrow and 
leave your plow among the clods1 for ,i 
promise you a more  wonderful harvest02 
and to the factory hand1 8,stop your    
machine and come  with me1 for spirit is
 more precious than metal02 and to the  
rich1 8,give  away all your goods1 for  
you will acquire with me an inestimable 
treasure02 444 if a prophet should speak
 thus to us1 men of the present  day1   
how many would follow him with the      
simple-hearted spontaneity of  those    
fishermen of old8 ,but ,jesus made no   
sign to the merchants who  stood        
trafficking in the open places1 and in  
the shops1 nor to those who  observed   
the tiniest commands of the law and     

could recite by heart  verses from the  
,bible1 nor to the farmers rooted to    
their land and their  live-stock1 and   
certainly not to the affluent1          
surfeited1 satisfied1 who  care nothing 
about any other kingdoms because their  
kingdom has long  since been realized4  
,not by chance did ,jesus select ,his   
first companions from among  fishermen4 
,the fisherman who lives a great part of
 his days in the pure  solitude of the  
water is the man who knows how to wait4 
,he is the  patient1 unhurried man who  
lets down his nets and leaves the rest  
to  ,god4 ,the water has its caprices1  
the lake its fantasies1 no day is like  
another day2 he does not know when he   
goes away if he will come back  with his
 boat full or without a single fish to  
cook for his dinner4 ,he  commends      
himself into the hands of ,god1 who     
sends abundance and famine4  ,he        
consoles himself for bad days by        
thinking of the good days which have    
been and which will come4 ,he does not  

desire sudden riches1 and is glad  if he
 can exchange the results of his fishing
 for a little bread and  wine4 ,he is   
pure in soul and body4 ,he washes his   
hands in water and his  spirit in       
solitude4    ,of these fishermen who    
would have died in the obscurity of     
,capernaum  without any one except their
 neighbors being aware of them1 ,jesus  
made  saints whom men even to-day       
remember and invoke4 ,a great man       
creates  great men2 from a somnolent    
people he raises up prophets2 from a    
debilitated people1 warriors2 from an   
ignorant race1 teachers4 ,in any        
weather fires are lighted if there is a 
hand capable of kindling them4  ,when   
,david appears he finds at once his     
gibborim2 an ,agamemnon finds his       
heroes1 an ,arthur his knights1         
,charlemagne his paladins1 ,napoleon his
  ,marshals4 ,jesus found among the men 
of the people of ,galilee1 ,his         
apostles4    ,jesus did not seek armed  
warriors1 men who would lay their       

enemies low1  conquerors of provinces4  
,his apostles were to fight1 but the    
good fight  of perfection against       
corruption1 holiness against sin1 health
 against  sickness1 spirit against      
matter1 the happy future against the    
past1  henceforth sterile4 ,they were to
 aid ,him in bringing ,his joyous       
message  to the heavy-hearted4 ,they    
were to speak in ,his name in places    
where ,he  could not go1 and in ,his    
name to carry on ,his work after ,his   
death4                                  
,,the ,,mount      ,the ,sermon on the  
,mount is the greatest proof of the     
right of men to  exist in the infinite  
universe4 ,it is our sufficient         
justification1 the  patent of our soul's
 worthiness1 the pledge that we can lift
 ourselves  above ourselves to be more  
than men1 the promise of that supreme   
possibility1 the hope of our rising     
above the beast4    ,if an angel come   
down to us from the world above should  
ask us what our  most precious          

possession is1 the master-work of the   
,spirit at the height  of its power1 we 
would not show him the great wonderful  
oiled machines  of which we foolishly   
boast1 although they are but matter in  
the service  of material and superfluous
 needs2 but we would offer him the      
,sermon on  the ,mount1 and afterwards1 
only afterwards1 a few hundred pages    
taken  from the poets of all the        
peoples4 ,but the ,sermon would be      
always the  one refulgent diamond       
dimming with the clear splendor of its  
pure light  the colored poverty of      
emeralds and sapphires4    ,and if men  
were called before a superhuman tribunal
 and had to give an  account to the     
judges of all the inexplicable mistakes 
and of the  ancient infamies every day  
renewed1 and of the massacres which last
 for  a thousand years1 and of all the  
bloodshed between brothers1 and of all  
the tears shed by the children of men1  
and of our hardness of heart and  of our
 perfidy only equaled perhaps by our    

stupidity2 we should not  bring before  
this tribunal the reasonings of the     
philosophers1 however  learned and      
fine-spun2 not the sciences1 ephemeral  
systems of symbols  and recipes2 nor our
 laws1 short-sighted compromises between
 ferocity  and fear4 ,the only thing we 
should have to show as restitution for  
so  much evil1 as atonement for our     
stubborn tardiness in paying our debts1 
as apology for sixty centuries of       
hideous history1 as the one and  supreme
 attenuation of all those accusations1  
is the ,sermon on the  ,mount4 ,who has 
read it1 even once1 and has not felt at 
least in that  brief moment while he    
read1 a thrill of grateful tenderness1  
and an ache  in his throat1 a passion of
 love and remorse1 a confused but urgent
  longing to act--so that those words   
shall not be words alone1 nor this      
sermon mere sounds and signs1 but so    
that they shall be imminent hope1  life1
 alive in all those who live1 present   
truth for always and for  every one8 ,he

 who has read it1 if only once1 and has 
not felt all this1  he deserves our love
 beyond all other men1 because all the  
love of men  can never make up to him   
for what he has lost4    ,the ,mount on 
which ,jesus sat the day of the sermon  
was certainly not so  high as that from 
which ,satan had shown ,him the         
,kingdoms of the earth4  ,from it you   
could see only the plain1 calm under the
 loving sunset  light2 on one side the  
silver-green oval of the lake1 and on   
the other  the long crest of ,carmel    
where ,elijah overcame the scullions of 
,baal4  ,but from this humble mount     
which only the hyperbole of the         
chroniclers  called mountain1 from this 
little rocky hill scarcely rising above 
the  level earth1 ,jesus disclosed that 
,kingdom which has no confines or       
boundaries1 and wrote not on tablets of 
stone like ,jehovah1 but on             
flesh-and-blood hearts1 the song of the 
new man1 the hymn of  glorification4    
8,how beautiful upon the mountains are  

the feet of him that bringeth good      
tidings1 that publisheth peace60 ,isaiah
 was never more a prophet than at  the  
moment when these words poured from his 
soul4                                   
,,blessed ,,are ,,the ,,poor      ,jesus
 sat on a little hill in the midst of   
the first apostles surrounded  by       
hundreds of eyes that were watching ,his
 eyes2 and some one asked ,him  to whom 
would be allotted this ,kingdom of      
,heaven1 of which ,he so often  spoke4  
,jesus answered with the nine           
beatitudes4    ,the beatitudes1 so often
 spelled out even nowadays by people who
 have  lost their meaning1 are almost   
always misunderstood1 mutilated1        
deformed1 cheapened1 distorted4 ,and yet
 they epitomize the first day of        
,christ's teaching1 that glorious day6  
8,blessed are the poor in spirit3 for   
theirs is the kingdom of heaven40  ,luke
 leaves out the words 8in spirit10      
seeming to mean the 8poor0 and  nothing 
else2 and many people after him 7some   

modern and malicious7 have  understood  
him to mean the simple-minded1 the      
silly4 ,they see in the  words only a   
choice between the bankrupt and the     
imbecile4    ,when ,he spoke1 ,jesus was
 not thinking either of the first or the
 second4  ,jesus had no friendship for  
the rich and detested with all ,his soul
 the  greedy desire for riches1 the     
greatest obstacle to the true enrichment
  of the soul2 ,jesus was friendly to   
the poor and comforted them because     
they had less comfort than other people2
 ,he kept them near ,him because  of    
their greater need to be fed by loving  
words4 ,but ,he was not so  foolish as  
to think that to be poor1 materially    
poor in the worldly  sense of the word1 
is a sufficient title to enjoy the      
,kingdom1 without  any other            
qualifications4    ,jesus never gave any
 sign of admiring that intelligence     
which is solely  the intelligence of    
abstraction and the memory for phrases4 
,purely  systematic philosophers1 and   

metaphysical sophists1 gropers in       
nature1  devourers of books1 would never
 have found grace in ,his eyes4 ,but    
intelligence1 the power of understanding
 the signs of the future and the        
meaning of symbols--enlightened and     
prophetic intelligence1 the loving      
mastery of the truth--was a gift in ,his
 eyes also1 and many times ,he  grieved 
that ,his listeners and ,his disciples  
showed so little of it4 ,for  ,him      
supreme intelligence consisted in       
realizing that the intelligence  alone  
is not enough1 that all the soul must be
 changed to obtain  happiness1 since    
happiness is not an absurd dream but    
eternally possible  and within reach4   
,but he fully understood that           
intelligence ought to aid  us in this   
total transmutation4 ,he could not      
therefore call to the  fullness of the  
,kingdom of ,god the dull and the       
imbecile4 ,poor in spirit  are those who
 are fully and painfully aware of their 
own spiritual  poverty1 of the          

faultiness of their own souls1 of the   
smallness of the  good that is in us    
all1 of the moral indigence of most men4
 ,only the  poor who realize that they  
are really poor suffer from their       
poverty1  and because they suffer from  
it try to escape from it4 ,very         
different  these from men apparently    
rich1 from those blind arrogant         
self-satisfied  people who believe      
themselves fulfilled and perfected1 in  
good standing  with ,god and man1 who   
feel no eagerness to climb upward       
because they  delude themselves with    
thinking they are already on high1 who  
will never  enrich themselves because   
they do not realize their own fathomless
  poverty4    ,those therefore who      
confess themselves poor and undergo     
suffering to  acquire that veritable    
wealth named perfection1 will become    
holy as ,god  is holy1 and theirs shall 
be the ,kingdom of ,heaven2 those       
complacent  people on the other hand who
 drape themselves in self-satisfaction1 

taking no heed of the foulness          
accumulated and hidden under their      
vainglory1 will not enter into the      
,kingdom4               ,,blessed ,,are 
,,the ,,meek3 ,,for ,,they ,,shall      
,,inherit ,,the ,,earth      ,the earth 
here promised is not the literal field  
of clods1 nor  monarchies with built-up 
cities4 ,in the language of the         
,messiah1 8to  inherit the earth0 means 
to partake of the ,new ,kingdom4 ,the   
soldier who  fights for the earthly     
earth needs to be fierce2 but he who    
fights  within himself for the conquest 
of the new earth and the new heaven must
  not abandon himself to anger1 the     
counselor of evil1 nor to cruelty1 the  
negation of love4 ,the meek are those   
who endure close contact with evil  men 
and with themselves--often harder to    
bear--who do not break out into  brutish
 rage when things go badly1 but conquer 
their inner enemies with  that quiet    
perseverance which more than sudden     
sterile furies shows the  force of the  

soul4 ,they are like water which is not 
hard to the touch1  which seems to give 
way before other substances1 but slowly 
rises1  silently attacks1 and calmly    
consumes1 with the patience of the      
years1  the hardest granites4           
,,blessed ,,are ,,they ,,that ,,mourn   
,blessed are they that mourn1 for they  
shall be comforted4 ,the afflicted1  the
 weeping1 those who feel disgust for    
themselves and pity for the  world1 who 
do not live in the supine stupidity of  
everyday life1 who  mourn over their own
 unhappiness and that of their brothers1
 who grieve  over failures1 over the    
blindness which delays the victory of   
light--because light for men cannot come
 from the sky if their own eyes  do not 
reflect it--who grieve over the         
remoteness of that righteousness        
dreamed-of again and again1 promised a  
thousand times1 and yet always  further 
away through our fault and every one's  
fault2 those who mourn  over an offense 
received instead of increasing the wrong

 by revenge1 and  who weep over the     
wrong they have done and over the good  
they might have  done and did not2 those
 who care little about the loss of a    
visible  treasure but strain after the  
invisible treasure2 those who mourn1    
hasten with their tears the day of      
grace1 and it is right that they  shall 
some day be comforted4      ,,blessed   
,,are ,,they ,,that ,,hunger ,,and      
,,thirst ,,after ,,justice3 ,,for ,,they
 ,,shall ,,be                           
,,filled      ,the justice which ,jesus 
means is not the justice of men1        
obedience to  human law1 conformity to  
codes1 respect for usage and for the    
established transactions of men4 ,in the
 language of the psalmists1 the         
prophets1 the saints1 the just man is he
 who lives according to the will  of    
,god1 because ,god is the supreme type  
of all perfection4 ,not according  to   
the law written by the ,scribes set down
 in the ,bible1 diluted by  ,talmudic   
casuistries1 obscured by the subtleties 

of the ,pharisees2 but  according to the
 one simple ,law which ,jesus reduces to
 one commandment1  8,love all men near  
and far1 your fellow countrymen and     
foreigners1  strangers and enemies40    
,those who hunger and thirst after this 
justice  shall be filled in the ,kingdom
 of ,heaven4 ,even if they do not       
succeed in  being perfect in all things1
 much will be pardoned for their        
endurance  of the long vigil4           
,,blessed ,,are ,,the ,,merciful3 ,,for 
,,they ,,shall ,,obtain ,,mercy      ,he
 who loves shall be loved1 he who gives 
help shall find help4 ,the law  of      
retaliation is nullified for evil but   
remains valid for good4 ,we  constantly 
commit sins against the spirit and those
 sins will be  forgiven us only as we   
forgive those committed against us4     
,christ is in  all men and what we do to
 others will be done to us4 8,inasmuch  
as ye  have done it unto one of the     
least of these my brethren1 ye have done
 it  unto me40 ,if we have pity on      

others we may have pity for ourselves2  
,god  can pardon the evil which we do to
 ourselves only if we pardon the evil   
which others do to us4                  
,,blessed ,,are ,,the ,,pure ,,in       
,,heart3 ,,for ,,they ,,shall ,,see     
,,god      ,the ,pure of ,heart are     
those who have no other wish than for   
perfection1  no other joy than victory  
over the evil which hunts us down on    
every  side4 ,he who has his heart      
crammed with furious desires1 with      
earthly  ambitions1 with carnal pride   
and with all the lusts which convulse   
this  ant-heap of the earth1 can never  
see ,god face to face1 will never know  
the sweetness of ,his magnificent       
felicity4       ,,blessed ,,are ,,the   
,,peacemakers3 ,,for ,,they ,,shall ,,be
 ,,called ,,the ,,sons ,,of ,,god       
,these peacemakers are not the meek of  
the second beatitude4 ,the meek  refrain
 from answering evil with evil2 the     
peacemakers do more1 they  return good  
for evil1 they bring peace where wars   

are flaring up4 ,when  ,jesus said ,he  
had come to bring war and not peace1 ,he
 meant war to evil1  to ,satan1 to the  
world1 to evil which is wrong1 to ,satan
 who is ,death1  to the world which is  
an eternal battle4 ,he means1 in short1 
war against  war4 ,the peacemakers are  
those who wage war upon war1 those who  
placate1  those who bring about concord4
 ,the origin of every war is self-love1 
love which becomes love of riches1 pride
 of possession1 envy of those  more     
wealthy1 hatred for rivals2 and the new 
law comes to teach hatred  for oneself1 
contempt for measurable goods1 love for 
all creatures1 even  for those who hate 
us4 ,the peacemakers who teach and      
practice this love  cut at the root of  
all war4 ,when every man loves his      
brothers more than  himself there will  
be no more wars1 neither great nor      
small1 neither  civil nor imperial1     
neither of words nor of blows1 between  
man and man1  between class and class1  
between people and people4 ,the         

peacemakers will  have conquered the    
earth and they will be called the true  
sons of ,god1  and they will enter among
 the first into ,his ,kingdom4          
,,blessed ,,are ,,they ,,who ,,have     
,,been ,,persecuted ,,for ,,justice'    
,,sake3 ,,for ,,theirs                  
,,is ,,the ,,kingdom ,,of ,,heaven      
,i send you out to found this ,kingdom1 
the ,kingdom of ,heaven1 of that  higher
 justice which is love1 of that fatherly
 goodness whose name is  ,god2 ,i send  
you out therefore to fight against those
 who uphold  injustice1 the servants of 
materialism1 the proselytes of the      
,adversary4  ,they will defend          
themselves when attacked1 and to defend 
themselves they  will attack you4 ,you  
will be tortured in body1 crucified in  
soul1  deprived of liberty and perhaps  
of life2 but if you accept this         
suffering cheerfully to carry to others 
that justice which makes you  suffer1   
this persecution will be for you an     
incontestable title to enter  into the  

,kingdom which you have founded as far  
as was in your power4      ,,blessed    
,,are ,,ye ,,when ,,men ,,shall         
,,reproach ,,you ,,and ,,persecute ,,you
 ,,and ,,say ,,all  ,,manner ,,of ,,evil
 ,,against ,,you ,,falsely ,,for ,,my   
,,sake4 ,,rejoice ,,and ,,be ,,exceeding
    ,,glad3 ,,for ,,great ,,is ,,your   
,,reward ,,in ,,heaven3 ,,for ,,so      
,,persecuted ,,they ,,the               
,,prophets ,,which ,,were ,,before ,,you
      ,persecution is a material attack 
through physical1 legal and political   
means4 ,the persecutors can take away   
your bread1 and the clear light of  the 
sun1 and divine liberty2 they may break 
your bones1 but you must  endure more   
than mere persecution4 ,you must expect 
insult and calumny4  ,they will condemn 
you because you wish to change bestial  
men into  saints4 ,wallowing in the     
foulness of their bestiality1 they      
detest the  idea of leaving their filth4
 ,but they will not be satisfied to     
strike  only at your body1 they will    

strike also at your soul4 ,they will    
accuse  you of all crimes1 they will    
stone you with slander and contumely4   
,hogs  will say that you are filthy1    
asses will swear that you are ignorant1 
ravens will accuse you of eating        
carrion1 rams will drive you away as    
ill-smelling1 the dissolute will cry out
 upon the scandal of your  corruptness  
and thieves will denounce you for theft4
 ,but you must always  rejoice because  
the insult of evil men is the           
consecration of your own  goodness1 and 
the mud thrown at you by the impure is  
the pledge of your  purity4 ,this is1 as
 ,st4 ,francis says1 8the perfect joy40 
,beyond all the  graces which ,christ   
gives to ,his friends is the grace of   
conquering  oneself and willingly       
enduring injury1 opprobrium1 pains1     
discomforts4  ,all the other gifts of   
,god are not ours to glory in1 because  
they come  not from us1 but from ,god2  
but in tribulation and in affliction we 
can  glory because that is ours4 ,all   

the prophets who have ever spoken upon  
the earth were insulted by men1 and men 
will insult those who are to  come4 ,we 
can recognize prophets by this1 that    
smeared with mud and  covered with      
shame1 they pass among men1             
bright-faced1 speaking out what  is in  
their hearts4 ,no mud can close the lips
 of those who must speak4  ,even if the 
obstinate prophet is killed1 they cannot
 silence him4 ,his  voice multiplied by 
the echoes of his death will be heard in
 all  languages and through all the     
centuries4    ,this promise brings the  
beatitudes to their end4    ,by means of
 the beatitudes1 ,christ fully explains 
who are fit to be the  citizens of ,his 
new ,kingdom4 ,those citizens are       
henceforth found and  sealed2 every one 
can recognize them4 ,the unwilling are  
warned1 the  uncertain are reassured4   
,the rich1 the proud1 the satisfied1 the
  violent1 the unjust1 the warlike1     
those who mock1 those who do not  hunger
 after perfection1 those who persecute  

and outrage1 can never  enter into the  
,kingdom of ,heaven4 ,they cannot enter 
there until they are  altogether        
conquered and changed1 and have become  
the opposite of what  they are now4     
,those who live happily according to the
 world1 those whom  the world envies1   
imitates and admires1 are infinitely    
further from true  happiness than those 
others whom the world scorns and hates4 
,in this  exulting beginning ,jesus has 
turned upside down the human hierarchy2 
now  as ,he goes on ,he will turn upside
 down the values of life1 and no other  
revaluation will ever be so divinely    
paradoxical as ,his4                    
,,the ,,divine ,,paradox                
,emasculated ,gymnosophists and the     
cowardly sect of the ,saturnists1--these
  are serious-minded men who can        
understand plain facts but cannot       
interpret those facts but merely repeat 
and spoil them--have always  looked with
 unfriendly eyes on what is called the  
paradoxical4 ,to save  themselves the   

trouble of distinguishing between sacred
 paradoxes and  those which are only a  
fatuous amusement1 they make haste to   
pass  judgment on all paradox as nothing
 else than the overturning of           
recognized old truths2 hence1 false     
and--they add1 to clip the wings of     
vanity--as easy as possible to invent4  
,one would suppose it seems to them     
more difficult to walk along the road   
already laid out1 and to spell  over    
line by line what was written before    
they were born by men who  certainly had
 not their cowardly temperament4    ,but
 if these priests of the already-said   
would consider the few master  ideas on 
which modern thought is living1 or      
rather on which it is dying1  they would
 discover that they are almost all      
overturnings1 that is to  say1          
paradoxes4 ,when ,rousseau says that men
 are born good but that  society makes  
them bad1 he turns inside out the       
accepted doctrine of  original sin2 when
 the disciples of progress affirm that  

from the worse  comes the better2 when  
the evolutionist affirms that the       
complex springs  out of the simple2 and 
the monist that all diversities are but 
manifestations of the ,one2 and the     
,marxist that economic history is the   
basis of spiritual development2 when the
 modern mathematical  philosophers      
affirm that man is not as he has always 
been believed1 the  center of the       
universe1 but a minute animal species on
 one of an  infinite number of spheres  
scattered in the infinite2 when the     
,protestants cry1 8,the ,pope is of no  
account but only the ,scriptures02  when
 the ,french ,revolutionists say1 8,the 
,third ,estate is nothing and  should be
 everything0--what are all these people 
doing except overturning  old and       
commonly held opinions8    ,but ,jesus  
is the greatest overturner1 the supreme 
maker of paradoxes1  radical and without
 fear4 ,this is ,his greatness1 ,his    
eternal freshness  and youth1 the secret
 of the turning sooner or later of every

 great  heart toward ,his ,gospel4      
,he became incarnate to recreate men    
sunk in error and evil2 ,he found  error
 and evil in the world2 how could ,he   
fail to overturn the maxims of  the     
world8 ,read over again the words of the
 ,sermon on the ,mount4 ,at  every step 
it proclaims the desire of ,jesus that  
what is low shall be  recognized as     
lofty2 that the last shall be first2    
that the overlooked  shall be the       
preferred2 that the scorned shall be    
reverenced1 and  finally1 that the old  
truth shall be considered as error1 and 
ordinary  life as death and corruption4 
,he has said to the past1 benumbed in   
its  death agony1 to ,nature1 too easily
 followed1 to universal and common      
opinion of mankind1 the most decisive   
8,,no0 in the history of the world4     
,in this ,he is faithful to the spirit  
of ,his race which in its very  downfall
 always found reasons for greater hope4 
,the most enslaved people  dreamed of   
dominating other peoples with the help  

of the ,son of ,david4  ,the most       
despised race felt that glory was       
promised them1 the people  most punished
 by ,god believed itself the most loved2
 the most sinful was  certain that it   
alone was to be saved4 ,this absurd     
reaction of the  ,hebrew conscience     
became in ,christ a revision of values1 
became1 because  of ,his superhuman     
origin1 a divine renovation of all the  
principles  followed and respected by   
humanity4    ,christ's first discovery  
is like that of ,buddha1 8,men are      
unhappy1 all  men--even those who seem  
happy40 ,siddharta to put an end to pain
  counseled the suppression of life     
itself4 ,jesus had another hope1 more   
sublime in that it appears absurd4 ,he  
taught that men are unhappy  because    
they have not found true life4 ,let them
 become the opposite of  what they are1 
let them do the contrary of what they   
do1 and the  festival of happiness on   
earth will begin4    ,until now they    
have followed ,nature1 they have let    

themselves be guided  by their          
instincts1 they have accepted and that  
only superficially a  provisional and   
insufficient law1 they have worshiped   
lying gods1 they  have thought they     
could find happiness in wine1 in flesh1 
in gold1 in  authority1 in cruelty1 in  
art1 in learning2 and the only result   
has been  that their suffering has      
become more intense4 ,the explanation is
 that  they have lost the path1 that    
they must turn straight around1 renounce
  what seemed good1 pick up what was    
thrown away1 worship what was burned1   
and burn what was worshiped1 conquer the
 animal instincts instead of  satisfying
 them1 struggle with their nature       
instead of justifying it1  make a new   
law and live by it1 faithfully1 in the  
spirit4 ,if until now  they have not    
obtained what they looked for1 the only 
possible cure is  to turn their present 
life upside down1 that is1 to transform 
their  souls4    ,our permanent         
unhappiness is a proof that the         

experiment of the old  world has failed1
 that ,nature is hostile1 that the past 
is wrong1 that  to live like animals    
according to the elementary instinct of 
animals1  only slightly furbished up and
 varnished with humanity1 results in    
wretchedness and despair4    ,those who 
have laughed at or wept over the        
infinite wretchedness of man  have seen 
clearly4 ,the pessimists are right4     
,those who denounce our  boasting1 those
 who scorn our strengthlessness1 those  
who despise our  ignominy1 how can they 
be refuted8    ,whoever is not born to  
wriggle contentedly in the worm heap1   
eating his  particle of earth1 he who   
has not only a stomach and two hands1   
but a  soul and a heart2 he whose soul  
is of finer temper because it has been  
so beaten upon1 is bound to feel a      
horror of mankind4 ,for hard1 arid      
natures this horror changes into        
repugnance and hate2 for others richer  
and more generous it turns to pity and  
love4    ,when we read ,leopardi and    

consider how he lost 7perhaps because of
 the  imperfect ,christians surrounding 
him7 his youthful love of ,christ and1  
eating his heart out in reasoning       
despair1 ended with the despairing      
lines1 8,tiresome and bitter is life1   
never aught but that02 who of us  will  
have the insight to reply1 8,be quiet1  
unfortunate man6 ,if you taste  nothing 
but bitterness1 it comes from the       
wormwood you are eating2 if  you find   
life tiresome the fault is yours2 you   
yourself have used the  infernal stone  
of barren reasoning to cauterize those  
feelings which  would have made your    
life cheerful or at least endurable08   
,no1 ,leopardi was not mistaken1 for    
when you see men as they are and have   
no hope of saving them1 or changing     
them1 and you cannot live like them     
because you are too different from them1
 and cannot succeed in loving  them     
because you believe them condemned to   
eternal unhappiness and  wickedness1    
when you feel that the brutes will      

always be brutes and the  cowards always
 cowards and the foul always more sunk  
in their foulness1  what else can you do
 but counsel your heart to silence1 and 
hope for  death8 ,there is but one      
question3 are men unchangeable1 not to  
be  transformed1 not capable of becoming
 better8 ,or1 on the other hand1 can    
man rise above himself and make himself 
holy8 ,the answer is of terrible        
importance4 ,all our destiny is in that 
question4 ,among superior men many  have
 not been fully conscious of this       
dilemma4 ,many have believed and  still 
believe that the form of life can be    
changed1 but not the essence2  and that 
to man everything will be given except  
to change the nature of  his spirit2    
that man can become yet more master of  
the world1 richer and  more learned1 but
 he cannot change his moral structure4  
,his feelings1  his primary instincts   
will always remain as they were in the  
wild  occupants of the caves1 in the    
constructors of the lake cities1 in the 

first barbarians and in the peoples of  
the most ancient kingdoms4    ,others   
feel an equal horror of man as he has   
been and as he is1 but  before they sink
 into the despair of moral nihilism they
 look at man as  he could be4 ,they have
 a firm faith in his perfectibility of  
soul and  find happiness in the divine  
but terrible task of preparing the      
happiness of their brothers4    ,for men
 who are truly men there is no other    
choice3 either the blackest  anguish or 
the boldest faith2 either death or      
salvation4 ,the past is  horrible1 the  
present is repellent2 let us give all   
our life1 let us  offer all our power of
 loving and understanding in order that 
to-morrow  may be better1 that the      
future may be happy4 ,if up to now we   
have erred1  and the irrefutable proof  
is the black past from which we have    
come1 let  us work for the birth of a   
new man and a new life4 ,there are but  
two  possibilities3 either happiness    
will never be given to men or1 and this 

,jesus believed firmly1 if happiness    
could be our ordinary and eternal       
possession there is no other price for  
attaining it but to change our  course1 
transform our souls1 create new values1 
deny the old1 answer the  8,no0 of      
holiness to the false 8,yes0 of the     
world4 ,if ,christ was  mistaken1       
nothing remains but absolute and        
universal negation1 resolute  faith in  
nothing4 ,either complete and rigorous  
atheism1 not the maimed  hypocritical   
atheism of the cowardly sects of to-day2
 or active faith in  ,christ who saves  
and resurrects us by ,his love4         
,,ye ,,have ,,heard      ,the first     
prophets1 the earliest legislators1 the 
leaders of young  nations1 the ,kings1  
founders of cities and institutors of   
justice1 the  wise masters1 the saints1 
began the domination of the beast4 ,with
 spoken  and sculptured word they tamed 
wolfish men1 domesticated the men of the
  woods1 held barbarians in restraint1  
taught those bearded children1  softened

 the violent1 the vengeful1 the inhuman4
 ,with the gentleness of  the word or   
the terror of punishment 7,orpheus or   
,draco71 by promises or  by threats1 in 
the name of the gods of high heavens or 
the gods under  the earth1 they trimmed 
the nails1 which immediately grew long  
again2  put muzzles over the            
sharp-fanged mouths2 protected the      
defenseless1 the  victims1 pilgrims1    
women4 ,the old law that is found with  
only a few  variations in the ,manava   
,dharmasastra1 in the ,pentateuch1 in   
the ,ta-,hio1  in the ,avesta1 in the   
traditions of ,solon and of ,numa1 in   
the  sententious maxims of ,hesiod and  
the ,seven ,wise ,men1 is the first     
attempt1 rough1 imperfect and           
inadequate1 to mold animality into a    
sketch1 a beginning1 a simulacrum of    
humanity4    ,this law reduced itself to
 a few elementary rules2 not to steal1  
not to  kill1 not to perjure1 not to    
fornicate1 not to tyrannize over the    
weak1  not to mistreat strangers and    

slaves any more than was necessary4     
,these  are the social virtues1 strictly
 necessary for a common life1 useful to 
all4 ,the legislator contented himself  
with naming the most ordinary  sins1    
asked for a minimum of inhibition4 ,his 
ideal rarely surpassed a  sort of       
approximate justice4 ,but the law took  
for granted the  predominance of evil1  
the sovereignty of instinct1 earlier    
than the law  and still existing4 ,every
 precept implies its infraction1 every  
rule the  practice of the opposite4 ,for
 this reason the old law1 the law of the
  first peoples1 is only an insufficient
 channeling of the brute force  eternal 
and triumphant4 ,it is a collection of  
compromises and  half-measures between  
custom and justice1 between nature and  
reason1  between the rebellious beast   
and the divine model4    ,men of ancient
 time1 carnal1 physical1 hearty1 lusty1 
muscular1  sanguine1 sturdy1 solid1     
hairy men with ruddy faces1 eaters of   
raw meat1  ravishers1 cattle-stealers1  

mutilators of their enemies1 fit to be  
called1 like ,hector the ,trojan1       
8killers of men10 strong1 zestful       
warriors who1 having dragged by the feet
 their slaughtered antagonists1         
refreshed themselves with fat haunches  
of oxen and of mutton1 emptying         
enormous cups of wine2 these men        
ill-tamed1 ill-subdued to the law such  
as we see them in the ,mahabharata1 and 
in the ,iliad1 in the poem of  ,izdubar1
 and in the book of the wars of         
,jehovah1 such men without the  fear of 
punishment and of ,god would have been  
still more unrestrained  and ferocious4 
,in times when a head was asked for an  
eye1 an arm for a  finger1 and a hundred
 lives for a life1 a law of retaliation 
which asked  only an eye for an eye and 
a life for a life was a notable victory 
of  generosity1 appalling though it     
seems after the teaching of ,jesus4     
,but the law was more often disobeyed   
than observed2 the strong endured  it   
against their will1 the powerful who    

ought to have protected it1  evaded it2 
the bad violated it openly2 the weak    
cheated it4 ,and even if  it had been   
entirely obeyed by every man every day  
it would not have  been enough to       
conquer the evil perpetually boiling up1
 held down only  for a moment1 rendered 
harder to enact but not impossible1     
condemned but  not abolished4 ,it was a 
reduction of innate fierceness1 not its 
total  extirpation4 ,men1 shackled but  
reluctant1 had learned to pretend       
obedience1 did a little good where every
 one could see them in order to  be more
 free to do wrong secretly1 exaggerated 
the observance of  external precepts    
that they might the better betray the   
foundation and  spirit of the law4      
,they had come to this point when ,jesus
 spoke on the ,mount4 ,he understood    
that the old law was doomed1 drowned in 
the stagnant swamps of  formalism2 the  
endless work of the education of the    
human race was to  begin over again1 the
 ashes must be brushed away1 the flame  

of original  enthusiasm must be blown   
into it1 it must be carried through to  
its  original destination which is      
always metanoia1 the changing of the    
soul4  ,and for this it was necessary to
 terminate the old law1 the dried and   
burnt-out old law4    ,with ,jesus      
therefore begins the new law3 the old is
 abrogated and  declared insufficient4  
,he begins at every example with the    
words--8,ye have heard it said0 444  and
 at once ,he substitutes for the old    
command1 which ,he purifies by  paradox 
or actually overthrows1 the new command1
 8,but ,i say unto  you44440    ,with   
these 8buts0 a new phase of the human   
education begins4 ,it is not  the fault 
of ,jesus if we are still groping along 
in the twilight of very  early dawn4    
,,but ,i ,,say ,,unto ,,you      8,ye   
have heard that it was said by them of  
old time1 ,thou shalt not kill  444 but 
,i say unto you1 ,that whosoever is     
angry with his brother 444  shall be in 
danger of the judgment3 and whosoever   

shall say to his  brother1 ,raca1 shall 
be in danger of the council3 but        
whosoever shall  say1 ,thou fool1 shall 
be in danger of hell fire40 ,jesus goes 
straight to  the extreme4 ,he does not  
even consider the possibility of        
striking a  brother1 much less of       
killing him4 ,he does not conceive even 
the  intention1 the wish to kill4 ,a    
single moment of anger1 a single abusive
  word1 a single offensive phrase1 are  
for him the equivalent of               
assassination4 ,unimaginative1 mediocre 
people cry out1 8,exaggeration40  ,there
 can be no grandeur where there is no   
passion and passion is  exaggeration4   
,jesus has ,his own logic and makes no  
mistake4 ,murder is  only the final     
carrying out of a feeling4 ,from anger  
follow evil words1  from evil words1    
evil deeds2 from blows1 murder4 ,it is  
not enough  therefore to forbid the     
final act1 the material and external    
act4 ,that  is only the result of an    
interior process which has made it      

inevitable4  ,the right thing to do is  
to cut at the root of the evil to       
destroy the  evil plant of hate which   
bears the poisonous fruit4    ,achilles1
 son of ,peleus1 that same ,achilles who
 was wrathful because  they took away   
his concubine1 and who begged the ,gods 
to let him become  a cannibal so that he
 could set his teeth in his dead        
enemies' flesh1  ,achilles of the       
silver-footed mother said3 8,whether    
they come from ,gods  or from men1      
ill-omened are quarrels and the anger   
which drives even a  wise man to wrath1 
wrath which sweeter than honey in the   
mouth grows  greater in men's hearts40  
,achilles1 after the massacre of his    
companions1 after the death of his      
dearest friend1 discovers finally  what 
a thing is wrath1 which kindles and     
burns and not even a river of  blood can
 quench it4 ,the wrathful hero knows    
what an evil thing is  wrath1 but he is 
not converted4 ,and he foregoes his     
wrath against the  king of men only to  

vent the fury of his vengeance upon the 
murdered  body of ,hector4    ,anger is 
like fire3 it can be smothered only at  
the first spark2  afterwards it is too  
late4 ,jesus uttered the profoundest    
truth when ,he  decreed the same penalty
 for the first hot words as for murder4 
,when all  men learn to conquer at the  
very start their outbreaks of resentment
 and  to curb their imprecations1       
quarrels of words or of deeds will flame
 up  no longer between man and his      
brother man1 and homicide will become   
only  a black memory of our wild-beast  
past4    8,ye have heard that it was    
said of them of old time1 thou shalt not
  commit adultery1 but ,i say unto you  
that whoever looketh upon a woman to    
lust after her hath committed adultery  
already in his heart40 ,even here       
,jesus does not stop with the material  
fact which seems of importance to  gross
 men4 ,he always soars from the body to 
the soul1 from flesh to  will1 from the 
visible to the invisible4 ,the tree is  

judged by its  fruit1 but the seed is   
judged by the tree4 ,evil visible to all
 is seen  too late4 ,in its maturity it 
can no longer be prevented4 ,sin is the 
pustule which suddenly appears1 but     
which would not have appeared if the    
blood had been purged from its malignant
 humors in time4 ,when a man and        
another man's wife desire each other1   
the betrayal is complete1 they  have    
committed adultery whether or not they  
are guilty in deed4 ,a man  marries not 
only the body of his wife1 but her soul4
 ,if her soul is lost  to him he has    
lost the greater part4 ,to lose also the
 lesser part may be  unendurably        
painful1 but it is not vital4 ,a woman  
overcome and forced  without her consent
 by a stranger not loved by her1 does   
not commit  adultery4 ,what counts is   
the intention1 the feeling4 ,he who     
wishes to  maintain himself pure must   
abstain also from the mere silent       
passing  look of desire1 because the    
look of desire if not repressed is      

repeated  and a look passes into a word1
 into a kiss1 and into love which spares
  no lover4 ,to think of1 to imagine1 to
 desire a betrayal is already a         
betrayal4 ,he alone who cuts the first  
thread can save himself from the  great 
net of perversity which1 starting from a
 glance1 grows until not  even death can
 break it4 ,and ,jesus advises expressly
 to pluck out the  eye and cast it away 
if evil comes from the eye1 and to cut  
off the hand  and throw it away if evil 
comes from the hand1--advice which      
dismays the  cowardly and even the      
strong4 ,yet even the most cowardly1    
when  threatened by cancer1 have their  
arms or legs cut off1 and if a tumor    
grows in the bowels1 are ready to have  
their bodies cut open to save  their    
lives4 ,men are concerned to save the   
body1 but grudge any  sacrifice         
necessary to keep in health the soul1   
without which the body  is only an      
insensate machine of flesh and blood4   
8,again1 ye have heard that it hath been

 said by them of old time1 ,thou  shalt 
not forswear thyself1 but shalt perform 
unto the ,lord thine oaths3    8,but ,i 
say unto you1 ,swear not at all1 neither
 by heaven2 for it is  ,god's throne3   
8,nor by the earth2 for it is his       
footstool3 neither by ,jerusalem2 for it
  is the city of the great ,king4       
8,neither shalt thou swear by thy head1 
because thou canst not make one  hair   
white or black4    8,but let your       
communication be1 ,yea1 yea2 ,nay1 nay3 
for whatsoever is  more than these      
cometh of evil40    ,he who swears to   
the truth is afraid1 he who swears to   
the false is a  traitor4 ,the first     
believes that the power invoked could   
punish him1 the  other is an impostor   
who profits by the faith of others the  
more readily  to deceive them4 ,in both 
cases swearing is wrong4 ,for us        
impotent men to  call on a superior     
power to bear witness or to be a judge  
in our  miserable quarrels of opposed   
interest1 to swear by our heads or by   

our  sons' heads when we cannot change  
the appearance of the smallest part of  
our body1 is an absurd challenge1 a     
blasphemy4 ,he who always speaks the    
truth not through dread of penalties1   
but through natural desire of his  soul1
 needs no oaths4 ,oaths can almost      
always be called in question1 and  never
 serve to give perfect security even to 
those who seem to be  satisfied with    
them4 ,in the history of the world there
 are more stories  of broken oaths than 
of oaths kept1 and he who uses most     
words to swear  is precisely the man who
 is already thinking of breaking his    
oath4    8,ye have heard it said1 ,honor
 thy father and thy mother1 but ,i say  
unto  you1 he that loveth his father and
 mother more than me is not worthy of   
me40 ,and also1 8,if any man come to me1
 and hate not his father1 and  mother1  
and wife1 and children1 and brethren1   
and sisters1 yea1 and his  own life     
also1 he cannot be my disciple40 ,here  
also the old precept  which ties the new

 order to the old order with the tether 
of reverence  is brusquely reversed4    
,jesus does not condemn filial love1 but
 ,he puts it in its right place1  which 
is not first of all1 as the people of   
antiquity thought4 ,for ,him  the       
greatest love1 the purest is paternal   
love4 ,the father loves in the  son the 
future1 what is new2 the son loves in   
the father1 the past1 the  old4 ,but    
,jesus comes to change the past1 to     
destroy the old4 ,homage paid  to       
parents1 shutting oneself up in         
tradition and in the family1 is a       
barrier to the renovation of the world4 
,love of all men is a greater  thing    
than love for those who gave us life4   
,salvation for all men is  infinitely   
preferable to the service of the few who
 make up a family4 ,to  have the        
greater1 one must needs abandon the     
less4 ,it would be more  convenient to  
love only those of our family and to    
make this love 7often  forced and       
simulated7 an excuse for not being      

friendly to any one else4  ,but he who  
is devoting his life to something which 
transcends him has a  great undertaking 
which takes all his strength and every  
moment of his  every hour until the     
last4 ,he who wishes to serve the       
universe with a  broad spirit must give 
up1 and if that is not enough1 deny the 
common  affections4 ,he who wishes to be
 ,father in the divine sense of the     
word1  even without physical paternity1 
cannot be merely a son4 8,let the dead  
bury their dead40 ,in the old law1 and  
more than ever in the learned           
traditions1 there were hundreds of      
precepts for the purification of the    
body1 minute1 tiresome1 complicated     
precepts without any true earthly or    
heavenly foundation4 ,the ,pharisees    
made the best part of religion  consist 
in the observance of these traditions   
because it is much less  trouble to wash
 a cup than your own soul4 ,for a dead  
thing like a cup a  little water and a  
towel are enough2 for the soul there    

must be tears of  love and the fire of  
desire4 8,not that which goeth into the 
mouth  defileth a man2 but that which   
cometh out of the mouth1 this defileth a
  man4 ,do ye not understand that       
whatsoever entereth in at the mouth     
goeth  into the belly and is cast out   
into the draught8 ,but those things     
which  proceed out of the mouth come    
forth from the heart2 and they defile   
the  man4 ,for out of the heart proceed 
evil thoughts1 murders1 adulteries1     
fornications1 thefts1 false witness1    
blasphemies4 ,these are the things      
which defile a man2 but to eat with     
unwashen hands defileth not a man40     
,the bath with water from the well or   
from the fountain1 the bodily and       
ritual bath1 does not take the place of 
the essential inner  purification1 and  
it is better to eat with hands soiled   
with sweat than  to repel a hungry      
brother with hands washed in three      
waters4 ,filth  issues from the body1   
disappears into the vaults and enriches 

orchards  and fields4 ,but there are    
many finely dressed gentlemen so full to
 the  throat with another sort of filth 
that the stench of it comes out with    
the words from their mouths1 vainly     
washed and rinsed4 ,and this filth  does
 not disappear into underground vaults1 
but soils every one's life1  poisons the
 air1 befouls even the innocent4 ,from  
these excremental men  we should stand  
far away1 even if they are washed twelve
 times a day2  the soaping of the skin  
is not enough if the heart sends up     
noisome  thoughts4 ,the sewer-cleaner1  
if he thinks no evil1 is certainly      
cleaner  than the rich man who1 while   
splashing in the perfumed water of his  
marble bath tub1 is meditating some new 
fornication or fraud4                   
,,nonresistance      ,but ,jesus had not
 yet arrived at the most stupefying of  
,his  revolutionary teachings4 8,ye have
 heard that it hath been said1 ,an eye  
for an eye1 and a tooth for a tooth3    
,but ,i say unto you1 ,that ye resist   

not evil3 ,but whosoever shall smite    
thee on thy right cheek1 turn to him    
the other also4 ,and if any man will sue
 thee at the law1 and take away  thy    
coat1 let him have thy cloke also4 ,and 
whosoever shall compel thee  to go a    
mile1 go with him twain40    ,there     
could be no more definite repudiation of
 the old law of  retaliation4 ,the      
greater part of those who call          
themselves ,christians  not only have   
never observed this new ,commandment1   
but have never been  willing to pretend 
to approve of it4 ,for an infinite      
number of believers  this principle of  
not resisting evil has been the         
unendurable and  inacceptable scandal of
 ,christianity4    ,there are three     
answers which men can make to violence3 
revenge1 flight1  turning the other     
cheek4 ,the first is the barbarous      
principle of  retaliation1 now smoothed 
over and emasculated in the legal codes1
 but  nevertheless prevailing in usage3 
evil is returned for evil1 either in    

one's own person or by the means of     
intermediaries1 representatives of  our 
tribal lack of civilization1 called     
judges or executioners4 ,to the  evil   
committed by the first offender are     
added the evils committed by  the       
officers of justice4 ,often the         
punishment turns on the punisher and    
the terrible chain of violence from one 
revenge to another stretches out        
interminably4 ,wrong is two-edged2 it   
fails even if inflicted with the  desire
 of doing good1 in nations1 or families 
or individuals4 ,a first  crime brings  
after it a train of expiations and      
punishments which are  distributed with 
sinister impartiality between offenders 
and offended4  ,the law of retaliation  
can give a bestial relief to him who is 
first  struck1 but instead of lessening 
evil it multiplies it4    ,flight is no 
better than retaliation4 ,he who hides  
himself redoubles his  enemies' courage4
 ,fear of retaliation can on rare       
occasions hold back  the violent hand1  

but the man who takes flight invites    
pursuit4 ,he who  hides invites his     
adversary to make an end of him4 ,his   
weakness becomes  the accomplice of the 
ferocity of others4 ,here also evil     
begets evil4    ,in spite of its        
apparent absurdity the only way is that 
commanded by  ,jesus4 ,if a man gives   
you a blow and you return another blow1 
he will  answer with his fists1 you in  
turn with kicks1 weapons will be drawn  
and  one of you may lose your life1     
often for a trivial reason4 ,if you fly1
  your adversary will follow you and    
emboldened by his first experience  will
 knock you down4 ,turning the other     
cheek means not receiving the  second   
blow4 ,it means cutting the chain of the
 inevitable wrongs at the  first link4  
,your adversary who expected resistance 
or flight is  humiliated before you and 
before himself4 ,he was ready for       
anything but  this4 ,he is thrown into  
confusion1 a confusion which is almost  
shame4 ,he  has the time to come to     

himself2 your immobility cools his      
anger1 gives  him time to reflect4 ,he  
cannot accuse you of fear because you   
are ready  to receive the second blow1  
and you yourself show him the place to  
strike4 ,every man has an obscure       
respect for courage in others1          
especially if it is moral courage1 the  
rarest and most difficult sort of       
bravery4 ,an injured man who feels no   
resentment and who does not run  away   
shows more strength of soul1 more       
mastery of himself1 more true  heroism  
than he who in the blindness of rage    
rushes upon the offender to  render back
 to him twice the evil received4        
,quietness1 when it is not  stupidity1  
gentleness1 when it is not cowardice1   
astound common souls as  do all         
marvelous things4 ,they make the very   
brute understand that this  man is more 
than a man4 ,the brute himself when not 
incited to follow by  a hot answer or by
 cowardly flight1 remains paralyzed1    
feels almost  afraid of this new1       

unknown puzzling force1 the more so     
because among  the greatest exciting    
factors for the man who strikes1 is his 
anticipated pleasure in the angry blow1 
in the resistance1 in the  ensuing      
struggle4 ,man is a fighting animal2 but
 with no resistance  offered1 the       
pleasure disappears2 there is no zest   
left4 ,there is no  longer an adversary1
 but a superior who says quietly1 8,is  
that not  enough8 ,here is the other    
cheek2 strike as long as you wish4 ,it  
is  better that my face should suffer   
than my soul4 ,you can hurt me as much  
as you wish1 but you cannot force me to 
follow you into a mad1 brutal  rage4    
,the fact that some one has wronged me  
cannot force me to act  wrongly40       
,literally to follow this command of    
,jesus demands a mastery possessed by   
few1 of the blood1 of the nerves1 and of
 all the instincts of the baser  part of
 our being4 ,it is a bitter and         
repellent command2 but ,jesus never     
said it would be easy to follow ,him4   

,he never said it would be possible  to 
obey ,him without harsh renunciations1  
without stern and continuous  inner     
battles2 without the denial of the old  
,adam and the birth of the  new man4    
,and yet the results of non-resistance1 
even if they are not  always perfect1   
are certainly superior to those of      
resistance or flight4  ,the example of  
so extraordinary a spiritual mastery1 so
 impossible and  unthinkable for common 
men1 the almost superhuman fascination  
of conduct  so contrary to usual        
customs1 traditions and passions2 this  
example1  this spectacle of power1 this 
puzzling miracle1 unexpected like all   
miracles1 difficult to understand like  
all prodigies1 this example of a        
strong1 sane man who looks like other   
men1 and yet who acts almost like  a    
,god1 like a being above other beings1  
above the motives which move  other     
men--this example if repeated more than 
once1 if it cannot be laid  to supine   
stupidity1 if it is accompanied by      

proofs of physical courage  when        
physical courage is necessary to enjoy  
and not to harm--this example  has an   
effectiveness which we can imagine1     
soaked though we are in the  ideas of   
revenge and reprisals4 ,we imagine it   
with difficulty2 we cannot  prove it    
because we have had too few of such     
examples to be able to cite  even       
partial experiments as proofs of our    
intuition4    ,but if this command of   
,jesus has never been obeyed or too     
rarely obeyed1  there is no proof that  
it cannot be followed1 still less that  
it ought  to be rejected4 ,it is        
repugnant to human nature1 but all real 
moral  conquests are repugnant to our   
nature4 ,they are salutary amputations  
of  a part of our soul--for some of us  
the most living part of the soul--and   
it is natural that the threat of        
mutilation should make us shudder4 ,but 
whether it pleases us or not1 only by   
accepting this command of ,christ  can  
we solve the problem of violence4 ,it is

 the only course which does  not add    
evil to evil1 which does not multiply   
evil a hundredfold1 which  prevents the 
infection of the wound1 which cuts out  
the malignant growth  when it is only a 
tiny pustule4 ,to answer blows with     
blows1 evil deeds  with evil deeds1 is  
to meet the attacker on his own ground1 
to proclaim  oneself as low as he4 ,to  
answer with flight is to humiliate      
oneself  before him1 and incite him to  
continue4 ,to answer a furiously angry  
man  with reasonable words is useless   
effort4 ,but to answer with a simple    
gesture of acceptance1 to endure for    
three days the bore who inflicts        
himself on you for an hour1 to offer    
your breast to the man who has  struck  
you on the shoulder1 to give a thousand 
to the man who has stolen  a hundred    
from you1 these are acts of heroic      
excellence1 supine though  they may     
appear1 so extraordinary that they      
overcome the brutal bully  with the     
irresistible majesty of the divine4     

,only he who has conquered  himself can 
conquer his enemies4 ,only the saints   
can charm wolves to  mildness4 ,only he 
who has transformed his own soul can    
transform the  souls of his brothers1   
and transform the world into a less     
grievous  place for all4                
,,against ,,nature      ,nonresistance  
to evil is profoundly repugnant to our  
nature1 but to obey  the teachings of   
,christ means that our nature will come 
to feel disgust  for what now pleases   
us1 and find happiness in what now fills
 us with  horror4 ,his every word takes 
for granted this total renovation of the
  human spirit3 ,he fearlessly          
contradicts our most ordinary           
inclinations  and the deepest of our    
instincts4 ,he praises what every one   
avoids4 ,he  condemns what all men seek4
 ,he not only gives the lie to what men 
teach  7often very different from what  
they really think and do71 but ,he      
contradicts what they actually think and
 do every day4    ,jesus does not       

believe in the perfection of the natural
 soul1 of the  original soul4 ,he       
believes in its future perfection1 only 
to be reached  by a complete overturning
 of its present nature4 ,his task is the
 reform  of man2 more than that1 the    
making-over of man4 ,with ,him begins   
the new  race2 ,he is the model1 the    
arch-type1 the ,adam of humanity        
remodeled and  recast4 ,socrates tried  
to reform the mind1 ,moses the law1     
others went no  further than altering a 
ritual1 a code1 a system1 a science2 but
 ,jesus  did not aim at changing one    
part of man but the whole man from top  
to  bottom1 changing the inner man who  
is the motive-power and origin of all   
the facts and the words of the world4   
,therefore we need not expect ,him  to  
compromise or to wheedle4 ,he will make 
no concessions to evil and  imperfect   
nature2 ,he will not find specious      
reasons to justify it as the            
philosophers do4 ,you cannot serve      
,jesus and ,nature4 ,he who stands with 

,jesus is against the old animal nature 
and is working for the higher  nature   
which must conquer it4 ,everything else 
is idle talk1 dust and  ashes4          
,nothing is more common among men than  
the thirst for riches4 ,to heap up      
money by any means1 even the most       
infamous1 has always seemed the         
sweetest and most respectable of        
occupations4 ,but he who wishes to come 
with me1 said ,jesus1 must go and sell  
that which he has and give it to  the   
poor and he shall have treasures in     
,heaven4 ,poverty is the first          
requisite for the citizenship of the    
,kingdom4    ,all men anxiously take    
thought for the morrow4 ,they are always
 afraid  lest the ground give way under 
their feet1 lest there may not be enough
  bread to last to the next harvest4    
,they fear that they will not have      
enough clothes to cover their bodies and
 the bodies of their children4  ,but    
,jesus teaches us1 8,take therefore no  
thought for the morrow3  sufficient unto

 the day is the evil thereof40    ,every
 man would like to stand first even     
among his equals4 ,he wishes to  be     
superior to those who surround him1 to  
command1 to dominate1 to seem  greater1 
richer1 handsomer1 wiser4 ,the whole    
history of men is only the  terror of   
standing second2 but ,jesus teaches us1 
8,and whosoever of you  will be the     
chiefest shall be servant of all40 ,the 
greatest is the  smallest1 the most     
powerful shall serve the weakest1 he who
 exalts  himself shall be humbled1 he   
who humbles himself shall be exalted4   
,vanity is another universal curse of   
men4 ,it poisons even their good        
actions1 because nearly always they     
perform those insignificant good        
actions so that they may be seen4 ,they 
do evil secretly and good openly4       
,jesus commands us to do just the       
opposite4 8,but when thou doest alms1   
let not thy left hand know what thy     
right hand doeth2444 ,and when thou     
prayest1 thou shalt not be as the       

hypocrites are3 for they love to pray   
standing in the synagogues and in the   
corners of the streets1 that they  may  
be seen of men4444 ,but thou1 when thou 
prayest1 enter into thy  closet4444     
,moreover when ye fast1 be not1 as the  
hypocrites1 of a sad  countenance3 for  
they disguise their faces1 that they may
 appear to  fast4444 ,but thou1 when    
thou fastest1 anoint thine head1 and    
wash thy  face40    ,the instinct of    
self-preservation is the strongest of   
all those which  dominate us4 ,no       
infamy1 cruelty or cowardice is too much
 for us to pay  for the safety of this  
handful of animated dust4 ,but ,jesus   
tells us3  8,for whosoever will save his
 life shall lose it3 but whosoever will 
lose  his life for my sake the same     
shall save it40 ,for what we call life  
is  not true life and he who gives up   
his soul ruins also the flesh which     
houses it4    ,every one of us has a    
hankering to judge his fellows4 ,to sit 
in judgment  makes us feel that we are  

above those judged1 better1 more        
righteous1  innocent4 ,to accuse others 
is like saying1 8,we are not thus40 ,as 
a  matter of fact it is always the      
hunchbacks who first cry out on those   
whose shoulders are a little bent4 ,but 
,jesus says1 8,judge not that ye be  not
 judged1 condemn not and ye shall not be
 condemned1 forgive and ye  shall be    
forgiven40    ,every man boasts of being
 really manly1 that is1 a grave1 mature1
 wise1  substantial1 worthy person1 who 
understands the nature of things and who
  can reason and have an opinion on all 
subjects4 ,a speech that is too  sincere
 is said to be childish2 a simple person
 is scornfully called  childish4 ,but   
when the disciples asked ,him who is the
 greatest in the  ,kingdom of ,heaven1  
,jesus answered1 8,verily ,i say unto   
you1 ,whosoever  shall not receive the  
,kingdom of ,god as a little child shall
 in no wise  enter therein40    ,the    
serious-minded man1 the devout1 the     
pure1 the ,pharisee1 avoids if  possible

 the company of sinners1 of the fallen1 
of the defiled1 and  receives as equals 
at his table only the righteous4 ,but   
,jesus tirelessly  announces that ,he   
has come to seek for sinners and not for
 the  righteous1 the bad and not the    
good1 and ,he feels no shame in sitting 
down to dinner in the house of the      
publican1 where a prostitute anoints    
his feet4 ,the truly pure man cannot be 
corrupted by the corrupt1 and  does not 
feel that for fear of soiling his       
garments he needs leave them  to die in 
their own vileness4    ,the avarice of  
men is so great that every one tries to 
take as much as  he can from others and 
to give back as little4 ,every one seeks
 to  possess2 praises of generosity are 
only an attempt to cover professional   
beggary with a decent mask2 but ,jesus  
affirms1 8,it is better to give  than to
 receive40    ,all of us hate most of   
the people we know4 ,we hate them       
because they  have more than we1 because
 they will not give us all we would like

 to  have1 because they do not pay      
enough attention to us1 because they are
  different from us2 in a word1 because 
they exist4 ,we even go so far as  to   
hate our friends1 even our benefactors4 
,and ,jesus commands us to love  men1 to
 love them all1 to love even those who  
hate us4    ,no one who disobeys this   
command can call himself a ,christian2  
though he  is on the point of death if  
he does not love his slayer1 he has no  
right  to call himself a ,christian4    
,love for ourselves1 the origin of our  
hatred for others includes all  other   
tendencies and passions4 ,he who        
conquers self-love1 and the hatred      
toward others1 is already entirely      
transformed2 the rest flows from this   
as a natural consequence4 ,hatred toward
 oneself and love for enemies is  the   
beginning and end of ,christianity4 ,the
 greatest victory over the  fierce1     
blind1 brutal man of antiquity is this  
and nothing else4 ,men  cannot be born  
again into the happiness of peace until 

they love those  who have offended      
against them4 ,to love your enemies is  
the only way to  leave not an enemy on  
earth4                                  
,,before ,,love      ,those who refuse  
,christ have many easily understandable 
reasons for not  accepting ,him3 they   
would need to renounce their old        
personalities and  they cannot see that 
they would gain much by this            
renunciation2 and they  are afraid of   
losing the dusty rubbish which seems    
magnificence to them4  ,people who deny 
,christ as an excuse for not following  
,his teachings have  justified          
themselves of late by another reason1 a 
learned reason3 they  claim that ,he    
said nothing new4 ,his words can be     
found in the ,orient and  in the        
,occident centuries earlier4 ,either ,he
 stole them1 or plagiarized             
unconsciously4 ,if ,he said nothing new1
 ,he is not great2 if ,he is not  great1
 there is no need to listen to ,him4    
,let the ignorant admire ,him1  the     

stupid obey ,him1 the foolish respect   
,him6    ,however1 these experts in the 
genealogy of ideas do not say whether   
the  ideals of ,jesus1 let them be new  
or old1 should be accepted or rejected2 
they do not dare to pretend that ,christ
 did nothing of value when ,he          
consecrated by ,his death a great truth1
 a forgotten1 unused truth4 ,they  do   
not look carefully to see whether there 
is a real identity of sense  and of     
spirit between the ideas of ,jesus and  
those other older ideas1 or  whether    
there is merely a simple assonance and a
 distant verbal  resemblance4 ,and in   
the meantime1 in order to avoid being   
misled in that  matter1 they reject     
,christ's law and that of the           
philosophers who1 they  pretend1 were   
,christ's teachers1 and they continue   
tranquilly to lead  their filthy lives  
as if the ,gospels had not been         
addressed to them as  to other men4     
,after the promulgation of the old ,law 
there was amity between blood kin2  and 

the citizens of the same city bore with 
each other and did one  another no harm2
 but for strangers1 if they were not    
guests1 there was  only hatred and      
extermination4 ,inside the family a     
little love2 inside  the city an        
approximate justice2 outside the walls  
and the frontiers  inextinguishable     
hatred4 ,centuries later voices were    
heard which asked a  little love also   
for the neighbor1 for those who were not
 of the same  household but of the same 
nation1 which asked for a little justice
 even  for strangers1 even for enemies4 
,this would have been a wonderful step  
forward2 but these voices--they were so 
few1 so weak1 so distant--were not      
heard1 or1 if heard1 were not heeded4   
,four centuries before ,christ a wise   
man of ,china1 ,m'-,ti1 wrote a whole   
book1 the ,kie-,siang-,ngai1 to say that
 men should love each other4 ,he  wrote1
 8,the wise man who wants to improve the
 world can improve it only  if he knows 
with certainty the origin of disorders2 

if he does not know  that1 he cannot    
improve it4444 ,whence come disorders8  
,they spring up  because men do not love
 each other4 ,workmen and children have 
no filial  feeling for their employers  
and parents4 ,children love themselves  
but do  not love their parents2 they    
cheat their parents for their own       
purposes4  ,younger brothers love       
themselves but do not love their older  
brothers2  subjects love themselves but 
do not love their princes2 the father   
has  no indulgence for the son1 the     
older brother for the younger brother1  
the prince for his subjects4 ,the father
 loves himself and does not love  his   
son2 he wrongs his son to his own       
advantage 444 thus1 everywhere  brigands
 love their own homes and not their     
neighbors' homes1 and for  this they    
sack other men's houses to fill their   
own4 ,thieves love their  own bodies and
 do not love men1 wherefore they steal  
from men for the  good of their own     
bodies4 ,if thieves considered the      

bodies of other men  as they do their   
own1 who would rob8 ,the thieves would  
stay their  hands4444 ,if universal     
mutual love should come1 countries would
 not  resort to blows1 families would   
not be troubled1 thieves would hold     
their hands1 princes1 subjects1 fathers 
and sons would be respectful and        
indulgent and the world would be        
better40    ,for ,m'-,ti1 love1 or1 to  
translate it more exactly1 benevolence  
composed  of respect and indulgence1 is 
the mortar to hold citizens and the     
state  more closely united4 ,it is a    
remedy against the evils of             
life-in-common1  a social panacea4      
8,answer insults with courtesy10        
suggests timidly the mysterious         
,lao-,tse2  but courtesy is prudence or 
mildness1 not love4 ,his contemporary1  
old  ,confucius1 according to his       
disciple ,thseng-,tse1 taught a doctrine
 which  consisted in uprightness of     
heart1 and in loving one's neighbor as  
oneself 7neighbor and not the distant   

one1 the stranger1 the enemy7 as  much  
as ourselves and not more than          
ourselves6 ,confucius preached filial   
love and general benevolence1 necessary 
to the good ordering of  kingdoms1 but  
he did not dream of condemning hate4 ,in
 the same ,lun-,yu1  where the words of 
,thseng-,tse are read1 we find these    
other words1 taken  from the oldest     
,confucian text1 the ,ta-,hio3 8,only   
the just and human man  is capable of   
justly loving and hating men40    ,his  
contemporary ,gautama recommends love   
for men1 for all men1 even the  most    
wretched and despised4 ,and the same    
love is to be felt for animals1  for the
 smallest among animals1 for all living 
beings4 ,in ,buddhism love  of man for  
man is only a salutary exercise for the 
total eradication of  self-love1 first  
and strongest prop of life4 ,buddha     
wishes to suppress  suffering2 and to   
suppress suffering he sees no other way 
than to drown  personal souls and       
universal souls in ,nirvana1--in        

nothingness4 ,the  ,buddhist does not   
love his brother out of love for his    
brother1 but out  of self-love1--that   
is1 to avoid suffering1 to overcome     
egotism1 to  approach absorption in the 
stream of life4 ,his universal love is  
cold  and self-seeking1 egotistical1 a  
form of indifference1 stoical in grief  
as in joy4    ,in ,egypt every dead body
 took with it into the tomb a copy of   
the book  of the dead1 an anticipatory  
apology of the soul before the tribunal 
of  ,osiris4 ,the dead praises himself3 
he has been righteous and has given to  
the needy1 8,i have starved no one6 ,i  
have made no one weep6 ,i have not      
killed6 ,i have not commanded           
treacherous murder6 ,i have defrauded no
  one6 ,i have given bread to the       
hungry1 water to the thirsty1 clothes to
  the naked1 a boat to the traveler     
halted on his journey1 sacrifices to    
the gods1 funeral banquets to the dead40
 ,this is righteousness and these  are  
works of mercy 7had they really as a    

matter of fact done all that  they      
claimed87 but we find no love here1 much
 less love for enemies4 ,if  we wish to 
know how the ,egyptians treated their   
enemies let us read an  inscription of  
the great king1 ,phiops ,i ,miriri3     
8,this army went in  peace2 it entered  
as it pleased into the country of the   
,hirushaitu4 ,this  army went in peace2 
it laid waste the country of the        
,hirushaitu4 ,this  army went in peace2 
they cut down all their fig trees and   
their grape  vines4 ,this army went in  
peace2 they set on fire all their       
houses4 ,this  army went in peace2 it   
massacred their soldiers by myriads4    
,this army  went in peace2 it carried   
away their men1 women and children in   
great  numbers1 and for this1 more than 
for any other thing1 did his ,holiness  
rejoice40    ,zarathushtra also leaves a
 law for the ,iranians4 ,this law       
commands the  faithful of ,ahura ,mazd  
to be kind to their companions in the   
faith4  ,they are to give clothes to the

 naked and they are not to refuse bread 
to the hungry working man4 ,we are still
 concerned with material charity        
towards those who belong to us1 who     
serve us1 who are our neighbors4  ,there
 is no talk of love4    ,it has been    
said that ,jesus added nothing to the   
,mosaic law1 and only  repeated the old 
,commandments4 8,eye for eye1 tooth for 
tooth1 hand for  hand1 foot for foot1   
,burning for burning1 wound for wound1  
stripe for  stripe40 ,thus speaks ,moses
 in ,deuteronomy1 8,and thou shalt      
consume all  the people which the ,lord 
thy ,god shall deliver thee2 thine eye  
shalt  have no pity upon them40 ,thus it
 is written in ,deuteronomy3 a step     
further and we have reached ,love1      
8,also thou shalt not oppress a         
stranger3 for ye know the heart of a    
stranger1 seeing ye were strangers  in  
the land of ,egypt40 ,this is a         
beginning3 do no wrong to strangers in  
memory of the time when you also were a 
stranger2 but the stranger who  lives   

with us is not an enemy1 and to refrain 
from wronging him1 does  not mean to do 
good to him4 ,exodus commands not to    
wrong him4 ,leviticus  is more generous1
 8,and if a stranger sojourn with thee  
in your land ye  shalt not vex him4 ,but
 the stranger that dwelleth with you    
shall be unto  you as one born among    
you1 and thou shalt love him as         
thyself44440  ,always the foreigner who 
lives with you and has become your      
fellow-citizen1 hence like one of your  
friends4 ,in the same book we  read1    
8,thou shalt not avenge1 nor bear any   
grudge against the children  of thy     
people40 ,this is another step forward4 
,do no harm to him who  offends you1    
provided that he is of your own nation4 
,we have come1 if  not to pardon1 to    
generous forgetfulness1 although only   
for neighbors4    8,thou shalt love thy 
neighbor as thyself40 ,neighbor1        
fellow-citizen1 the  man who is your    
racial brother1 who can help you4 ,but  
your enemy8 ,there  is also an          

admonition about the treatment of your  
enemy3 8,if thou meet  thine enemy's ox 
or his ass going astray1 thou shalt     
surely bring it  back to him again4 ,if 
you see the ass of him that hateth thee 
lying  under his burden1 and wouldest   
forbear to help him1 thou shalt surely  
help with him40 ,oh1 great kindness of  
,jewish antiquity6 ,it would be so      
sweet to drive the ass further1 so that 
his master would have more  trouble in  
finding him3 and when you see the ass   
fallen down under his  pack-saddle1 how 
amusing it would be to smile in your    
beard and pass on2  but the heart of the
 old ,jew was not hardened to this      
degree3 an ass was  too precious in     
those times and those conditions3 no one
 could live  without at least one ass in
 the stable1 and every one had an ass4  
,to-day  yours has escaped and to-morrow
 mine may run away4 ,do not let us      
avenge  ourselves on our animals even if
 the master is a brute4 ,because if ,i  
am  that man's enemy he is my enemy4    

,let us set him a good example1 an      
example by which we hope he will profit2
 let us lend him a hand to  readjust the
 pack-saddle of his ass2 let us do to   
others what we hope  others will do to  
us1 and above the crupper and the ears  
of the ass let  us1 as merciful men1 lay
 aside every evil thought4    ,this is  
rather too little3 the old ,jew has     
already made a tremendous  effort in    
caring for the animals of his enemy1 but
 the ,psalms1 to make  up for it1       
resound at every step with outcries     
against enemies and with  violent       
demands to the ,lord to persecute and   
destroy them4 8,as for the  head of     
those that compass me about1 let the    
mischief of their own lips  cover them2 
let burning coals fall upon them 444 let
 them be cast into  the fire2 into deep 
pits1 that they rise not up again4 ,let 
destruction  come upon him unawares2 and
 let his net that he hath hid catch     
himself2  into that very destruction let
 him fall4 ,and my soul shall be joyful 

in  the ,lord60    ,in such a world it  
is natural that ,saul should be         
astounded that he was  not killed by his
 enemy ,david1 and that ,job should     
boast of not having  exulted in the     
misfortunes of an enemy4 ,only in the   
later proverbs do we  find words which  
forecast ,jesus' saying1 8,say not thou1
 ,i will  recompense evil2 but wait on  
the ,lord1 and he shall save thee40 ,the
  enemy is to be punished1 but by hands 
more powerful than thine4 ,then the     
anonymous moralist of the ,old          
,testament comes finally to charity1    
8,if  thine enemy be hungry1 give him   
bread to eat2 and if he be thirsty1 give
  him water to drink40 ,this is         
progress3 pity does not stop with the   
ox1  but extends itself also to the     
owner4 ,but the marvels of love of the  
,sermon on the ,mount cannot have sprung
 from these timid maxims hidden  away in
 a corner of the ,scriptures4    ,but   
there is1 they say1 ,hillel1 the ,rabbi 
,hillel1 the great ,hillel1  master of  

,gamaliel1 ,hillel ,hababli or the      
,babylonian4 ,this celebrated  ,pharisee
 lived a little before ,jesus and       
taught1 they say1 the same  things which
 ,jesus afterwards taught4 ,he was a    
liberal ,judean1 a  rational ,pharisee1 
an intelligent rabbi2 but was he        
therefore a  ,christian8 ,it is true    
that he said these words1 8,do not do   
unto others  what is displeasing to you2
 this is the whole ,law1 the rest is    
only  explanation of it40 ,these are    
fine words for a master of the old law1 
but how far away they are from those of 
the overturner of the ancient  law6     
,this is a negative command1 8,do not   
do40 ,he does not say1 8,do good  to    
those who wrong you10 but 8,do not do to
 others 7and these others are  certainly
 companions1 fellow-citizens1 members of
 the family and  friends7 what you feel 
to be evil40 ,he mildly forbids         
harmfulness2 he  gives no absolute      
command to love4 ,as a matter of fact1  
the descendants  of ,hillel were those  

,talmudists who mired the law in the    
great swamp of  casuistry4 ,the         
descendants of ,jesus were the martyrs  
who blessed their  torturers4    ,and   
,philo1 the ,alexandrian ,jew1 the      
,platonizing metaphysician1 some  twenty
 years older than ,jesus1 left a        
treatise on the love of men2 but        
,philo1 with all his talents and with   
all his mystical and ,messianic         
speculations1 is1 like ,hillel1 a       
theorist1 a man of pens and ink-pots1   
of learning1 of books1 of systems1 of   
abstractions1 of classifications4  ,his 
dialectic strategy brings into the field
 thousands of words in  parade          
formation1 but he is never inspired to  
pronounce the one word  that burns up in
 an instant all the past1 the one word  
which brings  hearts together4 ,he has  
talked of love more than ,christ1 but he
 could  never have said1 and he would   
not have been able to understand1 what  
,christ said to his ignorant friends on 
the ,mount4                             

,,achilles ,,and ,,priam      ,is it    
possible that in ,greece1 that          
well-spring from whence all have  drunk1
 there was no love for enemies8         
,would-be modern pagans1 enemies of  the
 8,palestine superstition10 claim that  
,greek thought has everything in  it4   
,in the spiritual life of the ,occident1
 ,greece is like ,china to the  ,east1  
mother of all invention4    ,in the     
,ajax of ,sophocles1 famous ,odysseus is
 moved to pity at the sight  of a fallen
 enemy reduced to misery4 ,in vain      
,athena herself1 ,hellenic  wisdom      
personified in the sacred owl1 reminds  
him that 8the most  delightful mirth is 
to laugh at one's enemies40 ,ulysses is 
not  convinced4 8,i pity him1 although  
he is my enemy1 because ,i see him so   
unfortunate1 bound to an evil destiny2  
and looking at him1 ,i think of  myself4
 ,because ,i see we are not other than  
ghosts1 and unsubstantial  shadows1 all 
we who live4444 ,it is not right to do  
evil to a dying man  even if you hate   

him40 ,it seems to me that we are here  
still very far  away from love4 ,wily   
,ulysses is not wily enough to conceal  
the motive of  his unnatural softening4 
,he pities his enemy because he thinks  
of  himself1 remembers that evil could  
happen also to him1 and he pardons  his 
enemy only because he sees him dying and
 unfortunate4    ,a wiser man than      
,ulysses1 the son of ,sophroniscus1 the 
stone cutter1  asked himself1 among many
 other questions1 how the righteous man 
ought  to treat his enemies4 ,but       
reading the texts1 we discover with     
astonishment two ,socrates1 of different
 opinions4 ,the ,socrates of the        
,memorabilia frankly accepts the common 
feeling4 ,friends are to be  treated    
well and enemies ill1 and thus it is    
better to anticipate one's  enemies in  
doing ill3 8,the man most greatly to be 
praised10 he says to  ,cherocrate1 8is  
he who anticipates his enemies in       
hurtfulness and his  friends in         
helpfulness40 ,but ,plato's ,socrates   

does not accept the common  opinion4 ,he
 says to ,crito1 8,injustice should be  
rendered to no one in  return for       
injustice2 nor evil for evil whatever   
has been the injury  that thou hast     
received40 ,and he affirms the same     
principle in the  ,republic1 adding in  
support that the bad are not bettered by
 revenge4  ,but the ruling idea in      
,socrates' head is the thought of       
justice1 not the  feeling of love4 ,in  
no case should the righteous man do     
evil1 out of  self-respect 7notice      
this71 not out of affection towards his 
enemy4 ,the  bad man must punish        
himself1 otherwise the judges in the    
lower world  will punish him after      
death4 ,aristotle1 the disciple of      
,plato1 turns  tranquilly back to the   
old idea3 8,not to resent offenses10 he 
says in  the ,ethics to ,nicomachus1 8is
 the mark of a base and slavish man40   
,in ,greece1 therefore1 there is little 
to the purpose for those who are        
looking for precedents for              

,christianity4    ,but in order to make 
us believe that ,christianity existed   
before ,christ1  those who deny ,jesus1 
have found a rival to ,jesus even in    
,rome1 in the  very palace of the       
,csars4 ,seneca1 the director of        
conscience to young  gentlemen1 leader  
of the fashionable cult of reformed     
stoicism2 the  abstract aristocrat never
 moved by the troubles of the poor2 the 
proprietor who despises riches1 and     
clutches them tightly1 who affirms  the 
equality between free and slave1 and    
owns slaves2 the talented  anatomist of 
scruples1 of evils1 of active vices1 and
 complacent  virtues2 he who canalized  
the old doctrine of ,chrisippus1 dull   
but  clear1 towards the estuary of      
preciosity2 moral ,seneca they claim was
 a  ,christian without knowing it during
 ,christ's very lifetime4 ,thumbing     
over his works 7many were written after 
the death of ,christ1 for ,seneca       
waited till he was sixty-five years old 
before committing suicide71 they  have  

found that 8the wise man does not avenge
 but forgets affronts10 and  that 8to   
imitate the ,gods we should do good also
 to the ungrateful  because the sun     
shines equally on the wicked and the    
seas bear up the  pirate ship10 and     
finally that 8,we must succor our       
enemies with a  friendly hand40 ,but the
 8forgetting0 of the philosopher is not 
8forgiveness02 and 8succor0 can be      
philanthropy but is not love4 ,the      
imperious1 the stoic1 the ,pharisee2 the
 philosopher proud of his  philosophy1  
the righteous man complacent over his   
righteousness1 can  despise the affronts
 of the small1 the pricks of enemies1   
and through  pride of magnanimity and to
 win admiration can deign to give a loaf
 to a  hungry enemy in order to         
humiliate him more harshly from the     
heights of  perfection4 ,but that bread 
was prepared with the leaven of vanity  
and  that would-be friendly hand could  
never have dried a tear or dressed a    
wound4    ,the world of antiquity did   

not know love4 ,it knew passion for a   
woman1  friendship for a friend1 justice
 for the citizen1 hospitality for the   
foreigner2 but it did not know love4    
,zeus protected pilgrims and  strangers2
 he who knocked at the ,grecian door was
 not denied meat1 a cup  of wine1 and a 
bed4 ,the poor were to be covered1 the  
weak helped1 the  mourning consoled with
 fair words2 but the men of antiquity   
did not know  love1 love that suffers1  
that shares another's sorrow1 love for  
all who  suffer and are neglected1 love 
for the poor1 the lowly1 the outlawed1  
the maligned1 the downtrodden1 the      
abandoned2 love for all1 love which     
knows no difference between             
fellow-citizens and strangers1 between  
fair  and foul1 between criminal and    
philosopher1 between brother and enemy4 
,in the last canto of the ,iliad we see 
an old man1 a mourner1 a father  who    
kisses the hand of his most terrible    
enemy1 of the man who has  killed his   
sons1 who has just killed his most loved

 son4 ,priam1 the old  king1 head of the
 rich1 ruined city1 father of fifty     
sons1 kneels at the  feet of ,achilles1 
the greatest hero1 and the most unhappy 
among the  ,greeks1 son of the          
,sea-,goddess1 avenger of ,patroclus1   
slayer of ,hector4  ,the white head of  
the kneeling old man is bowed before the
 proud youth  of the victor1 and ,priam 
mourns for the slain1 strongest1        
fairest1 most  loved of all his fifty   
sons1 and kisses the hand of the slayer6
 8,thou  also10 he says1 8hast a        
grey-haired1 failing1 defenseless1      
far-distant  father4 ,in the name of thy
 father's love1 give me back at least   
the dead  body of my son40    ,achilles1
 the fierce1 the wild1 the slaughterer1 
puts the suppliant  gently on one side  
and begins to weep2 and both of them1   
the two  enemies1 the conqueror and the 
conquered1 the father bereft of his son 
and the son who will never see his      
father again1 the white-haired old  man 
and the golden-haired youth both weep1  

drawn together for the first  time by   
sorrow4 ,the others round about gaze at 
them silent and  astounded3 we ourselves
 after thirty centuries are shaken by   
their  grief4    ,but in the kiss of    
,priam there is no pardon1 there is no  
love4 ,this king  humbles himself to    
obtain a difficult and unusual favor4   
,if a ,god had  not inspired him he     
would not have stirred from ,ilium2 and 
,achilles does  not weep for dead       
,hector1 for weeping ,priam1 for the    
powerful man who is  brought to humble  
himself1 for the enemy who is brought to
 kiss the hand  of the slayer4 ,he weeps
 over his lost friend2 over ,patrocles1 
dearer to  him than all other men2 over 
,peleus1 left at ,phthia2 over his      
father1  whom he will never more        
embrace1 for he knows that his young    
days are  numbered4 ,and he gives back  
to the father the dead body of his      
son--that  body which he has dragged for
 so many days in the dust--because it is
 the  will of ,zeus1 not because his    

hunger of vengeance is stilled4 ,both of
  them weep for themselves2 the kiss of 
,priam is a harsh necessity1 the        
restitution of ,achilles is obedience to
 the ,gods4 ,in the noblest heroic      
world of antiquity there is no place for
 that love which destroys hate  and     
takes the place of hate1 for love       
stronger than the strength of  hate1    
more ardent1 more implacable1 more      
faithful1 for love which is not         
forgetfulness of wrong1 but love of     
wrong1 because wrong is a misfortune    
for him who commits it rather than for  
him who suffers4 ,there is no  place for
 love for enemies in the world of       
antiquity4    ,jesus was the first to   
speak of such love1 to conceive of such 
love4  ,this love was not known till the
 ,sermon on the ,mount4 ,this is the    
greatest and the most original of       
,jesus' conceptions4 ,of all ,his       
teachings this was the newest to men1   
this is still ,his greatest  innovation4
 ,it is new even to us1 new because it  

is not understood1 not  imitated1 not   
obeyed2 infinitely eternal like truth4  
,,thou ,,shalt ,,love      8,ye have    
heard that it hath been said1 ,thou     
shalt love thy neighbor and  hate thine 
enemy4 ,but ,i say unto you1 ,love your 
enemies1 bless them that  curse you1 do 
good to them that hate you1 and pray for
 them which  despitefully use you and   
persecute you2 ,that ye may be the      
children of  your ,father which is in   
,heaven3 for he maketh his sun to rise  
on the  evil and on the good1 and       
sendeth rain on the just and on the     
unjust4  ,for if ye love them which love
 you1 what reward have ye8 do not even  
the  publicans the same8 ,and if ye     
salute your brethren only1 what do ye   
more  than others8 do not even the      
publicans so8 ,be ye therefore perfect1 
even  as your ,father which is in       
,heaven is perfect40 ,a few bare1 plain 
words6  ,but they are the ,magna ,charta
 of the new race1 of the third race1 of 
men  not yet born4 ,the first race was  

that of the animal without law1 and its 
name was ,war2 the second were          
barbarians tamed by the ,law1 whose     
highest  perfection was justice4 ,this  
is the race living now1 and justice has 
not  yet conquered ,war1 and the ,law   
has not yet supplanted animality4 ,the  
third is to be the race of real men1 not
 only upright but holy1 not like  beasts
 but like ,god4    ,jesus had just one  
aim3 to transform men from beasts to    
saints by means  of love4 ,circe1 the   
enchantress1 the ,satanic consort of the
 old  mythologies1 converted heroes into
 beasts by means of animal pleasures4   
,jesus is the anti-,satan1 the          
anti-,circe1 ,he who saves from         
animality by  a force more powerful than
 pleasure4 ,this undertaking1 which     
seems  hopeless to all animals barely   
risen above animality and to beings just
  entering upon real humanity1 must be  
based on the imitation of ,god4 ,to     
approximate sanctity one must look      
toward divinity3 8,be holy because ,god 

is holy4 ,be perfect because ,god is    
perfect40    ,this is not the first time
 that this appeal has been made to the  
heart  of man4 ,satan said in the       
,garden3 8,you will be as gods40        
,jehovah said to  ,his judges3 8,be     
gods1 be just as ,god is just40 ,but now
 there is no  question of being wise    
like ,god1 nor is it even enough to be  
just1 like  ,god4 ,god is now more than 
wisdom and justice4 ,with ,jesus1 ,he   
becomes our  ,father1 becomes love4 ,his
 earth gives bread and flowers even to  
the  homicide2 he who takes ,his name in
 vain sees the glorious sun every       
morning1 the same sun which warms the   
clasped hands of the laborer  praying in
 the field4 ,a true father loves the son
 who turns from him as  he loves the son
 who seeks him out2 a father cherishes  
the child who  obeys him in his house1  
or who vomits him out with his wine4 ,a 
father  can be saddened1 can suffer1 can
 mourn1 but no sinning man is capable of
  making a father become like to        

himself4 ,no one can induce a father to 
take revenge4    ,and we who are so much
 lower than ,god1 poor finite creatures1
 who are  scarcely capable of           
remembering yesterday1 who do not know  
to-morrow1 we  unfortunate1 inferior    
creatures1 have we not many more motives
 to feel  for our brothers in           
wretchedness what ,god feels for us8    
,god is the  supreme substance of our   
ideal4 ,to draw away from ,him1 not to  
be as we  pray that ,he may be with us1 
is this not to draw away from our unique
  destination1 to keep perpetually and  
despairingly out of our reach that      
happiness for which we are created1     
which we believe to be the aim of  our  
lives1 imagined by us1 dreamed of by us1
 longed-for1 invoked and  followed in   
vain through all the false felicities   
which are not of ,god8  8,let us be     
,gods10 cries ,bossuet4 8,let us be     
,gods4 ,he permits it1 that we  may     
imitate ,his holiness40    ,who will    
refuse to be like ,god8 ,dii estis4     

,divinity is in us2 animality  hampers  
and constricts it1 stunting our growth4 
,who would not wish to be  ,god8 ,oh1   
men1 are you in very truth content to be
 only men8 ,men as you  are to-day1     
half-men1 half-beasts8 ,centaurs without
 robustness1 sirens  without sweetness1 
demons with fauns' muzzles and goats'   
feet8 ,are you  so satisfied with your  
bastard and imperfect humanity1 with    
your  animality scarcely held in leash1 
taking no step to win holiness save to  
desire it8 ,does it seem to you that the
 life of men as it has been in  the     
past1 as it is to-day1 is so dear1 so   
happy1 so contented that there  should  
be no effort to make it otherwise1      
entirely different1 the  opposite of    
what it is1 more like that which for    
thousands of years we  have imagined in 
the future and in ,heaven8 ,is it not   
possible to make  another life out of   
this life1 to change this world to a    
world more  divine1 at last to bring    
down ,heaven and the laws of ,heaven    

upon earth8    ,this new life1 this     
earthly but celestial world is the      
,kingdom of  ,heaven1 and to bring about
 the ,kingdom we must transfigure and   
deify  ourselves2 become like ,god1     
imitate ,god4 ,the secret of the        
imitation of  ,god is love1 the certain 
way of the transfiguration is love1 love
 of man  for man1 love for friend and   
enemy4 ,if this love is impossible1 our 
salvation is impossible4 ,if it is      
repugnant1 it is a sign that happiness  
is repugnant to us4 ,if it is absurd1   
our hopes of redemption are only        
absurdity4 ,common sense tells us that  
to love our enemies is insanity1  and to
 count such love as a prerequisite of   
our salvation seems simple  madness4    
,love for enemies is like hatred for    
ourselves2 hence it follows  that we can
 only earn beatitude by hating          
ourselves4    ,this conclusion should   
alarm no one1 for it has been proved2   
all the  experiments have been tried4   
,it is not true that there has been no  

time  to test it4 ,for thousands of     
years we have been proving and proving  
it1  over and over4 ,we have tried the  
experiment of fierceness2 and blood     
answered blood4 ,we have tried the      
experiment of lust2 and lust has left   
in the mouth the odor of corruption and 
a fiercer fever4 ,we have forced  the   
body into the most refined and perverse 
pleasures and found  ourselves worn out 
and heavy-hearted1 lying upon filth4 ,we
 have tried  the experiment of the ,law1
 and we have not obeyed the ,law2 we    
have  changed it and disobeyed it again1
 and ,justice has not satisfied our     
hearts4 ,we have tried the experiment of
 intellectualism1 we have taken  the    
census of creation1 numbered the stars1 
described the plants1 the  dead things  
and the living things1 we have bound    
them together with the  thin threads of 
abstract ideas1 we have transfigured    
them in the magic  clouds of            
metaphysics2 and at the end of all this1
 things have remained  the same1        

eternally the same2 they were not enough
 for us1 they could  not be renewed2    
their names and their numbers did not   
quiet our hunger1  and the most learned 
men ended with weary confessions of     
ignorance4 ,we  have tried the          
experiment of art and our feebleness has
 brought the  strongest to despair1     
because the ,absolute cannot be fixed in
 any form2  the ,many overflow from the 
,one2 the carefully wrought work of art 
cannot  arrest the ephemeral4 ,we have  
tried the experiment of wealth and have 
found ourselves poorer2 the experiment  
of force and have come to  ourselves1   
weaker4 ,in no thing has our soul found 
quiet4 ,we have found  no welcoming     
shade1 where our bodies can lie down and
 be at rest2 and  our hearts1 always    
seeking1 always disappointed1 are older1
 weaker1 and  emptier because in nothing
 have they found peace1 because no      
pleasure  has brought them joy1 no      
conquest1 happiness4                    
,,the ,,last ,,experiment      ,jesus   

proposes ,his experiment1 the only      
remaining possibility1 the  experiment  
of love1 that experiment which no one   
has made1 which few  have even attempted
 7and that for only a few moments of    
their lives71  the most arduous1 the    
most contrary to our instincts but the  
only one  which can give what it        
promises4    ,as he comes from the hand 
of ,nature1 ,man thinks only of himself1
 loves  nothing but himself4 ,little by 
little1 with tremendous but slow        
efforts1  he succeeds in loving for a   
while his woman1 and his children1 in   
tolerating his accomplices in the hunt1 
in assassination and in war4  ,very     
rarely is he able to love a friend2 more
 easily he hates the man  who loves him4
 ,he does not dream of loving the man   
who hates him4    ,all this explains why
 ,jesus commands us to love our enemies4
 ,to make  over the entire man1 to      
create a new man1 the most tenacious    
center of  the old man must be          
destroyed4 ,from self-love come all the 

misfortunes1  massacres and miseries of 
the world4 ,to tame the old ,adam       
self-love must  be torn out of him1 and 
in its place must be put the love most  
opposed  to his present nature1 love for
 his enemies4 ,the total transformation 
of  man is such a sublime paradox that  
it can be reached only by fantastic     
means4 ,it is an extraordinary          
undertaking1 wild and unnatural1 to be  
accomplished only with an extraordinary 
exaltation1 opposed to ,nature4         
,until now man has loved himself and    
hated those who hate him2 the man of    
the future1 the inhabitant of the       
,kingdom1 must hate himself and love    
those who hate him4 ,to love one's      
neighbor as one's self is an            
insufficient formula1 a concession to   
universal egotism4 ,for he who  loves   
himself cannot perfectly love others1   
and finds himself perforce  in conflict 
with others4 ,only hatred for ourselves 
is sufficient4 ,if we  love ourselves1  
we admire ourselves1 we flatter         

ourselves too much4 ,to  overcome this  
blind love1 we need to see our          
nothingness1 our baseness1  our infamy4 
,hatred of ourselves is humility1 is the
 beginning of  improvement1 of          
perfection4 ,and only the humble shall  
enter into the  ,kingdom of ,heaven     
because they alone feel how far they are
 from it4 ,we  are angered at others    
because our dear ego feels undeservedly 
offended1  not sufficiently served by   
others2 we kill our brother because he  
seems  an obstacle to our good2 we steal
 for the love of our body1 we  fornicate
 to give pleasure to our body2 envy1    
mother of rivalry and of  wars1 is      
merely sorrow because another has more  
than we1 or has what we  have not2 pride
 is the expression of our certainty of  
being of more  account than others1 of  
possessing more than others1 of knowing 
more  than others4 ,all the things which
 religions1 morals1 and laws call sins1 
vices1 and crimes begin in self-love1 in
 the hatred for others which  springs   

out of that one solitary1 disordered    
love4    ,what right have we to hate our
 enemies1 when we ourselves have been   
guilty of the same fault for which we   
think we have the right to hate  them2  
when we ourselves have been guilty of   
hatred8 ,what right have we  to hate    
them1 even if they have done wrong1 even
 if we believe them  wicked1 when we    
ourselves nearly always have done the   
same wrong  actions1 have been defiled  
with the same pitch8 ,what right have we
 to  hate them if nearly always we are  
responsible for their hate8 ,we1 who    
with the endless errors of our monstrous
 self-love1 have forced them to  hate   
us8 ,and he who hates is unhappy1 is the
 first to suffer4 ,we ought  to respond 
with love to that hatred1 with          
gentleness to that harshness  as        
reparation for the suffering of which we
 are often the real cause1  immediate or
 distant4    ,our enemy is also our     
savior4 ,we ought every day to be       
grateful to our  enemies2 they alone see

 clearly and state openly what is       
ignoble in us2  they make us conscious  
of our moral poverty1 the realization of
 which is  the only beginning for the   
second birth4 ,for this service we owe  
them  love4 ,for our enemy needs love1  
and needs our love4 ,he who loves us    
already has his joy and reward in       
himself4 ,he needs no reward from us4   
,but he who hates is unhappy2 hates     
because he is unhappy4 ,his hatred is   
the bitter outlet for his sufferings4   
,we are partly guilty for this          
suffering1 and even if1 over-confident  
in our innocence1 we do not feel  that  
we are responsible1 we ought            
nevertheless to comfort with love the   
unhappiness of the man who hates1 to    
calm him1 make him better1 convert  him 
also to the beatitudes of loving4 ,we   
will know him better if we love  him1   
and knowing him better1 we will love him
 more4 ,we only love  heartily what we  
know well4 ,if we love our enemy1 his   
soul will be  transparent to us1 and as 

we penetrate further into it1 we will   
discover  much more to call forth our   
pity and our love2 because every enemy  
is an  unrecognized brother2 we often   
hate in him what resembles our own      
natures4 ,something of ourselves1       
unknown perhaps to us1 is in our enemy  
and is often the cause of our hostility4
 ,when we love our enemies we  purify   
our spirit by understanding and lift his
 spirit upward4 ,hatred1  instead of    
driving men apart1 may thus engender a  
light that liberates  men's souls4 ,the 
worst of evil may bring about the       
highest good4    ,this is the reason why
 ,jesus commands us to reverse the      
ordinary and  customary relations of    
men4 ,when man loves what he now hates1 
and hates  what he now loves1 he will be
 the opposite of what he is to-day4 ,and
 if  life now is made up of evils and   
despair1 the new1 changed life being    
the opposite of what we now have1 will  
be all goodness and consolation4  ,for  
the first time we shall know happiness2 

the ,kingdom of ,heaven will  begin on  
earth4 ,we will find that eternal       
,paradise1 lost because the  first men  
wished to learn the difference between  
good and evil4 ,but for  absolute love  
like the love of ,god the ,father1 there
 is neither good nor  evil4 ,evil is    
overwhelmed by the good4 ,paradise was  
love1 love between  man and ,god1       
between man and woman4 ,the new earthly 
paradise1 the  paradise regained1 will  
be the love of every man for all men4   
,christ is  ,he who leads ,adam back to 
the gates of the garden1 teaches him how
 he  can enter and live there always4   
,the descendants of ,adam have not      
believed ,christ2 they have repeated    
,his  words but have not obeyed them1   
and because their hearts are stubborn1  
men are still groaning in an earthly    
,hell1 which century by century goes  on
 becoming more infernal4 ,when the      
torments finally become unendurable1    
then the damned themselves will suddenly
 learn to hate hatred1 the dying  rebels

 in the extremity of their despair will 
learn to love their  executioners4      
,then1 at last1 from the depths of      
sorrowful gloom will  shine out the pure
 splendor of a miraculous spring4       
,,our ,,father      ,the apostles asked 
,jesus for a prayer4 ,he had told them  
to pray briefly  and secretly1 but they 
were not satisfied with any prayers     
recommended  by the lukewarm1 bookish   
priests of the ,temple4 ,they wanted a  
prayer of  their own which would be like
 a countersign among the fraternity of  
,christ4 ,jesus on the ,mount taught for
 the first time the ,pater-noster1  the 
only prayer which ,he ever taught4 ,it  
is one of the simplest prayers  in the  
world1 the most profound which goes up  
from human homes to ,god1 a  prayer     
neither literary nor                    
theological--neither bold nor           
servile--the  most beautiful of all     
prayers4 ,but though the ,lord's ,prayer
 is simple1  it is not always           
understood4 ,the century-old1 mechanical

 reiteration of  tongues and lips1 the  
formal ritual repetition1 have made it  
almost a  string of syllables from which
 the original meaning has been lost4    
,reading it over word for word to-day   
like a new text1 which we read for  the 
first time1 it loses its ritual         
banality1 and freshens into its  first  
meaning4    8,our ,father02 for we have 
sprung from ,thee and love ,thee as     
sons2 from  ,thee we shall receive no   
wrong4    8,which art in heaven0--in    
that which is opposed to the earth1 in  
the  opposite sphere from matter1 in    
spirit and in that small but eternal    
part of the spirit which is our soul4   
8,hallowed be ,thy name02 let us not    
only adore ,thee with words but be      
worthy of ,thee1 drawing nearer to ,thee
 with greater love1 because ,thou  art  
no longer the avenger1 the ,lord of     
,battles1 but the ,father who  teaches  
the joyfulness of peace4    8,thy       
,kingdom come0--the ,kingdom of ,heaven1
 of the spirit of love1 that of  the    

,gospel4    8,thy will be done1 in earth
 as it is in heaven0--may ,thy law of   
goodness  and of perfection rule both   
spirit and matter1 both the visible and 
invisible universe4    8,give us this   
day our daily bread02 because our       
material body1 necessary  support of the
 spirit1 needs every day a little       
material food to  maintain it4 ,we do   
not ask of ,thee riches1 dangerous      
burden1 but only  that small amount     
which permits us to live1 to become more
 worthy of the  promised life4 ,man does
 not live by bread alone1 and yet       
without a  morsel of bread the soul1    
living in the body1 could not nourish   
itself  on other things more precious   
than bread4    8,forgive us our debts1  
as we forgive our debtors40 ,pardon us  
because we  pardon others4 ,thou art our
 eternal and infinite creditor4 ,we can 
never  pay our debt to ,thee1 but       
remember that because of our weakness1  
it is  more of an effort for us to      
forgive one single debt of a single one 

of  our debtors than it is for ,thee to 
sweep away the record of all that we    
owe ,thee4    8,lead us not into        
temptation40 ,we are weak1 still snared 
in fleshliness  in this world which at  
times seems so beautiful and calls us to
 all the  delights of faithlessness4    
,help us that our struggling            
transformation  may not be too          
difficult1 and that our entry into the  
,kingdom may not be  too long delayed4  
8,deliver us from evil0--,thou who art  
in ,heaven1 who art spirit1 who hast    
power over evil1 over stubborn and      
hostile matter which surrounds us       
everywhere1 and from which it is hard to
 free ourselves1 ,thou enemy of  ,satan1
 negation of matter1 help us6 ,our true 
greatness lies in this  victory over    
evil1 over evil which springs up        
constantly because it will  not be truly
 conquered until all have conquered it4 
,but this decisive  victory will be less
 distant if ,thou helpest us with ,thy  
alliance4    ,with this appeal for aid1 

the ,lord's ,prayer ends4 ,in it are    
none of the  tiresome blandishments of  
,oriental prayers1 rigmaroles of        
adulation and  hyperbole which seem     
invented by a dog1 adoring his master   
with his  dog's soul1 because his master
 permits him to exist and to eat4 ,there
  are none of the querulous1 complaining
 supplications of the ,psalmist who     
asks ,god for every variety of aid1 more
 often temporal than spiritual1  laments
 if the harvest has not been good1 if   
his fellow-citizens do not  respect him1
 and calls down wounds and arrows on the
 enemies whom he  cannot conquer        
himself4 ,in the ,lord's ,prayer the    
only word of praise is  the word        
8,father02 and that praise is a pledge1 
a testimony of love4  ,from this father 
we ask only for a little bread1 and we  
ask in addition  the same pardon that we
 give our enemies2 and at the last a    
valid  protection in our fight with     
evil1 the enemy of all1 the great wall  
which hinders our entry into the        

,kingdom4    ,he who says 8,our ,father0
 is not proud but neither is he humbled2
 he  speaks to his ,father with the     
intimate quiet accent of confidence     
almost  as from one equal to another4   
,he is sure of his love and he knows    
that  his father needs no long speeches 
to know his desires4 8,your ,father10   
says ,jesus1 8knoweth what things ye    
have need of before ye ask ,him40  ,thus
 the most beautiful of all the prayers  
is a daily calling to mind of  all that 
we need if we are to become like ,god4  
,,powerful ,,deeds      ,after ,he had  
given out the new law of the imitation  
of ,god1 ,jesus came  down from the     
,mount4    ,one cannot always remain on 
the heights4 ,the moment we arrive on   
the  summit of a mountain we are fated  
to descend4 ,every ascent is a pledge   
of descent1 a promise to come down      
again4 ,he who has something to say     
must make himself heard2 if he always   
speaks on the summits1 few will  stay   
with him2 it is cold on the summits for 

those who are not all on  fire2 and his 
voice will reach few4 ,he who has come  
to give1 cannot ask  men1 weak lungs1   
tired hearts1 nerveless legs1 to follow 
him upward1  hobbling along to the      
heights4 ,he must follow them down to   
the plain1  into their houses2 he must  
stoop to them if he is to lift them up4 
,jesus knew that exalted teaching on the
 heights would not suffice to  spread   
the good news to all4 ,he knew that men 
need less abstract words1               
picture-making words1 narrated words1   
words almost as tangible as facts4  ,and
 ,he knew that even these words would   
not be enough4    ,the simple1 rustic1  
coarse1 humble people who followed      
,jesus were men  whose lives were based 
on material things1 men who could only  
understand  spiritual things slowly1    
with great effort1 through material     
proofs1  signs and material symbols4    
,they could not understand a spiritual  
truth  without its material incarnation2
 without evidence simple enough for     

them to weigh1 evidence stated in the   
terms of the everyday world4 ,an        
illustrative fable can lead men to moral
 revelation2 a prodigy is to  them      
confirmation of a new truth1 of a       
contested mission4 ,preaching1  made up 
of abstract axioms and aphorisms1 left  
these imaginative  ,orientals           
unsatisfied4 ,jesus had recourse to the 
marvelous and to  poetry3 he performed  
miracles and spoke in parables4 ,for    
many moderns  the miracles recounted by 
the ,evangelists are a compelling reason
 for  turning away from ,jesus and the  
,bible4 ,their shriveled brains cannot  
take in the miraculous2 therefore1 they 
reason the ,gospel lies1 and if  it lies
 in so many places none of it can be    
believed4 ,it is out of the  question   
that ,jesus can ever have raised the    
dead3 therefore1 ,his words  have no    
value4    ,the people who reason in this
 way reason ill4 ,they give to miracles 
a  weight and a meaning much greater    
than that which ,jesus gave them4 ,if   

they had read the four ,gospels they    
would have seen that ,jesus is always   
reluctant to perform miracles1 that ,he 
does not feel this divine power  of ,his
 is of supreme importance4 ,every time  
that ,he finds a fair reason  for       
refusing1 ,he refuses2 if ,he yields1 it
 is to reward the faith of the          
sorrowing man or woman who calls on     
,him2 but the ,gospels show that for    
,himself1 for ,his own salvation1 ,he   
never performs miracles4 ,he performs   
no miracles in the wilderness with      
,satan1 none at ,nazareth when they     
wish to kill ,him1 none at ,gethsemane  
when they come to arrest ,him1 nor  on  
the cross when they challenge ,him to   
save ,himself4 ,his power is only  for  
others1 to benefit ,his mortal brothers4
    ,there are many who ask for a sign1 
a sign from ,heaven1 a sign to  persuade
 the unbelievers that ,his word is the  
true word3 8,an evil and  adulterous    
generation seeketh after a sign2 and    
there shall no sign be  given to it1 but

 the sign of the ,prophet ,jonas40 ,what
 is this sign8 ,the  writers of the     
gospel who wrote after the resurrection 
thought that  ,jonah emerging the third 
day from the whale symbolizes ,jesus    
emerging  the third day from the tomb1  
but the rest of what ,jesus says shows  
that  ,he meant something else4 8,the   
men of ,nineveh shall rise in judgment  
with  this generation1 and shall condemn
 it3 because they repented at the       
teaching of ,jonas2 and1 behold1 a      
greater than ,jonas is here40 ,nineveh  
did not ask for prodigies3 it was       
converted by the word alone4 ,men whom  
,jesus cannot convert by truths         
infinitely greater than those announced 
by ,jonah1 are below the level of the   
men of ,nineveh1 idolaters1  barbarians4
 ,faith must not rest on marvels alone1 
nevertheless let us  remember that      
faith--though it is higher and more     
perfect when achieved  without          
miracles--can by its very fervor        
accomplish miracles4 ,hardened  hearts1 

locked shut against truth1 are not      
converted even by the  greatest         
miracles4 8,if they hear not ,moses and 
the ,prophets1 neither  will they be    
persuaded1 though one rose from the     
dead40 ,he was neglected  and rejected  
by the cities which were the scenes of  
the greatest  prodigies4 8,woe unto     
thee1 ,chorazin6 ,woe unto thee1        
,bethsaida6 for if  the mighty works    
which were done in you had been done in 
,tyre and ,sidon1  they would have      
repented long ago1 in sack-cloth and    
ashes40    ,jesus never held that       
miracles were ,his exclusive privilege4 
,when they  came to tell ,him that some 
man was driving out ,demons in ,his     
name1 ,he  answered1 8,forbid him not40 
,this power was not denied to the       
disciples4  8,heal the sick1 cleanse the
 lepers1 raise the dead1 cast out       
devils3  freely ye have received1 freely
 give40    ,even charlatanical wizards  
could perform prodigies which seemed    
miracles4 ,in ,his time a certain ,simon

 was doing miracles in ,samaria2  even  
the disciples of the ,pharisees         
performed miracles4 ,but miracles are   
not enough to enter into the ,kingdom4  
8,many shall say to ,me in that day1    
,lord1 ,lord1 did we not prophesy in    
,thy name and in ,thy name cast out     
devils1 and in ,thy name do many mighty 
works8 ,and then will ,i profess  unto  
them1 ,i never knew you2 depart from    
,me1 all ye workers of  iniquity40 ,it  
is not enough to cast out devils1 if    
thou has not cast out  the devil in     
thee1 the devil of pride and cupidity4  
,even after ,his death men will see     
others perform miracles4 8,for there    
shall arise false ,christs1 and false   
prophets1 and shall shew great  signs   
and wonders2 insomuch that1 if it were  
possible1 they shall  deceive the very  
elect40 ,i have put you on your guard3  
do not believe in  these signs and these
 wonders until thou shalt see the ,son  
of ,man4 ,the  miracles of false        
prophets do not prove the truth of what 

they say4    ,for all these reasons1    
,jesus abstained1 as often as possible1 
from  working miracles1 but ,he could   
not always resist the pleadings of the  
sorrowful1 and often ,his pity did not  
wait for the request4 ,for a  miracle is
 an attribute of faith1 and ,his faith  
is infinite1 and that of  the believers 
very great4 ,but often1 as soon as the  
healing was  complete1 ,he asked the    
ones ,he had healed to keep it secret4  
8,see thou  tell no man2 ,go thy way40  
,those who do not listen to the truth of
  ,christ1 because they are troubled by 
the miracles1 should remember the       
profound saying which was addressed to  
,thomas1 8,blessed are they that  have  
not seen and yet have believed40        
,,the ,,blind ,,see      ,men cannot    
live without three things1 bread1 health
 and hope4 ,deprived  of everything else
 men can--raging and cursing--go on     
living4 ,but if they  have not at least 
these three1 they hasten to summon      
,death1 because  without them life is   

like ,death4 ,it is death with suffering
 added1 an  aggravated1 embittered1     
envenomed death1 without even the       
ansthetic of  insensibility4 ,hunger is 
the wasting away of the body2 pain makes
 the  body hateful2 despair--not to     
expect anything better1 a relief1 an    
alleviation--takes the savor out of     
everything1 takes away every reason  to 
be1 and every reason to act4 ,there are 
men who do not kill themselves  because 
suicide is an action4    ,he who wishes 
to draw men to him must give them bread1
 health and hope4  ,he must feed them1  
heal them and give them faith in a more 
beautiful  life4    ,jesus gives this   
faith4 ,to those who followed ,him into 
the wilderness  and upon the mountains1 
,he distributed material and spiritual  
bread4 ,he  was not willing to transform
 stones into loaves1 but ,he made the   
real  loaves of bread sufficient for    
thousands4 ,and the stones which men    
carry  in their breasts ,he changed into
 loving hearts4    ,and ,he did not     

reject the sick4 ,jesus is no           
self-tormentor1 no  flagellant4 ,he does
 not believe that pain is necessary to  
conquer evil4  ,evil is evil and must be
 driven away1 but pain also is evil4    
,sorrow of  the soul is enough for      
salvation3 why should the body suffer   
also1  needlessly8 ,the old ,jews       
thought of sickness as a punishment3    
,christians  believe it above all as an 
aid to conversion4    ,but ,jesus does  
not believe in vengeance taken on the   
innocent1 and does  not expect that true
 salvation can be won by ulcers or by   
hair shirts4  ,render unto the body that
 which is the body's due1 and unto the  
soul  that which is the soul's4 ,he     
likes the friendly supper-table2 ,he    
does  not refuse good old wine2 and ,he 
does not send away women who pour       
perfumes on ,his head and on ,his feet4 
,jesus can fast many days2 ,he can  be  
satisfied with a bit of bread1 with half
 of a broiled fish2 and ,he  can sleep  
on the ground with ,his head on a stone2

 but till it is  unavoidable ,he does   
not seek out want1 hunger and suffering4
 ,health  seems to ,him a good thing and
 the innocent pleasure of dining with   
friends2 a cup of wine drunk in good    
company1 the fragrance of a vase of     
nard1 seem good and acceptable to ,him  
also when such things cause no          
suffering to others4    ,if a sick man  
accosts ,him1 ,he cures him4 ,jesus     
comes not to deny life1  but to affirm  
it1 to institute a happier and more     
perfect life4 ,he does  not purposely   
seek out the sick4 ,his mission is to   
drive away spiritual  suffering1 to     
bring spiritual joy4 ,but if1 by the    
way1 it happens to ,him  to drive out   
also suffering of the flesh1 to quiet   
pain1 to restore1  along with the health
 of the soul1 the health also of the    
body1 ,he  cannot refuse to do it4 ,he  
shows ,himself adverse to it1 for the   
most  part1 because ,his aim is higher2 
and ,he would not wish to appear in the 
eyes of the people like a vagabond      

wizard1 or like the worldly ,messiah    
whom most men were expecting4 ,but since
 ,he wishes to conquer evil1 and  there 
are men who know ,him capable of        
conquering all evils1 ,his love is      
forced to drive out also those of the   
body4    ,when1 on the road trodden by  
men of health1 there come towards ,him  
groups of lepers1 repellent1 disfigured1
 horrible lepers1 and when ,he  sees    
that swollen lividness1 the scaly skin  
showing through the torn  clothes1 that 
scabby1 spotted1 cracked skin1 the      
withered1 wrinkled skin  which deforms  
the mouth1 half-closes the eyes1 and    
puffs up the hands2  wretched1 suffering
 ghosts1 shunned by every one1 separated
 from every  one1 disgusting to every   
one1 who are thankful if they have a    
little  bread1 a saucer for their water1
 the roof of an old shed for a          
hiding-place2 when painfully bringing   
out the words through their  swollen1   
ulcerated lips they beg ,him1 whom they 
know to be powerful in  word and deed1  

beg ,him1 their only hope in their      
despair1 for health1  for a cure1 for a 
miracle1 how could ,jesus shun them1 as 
other men did1  and ignore their prayer8
    ,and the epileptics1 who writhe in  
the dust1 their faces twisted in a set  
spasm1 the froth on their lips2 those   
possessed of devils who howl among  the 
ruined tombs1 evil dogs of the night1   
disconsolate2 the paralytics1  trunks   
which have just enough feeling left to  
suffer1 dead bodies  inhabited by an    
imprisoned and suppliant soul2 and the  
blind1 the awful  blind1 shut up from   
their birth in the night--foretaste of  
the blackness  of the tomb--stumbling in
 the midst of the fortunate men who go  
their way  freely1 the terrified blind1 
who walk with their heads held high1    
their  eyes staring1 as if the light    
could reach them from the depths of the 
infinite1 the blind1 for whom the world 
is only a series of more or less  harsh 
surfaces1 among which they grope2 the   
blind1 eternally alone1 who  know the   

sun only by its warmth1 by the heat on  
their bodies6 ,how could  ,jesus answer 
8,no0 to such wretchedness8             
,,the ,,answer ,,to ,,john      ,jesus  
heals the sick1 but ,he is in no way    
like a wizard or an exorcist4  ,he has  
no recourse to incantation1 to amulets1 
to smoke1 veils and  mystery4 ,he does  
not call to ,his aid the powers of      
,heaven or ,hell4 ,for  ,him a word is  
enough1 a strong cry1 a gentle accent1 a
 caress4 ,his will  is enough1 and the  
faith of the petitioner4 ,to them all   
,he puts the  question1 8,dost thou     
believe ,i can do this80 and when the   
cure is  accomplished1 8,go1 thy faith  
hath made thee whole40 ,for ,jesus the  
miracle is the union of two wills for   
good1 the living contact between  the   
faith of the healer and the faith of the
 one healed4 8,verily ,i say  unto you1 
,if ye have faith as a grain of mustard 
seed1 ye shall say unto  this mountain1 
,remove hence1 to yonder place2 and it  
shall remove2 and  nothing shall be     

impossible unto you4 ,if ye had faith as
 a grain of  mustard seed1 ye might say 
unto this sycamine tree1 ,be thou       
plucked up  by the root and be thou     
planted in the sea2 and it should obey  
you40  ,those who have no faith1 not    
even as much as the thousandth part of a
  grain of mustard seed1 swear that no  
man has this power1 and that ,jesus  is 
an impostor4    ,in the ,gospels the    
miracles are called by three names3     
8,dunameis0--forces2 8,terata0--marvels2
 8,semeis0--signs4 ,they are signs for  
those who remember the prophecies of the
 ,messiah2 they are 8marvels0 for  those
 who look for proofs that ,christ is the
 ,messiah2 but for ,jesus and  in ,jesus
 there are only 8,dunameis10 mighty     
works1 victorious  lightning-flashes    
from a superhuman power4 ,the healings  
of ,jesus are  two-fold2 they are       
healings not only of bodies but of      
souls1 and it is  soul-sickness which   
,jesus wishes especially to heal1 so    
that the ,kingdom  of ,heaven may be    

founded also on the earth4    ,most     
sickness is two-fold1 mental and        
physical1 and lends itself with         
singular exactitude to metaphors and    
allegory4 ,jesus cured the maimed1  the 
halt1 the fevered1 a man with the       
dropsy1 a woman with an issue of  blood4
 ,he healed also a                      
sword-wound--,malchus' ear struck off by
 ,peter on  the night of                
,gethsemane--this only in order that    
,his law 444 8do good to  those who     
wrong you0 444 might be observed to the 
very last4 ,but ,jesus  healed more     
often those possessed by devils1 the    
paralytics1 the lepers1  the blind1 the 
deaf-mutes4 ,the old name for mental    
diseases is  possession by devils2 even 
,professor ,aristotle believed in       
possession by  devils4 ,it was believed 
that lunatics1 epileptics1 hysterical   
patients1  were invaded by malign       
spirits4 ,the contradictory and often   
merely  verbal explanations of the      
moderns does not invalidate the fact    

that  demoniacs1 in many cases1 are such
 in the real sense of the word4 ,this   
learned and popular explanation lent    
itself admirably to that  allegorical   
and figurative teaching of which ,jesus 
was so fond4 ,he  wished to found the   
,kingdom of ,god and supplant that of   
,satan4 ,it was  part of ,his mission to
 drive out demons4 ,the difference      
between bodily  disorders and actual    
malign obsessions was of no importance3 
between  bodily infirmities and         
spiritual infirmities there is a        
parallelism of  nomenclature1 based on  
real affinity4 ,there is a likeness     
between the  maniac and the epileptic1  
between the paralytic and the slothful1 
the  vile and the leprous1 the blind and
 he who cannot see the truth1 the  deaf 
and he who will not listen to the truth1
 the cured and the  resurrected4        
,when ,john1 shut up in prison1 sent two
 disciples to ask ,jesus if ,he were    
the awaited prophet1 or whether they    
should await another1 ,jesus  answered  

them1 8,go your way1 and tell ,john what
 things ye have seen and  heard2 how    
that the blind see1 the lame walk1 the  
lepers are cleansed1  the deaf hear1 the
 dead are raised1 to the poor the gospel
 is preached40  ,jesus did not separate 
the gospel from miraculous cures4 ,they 
are  similar deeds2 by that answer he   
meant that he had cured bodies in order 
that the souls might be better disposed 
to receive the gospel4    ,those who did
 not see the light of the sun can now   
see the light of  truth2 those who did  
not hear even the words of men can now  
hear the  words of ,god2 those who were 
possessed of ,satan are freed from      
,satan2  those who were foul and        
ulcerated are clean as children2 those  
who could  not move1 who were           
strengthless and shrunken1 now follow my
 footsteps2  those who were dead to the 
life of the soul have risen at a word   
from me  444 and the poor1 after the    
,good ,news1 are richer than the        
wealthy4  ,these are my credentials1 my 

letters proving my legitimacy4          
,jesus1 ,healer and ,liberator1 is not  
what the bad faith of ,his modern       
enemies wish to imagine ,him1 in order  
to gild once more their  comfortable    
paganism and to protect it against      
asceticism4 8,he is the  ,god10 they    
say1 8of the sick1 the weak1 the dirty1 
the wretched1 the  strengthless1 the    
servants40 ,but all that ,christ does is
 to give health1  strength1 purity1     
wealth1 and liberty4 ,he draws near to  
the sick  precisely in order to drive   
away their sickness2 to the weak to lift
  them out of their weakness2 to the    
dirty in order to cleanse them2 to      
slaves in order to free them4 ,he does  
not love the sick only because  they are
 sick3 ,he loves health1 just as the men
 of antiquity did1 and ,he  loves it so 
greatly that ,he longs to give it back  
to those who have lost  it4 ,jesus is   
the prophet of happiness1 the promiser  
of life1 of life  that is worthier to be
 lived4 ,the miracles are only pledges  

of ,his  promise4                       
,,talitha ,,qumi      8,the dead shall  
arise60 ,this is one of the signs which 
are to suffice  for ,john the ,baptist  
in prison4 ,to the good sister1 to the  
hard-working  ,martha1 ,jesus said1 8,i 
am the resurrection and the life3 he    
that  believeth in me1 though he were   
dead1 yet shall he live2 and whosoever  
liveth1 and believeth in me1 shall never
 die40 ,the resurrection is a  rebirth  
in faith1 immortality is the permanent  
affirmation of this  faith4    ,the     
,evangelists know three resurrections1  
historical events narrated  with a sober
 but explicit statement of the evidence4
 ,jesus raised up  three who were dead3 
a young lad1 a little girl1 and a       
friend4    ,he was entering ,nain1 8the 
beautiful0 set on a little hill some    
miles  from ,nazareth1 and met a funeral
 procession4 ,they were carrying to the 
grave the young son of a widow4 ,she had
 lost her husband a short time  before2 
this son alone had been left to her2 now

 they were carrying away  the son in    
turn for burial4 ,jesus saw the mother  
walking among the  women1 weeping with  
the amazed and smothered grief of       
mothers which is  so profoundly moving4 
,she had only two men in all the world  
who loved  her2 the first one was dead1 
the second was now dead2 one after the  
other1 both of them disappeared4 ,she   
was left alone1 a woman alone  without a
 man4 ,without a husband1 without a son1
 without a help1 a prop1  a comfort4    
,gone the love that was a memory of     
youth1 gone the love that  was hope for 
declining years4 ,gone both those poor1 
simple loves4 ,a  husband can console   
his wife for the loss of their son2 a   
son can make  up for the loss of a      
husband4 ,if only one had been left6    
,now her lips  were never to know       
another kiss4    ,jesus had compassion  
on this mother2 her grief was like an   
accusation4  8,weep not10 he said4      
,he went to the side of the cataleptic  
and touched him4 ,the boy was lying     

there stretched out1 wrapped in his     
shroud1 but with his face uncovered1    
set in the stern paleness of the dead4  
,the bearers halted2 all were  silent2  
even the mother1 startled1 was quiet4   
8,young man1 ,i say unto thee1 ,arise40 
,and he that was dead sat up1 and  began
 to speak4 ,and ,he delivered him to his
 mother4 ,he 8delivered0 him  because he
 was now hers4 ,jesus had taken him from
 the land of death to  give him back to 
her who could not live without him1 that
 a mother might  cease from weeping4    
,another day as he was returning from   
,gadara1 a father fell at ,his feet4    
,his only little daughter lay at the    
point of death4 ,the man's name was     
,jairus1 and although he was a leader at
 the ,synagogue he believed in  ,jesus4 
,they went along together4 ,when they   
were half-way1 a servant met  them1     
saying1 8,thy daughter is dead2 trouble 
not the ,master40 ,but when  ,jesus     
heard it1 ,he answered him1 saying1     
8,fear not3 believe only1 and  she shall

 be made whole40 ,and when ,he came into
 the house ,he suffered no  man to go   
in1 save ,peter1 and ,james1 and ,john1 
and the father and the  mother of the   
maiden4 ,and all wept1 and bewailed her3
 but ,he said1 8,weep  not2 she is not  
dead1 but sleepeth40 ,and they laughed  
,him to scorn1  knowing that she was    
dead4 ,and ,he put them all out1 and    
took her by the  hand1 and called1      
saying1 8,maid1 arise40 ,and her spirit 
came again1 and  she arose straightway3 
and ,he commanded to give her meat4 ,she
 was not a  visible spirit1 a ghost1 but
 a living body1 awakened a little weak1 
ready for a new day after feverish      
dreams4                                 
,,lazarus ,,awakened      ,lazarus and  
,jesus loved each other4 ,more than once
 ,jesus had eaten in  his house at      
,bethany with him and his sisters4 ,now 
one day ,lazarus fell  ill1 and sent    
word of it to ,jesus4 ,and ,jesus       
answered1 8,this sickness is  not unto  
death40 ,two days went by4 ,but on the  

third day ,he said to ,his  disciples1  
8,our friend ,lazarus sleepeth2 but ,i  
go1 that ,i may awake him  out of       
sleep40 ,he was near to ,bethany when   
,martha came to meet ,him as if  to     
reproach ,him4    8,lord1 if ,thou hadst
 been here my brother had not died40    
,and a little  later ,mary too said1    
8,lord1 if ,thou hadst been here1 my    
brother had not  died40 ,their repeated 
reproach touched ,jesus1 not because ,he
 feared ,he  had come too late1 but     
because ,he was always saddened by the  
lack of  faith even of those dearest to 
,him4    8,and he said1 ,where have ye  
laid him8 ,they said unto him1 ,lord1   
come and  see4444 ,jesus therefore again
 groaning in himself cometh to the      
grave4  ,it was a cave and a stone lay  
upon it4 ,jesus said1 ,take ye away the 
stone40    ,martha1 the housekeeper1 the
 practical1 concrete character1         
interrupted1  8,lord1 by this time he   
stinketh3 for he hath been dead four    
days40 ,but  ,jesus did not heed her1   

8,take away the stone40 ,and the stone  
was rolled  away4 ,jesus made a short   
prayer1 ,his face lifted towards the    
sky1 drew  near to the hole and called  
,his friend in a loud voice1 8,lazarus1 
come  forth40    ,and ,lazarus came     
forth1 stumbling1 for his hands and feet
 were shrouded  and his face covered    
with a napkin4    8,loose him1 and let  
him go40    ,and all four1 followed by  
the ,twelve and by a throng of          
thunderstruck  ,jews1 returned to the   
house4 ,lazarus' eyes grew wonted again 
to the  light4 ,he walked on his feet1  
although with pain1 and used his hands4 
,martha1 moving rapidly1 got together   
the best dinner she could in the        
confusion after four days of demoralized
 sorrow--and the man come back to  life 
after death ate with his sister and his 
friends4 ,mary could  scarcely swallow a
 mouthful of food1 nor take her eyes    
from the  conqueror of death1 who1      
having wiped the tears from ,his eyes1  
broke ,his  bread and drank ,his wine as

 if this day were like any other day4   
,these are the resurrections narrated by
 the ,evangelists1 and from their       
account we can draw some observations   
which will allow us to dispense  with   
learned1 that is to say with unsuitable1
 commentaries4 ,in all ,his  life1      
,jesus raised from the dead only three  
persons1 and this ,he did1  not to make 
a show of ,his power and to strike the  
imagination of the  people1 but only    
because ,he was touched by the sorrow of
 those who loved  the dead1 to console a
 mother1 a father1 two sisters4 ,two of 
these  resurrections were public2 one1  
that of the daughter of ,jairus1 was    
accomplished in the presence of very    
few1 and ,jesus asked those few to  say 
nothing about it4    ,another point1 and
 the most important2 in all these three 
cases ,jesus  spoke to the dead person  
as if he were not dead but only asleep4 
,he had  no time to say anything about  
the condition of the son of the widow1  
because that decision was taken too     

rapidly1 but even to him1 ,he said1  as 
to a child1 idly oversleeping1 8,young  
man1 ,i say unto thee1 arise40  ,when   
they told ,him that the daughter of     
,jairus was dead1 ,he answered1  8,weep 
not1 she is not dead but sleepeth40     
,when they confirmed the news  of the   
death of ,lazarus1 ,he insisted1 8,he is
 not dead but sleepeth40 ,he  made no   
claim to bring back from the dead1 only 
to awaken4 ,death for ,him  was only a  
sleep1 a deeper sleep than the common   
sleep of everyday1 a  sleep only to be  
broken by a superhuman love4 ,this love 
was for the  survivors more than for the
 dead2 it was the love of one whose     
tears  flow at the sight of others'     
tears4                                  
,,the ,,marriage ,,at ,,cana      ,jesus
 liked to go to weddings4 ,for the man  
of the people who very seldom  gives way
 to lavishness and gayety1 who never    
eats and drinks as much as  he would    
like1 the day of his wedding is the most
 remarkable of all his  life1 a rich    

passage of generous gayety in his long1 
drab1 commonplace  existence4 ,wealthy  
people who can have banquets every      
evening1 moderns  who gulp down in a day
 what would have sufficed for a week to 
the poor  man of olden times1 no longer 
feel the solemn joyfulness of that day4 
,but the poor man in the old days1 the  
workingman1 the countryman1 the         
,oriental who lived all the year round  
on barley-bread1 dried figs and a  few  
fish and eggs1 and only on great days   
killed a lamb or a kid1 the  man        
accustomed to stint himself1 to         
calculate closely1 to dispense with     
many things1 to be satisfied with what  
is strictly necessary1 saw in  weddings 
the truest and greatest festival of his 
life4 ,the other  festivals1 those of   
the people and those of the ,church1    
were the same  for everybody1 and they  
are repeated every twelfth month2 but a 
wedding  was his very own festival and  
only came once for him in all the cycle 
of  his years4    ,then all the delights

 and splendors of the world were        
centered around  the bride and groom1 to
 make the day unforgettable for them4   
,torches  went at night to meet the     
groom with singers1 dancers and         
musicians4 ,the  house was filled with  
abundance1 all sorts of meats cooked in 
all sorts  of ways2 wine-skins of wine  
leaning against the walls1 vases of     
unguents  for the friends2 light1 music1
 perfumes1 gayety1 dancing2 nothing was 
lacking for the gratification of the    
senses4 ,on that one day all the  things
 which are the daily privilege of       
princes and rich men triumphed  in the  
poor man's house4    ,jesus was pleased 
by this innocent joy1 and touched by the
 exultation of  those simple souls1     
snatched for those few hours from the   
gloomy1  niggardly poverty of their     
everyday life4 ,in weddings ,he saw more
 than a  mere festival4 ,marriage is the
 supreme effort of the youth of man to  
conquer ,fate with love1 with the union 
of two affections1 with the  joining of 

two loving youths4 ,it is the           
affirmation of a double faith in  life1 
in the continuity and stability of life4
 ,the man who marries is a  hostage in  
the hands of human society4 ,making     
himself the head of a new  society and  
father of a new generation1 he frees    
himself while he  professes to bind     
himself4 ,marriage is a promise of      
happiness1 and an  acceptance of        
suffering4 ,illusion and conscience have
 their part in it4  ,in the shadow of   
tragedy1 which sends over the future a  
trembling hope  of joy1 is the heroic   
and holy greatness of marriage1 which   
cannot be  dispensed with1 and yet1 in  
the light of selfish reason1 should not 
be  accepted4 ,who has ever seen1 except
 in this case1 a condemnation so        
eagerly longed for8    ,for ,jesus      
marriage has a still deeper meaning3 it 
is the beginning of  something eternal4 
,whom ,god hath joined1 man cannot put  
asunder4 ,when  hearts have been united 
and bodies joined1 no law nor sword can 

sever  them4 ,in this our human life1   
changeable1 ephemeral1 evasive1 failing1
  frail1 there is only one thing that   
ought to last forever till death and    
beyond death1--marriage1 the only link  
of eternity in the perishable  chain4   
,jesus often speaks of weddings and     
banquets4 ,among the most beautiful     
parables is that of the ,king who sent  
out invitations to the wedding of  his  
son1 that other of the ,virgins who wait
 by night for the arrival of  the       
bridegroom's friend2 and that of the    
,lord who prepared a banquet4  ,christ  
compares ,himself to a bridegroom       
feasted by ,his friends when ,he        
answers those who are scandalized       
because ,his disciples eat and drink4   
,he did not despise wine1 and when with 
,his ,twelve1 ,he drinks that wine      
which is ,his blood1 ,he thinks of the  
new wine of the ,kingdom4 ,it is not    
surprising therefore that ,he should    
have accepted the invitation to the     
wedding at ,cana4 ,every one knows the  

miracle ,he wrought that day4 ,six  jars
 of water were changed by ,jesus into   
wine1 and into wine better than  that   
which had been drunk4 ,old rationalists 
say that this was a present  of wine    
kept hidden until then1 a surprise of   
,jesus at the end of the  meal1 in honor
 of the bride and groom4 ,and six       
hundred quarts of wine1  they add1 are a
 fine present1 showing the liberality of
 the ,master4    ,these ,voltairian     
vermin have not noticed that only ,john1
 the man of  allegories1 the            
philosophizer1 tells of the ,marriage at
 ,cana4 ,it was not  a sleight-of-hand  
trick1 but a true transmutation1        
performed with the  power of ,spirit    
over matter1 and at the same time it is 
one of those  ,parables in fact1 instead
 of in words1 a ,parable told by actual 
deeds4    ,but whoever does not stop at 
the literal meaning of the story1 sees  
that  the water turned into wine        
symbolizes the new epoch which begins   
with  the ,gospel4 ,before the          

,annunciation and the vigil in the      
desert1 water  was enough2 the world was
 left to sorrow4 ,but now the joyful    
tidings are  come1 the ,kingdom is at   
hand1 happiness is near4 ,men are about 
to pass  from sadness to joy1 from the  
widowhood of the old law to the new     
marriage with the new law4 ,the         
,bridegroom is with us4 ,now is no time 
for  sadness1 but for enthusiasm4 ,there
 will be no more fasting but            
rejoicings2 no more water but wine4     
,remember the words of the steward to   
the ,bridegroom1 8,every man at the     
beginning doth set forth good wine2 and 
when men have well drunk1 then  that    
which is worse3 but ,thou hast kept the 
good wine until now40 ,such  was the old
 usage1 the usage of the ,jews of old   
times and of the  heathen4 ,but ,jesus  
meant to overturn this old amphictyonic 
usage also4  ,the men of old gave the   
good and then the poor2 ,he1 after the  
good wine1  gives better4 ,sour1        
unripened wine1 the poor quality which  

was drunk at  the beginning1 symbolizes 
the wine of the old law1 the wine that  
has  turned sour and can no longer be   
drunk4 ,christ's wine1 finer and        
stronger1 which cheers the heart and    
warms the blood1 is the new wine of  the
 ,kingdom1 wine intended for the        
marriage of ,heaven and earth1 wine     
which gives that divine intoxication    
which will be called later1 8the        
foolishness of ,god40    ,the marriage  
of ,cana1 which in ,john is the first   
miracle1 is an allegory  of the         
evangelical revolution4                 
,,the ,,accursed ,,fig-,,tree           
,another parable expressed in the form  
of a miracle is that of the  withered   
fig-tree4 ,one morning towards ,easter1 
returning from ,bethany to  ,jerusalem1 
,jesus was hungry4 ,he came up to a     
fig-tree and found only  leaves4 ,it was
 too early to expect fruit1 even from   
the earliest  species4 ,yet ,jesus1     
according to ,matthew and ,mark1 was    
angry at the poor  tree and cursed it4  

,according to ,matthew1 8,let no fruit  
grow on thee hence-forward forever40    
,and presently the fig-tree withered    
away4    ,according to ,mark1 8,no man  
eat fruit of thee hereafter forever4444 
,and  in the morning1 as they passed by1
 they saw the fig-tree dried up from    
the roots40    ,in the ,evangelists the 
account of the curse is followed by a   
return to  the thought many times       
expressed by ,jesus1 that anything can  
be obtained  if asked for with powerful 
faith4    ,others instead see here a    
metaphorical lament which many times    
returned  to ,jesus' lips4 ,the fig-tree
 is ,israel1 the old ,judaic religion1  
which  from now on will bear only       
unnourishing leaves of rites and        
ceremonies1  leaves fated to shrivel    
without nourishing men4 ,jesus1 hungry  
for  justice1 hungry for love1 sought   
among the leaves for sustaining fruits  
of mercy and holiness4 ,he did not find 
them4 ,israel did not feed ,his  hunger 
nor fulfill ,his hope4 ,from now on     

nothing can be expected from  the old   
trunk1 leafy but sterile4 ,may it be    
dead to all eternity6 ,other  races will
 henceforth be fruitful4    ,the miracle
 of the cursed fig-tree is at bottom    
nothing more than a very  apparent gloss
 of the parable of the sterile fig-tree 
in ,luke4 8,a  certain man had a        
fig-tree planted in his vineyard2 and he
 came and  sought fruit thereon1 and    
found none4 ,then said he unto the      
dresser of  his vineyard1 ,behold1 these
 three years ,i come seeking fruit on   
this  fig-tree and find none3 cut it    
down2 why cumbereth it the ground80     
,and he answering said unto him1 8,lord1
 let it alone this year also1 till  ,i  
shall dig about it and dung it3 and if  
it bear fruit1 well3 and if  not1 then  
after that thou shalt cut it down40     
,the tree was not condemned at first1   
but after three years of sterility1  and
 even then by the intercession of the   
workman1 was given a year's  respite1   
and in that year the plant was handled  

and treated with loving  care4 ,that was
 to be the final test3 only if all care 
was unavailing was  it to be hewn down  
and burned4    ,for three years ,jesus  
had preached to the ,jews1 and ,he was  
thinking of  giving them up1 and        
announcing the ,kingdom to others4 ,but 
one of ,his  workers1 a disciple still  
attached to his people1 asked for mercy2
 one  respite more4 ,we shall see       
whether even great love could convert   
this  adulterous and bastard generation4
 ,but when they were on the road from   
,bethany1 ,judaism had been put to the  
test1 ,christ had only ,his ,cross to   
expect4 ,the evil fig-tree of ,judaism  
deserved to be burned and from that     
time on no one will eat its tardy1      
withered fruit4                         
,,bread ,,and ,,fishes      ,on two     
occasions there was a multiplication of 
bread1 alike in all  details except the 
proportions of the quantities           
involved1--that is1 in  exactly what    
give them their real spiritual meaning4 

,thousands of poor people had followed  
,jesus into a place in the  wilderness1 
far from any settlements4 ,for three    
days they had not eaten1  so hungry were
 they for the bread of life which is    
,his word4 ,but on the  third day1      
,jesus took pity on them--there were    
women and children among  them--and     
ordered ,his disciples to feed the      
multitude4 ,but they had only  a little 
bread and a few fishes1 and there were  
thousands of mouths4  ,then ,jesus had  
them all sit down on the ground on the  
green grass1 in  circles of fifty to a  
hundred1 ,he blessed the small amount of
 food they  had2 all were satisfied1 and
 baskets of the broken pieces were left4
    ,the less there is of the true      
bread1 the bread of truth1 the more it  
satisfies4 ,the old law is abundant1    
copious1 divided into innumerable       
sections4 ,there are hundreds of        
precepts written in the books and       
thousands more invented by the ,scribes 
and ,pharisees4 ,at first sight it      

seems a gigantic table where a whole    
race could be satisfied4 ,but all  these
 precepts1 these rules and formulas are 
only dry leaves1 shavings1  trash4 ,no  
one can live on such fare4 ,the more    
numerous they are1 the  less they       
satisfy4 ,humble and simple people      
cannot satisfy their hunger  for justice
 with these innumerable but inedible    
viands4 ,instead1 one  ,word alone sums 
up all the words and transcends the     
petrified bigotry  beloved by the       
complacent and satiated2 one ,word which
 fills the soul1  which reconciles      
hearts1 which calms the hunger for      
justice2 the  multitudes will be        
satisfied and there will be enough to   
eat also for  those who were not present
 on that day4 ,spiritual bread is in    
itself  miraculous4 ,a loaf of wheat    
bread is only enough for a very few1 and
  when they have finished it1 there is  
no more for any one6 ,but the bread  of 
truth1 that mystic bread of ,joy is     
never finished1 can never be  finished4 

,give it out to thousands and it is     
always there2 distribute it  to         
millions1 and it is always intact4      
,every one has taken his part as  the   
men and women in the wilderness did1 and
 as much as was given out1  so much the 
more remains for those who are to come4 
,another day when the disciples found   
themselves without bread1 ,jesus        
admonished them to beware of the leaven 
of the ,pharisees and ,sadducees4  ,and 
the disciples1 almost always slow to    
understand ,him1 said among  themselves1
 8,it is because we have taken no       
bread40 ,which when ,jesus  perceived he
 said unto them1 8,o ye of little faith1
 why reason ye among  yourselves1       
because ye have brought no bread8 ,do ye
 not yet understand  neither remember   
the five loaves of the five thousand and
 how many  baskets ye took up8 ,neither 
the seven loaves of the four thousand   
and  how many baskets ye took up8 ,how  
is it that ye do not understand that ,i 
spake it not to you concerning bread1   

that ye should beware of the  leaven of 
the ,pharisees and of the ,sadducees80  
,that is1 of the blind  guardians of the
 degenerate law4    ,they are the       
,twelve1 the chosen1 the blest1 the     
faithful1 and yet they  cannot          
understand at once1 do not sufficiently 
believe4    ,again in the boat1 the     
night of the tempest1 ,jesus was obliged
 to  reprove them4 ,the ,master had gone
 to sleep in the stern1 ,his head on the
  pillow of one of the rowers4 ,suddenly
 the wind rose1 a storm came down  on   
the lake1 the waves beat against the    
boat and it seemed from one  moment to  
the next that they would be wrecked4    
,the disciples1 alarmed1  awakened      
,jesus1 8,master1 carest thou not that  
we perish80 ,and he arose1  and rebuked 
the wind1 and said unto the sea1        
8,peace1 be still40 ,and the  wind      
ceased and there was a great calm4 ,and 
,he said unto them1 8,why are  ye so    
fearful8 how is it that ye have no      
faith80 ,and they feared  exceedingly1  

and said one to another1 8,what manner  
of man is this1 that  even the wind and 
the sea obey him80    ,there is one1    
,simon ,peter1 who has no fear4 ,not    
only does his nature  transcend the     
human1 but great is his faith1 great his
 love1 great his  power of will4        
,nothing animate nor inanimate can      
resist these three  great qualities4 ,a 
man who possesses them has renounced all
 that is  temporal and is victorious    
over time4 ,he has renounced the good   
things  of the flesh1 and for this      
reason can save the flesh2 he has       
renounced  material things and so is    
master of matter4 ,every one can partake
 of  this power4 ,faith is sufficient1  
but it must not be faith only in        
oneself4    ,a few years before ,christ1
 a great ,italian1 captain in many wars1
  corrupt but a fitting ruler over the  
putrefaction of the ,republic1 was  on  
the sea1 on a real sea1 in a boat with a
 few rowers1 in search of an  army which
 had not come up in time to win the     

victory for him4 ,the wind  began to    
blow1 the tempest bore down on the boat 
and the pilot wished to  turn back to   
the harbor4 ,but ,csar1 taking the hand 
of the pilot1 said  to him1 8,go        
forward1 fear not1 ,csar is with thee   
and his fortune sails  with you40 ,these
 words of haughty self-confidence       
heartened the crew2  every one1 as if a 
little of ,csar's strength had entered  
into his soul1  did his best to overcome
 the opposition of the sea4 ,but        
notwithstanding  the efforts of the     
seamen the ship was nearly sunk and was 
obliged to  turn back4 ,csar's faith was
 only pride and ambition1 faith in      
himself3  ,christ's faith was all love1 
love for the ,father1 love for men4     
,with this love ,he could walk to meet  
the boat of the disciples tacking       
against a contrary wind1 and could step 
upon the water as on the grass  of a    
meadow4 ,they thought in the darkness   
that it was a specter1 and  once again  
,he was obliged to reassure them1 8,be  

of good cheer3 it is ,i2  be not        
afraid40 ,as soon as ,he was in the     
boat1 the wind fell and in a  few       
minutes they reached the shore4 ,once   
again they were astounded  because1 says
 the honest ,mark1 8,for they considered
 not the miracle of  the loaves3 for    
their heart was hardened40    ,this     
comparison may seem ingenuous1 but it is
 revealing1 for the miracle  of the     
loaves is the foundation of all the     
others4 ,every parable spoken  in poetic
 words or expressed with visible        
prodigies was as bread  prepared in     
different manners1 so that ,his own     
followers1 at least ,his  very own1     
should understand the one needful truth 
that the ,spirit is the  only fare      
worthy of man1 and that the man who is  
nourished on that fare  is master of the
 world4                                 
,,not ,,secretive3 ,a ,,poet      ,jesus
 seems at first sight secretive4 ,he    
orders those affected by  miracles to   
say to no man who has cured them2 ,he   

wishes prayers and  charity to be done  
secretly2 when the disciples recognize  
that ,he is the  ,christ1 ,he charges   
them not to repeat it2 after the        
,transfiguration ,he  bids the three    
keep silence1 and when ,he teaches ,he  
uses parables which  all men are not    
capable of understanding4    ,on further
 thought1 on really considering the     
matter1 it is apparent  that ,jesus has 
nothing of the esoteric4 ,he has no     
secret doctrine to  impart to a few     
acolytes4 ,his words are public and     
open4 ,he always  speaks in the public  
squares of cities1 on the beaches of    
lakes1 in the  ,synagogue1 in the midst 
of the people4 ,he forbids speaking of  
,his  miracles in order that ,he may not
 be confused with wizards and           
exorcists2 ,he commands to do good      
secretly in order to keep vainglory     
from destroying merit2 ,he does not wish
 the ,twelve to proclaim ,him the       
,christ before ,his entry into          
,jerusalem1 the public inauguration of  

,his  ,messiahship2 and ,he speaks in   
parables to be better understood by the 
simple who listen more willingly to a   
story than to a sermon1 and  remember a 
narration better than an argument4      
,three of the ,evangelists report a     
speech of ,jesus1 which seems to        
contradict this view4 8,unto you10 ,he  
is speaking to the disciples1 8it  is   
given to know the mysteries of the      
,kingdom of ,god1 but to others it  is  
not given2 therefore ,i speak to them in
 parables that seeing they  might not   
see1 and hearing they might not         
understand40    ,but ,jesus means only  
to say this1 8,you understand these     
mysteries1 but  the many do not         
understand them1 although they have ears
 and spirits  like yours4 ,and to them  
that they may understand ,i speak in    
parables1--that is1 in a figurative     
language of facts because it is  easier 
and more familiar40 ,you teach children 
with fables and the simple  with        
stories1 and 8the many0 have remained   

like the simple and the  childish4 ,to  
overcome the slowness of their minds ,i 
use words adapted to  their nature4     
,they are all fancy1 and little         
intellect2 and the parables  are an     
appeal to the imagination more than to  
the reasoning powers4 ,i do  not employ 
them therefore to hide the truth1 but   
the better to reveal it  to those who   
could not see it in a purely rational   
form4 ,for if then  they do not         
understand1 it is the fault of their    
obstinacy1 which often  closes the eyes 
and ears of the soul4    ,jesus had no  
mysteries to dissemble4 ,it was ,his    
wish that all1 even the  most humble and
 ignorant1 should understand ,him4 ,the 
parables were not  made to hide ,his    
teaching from the profane1 but to make  
it more explicit  and understandable to 
every one4 ,that sometimes even the     
intelligence of  the ,twelve is inferior
 to this task is a melancholy conclusion
 by no  means unknown to ,jesus4    ,the
 marvelous content of ,his message has  

cast into the shade ,his poetic         
originality1 not less marvelous4 ,jesus 
never wrote--once only ,he wrote on  the
 sand1 and the wind destroyed forever   
,his handwriting--but in the  midst of a
 people of powerful imagination1 of the 
people who wrote the  ,psalter1 the     
story of ,ruth1 the book of ,job1 the   
,song of ,songs1 ,he would  have been   
one of the greatest poets of all times4 
,his victorious  youthfulness of spirit1
 the racy1 popular language of the      
country where  ,he grew up1 the books   
,he had read1 few but among the richest 
of all  poetry--,his loving communion   
with the life of the fields and of      
animals  and above all ,his divine and  
passionate yearning to give light to    
those  who suffer in the dark1 to save  
those who are being lost forever1 to    
carry supreme happiness to the most     
unhappy 7because true poetry does  not  
catch its fire from the light of the    
lantern but at the light of the  stars  
and of the sun1 is not found in the     

writings left behind by                 
great-grandfathers1 but in love1 in     
sorrow in the deeply moved soul72  these
 things combined made of ,jesus a poet1 
an inventor of living and  eternal      
images with which he achieved a miracle 
on which the ,evangelists  make no      
comment1--the miracle of communicating  
the highest truth by the  means of      
stories so simple1 familiar1 full of    
grace that after twenty  centuries they 
shine with that unique youth which is   
eternity4 ,some of  these stories are   
only idyllic or epic restatements of    
revelations which  at other times ,he   
expounded in abstract words2 but there  
are some which  express things never    
said in any other form in ,his teaching4
 ,the  parables are the imaginative     
comments on the ,sermon on the ,mount1  
such  as could be made only by a poet   
who merits the title of divine more     
truly than any other poet ever born4    
,,yeast      ,city ladies do not make   
their own bread1 but old countrywomen   

and  housewives know what yeast is4 ,a  
handful of dough from the last baking   
as big as a child's hand1 wet with warm 
water and put into the new  dough1      
raises even as much as three measures of
 flour4    ,among the seeds of plants   
that of the mustard is among the        
smallest2 it  can hardly be seen1 but   
from this tiny little seed1 if it is put
 into  good earth1 springs up a fine    
shrub1 and the fowls of the air lodge in
  the branches of it4 ,the grain of     
wheat is not large1 the farmer throws   
it into the ground and then goes on     
about his other affairs2 he sleeps1  he 
goes away from home and comes back4     
,days pass and nights pass1 no  thought 
is given to the seed1 but underneath    
there in the moist1 plowed  field the   
seed has germinated4 ,there comes out a 
blade of green and at  the top of this  
blade an ear1 at first green and        
graceful1 then little  by little        
becoming golden grain4 ,now the field is
 ready for the mowing  and the farmer   

can commence his harvesting4            
,likewise with the ,kingdom of ,heaven  
and the first news of it4 ,a word  seems
 nothing4 ,what is a word8 ,syllables1  
sounds1 which come from the  lips1 enter
 with difficulty into the ears and only 
when they come from  the heart find     
other hearts2 it is a little thing1     
small1 a breath1 a  sigh1 a sound which 
comes and goes and the wind carries it  
away4 ,and yet  the word of the ,kingdom
 is like yeast4 ,if it goes into good   
flour1 clean  honest flour not          
adulterated with other grains1 it       
ferments and grows4  ,it is like the    
seed of the fields which germinates deep
 under the  ground1 patient as the earth
 which hides it1 which1 when ,spring    
comes1  grows green and strong and with 
the beginning of summer1 lo1 the harvest
  is ready6    ,the gospel is made up of
 few words1 8,the ,kingdom is at hand1  
change your  souls60 but if it falls    
into the heart of men ready for it1 of  
simple  men who wish to become great1 of

 righteous men who wish to become holy1 
of sinners who seek in good for that    
happiness which they have vainly  sought
 in evil1 then those words take root in 
the depths1 put out buds  and shoots1   
flourish up in clusters and ears1 and   
luxuriate in a summer  never to be      
followed by the decay of ,autumn4       
,only a few men of those living about   
,christ believed in the ,kingdom and    
prepared themselves for the great day4  
,only a few1 insignificant men1         
scattered like tiny particles of yeast  
in the midst of the divided  nations and
 the immense ,empires1 but these few    
dozen insignificant men  gathered       
together in the midst of a predestined  
people were to become1  through the     
contagion of their example1 thousands   
upon thousands1 and  only three hundred 
years after them1 in the place of       
,tiberius1 ruled a  man who bowed the   
knee before the heirs of the ,apostles4 
,but men must renounce everything else  
if they are to enjoy the promised       

,kingdom4 ,worldly-minded men do the    
same in their temporal affairs4 ,if a   
man working in another's field discovers
 a treasure-store1 he quickly  hides it 
again and hurries to sell all that he   
has to buy that field4 ,if  a merchant  
looking for marvelous jewels worthy to  
be offered to  monarchs1 finds a pearl  
larger and purer than any he has ever   
seen1 he  goes and sells everything that
 he has1 even the other pearls of less  
price1 to buy this unique and wonderful 
pearl4    ,if the workman and the       
merchant1 material-minded men1 who are  
satisfied  with frail acquisitions1 are 
thus ready to sell all their goods to   
acquire a treasure which seems to them  
more precious than anything they        
possess1 even though it is only a       
material and perishable treasure1 how   
much more reason there is for men to    
renounce what they hold most dear1  in  
order to achieve the ,kingdom of ,god4  
,if the laboring-man and the  merchant  
for a money gain1 likely to be stolen or

 destroyed1 thus  consent to a          
provisional sacrifice which will give   
them a hundred per  cent profit1 ought  
not we for an infinitely greater1       
infinitely higher  profit1 throw away   
the best we have1 even if it has seemed 
until now of  inestimable price8    ,but
 before we make this renunciation we    
must take thought and be sure  that what
 remains to us will be enough to take us
 to the end of this new  undertaking4   
,we must measure the forces of our soul1
 that it may not  happen to us as to the
 man who wished to build up a tower1 a  
beautiful  tower which would soar up to 
the sky like that of ,jerusalem4 ,he    
took no  account of the cost but called 
the diggers1 had the foundations        
excavated2 called the masons and had the
 four walls of the foundations  begun2  
but when the tower had scarcely been    
raised above the level of  the earth1   
and was not yet as high as the roof of a
 house1 he was  obliged to stop because 
he had no more money to pay for the     

mortar1 the  stones1 the bricks and the 
working men2 and the tower remained     
thus1 low  and unsightly1 in memory of  
his presumption3 and his neighbors      
mocked at  him4    ,a king who wants to 
make war on another king first takes    
account of his  soldiers1 and if he can 
count only on ten thousand and the other
 has  twenty thousand1 he puts off any  
idea of war1 and sends an embassy of    
peace before his enemy can take the     
first hostile step4 ,he who is not  sure
 of himself1 of being able to conquer to
 the last1 does not follow  ,christ4    
,for the foundation of the ,kingdom is  
infinitely harder work than  the        
building of a tower1 and the creation of
 the new man is war not less  harsh than
 external war1 although silent and      
inner4                                  
,,the ,,banquet      ,only the clean of 
heart can enter into the ,kingdom4 ,the 
,kingdom is an  eternal feast1 and only 
those dressed for a feast can go there4 
,there  was a ,king who celebrated his  

son's wedding1 and those whom he invited
  did not come4 ,then the ,king called  
in the common people1 the passers-by1   
the beggars1 every one2 but when the    
,king came into the banqueting hall  and
 saw one of the guests all filthy with  
grease and mud1 he had him  cast outside
 the door1 to gnash his teeth in the    
coldness of night4    ,at the banquet of
 the ,kingdom if the first called do not
 come1 all are  accepted2 even the      
wretched and the sinners4 ,the ,king had
 invited first  the chosen people2 but  
one had bought a piece of ground1       
another five  yoke of oxen1 a third had 
taken a wife that day4 ,they were all   
deep in  their affairs1 and some did not
 even trouble to send an excuse4 ,then  
the  ,king sent his servants to pick up 
out of the streets the blind1 the  poor1
 the maimed and the halt1 the lowest of 
the rabble2 and still there  was room4  
,then he commanded that those who passed
 in front of his palace  should be      
forced to come in1 whoever they might   

be2 and the banquet  began4 ,it was a   
royal banquet1 a rich and magnificent   
feast2 but after  all1 it consisted in  
enjoying lamb and fish1 in getting drunk
 on wine  and cider4 ,at the break of   
day the bonfire was burned out1 the     
tables  were cleared1 every one had to  
return to his home and to his poverty4  
,if  some of those whom the ,king first 
invited preferred another material      
pleasure to this material pleasure it   
was pardonable4    ,but the invitation  
to the banquet of the ,kingdom is a     
promise of  spiritual happiness1        
absolute1 satisfying1 perpetual4        
,something else  than the passing       
amusements of terrestrial life3         
nauseating drunkenness1  food that      
distends the stomach1 sensual pleasures 
that leave a man  bone-weary and        
defiled4 ,and yet the men whom ,jesus   
chose among all other  men1 and called  
first of all to the divine feast of the 
reborn1 did not  respond4 ,they made wry
 faces1 complained1 slipped away and    

continued  their habitual low actions4  
,they preferred the rubbish of carnal   
goods  to the splendor of high hope     
which is the only reasonable reason for 
living4    ,then all the others were    
called in their place3 beggars instead  
of the  rich1 sinners instead of        
,pharisees1 women of the streets instead
 of fine  ladies1 the sick and sorrowing
 instead of the strong and happy4       
,even the latest arrivals if they come  
in time will be admitted to the  feast4 
,the master of the vineyard saw in the  
marketplace certain  laborers who were  
waiting for work1 sent them out to prune
 his vines1  and agreed on their wages4 
,later at noon-day he saw others without
 work  and sent also those2 and still   
later more again1 and he sent them all4 
,and they all worked1 some at pruning   
and some at hoeing1 and when the        
evening came the master gave the same   
pay to all4 ,but those who had  begun in
 the morning early1 murmured1 8,why do  
those who have worked less  than we     

receive the same payment80 ,but the     
master answered one of them  and said1  
8,didst not thou agree with me for a    
penny2 why then dost thou  lament8 ,if  
it is my pleasure to give the same to   
the working men of the  last hour1 is   
that robbing you others80    ,the       
apparent injustice of the master is only
 a more generous justice4 ,to  all he   
gives what he has promised1 and he who  
arrived last but works  with equal hope 
has the same right as the others to     
enjoy that ,kingdom  for which he has   
labored until the night4    ,woe to him 
who comes too late6 ,no one knows the   
exact day1 but after  that hour he who  
has not gone in will knock at the door1 
and it will not  be opened to him1 and  
he will mourn in outer darkness4    ,the
 master has gone to the wedding and the 
servants do not know when he  will come 
back4 ,fortunate are those who have     
waited for him and whom he  will find   
awake4 ,the master himself will seat    
them at the table and will  serve them4 

,but if he find them sleeping1 if no one
 is ready to receive  him1 if they make 
him knock at the door before opening it1
 if they come  to meet him disheveled1  
tousled1 half-clad1 and if he finds in  
the house  no lamp lighted1 no water    
warmed1 he will take the servants by the
 arm  and drive them out without pity4  
,every one should be ready because the  
,son of ,man is like a thief in the     
night who sends no word beforehand when 
he will come4 ,or like a  bridegroom who
 has been detained by some one in the   
street4 ,in the house  of the bride     
there are ten virgins who are waiting to
 go to meet him  with the light of the  
procession4 ,five1 the wise virgins1    
take oil for  their lamps1 and wait to  
hear the voices and the steps of the    
approaching bridegroom4 ,the other five1
 the foolish1 do not think of the  oil1 
and1 tired of waiting1 fall asleep4 ,and
 suddenly there is the sound  of the    
nuptial procession arriving4 ,the five  
wise virgins light their  lamps and run 

out into the street joyfully to welcome 
the bridegroom4  ,the other five wake up
 with a start and ask their companions  
to give  them a little oil4 ,but the    
others say1 8,why did you not provide   
for that  sooner8 ,go and buy some40    
,and the foolish run from one house to  
another  to get a little oil2 but       
everybody is asleep1 and nobody answers 
them1  and the shops are closed and the 
roaming dogs bark at their heels4 ,they 
go back to the house of the wedding1 but
 now the door is closed4 ,the  five wise
 virgins are already there and feasting 
with the bridegroom4  ,the five foolish 
virgins knock and beg and cry out1 but  
no one comes to  open for them4 ,through
 the cracks in the window casings they  
see the  glowing lights of the supper4  
,they hear the clatter of the dishes1   
the  clinking of the cups1 the songs of 
the young men1 the sound of the  musical
 instruments1 but they cannot enter4    
,they must stay there until  morning1 in
 the dark1 and the wind4 ,shut out from 

the pleasures of the  evening festival1 
they tremble and shake in terror4       
,,the ,,narrow ,,gate      8,enter ye in
 at the strait gate3 for wide is the    
gate1 and broad is the  way1 that       
leadeth to destruction1 and many there  
be which go in thereat3  ,because strait
 is the gate1 narrow is the way1 which  
leadeth unto life1  and few there be    
that find it40 ,those who will try to   
enter will fail1  because the master of 
the house1 when he has shut his door1   
will no  longer recognize any one4      
,until the great day1 until it is too   
late1 8,ask and it shall be given to    
you2 seek and ye shall find1 knock and  
it shall be opened unto you40  ,even    
hard1 slothful1 obstinate men give way  
to persistent entreaty4 ,if  even men   
are not always insensible to pleadings  
how much surer will be  the response    
from a ,father who loves us8    ,a man  
at midnight knocks at the door of a     
friend and wakens him4 ,through  the    
door he says to him1 8,friend1 lend me  

three loaves2 ,for a friend of  mine in 
his journey is come to me1 and ,i have  
nothing to set before  him40 ,but the   
other1 still half asleep1 replies1      
8,trouble me not3 for ,i  am tired1 and 
,i do not wish to arise4 ,and here in my
 bed ,i have my  children who are asleep
 and if ,i get up ,i will wake them and 
chill  them40 ,but the other will not   
give up1 and knocks again on the door   
and  raises his voice and begs with     
clasped hands that the other one will do
  him this service1 for he has no other 
friends near1 and the hour is late  and 
his guest hungry and waiting for him4   
,and he storms so at the door  that his 
friend gets out of bed and lets him come
 in and gives him as  many loaves as he 
needs4 ,the friend was weak1 but        
good-hearted4 ,and even  the bad-hearted
 do as he does4 ,there was in a certain 
city a judge who  cared for no one1 a   
morose and scornful man who wanted to do
 everything  as it suited him best4 ,a  
widow went every day before him and     

asked for  justice1 and although her    
cause was just the judge always sent her
 away  and would not do what she wished4
 ,but the widow patiently endured all   
his repulses and did not weary in her   
importunity4 ,and finally the judge  to 
get rid of this woman who wore him out  
with her supplications1  pleadings1 and 
prayers1 gave the sentence and sent her 
in peace4    ,but no more must be asked 
than can be expected4 ,he who has       
accomplished  his task will eat and     
drink but will not have any special     
place of  honor1 nor will he be better  
served than his brother1 and certainly  
not  so well as his superior4 ,when the 
servant1 having been in the field       
sowing or pasturing the cattle1 comes   
back to the house1 the master does  not 
call him to eat at his own table1 but   
first is served himself and  afterwards 
gives the servant the meal which is due 
him4 ,this is a  ,parable which ,jesus  
meant for ,his ,apostles1 who were      
already disputing  about who would have 

the highest place in the ,kingdom4      
8,doth he thank  that servant because he
 did the things that were commanded him8
 ,i trow  not4 ,so likewise ye1 when ye 
shall have done all those things which  
were  commanded you1 say3 ,we are       
unprofitable servants3 we have done that
  which was our duty to do40    ,the    
only thing which counts is the actual   
doing4 ,there are those who say  8yes0  
to orders but who after this do nothing4
 ,such men shall be  condemned more     
severely than those who refused openly  
and then  afterwards1 repentant1 obeyed4
 ,a father had two sons and said to the 
older1 8,son1 go work to-day in my      
vineyard40 ,and the son answered1 8,i   
go1 sir10 but instead of going to work  
in the vineyard he lay down in  the     
shade to sleep4 ,and the father said to 
the second1 8,go too and work  with your
 brother40 ,but the son answered1 8,no1 
to-day ,i wish to rest  because ,i am   
not well40 ,but later1 thinking of the  
old man who could not  do the work      

himself any longer1 he took back his    
refusal1 overcame his  indolence and    
went to the vineyard and worked with a  
will till evening4    ,to listen to the 
word of the ,kingdom is not enough4 ,to 
consent verbally  and to live just as   
before1 without effort to change the    
heart1 is less  than nothing4           
8,whosoever cometh to me1 and heareth my
 sayings1 and doeth  them1 ,i will show 
you to whom he is like2 ,he is like a   
man which built  an house1 and digged   
deep1 and laid the foundation on a rock1
 and when  the flood arose1 the stream  
beat vehemently upon that house1 and    
could  not shake it1 for it was founded 
upon a rock4 ,but he that heareth and   
doeth not1 is like a man that without a 
foundation built an house upon  the     
earth2 against which the stream did beat
 vehemently1 and immediately  it fell2  
and the ruin of that house was great40  
,the same teaching is in the ,parable of
 the ,sowing1 8,a sower went out to  sow
 his seed3 and as he sowed1 some fell by

 the wayside2 and it was  trodden down1 
and the fowls of the air devoured it1   
and some fell upon a  rock2 and as soon 
as it was sprung up1 it withered away1  
because it  lacked moisture4 ,and some  
fell among thorns2 and the thorns sprang
 up  with it and choked it4 ,and other  
fell on good ground1 and sprang up and  
bare fruit an hundredfold40 ,this is the
 ,parable which the ,twelve were        
incapable of understanding4 ,jesus was  
obliged to explain it ,himself4 ,the    
seed is the ,word of ,god4 ,those by the
 wayside are they that hear1 then       
cometh ,satan and taketh the ,word out  
of their hearts lest they should        
believe and be saved4 ,they on the rock 
are they which when they hear  receive  
the ,word with joy1 and these have no   
root which for a while  believe and in  
time of temptation fall away4 ,and that 
which fell among  thorns are they which 
when they have heard go forth and are   
choked with  cares and riches and       
pleasures of this life1 and bring no    

fruit to  perfection4 ,but that on the  
good ground are they which in an honest 
and  good heart having heard the ,word  
keep it and bring forth fruit with      
patience4 ,but it is not enough to hear 
it merely1 to understand it1 to         
practice it4 ,he who has received it    
should not keep it to himself4 ,who  is 
the man who having a lamp hides it under
 the bed or covers it with a  vessel8   
,the light should stand high in the     
center of the room that they  which     
enter in may see it and be lighted4     
,a ,lord traveling into a far country   
left to each of his servants ten        
talents with the understanding that they
 should use the money to good  purpose4 
,and when he came back he reckoned with 
them4 ,and the first  delivered to him  
twenty talents1 because with the first  
ten he had  earned ten other talents4   
,and the ,lord made him steward over all
 his  goods4 ,and the second delivered  
him fifteen talents1 for he had not been
  able to earn more than five more4 ,but

 the third presented himself  timorously
 and showed him1 wrapped up in a napkin1
 the ten talents which  he had received4
 8,lord1 ,i knew thee that thou art an  
hard man1 reaping  where thou hast not  
sown1 and gathering where thou hast not 
strawed3 ,and  ,i was afraid1 and went  
and hid thy talents in the earth40 ,and 
the ,lord  answered1 8,thou wicked and  
slothful servant1 ,i will judge thee by 
thine  own words4 ,take the talents and 
give them to him who has twenty40 ,but  
he  has already plenty4 8,i say unto    
you10 answered the ,lord1 8,for unto    
every  one that hath shall be given1 and
 he shall have abundance3 but from him  
that hath not shall be taken away even  
that which he hath40 ,and the           
unprofitable servant was cast into outer
 darkness1 where there was  weeping and 
gnashing of teeth4 ,he who has received 
the ,word ought to  double his wealth4  
,he has received so great a treasure    
that if he leaves  it useless1 he       
deserves to have it taken away from him4

 ,from him who  does not add to it shall
 be taken away even that which he has1  
and unto  him who has doubled his       
treasures shall be given even more4     
,those who do  not use the treasure of  
the ,word are not poverty-stricken men  
who need  gifts because they are        
destitute1 but faithless and slothful   
husbandmen1  to whom was entrusted the  
most fruitful field in all the universe4
 ,happy  the steward whom the ,master   
shall find attentive to act justly and  
to  give to all their rightful part of  
the harvest4 ,but if the steward  begins
 to oppress the serving men and women   
and thinks only of eating  and getting  
drunk he will be scourged and punished  
when the ,master  returns1 just         
punishment for the faithless6    ,the   
servant who does not know what the      
,master wishes done1 and so1 not        
knowing1 does not carry out ,his wishes1
 shall be less punished than he  who    
knew1 and still does the contrary1 for  
he shall be driven out of the  house    

where he gave orders4 ,the bearers of   
the ,word have no excuse if  they are   
not the first to obey ,god's wishes4    
,from him to whom much was  given1 much 
shall be required4                      
,,the ,,prodigal ,,son      ,a man had  
two sons4 ,his wife was dead1 but he    
still had these two sons1  only two4    
,but two are always better than one4 ,if
 the first is away from  home1 the      
second is still there2 if the younger   
fall ill1 the older  works for two2 if  
one should die 444 even children die1   
even the young  die1 and sometimes      
before the old 444 if one of the two    
should die1  there is at least one left 
who will care for the poor father4      
,this man loved his sons1 not only      
because they were of his blood but      
because he had a loving heart4 ,he loved
 them both1 the older and the  younger2 
perhaps the younger a little more than  
the older1 but so little  that he did   
not realize it himself4 ,fathers and    
mothers often have a  weakness for the  

youngest because he is the smallest1 he 
is the  sweetest1 he is the last baby1  
and after his birth there was never     
another one1 so that his boyhood1 still 
so recent1 so prolonged1  stretches out 
to the sill of his young manhood like a 
lingering halo of  tenderness4 ,it seems
 only yesterday that he was a baby at   
the breast1  that he took his first     
stumbling steps1 that he sprang up to   
embrace his  father1 or sat astride his 
knees4    ,but this man was not partial4
 ,he loved his sons like his two eyes   
and  his two hands1 equally dear1 one at
 the left1 one at the right1 and he  saw
 to it that both were happy4 ,nothing   
lacked for either one4    ,and yet1 even
 in the case of sons of one father1 it  
almost never happens  that two brothers 
have the same tastes or even similar    
tastes4 ,the older  was a serious-minded
 young man1 sedate1 settled1 who seemed 
already  grown up and mature1 a husband1
 the head of a family4 ,he respected his
  father1 but more as master than as    

father1 without any impulsive show of   
affection4 ,he worked faithfully1 but he
 was hard and captious with the         
servants2 he went through all the       
religious forms1 but did not let the    
poor come about him4 ,although the house
 was full of all possible good  things1 
yet for them there was never anything4  
,he pretended to love his  brother1 but 
his heart was full of the poison of     
envy4 ,when people say  8to love like a 
brother0 they say the contrary of what  
ought to be said4  ,brothers very rarely
 love each other4 ,jewish history1 not  
to speak of  any other1 begins with     
,cain1 goes on with ,jacob's cheating   
,esau1 with  ,joseph sold by his        
brothers1 with ,absalom1 who killed     
,amon1 with ,solomon  who had ,adonijah 
killed3 a long bloody road of jealousy1 
opposition and  betrayal4 ,it would be  
more correct to say 8a father's love10  
rather than  a brother's4    ,the second
 son seemed of another race4 ,he was    
younger and was not  ashamed to be      

young4 ,he splashed about and made merry
 in his youth as in  a warm lake4 ,he   
had all the desires1 the graces1 and the
 defects of his  age4 ,he was fitful    
with his father4 ,one day he hurt him1  
the next1 put  him into the seventh     
heaven2 he was capable of not saying a  
word for  weeks together and then       
suddenly throwing himself on his        
father's neck  in the highest spirits4  
,good times with his friends were more  
to his  taste than work4 ,he refused no 
invitations to drink1 stared at women   
and  dressed better than other people4  
,but he was warmhearted2 he gave money  
to the needy1 was charitable without    
boasting of it1 never sent away any  one
 disconsolate4 ,he was seldom seen at   
the synagogue1 and for this and  for    
other reasons the middle-class people of
 the neighborhood1 timid1  colorless    
people1 religious and self-seeking1 did 
not think well of him  and advised their
 sons to have nothing to do with him4   
,so much the more  because the young man

 wanted to spend more than his father's 
resources  allowed him--a good man1 they
 said1 but weak and blinded--and because
 he  talked recklessly and said things  
which were not fitting for the son of  a
 good family brought up as he ought to  
be4 ,the little life of that  little    
country hole was repugnant to him2 he   
said it was better to look  for         
adventure in rich countries1 populous1  
far away1 beyond the  mountains and the 
sea1 where the big1 luxurious cities    
are1 with marble  buildings and the best
 wines and shops full of silk and       
silver1 and  women dressed in fine      
clothes like queens fresh from aromatic 
baths who  lightly give themselves for a
 piece of gold4    ,there in the country
 you had to obey orders and work hard1  
and there was  no outlet for gypsy-like 
and nomadic tastes4 ,his father1        
although he was  rich1 although he was  
good1 measured out the drachma as if    
they were  talents4 ,his brother was    
vexed if he bought a new tunic or came  

home a  little tipsy2 in the family all 
they knew was the field1 the furrow1 the
  pasture1 the stock2 a life that was   
not a life but one long effort4    ,and 
one day 7he had thought of it many times
 before1 but had never had  the courage 
to say it7 he hardened his heart and his
 face and said to  his father1 8,father1
 give me the portion of goods that      
falleth to me1  and ,i will ask nothing 
more of thee40    ,when the old man     
heard this1 he was deeply hurt1 but he  
made no answer1  and went away into his 
room that his tears should not be seen1 
and for a  while neither of them spoke  
any more of this matter4 ,but the son   
suffered1 was sullen1 and lost all his  
ardor and animation even to the  fresh  
color of his face4 ,and the father1     
seeing his son suffer1 suffered         
himself1 and yet suffered more at the   
thought of losing him4 ,but finally     
paternal love conquered self-love4 ,the 
estimations and valuations of the       
property were made1 and the father gave 

to both his sons their rightful  part   
and kept the rest for himself4 ,the     
young man lost no time1 he sold  what he
 could not carry away1 gathered together
 a goodly sum1 and one  evening1 without
 saying anything to any one1 mounted his
 fine horse and  went away4 ,the older  
brother was rather pleased by his       
departure2 the  younger would never have
 the courage to come back2 so now he was
 the  only son1 first in command1 and no
 one would take away the rest of his    
inheritance from him4    ,but the father
 secretly wept many tears1 all the tears
 of his old  wrinkled eyelids4 ,every   
line of his old face was washed with    
tears1 his  aged cheeks were soaked with
 his grieving4 ,his son was gone and he 
needed all the love of the remaining son
 to make up for the sorrow of  the      
separation4    ,but he had an intuition 
that perhaps he had not lost his son    
forever1  his second-born1 that before  
his death he would have the happiness to
  kiss him again2 and this idea helped  

him to endure the loneliness4    ,in the
 meantime the young man drew rapidly    
near to the rich city of  revels where  
he meant to live4 ,at every turning of  
the road he felt of  the money-bags     
which hung at either side of his saddle4
 ,he soon arrived  at the city of his   
desire and began his feasting4 ,it      
seemed to him that  those thousands of  
coins would last forever4 ,he rented a  
fine house1  bought five or six slaves1 
dressed like a prince1 and soon had men 
and  women friends who were guests at   
his table1 and who drank his wine till  
their stomachs could hold no more4 ,he  
did not economize with women and  chose 
the most beautiful the city contained1  
those who knew how to dance  and sing   
and dress with magnificence1 and undress
 with grace4 ,no  presents seemed too   
fine or too rich to please those bodies 
which  abandoned themselves with such   
voluptuous softness1 and which gave him 
the wildest1 most torturing pleasure4   
,the little provincial lord from  the   

dull country1 repressed in the most     
sensual period of his life1 now  vented 
his voluptuousness1 his love of luxury1 
in this dangerous life4    ,such a life 
could not go on forever3 the money bags 
of the prodigal son  were not           
bottomless--no money bags are--and there
 came a day when there  was neither gold
 nor silver1 and not even copper1 but   
only empty bags of  canvas and leather  
lying limp and flabby on the brick floor
 of his room4  ,his friends disappeared1
 the women disappeared1 slaves1 beds and
  dining-tables were sold4 ,with the    
proceeds he had enough to buy food1  but
 only for a short time4 ,to complete his
 misfortune1 a famine came on  the      
country and the prodigal son found      
himself hungering in the midst of  a    
famine-stricken people4 ,the women had  
gone off to other cities where  the     
situation was better2 the friends of his
 drunken night-revels had  hard work to 
look out for themselves4    ,the        
unfortunate man1 stripped and destitute1

 left the city1 traveling  with a lord  
who was going to the country where he   
had a fine estate4 ,he  begged him for  
work1 till the lord hired him as        
swine-herd because he  was young and    
strong and hardly any one was willing to
 be a swine-herd4  ,for a ,jew nothing  
could be a greater affliction than this4
 ,even in  ,egypt1 although animals were
 adored there1 the only people forbidden
 to  enter the temples were swine-herds4
 ,no father would have given his        
daughter to wife to a swine-herd and no 
man for all the gold in the  world would
 have married the daughter of a         
swine-herd4    ,but the prodigal son had
 no choice and was forced to lead the   
herd of  swine out to the pasture4 ,he  
was given no pay and very little to eat1
  because there was only a little for   
any one2 but there was no famine for    
the hogs1 because they could eat        
anything4 ,there were plenty of carob   
beans and they gorged themselves on     
those4 ,their hungry attendant          

enviously watched the pink and black    
animals rooting in the earth1  chewing  
beans and roots1 and longed to fill his 
stomach with the same  stuff and wept1  
remembering the abundance of his own    
home and his  festivals in the great    
city4 ,sometimes overcome with hunger he
 took one  of the black bean-husks1 from
 under the grunting snouts of the pigs1 
tempering the bitterness of his         
suffering with that insipid and woody   
food4 ,and woe to him if his employer   
had seen him6    ,his dress was a dirty 
slave's smock which smelt of manure1 his
 foot-gear  a pair of worn-out sandals  
scarcely held together with rushes2 on  
his  head a faded hood4 ,his fair young 
face1 tanned by the sun of the hills1   
was thin and long1 and had taken a      
sickly color between gray and brown4    
,who was wearing now the spotless       
home-spun clothes1 which he had left in 
his brother's chests8 ,where now were   
the fair silken tunics dyed purple      
which he had sold for so little8 ,his   

father's hired servants were better     
dressed than he1 and they fared better  
than he4    ,returned to his senses1 he 
said to himself1 8,how many hired       
servants of  my father's have bread     
enough and to spare1 and ,i perish with 
hunger60  ,until now he had brushed away
 the idea of going home as soon as it   
had  appeared4 ,how could he bear to go 
back in this condition and give in to   
his brother after having despised his   
home1 after having made his father      
weep8 ,to return without a garment1     
unshod1 without a penny1 without the    
ring--the sign of liberty--uncomely1    
disfigured by this famished slavery1    
stinking and contaminated by this       
abominable trade1 to show that the  wise
 old neighbors were right1 that his     
serious-minded brother was  right1 to   
bow himself at the knee of the old man  
whom he had left  without a greeting1 to
 return with opprobrium as a ragged     
fellow to the  spot from which he had   
departed as a king6 ,to come back to the

  soup-plate into which he had          
spit--into a house which contained      
nothing  of his6    ,no1 there was      
something of his always in his home1 his
 father6 ,if he  belonged to his father1
 his father belonged also to him4 ,he   
was his  creation1 made of his flesh1   
issued from his seed in a moment of     
love4  ,though hurt1 his father would   
never drive away his own flesh and      
blood4  ,if he would not take him back  
as son1 at least he would take him back 
as  a hired servant1 as he would any    
stranger1 like a man born of another    
father4 8,i will arise and go to my     
father1 and will say unto him1  ,father1
 ,i have sinned against heaven and      
before thee1 ,and am no more  worthy to 
be called thy son3 make me as one of thy
 hired servants40 ,i do  not come back  
as son but as servant1 a worker1 and ,i 
do not ask love  from you1 for ,i have  
no more right to that1 but only a little
 bread from  your kitchen4    ,and the  
young man gave back the hogs to his     

master1 and went towards his  own land4 
,he begged a piece of bread from the    
country people1 and wept  salt tears as 
he ate this bread of pity and charity in
 the shadow of the  sycamores4 ,his sore
 and blistered feet could scarcely carry
 him4 ,he was  barefoot now1 but his    
faith in forgiveness led him homeward   
step by  step4    ,and finally one day  
at noon he arrived in sight of his      
father's house2  but he did not dare to 
knock1 nor to call any one1 nor to go   
in4 ,he hung  around outside to see if  
any one would come out4 ,and behold1 his
 father  appeared on the threshold4 ,his
 son was no longer the same1 was        
changed1  but the eyes of a father even 
dimmed by weeping could not fail to     
recognize him4 ,he ran towards him and  
caught him to his breast1 and  kissed   
him and kissed him again1 and could not 
stop from pressing his  pale1 old lips  
on that ravaged face1 on those eyes     
whose expression was  altered but still 
beautiful1 on that hair1 dusty but still

 waving and  soft1 on that flesh that   
was his own4    ,the son1 covered with  
confusion and deeply moved1 did not know
 how to  respond to these kisses1 and as
 soon as he could free himself from his 
father's arms he threw himself on the   
ground and repeated tremulously  the    
speech he had prepared4 8,father1 ,i    
have sinned against heaven and  before  
thee1 ,and am no more worthy to be      
called thy son40    ,but if the young   
man had brought himself to the point of 
refusing the  name of son1 the old man  
never felt himself more father than at  
this  moment2 he seemed to become a     
father for a second time1 and without   
even  answering1 with his eyes still    
clouded and soft1 but with the ringing  
voice of his best days1 he called to the
 servants3    8,bring forth the best    
robe1 and put it on him2 and put a ring 
on his  hand1 and shoes on his feet40   
,the son of the master should not return
 home wretchedly dressed like a  beggar4
 ,the finest garment should be given    

him1 new shoes1 a ring on his  finger1  
and the servants must wait on him       
because he1 too1 is a master4    8,and  
bring hither the fatted calf2 and kill  
it1 and let us eat and be  merry3 ,for  
this my son was dead1 and is alive      
again2 he was lost1 and is  found40     
,the fatted calf was kept in reserve for
 great feast days3 but what  festival   
can be greater for me than this one8 ,i 
had wept for my son as  dead and here he
 is alive with me4 ,i had lost him in   
the world and the  world has delivered  
him back to me4 ,he was far away and now
 is with me1  he was a beggar at the    
doors of strange houses1 and now is     
master in his  own house2 he was        
famished and now he shall be served with
 a banquet at  his own table4    ,and   
the servants obeyed him and the calf was
 killed1 skinned1 cut up and  put to    
cook4 ,the oldest wine was taken from   
the wine-cellar1 and the  finest room   
was prepared for the dinner in          
celebration of the return4  ,servants   

went to call his father's friends and   
others went to summon  musicians1 that  
there should be music4 ,and when        
everything was ready1  when the son had 
been bathed1 and his father had kissed  
him many times  more--almost as if to   
assure himself with his lips that his   
true son was  there with him and it was 
not the vision of a dream--they         
commenced the  banquet1 the wines were  
mixed and the musicians accompanied the 
songs of  joy4    ,the older son was in 
the field1 working1 and in the evening  
when he came  back and was near to the  
house he heard shouts and stampings and 
clapping of hands1 and the footsteps of 
dancers4 ,and he could not  understand4 
8,whatever can have happened8 ,perhaps  
my father has gone  crazy or perhaps a  
wedding procession has arrived          
unexpectedly at our  house40            
,disliking noise and new faces1 he would
 not enter and see for himself  what it 
was4 ,but he called to a boy coming out 
of the house and asked  him what all    

that clatter was4    8,thy brother is   
come2 and thy father hath killed the    
fatted calf1  because he hath received  
him safe and sound40    ,these words    
were like a thrust at his heart4 ,he    
turned pale1 not with  pleasure1 but    
with rage and jealousy4 ,the old envy   
boiled up inside4 ,it  seemed to him    
that he had all the right on his side1  
and he would not go  into the house1 but
 stayed outside1 angry4    ,then his    
father went out and entreated him3      
8,come1 for your brother has  come back 
and has asked after you1 and will be    
glad to see you1 and we  will feast     
together40    ,but the serious-minded   
young man could not contain himself1 and
 for the  first time in his life        
ventured to reprove his father to his   
face4    8,lo1 these many years do ,i   
serve thee1 neither transgressed ,i at  
any  time thy commandment2 yet thou     
never gavest me a kid1 that ,i might    
make  merry with my friends3 ,but as    
soon as this thy son was come1 which    

hath  devoured thy living with harlots1 
thou hast killed for him the fatted     
calf40    ,with these few words he      
discloses all the ignominy of his soul  
hidden  until then under the            
,pharisaical cloak of good behavior4 ,he
 reproaches  his father with his own    
obedience1 he reproaches him with his   
avarice4  8,you have never given me even
 a kid0--and he reproaches him1 he1 a   
loveless son1 for being a too-loving    
father4 8,this thy son40 ,he does not   
say 8brother40 ,his father may recognize
 him as son1 but he will not  recognize 
him as brother4 8,he hath devoured thy  
living with harlots4  ,money that was   
not his1 with women that were not his2  
while ,i stayed  with thee sweating on  
thy fields with no recompense40    ,but 
his father pardoned this son1 as he did 
the other son4 8,son1 thou  art ever    
with me1 and all that ,i have is thine4 
,it was meet that we  should make merry1
 and be glad2 for this thy brother was  
dead1 and is  alive again2 and was lost1

 and is found40    ,the father is sure  
that these words will be enough to      
silence the other4  8,he was dead and is
 alive again1 was lost and is found4    
,what other  reasons can be needed1 and 
what other reasons can be better than   
these--grant that he has done what he   
has done1 that he has spent my  money on
 women2 he has dissipated as much as he 
could2 he left me  without a greeting2  
he left me to weep4 ,he could have done 
worse than  that and still would have   
been my son4 ,he could have stolen on   
the  streets1 could have murdered the   
guiltless1 he could have offended me    
even more1 but ,i never could forget    
that he is my son1 my own blood4 ,he    
was gone and has returned1 was          
disappeared and has reappeared1 was lost
  and is found1 was dead and is alive   
again4 ,this is enough for me and to    
celebrate this miracle a fatted calf    
seems little to me4 ,thou hast never    
left me1 ,i always enjoyed thee1 all my 
kids are thine if thou asketh for  them2

 thou hast eaten every day at my table2 
but he was gone for so many  days and   
weeks and months6 ,i saw him only in my 
dreams2 he has not eaten  a single piece
 of bread with me in all that time4     
,have ,i not the right  to triumph at   
least this day80    ,jesus stopped here1
 ,he did not go on with ,his story4     
,there was no need  of that1 the meaning
 of the parable is clear with no        
additions4 ,but no  story--after that of
 ,joseph--that ever came from human lips
 is more  beautiful than this one or    
ever touched more deeply the hearts of  
men4  ,interpreters are free to comment 
and explain1 that the prodigal son is   
the new man purified by the experience  
of grief1 and the older son1 the        
,pharisee who observes the old law but  
does not know love4 ,or else that  the  
older son is the ,jewish people who do  
not understand the love of the  ,father 
welcoming the pagan1 although he had    
wallowed in the foul loves  of paganism 
and had lived in the company of swine4  

,jesus was no maker of riddles4 ,he     
,himself says expressly that the        
meaning of this and similar parables is3
 8,more joy shall be in ,heaven  over   
one sinner who repents than over all the
 righteous0 who vaunt  themselves in    
their false righteousness2 than for all 
the pure who are  proud of their        
external purity2 than for all the       
zealots who hide the  aridity of their  
hearts by their apparent respect for the
 law4    ,the truly righteous will be   
received in the ,kingdom1 but no one    
ever  doubted them1 they have made no   
one tremble and suffer and there is no  
need to rejoice2 but for him who has    
been near perdition1 who has gone       
through deep sufferings to make himself 
a new soul1 to overcome his  bestiality1
 who merits his place in the ,kingdom   
the more because he has  had to deny all
 his past to obtain it1 for him songs of
 triumph shall  arise4    8,what man of 
you having an hundred sheep1 if he lose 
one of them1 doth  not leave the ninety 

and nine in the wilderness1 and go after
 that which  is lost1 until he find it8 
,and when he hath found it1 he layeth it
 on  his shoulders1 rejoicing4 ,and when
 he cometh home1 he calleth together    
his friends and neighbors1 saying unto  
them1 ,rejoice with me2 for ,i have     
found my sheep which was lost40         
,either what woman having ten pieces of 
silver1 if she lose one piece1  doth not
 light a candle1 and sweep the house1   
and seek diligently till  she find it8  
,and when she hath found it she calleth 
her friends and her  neighbors together1
 saying1 8,rejoice with me2 for ,i have 
found the piece  which ,i had lost40    
,and what is a sheep compared to a son  
returned to life1 to a man saved8  ,and 
of what value is a piece of silver      
compared to one astray1 who finds       
holiness again8                         
,,the ,,parables ,,of ,,sin      ,but   
forgiveness creates an obligation for   
which there are no exceptions  allowed4 
,love is a fire which goes out if it    

does not kindle others4  ,thou hast     
burned with joy2 kindle him who comes   
near you if thou wilt  not become like  
stone1 smoky but cold4 ,he who has      
received must give2 it  is better to    
give much1 but it is essential to give a
 part at least4    ,a king one day      
wanted a reckoning with his servants and
 one by one he  called them before him4 
,among the first was one who owed him   
ten  thousand talents1 but as he had not
 anything to pay this1 the king         
commanded that he should be sold and his
 wife and his children and all  that he 
had1 in payment of a part of the debt4  
,the servant in despair  threw himself  
at the feet of the king4 ,he seemed a   
mere bundle of  garments crying out sobs
 and promises4 8,have patience with me1 
wait a  little longer and ,i will pay   
you all1 but do not have my wife and my 
children separated from me1 sent away   
like cattle1 no one knows where40       
,the king was moved with compassion--he 
also had little children--and he  sent  

him away free and forgave him that great
 debt4 ,the servant went out  and seemed
 another man2 but his heart1 even after 
so much mercy shown to  him1 was the    
same as before4 ,and he met one of his  
fellow-servants who  owed him a hundred 
pence1 a small thing compared with ten  
thousand  talents1 and he sprang on him 
and took him by the throat4 8,pay me    
what  thou owest and at once1 or ,i will
 have thee bound by the guards40 ,the   
unlucky man assaulted in this way did   
what his persecutor had done a  little  
while before in the presence of the     
king4 ,he fell down at his  feet and    
besought him and wept and swore that he 
would pay him in a few  days and kissed 
the hem of his garment1 and recalled to 
him their old  comradeship and begged   
him to wait in the name of the children 
who were  waiting for him in his home4  
,but the oaf1 who was a servant and not 
a king1 had no compassion4 ,he  took his
 debtor by the arm and had him cast into
 prison4 ,the news spread  abroad among 

the other servants of the palace4 ,they 
were full of  compassion1 and it came   
quickly to the ears of the king1 who    
called that  pitiless man and delivered 
him to the tormentors3 8,i forgave you  
that  great debt1 shouldst thou not have
 had compassion on thy brother1 for  his
 debt was so much smaller8 ,i had pity  
on thee1 oughtest thou not to  have had 
pity on him80    ,sinners when they     
recognize the evil which is in their    
hearts and abjure  it with true humility
 are nearer to the ,kingdom than pious  
men who daub  themselves with the praise
 of their own piety4    ,two men went up
 into the temple to pray2 the one a     
,pharisee1 the other a  ,publican4 ,the 
,pharisee1 with his phylacteries hanging
 upon his forehead  and on his left arm1
 with the long1 glittering fringes on   
his cloak1  erect like a man who feels  
himself in his own house1 prayed thus3  
8,god1  ,i thank thee that ,i am not as 
other men are1 extortioners1 unjust1    
adulterers1 or even as this ,publican4  

,i fast twice in the week1 ,i give      
tithes of all that ,i possess40    ,but 
the ,publican did not have the courage  
even to lift his eyes and  seemed       
ashamed to appear before his ,lord4 ,he 
sighed and smote on his  breast and said
 only these words3 8,god be merciful to 
me a sinner40    8,i tell you1 this man 
went down to his house justified rather 
than the  other3 for every one that     
exalteth himself shall be abased2 and he
 that  humbleth himself shall be        
exalted40    ,a lawyer asked ,jesus who 
is one's neighbor1 and ,jesus told this 
story3  8,a man1 a ,jew1 went down from 
,jerusalem to ,jericho through the      
mountain  passes4 ,thieves fell upon    
him1 and after they had wounded him and 
taken  away his clothes1 they left him  
upon the road half dead4 ,a priest      
passed  that way1 one of those who go to
 all the feasts and meetings1 and boast 
that they know the will of ,god from    
beginning to end4 ,he saw the           
unfortunate man stretched out but he did

 not stop1 and to avoid touching        
something unclean he passed by on the   
other side of the road4 ,a little  after
 came a ,levite4 ,he also was among the 
most accredited of the  zealots1 knew   
every detail of all the holy ceremonies1
 and seemed more  than a sacristan1     
seemed one of the masters of the        
,temple4 ,he looked at  the bloody body 
and went on his way4 ,and finally came a
 ,samaritan4 ,to  the ,jews the         
,samaritans were faithless1 traitors1   
only slightly less  detestable than the 
,gentiles1 because they would not       
sacrifice at  ,jerusalem and accept the 
reform of ,nehemiah4 ,the ,samaritan1   
however1 did  not wait to see if the    
unfortunate man thrown among the stones 
of the  street were circumcized or      
uncircumcized1 were a ,jew or a         
,samaritan4 ,he  came up close to him1  
and seeing him in such an evil pass1 he 
was  quickly moved to pity1 took down   
his flasks from his saddle and poured   
upon his wounds a little oil1 a little  

wine1 bound them up as well as he  could
 with a handkerchief1 put the stranger  
across his ass and brought  him to an   
inn1 had him put to bed1 tried to       
restore him1 giving him  something hot  
to drink1 and did not leave him until he
 saw him come to  himself and able to   
speak and eat4 ,the next day he called  
the host apart  and gave him two pence3 
#8,take care of him1 do the best thou   
canst and  whatsoever thou spendest     
more1 when ,i come again1 ,i will repay 
thee4'    8,the neighbor1 then1 is he   
who suffers1 he who needs help1 whoever 
he  is1 of whatever nation or religion  
he may be2 even thine enemy1 if he      
needs thee1 even if he does not ask     
help1 is the first of #8thy             
neighbors4'0    ,charity is the most    
valid title for admission to the        
,kingdom4 ,the  wealthy glutton knew    
this1 he who was clothed in purple and  
fine linen  and fared sumptuously every 
day4 ,at the gate of his palace there   
was  ,lazarus1 a poor man1 hungry1      

covered with sores1 who would have been 
glad to have the crumbs and the bones   
which fell from the rich man's  table4  
,the dogs took pity on ,lazarus and on  
his wretchedness1 and did  for him all  
they could1 which was to lick his sores4
 ,and he caressed  these gentle1 loving 
animals with his thin hands4 ,but the   
rich man had  no pity on ,lazarus4 ,it  
never once came into his head to call   
him to his  table1 and he never sent him
 a piece of bread or the leavings of the
  kitchen destined for the refuse heap1 
which even the scullions refused  to    
eat4 ,it happened that both of them1 the
 poor man and the rich man1  died1 and  
the poor man was welcomed into          
,abraham's bosom1 and the rich  man was 
cast into the fire to suffer4 ,from afar
 off he saw ,lazarus1 who  was          
banqueting with the patriarchs1 and from
 the midst of the fire he  cried3       
8,father ,abraham1 have mercy on me1 and
 send ,lazarus that he may  dip the tip 
of his finger in water1 and cool my     

tongue2 for ,i am  tormented in this    
flame40    ,he had not given ,lazarus   
even a tiny morsel of food when he was  
alive1  and now he did not ask to be let
 out of the fire1 nor a cup of water1   
nor even a draught1 nor even a drop1 but
 he was content with a little  dampness 
which would cling on the tip of a       
finger1 of the smallest  finger of the  
poor man4 ,but ,abraham answered3 8,son1
 remember that thou  in thy lifetime    
receivedst thy good things1 and likewise
 ,lazarus evil  things2 but now he is   
comforted1 and thou art tormented40 ,if 
thou hadst  given the smallest part of  
thy dinner to him1 when thou knewest he 
was  hungered and was crouched at thy   
door in worse plight than a dog1 and    
even the dogs had more pity than thou1  
if thou hadst given him a  mouthful of  
bread only once1 thou wouldst not need  
now to ask the tip of  his finger dipped
 in water4    ,the rich man delights in 
his property and it grieves him to have 
to give  away even the smallest part of 

it because he thinks that this life will
  never end and that the future will be 
like the past4 ,but death comes to  him 
also1 and when he expects it least4     
,there was once a landed  proprietor who
 had an especially profitable year in   
all his possessions4  ,he had fantastic 
imaginings about his new riches1 and he 
said3 8,i will  pull down my barns and  
build greater1 and there will ,i bestow 
all my  fruits and my goods1 the wheat1 
the barley and the other grains1 and ,i 
will make other barns for the hay and   
the straw and other stables for  the    
oxen that ,i will buy1 and still another
 stable where ,i can put all  my sheep  
and goats1 and ,i will say to my soul3  
,thou hast much goods laid  up for many 
years2 take thine ease1 eat1 drink1 and 
be merry40    ,and the idea did not come
 to him even for a moment that from this
  largesse of the earth he could have   
put aside a portion to comfort the  poor
 of his country4 ,but on that very night
 when he had imagined so many           

improvements in his property1 the rich  
man died1 and the day after1 he  was    
buried naked and alone1 under the earth1
 and there was no one to  intercede for 
him in ,heaven4    ,he who does not make
 friends among the poor1 who does not   
use wealth to  comfort poverty1 must not
 think of entering into the ,kingdom4   
,sometimes  the children of this world  
are in their generation wiser than the  
children of light1 understand the       
management of their earthly affairs     
better than the children of light       
understand their heavenly life4 ,like   
that steward who was out of favor with  
his master and was obliged to  leave his
 position4 ,he called one by one his    
lord's debtors to him1 and  canceled a  
part of the debt of every one1 so that  
when he was sent away  he had made here 
and there with his fraudulent stratagem 
so many friends  that they did not let  
him die of hunger4 ,he had benefited    
himself and  the others by cheating and 
robbing his master4 ,he was a thief1 but

 a  shrewd thief4 ,if men would use for 
the salvation of the spirit the         
shrewdness which this man used for his  
bodily comfort1 how many more  would be 
converted to faith in the ,kingdom6     
,he who is not converted in time will be
 cut down like the unfruitful  fig-tree4
 ,and the conversion must be final1 for 
falling from grace  injures a man's soul
 a great deal more than repentance helps
 him4 ,a man  had an unclean spirit in  
him and succeeded in driving it away4   
,the demon  walked through dry places   
seeking rest2 and finding none1 he said3
 8,i  will return into my house whence  
,i came out40 ,it happens that this     
house1 the soul of that man1 is empty1  
swept and garnished so that it is  hard 
to recognize it4 ,then the demon takes  
to him seven other spirits  more wicked 
than himself and at the head of the band
 he enters into his  house so that the  
last state of that man was worse than   
the first4    ,in the day of triumph    
laments and excuses will count less than

 the  whispering of the wind among the  
rushes4 ,then will be made the last and 
irrevocable choice1 like that of the    
fisherman who1 after having pulled  up  
from the sea his net full of fish1 sits 
down on the beach and puts  those fit   
for food into his baskets and throws    
away the others4 ,a long  truce is given
 to sinners1 that they may have all the 
time necessary to  change their hearts1 
but when that day has come he who has   
not arrived  at the door1 or is not     
worthy1 will remain eternally outside4  
,a good husbandman sowed good seed in   
his field1 but while men slept1 his     
enemy came and sowed tares also among   
the wheat4 ,when the blade was  sprung  
up1 the servants of the household saw   
the tares and came and told  their      
master of it4    8,wilt thou then that  
we go and gather them up80 ,but he said1
 8,nay2 lest  while ye gather up the    
tares ye root up also the wheat with    
them4 ,let  both grow together until the
 harvest2 and in the time of harvest ,i 

will  say to the reapers1 ,gather ye    
together first the tares1 and bind them 
in  bundles to burn them3 but gather the
 wheat into my barn40    ,thus like a   
good husbandman ,jesus waits for the day
 of the harvest4 ,one  day an immense   
multitude was about ,him to listen to   
,him1 and seeing all  these men and     
these women who were hungering after    
righteousness and  thirsting after love1
 ,he was moved with compassion and said 
to ,his  disciples3 8,the harvest truly 
is plenteous but the laborers are few2  
,pray ye therefore the ,lord of the     
harvest1 that he will send forth        
laborers into this harvest40    ,his    
voice does not carry everywhere1 not    
even the ,twelve are enough3  others are
 necessary to proclaim the good news1   
that it may be carried  to all those who
 suffer and who await it4               
,,the ,,twelve      ,fate knows no      
better way to punish the great for their
 greatness than by  sending them        
disciples4 ,every disciple1 just because

 he is a disciple1  cannot understand   
all that his master says1 but at very   
best only half1  and that according to  
the kind of mind he has4 ,thus without  
wishing to  falsify the teaching of his 
master1 he deforms it1 vulgarizes it1   
belittles it1 corrupts it4    ,the      
disciple nearly always has companions   
and is jealous of them2 he  would like  
to be at least first among those who are
 second2 and  accordingly he maligns and
 plots against his fellows2 and each one
  believes that he is1 or at least      
wishes others to believe that he is1    
the only perfect interpreter of the     
master4    ,the disciple knows that he  
is a disciple and sometimes it shames   
him to  be one who eats at another's    
table4 ,then he twists and turns the    
master's thought to make it seem that he
 has a thought of his own1  different   
and original4 ,or else1 and this is the 
most graceless and  servile manner of   
being a disciple1 he teaches exactly the
 opposite of  what he was taught4    ,in

 every disciple1 even in those who seem 
most loyal1 there is the seed  of a     
,judas4 ,a disciple is a parasite1 a    
middleman who robs the seller  and      
tricks the buyer2 a dependent who1      
invited to dine1 nibbles at the  hors   
d'uvres1 licks the sauces1 picks at the 
fruit1 but does not attack  the bones   
because he has no teeth1 or only milk   
teeth1 to crack them and  suck out the  
meaty marrow4 ,the disciple paraphrases 
sentences1 obscures  mysteries1         
complicates what is clear1 multiplies   
difficulties1 comments  on syllables1   
travesties principles1 clouds evidence1 
magnifies  non-essentials1 weakens the  
essential1 dilutes the strong wine1 and 
retails this hodge-podge as elixir      
distilled and quintessence4 ,instead  of
 a torch which gives light and fire1 he 
is a smoky wick giving no  light even to
 himself4    ,and yet no one has been   
able to dispense with these pupils and  
followers1 nor even to wish to4 ,for the
 great man is so foreign to the         

multitude1 so distant1 so alone1 that he
 needs to feel some one near  him4 ,he  
cannot teach without the illusion that  
some one understands his  words1        
receives his ideas1 transmits them to   
others far away before his  death and   
after his death4 ,this wanderer who has 
no home of his own  needs a friendly    
hearth4 ,to this uprooted man who cannot
 have a family  of his own flesh and    
blood1 the children of his spirit are   
dear4 ,the  prophet is a captain whose  
soldiers spring up only after his blood 
has  soaked into the ground1 and yet he 
longs to feel a little army about him   
during his life-time4 ,here is one of   
the most tragic elements in all         
greatness3 disciples are repugnant and  
dangerous1 but disciples1 even  false   
ones1 cannot be dispensed with4         
,prophets suffer if they do not  find   
them2 they suffer1 perhaps more1 when   
they have found them4    ,a man's       
thought is bound with a thousand threads
 to his soul even more  closely than a  

child to a parent's heart4 ,it is       
infinitely precious1  delicate1 fragile1
 and the newer it is1 the harder it is  
for other men  to understand4 ,it is a  
tremendous responsibility1 a continued  
torture  and suffering to confide it to 
another1 to graft it on another's       
thought1 to give it into the hands of   
the man incapable of respecting  it1    
this gift so rare1 a thought new in     
human life4 ,and yet every great  man   
longs to share with all men what he has 
received2 and to achieve  this sharing  
with humanity is more than he can do    
single-handed4 ,then1  too1 vanity      
insinuates itself even in noble breasts3
 and vanity needs  caressing words1     
needs praise1 even offensive praise1    
needs assent1 even  verbal1 consecration
 even from the mediocre1 victories even 
if they are  only apparent4    ,christ  
has none of this smallness of the great1
 and yet in order to  share all the     
burdens of mankind1 ,he accepted with   
the other trials of  earthly life the   

burden of disciples4 ,before being      
tormented by ,his  enemies1 ,he gave    
himself over to be tormented by ,his    
friends4 ,the  priests killed him1 once 
and once only2 the disciples made ,him  
suffer  every day of their life with    
,him4 ,the anguish of ,his passion would
 not  have been completely intolerable  
if it had not included the desertion of 
the ,apostles in addition to the        
,sadducees1 the guards1 the ,romans1 the
  crowd4    ,we know who the ,apostles  
were4 ,a ,galilean1 ,he chose them from 
among the  ,galileans4 ,a poor man1 ,he 
chose them from among the poor2 a simple
 man1  but of a divine simplicity       
transcending all philosophies1 ,he      
called  simple men whose simplicity kept
 them like clods4 ,he did not wish to   
choose them from among the rich1 because
 ,he had come to combat the rich2  nor  
among the scribes and doctors1 because  
,he had come to overturn their  law2 nor
 among the philosophers1 because there  
were no philosophers  living in         

,palestine1 and had there been1 they    
would have tried to  extinguish ,his    
supernatural mysticism under the        
dialectic bushel4    ,he knew that these
 souls were rough but had integrity1    
were ignorant but  ardent1 and that ,he 
could in the end mold them according to 
,his desire1  bring them up to ,his     
level1 fashion them like clay from the  
river1 which  is only mud1 and yet when 
modeled and baked in the kiln1 becomes  
eternal  beauty4 ,but flame from the    
,holy ,ghost was needed for that        
transformation2 until the day of the    
,pentecost their imperfect nature  had  
too often the upper hand4 ,to the       
,twelve much should be pardoned  because
 almost always they had faith in ,him2  
because they tried to love  ,him as ,he 
wished to be loved2 and1 above all1     
because after having  deserted ,him in  
the ,garden of ,gethsemane1 they never  
forgot ,him and left  to all eternity   
the memory of ,his word and of ,his     
life4    ,and yet our hearts ache if we 

look at them closely in the ,gospels1   
those  disciples of whom we have some   
knowledge4 ,they were not always worthy 
of  their unique and supreme felicity1  
those men who were so inestimably       
fortunate as to live with ,christ1 to   
walk1 to eat with ,him1 to sleep in  the
 same room1 to look into ,his face1 to  
touch ,his hand1 to kiss ,him1 to  hear 
,his words from ,his very mouth2 those  
twelve fortunate men1 whom  throughout  
the centuries millions of souls have    
secretly envied4    ,we see them1 hard  
of head and of heart1 not able to       
understand the  clearest parables of the
 ,master2 not always capable of         
understanding1  even after ,his death1  
who ,jesus had been and what sort of a  
new ,kingdom  was proclaimed by ,him2   
often lacking in faith1 in love1 in     
brotherly  affection2 eager for pay2    
envying each other2 impatient for the   
revenge  which would repay them for     
their long wait2 intolerant of those who
 were  not one with them2 vindictive    

towards those who would not receive     
them1  somnolent1 doubtful1             
materialistic1 avaricious1 cowardly4    
,one of them denies ,him three times2   
one of them delays giving ,him due      
reverence until ,he is in the sepulcher2
 one does not believe in ,his  mission  
because ,he comes from ,nazareth2 one is
 not willing to admit ,his              
resurrection2 one sells ,him to ,his    
enemies1 and gives ,him over with ,his  
last kiss to those who come to arrest   
,him4 ,others1 when ,christ's  teachings
 were on a too-lofty level1 8went back  
and walked no more with  ,him40    ,many
 times ,jesus was forced to reprove them
 for their slowness of mind4  ,he told  
them the parable of the sower1 and they 
did not understand its  meaning4 8,know 
ye not this parable1 and how then will  
ye know all  parables80 ,he warns them  
against the leaven of the ,pharisees and
 the  ,sadducees1 and they think that   
,he is speaking of material bread4 8,why
  reason ye because ye have no bread1   

perceive ye not yet1 neither            
understand8 ,have ye your heart yet     
hardened8 ,having eyes see ye not1 and  
having ears hear ye not80 ,like the     
common people they constantly feel  that
 ,jesus should be the worldly ,messiah1 
political1 warlike1 come to  restore the
 temporal throne of ,david4 ,even when  
,he is about to ascend  into ,heaven    
they continue to ask ,him3 8,lord1 wilt 
thou at this time  restore again the    
,kingdom to ,israel80 ,and after the    
resurrection1 the  two disciples of     
,emmaus say3 8,but we trusted that it   
had been he which  should have redeemed 
,israel40    ,they disputed among       
themselves to know who should have the  
chief place  in the new ,kingdom and    
,jesus reproved them3 8,what was it that
 ye  disputed among yourselves by the   
way80 ,but they held their peace1 for by
  the way they had disputed among       
themselves who should be the greatest4  
,and ,he sat down and called the ,twelve
 and saith unto them3 8,if any man      

desires to be first1 the same shall be  
last of all and the servant of  all40   
,jealous of their privileges they       
denounced to ,jesus one who was  casting
 out devils in ,his name3 8,forbid him  
not10 answered ,jesus1 8for  there is no
 man which shall do a miracle in my name
 that can lightly  speak evil of me4    
,for he that is not against us is on our
 part40 ,after a  talk at ,capernaum    
many murmured at his words and said3    
8,this is an hard  saying2 who can hear 
it80 and they left ,him4    ,and yet    
,jesus spared no warnings to those who  
wished to follow ,him4 ,a  ,scribe said 
to ,him that he would follow ,him       
everywhere4 8,and ,jesus saith  unto    
him3 ,the foxes have holes1 and the     
birds of the air have nests2 but  the   
,son of ,man hath not where to lay his  
head40 ,another who was a  disciple     
wished first to bury his father1 8,but  
,jesus said unto him1  ,follow me2 and  
let the dead bury their dead40 ,and     
still another1 8,lord1  ,i will follow  

thee2 but let me first go bid them      
farewell which are at  home at my house4
 ,and ,jesus said unto him1 ,no man1    
having put his hand  to the plough1 and 
looking back1 is fit for the ,kingdom of
 ,god40    ,a rich young man came to    
,him who observed all the ,commandments4
 8,then  ,jesus beholding him loved him1
 and said unto him1 ,one thing thou     
lackest3 go thy way1 sell whatsoever    
thou hast1 and give to the poor1  and   
thou shalt have treasure in heaven3 and 
come take up the cross1 and  follow me4 
,and he was sad at that saying1 and went
 away grieved3 for he  had great        
possessions40    ,to be with ,him1 a man
 must needs leave his home1 his dead1   
his family1  his money1--all the        
ordinary loves1 all the ordinary good   
things of life4  ,what is given in      
exchange is so great that it will repay 
every  renunciation4 ,but few are       
capable of this renunciation1 and some  
after  they have believed1 falter4      
,renunciation was easier for the        

,twelve1 almost all poor men1 yet even  
they did not always succeed in being as 
,jesus wished them4    8,simon1 ,simon10
 ,he said one day to ,peter1 8behold1   
,satan hath desired to  have you1 that  
he may sift you as wheat40 ,in spite of 
the winnowing of  ,christ1 some evil    
seeds remained among his grain4         
,,simon1 ,,called ,,the ,,rock          
,peter before the ,resurrection is like 
a body beside a spirit1 like a  material
 voice which accompanies the sublimation
 of the soul4 ,he is the  earth which   
believes in ,heaven but remains earthy4 
,in his rough man's  imagination the    
,kingdom of ,heaven still resembles     
rather too closely the  ,kingdom of the 
,prophets' ,messiah4    ,when ,jesus    
pronounced the famous words3 8,it is    
easier for a camel to go  through the   
eye of a needle than for a rich man to  
enter into the  kingdom of ,god10 ,peter
 thought this sweeping condemnation of  
wealth very  harsh4 8,then answered     
,peter and said unto him1 ,behold1 we   

have forsaken  all1 and followed thee2  
what shall we have therefore80 ,he acts 
like a  money lender inquiring what     
interest he can expect4 ,and ,jesus1 to 
console him1 promises him that he will  
sit upon a throne to judge one of  the  
tribes of ,israel1 that the other eleven
 will judge the other eleven  tribes1   
and adds that every one shall have a    
hundred times what he has  given up4    
,again ,peter does not understand what  
,christ means when ,he asserts that     
only what comes from man himself can    
defile men4 8,peter then answered  and  
said unto him3 ,declare unto us this    
parable1 and ,jesus said3 ,are ye  also 
without understanding8 ,do ye not yet   
understand80 ,among the  disciples so   
slow to understand1 ,peter is one of the
 slowest4 ,his  surname 8,cefa10 stone1 
piece of rock1 was not given him only   
for the  firmness of his faith1 but for 
the hardness of his head4    ,he was not
 an alert spirit in either the literal  
or the figurative  meaning of the word4 

,he easily fell asleep even at supreme  
moments4 ,he  fell asleep on the ,mount 
of the ,transfiguration4 ,he fell asleep
 on the  night at ,gethsemane1 after the
 last supper1 where ,jesus had uttered  
the  saying which would have kept even a
 ,scribe everlastingly from sleep4 ,and 
yet his boldness was great4 ,when ,jesus
 that last evening announced that  ,he  
was to suffer and die1 ,peter burst out3
 8,lord1 ,i am ready to go with  thee   
both1 into prison1 and to death4        
,although all shall be offended1  yet   
will not ,i4 ,if ,i should die with     
thee1 ,i will not deny ,thee in any     
wise40 ,jesus answered him3 8,verily ,i 
say unto thee that this night  before   
the cock crow1 thou shalt deny me       
thrice40    ,jesus knew him better than 
,peter knew himself4 ,when he stood in  
the  courtyard of ,caiaphas1 warming    
himself at the brazier while the priests
  were questioning and insulting his    
,god1 he denied three times that he  was
 one of ,his followers4    ,at the      

moment of the arrest he had made1       
against the teaching of ,jesus1  an     
appearance of resistance3 he had cut off
 the ear of ,malchus4 ,he had  not yet  
understood after years of daily         
comradeship with ,christ that any  form 
of material violence was repellent to   
,jesus4 ,he had not understood  that if 
,jesus had wished to save ,himself1 ,he 
could have hidden in the  wilderness    
unknown to all1 or escaped out of the   
hands of the soldiers  as ,he had done  
that first time at ,nazareth4 ,so little
 did ,jesus value  this act1 contrary to
 ,his teaching1 that he healed the wound
 at once and  reproved ,his untimely    
avenger4    ,that was not the first time
 that ,peter showed himself unequal to  
great  events4 ,he had like all crude   
personalities a tendency to see the     
material dross in spiritual             
manifestations1 the low in the lofty1   
the  commonplace in the tragic4 ,on the 
mountain of the transfiguration1 when   
he was awakened and saw ,jesus refulgent

 with white light1 speaking with  two   
others1 with two spirits1 with two      
prophets1 the first thought which  came 
to him1 instead of worshiping and       
keeping silence1 was to build a         
tabernacle for these great personages4  
8,lord1 it is good for us to be  here3  
if thou wilt1 let us make here three    
tabernacles2 one for thee1  and one for 
,moses1 and one for ,elias40 ,luke1 the 
wise man1 adds to  excuse him1 8not     
knowing what he said40    ,when he saw  
,jesus walking in all security on the   
lake1 the idea came to  him to do the   
same thing4 8,and when ,peter was come  
down out of the ship1  he walked on the 
water1 to go to ,jesus4 ,but when he saw
 the wind  boisterous1 he was afraid2   
and beginning to sink1 he cried1 saying1
  ,lord1 save me0 ,and immediately      
,jesus stretched forth ,his hand1 and   
caught him1 and said unto him1 8,o thou 
of little faith1 wherefore didst  thou  
doubt80 ,because he was familiar with   
the lake and with ,jesus1 the  good     

fisherman thought he could do as his    
master did1 and did not know  that the  
storm could be mastered only by a soul  
infinitely greater1 a  faith infinitely 
more potent than his4    ,his great love
 for ,christ1 which makes up for all his
 weakness1 led him  one day almost to   
rebuke ,him4 ,jesus had told ,his       
disciples how ,he must  suffer and be   
killed4 8,then ,peter took him and began
 to rebuke him1  saying1 ,be it far from
 thee1 ,lord3 this shall not be unto    
thee4 ,but he  turned and said unto     
,peter1 ,get thee behind me1 ,satan3    
thou art an  offence unto me3 for thou  
savourest not the things that be of     
,god1 but  those that be of men40 ,no   
one ever pronounced such a terrible     
judgment  on ,simon1 called ,peter4 ,he 
was called to work for the ,kingdom of  
,god1  and he thought as men do4 ,his   
mind1 still occupied with the vulgar    
idea of the triumphant ,messiah1 refused
 to conceive of a persecuted  ,messiah  
condemned and executed4 ,his soul had   

not yet kindled to the idea  of divine  
expiation1 the idea that salvation      
cannot be secured without  an offering  
of suffering and blood1 and that the    
great should sacrifice  ,his body to the
 ferocity of mean men in order that the 
mean1 after being  enlightened by that  
life1 may be saved from that death4 ,he 
loved ,jesus1  but although his love was
 warm and potent1 it still had something
 earthy  in it1 and he grew angry at the
 thought that his king should be        
reviled1  that his ,god should die4 ,and
 yet he was the first to recognize      
,jesus as  the ,christ2 and this primacy
 is so great that nothing has been able 
to  cancel it4                          
,,sons ,,of ,,thunder      ,the two     
fishermen1 the brothers ,james and      
,john1 who had left their boat  and     
their nets on the shore at ,capernaum in
 order to go with ,jesus1 form  together
 with ,peter a sort of favorite         
triumvirate4 ,they are the only  ones   
who accompany ,jesus into the house of  

,jairus1 and on the ,mount of           
,transfiguration1 and they are the ones 
whom ,he takes with ,him on the  night  
of ,gethsemane4 ,but in spite of their  
long intimacy with the  ,master1 they   
never acquired sufficient humility4     
,jesus gave them the  surname of        
8,boanerges--,sons of ,thunder10 an     
ironic surname1 alluding  perhaps to    
their fiery1 irascible character4       
,when they all started together towards 
,jerusalem1 ,jesus sent some of  them   
ahead to make ready for ,him4 ,they were
 crossing ,samaria and were  badly      
received in a village4 8,and they did   
not receive him1 because his  face was  
as though he would go to ,jerusalem4    
,and when his disciples1  ,james and    
,john1 saw this1 they said3 ,lord1 wilt 
thou that we command  fire to come down 
from heaven and consume them8 ,but he   
turned1 and  rebuked them40 ,for them1  
,galileans1 faithful to ,jerusalem1 the 
,samaritans were always enemies4 ,in    
vain had they heard the ,sermon on the  

,mount3 8,do good to them that hate you1
 and pray for them which  despitefully  
use you1 and persecute you40 ,in vain   
had they received  instructions for     
their mission among the peoples3 8,and  
whosoever shall  not receive you1 nor   
hear your words1 when ye depart out of  
that house  or city1 shake off the dust 
from your feet40 ,angry at an affront to
  ,jesus they presumed to be able to    
command fire from ,heaven4 ,it seemed to
  them a work of righteous justice to   
reduce to ashes the village guilty  of  
inhospitality4 ,and yet far as they were
 from that loving rebirth of  the soul  
which alone constitutes the reality of  
the ,kingdom of ,heaven1  these men had 
the pretension to claim the first places
 on the day of  triumph4    8,and ,james
 and ,john1 the sons of ,zebedee1 came  
unto him1 saying3 ,master1  we would    
that thou shouldest do for us whatsoever
 we should desire4 ,and  he said unto   
them3 ,what would ye that ,i should do  
for you8 ,they said  unto him3 ,grant   

unto us that we may sit one on thy right
 hand and one on  thy left hand in thy  
glory4 ,but ,jesus said unto them3 ,ye  
know not what  ye ask4 ,and when the ten
 heard it they began to be much         
displeased with  ,james and ,john4 ,but 
,jesus called them to ,him and saith    
unto them3  ,whosoever will be great    
among you let him be your minister2 and 
whosoever will be the chief among you1  
let him be your servant1 for even  the  
,son of ,man came not to be ministered  
unto but to minister40    ,christ1 the  
overturner of the old order1 took this  
occasion to repeat  the master word to  
which all magnanimous souls respond4    
,only the  useless1 the petty1 the      
parasites1 wish to be served1 even by   
their  inferiors 7if any one in the     
absolute meaning of the word can be     
inferior to them71 but any superior     
being is always at the service of       
lesser souls precisely because he is    
superior4    ,this miraculous paradox is
 the proof of the fire of genius4 ,it is

  repugnant to the egotism of the       
self-centered1 to the pretensions of    
would-be supermen1 and to the poverty of
 the avaricious because the  little that
 they have is not even enough for       
themselves4 ,he who cannot  or will not 
serve shows that he has nothing to give1
 is a weakling1  impotent1 imperfect1   
empty4 ,but the genius is no true genius
 if he does  not exuberantly benefit his
 inferiors4 ,to serve is not always the 
same  as to obey4 ,a people can be      
served better sometimes by a man who    
puts  himself at their head to force    
them to be saved even if they do not    
wish  it4 ,there is nothing servile in  
serving4    ,james and ,john understood 
this stimulating saying of ,jesus4 ,we  
find one  of them1 ,john1 among the     
nearest and most loving of the          
disciples4 ,at  the ,last ,supper he    
leans his head on ,jesus' breast2 and   
from the height  of the cross ,jesus1   
crucified1 confides the ,virgin to him1 
that he  should be a son to her4        

,,the ,,others      ,thomas owes his    
popularity to the quality which should  
be his shame4  ,thomas1 the twin1 is the
 guardian of modernity1 as ,thomas      
,aquinas is the  oracle of medieval     
life4 ,he is the true patron saint of   
,spinoza and of  all the other deniers  
of the resurrection1 the man who is not 
satisfied  even with the testimony of   
his eyes1 but wishes that of his hands  
as  well4 ,and yet his love for ,jesus  
makes him pardonable4 ,when they came to
  the ,master to say that ,lazarus was  
dead1 and the disciples hesitated       
before going into ,judea among their    
enemies1 it was ,thomas alone who  said3
 8,let us also go1 that we may die with 
him40 ,the martyrdom which he  did not  
find then came to him in ,india1 after  
,christ's death4    ,matthew is the     
dearest of all the ,twelve4 ,he was a   
tax-gatherer1 a sort  of under-publican1
 and probably had more education than   
his companions4  ,he followed ,jesus as 
readily as the fishermen4 8,and after   

these things  he went forth1 and saw a  
publican named ,levi1 sitting at the    
receipt of  custom3 and he said unto    
him1 follow me4 ,and he left all1 rose  
up1 and  followed him4 ,and ,levi made  
him a great feast in his own house40 ,it
 was  not a heap of torn nets which     
,matthew left1 but a position1 a        
stipend1  secure and increasing         
earnings4 ,giving up riches is easy for 
a man who  has almost nothing4 ,among   
the ,twelve ,matthew was certainly the  
richest  before his conversion4 ,of no  
other is it told that he could offer a  
great feast1 and this means that he made
 a greater and more meritorious         
sacrifice by his rising at the first    
call from the seat where he was         
accumulating money4    ,matthew and     
,judas were perhaps the only ones of the
 ,disciples who knew  how to write1 and 
to ,matthew we owe the first collection 
of ,logia or  memorable sayings of      
,jesus1 if the testimony of ,papia is   
true4 ,in the  ,gospel which is called  

by his name1 we find the most complete  
text of  the ,sermon on the ,mount4 ,our
 debt to the poor excise-man is heavy3  
without him many words of ,jesus1 and   
the most beautiful1 might have been     
lost4 ,this handler of drachma1 shekels 
and talents1 whom his despised  trade   
must have predisposed to avarice1 has   
laid up for us a treasure  worth more   
than all the money coined on the earth  
before and after his  time4    ,philip  
of ,bethsaida also knew how to reckon4  
,when the famished multitude  pressed   
about ,him1 ,jesus turned to him to ask 
what it would cost to buy  bread for all
 those people4 ,philip answered ,him3   
8,two hundred pennyworth  of bread is   
not sufficient for them40 ,he was later 
to become a  proclaimer of his ,master's
 fame4 ,he it was who announced to      
,nathaniel  the coming of ,jesus1 and it
 was to him that the ,greeks of         
,jerusalem  turned when they wished to  
speak to the new ,prophet4    ,nathaniel
 answered ,philip's announcement with   

sarcasm3 8,can there any  good thing    
come out of ,nazareth80 ,but ,philip    
succeeded in bringing him  to ,jesus1   
who as soon as ,he saw him1 exclaimed1  
8,behold an ,israelite  indeed1 in whom 
is no guile6 ,nathaniel saith unto him1 
,whence knowest  thou me8 ,jesus        
answered and said unto him1 ,before that
 ,philip called  thee1 when thou wast   
under the fig tree1 ,i saw thee4        
,nathaniel answered  and saith unto him1
 ,rabbi1 thou art the ,son of ,god2 thou
 art the ,king of  ,israel4 ,jesus      
answered and said unto him1 ,because ,i 
said unto thee1 ,i  saw thee under the  
fig tree1 believest thou8 thou shalt see
 greater  things than these40    ,less  
enthusiastic and inflammable was        
,nicodemus1 who1 as a matter of  fact1  
never wished to be known as a disciple  
of ,jesus4 ,nicodemus was  old1 had been
 to school to the ,rabbis1 was a friend 
of the ,jerusalem  ,sanhedrin1 but the  
stories of the miracles had shaken him1 
and he went  by night to ,jesus to tell 

,him that he believed that ,he was sent 
by ,god4  ,jesus answered him1 8,verily1
 verily1 ,i say unto thee1 except a man 
be  born again1 he cannot see the       
kingdom of ,god40 ,nicodemus did not    
understand these words1 or perhaps they 
startled him4 ,he had come to see  a    
miracle worker and had found a ,sybil1  
and with the homely good sense  of the  
man who wishes to avoid being taken in  
by a fraud he said1 8,how  can a man be 
born when he is old8 can he enter the   
second time into his  mother's womb and 
be born80 ,jesus answers with words of  
profound  meaning1 8,except a man be    
born of water and of the spirit1 he     
cannot  enter into the kingdom of ,god40
    ,but ,nicodemus still did not       
understand4 8,how can these things be80 
,jesus  answered1 8,art thou a master of
 ,israel and knowest not these things80 
,nicodemus always respected the young   
,galilean1 but his sympathy was as      
circumspect as his visit4 ,once when the
 leaders of the priests and the         

,pharisees were meditating how to       
capture ,jesus1 ,nicodemus ventured a   
defense3 8,doth our law judge any man1  
before it hear him1 and know what  he   
doeth80 ,he took his stand on a point of
 law4 ,he spoke in the name of  8our0   
law1 not at all in the name of the new  
man4 ,nicodemus is always  the old man1 
law-respecting1 the prudent friend of   
the letter of the  law4 ,a few words of 
reproof were enough to silence him4     
8,they answered  and said unto him1 ,art
 thou also of ,galilee8 ,search and     
look3 for out of  ,galilee ariseth no   
prophet60 ,he belonged by right to the  
,sanhedrin1 but  there is no record that
 he raised his voice in favor of the    
accused when  ,he was conducted to      
,caiaphas4 ,the trial was at night and  
probably to  avoid the contempt of his  
colleagues and his own remorse for the  
legal  assassination1 ,nicodemus        
remained in his bed4 ,when he awoke     
,jesus was  dead1 and then1 forgetting  
his avarice1 he bought a hundred pounds 

of  myrrh and aloes to embalm the body4 
,he who brought others to life was      
dead1 but ,nicodemus1 although not      
literally dead1 would never know that   
second birth in which he could not      
believe4    ,nicodemus is the eternal   
type of the luke-warm who will be spewed
 out of  the mouth of ,god on the day of
 wrath4 ,he is the half-way soul who    
would  like to say 8,yes0 with his      
spirit1 but his flesh suggests to him   
the  8,no0 of cowardice4 ,he is the man 
of books1 the nocturnal disciple who    
would like to be a follower of the      
,master1 but not to appear as one2 who  
would not mind being born again1 but who
 does not know how to break the         
withered bark of his ageing trunk2 the  
man of inhibitions and  precautions4    
,when the man of his admiration was     
martyred and killed and  ,his enemies   
were satisfied1 and there was no more   
danger of being  compromised1 then he   
comes with balsams to pour into those   
wounds which  were inflicted partly by  

his cowardice4    ,but the church to    
reward his posthumous piety has chosen  
him to become  one of her saints4 ,and  
there is an old tradition that he was   
baptized by  ,peter and put to death for
 having believed1 too late1 in ,him whom
 he did  not save from death4           
,,lambs1 ,,serpents1 ,,and ,,doves      
,those whom ,jesus sent out to the      
conquest of souls were rustic           
countrymen1 but they could be mild as   
sheep1 wary as serpents1 simple as      
doves--sheep without cowardice1 serpents
 without poison1 doves without          
lustfulness4    ,to be stripped of      
everything was the first duty of such   
soldiers4  ,seeking the poor1 they      
should be poorer than the poor4 ,and yet
 not  beggars1 for the laborer is worthy
 of his hire2 the bread of life which   
they were to distribute to those        
hungering for justice deserved wheat    
bread in return4 ,the laborers should   
set out on their wonderful work         
destitute of possessions1 taking nothing

 for their journey save a staff  only1  
no scrip1 no bread1 no money in their   
purse4 ,they should be shod  with       
sandals1 clad in a single garment4 ,the 
metals are a burden which  weighs down  
the soul4 ,the sheen of gold makes men  
forget the sun's  splendor2 the sheen of
 silver makes them forget the splendor  
of the  stars2 the sheen of copper makes
 them forget the splendor of fire4 ,he  
who deals with metals weds himself to   
the earth and is bound fast to the      
earth4 ,he does not know ,heaven1 and   
,heaven does not recognize him4    ,it  
is not enough to preach love of poverty 
to the poor1 or to talk to  them about  
the sumptuous beauty of poverty4 ,the   
poor do not believe the  words of the   
rich until the rich willingly become    
poor4 ,the ,disciples  destined to      
preach the beauty of poverty to both    
poor and rich were to  set an example of
 happy poverty to every man in every    
house on every  day4 ,they were to carry
 nothing with them except the clothes on

 their  backs and the sandals on their  
feet4 ,they were to accept nothing2 only
  the small piece of daily bread which  
they would find on the tables of  their 
hosts4 ,the wandering priests of the    
goddess ,siria and of other  ,oriental  
divinities carried with them1 along with
 the sacred images1 the  wallet for     
offerings1 the bag for alms1 because    
common people do not  value things which
 cost them nothing4 ,the apostles of    
,jesus1 on the  contrary1 were to refuse
 any gift or payment1 8,freely ye have  
received1  freely give40 ,and as one of 
the disguises of wealth is merchandise1 
the  messengers of the ,kingdom were to 
renounce even a change of garments1     
sandals and staff2 were to dispense with
 everything except the barest           
essentials4    ,they were to enter into 
the houses1 open to all in a country    
where the  locks and bolts of fear were 
not yet known1 and which preserved some 
remembrance of nomad hospitality--they  
were to speak to the men and the  women 

who lived there4 ,their duty was to     
announce that the ,kingdom of  ,heaven  
was at hand1 to explain in what way the 
kingdom of earth could  become the      
,kingdom of ,heaven1 and to explain the 
one condition for this  happy fulfilling
 of all the prophecies1--repentance1    
conversion1  transformation of the soul4
 ,as a proof that they were sent by ,one
 who  had the authority to demand this  
change1 they had power to heal the      
sick1 to drive away with their words    
unclean spirits1--that is1 the  demons1 
and the vices which make men like       
demons4    ,they commanded men to renew 
their souls and at once with all the    
power  which had been given them they   
aided them to commence this renovation4 
,they did not leave them alone with this
 command1 so difficult to  execute4     
,after the prophetic word1 8,the        
,kingdom is at hand10 they began  their 
labors2 they worked to restore1 to      
cleanse1 to make over these  souls which
 had been abandoned by their rightful   

shepherds4 ,they  explained what it was 
necessary to do to be worthy of the new 
,heaven on  earth and they lent a hand  
at once to the work4 ,in short1 to      
complete  the paradox they assassinated 
and brought to life4 ,they killed the   
old  ,adam in every convert1 but their  
words were the baptism of the second    
birth4 ,pilgrims without purses or      
bundles1 they carried with them truth   
and life1--peace4    8,and when ye come 
into an house salute it10 and this was  
the salutation1  8,peace be with you40  
,those who received them gained peace1  
those who  rejected them continued their
 bitter warfare4 ,coming away from the  
house  or from the city which had not   
received them1 they were to shake the   
dust from their feet1 not because the   
dust of the houses and of the  cities of
 those who were not willing to hear them
 was contaminated1 but  because shaking 
it from their feet is a symbolic answer 
to their  deafness and niggardliness of 
soul4 ,you have refused all1 and we will

  not accept anything from you1 not even
 the dust which clings to our  sandals4 
,because you1 made of dust and fated to 
return to dust as you  are1 will not    
give a moment of your time1 nor a piece 
of your bread1 we  leave behind us the  
dust of your streets1 down to the least 
grain4                                  
,,speak ,,ye ,,in ,,light      ,in their
 faithfulness to the sublime paradox of 
,him who sends them1 the  apostles bring
 peace and at the same time war6 ,all   
men are not capable  of conversion4 ,in 
the same family1 in the same house1     
there are some who  will believe and    
others who will not4 ,and there will    
spring up between  them division and    
warfare1 the hard price with which      
absolute and stable  peace can be       
secured4 ,if all men should listen at   
the same moment to the  voice1 if all   
could be transformed on the same day1   
the ,kingdom of  ,heaven would be       
founded in a twinkling of an eye1 with  
no bloody preface  of battles4          

,furthermore those who do not wish to   
change themselves1 because they do  not 
understand the news1 or believe         
themselves already perfect1 will  attack
 the converters and accuse them before  
tribunals4 ,representatives  of wealth  
and of the old law will be cruel to the 
poor who are teaching  the new law to   
the poor4 ,the rich are not willing to  
concede that their  wealth is dangerous 
poverty2 the scribes are not willing to 
admit that  their learning is only      
deadly ignorance4444 8,they will scourge
 you in  their synagogues4444 ,but when 
they deliver you up1 take no thought of 
how or what ye shall speak40 ,jesus is  
sure that the poor fishermen1  though   
they have never studied in the schools  
of eloquence1 will find  for themselves 
great words in their hour of accusation4
 ,one thought1  when it is a great      
thought and profoundly fixed in the     
heart1 engenders  of itself all the     
derivatory and accessory thoughts1 and  
with them  perfect form in which to     

express them4 ,the arid-hearted man who 
has  nothing in himself1 who has faith  
in nothing1 who does not feel1 burn1    
and suffer1 though he may have studied  
long with the sophists of ,athens  and  
the rhetoricians of ,rome1 is incapable 
of improvising one of those  powerful   
and illuminating answers which trouble  
the conscience of the  hardest judges4  
,they are to speak therefore without    
fear and without hiding anything of     
what has been taught them4 8,what ,i    
tell you in darkness that seek ye in    
light1 and what ye hear in the ear1     
preach ye upon the housetops40 ,with    
these words ,jesus does not ask his     
,disciples to be more daring than he    
has been4 ,he has spoken in the         
darkness1 that is obscurity2 ,he has    
spoken to them1 to ,his first faithful  
followers1 but what ,he has said to     
them along deserted roads and in        
solitary rooms they are to repeat as ,he
  ,himself has given them the example1  
on open squares of cities before  crowds

 of people4 ,he has whispered the truth 
into their ears1 because  the truth at  
first might alarm those not prepared for
 it1 and because  there were so few of  
the ,disciples that there was no need to
 cry aloud4  ,but this truth must be    
cried out now from the heights1 in order
 that all  may hear it1 in order that   
there may be no one to say on that ,day 
that  he has not heard it4    ,men can  
kill the body of the man who spreads the
 truth abroad1 but they  cannot kill his
 soul2 from the death of a single body  
thousands of new  souls will be born    
into life4 ,but not even your body will 
die1 because  there is ,one who protects
 it4 8,are not two sparrows sold for a  
farthing8  and one of them shall not    
fall on the ground without your ,father4
 ,but  the very hairs of your head are  
all numbered4 ,fear ye not therefore1 ye
  are of more value than many sparrows40
 ,the birds of the air who do not  sow1 
do not die of hunger2 you who do not    
carry even a staff shall not  die at the

 hands of your enemies4    ,they have   
with them a secret so precious that the 
flesh which contains  it will not be    
allowed to perish4 ,jesus is always with
 them1 even though  from afar4 ,what is 
done to them is done to ,him4 ,a mystic 
identity is  created for all eternity   
between ,him who sends them out and     
those  disciples who are sent4 8,and    
whosoever shall give to drink unto one  
of  these little ones1 a cup of cold    
water only in the name of a disciple1   
verily ,i say unto you he shall in no   
wise lose his reward40    ,jesus is the 
fountain of living water destined to    
quench the thirst of  all the weary1 and
 yet ,he will take account also of the  
cup of water  which shall have quenched 
the thirst of the least among ,his      
friends4  ,those who carry with them the
 water of truth1 which purifies and     
saves1  may need some day a cup of the  
stagnant water buried at the bottom of  
village wells4 ,any person who will give
 them a little of this ordinary1        

material water will have in exchange a  
well-spring which intoxicates the  soul 
more than the strongest wine4    ,the   
apostles who go about with one garment1 
with a single pair of  sandals1 without 
belts or wallets1 poor as poverty1 bare 
as truth1  simple as joy1 are1 in spite 
of their apparent poverty1 diverse forms
 of  a king who has come to found a     
kingdom greater and happier than all    
kingdoms1 to bring to poor people wealth
 which is worth more than all           
measurable riches1 to offer to the      
unhappy a joy more profound than any    
fleshly pleasures4 ,it suits this new   
,king1 as it did the kings of the       
,orient1 to show ,himself under many    
forms1 to appear to men in diverse      
garments4 ,but the disguises which ,he  
prefers even to-day are these  three3   
,poet1 ,poor ,man1 and ,apostle4        
,,mammon      ,jesus is the poor man1   
infinitely and rigorously poor4 ,poor   
with an  absolute poverty6 ,the prince  
of poverty6 ,the ,lord of perfect       

destitution6 ,the poor man who lives    
with the poor1 who has come for the     
poor1 who speaks to the poor1 who gives 
to the poor1 who works for the  poor6   
,poor among the poor1 destitute among   
the destitute1 beggar among  the        
beggars6 ,the poor man of a great and   
eternal poverty6 ,the happy and  rich   
poor man1 who accepts poverty1 who      
desires poverty1 who weds  himself to   
poverty1 who chants of poverty6 ,the    
beggar who gives alms6  ,the naked man  
who covers the naked6 ,the hungry man   
who feeds others1 the  miraculous and   
supernatural1 who changes the men owning
 false riches  into poor men1 and poor  
men into those with real wealth4        
,there are poor men who are poor because
 they were never capable of  acquiring  
wealth4 ,there are other poor men who   
are poor because they  give away every  
evening what they earned that day2 and  
the more they  give the more they have4 
,their wealth1 the wealth of this second
 class  of poor men1 grows greater in   

proportion as it is given away4 ,it is a
  pile which becomes greater as more is 
taken away from it4    ,jesus was one of
 these poor men4 ,compared to one of    
them1 men materially  rich1 rich as the 
world esteems wealth1 rich with their   
chests of  talents1 mina1 rupees1       
florins1 shekels1 crowns1 francs1 marks1
 and  dollars1 are only lamentable      
beggars4 ,the money-changers of the     
forum1  the great feasters of           
,jerusalem1 the bankers of ,florence and
 ,frankfort1  the lords of ,london1 the 
multi-millionaires of ,new ,york1       
compared to  these poor men are only    
unfortunate beggars1 despoiled and      
needy2 unpaid  servants of a fierce     
master2 condemned every day to          
assassinate their  own souls4 ,the      
wretchedness of such indigence is so    
terrible that they  are reduced to pick 
up the stones that are found in the mud 
of the  earth1 and grope about in filth4
 ,theirs is a poverty so repugnant that 
not even the poor succeed in bestowing  

on them the charity of a smile4         
,richness is a curse like work1 but a   
harder and more shameful curse4 ,he  who
 is marked with the sign of wealth has  
committed1 perhaps  unconsciously1 an   
infamous crime1 one of those mysterious 
and  unimaginable crimes which are      
nameless in human language4 ,the rich   
man  is either under the burden of the  
vengeance of ,god1 or ,god wishes to put
  him to the test to see if he can      
succeed in climbing up to divine        
poverty4 ,for the rich man has committed
 the greatest sin1 the most  abominable 
and unpardonable4 ,the rich man is the  
man who has fallen  because of an       
exchange3 he could have had ,heaven and 
he chose ,earth4 ,he  could have lived  
in ,paradise and he has chosen ,hell4   
,he could have kept  his soul and he has
 exchanged it for material things4 ,he  
could have  loved and he has preferred  
to be hated4 ,he could have had         
happiness and  he has desired power4 ,no
 one can save him4 ,wealth in his hands 

is a  metal which buries him alive under
 its icy mass2 it is the tumor which    
consumes him still alive in his         
corruption2 it is the fire which burns  
him and reduces him to a terrible1 black
 mummy1 a blind paralytic1 black  mummy1
 a ghostly carrion which everlastingly  
holds out its empty hand in  the        
cemeteries of the centuries1 begging in 
vain for the alms of  charitable        
remembrance4    ,for him there is only  
one salvation3 to become a poor man1 a  
true and  humble poor man2 to throw away
 the horrible destitution of wealth in  
order to enter again into poverty4 ,but 
this resolution is the hardest  that the
 rich man can take4 ,the rich man by the
 very fact that he is  sickened by      
wealth cannot even imagine that the     
entire renunciation of  wealth would be 
the beginning of redemption1 and because
 he cannot  imagine such an abdication1 
he cannot even deliberate on it1 cannot 
weigh the alternatives4 ,he is a        
prisoner in the impregnable prison of   

himself4 ,to liberate himself he must   
first be free4    ,the rich man does not
 belong to himself1 but belongs to      
inanimate  things4 ,he has not the time 
to think1 to choose4 ,wealth is a       
pitiless  master who allows no other    
masters near him4 ,the rich man cannot  
think  of his soul1 bowed as he is under
 the care of his riches1 under his      
thirst to increase his riches1 under the
 fear of losing his riches1  under the  
material joys which are offered to him  
by those pieces of  matter which are    
called wealth4 ,he cannot even imagine  
that his sick1  suffocating1 mutilated1 
worm-eaten soul needs to be cured4 ,he  
has taken  up his abode in that part of 
the world which1 according to contracts 
and  laws1 he has the right to call his1
 and often he has not even the  time1   
the wish1 or the power to enjoy it4 ,he 
must serve it and take care  of it1--he 
cannot serve or take care of his own    
soul4 ,all his power of  love is        
absorbed by these material things1 which

 order him about1 which  have taken the 
place of his soul1 which have robbed him
 of all his  liberty4 ,the horrible fate
 of the rich man lies in this double    
absurdity3 in order to have the power to
 command men he has become the  slave of
 dead things2 in order to acquire a part
 7and such a very small  part67 he has  
lost the whole4    ,nothing is ours as  
long as it is ours alone4 ,outside of   
himself man can  possess1 actually own1 
nothing4 ,the absolute secret of owning 
other  things is to renounce them4      
,everything is given to him who has     
refused  everything4 ,but he who wishes 
to grasp for himself1 for himself alone1
 a  part of the goods of this world1    
loses both what he has acquired and     
everything else4 ,and at the same moment
 he is incapable of knowing  himself1 or
 possessing himself1 making himself     
greater4 ,he has nothing  more1 not even
 the things which in appearance belong  
to him1 but to  which in reality he     
belongs2 and he has never had his own   

soul1 the one  piece of property which  
is worth possessing4 ,he is the most    
destitute  and despoiled beggar of all  
the universe4 ,he has nothing4 ,how then
 can  he love others1 give to others    
himself and that which belongs to       
himself1 exercise that loving charity   
which would conduct him so soon to  the 
,kingdom8 ,he is nothing and he has     
nothing4 ,he who does not exist  cannot 
change4 ,he who does not possess cannot 
give4 ,how then can the  rich man1 who  
is no longer his own1 who has no longer 
a soul1 transform  a soul1 the only     
possession of mankind1 into something   
nobler and more  precious8    8,for what
 shall it profit a man1 if he shall gain
 the whole world1 and  lose his own     
soul80 ,this question of ,christ's1     
simple like all  revelations1 expresses 
the exact meaning of the prophetic      
threat4 ,the  rich man not only loses   
eternity1 but1 pulled down by his       
wealth1 loses  his life here below1 his 
present soul1 the happiness of his      

present  earthly life4    8,ye cannot   
serve ,god and mammon40 ,the ,spirit and
 ,gold are two masters  who will not    
tolerate any division or sharing4 ,they 
are jealous2 they  insist on having the 
whole man4 ,and even if he wishes1 the  
man cannot  divide himself in two4 ,he  
must be all here1 or all beyond worldly 
things4 ,for the faithful servant of the
 spirit1 gold is nothing2 for him  who  
serves gold1 8spirit0 is a word without 
meaning4 ,he who chooses the  spirit    
throws away gold and all the things     
bought by gold2 he who  desires gold    
puts an end to the spirit and renounces 
all the benefits of  the spirit3 peace1 
holiness1 love1 perfect joy4 ,the first 
is a poor man  who can never use up his 
infinite wealth2 the other is a rich man
 who  can never escape out of his       
infinite poverty4 ,by the mysterious law
 of  renunciation the poor man possesses
 even that which is not his--the  entire
 universe2 through the hard law of      
perpetual desire1 the rich man  does not

 even possess that little which he      
believes to be his4 ,god gives          
immensely more than the immensity which 
,he has promised4 ,mammon takes  away   
even that very little which he promises4
 ,he who renounces  everything has      
everything given him2 he who wishes a   
part for himself  alone1 finds himself  
at the end with nothing4    ,when the   
horrible mystery of wealth is deeply    
probed1 it is easy to see  why the      
masters of men have considered wealth   
the kingdom of the ,demon  himself4 ,a  
thing which costs less than everything  
else is bought by  everything else4 ,a  
thing which is nothing1 the actual value
 of which is  nothing1 is bought by     
giving up everything1 is secured by     
exchanging for  it the whole of the     
soul1 the whole of life4 ,the most      
precious thing is  exchanged for the    
most worthless4    ,and yet even this   
infernal absurdity has its reason for   
being1 in the  economy of the spirit4   
,man is so universally and naturally    

drawn by that  nothingness called wealth
 that he could only be dissuaded from   
his  insensate search for it by putting 
a price so great1 so high1 so out of    
all proportion that the very fact of    
paying it would be a valid proof of     
insanity and crime4 ,but not even the   
conditions of the bargain1 the  eternal 
exchanged for the ephemeral1 power for  
servitude1 sanctity for  damnation1 are 
enough to keep men away from the absurd 
bargain with the  powers of evil4 ,poor 
people do not rejoice that they are     
poor4 ,their  only regret is that they  
cannot be rich2 their souls are         
contaminated  and in peril like those of
 the wealthy4 ,almost all of them are   
involuntarily poor men1 who have not    
known how to make money and yet  have   
lost the spirit2 they are only          
poverty-stricken rich people who  have  
not as yet any cash4    ,for poverty1   
voluntarily accepted1 joyfully desired1 
is the only poverty  which gives true   
wealth1 spiritual wealth4 ,absolute     

poverty frees men  for the conquest of  
the absolute4 ,the ,kingdom of ,heaven  
does not promise  poor people that they 
shall become rich1 it promises rich     
people that  they shall enter into it   
when they become freely poor4           
,,sell ,,everything      ,the tragic    
paradox implied in wealth justifies the 
advice given by ,jesus  to those who    
wish to follow ,him4    ,they all should
 give whatever they have beyond their   
needs to those in  want4 ,but the rich  
man should give everything4 ,to the     
young man who  comes up to ask ,him what
 he ought to do to be among ,his        
followers1 ,jesus  answers3 8,if thou   
wilt be perfect1 go and sell that thou  
hast1 and give  to the poor1 and thou   
shalt have treasure in heaven40 ,giving 
away wealth  is not a loss or a         
sacrifice4 ,instead of this1 ,jesus     
knows and all those  know who understand
 mankind and wealth that it is a        
magnificently  profitable transaction1  
an incommensurable gain4 8,sell         

whatsoever thou  hast and give to the   
poor and thou shalt have treasure in    
heaven where  neither moth nor rust doth
 corrupt and where thieves do not break 
through nor steal2 for where your       
treasure is1 there will your heart be   
also4 ,give to him that asketh thee1 and
 from him that would borrow from  thee1 
turn not thou away1 for it is more      
blessed to give than to  receive40      
,men must give and give without sparing1
 light-heartedly and without            
calculation4 ,he who gives in order to  
get something back is not perfect4  ,he 
who gives in order to exchange with     
others1 or for other material  things1  
acquires nothing4 ,the recompense is    
elsewhere1 it is in us4  ,things are not
 to be given away that they may be paid 
for by other  things1 but by purity and 
contentment alone4 8,when thou makest a 
dinner  or a supper call not thy friends
 nor thy brethren1 neither thy kinsmen  
nor thy rich neighbors1 lest they also  
bid thee again1 and a recompense  be    

made thee4 ,but when thou makest a feast
 call the poor1 the maimed1  the lame1  
the blind2 and thou shalt be blest1 for 
they cannot recompense  thee1 for thou  
shalt be recompensed at the resurrection
 of the just40    ,even before ,jesus'  
time men had been advised to renounce   
wealth4 ,jesus  was not the first to    
find in poverty one of the steps to     
perfection4 ,the  great ,vaddhamana1 the
 ,jain1 or triumpher1 added to the      
commandments of  ,parswa1 founder of the
 ,freed1 the doctrine of the            
renunciation of all  possessions4       
,buddha1 his contemporary1 exhorted his 
disciples to a  similar renunciation4   
,the ,cynics stripped themselves of all 
material  goods to be independent of    
work and of men1 and to be able to      
consecrate  their freed souls to truth4 
,crates1 the ,theban nobleman1 disciple 
of  ,diogenes1 distributed his wealth to
 his fellow-citizens and turned  beggar4
 ,plato wished the warriors in his      
,republic to have no  possessions4      

,dressed in purple and seated at tables 
inlaid with rare  stones1 the ,stoics   
pronounced eloquent eulogies on poverty4
 ,aristophanes  puts blind ,pluto on the
 stage distributing wealth to rascals   
alone1  almost as though wealth were a  
punishment4    ,but in ,jesus the love  
of poverty is not an ascetic rule1 nor a
 proud  disguise for ostentation4 ,timon
 of ,athens1 who was reduced to poverty 
after having fed a crowd of parasites   
with indiscriminate generosity1  was not
 a poor man as ,christ would have men   
poor4 ,timon was poor through  the fault
 of his vainglory1 to feed his own      
desire to be called  magnanimous and    
liberal4 ,he gave to everybody1 even to 
those who were  not needy4 ,crates1 who 
stripped himself of all his property to 
imitate  ,diogenes1 was the slave of    
pride3 he wished to do something        
different  from others1 to acquire the  
name of philosopher and sage4 ,the      
professional beggary of the ,cynics is a
 picturesque form of pride4 ,the        

poverty of ,plato's warriors is a       
measure of political prudence4 ,the     
first republics conquered and flourished
 as long as the citizens  contented     
themselves1 as in old ,sparta and old   
,rome1 with strict  poverty1 and they   
fell as soon as they valued gold more   
than sober and  modest living4 ,but men 
of antiquity did not despise wealth in  
itself4  ,they held it dangerous when it
 accumulated in the hands of the few1   
they  considered it unjust when it was  
not spent with judicious liberality4    
,but ,plato1 who desires for his        
citizens a condition half-way between   
need and abundance1 puts riches among   
the good things of human life4 ,he  puts
 it last of all1 but he does not forget 
it4 ,and ,aristophanes would  kneel     
before ,pluto if the blind ,god should  
acquire his sight again and  give riches
 to worthy people4    ,in the ,gospel1  
poverty is not a philosophical ornament 
nor a mystic  mode4 ,to be poor is not  
enough to entitle one to citizenship in 

the  ,kingdom4 ,poverty of the body is a
 preliminary requisite1 like humility   
of the spirit4 ,he who is not convinced 
that his estate is low never  thinks of 
climbing high2 no one can feel a zest   
for true treasures if he  is not freed  
from all material property1--from that  
winding-sheet which  blinds the eyes and
 binds down the wings4    ,when he does 
not suffer from his poverty1 when he    
glories in his poverty  instead of      
tormenting himself to convert it into   
wealth1 the poor man is  certainly much 
nearer to moral perfection than the rich
 man4 ,but the  rich man who has        
despoiled himself in favor of the poor  
and has chosen  to live side by side    
with his new brothers is still nearer   
perfection  than the man who was born   
and reared in poverty4 ,that he has been
  touched by a grace so rare and        
prodigious gives him the right to hope  
for the greatest blessedness4 ,to       
renounce what you have never had may be 
meritorious1 because imagination        

magnifies absent things2 but it is the  
sign of supreme perfectibility to       
renounce everything that you actually   
did possess1 possessions that were      
envied by every one4    ,the poor man   
who is sober1 chaste1 simple and        
contented because he lacks  means and   
occasions for anything else1 is inclined
 to look for a  recompense in pleasures 
which do not cost money1 and as it were 
for a  revenge in a spiritual           
superiority where prosperous people     
cannot  compete with him4 ,but often his
 virtues come from his impotence or from
  his ignorance2 he does not turn from  
the right course--he cannot afford  to  
do so--he does not pile up treasure     
because he possesses only the  strictly 
necessary2 he is not drunken and        
licentious because  wine-sellers and    
women of the streets give no credit4    
,his life1 often  hard1 servile1 dark1  
redeems his faults4 ,and his suffering  
forces him to  lift his eyes towards    
,heaven in search of consolation4 ,we do

 so little  for the poor that we have no
 right to judge them4 ,as they are1     
abandoned  by their brothers1 kept far  
from those who could speak to their     
hearts1  avoided by those who shrink    
from the proximity of their sweaty      
bodies1  excluded from those worlds of  
intelligence and the arts which might   
make  their poverty more endurable1 the 
poor are1 in the universal  wretchedness
 of mankind1 the least impure4 ,if they 
were more loved1 they  would be better  
men4 ,how can those who have left them  
alone in their  poverty have the heart  
to condemn them8    ,jesus loved the    
poor2 ,he loved them for the compassion 
which ,he felt for  them2 ,he loved them
 because ,he felt them nearer to ,his   
soul1 more  prepared to understand ,him 
than other men4 ,he loved them because  
they  constantly gave ,him the happiness
 of service1 of giving bread to the     
hungry1 strength to the weak1 hope to   
the unhappy4 ,jesus loved the poor      
because ,he saw that if they were justly

 treated they would be the most         
legitimate inhabitants of the ,kingdom4 
,he loved the poor because they         
rendered the renunciation of the rich   
easier by the stimulus of charity2  but 
most of all ,he loved the poor men who  
had been rich and who for the  love of  
the ,kingdom had become poor4 ,their    
renunciation was the greatest  act of   
faith in ,his promise4 ,they had given  
that which considered  absolutely is    
nothing1 but in the eyes of the world is
 everything1 for  the certainty of      
sharing in a more perfect life4 ,they   
had been obliged  to conquer in         
themselves one of the most profoundly   
rooted instincts of  man4 ,jesus1 born a
 poor man among the poor1 for the poor1 
never left his  brothers4 ,he gave to   
them the fructifying abundance of ,his  
divine  property4 ,but in ,his heart ,he
 sought the poor man who had not always 
been poor1 the rich man ready to strip  
himself for ,his love4 ,he sought  him1 
perhaps ,he never found him4 ,but ,he   

felt this longed-for1 unknown  brother  
man tenderly nearer to his heart than   
all the docile seekers who  crowded     
about ,him4                             
,,the ,,devil',s ,,dung      ,note well1
 you men who are yet to be born6 ,jesus 
was never willing to  touch a coin with 
,his hand4 ,those hands of ,his which   
molded the clay of  the earth as a cure 
for blind eyes1 those hands which       
touched the  contaminated flesh of      
lepers and of the dead1 those hands     
which clasped  the body of ,judas1 so   
much more contaminated than clay1 than  
leprosy1  than putrefaction1 those white
 pure healing hands which nothing could 
sully1 never suffered themselves to be  
touched by one of those metal  disks    
which carry in relief the profiles of   
the proprietors of the  world4 ,jesus   
could mention money in ,his parables2   
,he could see it in the  hands of       
others1 but touch it--no6 ,to ,him who  
scorned nothing1 money was  disgusting4 
,it was repugnant to ,him with a        

repugnance that was like  horror4 ,all  
,his nature was in revolt at the thought
 of a contact with  those filthy symbols
 of wealth4    ,but one day even ,jesus 
was constrained to look at a piece of   
money4 ,they  asked ,him if it was      
permitted to the true ,israelite to pay 
the tribute1  and ,he answered at once1 
8,show me the tribute money40 ,they     
showed it to  ,him1 but ,he would not   
take it4 ,it was a ,roman coin stamped  
with the  hypocritical face of          
,augustus4 ,but ,he wished to seem not  
to know whose  face it was4 ,he asked1  
8,whose is this image and               
superscription80 ,they  answered1       
8,csar's40 ,then ,he threw into the     
faces of the wily  interrogators the    
answer which silenced them1 8,render    
therefore unto  ,csar the things which  
are ,csar's2 and unto ,god the things   
that are  ,god's40    ,give back that   
which is not yours1 money does not      
belong to us4 ,it is  manufactured by   
the powerful for the needs of power4 ,it

 is the property  of kings and of the   
kingdom1 of that other kingdom which is 
not ours4  ,the king represents force   
and is the protector of wealth2 but we  
have  nothing to do with violence and   
reject riches4 ,our ,kingdom has no     
potentates and has no rich men2 the     
,king of our ,heaven does not coin      
money4 ,money is a means for the        
exchange of earthly goods1 but we do not
  seek for earthly goods4 ,what little  
is necessary for us1 a little  sunshine1
 a little air1 a little water1 a piece  
of bread1 a cloak1 will  be given freely
 to us by ,god and by ,god's friends4   
,tire yourselves out1  you other people1
 all your lives to gather together a    
great pile of  those round minted       
tokens4 ,we have no use for them4 ,for  
us they are  definitely superfluous4    
,therefore we give them back2 we give   
them back  to him who has had them      
coined1 to him who has had his portrait 
put on  them1 so that all should know   
that they are his4    ,jesus never      

needed to give back any money because   
,he never possessed  any4 ,he gave the  
order to ,his disciples not to carry    
bags for offerings  on their journeys4  
,he made one single exception1 and that 
a fearful one4  ,the ,gospel tells us   
that one apostle kept the common purse4 
,this  disciple was ,judas1 and even    
,judas felt himself forced to give back 
the  payment for his betrayal before    
disappearing in death4 ,judas is the    
mysterious victim sacrificed to the     
curse of money4 ,money carries with  it1
 together with the filth of the hands   
which have clutched and handled  it1 the
 inexorable contagion of crime4 ,among  
the unclean things which  men have      
manufactured to defile the earth and    
defile themselves1 money  is perhaps the
 most unclean4 ,these counters of coined
 metal which pass  and repass every day 
among hands still soiled with sweat or  
blood1 worn  by the rapacious fingers of
 thieves1 of merchants1 of misers2 this 
round  and viscid sputum of the ,mint1  

desired by all1 sought for1 stolen1     
envied1 loved more than love and often  
more than life2 these ugly pieces  of   
stamped matter1 which the assassin gives
 to the cut-throat1 the  usurer to the  
hungry1 the enemy to the traitor1 the   
swindler to his  partner1 the simonist  
to the barterer in religious offices1   
the lustful  to the woman bought and    
sold1 these foul vehicles of evil which 
persuade  the son to kill his father1   
the wife to betray her husband1 the     
brother  to defraud his brother1 the    
wicked poor man to stab the wicked rich 
man1  the servant to cheat his master1  
the highwayman to despoil the traveler2 
this money1 these material emblems of   
matter1 are the most terrifying  objects
 manufactured by man4 ,money which has  
been the death of so many  bodies is    
every day the death of thousands of     
souls4 ,more contagious  than the rags  
of a man with the pest1 than the pus of 
an ulcer1 than the  filth of a sewer1 it
 enters into every house1 shines on the 

counters of  the money-changers1 settles
 down in money-chests1 profanes the     
pillow of  sleep1 hides itself in the   
fetid darkness of squalid back-rooms1   
sullies  the innocent hands of children1
 tempts virgins1 pays the hangman for   
his  work1 goes about on the face of the
 earth to stir up hatred1 to set        
cupidity on fire1 to hasten corruption  
and death4    ,bread1 already holy on   
the family board1 becomes on the table  
of the  ,church the everlasting body of 
,christ4 ,money too is the visible sign 
of  a transubstantiation4 ,it is the    
infamous ,host of the ,demon4 ,he who   
loves  money and receives it with joy is
 in visible communion with the ,demon4  
,he who touches money with pleasure     
touches without knowing it the filth  of
 the ,demon4 ,the pure cannot touch it1 
the holy man cannot endure it4  ,they   
know with unshakable certainty its ugly 
essence1 and they have for  money the   
same horror that the rich man has for   
poverty4                                

,,the ,,kings ,,of ,,the ,,nations      
8,whose is this image80 asks ,jesus when
 they put the ,roman money before  his  
eyes4 ,he knows that face1 ,he knows1 as
 they all do1 that ,octavius by  a      
sequence of extraordinary good luck     
became the monarch of the world  with   
the adulatory surname of ,augustus4 ,he 
knows that falsely youthful  profile1   
that head of clustering curls1 the great
 nose that juts forward  as if to hide  
the cruelty of the small mouth1 the lips
 rigorously  closed4 ,it is a head1 like
 those of all kings1 cut off from the   
body1  cut off below the neck2 sinister 
image of a voluntary and eternal        
decapitation4 ,csar is the king of the  
past1 the head of the armies1 the       
coiner of silver and gold1 fallible     
administrator of insufficient  justice4 
,jesus is the ,king of the future1 the  
liberator of servants1 the  abdicator of
 wealth1 the master of love4 ,there is  
nothing in common  between them4 ,jesus 
has come to overthrow the domination of 

,csar1 to  undo the ,roman ,empire and  
every earthly empire1 but not to put    
,himself  in ,csar's place4 ,if men will
 listen to ,him there will never be any 
,csar again4 ,jesus is not the heir who 
conspires against the sovereign  to take
 his place4 ,he has come peaceably to   
remove all rulers4 ,csar is  the        
strongest and most famous of ,his       
rivals1 but also the most remote1       
because his force lies in the           
slothfulness of men1 in the weakness of 
peoples4 ,but ,one has come who will    
awaken the sleeping1 open the eyes of   
the blind1 give back strength to the    
weak4 ,when everything is fulfilled  and
 the ,kingdom is founded--a ,kingdom    
which needs no soldiers nor judges  nor 
slaves nor money1 but only renewed and  
living souls--,csar's empire  will      
vanish like a pile of ashes under the   
victorious breath of the  wind4    ,as  
long as ,csar is there1 we can give back
 to him what is his4 ,for the  new man1 
money is nothing4 ,we give back to      

,csar1 vowed to eternal  nothingness1   
that silver nothingness which is none of
 ours4 ,jesus is  always looking forward
 with passionate longing to the arrival 
of the  second earthly ,paradise and ,he
 takes no heed of governors because the 
new land which ,he announces will not   
need governors4 ,a people of holy  men  
who love each other would have no use   
for ,kings1 law-courts and  armies4 ,on 
one occasion only does ,he speak of     
kings1 and then only to  overturn the   
common established idea4 8,the ,kings of
 the ,gentiles10 ,he  says to ,his      
disciples1 8exercise lordship over them1
 and they that  exercise authority upon 
them are called benefactors4 ,but ye    
shall not be  so1 but he that is        
greatest among you1 let him be as the   
younger1 and he  that is chief1 as he   
that doth serve40 ,it is the theory of  
perfect  equality in human relationship4
 ,the great is small1 the master is     
servant1 the ,king is slave4 ,since1    
according to ,christ's teachings1 he    

who governs must become like him who    
serves1 the opposite is true1 and  he   
who serves has the same rights and      
honors as he who governs4 ,among  the   
righteous1 there may be some more ardent
 than others2 there may be  saints who  
were sinners up to the last day2 there  
may be other innocent  ones who were    
citizens of the ,kingdom of ,heaven from
 their birth4  ,different planes of     
spiritual greatness may exist as        
variations of the  perfection common to 
all2 but to the end of time every       
category of  superior and inferior1 of  
master and subordinate1 shall be        
abolished4  ,authority presupposes1 even
 if it is badly wielded1 a flock to     
lead1 a  minority to punish1 bestiality 
to shackle2 but when all men are holy1  
there will be no more need for commands 
and obedience1 for laws and             
punishments4 ,the ,kingdom of ,heaven   
can dispense with the commands of       
,force4    ,in the ,kingdom of ,heaven  
men will not hate each other and will no

 longer  desire riches2 every reason and
 need for government will disappear     
immediately after these two great       
changes4 ,the name of the path which    
conducts to perfect liberty is not      
,destruction but ,holiness4 ,and it is  
not found in the sophistries of ,godwin1
 or of ,stirner1 or ,proudhon1 or  of   
,kropotkin1 but only in the gospel of   
,jesus ,christ4                         
,,sword ,,and ,,fire      ,every time   
that the sycophants of the powerful have
 desired to sanctify  the ambition of   
the ambitious1 the violence of the      
violent1 the  fierceness of the fierce1 
the pugnacity of the pugnacious1 the    
conquests  of the conquerors1 every time
 that the paid sophists or frenzied     
orators  have tried to reconcile pagan  
ferocity with ,christian gentleness1 to 
use  the ,cross as the hilt of the      
sword1 to justify blood spilt through   
hatred by the blood which flowed on     
,calvary to teach love2 every time1  in 
short1 that people wish to use the      

doctrine of peace to legitimatize  war1 
and make ,christ surety for ,genghis    
,khan or for ,bonaparte or even  through
 refinement of infamy1 the outrider of  
,mahomet1 you will see them  quote1 with
 the inexorable punctuality of all      
commonplaces1 the  celebrated gospel    
text1 which everybody knows by heart and
 very few have  ever understood4        
8,think not that ,i am come to send     
peace on earth3 ,i came not to send     
peace1 but a sword40 ,some more learned 
add1 8,i am come to send fire on  the   
earth40 ,others rush forward to present 
the decisive verse1 8,the  kingdom of   
heaven suffereth violence1 and the      
violent take it by force40    ,what     
angel of eloquence1 what supernatural   
enlightener1 can ever reveal  to these  
hardened quoters the true meaning of the
 words which they  repeat with such     
light frivolity8 ,they do not look at   
the words which  come before and after2 
they pay no attention to the occasion on
 which  they were spoken4 ,they do not  

imagine for a moment that they can have 
another meaning from the common one4    
,when ,jesus says that ,he has come to  
bring a sword1--or as it is written  in 
the parallel passage of ,luke1          
8,discord10 ,he is speaking to ,his     
,disciples who are on the point of      
departing to announce the coming of  the
 ,kingdom4 ,and immediately after having
 spoken of the sword1 ,he  explains with
 familiar examples what ,he meant to    
say3 8,for ,i am come to  set a man at  
variance against his father1 and the    
daughter against her  mother1 and the   
daughter-in-law against her             
mother-in-law4 ,and a man's  foes shall 
be they of his own household4 ,for from 
henceforth there shall  be five in one  
house divided1 three against two1 and   
two against three40  ,the sword         
therefore does not mean war2 it is a    
figure of speech which  dignifies       
division4 ,the sword is what divides1   
cuts in two1 disunites2  and the        
preaching of the gospel shall divide men

 of the same family4  ,because among men
 there are those deaf and those who     
hear1 those who are  slow and those who 
are quick1 those who deny and those who 
believe4  ,until all are converted and  
8brothers in the ,word10 discord will   
reign  on earth4 ,but discord is not    
war1 is not massacre4 ,those who have   
heard  and believe--the                 
,christians--will not assault those who 
do not hear and do  not believe4 ,they  
will1 it is true1 take up arms against  
their  refractory and stubborn brothers1
 but these arms will be preaching1      
example1 pardon1 love4 ,those who are   
not converted perhaps will begin  real  
warfare1 the warfare of violence and    
blood1 but they will begin it  exactly  
because they are not converted1         
precisely because they are not  yet     
,christians4 ,the triumph of the ,gospel
 is the end of all wars1 of  wars       
between man and man1 between family and 
family1 between caste and  caste1       
between people and people4 ,if the      

,gospel at first is the cause of        
separations and discord the fault is not
 in the truths taught in the  ,gospel   
but in the fact that these truths are   
not yet practiced by all4    ,when      
,jesus proclaims that he comes to bring 
fire1 only a literal-minded  barbarian  
can think of murderous and destructive  
fire1 worthy auxiliary  of human        
warfare4 8,what will ,i if it be already
 kindled60 ,the fire  desired by the    
,son of ,man is the fire of             
purification1 of enthusiasm1  the ardor 
of sacrifice1 the refulgent flame of    
love4 ,until all souls are  burning and 
consumed in that fire1 the word of the  
,gospel will be but  useless sound1 and 
the ,kingdom still far away4 ,to renew  
the contaminated  and hateful family of 
men1 a wonderful outburst of grief and  
of passion  is needed4 ,the complacent  
must suffer1 the cold must burn1 the    
insensible must cry out1 the tepid must 
flame like torches in the night4  ,all  
the filth accumulated in the secret life

 of men1 all the sediments  of sin which
 make of every soul an offensive sewer1 
all the corruption  which shuts the ears
 and suffocates the hearts1 must be     
burned up in  this miraculous spiritual 
fire1 which ,jesus came to kindle in our
  hearts4    ,but to pass beyond this   
wall of flame there is need for strength
 of soul  and a boldness not possessed  
by all1 possessed only by the valorous2 
and  thus ,jesus can say1 8,the ,kingdom
 of ,heaven suffereth violence and the  
violent take it by force40 ,the word    
violent has as a matter of fact in  the 
text the evident meaning of 8strong10 of
 men who know how to take  doors by     
assault without hesitating or trembling4
 8,sword10 8fire10  8violence10 are     
words which are not to be taken in the  
literal sense1 so  pleasing to the      
advocates of massacres4 ,they are       
figurative words which  we are forced to
 use to reach the torpid imagination of 
the crowds4 ,the  sword is the symbol of
 the divisions between those first      

persuaded and  those who are last in    
believing2 fire is purifying love2      
violence is the  strength necessary to  
make oneself over and to arrive on the  
threshold  of the ,kingdom4 ,any one who
 understands this passage in any other  
way  either does not know how to read1  
or is determined to misread4    ,jesus  
is the man of ,peace4 ,he has come to   
bring ,peace4 ,the ,gospels are  nothing
 but proclamations and instructions for 
,peace4 ,the very night of  ,his birth  
celestial voices sang in the sky the    
prophetic augury3 8,peace  on ,earth to 
men of good will40 ,on the ,mount one of
 the first promises  which flowed from  
the heart and from the lips of ,christ  
is that directed  to the peacemakers1   
8,blessed are the peacemakers3 for they 
shall be  called the children of ,god40 
,when the apostles are ready to depart  
on  their mission ,he commands them to  
wish peace to all the houses where  they
 enter4 ,to the disciples1 to ,his      
friends1 ,he counsels1 8,have peace  one

 with another40 ,drawing near to        
,jerusalem1 ,he looks at it pityingly   
and exclaims1 8,if thou hadst known1    
even thou1 at least in this thy day1    
the things which belong unto thy peace60
 and the terrible night on the  ,mount  
of ,olives1 while the mercenaries armed 
with swords are binding  ,him1 ,he      
pronounces the supreme condemnation of  
violence1 8,for all they  that take the 
sword shall perish with the sword40 ,he 
understands the  evils of discord1      
8,every kingdom divided against itself  
is brought to  desolation2 and every    
city or house divided against itself    
shall not  stand40 ,and in ,his talk on 
the last things1 in the grand           
apocalyptic  prophecy1 ,he announces    
among the terrible signs of the end     
together with  famine1 earthquakes and  
tribulation1 also wars4 8,and ye shall  
hear of  wars and rumours of wars4444   
,for nation shall rise against nation1  
and  kingdom against kingdom40    ,for  
,jesus discord is an evil2 war is a     

crime4 ,his ,god is not the old  ,lord  
of ,battles4 ,the apologists for great  
massacres confuse the ,old and  the ,new
 ,testament4 ,but the ,new is new       
exactly because it transforms the  ,old4
    ,only when considered as a          
punishment can war be thought of as     
divine4  ,war is the terrible           
retribution of men who have recourse to 
war2 it is  the cruelest manifestation  
of the hatred which broods and boils in 
human  hearts1 the hatred which drives  
men to take up arms to destroy one      
another4 ,war is at the same time a     
crime and its own punishment4    ,but   
when hate is abolished in every heart1  
war will be incomprehensible3  our most 
terrible punishment will disappear      
together with our greatest  sin4 ,then  
at last will arrive the day longed for  
by ,isaiah when1 8they  shall beat their
 swords into plow-shares1 and their     
spears into  pruninghooks3 nation shall 
not lift up sword against nation1       
neither  shall they learn war any more40

    ,that day announced by ,isaiah is   
the day on which the ,sermon on the     
,mount  shall become the only law       
recognized on earth4                    
,,one ,,flesh ,,only      ,jesus        
sanctions the union of man and woman    
even in the flesh4 ,as long as  kings   
remain1 we are to give back to them the 
coins stamped with their  names2 as long
 as men are not like angels the human   
race must perpetuate  itself4    ,the   
,family and the ,state1 imperfect       
expedients compared with heavenly       
beatitude1 are necessary during our     
terrestrial probation2 and since  they  
are necessary they should at least      
become less impure and less  imperfect4 
,as long as rulers exist1 at least the  
man who rules should  feel himself the  
equal of the man who serves4 ,as long as
 marriage  exists1 the union between man
 and woman should be eternal and        
faithful4    ,in marriage ,jesus sees   
first of all the joining of two bodies4 
,on this  point ,he ratifies the        

metaphor of the ,old ,law1 8,so then    
they are no more  twain1 but one flesh40
 ,husband and wife are one body1        
inseparable4 ,this  man shall never have
 another woman2 this woman shall never  
know another  man until death divides   
them4 ,the mating of male and female1   
when it is  not the expression of       
careless wantonness1 or furtive         
fornication1 when  it is the meeting of 
two healthy virginities1 when it is     
preceded by  free choice1 by a chaste   
passion1 by a public and consecrated    
covenant1  has an almost mystic         
character which nothing can cancel4 ,the
 choice is  irrevocable1 the passion is 
confirmed1 the compact is for eternity4 
,within the two bodies clinging to each 
other with bodily desire1 there  are two
 souls which recognize each other and   
find each other in love4  ,their flesh  
becomes one flesh2 their two souls      
become one soul4    ,the two have been  
fused into one1 and from this communion 
will be born a  new creature formed of  

the essence of both1 which will be the  
visible  form of their union4 ,love     
makes them like ,god1 creators of a new 
and  miraculous creation4    ,but this  
,duality of the flesh and of the        
spirit--the most perfect among          
imperfect human relations--should never 
be disturbed or interrupted4  ,adultery 
corrupts it1 divorce destroys it4       
,adultery treacherously  corrodes the   
union2 divorce repudiates it definitely4
 ,adultery is a  secret divorce founded 
upon untruth and betrayal2 divorce      
followed by  another marriage is        
sanctioned adultery4    ,jesus always   
condemns adultery and divorce in the    
most solemn and  absolute manner4 ,his  
whole nature holds unfaithfulness in    
horror4 ,there  will come a day1 he     
warns people1 in speaking of heavenly   
life1 in which  men and women will not  
marry2 but up to that day marriage      
should have at  least all the           
perfections possible to its             
imperfection4 ,and ,jesus who  always   

goes below the surface of things does   
not call adulterer only the  man who    
robs his brother of his wife1 but also  
the man who looks at her  in the street 
with lustful eyes4 ,the man who has     
underhand relations  with another man's 
wife is an adulterer1 but no less an    
adulterer is he  who1 having put aside  
his own wife1 marries another4 ,on one  
occasion  alone1 ,he seems to admit the 
possibility of divorce to the husband of
 an  adulteress2 but the crime of the   
repudiated wife could never justify the 
crime which the betrayed man would      
commit in taking another wife4          
,confronted with a law so absolute and  
so rigorous1 even the ,disciples  took  
alarm4 8,if the case of the man be so   
with his wife1 it is not good  to marry4
 ,but he said unto them1 ,all men cannot
 receive this saying1  save they to whom
 it is given4 ,for there are some       
eunuchs1 which were so  born from their 
mother's womb3 and there are some       
eunuchs which were  made eunuchs of men3

 and there be eunuchs1 which have made  
themselves  eunuchs for the kingdom of  
heaven's sake4 ,he that is able to      
receive it1  let him receive it40       
,marriage is a concession to human      
nature1 and to the propagation of  life4
 8,all men cannot receive this saying10 
are not capable of remaining  chaste1   
virgin1 and alone1 but only 8they to    
whom it is given40 ,perfect  celibacy is
 a grace1 a reward of the victory of the
 spirit over the  body4    ,any man who 
wishes to give all his love to a great  
undertaking must  condemn himself to    
chastity4 ,he cannot serve both humanity
 and the  individual4 ,the man who has a
 difficult mission to carry out1        
demanding  all his strength up to the   
last of his days1 cannot tie himself to 
a  woman4 ,marriage means abandoning    
oneself to another being--but the       
,saviour must abandon himself to all    
other beings4 ,the union of two souls   
is not enough for him--and it would make
 more difficult1 perhaps  impossible1   

union with all other souls4 ,the        
responsibilities which come  with the   
choice of a mate1 the birth of children1
 the creation of a  little community in 
the midst of the great community of the 
human race1  are so heavy that they     
would be a daily hindrance to           
undertakings  infinitely more serious4  
,the man who wishes to lead other men1  
to  transform them1 cannot bind himself 
for all his life to one being alone4    
,he would need to be faithless to his   
wife or to his mission4 ,he loves  all  
his brothers too much to love one only  
of his sisters4 ,the ,hero is  solitary4
 ,solitude is his penalty and his       
greatness4 ,he renounces the  pleasures 
of marital love1 but the love which is  
in his heart1 when  communicated to all 
men1 is multiplied into a sublimation of
 sacrifice  surpassing all earthly joys4
 ,the man with no mate is alone1 but is 
free2  his soul1 unhampered by common   
and material thoughts1 can rise to the  
heights4 ,he does not beget children of 

his own flesh1 but he brings to a       
second birth the children of his spirit4
    ,it is not given to every one1      
however1 to resist and abstain4 8,he    
that  is able to receive it1 let him    
receive it40 ,the foundation of the     
,kingdom needs all men who will give all
 their souls to it2 the lusts of  the   
flesh1 even when confined to legitimate 
marriage1 are weakening for  him who    
should give all his attention to the    
things of the spirit4    ,those who will
 know the resurrection of the great day 
of triumph will  have no further        
temptations4 ,in the ,kingdom of ,heaven
 the joining of man  and woman1 even    
sanctified as it is by the permanence of
 marriage1 will  exist no more4 ,its    
real end is the creation of new human   
beings1 but in  that day ,death will be 
conquered and the everlasting renewing  
of the  generations will no longer be   
necessary4 8,for when they shall rise   
from  the dead1 they neither marry1 nor 
are given in marriage2 but are as the   

angels which are in heaven40    ,with   
this attainment of eternal and angelic  
life--the two promises and  the two     
certainties of ,christ--what has seemed 
endurable will become  unthinkable1 that
 which seemed pure will become vile1    
that which was  holy will become        
imperfect4 ,in that supreme and happy   
world all the  trials of the human race 
will be over4 ,a hasty mating with a    
stolen  woman was enough for the        
primitive bestial man4 ,man rose to the 
higher  level of marriage1 to union with
 one woman alone2 the saint rose higher 
yet1 to voluntary chastity4 ,but the man
 who has become an angel in  ,heaven1   
who is all spirit and love1 will have   
conquered the flesh even  in memory4 ,in
 a world where there will be no poor1   
sick1 unhappy or  enemies1 his love will
 be transfigured into a superhuman      
contemplation4    ,the cycle of births  
will then be closed4 ,the ,fourth       
,kingdom will be  forever established4  
,the citizens of the ,kingdom will be   

eternally the  same1 themselves and no  
other through all the centuries4 ,woman 
will no  longer bring forth her young   
with suffering4 ,the sentence of exile  
will  be revoked1 the ,serpent will be  
conquered2 the ,father will joyfully    
welcome his wandering son4 ,paradise    
will be found again and will never  more
 be lost4                               
,,fathers ,,and ,,sons      ,jesus was  
speaking in a house1 perhaps at         
,capernaum1 and men and women1  all     
hungering for life and justice1 all     
needing comfort and consolation1  had   
filled the house1 had pressed close     
around ,him1 and were looking at  ,him  
as they would look at their ,father     
returned to them1 their ,brother        
healing them1 their ,benefactor saving  
them4 ,they were so hungry for ,his     
words1 these men and women1 that ,jesus 
and ,his friends had not stopped  to    
take a mouthful of food4 ,he had spoken 
for a long time1 and yet they  would    
have liked ,him to go on speaking till  

nightfall1 without ever  stopping for an
 instant4 ,they had been waiting for    
,him for so long6  ,their fathers and   
their mothers had waited for ,him in    
wretchedness and  dumb resignation for  
thousands of years4 ,they themselves had
 waited for  ,him1 year after year1 in  
dull wretchedness4 ,night after night   
they had  longed for a ray of light1 a  
promise of happiness1 a loving word4    
,and  now before them was ,he who was   
the reward of their long vigil4 ,now    
they  could wait no longer4 ,these men  
and these women crowded about ,jesus    
like  privileged and impatient creditors
 who finally have before them the       
,divine ,debtor1 for whom they have been
 eternally waiting2 and they  claimed   
their share down to the last penny4 ,he 
certainly should be able  to get along  
without eating bread just this one      
time--for centuries and  centuries their
 fathers had been forced to go without  
the ,bread of  ,truth2 for years and    
years they themselves had not been able 

to satisfy  their hunger for the ,bread 
of ,hope4    ,jesus therefore went on   
talking to the people who had filled the
 house4  ,he repeated the most touching 
figures of ,his inspiration1 told the   
most  persuasive stories of the         
,kingdom1 looked at them with those     
luminous  eyes which shone down into the
 soul as the morning sun penetrates the 
shut-in darkness of a house4    ,any one
 of us would give what remains of his   
life to be looked at by  those eyes1 to 
gaze for a moment into those eyes       
shining with infinite  tenderness2 to   
listen for a moment only to that        
thrilling voice1  changing the ,semitic 
vernacular into melodious music4 ,those 
men and  women who are now dead1 those  
poor men1 those poor women1 those       
wretched  people who to-day are dust in 
the air of the desert1 or clay under the
  hoofs of the camels1 those men and    
those women whom in their lifetime no   
one envied1 and whom we the living are  
forced to envy after their remote  and  

obscure death2 those men and those women
 heard that voice1 saw those  eyes4     
,but there came a stir and voices were  
heard at the door of the house3  some   
one wished to come in4 ,one of those    
present told ,jesus1 8,behold1  thy     
mother and thy brethren without seek for
 thee40 ,but ,jesus did not  stir1 8,who
 is my mother or my brethren80 ,and he  
looked round about on  them which sat   
about him1 and said1 8,behold my mother 
and my brethren6  ,for whosoever shall  
do the will of ,god1 the same is my     
brother1 and my  sister1 and mother40   
,my family is all here and ,i have no   
other family4 ,the ties of blood do  not
 count unless they are confirmed in the 
spirit4 ,my father is the  ,father who  
made me like unto ,him in the perfection
 of righteousness2 my  brothers are the 
poor who weep2 my sisters are the women 
who have left  their loves for ,love4   
,he did not mean with these words to    
deny the  ,virgin of ,sorrows1 of whose 
womb ,he was the fruit2 ,he meant to say

 that  from the day of ,his voluntary   
exile ,he belonged no more to the little
  family of ,nazareth1 but only to ,his 
mission as ,saviour1 to the great       
family of mankind4    ,in the new       
organization of salvation1 spiritual    
affiliations surpass the  simple        
relationships of the flesh4 8,if any    
come to me1 and hate not his  father1   
and mother1 and wife1 and children1 and 
brethren1 and sisters1  yea1 and his own
 life also1 he cannot be my disciple40  
,individual love  must disappear in     
universal love4 ,we must choose between 
the old  affections of the old mankind  
and the unique love of the ,new ,man4   
,the family will disappear when men1 in 
the celestial life1 shall be  better    
than men4 ,in the world as it is1 the   
family is an impediment for  him who    
helps others to rise to higher things4  
8,and call no man your  father upon the 
earth3 for one is your ,father which is 
in heaven40 ,he  who leaves his family  
shall be infinitely rewarded4 8,and he  

said unto  them1 ,verily ,i say unto    
you1 ,there is no man that hath left    
house1 or  parents1 or brethren1 or     
wife1 or children for the kingdom of    
,god's  sake1 ,who shall not receive    
manifold more in this present time1 and 
in  the world to come life everlasting40
    ,your ,heavenly ,father will never  
forsake you1 your brothers in the       
,kingdom will never betray you2 but the 
fathers and the brothers of  earthly    
life might become your assassins4 8,and 
ye shall be betrayed both  by parents   
and brethren and kinsfolks and friends2 
and some of you shall  they cause to be 
put to death40    ,and yet fathers at   
least should be faithful1 because1      
according to  ,jesus1 fathers have more 
duties toward their sons than sons      
toward their  fathers4 ,the ,old ,law   
recognizes only the first4 8,honor thy  
father and  thy mother10 said ,moses4   
,but he does not add1 8,protect and love
 thy  children40 ,children seemed to    
,moses to be the property of those who  

had  begotten them4 ,life in those times
 seemed so fair and precious that       
children were always thought to be in   
debt to their parents4 ,they were  to   
remain servants forever1 everlastingly  
submissive4 ,they should live  only for 
old age1 by the orders of old age4      
,here also the divine genius of the     
,overthrower sees what is lacking in    
the old ideals and insists upon righting
 the balance4 ,fathers should  give     
without sparing and without rest2 even  
if the children are  ungrateful1 even if
 they abandon their father1 even if they
 are unworthy  in the eyes of the       
platitudinous sagacity of the world4    
,the ,paternoster  is a prayer of sons  
to a ,father4 ,it is the prayer which   
every child  might address to his       
father4 ,he asks for daily bread2 the   
remission of  sins1 pardon for his      
failings1 and daily protection against  
evil4    ,and yet fathers1 even when    
they give everything1 are sometimes     
forsaken4  ,if their sons leave them to 

throw themselves into evil ways1 they   
must  be forgiven as soon as they come  
back1 as the ,prodigal ,son in the      
parable was forgiven4 ,if they leave    
their fathers to seek out a higher  and 
more perfect life--like those who are   
converted to the ,kingdom--they  will be
 rewarded a thousand times in this life 
and the next4    ,but from every point  
of view1 fathers are debtors4 ,the      
tremendous  responsibility which they   
have accepted in giving life to a new   
human  being must be met4 ,like the     
,heavenly ,father1 they must give to    
those of  their children who ask and to 
those who keep silence1 to the worthy   
and  the unworthy1 to those who sit     
about the family board and to those who 
are wanderers over the earth1 to the    
good and to the bad1 to the first  and  
to the last4 ,they must never become    
weary1 not even with the  children who  
flee from them1 with those who offend   
against them1 with  those who deny them4
    8,or what man is there of you1 whom 

if his son ask bread1 will he give  him 
a stone8 ,or if he ask a fish1 will he  
give him a serpent80 ,who will  refuse  
to a son who departs asking nothing1 the
 supreme gift of a love  which asks no  
requital8                               
,,little ,,children      ,all men are   
children of the ,son of ,man1 but no one
 could call ,him father  in the flesh4  
,among the disappointing joys of men    
perhaps the only joy  which does not    
disappoint is to hold in one's arms or  
on one's knees a  child whose face is   
rosy with blood which is also yours1 who
 laughs at  you with the dawning        
splendor of his eyes1 who stammers out  
your name1  who uncovers the springs of 
the lost tenderness of your childhood2  
to  feel against your adult flesh1      
hardened by winds and the sun1 this     
fresh  smooth young flesh where the     
blood seems still to have kept some of  
the  sweetness of milk1 flesh that seems
 made of warm1 living petals4 ,to feel  
that this flesh is yours1 shaped in the 

flesh of your mate1 nourished  with the 
milk of her breasts2 to watch the birth 
and slow flowering of  the soul in this 
flesh2 to be the sole father of this    
unique creature1  of this flower opening
 in the light of the world2 to recognize
 your own  aspect in his childish eyes1 
to hear your own voice through his fresh
  lips2 to grow young again through this
 child in order to be worthy of  him2 to
 be nearer to him2 to make yourself     
younger1 better1 purer2 to  forget all  
the years which bring us silently nearer
 to death1 to forget  the pride of      
manhood1 the vanity of wisdom1 the first
 wrinkles on the  face1 the expiations1 
the ignominies of life and to become a  
virgin  again beside this virginity1    
calm beside this calmness1 good with a  
goodness never known before2 to be in   
short the father of a child of  your    
own1 this is certainly the highest human
 pleasure given to a man  who has a soul
 within his clay4    ,jesus1 whom no one
 called ,father1 was drawn to children  

as to sinners4  ,lover of the absolute1 
,he loved only extremes4 ,complete      
innocence and  complete downfall were   
for ,him pledges of salvation4          
,innocence because  it does not need to 
be cleansed2 abject degradation because 
it feels  more keenly the need to be    
cleansed4 ,the people in danger are     
those  midway2 men half depraved and    
half intact2 men who are foul within and
  wish to seem upright and just2 those  
who have lost with their childhood      
their native purity and do not yet      
recognize the filthiness of their  inner
 depravity4    ,jesus loved children    
with tenderness and sinners with        
compassion2 the  pure and those who     
stood in dire need of purification4 ,his
 hand  willingly caressed the floating  
hair of the newly weaned child and did  
not draw back from the perfumed tresses 
of the prostitute4 ,he drew near  to    
sinners because they often had not the  
strength to come to ,him2 but  ,he      
called children to ,him because children

 know by instinct who loves  them1 and  
run willingly to him4 ,mothers brought  
their children to ,him to  have ,him    
touch them4 ,the ,disciples1 with their 
habitual roughness1 cried  out on       
them--and ,jesus once more was obliged  
to reprove them1 8,suffer  little       
children1 and forbid them not to come   
unto me1 for of such is the  kingdom of 
heaven40 8,verily ,i say unto you1      
,whosoever shall not receive  the       
kingdom of ,god as a little child1 he   
shall not enter therein40    ,the       
,disciples1 bearded men1 proud of their 
authority as mature men and  as         
lieutenants of their future ,lord1 could
 not understand why their  ,master      
consented to waste time with children   
who could not yet speak  plainly and    
could not understand the meaning of     
grown people's words4  ,but ,jesus set  
in their midst one of these children and
 said3 8,verily ,i  say unto you1       
,except ye be converted1 and become as  
little children1 ye  shall not enter    

into the kingdom of heaven4 ,whosoever  
therefore shall  humble himself as this 
little child1 the same is greatest in   
the kingdom  of heaven4444 ,and whoso   
shall receive one such little child in  
my name  receiveth me4 ,but whoso shall 
offend one of these little ones which   
believe in me1 it were better for him   
that a mill-stone were hanged  about his
 neck1 and that he were drowned in the  
depth of the sea40    ,here1 too1 the   
transposition of values is complete4 ,in
 the ,old ,law1 the  child was to       
respect the grown man1 to revere and    
imitate the old man4  ,the little child 
was to take the grown person as his     
model4 ,perfection  was supposed to lie 
in years of maturity1 or1 better yet1 in
 old age4  ,the child was respected only
 as containing the hope for future      
manhood4  ,jesus reversed these ideas2  
grown people were to take their example 
from  little children1 elders were to   
try to become like infants1 fathers were
  to imitate their sons4 ,in the world  

as it was1 as it is1 controlled by      
force1 where the only valued art is the 
art of acquiring riches and  overcoming 
others1 children are at the most only   
human larv4 ,in the ,new  ,world        
announced by ,christ1 which will be     
governed by fearless purity and         
innocent love1 children are the         
arch-types of happy citizens4 ,the child
  who seems an imperfect man is thus    
more perfect than the grown man4 ,the   
man who imagines that he has come into  
the fullness of his time and of  his    
soul is to turn back1 despoil himself of
 his complacent complexities  and return
 to his first youth4 ,from having been  
imitated he becomes an  imitator1 from  
his position as first he becomes last4  
,jesus reaffirms ,his own likeness to a 
child1 and declares with no  hesitation 
that ,he is identical with the children 
who seek ,him out1 8,and  whoso shall   
receive one such little child in my name
 receiveth me40 ,the  saint1 the poor   
man1 the poet1 present themselves under 

this new form  which sums them all up3  
the child1 pure and candid as the saint1
 bare  and needy as the poor man1       
marveling and loving like the poet4     
,jesus loves children not only as       
unconscious models for those who wish   
to attain the perfection of the         
,kingdom1 but as the actual mediums of  
truth4 ,their ignorance is more         
illumined than the doctrines of learned 
men2 their ingenuousness is more        
powerful than the intellect which shows 
itself in reasoning words4 ,only a clear
 and untarnished mirror can  reflect the
 images of the revelation4    8,i thank 
thee1 ,o ,father1 ,lord of heaven and   
earth1 because thou hast hid  these     
things from the wise and prudent1 and   
hast revealed them unto  babes40 ,their 
own wisdom stands in the way of the     
wise1 because they  think they          
understand everything4 ,their own       
intelligence is an  impediment for the  
intelligent1 because they are not       
capable of  understanding any other     

light than that of the intellect4 ,only 
the  simple can understand simplicity1  
the innocent1 innocence1 the loving1    
love4 ,the revelation of ,jesus1 open   
only to virginal souls1 is all          
humility1 purification and love4 ,but   
man1 as he grows older1 becomes  more   
complicated1 more corrupt1 prouder1 and 
learns the horrible  pleasure of hatred4
 ,every day he goes further from        
,paradise1 becomes  less capable of     
finding it4 ,he takes pleasure in his   
steady downfall and  glories in the     
useless learning which hides from him   
the only needful  truth4    ,to find the
 new ,paradise1 the ,kingdom of         
innocence and love1 it is  needful to   
become like children who have already   
what others must strive  and struggle to
 regain4    ,jesus seeks out the company
 of sinners1 of men and women1 but ,he  
feels  ,himself with his true brothers  
only when ,he lays ,his hands on the    
heads  of the children whom the         
,galilean mothers bring to ,him as an   

offering4                               
,,martha ,,and ,,mary      ,women also  
loved ,jesus4 ,he who had the form and  
flesh of a man1 who left  ,his mother   
and never had a wife1 was surrounded all
 ,his life and after  ,his death by the 
warmth of feminine tenderness4 ,the     
chaste wanderer was  loved by women as  
no man was ever loved1 or ever can be   
loved again4 ,the  chaste man1 who      
condemned adultery and fornication1 had 
over women the  inestimable prestige of 
innocence4    ,all women1 who are not   
mere females1 kneel before him who does 
not bow  before them4 ,the husband with 
all his legal love and authority1 the   
satyr with all his mistresses1 the      
eloquent adulterer1 the bold  ravisher1 
have not so much power over the spirit  
of women as he who  loves them without  
touching them1 he who saves them without
 asking for  even a kiss as reward4     
,woman1 slave of her body1 of her       
weakness1 her  desire and of the desire 
of the male1 is drawn to him who frees  

her1 to  him who cures her1 to him who  
loves her and asks no more from her than
 a  cup of water1 a smile1 a little     
silent attention4    ,women loved       
,jesus4 ,they stopped when they saw ,him
 pass1 they followed  ,him when they saw
 ,him speaking to ,his friends1 they    
drew near to the  house where ,he had   
gone in1 they brought their children to 
,him1 they  blessed ,him loudly1 they   
touched ,his garment to be cured of     
their ills1  they were happy when they  
could serve ,him4 ,all of them might    
have cried  out to ,him1 like the woman 
who raised her voice in the midst of the
  multitude3 8,blessed is the womb that 
bare ye1 and the paps which thou  hast  
sucked40    ,many followed ,him to      
death4 ,salome1 mother of the ,sons of  
,thunder2 ,mary1  mother of ,james the  
less2 ,martha and ,mary of ,bethany4    
,they would have liked to be ,his       
sisters1 ,his servants1 ,his slaves2 to 
serve ,him1 to set bread before ,him1 to
 pour ,him wine1 to wash ,his  garments1

 to anoint ,his tired feet and ,his     
flowing hair4 ,some of them  were       
fortunate enough to be allowed to follow
 ,him1 and knew the still  greater good 
fortune of helping ,him with their money
 444 8and the twelve  were with him1    
,and certain women1 which had been      
healed of evil spirits  and infirmities1
 ,mary1 called ,magdalene1 out of whom  
went seven devils1  ,and ,joanna1 the   
wife of ,chuza1 ,herod's steward1 and   
,susanna1 and many  others1 which       
ministered unto him of their substance40
 ,women1 in whom  piety is a native gift
 of the heart before it is acquired     
through desire  for perfection1 were1 as
 they have always been1 more generous   
than men4    ,when ,he appears in the   
house of ,lazarus1 two women1 the two   
sisters of  the man brought back from   
death1 seem distracted with joy4 ,martha
 rushes  towards ,him to see what ,he   
needs1 if ,he wishes to wash1 if ,he    
wishes to  eat at once1 and1 bringing   
,him into the house1 she leads ,him to  

the  couch that ,he may lie down1 puts  
over ,him a blanket lest ,he be cold1   
and  runs with a pitcher to get fresh   
cool water4 ,then1 on her return1 she   
sets to work to prepare for the pilgrim 
a fine meal1 much more abundant  than   
the ordinary dinner of the family4 ,with
 all haste she lights a  great fire1    
goes to get fresh fish1 new-laid eggs1  
figs and olives2 she  borrows from one  
neighbor a piece of new-killed lamb1    
from another a  costly perfume1 from    
another richer than she1 a flowered     
dish4 ,she pulls  out from the          
linen-chest the newest table-cloth1 and 
brings up from the  wine-cellar the     
oldest wine4 ,and while the wood snaps  
and sparkles in  the fire and the water 
in the kettle begins to simmer1 poor    
,martha1  bustling1 flushed1 hurrying1  
sets the table1 runs between the        
kneading-trough and the fire1 glances at
 the waiting ,master1 at the  street to 
see if her brother is coming home1 and  
at her sister1 who is  doing nothing at 

all4    ,for when ,jesus passed the sill
 of their house1 ,mary fell into a sort 
of  motionless ecstasy from which       
nothing could arouse her4 ,she sees only
  ,jesus1 hears nothing but ,jesus'     
voice4 ,there is nothing else in the    
world for her at that moment4 ,she      
cannot have enough of looking at ,him1  
of listening to ,him1 of feeling ,him   
there1 living1 close to her4 ,if ,he    
glances at her1 she is happy to be      
looked at2 if ,he does not look at  her1
 she fixes her eyes on ,him2 if ,he     
speaks1 ,his words drop one by one  into
 her heart1 there to remain to her      
death2 if ,he is silent1 she draws  from
 ,his silence a more direct revelation4 
,and she is almost troubled by  the     
bustling and stepping about of her      
sister4 ,why should ,martha think  that 
,jesus needs an elaborate dinner8 ,mary 
is seated at ,his feet and  does not    
move even if ,martha or ,lazarus call   
her4 ,she is at the service  of ,jesus1 
but in another way4 ,she has given ,him 

her soul1 only her soul1  but such a    
loving soul6 ,and the work of her hands 
would be inopportune  and superfluous4  
,she is a contemplative soul1 an adorer4
 ,she will take  action only to cover   
the dead body of her ,god with perfumes4
 ,she would  move quickly enough if ,he 
should ask of her all her life-blood4   
,but the  rest1 all this business of    
,martha1 is only material activity which
 is no  concern of hers4    ,women loved
 ,him and ,he requited this love with   
compassion4 ,no woman who  turned to    
,him was sent away disconsolate4 ,the   
sorrow of the widow of  ,nain made ,him 
sorrow1 so that ,he brought to life her 
dead son2 the  prayers of the ,canaanite
 woman1 although she was a foreigner to 
,him1  wrought on ,him to cure her      
daughter2 the unknown woman which had a 
8spirit of infirmity0 eighteen years1   
and was bowed together and could  in no 
wise lift herself1 was cured1 although  
it was on the ,sabbath day  and the     
rulers of the synagogue cried1          

8,sacrilege60 ,in the first part of     
,his wanderings ,he cured ,peter's      
wife's mother of fever and the          
,magdalene  of evil spirits4 ,he brought
 to life the daughter of ,jairus1 and   
cured  that unknown woman who had       
suffered for twelve years from a bloody 
flux4    ,the learned men of ,his time  
had no esteem for women in spiritual    
matters4 ,they tolerated their presence 
at the sacred festivals1 but they  never
 would have thought of teaching high and
 secret doctrines to any  woman4 8,the  
words of the ,law10 says a rabbinical   
proverb of that time1  8rather than     
teach them to a woman1 burn them up60   
,jesus on the other  hand did not       
hesitate to speak to them of the highest
 mysteries4 ,when ,he  went alone to the
 well of ,sichar1 and the ,samaritan    
woman who had had  five husbands came   
there1 ,he did not hesitate to proclaim 
,his message to  her1 although she was a
 woman and an enemy of ,his people4     
8,but the hour  cometh1 and now is1 when

 the true worshipers shall worship the  
,father in  spirit and in truth3 for the
 ,father seeketh such to worship him4   
,god is  a spirit3 and they that worship
 him must worship him in spirit and in  
truth40 ,his ,disciples came up1 and    
could not understand what the ,master   
was doing4 8,and marvelled that he      
talked with the woman40 ,they did not   
yet know that the ,church of ,christ    
would make a woman the link between  the
 sons and the ,son--the woman who unites
 in herself the two supreme             
possibilities of ,woman3 the ,virgin    
,mother who suffered for us from the    
night in ,bethlehem until the night of  
,golgotha4                              
,,words ,,written ,,on ,,the ,,sand     
,on another occasion at ,jerusalem1     
,jesus found ,himself before a          
woman--the  ,adulteress4 ,a hooting     
crowd pushed her forward4 ,the woman1   
hiding her  face with her hands and with
 her hair1 stood before ,him1 without   
speaking4 ,jesus had taught that wife   

and husband should be perfectly  one1   
and ,he detested adultery4 ,but ,he     
detested still more the cowardice  of   
tale-bearers1 the hounding by the       
merciless1 the impudence of sinners     
presuming to set themselves up as judges
 of sin4 ,jesus could not absolve  the  
woman who had brutally disobeyed the law
 of ,god1 but ,he did not wish  to      
condemn her1 because her accusers had no
 right to be seeking her  death4 ,and   
,he stooped down and with ,his finger   
wrote upon the ground4 ,it  is the first
 and last time that we see ,jesus lower 
,himself to this  trivial operation4 ,no
 one has ever known what ,he wrote at   
that moment1  standing there before the 
woman trembling in her shame1 like a    
deer set  upon by a pack of snarling    
hounds4 ,he chose the sand on which to  
write  expressly that the wind might    
carry away the words1 which would       
perhaps  frighten men if they could read
 them4 ,but the shameless persecutors   
insisted that the woman should be       

stoned4 ,then ,jesus lifted ,himself up1
  looked deep into their eyes and souls1
 one by one3 8,he that is without  sin  
among you1 let him first cast a stone at
 her40    ,we are all of us guilty of   
the faults of our brothers4 ,from the   
first to  the last we are all daily     
accomplices1 although too often         
unpunished4  ,the ,adulteress would not 
have betrayed her husband if men had not
  tempted her1 if her husband had made  
himself better loved2 the thief  would  
not rob if the rich man's heart were not
 so hard2 the assassin  would not kill  
if he had not been harshly treated2     
there would be no  prostitutes if men   
knew how to mortify their wantonness4   
,only the  innocents would have the     
right to judge2 but on this earth there 
are no  innocents1 and even if there    
were1 their mercy would be stronger than
  justice itself4    ,such thoughts had 
never occurred to those angry spies1 but
 ,christ's  words troubled them4 ,every 
one of them thought of his own          

betrayals1 his  own secret and perhaps  
recent sins of the flesh4 ,every soul   
there was  like a sewer which when the  
stone is raised exhales a fetid gust of 
nauseous vapor4 ,the old men were the   
first to go4 ,then1 little by  little1  
all the others1 avoiding each other's   
eyes1 scattered and  dispersed4 ,the    
open place was empty4 ,jesus had again  
stooped down to  write upon the ground4 
,the woman had heard the shuffling of   
the  departing feet1 and heard no longer
 any voice crying for her death1 but    
she did not dare to raise her eyes      
because she knew that ,one alone had    
remained1 the ,innocent1--the only one  
who had the right to throw against  her 
the deadly stones4 ,jesus for the second
 time lifted ,himself up and  saw no    
one4    8,woman1 where are those thine  
accusers8 hath no man condemned thee80  
8,no man1 ,lord40    8,neither do ,i    
condemn thee3 go and sin no more40      
,and for the first time the ,adulteress 
dared to look in the face of her        

liberator4 ,she did not understand ,his 
words4 ,what she had done was  evidently
 a sin in ,his eyes because he commanded
 her to 8sin no more02  and yet he had  
so acted that the others did not condemn
 her4 ,and now ,he  also did not wish to
 condemn her4 ,what man was this so     
different from  all the others1 who     
hated sin but forgave the sinner8 ,she  
would have  wished to turn to ,him with 
a question1 to murmur a word of thanks1 
to  reward ,him at least with a smile1  
because her soul was weak and her lips  
beautiful4 ,but ,jesus had begun again  
to write on the ground of the  court1   
,his head lowered1 and she saw only the 
silky waves of ,his hair  shining in the
 sun1 and ,his finger moving slowly over
 the sunlit earth4                      
,,the ,,sinner      ,but no woman loved 
,him so much as the woman who anointed  
,him with nard  and bathed ,him with her
 tears in the house of ,simon the       
,pharisee4 ,every  one of us has seen   
that picture in imagination2 the weeping

 woman with  her hair falling over the  
feet of the ,wanderer2 and yet the true 
meaning  of the episode is understood by
 very few1 so greatly has it been       
disfigured by both the ordinary and the 
literary interpretations4 ,the          
decadents of the last century1 careful  
workmen in lascivious preciosity1  who  
swarm to the scent of corruption like   
flies to filth and crows to  carrion1   
have sought out in the ,gospel those    
women who are redolent of  sin4 ,and    
they have made such women their own1    
adorning them with the  velvet of       
adjectives1 the silk of verbs1 the      
jewelry and precious stones  of         
metaphors2 the unknown repentant woman1 
named ,mary ,magdalene1 the  unknown    
adulteress of ,jerusalem1 ,salome the   
dancer1 the sinister  ,herodias4    ,the
 episode of this anointing has been     
profoundly misrepresented by such       
writers4 ,it is simpler and infinitely  
more profound4 ,the praise of ,jesus    
for the woman who brought ,him nard is  

not praise of carnal sin1 or of  common 
love as it is commonly understood by    
men4    ,this sinning woman who silently
 entered the house of ,simon with her   
box  of alabaster was no longer a       
sinner4 ,she had seen ,jesus1 had known 
,him  before that day4 ,and she was no  
longer a woman for hire2 she had heard  
,jesus speak1 and was no longer the     
public woman1 flesh on sale for         
masculine desires4 ,she had heard the   
voice of ,jesus1 had listened to ,his   
words2 ,his voice had troubled her1 ,his
 words had shaken her4 ,the woman  who  
had belonged to every one had learned   
that there is a love more  beautiful    
than lust1 a poverty richer than        
clinking coins4 ,when she came  to the  
house of ,simon she was not the woman   
she had been1 the woman whom  the men of
 the countryside had pointed out        
sneeringly1 the woman whom  the         
,pharisee knew and despised4 ,her soul  
was changed1 all her life was  changed4 
,now her flesh was chaste2 her hand was 

pure2 her lips no longer  knew the      
bitter taste of rouge1 her eyes had     
learned to weep4 ,from now  on1         
according to the promise of the ,king1  
she was ready to enter into  the        
,kingdom4    ,without taking all this   
for granted it is impossible to         
understand the  story which follows4    
,the sinning woman wished to reward her 
,saviour with  a token of her gratitude4
 ,she took one of the most costly things
 left to  her1 a sealed box full of     
nard1 perhaps the gift of a chance      
lover1  thinking to anoint her ,king's  
head with this costly oil4 ,hers was an 
act  of public gratitude4 ,the sinning  
woman wished publicly to thank ,him who 
had cleansed her soul1 who had brought  
her heart to life1 who had lifted  her  
up out of shame1 who had given her a    
hope more glorious than all  joys4      
,she went into the house with her box of
 alabaster clasped to her breast1  timid
 and shrinking as a little girl on her  
first day of school1 as a  released     

prisoner in his first moment outside the
 prison4 ,she went in  silently with her
 little box of perfume1 raising her eyes
 for only a  moment to see at a glance  
where ,jesus was reclining4 ,she went up
 to the  couch1 her knees trembling     
under her1 her hands shaking1 her       
delicate  eyelids quivering1 because she
 felt they were all looking at her1 all 
those men's eyes were fixed on her1     
staring at her beautiful swaying  body1 
wondering what she was about to do4     
,she broke the seal of the little       
alabaster flask1 and poured half the    
oil on the head of ,jesus4 ,the large   
drops shone on ,his hair like  scattered
 gems4 ,with loving hands she spread the
 transparent ointment on  the curls and 
did not stay her hand till every hair   
was softened1 silky  and shining4 ,the  
whole room was filled with the          
fragrance2 every eye was  fixed on her  
with astonishment4    ,the woman1 still 
silent1 took up the opened box and knelt
 by the feet of  the ,peace-bringer4    

,she poured the remaining oil into her  
hand and  gently1 gently rubbed the     
right foot and the left with the loving 
care  of a young mother who bathes her  
first child1 for the first time4 ,then  
she could control herself no longer1 she
 could restrain no longer the  great    
burst of tenderness which filled her    
heart1 made her throat ache  and brought
 tears to her eyes4 ,she would have     
liked to speak1 to say  that this was   
her thanks1 her simple1 pure1 heartfelt 
thanks for the  great help she had      
received1 for the new light which had   
unsealed her  eyes4 ,but in such a      
moment1 with all those men there1 how   
could she find  the right words1 words  
worthy of the wonderful grace1 worthy of
 ,him8 ,and  besides1 her lips trembled 
so that she could not pronounce two     
words  together2 her speech would have  
been only a stammering broken by sobs4  
,then not being able to speak with her  
lips1 she spoke with her eyes3 her      
tears fell down one by one1 swift and   

hot on the feet of ,jesus1 like so  many
 silent thank-offerings4    ,weeping    
freed her heart of its oppression2 the  
tears relaxed the  tension4 ,she saw and
 felt nothing now but an inexpressible  
delight which  she had never known on   
her mother's knees or in men's arms2 it 
ran  through all her blood1 made her    
tremble1 pierced her with its poignant  
joy1 shook all her being in that supreme
 ecstasy in which joy is a pain  and    
sorrow a joy1 in which pain and joy     
become one mighty emotion4    ,she wept 
over her past life1 the miserable life  
of her vigil4 ,she  thought of her poor 
flesh sullied by men4 ,she had been     
forced to have a  smile for them all1   
she had been forced to offer her        
luxurious bed and  her perfumed body to 
them all4 ,with all of them she had been
 forced to  pretend a pleasure she did  
not feel4 ,she had been forced to show a
  smiling face to those whom she        
despised1 to those whom she hated4 ,she 
had slept beside the thief who had      

stolen the money to pay her4 ,she had   
kissed the lips of the murderer and of  
the fugitive from justice2 she  had been
 forced to endure the acrid breath and  
the repellent fancies of  the drunkard4 
,never1 on a kindly summer night when   
the eastern sky is all a flashing       
splendor1 had she known the welcoming   
kiss of a husband who had chosen  her1  
virgin among virgins1 that she should be
 one with him till death4  ,she was     
outside the community and the laws4 ,she
 was cut off from her  people4 ,she was 
separated from them all4 ,women envied  
her and detested  her2 men desired her  
and defamed her4                        
,,the ,,second ,,baptism      ,but at   
the same time the tears of the weeping  
woman were tears of joy  and exaltation4
 ,she was weeping not only because of   
her shame1 now  forever canceled1 but   
because of the poignant sweetness of her
 life  beginning anew4    ,she was      
weeping for her virginity restored1 for 
her soul rescued from  evil1 her purity 

miraculously recovered1 her condemnation
 forever  revoked4 ,her tears were the  
tears of joy at the second birth1 of    
exultation for truth discovered1 of     
light-heartedness for her sudden        
conversion1 for the saving of her soul1 
for the miraculous hope which  had      
released her from the degradation of the
 material and raised her to  the        
illumination of the spirit4 ,the drops  
of nard and her tears were so  many     
thank-offerings for this incredible     
blessing4    ,and yet it was not alone  
for her own sorrow and her own joy that 
she  wept4 ,the tears which bathed the  
feet of ,jesus were also shed for ,him4 
,the unknown woman had anointed her     
,king like a king of olden times4 ,she  
had anointed ,his head as the high      
priests had anointed the kings of       
,judea2 she had anointed ,his feet as   
the lords and guests anointed           
themselves on festal days4 ,but at the  
same time the weeping woman had         
prepared ,him for death and burial4     

,jesus1 about to enter ,jerusalem1 knew 
that those were the last days of  ,his  
life in the flesh4 ,he said to ,his     
disciples1 8,for in that she hath       
poured this ointment on my body1 she did
 it for my burial40 ,still  living1 ,he 
was embalmed by a woman's compassion4   
,christ was to receive before ,his death
 a third baptism1 the baptism of        
infamy1 the baptism of the supreme      
insult2 prtorian soldiers were to  spit 
upon his face4 ,but ,he had now received
 the baptism of glory and the  baptism  
of death4 ,he was anointed like a king  
about to triumph in ,his  celestial     
kingdom4 ,he was perfumed like a corpse 
about to be laid in the  tomb4 ,this    
anointing unites the twin mysteries of  
,his ,messiahship and of  the           
crucifixion4    ,the poor sinning woman1
 mysteriously chosen for this prophetic 
rite1 had  perhaps a confused           
presentiment of the appalling meaning of
 this  premonitory embalming4 ,love's   
second-sight1 stronger in women than in 

men1 the foresight of exalted and deep  
emotion1 may have made her feel  that   
this body perfumed and caressed by her  
was in a few days to be an  icy1        
blood-stained corpse4 ,other women1     
perhaps she herself1 were to go  to the 
tomb to cover ,him for the last time    
with aromatics1 but they  would not find
 ,him4 ,he who was now feasting with    
,his friends was at that  time to be at 
the doors of another ,hell4 ,feeling    
this presentiment1 the  weeping woman   
let her tears fall on ,jesus' feet to   
the astonishment of  all the others1 who
 did not know and did not understand4   
,now the feet of the ,saviour1 the feet 
of the condemned one1 are all  bathed   
with tears1 the salt of the tears       
mingling with the perfume of  the nard4 
,the poor sinning woman does not know   
how to dry those feet1  wet by her      
tears4 ,she has no white cloth with her1
 and her garment does  not seem to her  
worthy to touch her ,lord's flesh4 ,then
 she thinks of her  hair1 her long hair 

which has been so much admired for its  
fine  silkiness4 ,she loosens the       
braids1 slips out the pins1 unclasps the
  fastenings4 ,the blue-black mass of   
her tresses falls over her face1  hiding
 her flushed face and her compassion4   
,and taking up the masses of  these     
flowing curls in her hands1 she slowly  
dries the feet which have  brought her  
,king into that house4    ,now her tears
 are ended4 ,all her tears are shed and 
dried4 ,her part is  done1 but only     
,jesus has understood her silence4      
,,she ,,loved ,,much      ,among the men
 who were present at this dinner there  
was no one except  ,jesus who understood
 the loving service of the nameless     
woman4 ,but all1  struck with wonder1   
were silent4 ,they did not understand1  
but they  respected obscurely the       
solemnity of the enigmatic ceremony4    
,all except  two1 who wished to         
interpret the woman's action as an      
offense to the  guest4 ,these two were  
the ,pharisee and ,judas ,iscariot4 ,the

 first said  nothing1 but his expression
 spoke more clearly than words4 ,the    
second1  the ,traitor1 presuming on his 
familiarity with the ,master1 ventured  
to  speak4    ,simon thought to himself1
 8,this man1 if he were a prophet1 would
 have  known who and what manner of     
woman this is that toucheth ,him1 for   
she is  a sinner40 ,the old hypocrite   
had for the paid woman the scorn of     
those  who have had much to do with     
them1 or of those who have never known  
them  at all4 ,like his brothers he     
belonged to the endless cemetery of     
white  sepulchers1 which within are full
 of foulness4 ,it is enough for such men
  to avoid physical contact with what   
they think is impure1 even if their     
souls are sinks of iniquity4 ,their     
morals are systems of ablutions and     
washings2 they would leave a wounded man
 to die1 abandoned on the road1  for    
fear of staining themselves with blood2 
they would let a poor man  suffer hunger
 to avoid touching money on the ,sabbath

 day3 like all men  they commit thefts1 
adulteries1 and murders1 but they wash  
their hands  so many times a day that   
they imagine them as clean as those of  
babes4    ,he had read the ,law1 and    
there were still ringing in his ears the
  execrations and anathemas of ,old     
,israel against prostitutes4 8,there    
shall be no whore of the daughters of   
,israel4444 ,thou shalt not bring  the  
hire of a whore1 or the price of a dog1 
into the house of the ,lord  thy ,god   
for any vow3 for even both these are    
abomination to the ,lord thy  ,god40    
,and ,simon1 the wise burgher1          
remembered with equal satisfaction  the 
admonition of the author of the         
,proverbs3 8,for a whore is a deep      
ditch2 and a strange woman is a narrow  
pit4444 ,for by means of a whorish      
woman a man is brought to a piece of    
bread40 ,the old ,jew would perhaps  not
 have felt so bitterly about            
prostitutes1 if they cost nothing6 ,but 
they are capable1 those shameless women1

 of eating up a patrimony6 ,the  old    
proprietor could not be reconciled to   
one of those dangerous women  in his    
house1 to the fact that she had touched 
his guest4 ,he knew that  the prostitute
 ,rehab had made victory possible for   
,joshua and that she  was the only one  
to escape from the massacre of ,jericho1
 but he  remembered that the invincible 
,samson1 terror of the ,philistines1 had
  been betrayed by a worthless woman4   
,the ,pharisee could not understand  how
 a man acclaimed by the people as a     
prophet should not have  understood what
 sort of woman had come to bestow on    
,him this  discreditable honor2 but     
,jesus had read in the heart of the     
sinning  woman and in the heart of      
,simon1 and answered with the parable of
 the  two debtors4 8,there was a certain
 creditor which had two debtors3 the    
one owed five hundred pence and the     
other fifty4 ,and when they had  nothing
 to pay1 he frankly forgave them both4  
,tell me therefore1 which  of them will 

love him most8 ,simon answered and said1
 ,i suppose that he1  to whom he forgave
 most4 ,and he said unto him1 ,thou hast
 rightly  judged40    ,and he turned to 
the woman1 and said unto ,simon3 8,seest
 thou this woman8  ,i entered into thine
 house1 thou gavest me no water for my  
feet3 but she  hath washed my feet with 
tears1 and wiped them with the hairs of 
her  head4    8,thou gavest me no kiss3 
but this woman since the time ,i came in
 hath  not ceased to kiss my feet4      
8,my head with oil thou didst not       
anoint3 but this woman hath anointed my 
feet with ointment4    8,wherefore ,i   
say unto thee1 ,her sins1 which are     
many1 are forgiven2 for  she loved much2
 but to whom little is forgiven1 the    
same loveth little4    8,and he said    
unto her1 ,thy sins are forgiven4444    
,thy faith hath saved  thee2 go in      
peace40    ,the parable and the comment 
of ,jesus show how great1 even to-day1  
is the  lack of understanding of this   
episode4 ,every one or nearly every one 

remembers only those words3 8,her sins  
are forgiven1 for she loved much40  ,an 
attentive reading of the text shows that
 this ordinary interpretation  is the   
opposite of the truth4 ,it is thought   
that ,jesus forgave her sins  because   
she had loved many men1 or because she  
had shown her love for  ,him with her   
perfume and her kisses4 ,the parable of 
the two debtors  makes it clear that the
 meaning of ,jesus' words1 badly quoted 
and even  more completely misunderstood1
 is entirely the contrary4 ,the woman   
had  sinned greatly and because of her  
repentance she was wholly pardoned2  and
 because her pardon was great she       
greatly loved ,him who had saved  her1  
who had forgiven her2 the nard and her  
tears and her kisses were  the          
expression of that grateful love4 ,if   
before going into the house  that       
evening the sinning woman had not       
already become transformed by  virtue of
 her pardon1 she would not have obtained
 from ,jesus forgiveness  for her past  

life spent in evil1 not by using all the
 perfumes of ,india  and ,egypt nor by  
all the kisses of her lips1 nor by all  
the tears of her  eyes4 ,christ's       
forgiveness was not the reward for those
 acts of homage2  those acts were her   
thank-offerings for her forgiveness     
already  received2 and they were great  
because her forgiveness was great1 as   
her  forgiveness had been great because 
great had been her sin4    ,jesus would 
not have repelled the sinning woman even
 if she had still  been a sinner1 but if
 ,he had not been sure of her conversion
 ,he would  not perhaps have accepted   
those tokens of love2 from now on even  
the  most rigorous ,pharisaical precepts
 permitted ,him to speak with her3 8,thy
  faith hath saved thee2 go in peace40  
,simon could think of no answer2 but    
from the side of the disciples a  rough1
 angry voice was raised1 well known to  
,jesus4 ,it was the voice of  ,judas3   
8,why was this waste of the ointment    
made1 why was not this  ointment sold   

for three hundred pence and given to the
 poor80 ,and the  other disciples1 so   
the ,evangelists say1 approved the words
 of ,judas1  and murmured against the   
woman4 ,judas was the man who held the  
purse2  the basest of them all had      
chosen the basest element1--money4      
,money was pleasing to ,judas1 pleasing 
in itself and pleasing in its           
possibility of power4 ,he spoke of the  
poor1 but he did not think of the  poor1
 to whom ,jesus had distributed bread in
 the country-solitudes1 as  well as to  
his own companions1 too poor as yet to  
conquer ,jerusalem and  to found the    
empire of the ,messiah where ,judas     
hoped to be one of the  masters4 ,and he
 was envious as well as grasping2       
envious as all misers  are4 ,that silent
 anointing which was the consecration of
 the ,king and  the ,messiah1 those     
honors offered by a beautiful woman to  
his ,leader1  made him suffer2 the      
everlasting jealousy of man against man1
 when a  woman is concerned1 was mingled

 with the disappointment of his         
cupidity4    ,but ,jesus answered the   
words of ,judas as ,he answered the     
silence of  ,simon4 ,he did not affront 
those who had affronted ,him1 but he    
defended  the woman at ,his feet4 ,and  
,jesus said1 8,let her alone2 why       
trouble ye  her8 she hath wrought a good
 work on me4 ,for ye have the poor with 
you  always1 and whensoever ye will ye  
may do them good3 but me ye have not    
always4 ,she hath done what she could3  
she is come aforehand to anoint my  body
 to the burying4 ,verily ,i say unto    
you1 ,wheresoever this gospel  shall be 
preached throughout the whole world1    
this also that she hath  done shall be  
spoken of for a memorial of her40       
,the inexpressible sadness of this      
prophecy escaped perhaps those who sat  
about ,him4 ,they could not be persuaded
 that ,jesus1 in order to overcome1     
should be overcome3 that in order to    
triumph eternally ,he must die4 ,but    
,jesus felt the day drawing near1 8,but 

me ye have not always1 she is come  to  
anoint my body to the burying40 ,the    
woman listened in terror to this        
confirmation of her presentiment and    
another burst of tears rained down  from
 her eyes4 ,then with her face hidden in
 her loosened hair1 she went  away as   
silently as she had come4    ,the       
disciples were silent1 not convinced1   
but abashed4 ,to hide his  chagrin      
,simon filled the guest's cup with      
better wine1 but in the yellow  light of
 the lamps the silent table seemed a    
banquet of ghosts among  whom had passed
 the shadow of death4                   
8,,who ,,am ,i80      ,and yet the      
disciples knew4 ,those words of death   
were not the first they  had heard from 
,jesus' lips4 ,they should have         
remembered that day1 not  long before1  
when on a solitary road near ,csarea1   
,jesus had asked what  people said of   
,him4 ,they should have remembered the  
answer which flashed  out like sudden   
flame1 the impetuous outcry of belief   

from ,peter's  heart2 and the splendor  
which had shone on three of them on the 
summit  of the mountain2 and the exact  
prophecies of ,christ as to the manner  
of  ,his death4    ,they had heard and  
they had seen1 and still they hoped     
on1--all but one4  ,the truth shone out 
in them at moments like                 
lightning-flashes in the  dark4 ,then   
the night fell blacker than ever4 ,the  
new man in their hearts  who recognized 
,jesus as the ,christ1 the man born for 
the second time1  the ,christian1       
disappeared to give way to the ,jew1    
deaf and blind1 who  saw nothing beyond 
the ,jerusalem of bricks and stone4     
,the question which ,jesus had put to   
the ,twelve on the road in ,csarea  must
 have been the beginning of their       
complete conversion to the new  truth4  
,what need did ,jesus have to know what 
others thought of ,him8 ,such  a        
curiosity springs up only in doubtful   
souls1 in those who do not know         
themselves1 in the weak who cannot read 

in their own hearts1 in the  blind who  
are not sure of the ground on which they
 stand4 ,for any one of  us such a      
question is legitimate1 but not for     
,jesus4 ,no one of us knows  really who 
he is1 no one knows with any certainty  
what is his real  nature1 his mission1  
and the name which he has a right to    
call his own1  the eternal name which   
fits our destiny4 ,the name which was   
given to us  in infancy1 together with  
the salt and water of baptism1 the name 
set  down on the municipal register1 and
 written in the records of birth and  of
 death1 the name which the mother calls 
with so much gentleness in the  morning1
 which the sweetheart murmurs with so   
much desire at night1 the  name which is
 cut for the last time on the rectangle 
of the tomb1 that  is not our real name4
 ,every one of us has a secret name     
which expresses  our invisible and      
authentic essence1 and which we         
ourselves will never  know until the day
 of the ,new ,birth1 until the full     

light of the  resurrection4    ,few of  
us dare to ask ourselves1 8,who am ,i80 
and there are still fewer  who can      
answer4 ,the question 8,who art thou80  
is the most tremendous1 the  most       
weighty which man can put to man4 ,other
 human beings are for each  of us a     
sealed mystery even in the moments of   
supreme passion1 when two  souls        
desperately essay to become one4 ,we are
 all of us a mystery even  to ourselves4
 ,unknown to others1 we live among      
others unknown to us4  ,much of our     
wretchedness comes from this universal  
ignorance4 ,here is a  man who acts like
 a king and believes himself a king and 
in the absolute  he is really only a    
poor servant1 predestined from the      
beginning of time  to dependent         
mediocrity4 ,here is another dressed and
 acting like a  judge2 look at him well2
 he is born a dry-goods dealer1 his real
 place  is in the country fair4 ,that   
man there who writes poetry has not     
understood his inner voice2 he should be

 a goldsmith1 because gold which  can be
 turned into coin suits his taste1 and  
he is attracted by  filigree1 mosaics1  
chasing1 imitation jewels4 ,this other  
man who is at  the head of an army ought
 to be teaching school4 ,what an expert 
and  eloquent professor he might have   
become6 ,and that fellow there1 shouting
  in the public places1 heading a       
revolution1 calling on the people to    
revolt1 is a gardener who has mistaken  
his calling2 the red of tomatoes1  long 
lines of onions1 garlic1 and cabbages   
would be the fit reward of  his true    
mission4 ,this other man here1 on the   
contrary1 who1 cursing his  fate1 prunes
 his grape-vines and spreads the manure 
on the cultivated  earth1 should have   
studied in law-books the art of         
quibbling3 no one can  invent sophisms  
and verbal tricks as he can1 and even   
now1 how much  eloquence he pours out in
 humble duels about money matters1 this 
poor  8leading lawyer0 exiled to barns  
and furrows4    ,these errors concern us

 because we do not know1 because we have
 not  spiritual eyes strong enough to   
read in the heart which beats inside our
  own breasts1 and the hearts which beat
 under the flesh of our neighbors1  so  
irrevocably remote from us4 ,everything 
is in confusion because of  those ,names
 which we do not know1 illegible for us1
 known to genius  alone4                
,,thou ,,art ,,the ,,christ      ,but   
what did ,jesus care what was said of   
,him by the men of the lake and  of the 
cities1 ,jesus who could read in their  
souls the thoughts hidden  even to      
themselves8 ,long before that day ,jesus
 alone knew with ineffable  certainty   
what ,his real name was1 and what was   
his superhuman nature4 ,as  a matter of 
fact ,he did not ask that ,he might     
know1 but1 now that the  end was near1  
that ,his faithful followers might know1
 ,his real name1 at  last--even they4   
8,some say that thou art ,john the      
,baptist3 some1 ,elias2 and others1     
,jeremias or1 one of the ,prophets40    

,what were these things to ,him1 these  
rudimentary guesses of the poor and  the
 ignorant8 ,he wished the definite      
answer to come from ,his ,disciples1    
destined as they were to follow ,his    
work and to bear witness to ,him  among 
the peoples and the centuries4 ,even at 
the last ,he did not wish to  impose by 
force a belief on those who had seen    
,his life close at hand  and had heard  
,him speak4 ,the recognition of ,his    
superb human mission1  that name which  
not one of them up to that time had     
pronounced 7as if  they were afraid of  
it1 as if it were too dangerous a secret
 to speak  aloud71 that recognition on  
the part of the ,twelve should be free  
and  spontaneous1 should burst out1 an  
impetuous confession of love1 from one  
of those souls1 should be pronounced by 
one of those mouths4    8,but whom say  
ye that ,i am80 ,and then there came to 
,simon ,peter the  great light that was 
almost too great for him1 and made him  
,first to all  eternity4 ,he could not  

keep back the words1 they came to his   
lips almost  involuntarily in a cry of  
which he himself the moment before would
 have  believed himself incapable3      
8,thou art the ,christ1 the ,son of the 
living  ,god4 ,thou hast the word of    
eternal life1 and we believe and are    
sure  that thou art that ,christ1 the   
,son of the living ,god40    ,at last   
from ,peter the ,rock there sprang forth
 the wellspring which from  that day to 
this has quenched the thirst of sixty   
generations of men4 ,it  was his right  
and his reward4 ,peter had been the     
first to follow ,christ  in the divine  
wanderings3 it was for him to be the    
first to recognize in  the wanderer the 
,proclaimer of the ,kingdom1 the        
everlasting and lawful  sovereign of    
that ,kingdom1 the ,messiah whom all men
 had been awaiting in  the desert of the
 centuries1 who had finally come and was
 there ,himself1  clothed in flesh1     
standing before their eyes1 with ,his   
feet in the dust  of the road4    ,the  

pure ,king1 the ,son of ,justice1 the   
,prince of ,peace1 the ,son of ,man     
sent by ,god1 the ,saviour1 the         
,anointed1 whom the prophets had        
foretold  in the twilight of sorrow and 
affliction2 who had been seen by        
apocalyptic writers descending upon the 
earth like lightning1 in the  fullness  
of victory and glory2 for whom the poor1
 the wounded1 the  hungry1 the          
afflicted1 had been waiting from century
 to century1 as dry  grass waits for    
rain1 as the flower waits for the sun1  
as the mouth  awaits the kiss1 and the  
heart1 consolation2 the ,son of ,god and
 of ,man1  the ,man who hid ,god in     
human flesh1 the ,god who cloaked ,his  
divinity in  ,adam's clay1 it is ,he1   
the dear ,brother of every day1 who     
looks quietly  into the astounded eyes  
of those chosen ones6    ,the period of 
waiting is done2 ended is the vigil6    
,why had they not  recognized ,him until
 that day8 ,whence did it come in those 
simple souls1  the first notion of the  

true name of ,him who so many times had 
taken  them by the hand1 and had spoken 
for their ears to hear8 ,they could     
never think that one of them--a common  
man like them1 a workman and poor  as   
they were--could be the ,saviour        
,messiah announced and awaited by       
saints and by the centuries4 ,with the  
intellect alone they could never  have  
discovered ,him1 nor with the mere      
bodily senses1 nor with the  teachings  
of the scriptures2 only with the        
inspiration1 the intuition1  the sudden 
flaming illumination of the heart1 as it
 happened that day in  the soul of      
,peter4 8,blessed art thou1 ,simon      
,bar-,jona2 for flesh and  blood hath   
not revealed it unto thee1 but my       
,father which is in ,heaven40  ,fleshly 
eyes would not have been able to see    
what they saw without a  revelation from
 on high4    ,but weighty consequences  
flow from the choice of ,peter for this 
proclamation4 ,it is a reward which     
calls for other recompense1 8,thou art  

,peter1 and upon this rock ,i will build
 my church2 and the gates of ,hell      
shall not prevail against it4 ,and ,i   
will give unto thee the keys of the     
kingdom of heaven3 and whatsoever thou  
shalt bind on earth shall be  bound in  
,heaven3 and whatsoever thou shalt loose
 on earth shall be  loosed in ,heaven40 
,weighty words from which have emerged1 
through the patient germination  of long
 centuries1 helped by the fire of faith 
and by the blood of  witnesses1 one of  
the greatest ,kingdoms which men have   
ever established  upon the earth2 the   
only one of the old kingdoms which still
 lives on in  the same city which saw   
the rise and fall of the proudest and   
most  pompous of earthly kingdoms4 ,for 
these words many men suffered1 many     
were tortured1 many were killed4 ,to    
deny or uphold1 to interpret or  cancel 
these words1 thousands of men have been 
killed in city squares  and in battles2 
kingdoms have been divided1 societies   
have been shaken  and rent1 nations have

 waged war1 emperors and beggars have   
given their  all4 ,but their meaning in 
,christ's mouth is plain and simple4 ,he
 means  to say1 8,thou1 ,peter1 shalt be
 hard and staunch as a rock1 and upon   
the  staunchness of thy faith in me1    
which thou wast the first to profess1 is
  founded the first ,christian society1 
the humble seed of the ,kingdom4        
,against this ,church which to-day has  
only ,twelve citizens but which will  be
 spread to the limits of the earth1 the 
forces of evil cannot prevail1  because 
you are the ,spirit and the ,spirit     
cannot be overcome and dimmed  by       
,matter4 ,thou shalt close forever--and 
when ,i speak to thee ,i am  speaking to
 all those who shall succeed thee united
 in the same  certainty--the ,gates of  
,hell2 and thou shalt open to all those 
who are  chosen the ,gates of ,heaven4  
,thou shalt bind and thou shalt unloosen
 in  my name4 ,what thou shalt forbid   
after my death shall be forbidden       
to-morrow also for that new humanity    

which ,i will find on my return2  what  
thou shalt command shalt be justly      
commanded because thou wilt be  only    
repeating in other words what ,i have   
told and taught thee4 ,thou  shalt be1  
in thy person and in that of thy        
legitimate heirs1 the  shepherd of the  
interregnum1 the temporary and          
provisional guide who  shalt prepare1   
together with comrades obedient to thee1
 the ,kingdom of  ,god and of ,love4    
8,in requital for this revelation and   
for this promise ,i lay on you a  hard  
command3 to keep silence2 for the       
present you must tell no one who  ,i am4
 ,my day is near1 but has not yet come2 
you will be witness to  events which you
 do not expect1 which will even be the  
contrary of what  you expect4 ,i know   
the hour in which ,i shall speak and in 
which you  shall speak4 ,and when we    
break our silence1 my cry and your cry  
shall be  heard in the most distant     
realms of ,heaven and ,earth40          
,,sun ,,and ,,snow      ,a man's voice1 

the voice of ,peter the ,rock1 had      
called ,him the ,son of  ,man2 another  
voice issuing from a cloud was to call  
,him the ,son of ,god4    ,very high is 
the three-peaked mountain of ,hermon1   
covered with snow even  in the hot      
season1 the highest mountain of         
,palestine1 higher than ,mount  ,tabor4 
,the ,psalmist says1 8,it is the dew of 
,hermon that descends upon  the         
mountains of ,zion40 ,jesus became      
incarnate light on this mountain1  the  
highest mountain in the life of ,christ1
 that life which marks its  different   
stages by great heights--the mountain of
 the ,temptation1 the  mountain of the  
,beatitudes1 the mountain of the        
,transfiguration1 the  mountain of the  
,crucifixion4    ,three ,disciples alone
 were with ,him3 he who was called      
,peter1 and the  ,sons of ,thunder1--the
 man with the rugged1 mountainous       
character1 and the  stormy men--fitting 
company for the place and hour4 ,he     
prayed alone1  apart from them1 higher  

than all of them1 perhaps kneeling in   
the snow4  ,all of us have seen in      
winter how the snow on a mountain makes 
any other  whiteness seem dull and drab4
 ,a pale face seems strangely dark1     
white  linen seems dingy1 paper looks   
like dry clay4 ,the contrary of all this
  was seen on that day up in the        
gleaming1 deserted height alone in the  
sky4    ,jesus prayed by ,himself apart 
from the others4 ,suddenly ,his face    
shone  like the sun and ,his raiment    
became as white as snow in the sunshine1
  white 8as no fuller on earth can white
 them40 ,over the whiteness of the  snow
 a more brilliant whiteness1 a splendor 
more powerful than all known  splendors1
 outshone all earthly light4    ,the    
,transfiguration is the ,feast and the  
,victory of ,light4 ,jesus still  in the
 flesh--for so short a time6--took on   
the most subtle1 the lightest  and most 
spiritual aspect of matter4 ,his body   
awaiting its liberation  became         
sunlight1 the light of ,heaven1         

intellectual and supernatural  light2   
,his soul transfigured in prayer shone  
out through the flesh1  pierced with its
 flaming whiteness the screen of ,his   
body and ,his  garments1 like a flame   
consuming the walls which close it in1  
and  flashing through them4    ,but the 
light was not the same on ,his face and 
on ,his raiment4 ,the light  of ,his    
face was like the sun2 that of ,his     
garments was like the  brilliance of    
snow4 ,his face1 mirror of the soul1    
took on the color of  fire2 ,his        
garments1 mere material stuff1 were     
white like ice4 ,for the  soul is sun1  
fire1 love2 but the garments1 all       
garments1--even that heavy  garment     
which is called the human body1--are    
opaque1 cold1 dead2 and can  shine only 
by reflected light4    ,but ,jesus1 all 
light1 ,his face gleaming with quiet    
refulgence1 ,his  garments shining      
white--gold sparkling in the midst of   
silver--was not  alone4 ,two great      
figures1 returned from death1 gleaming  

like ,him1 stood  by ,him1 and spoke    
with ,him1 ,moses and ,elias4 ,the first
 of the ,prophets1  men of light and    
fire1 came to bear witness to the new   
,light which  shines on ,hermon4 ,all   
those who have spoken with ,god remain  
radiant with  light4 ,the face of ,moses
 when he came down from ,mt4 ,sinai had 
become so  resplendent that he covered  
it with a veil1 lest he dazzle the      
others4  ,and ,elias was caught up to   
,heaven in a chariot of fire drawn by   
fiery  steeds4 ,john1 the new ,elias1   
announced the baptism of fire1 but his  
face  was darkened by the sun and did   
not shine like the sun4 ,the only       
splendor which came into his life was   
the golden platter on which his  bloody 
head was carried1 a kingly gift to      
,herod's sinister concubine4  ,but on   
,hermon there was ,one whose face shone 
more than ,moses' and whose  ascension  
was to be more splendid than that of    
,elias1--,he whom ,moses had  promised  
and who was to come after ,elias4 ,they 

had come there beside  him1 but they    
were to disappear thereafter forever4   
,they were no longer  necessary after   
this last revelation4 ,from now on the  
world can do  without their laws and    
their hopes4 ,a luminous cloud hid the  
glorious  three from the eyes of the    
obscure three1 and from the cloud came  
out a  voice3 8,this is my beloved ,son3
 hear him40    ,the cloud did not hide  
the light1 but increased it4 ,as from   
the  tempest-cloud1 the lightning darts 
out to light up suddenly all the        
country2 from this cloud already shining
 in itself1 flamed out the fire  which  
burned up the ,old ,covenant and        
confirmed to all eternity the ,new      
,promise4 ,the column of smoke which    
guided the fleeing ,hebrews in the      
desert towards ,jordan1 the black cloud 
which hid the ark in the day of         
desolation and fear1 had finally become 
a cloud of light so brilliant  that it  
hid even the sunlike splendor of the    
face which was soon to be  buffeted in  

the dark days1 close at hand4    ,but   
when the cloud disappeared1 ,jesus was  
once more alone4 ,the two  precursors   
and the two witnesses had disappeared4  
,his face had taken on  its natural     
color4 ,his garments had their everyday 
aspect4 ,christ1 once  more a loving    
brother1 turned back to his swooning    
companions4 8,arise1  and be not        
afraid4444 ,tell the vision to no man1  
until the son of man be  risen again    
from the dead40    ,the ,transfiguration
 forecasts the ,ascension2 but to die in
 shame always  precedes rising in glory4
                             ,i ,,shall 
,,suffer ,,many ,,things      ,jesus had
 known that ,he must soon die a shameful
 death4 ,it was the  reward for which he
 was waiting and no one could have      
defrauded ,him of  it4 ,he who saves    
others is ready to lose himself2 he who 
rescues others  necessarily pays with   
his person 7that is1 with the only value
 which is  really his and which         
surpasses and includes all other        

values72 it is  fitting that he who     
loves his enemies should be hated even  
by his  friends2 he who brings salvation
 to all nations must needs be killed by 
his own people2 it suits human ideas of 
the fitness of things that he  who      
offers his life should be put to death4 
,every benefaction is such an  offense  
to the native ingratitude of men that it
 can be paid for only by  the heaviest  
penalty4 ,we lend ears only to voices   
which cry out from the  tombs1 and      
reserve our scanty capacity for         
reverence for those whom we  have       
assassinated4 ,the only truths which    
remain in the fleeting memory  of the   
human race are the truths written in    
blood4    ,jesus knew what was awaiting 
,him at ,jerusalem1 and as later was    
said by  one worthy to portray ,him1    
,his every thought was colored by the   
thought  of death4 ,three times they had
 already tried to kill ,him2 the first  
time  at ,nazareth when they took ,him  
up on the summit of the mountain where  

the city was built and wished to cast   
,him down2 the second time in the       
,temple1 the ,jews1 offended by ,his    
talk1 laid their hands on stones to     
stone ,him2 and a third time at the     
feast of the ,dedication in             
winter-time1 they took up the stones of 
the street to silence ,him4 ,but  for   
these three times he escaped because    
,his hour was not yet come4    ,he kept 
,his certainty of death in ,his own     
heart for ,himself alone until  ,his    
last hours4 ,for ,he did not wish to    
sadden ,his ,disciples who would  have  
shrunk from following a condemned man1 a
 man who in ,his own heart  knew        
,himself at the point of death4 ,but    
after the triple consecration as        
,messiah--,peter's cry1 the light of    
,hermon1 the anointing of ,bethany--,he 
could no longer keep silence4 ,he knew  
too well the ingenuous complacency  of  
the ,twelve4 ,he knew that when the rare
 moments of enthusiasm and  illumination
 were gone1 their thoughts were often   

the common thoughts of  common people1  
human even in their highest dreams4 ,he 
knew that the  ,messiah for whom they   
were waiting was a victorious restorer  
of the ,age  of ,gold and not the ,man  
of ,sorrows4 ,they thought of ,him as a 
king on his  throne and not as a        
criminal on the gallows2 triumphant1    
receiving  homage and tribute1 not spat 
upon1 beaten1 and insulted2 come to     
raise  the dead and not to be executed  
like an assassin4    ,lest the          
,disciples should lose this new         
certainty of ,christ's  ,messiahship on 
the day of ,his ignominy1 ,christ knew  
that ,he must warn  them4 ,they must    
learn from ,his own mouth that the      
,messiah would be  condemned1 that the  
,victorious ,one would disappear in a   
dreadful  downfall1 that the ,king of   
all kings would be insulted by ,csar's  
servants1 that the ,son of ,god would be
 crucified by the ignorant1 blind       
servants of ,god4    ,three times they  
had tried to put ,him to death2 three   

times after  ,peter's recognition ,he   
announced to the ,twelve ,his imminent  
death4 ,and  there were to be three     
kinds of men who were to bring about    
,his death3  the ,elders1 the ,high     
,priests and the ,scribes4 ,the ,elders 
were the  ,patricians1 the aristocrats1 
the lay delegates of the ,hebrew        
middle-classes1 they represented        
authority and wealth1 and ,christ had   
come to transform authority into service
 and to condemn the rich and  their     
treasures4 ,the ,high ,priests          
represented the ,temple1 and ,he had    
come to destroy the ,temple4 ,the       
,scribes were the doctors of law1 of    
theology1 the interpreters of the ,book1
 the masters of the ,scriptures1  and   
represented the authority of word and of
 tradition2 and ,he had come  to        
transform the ,word and to regenerate   
the tradition4 ,these three  orders of  
men never could forgive ,him even after 
they had sent ,him to  ,golgotha4       
,and there were to be three accomplices 

to ,his death3 ,judas who betrayed      
,him1 ,caiaphas who sentenced ,him1     
,pilate who permitted the execution of  
the sentence4 ,and there were to be     
three sorts of men to execute the       
penalty3 the guards who arrested ,him1  
the ,hebrews who cried 8,crucify  ,him60
 before the procurator's house1 the     
,roman soldiers who nailed ,him  on the 
cross4    ,there were to be three       
degrees of ,his afflictions1 as ,he     
,himself told  the disciples4 ,first ,he
 was to be spurned and outraged1 then   
spit upon  and beaten1 and finally      
killed4 ,but they were not to fear nor  
to weep4  ,as life has its reward in    
death1 death is the promise of a second 
life4  ,after three days1 ,he was to    
rise from the tomb1 never more to die4  
,christ was to be victorious not over   
earthly kingdoms1 but over death4  ,he  
does not bring golden treasures1 nor    
abundance of grain1 but  immortality to 
all those who obey ,him1 and the        
cancellation of all sins  committed by  

men4 ,he was to buy this immortality and
 this liberation by  imprisonment and   
death4 ,the price was hard and bitter1  
but without those  few days of ,his     
,passion and burial ,he could not have  
secured centuries  and centuries of life
 and freedom for men4    ,the ,disciples
 were troubled at this revelation and   
unwilling to believe4  ,but ,jesus had  
already begun ,his ,passion1 foreseeing 
those terrible last  days of ,his life  
and describing them4 ,from now on the   
heirs of ,his work  knew all1 and ,he   
could go on ,his way towards ,jerusalem 
in order that ,his  words should be     
fulfilled to the very last4             
,,maranatha      ,and yet for one day at
 least ,he was to be like that ,king    
awaited by the  poor every morning on   
the thresholds of the holy city4        
,easter draws near4 ,it was the         
beginning of the last week which even   
now  had not yet ended--since the new   
,sabbath has not yet dawned4 ,but this  
time ,jesus does not come to ,jerusalem 

as in other years1 an obscure  wanderer 
mingled with the crowd of pilgrims1 into
 the evil-smelling  metropolis huddled  
with its houses1 white as sepulchers1   
under the  towering vainglory of the    
,temple destined to the flames4 ,this   
time1  which is the last time1 ,jesus is
 accompanied by ,his faithful friends1  
by  ,his fellow-peasants1 by the women  
who were later to weep1 by the ,twelve  
who were to hide themselves1 by the     
,galileans who come in memory of an     
ancient miracle1 but with the hope of   
seeing a new miracle4 ,this time ,he  is
 not alone2 the vanguard of the ,kingdom
 is with ,him1 and ,he does not  come   
unknown3 the cry of the ,resurrection   
has preceded ,him4 ,even in the  capital
 ruled by the iron of the ,romans1 the  
gold of the merchants1 the  letter of   
the ,pharisees1 there are eyes which    
look towards the ,mount of  ,olives and 
hearts which beat faster4    ,this time 
,he does not come on foot into the city 
which should have been  the throne of   

,his kingdom1 and which was to be ,his  
tomb4 ,when ,he had  come to ,bethpage1 
,he sent two disciples to look for an   
ass1 8,go into the  village over against
 you1 and straightway ye shall find an  
ass tied1 and  a colt with her2 loose   
them1 and bring them unto me4 ,and if   
any man say  ought unto you1 ye shall   
say1 ,the ,lord hath need of them40     
,even up to our days it has been said   
that ,jesus wished to ride on an ass  as
 a sign of humble meekness1 as if ,he   
wished to signify symbolically  that ,he
 approached ,his people as the ,prince  
of ,peace4 ,it has been  forgotten that 
in the robust early periods of history  
asses were not the  submissive beasts of
 burden of to-day1 weary bones in       
flogged and  ill-treated skin1 brought  
low by many centuries of slavery1 used  
only to  carry baskets and bags over the
 stones of steep hills4 ,the ass of     
antiquity was a fiery and warlike       
animal2 handsome and bold as a horse1   
fit to be sacrificed to divinities4     

,homer1 master of metaphors1 intended   
no belittling of ,ajax the robust1 the  
proud ,ajax1 when he likened him to  an 
ass4 ,the ,jews moreover used untamed   
asses for other comparisons3  ,zophar   
the ,naamithite said to ,job1 8,for vain
 man would be wise though  man be born  
like a wild ass' colt40 ,and ,daniel    
tells how ,nebuchadnezzar1  as expiation
 of his tyrannies1 was driven from the  
sons of men1 and his  heart was made    
like the beasts1 and his dwelling was   
with the wild  asses4    ,jesus asked   
expressly for an ass not yet broken1    
never before ridden1  something like a  
wild ass1 because on that day1 the      
animal chosen by ,him  was not a symbol 
of the humility of his rider but was a  
symbol of the  ,jewish people1 who were 
to be liberated and overcome by ,christ2
 the  animal1 unruly and restive1       
stiff-necked1 whom no prophet and no    
monarch  had mastered and who to-day was
 tied to a post as ,israel was tied with
  the ,roman rope2 vain and foolhardy as

 in the ,book of ,job2 fitting          
companion for an evil king2 slave to    
foreigners1 but at the same time        
rebellious to the end of time1 the      
,hebrew people had finally found its    
master4 ,for one day only3 it revolted  
against ,him1 its legitimate master  in 
that same week2 but its revolt succeeded
 only for a short time4 ,the            
quarrelsome capitol was pulled down and 
the god-killing crowd dispersed  like   
the husks of the eternal ,winnower over 
all the face of the earth4    ,the ass's
 back is hard1 and ,christ's friends    
throw their cloaks over it4  ,stony is  
the slope which leads from the ,mount of
 ,olives and the  triumphant crowds     
throw their mantles over the rough      
stones4 ,this1 too1  is symbolical of   
self-consecration4 ,to take off your    
mantle is the  beginning of stripping   
yourself1 the beginning of that bareness
 which is  the desire for confession and
 the death of false shame2 bareness of  
the  body1 promising naked truth for the

 soul4 ,the loving charity of supreme   
alms-giving2 to give what we have on our
 backs1 8,if any man 444 shall  take    
away thy coat1 let him have thy cloke   
also40    ,then began the descent in the
 heat of the sun and of glory2 in the   
midst  of freshly cut branches and of   
songs of hope4 ,it was at the beginning 
of  breezy ,april and of the spring4    
,the golden hour of noon lay about the  
city with its green vineyards1 fields   
and orchards4 ,the sky1 immense1  deep  
blue1 miraculously calm1 clear and      
joyful as the promise of divine  eyes1  
stretched away into the infinite4 ,the  
stars could not be seen1 yet  the light 
of our sun seemed augmented by the quiet
 brilliance of those  other distant     
suns4 ,a warm breeze1 still scented with
 the freshness of  heaven1 gently swayed
 the tender tree-tops and set the young1
 growing  leaves a-flutter4 ,it was one 
of those days when blue seems bluer1    
green  seems greener1 light more        
brilliant and love more loving4         

,those who accompanied ,christ in that  
descent felt themselves swept away  by  
the rapture of the world and of the     
moment4 ,never before that day had  they
 felt themselves so bursting with hope  
and adoration4 ,the cry of  ,peter      
became the cry of the fervent little    
army winding its way down the  slope    
towards the queen-city4 8,hosanna to the
 ,son of ,david60 said the  voices of   
the young men and of the women1 in the  
midst of this impetuous  exultation4    
,even the ,disciples almost began to    
hope1 although they had  been warned    
that this would be the last sun1        
although they knew that  they were      
accompanying a man about to die4    ,the
 procession approached the mysterious1  
hostile city with the roaring  tumult of
 a torrent that has burst its banks4    
,these countrymen1 these  people from   
the provinces1 came forward flanked as  
by a moving forest1  as if they had     
wished to carry a little country        
freshness inside the  noisome walls1    

into the drab alleyways4 ,the boldest   
had cut palm  branches along the road1  
boughs of myrtle1 clusters of olives1   
willow  leaves1 and they waved them on  
high1 shouting out the impassioned words
  of the ,psalmist towards the shining  
face of ,him who came in the name of    
,god4    ,now the first ,christian      
legion had arrived before the gates of  
,jerusalem  and the voices did not still
 their homage3 8,blessed be the ,king   
that  cometh in the name of the ,lord3  
peace in heaven1 and glory in the       
highest60 ,their shouting reached the   
ears of the ,pharisees1 who arrived1    
haughty and severe1 to investigate the  
seditious noise4 ,the cries  scandalized
 those learned ears and troubled those  
suspicious hearts1 and  some of them1   
well wrapped up in their doctoral       
cloaks1 called from  among the crowd to 
,jesus3 8,master1 rebuke thy disciples40
 ,and then ,he1  without halting1 8,i   
tell you that1 if these should hold     
their peace1 the  stones would          

immediately cry out60    ,the silent1   
motionless stones which1 according to   
,st4 ,john1 ,god could  have transformed
 into sons of ,abraham2 the hot stones  
of the desert  which ,jesus was not     
willing to change into loaves of bread  
at the  challenge of the ,adversary2 the
 hostile stones of the street which     
twice  had been picked up to stone ,him2
 the hard stones of ,jerusalem would    
have  been less hard1 less icy1 less    
insensitive than the souls of the       
,pharisees4    ,but with this answer1   
,jesus had asserted ,his right to be    
called 8the  ,christ40 ,it was a        
declaration of war4 ,at the very moment 
of ,his entrance  into ,his city1 the   
,new ,king gave the signal for the      
attack4                                 
,,the ,,den ,,of ,,thieves      ,he went
 up to the ,temple where all ,his       
enemies were assembled4 ,on the         
hill-top the sacred fortress sunned its 
new whiteness in the  magnificence of   
the day4 ,the old ,ark of the nomads1   

drawn by oxen  through sweltering       
deserts and over battlefields1 had      
halted on that  height1 petrified as a  
defense for the royal city4 ,the        
moveable cart of  the fugitives had     
become a heavy citadel of stone and     
marble1 a pompous  stronghold of palaces
 and stairways1 shady with colonnades1  
lighted with  courts1 enclosed by walls1
 sheer above the valley1 protected by   
bastions  and by towers1 a fortress     
rather than a place of worship4 ,it was 
not  only the precinct of the ,holy of  
,holies1 and the sacrificial altar1 it  
was no longer only the ,temple1 the     
mystic sanctuary of the people4 ,with   
its great old towers1 its guardrooms1   
its warehouses for offerings1 its       
strong-boxes for deposits1 its open     
piazzas for trade and covered  galleries
 for meetings and amusement1 it was     
anything rather than a  sanctuary for   
meditation and prayer4 ,it was          
everything1 a fortress in  case of      
assault1 a bank-vault1 a market-place in

 time of pilgrimage and  feast-days1 a  
bazaar on all days1 a forum for the     
disputes of  politicians1 the wranglings
 of doctors and the gossip of idlers2 a 
thoroughfare1 a rendezvous1 a business  
center4 ,built by a faithless ,king  to 
win over the favor of a captious and    
seditious people1 to satisfy the  pride 
and avarice of the priestly caste1 an   
instrument of war and a  market-place   
for trade1 it must have seemed to the   
eyes of ,jesus the  natural focus for   
all the enemies of ,his truth4    ,jesus
 goes up to the ,temple to destroy the  
,temple4 ,he will leave to the  ,romans 
of ,titus the task of literally         
dismantling the walls1 of  scattering   
the masses of stone1 of burning down the
 buildings1 of  stealing the bronze and 
gold1 of reducing to a smoky and        
accursed ruin  the great stronghold of  
,herod2 but ,he will destroy the values 
which the  proud ,temple upheld with its
 piled-up blocks of ordered stone1 its  
paved  terraces and its golden doors4   

,jesus goes up towards the ,temple3 the 
,man  transfigured on the mountain is   
set against the scribes parched and     
withered among their scrolls2 the       
,messiah of the ,new ,kingdom against   
the  usurper of the kingdom defiled by  
compromises1 corrupt with infamy2 the   
,gospel against the ,torah2 the future  
against the past2 the fire of love      
against the ashes of the ,letter4 ,the  
day of battle is at hand4 ,jesus1  among
 the songs of ,his fervent band1 goes up
 to the sumptuous lair of  ,his enemies4
 ,well does ,he know the street4 ,how   
many times ,he had gone  over it as a   
little child led along by the hand in   
the crowd of  pilgrims1 in the midst of 
noise and dust1 in the band of          
,galileans6  ,later as an unknown boy1  
confused by the dust and heat of the    
sun1 tired  and bewildered1 ,he used to 
look toward the walls desperately       
longing to  arrive at the summit1 hoping
 to find up there in the sacred         
precincts a  little shade for ,his eyes1

 cool water for ,his mouth1 a word of   
consolation for ,his heart4    ,but     
to-day everything is transformed4 ,he is
 not led along4 ,he leads  along4 ,he   
does not come to adore1 but to punish4  
,he knows that there  inside1 behind the
 beautiful faades of the sublime        
sepulcher1 there are  only ashes and    
corruption3 ,his enemies selling ashes  
and feeding  themselves on corruption4  
,the first adversary who comes before   
,him is  the demon of greed4    ,he     
enters into the ,court of the ,gentiles1
 the most spacious and most  densely    
crowded of all4 ,the great1 sunny1      
well-paved terrace is not the  atrium of
 a sanctuary1 but a dirty market-place4 
,an immense1 roaring din  rises up from 
the vermin-like crowd of bankers1 of    
buyers and sellers1  of money-changers  
who give and take money4 ,there are     
herdsmen with their  oxen and their     
flocks of sheep2 vendors of pigeons and 
turtle doves1  standing by the long     
lines of their coops2 bird-sellers1 with

 cages of  chirping sparrows2 benches   
for money-changers1 with bowls          
overflowing  with copper and silver4    
,merchants1 their feet in the           
fresh-dropped dung1  handle the flanks  
of the animals destined for sacrifice2  
or call with  monotonous iteration women
 who have come there after child-birth1 
pilgrims who have come to offer a rich  
sacrifice1 lepers who offer  living     
birds for their cure1 obtained or hoped 
for4 ,money-changers1 with  a coin hung 
at their ears as a mark of their trade1 
gloatingly plunge  their greedy talons  
into gleaming piles2 the go-betweens run
 about in  the swarm of the gossiping   
groups2 niggardly1 wary provincials hold
  excited conferences before loosening  
the purse strings to change their  cash 
for a votive offering1 and from time to 
time a restless ox drowns  out with his 
deep bellow the thin bleating of the    
lambs1 the thrill  voices of the women1 
the clinking of drachma and shekels4    
,christ was familiar with the spectacle4

 ,he knew that the house of ,god  had   
been turned into the house of ,mammon1  
and that1 instead of silently  invoking 
the ,spirit1 material-minded men        
trafficked there in the filth  of the   
,demon1 with the priests as their       
accomplices4 ,but this time ,he  did not
 restrain ,his scorn and ,his           
repugnance4 ,to destroy the ,temple1 ,he
  commenced with the destruction of the 
market-place4 ,the ,eternal  ,mendicant1
 the poor man1 accompanied by his poor  
friends1 flung ,himself  against the    
servitors of money4 ,he had in ,his hand
 a length of rope1  which ,he knotted   
together like a whip1 and with it ,he   
opened a  passage-way through the       
astonished people4 ,the benches of the  
money-changers crashed down at the first
 shock4 ,the coins were scattered  on   
the ground amid yells of astonishment   
and wrath2 the seats of the             
bird-sellers were overturned beside     
their scattered pigeons4 ,the  herdsmen 
began to urge towards the doors the oxen

 and the sheep4 ,the  sparrow-sellers   
took their cages under their arms and   
disappeared4 ,cries  rose to ,heaven1   
some scandalized1 some approving2 from  
the other  court-yards other people came
 running towards the disturbance4       
,jesus1  surrounded by the boldest of   
,his friends1 was brandishing ,his whip 
on  high1 and driving the money-changers
 towards the door4 ,and ,he repeated  in
 a loud voice1 8,my house shall be      
called the house of prayer2 but ye  have
 made it a den of thieves60    ,and the 
last money-handlers disappeared from the
 courts like rubbish  scattered by the  
wind4                                   
,,business ,,the ,,god      ,this action
 of ,jesus was not only the righteous   
purification of the  sanctuary1 but also
 the public manifestation of ,his       
detestation for  ,mammon and the        
servants of ,mammon4 ,business1 that    
modern god1 was for  ,him a form of     
theft4 ,a marketplace was therefore a   
cave of obsequious  brigands1 of        

tolerated thieves4 ,among all the       
elements of the legalized  theft which  
is called commerce1 none is more        
detestable and shameful  than the use of
 money4 ,if some one gives you a sheep  
in exchange for  money1 you can be sure 
that he has made you pay more money than
 the  sheep really cost1 but at least he
 gives you something which is not a     
hateful mineral symbol of wealth4 ,he   
gives you a living being1 which  will   
furnish you wool in the spring time1    
which will bear you a lamb1  and which  
you can eat if you like4 ,but the       
exchange of money for money1  of coined 
metal for coined metal1 is something    
unnatural1 paradoxical  and demoniac4   
,everything that is known of banks1     
rates of exchange1  discount and usury1 
is a shameful and repellent mystery     
which has always  been the terror of    
simple souls1 that is1 of upright and   
deep souls4 ,the  peasant who sows his  
grain1 the tailor who makes a garment1  
the weaver  who weaves wool or linen1   

have up to a certain limit a real right 
that  their wealth should increase1     
because they have added something which 
before was not in the world1 in cloth1  
in wool4 ,but that a mountain of  money 
should bring forth other money without  
labor or effort1 without  production by 
man of any object to be seen1 to be     
consumed1 to be  enjoyed1 is a scandal  
which goes beyond1 and confounds human  
imagination4    ,money-changers1        
bankers1 amassers of silver and gold1   
are slaves of the  witchcraft of the    
,demon more than all others4 ,and it is 
to those men1  the men of banks and of  
finance1 that the grateful ,demon gives 
power on  this earth3 they are the ones 
even to-day who rule nations1 instigate 
wars1 who starve nations1 and who1 by an
 infernal system of their own1  suck out
 the life of the poor1 transformed into 
gold1 dripping with  sweat and blood4   
,christ1 who pitied the rich1 but who   
hated and detested wealth1 the  great   
wall which cuts off from men the vision 

of the ,kingdom of ,heaven1  had broken 
up the den of thieves and had purified  
the ,temple where ,he  was to teach the 
last truths which remained to ,him to   
expound4 ,but with  that violent action1
 ,he had antagonized all the commercial 
middle-class  of ,jerusalem4 ,the men   
,he had driven away demanded that their 
patrons  should punish the man who was  
ruining business on the ,holy ,hill4    
,these  men of money found ready hearing
 with the men of ,law1 already          
embittered  for other reasons1 so much  
the more because ,jesus in disturbing   
the  business of the ,temple had        
condemned and harmed the priests        
themselves4  ,the most successful bazars
 were the property of the sons of       
,annas1 that  is1 close relations of the
 ,high-,priest ,caiaphas4 ,all the doves
 which  were sold in the ,court of the  
,gentiles were raised on the property of
  ,annas1 and the priests who did       
business in them made a good income     
every  month out of turtle-doves alone4 

,the money-changers1 who should not have
  been allowed to stay in the ,temple1  
paid the great ,sadducee families of    
the priestly aristocracy a goodly tithe 
on the thousands of shekels  brought in 
every year by the exchange of foreign   
money into ,hebrew  money4 ,had not the 
,temple itself perhaps become a great   
national bank  with coffers and strong  
boxes in treasure chambers8    ,jesus   
had wounded the twenty thousand priests 
of ,jerusalem in their  prestige and in 
their purses4 ,he had overturned the    
values of the  falsified and mutilated  
,letter1 in the name of which they      
commanded and  on which they fattened4  
,more than this1 ,he had driven out     
their  associates1 the traffickers and  
bankers4 ,if ,he had ,his way1 it would 
ruin them all4 ,but the two threatened  
castes drew together still more         
closely1 to make way with the dangerous 
intruder4 ,it was perhaps that  very    
evening that priests and merchants      
agreed on the purchase of a  betrayer   

and a cross4 ,the bourgeoisie were to   
give the small amount of  money         
necessary2 the clergy to find the       
religious pretext2 the foreign          
government1 naturally desiring to be on 
good terms with clergy and  bourgeoisie1
 would lend its soldiers4    ,but       
,jesus1 having left the ,temple1 went   
,his way towards ,bethany1 passing  by  
the ,mount of ,olives4                  
,,the ,,vipers ,,of ,,the ,,tombs       
,the next morning when he went back1 the
 herdsmen and merchants had  squatted   
down outside1 near the doors1 but the   
courts were humming with  crowds of     
excited people4    ,the sentence        
pronounced and executed by ,jesus       
against the honest thieves  had set     
gossiping ,jerusalem all agog4 ,those   
blows of the whip1 like so  many stones 
thrown into the ,jerusalem frog-pond1   
had awakened the poor  to joyous hope   
and had set the lords quaking with fear4
    ,and early in the morning1 all had  
gone up there from the dark alleys and  

from the fine houses1 from the          
work-shops and from the public squares1 
leaving all their affairs1 with the     
restless anxiety of those who hope  for 
miracles1 or revenge4 ,the day-laborers 
had come1 the weavers1 the  dyers1 the  
cobblers1 the woodworkers1 all those who
 detested the  swindlers1 the           
stranglers1 the shearers of poverty1    
traders who enriched  themselves at the 
expense of indigence4 ,among the first  
had come the  lamentable scum of the    
city1 the dirty vermin-ridden prisoners 
of  eternal beggary1 with leprous scabs1
 with their sores uncared for1 with     
their bones protruding through the skin 
to testify to their hunger4  ,there had 
also come pilgrims from outside1 those  
of ,galilee1 who had  accompanied ,jesus
 in ,his festal entrance2 and with them 
,jews from the  ,syrian and ,egyptian   
colonies1 dressed in their best1 like   
distant  relatives who reappear every   
once in so often at the family home for 
a  family festival4    ,but there came  

up also1 in groups of four or five1 the 
,scribes and  ,pharisees4 ,they were    
fraternal colleagues1 fitting companions
 for each  other4 ,the ,scribes were the
 ,doctors of the ,law2 the ,pharisees   
were the  ,puritans of the ,law4 ,nearly
 all the ,scribes were ,pharisees1 many 
,pharisees were ,scribes4 ,imagine a    
professor adding religious pedantry to  
his doctoral pedantry2 or a religious   
hypocrite provided also with the  grave 
face of a casuistical pedagogue1 and you
 will have the modern  equivalent of a  
,pharisaical ,scribe1 or of a ,pharisee 
who was also a  ,scribe4 ,a ,tartuffe   
with academic honors2 an ,academician1  
who is at the  same time a religious    
hypocrite2 a philosophizing ,quaker1 are
 other  modern equivalents4    ,these   
men therefore went up that morning to   
the ,temple with much show of  pride    
without and many evil intentions within4
 ,they came up proudly  wrapped in their
 long cloaks1 with their fringes        
fluttering1 their  chests thrown out1   

their eyes clouded1 their eyebrows      
raised1 with  sneering mouths and       
quivering nostrils1 with a step which   
announced  their importance and the     
indignation felt by them1 ,god's        
privileged  sheriffs4    ,jesus1 in the 
midst of all these eyes turned on ,him1 
waited for those  men4 ,it was not the  
first time that they had come about     
,him4 ,how many  discussions between    
,him and the provincial ,pharisees had  
taken place  here and there in the      
country6 ,they were ,pharisees who had  
demanded a  sign from ,heaven1 a        
supernatural proof that ,he was the     
,messiah--because  the ,pharisees1      
unlike the skeptical ,sadducees1 sunk in
 legalized  ,epicureanism1 believed in  
the imminent arrival of the ,saviour4   
,but the ,pharisees expected to see this
 ,saviour as a ,jew1 strictly  observing
 all laws as they did1 and they held    
that to be worthy to  receive ,him it   
was enough to be clean on the outside   
and to avoid any  transgression of any  

of the trivial rules of ,leviticus4 ,the
 ,messiah1 the  son of ,david1 would not
 deign to save those who had not avoided
 all  contact1 even remote1 with        
foreigners and with heathens1 who had   
not  observed the smallest detail of    
legal purification1 who had not paid all
  the tithes of the ,temple1 who did not
 respect at any cost the sanctity  of   
the ,sabbath day4 ,in their eyes ,jesus 
could not possibly be the ,divine       
,redeemer4 ,no spectacular and magic    
signs had been seen3 ,he had contented  
,himself with healing the sick1 with    
talking about love1 and with loving4    
,they had seen ,him dining with         
publicans and sinners1 and1 worse than  
everything else1 had heard with horror  
that ,his disciples did not always  wash
 their hands before sitting down to the 
table4 ,but the greatest  horror1 the   
unendurable scandal1 had been ,his lack 
of respect for the  ,sabbath4 ,jesus had
 not hesitated to cure the sick1 even on
 the ,sabbath1  and ,he held it no crime

 on that day to do good to ,his         
unfortunate  brothers4 ,he even         
shamelessly gloried in this1 claiming   
blasphemously  that the ,sabbath was    
made for man1 rather than man for the   
,sabbath4    ,in the minds of the       
,pharisees there was only one doubt     
about ,jesus3 was  ,he a fool or an     
impostor8 ,to put the matter to the     
test1 they had tried  many times to trap
 ,him by theological tricks1 or in      
dialectical  subtleties1 but to no      
avail4 ,as long as ,he went about in the
 provinces  drawing after ,him a few    
dozen peasants1 they had let ,him alone1
 sure  that some day or other the last  
beggar1 disillusioned1 would leave ,him4
  ,but now the affair was becoming      
serious4 ,accompanied by a band of      
excitable countrymen1 ,he had gone so   
far as to enter into the ,temple as     
though it belonged to ,him1 and had     
seduced some ignorant unfortunates to   
call ,him the ,messiah4 ,more than that1
 usurping the place of the priests1  and

 almost giving ,himself the airs of a   
king1 ,he had roughly driven out  the   
honest merchants1 pious people who      
admired the ,pharisees1 even if  they   
did not entirely imitate them4 ,up to   
that time the ,pharisees had  been too  
easy-going and merciful towards ,him4   
,but from now on the  unequaled goodness
 of heart of those extremely mild and   
tolerant  professors would be dangerous 
and inopportune4 ,the intolerable       
scandal1  the reiterated profanation1   
the public challenge1 called for        
condemnation and punishment4 ,the false 
,christ must be disposed of and at      
once4 ,scribes and ,pharisees went up on
 the hill to see if ,he had had the     
impertinence to go back to the place    
contaminated by ,his boasting4    ,jesus
 was waiting for just those men4 ,he    
wanted to say to them publicly1  with   
the open sky as witness1 what ,he       
thought of them1 what ,god thought  of  
them1 the definite truth about them4    
,the day before1 with ,his whip1  ,he   

had condemned the animal-sellers and    
money-changers4 ,now ,he was  dealing   
with the merchants of the ,word1 with   
the usurers of the ,law1  with the      
swindlers of ,truth4 ,the condemnation  
of that day did not  exterminate them3  
with every generation such men spring up
 again1  innumerable1 with new names2   
but their faces are stamped forever with
  this condemnation wherever they are   
born and command4                       
,,the ,,descendants ,,of ,,cain         
8,woe unto you1 scribes and ,pharisees1 
hypocrites60 ,their sins could be       
reduced to one1 but that is the most    
poisonous1 the least pardonable of  all 
sins3 the sin against the ,spirit1 the  
sin against ,truth1 the  betrayal of    
,truth and ,spirit1 the laying waste of 
the only pure wealth  which the world   
possesses4 ,thieves steal perishable    
goods1 assassins  kill the corruptible  
body1 prostitutes sully flesh destined  
to  corruption2 but the hypocrites1 the 
,pharisees sully the ,word of the       

absolute1 steal the promises of         
eternity1 assassinate the soul4         
,everything in them is pretense3 their  
dress and their talk1 their  teaching   
and their practice4 ,what they say is   
contradicted by what they  do4 ,their   
inner life does not correspond to what  
they choose to show4  ,secret           
swinishness gives the lie to their every
 claim4 ,they are  hypocrites because   
they cover themselves with fringed      
mantles and with  wide phylacteries1 to 
be seen in public places1 and love to be
 called  8,master10 and all the time    
they have hidden the keys of knowledge  
and  have shut the gates of the ,kingdom
 of ,heaven1 and neither go in          
themselves nor suffer others to enter4  
,hypocrites because they make long      
prayers in public and devour the houses 
of widows1 and take advantage of  the   
weak and the desolate4 ,hypocrites      
because they wash and clean the  outside
 of the platter and the cup1 and inside 
they are full of rapine  and extortion4 

,hypocrites because they give their     
attention to minuti  of rites and       
purifications and have no care for      
greater things3 they  strain at a gnat  
and swallow a camel4 ,hypocrites because
 they observe  the smallest commandments
 and do not obey the only one which is  
of  value3 they pay punctually the tithe
 of mint and anise and cummin and  rue1 
but they have not justice1 mercy and    
faith in their hearts4  ,hypocrites     
because they build monuments to the     
prophets and garnish the  sepulchers of 
righteous men of old times1 but         
persecute the righteous  men of to-day1 
and are preparing to kill the prophets4 
8,ye serpents1 ye  generation of vipers1
 how can ye escape the damnation of     
hell8  ,wherefore1 behold ,i sent unto  
you prophets1 and wise men1 and scribes3
  and some of them ye shall kill and    
crucify2 and some of them shall ye      
scourge in your synagogues1 and         
persecute them from city to city3 ,that 
upon you may come all the righteous     

blood shed upon the earth1 from the     
blood of righteous ,abel unto the blood 
of ,zacharias son of ,barachias1  whom  
ye slew between the temple1 and the     
altar40    ,they have accepted the      
inheritance of ,cain4 ,they are the     
descendants of  ,cain4 ,they kill       
brothers1 execute saints1 crucify       
prophets4 ,and1 like  ,cain1 ,god has   
stamped upon their faces a ,sign--the   
mysterious sign of  immortality4 ,they  
cannot be killed because theirs are the 
hands which  must kill4 ,the fugitive   
fratricide was saved by this sign among 
early  men1 and the murderous ,pharisees
 will be saved through all the centuries
  because ,god needs them for the high  
works of ,his justice which seems       
foolishness and madness to the eyes of  
little-minded men4 ,an eternal  decree1 
not revealed to most men1 decrees death 
and the most atrocious  death to all who
 would be like ,god4 ,but the simple man
 could never  assassinate a saint1 nor  
even a sinner1 a miraculous chrysalis of

  potential sanctity4 ,and the saint    
would no longer be a saint if he took   
the life of another saint1 the only     
brother given him by the ,father4 ,so   
the indestructible race of the          
,pharisees was created for all centuries
  and for all peoples1 men who are never
 simple like children and who  never    
know the way of salvation1 those who are
 not visibly sinners1 but  who are from 
head to foot the incarnation of the     
ugliest sin1 those who  wish to appear  
saints and who hate real saints4 ,god   
has made them  fitting instruments of an
 appalling and necessary massacre1 to   
play the  part of executioners of       
perfect men4 ,faithful to this command1 
invulnerable as inhabitants of ,hell1   
marked like ,cain1 immortal as          
hypocrisy and cruelty1 they have        
survived all the empires and all the    
overthrows of empire4 ,with different   
faces1 with different garments1  with   
different rules and pretexts1 they have 
covered the face of the  earth1 stubborn

 and prolific1 up to the present day4   
,and when they have  not been able to   
kill with nails and with fire1 with axes
 and with  knives1 they have used tongue
 and pen with the utmost success4       
,jesus1 while ,he spoke to them in the  
great open courtyard crowded with       
witnesses1 knew that ,he spoke to ,his  
,judges1 and to those who would be1     
through intermediate persons1 the real  
authors of ,his death4 ,by speaking  out
 on this day1 ,he justified ,his later  
silence before ,caiaphas and  ,pilate4  
,he had condemned them and they would   
condemn ,him2 ,he had judged  them first
 and had nothing more to add when they  
wished to judge ,him4    ,images of     
death came to ,his lips as ,he described
 them to themselves3  vipers and tombs1 
treacherous black vipers1 which as soon 
as you  approach them pour into your    
blood all the poison hidden in their    
fangs4  ,whited sepulchers1 fair without
 but within full of dead men's bones and
  all uncleanness4    ,the ,pharisees   

who stood before ,jesus1 and all those  
who have  legitimately descended from   
them1 are glad to hide themselves in the
  shadow of the dead1 to prepare their  
venom4 ,cold as a snake's skin1 as  the 
stone of a tomb1 neither the heat of the
 sun1 nor the warmth of  love1 nor the  
fires of ,hell can ever warm them4 ,they
 know all the words  save one1 the word 
of ,life4    8,woe unto you1 scribes and
 ,pharisees1 hypocrites6 for ye are as  
graves  which appear not1 and the men   
that walk over them are not aware of    
them40 ,the only one aware of this was  
,jesus--and it was because of this  that
 ,he was not to remain more than two    
days in the sepulcher which they  were  
preparing for ,him4                     
,,one ,,stone ,,upon ,,another      ,the
 ,thirteen went down from the ,temple to
 make their daily ascent to the  ,mount 
of ,olives4 ,one of the ,disciples 7who 
could it have been8--perhaps  ,john1 son
 of ,salome1 still rather childish and  
navely full of wonder at  what he saw8  

,or ,judas ,iscariot1 with his respect  
for wealth87 said to  ,jesus1 8,master1 
see what manner of stones and what      
buildings are here60    ,the ,master    
turned to look at the high walls faced  
with marble which the  ostentatious     
calculation of ,herod had built up on   
the hill and said1  8,seest thou these  
great buildings8 there shall not be left
 one stone  upon another1 that shall not
 be thrown down40    ,the admiring      
exclamation suddenly died4 ,no one dared
 answer1 but  perplexed and surprised1  
each of them continued to turn over in  
his mind  these words4 ,hard words for  
the ears of those carnal-minded ,jews1  
for  the narrow hearts of those         
ambitious provincials4 ,he whom they    
loved had  said in these last days many 
other hard words1 hard to hear1 hard to 
understand1 hard to believe4 ,but they  
did not remember any other words  so    
hard as these4 ,they knew that ,he was  
the ,christ and that ,he was to  suffer 
and die1 but they hoped that ,he would  

rise again at once in the  glorious     
victory of the new ,david1 to give      
abundance to all ,israel and  to award  
the greatest prizes and power to them1  
faithful to ,him in the  dangerous      
wanderings of ,his poor days4 ,but if   
the world was to be  commanded by       
,judea1 ,judea was to be commanded by   
,jerusalem1 and the  seats of command   
were to be in the ,temple of the great  
,king4 ,it was  occupied to-day by the  
faithless ,sadducees1 the hypocritical  
,pharisees1  the traitorous ,scribes1   
but ,christ was to drive them away to   
give their  places to ,his apostles4    
,how then could the ,temple be          
destroyed1 splendid  memorial of the    
kingdom in the past2 hoped-for rock of  
the new ,kingdom8    ,this talk of      
stones was harder than a stone for      
,simon called the ,rock  and for his    
companions4 ,had not ,john the ,baptist 
said that ,god could  change the stones 
of the ,jordan into sons of ,abraham8   
,had not ,satan said  that the ,son of  

,god could change the stones of the     
desert to loaves of  wheat bread8 ,had  
not ,jesus ,himself said while ,he was  
passing the walls  of ,jerusalem that   
those very stones1 in place of men1     
would have shouted  out greetings and   
sung hymns8 ,and was it not ,he who had 
made the stones  fall from the hands of 
,his enemies1 the stones which they had 
taken up  to kill ,him8 ,and had ,he not
 made them fall from those who accused  
the  adulteress8    ,but the ,disciples 
could not understand this talk about the
 stones of the  ,temple4 ,they could not
 and they would not understand that     
those great  massive stones1 quarried   
out patiently from the mountains1 drawn 
from  afar by oxen1 squared and prepared
 by chisels and mallets1 put one upon   
another by masters of the art to make   
the most marvelous ,temple of the       
universe2 that these stones1 warm and   
brilliant in the sun1 should be  torn   
apart once more and pulverized into     
ruins4    ,they had scarcely arrived at 

the ,mount of ,olives1 and ,christ had  
only  had time to sit down opposite to  
the ,temple1 when their curiosity burst 
out3    8,tell us1 when shall these     
things be8 and what shall be the sign   
when  all these things shall be         
fulfilled80    ,the answer was the      
discourse on the ,last ,things1 the     
second ,sermon on  the ,mount4 ,at the  
beginning of ,his work1 ,he had         
explained how the soul  must be         
transformed to found the ,kingdom2 now  
at death's door ,he taught  what the    
punishment of the stubborn would be and 
in what manner ,he would  come again4   
,this discourse1 less understood than   
the other1 and even more forgotten1  is 
not1 as it is generally believed1 the   
answer to one question only4  ,the      
,disciples had put two questions1 8,when
 shall these things be80 ,that  is1 the 
ruin of the ,temple2 and 8,what shall be
 the signs of ,thy coming80  ,there are 
two answers to these two questions4     
,jesus first describes the  events which

 will precede the destruction of        
,jerusalem1 and then ,he  describes the 
signs of ,his second appearance4 ,the   
prophetic discourse1  although it is    
read all in one piece in the ,gospels1  
had two parts4 ,the  prophecies are two1
 quite distinct from each other2 the    
first was  fulfilled before the end of  
,jesus' generation1 about forty years   
after  ,his death4 ,the second has not  
yet been fulfilled1 but perhaps before  
the  passing of our own generation the  
first signs will be seen4               
,,sheep ,,and ,,goats      ,jesus knew  
the weakness of the ,disciples1 weakness
 of the spirit1 and  perhaps also of the
 flesh1 and ,he puts them on their guard
 against two  great perils3 fraud and   
martyrdom4    8,take heed that no man   
deceive you4 ,for many shall come in my 
name1  saying1 ,i am ,christ1 and shall 
deceive many4 ,then if any man shall say
  unto you1 ,lo1 here is ,christ1 or    
there2 believe it not4 ,for false       
,christs and false prophets shall rise  

and shall shew signs and wonders1  to   
seduce1 if it were possible1 even the   
elect4 ,go not after them1 nor  follow  
them40    ,but although they are to flee
 from the frauds of the false ,messiahs1
  they cannot escape the persecutions of
 the enemies of the real ,christ4       
8,then shall they deliver you up to be  
afflicted1 and shall kill you3 and  ye  
shall be hated of all nations for my    
name's sake4 ,but take heed to          
yourselves3 for they shall deliver you  
up to councils2 and in the  synagogues  
ye shall be beaten3 and ye shall be     
brought before rulers and  kings for my 
sake1 for a testimony against them4 4 4 
4 ,now the brother  shall betray the    
brother to death1 and the father the    
son2 and the  children shall rise up    
against their parents1 and shall cause  
them to be  put to death4 4 4 4 ,and    
then shall many be offended1 and shall  
betray  one another1 and shall hate one 
another 4 4 4 and because iniquity shall
  abound1 the love of many shall wax    

cold4 ,but he that shall endure to the  
end1 the same shall be saved40    ,then 
shall begin the signs of the imminent   
punishment1 8,and when ye  shall hear of
 wars and rumors of wars1 be ye not     
troubled3 for such  things must needs   
be2 but the end shall not be yet4 ,for  
nation shall  rise against nation1 and  
kingdom against kingdom3 and there shall
 be  earthquakes in divers places1 and  
there shall be famines and troubles3    
these are the beginnings of sorrow40    
,these are the preliminary warnings3 the
 order of the world shall be  disturbed1
 the world1 peaceful at the time when   
,christ pronounced these  words1 shall  
see man set against man1 nation against 
nation1 and the  earth itself soaked    
with blood shall rise against men2 shall
 tremble  under their steps2 shall cast 
down their houses2 shall vomit out      
ashes1  as if it cast out from the mouth
 of its mountains all its dead1 and     
shall deny to the fratricides the food  
which ripens to gold every summer  in   

the fields4    ,then when all this shall
 have come to pass1 the punishment will 
come  upon those people who would not be
 born again in ,christ1 who did not     
accept the ,gospel2 on the city which   
nailed its ,lord upon ,golgotha and     
persecuted ,his witnesses4    8,and when
 ye shall see ,jerusalem compassed with 
armies1 then know that  the desolation  
thereof is nigh4 ,but when ye shall see 
the abomination of  desolation1 spoken  
of by ,daniel1 the prophet1 standing    
where it ought  not1 7let him that      
readeth understand17 then let them that 
be in ,judea  flee to the mountains3 and
 let him that is on the housetop not go 
down  into the house1 neither enter     
therein1 to take anything out of his    
house3 ,and let him that is in the field
 not turn back again for to take  up his
 garment4 ,but woe to them that are with
 child1 and to them who  give suck in   
those days6 ,and pray ye that your      
flight be not in winter4  ,for in those 
days shall be affliction1 such as was   

not from the  beginning of creation     
which ,god created unto this time1      
neither shall  be4 ,there shall be great
 distress in the land1 and wrath upon   
this  people4 ,and they shall fall by   
the edge of the sword1 and shall be led 
away captive into all nations3 and      
,jerusalem shall be trodden down of  the
 ,gentiles1 until the times of the      
,gentiles be fulfilled40    ,this is the
 end of the first prophecy4 ,jerusalem  
shall be taken and  destroyed and of the
 ,temple1 defiled by the abomination of 
desolation1  there shall remain not one 
stone upon another4    ,but ,jesus has  
not said all1 until now has not spoken  
of ,his second  coming4    8,jerusalem  
shall be trodden down of the ,gentiles1 
until the times of the  ,gentiles be    
fulfilled40 ,what are these 8tempi dei  
,gentili1 tempora  nationum08 ,the words
 of the ,greek texts express it with    
greater  precision than the other       
languages3 they are the times adapted   
to1  fitting1 and awaiting the          

,gentiles1 that is1 those in which the  
non-,jews  shall be converted to the    
,gospel1 announced to the ,jews before  
all  others4 ,therefore that real end   
shall not come until the ,gospel has    
been  carried into all nations1 until   
the ,gentiles1 the faithless ones1 tread
  down the city of ,jerusalem4 8,and    
this gospel of the kingdom shall be     
preached in all the world for a witness 
unto all nations2 and then shall  the   
end come40    ,the second coming of     
,christ from ,heaven1 the ,parusia1 will
 be the end of  this world and the      
beginning of the true world1 the eternal
 kingdom4 ,the  end of ,judea was       
announced by signs human and            
terrestrial2 this other  end will be    
preceded by signs divine and celestial4 
8,the sun shall be  darkened1 and the   
moon shall not give her light4 ,and the 
stars of heaven  shall fall4 ,and upon  
the earth distress of nations1 with     
perplexity2 the  sea and the waves      
roaring2 ,men's hearts failing them for 

fear1 and for  looking after these      
things which are coming on the earth3   
for the powers  of heaven shall be      
shaken4 ,and then shall appear the sign 
of the ,son of  man in heaven3 and then 
shall all the tribes of the earth mourn1
 and  they shall see the ,son of man    
coming in the clouds of heaven with     
power  and great glory40    ,for the end
 of ,jerusalem only1 the little earth   
was troubled2 but for  this universal   
ending1 ,heaven itself is convulsed4 ,in
 the great sudden  blackness only the   
roaring of water will be heard1 and     
screams of  terror4 ,it is the ,day of  
the ,lord1 the day of ,god's wrath      
described in  their times by ,ezekiel1  
,jeremiah1 ,isaiah and ,joel4 8,the day 
of the ,lord  is at hand1 and as a      
destruction from the ,almighty shall it 
come4 ,a day  of darkness and of        
gloominess6 ,the land is as the garden  
of ,eden before  them1 and behind them a
 desolate wilderness4 ,the people shall 
be much  pained3 all faces shall gather 

blackness4 ,therefore shall all hands be
  faint and every man's heart shall     
melt4 ,and they shall be afraid3 pangs  
and sorrow shall take hold of them2 they
 shall be in pain as a woman  that      
travaileth2 they shall be amazed one at 
another4 ,behold the day of  the ,lord  
cometh1 cruel both with wrath and fierce
 anger1 to lay the land  desolate3 and  
he shall destroy the sinners thereof out
 of it4 ,for the  stars of heaven and   
the constellations thereof shall not    
give their  light3 the heavens shall be 
rolled together as a scroll3 and all    
their  host shall fall down1 as the leaf
 falleth off from the vine1 and as a    
falling fig from the fig tree40    ,this
 is the day of the ,father1 day of      
blackness in the ,heavens and of  terror
 on earth4 ,but the day of the ,son     
follows immediately after4    ,he does  
not appear this time hidden in a stable1
 but on high in ,heaven1  no longer poor
 and wretched1 but in power and splendor
 of glory4 8,and he  shall send his     

angels with a great sound of a trumpet1 
and they shall  gather together his     
elect from the four winds1 from one end 
of heaven to  the other40 ,and when the 
celestial trumpets shall have awakened  
all  those sleeping in the tombs1 the   
irrevocable division shall be made4     
8,when the ,son of man shall come in his
 glory1 and all the holy angels  with   
him1 then shall he sit upon the throne  
of his glory3    8,and before him shall 
be gathered all nations3 and he shall   
separate  them one from another1 as a   
shepherd divideth his sheep from1 the   
goats3    8,and he shall set the sheep  
on his right hand1 but the goats on his 
left4    8,then shall the ,king say unto
 them on his right hand1 ,come1 ye      
blessed  of my ,father1 inherit the     
kingdom prepared for you from the       
foundation  of the world3    8,for ,i   
was an hungered1 and ye gave me meat3 ,i
 was thirsty1 and ye gave  me drink3 ,i 
was a stranger1 and ye took me in3      
8,naked1 and ye clothed me3 ,i was sick1

 and ye visited me3 ,i was in  prison1  
and ye came unto me4    8,then shall the
 righteous answer him1 saying1 ,lord1   
when saw we thee an  hungered1 and fed  
thee8 or thirsty1 and gave thee drink8  
8,when saw we thee a stranger1 and took 
thee in8 or naked1 and clothed  thee8   
8,or when saw we thee sick1 or in       
prison1 and came unto thee8    8,and the
 ,king shall answer and say unto them1  
,verily ,i say unto you1  ,inasmuch as  
ye have done it unto one of the least of
 these my brethren1  ye have done it    
unto me4    8,then shall he say also    
unto them on the left hand1 ,depart from
 me1 ye  cursed1 into everlasting fire1 
prepared for the devil and his angels3  
8,for ,i was an hungered1 and ye gave me
 no meat3 ,i was thirsty1 and ye  gave  
me no drink3    8,i was a stranger1 and 
ye took me not in3 naked1 and ye clothed
 me not3  sick1 and in prison1 and ye   
visited me not4    8,then shall they    
also answer him1 saying1 ,lord1 when saw
 we thee an  hungered1 or athirst1 or a 

stranger1 or naked1 or sick1 or in      
prison1  and did not minister unto thee8
    8,then shall he answer them1 saying1
 ,verily ,i say unto you1 ,inasmuch as  
ye did it not to one of the least of    
these1 ye did it not to me4    8,and    
these shall go away into everlasting    
punishment3 but the righteous  into life
 eternal40    ,jesus1 even in ,his glory
 as judge of the last ,day1 does not    
forget the  poor and unhappy whom ,he   
loved so greatly during ,his life on    
earth4 ,he  wishes to appear as one of  
those 8least0 who hold out their hands  
at the  doors and on whom the 8great0   
look down4 ,on earth1 in the time of    
,tiberius1 ,he was the man who was      
hungering for bread and love1 thirsting 
for water and martyrdom1 who was like a 
stranger in ,his own country1 not       
recognized by ,his own brothers1 who    
stripped ,himself to clothe those       
shaking with cold1 who was sick with    
sorrow and suffering and no one         
comforted ,him1 who was imprisoned in   

the base prison of human flesh1 in  the 
narrow prison of earthly life4 ,he was  
divinely hungering for souls1  thirsting
 for faith1 ,he was the stranger come   
from the ineffable  fatherland1         
defenseless before whips and insults1   
the ,man sick with the  holy madness of 
love4 ,but on that great ,day of final  
,judgment1 ,he will  not be thinking of 
,himself1 as ,he did not think of       
,himself when ,he was a  man among men4 
,the code of this dividing of good from 
evil men will be based on one  idea     
only3 ,compassion--,charity4 ,during all
 the time which lies between  ,his first
 and second coming ,he has gone on      
living under the appearance  of the poor
 and the pilgrims1 of the sick and      
persecuted1 of wanderers  and slaves4   
,and on the ,last ,day ,he pays ,his    
debts4 ,mercy shown to those  8least0   
was shown to ,him1 and ,he will reward  
that mercy in the name of  all4 ,only   
those who did not receive ,him when ,he 
appeared in the  innumerable bodies of  

the poverty-stricken will be condemned  
to eternal  punishment1 because when    
they drove away the unfortunate they    
drove away  ,god4 ,when they refused    
bread1 water and a garment to the poor  
man1 they  condemned the ,son of ,god to
 cold1 thirst and hunger4 ,the ,father  
had no  need of your help1 for all is   
,his and ,he loves you even during the  
moments when you curse ,him4 ,but you   
must love the ,father in the persons  of
 ,his children4 ,and those who did not  
quench the thirst of the thirsty  will  
themselves thirst for all eternity2     
those who did not warm the  naked man   
will suffer in fire for all eternity2   
those who did not  comfort the prisoner 
will be prisoners of ,hell forever2     
those who did  not receive the stranger 
will never be received in ,heaven1 and  
those who  did not help the             
fever-stricken patient will shiver in   
the spasms of  everlasting fever4       
,the ,great ,poor ,man in the day of    
,his glory will1 as justice dictates1   

reward every one with ,his infinite     
riches4 ,he who has given a little  life
 to the poor will have life forever2 he 
who has left the poor in  pain will     
himself be in pain forever4 ,and then   
the bare sky will be  peopled with other
 more powerful suns1 with stars flaming 
more brightly  in the heavens and there 
will be a new ,heaven and a new ,earth1 
and the  ,chosen will live not as we    
live now1 like beasts1 but in the       
likeness of  angels4                    
,,words ,,which ,,shall ,,not ,,pass    
,,away      ,but when shall these things
 come to pass8 ,these are the signs1    
this is  the manner in which it shall   
happen4 ,but the time8 ,shall we be     
still  here1 we who are now under the   
light of the sun8 ,or shall the         
grandchildren of our grandchildren see  
these events while we are dust  and     
ashes under the earth8    ,up to the    
very last1 the ,twelve understand as    
little as twelve stones4  ,they have the
 truth before them and they do not see  

it3 they have the  ,light in their midst
 and the ,light does not reach them4 ,if
 only they had  been among stones like  
diamonds which send back1 divided into  
reflected  rays1 the light which strikes
 them4 ,but these twelve men are rough  
stones1 scarcely dug out of the darkness
 of the quarry1 dull stones1  opaque    
stones1 stones which the sun can warm   
but not kindle1 stones  which are       
lighted from without but do not reflect 
the splendor4 ,they  have not yet       
understood that ,jesus is not a common  
diviner1 a student of  the ,chaldeans   
and of the ,etruscans1 and that ,he has 
nothing to do with  the presumptuous    
pretensions of astrology4 ,they have not
 understood that  a definitely dated    
prophecy would not work on men to create
 a conversion  which needs perpetual    
vigilance4 ,perhaps they have not even  
understood  that the ,apocalyptic       
sayings revealed on the ,mount of       
,olives form a  double prophecy which   
refers to two events1 different and     

distant from  each other4 ,perhaps these
 provincial fishermen1 for whom a lake  
was the  sea and ,judea was the         
universe1 confused the end of the       
,hebrew people  with the end of the     
human race1 the punishment of ,jerusalem
 with the  second coming of ,christ4    
,but the discourse of ,jesus1 although  
it is presented as one unit in the      
synoptic ,gospels1 shows us two distinct
 prophecies4    ,the first announces the
 end of the ,jewish kingdom1 the        
punishment of  ,jerusalem1 the          
destruction of the ,temple2 the second  
the end of the old  world1 the          
reappearance of ,jesus1 the judgment of 
the merciful and of  the merciless1 the 
beginning of the ,new ,kingdom4 ,the    
first prophecy  given is close at       
hand--this generation shall not pass    
before these  things shall have         
arrived--and is local and limited1 since
 it is  concerned only with ,judea and  
especially with ,judea's metropolis4    
,the  hour and the day of the second are

 not known because certain events1  slow
 to take place but essential1 must      
precede this end1 which1 unlike  the    
other1 will be universal4    ,the first1
 as a matter of fact1 was fulfilled to  
the letter1 detail by  detail1 about    
forty years after the crucifixion1 while
 many who had  known ,jesus were still  
living2 the second coming1 the triumphal
 ,parusia1  is still awaited by those   
who believe what ,he said on that day1  
8,heaven  and earth shall pass away3 but
 my words shall not pass away40    ,a   
few years after ,jesus' death the signs 
of the first prophecy began to  be seen4
 ,false prophets1 false ,christs1 false 
apostles1 swarmed in  ,judea1 as snakes 
come out of their holes when dog-days   
arrive4 ,before  ,pontius ,pilate was   
exiled1 an impostor showed himself in   
,samaria1 who  promised to recover the  
sacred vessels of the ,tabernacle hidden
 by ,moses  on ,mount ,gerizim4 ,the    
,samaritans believed that such a        
discovery would be  the prelude to the  

coming of the ,messiah1 and a great mob 
gathered  threateningly on the mountain 
until it was dispersed by ,roman swords4
    ,under ,cuspius ,fadus1 the         
procurator who governed from #dd to #ff1
 there  arose a certain ,theudas1 who   
gave himself out for a great personage  
and  promised great prodigies4 ,four    
hundred men followed him1 but he was    
captured and decapitated1 and those who 
had believed him dispersed4  ,after him 
came an ,egyptian ,jew1 who succeeded in
 gathering four thousand  desperate men1
 and camping on the ,mount of ,olives   
announcing that at a  sign from him the 
walls of ,jerusalem would fall4 ,the    
,procurator ,felix  attacked him and    
drove him out into the desert4    ,in   
the meantime1 in ,samaria1 arose the    
notorious ,simon ,magus1 he who         
bewitched people with his prodigies and 
incantations and announced  himself as  
the ,power of ,god4 ,this man1 seeing   
the miracles of ,peter1  wished to turn 
,christian1 imagining that the ,gospel  

was only one of  those ,oriental        
mysteries into which an initiation gave 
new powers4  ,repelled by ,peter1 ,magus
 became the father of heresies4 ,he     
believed that  ,enna first came from    
,god and that it is now imprisoned in   
human beings3  according to him ,enna   
7or1 the first conception of the        
,deity71 was  incarnate in ,helen of    
,tyre1 a prostitute who followed him    
everywhere2  and faith in him and in    
,helen was a necessary condition of     
salvation4  ,cerinthus1 the first       
,gnostic1 was one of his followers1     
against whom  ,john wrote his           
,gospel--and ,menander1 who boasted that
 he was ,saviour of  the world4 ,another
 ,elxai mixed up the old and new        
,covenant1 told stories  of many        
incarnations besides those of ,christ1  
and swaggered about with  his followers1
 boasting of his magic powers4          
,hegesippus says that a  certain        
,tebutis through jealousy of ,simon1    
second ,bishop of ,jerusalem1  formed a 

sect that recognized ,jesus as ,messiah1
 but in everything else  was faithful to
 the old ,judaism4 ,paul1 in the        
,epistle to ,timothy1 puts  the         
8,saints0 on guard against ,hymeneus1   
and ,phyletus and ,alexander4 ,for  such
 are false prophets1 deceitful workers  
transforming themselves into  the       
apostles of ,christ1 8who twisted truth 
and sowed the evil seed of  heresy in   
the early church40 ,a ,dositheus had    
himself called ,christ1 and  a certain  
,nicholas began with his errors the sect
 of the ,nicolaitans1  condemned by     
,john in the ,apocalypse3 and the       
,zealots fomented incessant  tumults1   
claiming that the ,romans and all the   
heathen should be driven  out in order  
that ,god might return to triumph with  
,his own people4    ,the second sign1   
the persecution1 arrived promptly4 ,the 
,disciples had  scarcely begun to preach
 the ,gospel in ,jerusalem when ,peter  
and ,john  were thrown into prison3     
freed1 they were captured again1 and    

beaten and  commanded to speak no more  
in the name of ,jesus4 ,stephen1 one of 
the  most ardent of the neophytes1 was  
taken by the priests outside the city   
and stoned4    ,under the rule of       
,agrippa the tribulations began afresh4 
,in #db ,herod's  descendant had ,james 
the ,greater1 the brother of ,john1     
killed by the  sword2 and for a third   
time ,peter was imprisoned4 ,in #fb     
,james the  righteous1 called the       
brother of ,our ,lord1 was thrown from  
the terrace  of the ,temple and killed4 
,in #ej ,claudius exiled the ,christian 
,jews from  ,rome1 8,impulsore ,chrestus
 tumultuantes40 ,in #eh1 on account of  
the  conversion of ,pomponia ,grcina1   
the war against converts began in the   
capital of the ,empire4 ,in #fd the     
burning of ,rome1 desired and executed  
by ,nero1 was the pretext for the first 
great persecution4 ,an innumerable      
multitude of ,christians obtained their 
martyrdom in ,rome and in the           
,provinces4 ,many were crucified3 others

 wrapped in the 8tunica molesta0        
lighted up the nocturnal amusement of   
the ,csar3 others wrapped in  animal    
skins were given as food to dogs3 many1 
enforced actors in cruel  comedies1 made
 a spectacle for amphitheaters and were 
devoured by lions4  ,peter died on the  
cross1 nailed head downward4 ,paul ended
 under the ax a  life which since his   
conversion had been one long torment4   
,ten years  before his death in #eg he  
had been flogged five times by the      
,jews1  beaten three times with rods by 
the ,romans1 three times imprisoned1    
three times shipwrecked1 stoned and left
 for dead at ,lystra4 ,the greater  part
 of the other ,disciples met with       
similar fates4 ,thomas met a  martyr's  
death in ,india1 ,andrew was crucified  
at ,patras1 ,bartholomew was  crucified 
in ,armenia4 ,simon the ,zealot and     
,matthew1 like their ,master1  ended    
their lives on the cross4    ,nor were  
there lacking wars and rumors of wars4  
,when ,jesus was killed1  the 8peace of 

,augustus0 still existed1 but very soon 
nations rise  against nations and       
kingdoms against kingdoms4 ,under ,nero 
the ,britons  rebel and massacre the    
,romans1 the ,parthians revolt and force
 the  legions to pass under the yoke2   
,armenia and ,syria murmur against      
foreign  government2 ,gaul rises with   
,julius ,vindex1 ,nero is near his end1 
the  ,spanish and ,gallic legions       
proclaim ,galba ,emperor2 ,nero1 fleeing
 from  the ,golden ,house1 succeeds in  
being abject even in suicide4 ,galba    
enters  ,rome1 but brings no peace2     
,nymphidius ,sabinus at ,rome1 ,capito  
in  ,germany1 ,clodius ,macer in        
,africa1 dispute the power with him4    
,all are  dissatisfied with him3 on the 
#aeth of ,january1 #fi1 the ,prtorians  
kill  him and proclaim ,otho4 ,but the  
,german legions had already proclaimed  
,vitellius and move on ,rome4 ,conquered
 at ,bedriacum ,otho commits suicide1   
but ,vitellius does not rule long       
either2 the ,syrian legions choose      

,vespasian1 who sends ,antonius ,primus 
into ,italy4 ,the followers of          
,vitellius are defeated at ,cremona and 
at ,rome2 ,vitellius1 the voracious     
hog1 is killed on the #bjth of          
,december1 #fi4 ,in the meanwhile       
insurrection breaks out in the north1   
with the ,batavians1 with ,claudius     
,civilus1 and the insurrection of the   
,jews is not stamped out in the  east4  
,in less than two years ,italy is       
invaded twice1 ,rome taken twice1  two  
,emperors kill themselves2 two are      
killed4 ,and there are wars and  rumors 
of wars on the ,rhine and on the        
,danube1 on the ,po and on the  ,tiber1 
on the banks of the ,north ,sea1 at the 
feet of ,atlas and of ,tabor4    ,the   
other afflictions announced by ,jesus   
accompany in these years the  upheaval  
of the ,empire4 ,caligula the ,mad      
complained because in his reign  nothing
 horrible happened3 he desired famines1 
pestilences and  earthquakes4 ,the      
degenerate and incestuous epileptic did 

not have his  wish1 but in the time of  
,claudius a series of poor crops brought
 famine  even to ,rome4 ,under ,nero    
pestilence was added to the famine1 and 
at ,rome  alone in one autumn the       
treasury of ,venus ,libitina registered 
thirty  thousand deaths4    ,in #fa and 
#fb earthquakes shook ,asia1 ,achaia1   
and ,macedonia3 especially  the cities  
of ,hierapolis1 ,laodicea and ,coloss   
were greatly damaged4 ,in  #fc it was   
,italy's turn3 at ,naples1 ,nocera and  
,pompeii the earth shook4  ,all the     
,campagna was a prey to terror4 ,and as 
if this were not enough1  three years   
later1 in #ff1 the ,campagna was        
devastated by cloudbursts1  which       
destroyed the crops and rendered more   
threatening the prospects of  famine4   
,and while ,galba was entering ,rome    
7#fh7 the earth shook under his  feet   
with a terrible roar4 ,all the signs    
were fulfilled3 now had come  the       
fullness of time for the punishment of  
,judea4                                 

,,judea ,,overcome      ,the earthquake 
which shook ,jerusalem on the ,friday of
 ,golgotha was like  a signal for the   
,jewish outbreak4 ,for forty years the  
country of the  god-killers had no      
peace1 not even the peace of defeat and 
slavery1 up  to the day1 when of the    
,temple not one stone was left upon     
another4    ,pilate1 ,cuspius ,fadus and
 ,agrippa had been forced to disperse   
the bands  of the false ,messiahs4      
,under the ,roman procurator1 ,tiberius 
,alexander1  the conflict began with the
 raging sect of the ,zealots and ended  
with  the crucifixion of the leaders1   
,james and ,simon1 sons of ,judas the   
,galilean4 ,the procurator1 ,ventidius  
,cumanus1 #dh-eb1 did not have a day's  
peace3 the ,zealots and their allies1   
the ,sicarii1 did not lay down their    
arms4 ,under the procurator ,felix the  
disorders knew no truce3 under  ,albinus
 the flames of the revolt flared out    
more boldly4 ,finally at the  time of   
,gessius ,florus1 #fd-ff1 the last      

procurator of ,judea1 the fire1  which  
for some time had been flickering1      
spread all over the country4  ,the      
,zealots took possession of the ,temple3
 ,florus was obliged to flee1  ,agrippa1
 who went as peace-maker1 was stoned1   
,jerusalem fell into the  power of      
,menahem1 another son of ,judas the     
,galilean4 ,zealots and ,sicarii  now in
 power massacred the non-,jews and also 
those among the ,jews who  seemed tepid 
to their fanatic eyes4    ,and then     
finally came the abomination predicted  
by ,daniel and recorded  by ,christ4    
,the prophecy of ,daniel had already    
been fulfilled when  ,antiochus ,,iv    
,epiphanes had profaned the ,temple by  
placing there the  statue of ,olympian  
,jove4 ,in #ci ,caligula the ,mad1 who  
had set himself up  as ,god and had     
himself adored as ,god in various       
places1 had sent the  order to the      
procurator ,petronius to put the        
imperial statue in the  ,temple1 but he 
died before the order was executed4 ,but

 ,jesus was  alluding to something quite
 other than statues4 ,the holy place    
during  the great rebellion occupied by 
the ,sicarii had become a refuge for    
assassins1 and the great courts were    
soaked with blood1 even with  priestly  
blood4 ,and the ,holy ,city underwent   
also the abomination of  desolation1    
when in ,december of #ff ,cestius       
,gallus1 at the head of forty  thousand 
men1 came to crush the insurgents1      
camped around ,jerusalem with  those    
imperial insignia which the ,jews held  
in horror as idolatrous1 and  which     
through a concession of the ,emperors   
had not till then been  introduced into 
the city4    ,but ,cestius ,gallus1     
finding more resistance than he had     
anticipated1  retreated and the retreat 
was turned into flight to the great     
jubilation  of the ,zealots1 who saw in 
this victory a sign of divine help4     
,in those days1 between the first and   
second assault1 when already the  double
 abomination had contaminated the city1 

the ,christians of  ,jerusalem1 obeying 
the prophecy of ,jesus1 fled to ,pela1  
beyond the  ,jordan4 ,but ,rome had no  
intention of giving way to the ,jews4   
,the command  of the punitive expedition
 was given to ,titus ,flavius           
,vespasian1 who1  gathering an army at  
,ptolemais in #fg1 advanced against     
,galilee and  conquered it4 ,while the  
,romans were taking up winter quarters1 
,john of  ,gischala1 one of the heads of
 the ,zealots1 having taken refuge in   
,jerusalem at the head of a band of     
,idumeans1 overturned the aristocratic  
government and the city was full of     
uproar and blood4    ,vespasian1 going  
to ,rome to become ,emperor1 gave the   
command to his son  ,titus1 who on      
,easter ,day in the year #gj1 came up   
before ,jerusalem and  began the siege4 
,horrible days began4 ,even at the      
height of danger1 the  ,zealots1 carried
 away by wild frenzy1 quarreled among   
themselves1 and  split up into factions1
 who fought for the control of the city4

    ,john of ,gischala occupied the     
,temple1 ,simon ,bar ,giora the city1   
and  their partisans cut the throats of 
those whom the ,romans had not yet      
killed4 ,in the meantime ,titus had     
taken possession of two lines of wall   
and of a part of the city3 on the fifth 
of ,july the ,tower of ,antonia  fell   
into his power4 ,to the horror of       
fratricidal massacre and of the  siege  
was added that of hunger4 ,the famine   
was so great that mothers  were seen1 so
 says ,josephus1 to kill their children 
and eat them4 ,on the  #ajth of ,august 
the ,temple was taken and burned1 the   
,zealots succeeding  in shutting        
themselves up into the upper city1 but  
conquered by hunger  they were obliged  
to surrender on the #gth of ,september4 
,the prophecies of ,jesus had been      
fulfilled3 the city by ,titus' order was
  laid waste3 and of the ,temple already
 swept by fire1 there remained not  one 
stone upon another4 ,the ,jews who had  
survived hunger and the swords  of the  

,sicarii were massacred by the          
victorious soldiery4 ,those who  still  
remained were deported into ,egypt to   
work in mines1 and many were  killed for
 the amusement of the crowd in the      
,amphitheaters of ,csarea  and ,berytus4
 ,some hundreds of the handsomest were  
taken prisoners to  ,rome to figure in  
the triumphal procession of ,vespasian  
and ,titus1 and  there ,simon ,bar      
,giora and other heads of the ,zealots  
were executed  before the idols which   
they hated4    8,verily ,i say unto you1
 ,this generation shall not pass1 till  
all these  things be fulfilled40 ,it was
 the seventieth year of the ,christian  
era  and ,his generation had not yet    
gone down into the tomb when these      
things  happened4 ,one at least of those
 who heard ,him on the ,mount of        
,olives1  ,john1 was witness of the     
destruction of ,jerusalem and of the    
ruin of the  ,temple4 ,within the       
destined time the words of ,jesus were  
fulfilled1  syllable by syllable1 with  

atrocious exactness1 by a story of blood
 and  fire4                             
,,the ,,parusia      ,the end of the    
god-killing people1 the partial and     
local ending1 had  taken place4         
,according to the sentence of ,christ1  
the statues of the  ,temple were        
scattered among the ruined walls and the
 faithful of the  ,temple had met their 
death by torture or were scattered among
 other  nations4    ,the second prophecy
 is left4 ,when shall the ,son of ,man  
come on the  clouds of ,heaven1 preceded
 by darkness1 announced by angels'      
trumpets8  ,jesus says that no one can  
be sure of the day of ,his coming4 ,the 
,son of  ,man is likened to lightning   
which flashes suddenly in the east1 to a
  thief who comes by stealth in the     
night1 to a master who has gone far     
away and returns suddenly to take his   
servants by surprise4 ,we must be       
vigilant and ready4 ,purify your hearts1
 because you do not know when ,he  may  
come2 and woe to him who is not ready to

 appear before ,him4 ,take  heed to     
yourselves lest at any time your hearts 
be overcharged with  surfeiting1 and    
drunkenness1 and the cares of this life2
 and so that day  come upon you         
unawares1 for as a snare shall it come  
upon all them that  dwell on the face of
 the whole earth4    ,but if ,jesus does
 not announce the day1 ,he tells us what
 things must be  fulfilled before that  
day4 ,these things are two3 the ,gospel 
of the  ,kingdom shall be preached to   
all the nations and the ,gentiles shall 
no  longer tread down ,jerusalem4 ,these
 two conditions are fulfilled in our    
own time and perhaps the great day      
approaches4 ,there are no longer in  the
 world any civilized nations or         
barbarous tribes where the  descendants 
of the ,apostles have not preached the  
,gospel3 since #aiah the  ,moslems have 
no longer trodden down ,jerusalem and   
there is talk of a  restablishment of   
the ,jewish ,state4 ,according to the   
words of ,hosea1  the end of the time   

shall be near when the sons of ,israel1 
left so long  without altar and without 
,king1 shall be converted to the ,son of
 ,david  and shall turn1 trembling1     
towards ,god's goodness4    ,if the     
words of the second prophecy are true1  
as the words of the first  prophecy were
 shown to be true1 the ,second ,coming  
cannot be far distant4  ,once again in  
these years nations have risen against  
nations1 the earth  has quaked1         
destroying many lives1 and pestilences1 
famines and  seditions have decimated   
nations4 ,for more than a century the   
words of  ,christ have been translated  
and preached in all languages4 ,soldiers
 who  believe in ,christ1 although they 
are not all faithful to the heirs of    
,peter1 are in command over that city1  
which after its downfall was in  the    
power of the ,romans1 the ,persians1 the
 ,egyptians and the ,turks4 ,and  still 
men do not think of ,jesus and ,his     
promise4 ,they live as if the  world    
were always going to continue as it has 

been1 and they work and  mortify        
themselves only for their earthly and   
carnal interests4    8,for as in the    
days that were before the flood1 they   
were eating and  drinking1 marrying and 
given in marriage1 until the day that   
,noah  entered into the ark1 ,and knew  
not until the flood came1 and took them 
all away3 so shall also the coming of   
the ,son of man be4 ,likewise also1  as 
it was in the days of ,lot2 they did    
eat1 they drank1 they bought1  they     
sold1 they planted1 they builded2 ,but  
the same day that ,lot went  out of     
,sodom it rained fire and brimstone from
 heaven and destroyed them  all4 ,even  
thus shall it be in the day when the    
,son of man is revealed40    ,the same  
thing happens in our day in spite of the
 wars and the  pestilences which have   
cut down millions of lives in a few     
years4 ,people  eat and drink1 marry and
 have children1 buy and sell1 write and 
play4  ,and no one thinks of the ,divine
 ,thief who will come suddenly in the   

night1 no one waits for the ,real       
,master1 who will return unexpectedly1  
no one looks at the sky to see if       
lightning is flashing from the east4    
,the apparent life of the living is like
 the delirious dream of a fatal  fever4 
,they seem awake because they hurry     
about without rest1 occupied  by those  
possessions which are clay and poison4  
,they never look up to  ,heaven--they   
fear only their brothers4 ,perhaps they 
are waiting to be  awakened in the last 
hour by those dead of old1 who will rise
 up at the  approach of the ,resurrected
 ,christ4                               
,,unwelcome      ,while ,jesus was      
condemning the ,temple and ,jerusalem1  
those maintained by  the ,temple and the
 lords of ,jerusalem were preparing ,his
 condemnation4    ,all those who        
possessed1 taught and commanded were    
waiting only for the  right moment to   
assassinate ,him1 without danger to     
themselves4 ,every man  who had a name1 
dignity1 a school1 a shop1 a sacred     

office1 a little  authority was against 
,him4 ,he came to oppose them and they  
opposed ,him4  ,with the idiocy natural 
to those in power they believed that    
they would  save themselves by putting  
,him to death1 and they did not know it 
was  exactly ,his death which was needed
 as the beginning of their punishment4  
,to have an idea of the hatred which the
 upper classes of ,jerusalem felt       
towards ,jesus1 priestly hatred1        
scholastic hatred and commercial hatred1
  we must remember that the ,holy ,city 
apparently lived by faith1 but in       
reality on the ,faithful4 ,only in the  
,jewish metropolis could valid and      
acceptable offerings be made to the ,old
 ,god1 and therefore every year1        
especially on great feast days1 streams 
of ,israelites poured in there  from the
 ,tetrarchates of ,palestine and from   
all the provinces of the  ,empire4 ,the 
,temple was not only the one legitimate 
sanctuary of the  ,jews1 but for those  
who were attached to it and for all the 

others who  lived at its feet1 it was   
the great nourishing breast which fed   
the  ,capital with the products of the  
victims1 the offerings1 the tithes and1 
above all1 with the profits accompanying
 the continual influx of  visitors4     
,josephus says that at ,jerusalem on    
special occasions there  were gathered  
together as many as three million       
pilgrims4    ,the stationary population 
depended all the year round on the      
,temple3  business for the              
animal-sellers1 dealers in victuals1    
money-changers1  inn-keepers1 and even  
artisans depended on the fortunes of the
 ,temple4  ,the priestly caste1 which   
without the ,levites 7and there were a  
great  crowd of them7 numbered in       
,christ's lifetime twenty thousand      
descendants  of ,aaron--got their living
 from the tithes in kind1 from the taxes
 of the  ,temple1 from the payments for 
the first-born--even the first-born of  
men  paid five shekels a head6--and got 
their food from the flesh of the        

sacrificial animals1 of which only the  
fat was burned4 ,they were the  ones who
 had the pick of herds and crops2 even  
their bread was given  them by the      
people1 for the head of every ,jewish   
family was obliged to  hand over to the 
priests the twenty-fourth part of the   
bread which was  baked in his house4    
,many of them1 as we have seen1 made    
money on the  raising of the animals    
which the ,faithful were obliged to buy 
for their  offerings2 others were       
associated with money-changers1 and it  
is not  impossible that some of them    
were really bankers1 because people     
readily  deposited their savings in the 
strong-boxes of the ,temple4    ,a      
net-work of self-interest thus bound to 
the ,herodian edifice all the           
inhabitants of ,jerusalem1 down to the  
vendors at fairs and the  sandal-makers4
 ,the priests lived on the ,temple and  
many of them were  merchants and rich   
men3 the rich needed the ,temple to     
increase their  profits and keep the    

common people respectful3 the merchants 
did  business with the rich people who  
had money to spend1 with the priests    
who were their associates and with the  
pilgrims from every part of the  world  
drawn towards the ,temple3 the working  
men and the poor lived from  the scraps 
and leavings which fell from the tables 
of the rich1 the  priests1 the merchants
 and the pilgrims4    ,religion was thus
 the greatest and perhaps the only      
business in  ,jerusalem3 any one who    
attacked religion1 its representatives1 
its  visible monument 7which was the    
most famous and fruitful seat of        
religion71 was necessarily considered an
 enemy of the people of  ,jerusalem1 and
 especially of the prosperous and       
well-to-do4    ,jesus with ,his ,gospel 
threatened directly the positions and   
fees of  these classes4 ,if all the     
prescriptions of the ,law were to be    
reduced to  the practice of love1 there 
would be no more place for the ,scribes 
and  ,doctors of the ,law who made their

 living out of their teachings4 ,if ,god
  did not wish animal sacrifices and    
asked only for purity of soul and       
secret prayer1 the priests might as well
 shut the doors of the ,sanctuary  and  
learn a new profession3 those who did   
business in oxen and calves  and sheep  
and lambs and kids and doves and        
sparrows would have seen  their business
 slacken and perhaps disappear4 ,if to  
be loved by ,god you  needed to         
transform your life1 if it were not     
enough to wash your  drinking-cups and  
punctually pay your tithes1 the doctrine
 and the  authority of the ,pharisees   
would be reduced to nothing4 ,if in     
short the  ,messiah had come and had    
declared the ,primacy of the ,temple    
fallen and  sacrifices useless1 the     
capital of the cult would1 from one day 
to the  next1 have lost its prestige and
 with the passage of time would have    
become an obscure settlement of         
impoverished men4    ,as a matter of    
course1 ,jesus1 who preferred fishermen1

 if they were pure  and loving1 to      
members of the ,sanhedrin2 who took the 
part of the poor  against the rich1 who 
valued ignorant children more than      
,scribes1  blear-eyed over the mysteries
 of the ,scriptures1 drew down on ,his  
head  the hatred of the ,levites1 the   
merchants and the ,doctors4 ,the        
,temple1  the ,academy and the ,bank    
were against ,him3 when the victim was  
ready  they would call the somewhat     
reluctant1 but nevertheless acquiescent 
,roman sword1 to sacrifice ,him to their
 peace of mind4    ,for some time the   
life of ,jesus had not been safe4 ,the  
,pharisees said  that ,herod had sought 
to kill ,him from the days of ,his last 
sojourn in  ,galilee4 ,perhaps it was   
the knowledge of this that sent ,him    
into ,csarea  ,philippi1 outside        
,galilee1 where ,he predicted ,his      
passion4    ,when ,he came back to      
,jerusalem the ,high ,priests1 the      
,pharisees and the  ,scribes gathered   
about ,him to lay traps for ,him and    

take down ,his words4  ,the uneasy and  
embittered crowd set on ,his track      
spies1 destined to  become false        
witnesses in a few days4 ,if we are to  
believe ,john1 the  order was given to  
certain guards to capture ,him1 but they
 were afraid  to lay their hands upon   
,him4 ,the attack with the whips on the 
animal-sellers and money-changers1 the  
loud invectives against the  ,scribes   
and ,pharisees1 the allusion to the ruin
 of the ,temple1 made the  cup run over4
 ,time pressed2 ,jerusalem was full of  
foreigners and many  were listening to  
,him4 ,some disorder1 some confusion    
might easily spring  up1 perhaps an     
uprising of the provincial crowds who   
were less attached  to the privileges   
and interests of the metropolis4 ,the   
contagion must be  stopped at the       
beginning and there seemed to be no     
better way than to  make away with the  
blasphemer4 ,the wolves of the ,altar   
and of business  arranged a meeting of  
the ,sanhedrin to reconcile law with    

assassination4                          
,,the ,,high ,,priest ,,caiaphas        
,the ,sanhedrin was the assembly of the 
chiefs1 the supreme council of the      
aristocracy which ruled the capital4 ,it
 was composed of the priests  jealous of
 the clientele of the ,temple which gave
 them their power and  their stipends3  
of the ,scribes responsible for         
preserving the purity of  the law and of
 tradition3 of the ,elders who          
represented the interests of  the       
moderate1 moneyed middle-class4    ,they
 were all in accord that it was         
essential to take ,jesus on false       
pretenses and to have ,him killed as a  
blasphemer against the ,sabbath and  the
 ,lord4 ,only ,nicodemus attempted a    
defense1 but they were able quickly  to 
silence him4 8,what do we8 for this man 
doeth many miracles4 ,if we let  him    
thus alone1 all men will believe on him3
 and the ,romans shall come  and take   
away both our place and nation40 ,it is 
the ,reason of ,state1 the  ,salvation  

of the ,fatherland which political      
cliques always bring out to  screen with
 legality and ideality the defense of   
their particular  profit4    ,caiaphas1 
who that year was ,high ,priest1 settled
 their doubts with the  maxim which has 
always justified in the eyes of the     
world the immolation  of the innocent4  
8,ye know nothing at all nor consider   
that it is  expedient that one man      
should die for the people and that the  
whole  nation perish not40 ,this maxim  
in ,caiaphas' mouth1 and on this        
occasion1  and for what it meant1 was   
infamous1 and hypocritical like all the 
speeches made by the ,sanhedrin4 ,but   
transposed into a higher meaning and    
transferred into the ,absolute1 changing
 nation into humanity1 the  ,president  
of the circumcised patriciate was       
expounding a principle which  ,jesus    
,himself had accepted and which has     
become under another form the  crucial  
mystery of ,christianity4 ,caiaphas did 
not know--he who had to  enter alone    

into the ,holy of ,holies to offer up to
 ,jehovah the sins of  the people--how  
much his words1 coarse in expression and
 cynical in  sentiment as they were1    
were in accord with his victim's        
thought4    ,the thought that only the  
righteous can pay for injustice1 that   
only the  perfect can discount the      
crimes of the brute1 that only the pure 
can  cancel the debts of the ignoble1   
that only ,god in ,his infinite         
magnificence can expiate the sins which 
man has committed against ,him2  this   
thought1 which seems to man the height  
of madness exactly because  it is the   
height of divine wisdom1 certainly did  
not flash out in the  corrupt soul of   
the ,sadducee when he threw to his sixty
 accomplices the  sophism destined to   
silence their last remorse4 ,caiaphas1  
who together  with the crown of thorns  
and the sponge of vinegar was to be one 
of the  instruments of the ,passion1 did
 not imagine in that moment that he was 
bearing witness solemnly1 though        

involuntarily1 to the divine tragedy    
about to begin4    ,and yet the         
principle that the innocent can pay for 
the guilty1 that the  death of one man  
can be salvation for all1 was not       
foreign to the  consciousness of ancient
 peoples4 ,the heroic myths of the      
pagans  recognize and celebrate         
voluntary sacrifices of the innocent4   
,they  record the example of ,pilades1  
who offered himself to be punished in   
place of the guilty ,orestes2 ,macaria  
of the blood of ,heracles1 who saved    
her brother's life with her own2        
,alcestis1 who died that she might avert
  from her ,admetus the vengeance of    
,artemis2 the daughters of ,erechtheus1 
who sacrificed themselves that their    
father might escape ,neptune's  blows4  
,the old ,king ,codrus1 who threw       
himself into the ,ilissus1 in order     
that his ,athenians might be victorious2
 and ,decius ,mus and his sons1 who     
consecrated themselves to the ,manes    
that the ,romans might triumph over  the

 ,samnites2 and ,curtius1 who1 fully    
armed1 cast himself into the gulf  for  
the salvation of his country2 and       
,iphigenia1 who offered her throat  to  
the knife that ,agamemnon's fleet might 
sail safely towards ,troy4 ,at  ,athens 
during the ,thargelian feast two men    
were killed to save the city  from      
divine wrath2 ,epimenides the ,wise1 to 
purify ,athens1 profaned by  the        
assassination of the followers of       
,cylon1 had recourse to human  sacrifice
 over the tombs2 at ,curium1 in ,cyprus1
 at ,terracina1 at  ,marseilles1 every  
year a man threw himself into the sea as
 payment for  the crimes of the         
community1 a man regarded as the        
,saviour of the  people4    ,but these  
sacrifices1 when they were spontaneous1 
were for the salvation  of one being    
alone1 or of a restricted group of men2 
when they were  enforced they added a   
new crime to those they were intended to
 expiate2  they were examples of        
individual affection or of superstitious

 crimes4    ,no man had yet appeared who
 would take upon his head all the sins  
of  men1 a ,god who would imprison      
,himself in the abject wretchedness of  
flesh to save all the human race and to 
give it the power to ascend from        
bestiality to sanctity1 from earthly    
humiliation to the ,kingdom of  ,heaven4
 ,the perfect man1 who takes upon       
himself all imperfections1 the  pure man
 who burdens himself with all infamies1 
the righteous man who  shoulders the    
unrighteousness of all men1 had appeared
 under the aspect  of a poor fugitive   
from justice in the day of ,caiaphas4   
,he who was to  die for all1 the        
,galilean working-man who was           
disquieting the rich and  the priests of
 ,jerusalem1 was there on the ,mount of 
,olives only a short  distance from the 
,sanhedrin4 ,the ,seventy1 who knew not 
what they did1  who did not know that   
they were obeying the will of the very  
man they  were persecuting1 decided to  
have ,him captured before the ,passover2

 but  because they were cowardly1 like  
all men of possessions1 one thing       
restrained them1 the fear of the people 
who loved ,jesus4 ,they consulted  that 
they might take ,jesus by subtlety and  
kill ,him4 ,but they said1 8,not  on the
 feast day lest there be an uproar among
 the people40 ,to solve  their          
difficulty1 by good fortune1 there came 
to them the day after one  of the       
,twelve1 he who held the purse1 ,judas  
,iscariot4                              
,,the ,,mystery ,,of ,,judas      ,only 
two creatures in the world knew the     
secret of ,judas3 ,christ and the       
traitor4    ,sixty generations of       
,christians have racked their brains    
over it1 but  the man of ,iscariot1     
although he has drawn after him crowds  
of  disciples1 remains stubbornly       
incomprehensible4 ,his is the only human
  mystery that we encounter in the      
,gospels4 ,we can understand without    
difficulty the depravity of ,herod1 the 
rancor of the ,pharisees1 the           

revengeful anger of ,annas and          
,caiaphas1 the cowardly laxity of       
,pilate4  ,but we have no evidence to   
enable us to understand the abomination 
of  ,judas4 ,the ,four ,gospels tell us 
too little of him and of the reasons    
which induced him to sell his ,king4    
8,then entered ,satan into ,judas40 ,but
 these words are only the definition  of
 his crime4 ,evil took possession of his
 heart1 therefore it came  suddenly4    
,before that day1 perhaps during the    
dinner at ,bethany1 ,judas  was not in  
the power of the ,adversary4 ,but why   
suddenly did he throw  himself into that
 power8 ,why did ,satan enter into him  
and not into one  of the others8        
,thirty pieces of silver are a very     
small sum1 especially for an  avaricious
 man4 ,in modern coinage it would amount
 to about twenty  dollars1 and1 granting
 that its effective value or as the     
economists say  its buying power were in
 those days ten times greater1 two      
hundred  dollars seem hardly a          

sufficient price to induce a man whom   
his  companions describe as grasping to 
commit the basest perfidy recorded by   
history4 ,it has been said the thirty   
pieces of silver was the price of a     
slave4 ,but the text of ,exodus states  
on the contrary that thirty shekels  was
 the compensation to be paid by the     
owner of an ox which had injured  a     
slave4 ,the cases are too far apart for 
the doctors of the ,sanhedrin to  have  
had this early precedent in mind4       
,the most significant indication is the 
office which ,judas held among the      
,twelve4 ,among them was ,matthew1 a    
former tax-collector1 and it would  have
 seemed almost his right to handle the  
small amount of money  necessary for the
 expenses of the brotherhood4 ,in place 
of ,matthew1 we  see the man of         
,iscariot as the depository of the      
offerings4 ,money is  insidious and     
saturated with danger4 ,the mere        
handling of money1 even if  it belongs  
to others1 is poisonous4 ,it is not     

surprising that ,john said  of ,judas   
the thief1 that he1 8having the bag1    
took away what was put  therein40 ,and  
yet it is not probable that a man greedy
 for money would  have stayed a long    
time with a group of such poor men4 ,if 
he had wished  to steal1 he would have  
sought out a more promising position4   
,and if he  had needed those miserable  
thirty pieces of silver1 could he not   
have  procured them in another way1 by  
running away with the purse1 without    
needing to propose the betrayal of      
,jesus to the ,high ,priests8    ,these 
common-sense reflections about a crime  
so extraordinary have  induced many to  
seek other motives for the infamous     
transaction4 ,a sect  of heretics1 the  
,cainites1 had a legend that ,judas     
sorrowfully accepted  eternal infamy1   
knowing that ,jesus through ,his will   
and the will of the  ,father was to be  
betrayed to ,his death1 that no         
suffering might be  lacking in the great
 expiation4 ,a necessary and voluntary  

instrument of  the ,redemption1 ,judas  
was according to them a hero and a      
martyr to be  revered and not reviled4  
,according to others1 ,iscariot1 loving 
his people and hoping for their         
deliverance1 perhaps sharing the        
sentiments of the ,zealots1 had joined  
with ,jesus1 hoping that he was the     
,messiah such as the common people  then
 imagined ,him3 the ,king of the revenge
 and restoration of ,israel4  ,when     
little by little1 in spite of his       
slowness of comprehension1 it  dawned on
 him from the words of ,jesus that he   
had fallen in with a  ,messiah of quite 
another kind1 he delivered ,him over to 
,his enemies to  make up for the        
bitterness of his disappointment4 ,but  
this fancy to  which no text either     
canonical or apocryphal gives any       
support is not  enough to explain       
,christ's betrayer3 he could have       
deserted the ,twelve  and gone in search
 of other company more to his taste1    
which certainly1  as we have seen1 was  

not lacking at that time4    ,others    
have said that the reason is to be      
sought in his loss of faith4  ,judas had
 believed firmly in ,jesus1 and then    
could believe no longer4  ,what ,jesus  
said about ,his end close at hand1 the  
threatening hostility  of the           
metropolis1 the delay of his victorious 
manifestation1 had ended  by causing    
,judas to lose all faith in ,him whom he
 had followed up till  then4 ,he did not
 see the ,kingdom approaching and he did
 see death  approaching4 ,mingling with 
the people to find out the temper of the
 day1  he had perhaps heard a rumor as  
to the decisions of the meeting of the  
,elders and feared that the ,sanhedrin  
would not be satisfied with one  victim 
alone1 but would condemn all those who  
had long followed ,jesus4  ,overcome by 
fear--the form which ,satan took to     
enter into him--he thought  he could    
ward off the danger and save his life by
 treachery2 unbelief  and cowardice     
being thus the ignominious motives of   

his ignominy4    ,an ,englishman        
celebrated as an opium-eater1 has       
thought out a new  apology for the      
traitor which is the opposite of this   
theory4 ,his idea  is that ,judas       
believed3 he even believed too          
absolutely4 ,he was so  persuaded that  
,jesus was really the ,christ that he   
wished by giving ,him  up to the        
,tribunal to force ,him finally to show 
,himself as the  legitimate ,messiah4   
,so strong was his hope that he could   
not believe  that ,jesus would be       
killed4 ,or if ,he really were to die1  
he knew with  entire certainty that ,he 
would rise again at once to sit on the  
right  hand of the ,father as ,king of  
,israel and of the world4 ,to hasten the
  great day1 in which the ,disciples    
were at last to have the reward for     
their faithfulness1 ,judas1 secure in   
the intangibility of his ,divine        
,friend1 wished to force ,his hand and1 
putting ,him face to face with  those   
whom ,he was to cast out1 to compel ,him

 to show ,himself as the true  ,son of  
,god4 ,according to this theory the     
action of ,judas was not a  betrayal but
 a mistake due to his misunderstanding  
of the real meaning  of his ,master's   
teaching4 ,he did not betray therefore  
through avarice or  revengefulness or   
cowardice1 but through stupidity4    ,on
 the other hand others give revenge as  
the reason4 ,no man betrays  another    
without hating him4 ,why did ,judas hate
 ,jesus8 ,they remember the  dinner in  
the house of ,simon and the nard of the 
weeping woman4 ,the  reproof for his    
stinginess and hypocrisy must have      
exasperated the  disciple who perhaps   
had been reproved for these faults on   
other  occasions4 ,to the rancor of this
 rebuff was added envy which always     
flourishes in vulgar souls4 ,and as soon
 as he could revenge himself  without   
danger1 he went to the palace of        
,caiaphas4    ,but did he really think  
that his denunciation would bring ,jesus
 to ,his  death or did he rather suppose

 that they would content themselves with
  flogging ,him and forbidding ,him to  
speak to the people8 ,the rest of the   
story seems to show that the            
condemnation of ,jesus unnerved him as a
  terrible and unexpected result of his 
kiss4 ,matthew describes his  despair in
 a way to show that he was sincerely    
horrified by what had  happened through 
his fault4 ,the money which he had      
pocketed became like  fire to him3 and  
when the priests refused to take it back
 he threw it  down in the ,temple4 ,even
 after this restitution he had no peace 
and  hastened to kill himself4 ,he died 
on the same day as his victim4 ,luke in 
the ,acts sets down in another way the  
evil end of ,judas1 but the  ,christian 
tradition prefers the story of his      
remorse and suicide4    ,in spite of all
 the unraveling of unsatisfied minds1   
mysteries are still  tangled about the  
mystery of ,judas4 ,but we have not yet 
invoked the  testimony of ,him who knew 
better than all men1 even better than   

,judas1  the true secret of the         
betrayal4 ,jesus alone could give us the
 key to  the mystery2 ,jesus who saw    
into the heart of ,judas as into the    
hearts of  all men1 and who knew what   
,judas was to do before he had done it4 
,jesus chose ,judas to be one of the    
,twelve and to carry the gospel to the  
world along with the others4 ,would ,he 
have chosen him1 kept him with  ,him1   
beside ,him1 at ,his table1 for so long 
a time if ,he had believed him  to be an
 incurable criminal8 ,would ,he have    
confided to him what was  dearest in the
 world to ,him1 the most precious thing 
in the world--the  prophecy of the      
,kingdom of ,god8    ,up to the last    
days1 up to that last evening1 ,jesus   
treated ,judas  exactly like the others4
 ,to him1 as to all others1 ,he gave    
,his body1  symbolized by bread1 ,his   
soul1 symbolized by wine4 ,he washed and
 wiped1  with ,his own hands1 the feet  
of ,judas1 those feet which had carried 
him  to the house of ,caiaphas--with    

those hands which1 through ,judas'      
fault1  were to be nailed to the cross  
on the following day4 ,and when1 in the 
red light of the flickering lanterns and
 the flashing of swords1 ,judas1  under 
the dark shadow of the olive trees1 came
 and kissed that face  still wet with   
bloody sweat1 ,jesus did not repel him1 
but said1 8,friend1  wherefore art thou 
come80    ,friend6 ,it was the last time
 that ,jesus spoke to ,judas1 and even  
in  that moment ,he would use none other
 than that wonted word4 ,judas was not  
for ,him the man of darkness who came in
 the darkness to turn ,him over to  the 
guards1 but the friend1 the same who a  
few hours before had been  sitting with 
,him before the dish of lamb and herbs1 
and had set his lips  to ,his cup3 the  
same who1 so many times in hours of rest
 in leafy shade1  or in the shadow of   
walls1 had listened with the others like
 a disciple1  like a companion1 like a  
friend1 like a brother1 to the great    
words of  the ,promise4 ,jesus had said 

at the ,last ,supper1 8,woe unto that   
man by  whom the ,son of man is         
betrayed6 it had been good for that man 
if he had  not been born40 ,but now that
 the traitor was before ,him1 that the  
treachery was complete1 now that ,judas 
had added to that betrayal the  outrage 
of the kiss laid on the lips of ,him who
 has commanded love for  our enemies1   
,he answered him with the sweet and     
divine words of their  habitual         
intercourse1 8,friend1 wherefore art    
thou come80    ,thus the testimony of   
,him who was betrayed increases our     
bewilderment  instead of raising the    
veil of the dreadful secret4 ,he knew   
that ,judas  was a thief and ,he gave   
him the purse3 ,he knew that ,judas was 
evil and  ,he confided to him a treasure
 of truth infinitely more precious than 
all  the money in the universe3 ,he knew
 that ,judas was to betray ,him and ,he 
made him a participant of ,his divinity1
 offering him the mouthful of  bread and
 the sip of wine2 ,he saw ,judas leading

 ,his assailants upon ,him  and ,he     
still addressed him as at first1 as ,he 
always had1 with the holy  name of      
friend4    8,it had been good for that  
man if he had not been born40 ,these    
words  might have been1 rather than a   
condemnation1 an exclamation of pity at 
the thought of a fate which could not be
 escaped4 ,if ,judas hated ,jesus1  we  
see no signs that ,jesus was ever       
repelled by ,judas1 because ,jesus  knew
 that the base bargain was necessary1 as
 the weakness of ,pilate was  necessary1
 the rage of ,caiaphas1 the insults of  
the soldiery1 the  timbers and nails of 
the cross4 ,he knew that ,judas must    
needs do what he  did and ,he did not   
curse him1 as ,he did not curse the     
people who wished  ,his death1 or the   
hammer which drove the nails into the   
cross4 ,one  prayer alone broke from    
him1 to beg ,judas to shorten the       
dreadful agony1  8,that thou doest1 do  
quickly40    ,the mystery of ,judas is  
doubly tied to the mystery of the       

,redemption and  we lesser ones shall   
never solve it4    ,no analogy can give 
us light4 ,joseph also was sold by one  
of his  brothers1 who1 like ,iscariot1  
was called ,judas1 and was sold to      
,ishmaelite merchants for twenty pieces 
of silver1 but ,joseph1 who  prefigured 
,christ1 was not sold to his enemies1   
was not sold to be put  to death3 and as
 a compensation for his betrayal1 great 
good fortune was  his and he became so  
wealthy that he could enrich his father1
 and so  generous that he could pardon  
even his brothers4    ,jesus was not    
only betrayed1 but sold1 sold for a     
price1 sold for a  small price1 bought  
with coins4 ,he was the object of a     
bargain1 a  bargain struck and paid4    
,judas1 the man of the purse1 the       
cashier1 did  not present himself as an 
accuser1 did not offer himself as a     
cut-throat1 but as a merchant doing     
business in blood4 ,the ,jews1 who      
understood bartering for blood1 daily   
cutting the throats of victims1  and    

quartering them1 butchers of the ,most  
,high1 were the first and last          
customers of ,judas4 ,the sale of ,jesus
 was the first business done by the     
merchant1 just entering business2 not   
very big business1 it must be  admitted1
 but a real1 true commercial            
transaction1 a valid contract of  buying
 and selling1 verbal1 but honestly lived
 up to by the contracting  parties4 ,if 
,jesus had not been sold1 something     
would have been lacking  to the perfect 
ignominy of ,his expiation3 if ,he had  
been sold for more  money1 for three    
hundred shekels instead of thirty1 for  
gold instead of  silver1 the ignominy   
would have been diminished1 slightly1   
but still  diminished4 ,it had been     
destined to all eternity that ,he should
 be  bought1 but bought with a small    
sum4 ,in order that an infinite1        
supernatural but communicable value     
should be made available to men1 it  was
 needful to buy it with a small sum1 and
 with a sum of metal1 which  has no real

 value4 ,did ,jesus bought by others not
 do the same1 ,he who  wished to redeem 
with the blood of only one man all the  
blood shed on  the earth from the days  
of ,cain to ,caiaphas8    ,and if ,he   
had been sold as a slave1 as so many    
living souls were sold in  those days in
 the public places1 if ,he had been sold
 as redeemable  property1 as human      
capital1 as a living tool for work1 the 
ignominy  would have been almost        
nothing1 and the ,redemption put off4   
,but ,he was  sold as the calf is sold  
to the butcher1 as the innocent animals 
which  the butcher buys to kill1 to sell
 again1 to distribute in morsels to     
flesh-eaters4 ,the sacred butcher1      
,caiaphas1 never in his most successful 
days had a victim so prodigious4 ,for   
more than two thousand years            
,christians have been fed on that       
victim1 and it is still intact1 and     
those who feed are not satiated4        
,every one of us has contributed his    
quota1 an infinitesimal quota1 to  buy  

that victim from ,judas4 ,we have all   
contributed towards the sum for  which  
the blood of the ,redeemer was bought3  
,caiaphas was only our agent4  ,the     
field of ,aceldama1 bought with the     
price of blood1 is our  inheritance1 our
 property4 ,and this field has grown    
mysteriously larger1  has spread over   
half the face of the earth3 whole       
populous cities1  paved1 lighted1       
well-ordered cities1 of shops and       
brothels1 shine  resplendent on it from 
north to south4 ,and that the mystery   
should be  even greater1 ,judas' money1 
also multiplied by the betrayals of so  
many  centuries1 by the accumulation of 
interest1 has become incalculably       
great4 ,nothing is so fruitful and      
fecund as blood4 ,the statisticians1    
those soothsayers of modern days1 can   
bear witness to the fact that all  the  
courts of the ,temple could not contain 
the money engendered from  that day to  
this by those thirty pieces of silver   
cast down there in a  delirium of       

remorse1 by the man who sold his ,god4  
,,the ,,man ,,with ,,the ,,pitcher      
,the bargain was struck1 the price paid1
 the buyers were impatient to  finish   
the transaction4 ,they had said 8before 
the ,feast day40 ,the great  feast day  
of the ,passover fell on a ,saturday and
 this was ,thursday4    ,jesus had but  
one more day of freedom1 the last day4  
,before leaving ,his friends1 those who 
were to abandon ,him that night1 ,he    
wished once more to dip ,his bread in   
the same platter with them4 ,before  the
 ,syrian soldiery should have spit upon 
,him1 before ,he should be  defiled by  
the ,jewish filth1 ,he wished to kneel  
down and wash the feet  of those who    
until the day of their death were to    
travel all the roads  of the earth to   
tell the story of ,his death4 ,before   
the blood dropped  from ,his hands1 ,his
 feet1 ,his chest1 ,he wished to give   
the first fruits  to those who were to  
be one soul with ,him until the end4    
,before  suffering thirst1 nailed upon  

the cross1 ,he wished to drink a cup of 
wine with ,his companions4 ,this last   
evening before ,his death was to be     
like an anticipation of the banquet of  
the ,kingdom4    ,on the evening of     
,thursday1 the first day of unleavened  
bread1 the  ,disciples asked ,him1      
8,where wilt thou that we go and prepare
 that thou  mayest eat the passover80   
,the ,son of ,man1 poorer than the      
foxes1 had no home of ,his own4 ,he had 
left ,his home in ,nazareth forever4    
,the home of ,simon of ,capernaum1 which
  had been in the early days like ,his  
own1 was far away2 and the home of      
,mary and ,martha in ,bethany1 where ,he
 was almost ,master1 was too far        
outside the city4    ,he had only       
enemies in ,jerusalem or shame-faced    
friends3 ,joseph of  ,arimathea was to  
receive ,him as his guest only the next 
evening1 in the  dark cave1 the         
banquet-hall of worms4    ,but a        
condemned man on his last day has a     
right to any favor he may ask4  ,all the

 houses of ,jerusalem were rightfully   
,his4 ,the ,father would give  ,him the 
house best suited to shelter ,his last  
joy4 ,and ,he sent two  ,disciples with 
this mysterious command1 8,go ye into   
the city1 and there  shall meet you a   
man bearing a pitcher of water2 follow  
him4 ,and  wheresoever he shall go in1  
say ye to the good man of the house1 the
  ,master saith1 ,my time is at hand2   
where is the guest chamber1 where ,i    
shall eat the passover with my          
disciples8 ,and he will show you a large
  upper room furnished and prepared3    
there make ready for us40    ,it has    
been believed that the master of that   
house was a friend of ,jesus  and that  
they had arranged this beforehand4 ,but 
that cannot be4 ,jesus  would have sent 
the two ,disciples straight to him1     
giving his name1 and  would not have had
 recourse to the following of the man   
with the  pitcher4    ,there were many  
men on the morning of that feast day who
 must have been  coming up from ,shiloah

 with pitchers of water4 ,the two       
,disciples were to  follow the first one
 whom they saw before them4 ,they did   
not know why  they were not to stop him 
instead of going after him to see where 
he  went in4 ,his master1 since he had a
 servant1 certainly was not a poor  man1
 and in his house1 as in all those of   
prosperous people1 there would          
certainly be a room suitable for serving
 a supper1 and he would know at  least  
by hearsay who 8the ,master0 was4 ,in   
those days at ,jerusalem there  was     
little talk of anything else4 ,the      
request was one which could not be      
refused4 8,the ,master saith1 ,my time  
is at hand40 ,the time which was  8,his0
 was the hour of death4 ,no one could   
shut out from his house a man  at the   
point of death1 who wished to satisfy   
his hunger for the last  time4 ,the     
,disciples set out1 found the man with  
the pitcher1 entered the  house1 talked 
with the master1 prepared there what was
 necessary for the  supper3 lamb cooked 

on the spit1 round loaves without       
leaven1 bitter  herbs1 red sauce1 the   
wine of thanksgiving1 and warm water4   
,they set the  couches and pillows about
 the table and spread over it the white 
cloth4  ,on the cloth they set the few  
dishes1 the candelabra1 the pitcher full
  of wine1 and one cup1 one cup only to 
which all were to set their lips4  ,they
 forgot nothing3 both were experienced  
in this preparation4 ,from  childhood   
up1 in their home beside the lake1 they 
had watched1  wide-eyed1 the            
preparations for the most heart-warming 
feast of the  year4 ,and it was not the 
first time since they had been with ,him
 whom  they loved1 that they had thus   
eaten all together of the feast of the  
,passover4 ,but for that last day--and  
perhaps their dull minds had at last    
understood the dreadful truth that it   
was really the last--for this last      
supper which all the thirteen were to   
have together1 for this ,passover  which
 was the last for ,jesus and the last   

valid ,passover for old ,judaism        
because a new covenant was about to     
begin for all countries and all         
nations3 for this festal banquet which  
was a memorial of life1 and a  warning  
of death1 the ,disciples performed those
 humble menial tasks with  a new        
tenderness1 with that pensive joy that  
almost brings tears4    ,with the       
setting of the sun1 the other ten came  
with ,jesus and placed  themselves      
around the table1 now in readiness4 ,all
 were silent as if  heavy-hearted with a
 presentiment which they were afraid to 
see  reflected in their companions'     
eyes4 ,they remembered the supper in    
,simon's house1 almost funereal1 the    
odor of the nard1 the woman and her     
endless weeping1 and ,christ's words on 
that evening1 and ,his words of  those  
last days2 the repeated warnings of     
ignominy and of the end2 the  signs of  
hatred increasing about them1 and the   
indications1 now very  plain1 of the    
conspiracy1 which with all its torches  

was about to come  out from the         
darkness4    ,but two of them--for      
opposite reasons--were more oppressed1  
more moved  than the others3 the two for
 whom this was the last of their lives1 
the  two who were about to die3 ,christ 
and ,judas1 the one sold and the        
seller2 the ,son of ,god and the        
abortion of ,satan4    ,judas had       
finished his bargain1 he had the thirty 
pieces of silver on  his person wrapped 
tightly so that they would not clink4   
,but he knew no  peace4 ,the ,enemy had 
entered into him1 but perhaps the friend
 of ,christ  was not yet dead in his    
heart4 ,to see ,him there in the midst  
of ,his  friends1 calm but with the     
pensive expression of the man who is the
 only  one who knows a secret1 who is   
aware of a crime1 a betrayal2 to see    
,him1  still at liberty in the company  
of those who loved ,him1 still alive1   
all  the blood still in ,his veins under
 the delicate protection of the         
skin--and yet those bargainers who had  

paid the price refused to wait any      
longer1 the affair was arranged for that
 very night6--and they were only        
waiting for ,judas to act4 ,but suppose 
,jesus1 who must know all1 had          
denounced him to the eleven8 ,and       
suppose they1 to save their ,master1 had
  thrown themselves on ,judas to bind   
him1 perhaps to kill him8 ,judas began  
to feel that to betray ,christ to ,his  
death was perhaps not enough to  save   
himself from the death1 which he so     
greatly feared and yet which  was near  
upon him4    ,all these thoughts        
darkened his somber face1 more and more 
blackly1 and  at times terrified him4   
,while the more active ones busied      
themselves  with the last arrangements  
for serving the supper1 he looked       
furtively  at the eyes of ,jesus--clear 
eyes scarcely veiled with the loving    
sadness  of parting--as if to read there
 the revocation of his fate1 so close at
  hand4 ,jesus broke the silence3 8,with
 desire ,i have desired to eat this     

,passover with you before ,i suffer3    
,for ,i say unto you1 ,i will not any   
more eat thereof1 until it be fulfilled 
in the kingdom of ,god40    ,such great 
love had not up to that moment been     
expressed by any words of  ,christ to   
,his friends3 such a longing for the day
 of perfect union1 for  the feast1 so   
ancient and destined to so great a      
sublimation4 ,they knew  that ,he loved 
them2 but until this evening their poor 
bruised hearts had  not felt how        
poignant ,his love was4 ,he knew that   
this evening was the  last respite of   
rest and cheer before ,his death1 and   
yet ,he had desired  it ardently as     
though it were a boon1 with that fervor 
which is the mark  of passionate souls1 
souls on fire1 loving souls1 those who  
battle for  the love of victory1 who    
endure all things for a high prize4 ,he 
had  ardently desired to eat this       
,passover with them4 ,he had eaten      
others3 ,he  had eaten with them        
thousands of other times1 seated in     

boats1 in their  friends' houses1 in    
strangers' houses1 in rich men's houses1
 or seated  beside the road1 in mountain
 pastures1 in the shadow of bushes on   
the  shore2 and yet for so long ,he had 
ardently desired to eat with them this  
supper which was the last6 ,the blue    
skies of happy ,galilee1 the soft  winds
 of the spring just passed1 the sun of  
the last ,passover1 the  waving branches
 of ,his triumphant entry1 did ,he think
 of them now8 ,now  ,he saw only ,his   
first friends and ,his last friends1 the
 little group  destined to be diminished
 by treachery1 and dispersed by         
cowardice4  ,still1 for a time they were
 there about ,him in the same room1 at  
the  same table1 sharing with ,him the  
same overwhelming grief1 but sharing    
also the light of a supernatural        
certainty4    ,up to that day ,he had   
suffered1 but not for ,himself2 ,he had 
suffered  because of ,his ardent desire 
for this nocturnal hour1 when the air   
was  already heavy with the tragedy of  

farewells4 ,and1 when ,he had thus told 
them how great was ,his love1 ,christ's 
face1 soon to be buffeted1 shone  with  
that noble sadness which is so strangely
 like joy4                              
,,the ,,washing ,,of ,,the ,,feet       
,now that ,he was on the point of being 
snatched from those whom ,he loved1  ,he
 wished to give them a supreme proof of 
this love4 ,from the time they  had     
begun to share ,his life1 ,he had always
 loved them1 all of them1 even  ,judas3 
,he always loved them with a love       
surpassing all other affections1  a love
 so bountiful that their narrow hearts  
could not always contain  it2 but now   
about to leave them1 knowing that ,he   
was to be with them  again only when    
transfigured after death1 all ,his      
hitherto unexpressed  affection         
overflowed in a great wave of tender    
sadness4    ,before beginning the supper
 where ,he was the head of the family1  
,he  wished to be kinder than a ,father1
 humbler than a servant4 ,he was their  

,king1 and ,he would humble ,himself to 
the service performed by slaves3 ,he    
was their ,master and ,he would put     
,himself below the level of ,his        
disciples2 ,he was the ,son of ,god and 
,he would accept a position despised  of
 men3 ,he was the first and ,he would   
kneel before ,his inferiors as if  ,he  
had been the last4 ,so many times1 to   
rebuke their pride and jealousy1  ,he   
had told them that the ,master must     
serve his servants1 that the ,son  of   
,man was come to serve1 that the first  
must be last4 ,but ,his words had  not  
yet been assimilated by those souls1    
since even up to the last1 they         
continued to quarrel for priority and   
precedence4    ,for raw1 untrained      
minds1 action has more meaning than     
words4 ,jesus  prepared ,himself to     
repeat1 with the symbolic aspect of a   
humiliating  service1 one of ,his most  
important instructions4 ,john tells us1 
8,he  riseth from supper1 and laid aside
 his garments2 and took a towel1 and    

girded himself4 ,after that he poureth  
water into a bason and began to  wash   
the disciples' feet1 and to wipe them   
with the towel wherewith he  was        
girded40    ,only a mother or a slave   
would have done what ,jesus did that    
evening4  ,the mother would have done it
 for her little children1 but for no one
  else3 the slave for his masters1 but  
for no others4 ,the mother would  have  
served joyfully because of her love1 the
 slave would have been  resigned through
 obedience4 ,but the ,twelve were       
neither ,christ's  children nor ,his    
masters4 ,son of ,man and of ,god1 ,his 
love was above that  of all earthly     
mothers1--,king of a kingdom existing in
 the future1 but  more legitimate than  
all existing monarchies1 ,he was the    
unrecognized  ,master of all masters4   
,and yet ,he was willing to wash and    
wipe those twenty-four callous and      
sweaty feet1 in order to engrave on     
those unwilling hearts1 still  swollen  
with vanity1 the truth which ,his lips  

had so long vainly  pronounced2 8,and   
whosoever shall exalt himself shall be  
abased2 and he  that shall humble       
himself shall be exalted40    ,so after 
,he had washed their feet and taken ,his
 garments and was set  down again ,he   
said unto them1 8,know ye what ,i have  
done to you8 ,ye call  me ,master and   
,lord3 and ye say well2 for so ,i am4   
,if ,i then1 your ,lord  and ,master1   
have washed your feet2 ye also ought to 
wash one another's  feet4 ,for ,i have  
given you an example1 that ye should do 
as ,i have done  to you4 ,verily1 verily
 ,i say unto you1 ,the servant is not   
greater than  his lord2 neither is he   
that is sent greater than he that sent  
him4 ,if  ye know these things1 happy   
are ye if ye do them40    ,jesus had not
 only given them a memory of complete   
humility1 but an  example of perfect    
love4 8,a new commandment ,i give unto  
you1 ,that ye  love one another2 as ,i  
have loved you1 that ye also love one   
another4  ,greater love hath no man than

 this1 that a man lay down his life for 
his  friends4 ,ye are my friends if ye  
do whatsoever ,i command you40    ,but  
this action1 with its deep meaning      
hidden under the appearance of  menial  
service1 signifies purification as well 
as love4 8,he that is  washed needeth   
not save to wash his feet1 but is clean 
every whit3 and  ye are clean1 but not  
all40    ,the eleven1 although not of   
lofty character1 had some right to this 
cleansing service from ,jesus4 ,for many
 months those feet had trodden the      
dusty1 muddy1 filthy roads of ,judea to 
follow ,him who brought life2 and  after
 ,his death1 year by year1 they were to 
tread longer and harder  roads in       
countries the very names of which they  
then did not know2 and  foreign clay    
would soil the sandaled feet of those   
who were to go as  pilgrims and         
strangers to repeat the call of the     
,crucified ,one4                        
,,take--,,eat      ,these thirteen men  
had apparently come together to perform 

the old  social rite in memory of the   
liberation of their people from         
,egyptian  slavery4 ,they seemed to be  
thirteen devout men of the people1      
waiting  about a white table redolent of
 roasted lamb and wine1 for the signal  
to  begin an intimate and festal supper4
    ,but this was only in appearance4   
,in reality it was a vigil of           
leave-taking and separation4 ,two of    
these thirteen1 ,he into whom ,god had  
entered and he into whom ,satan had     
entered1 were to die terrible deaths    
before the next nightfall4 ,the very    
next day the others were to be          
dispersed1 like reapers at the first    
downfall of hail4    ,but this supper   
which was the viaticum of an ending1 was
 also a  wonderful beginning4 ,in the   
midst of these thirteen ,jews the       
observance  of the ,jewish ,passover was
 about to be transfigured into something
  incomparably higher and more          
universal1 into something unequaled and 
ineffable2 into the great ,christian    

mystery4 ,the simple eating of bread    
was to become actual communion with     
,god4    ,for the ,jews1 ,easter is only
 the feast in memory of their flight    
from  ,egypt4 ,they never forgot their  
victorious escape from their slavery1   
accompanied by so many prodigies1 so    
manifestly under ,god's protection1     
although they were to bear on their     
necks the yokes of other  captivities1  
and to undergo the shame of other       
deportations4 ,exodus  prescribed an    
annual festivity which took the name of 
the ,passover2  ,pasch1 the paschal     
feast4 ,it was a sort of banquet        
intended to bring to  mind the hastily  
prepared food of the fugitives4 ,a lamb 
or a goat should  be roasted over the   
fire1 that is1 cooked in the simplest   
and quickest  way2 bread without leaven1
 because there was no time to let yeast 
rise4  ,and they were to eat of it with 
their loins girded1 their staves in     
their hands1 eating in haste1 like      
people about to set out upon a  journey4

 ,the bitter herbs were the poor wild   
grasses snatched up as they  went along 
by the fugitives1 to dull the hunger of 
their interminable  wanderings4 ,the red
 sauce1 where the bread was dipped1 was 
in memory of  the bricks which the      
,jewish slaves were obliged to bake for 
the  ,pharaohs4 ,the wine was something 
added3 the joy of escape1 the hope of   
the land of promise1 the exaltation of  
thanksgiving to the ,eternal4    ,jesus 
changed nothing in the order of this    
ancient feast4 ,after the  prayer ,he   
had them pass from hand to hand the cup 
of wine1 calling on  ,god's name4 ,then 
,he gave the bitter herbs to each one   
and filled a  second time the cup which 
was to be passed around the table for   
each to  sip4    ,what taste did that   
wine have in the mouth of the traitor1  
when ,jesus in  that deep silence       
pronounced those words of longing and   
hope which were  not for ,judas1 but    
only for those who could ascend to the  
eternal  banquet of the ,father3 ,take  

this and divide it among yourselves1    
8but ,i  say unto you ,i will not drink 
henceforth of this fruit of the vine1   
until that day when ,i drink it new with
 you in my ,father's kingdom40    ,a sad
 farewell2 but nevertheless the         
confirming of a solemn promise4         
,perhaps they felt only the promise1 and
 perhaps there flashed before  their    
poor men's eyes a vision of the great   
,heavenly feast4 ,they did not  believe 
that they would have a long time to     
mourn3 after that other  vintage-time1  
after the fruit of the vine had         
fermented1 and the sweet  wine had been 
poured into the flasks1 the ,master     
would return1 as ,he had  promised1 to  
summon them to the great wedding of     
,heaven and ,earth1 to  the everlasting 
banquet4 ,they must have thought1 8,we  
are men growing  old1 elderly men1 more 
than mature1 within sight of old age2 if
 the  ,bridegroom tarries too long ,he  
will not find us among the living1 and  
those who have believed ,him will be    

mocked at40    ,comforted by the        
certainty of an early and glorious      
reunion1 they  chanted together1 as the 
custom was1 the ,psalm of the first     
,thanksgiving1 a chant of praise to the 
,father from ,him who served ,him4      
8,tremble1 thou earth1 at the presence  
of the ,lord1 at the presence of  the   
,god of ,jacob2 which turned the rock   
into a standing water1 the flint  into a
 fountain of waters4--,he raiseth up the
 poor out of the dust1 and  lifteth the 
needy out of the dung-hill2 that he may 
set him with  princes1 even with the    
princes of his people40    ,these old   
words1 colored at that moment with a new
 meaning1 were sung  with a joyful      
conviction of their truth4 ,they1 too1  
the ,disciples1 were  poor men and they 
would be raised out of the dust of      
poverty by the  intercession of the ,son
 of ,god3 they too were poor men and ,he
 would soon  raise them out of the      
misery of their beggary1 to make them   
masters of  inconsumable wealth4        

,then ,jesus1 who saw how insufficiently
 they understood1 took the loaves1      
blessed them1 broke them and1 as ,he    
gave them each a piece1 set the         
dreadful truth before their eyes4       
8,take1 eat2 ,this is my body which is  
given for you3 this do in remembrance of
 me40    ,so ,he was not to return as   
quickly as they thought6 ,after ,his    
brief stay  during the ,resurrection1   
,his second coming was to be delayed1 so
 long  that it might be possible to     
forget ,him and ,his death4    8,this do
 in remembrance of me40 ,the breaking of
 bread at the common  table among those 
who await ,him shall be the signal of a 
new  brotherhood4 ,every time that you  
break bread1 ,i will not only be present
  among you1 but by that means you will 
be intimately united with me4  ,because1
 as this bread is broken in my hands1 my
 body will be broken by  my enemies4 ,as
 this bread eaten to-night will be your 
food until  to-morrow1 my body which ,i 
will offer in death to all men shall    

satisfy  the hunger of those who believe
 in me1 until the day when the great    
granaries of the ,kingdom shall be open 
to all1 when you shall be angels  in the
 presence of your ,father whom you shall
 have found again4 ,i will  leave you   
therefore not merely a memory2 ,i will  
be present with a mystic  but real      
presence in every particle of bread     
consecrated to me and this  bread shall 
be a living necessary food for souls1   
and my promise to be  with you shall be 
fulfilled till time shall be no more4   
,in the meantime1 this evening1 eat this
 unleavened bread1 this bread  made by  
the hand of man1 made of water and      
grain1 these loaves which  have felt the
 heat of the oven and which my hands1   
not yet cold in  death1 have divided    
amongst you--and which my love has      
changed into my  flesh so that it may be
 your everlasting food4 ,it is sweet to 
the heart  of a friend to see his       
friends eating bread at his table1 bread
 born of  the earth1 bread which was    

green blades with flowering lilies among
  them1 and then the ripe ear bending   
down the tall stalk with its golden     
weight4 ,you know how many efforts1 how 
much anxiety1 how much trouble1  are    
contained in a piece of bread2 how the  
great oxen cultivated the  earth1 how   
the countrymen threw great handfuls of  
the grain into the  fallow land in      
winter1 how the first blade softly      
penetrated the damp  darkness of the    
earth1 how the reapers all day long cut 
down the ripened  stalks1 and then the  
sheaves were bound1 and carried to the  
threshing  floor and beaten so that the 
ears let fall the grain4 ,the workers   
must  wait for a little wind1 neither   
too gentle nor too violent1 to winnow   
out the good grain from the chaff4 ,then
 they grind it1 sift out the bran  from 
it1 make a dough with warm water1 heat  
the oven with dry grass or  twigs4 ,all 
this must be done with love and patience
 before the father  may break a piece   
with his children1 the friend with his  

friends1 the  host with strangers4      
,plowers1 sowers1 reapers1 winnowers1   
millers and  bakers sweat in the heat of
 the sun1 in the heat of the oven1      
before the  golden wheat can be         
transformed into well-baked golden bread
 for our  table4    ,truly it is sweet  
to eat good wholesome bread with        
friends3 the soft  white crumb1 covered 
with the crisp crust4 ,so many times    
with me you  have begged bread in poor  
men's houses2 and all your lives you are
 to  beg it in my name3 you will have   
the moldy hard crusts which dogs        
refuse1 the dry bits left at the bottom 
of the dish1 the crusts gnawed  by      
children and old people which they have 
let fall upon the hearth4 ,but  you know
 want1 and nights of fasting and the    
pale face of poverty4 ,but  you are     
strong2 you have the powerful jaws of   
those who eat hard bread4  ,you will not
 lose courage1 if no place is made for  
you at the tables of  the well-to-do4   
,but verily it is infinitely sweeter for

 ,him who loves you to transform  the   
bread which comes from the hard earth   
and from hard labor into the  ,body     
which will be eternally offered for you1
 into the ,body which every  day will   
come down from ,heaven as the visible   
means of grace4    ,remember the prayer 
which ,i taught you3 8,give us this day 
our daily  bread--0 ,for to-day and for 
always your bread is this bread1 my     
,body4 ,he  shall never know hunger who 
shall eat my ,body1 which every morning 
throughout endless centuries shall be   
changed into endless morsels of         
transubstantiated bread4 ,but whosoever 
shall refuse it1 shall be  anhungered to
 all eternity4                          
,,wine ,,and ,,blood      ,as soon as   
they had eaten the lamb with the bread  
and the bitter herb1  ,jesus filled the 
common cup for the third time and gave  
it to the  ,apostle nearest ,him1       
8,drink ye all of it2 for this is my    
blood of the  new testament1 which is   
shed for many40    ,his blood1 mixed    

with sweat1 had not yet fallen on the   
ground1 under the  olives1 and had not  
yet dropped from the nails upon         
,golgotha4 ,but ,his  desire to give    
life with ,his life1 to redeem with ,his
 suffering all the  sorrows of the      
world1 to transmit at least a part of   
,his substance to  ,his immediate heirs2
 this desire to give ,himself up wholly 
for those  whom ,he loves is so great   
that from this moment on1 ,he feels the 
immolation complete and the gift        
possible4 ,if bread is the body1 blood  
is in a certain sense the soul4 ,the    
,lord said to ,noah3 8,but flesh with   
the life thereof1 which is the blood    
thereof1 shall ye not eat40 ,with  blood
 as visibly representing life1 the ,god 
of ,abraham and of ,jacob had           
established the covenant with ,his own  
people4 ,when ,moses had received  the  
law1 he had sacrificed oxen1 took half  
of the blood and put it in  basins1 and 
half of the blood he sprinkled on the   
altar3 8,and ,moses took  the blood1 and

 sprinkled it on the people1 and said1  
,behold the blood of  the covenant which
 the ,lord hath made with you concerning
 all these  words40    ,but after a     
trial of many centuries1 ,god had       
announced by the voice of  the prophets 
that the ,old ,covenant was obliterated 
and abrogated1 and  that another was    
henceforth necessary4 ,the blood of     
animals sprinkled  upon stubborn heads  
and upon blaspheming faces had lost its 
virtue2  another ,blood1 purer and more 
precious1 was needed for the ,new       
,covenant1  for the ,last ,covenant of  
the ,father with ,his perjured children4
 ,in many  ways ,he had already tried to
 lead ,his first-born towards the narrow
 door  of salvation2 the rain of fire on
 ,sodom1 the washings of the waters of  
the flood1 the ,egyptian slavery1 hunger
 in the desert1 had terrified  them     
without reforming them4    ,and now     
there had come a ,liberator at once more
 divine and more human  than the old    
,captain of ,exodus4 ,moses also saved a

 people1 spoke upon a  mountain1        
announced a promised land4 ,but ,jesus  
saves not only ,his  people1 but all    
peoples2 writes ,his laws not upon      
stone1 but upon human  hearts2 and ,his 
promised land is not a country of rich  
grazing-land and  vineyards1 with great 
clusters of grapes1 but a ,kingdom of   
holiness and  eternal joy4 ,moses had   
killed a man1 and ,jesus brought the    
dead to life2  ,moses changed water into
 blood and ,jesus1 after having changed 
water  into wine at the wedding banquet1
 changed wine into blood1 into ,his own 
blood1 at the melancholy last supper of 
,his marriage with death4 ,moses  died  
full of years and honors on a solitary  
mountain top1 glorified by  his people2 
and ,jesus was to die among the insults 
of those whom ,he  loved4    ,the blood 
of oxen1 the impure blood of earthly    
animals1 involuntary and  inferior      
victims1 is no longer sufficient4 ,the  
,new ,covenant was  established that    
night with the words of ,christ1 who    

under the  appearance of wine shed ,his 
own blood and ,his own soul3 8,this cup 
is the  new testament in my blood1 which
 is shed for you40    ,it was shed not  
merely for the ,twelve who were there2  
they represent in  ,his eyes all of     
humanity alive at that time and all     
those to be born  thereafter4 ,the blood
 which was to be shed the next day1 on  
,golgotha1  was real blood1 actual1 warm
 blood congealing on the cross in clots 
which all the tears shed by ,christians 
can never wash away4 ,but the  blood of 
the ,last ,supper symbolizes a soul     
which gave itself up to make  over into 
,his own likeness1 the souls shut up in 
the bodies of men3  which was given to  
those who asked for it and to those who 
fled away  from it1 which had suffered  
for the sake of those who had received  
it  and for those who had blasphemed it4
 ,this baptism of blood which came      
after the baptism of water by ,john1    
after the baptism of tears by the  women
 of ,bethany1 after the baptism of      

spitting by the ,jews and by the        
,romans1 this baptism of blood1 red as  
the baptism of fire announced by  the   
prophet of fire1 and mixed with the     
tears shed by women over ,his           
blood-stained body1 this is the greatest
 sacrament1 revealed to ,his  betrayers1
 by ,him who was betrayed4    ,i have   
broken bread for you1 daily bread for   
which you pray every day to  the        
,father1 as my body will be broken      
to-morrow1 and ,i offer you now my      
blood in this wine which ,i drink for   
the last time on earth4 ,if you  always 
do this in memory of me1 you will feel  
no hunger1 no thirst4  ,there is no food
 better than wheat-bread1 and no drink  
better than wine1  but the bread and    
wine which ,i have given you to-night   
will feed you and  quench your thirst   
for all your lives1 by virtue of my     
sacrifice and of  that love which makes 
me seek for death and which reigns      
beyond death4    ,ulysses advised       
,achilles to give the ,achaians1 before 

they went into  battle1 8bread and wine 
that they should have strength and      
courage40 ,for  the ,greek the strength 
of his members came from bread and      
homicidal  courage from wine4 ,wine was 
to intoxicate men so that they should   
destroy each other and bread was to     
strengthen their arms so that they      
could battle without weakness4 ,the     
bread given by ,christ does not         
strengthen the flesh1 but the soul1 and 
,his wine gives that divine             
intoxication which is ,love1 that ,love 
which the ,apostle1 scandalizing  the   
descendants of ,ulysses1 was to call in 
his ,epistle to the  ,corinthians1 8the 
foolishness of ,god40    ,judas also ate
 that bread and swallowed that wine1    
partook of that body1  in which he had  
trafficked1 drank that blood which he   
was to help shed1  but he had not the   
courage to confess his infamy1 to throw 
himself down  weeping at the feet of    
,him who would have wept with him4 ,then
 the only  friend remaining to ,judas   

warned him1 8,verily ,i say unto you1   
that one  of you shall betray me40      
,the eleven were capable of leaving ,him
 alone in the midst of ,caiaphas'       
guards1 but they never could have       
brought themselves to sell ,him for     
money1 and at this they shuddered4      
,every one looked in his neighbor's     
face1 almost dreading to see in his     
companion the livid look of guilt1  and 
all1 one after the other1 said1 8,lord1 
is it ,i80    ,even ,judas1 hiding his  
increasing confusion under the          
appearance of  offended astonishment1   
was able to force his voice to say1     
8,lord1 is it  ,i80 ,but ,jesus1 who the
 next day would not defend ,himself1    
would not even  bring an accusation and 
only repeated the sad prophecy in more  
definite  words1 8,he that dippeth his  
hand with me in the dish1 the same shall
  betray me40 ,and while they all still 
gazed at ,him in painful doubt1 for  the
 third time ,he insisted1 444 8,the hand
 of him that betrayeth me is  with me on

 the table40 ,he added no more1 but to  
follow the old customs  up to the last1 
,he filled the cup for the fourth time  
and gave it to  them to drink4 ,and once
 more the thirteen voices rang out in   
the old  hymn1 the 8great hallel0 which 
ended the liturgy of the ,passover4     
,jesus  repeated the vigorous words of  
the ,psalmist which were like a         
prophetic  funeral oration for ,him1    
pronounced before ,his death4 8,the     
,lord is on my  side2 ,i will not fear2 
what can man do unto me8444 ,they       
compassed me  about like bees3 they are 
quenched as the fire of thorns4444 ,i   
shall not  die1 but live4444 ,the ,lord 
hath chastened me sore3 but he hath not 
given  me over unto death4 ,open to me  
the gates of righteousness3 ,i will go  
into them1 and ,i will praise the       
,lord3444 ,the stone which the builders 
refused is become the headstone of the  
corner4444 ,bind the sacrifice  with    
cords1 even unto the horns of the       
altar40    ,the victim was ready and the

 next day the inhabitants of ,jerusalem 
were  to see a new altar of wood and    
iron4 ,but perhaps the ,disciples1      
sleepy  and confused1 did not understand
 the new meaning both melancholy and    
triumphant of the old canticles4        
,when the hymn was ended they left the  
room and the house1 at once4 ,as  soon  
as they had emerged from the house      
,judas disappeared into the  night4 ,the
 remaining eleven silently followed     
,jesus1 who1 as was ,his  wont1 made    
,his way to the ,mount of ,olives4      
,,abba ,,father      ,on the ,mount     
there was a garden1 and a place where   
olives were crushed1  which gave it its 
name1 ,gethsemane4 ,jesus and ,his      
friends had been  spending the nights   
there1 either to avoid the odors and    
noise of the  great city1 distasteful to
 them1 country-bred as they were1 or    
because  they were afraid of being      
treacherously captured in the midst of  
their  enemies' houses4    ,and when ,he
 was at the place1 ,he said to ,his     

disciples1 8,sit ye here  while ,i go   
and pray yonder40    ,but ,he was so    
heavy-hearted that ,he dreaded being    
alone4 ,he took with  ,him the three    
whom ,he loved the best1 ,simon ,peter1 
,james and ,john4 ,and  when they had   
gone a little way from the others1 ,he  
began to be  sorrowful and very heavy4  
8,my soul is exceedingly sorrowful1 even
 unto  death2 tarry ye here1 and watch  
with me40    ,if they answered ,him no  
one knows what they said4 ,but we know  
that they  did not comfort ,him with the
 words which come from the heart when it
  shares the suffering of a loved one1  
for ,he withdrew ,himself from them     
alone1 and went further on1 to pray4 ,he
 fell on the ground on ,his face  and   
prayed1 saying1 8,abba1 ,father1 all    
things are possible unto thee2 ,o  my   
,father1 if it be possible1 let this cup
 pass from me40    ,he was alone now1   
alone in the night1 alone in the midst  
of men1 alone  before ,god1 and ,he     
could show ,his weakness without shame4 

,after all1 he  was a ,man1 too1 a man  
of flesh and blood1 a living1 breathing 
man1 who  knew that ,his destruction was
 at hand1 that ,his body would be       
destroyed1  that ,his flesh would be    
pierced1 that ,his blood would be poured
 out on  the ground4    ,this was the   
second temptation4 ,after the defeat of 
,satan in the desert1  the ,evangelist  
says3 8he departed from him for a       
season40 ,he had left  ,him till this   
moment4 ,now ,he was in a new desert1   
terribly alone in the  darkness1 more   
alone than in the desert where the wild 
beasts served  ,him4 ,cloaked and       
learned wild beasts were at hand now1   
but only to tear  ,him to pieces4 ,in   
that terrible nocturnal desert1 ,satan  
returned to  tempt his enemy2 at first  
he had promised ,christ1 kingdoms1      
victories1  and prodigies1 he had tried 
to draw ,him by the bait of power4 ,now1
 on  the contrary1 he counted on ,his   
weakness4 ,at the beginning of ,his     
life1  ,christ burning with confident   

love had not fallen into his trap1 but  
,christ near ,his end1 abandoned by     
those nearest to ,him1 encompassed by   
,his enemies1 might be conquered by     
fear1 even though ,he had risen above   
cupidity4 ,the prayer to the ,father was
 at the instigation of ,satan1 was  a   
beginning of cowardice4 ,jesus knew ,he 
must die1 that ,his death was           
necessary1 that ,he had come to give    
life by ,his death1 to confirm by ,his  
death that greater life which ,he       
announced4 ,he had made no effort to    
avoid death1 ,he had been willing to die
 for ,his friends1 for all men1  for    
those who did not know ,him1 for those  
who hated ,him1 for those not  yet born4
 ,he had predicted ,his death to ,his   
friends1 had already given  them the    
rewards of ,his death1 the bread of ,his
 body1 the blood of ,his  soul2 and ,he 
had no right to ask the ,father that the
 cup might pass from  ,his lips or that 
,his death might be delayed4 ,he had    
written ,his words on  the dust of the  

public place1 and the wind had quickly  
obliterated them4  ,he had written them 
on the hearts of a few men1 but ,he knew
 how easily  effaced are words written  
on the hearts of men4 ,if ,his truth    
were to  remain forever on the earth so 
that no one could ever forget it ,he    
must  write it with ,his blood4 ,only   
with the blood in our veins can truth be
  written permanently on the pages of   
earth so that it will not fade under    
men's footsteps or under the rainfall of
 centuries4 ,the ,cross is the          
rigorously necessary consequence of the 
,sermon on the ,mount4 ,he who  brings  
love is given over to hatred1 and ,he   
can only conquer hatred by  accepting   
condemnation4 ,everything must be paid  
for1 the good at a  higher price than   
evil2 and the greatest good1 which is   
love1 must be  paid for by the greatest 
evil in men's power1 assassination4     
,but all that faith and revelation tell 
us of ,his divinity rises up  against   
the idea that ,he can ever have been    

subjected to temptation4 ,if  the       
torture and the end of ,his body had    
really terrified ,him1 was there  not   
yet time to save ,himself8 ,for many    
days ,he had known that they were       
trying to take ,him captive1 and even on
 that night there were ways of  escaping
 the pack of hounds ready to fall upon  
,him4 ,he would have been  safe if1     
either alone or with ,his most faithful 
friends1 ,he had taken  the road back to
 the ,jordan1 and thence by hidden paths
 have passed  across ,perea into the    
,tetrarchy of ,philip1 where ,he had    
already taken  refuge to escape the     
ill-will of ,antipas4 ,the ,jewish      
police were so few  and primitive that  
they could scarcely have found ,him4    
,the fact that ,he  did not do this1 did
 not flee1 shows that ,he did not try to
 escape death  and the horrors that were
 to accompany it4 ,from the point of    
view of our  coarse human logic ,his    
death was a suicide--a divine suicide by
 the hand  of others1 not unlike that of

 the heroes of antiquity who fell upon  
the  sword of a friend or a slave4 ,what
 sort of a life would ,he have had      
after such a flight8 ,to grow old       
obscurely1 the timorous master of a     
hidden sect1 to die at the last1 worn   
out1 the death-rattle in ,his  throat   
like any other man6 ,better1 infinitely 
better to finish the  sowing of the     
,gospel on the ,cross and to water it   
with ,his blood4 ,he had  spoken out    
,his truths and now1 that those truths  
should be everlastingly  remembered ,he 
must needs link with them the horror of 
,his unforgettable  death4 ,perhaps this
 blood1 like a stinging drink1 would    
arouse ,his  disciples forever4    ,but 
if the cup that ,jesus wished to pass   
from ,him was not fear of death1  what  
else could it have been8 ,betrayal by   
him whom ,he had chosen and  loved1 by  
the disciple whose hunger ,he had fed   
that very evening with  ,his body1 whose
 thirst ,he had quenched with ,his soul8
 ,or the denial  close at hand of the   

other disciple in whom after his cry at 
,csarea ,he  had the greatest hope8 ,or 
the desertion of all the others who     
would flee  like scattered lambs when   
the wolf sets his fangs into their      
mother's  body8 ,or was it grief for    
that greater denial1 the refusal of ,his
 own  people1 the ,jews1 of the people  
from whom ,he was born and who now      
despised ,him like one born out of ,his 
time1 and suppressed ,him like a  child 
of shame1 and did not know that the     
blood of ,him who came to save  them    
would never be wiped from their         
foreheads8 ,perhaps in the darkness  of 
this last vigil ,he had a glimpse of the
 fate which would befall ,his  children 
later on1 the bewilderment of the first 
saints1 the dissensions  between them1  
the desertions1 the martyrdoms1 the     
massacres1 and after  the hour of       
triumph the weakness of those who should
 have guided the  multitude1 the        
irrepressible schisms1 the dismemberment
 of the ,church1  the wild dreaming of  

heretical pride1 the growth of          
innumerable sects1  the confusion of    
false prophets1 the boldness of         
rebellious reformers1  the simony and   
dissoluteness of those who deny ,him in 
their actions  while glorifying ,him in 
word and gesture3 the persecutions of   
,christians  by ,christians1 the neglect
 of the lukewarm and the arrogant1 the  
dominion of new ,pharisees and new      
,scribes1 distorting and betraying ,his 
teachings1 the misunderstanding of ,his 
words1 when they fall into the  hands of
 the hair-splitters1 weighers of the    
immaterial1 separators of  the          
inseparable1 who1 with learned vanity1  
eviscerate and cut to pieces  the living
 things they pretend to bring to life4  
,the cup that ,jesus wished to pass from
 ,him might therefore have been not  at 
all any wrong done to ,him1 but wrongs  
committed by others1 those  alive then  
and close to ,him1 or those not yet born
 and far-distant4 ,what  ,he was asking 
from ,his ,father might have been not   

,his own safety from  death1 but safety 
from the evils1 which1 then and later1  
were to  overwhelm those who claim to   
believe in ,him4 ,the origin of ,his    
sadness  would have been thus not fear  
for ,himself1 but love for others4      
,but no one will ever know the true     
meaning of the words cried out by the   
,son to the ,father1 in the black       
loneliness of the ,olives4 ,a great     
,french  ,christian called the story of 
this night the 8,mystery of ,jesus40    
,the  8,mystery of ,judas0 is the only  
human mystery in the ,gospels2 the      
prayer  of ,gethsemane is the most      
inscrutable1 divine mystery of the story
 of  ,christ4                           
,,blood ,,and ,,sweat      ,and when ,he
 had prayed1 ,he turned back to find the
 ,disciples1 who were  perhaps waiting  
for ,him to return4 ,but the three had  
gone to sleep4  ,crouching on the       
ground1 wrapped as best they could in   
their cloaks1  ,peter1 ,james and ,john1
 the faithful1 the specially chosen1 had

 allowed  themselves to be overcome with
 sleep4 ,the obscure apprehensions1 the 
repeated agitations of those last few   
days1 the oppressive melancholy of  the 
,supper1 accompanied by words so grave1 
by presentiments so sad1 had  plunged   
them into that prostration which is more
 like torpor than sleep4  ,the voice of 
the ,master--who of us has the spiritual
 acuteness to realize  that the accent  
of that voice in the sinister black     
silence is speaking  also to our own    
hearts now8--called them3 8,what1 could 
ye not watch with  me one hour8 ,watch  
and pray that ye enter not into         
temptation4 ,the  spirit indeed is      
willing but the flesh is weak40 ,did    
they hear these  words in their sleep8  
,did they answer1 shamefaced1 putting   
their hands  to their confused eyes     
which could not bear even the dim light 
of the  night8 ,what could they answer1 
startled1 only half awake1 to the       
,sleepless ,one who was to sleep no     
more8    ,jesus went away again1 more   

heavy-hearted than ever4 ,was the       
temptation  against which ,he had put   
them on guard in them alone or also in  
,him8 ,was  it the temptation to escape8
 ,to deny ,himself as others were to    
deny ,him8  ,to oppose violence to      
violence8 ,to pay with the lives of     
others for ,his  own life1 or to beg    
once more with a more despairing        
supplication that  the peril might be   
averted from ,his head8    ,jesus was   
once more alone1 more alone than ever1  
in a solitude complete  as infinite     
desolation4 ,until that hour ,he might  
have thought that  there1 close at hand1
 ,his loved friends were keeping vigil  
with ,him4 ,now  they had reached the   
limit of their endurance and had        
deserted ,him  spiritually before       
deserting ,him bodily4    ,they had left
 ,him alone2 they were not men enough to
 grant ,him the last  favor which ,he   
asked1 they who had received so many4   
,in return for ,his  blood1 and ,his    
soul1 for all ,his promises1 for all    

,his love1 ,he had  asked one thing     
only1 that they should not fall asleep4 
,and this small  favor had not been     
granted ,him4 ,and yet ,he was suffering
 and struggling  at that moment for the 
sake of those who slept4 ,he who gave   
all was to  receive nothing4 ,during    
that night of refusals ,his every prayer
 was  denied2 both ,his ,father and ,his
 fellow-men refused ,him4    ,satan also
 had disappeared into the darkness which
 is his own kingdom1  and ,christ was   
alone1 utterly alone1 alone as men are  
alone who raise  themselves above other 
men1 who suffer in the darkness to bring
 light to  all4 ,every hero is always   
the only one awake in a world of        
sleepers1  like the pilot watching over 
his ship in the solitude of the ocean   
and  of the night1 while his companions 
rest4    ,jesus was the most solitary of
 all these eternally solitary souls4    
,everything slept about ,him4 ,the city 
slept1 its white1 shadow-checkered  mass
 sprawling beyond the ,kedron2 and in   

all the houses1 in all the  cities in   
the world1 the blind race of ephemeral  
men were sleeping4 ,the  only ones awake
 at that hour were perhaps some woman   
waiting for the  call of her lover2     
perhaps a thief in ambush in the dark1  
his hand on  the hilt of his knife2     
perhaps a philosopher pondering the     
problem1  8,does ,god exist80    ,but   
the leaders of the ,jews and their      
guards were not asleep that night4      
,those who should have defended ,jesus1 
who might at least have consoled  ,him1 
those who claimed to love ,him and who  
in their way at times did  really love  
,him1 were stretched in sleep4 ,but     
those who hated ,him1 who  wished to    
kill ,him1 did not sleep4 ,caiaphas was 
not asleep and the only  ,disciple awake
 at that moment was ,judas4    ,until   
the arrival of ,judas ,his ,master was  
alone with ,his death-like  sadness4    
,that ,he might feel less alone ,he     
began to pray to ,his ,father1  and once
 more those imploring words rushed to   

,his lips4 ,the effort to  keep them    
back1 the conflict which convulsed ,his 
whole being--because the  divinity which
 was in ,him accepted joyfully what it  
had willed1 while  the ruddy clay which 
clothed it shuddered--this human and    
superhuman  effort brought to ,him at   
last the victory4 ,he was racked with   
suffering1  but ,he was triumphant2 ,he 
was utterly spent1 but ,he had          
conquered4    ,the spirit had once more 
overcome the flesh2 but from now on ,his
 body  was merely a trunk which bled and
 died4 ,the tension of the terrible     
struggle had done so great a violence to
 all that was earthly in ,him  that the 
sweat stood out on ,him1 as though ,he  
had achieved an impossible  task1 had   
endured the unendurable4 ,the sweat     
poured from all ,his person2  but not   
merely the natural sweat which runs down
 the face of the man  walking in the    
sun1 or working in the fields or raving 
in fever4 ,the  blood which ,he had     
promised to shed for men was shed first 

on the grass  of the garden of          
,gethsemane4 ,great drops of blood mixed
 with sweat fell  on the earth as a     
first offering of ,his conquered flesh4 
,it was the  beginning of liberation1   
almost a relief to that humanity which  
was the  greatest burden of ,his        
expiation4    ,then from ,his lips wet  
with tears1 wet with sweat1 wet with    
blood1 arose  a new prayer3 8,o my      
,father1 if this cup may not pass away  
from me1  except ,i drink it1 thy will  
be done4 ,not my will1 but thine1 be    
done40    ,gone now was any trace of    
cowardly shrinking2 the will1 that is   
the  individual1 abdicated in the       
obedience which alone can assure the    
freedom of the universal4 ,he is no     
longer a man1 but ,man2 the ,man one    
with ,god1 8,i wish that which ,thou    
wisheth40 ,from that moment ,his victory
  over death is assured1 because he who 
gives himself wholly to the  ,eternal   
cannot die4 8,for whosoever will save   
his life shall lose it3 and  whosoever  

will lose his life for my sake shall    
find it40    ,he stood up calmed1 and   
turned back towards ,his ,disciples4    
,his sad  reproof had been vain2 worn   
out and exhausted1 the three were again 
sleeping4 ,but this time ,jesus did not 
call them4 ,he had found a  consolation 
greater than any which they could give  
,him--and ,he kneeled  down once more to
 repeat to the ,father those great words
 of abnegation1  8,not my will1 but     
thine1 be done40    ,god was no longer  
to be asked to be the servant of man4   
,up to that time  men had asked ,him to 
satisfy their particular wishes in      
exchange for  canticles and offerings4  
,i wish for prosperity1 said the man who
 prayed1  for safety1 for strength1 for 
flowering fields1 for the ruin of my    
enemies4 ,but now ,christ1 the          
,over-turner1 has come to transpose the 
common prayer1 8,not what is pleasing to
 me1 but what is pleasing to  ,thee4    
,thy will be done1 on earth as it is in 
,heaven40 ,blessedness can  only come as

 a result of perfect harmony between the
 sovereign will of  the ,father and the 
subordinate will of man1 as a result of 
the  convergence and identity of those  
two wills4 ,what if the will of ,god    
give me into the hands of the torturers 
and fastens me like an evil and         
malignant beast upon two crossed beams  
of wood8 ,if ,i believe in the  ,father 
as a ,father1 ,i know that ,he loves me 
more than ,i could love  myself1 and    
that ,he knows more than ,i could know1 
therefore ,he can wish  only for what is
 best for me even if that best to human 
eyes seems the  most dreadful evil2 and 
,i wish for what the ,father wills4 ,if 
,his  foolishness is unimaginably more  
wise than our wisdom1 martyrdom given   
by ,him will be incomparably better than
 any earthly pleasures4    ,what if the 
,disciples slept8 ,what if all men      
slept8 ,christ was no longer  alone4 ,he
 was content to suffer1 content to die4 
,he had found ,his peace  under the     
hammer-stroke of anguish4    ,now ,he   

can listen almost longingly for the     
footsteps of ,judas4    ,for a time ,he 
hears only the beating of ,his own      
heart1 so much calmer  than at first1   
now that the horror is nearer4 ,but     
after some moments1 ,he  hears          
approaching the sound of cautious       
shuffling1 and there among the  bushes  
which border the road red flickerings of
 light appear and  disappear in the     
darkness4 ,they are the servants of the 
assassins who  are following ,iscariot  
along the path4    ,jesus turns to the  
,disciples1 still asleep1 8,behold the  
hour is come2  rise1 let us go4 ,lo1 he 
that betrayeth me is at hand40    ,the  
eight other ,disciples1 sleeping farther
 away1 are already aroused by  the      
noise1 but have no time to answer the   
,master because while ,he is  still     
speaking the crowd comes up and stops4  
,,the ,,hour ,,of ,,darkness      ,it   
was the rabble who swarmed around the   
,temple1 paid by the ,sanhedrin2        
bunglingly made over for the time being 

into warriors2 sweepers1 and            
door-keepers1 the lower parasites of the
 sanctuary1 who had taken up  swords in 
place of brooms and keys4 ,there were   
many of them1 a great  multitude1 so the
 ,evangelists say1 although they knew   
they were going  out against only twelve
 men1 who had only two swords4 ,it is   
not credible  that there were ,roman    
soldiers among them and certainly not 8a
 captain10  as ,john says1 an officer   
over a thousand men4 ,caiaphas wished to
 make  ,christ a prisoner before he     
presented ,him to the procurator1 and   
the few  forces at his disposition 7the 
last vestiges of ,david's army7 with the
  addition of some clients and relatives
 were enough to carry out the           
far-from-dangerous capture4    ,this    
haphazard mob had come with torches and 
lanterns almost as if out  for an       
evening celebration4 ,the pallid faces  
of the disciples1 the livid  face of    
,judas seemed to flicker in the red     
lights4 ,christ offered ,his  face1     

stained with blood but more luminous    
than the lights1 to ,judas'  kiss4      
8,friend1 wherefore art thou come8      
,betrayest thou the ,son of ,man  with a
 kiss80 ,he knew what ,judas came to do1
 and ,he knew that this kiss  was the   
first of ,his tortures and the most     
unendurable4 ,this kiss was  the signal 
for the guards who did not know the     
delinquent by sight4  8,whomsoever ,i   
shall kiss1 that same is ,he3 take ,him 
and lead ,him away  safely10 the        
merchant of blood had told the rough    
crowd who followed him  as they came    
along the road4 ,but that kiss was at   
once the first and the  most horrible   
sullying of those lips which had        
pronounced the most  heavenly words ever
 spoken here in the inferno of our      
earth4 ,the  spitting1 the buffeting1   
the blows of the ,jewish rabble and of  
the ,roman  soldiers1 and the sponge    
dipped in vinegar1 were to be less      
intolerable  than that kiss1 the kiss of
 a mouth which had called ,him friend   

and  ,master1 which had drunk from ,his 
cup1 which had eaten from ,his dish4    
,as soon as the sign was given the      
boldest came up to their enemy4         
8,whom seek ye80    8,jesus of          
,nazareth40    8,i am he40 ,he had      
scarcely said 8,i am he0 when the curs  
fell backward1  either at the sound of  
,his tranquil voice or at the light of  
those  divine eyes4 ,but even at such a 
moment ,jesus took thought for ,his     
friends 8,i have told you that ,i am    
,he1 if therefore ye seek me1 let  these
 go their way40    ,at the moment1      
profiting by the confusion of the       
guards1 ,simon1 coming  suddenly to     
himself from his sleep and from his     
panic1 laid his hand to  a sword and cut
 off the ear of ,malchus1 a servant of  
,caiaphas4 ,peter on  that night was    
full of contradictory impulses2 after   
the supper he had  sworn that no matter 
what happened he would never leave      
,jesus2 then in  the garden he fell     
asleep and could not keep himself awake2

 after that1  tardily he set himself up 
as a militant defender2 and a little    
later he  was to deny that he had ever  
known his ,master4 ,simon's untimely and
  futile action was at once repudiated  
by ,christ3 8,put up thy sword into  the
 sheath1 for all they that take the     
sword shall perish by the sword4  ,the  
cup which my ,father hath given me1     
shall ,i not drink it80 ,and ,he        
offered ,his hands to the nearest rogues
 who made all haste to tie them  with   
the rope which they had brought4 ,while 
they were busy tying ,him1  the prisoner
 accused them of cowardice4 8,are ye    
come out1 as against a  thief1 with     
swords and staves to take me8 ,when ,i  
was daily with you in  the temple ye    
stretched forth no hands against me3 but
 this is your hour  and the power of    
darkness40    ,he is the ,light of the  
world1 and the powers of darkness seek  
to  extinguish it2 but they can obscure 
it only for a short time1 as on a  ,july
 noon when the sun is suddenly covered  

by a dark storm-cloud but an  hour      
afterwards shines out again1 higher and 
more majestic than ever4  ,the guards1  
eager to return triumphantly and to     
receive their fees1 did  not trouble to 
answer2 they dragged ,him by the rope   
towards the road to  ,jerusalem as      
butchers drag the ox to the             
slaughter-house4 ,then1  confesses      
,matthew1 8444 all the disciples forsook
 him1 and fled40 ,their  ,master forbade
 them to defend ,him2 instead of        
blasting ,his enemies the  ,messiah     
offered ,his hands to be bound2 the     
,saviour was powerless to save          
,himself4 ,what could they do but       
disappear so that they might not also be
  brought before those powers which     
yesterday they had boasted of           
overthrowing1 but which now1 in the     
flickering of the lanterns and the      
swords1 seemed suddenly very formidable 
to their distracted minds8 ,and  only   
two followed the infamous procession1   
and they from a safe  distance4 ,we     

shall see them later in the court-yard  
of ,caiaphas' house4    ,all this bustle
 awakened a young man who had been      
sleeping in the house  in the grove of  
olives4 ,inquisitive like all young men1
 he did not take  the time to dress1 but
 wrapping a sheet about him1 stepped out
 to see  what was happening4 ,the guards
 thought him a disciple who had not had 
time to escape1 and laid hands on him1  
but the young man1 casting off  the     
sheet1 left it in their hands and fled  
from them naked4    ,no one has ever    
known the identity of this mysterious   
man awakened from  his sleep1 who       
appeared suddenly in the night1 and as  
suddenly  disappeared4 ,perhaps he was  
the youthful ,mark1 the only one of the 
,evangelists who tells this story4 ,if  
it were ,mark1 it is possible that  on  
that night the involuntary witness of   
the beginning of the ,passion  first    
conceived the impulse to become1 as     
,mark did1 its first historian4         
,,annas      ,in a short time the       

criminal was taken to the house which   
,annas shared  with his son-in-law1 the 
,high ,priest ,caiaphas4 ,although the  
night was  now well advanced1 and       
although the assembly had been warned   
the day  before1 that ,caiaphas hoped to
 capture the blasphemer early in the    
morning1 many of the ,jews were still in
 bed and the prosecution could  not     
begin at once4 ,in order that the common
 people might not have time  to rise in 
rebellion1 nor ,pilate to take thought1 
the leaders were in  haste to finish the
 affair that very morning4 ,some of the 
guards who  returned from the ,mount of 
,olives were sent to awake the more     
important  ,scribes and ,elders1 and in 
the meantime old ,annas1 who had not    
slept all  that night1 set himself on   
his own account to question this false  
,prophet4    ,annas1 son of ,seth1 had  
been for seven years ,high ,priest1 and 
though  deposed in the year #ad under   
,tiberius1 he was still the real primate
 of  the ,jewish ,church4 ,a ,sadducee1 

head of one of the most aggressive and  
wealthy families of the ecclesiastical  
patriarchate1 he was still1  through his
 son-in-law1 leader of his caste4 ,five 
of his sons were  afterwards ,high      
,priests1 and one of them1 also called  
,annas1 caused  ,james1 the brother of  
the ,lord1 to be stoned to death4       
,jesus was led before him4 ,it was the  
first time that the wood-worker of      
,nazareth found ,himself face to face   
with the religious head of ,his  people1
 with ,his greatest enemy4 ,up to that  
time ,he had met only the  subalterns in
 the ,temple1 the common soldiers1 the  
,scribes and  ,pharisees2 now ,he was   
before the head1 and ,he was no longer  
the accuser  but the accused4 ,this was 
the first questioning of that day4 ,in  
the  space of a few hours1 four         
authorities examined ,him2 two rulers   
from the  ,temple1 ,annas and ,caiaphas2
 and two temporal rulers1 ,antipas and  
,pilate4    ,the first question ,annas  
put to ,jesus was to ask ,him who ,his  

disciples  were4 ,the old political     
priest who like all the other ,sadducees
 gave no  credence to the foolish       
stories about the coming of a ,messiah1 
wished to  know first of all who were   
the followers of the new ,prophet1 and  
from  what rank of society ,he had      
picked them up1 so that he might        
determine  how far the seditious ulcer  
had progressed4 ,but ,jesus looked at   
,him  without answering4 ,how could that
 dove-huckster have thought that ,jesus 
could betray those who had betrayed     
,him8    ,then ,annas asked about ,his  
doctrine4 ,jesus answered that it was   
not for  ,him to explain3 8,i spake     
openly to the world2 ,i ever taught in  
the  synagogue and in the temple1       
whither the ,jews always resort2 and in 
secret have ,i said nothing4 ,why askest
 thou me8 ask them which heard me1  what
 ,i have said unto them3 behold1 they   
know what ,i said40    ,this was the    
truth4 ,jesus was not esoteric4 ,even if
 ,he sometimes said to  ,his ,disciples 

words that ,he did not repeat in the    
open places of the  city1 ,he exhorted  
them to cry out on the housetops what   
,he told them in  the house4 ,but ,annas
 must have made a wry face at an answer 
which  pre-supposed an honest trial1 for
 one of the officers standing by struck 
,jesus with the palm of his hand1       
saying1 8,answerest thou the high priest
  so80    ,this blow from the           
quick-tempered attendant was the        
beginning of the  insults which were    
henceforth rained upon ,christ up to the
 cross4 ,but ,he  who had been struck1  
with ,his cheek reddened by the boor1   
turned towards  the man who had struck  
,him1 8,if ,i have spoken evil1 bear    
witness of the  evil3 but if well1 why  
smitest thou me80    ,the rogue1 abashed
 by such calm1 found no answer4 ,annas  
began to see  that this ,galilean was no
 common adventurer1 and he was all the  
more  eager to get ,him out of the way4 
,seeing1 however1 that he was not       
succeeding in extracting anything from  

,him1 he sent ,him bound to  ,caiaphas1 
the ,high ,priest1 so that the fiction  
of a legal prosecution  might begin at  
once4                                   
,,the ,,cock ,,crows      ,only two of  
the fleeing ,disciples repented of their
 cowardice1 and  trembling in the shadow
 of the walls1 followed from afar the   
swaying  lanterns which accompanied     
,christ to the den of fratricides3      
,simon1 son  of ,jonas1 and ,john1 son  
of ,zebedee4    ,john1 who was known in 
the household of ,caiaphas1 went into   
the  courtyard of the building with     
,jesus1 but ,simon1 more shamefaced1 or 
not  so bold1 did not enter and stood at
 the door without3 then after a few     
moments ,john1 not seeing his companion1
 and wishing to have him at hand  for   
sympathy or defense1 went out and       
persuaded the suspicious  doorkeeper to 
let ,peter also come in4 ,but as he     
stepped through the  door1 the woman    
recognized him3 8,art not thou also one 
of his  disciples80    ,but ,peter took 

on an offended air1 8,i know not1       
neither understand ,i  what thou sayest4
 ,i know him not40    ,and he sat down  
with ,john near the brazier which the   
servants had  kindled in the courtyard  
because1 although it was in ,april1 the 
night  was cold4 ,but the woman would   
not give up her idea1 and coming to the 
fire and looking at him earnestly1 said1
 8,thou also wast with ,jesus of        
,nazareth10 and he denied again with    
curses1 8,woman1 ,i know him not60      
,the gate-keeper1 shaking her head1     
turned back to her gate1 but the men    
aroused by these heated denials looked  
at him more closely and said1  8,surely 
thou art one of them3 for thou art a    
,galilean1 and thy speech  agreeth      
thereto40    ,then ,simon began to curse
 and to swear1 but another1 a kinsman of
  ,malchus whose ear ,peter had cut off1
 cut short his testimony3 8,did ,i not  
see thee in the garden with him80       
,but ,peter1 now hopelessly involved in 
lies1 began again to protest that  they 

had mistaken him for another and that he
 was not one of the friends  of the     
,man4    ,at this very moment ,jesus1   
bound among the guards1 crossed the     
courtyard  after ,his colloquy with     
,annas1 passing to the other part of the
 palace1  where ,caiaphas lived3 and ,he
 heard the words of ,simon and looked at
 ,him4  ,for just one moment ,he turned 
,his eyes upon ,simon1 those eyes where 
,simon1 denying ,him now1 had once      
recognized the gleam of divinity4 ,for  
an instant only ,he looked at him with  
eyes whose gentleness was more          
unendurable than any contempt4 ,and this
 look pierced for all time the          
pitiable1 distracted heart of the       
fisherman4 ,to the day of his death he  
could never forget those sad1 mild eyes 
fixed on him in that terrible  night2   
those eyes which in one flash expressed 
more and moved him more  than a thousand
 words4    8,thou also who wast the     
first1 of whom ,i hoped most1 the       
hardest but the  most zealous1 the most 

ignorant but the most fervent1 thou     
also1 ,simon1  the same who cried out my
 true name near ,csarea1 thou also who  
knowest  all my words and hast slept    
with thy head on my cloak and hast      
kissed me  so many times with those lips
 which now deny me1 thou also1 ,simon   
,peter1  son of ,jonas1 deny me before  
those who are about to kill me6 ,i was  
right  that day when ,i called thee a   
stumbling block and reproached thee with
  thinking not like ,god but like men4  
,thou mightest at least have fled  away 
as the others did if thou hadst not the 
strength to drink with me  the cup of   
infamy which ,i had foretold to thee4   
,flee away now that ,i may  see thee no 
more until the day when ,i shall be     
truly free and thou shalt  be truly made
 over by faith4 ,if thou fearest for thy
 life why art thou  here8 ,if thou      
fearest not1 why dost thou deny me8     
,even ,judas at the last  has been more 
faithful than thou3 he came with my     
enemies1 but he did  not deny that he   

knew me4 ,simon1 ,simon1 ,i foretold    
that thou wouldst  leave me like the    
others1 but now thou art more cruel than
 the others4 ,i  have pardoned thee from
 my heart4 ,i am about to die1 and ,i   
pardon him  who brings me to death1 and 
thee also2 and ,i love thee as ,i have  
always  loved thee1 but canst thou      
forgive thyself80    ,under the weight  
of this look1 ,simon hung his head and  
his heart beat  furiously in his breast4
 ,not for his very life could he have   
brought out  another 8,no40 ,his face   
burned with an intolerable heat as if   
the brazier  before him had been the    
mouth of ,hell4 ,he was torn by an      
unbearable  tumult of passion and of    
remorse2 in one breath he seemed frozen1
 in the  next all his body flamed4 ,a   
moment before he had said that he had   
never  known ,jesus1 and now it seemed  
to him that he had spoken truly1 that at
  this moment he knew ,him for the first
 time3 that he finally understood  who  
,he was1 as if those eyes full of loving

 grief had pierced him with a  flash    
like an archangel's sword4    ,he was   
scarcely able to drag himself to his    
feet and to stumble out to  the door4   
,as he went out into the street in the  
silent1 solitary  darkness a distant    
cock crew4 ,this gay1 bold note was for 
,peter like the  cry which awakens a    
sleeper from his nightmare4 ,then in the
 dim light of  dawn the last stars saw a
 man staggering along like a drunkard1  
his head  hidden in his cloak1 his      
shoulders shaken by the sobs of a       
despairing  lament4    ,weep1 ,peter1   
now that ,god mercifully grants you the 
grace of tears1 weep  for yourself and  
for ,him1 weep for ,judas1 your traitor 
brother2 weep for  your fleeing         
brothers1 weep for the death of ,him who
 is dying to save  your poor soul1 for  
all those who will come after you and   
who will do as  you have done1 deny     
their ,saviour1 and who will not pay for
 their  redemption by repentance4 ,weep 
for all the apostates1 for all the      

others  who will deny ,him1 all those   
who will say as you have said1 8,i am   
not  one of ,his disciples60 ,who of us 
has not done at least once what ,simon  
,peter did8 ,who of us1 born in the     
,church of ,christ1 having prayed to    
,him  with our childish lips1 having    
knelt before ,his blood-stained face1   
has  not said1 fearing a mocking smile1 
8,i never knew ,him40    ,thou at least1
 unfortunate ,simon1 although thou wast 
,peter the rock1  wept bitterly and hid 
in thy cloak thy face convulsed with    
remorse4 ,and  before many days ,christ 
risen from the dead will kiss thee once 
more  because thy perjured mouth has    
been washed clean forever by thy tears4 
,,then ,,the ,,high ,,priest ,,rent     
,,his ,,clothes      ,caiaphas' real    
name was ,joseph4 ,caiaphas is a surname
 and is the same  word as ,cephas1      
,simon's surname1 that is to say1 ,rock4
 ,on that ,friday  morning's dawn1 the  
,son of ,man was caught between those   
two rocks like a  grain of wheat between

 two millstones4 ,simon ,peter is the   
type of the  timid friends who knew not 
how to save ,him3 ,joseph ,peter1 of    
,his  enemies1 determined at any cost to
 destroy ,him4 ,between the denial of   
,simon and the hatred of ,joseph1       
between the head of the church about to 
disappear and the head of the ,church   
just coming into existence1 between     
those two rocks ,jesus was like wheat   
between the mill-stones4    ,the        
,sanhedrin had already come together and
 was awaiting ,him4 ,together  with     
,annas and ,caiaphas who presided1 there
 were ,john1 ,alexander1 and  all the   
reeking scum of the upper classes4 ,as a
 rule the ,sanhedrin was  composed of   
twenty-three priests1 twenty-three      
,scribes1 twenty-three  ,elders1 and two
 ,presidents1 in all1 seventy-one4 ,but 
on this occasion  some were absent1     
those who had more fear of an uprising  
of the people  than hatred for the      
blasphemer1 and those few who would not 
lift a  finger to condemn ,him1 but     

would not defend ,him openly3 among     
these last  were certainly ,nicodemus1  
the nocturnal disciple1 and ,joseph of  
,arimathea1 who was devoutly to lay     
,jesus in ,his tomb4    ,they had come  
together to ratify with a cloak of      
legality the decree of  murder already  
written on their hearts4 ,these         
delegates from the ,temple1  from the   
,school and the ,bank1 burned with      
impatience to confirm1 each  for his own
 reasons1 their revengeful sentence4    
,the great room of the  council already 
full of people was like a den of        
werewolves4 ,the new day  showed itself 
hesitatingly3 the orange-colored tongues
 of the torches  were scarcely visible  
in the dim light of dawn4 ,in this      
sinister  half-shadow the ,jews were    
waiting3 aged1 portly1 hook-nosed1      
harsh1  beetle-browed1 wrapped in their 
white cloaks1 their heads covered1      
stroking their venerable beards1 with   
choleric eyes1 seated in a half  circle1
 they seemed a council of sorcerers     

awaiting a living offering4  ,the rest  
of the hall was occupied by the clients 
of the seated assembly1  by guards with 
staves in their hands1 by the domestic  
servants of the  house4 ,the air was    
heavy and dense as in a charnel house4  
,jesus1 ,his wrists still tied with     
ropes1 was thrust into the midst of     
this kennel like a condemned man thrown 
to the beasts of the ,imperial          
amphitheater4 ,annas had gathered       
together in all haste from among the    
rabble some false witnesses to make an  
end of any discussion or defense4  ,the 
pretense of a trial began with calling  
these perjurers4 ,two of them  came     
forward and swore that they had heard   
these words3 8,i will destroy  this     
temple that is made with hands1 and     
within three days ,i will build  another
 made without hands40    ,at the time   
and for those hearers this accusation   
was a very grave one1  meaning nothing  
less than sacrilege and blasphemy4 ,for 
in the minds of  its upholders the      

,temple of ,jerusalem was the one       
intangible home of the  ,lord4 ,and to  
threaten the ,temple was to threaten    
their real ,master1 the  ,master of all 
the ,jews4 ,but ,jesus had never said   
these words or at least  not in this    
form1 nor with this meaning4 ,it is true
 that ,he had  announced that of the    
,temple not one stone would remain upon 
another1  but not through any action of 
,his4 ,and the reference to the ,temple 
not  made with hands1 built up in three 
days1 was part of another discourse  in 
which ,he had spoken figuratively of    
,his resurrection4 ,the false  witnesses
 could not even agree about these words 
confusedly and  maliciously repeated1   
and one statement from ,jesus would have
 been  enough to confound them utterly4 
,but ,jesus held ,his peace4    ,the    
,high ,priest could not endure this     
silence1 and standing up1 cried  out1   
8,answerest thou nothing8 ,what is it   
which these witness against  thee80     
,but ,jesus answered nothing4    ,these 

silences of ,jesus were so weighty with 
magnetic eloquence that  they enraged   
,his judges4 ,he held ,his peace at the 
first questioning of  ,annas4 ,he was   
silent now at the outcry of ,caiaphas   
and ,he was to be  silent with ,antipas 
and ,pilate4    ,he had made already1 a 
thousand times1 the statements ,he might
 have made  now1 and any other answers  
,he might have made would either have   
been  misunderstood by ,his judges1 or  
have been used by them as new pretexts  
for attacking ,him4 ,superhuman truths  
are in their very nature ineffable1  and
 only a shadow of them can be grasped1  
through a loving effort by  those who   
already have a faint divination of that 
shadow2 and even to  them this comes    
more through the heart than through     
faulty and defective  words4    ,jesus  
did not speak1 but looked about ,him    
with ,his great calm eyes1 at  the      
troubled and convulsed faces of ,his    
assassins1 and for all eternity  judged 
these phantom judges4 ,in a flash every 

one of them was weighed  and condemned  
by that look which went straight to the 
soul4 ,were they  worthy to hear ,his   
words1 those flawed1 self-seeking souls1
 empty and  inane1 those of them that   
are not ulcerous and moribund8 ,how     
could ,he  ever1 by the most unthinkable
 prodigy1 stoop to justify ,himself     
before  them8    ,such                  
self-justification was attempted by the 
son of the midwife1 the  flat-nosed     
student and rival of the ,sophists6 ,the
 seventy-year-old  arguer1 who for so   
many years had bored the artisans and   
the idlers on  the market-place1 was    
capable of reciting to the judges of    
,athens an  eloquent and carefully      
arranged oration of excuses1 which1 from
 the  limits of dialectics1 descended   
little by little to the sophistries of  
law courts4 ,it is true that the        
ironical old man who had set himself to 
reform the art of thinking rather than  
the art of living1 who had not  been    
above usury1 who1 not having his fill   

with ,xantippe1 had had two  children by
 his concubine ,myra1 and who amused    
himself with caressing  handsome young  
men more than was becoming for the      
father of a family1  was ready to die1  
and knew how to die with noble firmness2
 but at the  bottom of his heart he     
would have preferred to descend into    
,hades by the  more natural road4       
,towards the end of his specious        
defense1 he tried to  placate his judges
 by recalling his old age to them4 8,it 
is useless to  kill me because ,i will  
die very soon anyhow0--and offered to   
pay thirty  greater min if they would   
let him go in peace4    ,but ,christ was
 neither a sophist nor a lawyer1 ,christ
 whom so many  posthumous ,pilates have 
tried to belittle by comparing ,him to  
,socrates1  so inferior to ,him4 ,like  
,dante's angel1 ,he disdained human     
discussions4  ,he answered with silence1
 or if ,he was forced to speak1 spoke   
candidly  and briefly4 ,caiaphas1       
exasperated by this disrespectful       

taciturnity1  finally hit on a way to   
make him speak4 8,i adjure thee by the  
living  ,god1 that thou tell us whether 
thou be the ,christ1 the ,son of ,god40 
,as long as they conducted ,his trial   
with the usual insidious procedure1     
adducing falsities or asking ,him about 
perfectly well-known truths1  ,jesus    
said no word2 but even in the infamous  
mouth of the ,high ,priest1  the        
invocation to the living ,god was       
irresistible4 ,jesus could not deny     
,himself to the living ,god1 to the ,god
 who will live eternally1 and who  lives
 in all of us1 and who was present there
 even in that lair of  demons4 ,and yet 
,he hesitated a moment before dazzling  
those bleared eyes  with the splendor of
 ,his formidable secret4    8,if ,i tell
 you1 ye will not believe3 ,and if ,i   
also ask you1 ye will not  answer me40  
,now ,caiaphas was not alone in putting 
the question2 all of them1  excited1    
sprang to their feet and cried out1     
their clawing fingers  stretched towards

 ,him1 8,art thou then the ,son of      
,god80    ,jesus could not1 like ,peter1
 deny the irrefutable certainty which   
was  the reason for ,his life and for   
,his death4 ,he was responsible towards 
,his own people and towards all men4    
,but1 as at ,csarea1 ,he wished others  
to be the ones to pronounce ,his real   
name1 and when they had said it ,he  did
 not refuse it1 even though death were  
the penalty4    8,ye say that ,i am4 ,i 
say unto you1 ,hereafter shall ye see   
the ,son of man  sitting on the right   
hand of power1 and coming in the clouds 
of heaven40    ,he had condemned        
,himself out of ,his own mouth4 ,the    
snarling pack about  ,him was frothing  
at the mouth with delight and anger4 ,in
 the presence of  ,his assassins ,he had
 proclaimed what ,he had secretly       
admitted to ,his  most loving friends4  
,although they might betray ,him1 ,he   
had not betrayed  ,himself or ,his      
father4 ,now ,he was ready for the last 
degradation4 ,he had  said what ,he had 

to say4    ,caiaphas was triumphant4    
,pretending a shocked horror which he   
did not  feel--because like all the     
,sadducees he had no faith whatever in  
the  apocalyptic writers and cared about
 nothing but the fees and honors of  the
 ,temple--he rent his priestly garments1
 crying out1 8,he hath spoken           
blasphemy6 ,what further need have we of
 witnesses8 behold1 now ye have  heard  
his blasphemy4 ,what think ye80    ,and 
all the noisy kennel bayed out their    
answer1 8,he is guilty of  death40      
,and without any further examination1   
without a single protest1 they all      
condemned ,him to death as a blasphemer 
and false prophet4    ,the comedy of    
legal pretense was played to an end1 and
 the cloaked  ghosts felt themselves    
relieved of an immense weight4 ,it had  
cost the  ,high ,priest a garment and he
 let the torn pieces hang like glorious 
symbols of victorious battle4 ,he did   
not know that on that very day a        
garment more precious than any of his   

was to be torn1 and he did not  dream   
that his gesture was a symbolic         
recognition of another  death-sentence4 
,the priesthood of which he was the head
 was henceforth  disqualified and       
abolished forever4 ,his successors were 
to be mere  semblances of priests1      
spurious and illegitimate1 and in a few 
years the  sumptuous garment of marble  
and masonry of the ,jewish sanctuary was
 to  be rent by the ,roman rabble4      
,,and ,,when ,,they ,,had ,,blindfolded 
,,him      ,when the tragi-comedy acted 
by the masters had ended in a           
death-sentence1 the devils' band of     
subalterns had their turn4 ,while the   
high officials went apart to take       
counsel on the manner of securing the   
ratification from the ,procurator and   
executing the death sentence with  all  
speed1 ,jesus was thrown as prey to the 
rabble in the ,palace1 as the  offal of 
the slain animal is thrown to the pack  
which has taken part in  the hunt4 ,the 
ruffians who lived upon the leavings of 

the ,temple felt  that they had as their
 perquisite the right to some amusement4
 ,man1 the  beast1 when he is certain of
 impunity1 knows no more pleasing       
recreation  than to wreak himself upon  
the defenseless1 especially if the      
defenseless is innocent4 ,our bestial   
nature1 crouching untamed at the  bottom
 of every human heart1 rushes out bold  
and snarling2 the face  becomes a       
muzzle1 teeth are tusks1 hands appear   
what they really are1  claws1 the       
articulate sounds of human speech vanish
 in snarlings and  growlings4 ,if a drop
 of blood reddens to the view1 they     
jostle each  other to lick it up3 there 
is no more intoxicating liquor than     
blood3 it  is far more stimulating than 
wine1 and far fairer to see1 red as it  
is1  than the water of ,pilate4    ,but 
tigerishness breaking loose readily     
takes the form of play2 even  tigers are
 sportive1 even children1 as soon as    
they begin to grow strong  at all1 are  
tigerish4 ,the captors of ,christ1      

waiting for foreign  authority to       
confirm the death sentence of the most  
innocent of their  brothers1 meant to   
give ,christ a humorous foretaste of    
,his sufferings4  ,they had permission  
to jest with their ,king1 to divert     
themselves with  their ,god4 ,and they  
felt that they really deserved some     
amusement2 they  had been awake all     
night long1 and the night had been cold3
 and then the  march up to the ,mount of
 ,olives1 fearing resistance1 a         
well-grounded  fear1 since one of them  
had had his ear stricken off2 and then  
the long  wait1 till dawn1 a very tiring
 business especially on those festal    
days  when the city and the ,temple were
 full of foreigners and there was so    
much more for every one to do4    ,but  
they did not know how to begin4 ,he was 
tied and his friends had  disappeared4  
,but this man who looked at them with an
 expression they had  never seen till   
then1 with a steady look which seemed   
beyond all earthly  things and yet      

searched them out within like a ray of  
troublesome  sunshine--this man1 bound1 
exhausted1 the fresh sweat on ,his face 
softening the drops of dried blood on   
,his cheeks1 this insignificant  man1   
this defenseless provincial with no     
protecting patrons1 condemned  to death 
by the highest and holiest tribunal of  
the ,jewish people1 this  human rubbish 
destined to the cross of slaves and     
thieves1 this  laughingstock whom the   
authorities had given over to their     
abuse like a  puppet at the saturnalia1 
this man who did not speak nor complain 
nor  weep1 but who looked on them as if 
,he had compassion on them1 as a  father
 might look at his sick child1 as a     
friend might look at a  delirious       
friend1 this man1 mocked by all1        
inspired in their worthless  souls a    
mysterious reverence4    ,but one of the
 ,scribes or the ,elders gave the       
example1 and spat at ,jesus  as he      
passed by ,him4 ,he was too careful of  
,his ritual cleanliness to  contaminate 

,his newly washed hands1 ready for the  
,passover1 by touching  an enemy of     
,god1 who1 near to death1 was already   
impure like a corpse4  ,but saliva3 what
 is saliva8 ,refuse of the body1        
contempt materialized in  a liquid4     
,and on that face illumined by the early
 morning sun and by imprisoned          
divinity1 on that face transfigured by  
the light of the sun and by  love's     
light1 on the golden face of ,christ1   
the spittle of the ,jews  covered the   
first blood of the ,passion4 ,but for   
the rabble of the  servants and the     
guards spitting was not enough1 nor were
 they afraid of  sullying their hands4  
,the example of the leaders had overcome
 the  impression made on them by the    
condemned man's sad and brotherly look4 
,the guards who were nearest ,him struck
 ,him in the face2 those who could  not 
strike ,his face rained down blows and  
threats1 and the words which  came from 
the mouths of those insensate men       
wounded ,him more cruelly  than blows4  

,that face1 which had been white as a   
hawthorn blossom and shining like       
sunlight1 darkened into the livid purple
 of beaten flesh4 ,the fair1  gracious  
body1 reeling with blows1 staggered in  
the midst of the heaving  crowd4 ,christ
 said no word to those who vomited out  
on ,him the appalling  contents of their
 souls4 ,he had answered the guard who  
had struck ,him in  the presence of     
,annas1 asking him to correct ,him if   
,he had spoken ill2  for this ribald mob
 let loose ,he had no answer4 ,but one  
of them more  quick-witted or more      
childish than the others had an idea3 he
 took a  dirty cloth and with it covered
 the bleeding1 buffeted face1 tying the 
corners behind4 ,and he said3 8,let us  
play blind man's buff4 ,this man  boasts
 of being a prophet2 let us see if he   
can guess which of us is  striking him40
    ,christ's face was covered4 ,was    
there1 in the action of the ruffians1 an
  unconsciously compassionate desire to 
spare ,him1 at least1 the sight of  ,his

 brothers become like beasts8 ,or was   
that look of suffering love  really     
unendurable to them8 ,with childish     
cruelty1 they arranged  themselves in a 
circle about ,him and first one and then
 another twitched  a fold of ,his       
garment1 gave ,him a blow on the        
shoulder1 thrust ,him in  the back1     
struck ,him with a staff over the head3 
8,prophesy6 ,who is it  that smote      
thee80    ,why did ,he not answer8 ,had 
,he not predicted the ruin of the       
,temple1 wars  and earthquakes1 the     
coming of the ,son of ,man on clouds and
 many other  idle stories8 ,how was it  
that now ,he could not make such an easy
 guess1  give the name of a person so   
close at hand8 ,what sort of a prophet  
was  this8 ,had he lost ,his power all  
at once1 or had ,he never had it8 ,he   
might be able to make those poor        
countrified ,galileans believe ,his     
stories1 but here we are in ,jerusalem1 
the city which understands  prophets and
 kills them when they do not show a     

proper spirit4 ,luke  adds1 8,and many  
other things blasphemously spake they   
against him40    ,but ,caiaphas and the 
others were in haste and thought that   
the servile  pack had amused itself long
 enough4 ,the false king must be taken  
to  ,pilate that his sentence be        
confirmed3 the ,sanhedrin could         
pronounce  judgment1 but since ,judea   
was under ,roman rule1 it had no longer1
  unfortunately1 the ,jus ,gladii4 ,and 
the ,high ,priests1 ,scribes and        
,elders1  set out for the ,palace of the
 ,procurator1 followed by the guards    
leading  ,jesus with ropes1 and by the  
yelling horde which grew larger as they 
went along the street4                  
,,pontius ,,pilate      ,since ,a4 ,d4  
#bf1 ,pontius ,pilate had been          
,procurator in the name of  ,tiberius   
,csar4 ,historians know nothing of him  
before his arrival in  ,judea4 ,if the  
name comes from ,pileatus it may be     
supposed that he was a  freedman or     
descendant of freedmen1 since the       

,pileo1 or skull cap1 was  the head gear
 of freed slaves4    ,he had been in    
,judea only a few years1 but long enough
 to draw upon  himself the bitterest    
hate of those over whom he ruled4 ,it is
 true that  all our information about   
him comes from ,jews and ,christians1   
who were1  of course1 his declared      
enemies2 but it appears that he finally 
lost  favor even with his masters1 since
 in ,a4 ,d4 #cf the ,governor of ,syria1
  ,lucius ,vitellius1 sent him to ,rome 
to justify himself before ,tiberius4    
,the ,emperor died before ,pilate       
arrived in the metropolis1 but according
  to tradition1 he was exiled by        
,caligula1 exiled into ,gaul1 where he  
killed himself4    ,in the first place  
the hatred of the ,jews came from the   
profound scorn  which he showed from the
 start for this stiff-necked1 indocile  
people1  who must have seemed to him1   
brought up in ,roman ideas1 like a snake
 pit  of venomous serpents--a low1 dirty
 crowd1 scarcely worthy to be tamed by  

the cudgels of the mercenaries4 ,to have
 an idea of ,pilate's personality1  make
 a mental picture of an ,english        
,viceroy of ,india1 a subscriber to  the
 ,times1 a reader of ,john ,stuart ,mill
 and ,shaw--with ,byron and  ,swinburne 
on his bookshelves--destined to         
administer the government over  a       
ragged1 captious1 hungry and turbulent  
people1 wrangling among  themselves over
 a confusion of castes and mythologies  
and superstitions  for which their ruler
 feels in his heart the profoundest     
aversion1  looking down on them from the
 height of his dignity as a white man1 a
  ,european1 a ,briton and a ,liberal4  
,pilate1 as shown by his questions put  
to ,jesus1 was one of those skeptics of 
the ,roman decadence corrupted  with    
,pyrrhonism1 a devotee of ,epicurus1 an 
encyclopedist of ,hellenism  without any
 belief in the gods of his country1 nor 
any belief that any  real ,god existed  
at all4 ,the idea certainly can never   
have occurred to  ,pilate that the true 

,god could be found in this             
vermin-ridden1  superstitious mob1 in   
the midst of this factious and jealous  
clergy1 in  this religion which must    
have seemed to him like a barbarous     
mixture of  ,syrian and ,chaldean       
oracles4 ,the only faith remaining to   
him1 or which  he needed to pretend to  
hold because of his office1 was the new 
,roman  religion1 civic and political1  
concentrated on the cult of the         
,emperor4  ,the first conflict with the 
,jews arose in fact from this religion4 
,when  he had changed the guard of      
,jerusalem1 he ordered the soldiers to  
enter  the city by night1 without taking
 off from their ensigns the silver      
images of ,csar4 ,in the morning1 as    
soon as the ,jews were aware of this1   
great was the horror and the uproar4 ,it
 was the first time that the  ,romans   
had lacked in external respect for the  
religion of their subjects  in          
,palestine4 ,these figures of the       
deified ,csar planted near the ,temple  

were for them an idolatrous provocation1
 the beginning of the  abomination of   
desolation4 ,all the country was in an  
uproar2 a  deputation was sent to       
,csarea to have ,pilate take them away4 
,pilate  refused2 for five days and     
nights they stormed about him day and   
night4  ,finally the ,procurator1 to get
 himself out of the trouble1 convoked   
them  in the amphitheater and           
treacherously had them surrounded with  
soldiers  with naked swords1 assuring   
them that no one would escape if they   
did  not make an end of their clamor4   
,but the ,jews1 instead of asking for   
mercy1 offered their throats to the     
swords1 and ,pilate1 conquered by  this 
heroic stubbornness1 ordered that the   
insignia be carried back to  ,csarea4   
,but if this clemency did not diminish  
the hatred of the ,jews for the new     
,procurator1 neither did it lessen      
,pilate's distaste nor his desire to do 
them an ill turn4 ,a little while after 
this1 he introduced into ,herod's       

palace1 where he lived when he stayed at
 ,jerusalem1 votive tablets  dedicated  
to the ,emperor4 ,but the priests heard 
of it and once more the  people were    
aroused to outraged and furious anger4  
,he was asked to take  away the         
idolatrous objects at once4 ,an appeal  
to ,csar was threatened1  an appeal     
supported by evidence of the impositions
 and cruelties  committed by ,pilate4   
,pilate this time also did not yield4   
,the ,jews then  made the appeal to     
,tiberius1 who decreed that the tablets 
should be sent  back to ,csarea4        
,twice ,pilate had had the worst of a   
dispute4 ,but the third time he was     
triumphant4 ,coming from the city of    
public baths and aqueducts1 a  friend1  
as is well known1 of ablutions1 he      
noticed that ,jerusalem lacked  water   
and he planned to have a fine large     
reservoir constructed and an  aqueduct  
several miles long4 ,but the undertaking
 was expensive and to  pay for it he    
used a goodly sum taken from the        

treasury of the ,temple4  ,the treasury 
was rich1 for all the ,jews scattered   
about in the ,empire  came there to     
bring offerings1 and when they could not
 come in person  sent them from a       
distance--but the priests cried out on  
the sacrilege1  and the people incited  
by them made such a commotion that when 
,pilate  came for the ,feast of the     
,passover to ,jerusalem1 thousands of   
men  gathered in a tumultuous crowd in  
front of his ,palace4 ,but this time he 
sent among the multitude a large number 
of disguised soldiers who at a  given   
signal began to lay about them so       
vigorously1 among the most  furious of  
the crowd1 that in a short time they all
 fled away1 and  ,pilate could enjoy in 
peace the water of the reservoir paid   
for with the  ,jews' money1 and make use
 of it for his various ablutions4       
,only a short time had passed since this
 last encounter and now these  very     
priests who three times had risen       
against his authority1 the very  ones   

who had tried to obtain his deposition1 
the very ones who hated him  heartily1  
hated him as a ,roman1 as a symbol of   
the foreign dominion and  of their      
slavery1 and hated him still more       
personally as ,pontius ,pilate1  as     
plotter against their religion and thief
 of their money--these very  ,high      
,priests were forced to have recourse to
 him in order to vent  another hatred1  
which for the moment was more bitter in 
their wicked  hearts4 ,only hard        
necessity drove them to it1 because     
death sentences  could not be carried   
out if they were not confirmed by       
,csar's  representative4    ,that       
,friday1 at dawn1 ,pontius ,pilate1     
wrapped in his toga1 still sleepy  and  
yawning1 was waiting for them in        
,herod's palace1 very ill-disposed      
towards those tiresome trouble-makers1  
whose contentions had forced him  to    
rise earlier than usual4                
,,what ,,is ,,truth8      ,the crowd of 
the accusers and of the rough populace  

finally came out  into the open place   
which was before ,herod's palace1 but   
they stopped  outside1 because if they  
went into a house where there was leaven
 and  bread baked with leaven1 they     
would be contaminated all day long and  
could not eat the ,passover4 ,innocent  
blood does not pollute1 but leaven      
does4    ,pilate1 warned of their       
coming1 went out on the door-sill and   
asked  abruptly3 8,what accusation bring
 ye against this man80    ,those who    
were before him were his enemies4 ,it   
appeared that this man  was their enemy 
and ,pilate instinctively took his part4
 ,not that he had  any pity for him--was
 he not a ,jew like the others1 and poor
 into the  bargain8 ,but if he were by  
any chance innocent1 ,pilate had no mind
 to  lend himself to a whim of those    
detestable vermin4    ,caiaphas answered
 at once as if offended3 8,if he were   
not a malefactor1  we would not have    
delivered him up unto you40    ,then    
,pilate who wished to lose no time with 

ecclesiastical squabbles1  and did not  
think that there was any question of a  
capital crime1  answered dryly3 8,take  
ye him1 and judge him according to your 
law40    ,already in these words appears
 his wish to save the man without being 
forced to take sides openly4 ,but the   
concession of the ,procurator1 which  in
 any other case would have delighted    
,caiaphas and his party1 this time  did 
not suit them1 because the ,sanhedrin   
could inflict only light  sentences and 
now they desired the most extreme       
sentence of all and  could not dispense 
with the ,roman arm4 ,they answered3    
8,it is not lawful  for us to put any   
man to death40    ,pilate suddenly      
understood what sentence they wished    
passed on the  wretched man who stood   
before him1 and he wished to find out   
what crime  ,he had committed4 ,what    
might seem worthy of a death sentence to
 those  bigoted rabbis might seem a     
venial fault in the eyes of a ,roman4   
,the foxes of the ,temple had thought of

 this difficulty before taking  action4 
,they knew very well that ,pilate would 
not be satisfied if they  told him that 
this man attacked the religion of their 
fathers and  announced the ,kingdom of  
,god4 ,they were prepared therefore to  
lie4 ,for a  man about to commit a base 
action1 one more accessory and          
subordinate  infamy seems of little     
consequence4 ,pilate could be conquered 
only with  his own weapons1 by appealing
 to his loyalty to ,rome and to the     
,emperor  and to the basis of his       
office-holding4 ,it was already agreed  
that they  would give a political color 
to the accusation4 ,if they told him    
that  ,jesus was a false ,messiah1      
,pilate would smile4 ,but if they said  
that ,he  was a seditious inciter of    
revolt1 that ,he was trying to rouse the
  common people against ,rome1 ,pilate  
could not do less than put ,him to      
death4    8,we found this fellow        
perverting the nation1 and forbidding to
 give  tribute to ,csar1 saying that he 

himself is ,christ1 a ,king4444 ,he     
stirreth up all the people1 teaching    
throughout all ,jewry1 beginning  from  
,galilee to this place40    ,every word 
was a lie4 ,jesus had commanded men to  
render unto ,csar that  which was       
,csar's4 ,he paid no attention whatever 
to the ,romans4 ,he said  that ,he was  
,christ but not in the coarse1 political
 meaning of a ,king of  the ,jews3 and  
,he did not stir up the people but      
wished to make of an  unhappy and       
degraded people a blessed kingdom of    
saints4 ,however grave  these           
accusations might have seemed to ,pilate
 if they had been true1  they only      
increased his suspicions of the priests4
 ,was it probable that  those           
treacherous vipers who detested him and 
,rome1 and who had tried to  overturn   
him so many times and whose one dream   
was to sweep away the  governing pagans 
and foreigners1 should suddenly be      
kindled with so much  zeal to denounce a
 rebel of their own nation8    ,pilate  

was not convinced and he wished to find 
out for himself1 by  questioning the    
accused man in private4 ,he went back   
into the palace and  commanded that     
,jesus be brought to him4 ,disregarding 
the less important  accusations1 he went
 at once to the essential3 8,art thou   
the ,king of the  ,jews80    ,but ,jesus
 did not answer4 ,how could ,he ever    
make this ,roman understand6  ,this     
,roman who knew nothing of ,god's       
promises1 misinformed by ,his           
assassins1 a ,pyrrhonic atheist1 whose  
only religion was the artificial  and   
diabolical cult of a living man--and of 
what a man--,tiberius6--how  could ,he  
ever explain to this freedman1 a pupil  
of the lawyers and  rhetoricians of     
,rome in the most decadent of all the   
degenerate foulness  of that time2 how  
could ,he explain that ,he was the ,king
 of a ,kingdom not  yet founded1 of a   
spiritual ,kingdom which would abolish  
all human  kingdoms8    ,jesus read the 
depths of ,pilate's soul and made no    

answer1 as ,he had  kept silent at first
 before ,annas and before ,caiaphas4    
,the ,procurator  could not understand  
this silence on the part of a man over  
whom hung  the threat of death4         
8,hearest thou not how many things they 
witness  against thee80    ,but ,jesus  
answered him never a word4 ,pilate1 who 
at all costs wished to  triumph over    
those who hated him as much as they     
hated this man1  insisted1 hoping to    
extract a denial which would permit him 
to set ,him  at liberty3 8,art thou the 
,king of the ,jews80    ,if ,jesus      
denied this ,he would betray ,himself4  
,he had said to ,his  disciples and to  
the ,jews that ,he was ,christ4 ,he had 
no wish to lie and  save ,himself4 ,the 
better to sound the ,roman's mind ,he   
answered ,him1 as  was his wont1 with   
another question3 8,sayest thou this    
thing of thyself1  or did others tell it
 thee of me80    ,pilate answered1 as if
 offended1 8,am ,i a ,jew8 ,thine own   
nation and the  chief priests have      

delivered thee unto me4 ,art thou the   
,king of the  ,jews80    ,with the      
exception of this contemptuous          
beginning1 this answer of ,pilate  was  
conciliatory4 8,for whom do you take me8
 ,do you not know that ,i am a  ,roman1 
that ,i do not believe what your enemies
 believe8 ,your accusers  are priests1  
not ,i2 but they are obliged to give you
 into my hands3 your  safety rests with 
me3 tell me that what they say is not   
true and you  shall be free40    ,jesus 
had no wish to escape death1 but still  
,he determined to try to  shed more     
light on this pagan4 ,everything is     
possible to the ,father3 was  it not    
possible that ,pilate might be the last 
convert of the dying man8    8,my       
kingdom is not of this world3 if my     
kingdom were of this world1 then  would 
my servants fight1 that ,i should not be
 delivered to the ,jews3 but  now is my 
kingdom not from hence40    ,the servant
 of ,tiberius did not understand4 ,the  
difference between 8of  this world0 and 

8my kingdom is not from hence0 was      
obscure to him4  ,pilate thought that   
what is the phrase 8not of this world0  
meant the  gods above if there were     
really any1 gods favorable or malignant 
to men1  and below in ,hades the shadows
 of the dead if really there was        
anything  remaining of us when the body 
had been consumed by fire or worms3 the 
only reality for such a man as ,pilate  
was 8this world10 the great world  with 
all its kingdoms4 ,and once more he     
asked3 8,art thou a king then80         
,there was no longer any reason to deny4
 ,he would say to this blinded man  what
 ,he had proclaimed to the others3      
8,thou sayest that ,i am a king4 ,to    
this end was ,i born1 and for this cause
 came ,i into the world1 that ,i  should
 bear witness unto the truth4 ,every one
 that is of the truth  heareth my       
voice40    ,then ,pilate1 annoyed by    
what seemed to him truculent            
mystification1  answered with the       
celebrated question3 8,what is truth80  

,and without waiting for an answer1 he  
rose to go out4 ,the skeptical  ,roman  
had many times been present at the      
endless disputes of  philosophers1 and  
because he had heard so many            
contradictory  metaphysical contentions 
and so many sophistical quibblings1 had 
become  convinced that truth did not    
exist1 or if it did exist1 could never  
be  known by men4 ,he did not dream for 
a moment that this obscure ,jew who     
stood before him as a malefactor could  
tell him the truth4 ,it was  ,pilate's  
destiny on that one day of his life to  
contemplate the face of  truth1 supreme 
truth made man1 and he could not see it4
 ,living truth1  the truth which could  
have made him a new man1 was before him 
clothed  with human flesh and rough     
garments1 with buffeted face1 and hands 
tied4  ,but in his arrogance he did not 
guess what prodigious good fortune was  
his1 a good fortune which millions of   
men have envied him after his  death4   
,if any one had told him that because of

 this one encounter1  because to him was
 vouchsafed the overwhelming honor of   
having spoken to  ,jesus and having sent
 ,him to the cross1 his name would be   
known1  although in infamy and          
malediction1 through all the centuries  
and by all  the human race1 such a      
prophecy would have seemed to him like  
the  frenzied ravings of a madman4      
,pilate was blind with an appalling and 
incurable blindness1 but ,christ on that
 very day was to pardon even him        
because the blind1 even less than       
others1 know what they do4              
,,claudia ,,procula      ,just as       
,pilate was preparing to go out and give
 his answer to the ,jews1  who were     
muttering restlessly and impatiently    
before the door1 a servant  sent by his 
wife came up to him1 giving him this    
message3 8,have thou  nothing to do with
 that just man3 for ,i have suffered    
many things this  day in a dream because
 of him40    ,no one in the four        
,gospels tells us what impression was   

made on the  ,procurator by this        
unexpected intercession from his wife4  
,we know  nothing of her except her     
name4 ,according to the ,gospel of      
,nicodemus her  name was ,claudia       
,procula1 and if this name was really   
hers she may have  belonged to the      
,gente ,claudia1 distinguished and      
powerful at ,rome4 ,we  may thus suppose
 that she was by birth and connections  
of a higher  social rank than her       
husband1 and that ,pilate1 a mere       
freedman1 may have  owed to her and her 
influence in ,rome his post in ,judea4  
,if all this was true1 certainly the    
request of ,claudia ,procula must have  
made some impression on ,pilate1        
especially if he loved her2 and that he 
loved her1 at least as a man of his     
nature could love1 seems proved by  the 
fact that he had asked to take her with 
him into ,asia4 ,the ,lex  ,oppia1      
although mitigated by a decree of the   
,senate in the consulship of  ,cethegus 
and ,varro1 forbade the pro-consuls to  

take their wives with  them1 and        
,pontius ,pilate had a special permit   
from ,tiberius allowing  ,claudia       
,procula to accompany him to ,palestine4
    ,the motives for this intercession1 
so briefly stated1 are mysterious4  ,the
 words of ,matthew refer to a dream in  
which she had suffered because  of      
,jesus3 it is probable that she had     
heard people talking for some time  of  
the new ,prophet2 perhaps she had seen  
,him1 and found ,him very  different    
from the other ,jews4 ,the fact that ,he
 was neither a vulgar  demagogue nor a  
hypocritical ,pharisee must have been   
pleasing to the  imagination of a       
fanciful ,roman woman4 ,she did not     
understand the  language spoken in      
,jerusalem1 but some interpreter of the 
law courts  might have repeated to her  
some of ,jesus' words1 words which would
 have  convinced her that ,he was not1  
as they said1 a dangerous criminal4     
,in those days the ,romans1 especially  
,roman women1 were beginning to feel    

the attraction of ,oriental myths and   
cults1 which gave more satisfaction  to 
the longing for personal immortality    
than the old ,latin religion1 a  cold1  
legal1 businesslike exchange of         
sacrifices to obtain utilitarian  and   
political ends4 ,many patrician women1  
even in ,rome1 had been  initiated into 
the mysteries of ,mithra1 ,osiris and of
 ,isis1 the ,great  ,mother1 and some   
showed a certain leaning towards        
,judaism4 ,in that very  reign of       
,tiberius many ,jews living in ,rome    
were exiled from the ,capital  because1 
according to ,josephus1 some of them had
 deceived a matron  ,fulvia--converted  
to ,judaism--and ,fulvia1 as we see from
 a reference of  ,suetonius1 was not the
 only one4    ,it is not impossible that
 ,claudia ,procula1 living in ,judea1   
had been  curious to know more in detail
 about the religion of the people       
governed  by her husband1 and that1     
curious like all women about new things1
 she  had tried to find out what new    

doctrines were being preached by the    
,galilean prophet of whom every one in  
,jerusalem was talking4 ,it is  certain 
that she had become convinced that      
,jesus was a 8just man0 and  hence      
innocent4 ,the dream of that night1 the 
terrible dream--for she had  8suffered  
many things0 in it--had confirmed her in
 this conviction1 and  it is not        
surprising that relying on the influence
 which women have with  their husbands1 
even if their husbands love them no     
longer1 she sent  this imploring message
 to ,pilate4    ,it is enough for us    
that she called ,him 8,that just        
man0--the man whom the  ,jews wished to 
assassinate4 ,together with the         
,centurion of ,capernaum and  with the  
,canaanite woman1 ,claudia ,procula is  
the first pagan who  believed in        
,christ1 and the ,greek ,church has good
 reason to revere her  as a ,saint4     
,this message from his wife strengthened
 ,pilate's reluctance1 inclined as  he  
already was to neutrality1 if not to    

clemency1 through his animosity  to     
,caiaphas1 and perhaps through the words
 of the ,accused4 ,claudia  ,procula had
 not said1 8,save ,him0--but3 8,have    
thou nothing to do with that  just man40
 ,this was ,pilate's idea1 also2 as if  
he had a confused  divination of the    
importance of this mysterious beggar who
 called  ,himself ,king4 ,at the very   
first he had ordered the ,jews to judge 
,him1  themselves1 but they had not been
 willing to do this4 ,then another way  
to evade the responsibility occurred to 
him4 ,he went back to ,jesus and  asked 
whether ,he were a ,galilean4    ,this  
evasion seemed to promise success4      
,jesus did not belong to his            
jurisdiction1 but to that of ,herod     
,antipas4 ,by good luck ,herod was there
  at ,jerusalem at that very time1 come 
as was his wont for the ,passover4  ,the
 ,procurator had found a legitimate     
subterfuge to satisfy his wife--and  to 
free himself from this troublesome      
perplexity4 ,with one stroke he  would  

ingratiate himself with the ,jews1      
leaving to one of their own race  the   
decisive judgment1 and at the same time 
he would do a bad turn to  the patriarch
 whom he hated with all his heart       
because he suspected him  with good     
reason of spying on him and tale-bearing
 to ,tiberius4 ,so1  losing no time1 he 
ordered the soldiers to take ,jesus     
before ,herod4                          
,,the ,,white ,,cloak      ,the third   
judge before whom ,jesus was led was a  
son of that  bloody-minded hog1 ,herod  
the ,great1 by one of his five wives4   
,he was the  true son of his father     
because he wronged his brothers as his  
father had  wronged his sons4 ,when his 
brother ,archelaus1 his own             
half-brother1 was  accused by his       
subjects1 he managed to have him exiled4
 ,he robbed his  other brother ,herod of
 his wife4 ,when he was seventeen years 
old he  began to reign as ,tetrarch over
 ,galilee and over ,berea1 and to       
ingratiate himself with ,tiberius1      

offered himself as a secret  tale-bearer
 of the sayings and doings of his       
brothers and of the ,roman  officials in
 ,judea4 ,on a voyage to ,rome he fell  
in love with ,herodias1  who was both   
his niece and his sister-in-law1 since  
she was the daughter  of his brother    
,aristobulus1 and wife of his brother   
,herod1 and not  shrinking from the     
double incest1 he persuaded her to      
follow him1  together with ,salome1 the 
daughter of the adulteress4 ,his first  
wife1  daughter of ,aretas1 king of the 
,nabatei1 went back to her father1 who  
declared war on ,antipas and defeated   
him4    ,this happened while ,john the  
,baptist was beginning to be talked     
about  among the people4 ,the prophet   
let slip some words of condemnation     
against these two incestuous adulterers1
 and this was enough for  ,herodias to  
persuade her new husband to have him    
taken and shut up in  the fortress of   
,machrus4 ,every one knows how the foul 
,tetrarch1  inflamed by cruel ,salome's 

lascivious arts1 and perhaps meditating 
a new  incest1 was forced to offer her  
the bearded head of the ,prophet of     
,fire  on a golden platter4    ,but even
 after his decapitation ,john's shade   
disturbed ,herod1 and when  he began to 
hear talk of ,jesus and of ,his miracles
 he said to his  courtiers1 8,this is   
,john the ,baptist2 he is risen from the
 dead40    ,it seems that he kept his   
eye on the new prophet1 and that at one 
time  he thought of serving ,him as he  
had his precursor2 but either for       
political or superstitious reasons1     
deciding that he would have no more  to 
do with prophets1 he saw that the best  
way was to force ,jesus to  leave his   
,tetrarchy4 ,one day some ,pharisees1   
very probably acting on  ,herod's       
instructions1 went to say to ,jesus3    
8,get thee out1 and depart  hence3 for  
,herod will kill thee40    8,and he said
 unto them1 ,go ye and tell that fox 444
 nevertheless ,i must  walk to-day1 and 
to-morrow1 and the day following2 for it

 cannot be that  a prophet perish out of
 ,jerusalem40    ,and now at ,jerusalem 
near ,his death1 ,he appeared before    
that fox4 ,that  traitor and spy1       
incestuous adulterer1 assassin of ,john 
and enemy of the  prophets was the most 
fitting person to condemn innocence4    
,but ,jesus had  named him well3 he was 
more fox than tiger1 and he shrank from 
being a  substitute for ,pilate4 ,luke  
tells us1 8,when ,herod saw ,jesus he   
was  exceeding glad3 for he was desirous
 to see him of a long season1 because   
he had heard many things of him2 and he 
hoped to have seen some miracle  done by
 him40    ,the son of the ,idumean and  
the ,samaritan woman had scorched       
himself in  ,john's fire1 and he        
received ,jesus as an old tamer of      
animals1 with the  marks of the lion's  
teeth still on his arm1 looks at a new  
wild animal  brought for him to see4    
,but1 like all ,oriental barbarians1 his
 mind was  obsessed by prodigies1 and he
 imagined ,jesus to be a wandering      

wizard  who could1 whenever ,he wished1 
repeat some of ,his sorcery4 ,herod     
hated  ,him as he had hated ,john1 but  
he hated ,him partly because he feared  
,him2  the prophets had a power which   
,herod did not understand and which     
intimidated him3 perhaps the beheading  
of ,john had brought him bad luck4  ,he 
too wished ,jesus to be killed1 but he  
had no mind to be in any way            
responsible for ,his death4    ,seeing  
that there were no miracles to be       
expected1 he began to put many          
questions1 to which ,jesus made no      
answer4 ,he had broken ,his silence for 
,annas1 for ,caiaphas1 for ,pilate1 but 
,he would not for this crowned  rascal6 
,annas and ,caiaphas were ,his declared 
enemies1 ,pilate was a blind  man       
groping along1 thinking that he was     
saving ,him1 but this ,herod was a      
cowardly fox and did not deserve even an
 insult4 ,the ,high ,priests and  the   
,scribes1 fearing that ,john's assassin 
would be too cowardly to kill  ,jesus1  

as in fact he was1 had followed their   
victim there and vehemently  accused    
him4 ,these furious accusations and the 
silence of the accused  man deepened the
 hidden rancor of ,antipas1 who1        
together with his  soldiers1 abused the 
,man of divine silences1 threw over his 
shoulders a  gorgeous robe1 and sent    
,him again to ,pilate4    ,like ,pilate1
 but for other reasons1 he was not      
willing to condemn the  man baptized by 
,john1 and who perhaps was ,john himself
 returned from the  dead to avenge      
himself4 ,but when he sent ,him away he 
made ,him a gift  which bears           
unconscious witness to the rank of the  
man about to die4 ,the  mantle1 shining 
with whiteness1 was1 so ,josephus says1 
the garment of  the ,jewish ,kings1 and 
,jesus was accused of wishing to make   
,himself ,king  of the ,jews4 ,antipas1 
the astute1 wished to ridicule the      
pretensions of  ,jesus by ironically    
making him a present of the regal robe2 
but when he  covered ,him with that     

whiteness1 which is the symbol of       
innocence and of  sovereignty1 the      
ignoble fox sent to ,pilate a symbolical
 message which  involuntarily confirmed 
the message of ,claudia ,procula1 the   
accusation  of ,caiaphas1 and what      
,christ ,himself had said4              
,,crucify ,,him6      ,pilate had       
thought that he had succeeded in        
extracting himself from the  troublesome
 position in which his adversaries had  
tried to place him4  ,but when he saw   
,jesus return wrapped in that regal     
white garment he  understood that he    
must at any cost get the matter settled4
    ,the bitter fury of those who for so
 many reasons were objects of  suspicion
 to him1 his wife's compassion1 the     
answers of ,christ1 the fact  that      
,antipas had refrained from action1 all 
inclined him to refuse to  give the     
,jews the life for which they were      
asking4 ,perhaps while ,jesus  was with 
the ,tetrarch1 ,pilate had asked some   
one of his followers about  the         

pretended ,king1 and the information    
confirmed him in his decision4  ,jesus  
had never said anything that would be   
offensive to ,pilate3 rather  there was 
much in what ,he said calculated to     
please the ,roman1 or at  least that    
would seem advantageous to the authority
 of ,rome4    ,jesus taught love for    
enemies1 and in ,judea the ,romans were 
considered  enemies2 ,he called the poor
 blessed1 hence ,he exhorted them to    
resignation and not to revolt2 ,he      
advised men to render unto ,csar that   
which was ,csar's1 that is1 to pay      
tribute to the ,emperor2 ,he was        
opposed to the ,pharisaical formalism   
which made the relations of the  ,romans
 with their subjects so difficult2 ,he  
did not respect the ,sabbath2  ,he ate  
with publicans and with ,gentiles2 and  
finally ,he announced that  ,his        
,kingdom was not of this world1 but of a
 world so metaphysical and  remote that 
it could never endanger ,tiberius or his
 successors4 ,if  ,pilate knew these    

things1 he must have said to himself    
with the  superficiality of all         
skeptics1 especially when they think    
themselves  expert politicians1 that it 
would be a good thing for him and for   
,rome  if many ,jews followed ,jesus1   
rather than fomented rebellion in the   
councils of the ,zealots4    ,he had    
therefore decided to save ,jesus1 but in
 this indulgence he wanted  to put a    
sarcastic note1 something that would be 
offensive to the ,high  ,priests1 who   
three times had set themselves against  
him and now were  importuning him to be 
their hangman4 ,up to the last he would 
pretend to  treat ,jesus like the ,king 
of the ,jews4 ,here is your ,king1 the  
,king that  you deserve1 wretched and   
perfidious people6 ,a village carpenter1
 a  vagabond1 a beggar1 who vapored of  
reigning beyond earthly life1 and who   
as a matter of fact had as followers    
only a few fishermen and peasants  and a
 few silly women4 ,see how wretched ,he 
is1 how miserable6 ,why do you  want to 

kill ,him8 ,keep ,him2 you deserve no   
better ,king than ,he4 ,i will  follow  
your example1 will amuse myself a little
 by tormenting ,him1 and  then ,i will  
let ,him go4    ,and causing ,jesus to  
be led out1 ,pilate went to the door and
 said to the  ,high ,priests and the    
others who crowded about1 their faces   
thrust  forward to hear the sentence    
given at last1 8,ye have brought this   
man  unto me1 as one that perverteth the
 people3 and1 behold1 ,i1 having        
examined him before you1 have found no  
fault in this man touching those  things
 whereof ye accuse him3 ,no1 nor yet    
,herod3 for ,i sent you to him2  and lo1
 nothing worthy of death is done unto   
him4 ,i will therefore  chastise him and
 release him40    ,this was not the     
answer awaited by the ravening hounds1  
yelling in the  square before the       
,procurator's house4 ,a bestial cry     
burst out from those  gaping mouths1    
8,kill ,him60    ,a flogging would be   
too light a punishment for this         

dangerous enemy of  the ,god of ,armies 
and the ,god of ,business4 ,something   
quite different  from that was necessary
 to satisfy these butchers of the       
,temple4 ,they  had come to ask for     
blood and not for pardon4    8,kill     
,him60 yelled ,annas and ,caiaphas1 and 
with them the ,pharisaical  vipers      
hissed1 the sellers of the holy animals 
shrieked1 the  money-changers1 the men  
who rented beasts of burden1 the porters
 of the  caravans4 8,kill ,him60 howled 
the ,scribes1 wrapped in their          
theological  cloaks1 the vendors of the 
,passover fair1 the tavern-keepers of   
the  upper city1 the ,levites1 the      
servants of the ,temple1 the hired      
helpers  of the usurers1 the errand boys
 of the priests1 all the servile horde  
assembled before the ,procurator's      
house4    ,as soon as this uproar was a 
little quieted1 ,pilate asked1 8,what   
will ye  then that ,i shall do unto him 
whom ye call ,king of the ,jews80       
,and they all answered1 8,crucify him60 

,but the ,procurator resisted1 8,why1   
what evil hath he done80    ,and they   
cried out the more exceedingly1         
8,crucify him60    ,jesus1 pale and calm
 in the whiteness of the mocking cloak1 
looked  quietly at the crowd1 which     
desired to give ,him what in ,his heart 
,he had  been seeking4 ,he was dying for
 them1 with the divine hope of saving   
even  them by ,his death1 and they were 
assailing ,him1 howling as if ,he had   
wished to escape ,his accepted fate4    
,his friends were not there1 were       
hidden2 all ,his people wished to pierce
 ,his flesh with nails1 and only a      
foreigner1 an idolater1 defended ,his   
life4 ,why was ,pilate not moved to     
compassion8 ,why did ,he not give ,him  
at once to the crucifiers8 ,did he  not 
realize that his false pity only        
lengthened and embittered the  anguish8 
,he loved and it was fitting that ,he   
should be hated2 ,he brought  men back  
from death and it was fitting that ,he  
should be killed2 ,he  wished to save   

others and it was fitting that all men  
should wish to  destroy ,him2 ,he was   
innocent and it was fitting that ,he    
should be  sacrificed4    ,but obstinate
 ,pilate did not surrender to the howls 
of the ,jews nor to  ,jesus' silent     
prayer4 ,at any cost he wanted to win   
his point4 ,he would  not give in once  
more to that fierce1 filthy mob4 ,he had
 not succeeded  in transferring to      
,antipas the disagreeable responsibility
 of a  death-sentence2 he had not       
succeeded in persuading this tigerish   
and  mulish people of the innocence of  
their wretched king4 ,what they wanted  
was to see a little blood2 on these     
festival days they wanted to enjoy  the 
spectacle of a crucifixion4 ,he would   
satisfy them with a bargain1  giving    
them the carcass of a murderer in       
exchange for the body of an  innocent   
man4                                    
,,barabbas      8,i find in him no fault
 at all4 ,but ye have a custom1 that ,i 
should  release unto you one at the     

passover4 ,whom will ye that ,i release 
unto  you8 ,barabbas1 or ,jesus which is
 called ,christ80    ,taken by surprise1
 the people did not know what to answer4
 ,until then  there had been but one    
name1 one victim1 one punishment asked  
for2  everything was as clear as the sky
 on that mid-,april morning4 ,but now1  
in order to save that scandal-maker1    
this impertinent pagan brought into     
question another name which confused the
 whole matter4 ,pilate wanted to  flog  
,him only1 instead of crucifying ,him3  
and now he wanted to crucify  another   
delinquent in ,his place4 ,by good      
fortune the ,elders1 ,scribes and       
,priests were still there and they had  
no intention of letting ,jesus  escape4 
,in a flash they suggested the right    
reply4 ,so that when ,pilate  asked them
 a second time which of the two they    
wished him to free1 they  answered with 
one voice1 8,away with this man1 and    
release unto us  ,barabbas60    ,he was 
not an ordinary delinquent1 the man whom

 the ,procurator offered  as            
blood-ransom to those men with such a   
morbid relish for crucifixions4  ,the   
common tradition has preserved his      
memory as a street ruffian1 a  criminal 
by profession4 ,but his surname--,bar   
,rabban1 which means ,son of  ,rab1 or  
rather disciple of the ,master1 since   
the scholars of the ,rabbis  were called
 their sons--shows us that through birth
 or through study he  belonged to the   
caste of ,doctors of ,law4 ,mark and    
,luke say expressly  that he was accused
 of having committed murder during a    
sedition1 hence  a political assassin4  
,jesus ,barabbas1 a student in the      
school of the  ,scribes1 lamenting over 
the loss of the ,jewish ,kingdom1 and   
hating  ,judea's pagan masters1 was     
probably a ,zealot and had been captured
 in  one of the unsuccessful revolts1 so
 common at that time4 ,was it likely    
that such an absurd bargain would       
satisfy the ,sadducee and ,pharisee     
assembly which shared the sentiments of 

the ,zealots1 even if for reasons  of   
state they hid them1 or out of weakness 
of soul forgot them8    ,barabbas1      
although an assassin1 and indeed        
precisely because he was an             
assassin--was a patriot1 a martyr1      
persecuted by the foreigners4 ,jesus1   
on the other hand1 although ,he had     
never killed any one1 had wished to     
overturn the law of ,moses1 and to ruin 
the ,temple4 ,the first1 in short1  was 
a sort of national hero1 the other an   
enemy of the nation3 there  could be no 
doubt about their choice4 8,free        
,barabbas6 ,let this man die60  ,once   
more ,pontius ,pilate had failed to save
 ,christ or himself4 ,he ought  to have 
realized before this1 that the leaders  
of the ,jews would not  loose their hold
 on the flesh into which they had       
already set their  teeth1 the only flesh
 which could stay their hunger4 ,their  
need for it  that day was like their    
need for bread and air4 ,they would not 
have left  that spot1 not even to eat1  

until they had seen that ,bastard       
,messiah  fastened with four nails upon 
two beams4    ,pontius ,pilate was      
cowardly4 ,he was afraid that he was    
committing an  injustice2 he was afraid 
of displeasing his wife2 he was afraid  
of  giving satisfaction to his enemies2 
but at the same time he was afraid  to  
put ,jesus in a place of safety2 he was 
afraid to have his soldiers  disperse   
that sullen1 arrogant crowd2 he was     
afraid to decide with a  clear-cut act  
of authority that ,jesus1 the innocent  
man1 should be  released1 and not       
,barabbas1 the assassin4 ,a real ,roman1
 a ,roman of  antiquity1 of the true    
,roman stock1 would either at once have 
satisfied  the demands of that turbulent
 crowd and would not have wasted a      
moment  in defending an obscure         
visionary2 or would at once have        
decreed1 from  the beginning1 that this 
man was innocent and was under the      
august  protection of the ,empire4      
,by his stratagems1 half-measures1      

indolent questionings1 hesitations and  
partially executed maneuvers ,pilate    
found himself slowly pushed towards  a  
decision he did not wish to make4 ,the  
fact that he had not at once  decided   
the question with a yes or no had       
increased the insolence of the  ,high   
,priests and the excitement of the      
people4 ,now there were only two        
alternatives3 either to give in         
shamefully after resisting so long1 or  
to risk starting a tumult which on those
 days1 when ,jerusalem included  almost 
a third of the population of ,judea1    
might become a perilous  uprising4      
,undone by his cowardly wavering1       
deafened by the yells1 the only thing   
that came into his mind was to ask once 
more the advice of men to whom  he      
should have issued orders4    8,what    
shall ,i do then with ,jesus which is   
called ,christ80    8,crucify him1 let  
him be crucified60    8,why1 what evil  
hath he done80    8,crucify him6        
,crucify him60    ,what affair is it of 

this odious foreigner if ,jesus had done
 evil or  not8 ,according to our faith  
,he is an impostor1 a blasphemer1 an    
enemy of  the people and deserves death4
 ,even if ,he has done no evil ,he      
deserves  death because ,his words are  
more dangerous than any wicked actions4 
8,crucify him6 ,crucify him60    8,take 
ye him and crucify him10 cried ,pilate1 
8for ,i find no fault in  him40    8,we 
have a law1 and by our law he ought to  
die1 because he made himself  the ,son  
of ,god40    ,the silence of ,jesus was 
more potent than this bestial outcry4   
,they were  fighting for the possession 
of ,his body1 and ,he seemed scarcely to
 be  aware of it4 ,he knew that from the
 beginning of time ,his destiny was     
sealed and that this was ,his day4 ,the 
battle was so uneven6 ,on one side  a   
,gentile1 who knew nothing and          
understood nothing of ,him1 who did not 
defend ,him through love but through    
,hate1 who did not defend ,him openly   
but with tricks and quibbles1 who was   

more afraid of a revolt than of an      
injustice1 who was stubborn through     
punctilio and not because of his        
certainty of ,christ's innocence4 ,on   
the other hand1 a threatened clergy1  a 
vindictive bourgeoisie1 a crowd1 like   
all crowds1 easily incited to  evil     
deeds4 ,it was easy enough to foresee   
the outcome4    ,but ,pontius ,pilate   
would not yield the point4 ,he would    
restore ,barabbas  to his accomplices1  
but he would not give up ,jesus4 ,his   
first idea came  into his head again3 to
 have ,him scourged2 perhaps when they  
saw the  bruises and the blood dripping 
from ,his back they would be satisfied  
with that punishment and would leave in 
peace the innocent man who  looked with 
equal pity on the cowardly shepherd and 
the unruly wolves4    ,the ,procurator  
had said that he found no fault with    
,him1 and yet he was  to have ,him      
scourged with rods4 ,this contradiction1
 this half-injustice1  this compromise1 
is characteristic of ,pilate4 ,but it   

was to be of no  avail2 like his other  
efforts1 it was merely to add one more  
shame to  his final defeat4    ,the     
,jews were still shrieking1 8,let him be
 crucified60 ,but ,pilate went  back    
into his house and gave ,jesus over to  
the ,roman soldiers to be  flogged4     
,a ,,crowned ,,king      ,the           
mercenaries1 who 7in the provinces7 were
 the majority in the  legions1 had been 
waiting for this decision4 ,throughout  
the long dispute  the soldiers of the   
,procurator's guard had been obliged to 
look on1  silent and motionless1 at this
 mysterious colonial uproar1 of which   
only  one thing seemed clear to them1   
that their commanding officer was not   
cutting the best figure4 ,for a while   
they had been amused by watching  the   
sinister faces1 the excitability and the
 gesticulation of that  ,jewish swarm2  
and they had become aware that the      
,procurator1 somber and  perplexed1 was 
vainly trying to unravel the tangled    
threads of this  early-morning quarrel4 

,they kept their eyes on him1 as dogs   
watch an  unskillful hunter1 circling   
about without making up his mind to     
fire1  although the quarry is close at  
hand4    ,now at last something to their
 taste happened4 ,they were to have     
their  turn at amusing themselves4 ,to  
flog a ,jew1 hated by the ,jews         
themselves1  was an amusement neither   
dangerous nor very tiring1--just enough 
to  exercise their arms1 to stretch the 
muscles contracted by the morning       
chill1 and to start the blood           
circulating4    ,all the company was    
ordered into the court-yard of the      
palace1 and the  white cloak given by   
,antipas was taken from ,jesus'         
back--the first spoils  of the          
enterprise--together with part of ,his  
other clothes4 ,the lictors  chose the  
rods1 and the strongest among the       
soldiers snatched at them4  ,they were  
practical people who knew how to flog   
energetically and  according to the     
rules4    ,jesus1 half of ,his body     

bared1 tied to a pillar1 that ,he might 
not  lessen the force of the blows by   
bending forward1 silently prayed to the 
,father for the soldiers about to       
scourge ,him4 ,had ,he not said3 8,love 
those who hate you1 do good to those who
 persecute you1 offer the left  cheek to
 him who has struck the right08 ,at that
 moment ,he could reward  his scourgers 
only by interceding with ,god for their 
forgiveness4 ,these  soldiers were      
prisoners as much as ,he1 and they knew 
not whom they were  flogging with such  
innocent heartiness4 ,they themselves   
had been flogged  sometimes for small   
breaches of discipline1 and they saw    
nothing out of  the way in the fact that
 the ,procurator1 a ,roman officer1 had 
them  scourge a delinquent belonging to 
a subject and inferior race4    ,strike 
hard1 ,o legionaries1 for of this blood 
which now begins to flow1  some drops   
are shed for you4 ,this was the first   
blood drawn by men from  the ,son of    
,man4 ,at the ,last ,supper ,his blood  

had been symbolized by the  wine1 on the
 ,mount of ,olives the blood which mixed
 with the sweat1 stood  in drops on ,his
 face1 came from a suffering altogether 
spiritual and  inner4 ,but now1 at last1
 men's hands shed blood from the veins  
of  ,christ2 knotty hands of soldiers in
 the service of the rich and the        
powerful1 hands which wield the scourge 
before taking up the nails4 ,that  livid
 back1 swollen and bloody1 was ready for
 the cross2 torn and raw as  it was1 it 
would add to the suffering of           
crucifixion when they stretched  it out 
on the rough wood of the cross4 ,now    
they could stop1 the  courtyard of the  
cowardly stranger was stained with      
blood4 ,servants that  very day might   
wash away those spots1 but they would   
start out again on  the well-washed     
white hands of ,pontius ,pilate4    ,the
 number of blows prescribed had been    
duly administered1 but now1  after their
 taste of amusement1 the legionaries did
 not wish to let  their plaything escape

 at once4 ,all they had done so far was 
to execute  an order2 now they wished to
 have some entertainment of their own4  
,this  man1 so said the ,jews howling   
out there in the public square1         
pretended  to be a king4 ,let us give   
,him ,his wish1 this madman1 and thus we
 will  enrage those who refuse ,him ,his
 royal dignity4    ,a soldier took off  
his scarlet cloak1 the red chlamys of   
the  legionaries1 and threw it over     
those shoulders1 red with blood2 another
  took up a handful of dry thorns1      
kindling for the brazier of the         
night-watch1 twisted a couple of them   
together like a crown and put it  on    
,his head2 a third had a slave give ,him
 a reed and forced it into the  fingers 
of ,his right hand2 then1 roaring with  
laughter1 they pushed ,him  upon a seat4
 ,one by one1 passing before ,him1 they 
bent their knees  awkwardly1 crying3    
8,hail1 ,king of the ,jews60    ,but    
some were not satisfied with this       
burlesque homage1 and one of them       

struck a blow at the cheek1 still       
showing the marks of the fingers of     
,caiaphas' servants2 one1 snatching the 
reed out of ,his hand1 gave ,him a  blow
 on the head1 so that the thorns of ,his
 crown pierced the skin and  made about 
,his forehead a border of drops red as  
,his cloak4    ,they would perhaps have 
thought of some other amusing diversion 
if the  ,procurator1 coming up when they
 were making merry1 had not ordered them
  to lead the scourged ,king outside4   
,the jocose disguise invented by the    
legionaries fitted in with the sarcastic
 intention of ,pilate4 ,he smiled1  and 
taking ,jesus by the hand1 led ,him to  
the crowd of wild animals  there1 and   
cried3 8,behold the man60               
,,the ,,washing ,,of ,,the ,,hands      
8,behold the man60    ,and he turned    
,christ's shoulders towards that expanse
 of yelling muzzles  that they might see
 the welts left by the rods1 red with   
oozing blood4  ,it was as if he said3   
,look at ,him1 your ,king1 the only     

,king that you  deserve1 in ,his true   
majesty1 tricked out as befits such a   
,king4 ,his  crown is of sharp thorns2  
,his purple cloak is the chlamys of a   
mercenary2 ,his scepter is a dry reed4  
,these are the ornaments merited by     
your degraded ,king1 unjustly rejected  
by a degraded people like  yourselves4  
,was it ,his blood you desired8 ,here is
 ,his blood2 see how it  drops from the 
thorns of ,his crown4 ,there is not much
 of it1 but it  ought to be enough for  
you1 since it is innocent blood4 ,it is 
shed as a  great favor to you--to       
satisfy you4 ,and now be off from here1 
for you  have troubled me long enough6  
,but the ,jews were quieted neither by  
these words nor by that spectacle4      
,they demanded something quite other    
than a flogging and a masquerade  before
 they would go their ways4 ,pilate      
thought that he could make mock  of     
them1 but he would realize that this was
 no time for feeble jokes4  ,they had   
had the best of him twice already and   

they would again4 ,a few  bruises and a 
practical joke played by the soldiery   
were not enough to  punish this enemy of
 ,god as ,he deserved2 there were trees 
in ,judea and  nails to nail ,him to    
them4 ,and their hoarse voices shouted  
all together1  8,let him be crucified6  
,let him be crucified60    ,too late    
,pilate realized that they had driven   
him into a tangle from  which he could  
not disengage himself4 ,all his         
decisions were combated  with a         
pertinacity he had not foreseen4 ,by a  
flash of inspiration he had  pronounced 
the great words1 8,behold the man60 ,but
 he himself did not  understand that    
proclamation which transcended his base 
soul4 ,he did not  realize that he had  
found the truth he was seeking3 a       
half-truth1 but  deeper than all the    
teachings of the philosophers of ,rome  
and ,greece4 ,he  did not understand how
 ,jesus was really ,man1 the symbol of  
all humanity1  sorrowing and humiliated1
 betrayed by its rulers1 deceived by its

  masters1 crucified every day by the   
,kings who oppress their subjects1 by   
the rich who cause the poor to weep1 by 
priests who think of their  bellies     
rather than of ,god4 ,jesus is the ,man 
of ,sorrows announced by  ,isaiah1 the  
man without form or comeliness1 despised
 and rejected of  men1 who was to be    
killed for all men2 ,he is ,god's only  
son who had  taken on man's flesh1 and  
who would ascend in the glory of power  
and of  the new sun1 in the midst of the
 blaring of the trumpets calling the    
dead to life4 ,but now to the eyes of   
,pilate1 to the eyes of ,pilate's       
enemies1 ,he was only a wretched1       
insignificant man1 flesh for rods and   
for nails1 a man and not ,man1 a mortal 
and not a ,god4 ,why did ,pilate  lose  
time with those sibylline remarks before
 delivering ,him to the  executioner8   
,and yet ,pilate still did not yield4   
,standing beside that silent man1 the   
,roman felt his heart heavy with an     
oppression he had never known before4   

,who could this man be whom all the     
people wished to kill1 and whom he      
could neither save nor sacrifice8 ,he   
turned once more to ,jesus1 8,whence    
art thou80    ,but ,jesus gave him no   
answer4    8,speakest thou not unto me8 
knowest thou not that ,i have power to  
crucify thee1 and have power to release 
thee80    ,then the insulted ,king      
raised ,his head1 8,thou couldest have  
no power at  all against me1 except it  
were given thee from above3 therefore he
 that  delivered me unto thee hath the  
greater sin40    ,caiaphas and his      
associates were the guilty ones2 the    
others were dogs  incited by ,caiaphas1 
mere tools of ,caiaphas4 ,even ,pilate  
was only an  indocile instrument of     
priestly hatred and of the ,divine will4
    ,but the ,procurator in his         
perplexity found no new expedient to    
free  himself from the net about him1   
and returned to his fixed idea1 8,behold
  your ,king60    ,the ,jews1 infuriated
 by this repeated insult1 burst out1    

enraged1 8,if  thou let this man go1    
thou art not ,csar's friend2 whosoever  
maketh  himself a king speaketh against 
,csar40    ,at last they had hit on the 
right words to bring pressure on weak1  
cowardly ,pilate4 ,every ,roman         
magistrate1 no matter how high his rank1
  depended on ,csar's favor4 ,pilate's  
reputation might be ruined by an        
accusation of this sort1 presented with 
ability1 by malicious  advocates--and   
there were plenty of those among the    
,hebrews1 as was shown  later by the    
memorial of ,philo4 ,but in spite of the
 threat1 ,pilate cried  out his last and
 weakest question1 8,shall ,i crucify   
your king80    ,the ,high ,priests1     
feeling that they were on the point of  
winning1  answered with their last lie1 
8,we have no king but ,csar40    ,pilate
 surrendered4 ,he was forced to yield   
unless he wished to start an  uproar    
which might set all ,judea on fire4 ,his
 conscience did not disturb  him3 had he
 not tried everything possible to save  

this man who did not  wish to save      
,himself8    ,he had tried to save ,him 
by referring the matter to the          
,sanhedrin1 which  could not pronounce a
 death sentence2 he had tried to save   
,him by  sending ,him to ,herod2 he had 
tried to save ,him by affirming that he 
found no fault in ,him2 he had tried to 
save ,him by offering to free ,him  in  
the place of ,barabbas2 he had tried to 
save ,him by having ,him  scourged in   
the hope that this ignominious          
punishment would pacify them2  he had   
tried to save ,him by seeking to arouse 
a little pity in those  hardened hearts4
 ,but all his maneuvers had failed1 and 
he certainly did  not wish the whole    
province to rise on account of that     
unfortunate  ,prophet2 and even less was
 he willing that on ,his account they   
should  accuse him before ,tiberius and 
have him deposed4    ,pilate thought    
himself innocent of the blood of this   
innocent man4 ,and  in order that they  
might all have a visible representation 

of that  innocence which they would not 
forget1 he had a basin of water brought 
to him and washed his hands there before
 them all1 saying1 8,i am  innocent of  
the blood of this just person3 see ye to
 it40    ,then answered all the people  
and said1 8,his blood be on us1 and on  
our  children40    8,then released he   
,barabbas unto them3 and when he had    
scourged ,jesus he  delivered him to be 
crucified40    ,but the water which     
flowed over his hands was not enough to 
cleanse  them4 ,his hands are still     
blood-stained1 and will be to all       
eternity4 ,he  might have saved ,christ 
if he had really wished4 ,jesus was sent
 to  ,golgotha by ,pilate's subterfuges1
 by the multiple forms taken by the     
cowardice of ,pilate's soul1 poisoned by
 the irony of skeptics4 ,he would  have 
been less base if he had really believed
 ,christ guilty and had  given his      
consent to the assassination4 ,but he   
knew that there was no  fault in ,jesus1
 that ,jesus was a just man as ,claudia 

,procula had said1  as he himself had   
repeated after her4 ,there is no excuse 
for a man in  authority who1 fearing for
 himself1 allows a just man to be       
killed3 he  holds office in order to    
protect the just against assassins4 ,but
 ,pilate  said1 8,i have done everything
 that ,i could to save ,him from the    
hands of  the unjust40 ,that was not    
true2 he had tried many ways1 but not   
the only  way which could have          
succeeded4 ,he had not offered himself1 
had not  sacrificed himself1 had not    
been willing to risk his dignity and his
  fortune4 ,the ,jews hated ,jesus1 but 
they also hated ,pilate1 who had        
harassed and derided them so many times4
 ,instead of proposing the  seditious   
,barabbas in exchange for ,jesus1 he    
ought to have proposed  himself1        
,pontius ,pilate1 ,procurator of ,judea1
 and perhaps the people  might have     
accepted the bargain4 ,no other victim  
except himself would  have satisfied the
 rage of the ,jews4 ,it would not have  

been necessary  for him to die4 ,it     
would have been enough to let them      
denounce him to  ,csar as ,csar's enemy4
 ,tiberius would have deposed him and   
perhaps have  banished him1 but he would
 have taken into exile and into disgrace
 a  comforting certainty of innocence4  
,little did his shifts avail him2 for   
the fate he now sought to avert by      
giving ,jesus over into the hands of    
his adversaries fell upon him a few     
years later4 ,the ,jews and the         
,samaritans accused him2 the ,governor  
of ,syria deposed him1 and ,caligula    
banished him to the frontiers of ,gaul4 
,but he was followed into his  exile by 
the shade of that great1 silent man1    
assassinated with his  consent4 ,in vain
 had he constructed in ,jerusalem the   
great reservoir  full of water1 in vain 
had he washed himself with that water   
before the  multitude4 ,that water was  
,jewish water1 turbid and ill-omened    
water that  did not cleanse4 ,no washing
 will ever cleanse his hands from the   

stains  left on them by the divine blood
 of ,christ4                            
,,good ,,friday      ,the sun rose      
higher in the clear ,april sky and now  
it was near to noon4  ,the contest      
between the flaccid defender and the    
furious assailants had  wasted most of  
the morning1 and there was no time to   
lose4 ,according to  ,mosaic law1 the   
bodies of executed criminals could not  
remain after  sunset on the place of    
punishment1 and ,april days are not as  
long as  ,june days4    ,moreover1      
,caiaphas1 renforced though he was by so
 many furiously  enraged partisans1     
could not draw a tranquil breath until  
the ,vagabond's  feet were forever      
halted1 fastened with iron nails on the 
cross4 ,he  remembered how1 a few days  
before1 ,jesus had entered the city     
surrounded  with waving branches and    
joyful hymns4 ,he was sure of the city  
itself1  but at this period it was full 
of provincials come from everywhere1 who
  had not the same interests and the    

same passions as the clientele          
dependent on the ,temple4 ,those        
,galileans especially1 who had followed 
,him until now1 who loved ,him1 might   
make some effort at resistance and  put 
off1 even if they did not actually      
prevent1 the real votive offering  of   
that day4    ,pilate1 too1 was in haste 
to have that troublesome1 innocent man  
taken  away4 ,he did not wish to think  
of ,him again4 ,he hoped that he would  
forget after ,his death that look1 those
 words and1 above all1 his own          
corroding uneasiness1 so painfully like 
remorse4 ,although he had washed  and   
dried his hands1 that man in ,his       
silence1 it seemed to him1 was          
sentencing him to a penalty worse than  
death itself4 ,before that  scourged    
man1 at the point of death1 he felt     
himself the guilty one4 ,to  vent his   
uneasiness on those who really caused   
it1 he dictated the  wording of the     
titulus or superscription1 which the    
condemned man was to  wear about ,his   

neck until it was fastened above ,his   
head at the top of  the cross1 as       
follows3 8,jesus of ,nazareth the ,king 
of the ,jews40 ,the  ,scribe wrote these
 words three times in three languages in
 clear1 red  letters on the white wood4 
,the leaders of the ,jews1 who had      
remained there1 craning their necks1 to 
hasten the preparations1 read this      
sarcastic inscription and protested4    
,they said to ,pilate1 8,write not1 ,the
 ,king of the ,jews2 but that he said1  
,i am ,king of the ,jews40    ,but the  
,procurator cut them short with a dry   
brevity3 8,what ,i have  written ,i have
 written40    ,these are the last words 
recorded of him1 and the most profound6 
,i am  forced to make you a present of  
the life of this man1 but ,i do not deny
  what ,i have said4 ,jesus is a        
,nazarene1 which means also1 saint4 ,and
 ,he  is your ,king1 the wretched ,king 
who fits your wretchedness4 ,i wish all 
men to know how your ill-born race      
treats saints and kings4 ,it is for     

this ,i have written these words in     
,latin and ,greek as well as in ,hebrew4
  ,and now be off1 for ,i have endured  
you long enough1 8,quod scripsi1        
scripsi40    ,in the meantime the       
soldiers had put back on the ,king ,his 
poor man's  garments and had tied the   
notice about ,his neck4 ,others had     
brought out  from the storerooms three  
massive crosses of pine1 the nails1 the 
hammer  and the pincers4 ,the escort was
 ready4 ,pilate pronounced the usual    
formula3 8,i lictor1 expedi crucem40    
,and the sinister procession moved      
forward4    ,the ,centurion rode at the 
head1 he whom ,tacitus calls with       
terrible  brevity1 8exactor mortis40    
,immediately after him came1 in the     
midst of  the armed legionaries1 ,jesus 
and the two thieves who were to be      
crucified with ,him4 ,each of them      
carried a cross on his shoulders1       
according to the ,roman rule4 ,and      
behind them1 the shuffling steps and    
the uproar of the excited crowd1        

increased at every step by accomplices  
and idle sight-seers4    ,it was        
,parasceve1 the day of preparations1 the
 last night before the  ,passover4      
,thousands of lambs' skins were         
stretched out on the sunlit  roofs2 and 
from every house rose a column of smoke1
 delicate as a  flower-bud1 which opened
 out in the air and then was lost in the
 clear1  festal sky4 ,old women with    
malignant faces1 mumbling anathemas1    
emerged  from the dark alley-ways2      
dirty-faced little children trotted     
along with  bundles under their arms2   
bearded men carried on their shoulders a
 kid  or a cask of wine2 drovers were   
dragging along asses with hanging heads2
  children stared with impudent and     
melancholy eyes at the foreigners who   
were walking about circumspectly1       
impeded by this festal bustling4 ,in    
every home the house-mother was busy1   
preparing everything needful for  the   
next day1 because with the setting of   
the sun every one was exempt  for       

twenty-four hours from the curse of     
,adam4 ,the lambs1 skinned and          
quartered1 were all ready for the fire2 
the loaves of unleavened bread  were    
piled up fresh from the oven2 men were  
decanting the wine1 and the  children to
 lend a hand somewhere were cleaning the
 bitter herbs4    ,there was no one     
idle1 no one whose heart was not        
rejoicing at the  thought of that festal
 day of repose1 when all families would 
be  gathered about the father1 when they
 would eat in peace and drink the  wine 
of ,thanksgiving from the same cup2 and 
,god would be witness of this  cheer    
because the psalms of the grateful would
 go up to ,him from every  house4 ,on   
that day even the poor felt themselves  
almost rich2 and the  rich1 because of  
their unusual profits1 felt themselves  
almost generous2  and children whose    
hopes had not yet been dashed by        
experience of life  felt themselves more
 loving2 and women more loved4          
,everywhere there was that peaceful     

confusion1 that good-natured tumult1    
that joyous bustle which goes before a  
great1 popular feast-day4 ,an odor  of  
hope and of ,spring purified the old    
filth of the ,jewish ant-heap4 ,and  the
 great eastern sun sent down a flood of 
light upon the four ,hills4             
,,simon ,,of ,,cyrene      ,under that  
festal sky1 through that festal crowd1  
slow as a funeral  procession1 the      
sinister column of the bearers of the   
cross made its  way4 ,about them        
everything spoke of joy and of life1 and
 they were going  to burning thirst and 
to death4 ,about them all men were      
waiting joyfully  to spend the evening  
with their loved ones1 to sit down at   
the  well-garnished table1 to drink the 
bright1 genial wine served on           
feast-days1 to stretch themselves out on
 their beds to wait for the most        
longed-for ,sabbath morning of the year4
 ,and the three1 cut off forever  from  
those who loved them1 would be stretched
 upon the cross of infamy1  would drink 

only a sip of bitter wine1 and1 cold in 
death1 would be  thrown into the cold   
earth4    ,at the sound of the          
,centurion's horse1 people stepped to   
one side and  stopped to look at the    
wretched men toiling and sweating under 
their  terrible burden4 ,the two thieves
 seemed more sturdy and callous1 but the
  first1 the ,man of ,sorrows1 seemed   
scarcely able to take another step4     
,worn out by the terrible night1 by ,his
 four questionings1 by the  buffetings1 
by the beatings1 by the flogging1       
disfigured with blood1  sweat1 saliva1  
and by the terrible effort of this last 
task set ,him1 ,he  did not seem like   
the fearless young man who a few days   
before had  scourged the vermin out of  
the ,temple4 ,his fair1 shining face was
 drawn  and contracted by the           
convulsions of pain2 ,his eyes1 red with
 suppressed  tears1 were sunken in their
 sockets2 on ,his shoulders1 torn by the
 rods1  ,his clothes clung to the       
wounds1 increasing ,his sufferings2 ,his

 legs1  more than ,his other members1   
felt this terrible weakness1 and they   
bent  under ,his weight and under that  
of the cross4 8,the spirit is willing   
but  the flesh is weak40 ,after the     
vigil1 which had been the beginning of  
,his  agony1 how many blows had been    
struck upon that flesh6 ,judas' kiss1   
the  flight of ,his friends1 the rope on
 ,his wrists1 the threats of the        
judges1 the blows of the guard1 the     
cowardice of ,pilate1 the howling       
demands for ,his death1 the insults of  
the legionaries1 and now this  weight of
 the cross1 carried along amid the      
sneers and scoffing of those  whom ,he  
loved6    ,those who saw ,him pass took 
no notice of ,him1 or at the most1 those
 who  knew how to read tried to make out
 the inscription which hung down on     
,his chest4 ,many1 however1 knew ,him by
 sight and by name1 and pointed ,him    
out to their neighbors with learned and 
complacent airs4 ,some of them  mingled 
with the crowd1 following behind to     

enjoy to the end the  spectacle1 always 
new1 of a man's death2 and more would   
have followed if  it had not been a day 
when there was much to do at home4      
,those who had  begun to hope in ,him   
now despised ,him because ,he had not   
been stronger1  because ,he had let     
,himself be taken like any sneak-thief2 
and to  ingratiate themselves with the  
,priests and ,elders mingled with the   
crowd1 they cast out at the false       
,messiah as ,he went by some neatly     
phrased insult4 ,very few were those who
 felt any movement of pity to see  ,him 
in that situation and among those few   
were some who did not know who  ,he was1
 who were moved merely by the natural   
pity which any crowd feels  for         
condemned men4 ,some few there were who 
still felt a little love in  their      
hearts for the ,master who had loved the
 poor1 who had healed the  sick1 who had
 announced the ,kingdom so much more    
righteous and holy than  the kingdoms   
then in existence and ruining the earth4

 ,but these were  few1 and they were    
almost ashamed of that secret tenderness
 for one whom  they had believed to be  
less hated or more powerful4 ,the       
greater part  laughed1 satisfied and    
contented1 as if this funeral procession
 had been  a part of the feast-day4     
,only some women1 their heads wrapped in
 their cloaks1 came behind all  the     
rest1 weeping1 but trying to hide this  
seditious grief4    ,they had not yet   
come to the ,gate of ,gardens1 but they 
were almost there  when ,jesus1 ,his    
strength utterly exhausted1 fell to the 
ground and lay  there stretched under   
,his cross4 ,his face had suddenly gone 
white as  snow2 the reddened eyelids    
were dropped over ,his eyes2 ,he would  
have  seemed dead if it had not been for
 the painful breath coming and going    
through ,his half-open mouth4    ,they  
all stopped1 and a dense circle of      
jeering men stretched out their  faces  
and hands towards the fallen man4 ,the  
,jews1 who had followed ,him  from      

,caiaphas' house1 would not listen to   
reason4    8,he is only pretending10    
they cried4 8,lift ,him up6 ,he is a    
hypocrite6 ,he  ought to carry the cross
 to the last6 ,that is the law6 ,give   
,him a kick1  as you would to an ass1   
and let ,him get along60    ,others     
said1 8,look at the great ,king who was 
to conquer ,kingdoms4 ,he  cannot manage
 even two sticks of wood1 and yet ,he   
wanted to wear armor4  ,he said that ,he
 was more than a man1 and see1 ,he is a 
womanish creature  who faints away at   
the first work given ,him4 ,he made     
paralytics walk and  ,he ,himself cannot
 stand up4 ,give ,him a cup of wine to  
bring back ,his  strength40    ,but the 
,centurion who1 like ,pilate1 was in    
great haste to finish his  distasteful  
task1 was experienced in the handling of
 men1 and saw  clearly that the         
unfortunate ,jesus would never be able  
to drag the cross  along all the way to 
,golgotha4 ,he cast his eyes about to   
find some one  to carry that weight4    

,just at that moment there came in from 
the country  a ,cyrenian called ,simon1 
who1 at the sight of so many people1 had
  stepped into the crowd and was looking
 with an astonished and pitying         
expression at the body prostrate and    
panting under the two beams4 ,the       
,centurion saw that he had a kindly     
look1 and furthermore that he was       
strongly built1 and called to him1      
saying1 8,take this cross and come      
after us40    ,without a word the       
,cyrenian obeyed1 perhaps out of        
goodness of heart1  but in any case from
 necessity1 because the ,roman soldiers 
in the  countries which they occupied   
had the right to force any one to help  
them4 8,if a soldier gives you some task
 to do10 wrote ,arrian1 8be  careful not
 to resist him and not to murmur1       
otherwise you will be  beaten40    ,we  
know nothing more of the                
merciful-hearted man who lent his broad 
countryman's shoulders to lighten       
,jesus' load1 but we know that his      

sons1 ,alexander and ,rufus1 were       
,christians1 and it is extremely        
probable  that they were converted by   
their father's telling them of the death
 of  which he was an enforced witness4  
,two soldiers helped the fallen man up  
on ,his feet1 and urged ,him  forward4  
,the procession took up its way again   
under the noon-day sun1  but the two    
thieves muttered between their teeth    
that no one thought of  them1 and that  
it was not right that that other man by 
pretending to  fall should be freed of  
,his burden while they still were forced
 to carry  theirs4 ,it was favoritism1  
nothing less1 especially as that fellow1
 to  hear what the priests said about   
,him1 was much more guilty than they4   
,from that moment ,his two companions in
 punishment1 jealous of ,him1 began  to 
hate ,him1 and were to insult ,him even 
when they were nailed at ,his  side on  
the crosses which they were then        
carrying on their backs4                
,,forgive ,,them      ,the ,centurion   

halted outside the old walled city1 in  
the midst of the  young verdure of the  
suburban gardens4 ,the city of ,caiaphas
 did not  allow capital punishment      
within its walls2 the air perfumed with 
the  virtue of the ,pharisees would be  
polluted2 and the soft hearts of the    
,sadducees would be distressed2 hence1  
condemned prisoners were expelled  from 
the city before their death4    ,they   
had stopped on the summit of a rounded  
mound of limestone  resembling a skull4 
,this resemblance might seem to be the  
reason for  choosing this place for     
executions1 but the real reason was     
rather  because the two great roads from
 ,jaffa and ,damascus crossed each other
  close at hand1 and it was well that   
the cross should show its terrible      
warning to the traveling multitude of   
pilgrims1 merchants and  provincials4   
,the sun1 the benign sun of the         
solstice1 the high noon-day sun1 shone  
on  the white mound and on the mattocks 
ringing sonorously in the rock4 ,in  the

 nearby gardens the spring flowers      
expanded in the mild air2 singing       
birds1 hidden in the trees1 rent the sky
 with the silver arrows of their        
warblings2 doves flew about in pairs in 
the warm1 pastoral peace4 ,it  would be 
sweet to live there in some well-watered
 garden beside a well1  in the perfume  
of the earth awakening and clothing     
itself1 awaiting the  harvest moon1 in  
company with loving friends6 ,days of   
,galilee1 days of  peace1 days of       
sunshine and friendship among the       
vineyards1 beside the  lake1 days of    
light and liberty1 wandering with       
friends who listened  understandingly1  
days drawing to a close with the        
well-earned  cheerfulness of supper1    
days which seemed eternal1 although they
 were so  short6    ,now ,thou hast no  
one with ,thee1 ,jesus1 called the      
,christ4 ,these soldiers  preparing that
 appalling bed1 these thieves insulting 
,thee1 those hounds  awaiting ,thy      
blood1 are only shadows1 cast by the    

great shadow of ,god4  ,thou art alone  
as ,thou wert alone at night2 the sun   
that warms ,thy  assassins is not for   
,thee4 ,before ,thee lies no other day1 
no other  journey2 ended are ,thy       
wanderings and now at last ,thou canst  
rest2 this  skull of rock is ,thy goal4 
,a few hours hence1 ,thine imprisoned   
spirit  shall be torn from its dungeon4 
,god's human face is wet with cold      
sweat4 ,the blows of the mattocks ring  
in ,his head1 as if they struck at ,him2
 the sun which ,he loved so much1       
symbol of the ,father1 just even to the 
unjust1 now falls harshly on ,his       
aching eyes and swollen eyelids4 ,his   
whole body aches with weariness1        
trembles in a yearning for rest which   
,he resists with all ,his soul4 ,has    
,he not promised to suffer as much as is
 needful up to the very last8 ,at  the  
same time it seems to ,him that ,he     
loves with a more intimate  tenderness  
those whom ,he is leaving1 even those   
who are working for ,his  death4 ,and   

from the depths of ,his soul1 like a    
song of victory over the  torn and weary
 flesh1 rise up the words1 never to be  
forgotten by men1  8,father1 forgive    
them2 for they know not what they do40  
,no more divine prayer was ever raised  
to ,heaven since men have lived and     
prayed2 it is not the prayer of a man1  
but of a ,god to a ,god4 ,men1 who      
cannot pardon even the innocence of an  
innocent man1 had never before  that day
 dreamed that a man might pray for the  
forgiveness of those who  were putting  
him to death4    ,for they know not what
 they do6 ,wrongs consciously wrought   
cannot be  absolved without assurance of
 repentance4 ,but the ignorance of men  
is so  appallingly great that only a few
 really know what they do4    ,jesus had
 taught what men should know2 but how   
many knew it8 ,even ,his  own           
,disciples1 the only ones to know that  
,jesus was ,christ1 had been  overcome  
by the fear of losing this last remnant 
of their lives2 even as  they fled away1

 they had shown that they did not know  
what they did4 ,and  even more ignorant 
of what they really did were the        
,pharisees1 fearful  of losing their    
preminence2 the ,doctors1 fearful of    
losing their  privileges2 the rich1     
fearful of losing their money2 ,pilate1 
fearful of  losing his office2 and most 
ignorant of all were the ,jews1 misled  
by  their leaders1 and the soldiers     
obedient to orders4 ,none of them knew  
who ,christ was and what ,he came to do1
 and why ,he was killed4 ,some of  them 
were to know it1 but afterwards1 and    
they came to know it only  through the  
intercession of the ,man whom they were 
killing4    ,now1 at the point of death1
 ,he had confirmed ,his most difficult  
and  divine teaching1 8,love for        
enemies10 and ,he could now hold out    
,his hands  to the hammer4 ,the crosses 
had been raised2 now they were piling   
stones  about them to steady them under 
the weight1 and were filling the holes  
with earth1 stamping it down with their 

feet4    ,the women of ,jerusalem       
approached the condemned ,man with a    
pitcher4 ,it  contained a mixture of    
wine1 incense and myrrh1 which the      
executioners1  out of the goodness of   
their hearts1 imagined would dull       
consciousness4  ,those very people who  
were making ,him suffer pretended as a  
last insult  that they had mercy on that
 suffering1 and by reducing it by the   
merest  trifle they thought they had the
 greater right to demand that the rest  
of the cup of suffering be drained4 ,but
 ,jesus1 as soon as ,he had tasted  this
 mixture1 bitter as gall1 pushed it     
away4 ,he would have accepted a  single 
word in place of the wine1 but the only 
one on that day who could  find the word
 to say was one of the thieves whom they
 had dragged up to  the place of the    
skull with ,him4    ,the incense and the
 myrrh which they offered ,him on that  
day were not  perfumed like that incense
 and myrrh brought to ,him in the stable
 by the  ,wise ,men from the distant    

,orient4 ,and in place of the gold which
 had  lighted the dingy darkness of the 
stable1 there was the iron of the       
nails1 gray now1 waiting to be reddened4
 ,and that wine which seemed  poisoned  
so bitter was it1 was not the genial    
nuptial wine of ,cana1 nor  that which  
,he had drunk the evening before1 warm  
and dark as blood  dripping from a      
wound4                                  
,,four ,,nails      ,on the top of the  
hill of the ,skull the three crosses1   
tall1 dark1 with  outspread beams like  
giants with outstretched arms1 stood out
 against  the great sweep of the sweet  
spring sky4 ,they threw no shadow1 but  
they  were outlined by brilliant        
reflections from the sun4 ,the beauty of
 the  world on that day in that hour was
 so great that tortures were            
unthinkable2 could they not1 those      
wooden branches1 blossom out with  field
 flowers1 and be wreathed with garlands 
of tender green1 hiding the  scaffold   
with verdure1 in the shade of which     

reconciled and friendly  brothers might 
sit down8    ,but the ,priests1 the     
,scribes1 the ,pharisees1 those who     
gloated over  suffering and over        
revenge1 who had come there to satisfy  
their morbid  appetites with the        
spectacle of three deaths1 were stamping
 with  impatience1 and jeeringly        
hastening on the ,romans4    ,the       
,centurion gave an order4 ,two soldiers 
approached ,jesus and with  rapid1 rough
 gestures removed all ,his clothes4 ,the
 criminal condemned to  crucifixion must
 be entirely naked4    ,as soon as ,he  
was stripped1 they passed two ropes     
under ,his armpits1 and  hoisted ,him up
 on the cross4 ,half-way up on the      
upright was a rough  wooden peg like a  
seat where the body was to find a       
precarious and  painful support4        
,another soldier leaned the ladder      
against one of the  arms of the cross1  
climbed up on it1 hammer in hand1 seized
 the hand  which had cured lepers and   
caressed little children's hair1 spread 

it  out on the wood and drove a nail    
into the middle of the palm4 ,the nails 
were long1 and with a wide head so that 
they could be easily hammered4  ,the    
soldier struck a vigorous blow1 which   
pierced the flesh at once1 and  then    
another and a third so that the nail    
would hold firmly and so that  only the 
head would remain outside4 ,a little    
blood spurted out from the  pierced hand
 upon the hammering hand1 but the       
diligent workman paid no  attention to  
it1 and continued to hammer away        
vigorously until his work  was properly 
done4 ,then he came down the ladder and 
did the same to the  other hand4    ,all
 the spectators had fallen silent1      
hoping to hear screams from the         
condemned man4 ,but ,jesus was silent   
before ,his executioners as ,he had     
been silent before ,his judges4    ,now 
they turned their attention to the feet4
 ,this was work which could  be done    
standing on the ground1 for the ,roman  
crosses were set so low  that1 if the   

bodies of the executed criminals were   
left on them too  long1 prowling dogs   
and jackals could tear out their bowels 
and eat  them4    ,the soldier who was  
nailing ,christ on the cross now lifted 
up ,his knees  so that the soles of ,his
 feet should be flat against the wood1  
and  taking the measure so that the iron
 nail should be long enough to go       
through the instep1 he pierced the first
 foot1 and drove the nail home4  ,he did
 the same to the other foot1 and at the 
end glanced up1 still with  his hammer  
in his hand1 to see if he had finished  
his work1 and if  anything was lacking4 
,he remembered the scroll which they had
 taken from  ,jesus' neck and flung down
 on the ground4 ,he picked it up1       
climbed again  up the ladder1 and with  
two nails fastened it on the upright of 
the  cross1 above the thorn-crowned     
head4    ,then he came down the ladder  
for the last time1 threw away his       
hammer1  and looked to see if his       
companions had finished their work4 ,the

  thieves1 too1 were now in place and   
all three crosses had their             
flesh-offerings4 ,the soldiers could    
rest and divide the garments which      
henceforth the men up there on the      
crosses needed no more4 ,this was the   
perquisite of the executioners and came 
to them by law4 ,four soldiers  had a   
right to ,jesus' clothes and they       
divided them into four parts4  ,this    
left the tunic1 which was without seam1 
woven all in one piece4 ,it  would be a 
sin to cut it1 for after that it would  
be of no use to any  one2 but one of    
them1 an old gambler1 took out his dice1
 threw them1 and  the tunic was awarded 
by luck4 ,from now on the only          
possession of the  ,king of the ,jews   
was the thorns of ,his crown which1 as a
 greater insult1  they had left on ,his 
head4    ,all was finished3 the drops of
 blood fell slowly from ,his hands on   
the  ground and the blood from ,his feet
 reddened the cross4 ,from now on ,he   
was to flee no more2 ,his blaspheming   

mouth was soon to be gaping in  agony1  
but it was to teach no more forever4    
,the assassins might be  satisfied with 
themselves and with the foreign         
executioners4 ,the  poisoner of the     
people1 the enemy of the ,temple and of 
business1 was  fastened with four solid 
nails on the tree of ignominy4 ,from    
that night  on the lords of ,jerusalem  
could sleep more peacefully4    ,a      
clamor of demoniac laughter1 of exultant
 exclamations1 of ferocious  jests rose 
from the crowd about ,golgotha4 ,there  
,he was1 the bird of  ill-omen1 nailed  
with outspread wings4 ,the poor man1    
satisfied if ,he had  but a tunic1 now  
was altogether naked2 the vagabond1 who 
had only a  stone on which to lay ,his  
head1 now had a fine pillow of wood2 the
  impostor who deceived with ,his       
miracles1 no longer had ,his hands free 
to  mold the clay which restored sight  
to the blind2 the throne of the ,king   
was a hard wooden peg2 the hater of     
,jerusalem was hung up in sight of  the 

,holy ,city2 the ,master with so many   
disciples now had as companions  only   
two thieves who insulted ,him1 and four 
bored soldiers4 8,call on the  ,father  
now to save ,thee1 ask for a legion of  
angels to take ,thee away  from there   
and disperse us with flaming swords4    
,then even we will  believe that ,thou  
art the ,christ1 and we will fall down  
with our faces  in the dust to adore    
,thee40    ,and some of the priests1    
shaking their heads1 said3 8,thou that  
destroyest the temple1 and buildest it  
in three days1 save thyself4 ,if  thou  
be the ,son of ,god1 come down from the 
cross40    ,this challenge recalls that 
of ,satan in the desert4 ,they1 like    
,satan1  wished for a prodigy4 ,they had
 asked so many times for a sign6 8,it   
would  be a fine sign if ,thou couldst  
loosen the four nails and come down from
  the cross1 and if the power of the    
,father should flame out in the         
,heavens destroying us as ,god-killers4 
,but ,thou seest well that the nails    

are strong and are not loosened1 and    
that no one appears to aid ,thee  from  
heaven or from earth40    ,the ,scribes1
 the ,elders1 mocked ,him in the same   
way1 and so did even the  soldiers1     
although the affair was none of theirs1 
and even the thieves  also1 suffering   
though they were in anguish with ,him4  
8,he saved others2 himself he cannot    
save4 ,if he be the ,king of ,israel1   
let him now come down from the cross1   
and we will believe him4 ,he  trusted in
 ,god2 let him deliver him now if he    
will have him3 444 for he  said1 ,i am  
the ,son of ,god40    ,he had announced 
that ,he came to give life1 but now ,he 
could not save  ,himself from death6 ,he
 had boasted that ,he was the ,son of   
,god1 but ,god  did not move to save    
,his firstborn from the scaffold4       
,therefore1 ,he had  always lied2 it was
 not true that ,he had ever saved any   
one4 ,it was not  true that ,god was    
,his ,father1 and if ,he had lied about 
that1 ,he had lied  about everything1   

and deserved this fate4 ,there was no   
need of proof1  but the proof was there 
so clear that all could see it1 and     
their  consciences were perfectly at    
rest4 ,if any miracle were possible1 ,he
  would no longer be crucified there to 
agonize2 but the sky was empty and  the 
sun1 ,god's light1 shone clearly that   
all men might see more clearly  the     
contractions of ,his face and the       
painful heaving of ,his chest4    8,what
 a pity that the ,romans do not allow   
our old punishment for  blasphemers1 for
 it would have relieved us to have      
stoned ,thee one by  one4 ,thus every   
one would have had his share of         
pleasure1 taking aim at  the head with  
well-directed stones1 and covering ,thee
 with bruises1  clothing ,thee in a     
tunic of stones4 ,once before when the  
adulteress was  brought before ,thee we 
put down our stones1 but to-day no one  
would be  backward1 and ,thou wouldst   
have paid for ,thee and for her6 ,the   
cross is  well enough1 but how much less

 satisfying for the spectators6 ,if only
  these foreigners had permitted us to  
give a blow of the hammer on the  nails6
 ,thou answerest not8 ,hast ,thou no    
longer any desire to preach8  ,canst    
,thou not come down8 ,why dost ,thou not
 deign to convert us also8 ,if  we ought
 to love ,thee1 show us first that ,god 
loves ,thee enough to do a  great       
miracle to save ,thee from death60      
,but the divine ,sacrifice was silent4  
,the torture of the fever1 which had    
begun already1 was not so terrible as   
those words of ,his brothers who  were  
crucifying ,him a second time on the    
cross of their appalling  ignorance4    
,,dismas      ,the thieves who had been 
crucified with ,jesus had begun to be   
hostile to  ,him in the street when ,he 
was liberated from the weight of ,his   
cross4  ,they felt aggrieved because no 
one thought of them2 they were to die   
the  same death1 but no one seemed to   
think of this2 people abused ,him1 but  
at least they recognized that ,he was   

there1 they were all thinking about     
,him1 running along for ,his sake as if 
,he had been alone4 ,it was for ,him    
that all those people were following    
along--important people1 educated  and  
wealthy--it was for ,him that the women 
were weeping and that even the          
,centurion was moved to pity4 ,he was   
the ,king of the occasion1 this  country
 cheat1 and ,he drew every one's        
attention as if ,he had really  been a  
,king4 ,who knew1 perhaps the wine with 
myrrh would never have been  offered to 
them1 if ,he had not been so fastidious 
as to refuse it4    ,but one of them1   
when he heard the great words of his    
envied companion1  8,forgive them2 for  
they know not what they do10 suddenly   
fell silent4  ,that prayer was so new   
for him1 summoned him to emotions so    
foreign to  his nature and all his life1
 that it carried him back at one stroke 
to  his almost forgotten childhood1 when
 he also was innocent1 and when he  knew
 there was a ,god of whom one could ask 

for peace as poor men beg for  bread at 
the rich man's door4 ,but in no canticle
 could he remember  hearing any such    
prayer as this1 so extraordinary1 so    
paradoxical in the  mouth of one who was
 at that moment being killed4 ,and yet  
those  impossible words found in the    
thief's withered heart an echo of       
something he would have liked to        
believe1 above all at that moment when  
he was about to appear before a ,judge  
more awful than those of the            
law-courts4 ,this prayer of ,jesus'     
found an unexpected echo in his own     
thought1 a thought beyond his power to  
formulate or express1 but which  now    
seemed to him luminous in the darkness  
of his fate4 ,had he really  known what 
he was doing8 ,had other men ever       
thought of him8 ,had they  ever done for
 him what they could to turn him from   
evil8 ,had there ever  been any one who 
really loved him8 ,had any one given him
 food when he  was hungry and a cloak   
when he was cold1 and a friendly word   

when  suddenly temptations laid siege to
 his lonely and dissatisfied soul8 ,if  
he had had a little more bread and love1
 would he have committed the  actions   
which had brought him to ,golgotha8 ,was
 he not also among those  who knew not  
what they do1 distraught by poverty1    
abandoned among  ambushed passions8     
,were they not thieves like him1 the    
,levites who  trafficked in the         
offerings of the faithful1 the          
,pharisees who cheated  widows1 the rich
 men1 who by their usury drained dry the
 veins of the  poverty-stricken8 ,those 
were the men who had condemned him to   
death2 but  what right had they to kill 
him if they had never done anything to  
save  him1 and if they1 too1 were       
tainted with his guilt8    ,all these   
thoughts went through his distracted    
heart while he waited to  be fastened to
 the cross4 ,the nearness of death--and 
what a death6--this  unheard-of prayer  
of the man who was not a thief1 but who 
was suffering  the penalty of thieves1  

the hate which deformed the faces of the
 men who  had condemned him also1 moved 
his poor1 maimed soul1 and inclined him 
to  emotions unfelt since his boyhood1  
to emotions the very name of which he   
did not know1 but which were very like  
to tenderness and repentance4    ,when  
they were all on the cross1 the other   
thief1 although suffering  terribly from
 his pierced hands and feet1 began again
 to insult ,jesus4  ,he also began to   
vomit out the challenge of the ,jews1   
8,if thou be  ,christ1 save thyself and 
us40    ,if ,he were really the ,son of 
,god would ,he not have thought of      
freeing  also ,his companions in misery8
 ,why was ,he not moved to compassion8  
,hence1 they were right1 those men down 
there3 ,he was a deceiver1 a man  of no 
account1 an execrated outcast4 ,and the 
anger of the raging thief  was          
intensified by his fury over a lost     
hope1 an abortive hope1 an  impossible  
dream of miraculous salvation2 but a    
despairing man hopes  even for the      

impossible1 and this hope withdrawn     
seemed to him a  betrayal4    ,but the  
,good ,thief who had been listening to  
him1 and to the other  raging voices    
shrieking down below1 now turned to his 
companion4 8,dost  thou not fear ,god1  
seeing thou art in the same             
condemnation8 ,and we  indeed justly2   
for we receive the due reward of our    
deeds2 but this man  has done nothing   
amiss40    ,the thief had passed from   
the doubt of his own blameworthiness to 
the  certainty of the innocence of that 
mysterious ,pardoner at his side4 8,we  
have committed deeds 7he was not willing
 to call them crimes7 which men  punish1
 but this man has done nothing amiss1   
and yet ,he is punished as  we are2 why1
 therefore1 insult ,him8 ,hast thou no  
fear that ,god will  punish thee for    
having humiliated an innocent man80     
,and he turned over in his mind what he 
had heard told about ,jesus--only a  few
 things and those not at all clear to   
him--but he knew that ,jesus had  spoken

 of a ,kingdom of ,peace and that ,he   
himself was to be at the head  of it4   
,then with impetuous faith as if he     
invoked the blood which fell  at the    
same moment from his criminal hands and 
from those guiltless  hands1 he cried   
out these words1 8,lord1 remember me    
when thou comest  into thy kingdom40    
,we have suffered together2 wilt ,thou  
not recognize the man who was  beside   
,thee on the cross1 the only man who    
defended ,thee when all were  attacking 
,thee8    ,and ,jesus1 who had answered 
no man1 turned ,his head as well as ,he 
could  towards the pitying thief and    
answered him1 8,verily ,i say unto thee1
  ,to-day shalt thou be with me in      
paradise40    ,he could promise him     
nothing earthly3 what would it have     
availed him to  be unnailed from the    
cross and to drag himself along the     
roads of the  earth a few years more1   
crippled and needy8 ,and unlike the     
other thief  he had not asked to be     
saved from death3 he had asked only to  

be  remembered after his death1 if      
,jesus should return in glory4 ,jesus   
instead of fleshly and uncertain life   
promised him the eternal life of        
,paradise1 and that without             
delay--8to-day40    ,he had sinned2 in  
the eyes of men1 he had gravely sinned1 
he had taken  away from the rich a      
little of their riches1 perhaps he had  
also stolen  a little from the poor1 but
 for sinners ailing with an illness     
worse  than any bodily weakness1 ,jesus 
had always a tenderness of which ,he    
made  no show1 but which ,he was never  
willing to hide4 ,had ,he not come to   
bring back to the warmth of the stable  
the flock lost among the thorns  of the 
countryside8 ,were not the wicked       
already sufficiently punished  with     
their own wickedness8 ,and those who    
thought themselves righteous1  were they
 not perhaps often more corrupt than the
 wicked they condemned8  ,jesus does not
 pardon all men4 ,that would be         
injustice1 holier than the  injustice of

 the world1 but still unjust4 ,but a    
single motion of  repentance1 a single  
word of regret is enough4 ,the prayer of
 the thief  was enough to absolve him4  
,the ,good ,thief was ,jesus' last      
convert in ,his corporeal existence4 ,he
  was the last ,disciple and at the same
 time the first of the martyrs1 for     
,peter's ,gospel tells us that when they
 heard his words1 the ,jews were        
angered against him and demanded that   
his legs should not be broken1 in  order
 that he might die in greater torment4  
,the legs of crucified men  were broken 
out of mercy that their sufferings might
 end sooner2 this  shortening of his    
torture was refused to him because he   
had defended  ,christ and believed in   
,him3 like his ,master1 he was forced to
 drink his  cup to the dregs4    ,we    
know nothing more of him2 only his name 
preserved in an apocryphal  manuscript4 
,the ,church has received him among her 
saints because of this  promise of      
,christ1 with the name of ,dismas4      

,,the ,,darkness      ,jesus' breathing 
was more and more like the death-rattle4
 ,his chest  heaved with convulsive     
efforts to breathe2 loud1 painful pulses
 hammered  at ,his temples4 ,his heart  
beat so rapidly and so violently that it
 shook  ,him as if it would tear ,him   
loose2 the feverish thirst of crucified 
men  flamed all over ,his body1 as if   
,his blood had become a raging molten   
fire in ,his veins4 ,stretched in that  
painful position1 nailed to the  beams  
and not able to move1 held up by ,his   
hands1 which were lacerated  if ,he let 
,himself hang by them1 but which1 if ,he
 held them up1 exhausted  ,his weak and 
worn-out frame1 that young and divine   
body which had  suffered so many times  
because it contained too great a soul1  
was now a  funeral pyre of suffering    
where all the sufferings of the world   
burned  together4    ,as ancient writers
 admitted1 crucifixion was the cruelest 
and blackest  of punishments4 ,it gave  
the greatest torture for the longest    

time4 ,if  tetanus set in1 a merciful   
torpor hastened death2 but there were   
men who  held out1 suffering always more
 and more1 until the second day after   
crucifixion1 and even longer4 ,the      
thirst of their fever1 the congestion   
of their hearts1 the rigidity of their  
veins1 their cramped muscles1 the       
dizziness and terrible pains in the     
head1 the ever-greater agony--all  these
 were not enough to make an end of them4
 ,but most men died at the  end of      
twelve hours4    ,the blood from the    
four wounds of ,jesus had clotted about 
the  nail-heads1 but every movement made
 fresh blood gush out1 which fell       
slowly along the cross and dripped upon 
the ground4 ,his head drooped on  ,his  
weary neck2 ,his eyes1 those mortal     
eyes1 whence ,god had looked out  upon  
the earth1 were glazing over in the     
death stupor2 and ,his livid  lips1     
parched with suffering and thirst1 drawn
 by ,his painful breathing1  were       
withered by that last kiss1 the         

poisonous kiss of ,judas4    ,thus died 
a ,god1 who had cooled the blood of the 
feverish1 had given the  water of life  
to the thirsty1 who had raised up the   
dead from their  tombs1 who had         
quickened the paralyzed1 cast out demons
 from obsessed  souls1 who had wept with
 the weeping1 who1 instead of punishing 
the  wicked1 had made them to be born   
again into a new life1 who had taught   
with poetic words and proved by miracles
 that glorious aspiration--the  life of 
perfect love--which raging beasts sunk  
in stupor and in blood  would never have
 been capable of discovering for        
themselves4 ,he had  healed wounds and  
they wounded all ,his perfect body2 ,he 
had pardoned  evildoers1 and evildoers  
nailed ,him1 an innocent man1 between   
two  criminals2 ,he had infinitely loved
 all men1 even those unworthy of ,his   
love1 and hatred had nailed ,him there  
where hatred punished and was  punished2
 ,he had been more righteous than       
righteousness and they had  wreaked upon

 ,him the most iniquitous               
unrighteousness2 ,he had called mean    
souls to holiness and ,he had fallen    
into the hands of vilifiers and  demons4
 ,he had brought life1 and in return    
they gave ,him the most  ignominious    
death4    ,all this was necessary that  
men should learn again the road to the  
earthly ,paradise2 that they should     
mount above drunken bestiality and      
attain the exaltation of the saints2    
that they should be resurrected  from   
their sluggish folly which seems life   
and is death1 to the  magnificence of   
the ,kingdom of ,heaven4    ,the mind   
may bow before the dreadful mystery of  
this necessity1 but the  heart of men   
can never forget the price exacted as   
payment of our debts4  ,for nineteen    
hundred years1 men born again in        
,christ1 worthy to know  ,christ1 to    
love ,christ1 and to be loved by ,him1  
have wept1 at least once  in their      
lives1 at the memory of that day and of 
that suffering4 ,but all  our tears     

gathered together like a bitter sea do  
not compensate for one  of the drops    
which fell1 red and heavy1 on ,golgotha4
    ,a barbarous king of barbarians     
pronounced the most vigorous words ever 
spoken by ,christian lips about that    
blood4 ,they were reading to ,clovis    
the story of the ,passion1 and the      
fierce ,king was sighing and weeping    
when suddenly1 no longer able to contain
 himself1 clapping his hand to  the hilt
 of his sword1 he cried out1 8,oh1 that 
,i had been there with my  ,franks60    
,ingenuous words1 words of a soldier and
 of a violent man1  opposed to ,christ's
 words1 spoken to ,peter among the      
olives1 but words  beautiful with all   
the nave beauty of a candid and virile  
love4 ,for it  is not enough to weep    
over ,christ who gave more than tears2  
we must  fight1 fight in us everything  
that divides us from ,christ1 fight in  
our  midst all of ,christ's enemies4    
,for1 although millions of men have     
since wept when thinking of that day1   

on that ,friday around the cross1 all   
except the women were laughing1 and     
those men who laughed have left sons and
 grandsons1 many of them  baptized1 and 
they still laugh and their descendants  
will continue to  laugh until the day   
when ,one alone will be able to laugh4  
,if weeping  cannot cancel that blood1  
what punishment can ever expiate that   
awful  laughter8    ,look at them       
therefore once more1 those who are      
laughing about the cross  where ,jesus  
hangs pierced by the most agonizing     
pain4 ,there they are1  clustered on the
 slopes of ,golgotha1 dehumanized by    
hate6 ,look at them  well1 look them in 
the face1 one by one2 you will recognize
 them all1  for they are immortal4      
,see how they thrust out their twitching
 muzzles1 their scrawny necks1  their   
noses humped and hooked1 their rapacious
 eyes1 gleaming under  their bristling  
eyebrows4 ,see how hideous they are1    
branded with the  mark of ,cain4 ,count 
them over well1 for they are all there1 

just like  the men whom we now know1    
brothers of the men whom we meet every  
day in  our streets4 ,not one is        
missing4    ,in the front row there are 
the priests1 with crammed paunches1 with
 arid  hearts1 with great hairy ears1   
with thick-lipped1 gaping mouths1       
craters  of blasphemy4 ,and elbow to    
elbow with them1 the arrogant ,scribes1 
blear-eyed and scrofulous1 their faces  
of an excremental yellow1               
piecers-together of lies1 belching out  
pus and ink4 ,and the ,epulones1        
thrusting out before them the obscene   
heaviness of their stuffed  bellies1    
brutes who trade on hunger1 who fatten  
on famines1 who convert  into money the 
patience of the poor1 the beauty of     
virgins1 the sweat of  slaves4 ,and the 
money-changers1 expert in illicit       
traffic and in  oppression1 who live to 
wrest unlawfully from others2 and the   
knotty  lawyers skillful at turning the 
law against the innocent4 ,and behind   
these high pillars of society1 there is 

the mob of cheating scullions1  of      
overbearing rascals1 of foul-mouthed    
rogues1 of whining beggars1 of  filthy  
knaves1 the lower dregs of the          
population1 famished hounds who  eat    
under the tables and snarl between the  
legs of whoever does not give  them     
either a mouthful or a kick4    ,they   
are the eternal enemies of ,christ--they
 who celebrated on that day  their      
infamous ,saturnalia2 and they have     
vomited out on ,christ's face  their    
poisonous saliva1 the muddy lees of     
their souls4 ,this miry dross  of       
humanity1 foul and polluted1 vomited out
 from their filthy hearts  their hatred 
for ,him who was saving them2 they      
howled against ,him who  was forgiving  
them2 they insulted ,christ who was     
agonizing for them1  ,christ who was    
dying for them4 ,the antithesis of good 
and evil1  innocence and infamy1 light  
and darkness1 was never presented with  
such  a dramatic and utter contrast as  
on that irreparable day4    ,nature     

itself seemed to wish to hide the horror
 of that sight3 the sky1  which all the 
morning had been clear1 suddenly grew   
dark4 ,a thick cloud1  dark as though it
 came from the marshes of hell1 rose    
above the hills  and little by little   
spread to every corner of the horizon4  
,black clouds  gathered about the sun1  
that sweet1 clear ,april sun1 which had 
warmed  the hands of the murderers1     
encircled it1 laid siege to it1 and     
finally  covered it with a thick curtain
 of darkness 444 8and there was a       
darkness over all the earth until the   
ninth hour40                            
,,lama ,,sabachthani      ,many1 alarmed
 by the falling of that mysterious      
darkness1 fled away from  the ,hill of  
the ,skull1 and went home1 silenced4    
,but not all2 the air was  calm2 no rain
 fell as yet1 and in the obscurity1 the 
three pallid bodies  shone out whitely2 
many of the spectators wished to sate   
themselves to  the very last on ,his    
agony2 why go away from the theater     

until the  tragedy is finished to the   
last scream8    ,and those who remained 
listened in the darkness to hear if the 
hated  protagonist would break by some  
word ,his groaning death-rattle4        
,christ's  sufferings constantly became 
more intolerable4 ,his body1 sensitive  
and  delicate by nature1 exhausted by   
the tension of these last days1         
convulsed by the struggle of the last   
night1 worn out by the tortures of  the 
last hours1 could endure no more4 ,and  
,his spirit suffered even more  than the
 tortured body which still for a short  
time was its prison4 ,it  seemed to ,him
 that ,his divinely youthful soul had   
become suddenly aged1  and that ,he was 
old beyond memory4 ,everything seemed   
far-distant from  ,him1 the companions  
of ,his happy days1 the confidants of   
,his tenderness1  the poor who looked   
lovingly at ,him1 the children whose    
heads ,he had  caressed1 the healed men 
and women who could not bring themselves
 to  leave ,him1 ,his ,disciples for    

whom ,he had created a new soul--they   
were  all far away4 ,close to ,him there
 were only a gang of cannibals1         
possessed by the devil1 eager for ,him  
to die4    ,only the women had not      
deserted ,him4 ,on one side at some     
distance from  the cross1 through fear  
of the howling men1 ,mary1 ,his mother1 
,mary  ,magdalene1 ,mary of ,cleofa1    
,salome1 mother of ,james and ,john--and
 perhaps  also ,joanna of ,cusa1 and    
,martha--were present1 terrified        
witnesses of ,his  death4 ,he still had 
the strength to confide to ,john1 the   
dearest and  most sacred inheritance    
which ,he left on earth--the ,virgin of 
,sorrows4  ,but after this1 through the 
veil of ,his suffering1 ,he saw no one  
and  believed ,himself alone with death1
 as ,he had ever been alone at the most 
solemn moments of ,his life4 ,even the  
,father seemed suddenly remote1         
inexplicably absent4 ,where was that    
loving ,father to whom ,he was wont to  
speak1 sure that ,he would be answered1 

would be helped8 ,why did the  ,father  
not help ,him1 give some sign of ,his   
presence1 or at least show  ,jesus the  
mercy of calling ,him to ,god without   
cruel delay8    ,and then there was     
heard in the thick air1 in the silence  
of the  darkness1 these words1 8,eli1   
,eli1 ,lama ,sabachthani80 that is to   
say3 8,my  ,god1 my ,god1 why hast thou 
forsaken me80    ,this was the first    
verse of a psalm which ,he had repeated 
to ,himself  many times because ,he had 
found there so many presages of ,his    
life and  of ,his death4 ,he no longer  
had the strength to cry it all aloud as 
,he  had in the desert1 but now into    
,his troubled spirit those sorrowing    
invocations came back one by one1 8,my  
,god1 my ,god1 why hast thou  forsaken  
me8 why art thou so far from helping me1
 and from the words of  my roaring8444  
,our fathers trusted in thee3 they      
trusted and thou didst  deliver them4   
,they cried unto thee1 and were         
delivered3 444 but ,i am a  worm1 and no

 man2 a reproach of men1 and despised of
 the people4 ,all  that see me laugh me 
to scorn3 they shoot out the lip1 they  
shake the  head1 saying1 ,he trusted on 
the ,lord that he would deliver him3 let
 him  deliver him1 seeing he delighted  
in him4 ,but thou art he that took me   
out of the womb3 thou didst make me hope
 when ,i was upon my mother's  breasts4 
,be not far from me3 for trouble is     
near2 for there is none to  help4 ,many 
bulls have compassed me3 444 they gaped 
upon me with their  mouths1 as a        
ravening and a roaring lion4 ,i am      
poured out like water1  and all my bones
 are out of joint3 my heart is like wax2
 it is melted in  the midst of my       
bowels4 ,my strength is dried up like a 
potsherd3 and my  tongue cleaveth to my 
jaws2 and thou hast brought me into the 
dust of  death4 ,for dogs have compassed
 me3 the assembly of the wicked have    
enclosed me3 they pierced my hands and  
my feet 444 they look and stare  upon   
me4 ,they part my garments among them1  

and cast lots upon my  vesture4 ,but be 
thou not far from me1 ,o ,lord3 ,o my   
strength1 haste thee  to help me40      
,the supplications of this prophetic    
psalm1 which recall so closely the  ,man
 of ,sorrows of ,isaiah1 rose from the  
wounded heart of the crucified  ,man as 
the last expression of ,his dying       
humanity4 ,but certain of the  brutes   
nearest to the cross thought that ,he   
was calling ,elias1 the  immortal       
prophet1 who in the popular imagination 
was to appear with  ,christ4 8,behold1  
,he calleth ,elias40    ,one of the     
soldiers now took a sponge1 soaked it in
 vinegar1 put it on a  reed and held it 
to the lips of ,christ4 ,but the ,jews  
said1 8,let alone2  let us see whether  
,elias will come to take him down40     
,the legionary1 not wishing to make     
trouble1 laid down the reed4 ,but  after
 a little--and the time seemed          
infinitely long in that darkness1 in    
that suspense1 that painful             
tension--,christ's voice came down as if

 from  a great distance1 8,i thirst40   
,the soldier took up the sponge again1  
dipped it once more in the vessel  full 
of the mixture of water and vinegar and 
once more held it to the  parched mouth 
which had prayed for his forgiveness4   
,and ,jesus when ,he  had taken the     
vinegar said1 8,it is finished40        
,christ1 who had satisfied so many times
 the thirst of others1 and who  left in 
the world an ever-springing fountain of 
life1 where the weary  find strength1   
the corrupt find their youth1 and the   
restless find  peace1 ,christ had always
 suffered with an unsatisfied thirst for
 love4  ,and even now in the terrible   
burning of ,his fever1 ,his thirst was  
not  for water but for a pitying word   
which would break the oppression of ,his
  desolate solitude4 ,instead of the    
pure water of the ,galilean brooks1     
instead of the heart-warming wine of the
 ,last ,supper1 the ,roman soldier  gave
 ,him a little of his acid drink1 but   
the prompt and kindly act of  that      

obscure slave quenched ,his thirst1     
because1 although reeling in the        
darkness of death1 ,he felt that a human
 heart had pitied ,his heart4    ,if a  
stranger who had never seen ,him before 
that day had done this1  although so    
small a thing1 through compassion for   
,him1 it was a sign  that the ,father   
had not abandoned ,him4 ,the cup was    
finished3 all the  bitterness was drunk4
 ,eternity began4 ,with ,his last       
strength ,he cried  with a loud voice in
 the darkness3 8,father1 into thy hands 
,i commend my  spirit60    ,i called    
,thee because it seemed to me in the    
darkness of my suffering  that ,thou    
hadst left me4 ,but now ,thou hast      
answered4 ,thou hast answered  by means 
of this poor soldier2 ,thou hast        
answered with the peace which  dulls the
 last pangs of my death1 the death which
 brings me to my  awakening with ,thee4 
,it is not true that ,thou hadst        
abandoned me4 ,when ,i  called ,thee it 
was not ,i who spoke but that human     

blood burning in my  veins1 and dropping
 from the nails4 ,i know that ,thou art 
present with  me1 one with me to all    
eternity3 ,thou art my ,father and ,i   
,thy ,son4 ,into  what dearer and surer 
hands could ,i commend my soul8    ,and 
,jesus1 after he had cried out with a   
loud voice1 bowed ,his head and  gave up
 the spirit4 ,that loud cry1 so powerful
 that it freed the soul  from the flesh1
 rang out of the darkness and lost      
itself in the  furthermost ends of the  
earth4 ,matthew tells us that 8the veil 
of the  temple was rent in twain from   
the top to the bottom2 and the earth did
  quake1 and the rocks rent2 ,and the   
graves were opened1 and many bodies  of 
the saints which slept arose1 and       
appeared unto many40 ,but the hearts  of
 the spectators were harder than rocks2 
none of those dead souls who  wore the  
outward aspect of life were reanimated  
at that supreme summons4    ,nineteen   
hundred years have passed from the day  
when the earth echoed to  that cry1 and 

men have intensified the tumult of their
 lives that they  may drown it out4 ,but
 in the fog and smoke of our cities1 in 
the  darkness1 ever more profound where 
men light the fires of their            
wretchedness1 that despairing cry of joy
 and of liberation1 that  prodigious cry
 which eternally summons every one of   
us1 still rings in  the heart of every  
man who has not forced himself to       
forget4    ,christ was dead4 ,he had    
died on the cross in the manner which   
men had  willed1 which the ,son had     
chosen1 to which the ,father had        
consented4 ,the  death-struggle was over
 and the ,jews were satisfied4 ,he had  
expiated all  up to the last1 and now   
,he was dead4 ,now our own expiation    
begins--and it  is not yet finished4    
,,water ,,and ,,blood      ,christ was  
dead1 as the leaders of ,his people had 
wished1 but not even  ,his last cry had 
awakened them4 ,some of them1 says      
,luke1 went away  smiting their breasts2
 but were there within those breasts    

hearts which  truly felt for the great  
heart which had stopped beating8 ,they  
did not  speak1 they hurried home to    
their supper1--perhaps it was more      
terror  than love which they were       
feeling4    ,but a foreigner1 the       
,centurion1 ,petronius1 who had been the
 silent  witness of the execution1 was  
moved1 and from his pagan mouth came the
  words of ,claudia ,procula1           
8,certainly this was a righteous man40  
,he did not even know the true name of  
the man who was dead1 but he was  sure  
at least that ,he was no evildoer4 ,he  
was the third ,roman witness in  favor  
of the innocence of ,christ1 who was to 
become1 through the  ,apostles1         
eternally ,roman4    ,the ,jews had no  
thought of recantations4 ,what was in   
their minds was the  thought that the   
,passover would be spoiled if the bloody
 corpses were  not carried away at once4
 ,evening was close at hand and with the
 setting  of the sun the great ,sabbath 
began4 ,therefore they sent word to     

,pilate  to have the condemned men's    
legs broken at once and to have them    
buried4  ,the breaking of the legs was  
one of the cruel discoveries of cruelty 
to  shorten the sufferings of crucified 
men1--a sort of grace useful in cases   
of haste4 ,the soldiers1 when they had  
received the order1 came up to the  bad 
thief1 who1 more robust than his        
companions1 was still alive1 and  they  
broke his legs with a club4    ,they had
 seen ,jesus die1 and they could save   
themselves the trouble of  using the    
club1 but ,john says that one of them1  
to make quite sure1  pierced ,his side  
with a spear1 and saw with astonishment 
that water and  blood came out from the 
wound4 ,the name of this soldier        
according to an  old tradition was      
,longinus1 and it is said that some     
drops of that blood  fell upon his eyes 
which had been infected1 and immediately
 cured them4  ,the history of martyrs   
tells of him that ,longinus believed in 
,christ  from that day on1 and was a    

monk for twenty-eight years at ,csarea  
until  he was murdered because of his   
faith4 ,claudia ,procula1 the pious     
legionary1 who for the last time wet the
 lips of the dying man1 the  ,centurion1
 ,petronius1 and ,longinus were the     
first ,gentiles who accepted  ,jesus on 
the very day when ,jerusalem had cast   
,him out4    ,but not all the ,jews had 
forgotten ,him4 ,now that ,he was dead1 
really  dead1 now that ,he was cold like
 all dead men1 and motionless like any  
other corpse1 now that ,he was a silent1
 harmless1 quiet corpse1 a body  with no
 soul1 a silent mouth1 a heart which    
beat no more1 see how they  come out    
from the houses where they had shut     
themselves in1 the friends  of the      
twenty-fifth hour1 the tepid followers1 
the secret disciples1 the  anonymous    
admirers1 who at night hide their light 
under a bushel1 and  when the sun       
shines1 disappear4 ,we have all known   
friends like these1  cautious souls1    
trembling at the idea of what people    

will say1 who  follow you but from afar2
 receive you--but when no one can see   
you  together2 esteem you--but do not so
 much as admit this esteem to others2   
love you--but not so much as to lose a  
single hour of sleep or a single        
miserable penny to help you6 ,but when  
death comes1 even when it comes  through
 the fault or the avarice1 or the       
cowardice of such despicable  men1 then 
their celebration begins4 ,they are the 
ones who weep more  tears and more      
glittering tears than any one else4     
,they are the ones who  weave together  
with busy hands the flowers of the      
wreaths and the  flowers of funereal    
rhetoric2 and with enthusiasm and ardor 
become  necrologists1 epitaph writers1  
and memorialists4 ,to see them you would
  think that the deceased had had no    
more faithful1 no more loving           
companions than they1 and good-hearted  
people are moved to compassion  for     
those unfortunate survivors who seem to 
have lost a half1 or at the  very least1

 a quarter of their souls4    ,to ,his  
sorrow in life and in death ,christ had 
many friends of this sort1  and two of  
them stepped forward in that ,good      
,friday twilight4 ,they were  two       
serious and worthy citizens1 two        
notables of ,jerusalem and of the       
,council1 two rich lords1 in short two  
members of the ,sanhedrin2 ,joseph  of  
,arimathea and ,nicodemus4    ,in order 
not to stain their hands with the blood 
of ,jesus1 they had kept  away from the 
meeting of the ,sanhedrin and had hidden
 themselves in  their houses1 heaving   
regretful sighs1 perhaps1 and thinking  
that they  could thus save their        
reputation and their conscience4 ,but   
they did not  reflect that even passive 
complicity was active help to the       
assassins1  and that to abstain from    
opposition1 not even to voice their     
opposition1  was equivalent to          
consenting4 ,joseph of ,arimathea and   
,nicodemus had  therefore taken part in 
the murder of ,christ1 although they had

 been  absent and invisible1 and their  
posthumous grief can diminish but by no 
means cancel their responsibility4      
,but in the evening when they ran no    
risk of offending their colleagues1     
when the ,elders had received full      
satisfaction and had left ,golgotha1    
when there was no danger of compromising
 themselves in the eyes of high         
clerical and middle-class society1 since
 the dead man was dead and could  harm  
no one1 the two nocturnal disciples1    
hidden1 8for fear of the  ,jews10       
thought that they would diminish their  
remorse by providing for  the burial of 
the executed man4    ,the bolder of the 
two1 ,joseph1 8444 went in boldly unto  
,pilate0 7,mark  noted the fact as      
remarkable for that toga-clad rabbit7   
and asked for  the body of ,jesus4      
,pilate was astonished that ,he should  
already be dead1  since crucified men   
often lived for two days--and called in 
,petronius1  who had been charged with  
the execution4 ,after ,pilate had heard 

his  report1 he 8gave0 the body to the  
,sanhedrist4 ,the ,procurator was       
generous on that day because as a rule  
the ,roman officers forced the  families
 of condemned men to pay for the        
corpses4 ,he could not say no to  a     
person so respectable1 and rich into the
 bargain4 ,possibly1 too1 this  free    
gift came as much from weariness as from
 generosity4 ,they had  annoyed him all 
the morning with that troublesome ,king1
 and now he had  no peace even when ,he 
was dead6    ,when ,joseph had received 
permission he took a fine white         
winding-sheet  and linen bands1 and went
 towards the ,hill of the ,skull4       
,there1 or on  the way there1 he met    
,nicodemus1 who1 having the same        
character1 may  have been his friend1   
and who had come with the same thought4 
,nicodemus  also had not spared expense1
 and had brought with him on the        
shoulders  of a servant a hundred pounds
 of a mixture of myrrh and aloes4       
,and when they came to the cross1 while 

the soldiers were taking down the  two  
thieves to throw them into the common   
grave of condemned men1 they  prepared  
themselves to take down the body of     
,jesus4                                 
,,perfumes ,,in ,,the ,,rock      ,what 
little light had penetrated the dark    
cloud disappeared with the  setting of  
the sun4 ,the darkness was thick and    
sinister4 ,a black night  was shutting  
down on the world which on that day had 
lost the only ,being  which could give  
it light4 ,against the scarcely visible 
whiteness of the  ,hill of the ,skull1  
the naked corpses glimmered dimly4 ,they
 were obliged  to work by the red light 
of torches1 flaming without smoke in    
that  windless air1 and by that         
blood-red light they could see clearly1 
even  to the long streaks of blood which
 had run down the foot of the cross1  to
 the newly stirred earth4    ,joseph1   
aided by ,nicodemus and by a third      
helper1 was scarcely able to  draw out  
the deep-driven nails which held the    

feet4 ,the ladder was still  there4 ,one
 of them1 climbing up on it1 took out   
the nails from the  hands1 supporting   
the loosened body with his shoulder4    
,the others helped  him to lower down   
the corpse1 and the body was placed on  
the knees of  the ,virgin of ,sorrows   
who had borne ,him4 ,then they all made 
their way  towards a garden near by     
where there was a sepulcher destined for
 ,jesus4  ,the garden belonged to the   
rich ,joseph1 who had had the sepulcher 
hewn  out of the stone for himself and  
his family1 for in those days every     
well-to-do ,jew had a family sepulcher  
far from all the others1 and the  dead  
were not condemned to the promiscuity of
 our administrative  cemeteries2        
temporary1 geometric1 and democratic    
like all our modern  magnificent        
barbarisms4    ,as soon as they had     
arrived at the garden1 the two bearers  
of the dead  had water brought from the 
well1 and washed the body4 ,until then  
the  women1 the three ,marys--the       

,virgin ,mary1 the contemplative ,mary1 
the  liberated ,mary--had not moved from
 the place where ,he whom they loved had
  died4 ,now1 defter and more skillful  
than men1 they began to help in  order  
that this burial1 performed thus at     
night and in haste1 would not  be       
unworthy of ,him for whom they wept4    
,they lifted from ,his head the         
insulting crown of ,pilate's            
legionaries1 and plucked out the thorns 
which had penetrated the skin3 they were
 the ones to smooth and arrange  the    
hair clotted with blood2 and to close   
the eyes into which they had  looked so 
many times with pure tenderness1 and    
that mouth which they had  never kissed4
 ,many loving tears fell upon that face 
where in the calm  paleness of death the
 old sweetness shone once more1 and     
their tears  washed it with water purer 
than that from ,joseph's well4    ,all  
,his body was sullied with sweat1 with  
dust1 with blood2 bloody serum  oozed   
out from the wounds of the hands1 of the

 feet1 of the chest4 ,when  the washing 
was finished1 the corpse was sprinkled  
with ,nicodemus'  spices1 and that      
without sparing1 for they were abundant2
 even the black  wounds left by the     
nails were filled with spices4 ,the body
 of ,jesus had  received nothing but    
insults and blows after the evening when
 the  sinning woman with a premonition  
of this day had poured nard upon the    
feet and upon the head of the ,pardoner4
 ,but now1 as then1 the murdered  white 
body was covered with perfumes and with 
tears sweeter than  perfumes4    ,then1 
when the hundred pounds of ,nicodemus   
had covered ,jesus with a  fragrant     
pall1 the winding sheet was tied about  
the body with long linen  bands1 the    
head was wrapped in a napkin and another
 white cloth was  spread over the face1 
after they had all kissed ,him on the   
forehead4    ,there was space but for   
one body in the open sepulcher4         
,recently made1  it had never been used4
 ,joseph of ,arimathea1 not able to save

 ,christ  alive in any of his houses1   
now that the fury of the world had died 
down1 gave up to ,him the dark          
subterranean habitation hewn in the     
rock1  and intended for his own dead    
body4 ,according to the ritual the two  
,sanhedrists recited aloud the mortuary 
psalm1 and finally1 after they  had     
placed the white-wrapped body in the    
cave1 they closed the opening  with a   
great stone and went away silently1     
followed by the others4    ,but the     
women did not follow them4 ,they could  
not bring themselves to  leave that rock
 which separated them forever from ,him 
whom they loved  more than their beauty4
 ,how could they leave ,him alone in the
 darkness1  doubly black1 of the night  
and of the tomb1 ,he who had been so    
desperately alone in ,his long death    
agony8 ,they whispered prayers1 and     
recalled to each other the memory of a  
day1 or a gesture1 or a word of  the    
loved one1 and if one of them tried to  
comfort another1 the second  but sobbed 

more bitterly4 ,sometimes they called   
,him by name as they  leaned against the
 rock1 and spoke lovingly to ,him now   
that ,his ears  were closed in death1 as
 they had not dared while ,he was alive4
 ,they  poured out1 at last in the damp 
black shade of the garden1 that love    
greater than love1 which their poor1    
limited human hearts could no  longer   
hold back4    ,then finally1 chilled and
 terrified by the night's blackness1    
they too  went away1 their eyes burning1
 stumbling amid the bushes and the      
stones1  promising one another to return
 there as soon as the feast-day had     
passed4                                 
,,he ,,is ,,not ,,here      ,the sun had
 not yet risen on the day which for us  
is ,sunday1 when the  women once more   
drew near to the garden2 but over the   
eastern hills a  white hope1 light as   
the distant reflection of an earth      
clothed with  lilies and silver1 rose   
slowly in the midst of the throbbing    
constellations1 vanquishing little by   

little the sparkling brilliance of  the 
night4 ,it was one of those calm dawns1 
suggesting innocents asleep1  and the   
clear benign air seemed stirred as by a 
recent stir of angels'  wings4 ,it      
seemed one of the virginal days1 ushered
 in with transparent  pallor1 shy and   
cheerful with cool breezes4    ,in the  
half light1 the women advanced1 breathed
 upon by wandering airs1  lost in their 
sadness1 under the spell of an emotion  
they could not have  explained4 ,were   
they returning to weep upon the rock8   
,or to see ,him once  more1 ,he who had 
captured their hearts without laying    
them waste8 ,or to  put about the body  
of the ,immaculate ,one spices stronger 
than those of  ,nicodemus8 ,and speaking
 among themselves1 they said1 8,who     
shall roll us  away the stone from the  
door of the sepulchre80    ,there were  
four of them1 since ,joanna of ,cusa and
 ,salome had joined ,mary  of ,magdala  
and ,mary of ,bethany1 but they were    
women and weakened by  their sorrow4    

,but when they came to the rock they    
stood still1 astounded4 ,the opening    
into the sepulcher showed black against 
the darkness4 ,not believing her  eyes1 
the boldest of them touched the sill    
with her trembling hands4 ,in  the      
daylight1 brightening now with every    
moment1 they saw the stone  there beside
 them1 leaning against the rocks4       
,the women1 struck into silence by their
 fright1 turned around as if  expecting 
some one to come to tell them what had  
happened in those two  nights which had 
passed4 ,mary of ,magdala feared at once
 that the ,jews1  not satisfied with    
what they had made ,him suffer when ,he 
was alive1 had  stolen away the body of 
,christ2 or perhaps1 unwilling to have  
the  honorable sepulcher used by a      
heretic1 they had thrown ,him into the  
shameful common grave used for men      
stoned and crucified4    ,but this was  
no more than a presentiment4 ,perhaps   
,jesus was still lying  inside in ,his  
perfumed wrappings4 ,enter they dared   

not1 yet they could  not bear to go     
away1 not knowing what had happened4 ,as
 soon as the sun1  risen at last above  
the summit of the hills1 shone into the 
opening of  the sepulcher1 they took    
courage and entered4    ,at first they  
saw nothing1 but they were shaken by a  
new fear4 ,at their  right1 seated1 was 
a young man clothed in a long white     
garment1 showing  in that darkness like 
snow4 ,he seemed to be awaiting them4   
8,be not affrighted3 he is not here3 for
 he is risen4 ,why seek ye the  living  
among the dead8 ,remember how he spake  
unto you when he was yet in  ,galilee1  
,saying1 ,the ,son of man must be       
delivered into the hands of  sinful men1
 and be crucified1 and the third day    
rise again40    ,the women listened1    
terrified and trembling1 not able to    
answer1 but the  youth went on1 8,go    
quickly1 and tell his disciples that he 
is risen from  the dead2 and1 behold1 he
 goeth before you into ,galilee2 there  
shall ye  see him40    ,all four of     

them1 quivering with terror and joy1    
left the grotto to  hasten where they   
had been sent4 ,but after a few steps1  
when they were  almost outside the      
garden1 ,mary of ,magdala stopped1 and  
the others went  along the road towards 
the city without waiting for her4 ,she  
herself did  not know why she had       
remained behind4 ,perhaps the words of  
the unknown  youth had not convinced    
her1 and she remembered that they had   
not even  made sure that the sepulcher  
was really empty2 perhaps the youth in  
white was an accomplice of the priests  
who wished to deceive them8    ,suddenly
 she turned and saw a man near her1     
outlined against the green  of the      
garden1 and the sunlight2 but she did   
not recognize ,him even when  ,he spoke4
 8,woman1 why weepest thou8 whom seekest
 thou80    ,mary thought that it might  
be ,joseph's gardener come early to his 
work4  8,because they have taken away my
 ,lord1 and ,i know not where they have 
laid him4 ,sir1 if thou have borne him  

hence1 tell me where thou hast  laid    
him1 and ,i will take him away40    ,the
 unknown man1 touched by this           
impassioned candor1 by this child-like  
simplicity1 answered only one word1     
spoke only one name1 her name1          
pronounced longingly1 wistfully in the  
touching and unforgettable voice  which 
had called her so many times3 8,mary60  
,at this1 as if awakened with a start1  
the despairing woman found her  lost    
,master3 8,rabboni1 ,master60 ,and she  
fell at ,his feet in the dewy  grass and
 clasped in her hands those bare feet   
still showing the two red  marks of the 
nails4    ,but ,jesus said to her1      
8,touch me not2 for ,i am not yet       
ascended to my  ,father3 but go to my   
brethren1 and say unto them1 ,i ascend  
unto my  ,father1 and your ,father2 and 
to my ,god1 and to your ,god40    ,and  
at once1 ,he withdrew from the kneeling 
woman1 and moved away among  the plants1
 crowned with sunshine4    ,mary watched
 ,him until ,he had disappeared2 then   

she lifted herself up  from the grass1  
her face convulsed1 wild1 blind with    
joy1 and ran after  her companions4     
,they had but just come to the house    
where the ,disciples were in hiding  and
 they had told hastily and breathlessly 
the incredible news3 the  sepulcher     
opened1 the youth clad in white1 the    
things which he had said1  the ,master  
risen1 the message to ,his brothers4    
,but the men1 still stunned by the      
catastrophe1 and who in these  dangerous
 days had shown themselves more torpid  
and passive than the  weaker women1 were
 not willing to believe this wildly     
improbable news4  ,hallucinations1      
women's dreams1 they said4 ,how could   
,he be risen from  the dead after only  
two days8 ,he had said that ,he would   
return1 but not  at once3 so many       
terrible things were to be seen before  
that day of ,his  return6    ,they      
believed in the resurrection of the     
,master1 but not before the day  when   
all the dead would rise again1 and ,he  

would come in glory to rule  ,his       
kingdom4 ,but not now3 it was too soon1 
it could not be true3 waking  dreams of 
hysteric women6    ,but in the meantime1
 ,mary of ,magdala rushed in1 breathless
 with haste  and agitation4 ,what the   
others had said was all true4 ,but there
 was  more3 she herself had seen ,him   
with her own eyes1 and ,he had spoken to
  her1 and she had not known ,him at    
once1 but had recognized ,him as soon   
as ,he had called her by name3 she had  
touched ,his feet with her hands1  had  
seen the wounds on ,his feet2 it was    
,he1 alive once more2 and ,he had  told 
her1 as had the unknown youth1 to go to 
,his brethren1 so that they  should know
 that ,he had risen from the dead as ,he
 had promised4    ,simon and ,john1     
finally aroused1 rushed out of the house
 and began to  run towards ,joseph's    
garden4 ,john1 who was younger1 outran  
,peter and  came first to the sepulcher4
 ,he looked through the door1 saw the   
linen  cloths lying on the ground1 but  

did not go in4 ,simon came up panting   
and  rushed into the grotto4 ,the linen 
cloths were lying on the ground1 but    
the napkin which had been about the head
 of the corpse was folded and  wrapped  
together in a place by itself4 ,john    
also went in1 saw1 and  believed4 ,and  
without another word they returned in   
all haste towards  the house1 still     
running1 as if they expected to find the
 ,risen ,one in  the midst of the others
 whom they had left4    ,but ,jesus1    
after ,he had left ,mary1 withdrew from 
,jerusalem4                             
,,emmaus      ,after the solemn interval
 of the ,passover1 plain1 ordinary      
everyday life  began again for all men4 
,two friends of ,jesus1 among those who 
were in the house with the  ,disciples1 
were to go that morning on an errand to 
,emmaus1 a hamlet  about two hours'     
journey from ,jerusalem4 ,they left as  
soon as ,simon and  ,john had returned  
from the sepulcher4 ,all these amazing  
tales had shaken  them somewhat1 but had

 not really convinced them of an event  
so  portentous and unexpected4          
,serious-minded men1 they could not     
understand  or believe what they had    
heard3 if the body of the ,master was no
 longer  there1 might it not have been  
taken away by men's hands8    ,cleopas  
and his companion were good ,jews1 men  
who left a place for the  ideal in their
 minds1 burdened with many material     
cares4 ,but this place  for the ideal   
was not to be too large1 and this ideal 
must be  commensurate with their own    
natures if it were not to be expelled as
 an  unwelcome guest4 ,like almost all  
the ,disciples1 they too expected the   
coming of a ,liberator1 but of one who  
would come to liberate ,israel  first of
 all1--a ,messiah1 in short1 who should 
be the son of ,david rather  than the   
,son of ,god1 a warrior on horseback    
rather than a poor  pedestrian1 a       
scourge of ,his enemies and not a lover 
of sick people and  children4 ,the words
 of ,christ had almost given them a     

glimpse of higher  truths1 but the      
crucifixion disheartened them4 ,they    
loved ,jesus1 and  they suffered in ,his
 suffering1 but this sudden1 shameful   
ending without  glory and without       
resistance was too great a contrast to  
what they had  expected1 and especially 
to much of what they had hoped4 ,they   
could  understand that ,he might be a   
humble ,saviour1 riding on gentle asses 
instead of on warlike chargers1 and a   
little more spiritual and gentle  than  
they would have liked2 they could       
understand this1 although with          
difficulty1 and endure it although      
grudgingly4 ,but that the ,liberator    
had not known how to free either        
,himself or others1 that the ,messiah of
  the ,jews should have died through the
 will of so many ,jews on the  scaffold 
of murderers and parricides1 was too    
great a disappointment1--an  inexcusable
 scandal4 ,they pitied the crucified    
leader with all their  hearts1 but at   
the same time they were tempted to      

believe that they had  been deceived    
about ,his real nature4 ,his death--and 
what a death6--looked  to their narrow1 
practical minds sadly like a failure4   
,they were reasoning together of all    
these things as they went along  under  
the warm noonday sun and at times the   
discussion grew hot1 for  they did not  
always agree4 ,then suddenly they caught
 a glimpse of a  shadow on the ground   
near them4 ,they turned around4 ,the    
shadow was that  of a man who was       
following as if he wished to hear what  
they were  saying4 ,they stopped1 as was
 the custom1 to greet him1 and the      
traveler  joined them4 ,his did not seem
 an unknown face to the two men1 but    
look  at him as they might1 they could  
not think who it was4 ,the newcomer1    
instead of answering their silent       
questions1 asked them1 8,what manner of 
communications are these that ye have   
one to another1 as ye walk80            
,cleopas1 who must have been the older1 
answered with a wondering  gesture1     

8,art thou only a stranger in           
,jerusalem1 and hast not known the      
things which are come to pass there in  
these days80    8,what things80 asked   
the unknown man4    8,concerning ,jesus 
of ,nazareth1 which was a prophet mighty
 in deed and  word before ,god and all  
the people3 ,and how the chief priests  
and our  rulers delivered him to be     
condemned to death1 and have crucified  
him4  ,but we trusted that it had been  
he which should have redeemed ,israel3  
and beside all this1 to-day is the third
 day since these things were  done4     
,yea1 and certain women also of our     
company made us astonished1  which were 
early at the sepulchre2 ,and when they  
found not his body1  they came1 saying1 
that they had also seen a vision of     
angels1 which  said that he was alive4  
,and certain of them which were with us 
went to  the sepulchre and found it even
 so as the women had said3 but him they 
saw not40    8,o fools1 and slow of     
heart10 exclaimed the stranger1 8to     

believe all  that the prophets have     
spoken3 ,ought not ,christ to have      
suffered these  things1 and to enter    
into his glory80 ,do you not remember   
how ,he was  predicted from ,moses down 
to our own time8 ,have you not read     
,ezekiel and  ,daniel8 ,do you not even 
know our songs of the ,lord and ,his    
promises8    ,and almost indignantly ,he
 recited the old words and the          
prophecies1  recalled the description of
 the ,man of ,sorrows given by ,isaiah4 
,the two  listened1 docile and          
attentive1 without answering1 because   
the newcomer  spoke with so much heat1  
and the old admonitions in ,his mouth   
took on  new warmth and a meaning so    
clear that it seemed almost impossible  
that  they had not understood them      
before4 ,the talk of the newcomer gave  
them  the impression of being the echo  
of other talks like those heard in      
times past1 but confusedly1 like a voice
 from the other side of a wall4    ,in  
the meantime they had arrived at the    

entrance of ,emmaus1 and the  pilgrim   
made as though ,he would have gone      
further4 ,but now the two  friends were 
not willing to part with their          
mysterious companion1 and  they begged  
,him to stay with them4 ,the sun was    
going down1 throwing a  warmer golden   
light on the countryside1 and their     
three shadows had  lengthened on the    
dusty road4    8,abide with us10 they   
said1 8for it is toward evening1 and the
 day is  far spent40 ,also thou art     
tired and it is the hour for food4 ,and 
they  took ,him by the hand and made    
,him come into the house where they were
  going4    ,when they were at table1   
the guest who sat between them took     
bread1 and  broke it and gave a little  
to one of ,his friends4 ,at this action1
 the  eyes of ,cleopas and the other man
 were opened1 as when we are suddenly   
wakened and find the sun shining4 ,both 
of them sprang to their feet1  trembling
 with emotion1 pale1 amazed1 and finally
 knew ,him1 the murdered  man whom they 

had misunderstood and slandered4 ,but   
they had no time even  to run to kiss   
,him1 for ,jesus vanished out of their  
sight4    ,they had not recognized ,him 
when they had seen ,him1 not even by    
,his  speech1 although that was so like 
,his speech in ,his lifetime2 they had  
not recognized ,him even by the light of
 ,his eyes while ,he spoke1 nor by  the 
sound of ,his voice6 ,but when ,he took 
the bread in ,his hands1 like a  father 
who shares it with ,his children in the 
evening after a day of  work or of      
travel1 in that loving action which they
 had seen ,him perform  so many times in
 their hastily arranged intimate        
suppers1 they had  recognized ,his      
hands1 ,his blessed and wounded hands1  
and the cloud  lifted and they found    
themselves face to face with the        
splendor of  ,christ risen from the     
dead4 ,in ,his first life when ,he was  
their friend  they had not understood   
,him2 when on the road to ,emmaus ,he   
had taught  them1 they had not          

recognized ,him1 but at the moment when 
,he became the  loving ,master1 serving 
,his servants and giving them bread     
which is life  and the hope of life1    
then for the first time they saw ,him4  
,and tired and fasting as they were1    
they went back over the road which  they
 had come1 and after nightfall arrived  
at ,jerusalem4    ,and as they went     
along they said almost shamefacedly1    
8,did not our heart  burn within us1    
while he talked with us by the way1 and 
while he opened  to us the scriptures80 
,the ,disciples were still awake4       
,without drawing breath the newcomers   
told of their encounter and what had    
been said along the way1 and how  they  
had recognized ,him only at the moment  
when ,he broke the bread4 ,and  in      
answer to this new confirmation1 three  
or four voices cried out  together1     
8,the ,lord is risen indeed1 and hath   
appeared to ,simon60    ,but not all the
 ,apostles were convinced even by these 
four appearances1  by the fourfold      

testimony4 ,to some1 this prompt1 this  
extraordinary  resurrection1 which had  
taken place by night in a secret and    
suspicious  manner1 seemed more the     
hallucination of grief and of yearning  
than  actual truth4 ,who were the people
 who claimed to have seen ,him8 ,a      
hysterical woman who had been possessed 
by a devil2 a distraught man who  had   
not seemed himself from the moment when 
he had denied his ,master2  and two     
plain fellows who were not even ,his    
real ,disciples1 and whom  ,jesus had   
thus chosen1 no one knew why1 in        
preference to ,his closer  friends4     
,mary might have been deceived by a     
phantom2 ,simon1 to win back  his       
self-respect after his baseness1 was    
determined to do no less than  ,mary2   
the others were perhaps impostors or1 at
 the most1 visionaries4 ,if  ,christ    
were really risen1 would not ,he have   
been seen by them all while  they were  
together8 ,why these preferences8 ,why  
this appearance at  three-score furlongs

 from ,jerusalem8    ,they believed in  
,his resurrection1 but they thought of  
it as one of the  signs of the ending of
 the world1 when everything would be    
fulfilled4  ,but now that they found    
themselves confronted with the fact that
 ,he  alone had risen from the dead     
while everyday life went on as usual1   
they  realized that the return into life
 of human flesh 7and of human flesh     
which had not gone to sleep peacefully  
in the last sleep1 but whose life  had  
been torn away by violence71 that this  
idea of rising from the dead  not in the
 distant future but in the immediate    
present1 contradicted all  the other    
concepts which made up the tissue of    
their minds4 ,they  realized that this  
contradiction had always existed1 but   
their doubt had  not risen to           
consciousness until this brusque        
encounter of two  impossible elements3 a
 remote miracle and an actual fact4     
,if ,jesus had risen from the dead1 that
 would mean that ,he was really  ,god2  

but would a real ,god1 a ,son of ,god1  
ever have been reconciled to  allow     
,himself to be killed1 and in so        
shameful a way8 ,if ,he could  conquer  
death1 why had ,he not stricken down the
 judges1 put ,pilate to  confusion1     
paralyzed the arms of those about to    
nail ,him to the cross8  ,through what  
paradoxical mystery had the ,omnipotent 
allowed ,himself to  be dragged through 
the ignominy of the weak8    ,they were 
reasoning thus among themselves1 some of
 the ,disciples who had  heard but had  
not understood4 ,prudent like all       
sophists1 they did not  venture openly  
to deny the resurrection in the presence
 of those exalted  hearts1 but they     
reserved judgment1 turning over in their
 minds the  reasons for its possibility 
and impossibility1 wishing for a        
manifest  confirmation1 but unable to   
hope for one4    ,in the excitement of  
the day no one had eaten4 ,but the women
 had  prepared supper1 and now all sat  
down to the table4 ,simon remembered the

  ,last ,thursday3 8,this do in         
remembrance of me40    ,and a flood of  
tears dimmed his eyes while he broke the
 bread and gave  it to his friends4     
,,have ,,ye ,,here ,,any ,,meat8        
,they had scarcely eaten the last       
mouthfuls when ,jesus appeared in the   
doorway1 tall and pale4 ,he looked at   
them one by one1 and in ,his  melodious 
voice greeted them3 8,peace be unto     
you40    ,no one answered4 ,their       
astonishment overcame their joy1 even   
for those  who had already seen ,him    
since ,his death4 ,on their faces the   
,man risen  from the dead read the doubt
 which ,he knew they all felt1 the      
question  which they did not dare       
express in words1 8,art ,thou really    
,thyself a  living man1 or a spirit     
which comes from the caverns of the dead
 to  tempt us80    8,why are ye         
troubled80 said the ,man who had been   
betrayed1 8and why do  thoughts arise in
 your hearts8 ,behold my hands and my   
feet1 that it is  ,i1 myself3 handle me1

 and see2 for a spirit hath not flesh   
and bones1 as  ye see me have40    ,and 
,he stretched out ,his hands towards    
them1 showed them the marks still       
bloody left by the nails1 opened ,his   
garment over ,his breast so that  they  
could see the mark of the lance in ,his 
side4 ,some of them1 rising  from their 
couches1 knelt down and saw on ,his bare
 feet the two deep  wounds1 each with   
its livid ring around it4    ,but they  
could not bring themselves to touch     
,him1 for they feared to see  ,him      
disappear suddenly as ,he had come      
suddenly4 ,if one of them had  embraced 
,him1 would he have felt the warm       
solidity of a body1 or would  his arms  
have passed through the emptiness of a  
mere shadow8    ,it was ,he with ,his   
face1 with ,his voice1 with the         
irrefutable traces of  the crucifixion1 
and yet there was something changed in  
,his aspect which  they could not have  
described1 even if they had been calm4  
,the most  reluctant were forced to     

believe that the ,master stood before   
them with  all the appearance of life   
begun anew1 but their thoughts whirled  
in the  last of their doubts and they   
were silent as if they were afraid to   
believe in their senses1 as if they     
expected to wake up1 from one moment  to
 another4 ,even ,simon was silent4 ,what
 could he have said without  betraying  
himself by tears to ,him who had looked 
at him with those same  eyes in the     
courtyard of ,caiaphas while he swore   
that he had never known  ,him8    ,to   
make an end of their last doubts1 ,jesus
 asked1 8,have ye here any  meat80      
,he needed no longer any food except    
that for which ,he had vainly asked  all
 ,his life4 ,but these men of the flesh 
needed a fleshly proof1 a  material     
demonstration as was befitting those who
 believed only in  matter and nourished 
themselves only on matter4 ,they had    
eaten together  on their last evening2  
this evening also1 now that they were   
again  together1 ,he would eat with     

them4 8,have ye here any meat80    ,a   
piece of broiled fish was left in a     
dish4 ,simon put it before the  ,master1
 who sat down at the table and ate the  
fish with a piece of bread  while they  
all stared at ,him as though it were the
 first time they had  ever seen ,him    
eat4    ,and when ,he had finished1 ,he 
raised ,his eyes towards them1 and1     
8,are you  convinced now1 or do you     
still not understand3 does it seem      
possible to  you that a spirit can eat  
as ,i have eaten here in your presence8 
,so many  times ,i have been forced to  
reprove your hardness of heart1 and your
  little faith6 ,and behold you are     
still as you were at first1 and you     
were not willing to believe those who   
had seen me1 and yet ,i had hid  nothing
 of what was to happen in these days4   
,but you1 deaf and  forgetful1 hear and 
then forget1 read and do not understand4
 ,when ,i was  with you1 did ,i not tell
 you that all things which were written 
and  which ,i announced must be         

fulfilled2 that it behooved ,christ to  
suffer  and to rise from the dead on the
 third day1 and that repentance and     
remission of sins should be preached in 
,his name among all nations1  beginning 
at ,jerusalem8 ,now you are witnesses of
 these things1 and  behold ,i send the  
promise of my ,father upon you4 ,go ye  
into all the  world and preach the      
gospel to every creature4 ,all power is 
given unto  me in heaven and on earth1  
and as the ,father sent me1 ,i send you4
 ,go ye  therefore and teach all        
nations1 teaching them to observe all   
things  whatsoever ,i have commanded    
you4 ,he that believeth and is baptized 
shall  be saved1 but he that believeth  
not shall be damned4 ,i will remain here
  a little and we shall meet again in   
,galilee1 but ,i am with you always     
even unto the end of the world40        
,little by little as ,he spoke1 ,his    
,disciples' faces lighted up with a     
forgotten hope1 and their eyes shone    
with exaltation4 ,this was the hour  of 

consolation after the gloom of those    
dreadful days just passed4 ,his         
indubitable presence showed that the    
impossible was assured1 that ,god  had  
not abandoned them and never would      
abandon them4 ,their enemies1           
apparently victorious1 were conquered2  
the visible truth bore out all  the     
prophecies4 ,it was true that they had  
known already everything ,he  was then  
saying1 but those truths really lived in
 them only when ,his  lips repeated     
them4    ,their ,king had come back1 the
 ,kingdom was near at hand1 and ,his    
brothers1 instead of being derided and  
persecuted1 would reign with ,him       
through all eternity4 ,these words had  
fired again the most tepid1 had         
brightened the memory of other words1 of
 other sunnier days1 and  suddenly they 
felt an exaltation1 an ardor1 a greater 
desire to embrace  each other1 to love  
each other1 never more to be separated  
from each  other4 ,if the ,master was   
risen from the dead1 they themselves    

could not  die2 if ,he could leave the  
sepulcher1 ,his promises were the       
promises of  a ,god and ,he would       
fulfill them to the uttermost4 ,their   
faith was not in  vain1 and they were no
 longer alone3 the crucifixion had been 
the  darkening of one day in order that 
the light might shine out more          
splendidly for all the days to come4    
,,thomas ,,didymus      ,thomas1 called 
,didymus1 was not present when ,jesus   
appeared1 but the day  after1 his       
friends ran to seek him1 still agitated 
by what ,jesus had  said4 8,we have seen
 the ,lord60 they said4 8,it was really 
,he4 ,he talked  with us4 ,he ate with  
us like a living man40    ,thomas was   
one of those who had been profoundly    
shaken by the shame of  ,golgotha4 ,he  
had said once that he was ready to die  
with his ,master1 but  he had fled away 
with the others when the lanterns of the
 guard had  appeared on the ,mount of   
,olives4 ,his faith had been darkened by
 the  gloom which had shut down on      

,golgotha4 ,in spite of ,christ's       
warnings1 he  had never once thought    
that the end of his ,master could be    
thus4 ,to  think of the shame into which
 ,jesus let himself be led1 with the    
passivity of a feeble sheep1 made him   
suffer1 almost more than the loss  of   
,him who had loved him4 ,this           
disappointment of all his hopes had     
shocked him almost as though he had     
discovered that he had been cheated1    
and in his eyes his disappointment      
excused even the shame of their         
abandoning ,him4 ,thomas1 like ,cleopas 
and his comrades1 was a sensualist1     
whom the exalted example of ,christ had 
lifted high into a world which  was not 
his own4 ,faith had taken him unawares1 
like a contagious fervor4  ,but as soon 
as the flame which had kindled him anew 
every day was  buried1 or seemed buried1
 under the shameful stoning of hate1 the
 light  of his soul burned low1 and grew
 cold4 ,he took on again his first      
character1 his real character1 which    

sought tangible things with the  senses1
 hoped for material changes in matter1  
and expected to find only  in material  
things material certainties and         
consolations4 ,his eyes  refused to look
 at the things which his hands could not
 touch1 and for  this he was condemned  
never to see the invisible1--a grace    
reserved only  for those who believe it 
possible4 ,he hoped for the ,kingdom1   
especially  when the words and the      
presence of ,jesus brightened his       
earthly heart  with the light of        
,heaven1 but not for a purely spiritual 
,kingdom  floating in the firmament     
among the unsubstantial islands of the  
clouds1  but a kingdom where living1    
warm-blooded men might have eaten and   
drunk  at solid and tangible tables1    
might govern with new laws a fairer     
earth  assigned to them by ,god4        
,thomas1 after the scandal of the       
crucifixion1 was not at all disposed to 
believe a hearsay report of the         
resurrection4 ,he had seen his first    

beliefs too roughly disabused to put any
 faith now in his equally  deceived     
companions4 ,and he answered to those   
who joyfully brought him  the news1     
8,except ,i shall see in his hands the  
print of the nails1 and  put my finger  
into the print of the nails1 and thrust 
my hand into his  side1 ,i will not     
believe40    ,he had said at first1     
8,except ,i shall see40 ,but he         
corrected himself at  once3 even his    
eyes could deceive him1 and many men    
were cheated by  visions4 ,and his      
thoughts went on to a material test1 to 
the coarse1  brutal proof of fact1--to  
put his finger there where the nails had
 been1  to put his hand1 his whole hand1
 where the lance had penetrated4 ,to do 
as a blind man does who sometimes is    
less mistaken than men who see4    ,he  
rejected faith which is the higher      
vision of the soul4 ,he even  refused to
 have faith in the sight of his eyes1   
the most divine of our  bodily senses4  
,he put his faith only in his hands1    

flesh handling flesh4  ,this double     
denial left him in the dark1 groping    
like a blind man1 until  the ,light made
 ,man1 through a supreme loving         
concession1 gave him back  light for his
 eyes and for his heart4    ,but this   
answer of ,thomas has made him one of   
the most famous men in the  world3 for  
it is ,christ's eternal characteristic  
to immortalize even  those men who      
affronted ,him4 ,all those afraid to    
touch spiritual  concepts for fear of   
breaking them1 all cheap skeptics1 all  
the misers  in academic chairs1 all     
tepid half-wits stuffed with prejudices1
 all the  faint-hearted1 sophists1 the  
cynics1 the beggars and the             
retort-cleaners  of science2 in short   
all rush-lights jealous of the sun1 all 
geese  hissing at the flight of soaring 
falcons1 have chosen for their          
protector and patron ,thomas called     
,didymus4 ,they know nothing of him     
except this3 he does not believe in what
 he cannot touch4 ,this answer  seems to

 them the sum-total of perfect good     
sense4 ,let anybody who  wishes claim   
that he sees in the darkness1 hears in  
the silence1 speaks  in solitude1 lives 
in death2 the followers of ,thomas can  
get no such  idea into their thick1     
dense heads4 ,so-called 8reality0 is    
their  stronghold1 and they will not    
budge from it4 ,they prefer to fill     
their  lives with gold which satisfies  
no hunger1 with land in which they will 
occupy so small a cavity1 with glory so 
fleeting a whisper in the  silence of   
eternity1 with flesh which is to become 
worm-eaten  corruption1 and with those  
noisy1 magic discoveries which after    
enslaving men hurry them towards the    
formidable discovery of death4  ,these  
and other things like them are 8real    
things10 beloved by the  devotees of    
,thomas4 ,but perhaps if they had ever  
had the idea of reading  what happened  
after that answer made by ,thomas1 they 
would have their  doubts even of him who
 doubted the resurrection4    ,a week   

later1 the ,disciples were in the same  
house as on the first  occasion and     
,thomas was with them4 ,he had hoped all
 that week that he  also might be       
permitted to see the risen ,master1 and 
sometimes he had  trembled1 thinking    
that his answer might be the reason for 
,christ's  absence2 but suddenly there  
came a voice at the door1 8,peace be    
unto  you40    ,jesus entered1 his eyes 
seeking out ,thomas3 ,he came for       
,thomas1 for him  alone1 because        
,christ's love for him was greater than 
any affront4 ,and  ,he called him by    
name and came up to him so that he could
 see ,him  clearly1 face to face1       
8,reach hither thy finger1 and behold my
 hands2  and reach hither thy hand1 and 
thrust it into my side3 and be not      
faithless1 but believing40    ,but      
,thomas did not obey ,him4 ,he dared not
 put his finger in the nail  print nor  
his hand in the wound4 ,he only said to 
him3 8,my ,lord and my  ,god40    ,with 
these words which seemed an ordinary    

greeting1 ,thomas admitted his  defeat1 
fairer than any victory2 and from that  
moment he was wholly  ,christ's4 ,up to 
that time he had revered ,him as a man  
more perfect than  others1 now he       
recognized ,him as ,god1 as his ,god4   
,then ,jesus1 who could not forget      
,thomas' doubt1 answered1 8,thomas1     
because thou hast seen me1 thou hast    
believed3 blessed are they that  have   
not seen1 and yet have believed40       
,this is the last of the ,beatitudes and
 the greatest3 blessed are they  that   
have not seen and yet have believed1 for
 in spite of the theories  of the       
dissectors of corpses1 the only truths  
which have an absolute  value in reality
 are those which the eyes of the flesh  
cannot see and  hands of flesh and blood
 can never handle4 ,these truths come   
from on  high and reach the soul        
directly3 the man whose soul is locked  
shut  cannot receive them1 and will see 
them only on the day in which his  body1
 with its five limited doorways1 is like

 a shabby worn-out garment  left upon a 
bed1 in the interval before men hide it 
underground like a  noisome afterbirth4 
,thomas is one of the saints and yet he 
was not one of those blest by  that     
,beatitude4 ,an old legend relates that 
up to the day of his death  his hand was
 red with blood1 a legend true with all 
the truth of a  terrible symbolical     
meaning1 if we understand from it that  
incredulity  can be a form of murder4   
,the world is full of such assassins who
 have  begun by assassinating their own 
souls4                         ,,the    
,,rejection ,,of ,,the ,,resurrection   
,christ's first companions were at last 
convinced that ,his second and  eternal 
life had begun4 ,he who had been killed1
 who had slept as a  corpse sleeps1     
covered with the perfumes of ,nicodemus 
and the  winding-sheet of ,joseph1 had  
after two days awakened like a ,god4    
,but how  long it took them to admit the
 reality of ,his return6    ,and yet the
 enemies of ,christ1 to make an end to  

the greatest obstacles  in the way of   
their other negations1 have accused     
those very astonished1  perplexed       
,disciples with having willingly or     
unwillingly invented the  myth of the   
resurrection4 ,caiaphas and his         
followers claimed that the  ,disciples  
carried off the body by night and then  
spread around the news  of the empty    
sepulcher in order that weak-headed     
mystics might more  readily believe that
 ,christ was risen and thus allow those 
cheats to  continue their pestiferous   
trickery in the name of the dead        
,trickster4  ,and ,matthew says that the
 ,jews bought some witnesses with 8large
 money0  that if needful they should    
report that they had seen ,simon and his
  accomplices violate the sepulcher and 
carry away on their shoulders a  heavy  
burden wrapped in white4    ,but ,his   
modern enemies1 through a last remnant  
of respect for those who  founded with  
their blood the indestructible ,church1 
or rather through  their profound       

conviction of the simple-mindedness of  
the first martyrs1  have given up this  
idea of deceit4 ,neither ,simon nor the 
others could  have acted out such a     
deception2 they never could have kept   
such a piece  of trickery straight in   
their poor thick heads4 ,but if they    
were not  consciously deceiving1 they   
were certainly stupid victims of their  
own  fancy or of the knavery of others4 
,these enemies of ,christ affirm that   
the ,disciples hoped so vividly to  see 
,jesus rise from the dead as ,he had    
promised1 and that the  resurrection was
 so urgently needed to counteract the   
disgrace of the  crucifixion1 that they 
were induced1 almost forced1 to expect  
it and to  announce it as imminent4     
,then in that atmosphere of             
superstitious  suspense1 the vision of a
 hysterical woman1 the hallucination of 
a  dreamer1 the delusion of an          
unbalanced man sufficed to spread the   
news  of the appearance of ,christ about
 the little circle of the desolate      

survivors4 ,some of them1 unable to     
believe that the ,master had deceived   
them1 easily put their faith in the     
affirmations of those who claimed to    
have seen ,him after ,his death4 ,and1  
by dint of repeating the fantasies  of  
these wild dreams1 they ended by taking 
them seriously themselves and  by       
convincing the more candid souls4 ,only 
on condition of such a  posthumous      
confirmation of the divinity of the dead
 man was it possible  to hold together  
those who had followed ,him and to      
create the first  stable organization of
 the universal ,church4    ,but those   
who with their accusations of stupidity 
or fraud try to  undermine the certainty
 of the first ,christian generation1    
forget too  many things and too many    
essential things4    ,first of all is   
the testimony of ,paul4 ,saul the       
,pharisee had been to  school to        
,gamaliel1 and might have been present1 
even though at a  distance and as an    
enemy1 at ,christ's death1 and certainly

 knew all the  theories of his early    
teachers1 the ,jews1 about the pretended
  resurrection4 ,but ,paul1 who received
 the first ,gospel from the lips of     
,james1 called the brother of the ,lord1
 and from ,simon1 ,paul famous in  all  
the churches of the ,jews and the       
,gentiles1 wrote thus in his first      
letter to the ,corinthians3 8,christ    
died for our sins according to the      
scriptures2 ,and that he was buried1 and
 that he rose again the third day       
according to the scriptures2 and that he
 was seen of ,cephas1 then of the       
twelve3 ,after that he was seen of above
 five hundred brethren at once2  of whom
 the greater part remain unto this      
present1 but some are fallen  asleep40  
,the ,letter to the ,corinthians is     
recognized as authentic even  by the    
most disdainful and suspicious          
nosers-out of falsification4 ,the  first
 ,letter to the ,corinthians cannot have
 been written later than the  spring of 
the year #eh1 and hence it is older than

 the oldest ,gospel4  ,many of those who
 had known the living ,christ were still
 living at that  time and could easily  
have contradicted or undeceived the     
,apostle4  ,corinth was at the gates of 
,asia1 inhabited by many ,asiatics1 in  
close  relation with ,judea2 ,paul's    
letters were public messages which were 
publicly read at gatherings1 and copies 
of them were made to send to  other     
churches4 ,the solemn and specific      
testimony of ,paul must have come  to   
,jerusalem1 where the enemies of ,jesus1
 many of them still alive1  would have  
found some way to controvert them by    
other witnesses4 ,if ,paul  could have  
thought a valid confutation possible1 he
 never would have  dared write those    
words4 ,that he was able therefore1 so  
short a time  after the event1 publicly 
to affirm a prodigy so contrary to      
ordinary  beliefs and to the interests  
of ,christ's watchful enemies1 shows    
that  the resurrection was not merely a 
phantasy of a few fanatics1 but a       

certainty denied with difficulty1 easily
 proved4 ,we have no other record       
except this letter of ,paul's of the    
appearance of ,christ to the five       
hundred brothers1 but we cannot even for
 a moment imagine that ,paul1 one  of   
the greatest and purest souls of early  
,christianity1 could have  invented     
it1--he who had so long persecuted those
 who believed in the  reality of the    
resurrection4 ,it is extremely probable 
that the  appearance of ,christ to the  
five hundred happened in ,galilee on the
  mountain spoken of by ,matthew1 and   
that the ,apostle had known one of      
those who had been present at that      
memorable meeting4    ,but this is not  
all4 ,the ,evangelists1 who set down    
with some  incoherence1 but with the    
greatest frankness1 the recollections of
  ,jesus' first companions1 admit1      
perhaps without wishing to1 that the    
,apostles themselves did not expect the 
resurrection and found it hard to       
believe4 ,when we read the four ,gospels

 with attention we see that they        
continued to doubt even with the risen  
,christ before them4 ,when on  ,sunday  
morning the women ran to tell the       
,disciples that the sepulcher  was empty
 and ,christ alive1 the ,disciples      
accused them of raving4 ,when  later ,he
 appeared to many in ,galilee3 8,and    
when they saw him1 they  worshipped     
him30 said ,matthew2 8but some doubted40
 ,and when ,he appeared  at evening in  
the room where they were taking supper1 
there were some  who could not believe  
their own eyes and hesitated until they 
had seen  ,him eating4 ,thomas still    
doubted after this1 until the moment    
when his  ,lord's body was actually     
before his own4    ,so little did they  
expect to see ,him rise again that the  
first effect  upon them of ,his         
appearance was fright4 8,they were      
affrighted and  supposed that they had  
seen a spirit40 ,they were therefore not
 so  credulous and easily fooled as     
their defamers would have them4 ,and    

they  were so far from the idea of      
seeing ,him return a living man among   
the  living that when they first saw    
,him they mistook ,him for another4     
,mary  of ,magdala thought that ,he was 
the gardener of ,joseph of ,arimathea2  
,cleopas and his companions were not    
able to recognize ,him all along the    
road2 ,simon and the others when ,he    
came to them upon the shore of the      
lake1 8knew not that it was ,jesus40 ,if
 they had really been expecting  ,him1  
,himself1 their minds on the alert1     
burning with longing1 would they  have  
been frightened1 would they not have    
known ,him at once8 ,when we  read the  
,gospels1 we get the impression that    
,christ's friends1 far from  inventing  
,his return1 accepted it almost because 
they were forced1 by  external coercion1
 and after much hesitation2 the exact   
contrary1 in  short1 of what is desired 
to be proved by those who accuse        
,christ's  friends of being deceived or 
of having deceived4    ,but why this    

hesitation8 ,because the warnings of    
,christ had not been  able to dislodge  
from those slow and indocile minds the  
old ,jewish  repugnance to the idea of  
immortality4 ,the belief in the         
resurrection of  the dead was for       
centuries and centuries foreign to the  
wholly material  mentality of the ,jews4
 ,in a few prophets like ,daniel and    
,hosea there are  some passing traces of
 the idea1 but it does not appear       
explicitly  except in one passage of the
 story of the ,maccabees4 ,at the time  
of  ,christ the common people had a     
confused idea of it as a distant        
miracle1  a part of the conceptions of  
the ,apocalyptic writers1 but they did  
not  think it possible before the final 
upheaval of the great day3 the          
,sadducees denied it firmly and the     
,pharisees admitted it as the remote    
and common reward of all righteous men4 
,when the superstitious ,antipas  said  
that ,christ was ,john risen from the   
dead1 he meant to say with a  vigorous  

figure of speech that the new ,prophet  
was like a second ,john4    ,reluctance 
to admit such an extraordinary          
infraction of the laws of  death was so 
profoundly rooted in the ,jewish people 
that the very  ,disciples of ,christ    
were not disposed to admit the          
possibility of the  resurrection without
 reiterated proofs1 although they had   
seen ,him raise  others from the dead   
and had heard ,him predict ,his own     
resurrection4 ,and  yet they had seen   
,him bring to life with ,his powerful   
summons the son of  the ,widow of ,nain1
 the daughter of ,jairus1 the brother of
 ,martha and  ,mary3 the three sleepers 
whom ,jesus had awakened because of ,his
  compassion for the grief of a mother1 
of a father1 of a sister4 ,but it  was  
the habit and the fate of the ,twelve to
 misunderstand and to forget4  ,they    
were too set upon their material        
thoughts to be ready to believe at  once
 such a victory over death4 ,but when   
they were convinced1 their  certainty   

was so firm and strong that from the    
sowing of those first  enforced         
witnesses has sprung up an enormous     
harvest of men born again  in the faith 
of the resurrected ,one--which the      
centuries have not yet  mowed down4     
,the calumnies of the ,jews1 the        
accusations of false witnesses1 the     
doubts of the ,disciples1 the plots of  
implacable enemies1 the fallacious      
sophistry of the progeny of ,thomas1 the
 fantasies of heresiarchs1 the          
distorted conceptions of men eager to   
prove ,christ definitely dead1 the      
turns and twists of the myth-spinners1  
the mines and assaults of the  higher   
and lower criticism have not availed to 
wrench from the millions  of human      
hearts the certainty that the body taken
 down from the cross of  ,golgotha      
reappeared on the third day to die no   
more4 ,the people chosen  by ,christ    
condemned ,him to death1 hoping to have 
done with ,him1 but  death refused ,him 
as the ,jews had refused ,him1 and      

humanity has not yet  finished its      
accounting with that assassinated ,man  
who came out from the  sepulcher to show
 that breast where the ,roman lance had 
forever made  visible the heart which   
loves those who hate ,him4    ,the      
cowardly souls who will not believe in  
,his first life1 in ,his second  life1  
in ,his eternal life1 cut themselves off
 from true life3 from life  which is    
generous acceptance1 spontaneous love1  
hope in the invisible1  certainty of the
 truth which passeth understanding4     
,they themselves are  dead1 although    
they seem living1 those who refuse ,him1
 as death refused  ,him4 ,those who drag
 the weight of their still warm and     
breathing corpses  over the patient     
earth laugh at the resurrection4 ,the   
second birth in  the spirit will not be 
granted to those who reject life1 but an
  appalling and inevitable resurrection 
will be granted to them on the  last    
day4                               ,,the
 ,,return ,,by ,,the ,,sea      ,when   

the tragedy had drawn to a close with   
its greatest sorrow1 its  greatest joy1 
every one turned again to his own       
destination1 the ,son to  the ,father1  
the ,king to ,his ,kingdom1 the ,high   
,priest to his basins of  blood1 the    
fishermen to their nets4    ,these      
water-soaked nets1 with broken meshes1  
torn by the unaccustomed  weight of the 
great draughts1 so many times mended1   
patched1 knotted  together again1 which 
had been left by the first fishers of   
men without  one backward look1 on the  
shores of ,capernaum1 had finally been  
mended  and laid on one side1 by some   
one with the prudence of the            
stay-at-home  who knows that dreams are 
soon over and hunger lasts for all one's
  lifetime4 ,the wife of ,simon1 the    
father of ,james and ,john1 the brother 
of ,thomas1 had saved the casting nets  
and the drag-nets as tools which  might 
be useful1 in memory of the exiles1 as  
if a voice had said to  those who had   
remained at home3 8,they too will come  

back2 the ,kingdom is  fair1 but far    
distant1 and the lake is fair now1      
to-day1 and full of  fish4 ,holy is     
holiness1 but no man lives by the spirit
 alone4 ,and a fish  on the table now is
 worth more to a hungry man than a      
throne a year from  now40    ,and for a 
time the wisdom of the stay-at-homes1   
taken root in their  native countryside 
like moss on a stone1 was vindicated4   
,the fishermen  returned4 ,the fishers  
of men appeared again in ,galilee and   
once more  took the old nets into their 
hands4 ,they had received the order of  
,him  who had drawn them away from there
 that they should be witnesses to ,his  
shame and to ,his glory4 ,they had not  
forgotten ,him and they could never     
forget ,him3 they always talked of ,him 
among themselves and with all  those who
 were willing to listen to them4 ,but   
,christ on ,his return had  said1 8,we  
will meet again in ,galilee40 ,and they 
had gone away from  ill-omened ,judea1  
from the mercenary city ruled by its    

murderous  masters1 and they had trod   
once more the road back to their sweet1 
calm  fatherland1 whence the loving     
ravisher of souls had snatched them     
away4  ,the old houses had a mellow     
beauty1 with the white banners of newly 
washed linen1 and the young grass       
greening along the old walls1 and the   
tables cleaned by humble old hands1 and 
the oven1 which every week spat  out    
sparks from its flaming mouth4 ,and the 
quiet fishing-town had  beauty1 too2    
with its tanned naked boys1 the sun high
 over the level  market-place1 the bags 
and baskets in the shadow of the inns1  
and the  smell of fish which at dawn was
 wafted over it1 with the morning       
breeze4  ,but more beautiful than all   
was the lake3 a gray-blue and           
slate-colored  expanse on cloudy        
afternoons3 a milky basin of opal with  
lines and  patches of jacinth on warm   
evenings2 a dark shadow flecked with    
white on  starry nights3 a silvery1     
heaving shadow in the moonlight4 ,on    

this lake  which seemed the very spirit 
of the quiet1 happy countryside1 the    
fishermen's eyes had for the first time 
discovered the beauty of light  and of  
water1 nobler than the heavy unlovely   
earth and kinder than fire4  ,the boat  
with its slanting sails1 its worn seats1
 the high red rudder1  had from their   
childhood been dearer to them than that 
other home which  awaited them1         
stationary1 whitened1 four-square on the
 bank4 ,those  infinitely long hours of 
tedium and of hope as they gazed at the 
brilliant water1 the swaying of the     
nets1 the darkening of the sky1 had     
filled the greater part of their poor   
and homely lives4    ,then came the day 
when a ,master1 poorer and more powerful
 than they1 had  called them to ,himself
 to be workers with ,him in a           
supernatural1  perilous undertaking4    
,the poor souls uprooted from their     
usual  surroundings had done their best 
to be lighted by that flame1 but the    
new life had trodden them out like      

grapes in the wine-press1 like olives   
in the olive crusher in order that their
 rough hearts should yield up  tears of 
love and pity4    ,it was only after the
 ,cross had been raised on ,golgotha    
that they had  wept with true sorrow3   
and only after the ,crucified ,leader   
had returned  to break bread with them  
that they had been kindled anew to hope4
    ,and now they had come home1        
bringing back only a few recollections1 
and  yet those recollections were enough
 to transform the world4 ,but before    
beginning the work which ,he had        
commanded1 they were waiting to see ,him
  whom they loved in the place which ,he
 had loved4 ,they were different men    
from the men who had gone away1 more    
restless1 sadder1 almost estranged1  as 
if they had come back from the land of  
the lotus-eaters and saw from  beyond   
with purer eyes a new earth indissolubly
 united with ,heaven4 ,but  the nets    
were there1 hung up on the walls1 and   
the boats at anchor  swayed up and down 

on the water4 ,once more the fishers of 
men1 perhaps  out of nostalgia1 perhaps 
out of material need1 began to be lake  
fishermen4    ,seven ,disciples of      
,christ were together one evening in the
 harbor of  ,capernaum1 ,simon called   
,peter1 ,thomas called ,didymus1        
,nathanael of ,cana1  ,james1 ,john and 
two others4 ,simon said1 8,i go         
afishing40    ,his friends answered1    
8,we also go with thee40    ,they went  
into the boat and put off1 but all that 
night they caught  nothing4 ,when day   
came1 a little depressed because of the 
wasted night1  they came back towards   
the shore4 ,and when they were near they
 saw in  the faint light of the dawn a  
man standing on the shore1 who seemed to
  be waiting for them4 8,but the        
disciples knew not that it was ,jesus40 
8,children1 have ye any meat80 called   
the unknown man4    ,and they answered1 
8,no40    8,cast the net on the right   
side of the ship1 and ye shall find40   
,they obeyed and in a moment the net was

 so full that they were scarcely  able  
to draw it in4 ,and they all began to   
tremble because they had  guessed who it
 was awaiting them4    8,it is the      
,lord10 said ,john to ,simon4    ,peter 
answered nothing1 but hastily drew on   
his fisher's coat 7for he  was naked71  
and cast himself into the sea that he   
might be first on  shore4 ,the boat was 
scarcely two hundred cubits from the    
land and in a  few moments the seven    
,disciples were about their ,lord4 ,and 
no one asked  ,him1 8,who art           
thou80--because they had recognized     
,him4    ,on the shore there were bread 
and a lighted brazier with fishes       
broiling  on it1 and ,jesus said1       
8,bring of the fish which ye have now   
caught40    ,and for the last time ,he  
broke the ,bread and gave to them and   
the fish  likewise4 ,after they had     
finished eating ,jesus turned to ,simon 
and under  ,his look the unhappy man1   
silent till then1 turned pale3 8,simon1 
son of  ,jonas1 lovest thou me more than

 these80    ,the man who had denied     
,him1 when he heard this question full  
of  tenderness1 but for him so cruel1   
felt himself carried back to another    
place beside another brazier with other 
questions put to him1 and he  remembered
 the answer he had made then1 and the   
look from ,christ about  to die and his 
own great lamentation in the night4 ,and
 he dared not  answer as he wished3     
8,yes0 in his mouth would have been     
boasting and  shamelessness3 8,no0 would
 have been a shameful lie4    8,yea1    
,lord2 thou knowest that ,i love thee40 
,he made no claim for himself but 8thou 
knowest that ,i love thee10 ,thou  who  
knowest all and seest into the most     
hidden hearts4 8,i love thee03  but he  
had not the courage to add 8more than   
these0 in the presence of  the others1  
who knew what he had done4    ,christ   
said to him1 8,feed my lambs40    ,and  
for the second time ,he asked him3      
8,simon1 son of ,jonas1 lovest thou     
me80    ,and ,peter in his trouble found

 no other answer than1 8,yea1 ,lord2    
thou  knowest that ,i love thee40       
,why dost ,thou still make me suffer8   
,dost ,thou not know without my  telling
 ,thee that ,i love ,thee1 that ,i love 
,thee more than at first1 as ,i  have   
never loved ,thee1 and that ,i will give
 up my life to affirm my  love8    ,then
 ,jesus said1 8,feed my sheep40    ,and 
for the third time ,he insisted1        
8,simon1 son of ,jonas1 lovest thou     
me80    ,he was drawing from ,peter     
three affirmations1 three new promises  
to  cancel his three denials at         
,jerusalem4 ,but ,peter could not endure
 this  repeated suffering4 ,almost      
weeping1 ,he cried out1 8,lord1 thou    
knowest  all things2 thou knowest that  
,i love thee60    ,the terrible ordeal  
was over1 and ,jesus went on1 8,feed my 
sheep4 ,verily1  verily ,i say unto     
thee1 ,when thou wast young1 thou       
girdest thyself1 and  walkedst whither  
thou wouldest3 but when thou shalt be   
old1 thou shalt  stretch forth thy      

hands1 and another shall gird thee1 and 
carry whither  thou wouldest not40      
,that is1 to the cross1 like the cross  
where they nailed me4 ,know1  therefore1
 what it means to love me4 ,my love is  
brother to death4  ,because ,i love you1
 they have killed me3 for your love for 
me1 they will  kill you4 ,think1 ,simon1
 son of ,jonas1 what is the covenant    
which you  make with me1 and the fate   
which is before you4 ,from now on1 ,i   
shall not  be at hand to take you back1 
to give you the peace of forgiveness1   
after  coward fallings from grace4 ,from
 now on defections and desertions will  
be a thousand times more serious4 ,you  
must answer for all the lambs  which ,i 
leave in your care and as reward at the 
end of your labors you  will have two   
crossed beams1 and four nails as ,i had1
 and life eternal4  ,choose3 it is the  
last time that you can choose and it is 
a choice for  all time--irrevocable4    
,for an account will be asked of you as 
a servant  left in the place of his     

master3 and now that you know all and   
have  decided1 come with me4    8,follow
 me60    ,peter obeyed1 but turning     
about saw ,john coming after him and    
said1  8,lord1 and what shall this man  
do80    ,jesus said to him1 8,if ,i will
 that he tarry till ,i come1 what is    
that to  thee8 follow thou me60    ,for 
,simon the primacy and martyrdom2 for   
,john immortality and endless  waiting4 
,he who bore the same name as the       
precursor of ,christ's first  coming was
 to prophesy ,his second coming4 ,the   
historian of the end was  to be         
persecuted1 a solitary prisoner1 but he 
was to live longer than  all the others 
and to see with his own eyes the        
crumbling of the stones1  not one left  
upon another1 of the ill-omened hill of 
,jerusalem4 ,in his  sonorous blue      
desert1 in the midst of the blinding    
light and the immense  blackness of the 
midnight sea1 in his vision of the great
 deeds of the  last day he will rejoice 
and suffer4 ,peter followed ,christ1 was

  crucified for ,christ and left behind 
him the eternal dynasty of the  ,vicars 
of ,christ3 but ,john was not permitted 
to find rest in death3 he  waits with   
us1 the contemporary of every           
generation1 silent as love1  eternal as 
hope4                                   
,,the ,,cloud      ,once more they      
returned to ,jerusalem1 leaving their   
nets1 this time  forever1 travelers     
setting out upon a journey1 the stages  
of which were  to be marked by blood4   
,in the same place where ,he had gone   
down to the city glorified by men1  in  
the shade of blossoming branches1 ,he   
was to rise again after the  interval of
 ,his dishonor and ,his resurrection1 in
 the glory of ,heaven4  ,he remained in 
the midst of men1 for forty days after  
the resurrection1  for as long a time as
 ,he had remained in the desert after   
,his symbolic  death by water4 ,although
 ,his body seemed human1 ,his life was  
transfigured into the ultimate          
sublimination of humanity and ,he was   

ready to enter as pure spirit1 into the 
spirit of the ,father from whom  ,he had
 been separated thirty years before1    
that ,he might cast a gleam of  heavenly
 light upon the shadow-darkened world4  
,he did not1 as before1 lead a life in  
common with the ,disciples1 because  ,he
 was separated now from the life of     
living men2 but ,he reappeared to  them 
more than once to confirm ,his great    
promises1 and perhaps to  explain to    
those most capable of receiving them    
those mysteries which  were not written 
down in any book but were passed on1    
under the seal of  secrecy1 through all 
the apostolic period and the following  
periods1 and  were imperfectly set down 
later under the title of ,arcana        
,disciplina4    ,the last time they saw 
,him was on the ,mount of ,olives1 where
 before ,his  death ,he had prophesied  
the ruin of the ,temple and of the city 
and the  signs of ,his return1 and      
where1 in the darkness of night and of  
anguish1  ,satan1 before his final      

defeat1 had left ,him wet with sweat and
 blood4  ,it was one of the last        
evenings of ,may and the clouds in that 
golden  hour1 like golden celestial     
islands in the gold of the setting sun1 
seemed to rise from the warm earth      
towards near-by ,heaven1 like incense   
from great fragrant offerings4 ,in the  
fields of grain1 the birds began  to    
call back the fledglings to the nests1  
and the cool breeze lightly  shook the  
branches and their drooping1 unripened  
fruit4 ,from the distant  city1 still   
inact1 from the pinnacles1 the towers   
and the white squares  of the ,temple   
rose a smoky cloud of dust4    ,and once
 again the ,disciples asked ,jesus the  
question which they had put  to ,him in 
the same place on the evening of the two
 prophecies4 ,now that  ,he had come    
back as ,he had promised1 what else were
 they to await8    8,lord1 wilt thou at 
this time restore again the kingdom to  
,israel80    ,they may have meant the   
,kingdom of ,god1 which in their minds1 

as in the  minds of the ,prophets1 was  
one with the ,kingdom of ,israel1 since 
the  divine restoration of the earth was
 to begin with ,judea4    ,christ       
answered3 8,it is not for you to know   
the times or the season1  which the     
,father hath put in his own power4 ,but 
ye shall receive power1  after that the 
,holy ,ghost is come upon you3 and ye   
shall be witnesses  unto me both in     
,jerusalem1 and in all ,judea1 and in   
,samaria1 and unto  the uttermost parts 
of the earth40    ,and having said this1
 ,he lifted up ,his hands and blessed   
them4 ,and while  they beheld1 ,he was  
taken up from the earth and suddenly a  
shining cloud  as on the morning of the 
,transfiguration wrapped ,him about and 
hid ,him  from their sight4 ,but they   
could not look away from the sky and    
continued to gaze steadfastly up in     
their astonishment1 when two men in     
white apparel spoke to them3 8,ye men of
 ,galilee1 why stand ye gazing up  into 
heaven8 this same ,jesus1 which is taken

 up from you into heaven1  shall so come
 in like manner as ye have seen him go  
into heaven40    ,then having prayed in 
silence1 they returned to ,jerusalem1   
glowing with  melancholy joy1 thinking  
of the day just begun3 the first day of 
a task  which1 after two thousand years1
 is not yet accomplished4 ,they were    
alone now1 alone against that           
innumerable enemy called the ,world4    
,but  ,heaven is not so cut off from the
 earth as before the coming of ,christ2 
the mystic ladder of ,jacob is no longer
 a lonely man's dream1 but is set  up on
 the earth1 on this earth which we      
tread1 and above there is an            
,intercessor who does not forget the    
ephemeral beings destined to eternal    
life who1 for a time1 were ,his         
brothers4 8,lo1 ,i am with you alway1   
even  unto the end of the world0 had    
been one of ,his last promises and the  
greatest4 ,he had ascended into ,heaven1
 but ,heaven was no longer merely  the  
barren dome where swift1 tumultuous     

storm-clouds appear and  disappear2     
where the stars shine out silently1 like
 the souls of saints4    ,he is still   
with us1 the ,son of ,man1 who to be    
nearer ,heaven ascended  mountains1 who 
was light made manifest1 who died1      
raised above the earth  towards the     
blackness of ,heaven1 and rose from the 
dead to ascend into  ,heaven in the     
peacefulness of evening1 and who will   
return again on the  clouds of ,heaven4 
,he is still present in the world which 
,he meant to  free4 ,he is still        
attentive to our words1 if they truly   
come from the  depths of our hearts1 to 
our tears if they are tears of blood in 
our  hearts before being salt drops in  
our eyes4 ,he is with us1 an invisible1 
benignant guest1 never more to leave us1
 because by ,his wish our earthly  life 
is an anticipation of the ,kingdom of   
,heaven1 and is a part of  ,heaven from 
this day on4 ,christ has taken to       
,himself as ,his eternal  possession    
that rough foster-mother of us all1 that

 sphere which is but  a point in the    
infinite and yet contains hope for the  
infinite2 and  to-day ,he is closer to  
us than when ,he ate the bread of our   
fields4 ,no  divine promise can be      
blotted out3 the ,may cloud which hid   
,him from  sight1 still hovers near the 
earth1 and every day we raise our weary 
and  mortal eyes to that same ,heaven   
from which ,he will descend in the      
terrible splendor of ,his glory4        
,,index       ,abba1 ,father1 #cjb      
,abnegation1 #cji     ,abraham1 #db     
,achilles1 #ajj2     ,priam and1 #aag1  
#abj     ,adam1 #abg     ,adulteress1   
#bbc     ,adultery1 #aja1 #baj          
,adversary4 ,see ,satan     ,agrapha1   
#ab     ,aim of this book1 #ac1 #ad1    
#ag1 #bj     ,ajax of ,sophocles1 #aah  
,alabaster box1 #bbd     ,alms1 #aji    
,andrew1 #hb     ,angels1 #fb1 #gd1 #bab
     ,anger1 #ajj     ,animality1 #ih1  
#abc     ,animals1 #bb     ,annas1 #bea1
 #cac     ,anointing1 #bbd              
,anti-,christ1 #d     ,anxiety for the  

morrow1 #aji     ,apostles1 #he1 #agh4  
,see also ,disciples     ,aquinas1      
,thomas1 #ahe     ,arcana ,disciplina1  
#djf     ,aristophanes1 #aih1 #aii      
,aristotle1 #aai1 #acf     ,art1 #abd   
,ascension1 #bda1 #dje1 #djg     ,asking
 and receiving1 #aef     ,ass1 #bb1     
#aaf2     ,jesus riding on1 #bdd        
,augustus1 #bjd     ,author of this     
book1 his coming to ,christ1 #ah        
,authority1 #ac     ,avarice1 #aaa      
,awakened one1 #cj       ,babylon1 #dd  
,balaam1 #bb1 #bc     ,banks and        
bankers1 #bej     ,banquet of the       
,kingdom1 #aec1 #aed     ,baptism1 of   
blood1 #cjj2     of ,jesus1 #eg1 #fj2   
,john the ,baptist1 #ed2     second     
baptism of ,jesus--the tears of the     
woman who was a sinner1 #bbh            
,barabbas1 #cda     ,barns1 new1 #agd   
,beatitudes1 #hg1 #ic2     last and     
greatest1 #cie     ,beauty1 #ae         
,beggars1 #hj1 #aed1 #aic     ,behold   
the man61 #cdf     ,belief1 #gc1 #gd1   
#cie     ,benevolence1 #aac             

,bestiality1 #fb1 #gc1 #ib1 #cbc        
,bethany1 #adj     ,bethlehem1 #bd1 #be2
     babies1 #bh     ,bethpage1 #bdd    
,betrayal1 #bha     ,betrayal of women1 
#ajb     ,birth of ,jesus1 #ba          
,blasphemy1 #cbb     ,blindfolding      
,jesus1 #cbe     ,blindness1 #acc       
,blood1 scourging of ,jesus1 #cde2      
sweat and blood of ,jesus in            
,gethsemane1 #cjf2     water and1 from  
body of ,jesus1 #cge2     wine and1 #bih
     ,blood-offering1 #bi     ,boyhood1 
#cb     ,bread1 as the body of ,christ1 
#bif1 #bih2     breaking1 #big2         
eating1 as communion with ,god1 #bie2   
fishes and1 #adf2     material and      
spiritual1 #ff1 #acc1 #adf2             
unleavened1 #bie1 #big     ,bridegroom1 
#aee     ,brothers1 #afa1 #afh1 #bjg2   
anger toward1 #ajj2     love for1 #aad  
,buddha1 #ie1 #aih     ,buddhism1 #aad  
,burial of ,jesus1 #cgi     ,business as
 a ,god1 #bej     ,business men1 #gi    
,but ,i say unto you1 #ajj       ,csar1 
faith1 #adh2     images1 #cbg2          

things which are ,csar's1 #bjb1 #bjd1   
#ccj     ,csarea1 #bcc     ,cain1       
descendants of1 #bee     ,cainites1 #bhb
     ,caiaphas1 #bdc1 #bea1 #bgh1 #bhg1 
#caj1 #cae1 #cah1 #cdh2     adjuration  
of ,jesus1 #cba2     rends his garment1 
#cbb     ,caligula1 #bgj1 #bga          
,camel and needle's eye1 #aha     ,cana1
 #ada     ,canaan1 #dc     ,capernaum1  
#gd1 #gf     ,capital punishment1 #cef  
,carpenter1 #ce2     ,jesus as1 #cf     
,catalepsy1 #aci     ,catholic ,church1 
#ab     ,celibacy1 #baa     ,centurion1 
#ceb1 #cee1 #cef     ,cerinthus1 #bfh   
,chaldea1 #bd     ,charity1 #agc1 #bfe  
,chastity1 #baa1 #bab     ,children1    
#baf2     ,bethlehem1 #bh2     ,jesus'  
love of1 #bag2     ,moses and1 #bae2    
old law and its reversal by ,jesus1 #bah
       ,christ1 ,jesus declares himself1
 #bdg2     living to-day1 #f1 #djh2     
memory1 #e2     modern opinion of1 #ai2 
second coming1 #bei1 #bfb2     ,thou art
 the ,christ1 #bce4     ,see also       
,jesus2       ,second coming            

,christian era1 #f1 #ga     ,christian  
martyrs1 #bfi     ,christianity1        
precedents for1 #aai     ,christs1      
false1 #bfj1 #bfg     ,church1 #cif2    
,catholic1 #ab2     ,peter and1 #bcg    
,circe1 #abb     ,claudia ,procula1     
#ccc1 #cgf     ,cleopas1 #chd1 #che1    
#chg     ,cloud1 ,jesus' glorification1 
#dje     ,clovis1 #cfi     ,cock crow1  
#cae1 #cag     ,commerce1 #bej          
,communion with ,god1 #bie              
,confucius1 #aac     ,conversion1 #gc2  
in ,jesus' life1 #eh     ,converted     
sinner1 #ei     ,corinthians1 letter to 
the1 #cig     ,cost1 counting1 #aec     
,country1 #ci     ,courage1 #ajf        
,court of the ,gentiles1 #bdh           
,courtesy1 #aac     ,covenants1 #dj     
,crates1 #aih1 #aii     ,criticism1 #h1 
#ab     ,cross1 #cjd1 #cje1 #ceb2       
,jesus and the two thieves carrying1    
#cec2     ,jesus nailed to1 #cfj2       
superscription1 #cea4     ,see also     
,crucifixion     ,crown of thorns1 #cdf 
,crucifixion1 #cei1 #cfg     ,crucify   

him61 #cch1 #cdj1 #cdc1 #cdg            
,cynics1 #aih     ,cyrenian1 #cec1 #cee 
,daniel1 #bga     ,darkness1 at the     
crucifixion1 #cfg1 #cgj2     ,jesus'    
hour of1 #caj     ,david1 #dc1 #aaf     
,day of the ,lord1 #bfb     ,dead1      
raising1 #ach     ,death1 #acc2         
,egypt's obsession1 #ca2     ,jewish    
views1 #cii     ,death of ,jesus1       
authors and accomplices1 #bdb1 #bdc2    
foreknowledge1 #bda2     ,his prayer1   
,abba1 ,father1 #cjb4     ,see also     
,crucifixion     ,deborah1 #dc          
,debts1 forgiving1 #aga1 #bcj           
,defilement1 #ajd     ,demons1 #acg1    
#age     ,desert1 #fa1 #fh1 #fi         
,devil4 ,see ,satan     ,didymus1 #cib  
,disciples1 #agf2     duty1 #ahi2       
earliest1 #ge2     first four1 #hb2     
foretold of ,jesus' death1 #bdb2        
instructions to1 #ahh2     mystic       
identity with ,jesus1 #aib2             
persecutions1 #bfh2     reappearance of 
,jesus to1 after the resurrection1 #djc2
     at resurrection of ,jesus1 #chh1   

#chi2     speaking in the light1 #aij2  
warnings to1 #ahj     ,discord1 #bjf    
,dismas1 #cfc1 #cfg     ,divinity1 #abc 
,divorce1 #baj     ,doing versus        
hearing1 #aeh     ,dositheus1 #bfh      
,doubt of ,thomas1 #cib       ,earthly  
kingdoms1 #fc1 #fe1 #fg1 #gb            
,earthquakes1 #bgj     ,easter1 #bdc1   
#bie     ,edification1 #ad              
,education of the human race1 #ih       
,egypt1 character1 #ca2     death and   
mud1 #ca2     exile in1 #cb2     flight 
into1 #cj2     ,jews in1 #db            
,egyptians1 #aad     ,elder son1 #afg1  
#afi     ,elders1 #bdb     ,elias1 #bdj1
 #cgc     ,eloquence1 #af     ,elxai1   
#bfh     ,emmaus1 #chd     ,end of the  
world1 #bfb1 #bff     ,enemies1         
,egyptians and1 #aad2     ,greeks and1  
#aag2     hatred of1 #abf2     ,jewish  
treatment of1 #aae2     love of1 #aba   
,enna1 #bfg     ,entreaty1 #aef         
,epileptics1 #ace     ,erudition1 #ac   
,eternal life1 #bfd1 #djj     ,eternal  
punishment1 #bfd     ,eternity1 #ga     

,evangelists on the ,resurrection1 #cih 
,evil1 flight from1 #aje2     root of1  
#ajj     ,evil for evil1 #aje           
,exaggeration1 #ajj     ,exile in       
,egypt1 #cb     ,expiation1 #bgi        
,faith1 #acb1 #acc1 #acf1 #adh          
,false ,christs1 #bfj1 #bfg     ,false  
witnesses1 #cai     ,family1 #ajc       
,farmers1 #gi     ,father1 real1 #cd2   
universal1 #de     ,fatherhood of ,god1 
#cg     ,father's business1 #cc         
,fathers and sons1 #bac     ,fatted     
calf1 #afg     ,feast1 #aec     ,feed my
 sheep1 #djd     ,feet1 washing of1 #bib
     ,fig tree1 accursed1 #add          
,fire1 #bjg2     from heaven1 #ahd2     
prophet of fire1 #ed     ,first and     
last1 #ahj     ,first covenant1 #dj     
,fishermen1 #gh2     earliest disciples1
 #hb1 #hd2     return to the sea1 #djj  
,fishers of men1 #hc     ,flesh1        
conquest of1 #bab2     one flesh1 #bji  
,flight from evil1 #aje     ,flight into
 ,egypt1 #cj     ,flogging1 #cdc1 #cdd  
,flood1 #da     ,florence1 #bj          

,forgive them1 #cef1 #ceh1 #cfc         
,forgiveness1 #agj2     of sin1 #bca    
,forsaken1 on the cross1 #cgb     ,forty
 days1 #fb     ,fourth ,covenant1 #dc   
,frankincense1 #be     ,friends1 ,jesus 
and ,judas1 #bhe2     laying down life  
for1 #bid2     posthumous1 #cgf         
,friendliness1 #ge     ,fulvia1 #ccd    
,galilee1 #fi1 #ga1 #dja     ,gardeners1
 #gh     ,garments of ,jesus1 division1 
#cfa     ,gate1 narrow1 #aef            
,gentiles and ,jerusalem1 #bfb          
,gethsemane1 #aha1 #ahc1 #cjb           
,gnostics1 #bfh     ,god1 #abb2     as  
,father1 #cg2     imitation of1 #abc2   
likeness to1 #abc2     reign of1 #ga2   
will of1 #cji     ,gods of ,greece1 #fd 
,gold1 frankincense and myrrh1 #be      
,golgotha1 #ceg     ,good ,friday1 #cej 
,good thief1 #cfc     ,good tidings1 #gd
     ,gospel1 #gd     ,gospels1 #f2     
authenticity1 #aa     ,greatness1 #agg  
,greek gods1 #fd     ,greeks1 treatment 
of enemies1 #aag       ,happiness1 #ie1 
#ig1 #aed     ,harvest1 #age            

,hasmonans1 #bg     ,hatred1 of enemies1
 #abf2     of others1 #aaa2     of      
ourselves1 #abd1 #abe     ,he is risen1 
#cha     ,health1 #acd1 #ach2     of    
soul1 #ajb     ,hearing versus doing1   
#aeh     ,heaven1 #gc1 #djg4     ,see   
also ,kingdom of ,heaven     ,heights1  
#acj     ,heresies1 #bfg     ,hermon1   
,mount1 #bch     ,herod ,antipas1 #cce2 
,jesus before1 #ccg     ,herod the      
,great1 #bg1 #cbe     ,herodias1 #ccf   
,high ,priests1 #bdb2     plot against  
,jesus1 #bgg1 #bgh     ,hillel1 #aag    
,holiness1 #abb1 #bje     ,horace1 #bf  
,hosannas1 #bdf     ,hosea1 #bgd        
,house on a rock1 #aeh     ,human       
nature1 mystery1 #bcd     ,human race1  
education1 #ih     ,humility1 #abe1     
#agb1 #bic     ,hungering after justice1
 #ij     ,husbandman1 good1 #age        
,hypocrites1 #bee       ,ideas of       
,jesus1 antiquity of1 #aab              
,imagination1 #ae1 #af     ,immortality1
 #cii     ,inasmuch1 #bfd     ,incest1  
#ccf     ,inferno1 #ce     ,inheriting  

the earth1 #hh     ,injustice1 #ia      
,innocents1 slaughter of1 #bh           
,insults1 #ib1 #cad1 #cbd1 #ced         
,intellectualism1 #abd                  
,intelligence1 #hg     ,introduction1 #c
       ,jairus' daughter1 #aci          
,james1 #hc1 #ahc1 #ahd     ,jericho1   
#agb     ,jerusalem1 desolation1 #bfa2  
destruction1 #dd1 #de1 #bga1 #bgb2      
last journey to1 #bdd2     ,passover    
#cb2     worldly1 #fi       ,jesus1     
attempts on his life1 #bda2     baptism 
of1 #eg1 #fj2     birth1 #ba2           
blindfolded1 #cbe2     as the ,christ1  
#bcc2     condemnation1 #cbb2           
crucifixion1 #cei1 #cfg2     deeds1     
#acj2     foreknowledge1 #di2           
foreknowledge of death1 #bda2           
friendliness1 #ge2     hatred and       
condemnation for1 #bge2     healer1     
#ach2     ,herod ,antipas and1 #ccd2    
liberator1 #bii1 #chd2     nailed to the
 cross1 #cfj2     nature1 #bcc2         
,pilate and1 #cbi1 #cch2     ,pilate's  
question1 #ccj1 #ccb2     poverty1 #aic2

     prosecution1 #cae2                 
resurrection1 #cha2     road to ,emmaus1
 #chd2     second crucifixion1 #c2      
sinlessness1 #eh2     spat on and       
struck1 #cbd2     under the cross1 #cec2
     the wanderer1 #ge1 #gf2     what   
men said of him1 #bcc1 #bce4     ,see   
also ,christ     ,jewish ,state1        
restablishment1 #bgd     ,jews1         
dispersal1 #dd1 #bgb2     history1 #dj2 
in ,egypt1 #db2     wanderings1 #dc     
,job1 #aaf     ,john1 #hc1 #ahc1 #ahd1  
#ahe1 #cae1 #cah2     at the            
crucifixion1 #cga2     at the sepulcher1
 #chc     ,john the ,baptist1 #ed2      
beheading of1 #ccf2     imprisonment and
 death1 #fi2     ,jesus' answer to him  
in prison1 #acg1 #ach     ,jonah1 #aca  
,jordan and ,john the ,baptist1 #ed     
,joseph1 #cd1 #bhf     ,joseph of       
,arimathea1 #cah1 #cgg     ,joshua1 #dc 
,judas1 #ahf1 #bjb1 #bdc2     ,jesus'   
understanding of1 #bhd2     kiss of1    
#caa2     at the ,last ,supper1 #bij1   
#cja2     mystery of1 #bha2     sinning 

woman and1 #bbi2     wasted ointment    
and1 #bcb     ,judea1 outbreak1 #bgj    
,judging others1 #aaj     ,judgment     
,day1 #bfc1 #bfe     ,justice1 #aah1    
#abb1 #abd1 #aee2     hunger for1 #ij   
,king of the ,jews1 #ccj1 #cdf1 #cea    
,kingdom of ,heaven 7of ,god71 #ff1 #fh1
 #ga1 #ic2     chief places in1 #aeg1   
#ahd2     children--of such is the      
,kingdom1 #bag2     definition1 #gb2    
force and1 #bje2     like mustard seed1 
#aea     ,kingdom of ,satan1 #gb1 #aif  
,kingdoms of the earth1 #fc1 #fe1 #fg1  
#gb     ,kings1 at the birth of ,jesus1 
#be2     of the nations1 #bjd     ,kiss 
of ,judas1 #caa     ,knowledge1 #be     
,lama sabachthani1 #cgb     ,lamps1 #aef
     ,land of ,promise1 #db             
,lao-,tse1 #aac     ,last and first1    
#ahj     ,last judgment1 #bfc1 #bfe     
,last ,supper1 #bhh     ,last things1   
#bei     ,law1 #abb1 #abd2     old and  
new1 #ii     ,lazarus1 #adj1 #bbj       
,lazarus1 the beggar1 #agc     ,legs1   
breaking1 #cff1 #cge     ,leopardi1     

,giacomo1 #ie     ,lepers1 #ace         
,liberator1 #bii1 #chd     ,life1 #e2   
eternal1 #bfd1 #djj2     ,jesus'        
knowledge of1 #fj2     revaluation of1  
#ic2     true1 #aaj     ,light1 ,jesus' 
,transfiguration1 #bci     ,lives of    
,christ1 kind we need1 #aj2     two     
kinds1 #g     ,logia1 #ab1 #ahf         
,longinus1 #cge     ,lord's ,prayer1    
exposition1 #abh     ,losing one's soul1
 #aif     ,lost found1 #cb     ,lost    
sheep1 #agj     ,love1 antiquity and1   
#aaa-aba2     ,christ's command1 #aba2  
,christ's for sinners1 #ei2             
experiment of1 #abe2     filial1 #ajc2  
mutual and universal1 #aac2     for one 
another1 #bid2     perfect1 #cg2        
self1 #aaa1 #abe2     woman who loved   
much1 #bbi     ,lovest thou me81 #djc   
,luke-warmness1 #ahh       ,malchus1    
#caa     ,mammon1 #aic1 #aif2           
,temple at ,jerusalem and1 #bdi         
,man1 early rules1 #ih2                 
perfectibility1 #ig     ,manger1 #ba    
,maranatha1 #bdc     ,mariamne1 #bg     

,mark1 #cac     ,marriage1 #adb1 #bji2  
,cana1 #ada1 #adc     ,martha1 #ach1    
#adj1 #bai     ,martyrs1 #bfi     ,mary 
7of ,bethany71 #ach1 #adj1 #bai1 #cgi   
,mary 7,virgin ,mother71 #ac1 #bbb1     
#cga1 #cgh1 #cgi2     flight into       
,egypt1 #cj     ,mary ,magdalene1 #bbj1 
#bbd1 #cgi2     risen ,lord and1 #chb   
,masons1 #gh     ,massacre of the       
,innocents1 #bi     ,matthew1 #ahe1     
#ahf1 #bhb     ,meander1 #bfh           
,meekness1 #hh     ,memory of ,christ1  
#e     ,mental diseases1 #acf           
,merciful1 #ij     ,mercy1 #bfc1 #bfe   
,messiah1 #ahc2     material1 #ec1 #fe  
,messiahship1 #di     ,messianic        
prophecies1 #ej     ,metals1 #ahi1 #bja 
,miracles1 #ff1 #fg1 #aca1 #acf         
,money1 banks1 exchange1 etc41 #bej2    
curse of1 #bbj2     ,jesus and1 #bja1   
#bjb2     ,judas and1 #bhb              
,money-changers1 #bdi     ,mosaic law1  
#aae     ,moses1 #cj2     deliverance of
 ,jews from ,egypt1 #db2     law and    
love1 #aae2     sprinkling of blood1    

#bii2     with ,christ on ,hermon1 #bdj 
,moslems1 #bgd     ,mount1 ,sermon on   
the1 #he1 #id1 #ahf     ,mountain1      
,jesus praying on1 #bci     ,mourning1  
#hi     ,m'-,ti1 #aab1 #aac     ,mud1   
#ca     ,murder1 #ajj     ,mustard seed1
 #aea     ,myrrh1 #be     ,mysteries1   
#djf2     ,gethsemane1 #cjf2     human  
nature1 #bcd2     of the ,kingdom1 #adi 
,nails1 four1 #cei1 #cfa     ,names1    
secret and real1 #bcd     ,nard1 #bbd   
,narrow gate1 #aef     ,nathaniel1 #ahf 
,nature1 #ie2     antagonism of ,jesus  
and1 #aji2     ,jesus and1 #ch2         
overturning1 #ajh     ,nazarene1 #cea   
,nazareth1 any good thing out of81 #ahf2
     boyhood of ,jesus1 #cb2            
foreknowledge of ,jesus1 #di2           
,joseph's shop1 #cd     ,nazir1 #ed     
,negative command1 #aag     ,neighbor1  
#agb     ,nero1 #bfi     ,new ,covenant1
 #ga1 #bii     ,nicodemus1 #ahg1 #bgh1  
#cah1 #cgg     ,nicolatians1 #bfh       
,nirvana1 #aad     ,noah1 #da           
,nomads1 #da     ,nonresistance1 #ajd1  

#ajg       ,oaths1 #ajc     ,octavius   
,augustus1 #bf     ,old ,adam1 #ei1 #abe
     ,old ,covenant1 #dj1 #bii     ,old 
ideas1 #aab     ,old law1 #aag     ,old 
,testament morality1 #aaf     ,older    
son1 #afg1 #afi     ,olives1 ,mount of1 
#bdd1 #bde1 #beb1 #bei1 #cjb     ,ophir1
 #dd     ,opinion of ,christ1 modern1   
#ai     ,other cheek1 #aje1 #ajf        
,overturnings of opinion1 #id     ,ox1  
#bb       ,paganism1 #afi     ,palazzo  
,vecchio1 #bj     ,palm branches1 #bdf  
,parables1 #aca1 #adi1 #aea             
,paradise1 #dj1 #dc1 #abg1 #bac1 #bai2  
for the penitent thief on the cross1    
#cef     ,paradox1 #ic     ,parasceve1  
#ceb     ,parusia1 #bei1 #bfb1 #bfg1    
#bgc     ,passion1 beginning1 #bdc      
,passover1 #cb1 #bhh1 #bie2     night   
before1 #ceb     ,paternoster1 #abh1    
#bae     ,patriarchs1 #da     ,paul1    
#bfi2     testimony as to the           
resurrection1 #cig     ,peace1 #bjh     
,peace and war1 #aij1 #bje              
,peacemakers1 #ia     ,peasants1 #gi    

,persecutions1 #bf1 #ia1 #bfj1 #bfh     
,peter1 #bfh1 #bfi2     the ,rock1 #aha1
 #bcg4     ,see also ,simon ,peter      
,petronius1 #cge     ,pharaoh1 #db      
,pharisees1 #ee1 #ajd1 #adg1 #bec2      
condemnation in the ,temple1 #bee2      
at ,jesus' entry into ,jerusalem1 #bdf2 
prayer of1 and ,publican1 #aga          
,philip1 #ahf     ,philo1 #aag          
,pilate1 ,pontius1 #bdc1 #cbe2     fate1
 #cej2     ,jesus before1 #cbi1 #cch2   
last recorded words1 #cea2              
personality1 #cbf2     subterfuges1     
#cdb1 #cdg1 #cdh1 #cdi2     washing of  
hands1 #cdf1 #cdi2     wife's dream1    
#ccc     ,pitcher1 man with1 #bhh1 #bhi 
,pity1 #aga1 #bfe1 #ced     ,plato1     
#aah1 #aih1 #aii     ,pluto1 #aih1 #aii 
,poet1 ,jesus as1 #aej     ,poetry1 #ae 
,poor1 the1 ,jesus' love of1 #bjj2      
,jesus' teaching1 #gg2     rich and1    
#agc1 #ahi1 #aid2     in spirit1 #hg4   
,see also ,poverty     ,possession by   
devils1 #acf       ,poverty1 #gi1 #aji1 
#agd2     disciples1 #ahi2     ,jesus1  

#aic2     voluntary1 #aig     ,prayer1  
#abh2     ,father1 forgive them1 #cef1  
#ceh1 #cfc2     ,jesus in ,gethsemane1  
#cjc1 #cji2     ,jesus on the mountain1 
#bci2     ,lord's prayer1 #abh2         
,pharisee and ,publican1 #aga           
,priam1 #aag1 #abj     ,priestly caste1 
#bgf     ,primacy1 #dje     ,prodigal   
son1 #afj-afi     ,prophecy of ,jesus on
 ,last ,things1 #bei1 #bff              
,prophets1 #dd1 #de2     character1 #dg2
     definitions1 #dg1 #dh2             
description1 #df     ,prostitutes1 #bcj 
,proverbs1 #aaf     ,psalms1            
imprecations on enemies1 #aaf           
,publicans1 #ef2     prayer of ,publican
 and ,pharisee1 #aga     ,punishment1   
eternal1 #bfd     ,pure in heart1 #ij   
,purification1 #ajd     ,purity1 #aaj2  
of ,jesus1 #eh       ,rabboni1 #chb     
,readiness1 #aee     ,reed1 #cdf1 #cgc  
,religion1 as a business in ,jerusalem1 
#bgf2     ,roman1 #cbg     ,religions   
for the irreligious1 #d     ,renan1 ,j4 
,e41 #i     ,renunciation1 #aeb1 #ahj1  

#aif1 #bjj1 #bja     ,repentance1 #ei1  
#gc1 #cfc1 #cff     ,resurrection1 #cha2
     doubts about1 #chh2                
,evangelists' testimony1 #cih2          
,paul's testimony1 #cig2     rejection1 
#cie     ,resurrections from the dead1  
#ach     ,retaliation1 #ij1 #ii2        
,jesus' repudiation of the old law1 #aje
     ,revenge1 #aje     ,rich and poor1 
#agc1 #ahi1 #aid     ,rich man1 #aid    
,righteousness1 #aad     ,risen from the
 dead1 #cha     ,rock1 ,caiaphas and    
,peter1 #cah2     house built on1 #aeh2 
,peter1 #bcg     ,roman ,emperor1 #cbg  
,roman ,empire1 #bjd2     upheaval1 #bfi
     ,roman soldiers1 #cdd1 #cef        
,rome and the ,christian martyrs1 #bfi  
,sabbath1 ,jesus and1 #bed2     ,jesus  
at ,capernaum1 #gg     ,sacrifice1 of   
the innocent for the guilty1 #bgi2      
pagan examples1 #bgi     ,sadducees1    
#ee1 #adg     ,saints1 #bef1 #cea       
,salome1 #ccf     ,salvation1 #aid      
,samaritan1 the good1 #agb              
,samaritans1 #agb1 #ahd     ,sanhedrin1 

#ahg1 #bgh2     ,jesus before1 #cah     
,satan1 ,jesus and1 #fc2     ,jesus     
and--,gethsemane1 #cjc     ,saul1 #dc1  
#aaf     ,savonarola1 #bj     ,scarlet  
cloak1 #cdf     ,scourging1 #cdc1 #cdd  
,scribes1 #bdb1 #bec2     condemnation  
in the ,temple1 #bee     ,second birth1 
#gc1 #ahg1 #ahh       ,second coming1   
#bei1 #bfb1 #bfg2     date1 #bgc2       
imminence1 #bgd     ,second covenant1   
#da     ,secret name1 #bcd              
,secretiveness1 #adi                    
,self-justification1 ,socrates and      
,jesus1 #cbj     ,self-love1 #aaa1 #abe1
 #abf     ,self-preservation1 #aaj      
,sell all1 #aig     ,selling ,jesus1    
#bhf     ,seneca1 #aai     ,sepulcher1  
,jesus and1 #cgh     ,sepulchers1 #beg  
,sermon on the ,mount1 #he1 #id1 #ahf   
,sermon on the ,mount1 second1 #bei     
,sermons1 #ag     ,servant of all1 #aji 
,service1 #ahe     ,sheba1 ,queen of1   
#dd     ,sheep1 lost1 #agj     ,sheep   
and goats1 #bfj1 #bfc     ,shepherds1   
#bc1 #gi     ,sickness1 #acd     ,signs1

 #aca     ,simon of ,cyrene1 #cec1 #cee 
,simon ,magus1 #bfg     ,simon ,peter1  
#hb1 #adh1 #ahj2     confession of      
,christ1 #bcf2     contradictory acts1  
#caa1 #cab2     denial1 #cae2           
primacy and martyrdom granted to1 #djc1 
#dje2     at the sepulcher1 #chc2       
sinning woman and1 #bbi     ,simplicity1
 #aaj1 #agh1 #bai     ,sin1 #aja1 #abf2 
against the spirit1 #bee2               
forgiveness of1 #bca2     he that is    
without sin1 #bbc2     in ,jesus' life1 
#eh2     parables of1 #agj2             
sacrifice of the innocent for1 #bgi     
,sinlessness of ,jesus1 #eh             
,sinners1 #age2     converted1 #ei      
,skull1 ,hill of the1 #ceg1 #cei1 #cga  
,sleep1 #aha2     infant ,jesus and1    
#cj2     of the three disciples on the  
,mount of ,olives1 #cjf1 #caj           
,smiths1 #gh     ,snow and sun1 #bch    
,socrates1 #cbj2     on enemies1 #aah   
,solitude1 #fa2     of ,jesus1 #cjg     
,solomon1 #dd     ,son of ,david1 #bdf  
,son of ,god1 #bcf1 #bch2     question  

put to ,jesus1 #cba     ,son of ,man1   
#bcf1 #bch1 #bfb1 #bfc1 #bgc1 #bgd      
,sons1 #afj2     fathers and1 #bac      
,sons of ,thunder1 #ahc     ,sonship1   
#cg     ,soul1 losing1 #aif     ,sower1 
parable of1 #aeh     ,spinoza1 #ahe     
,spirit1 #fb1 #aif1 #djf2     sin       
against1 #bee2     victory over the     
flesh1 #cjh     ,spitting on ,jesus1    
#cbd     ,sponge soaked in vinegar1 #cgc
     ,stable1 #ba     ,stephen1 #bfh    
,steward1 #afj1 #agd     ,stoics1 #aih  
,stones1 crying out1 #bdg2     disciples
 compared to1 #bff2     not one upon    
another1 #beh     ,suffering1 #acd      
,sun and snow1 #bch     ,sunday1 #chj   
,superiority1 #ahe     ,supper1 last1   
#bhh     ,swearing1 #ajb     ,sweat of  
,jesus1 #cjf     ,swine-herds1 #afd     
,sword1 fire and1 #bje1 #bjh2     not   
peace but a sword1 #bjf       ,talents1 
parable of1 #aei     ,talitha qumi1 #ach
     ,tares and wheat1 #age             
,teachers of ,jesus1 #cd     ,teaching  
of ,jesus1 at ,capernaum1 #gg2          

earliest1 #ga1 #gd     ,tebutis1 #bfh   
,temple1 #de2     description1 #bdg2    
destruction1 #bgb2     destruction      
foretold1 #beh1 #bfa2     ,jesus' entry 
and purpose1 #bdh2     ,jesus lost and  
found in1 #cc2     place of business in 
,jewish life1 #bge2     ramification1   
#bej2     veil1 #cgd     ,temptations of
 ,jesus1 #fd1 #cjc     ,ten             
,commandments1 #dc     ,theology1 #ab1  
#be     ,theudas1 #bfg     ,thief on the
 cross1 penitent1 #cfc     ,thieves1    
two1 #ceb1 #cef1 #cfc     ,third        
,covenant1 #db     ,thirst of ,jesus on 
the cross1 #cgc     ,thomas1 #acc1 #ahe2
     doubts1 #cib     ,thomas ,aquinas1 
#ahe     ,thorns1 #cdf     ,tiberius1   
#cbf1 #cca     ,time1 fullness of1 #ga  
,titus1 #bgb     ,too late1 #aee1 #aef  
,transfiguration1 #ahb1 #ahc1 #bci1 #bda
     ,transformation of soul1 #gc1 #gd1 
#ie1 #ig1 #ajh1 #ahi     ,truth1 #ae2   
sin against1 #bee2     what is truth81  
#cbi1 #ccb     ,turning the other cheek1
 #aje1 #ajf     ,twelve1 the1 #agf4 ,see

 also ,disciples       ,ulysses1 #aah   
,vaddhamana1 #aih     ,vagabondage of   
,jesus1 #gf     ,vanity1 #aji1 #agg     
,veil of the temple1 #cgd               
,vespasian1 #bgb     ,vinegar1 #cgc     
,vineyard1 laborers in1 #aee            
,violence1 #bje1 #bjh2     possible ways
 of meeting1 #aje2     solving the      
problem1 #ajg     ,vipers1 #beb1 #bef   
,virgil1 #bf1 #bg     ,virgin ,mother1  
#ac1 #bbb1 #cga1 #cgh1 #cgi             
,virgins1 wise and foolish1 #aef        
,walking on the water1 #ahb             
,wandering ,jew1 #gf     ,war1 #ia1     
#abb1 #bjf1 #bji2     wars and rumors of
 wars1 #bfi     ,warnings1 #bfj         
,washing of the feet1 #bib     ,washing 
of the hands1 #cdf1 #cdi     ,watch and 
pray1 #cjg     ,water1 blood and1 from  
body of ,jesus1 #cge2     of truth1     
#aib2     turned into wine1 #adc2       
walking on1 #ahb     ,wealth1 #abd1     
#agd1 #aid2     ancient feeling toward1 
#aii     ,weddings1 #ada     ,what ,i   
have written1 #cea     ,wheat and tares1

 #age     ,white cloak1 #cce1 #ccg1 #cdd
     ,whited sepulchers1 #beg     ,who  
am ,i81 #bcc     ,will of ,god1 #cji    
,wind and sea obedient1 #adg     ,wine1 
#adc1 #bie1 #cja2     as the blood of   
,christ1 #bii2     mixture offered      
,jesus on the cross1 #ceh     ,wise men1
 #bd     ,witnesses1 false1 #cai        
,women1 ,jesus and1 #bai2     with      
,jesus on ,golgotha1 #cga2     old law  
and1 #bbb2     ,roman1 #ccd2     at the 
sepulcher1 #chj2     woman who was a    
sinner1 #bbd     ,woodworker1 #cd       
,work1 #ce     ,writing on the sand1    
#bbc       ,ye have heard1 #ih          
,yeast1 #aea       ,zarathushtra1 #e1   
#aad     ,zealots1 #bfh1 #bga1 #bgb1    
#cda     ,zebedee's sons1 #hc     ,zeus1
 #abj1 #aba                             
,,the ,,european ,,library              
,edited by ,j4 ,e4 ,,spingarn      ,this
 series is intended to keep ,americans  
in touch with the intellectual  and     
spiritual ferment of the continent of   
,europe to-day1 by means of             

translations that partake in some       
measure of the vigor and charm of the   
originals4 ,no attempt will be made to  
give what ,americans miscall 8the  best 
books10 if by this is meant conformity  
to some high and illusory  standard of  
past greatness2 any twentieth-century   
book which displays  creative power or a
 new outlook or more than ordinary      
interest will be  eligible for          
inclusion4 ,nor will the attempt be made
 to select books  that merely confirm   
,american standards of taste or morals1 
since the  series is intended to serve  
as a mirror of ,european culture and not
 as a  glass through which it may be    
seen darkly4 ,all forms of literature   
will  be represented1 and special       
attention will be paid to authors whose 
works have not hitherto been accessible 
in ,english4        8,the first         
organized effort to bring into ,english 
a series of the      really significant 
figures in contemporary ,european       
literature4444      ,an undertaking as  

creditable and as ambitious as any of   
its kind on      the other side of the  
,atlantic40--,new ,york ,evening ,post4 
,,the ,,world',s ,,illusion4 ,by ,,jacob
 ,,wassermann4 ,translated by ,ludwig   
,lewisohn4 ,two volumes4    ,one of the 
most remarkable creative works of our   
time1 revolving about  the experiences  
of a man who sums up the wealth and     
culture of our age  yet finds them      
wanting4          ,,people4 ,by ,,pierre
 ,,hamp4 ,translated by ,james ,whitall4
 ,with      ,introduction by ,elizabeth 
,shepley ,sergeant4    ,introducing one 
of the most significant writers of      
,france1 himself a  working man1 in whom
 is incarnated the new                  
self-consciousness of the  worker's     
world4          ,,decadence1 ,,and      
,,other ,,essays ,,on ,,the ,,culture   
,,of ,,ideas4 ,by ,,remy ,,de           
,,gourmont4 ,translated by ,william     
,aspenwall ,bradley4    ,an introduction
 to ,gourmont's theory of the           
8disassociation of ideas10  which has   

been called 8the most fruitful and      
provocative theory since  ,nietzsche40  
,,history3 ,,its ,,theory ,,and         
,,practice4 ,by ,,benedetto ,,croce4    
,translated by      ,douglas ,ainslie4  
,a new interpretation of the meaning of 
history1 and a survey of the  great     
historians1 by one of the leaders of    
,european thought4          ,,the ,,new 
,,society4 ,by ,,walter ,,rathenau4     
,translated by ,arthur ,windham4    ,one
 of ,germany's most influential thinkers
 and men of action presents  his vision 
of the new society emerging out of the  
,war4          ,,the ,,reform ,,of      
,,education4 ,by ,,giovanni ,,gentile4  
,with an ,introduction      by          
,benedetto ,croce4 ,translated by ,dino 
,bigongiari4    ,an introduction to the 
philosophy of a great contemporary      
thinker who  has an extraordinary       
influence on ,italian life to-day4      
,,the ,,reign ,,of ,,the ,,evil ,,one4  
,by ,c4 ,f4 ,,ramuz4 ,translated by     
,james      ,whitall4 ,with an          

,introduction by ,ernest ,boyd4    8,a  
rural fantasia comparable to ,synge's   
#8,playboy1'0 introducing an            
interesting ,french-,swiss novelist4    
,,the ,,goose ,,man4 ,by ,,jacob        
,,wassermann1 author of 8,the ,world's  
,illusion40 ,translated by ,allen ,w4   
,porterfield4    ,a novel which raises  
the question whether genius can ignore  
the common  rules of humanity without   
self-destruction4          ,,rub4 ,by   
,g4 ,a4 ,,borgese4 ,translated by ,isaac
 ,goldberg4    ,a novel which has had a 
sensational success in ,italy1 centering
 on the  spiritual collapse since the   
,war4          ,,the ,,patrioteer4 ,by  
,,heinrich ,,mann4 ,translated by       
,ernest ,boyd4    ,a ,german 8,main     
,street10 describing the career of a    
typical product of  militarism1 in      
school1 university1 business1 and love4 
,,modern ,,russian ,,poetry3 ,,an       
,,anthology4 ,translated by ,babette    
,deutsch      and ,a4 ,yarmolinsky4     
,covers the whole field of ,russian     

verse since ,pushkin1 with the emphasis 
on contemporary poets4          ,,life  
,,of ,,christ4 ,by ,,giovanni ,,papini4 
,translated by ,dorothy ,canfield       
,fisher4    ,the first biography of     
,christ by a great man of letters since 
,renan's4          ,,contemporary       
,,german ,,poetry3 ,,an ,,anthology4    
,translated by ,babette      ,deutsch   
and ,a4 ,yarmolinsky4 ,in preparation4  
,covers the whole field of twentieth    
century poetry in ,germany down to  the 
latest 8expressionists40                
,,sonatas4 ,by ,,ram,n ,,del            
,,valle-,,incl,n4 ,in preparation4    ,a
 romance by the most finished artist of 
modern ,spain4              ,,other     
,,books ,,on ,,foreign ,,literature ,,by
 ,,the ,,same ,,publishers              
,,benedetto ,,croce3 ,,an ,,introduction
 ,,to ,,his ,,philosophy4 ,by           
,,raffaello      ,,piccoli4    ,the     
first adequate account of ,croce's life 
and thought4          ,a ,,guide ,,to   
,,russian ,,literature4 ,by ,m4 ,j4     

,,olgin4    ,a popular handbook         
describing the life and works of some   
sixty ,russian  authors4    ,,harcourt1 
,,brace ,,and ,,company    ,publishers  
,new ,york            ,transcriber's    
,notes3       ,text that was in italics 
is enclosed by underscores 7italics74