the south, and the little flowers on the hill-sides stayed His steps
towards the heavens.
Oftentimes I have seen Him bending down to touch the blades of grass. And
in my heart I have heard Him say: "Little green things, you shall be with
me in my kingdom, even as the oaks of Besan, and the cedars of Lebanon."
He loved all things of loveliness, the shy faces of children, and the
myrrh and frankincense from the south.
He loved a pomegranate or a cup of wine given Him in kindness; it
mattered not whether it was offered by a stranger in the inn or by a rich
host.
And He loved the almond blossoms. I have seen Him gathering them into His
hands and covering His face with the petals, as though He would embrace
with His love all the trees in the world.
He knew the sea and the heavens; and He spoke of pearls which have light
that is not of this light, and of stars that are beyond our night.
He knew the mountains as eagles know them, and the valleys as they are
known by the brooks and the streams. And there was a desert in His
silence and a garden in His speech.
Aye, He was a poet whose heart dwelt in a bower beyond the heights, and
His songs though sung for our ears, were sung for other ears also, and to
men in another land where life is for ever young and time is always dawn.
Once I too deemed myself a poet, but when I stood before Him in Bethany,
I knew what it is to hold an instrument with but a single string before
one who commands all instruments. For in His voice there was the laughter
of thunder and the tears of rain, and the joyous dancing of trees in the
wind.
And since I have known that my lyre has but one string, and that my voice
weaves neither the memories of yesterday nor the hopes of tomorrow, I
have put aside my lyre and I shall keep silence. But always at twilight I
shall hearken, and I shall listen to the Poet who is the sovereign of all
poets.
LEVI
A DISCIPLE
UPON AN EVENTIDE HE PASSED BY MY HOUSE, AND MY
soul was quickened within me.
He spoke to me and said, "Come, Levi, and follow me."
And I followed Him that day.
And at the eventide of the next day I begged Him to enter my house and be
my guest. And He and His friends crossed my threshold and blessed me and
my wife and my children.
And I had other guests. They were publicans and men of learning, but they
were against Him in their hearts.
And when we were sitting about the board, one of the publicans questioned
Jesus, saying, "Is it true that you and your disciples break the law, and
make fire on the sabbath day?"
And Jesus answered Him saying, "We do indeed make fire on the sabbath
day. We would inflame the sabbath day, and we would burn with our torch
the dry stubble of all the days."
And another publican said, "It was brought to us that you drink wine with
the unclean at the inn."
And Jesus answered, "Aye, these also we would comfort. Came we here
except to share the loaf and the cup with the uncrowned and the unshod
amongst you?
"Few, aye too few are the featherless who dare the wind, and many are the
winged and full-fledged yet in the nest.
"And we would feed them all with our beak, both the sluggish and the
swift."
And another publican said, "Have I not been told that you would protect
the harlots of Jerusalem?"
Then in the face of Jesus I saw, as it were, the rocky heights of
Lebanon, and He said, "It is true.
"On the day of reckoning these women shall rise before the throne of my
Father, and they shall be made pure by their own tears. But you shall be
held down by the chains of your own judgment.
"Babylon was not put to waste by her prostitutes; Babylon fell to ashes
that the eyes of her hypocrites might no longer see the light of day."
And other publicans would have questioned Him, but I made a sign and bade
them be silent, for I knew He would confound them; and they too were my
guests, and I would not have them put to shame.
When it was midnight the publicans left my house, and their souls were
limping.
Then I closed my eyes and I saw, as if in a vision, seven women in white
raiment standing about Jesus. Their arms were crossed upon their bosoms,
and their heads were bent down, and I looked deep into the mist of my
dream and beheld the face of one of the seven women, and it shone in my
darkness.
It was the face of a harlot who lived in Jerusalem.
Then I opened my eyes and looked at Him, and He was smiling at me and at
the others who had not left the board.
And I closed my eyes again, and I saw in a light seven men in white
garments standing around Him. And I beheld the face of one of them.
It was the face of the thief who was crucified afterward at His right
hand.
And later Jesus and His comrades left my house for the road.
A WIDOW IN GALILEE
MY SON WAS MY FIRST AND MY ONLY BORN. He labored in our field and he was
Contented until he heard the man called Jesus speaking to the multitude.
Then my son suddenly became different, as if a new spirit, foreign and
unwholesome, had embraced his spirit.
He abandoned the field and the garden; and he abandoned me also. He
became worthless, a creature of the highways.
That man Jesus of Nazareth was evil, for what good man would separate a
son from his mother?
The last thing my child said to me was this:
I am going with one of His disciples to the North Country. My life is
established upon the Nazarene. You have given me birth, and for that I am
grateful to you. But I needs must go. Am I not leaving with you our rich
land, and all our silver and gold? I shall take naught but this garment
and this staff."
Thus my son spoke, and departed.
And now the Romans and the priests have laid hold upon Jesus and
crucified Him; and they have done well.
A man who would part mother and son could not be godly.
The man who sends our children to the cities of the Gentiles cannot be
our friend.
I know my son will not return to me. I saw it in his eyes. And for this I
hate Jesus of Nazareth who caused me to be alone in this unploughed field
and this withered garden.
And I hate all those who praise Him.
Not many days ago they told me that Jesus once said, "My father and my
mother and my brethren are those who hear my word and follow me."
But why should sons leave their mothers to follow His footsteps?
And why should the milk of my breast be forgotten for a fountain not yet
tasted? And the warmth of my arms be forsaken for the Northland, cold and
unfriendly?
Aye, I hate the Nazarene, and I shall hate Him to the end of my days, for
He has robbed me of my first-born, my only son.
JUDAS
THE COUSIN OF JESUS
UPON A NIGHT IN THE MONTH OF AUGUST we were with the Master on a heath
not far from the lake. The heath was called by the ancients the Meadow of
Skulls.
And Jesus was rec
lining on the grass and gazing at the stars.
And of a sudden two men came rushing towards us breathless. They were as
if in agony, and they fell prostrate at the feet of Jesus.
And Jesus stood up and He said, "Whence came you?"
And one of the men answered, "From Machaereus."
And Jesus looked upon him and was troubled, and He said, "What of John?"
And the man said, "He was slain this day. He was beheaded in his prison
cell."
Then Jesus lifted up His head. And then He walked a little way from us.
After a while He stood again in our midst.
And He said, "The king could have slain the prophet ere this day. Verily
the king has tried the pleasure of His subjects. Kings of yore were not
so slow in giving the head of a prophet to the headhunters.
"I grieve not for John, but rather for Herod, who let fall the sword.
Poor king, like an animal caught and led with a ring and a rope.
"Poor petty tetrarchs lost in their own darkness, they stumble and fall
down. And what would you of the stagnant sea but dead fishes?
"I hate not kings. Let them rule men, but only when they are wiser than
men."
And the Master looked at the two sorrowful faces and then He looked at
us, and He spoke again and said, "John was born wounded, and the blood of
his wound streamed forth with his words. He was freedom not yet free from
itself, and patient only with the straight and the just.
"In truth he was a voice crying in the land of the deaf; and I loved him
in his pain and his aloneness.
"And I loved his pride that would give its head to the sword ere it would
yield it to the dust.
"Verily I say unto you that John, the son of Zachariah, was the last of
his race, and like his forefathers he was slain between the threshold of
the temple and the altar."
And again Jesus walked away from us.
Then He returned and He said, "Forever it has been that those who rule
for an hour would slay the rulers of years. And forever they would hold a
trial and pronounce condemnation upon a man not yet born, and decree his
death ere he commits the crime.
"The son of Zachariah shall live with me in my kingdom and his day shall
be long."
Then He turned to the disciples of John and said, "Every deed has its
morrow. I myself may be the morrow of this deed. Go back to my friend's
friends, and tell them I shall be with them."
And the two men walked away from us, and they seemed less heavy-hearted.
Then Jesus laid Himself down again upon the grass and outstretched His
arms, and again He gazed at the stars.
Now it was late. And I lay not far from Him, and I would fain have
rested, but there was a hand knocking upon the gate of my sleep, and I
lay awake until Jesus and the dawn called me again to the road.
THE MAN FROM THE DESERT
I WAS A STRANGER IN JERUSALEM. I HAD COME TO
the Holy City to behold the great temple, and to sacrifice upon the
altar, for my wife had given twin sons to my tribe.
And after I had made my offering, I stood in the portico of the temple
looking down upon the money-changers and those who sold doves for
sacrifice, and listening to the great noise in the court.
And as I stood there came of a sudden a man into the midst of the
money-changers and those who sold doves.
He was a man of majesty, and He came swiftly.
In His hand He held a rope of goat's hide; and He began to overturn the
tables of the money-changers and to beat the pedlars of birds with the
rope.
And I heard Him saying with a loud voice, "Render these birds unto the
sky which is their nest."
Men and women fled from before His face, and He moved amongst them as the
whirling wind moves on the sand-hills.
All this came to pass in but a moment, and then the court of the Temple
was emptied of the money-changers. Only the man stood there alone, and
His followers stood at a distance.
Then I turned my face and I saw another man in the portico of the temple.
And I walked towards him and said, "Sir, who is this man who stands
alone, even like another temple?" And he answered me, "This is Jesus of
Nazareth, a prophet who has appeared of late in Galilee. Here in
Jerusalem all men hate Him."
And I said, "My heart was strong enough to be with His whip, and yielding
enough to be at His feet."
And Jesus turned towards His followers who were awaiting Him. But before
He reached them, three of the temple doves flew back, and one alighted
upon His left shoulder and the other two at His feet. And He touched each
one tenderly. Then He walked on, and there were leagues in every step of
His steps.
Now tell me, what power had He to attack and disperse hundreds of men and
women without opposition? I was told that they all hate Him, yet no one
stood before Him on that day. Had He plucked out the fangs of hate on His
way to the court of the temple?
PETER
ONCE AT SUNDOWN JESUS LED US INTO THE village of Bethsaida. We were a
tired company, and the dust of the road was upon us.
And we came to a great house in the midst of a garden, and the owner
stood at the gate.
And Jesus said to him, "These men are weary and footsore. Let them sleep
in your house. The night is cold and they are in need of warmth and
rest."
And the rich man said, "They shall not sleep in my house."
And Jesus said, "Suffer them then to sleep in your garden."
And the man answered, "Nay, they shall not sleep in my garden."
Then Jesus turned to us and said, "This is what your tomorrow will be,
and this present is like your future. All doors shall be closed in your
face, and not even the gardens that lie under the stars may be your
couch.
"Should your feet indeed be patient with the road and follow me, it may
be you will find a basin and a bed, and perhaps bread and wine also. But
if it should be that you find none of these things, forget not then that
you have crossed one of my deserts. Come, let us go forth."
And the rich man was disturbed, and his face was changed, and he muttered
to himself words that I did not hear; and he shrank away from us and
turned into his garden.
And we followed Jesus upon the road.
MELACHI OF BABYLON
AN ASTRONOMER
YOU QUESTION ME CONCERNING THE MIRACLES OF JESUS.
Every thousand thousand years the sun and the moon and this earth and all
her sister planets meet in a straight line, and they confer for a moment
together.
Then they slowly disperse and await the passing of another thousand
thousand years.
There are no miracles beyond the seasons, yet you and I do not know all
the seasons. And what if a season shall be made manifest in the shape of
a man?
In Jesus the elements of our bodies and our dreams came together
according to law. All that was timeless before Him became timeful in Him.
They say He gave sight to the blind and walking to the paralysed, and
that He drove devils out of madmen.
Perchance blindness is but a
dark thought that can be overcome by a
burning thought. Perchance a withered limb is but idleness that can be
quickened by energy. And perhaps the devils, these restless elements in
our life, are driven out by the angels of peace and serenity.
They say He raised the dead to life. If you can tell me WHAT IS DEATH,
then I will tell you WHAT IS LIFE.
In a field I have watched an acorn, a thing so still and seemingly
useless. And in the spring I have seen that acorn take roots and rise,
the beginning of an oak tree, towards the sun.
Surely you would deem this a miracle, yet that miracle is wrought a
thousand thousand times in the drowsiness of every autumn and the passion
of every spring.
Why shall it not be wrought in the heart of man? Shall not the seasons
meet in the hand or upon the lips of a Man Anointed?
If our God has given to earth the art to nestle seed whilst the seed is
seemingly dead, why shall He not give to the heart of man to breathe life
into another heart, even a heart seemingly dead?
I have spoken of these miracles which I deem but little beside the
greater miracle, which is the man Himself, the Wayfarer, the man who
turned my dross into gold, who taught me how to love those who hate me,
and in so doing brought me comfort and gave sweet dreams to my sleep.
This is the miracle in my own life.
My soul was blind, my soul was lame. I was possessed by restless spirits,
and I was dead.
But now I see clearly, and I walk erect. I am at peace, and I live to
witness and proclaim my own being every hour of the day.
And I am not one of His followers. I am but an old astronomer who visits
the fields of space once a season, and who would be heedful of the law
and the miracles thereof.
And I am at the twilight of my time, but whenever I would seek its
dawning, I seek the youth of Jesus.
And for ever shall age seek youth. In me now it is knowledge that is
seeking vision.
A PHILOSOPHER
WHEN HE WAS WITH US HE GAZED AT US AND AT OUR
world with eyes of wonder, for His eyes were not veiled with the veil of
years, and all that He saw was clear in the light of His youth.
Though He knew the depth of beauty, He was for ever surprised by its
peace and its majesty; and He stood before the earth as the first man had
stood before the first day.
We whose senses have been dulled, we gaze in full daylight and yet we do
not see. We would cup our ears, but we do not hear; and stretch forth our
hands, but we do not touch. And though all the incense of Arabia is
burned, we go our way and do not smell.
We see not the ploughman returning from his field at eventide; nor hear
the shepherd's flute when he leads his flock to the fold; nor do we
stretch our arms to touch the sunset; and our nostrils hunger no longer
for the roses of Sharon.
Nay, we honor no kings without kingdoms; nor hear the sound of harps save
when the strings are plucked by hands; nor do we see a child playing in
our olive grove as if he were a young olive tree. And all words must
needs rise from lips of flesh, or else we deem each other dumb and deaf.
In truth we gaze but do not see, and hearken but do not hear; we eat and
drink but do not taste. And there lies the difference between Jesus of
Nazareth and ourselves.
His senses were all continually made new, and the world to Him was always
a new world.
To Him the lisping of a babe was not less than the cry of all mankind,
while to us it is only lisping.