The poetical works of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in six volumes |
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| THE NATIVITY. A MIRACLE-PLAY.
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 | The poetical works of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow |  |
THE NATIVITY. A MIRACLE-PLAY.
A singular chapter in the history of the Middle Ages is
that which gives account of the early Christian Drama, the
Mysteries, Moralities, and Miracle-Plays, which were at first
performed in churches, and afterwards in the streets, on
fixed or movable stages. For the most part, the Mysteries
were founded on the historic portions of the Old and New
Testaments, and the Miracle-Plays on the lives of Saints; a
distinction not always observed, however, for in Mr. Wright's
Early Mysteries and other Latin Poems of the Twelfth and
Thirteenth Centuries, the Resurrection of Lazarus is called a
Miracle, and not a Mystery. The Moralities were plays in
which the Virtues and Vices were personified.
The earliest religious play which has been preserved is the
Christos Paschon of Gregory Nazianzen, written in Greek, in
the fourth century. Next to this come the remarkable Latin
plays of Roswitha, the Nun of Gandersheim, in the tenth
century, which, though crude and wanting in artistic construction,
are marked by a good deal of dramatic power and
interest. A handsome edition of these plays, with a French
translation, has been lately published, entitled Théâtre de
Rotsvitha, Religieuse allemande du Xe Siècle. Par Charles
Magnin. Paris, 1845.
The most important collections of English Mysteries and
Miracle-Plays are those known as the Townley, the Chester,
and the Coventry Plays. The first of these collections has
been published by the Surtees Society, and the other two by
the Shakespeare Society. In his Introduction to the Coventry
Mysteries, the editor, Mr. Halliwell, quotes the following
passage from Dugdale's Antiquities of Warwickshire:—
“Before the suppression of the monasteries, this city was
very famous for the pageants, that were played therein,
upon Corpus-Christi day; which, occasioning very great confluence
of people thither, from far and near, was of no small
benefit thereto; which pageants being acted with mighty
state and reverence by the friars of this house, had theaters
for the severall scenes, very large and high, placed upon
wheels, and drawn to all the eminent parts of the city, for
the better advantage of spectators: and contain'd the story
of the New Testament, composed into old English Rithme,
as appeareth by an ancient MS. intituled Ludus Corporis
Christi, or Ludus Conventriœ. I have been told by some old
people, who in their younger years were eyewitnesses of
these pageants so acted, that the yearly confluence of people
to see that shew was extraordinary great, and yielded no
small advantage to this city.”
The representation of religious plays has not yet been
wholly discontinued by the Roman Church. At Ober-Ammergau,
in the Tyrol, a grand spectacle of this kind is exhibited
once in ten years. A very graphic description of that
which took place in the year 1850 is given by Miss Anna
Mary Howitt, in her Art-Student in Munich, vol. i., chap. 4.
She says:—
“We had come expecting to feel our souls revolt at so
material a representation of Christ, as any representation of
him we naturally imagined must be in a peasant's Miracle-Play.
Yet so far, strange to confess, neither horror, disgust,
nor contempt was excited in our minds. Such an earnest
solemnity and simplicity breathed throughout the whole of
the performance, that to me, at least, anything like anger,
or a perception of the ludicrous, would have seemed more
irreverent on my part than was this simple, childlike rendering
of the sublime Christian tragedy. We felt at times as
though the figures of Cimabue's, Giotto's, and Perugino's
pictures had become animated, and were moving before us;
there was the same simple arrangement and brilliant color
of drapery,—the same earnest, quiet dignity about the
heads, whilst the entire absence of all theatrical effect wonderfully
increased the illusion. There were scenes and
groups so extraordinarily like the early Italian pictures, that
you could have declared they were the works of Giotto and
Perugino, and not living men and women, had not the figures
moved and spoken, and the breeze stirred their richly
colored drapery, and the sun cast long, moving shadows behind
them on the stage. These effects of sunshine and
shadow, and of drapery fluttered by the wind, were very
striking and beautiful; one could imagine how the Greeks
must have availed themselves of such striking effects in their
theatres open to the sky.”
Mr. Bayard Taylor, in his Eldorado, gives a description of
a Mystery he saw performed at San Lionel, in Mexico. See
vol. ii., chap. 11.
“Against the wing-wall of the Hacienda del Mayo, which
occupied one end of the plaza, was raised a platform, on
which stood a table covered with scarlet cloth. A rude
bower of cane-leaves on one end of the platform represented
the manger of Bethlehem; while a cord, stretched from its
top across the plaza to a hole in the front of the church, bore
a large tinsel star, suspended by a hole in its centre. There
was quite a crowd in the plaza, and very soon a procession
appeared, coming up from the lower part of the village.
The three kings took the lead; the Virgin, mounted on an
ass that gloried in a gilded saddle and rose-besprinkled
mane and tail, followed them, led by the angel; and several
women, with curious masks of paper, brought up the rear.
Two characters of the harlequin sort—one with a dog's
head on his shoulders, and the other a bald-headed friar,
with a huge hat hanging on his back—played all sorts of
antics for the diversion of the crowd. After making the
circuit of the plaza, the Virgin was taken to the platform,
and entered the manger. King Herod took his seat at the
scarlet table, with an attendant in blue coat and red sash,
whom I took to be his Prime Minister. The three kings remained
on their horses in front of the church; but between
them and the platform, under the string on which the star
was to slide, walked two men in long white robes and blue
hoods, with parchment folios in their hands. These were
the Wise Men of the East, as one might readily know from
their solemn air and the mysterious glances which they cast
towards all quarters of the heavens.
“In a little while, a company of women on the platform,
concealed behind a curtain, sang an angelic chorus to the
tune of ‘O peseator dell' onda.’ At the proper moment, the
Magi turned towards the platform, followed by the star, to
which a string was conveniently attached, that it might be
slid along the line. The three kings followed the star till it
reached the manger, when they dismounted, and inquired
for the sovereign whom it had led them to visit. They were
invited upon the platform, and introduced to Herod, as the
only king; this did not seem to satisfy them, and, after
some conversation, they retired. By this time the star had
receded to the other end of the line, and commenced moving
forward again, they following. The angel called them into
the manger, where, upon their knees, they were shown a
small wooden box, supposed to contain the sacred infant;
they then retired, and the star brought them back no more.
After this departure, King Herod declared himself greatly
confused by what he had witnessed, and was very much
afraid this newly found king would weaken his power.
Upon consultation with his Prime Minister, the Massacre of
the Innocents was decided upon, as the only means of security.
“The angel, on hearing this, gave warning to the Virgin,
who quickly got down from the platform, mounted her bespangled
donkey, and hurried off. Herod's Prime Minister
directed all the children to be handed up for execution. A
boy, in a ragged sarape, was caught and thrust forward;
the Minister took him by the heels in spite of his kicking,
and held his hoad on the table. The little brother and sister
of the boy, thinking he was really to be decapitated, yelled
at the top of their voices, in an agony of terror, which threw
the crowd into a roar of laughter. King Herod brought
down his sword with a whack on the table, and the Prime
Minister, dipping his brush into a pot of white paint which
stood before him, made a flaring cross on the boy's face.
Several other boys were caught and served likewise; and
finally the two harlequins, whose kicks and struggles nearly
shook down the platform. The procession then went off up
the hill, followed by the whole population of the village.
All the evening there were fandangoes in the méson, bonfires
and rockets on the plaza, ringing of bells, and high
mass in the church, with the accompaniment of two guitars,
tinkling to lively polkas.”
In 1852 there was a representation of this kind by Germans
in Boston: and I have now before me the copy of a
play-bill, announcing the performance, on June 10, 1852, in
Cincinnati, of the Great Biblico-Historical Drama, the Life
of Jesus Christ, with the characters and the names of the performers.
A singular chapter in the history of the Middle Ages is that which gives account of the early Christian Drama, the Mysteries, Moralities, and Miracle-Plays, which were at first performed in churches, and afterwards in the streets, on fixed or movable stages. For the most part, the Mysteries were founded on the historic portions of the Old and New Testaments, and the Miracle-Plays on the lives of Saints; a distinction not always observed, however, for in Mr. Wright's Early Mysteries and other Latin Poems of the Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries, the Resurrection of Lazarus is called a Miracle, and not a Mystery. The Moralities were plays in which the Virtues and Vices were personified.
The earliest religious play which has been preserved is the Christos Paschon of Gregory Nazianzen, written in Greek, in the fourth century. Next to this come the remarkable Latin plays of Roswitha, the Nun of Gandersheim, in the tenth century, which, though crude and wanting in artistic construction, are marked by a good deal of dramatic power and interest. A handsome edition of these plays, with a French translation, has been lately published, entitled Théâtre de Rotsvitha, Religieuse allemande du Xe Siècle. Par Charles Magnin. Paris, 1845.
The most important collections of English Mysteries and Miracle-Plays are those known as the Townley, the Chester, and the Coventry Plays. The first of these collections has been published by the Surtees Society, and the other two by the Shakespeare Society. In his Introduction to the Coventry Mysteries, the editor, Mr. Halliwell, quotes the following passage from Dugdale's Antiquities of Warwickshire:—
“Before the suppression of the monasteries, this city was very famous for the pageants, that were played therein, upon Corpus-Christi day; which, occasioning very great confluence of people thither, from far and near, was of no small benefit thereto; which pageants being acted with mighty state and reverence by the friars of this house, had theaters for the severall scenes, very large and high, placed upon wheels, and drawn to all the eminent parts of the city, for the better advantage of spectators: and contain'd the story of the New Testament, composed into old English Rithme, as appeareth by an ancient MS. intituled Ludus Corporis Christi, or Ludus Conventriœ. I have been told by some old people, who in their younger years were eyewitnesses of these pageants so acted, that the yearly confluence of people to see that shew was extraordinary great, and yielded no small advantage to this city.”
The representation of religious plays has not yet been wholly discontinued by the Roman Church. At Ober-Ammergau, in the Tyrol, a grand spectacle of this kind is exhibited once in ten years. A very graphic description of that which took place in the year 1850 is given by Miss Anna Mary Howitt, in her Art-Student in Munich, vol. i., chap. 4. She says:—
“We had come expecting to feel our souls revolt at so material a representation of Christ, as any representation of him we naturally imagined must be in a peasant's Miracle-Play. Yet so far, strange to confess, neither horror, disgust, nor contempt was excited in our minds. Such an earnest solemnity and simplicity breathed throughout the whole of the performance, that to me, at least, anything like anger, or a perception of the ludicrous, would have seemed more irreverent on my part than was this simple, childlike rendering of the sublime Christian tragedy. We felt at times as though the figures of Cimabue's, Giotto's, and Perugino's pictures had become animated, and were moving before us; there was the same simple arrangement and brilliant color of drapery,—the same earnest, quiet dignity about the heads, whilst the entire absence of all theatrical effect wonderfully increased the illusion. There were scenes and groups so extraordinarily like the early Italian pictures, that you could have declared they were the works of Giotto and Perugino, and not living men and women, had not the figures moved and spoken, and the breeze stirred their richly colored drapery, and the sun cast long, moving shadows behind them on the stage. These effects of sunshine and shadow, and of drapery fluttered by the wind, were very striking and beautiful; one could imagine how the Greeks must have availed themselves of such striking effects in their theatres open to the sky.”
Mr. Bayard Taylor, in his Eldorado, gives a description of a Mystery he saw performed at San Lionel, in Mexico. See vol. ii., chap. 11.
“Against the wing-wall of the Hacienda del Mayo, which occupied one end of the plaza, was raised a platform, on which stood a table covered with scarlet cloth. A rude bower of cane-leaves on one end of the platform represented the manger of Bethlehem; while a cord, stretched from its top across the plaza to a hole in the front of the church, bore a large tinsel star, suspended by a hole in its centre. There was quite a crowd in the plaza, and very soon a procession appeared, coming up from the lower part of the village. The three kings took the lead; the Virgin, mounted on an ass that gloried in a gilded saddle and rose-besprinkled mane and tail, followed them, led by the angel; and several women, with curious masks of paper, brought up the rear. Two characters of the harlequin sort—one with a dog's head on his shoulders, and the other a bald-headed friar, with a huge hat hanging on his back—played all sorts of antics for the diversion of the crowd. After making the circuit of the plaza, the Virgin was taken to the platform, and entered the manger. King Herod took his seat at the scarlet table, with an attendant in blue coat and red sash, whom I took to be his Prime Minister. The three kings remained on their horses in front of the church; but between them and the platform, under the string on which the star was to slide, walked two men in long white robes and blue hoods, with parchment folios in their hands. These were the Wise Men of the East, as one might readily know from their solemn air and the mysterious glances which they cast towards all quarters of the heavens.
“In a little while, a company of women on the platform, concealed behind a curtain, sang an angelic chorus to the tune of ‘O peseator dell' onda.’ At the proper moment, the Magi turned towards the platform, followed by the star, to which a string was conveniently attached, that it might be slid along the line. The three kings followed the star till it reached the manger, when they dismounted, and inquired for the sovereign whom it had led them to visit. They were invited upon the platform, and introduced to Herod, as the only king; this did not seem to satisfy them, and, after some conversation, they retired. By this time the star had receded to the other end of the line, and commenced moving forward again, they following. The angel called them into the manger, where, upon their knees, they were shown a small wooden box, supposed to contain the sacred infant; they then retired, and the star brought them back no more. After this departure, King Herod declared himself greatly confused by what he had witnessed, and was very much afraid this newly found king would weaken his power. Upon consultation with his Prime Minister, the Massacre of the Innocents was decided upon, as the only means of security.
“The angel, on hearing this, gave warning to the Virgin, who quickly got down from the platform, mounted her bespangled donkey, and hurried off. Herod's Prime Minister directed all the children to be handed up for execution. A boy, in a ragged sarape, was caught and thrust forward; the Minister took him by the heels in spite of his kicking, and held his hoad on the table. The little brother and sister of the boy, thinking he was really to be decapitated, yelled at the top of their voices, in an agony of terror, which threw the crowd into a roar of laughter. King Herod brought down his sword with a whack on the table, and the Prime Minister, dipping his brush into a pot of white paint which stood before him, made a flaring cross on the boy's face. Several other boys were caught and served likewise; and finally the two harlequins, whose kicks and struggles nearly shook down the platform. The procession then went off up the hill, followed by the whole population of the village. All the evening there were fandangoes in the méson, bonfires and rockets on the plaza, ringing of bells, and high mass in the church, with the accompaniment of two guitars, tinkling to lively polkas.”
In 1852 there was a representation of this kind by Germans in Boston: and I have now before me the copy of a play-bill, announcing the performance, on June 10, 1852, in Cincinnati, of the Great Biblico-Historical Drama, the Life of Jesus Christ, with the characters and the names of the performers.
INTROITUS.
PRÆCO.Come, good people, all and each,
Come and listen to our speech!
In your presence here I stand,
With a trumpet in my hand,
To announce the Easter Play,
Which we represent to-day!
First of all we shall rehearse,
In our action and our verse,
The Nativity of our Lord,
As written in the old record
Of the Protevangelion,
So that he who reads may run!
Blows his trumpet.
I. HEAVEN.
MERCY,at the feet of God.
Have pity, Lord! be not afraid
To save mankind, whom thou hast made,
Nor let the souls that were betrayed
Perish eternally!
JUSTICE.
It cannot be, it must not be!
When in the garden placed by thee,
The fruit of the forbidden tree
He ate, and he must die!
MERCY.
Have pity, Lord! let penitence
Atone for disobedience,
Nor let the fruit of man's offence
Be endless misery!
JUSTICE.
What penitence proportionate
Can e'er be felt for sin so great?
Of the forbidden fruit he ate,
And damned must he be!
GOD.
He shall be saved, if that within
The bounds of earth one free from sin
Be found, who for his kith and kin
Will suffer martyrdom.
THE FOUR VIRTUES.
Lord! we have searched the world around,
From centre to the utmost bound,
But no such mortal can be found;
Despairing, back we come.
No mortal, but a God made man,
Can ever carry out this plan,
Achieving what none other can,
Salvation unto all!
GOD.
Go, then, O my beloved Son!
It can by thee alone be done;
By thee the victory shall be won
O'er Satan and the Fall!
Here the Angel Gabriel shall leave Paradise and fly towards the earth; the jaws of Hell open below, and the Devils walk about, making a great noise.
II. MARY AT THE WELL.
MARY.Through the wicket in the garden fence,
I steal with quiet pace,
My pitcher at the well to fill,
That lies so deep and cool and still
In this sequestered place.
I see no face, I hear no sound,
Save bubblings of the spring,
And my companions, who, within,
The threads of gold and scarlet spin,
And at their labor sing.
THE ANGEL GABRIEL.
Here Mary looketh around her, trembling, and then saith:
With such a gentle voice?
GABRIEL.
Blessed among all women thou,
Who art his holy choice!
MARY,
setting down the pitcher.
And yet, such sacred words I hear.
I almost fear to stay.
Here the Angel, appearing to her, shall say:
GABRIEL.
For thou, a Virgin, shalt conceive
A child this very day.
The majesty of the Most High
Shall overshadow thee!
MARY.
According to thy holy word,
So be it unto me!
Here the Devils shall again make a great noise, under the stage
III. THE ANGELS OF THE SEVEN PLANETS, BEARING THE STAR OF BETHLEHEM.
THE ANGELS.The Angels of the Planets Seven,
Across the shining fields of heaven
The natal star we bring!
Dropping our sevenfold virtues down
Of Christ, our new-born King.
RAPHAEL.
I am the Angel of the Sun,
Whose flaming wheels began to run
When God's almighty breath
Said to the darkness and the Night,
Let there be light! and there was light!
I bring the gift of Faith.
ONAFIEL.
I am the Angel of the Moon,
Darkened to be rekindled soon
Beneath the azure cope!
Nearest to earth, it is my ray
That best illumes the midnight way;
I bring the gift of Hope!
ANAEL.
The Angel of the Star of Love,
The Evening Star, that shines above
The place where lovers be,
Above all happy hearths and homes,
On roofs of thatch, or golden domes,
I give him Charity!
ZOBIACHEL.
The Planet Jupiter is mine!
The mightiest star of all that shine,
Except the sun alone!
He is the High Priest of the Dove,
And sends, from his great throne above,
Justice, that shall atone!
MICHAEL.
The Planet Mercury, whose place
Is nearest to the sun in space,
Is my allotted sphere!
I bear upon my hands the gift
Of heavenly Prudence here!
URIEL.
I am the Minister of Mars,
The strongest star among the stars!
My songs of power prelude
The march and battle of man's life,
And for the suffering and the strife,
I give him Fortitude!
ORIFEL.
The Angel of the uttermost
Of all the shining, heavenly host,
From the far-off expanse
Of the Saturnian, endless space
I bring the last, the crowning grace,
The gift of Temperance!
A sudden light shines from the windows of the stable in the village below.
IV. THE WISE MEN OF THE EAST.
The stable of the Inn. The Virgin and Child. Three Gypsy Kings, Gaspar, Melchior, and Belshazzar, shall come in.GASPAR.
Hail to thee, Jesus of Nazareth!
Though in a manger thou draw breath,
Thou art greater than Life and Death,
Greater than Joy or Woe!
This cross upon the line of life
Portendeth struggle, toil, and strife,
And through a region with peril rife
In darkness shalt thou go!
Hail to thee, King of Jerusalem!
Though humbly born in Bethlehem,
A sceptre and a diadem
Await thy brow and hand!
The sceptre is a simple reed,
The crown will make thy temples bleed,
And in thine hour of greatest need,
Abashed thy subjects stand!
BELSHAZZAR.
Hail to thee, Christ of Christendom!
O'er all the earth thy kingdom come!
From distant Trebizond to Rome
Thy name shall men adore!
Peace and good-will among all men,
The Virgin has returned again,
Returned the old Saturnian reign
And Golden Age once more.
THE CHILD CHRIST.
Born here to suffer and to die
According to the prophecy,
That other men may live!
THE VIRGIN.
And keep them precious, for his sake;
Our benediction thus we make,
Naught else have we to give.
She gives them swaddling-clothes, and they depart.
V. THE FLIGHT INTO EGYPT.
Here Joseph shall come in, leading an ass, on which are seated Mary and the Child.MARY.
Here will we rest us, under these
O'erhanging branches of the trees,
Where robins chant their Litanies
And canticles of joy.
JOSEPH.
My saddle-girths have given way
With trudging through the heat to-day;
To you I think it is but play
To ride and hold the boy.
MARY.
Hark! how the robins shout and sing,
As if to hail their infant King!
I will alight at yonder spring
To wash his little coat.
JOSEPH.
And I will hobble well the ass,
Lest, being loose upon the grass,
He should escape; for, by the mass,
He's nimble as a goat.
Here Mary shall alight and go to the spring.
MARY.
O Joseph! I am much afraid,
For men are sleeping in the shade;
I fear that we shall be waylaid,
And robbed and beaten sore!
Here a band of robbers shall be seen sleeping, two of whom shall rise and come forward.
Cock's soul! deliver up your gold!
JOSEPH.
I pray you, Sirs, let go your hold!
You see that I am weak and old,
Of wealth I have no store.
DUMACHUS.
Give up your money!
TITUS.
Prithee cease.
Let these people go in peace.
DUMACHUS.
First let them pay for their release,
And then go on their way.
TITUS.
These forty groats I give in fee,
If thou wilt only silent be.
MARY.
May God be merciful to thee
Upon the Judgment Day!
JESUS.
When thirty years shall have gone by,
I at Jerusalem shall die,
By Jewish hands exalted high
On the accursed tree,
Then on my right and my left side,
These thieves shall both be crucified,
And Titus thenceforth shall abide
In paradise with me.
Here a great rumor of trumpets and horses, like the noise of a king with his army, and the robbers shall take flight.
VI. THE SLAUGHTER OF THE INNOCENTS.
KING HEROD.Potz-tausend! Himmel-sacrament!
Filled am I with great wonderment
At this unwelcome news!
Am I not Herod? Who shall dare
My crown to take, my sceptre bear,
As king among the Jews?
Here he shall stride up and down and flourish his sword.
What ho! I fain would drink a can
Of the strong wine of Canaan!
The wine of Helbon bring
I purchased at the Fair of Tyre,
As red as blood, as hot as fire,
And fit for any king!
He quaffs great goblets of wine.
Now at the window will I stand,
While in the street the armed band
The little children slay;
The babe just born in Bethlehem
Will surely slaughtered be with them,
Nor live another day!
Here a voice of lamentation shall be heard in the street.
RACHEL.
O wicked king! O cruel speed!
To do this most unrighteous deed!
My children all are slain!
HEROD.
Ho seneschal! another cup!
With wine of Sorek fill it up!
I would a bumper drain!
May maledictions fall and blast
Thyself and lineage, to the last
Of all thy kith and kin!
HEROD.
Another goblet! quick! and stir
Pomegranate juice and drops of myrrh
And calamus therein!
SOLDIERS,
in the street.
Give up thy child into our hands!
It is King Herod who commands
That he should thus be slain!
THE NURSE MEDUSA.
O monstrous men! What have ye done!
It is King Herod's only son
That ye have cleft in twain!
HEROD.
Ah, luckless day! What words of fear
Are these that smite upon my ear
With such a doleful sound!
What torments rack my heart and head!
Would I were dead! would I were dead,
And buried in the ground!
He falls down and writhes as though eaten by worms. Hell opens, and Satan and Astaroth come forth, and drag him down.
VII. JESUS AT PLAY WITH HIS SCHOOLMATES.
JESUS.The shower is over. Let us play,
And make some sparrows out of clay,
Down by the river's side.
See, how the stream has overflowed
Its banks, and o'er the meadow road
Is spreading far and wide!
They draw water out of the river by channels, and form little pools. Jesus makes twelve sparrows of clay, and the other boys do the same.
JESUS.
Look! look how prettily I make
These little sparrows by the lake
Bend down their necks and drink!
Now will I make them sing and soar
So far, they shall return no more
Unto this river's brink.
JUDAS.
That canst thou not! They are but clay,
They cannot sing, nor fly away
Above the meadow lands!
JESUS.
Fly, fly! ye sparrows! you are free!
And while you live, remember me,
Who made you with my hands.
Here Jesus shall clap his hands, and the sparrows shall fly away, chirruping.
JUDAS.
Thou art a sorcerer, I know;
Oft has my mother told me so,
I will not play with thee!
He strikes Jesus in the right side.
JESUS.
Ah, Judas! thou hast smote my side,
And when I shall be crucified,
There shall I pierced be!
JOSEPH.
Ye wicked boys! why do ye play,
And break the holy Sabbath day?
What, think ye, will your mothers say
To see you in such plight!
In such a sweat and such a heat,
With all that mud upon your feet!
There's not a beggar in the street
Makes such a sorry sight!
VIII. THE VILLAGE SCHOOL.
The Rabbi Ben Israel, sitting on a high stool, with a long beard, and a rod in his hand.RABBI.
Throughout this village known full well,
And, as my scholars all will tell,
Learned in things divine;
The Cabala and Talmud hoar
Than all the prophets prize I more,
For water is all Bible lore,
But Mishna is strong wine.
And always, at the Purim feast,
I am as drunk as any beast
That wallows in his sty;
The wine it so elateth me,
That I no difference can see
Between “Accursed Haman be!”
And “Blessed be Mordecai!”
Say, if thy lesson thou hast got
From the Rabbinical Book or not.
Why howl the dogs at night?
JUDAS.
In the Rabbinical Book, it saith
The dogs howl, when with icy breath
Great Sammael, the Angel of Death,
Takes through the town his flight!
RABBI.
Well, boy! now say, if thou art wise,
When the Angel of Death, who is full of eyes,
Comes where a sick man dying lies,
What doth he to the wight?
JUDAS.
He stands beside him, dark and tall,
Holding a sword, from which doth fall
Into his mouth a drop of gall,
And so he turneth white.
RABBI.
And now, my Judas, say to me
What the great Voices Four may be,
That quite across the world do flee,
And are not heard by men?
JUDAS.
The Voice of the Sun in heaven's dome,
The Voice of the Murmuring of Rome,
The Voice of a Soul that goeth home,
And the Angel of the Rain!
RABBI.
Right are thine answers every one!
Now little Jesus, the carpenter's son,
Let us see how thy task is done;
Canst thou thy letters say?
Aleph.
RABBI.
What next? Do not stop yet!
Go on with all the alphabet.
Come, Aleph, Beth; dost thou forget?
Cock's soul! thou'dst rather play!
JESUS.
What Aleph means I fain would know,
Before I any farther go!
RABBI.
Oh, by Saint Peter! wouldst thou so?
Come hither, boy, to me.
As surely as the letter Jod
Once cried aloud, and spake to God,
So surely shalt thou feel this rod,
And punished shalt thou be!
Here Rabbi Ben Israel shall lift up his rod to strike Jesus, and his right arm shall be paralyzed.
IX. CROWNED WITH FLOWERS.
Jesus sitting among his playmates crowned with flowers as their King.BOYS.
We spread our garments on the ground!
With fragrant flowers thy head is crowned,
While like a guard we stand around,
And hail thee as our King!
Thou art the new King of the Jews!
Nor let the passers-by refuse
To bring that homage which men use
To majesty to bring.
BOYS.
Come hither! and all reverence pay
Unto our monarch, crowned to-day!
Then go rejoicing on your way,
In all prosperity!
TRAVELLER.
Hail to the King of Bethlehem,
Who weareth in his diadem
The yellow crocus for the gem
Of his authority!
He passes by; and others come in, bearing on a litter a sick child.
BOYS.
Set down the litter and draw near!
The King of Bethlehem is here!
What ails the child, who seems to fear
That we shall do him harm?
THE BEARERS.
He climbed up to the robin's nest,
And out there darted, from his rest,
A serpent with a crimson crest,
And stung him in the arm.
JESUS.
Bring him to me, and let me feel
The wounded place; my touch can heal
The sting of serpents, and can steal
The poison from the bite!
He touches the wound, and the boy begins to cry.
Cease to lament! I can foresee
That thou hereafter known shalt be,
Among the men who follow me,
As Simon the Canaanite!
| The poetical works of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow | |