Delphi Complete Works of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (Delphi Poets Series Book 13)

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Delphi Complete Works of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (Delphi Poets Series Book 13) Page 90

by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

It hath not left him yet.

  CHRISTUS, passing.

  Come unto me,

  All ye that labor and are heavy laden,

  And I will give you rest! Come unto me, 55

  And take my yoke upon you and learn of me,

  For I am meek, and I am lowly in heart,

  And ye shall all find rest unto your souls!

  PHILIP.

  Oh, there is something in that voice that reaches

  The innermost recesses of my spirit! 60

  I feel that it might say unto the blind:

  Receive you sight! and straightway they would see!

  I feel that it might say unto the dead,

  Arise! and they would hear it and obey!

  Behold, he beckons to us!

  CHRISTUS, to PETER and ANDREW.

  Follow me! 65

  PETER.

  Master, I will leave all and follow thee.

  VII.

  The Demoniac of Gadara

  A GADARENE.

  HE hath escaped, hath plucked his chains asunder,

  And broken his fetters; always night and day

  Is in the mountains here, and in the tombs,

  Crying aloud, and cutting himself with stones,

  Exceeding fierce, so that no man can tame him! 5

  THE DEMONIAC from above, unseen.

  O Aschmedai! O Aschmedai, have pity!

  A GADARENE.

  Listen! It is his voice! Go warn the people

  Just landing from the lake!

  THE DEMONIAC.

  O Aschmedai!

  Thou angel of the bottomless pit, have pity!

  It was enough to hurl King Solomon, 10

  On whom be peace! two hundred leagues away

  Into the country, and to make him scullion

  In the kitchen of the King of Maschkemen!

  Why dost thou hurl me here among these rocks,

  And cut me with these stones?

  A GADARENE.

  He raves and mutters 15

  He knows not what.

  THE DEMONIAC, appearing from a tomb among the rocks.

  The wild cock Tarnegal

  Singeth to me, and bids me to the banquet,

  Where all the Jews shall come; for they have slain

  Behemoth the great ox, who daily cropped

  A thousand hills for food, and at a draught 20

  Drank up the river Jordan, and have slain

  The huge Leviathan, and stretched his skin

  Upon the high walls of Jerusalem,

  And made them shine from one end of the world

  Unto the other; and the fowl Barjuchne, 25

  Whose outspread wings eclipse the sun, and make

  Midnight at noon o’er all the continents!

  And we shall drink the wine of Paradise

  From Adam’s cellars.

  A GADARENE.

  O thou unclean spirit!

  THE DEMONIAC, hurling down a stone.

  This is the wonderful Barjuchne’s egg, 30

  That fell out of her nest, and broke to pieces

  And swept away three hundred cedar-trees,

  And threescore villages! — Rabbi Eliezer,

  How thou didst sin there in that seaport town

  When thou hadst carried safe thy chest of silver 35

  Over the seven rivers for her sake!

  I too have sinned beyond the reach of pardon.

  Ye hills and mountains, pray for mercy on me!

  Ye stars and planets, pray for mercy on me!

  Ye sun and moon, oh pray for mercy on me!

  CHRISTUS and his disciples pass. 40

  A GADARENE.

  There is a man here of Decapolis,

  Who hath an unclean spirit; so that none

  Can pass this way. He lives among the tombs

  Up there upon the cliffs, and hurls down stones

  On those who pass beneath.

  CHRISTUS.

  Come out of him, 45

  Thou unclean spirit!

  THE DEMONIAC.

  What have I to do

  With thee, thou Son of God? Do not torment us.

  CHRISTUS.

  What is thy name?

  THE DEMONIAC.

  Legion; for we are many.

  Cain, the first murderer; and the King Belshazzar,

  And Evil Merodach of Babylon, 50

  And Admatha, the death-cloud, prince of Persia;

  And Aschmedai, the angel of the pit,

  And many other devils. We are Legion.

  Send us not forth beyond Decapolis;

  Command us not to go into the deep! 55

  There is a herd of swine here in the pastures,

  Let us go into them.

  CHRISTUS.

  Come out of him,

  Thou unclean spirit!

  A GADARENE.

  See, how stupefied,

  How motionless he stands! He cries no more;

  He seems bewildered and in silence stares 60

  As one who, walking in his sleep, awakes

  And knows not where he is, and looks about him,

  And at his nakedness, and is ashamed.

  THE DEMONIAC.

  Why am I here alone among the tombs?

  What have they done to me, that I am naked? 65

  Ah, woe is me!

  CHRISTUS.

  Go home unto thy friends

  And tell them how great things the Lord hath done

  For thee, and how He had compassion on thee!

  A SWINEHERD, running.

  The herds! the herds! O most unlucky day!

  They were all feeding quiet in the sun, 70

  When suddenly they started, and grew savage

  As the wild boars of Tabor, and together

  Rushed down a precipice into the sea!

  They are all drowned!

  PETER.

  Thus righteously are punished

  The apostate Jews, that eat the flesh of swine, 75

  And broth of such abominable things!

  GREEKS OF GADARA.

  We sacrifice a sow unto Demeter

  At the beginning of harvest, and another

  To Dionysus at the vintage-time.

  Therefore we prize our herds of swine, and count them 80

  Not as unclean, but as things consecrate

  To the immortal gods. O great magician,

  Depart out of our coasts; let us alone,

  We are afraid of thee.

  PETER.

  Let us depart;

  For they that sanctify and purify 85

  Themselves in gardens, eating flesh of swine,

  And the abomination, and the mouse,

  Shall be consumed together, saith the Lord!

  VIII.

  Talitha Cumi

  JAIRUS at the feet of CHRISTUS.

  O MASTER! I entreat thee! I implore thee!

  My daughter lieth at the point of death;

  I pray thee come and lay thy hands upon her,

  And she shall live!

  CHRISTUS.

  Who was it touched my garments?

  SIMON PETER.

  Thou seest the multitude that throng and press thee, 5

  And sayest thou: Who touched me? ‘T was not I.

  CHRISTUS.

  Some one hath touched my garments; I perceive

  That virtue is gone out of me.

  A WOMAN.

  O Master!

  Forgive me! For I said within myself,

  If I so much as touch his garment’s hem, 10

  I shall be whole.

  HRISTUS.

  Be of good comfort, daughter!

  Thy faith hath made thee whole. Depart in peace.

  A MESSENGER from the house.

  Why troublest thou the Master? Hearest thou not

  The flute-players, and the voices of the women

  Singing their lamentation? She is dead! 15

  THE MINSTRELS AND MOURNERS.

  We have girded ourselves with s
ackcloth!

  We have covered our heads with ashes!

  For our young men die, and our maidens

  Swoon in the streets of the city;

  And into their mother’s bosom 20

  They pour out their souls like water!

  CHRISTUS, going in.

  Give place. Why make ye this ado, and weep?

  She is not dead, but sleepeth.

  THE MOTHER, from within.

  Cruel Death!

  To take away from me this tender blossom!

  To take away my dove, my lamb, my darling! 25

  THE MINSTRELS AND MOURNERS.

  He hath led me and brought into darkness,

  Like the dead of old in dark places!

  He hath bent his bow, and hath set me

  Apart as a mark for his arrow!

  He hath covered himself with a cloud, 30

  That our prayer should not pass through and reach him!

  THE CROWD.

  He stands beside her bed! He takes her hand!

  Listen, he speaks to her!

  CHRISTUS, within.

  Maiden, arise!

  THE CROWD.

  See, she obeys his voice! She stirs! She lives!

  Her mother holds her folded in her arms! 35

  O miracle of miracles! O marvel!

  IX.

  The Tower of Magdala

  MARY MAGDALENE.

  COMPANIONLESS, unsatisfied, forlorn,

  I sit here in this lonely tower, and look

  Upon the lake below me, and the hills

  That swoon with heat, and see as in a vision

  All my past life unroll itself before me. 5

  The princes and the merchants come to me,

  Merchants of Tyre and Princes of Damascus,

  And pass, and disappear, and are no more;

  But leave behind their merchandise and jewels,

  Their perfumes, and their gold, and their disgust. 10

  I loathe them, and the very memory of them

  Is unto me as thought of food to one

  Cloyed with the luscious figs of Dalmanutha!

  What if hereafter, in the long hereafter

  Of endless joy or pain, or joy in pain, 15

  It were my punishment to be with them

  Grown hideous and decrepit in their sins,

  And hear them say: Thou that hast brought us here,

  Be unto us as thou hast been of old!

  I look upon this raiment that I wear, 20

  These silks, and these embroideries, and they seem

  Only as cerements wrapped about my limbs!

  I look upon these rings thick set with pearls,

  And emerald and amethyst and jasper,

  And they are burning coals upon my flesh! 25

  This serpent on my wrist becomes alive!

  Away, thou viper! and away, ye garlands,

  Whose odors bring the swift remembrance back

  Of the unhallowed revels in these chambers!

  But yesterday, — and yet it seems to me 30

  Something remote, like a pathetic song

  Sung long ago by minstrels in the street, —

  But yesterday, as from this tower I gazed,

  Over the olive and the walnut trees

  Upon the lake and the white ships, and wondered 35

  Whither and whence they steered, and who was in them,

  A fisher’s boat drew near the landing-place

  Under the oleanders, and the people

  Came up from it, and passed beneath the tower,

  Close under me. In front of them, as leader, 40

  Walked one of royal aspect, clothed in white,

  Who lifted up his eyes, and looked at me,

  And all at once the air seemed filled and living

  With a mysterious power, that streamed from him,

  And overflowed me with an atmosphere 45

  Of light and love. As one entranced I stood,

  And when I woke again, lo! he was gone;

  So that I said: Perhaps it is a dream.

  But from that very hour the seven demons

  That had their habitation in this body 50

  Which men call beautiful, departed from me!

  This morning, when the first gleam of the dawn

  Made Lebanon a glory in the air,

  And all below was darkness, I beheld

  An angel, or a spirit glorified, 55

  With wind-tossed garments walking on the lake.

  The face I could not see, but I distinguished

  The attitude and gesture, and I knew

  ‘T was he that healed me. And the gusty wind

  Brought to mine ears a voice, which seemed to say: 60

  Be of good cheer! ‘T is I! Be not afraid!

  And from the darkness, scarcely heard, the answer:

  If it be thou, bid me come unto thee

  Upon the water! And the voice said: Come!

  And then I heard a cry of fear: Lord, save me! 65

  As of a drowning man. And then the voice:

  Why didst thou doubt, O thou of little faith!

  At this all vanished, and the wind was hushed,

  And the great sun came up above the hills,

  And the swift-flying vapors hid themselves 70

  In caverns among the rocks! Oh, I must find him

  And follow him, and be with him forever!

  Thou box of alabaster, in whose walls

  The souls of flowers lie pent, the precious balm

  And spikenard of Arabian farms, the spirits 75

  Of aromatic herbs, ethereal natures

  Nursed by the sun and dew, not all unworthy

  To bathe his consecrated feet, whose step

  Makes every threshold holy that he crosses;

  Let us go forth upon our pilgrimage, 80

  Thou and I only! Let us search for him

  Until we find him, and pour out our souls

  Before his feet, till all that ‘s left of us

  Shall be the broken caskets that once held us!

  X.

  The House of Simon the Pharisee

  A GUEST at table.

  ARE ye deceived? Have any of the Rulers

  Believed on him? or do they know indeed

  This man to be the very Christ? Howbeit

  We know whence this man is, but when the Christ

  Shall come, none knoweth whence he is. 5

  CHRISTUS.

  Whereunto shall I liken, then, the men

  Of this generation? and what are they like?

  They are like children sitting in the markets,

  And calling unto one another, saying:

  We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; 10

  We have mourned unto you, and ye have not wept!

  This say I unto you, for John the Baptist

  Came neither eating bread nor drinking wine;

  Ye say he hath a devil. The Son of Man

  Eating and drinking cometh, and ye say: 15

  Behold a gluttonous man, and a wine-bibber;

  Behold a friend of publicans and sinners!

  A GUEST aside to SIMON.

  Who is that woman yonder, gliding in

  So silently behind him?

  SIMON.

  It is Mary,

  Who dwelleth in the Tower of Magdala. 20

  THE GUEST.

  See, how she kneels there weeping, and her tears

  Fall on his feet; and her long, golden hair

  Waves to and fro and wipes them dry again.

  And now she kisses them, and from a box

  Of alabaster is anointing them 25

  With precious ointment, filling all the house

  With its sweet odor!

  SIMON, aside.

  Oh, this man, forsooth,

  Were he indeed a Prophet, would have known

  Who and what manner of woman this may be

  That toucheth him! would know she is a sinner! 30

  CHRISTUS.<
br />
  Simon, somewhat have I to say to thee.

  SIMON.

  Master, say on.

  CHRISTUS.

  A certain creditor

  Had once two debtors; and the one of them

  Owed him five hundred pence; the other, fifty.

  They having naught to pay withal, he frankly 35

  Forgave them both. Now tell me which of them

  Will love him most?

  SIMON.

  He, I suppose, to whom

  He most forgave.

  CHRISTUS.

  Yea, thou hast rightly judged.

  Seest thou this woman? When thine house I entered,

  Thou gavest me no water for my feet, 40

  But she hath washed them with her tears, and wiped them

  With her own hair. Thou gavest me no kiss;

  This woman hath not ceased, since I came in,

  To kiss my feet. My head with oil didst thou

  Anoint not; but this woman hath anointed 45

  My feet with ointment. Hence I say to thee,

  Her sins, which have been many, are forgiven,

  For she loved much.

  THE GUESTS.

  Oh, who, then, is this man

  That pardoneth also sins without atonement?

  CHRISTUS.

  Woman, thy faith hath saved thee! Go in peace! 50

  The Second Passover.

  I.

  Before the Gates of Machærus

  MANAHEM.

  WELCOME, O wilderness, and welcome, night

  And solitude, and ye swift-flying stars

  That drift with golden sands the barren heavens,

  Welcome once more! The Angels of the Wind

  Hasten across the desert to receive me; 5

  And sweeter than men’s voices are to me

  The voices of these solitudes; the sound

  Of unseen rivulets, and the far-off cry

  Of bitterns in the reeds of water-pools.

  And lo! above me, like the Prophet’s arrow 10

  Shot from the eastern window, high in air

  The clamorous cranes go singing through the night.

 

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