CHAPTER II
An hour or thereabouts after the scene upon the roof, Balthasar andSimonides, the latter attended by Esther, met in the great chamberof the palace; and while they were talking, Ben-Hur and Iras camein together.
The young Jew, advancing in front of his companion, walked firstto Balthasar, and saluted him, and received his reply; then heturned to Simonides, but paused at sight of Esther.
It is not often we have hearts roomy enough for more than one ofthe absorbing passions at the same time; in its blaze the othersmay continue to live, but only as lesser lights. So with Ben-Hur,much study of possibilities, indulgence of hopes and dreams,influences born of the condition of his country, influences moredirect--that of Iras, for example--had made him in the broadestworldly sense ambitious; and as he had given the passion place,allowing it to become a rule, and finally an imperious governor,the resolves and impulses of former days faded imperceptibly outof being, and at last almost out of recollection. It is at bestso easy to forget our youth; in his case it was but natural thathis own sufferings and the mystery darkening the fate of his familyshould move him less and less as, in hope at least, he approachednearer and nearer the goals which occupied all his visions. Only letus not judge him too harshly.
He paused in surprise at seeing Esther a woman now, and so beautiful;and as he stood looking at her a still voice reminded him of brokenvows and duties undone: almost his old self returned.
For an instant he was startled; but recovering, he went toEsther, and said, "Peace to thee, sweet Esther--peace; and thou,Simonides"--he looked to the merchant as he spoke--"the blessingof the Lord be thine, if only because thou hast been a good fatherto the fatherless."
Esther heard him with downcast face; Simonides answered,
"I repeat the welcome of the good Balthasar, son of Hur--welcometo thy father's house; and sit, and tell us of thy travels, andof thy work, and of the wonderful Nazarene--who he is, and what.If thou art not at ease here, who shall be? Sit, I pray--there,between us, that we may all hear."
Esther stepped out quickly and brought a covered stool, and setit for him.
"Thanks," he said to her, gratefully.
When seated, after some other conversation, he addressed himselfto the men.
"I have come to tell you of the Nazarene."
The two became instantly attentive.
"For many days now I have followed him with such watchfulness asone may give another upon whom he is waiting so anxiously. I haveseen him under all circumstances said to be trials and tests ofmen; and while I am certain he is a man as I am, not less certainam I that he is something more."
"What more?" asked Simonides.
"I will tell you--"
Some one coming into the room interrupted him; he turned, and arosewith extended hands.
"Amrah! Dear old Amrah!" he cried.
She came forward; and they, seeing the joy in her face, thoughtnot once how wrinkled and tawny it was. She knelt at his feet,clasped his knees, and kissed his hands over and over; and whenhe could he put the lank gray hair from her cheeks, and kissedthem, saying, "Good Amrah, have you nothing, nothing of them--nota word--not one little sign?"
Then she broke into sobbing which made him answer plainer eventhan the spoken word.
"God's will has been done," he next said, solemnly, in a tone tomake each listener know he had no hope more of finding his people.In his eyes there were tears which he would not have them see,because he was a man.
When he could again, he took seat, and said, "Come, sit by me,Amrah--here. No? then at my feet; for I have much to say to thesegood friends of a wonderful man come into the world."
But she went off, and stooping with her back to the wall, joined herhands before her knees, content, they all thought, with seeing him.Then Ben-Hur, bowing to the old men, began again:
"I fear to answer the question asked me about the Nazarene withoutfirst telling you some of the things I have seen him do; and tothat I am the more inclined, my friends, because to-morrow hewill come to the city, and go up into the Temple, which he callshis father's house, where, it is further said, he will proclaimhimself. So, whether you are right, O Balthasar, or you, Simonides,we and Israel shall know to-morrow."
Balthasar rubbed his hands tremulously together, and asked,"Where shall I go to see him?"
"The pressure of the crowd will be very great. Better, I think,that you all go upon the roof above the cloisters--say upon thePorch of Solomon."
"Can you be with us?"
"No," said Ben-Hur, "my friends will require me, perhaps, in theprocession."
"Procession!" exclaimed Simonides. "Does he travel in state?"
Ben-Hur saw the argument in mind.
"He brings twelve men with him, fishermen, tillers of the soil,one a publican, all of the humbler class; and he and they maketheir journeys on foot, careless of wind, cold, rain, or sun.Seeing them stop by the wayside at nightfall to break bread orlie down to sleep, I have been reminded of a party of shepherdsgoing back to their flocks from market, not of nobles and kings.Only when he lifts the corners of his handkerchief to look at someone or shake the dust from his head, I am made known he is theirteacher as well as their companion--their superior not less thantheir friend.
"You are shrewd men," Ben-Hur resumed, after a pause. "You knowwhat creatures of certain master motives we are, and that it hasbecome little less than a law of our nature to spend life in eagerpursuit of certain objects; now, appealing to that law as somethingby which we may know ourselves, what would you say of a man whocould be rich by making gold of the stones under his feet, yet ispoor of choice?"
"The Greeks would call him a philosopher," said Iras.
"Nay, daughter," said Balthasar, "the philosophers had never thepower to do such thing."
"How know you this man has?"
Ben-Hur answered quickly, "I saw him turn water into wine."
"Very strange, very strange," said Simonides; "but it is not sostrange to me as that he should prefer to live poor when he couldbe so rich. Is he so poor?"
"He owns nothing, and envies nobody his owning. He pities therich. But passing that, what would you say to see a man multiplyseven loaves and two fishes, all his store, into enough to feedfive thousand people, and have full baskets over? That I saw theNazarene do."
"You saw it?" exclaimed Simonides.
"Ay, and ate of the bread and fish."
"More marvellous still," Ben-Hur continued, "what would you say ofa man in whom there is such healing virtue that the sick have butto touch the hem of his garment to be cured, or cry to him afar?That, too, I witnessed, not once, but many times. As we came outof Jericho two blind men by the wayside called to the Nazarene,and he touched their eyes, and they saw. So they brought a palsiedman to him, and he said merely, 'Go unto thy house,' and the manwent away well. What say you to these things?"
The merchant had no answer.
"Think you now, as I have heard others argue, that what I have toldyou are tricks of jugglery? Let me answer by recalling greater thingswhich I have seen him do. Look first to that curse of God--comfortless,as you all know, except by death--leprosy."
At these words Amrah dropped her hands to the floor, and in hereagerness to hear him half arose.
"What would you say," said Ben-Hur, with increased earnestness--"whatwould you say to have seen that I now tell you? A leper came to theNazarene while I was with him down in Galilee, and said, 'Lord, ifthou wilt, thou canst make me clean.' He heard the cry, and touchedthe outcast with his hand, saying, 'Be thou clean;' and forthwiththe man was himself again, healthful as any of us who beheld thecure, and we were a multitude."
Here Amrah arose, and with her gaunt fingers held the wiry locksfrom her eyes. The brain of the poor creature had long since goneto heart, and she was troubled to follow the speech.
"Then, again," said Ben-Hur, without stop, "ten lepers came to himone day in a body, and falling at his feet, called out--I saw andheard it all--called out, 'Master, Master, have
mercy upon us!' Hetold them, 'Go, show yourselves to the priest, as the law requires;and before you are come there ye shall be healed.'"
"And were they?"
"Yes. On the road going their infirmity left them, so that therewas nothing to remind us of it except their polluted clothes."
"Such thing was never heard before--never in all Israel!" saidSimonides, in undertone.
And then, while he was speaking, Amrah turned away, and walkednoiselessly to the door, and went out; and none of the companysaw her go.
"The thoughts stirred by such things done under my eyes I leave youto imagine," said Ben-Hur, continuing; "but my doubts, my misgivings,my amazement, were not yet at the full. The people of Galilee are,as you know, impetuous and rash; after years of waiting their swordsburned their hands; nothing would do them but action. 'He is slow todeclare himself; let us force him,' they cried to me. And I toobecame impatient. If he is to be king, why not now? The legionsare ready. So as he was once teaching by the seaside we would havecrowned him whether or not; but he disappeared, and was next seenon a ship departing from the shore. Good Simonides, the desiresthat make other men mad--riches, power, even kingships offeredout of great love by a great people--move this one not at all.What say you?"
The merchant's chin was low upon his breast; raising his head,he replied, resolutely, "The Lord liveth, and so do the wordsof the prophets. Time is in the green yet; let to-morrow answer."
"Be it so," said Balthasar, smiling.
And Ben-Hur said, "Be it so." Then he went on: "But I have notyet done. From these things, not too great to be above suspicionby such as did not see them in performance as I did, let me carryyou now to others infinitely greater, acknowledged since the worldbegan to be past the power of man. Tell me, has any one to yourknowledge ever reached out and taken from Death what Death hasmade his own? Who ever gave again the breath of a life lost? Whobut--"
"God!" said Balthasar, reverently.
Ben-Hur bowed.
"O wise Egyptian! I may not refuse the name you lend me. What wouldyou--or you, Simonides--what would you either or both have saidhad you seen as I did, a man, with few words and no ceremony,without effort more than a mother's when she speaks to wake herchild asleep, undo the work of Death? It was down at Nain. We wereabout going into the gate, when a company came out bearing a deadman. The Nazarene stopped to let the train pass. There was a womanamong them crying. I saw his face soften with pity. He spoke toher, then went and touched the bier, and said to him who lay uponit dressed for burial, 'Young man, I say unto thee, Arise!' Andinstantly the dead sat up and talked."
"God only is so great," said Balthasar to Simonides.
"Mark you," Ben-Hur proceeded, "I do but tell you things of whichI was a witness, together with a cloud of other men. On the wayhither I saw another act still more mighty. In Bethany there wasa man named Lazarus, who died and was buried; and after he hadlain four days in a tomb, shut in by a great stone, the Nazarenewas shown to the place. Upon rolling the stone away, we beheldthe man lying inside bound and rotting. There were many peoplestanding by, and we all heard what the Nazarene said, for hespoke in a loud voice: 'Lazarus, come forth!' I cannot tell youmy feelings when in answer, as it were, the man arose and cameout to us with all his cerements about him. 'Loose him,' said theNazarene next, 'loose him, and let him go.' And when the napkin wastaken from the face of the resurrected, lo, my friends! the bloodran anew through the wasted body, and he was exactly as he had beenin life before the sickness that took him off. He lives yet, and ishourly seen and spoken to. You may go see him to-morrow. And now,as nothing more is needed for the purpose, I ask you that whichI came to ask, it being but a repetition of what you asked me,O Simonides, What more than a man is this Nazarene?"
The question was put solemnly, and long after midnight the companysat and debated it; Simonides being yet unwilling to give up hisunderstanding of the sayings of the prophets, and Ben-Hur contendingthat the elder disputants were both right--that the Nazarene wasthe Redeemer, as claimed by Balthasar, and also the destined kingthe merchant would have.
"To-morrow we will see. Peace to you all."
So saying, Ben-Hur took his leave, intending to return to Bethany.