s\ V.,** -is^f/v. \. .P >-\ & ' • m O r- y**..**v^y v *. .%^~ •*>**»■ X^ .^fffiy \jQ®z-\4? "v^Py*-" By James Freeman Clarke LIFE AND TIMES OF JESUS AS RELATED BY THOMAS DIDYMUS 12mo. Cloth $1.50 GO UP HIGHER OR, RELIGION IN COMMON LIFE 12mo. Cloth $1.50 THE HOUR WHICH COMETH AND NOW IS 12mo. Cloth $1.50 LEE AND SUEPARD Publishers Boston LIFE AND TIMES OF JESUS AS RELATED BY THOMAS DIDYMUS BY JAMES FREEMAN CLARKE n AUTHOR OF "TEN tiREAT RELIGIONS," "SELF-CULTURE," ETC. " *Ou npuTOV to Trvevfj-aTiKov, dAAa to i^u^ikoi' ' en-eiTa to irvevnaTiicbv." "That is not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural, and afterward that which is spiritual." — 1 Cor. xv. 46 BOSTON LEE AND SHEPARD, PUBLISHERS NEW YORK CHARLES T. DILLINGHAM Copyright, 1881, 2y JAMES FREEMAN CLARKE. Copyright, 1887, By JAMES FUEEMAN CLARKE. \YA f TO THE CHURCH OF THE DISCIPLES, BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, MY FELLOW-STUDENTS, DUEING- MANY YEARS, OP Eije %iit of Sejsus, THIS BOOK IS AFFECTIONATELY INSCEIBED. PEEFAOE. The purpose of this book is to reproduce the times in which Jesus appeared, the characters who surrounded him, the opinions, beliefs, and prejudices of the Jewish sects and people. After this, Jesus himself comes before us, not as we now think of him, idealized by the reyerence and wor- ship of centuries, but as he may have appeared to the peo- ple of his own day, — a prophet, one full of divine power, yet a man like themselves. I have tried to show how some were attracted, and some repelled, by his claims and his character. Especially I have endeavored to enter into his own purpose and expectation, his own view of the Messiah and his kingdom. 1 This book comprises the results of many years' study of the life of Jesus, and may be considered a brief commen- tary on the four Gospels. The number of those who have written on the life of Jesus within a few years shows that the interest in this 1 "I am persuaded that the Bible becomes ever more beautiful, the more it is understood; that is, the more we consider that every word which we apply to our- selves has had at first a particular, peculiar, immediate reference to certain special circumstances." — Goethe, Aus Makariens Archiv. W. Meister. great story is by no means exhausted. The variety of the interpretations indicates that the full secret of the phe- nomenon has not been discovered. The great range of opinions, which includes such writers as Strauss, Renan, Neander, Hase, Farrar, Geikie, Furness, and the Dutch critics, may allow room for another view of Jesus, which differs somewhat from them all. Most of these writers arrange themselves in two classes. One class stands on the church tradition and creed, and, assuming Jesus to have been mysteriously and absolutely divine, tries to harmonize his human life according to this assumption. The defect of this mode of treatment is, that it allows little critical free- dom, and presents a character devoid of reality. Doubtful points are avoided, or touched very carefully, from the constant restraint of what may be called this theological prepossession. The other class, taking its stand on the simple humanity of Jesus, easily falls into the opposite, or anti-theological prepossession. Its tendency is to strip off all mystery, to explain away all that seems inexplicable, to deny at once the possibility of whatever appears supernatural. But these elements form such an integral part of the narrative, that they can only be removed by reducing the historical value of the four Gospels to its minimum. The figure of Jesus which emerges from this treatment is often as unreal as the other, and has the additional disadvantage of being rather commonplace. When we read a critical narrative of the life of Jesus treated on this plan, we end by asking how it was. if he was no more than this, that he has ruled the religious thought of the most advanced races of men during so manv centuries. The method adopted in the present work is different from either of these. I begin by taking the position of those around Jesus, who must have regarded him as a remarka- ble man, — inspired by God indeed, a great prophet, but yet, like all preceding prophets, purely and simply human. Whatever else Jesus was, he was certainly a man. Keep- ing this firmly in view, I have endeavored to see how far we are carried up by the legitimate influence of the narra- tive. Not seeking to accept, nor hastening to deny, what is unintelligible, I have left much, as I have found it, veiled in the obscurity of tradition. When so many things meet us in daily life which we can neither accept nor reject, but must allow to remain unexplained, how can we think it pos- sible to understand all that meets us in the story of a being so original and remarkable that his advent has created a new heaven and a new earth? Some of the seemingly supernatural events have been here interpreted according to natural law ; but there remains a large amount of this element which I leave in the story as I find it. The clew which I have followed is that contained in the saying of the apostle, which I have taken as a motto : ' ' Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural, and afterward that which is spiritual." According to this plan, I have endeavored to place the reader and myself in the actual environment, looking at Jesus as he may have appeared to a liberal conservative like Nicodemus, a narrow zealot like Ben-Gamlah, a man of the world like Pilate, a Jewish Epicurean, a Jewish Stoic, a noble Roman matron like the wife of Pilate, a sceptic like Thomas, and an ardent, enthusiastic Jewish VU1 woman like Miriam. I have also sought to give a picture of the time, the geography of the country, the customs of the synagogue and temple, the teaching of Philo, and the determined proselytism of the Pharisees. I present no list of the authorities from which my facts are derived, 1 but will merely say that the result of much study may be sometimes contained in the form given to a single sentence. One advantage of putting these studies into a narrative form is, that the imagination is assisted in reproducing the times of Jesus by identifying ourselves with a single per- son, and following him through his experiences. Of course I cannot expect that this presentation of Jesus will satisfy all my readers. Those whose opinions are already formed in regard to the questions in dispute will naturally be often dissatisfied with my conclusions. But if those, who, like Thomas in this story, are in perplexity concerning Jesus, find him becoming more real, and brought nearer to them, by the present narrative, I shall be amply content. Some will consider the portrait of Jesus in this work too purely human and natural, others as too supernatural. But, as I have said, I am unable to read the story without the conviction that Jesus possessed some extraordinary power over nature and life. In what it consisted, we are not called to decide. It is evident that these deeds were not 1 Two exceptions I will make, —one in regard to the works on the gospel, by Dr. Furness of Philadelphia, which constitute, in nay judgment, as valuable a con- tribution to this study as the present century has produced. The other is a book not widely known as yet, but containing some of the most original and profound investigations to be met with in any language, on the condition of the Jews and the Roman Empire at the coming of Christ. I refer to " Judaism in Rome," by my brother and friend, Professor Frederic Huidekoper of Meadville, Penn. dene to confute or confound opponents, but are a simple and natural outcome from the spirit of the Master. If such a spiritual force was actually exercised, it would naturally cause other actions of a simpler order to be regard- ed as being also marvellous. Every new wonder creates immediately around it a penumbra of imaginary wonders ; and I suppose some of the acts of Jesus which the dis- ciples believed to be marvellous works, were not so. I have thus interpreted the feeding of the five thousand, the cursing of the fig-tree, the piece of money in the fish's mouth, etc. The last of these I have explained as a misunderstood pro- verbial expression of the fishermen of the lake. To show how easily a proverbial expression may be turned into a fact, I will add this incident. On the day when John Brown was executed in Virginia, and the whole North was filled with sadness, I heard two very ignorant men talking behind me in the railroad train. One asked the other, "What are they going to hang this Brown for?" The other answered, "I don't exactly know; but I heard tell that he set fire to a powder-magazine in Virginia." Some one had probably said in his hearing that Brown's course among the slaves was like bringing fire into a powder- magazine. Some of the interpretations given here are, I think, new. The reason for driving out the money-changers, though it appears sufficiently obvious, I have not seen mentioned elsewhere. The simple way of reconciling John's paschal narrative with that of the synoptics, by the supposition of two suppers, and of a slight misplacement of events by the amanuensis of John, I have not found in the commentaries. The difficulties which surround the history of the resur- rection will probably be never wholly removed. In my nar- rative I have made much use of the results obtained by the penetrating insight of Dr. Furness. The main fact, that Jesus after his death came again to his disciples in visible form, and created a faith in immortality which transformed their whole being, seems to me undeniable. Without some such event, Christianity would have been buried forever in the Master's grave. The resurrection of Christ was the resurrection of Christianity. With all respect for those who believe that the apostles imagined they saw their Master, and that this self-illusion was the foundation on which the religion was built which converted Europe to faith in a Jewish Messiah, the supposition appears to me historically incredible. The house which is to stand must be founded on the rock of reality, not on the sand of delusion. Since I first began this book, some years ago, several works of a somewhat similar kind have been printed. I have been obliged to deny myself the pleasure of reading these, — " Philo-Christus," for instance, — because I did not wish my own conception to be confused by the influence of a work written perhaps from a different point of view. The reader will often find the results of modern scholar- ship embodied in the narrative, without reference to the sources from which they are derived, or the reasons by which they are supported. Thus, in the first chapter, the celestial phenomenon commonly spoken of as ' ' the star in the east" is described as a conjunction of planets. This theory, first suggested by Kepler, indorsed by Dr. Ludwig Ideler, in his work on "Mathematical and Technical Chro- PREFACE. XI uology," accepted by such orthodox commentators as Olshau- sen and Alford, seems the best explanation of the narration in Matthew. In "Smith's Dictionary of the Bible" it is stated by an astronomer that such a conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn occurred three times between May and Decem- ber B.C. 7. The astrologers of Persia, probably acquainted with the prophecies of Isaiah concerning a coming Jewish king, saw in these three planetary conjunctions a reason for believing his birth to be near at hand. The word translated " star" in Matthew is used in Greek for celestial meteors of various kinds. It is sometimes urged as an argument against the authen- ticity of the Fourth Gospel, that it describes several visits made by Jesus to the feasts ; while the synoptic Gospels give only one. But the reason for this is not far to seek. John's Gospel was partly intended to supply what had been omitted by the other evangelists. They mentioned only the last Passover, because only on that occasion did Jesus appear in a public character (John vii. 4, 10). He worked few wonders in Jerusalem, and those seem to have been purposely clone in a way to deprive them of their miracu- lous aspect. These early visits were therefore omitted by the synoptics, who related events rather than conversations, but were reported by John because of the peculiar nature of the discussions. This I have tried to make clear in the course of the narrative. In Miriam I have attempted to reproduce the character of those Jewish women who have been so conspicuous by their influence in the public life of Palestine and Rome. Such was Alexandra, who succeeded her husband Jannaeus as monarch of Judaea, a century before Christ, — a wise and energetic queen, during whose reign, says Josephus, the whole land was at rest. Such an one was that Herodias who wreaked her vengeance on John the Baptist, and whose influence on this very Herod Antipas was so great, that her ambition did the work which Miriam is represented as de- signing to do. She ruined him with Caligula, who deposed him, and banished him to Lyons. But in her case, too, the mixture of nobleness with wickedness appeared ; for, refusing to accept the pardon of Caligula, she followed her husband into exile. Such a woman, also, was the beautiful and un- happy Mariamne, wife of Herod the Great, — the only per- son before whose influence his iron will gave way ; and such another was Berenice, sister of King Agrippa, whose irre- sistible attractions at the court of Rome nearly compelled Titus to place a Jewish woman on the throne of the Roman Empire. It is a year and a half since this work was completed. I have gone over it several times with care, but I cannot hope that some errors may not remain undetected. I trust they will not be important. The book has been prepared, not without a grave sense of responsibility, and with a sin- cere desire that it may help some open minds into a deeper faith in the common Master. J. F. C. Jamaica Plain, Mass. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. PAGE. The Lake of Galilee, and the Synagogue 1 CHAPTER II. Miriam of Migdol 20 CHAPTER III. I go to a School of the Scribes 35 CHAPTER IV. I enter Religion, and seek to save my Soul .... 59 CHAPTER V. I GO TO ALEXANDREIA, AND STUDY THE HIGHER JUDAISM . . 78 CHAPTER VI. The Fall of Miriam. — I go to the Monasteries of the Es- senes 100 CHAPTER VII. I return again to my Old Home 121 CHAPTER VIII. / meet Jesus of Nazirah; and I listen to Him as He prophe- sies, AND TEACHES THE PEOPLE 141 CHAPTER IX. The Conversion of Miriam. —I become a Disciple of Jesus, and One of the Twelve Missionaries 164 xiii X1 V CONTEXTS. CHAPTER X. PAGE. The Mightv Signs and Wonders 177 CHAPTER XI. Jesus in Galilee. — His Success. — Beginning of Opposition . 194 CHAPTER XII. What Jesus taught concerning the Coming Kingdom . . 204 CHAPTER XIII. Judas of Karioth and the Letters of Ben-Gamlah . . 25i CHAPTER XIV. Letters between the Rap.p.i Ben-Gamlah at Tiberias and the Rabbi Ishmael at Jerusalem 247 CHAPTER XV. Journal of Nicodemus, and Letter of Epinetus . . . 276 CHAPTER XVI. On the Wav to Jerusalem, leaving Galilee for the Last Time 300 CHAPTER XVII. Last Journey to Jerusalem, Narrative continued . . . 328 CHAPTER XVIII. Last Conversations of Jesus with his Disciples . . . 365 CHAPTER XIX. Letter from Ben-Tabbai, a Sadducee, at Jerusalem, to Sul- picius. an Epicurean, at Rome. — The Dream of Pilate's Wife, written to Sabina Popp^ea, her Sister, in Rome . 393 CHAPTER XX. Miriam of Migdol relates the Wonderful Events which followed the Crucifixion. — What Thomas also saw . . 423 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. CHAPTER I. THE LAKE OF GALILEE, AND THE SYNAGOGUE. I, Thomas, called the Twin, being an elder brother of the Assembly of God's children and of the Brotherhood in Jesus the Christ at Malabar, write this my memorial, for the help of those who may come after. I was born in Syria, and belonged to the tribes called Jews. We learned, when we were children, that our God, whose name must not be uttered, was greater than all gods. He made the earth, the sun and the stars ; and the gods worshipped by other nations worship our God. His home was in our sacred city, the joy of the earth, "beautiful for situation," on a mountain-top, looking down toward the east on the Sea of Death, and toward the west on the great water which divides Africa, Asia, and Europe from each other. Our country was small ; but it stood in the very centre of the world. It was given to our Father Abraham by his friend Yahveh, the God of our nation, and given again to Jacob, his grandson. Here our people had lived, and they thought themselves God's own people, — the loved of Him who made heaven and earth. Here lived and reigned our great King Daweid (David) , who conquered the surrounding kings, and made our tribes great and rich. Here reigned the mighty Solyma, who was so wise that he knew all things on the l 2 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. earth, — trees, beasts, birds, — all things in the water, and nil gems in the caves, and the virtues and powers of all. Our people had been slaves in Egypt, but were delivered by the prophet Moses ; they had been slaves in Persia, but were delivered by the prophets Daniel and Nehemiah ; and now they were slaves again under the Romans : but we expected the greatest prophet of all, and the last, to come, who would expel the Latin legions, and make the great and lovely city of Yahveh once more the delight of the world. For in our sacred books it was written that a righteous king should come, and subdue the whole earth by the rod of his mouth, and slay all wicked men by the mere breath proceeding from his lips. When he should come, our holy land, defiled by the armies of aliens, would become again pure and free. For this great prophet we prayed and waited. And, indeed, many things showed that the time was near at hand. Some years before, when I was a little child in my father's house in the province of Galilee, a great rumor went abroad, that angels had been heard singing in the skies, and declar- ing that some great good was coming to men. Also it was said that a wonderful star had been seen in the air, sending a ray of light into the very village where the prophet was then born. And, indeed, the king. Herod, was terrified, and feared for his throne ; and it is said, though I know not the truth of the story, that he scut armed men to slay all the children in that village, thinking to kill the infant prophet. Foolish man ! to suppose that he could hinder the decree of the Most High from its fulfilment. What God determines, will come to pass, even by the very means men use to prevent it. Moreover, an old man who passed through our village when I was a boy, with a staff in his hand, journeying to Lebanon, sat in our gateway, and received milk and bread. And. when his hunger and thirst were appeased, he told how lie had been in Jerusalem at the time when the star appeared sud- THE LAKE OE GALILEE, AND THE SYNAGOGUE. 3 denly in the sky, and that it seemed like three bright planets assembled in one place as if for consultation. And he said that he had also seen some Persian priests in white robes, and with mitres on their heads, priests of Ormazd, who had come from Edessa to Jerusalem, saying that the Scriptures of Zerdusht, whom the Greeks call Zoroaster, had also tes- tified that a Saviour and Deliverer of man should be born in the west. And when the three stars were seen by them in the west, coming together to consult, they knew the time was at hand. So they had come by the way of Palmyra, or Tadmor in the Desert, to see that prophet who was also to be a king. And they said that while they travelled, and every night looked at the lights of heaven in the west, they saw the three stars go apart, and separate from each other. But when, in their journey, they had passed through Moab, and descended to the Jordan, and saw the dark mountains of Judaea rise before them, they beheld the three stars come together a second time, and remain standing side by side over our land. Then they knew that in this place the prophet was to come. But whether they found him, or did not find him, the old man knew not. After this, many years passed away, and the Deliverer came not ; so that the hearts of men were heavy with wait- ing. And the Roman soldiers were in camps, and in cities, and we were taxed to pay for their food and their wages. And they oppressed us, and carried away our wives and daughters into captivity, under pretence that we were rebel- lious ; and they cruelly beat and put to death our chief men, to inspire terror and produce submission. And yet no Deliv- erer appeared. And so the days went by. My home was on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee, which is the water of Genesareth. The plain where I lived was called, in my own tongue, "The Garden of Riches," so fertile was it, and full of lovely flowers and stately trees, and like a Paradise of plenty. The water of the lake wtu. 4 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDVMUS. pure and fresh : it was full of fishes, and three hundred vessels sailed to and fro from the cities on the western shore to those on the eastern shore. So deep down lay our lake, that it was as if one should pour water into the bottom of his cap ; for the mountains rose high all around, and the sea nestled in their midst, sheltered from all cold winds by these high walls of stone. Perpetual spring reigned in this valley : the figs and grapes ripened during the whole year ; and the fruits and flowers and trees of all climates mingled peacefully together. The lofty palms, crowned with leaves which rustled and crackled in the wind, stood by the side of dark green walnuts, and the spectral olive-orchards. The Lord, who gave this land of Palestina to our people to dwell in, made it rich within with fertile valleys, great plains bear- ing corn and wine and oil, clear-flowing streams, beautiful forests of oaks and turpentine-trees, and palms towering aloft like sentinels to guard the people. But the Lord had also put mountains around it to protect our people from the tribes who roamed for prey all about us. So Palestina rose like a fortified island from the midst of the desert below, walled in by Hermon and Lebanon on the north, and the rock} 7 peaks of Sinai on the south. Those mountains were our friends ; and all our land was a watch-tower, whence we could lift up our e}'es, and overlook the plains below, reaching to the vast blue sea on the west, and across Jordan and its long valley to the mountains of Moab beyond. But I lived in my mother's house by the shore of the Lake of Waterfalls ; and to see these distant regions I must climb the hills. Many travellers, merchants of Babylon and Damascus, crossed our sea, journeying toward the coasts of Tyre and Sidon on the north, or to Egypt at the south. They pitched their tents by the side of the four great springs, from which the waters rushed in large streams toward the lake. And I, a boy, often walked through the plain when the sun of spring covered it with white and blue flowers, or THE LAKE OF GALILEE, AND THE SYNAGOGUE. the summer caused it to burn with the red fire of the lilies. I talked with the birds, who made the air all alive with their song, and with the clustering blossoms, which seemed almost as alive as they, and thought of the wonderful history of our people. I pondered whether in my time the Great Deliverer would come. From my early childhood, my mother fed my heart with the stories of our heroes and kings. She was one who was waiting for the consolation of Israel, sure that the Lord had not forgotten his people, though he tarried long, and his voice had now been heard by no prophet for long years. As in the days of the boy Samuel, " the word of the Lord was precious, for there was no open vision." But my mother told me, that, in the history of our people, there came always the darkest and gloomiest hour before a new dawn. It was a dark hour for our people in Egypt when Moses was born, their Deliverer. We were now, indeed, slaves to the Romans ; but we were not ground into the earth, as our fathers were by the Egyptians. Caesar was not as cruel as Pharaoh. It was a dark time when our people were wander- ing through the wilderness for forty years, seeming about to become as rude and wild as the robber tribes around them. They drove their flocks and herds from one hillside to anoth- er, like the sons of Esau. They dwelt in tents, like the Ish- maelites. But so the Lord changed these weak slaves of the Egyptians into hardy soldiers ; and when they came to the shore of the Jordan, and saw the green hills of the land of promise glowing in the western sunset, they were strong enough and brave enough to enter into the land and take it. Then she talked to me concerning the wild times that fol- lowed the conquest, — when there was no king in Israel, and every man did what was right in his own eyes. There was no law nor fixed government, nor any settled place for the altar of God. Some worshipped at Shiloh, and some at Bethel, and many continued to offer sacrifices at the places b THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. where Baal had of old been worshipped, — at Baal-Hermon and Baal-Hazor and Baal-Judah. And then, when the calamities of the people were great, the Lord raised up men of might, and women of might, — Samson and Deborah, Gideon and Jephthah, — and under their strong hand, peace returned, and the tribes fought with each other no more, and had rest also from the Philistines of the plains. Moreover, my mother told me of the days that followed, when the Philistines rose up again against Israel, and brought great armies, with armor and shields and swords and lances, and drove our people before them, and took the ark of God ; and how. when the priest of God heard of this, he fell back and died. And they named the little child born to his daughter, Ichabod, because the glory was departed. And my mother told me that the glory departed from Israel, because the people had ceased to worship Yahveh, and worshipped the gods of the plain and the coast, — cruel Moloch, and licentious Ashtaroth, and all the Baals. They worshipped in the temples of the heathen, and in the groves of abomination, with shameful and horrid rites : and the land was defiled with blood, and the ark taken away to the temple of the fish-God, Dagon. And then, in that darkness, the Lord raised up Samuel, a stern and awful prophet, who turned the hearts of tin* people to their own God and King, the God of the great and terrible name. And as soon as the people's hearts were right in his sight, their strength returned, and they smote the Phi- listines hip and thigh, and pursued them with great slaughter, even unto the spot where Samuel put up the stone which he called Eben-ezer, or the Stone of Help, because the Lord had helped them even unto that place. And so my mother told me of the wanderings of our Father Abraham, king of men, from whom every Israelite is descended. For we all had our genealogies, kept sure by the sons of Levi in their sanctuaries. No other nation had this THE LAKE OF GALILEE, AND THE SYNAGOGUE. 7 science as had the Jews ; for all our land belonged to fami- lies, and the scribes kept a record of the boundaries of every piece of land, so that, if it were sold, it should return to the same house at the end of fifty years. Among all nations, men are proud of beiug descended from great ancestors. At Rome, men were proud who belonged to the Cornelian or Fabian houses ; but, except with us, there was never known a nation all of whom were descended from the same ancestor. Every Jew in the whole world, whether he lived in Alexandreia, or Persia, or Rome, or Athens, could say, "I have Abraham, the friend of God, for my father." This made every Jew a brother to every other Jew, and gave to us all the same family pride. We were the patricians of the world. What were Roman knights or senators, or Macedonian kings, to our ancient race? They were plebeians, born yesterday. To-day they chanced to be more powerful than we, and were our rulers ; but to-morrow we should see them fall, as we had seen the fall of other vast monarchies which had also for a time been our rulers, — the Pharaohs of Egypt, oldest of empires, the Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, Phoenicians. Cyrus the Great, conqueror of Babylon, had been our protector and friend. Hiram, King of Tyre, was an ally of Solyma. What had become of Cambyses, whose armies overran Egypt ; of Sargon and Tiglath-Pileser ; of the ships of Sidon? These all were gone. The ruins of Nineveh and Babylon were overgrown with trees, and, as our prophets had foretold, desolation had come up into their palaces. Hades was moved from beneath to greet them at their com- ing. Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees, had become as Sodom and Gomorrah. The city of Damascus, most ancient on the earth, was only a village, its pride and power departed. Tyre, formerly sitting on the sea like a queen, and sending her ships of merchandise to unknown regions, was only a heap of stones. All the 8 THE LEGEND OV THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. burdens and woes uttered against these mighty monarchies by Isaiah and Ezekiel had been fulfilled. All were none : but we, the children of Abraham, remained, in whose seed all the families of the earth should be blessed. God had put into our hands the destinies of mankind; and when Messiah came, all other peoples, nations, languages, should submit, and bow down, and adore before Yahveh, Lord of lords and King of kings. I went one morning to our house of gathering (or syna- gogue) to listen to the reading of the law and the prophets. Ours was an open town, large enough to furnish the Ten Men of Leisure, whose duty it was to be always present, so that the worship might never wait for want of the necessary num- ber to make up a congregation. These Ten Men of Leisure sat on the high seats on each side of the ark, and presided over the affairs of the congregation. The house was on the summit of a hill, overlooking the sea, whose bright blue waters sparkled in the sun, and lay dark in the shadow of the hills which rose steeply from its eastern shore. Far away, at the upper end of our sweet lake of Galilee, were misty mountains, with the snowy top of Ilermon soaring above all into the heavens. The morning was calm, and the sabbath rest seemed to be shared by all living things. The lambs' bleat was not heard from the distant hills, on which the flocks showed like streaks of snow; the birds were silent in their groves of olives ; and the lake, on other days alive with white sails, was now without a boat on its surface. Our house of gathering, built of large stones, and cedars from Lebanon, stood on a raised platform of volcanic rocks, and was entered through a porch of four cedar columns. Before entering the house, I turned to take another look at the lake. The mountains, which swept around it. seemed to hold it in their protecting arms, as a mother holds her child. As it lay in their embrace, so we. the multitudes who lived on its shores, lay in the hollow of God's hand. How happy THE LAKE OF GALILEE, AND THE SYNAGOGUE. [) our life in this delicious retreat ! — perpetual summer around, mountains and deserts, solemn sentinels, guarding us fron the robber tribes which roamed to the east of us. As ] stood above the fair scene, I looked along the level beach below, in some parts of snowy sand, and in others a speckled line of black and white stones. All round the lake ran this white beach, like a silver girdle around the waist of a queen. And our lake was a queen in her beauty and riches. To the south rose the white walls of Tiberias, where dwelt our cruel ruler, whom the Roman emperor had confirmed as our tetrarch according to the will of his father Herod. Herod the father had left Galilee to be governed by Antipas his son, born of a Samaritan woman. Thus we. were ruled by a family of Arabs and Samaritans, who in their wicked hearts sought to put an end to the worship of our God, the Most High. They built temples to the Roman god Jupiter, and worshipped stone idols, carved by Greek artists, and made like men and women." Beyond Tiberias, men might sec the faint mists rising from the hot springs of Hammath. I, taught to abhor all heathen worship, looked with horror at this evil city of Herod Antipas, which he had built on our shores, and where he lived the life of a beast rather than a man. A rapacious plunderer, he sent his tax-gatherers (who were called publicans, or Telonai) to torment us with per- petual demands. They were like wolves and bears devour- ing the land. They had no modesty, no fear. They watched by the lake to see what was brought over in the boats, that they might accuse us of bringing what was forbidden by the Roman laws. They made us pay taxes on what we bought and sold, taxes on the sheep which we pastured on the bare hills, taxes when we crossed a river, a tax on each man's head, a tax on the house we lived in, a tax on each door in our house. All this money was taken to Tiberias, and there was spent by Herod and his friends on their feasts, for I do not think that much of it ever went to the emperor at Rome. 10 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. But this was not the worst evil this tetvarch did to hs. Only a few weeks before the time of which I speak, I passed by a house near our town, and I heard a moaning sound, and went in. There, on the floor, lay the householder, with blood streaming from his face. When I had lifted him up, and bathed his face, he cried out, tk Oh, woe, woe on this dav ! May blackness and night settle on it forever. My child, my child ! Why did I not die when my child was taken away! " And then I learned that soldiers from Tibe- rias, sent no doubt by wicked Herod, had seized his daughter, a girl of sixteen, and beautiful as sunrise, and carried her away to the city, for the tyrant's pleasure. Well may you think, my children, that we hated this devil- ish Antipas. this son of Satan, and that we never put foot in his polluted city. It stood fair on the distant shore ; but it was the home of all abominations. We hated Antipas, and we hated his tax-gatherers ; for no one had taught us at that time that we could love our enemies, and that love was stronger than hatred. Bless the Lord, my children, who lias taught you this word of peace, which takes out of the heart its poisonous rage, its bitter hatred, and tills it with the calm of the angels of God. When I went into the house of gathering I found there the greater part of the community, and many strangers be- side ; for a renowned teacher had come among us. and was to speak that day. He was of the tribe of Benjamin, and very learned in the law. I went in, passing first through the wide portico, which represented the Court of the Gentiles in the temple at Jerusalem, which all our synagogues (as the Greeks called them) were made to resemble. Ascending some steps from this court, or walking-place, I entered the house. On the right hand was the place of the women, separated by a low partition from the place of the men. The light came from windows above, and the southern sun sent a ray through a single round window at the upper end, THE LAKE OF GALILEE, AND THE SYNAGOGUE. 11 falling on the ark of cedar, which held the sacred Thora, or books of the law of Moses. As we entered, we bowed toward this ark, and therefore toward Jerusalem ; for every synagogue in the world was so placed, that the people within, all but the elders, should look toward Jerusalem. The ark stood on a raised platform, which was reached by seven steps, and divided by a low rail from the rest of the building. The space within this rail represented the Court of the Priests, and the ark itself was a type of the Holy of Holies. A rich veil of Tyrian scarlet hung before it, in imitation of the veil of the temple ; and in front of this the candlestick with eight branches, unlighted. One lamp alone burned by the ark, and never was suffered to go out, — a symbol of the light which always streams from the one living and true God. Sitting on each side of the ark, on the raised platform, were the Ten Men of Leisure, the elders of the congrega- tion, with the three rulers of the house of gathering, the president, and some Pharisees and priests from Jerusalem. The service went on as usual ; but it was evident, through all the early readings and the eighteen prayers of Ezra, that the heart of the congregation was greatly moved, expect- ing what was to come. Indeed, the Jewish nation, which seemed crushed to death under the iron heel of the Roman legions, retained its life and freedom in its synagogues. The Romans, a nation of great strength and boundless pride, but slow of perception, saw us going every seventh day to our houses of gathering ; and if they sometimes came and stood in the outer court, to which we ostentatiously invited them, they laughed with scorn at what they held to be an absurd superstition. They knew not that these synagogues were secret societies, organized in every part of the Roman Empire, with a discipline like that of their own legions. They perceived not that every adult Jew belonged to one of these congregations, and that his name was enrolled in its list 12 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS. CALLED DIDYMUS. of members, bound to obey the orders of the ruler of his synagogue and its council of elders. They had no knowl- edge of the organization which bound them together, and made them all subject to the chief Council of the Seventy at Jerusalem. The Romans were proud of their courts of law, and then' judges, claiming jurisdiction in all the prov- inces. They knew not that every synagogue was a court, and that it called on the Roman law, only to enforce its own sentences. Though it had not the power to punish with death, it could do worse : it could excommunicate a mem- ber from its body, and so cut him off from his nation, making him an object of hatred to his household, and an alien from the commonwealth of Israel and the promises of God. They knew that each synagogue had its angel, or messen- ger, yet thought they not to ask what were the messages they carried from one to another ; for they said, " These are all mere matters of religion, and pertain only to worship. " They were blind to the fact that there was in their midst this army, drilled and organized, and ready to act when the mes- sage should be sent forth from Jerusalem. They saw a million of men collecting in our holy city at the great fes- tivals ; and to them it seemed a mere act of worship, like the mysteries of Eleusis. They were ignorant, that, to every Jew, religion and patriotism were one and the same thing. They heard us speak of the Christ who was to come, and the kingdom of heaven, and believed that our Christ was to be only a religious teacher, and the kingdom of heaven some holy life beyond this. And when, in the synagogues, they heard the elders read the denunciations of the prophets against Tyre and Egypt. Nineveh and Babylon, they under- stood not. that, though our lips spake of Babylon and Nine- veh and Nebuchadnezzar, our hearts spake of Rome, and Augustus and Tiberius Caesar. Fools and blind ! Even then the storm gathered which might dash in pieces their proud empire, and make Jerusalem the capital of the earth ; and THE LAKE OF GALILEE, AND THE SYNAGOGUE. 13 ill their cold pride they thought themselves rulers of man- kiud, and Rome the mistress of the world. And when we held converse, one with another, concerning the coming revolution, which was to overthrow at once the petty kingdom of Herod and the thirty legions of Rome, to place Judaea at the head of all the nations of the earth, and make one universal religion for all mankind, we called this catastrophe, the " Kingdom of Heaven," or the " Kingdom of God." For the same God of Israel, with the unmentionable name, who had brought our fathers out of Egypt, who had beaten back the Assyrians, who had re- deemed us from the power of Babylon, would soon and utterly destroy the Romans. When the mighty leader, the son of Daweid, should appear, then the harvest would be ripe, and he would thrust in his sickle. But the Romans, who heard us speak of the kingdom of heaven, thought we meant only some heaven hereafter, and knew nothing of these hopes, nor the bitter vengeance which we expected to take on their idolatrous nation. After the psalms had been chanted, the law read, the responses made, the eighteen prayers recited, the strange rabbi came forward on the platform. There was put into his hand the roll containing the Prophecy of Joel. In a voice deep, and trembling with emotion, he read of the plague of locusts : — " Hear this, ye old men ! Give ear, all ye inhabitants of the land ! Hath such a thing happened in your days, Or in the days of your fathers? . . . That which one swarm of locusts left, hath a second swarm eaten ! And that which the second left, hath a third swarm eaten ! And that which the third left, hath a fourth swarm eaten ! " As he read these words, his voice trembled with strong feeling ; then he stopped, and looked round on the assembly. 14 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. A suppressed murmur ran through the congregation, sound- ing like the far-off roar of the sea. We understood his meaning well. These locusts were the Romans, the soldiers of Herod, and the hateful Telonai, or tax-gatherers. We knew that some of these very officers of Herod were at this moment standing in the outer court, but not one of the con- gregation looked at them. Then the reader went on, and described the terrors of the coming time : — " The day of Yahveh cometh ; it is near 1 A day of darkness and gloom — A day of clouds and of thick darkness. There cometh a people numerous and strong; Like them have been none of old, And after them there shall not be. A fire devoureth before them, And behind them a flame burneth. The land is as the Garden of Eden before them, And behind them a desolate wilderness. Yea, nothing escapetli them ! " Another deep murmur went through the synagogue. Even so it was with our land, crushed under the leaden weight of the tyrants. All these lovely valleys, which God had given to our fathers to be the homes of happy families, were laid waste, and given as a prey to the spoiler. But the reader went on : — " Yet even now. saith Yahveh, Turn to me with all your heart; Rend your hearts, and not your garments, And turn to Yahveh, your God. For he is gracious and merciful, Slow to anger, and of great kindness, And repenteth him of the evil. . . . Then will Yahveh be zealous for this land, And will remove far from you the northern host, THE LAKE OF GALILEE, AND THE SYNAGOGUE. 15 And drive it into a dry and desolate land, Its van toward the eastern sea, And its rear toward the western sea. . . . Then shall ye know that I am in the midst of Israel." The voice of the reader had been deep and stern. Sud- denly it changed, and became full of hope and expectation as he read again from the roll : — " And it shall come to pass, afterward, says Yahveh, That I will pour out my spirit on all flesh, And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your old men shall dream dreams, Your young men shall see visions. Even on your slaves, men and women, Will I pour out my spirit in those days." Once more the voice changed, and became full of exulta- tion and power, ringing like a trumpet through the room : — " The day of the Lord cometh, The great and terrible day. . . . Then shall I assemble all the nations, And bring them into the valley of Jehoshaphat, And there fight the battle of my people Israel, Because you divided my land among yourselves, And sold a Jewish maiden for wine, And sold to the Grecians the sons of Judah and daughters of Jerusalem. On your own heads will I return the injury : I will cause my people to sell your sons and your daughters." At this moment a young Roman centurion, standing in the court, beckoned to me. I went out to him ; and he asked, with some excitement, "What meaneth this?" — "An old prophecy about locusts," I replied. "Why, then, are the people so stirred up?" he asked. "He is reading," said I, "of the wrongs done to our nation, ages ago, by the Philis- tines and the people of Tyre." Then he was content. He turned away, and I went back to my place. 16 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. But, as I sat down, I saw a face among the women that smote me like a sunbeam, — the face of a young maiden of singular beauty. Yet she resembled not a daughter of Israel ; for her hair was not dark as theirs, but shone and sparkled like red gold, and, being very long, hung over her shoulders like a veil. Her beauty was unlike the beauty of ordinary women ; for, while her face had the forms and the color of early youth, her brow and her deep-shaded eyes were full of thought, and of a serious and determined purpose. Those who stood near were drawn to gaze upon her wonderful beaut}', as iron is drawn by the loadstone. But to me there was something in her face far more than beauty ; for it was lighted with a light from within that came and went, and thus seemed to shine with a radiance of its own. There were many thoughts and feelings contending in her face, and some might be clearly seen, and others were more vaguely and slightly expressed. Yet she knew not that an} 7 looked upon her ; for her own eyes were fixed upon the reader, full of intense longing, devouring his words. From that mo- ment, I seemed, somehow, to be drawn to her. Yet it was not any common love of man for woman which I felt for her. Afterward, when I could look quietly into my heart, I saw in it a worship and adoration for this great soul, — a worship content to stand afar off, and look up, asking no return. But at that moment I knew nothing : I only had this new and strange feeling in my mind. Absorbed by this strange impression, I ceased to hear the words of the reader. How much time passed I knew not. I sat as in a trance, with a vision before me which I saw and felt, but about which I did not think. At once I started, roused by some light which flashed from the young girl's eyes. I became aware again of the voice of the reader, who had laid aside the roll of the prophet, and was speaking with great boldness, in words hardly veiled, of the condition of Israel to-day. THE LAKE OF GALILEE, AND THE SYNAGOGUE. 17 " To-day," said he, " is this prophecy fulfilled, and he that runs may read it. Are not the locusts devouring the land now, swarm following swarm, ruler succeeding ruler? What one leaves, another eats : the wine, and oil, and grain are taken from the mouths of your children to fatten the wolves and foxes, — the wolves who rend, and the foxes who flatter the wolves. On my way here, I passed through the valley of Kishon and the plain of Jezrael, and saw houses standing empty, fields unsown, or left with the grain choked with weeds, the people having deserted their homes. Where are they? Hiding in the clefts of these mountains, the men turned robbers, and prowling around your houses by night to carry away your sheep, or plunder your vineyards. The land mourneth, because of the oppression of my people." A stern murmur ran through the synagogue, and the eyes of the young girl were lighted for a moment with angry fire. The speaker went on, — " But the day of Yahveh cometh, — the great and terrible day. All things declare that it is at hand. Does not the prophet say that the sun shall be darkened, and the moon not give her light, and the stars cease to shine, before the coming of the clay? Some of you can remember when the first of these signs happened. It was at noon, and the summer sun was shining brightly. As I passed to my own synagogue, which is by the mountains of Bethel, I saw the people looking up at the sky. I also looked up, and, lo ! a piece was eaten out of the sun. I came to the people, and we stood in fear, wondering what this should be. As the hour passed on, the piece grew larger, till at last the sun became as small as the moon when it is new. Then it grew still smaller, and we saw only a narrow rim of light, though burning bright. But the skies grew gray, and the grass was gray also, as if with fear. Finally, when the sun had been consumed, all but a small thread of light, it broke to pieces into a number of stars, and then all of these disappeared 18 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. but one. Finally that too went out, and the sun was extin- guished wholly ; but in its place we saw suddenly appeal in the heavens a round black sun, surrounded by waves of white light, brilliant as snow. The people screamed with terror ; but I cried out, ' Be not afraid ! this is a sign of the coming of the great King ! ' And surely, in a few minutes the sun began to re-appear, and then the people knew that it was God's sign placed in the heavens, to tell us to be pre- pared for the coming of the Wonderful One and the Coun- sellor. "Another night I walked among these hills, and went up to a lonely peak above the lake. And I prayed the Lord to show me a sign. And suddenly I saw a star fall from the sky, leaving a long trail of lire behind it in the air. It was so bright, that it lighted up the whole region, and I saw all the streams, and woods, and valleys below. And the lake leaped out of the darkness, like a mighty mirror, such as the Tyiian merchants make of polished metal. For one moment, in that dazzling flash, I saw every nook and bay along its shore, and the opposite mountains, and the white walls of Tiberias. Then the star split in pieces, turned red. and dis- appeared ; and presently there came an awful roar, like thunder ; and darkness fell, blacker than before, over the whole land. That Avas a second sign. The star seemed to be above Jerusalem. And so was fulfilled the saying of the prophet, ' The Lord roared from Zion, and uttered his voice from Jerusalem.' "So I say the time is at hand, of which the prophet says, 'Beat your ploughshares into swords, and your pruning- hooks into spears.' For we must march with our King to conquer all who oppose him. When the Christ comes, Anti- christ will also come : and the great hosts will meet together to decide the fate of the world in the valley of Jehoshaphat. For what saith the prophet ? — THE LAKE OF GALILEE, AND THE SYNAGOGUE. 19 " < Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of Decision ! For the day of Yahveh has come in the valley of Decision, — the valley of Jehoshaphat.' "Perhaps you may say, 'How can we, a people small and scattered, contend with the nations of the earth ? ' But, if Yahveh is on our side, one shall chase a thousand. And, beside this, you know well that we have friends in every nation, — among the Greeks, and among the Romans. Thou- sands of proselytes are in every country under heaven, ready to take our side, and fight for the one living and true God. Though we are oppressed here, and cruelly treated by foreigners, yet Caesar has always been our friend. Though some Romans hate us, yet Rome itself will help us. As soon as our mighty leader comes, men will flow to him from all lands, for the last great battle with the hosts of darkness. "And, after this last war, there will be no more war on the earth. Then the heavens shall rain down righteous- ness, the mountains drop with wine, and the hills flow with milk. Then shall Yahveh dwell in Zion, and all nations come to worship in his house. The smoke of its incense, flowing out of it, shall fill the earth. Peace shall reign, and plenty, as long as the sun and moon endure. All shall know God, from the least to the greatest. All shall gladly obey his law, for it shall be written in their minds, — not on tab- lets of stone, as Moses wrote it, but on the fleshly tables of the heart. No more sorrow, no more^ sin, no more death, in the world. The time is near." The voice of the reader ceased, and a solemn silence came. Only the sobs and tears of the people, sobs and tears of joy and triumph, broke the stillness of the place. When I looked up, the young girl with the wonderful face was gone. I tried to follow her ; but, when I reached the door, I saw her nowhere, and searched for her in vain. 20 TILE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDVMUS. CHAPTER II. MIRIAM OF MIGDOL. Day after day I walked by the lake, whose deep violet waters sparkled in the sun. The blue sky hung over us, with clouds white as doves, drifting toward the western sea, their shadows creeping over the surface of Genesareth. Snowy Hermon stood as a giant sentinel on the north, its central summit a gleam of white where the snow covered its peaks, but lifting up on either side two vast arms, as if to protect the land it loved. It was my constant expectation that I should see again this strange girl, and that she was to be the star of my life. And truly it came to pass, but in another sense than I thought. One morning I climbed the steep hills above our valley. I passed through fields heavy with wheat, among which the golden amaryllis shone with its great yellow flowers. The tall palms rattled their long leaves together above my head, swaying to and fro iu the soft air. Balsam-trees, carefully tended on account of their fragrant and healing gums, sent a pleasant odor around. On the sides of the rocks above me clung the oid olive-trees, with strange uncouth forms, as though they were great drunken apes, staggering along, and reaching out their long arms to catch hold of some support. The farms below were hedged in with wild myrtles, and within them were orchards of figs and almonds. Before the door stood citron-trees, ripening their delicious fruit, and shading the children who played beneath. Climbing higher, the lake spread below me, the cloud-shadows running over its surface, MIRIAM OF MIGDOL. 21 and the white sails of fishing-boats bending before the fresh- ening wind. At last I reached an open level spot where stood an old sycamore ; from which was a fair view over the lake to the great hills of Bashan, which rose in a black wall, on the opposite side. To this place I loved to go, and here I often spent hours dreaming of the day when Messiah should come and restore all things. But as I now approached it, I was surprised by hearing a voice chanting in tones of murmuring melody a song, the words of which ran thus : — " Night is over the land, black as the darkness of Egypt. No light from prophet or seer, no word, no sign of his coming: No dawn reddens the east : we sit in the shadows of evil. " Silence is over the land, hushed are the terrible voices Of Samuel, David, Elijah ; words which rolled like the thunder; Words which struck like a sword ; words which fought like an army. " Death is over the land. Priests stood dead at the altar; Scribes speak with dead lips ; this is the valley of vision. Speak, O Lord, to these bones ! — forth from our sepulchres call us 1 " I listened to this voice, pure as a flute, rich and full as a trumpet, — a voice whose tones were a long wail of sadness, so profound that my heart almost broke in hearing it. When it ceased, I seemed drawn forward, and moved without my will toward the place whence the sound had come ; and there, sitting below the sycamore, I saw the figure of a woman. She sat on the grass, in the shadow of the tree, her head bent clown, as if in deep thought ; but a sunbeam lay upon the shining waves of her long hair, and by this I recognized the maiden of the synagogue. Suddenly raising her eyes, she looked at me, without surprise or alarm, and said with a thoughtful smile, — " Thomas, is it thou? Come nearer : I have something to say unto thee." 22 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. As my face, no doubt, expressed astonishment, she went on, — " Thou dost wonder because I know thy name ; but I have often heard of thee, and I saw thee in the synagogue lately. Shall not the daughter of Israel, who waits for the consola- tion which is to come, know all the youth of the land who may help on the day? " I stammered forth, "But I am no one: I am yet a boy. What can I do? " She looked at me steadily ; and her clear, luminous eyes seemed to read my soul, as she said, — " No one knows what he can do until the hour comes. Did the boy David think, when he watched his sheep on the hills, that he should slay the heathen giant, and become the mighty King of Israel? But I have an eye which is able to see many things in the soul ; and I see in thine heart two forces which may be used for great things." "And what are they?" I said, deeply interested, as men are, when others find any thing in their natures worthy of being searched into. She answered simply, " Sincerity and fidelity. Thou art true down to the roots of thy being. Thou canst not de- ceive, not even thyself. The Lord has made thee to seek truth with extraordinary courage. Nothing will ever satisfy thee but to see the truth with thine own eyes. Most men repeat what others say, and others repeat again what th< y hear repeated. All the scribes do so ; " and a slight curl of the lip, and a disdainful flash of the eye, spoke of a proud contempt in the maiden's soul. "But what is more, Thomas, thou art capable of being faithful to a leader or a cause. In a world full of traitors that is much. I think not thou couldst be bribed, or in any way tempted to betray thy friends." "No," said I, looking boldly up. ""What thou sayst about my love for truth, may be so — I cannot tell. But I am not a traitor : of that I am sure." MIRIAM OF MIGDOL. 23 " O Thomas ! " said this strange girl, " never be too sure of any thing. By earth and heaven, I think so of myself. But when I feel these passions in my soul, these rivers of fire which run through my veins ; when I feel how I am some- times ready to hate all men for their meanness, — I can hard- ly trust myself. But," and the deep eyes turned again to me, "I think I can trust in thee, Thomas, — a little. Thou dost not know me, not even my name. I am called Miriam, and live at Migdol. My father serves Herod An- tipas, and spends much time at Tiberias, at the king's court. But I, who hate the heathen, never go near them. All my thoughts are for my nation ; and I seek to know every one who can be made a helper in its cause. So, Thomas, I have heard of thee ; and now I see thee, and I believe in thee." Then I, full of joy: "And I also, O Miriam! believe in thee ; and thy words rouse the soul in my bosom. Be my leader and teacher, and let me learn of thee what I can do for our nation." A darkness came over her face, as when the shadow of a cloud passes over the lake. She sat for a moment in silence ; then, without looking up, she held out her hand and took mine, and repeated, as though speaking to herself, "He has no sister : I will be his sister. I have no brother : he shall be my brother. Who knows what good to our nation may come of this, or to what it may lead? " She looked over the lake toward the dark mountain-wall beyond, and said, " As that gloom}' wall can hardly be scaled by men, so hard is it to climb up to see the ways of the Lord. But look at Hermon, ou our left, and see how that great mountain overlooks Moab and the lake, and sees Car- mel and the Mediterranean Sea. So the Lord overlooks every thing. He sees us here, Thomas. Is it not strange? Till this morning we have never met, never spoken to each other ; and now we are as old friends. I seem to read thy soul, and know thee as I know myself." 2i THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. "And I, Miriam, know thee. Yet I cannot tell what I know ; but I seem to know it, — not the largest part of thy nature, but the essential part of it. As he who finds a nut cannot tell how large a tree shall come from it, nor how its limbs shall be formed, but he knows it will be a nut-tree, so I appear to know thee." " And what dost thou find in me, Thomas? I have told thee what I have found in thee." "Be not offended, Miriam. I may be deceived. I may not be just to thee. I am ignorant of men. I would rather not speak." "Speak, speak ! " she said, looking straight into my eyes. And I spoke as one who is constrained, and who searches into his own thought. From her eyes there came a strong influence, and it compelled me to look at the thoughts slowly shaping themselves in my mind. So I answered, with difficulty, and only a little by little, as the thoughts and words came to me, and as if speaking to myself: "She is a woman who has many struggles with herself. . . . She is not simple, but one in whom many forces contend for mastery. . . . Above all is a burning love for what is highest, purest, best. But mists rise from below, and cloud that love. She seems one moment like Ilernion, all pure and white, and untouched by any thing but heaven's air and heaven's sun ; then, all at once, black mists steam up from below, and wrap themselves around her. Ah, how dark it is ! . . . No — there is a golden ray of light rest- ing on the mountain's very crown. . . . Ah, but what a terrible strength of will ! What she wills, she wills like a giant. . . . And how she stands like a queen, too proud to stoop to mortal man or woman, almost too proud to bend before God. How hard she seems now, how cold ! Noth- ing can move her. . . . But now there is another change. What tenderness there is in her ! How she can pour out her heart in gratitude to oue who does her any noble good ! How MIRIAM OP MlGDOL. 25 she can love and worship generosity and goodness ! yet what passions there are in her heart ! It seems as if all this lake below us were changed into a sea of fire. O Miriam ! there is so much that is grand, and yet so much that, is terrible, in thee. Thou mayst be so good, that angels will love thee ; or thou mayst do what will make Satan glad." I stopped suddenly ; for she rose, and turned away. I was terrified at my own words. It did not appear to me that I had spoken out of my own mind, but as though I were the in- strument through which another mind had spoken. I feared to look at her, thinking I must have displeased her much. But when at last I raised my eyes, I saw hers looking upward, so full of supplication, of longing, of pathetic sadness, so very different from what I feared, that my heart melted within me from pity. "Thou hast spoken truth," said the girl, again turning toward me. " No one ever spoke thus to me before. I am all thou hast said : I am indeed more than that. There is much in me that neither thou nor any one else hath seen. But pride, passion, reverence — these are the deepest forces of my soul ! My God ! will they ever be made at peace? " Thus speaking, she arose. I, also, stood up. We looked down on the broad sheet of water below. On the south-west vast masses of clouds were rising, yellow and purple, torn with wind, and rolling upward into majestic shapes. Far to the north, above Mount Hermon, all was peaceful. The great summit rose, unstained by a cloud, white with enormous fields of snow, and penetrating the pure blue sky as with the point of a Roman sword. The lake below us began to swell and be agitated with the approaching storm. "Come! " said Miriam: "we must hasten." So, down- ward through the myrtles and pomegranates, downward along the narrow footpath, we proceeded, while the sky became more overspread with the lurid clouds. After this I saw her often, indeed almost every day. 20 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. Never before had I known a mind of such activity, such penetrating force, such clearness. I had listened to the learned rabbis ; but how empty their minds seemed compared to that of this young girl ! While talking with her, I forgot her beauty, entranced by her words, which lighted up the world with a new kind of sunshine. She spoke of men and women, and a veil fell from between me and them : I saw the hidden, mysterious powers which moved each from within, and made each one himself. She spoke to me of myself, and I grew of value in nry own eyes : I felt capable of great things, and ready to labor patiently, to study industriously, so that at last I might fulfil the expectations of my noble friend. I reverenced her with all the force of my nature, and would have died for her sake. And yet something within me protested against her words of passion and pride. She seemed sometimes rapt, like an angel, into one of the heavens which our rabbis told us were above the earth ; and again a demon from beneath poured into her soul the fires of hatred, scorn, contempt against the priests, or the Romans, or the Jews who flattered Herod, and held offices from him. Was she a prophetess, inspired by God, or one possessed by a cruel demon? Whenever I left her, and asked myself what my feeling was toward her, it did not seem to me like the love of man for woman, but rather like an enchantment which a magician lays on the soul. I was no longer in my own power : I must think as she thought, feel as she felt, do as she did. And, indeed, her outbursts of pride and rage were few : for usually she was calm and friendly, and her noble thoughts raised me above myself . While I spoke with her, life was worth living, the day not long enough in which to listen to her inspiring words. Sometimes, as we talked together amid the shades of evening, a light came from her eyes, so that I saw them when I could not see the rest of her face. My conscience and reason protested sometimes against the chain which bound me. but in vain. MIRIAM OF MIGDOL. 27 Miriam often spoke bitterly against her position and her sex. " Why am I a woman? " said she, " and why am I com- pelled to live in this mean place ? My father and my brothers go where they please ; but I am a girl, I must stay in the house, or go to the synagogue only. It is true that my father has taught me to read Greek, and I have had my brain fed by the writings of Homer, and the poets of Hellas. Were I a man, I could cross the iEgean Sea, and go to Athens and talk with the philosophers ; I could go to Egypt, and talk with my countrymen there, and learn the mysterious wis- dom of that wisest of all lands ; I could go to Rome, and find the secret of the power of that mighty nation. I feel within me a force -which would perhaps shatter the fetters which bind my people. But I am only a woman, — less than the meanest man who walks the streets of Tiberias." "Say not so, Miriam," cried I, touched with a mighty pity. ' ' If thou art held by the customs of our nation in a narrow place, thy thoughts have gone out to the ends of the world. They have reached farther than the isles of the sea, and dug as deep as where men mine for gold ; they have ascended as high as where God sits on his throne. Some- times thou speakest like the mightiest of prophets, and some- times in sweet words like the songs of David. Are not such a world of thoughts a mighty kingdom? Why ask more? " " Say, rather, a mighty chaos without form, and void," said she. "Is the man lost in a forest its king, because no one else is there but himself? My thoughts are like a great forest, or the labyrinth they speak of in Egypt. They have brought me to iron gateways which I cannot pass. O Thomas ! what is life for, if it be so full of misery ? Why does God let the good be crushed by the Evil One ? Where is the God, the Yahveh, whom we worship? If he is good, he is not all-powerful, else he would put an end to human sin and woe. If he is all-powerful, he is not good ; and why, then, should we obey him, unless from fear? " 28 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. I shuddered to hear her speak thus, for such questions had never entered my mind. Alas ! I became too familiar with them afterward. As I hesitated to reply, she said, — " But we will not speak of these things ; and indeed I did not mean to say such words to thee, since they give thee only pain, and do me no good. Yet a stream too long dammed up will sometimes overflow, or break through its 1 tanks. And so the hidden stream of my thoughts has broken over its banks to-day. Forget it,' Thomas, and let us talk of other things." And then she began to tell me of what she had read in the books of the Greeks, which her father had borrowed for her from the king's library in Tiberias. And the day flew by on happy wings, while she told me of the battles of Achilles and Hector around Troy, and the wanderings of Odysseus, of the one-eyed Cyclops, and the Island of Circe, of Aga- memnon and his cruel fate when he went back to Argos, and the grand stories of the tragic poets ^Eschylus and Sopho- cles. She also told me about the wise Socrates and his dis- ciples ; and as she spoke I saw the splendid city of Athens, with its white temples, and the philosophers walking in the gardens, and sitting in the groves, conversing on great themes. And she related to me the history of how the Greeks had resisted and conquered the armies of the Great King. Then I saw the plain of Marathon and the pass of Thermopylae before me. and the heroes struggling together in the tumult and dust of the conflict. Sometimes she would bring the rolls and read them aloud, as we sat in our favorite place among the old olives, with the dear lake below, sparkling in the sun, or sleeping in the shadow of the hills. I sat and watched the maiden, as her cheek glowed with the fire of her thoughts, and her eyes brightened with courage, or grew dim with tears. Ah, happy days of youth ! Could any thing be more joyful than to listen to these wonderful stories, and this lofty poetry, from the lips of one so dear and so beautiful ? MIRIAM OF MIGDOL. 29 Then, on other days, she read to me of the stern Romans, and spoke to me of their mighty power, which had grown for many years, like a cedar of Lebanon, which battles with tempests, and looks in the face of storms, and ever reaches out farther its vast limbs. So the Romans, rulers of the world, wise and strong, had reached out, till they governed the world. But they were cruel and hard masters, who plunged their sword into the heart of every people, and plun- dered all nations. They led to Rome, in triumph and in chains, every king who resisted their power, and trampled out the hopes of mankind. And, as she spoke of them, she became possessed with the demon of hatred, and a fierce tone was in her voice which I knew not before, and her celestial beauty was changed iuto another of a terrible kind. I feared and grieved as I beheld it. Yet, after a little while, this passion passed by, and the glory of her beauty returned. One clay, as we sat together, she said, "The time has come, my brother, to let thee share in a great secret. I haA^e tested thee, and found thee true to thy people and to thy religion. I have told of the vast strength of Rome, and how it holds with the grasp of its legions all the corners of the world. But there is an invisible power stronger than the armies and the sword of the Romans, — a power which is making ready to crush them. It is a power which the thirty legions of Rome cannot war against. It is a stone cut out of the mountains without hands, that shall roll on and on, till all things are made smooth for the coming of the Great King." I heard her with surprise, and asked what she meant. " Know," answered the girl, " that there is a great league extended through the world, bound by solemn oaths to make proselytes to our law. It works in darkness ; and, though the lords of Rome suspect and fear it, they cannot discover it. It works under the direction of men chosen from the 30 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. Pharisees, and indeed its members are mostly Pharisees. They are all bound to go where they are sent, and to obey those who are above them. All is darkness and mystery in this league. Thy father, thy brother, may be members of it, and thou not know it. When one joins this holy company, he becomes like a corpse, having no longer any will of his own. The Roman legions are not more obedient to their centurions than the members of this body are to the orders of those to whom the} 7 are subject. Each man knows his own commander, but no one else. They take all disguises : they go as magicians and astrologers into the palaces of Roman senators, and even into the house of Caesar him- self. "Women, as well as men. belong to this company. They practise all mechanical arts ; they go into every town in Italy and the provinces of Rome, to build the houses, tan tin- leather, make the tents, and forge the vessels of copper and tin. They are the carpenters, the smiths, the musicians, the scribes, the gardeners, the carvers, the money-changers in all lands. And in all places their aim is the same, — to make proselytes to the law. All means are right to do this. Falsehood and force cease to be wrong when done in the cause of Yahveh. So say our wisest teachers." k - But thou thinkest not thus, Miriam ! " cried I. " Say that this is not thy thought ! " She looked steadily in my face, and answered, " What do I know, Thomas? I am only a woman. Rut this I know, that our holy league has dug away the very foundations of Roman power. There is treason in the emperor's palace. We have insinuated every- where fear and doubt. We have taught the Romans to despise their own religion, and to look with reverence on ours. We have persuaded them that Rome is soon to fall, that they are living in the ninth age of the world, and that when the tenth age begins, then Rome will sink in ruins. Our sacred writings are in the very temple of Jupiter, and the senators send to the Capitol to consult the sibyl, who only speaks our words." MIRIAM OF MIGDOL. 31 "How can this be? " said I, more and more confused in my thoughts. " A hundred years ago, and more, the temple of their idol, whom they call Jupiter, standing on the sacred hill in the midst of Rome, took fire, and burned to the ground. I do not say that this was the work of our people ; but many think so. This idol was believed to be the guardian of the state and nation, powerful to wield the lightnings ; and all the power of Rome rested in his hands. But in an hour he was destroyed with his temple. And great fear came on the nation. In the temple, also, were destroyed the sacred books of Rome, the oracle of the sibyl who once dwelt at Cumae, on the Italian shore. And the Romans were in great terror because of the loss of these sacred books. Then some of our people told them of another ancient sibyl, who once lived on the coast of Asia, and prophesied, and how her prophecies were still to be found in that land. So the senate sent a delegation to find them ; ami some of our scribes had written out carefully in Greek letters verses which rolled like the sea, and which had no sound in them like the voice of our Sacred Scriptures ; but the doctrine of those verses was taken from our books : so that now the wise Romans have been made fools by us, and read the words of our prophets. Also, their great singer, whom men call Maro, has sung in his poems of our kingdom and Messiah ; and he knew it not himself, but thought he was singing in Latin words the proph- ecy of the sibyl of Asia. ' ' I heard all this with wonder, and said, " When, O maiden of Migdol ! did all this knowledge come to thee? " She answered thereupon, and said, "Wonder not, but listen. The women of Judah are not all like the pale and weak maidens of other lands ; nor do we hide in inner chambers, but go boldly forth. The chain of womanhood is indeed heavy ; but sometimes we break its iron, and cast off its burden, and live in the light of the sun. Our women 32 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMCS. have done great deeds, and shall do more. They have ruled the kings who ruled the world. So did Hadassah, whom men called Esther or the planet Venus, rule the great King of Persia by her beauty and her wisdom. So did the beauty of Mariamne govern, in spite of himself, the stormy mind of Herod. When lie was about to kill her, she looked at him, and the sword fell from his hand. So did the noble Alexan- dra rule the people in her day, and make the land at peace. For the beauty of other women is of slaves, but that of the daughters of Israel is that of queens. The pale loveliness of the women of other lands is mixed with snow, but ours with lire. Like Jael, we can smite with the sword ; like Deborah, we can lead armies to victory, and then chant the inspired song of triumph." So saying, she rose, and reached out her light arm. white and linn as marble, toward the sky, and her shining hair floated around her noble head like a glory. And then, still standing, and speaking as to herself, she said, "And why shall not our women to-day be like Esther, and Jael, and Deborah? Have we less of beauty to charm, or of courage to dare, or of a terrible power to blast and destroy? I feel in myself, Thomas my brother, that Yahveh, who chose a shepherd-boy to lie the great king of Israel, may take me to lie a scourge and a plague to our oppressors. One.', as I was passing with my father through the streets of Tiberias, we met the tetrarch. Herod Antipas. He stopped to speak to my father ; but, while he spoke to him, he loon d steadily at me, and I felt, that, if I wished, I could make him my slave. Since that time, he has often sought I me. and to speak to me. and has asked my father to lead me to his palace, and bring me to see the games in the Stadium. If he should make me his wife. I would bend his will, so that he should take the heavy taxes from our people, and put the children of Israel in all the places of power." " But he is married," said I ; " and he has a queen, — the MIRIAM OF MIGDOL. 33 daughter of Aretas, the Arabian. Besides, O Miriam ! wouldst thou, a daughter of Israel, be the wife of that wicked man, a murderer, and full of all baseness and iniqui- ty, whose very palace is polluted, being built on ancient tombs ? Would it not be better to be the wife of one of the children of thine own people, even though thou must live in a humble place, than to wear fine linen and purple, and feast every day with this son of Satan ? ' ' And I spoke angrily ; for the thought of her being the wife of Herod gave a sharp pain, like a dagger driven suddenly into my body. Then the wild and changeful girl laughed aloud, and said, " Fear not, Thomas ! this will never happen. Yet to live in a palace, and be a queen, is not an evil thing, if one is queenly. I saw this queen, the daughter of Aretas, as she rode in her chariot ; and though she wore jewels glittering from her nostrils, and bracelets on her wrists and ankles, and her dress was of woven gold, yet her face was tawny, and she looked like an image carved out of wood by some unskil- ful hand. They say she has a thousand garments, — some transparent as the thinnest mist, and others white with pearls. But, had I such splendor, I would make all who saw me say, ' It all belongs to her of right. She was born to be a queen. The jewels do not adorn her ; she adorns them.' " And then she laughed her bright ringing laugh, which rippled gayly from her lips, like the sudden outburst of a bird's song. But I, still sad, though I sat in the sunlight of her beauty, said, " How proud art thou, O Miriam ! Is it not a danger- ous thing to be so proud ? The demons have power over us when we think too highly of ourselves." And then, with one of those sweet smiles the like of which I have never seen on any other face, she answered gently, ' ' Thomas ! that thou shouldst say this ! Thou thinkest, then, that I am not fit for such a high place ; thou thinkest I have not beauty, nor courage, nor fire. I think too highly of myself, do I not, Thomas ? But I am fortunate ; for I 34 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDVML'S. have a friend always ready to put me back in my place, when I try to go out of it. " '•No place on earth is too high for thee, Miriam! I meant not that. Thou knowest that was not my thought. I believe not that Cleopatra of Egypt was more beautiful than thou. Thou art the wisest, the bravest, the loveliest, of all women " — "Hush, hush!" said she, putting her hand before my lips. " Now thou art my Satan, Thomas : thou dost fill my ears with what may make thy friend too proud. But indeed I am and will be proud of thine honest friendship. Remem- ber that, Thomas, but forget all else that I have said to- day. ' ' And she rose, calm as the blue sky above us, and we walked side by side down the hill toward our homes. I GO TO A SCHOOL OF THE SCRIBES. 35 CHAPTER m. I GO TO A SCHOOL OF THE SCRIBES. The teacher who had charge of our synagogue was Mas- ter Jehucla. He was of the family of Ezra the scribe. He gave his whole mind to the study of the Thora, and of the traditions. He was filled with the spirit of understanding. He knew the sayings of renowned men, and could expound subtle parables. He sought out the wisdom of the ancients, and studied the meaning of prophecies. He not only knew and could repeat the whole written law, but also that which had never been written, but was sent down from one Sopher, or scribe, to another. I now see, my children, how dead this knowledge was ; but then we all reverenced our scribe as the very voice of God in our midst. I wished to go and sit at his feet, and learn his wisdom, but dared not say so, even to my mother. The thing seemed too great for me. One day I saw Rabbi Jehuda walking in the meadows which lay near the high hills on the western side of our valley. He walked, as was his custom, lost in thought. He seemed like a man moving in his sleep. They said of him that he had forgotten all common things. As one who goes to the bottom of a deep well, and looks up, and can see the stars in the day, but nothing else, so men said, "The Master Jehuda looks from the deep well of his knowledge, and sees the stars of eternal truth." They said of him that he would walk into a house, and think it his own, and sit down at the board spread for the mid-day meal, and eat and drink as if he were at home, not 36 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. speaking to any one, but plunged in thought. At other times, when he met any one, either a carpenter who was only wise in his work, or a potter who put his trust only in his wheel, he would begin to speak to him of whatever he was turning over in his mind, not knowing but that he was talking with some learned master in Israel. One day he met my brother on the shore of the lake, and immediately said to him, "It is prohibited to place the pots of victuals in a hot place on the sabbath, or to put together on the festival large loaves ; but thin cakes are allowed." And, having said this, he walked on ; so stupefied was he with his wisdom, like a man who has taken much strong wine. But when I saw him, on that day, walking in his medita- tion, a great longing came over me, and I ran after him. Yet, when I reached him, I was afraid, and followed slowly behind. Directly he turned and looked at me, and said, "What wilt thou?" I stooped, and lifted the hem of his garment, and kissed it, and said, "I wish for knowledge." Then light came into his eyes, and they seemed to be glad inward- ly ; and he replied, " No one has asked knowledge of me for many days. My best joy is first to learn, then to teach. Come to me, my son ; for thy face is eager, and I see in thine eyes a great hunger to know the truth." Accordingly I went to him. and learned from his wisdom. First he told me how Moses, when he remained so long on the mountain with the Lord, even forty days and forty nights, received, not only the written law, but also its expla- nations. And, while he gave the written law to be read aloud to the people, he taught the law of the mouth, which was its explanation, first to Aaron, and afterwards to Aaron and his two sons. And while Moses was teaching them, the seventy old men came in, and Moses recited a third time to them this word, which was to go from mouth to mouth. And then all the people came together, longing to hear the word ; and Mogcs repeated it a fourth time to the people I GO TO A SCHOOL OF THE SCRIBES. 37 Thus the people heard it once, and the elders heard it twice, but the sons of Aaron three times, and Aaron himself four times. Thus, when Moses went back to his tent, Aaron, who already had heard it four times, repeated it again ; so that his sons also had now heard it four times. And then Aaron, also, went to his tent. Then the sons of Aaron, Eleazar and Ithamar, who had now heard it four times, re- peated it again ; and so the elders had also heard it four times. And they repeated it to the people ; and then the people also knew the whole law perfectly. Afterward the law itself was written clown ; but the explanation of the law was kept in the memory, and became the law of tradition, which is also called the law of the mouth. "Thus," said Jehuda, "there are two laws, — the written law and the spoken law, both coming from the Spirit of God. And without the law taught by the mouth, the other could not be understood or obeyed. For example, the written law said, concerning the feast of tents, ' Ye shall dwell in tents seven days.' But, after the Lord commanded Moses to write this precept, he told him to teach by mouth that this precept was not of obligation for women, nor for the sick, nor for travel- lers, also that the tents must not be covered with cloth, but with the boughs of trees. And other such things were taught. So, too, the Lord, in the Book of the Going-Forth, which de- scribes the going-out of Egypt, forbids that any work shall be done on the seventh day. But in the law of the mouth it was explained exactly what kind of servile work was for- bidden, and what was allowed ; so that, without the spoken law, the written law could not be understood or obeyed." Then I said, " O Master ! I would learn this spoken law." And he consented, and agreed to teach me. After this, I went every day to the house of Jehuda to study that which we called "Talmud," which by interpre- tation means tradition. And I grew very zealous in the study of this law. I believed that only by this knowledge, 38 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. and by obeying it, could our nation be saved ; for my master showed me, that, though the written law might be destroyed, this law in the mouths of the doctors could never be lost. He showed me, that, where the doctors were, the people who wished to obey God could always learn whether they were doing right or wrong. They might mis- understand the written law ; but, if so, they need only go to their master, or to the scribe of their synagogue, and he would tell them what was right. Where the scribe was, they had, as it were, Moses himself just come down from the Mount, standing by their side. He reminded me how, before the enslavement in Babylon, the Jewish nation had been inclined to rebellion and idolatry. " What has altered them," said he, " so that now there is no idolater among all our people ? It is because, since the cap- tivity, we have had our schools and synagogues, in which the law of tradition has been taught, so that things have been kept in a fixed order. Thus oneness of belief prevails in all places. The heathen may rage, and the kings of the earth take counsel against us ; but, as long as the doctors of the law study and teach the one holy tradition, this is like a great anchor, holding the ship fast amid all storms. The law which God wrote upon stones may be broken to pieces by the hand of violence ; but the law which he wrote on the tables of the human heart and mind can never be demolished." Fully convinced by this argument that God himself was continually present with his people in the body of the rab- bis and scribes, all the love I felt for my nation, and all my love for Yahveh, made me the more zealous to study this great law. I said, " Every thing has a right way or a wrong way of being done, and I must learn to do every thing in the right way." The words of the scribes and the elders became so important to me, that they wholly took my mind away from the written law ; and the prophets seemed to me not so oreat as the doctors. I GO TO A SCHOOL OF THE SCRIBES. 39 After this, I often went to see Jehuda ; and he received me gladly, and answered all my questions very willingly. One day he said, "My son, you must become a scribe." And I said, " Master, tell me truly what a scribe is." And Jehuda answered, "The scribes in Israel are the wise men and the holy men, on whom our whole nation depends for its life. " Without them we should be like a land in which the figs did not ripen, nor the corn grow, nor the olives bear fruit. We should starve and die. For Moses says, ' Man does not live by bread only, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.' Now, the scribes hold the key of the knowledge of the spoken word. If we live by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God, we live by the spoken word, or Talmud, which only the scribes know." Thomas. — "How do the scribes know this word, as no one else can know it ? " Jehuda. — "They know it by the tradition. This word is so sacred, that it must not be written down ; nor must it be told to every one. So God appointed not only priests for sacrifices, but also ordained that there should be a body of scribes to guard and keep the law, and to teach the people what they are able to understand. ' ' Thomas. — "Tell me, master, if thou wilt, more of the scribes ? ' ' Jehuda. The scribes have kept the sacred books safe, and preserved them until now. They have copied them in the ancient language of the Hebrews, in which they were first written by Moses and the prophets, — a language which the common people do not understand. Had it not been for the scribes, you would not have to-day any sacred books ; for they would all have been lost in the great captivity of Baby- lon. But the scribes carefully concealed these books, and kept them safe, and thus they have been preserved to this time. They also copy them so carefully, that not a single 40 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDl'ML'S. point of a single letter has ever been changed from the beginning. When the scribes make a new copy of the law, they are so careful, that it is impossible for them to make any mistake. They wipe their pen after each letter, and, if a single error is committed, they destroy the whole roll : so much do they respect the written word. Therefore you owe it to the scribes that you know any thing of Moses and his law. And they have done for you much more than this." Thomas. — " But why do they not write the law in the lan- guage of the people, and let us read it ourselves, instead of keeping it in this ancient tongue of the Hebrews, — a lan- guage which is no longer known among us? " Jehcda. — ki Because the common people, if they were allowed to read the law, would not understand it aright. They would make great mistakes, and fall into much sin. They need to have the law not only read to them in the syn- agogues by the scribes, but also explained to them in their own language. Tell me, Thomas, hast thou belief in the resurrection of the dead?" Thomas. — kk How shall I not believe it, O master? Is it not a part of our religion?" Jkhtjda. — "And yet Moses did not reveal it in the written law. His five books say nothing to us of a future life. Nor is it taught by the prophets, nor in any sacred writing. How, then, wouldst thou know that there is any future life but by the sacred tradition, which has come down from the fathers, and been taught the people by the scribes ? And tell me, Thomas, dost thou believe in prayer ? Dost thou think it is a duty to pray to God ? ' ' Thomas. — " Surely, master, I do. How can there be any religion without prayer ? ' ' Jkhuda. — " But. in all the five books of the law, Moses has said nothing about prayer. It is not once written, • Thou shalt pray to God. and make thy wants known to him.' David in his Psalms, and the prophets, teach us to pray ; but I GO TO A SCHOOT, OP THE SCRIBES. 41 how could they have learned of this, except through the tra- ditions which the holy scribes have handed down to us ? A scribe is one, then, who preserves the life of the nation by keeping in safety both the written law and the traditions. He, also, is the teacher of the people, at whose feet they ought always to sit, and receive his words as coming from the Lord. And, more than this, the scribes are the judges, who explain when men have broken the law, and decide what penalty must be laid on them ; so that the scribes main- tain justice in the land, and cause the offender to be pun- ished. And some of us do more than this. I will tell thee, Thomas ; for thy soul seems to me to be pure, and able to understand deep things. The scribe sometimes gives up all other work, in order to search the Scriptures. He searches for the hidden meaning which lies below the letter ; for, in the holy word, there is nothing which is not filled full of mystical meanings. There is the meaning which lies on the surface, which all men can see ; below this there is another meaning, by which one thing is seen to be the reflection of another, as the image of a tree in the water reflects a tree on the land ; and below this, also, there is the meaning of the symbol and type, by which one person or one event holds in its heart the essence of another ; and, deepest of all, there is another meaning, which we call Kabbala. He who at last sees that can leave his body, and go into the world of spir- its, and know all mystery. Sometimes, when I seem to you to be like one asleep, I am searching for the' Kabbala, which shall lift me up so that I can talk with Abraham and David face to face. Thus, Thomas ! thou mayst see what a great work is to be done by the scribes." Thomas. — "I see it, my master, and I understand their greatness. I have also heard it said that their work is to put a fence around the law. What does this mean ? ' ' Jehuda. — "It means, to make the law safe, so as not to be broken. A fence is put around a field to keep the flock 42 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. safe in the field, so that it shall not escape : so a fence is placed around the law to make the law safe. Thus the law says, ' Thou shalt not boil a kid in his mother's milk.' But to make that law safe, and to be sure that it shall not be broken, we make it more strict, and teach that vo flesh shall be cooked with milk, not even the flesh of birds : for, my son, if we are so careful as not to eat any flesh and milk- together, we shall be sure not to break the law concerning the flesh of a kid. So, also, the law of Moses tells us not to do any work on the sabbath day. But this law must have a fence around it to keep it safe ; and so the scribes tell us that we must not begin a work on the sabbath eve, lest we forget and go on with it during the sabbath. The inhabit- ants of Tiberias once carried a pipe of cold water through their hot spring to use it in their houses for washing; but the scribes explained to them that they must not use that water on the first day of the week, because it had been heated in the spring on the sabbath. Nevertheless, there is necessary work which may be done on the sabbath: therefore the scribes explain distinctly what necessary work is, which may be done for the sick, or for food, or any thing made to be used during the sabbath, but not to last after- wards. Thus a man is taught that he may open a cask, to get dry figs from it. provided he does not do it for a future use. Men may do what is necessary for a corpse on the salt- bath, but nothing more than is necessary. All these things the scribes must understand distinctly, and these they learn in the schools of the rabbis." Then I said. " O master ! how shall one become a scribe? " And he answered, " Thou must go to a school of the scribes ; and the best of these schools are at Jerusalem. There the rabbi will examine thee, to see if thou art able to learn ; and. if thou art able, thou wilt become one of the chosen, and begin thy work as a scholar in a chamber of the temple. There thou wilt study all questions concerning the law ; and, I GO TO A SCHOOL OF THE SCRIBES. 43 after thou hast reached the proper age, thou wilt be exam- ined agaiu, and admitted to the work of the scribe by the rabbi, who will put his hand upon thee, and give unto thee tablets, and a key, as a sign that thou dost belong to this brotherhood. It will be well for thee, if thou canst enter en this way of knowledge. And I will write for thee a scroll to take to Jerusalem to a friend, — a rabbi held in much esteem, — asking him to admit thee into his school." So I went home, aud told unto my mother all that the mas- ter had said. And my mother was astonished and grieved, and said, " How can I spare thee, and how can thy brother spare thee, to go from us and become a scribe?" But, because she loved me much more than she loved herself, she at last consented, and said, " Go, my son, in the name of the Lord. And let thy mind, when thou art in the school, not be like a funnel, which lets every thing go through ; but, rather, like a sponge, which sucks every thing up. And let it not be like a strainer, which lets the wine pass out, but keeps the lees ; but, rather, like the millstones which grind the hard grain into fine flour. ' ' Thus spake my mother. I grieved at the thought of leaving Miriam, and seeing her no more for many months. But she exhorted me earnestly to go, saying that I should by this journey and study grow stronger to help the great work which was to be done for the people. " In Jerusalem," she said, " is the seat of the Sepa- rate Society, of which I told tb^e. When thou returnest, thou wilt be able to tell me many things I desire to know con- cerning its purposes. Go, then, Thomas, but remember that thou and I are joined in friendship, and that some day we are to work together for the kingdom which is to come." Thus I took leave of the maiden, and went on my way to Jerusalem, the holy city of our nation. Ah ! can I tell you, my children, how my heart was moved at the sight of that great city, the holy city of our people ? There I saw the vast temple, rising like a mighty pyramid 44 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYML'S. of marble, court above court, until behind and above all stood the Holy of Holies. And there I saw Mount Zion, which had been the city of King David, and where the great tent of the Lord stood, until Solyma built the temple on Mount Moriah. But I will not speak to you of these histo- ries, my children, but only of what I myself heard and saw in that sacred city. Well do I rocall the day when I reached the summit of the mountain called the Mountain of Olives, because of the many orchards of olive-trees which clung to its sides, and lay around its base, like birds settling down into their nests. From this high summit, men looked far away, — to the mountains covered witli snow at the north, to the distant hills of Moab rising to the east behind, like a dark and solemn wall shutting in that ancient land of wonder. On the south rose in the distance the summit of Hebron, while directly below, in front, lay the cit\ itself, a mighty fortification of glitter- ing marble, lifted on a wall of massive hewn stones. How many words from the psalms which I had heard sung in our synagogue came to my mind ! — " Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is Mount Zion, the city of the great King. God is known in her palaces as a sure refuge." So near we were to the city, though the valley of Jehoshaphat lay between, that it looked as if one could cast a stone over the valley into its streets. Beyond the city the eye reached as far as the blue of the Middle Sea. while the sheet of water called "The Dead" lay in shadow behind us. But that which chiefly held the eye, so that one could scarcely look at any thing else, was the great temple, first built by the wisest of men. Solyma. and afterwards rebuilt by Herod. It stood on the very edge of a frightful precipice, dazzling white, and rising like a pyramid, court above court, terrace above terrace, each court surrounded by long walking-places, with many columns of marble. The one directly in front extended along the summit of the precipice, and above the I GO TO A SCHOOL OF THE SCRIBES. 45 wall I could see its lofty pillars, with their heads crowned with golden fruit, and surrounded with silver leaves. On the highest part was the Holy Place itself, dazzling the eye with the reflection of the sunshine from its plates of gold. It seemed as if I could never tire of looking at this beauti- ful object. But at last I descended the hill, passed through the valley, and mounted the steep path which led through the eastern gate into the city. The streets were narrow and dark. The people sat in their doorways and in the streets, and, as I passed along, examined me curiously, seeing that I was a stranger ; so that I was glad when I reached the house of the scribe to whom I had been sent. He welcomed me kindly, and introduced me to the teacher in whose school I was to learn the wisdom of the ancients. And, first of all, I was taught our saered writings, and a knowledge of the holy language, called Hebrew, in which Moses and the prophets wrote. I also listened to the lectures of the rabbi who was the head of the school. We usually stood around him, or sat on the floor at his feet, with our tablets in our hands, on which we wrote the words of our master. My new teacher confirmed what I had heard from my old rabbi at home. He said that there were three kinds of tra- dition, without which the written law would be of no use. These are like the three veils before the tabernacle of Moses. Lift the first, and you enter into the vestibule ; pass through the second, and you enter the holy place ; remove the third, and you are in the Holy of Holies. The first he called Hal- aca, the second Agada, and the third Kabbala. The Hala- ca teaches the art of reasoning, by which you can go to the root of the Word ; and the knowledge of this is necessary in order to understand and to obey the written law. It tells exactly how every thing shall be done which is commanded. For example, Moses said that the words which he taught should be bound for a sign upon the hand, and be as front- 46 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. lets between the eyes, and be written upon the posts of the house, and on the gates. But then the Talmud, or spoken law, comes to us to tell us how these frontlets, called tephil- lah, shall be written, and on what kind of parchment, and with what sort of ink, and how large they shall be, and in what kind of case they shall be kept, and with what sort of strings they shall be tied, and where they shall be put, — on the arm, — or on the forehead, and whether they shall have fringes to them, and what particular texts shall be written upon them, and on what days they are to be worn, and at what hours in the day they shall be read aloud. All this, and much more, must be known, or else the law of Moses cannot be properly obeyed. It is also necessary to know when to begin to wear them, namely at the age of thirteen, and that they must be put on before each prayer, saying these words, ' l Blessed art thou, O Lord our King, who hast sanctified us by thy commandments, and taught us to use the tephttlaJi." And at that moment he must fasten the tephiUah on the arm by running the leather thong through its loop. And, if this is properly done, then great help will come to the soul. Our rabbi gave this to us as an example how every com- mand of Moses needs to be explained by the Halaca, other- wise not one of these commandments can be properly obeyed. Now, the law of Moses in the five books contains two hun- dred and forty-eight positive commands and three hundred and sixty-five negative commands : hence it may be seen how vast is the range of wisdom in the Halaca, which is neces- sary to be known. "But after the Halaca," said our teacher, "comes the Agada, which is a higher wisdom, taking the soul up into the region of philosophy, and also teaching what the proph- ets and saints, and angels of God. have done and are doing. But the Kabbala is a yet deeper knowledge, teaching what are numbers and proportions, and the forms which contain I GO TO A SCHOOL OF THE SCRIBES. 47 all others. By means of this knowledge the rabbi can do miracles and wonders." Of these our teacher gave us the following examples. I will repeat one or two, my children, that you may perceive what was the knowledge taught in our schools. Our teacher informed us that the Prophet Elijah was still living, going about the world, — in appearance a venerable old man with a long beard ; and he added this story concern- ing him : — " On a certain day a rabbi named Benjamin, well taught in the Kabbala, met the Prophet Elijah, and saluted him, and said, ' I know that thou art Elijah the prophet, going about the world in the service of God ; and I wish to go with thee, and see what thou doest.' Elijah replied, 'I cannot refuse, since thou knowest the Kabbala. Thou mayst go with me and see what I do, but ask no questions ; for, when thou ask- est a question concerning what I do, the power of the Kab- bala will cease, and thou must leave me.' So they came to a town in which lived an old rabbi and his wife, who enter- tained them with hospitality. These two lived by means of a cow which gave a large quantity of milk ; and the wife of the rabbi sold the milk to the neighbors, and this was their sup- port. In the morning the good woman arose, and provided their morning repast. And, as Elijah and Benjamin went on their way, the woman came after them, and cried, saying, ' My lords, the cow, which is the support of my husband and myself, is dead ! ' And Elijah answered, ' Verily, I asked the Lord that it might die, and he has heard my pray- er.' And so they went on their way. And Benjamin feared much, but dared not ask a question. "And, as they were travelling, they came to a certain place on the sabbath, and entered into the synagogue ; and, when the service was over, no man saluted them, or asked them to his house. This was strange to Benjamin ; for the Jews are taught to welcome strangers gladly. But Elijah 48 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. lifted up his voice, and prayed that each one of this congre- gation might be chosen a ruler of the people. 11 And on the next sabbath they came to another village, and again entered into the synagogue. But here the Jews of the congregation showed them much kindness, and took them to their homes. But this time Elijah prayed that only one of them might be made a ruler. And so they went on their way. "And now the Rabbi Benjamin was much disturbed in his mind, and wondered exceedingly, and said, ' Can this, in truth, be Elijah, the man of God ; for he does all things con- trary to reason? ' But he dared not ask any question. And so they went on their way. And as they journeyed they saw a great palace upon a hill, where dwelt a rich Jew. And they knocked at the gate, and asked for hospitality. 4k But the master of the house, who was a man of a mean spirit, called them beggars, and ordered his servants to drive them away. But Elijah said, ' I will go, but first I must punish this man for his unkindness.' " Now, this house stood in the midst of a great garden, where were many noble trees and fountains, and a high wall around it. But in one place this wall was weak and totter- ing, and about to fall. And Elijah said. ' Stand up, wall ! and become solid and upright.' And the wall stood up. and became firm. l * But then Benjamin became full of indignation, and said, ' All thy doings, O Elijah ! have been opposed to reason, and are intolerable. Why is it that thou hast done this?' "Then Elijah replied, 'For thy good, O rabbi, have all these things been done. For the fault of the wise man is, that he thinks he knows the reason of all things, and that which ought and ought not to be ; and so he blames the Al- mighty because every thing is not as lie considers best. Now I have done these things that thou mayst be convinced of thine ignorance. When the iiood woman rose in the morning I GO TO A SCHOOL OF THE SCRIBES. 4i> to prepare our meal, I perceived by inspiration that her days were numbered and finished, and that she would die before evening. And so I prayed the Lord, for the sake of the poor old man her husband, that her life might be spared, and that of the cow taken ; for the rabbi could get another cow, but never a wife as good as she. Moreover, when we came to the first synagogue, where no man saluted us, I prayed that all might become rulers ; knowing that they then would have no peace, but each be striving for the mastery. But in the second synagogue, where we were treated kindly, I prayed that there might be only one ruler in their midst ; for then all would look up to him, and the peace of God would be there. "Moreover, Elijah proceeded, and said, 'Most of all, O Benjamin ! wert thou surprised because I punished the rich man for his cruelty to strangers by making his wall stand upright. But the reason was this. Long ago, when a great band of robbers came to plunder that town, the people buried all their jewels and gold under that very wall. But the peo- ple were carried away captive, and so the treasure remains there to this day. If the wall had fallen, the cruel man would have found the treasure ; but, by making the wall stand upright, it remains concealed f>">m his eyes.' " Such parables did our teacher tell us, to *»> + he power of the Kabbala. And I, being only a youth, i. >■ -elieved these stories to be true. On other days our teacher would explain to us the his- tories concerning Moses and Noah, and other patriarchs, and answer our questions concerning them. Thus one day we asked him how it was, that, if Noah were a man of God, he should have become drunk by means of the fruit of the vine. Then the rabbi gave to us this narration : — " When Noah planted the vine, he asked the Lord to cause it greatly to increase, so that the world might be full of its grapes. But Satan stood by, looking on, and said, ' The Lord has heard his prayer, and the vine will go through the 50 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. whole world. But I will make evil follow it.' Then the Devil, with his evil spirits, killed a lamb, a lion, and a hog, and caused the blood of each to run into the ground upon the roots of the vine. So, when the grapes were ripe, Noah crushed them, and made wine of the juice. First he drank a little, and his heart was glad, and his face shone with sweetness like that of a lamb. Then he drank more, and became excited with rage, and was like a lion, and his family feared exceedingly before him. Then he drank again, and became drowsy, and his mind departed from him, and he slept the sleep of the swine." And again we asked the rabbi how it was that Moses when he came down from the mount was so careless as to drop the tallies of stone. And he told us that each of these stones weighed a tou ; but, the moment that the command- ments were traced upon them by the linger of God, they became as light as a feather. Now when Moses came down from the mount, and saw the multitude shouting around the molten calf, some rays of sunshine reflected from the idol touched the tables of stone, and immediately the letters Hew away, and the tallies became of their former weight. Then Moses could not support them, and was obliged to let them fall; and that was why the stones were broken. Another day our teacher took us to the temple, that he might explain to us the services and the sacrifices. You must know, my children, that this great temple of the Jews was the sacred place for the whole nation, and that a multi- tude of people, both priests and the children of Levi, were appointed to perform its services. There sacrifices were offered every morning and evening for the sins of the Isra- elites in all lands ; and the whole nation was believed to be in reality offering those sacrifices for its sins, and asking God's blessing every day. No matter where the Jews were, all over the world, they sent to Jerusalem their tribute every year for the support of this their public worship of God, I GO TO A SCHOOL OF THE SCRIBES. 51 each man sending his half-shekel. With this money and other contributions the daily worship was carried on, and the temple and its priests supported. A perpetual fire burned on the great altar where the lambs were sacrificed each day ; and every day the moruing and evening incense of fragrant spices was burned on another altar of gold where no blood ever came ; and the fragrance went up to God as the nation's prayer. So the rabbi took us one morning to show us the temple. High walls arose all around. Through these walls, gates of brass and gold opened into the first court, which was called the Court of the Gentiles. The gate by which we entered was called the Gate of Beauty, and was wholly made of brass from Corinth, and so large that twenty men with all their strength could barely open it. Through this gate we entered into the Court of the Gentiles, where all the believers of other nations were allowed to come, but could go no farther. When we went into it, it was crowded with people going and coming, buying and selling, and seemed to us more like a market than a sacred place. Here sat women offering doves to those who wished to sacrifice them, and here were men with scales, weighing the pieces of gold and silver brought from foreign countries, which were Greek and Roman money, and changing them into the half-shekels which were to be paid as tribute. All around this court arose columns supporting roofs, and making shaded porticos, within which the people walked to and fro. We asked our master why this beautiful court was thus turned into a market-place, and he answered, "Because only the Gentiles come here ; and, as the Gentiles are profane, the place itself must always be profane, and cannot be made sacred, and therefore may lawfully be put to profane uses." Then from this Court of the Gentiles we ascended by a flight of steps through another gate, which opened through the inner portico, and went up into another spacious square. This 52 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS. CALLED DTDYMTS. was also surrounded by cloisters aud columns, within which were chambers occupied by the priests and the Levites. who there kept the tools and furniture which were used in the services. All the noise and tumult which we had heard below was now gone. On the lower side was one court for the women, and on the other, above, were courts for the men. The courts of the men were a little higher than that of the women, and separated from it by a low railing of stone beau- tifully carved. When we reached this place, we heard the chanting of the psalms, and the sad wail of the trumpets hlown by the priests in the inner court, which was still higher up, above where we were. And as this solemn chanting, broken by the long-drawn civ of the trumpets, came to our ears, and we snw the smoke which ascended from the great altar, going up against the blue sky. and thought how our nation forever worshipped God, the King of kings, in this place, it seemed as if this were the holiest spot of all the earth, and that the whole nation were truly a priesthood for all mankind. Then we thanked God that we. also, were children of Abraham. Around this square were lows of lofty columns, like those in the Court of the Gentiles below; hut behind these col- umns were large rooms used in many ways by the priests and the Levites. In each of the four corners of the square were schools, kept by famous rabbis. In other chambers, behind the columns, were offices where the priests examined the lepers who were crowded around, each waiting his turn to enter. These wretched sufferers were miserably diseased. Fortunate is the nation where this disease is not known. The poor leper was declared to be unclean by the Hebrew priest who examined him, and was obliged to leave his fami- ly and friends, and go into an asylum made ready for him. When he went out into the streets, he must walk by himself, not going near any one, with bare head and torn clothes. If anyone came near to him, he must cry out. ••Unclean!" I GO TO A SCHOOL OF THE SCRIBES. 53 When healed of this disease, he still must not go home, or touch any one, until he had gone to the temple, to the Chamber of the Lepers, where the medical priests sat, who were to examine him again. If they declared him to be clean, he must then offer a sacrifice on the altar, by the hand of the priest, and then might go once more to his home. In other chambers were kept the instruments of music. One room was filled with trumpets, another with harps. In other rooms were deposited the precious and fragrant spices used for incense. Around the entrance to other chambers stood the parents who had brought their children to be circum- cised. Meantime we saw many persons passing across the court in white dresses of fine linen singularly shaped. They wore on their heads caps of cloth made in the form of white lilies, and they walked with bare feet. We asked our master who they were, and he told us that they were all priests, and that these were the dresses of the priests. But our master told us that the priests, though all were children of Aaron, had lost much of the wisdom of their fathers. "To us," said he, "the scribes, it has been given to understand and teach the Word ; and without the. Word all the sacrifices of the priests would not avail." Nevertheless, the priests seemed to us to be full of labors ; for many of the people were waiting in the court with their victims, ready for sacrifice. So we asked our master to tell us the meaning of sacrifice ; for in Galilee we never offered sacrifices. We saw men waiting, some with oxen, some with sheep, others with goats, or with cages in which were doves ; and then we saw others, who were too poor to offer such victims, who had in their hands baskets with meal, or bread, or cakes, or ears of corn, or bottles of oil. All these stood, each waiting his turn, near some of the chambers. And therefore we asked our master the meaning of these sacri- fices. And the master spoke thus : — "All these sacrifices are the same as prayers, and without 54 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, OALLKD DIDYMUS. the spirit of prayer they are of no avail. The sacrifice is the body, of which prayer is the soul. Men are so made, that they need to see the thought within them taking some outward form, else the thought is only a dream in the mind, and does not become an action. Therefore it has been ordained by Moses that the prayers of the people shall become visible in such sacrifices. If one has received a blessing from God, he brings a thank-offering, which is some sheep or lamb from his fold ; and the Lord accepts it as the outward sign, or sacrament, of his inward thought. And if he has committed a sin he brings a sin-offering, which is in like manner an expression to God of his desire for pardon. The priests take these animals, and offer them up for him ; and. after the victim is offered, they burn incense on the altar as a sign of the prayer which has gone up to God. Then the man who offers it goes home, and knows that the Lord has accepted his offering ; and his soul is at peace. But all this must be done at Jerusalem in the temple, that it may not become a superstition." Then one of my companions, who had read the Scripture, said to the master, " Why, then, do the prophets speak in the name of the Lord, and say, 'Incense is an abomination to me. To what purpose the multitude of your sacrifices? I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of lie- goats. Who hath required this at your hands to tread my courts ? ' " The master answered. "The prophets said this because the people foolishly thought that their sins against justice and mercy could be forgiven because of a sacrifice. But this is not the meaning of sacrifices. No man can offer a sacrifice for murder, or theft, or any other wickedness, and be for- given because of his sacrifice. Only that part of the sin is forgiven which makes him unclean, and separates him from the holy people. In order to be forgiven his iniquity against God and man, he must purify his heart by the sight of truth I GO TO A SCHOOL OF THE SCRIBES. 55 and by his knowledge of the divine word. He can r*o free from the outer part of his sin by going to the pi'iest, and offering his sacrifice ; but, in order to kill the heart of his sin, he must come to the scribes, and learn what they have to teach. Then he will know the truth, and the truth will make him free." Thus spoke my master, the wise and good scribe. And afterward I heard the same words from another master, greater than he. But I do not tell you about this now, my children, for every thing should be narrated in its order. Then, as we walked by the side of these chambers, we came to a larger hall, where there were many people assem- bled ; and over the portal of this hall was written in letters of gold these words, "The Gate of Justice." Our master told us that this was a seat of judgment, where offences against the law were tried every morning. Here were judges, who were scribes and priests, and who sat on a high seat, and listened to every complaint, and heard the witnesses, and called upon the man who was accused to answer, if he could, and defend himself. And thus as we walked through this Court of the Jews it seemed to us that the temple was the great heart of the land. Here were its thought and its life. Here, on the sum- mit of all, stood the holy place glittering with gold. Here burned the perpetual fire on the vast altar ; and the priests in their white robes were daily chanting the psalms, blowing the trumpets, and offering sacrifices to God. And here in the court below were the rabbis, teaching the two laws, written and spoken, and in the courts executing justice between man and man. The scribes were also there, teaching every man his duty, and hearing all difficult cases. And outside of all was the great Gentile Court, where men of every nation under heaven might come, and worship before God. While we marvelled at all this, the rabbi said, "And yet in the first temple there were five wonders, which came down from 56 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMDS. Moses, which we have not. That temple had in it the ark of the covenant, with its mercy-seat. There was also the fire which had been kindled from heaven, which had never gone out. That also contained the very Urim and Thummim which Aaron wore ; and the holy spirit of proph- ecy dwelt in it. But now we will go up to the Court of the Priests." As none hut priests were allowed to enter this court, we stood outside the low wall of carved stone, and gazed with delight aud wonder at what we saw within. Firsl there rose before us the vast altar, so large that it seemed like a great marble building, but diminishing in si/-. from the foundation to the top. like a pyramid, of which the upper part had been taken away. The marble sides were covered with ornaments of brass, and a gentle ascent led on one side to the top. Here we saw burning the perpetual lire, symbol of the never-ending worship which our nation, scat- tered through the world, here gave to the one true < tod. A.8 we looked at the great pure flame soaring up to heaven, fed forever with smokeless fuel by the priests, we remembered what we had been told concerning it in our synagogue. — how it couched on the altar like a lion, how its light was far- darting like that of the sun. how the flame looked like solid silver, and how some stud it was the same which fell from heaven in answer to Elijah's prayer. That this tire was the same as that, they said was proved by its having the power of burning water as though it were oil. lint still more beautiful and wonderful than this great altar of burnt offering, where the sacrifices for all mankind went up to heaven, was the temple itself, which rose behind it. We had yet seen only its outworks and protecting courts. It stood on a platform of squared stone as high as two tall men standing on each other : steps behind the altar led up to this platform. We saw before us the portico, with its great carved columns, behind which, suspended on the walls, were I GO TO A SCHOOL OF THE SCRIBKS. 57 hung, arranged in beautiful forms, gifts of gold, silver, and jewels, and a golden vine, with grapes clustered in such masses, that, when the sun shone on them, they dazzled the eye with their glory. In the midst, and before the door open- ing into the sanctuary behind, was a Babylonian veil of cloth-of-gold, through which the priests passed into the holy place to kindle the incense on the altar. While we looked, we saw the priests making their prepara- tions for the duties of the day. We had come early ; for our master wished to show us the whole daily service from the beginning. Every morning the priests bathed themselves, so as to begin the day with purity of body as well as purity of mind. Then, very early, two companies, with torches, made a circuit of the temple, to see that there was nothing in any part which would defile or injure it. After visiting and examining every part of the courts, they came together at what was called the room of the pastry-man, near the gate of Nicanor. Here they cast lots for their duties. Some were to remove the ashes from the high altar with silver shovels ; some were to carefully clean all the altars in every part ; some were to select and examine the victims, to light the lamps of the golden candlestick, to kindle the censer of incense, to bake the loaves of sacred bread. After all this was done, other priests took the keys and opened the seven gates of the court of Israel, so that the people might enter the temple. And now, as we stood and looked, the two companies of priests sounded their silver trumpets, that the service of the day might begin. The Levites who were to chant the psalms went in procession to their music-desks : those who had been selected to represent the nation before the temple took their places on either side of the altar. Then there was a silence ; and as we looked we saw two priests go up the twelve steps of the temple, and open the doors which led from the portico into the sanctuary. Then the lamb for the morn- a« THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIOYMl'S. ing sacrifice was led up upon the altar, and the trumpets now ceased their prolonged wail, and all was silent while the inno- cent victim fell. The priests next went to pray for a bless- ing to be given during that flay to the Jewish nation through- out the world. After that another priest recited aloud the Ten Commandments, and at the end of each the Levitts chanted a petition that the nation might obey that divine command. Then the great bell of the temple was rung and the lamb put upon the altar, the blood sprinkled, the incense lighted, and the Levitcs and priests chanted the psalms which had been chosen for the service of the day. Finally the high priest came forward and blessed the nation, and the morning service ended with trumpets and a song of praise. Having witnessed all this solemn service, we returned tilled with many thoughts to our home. I ENTER RELIGION, AND SEEK TO SAVE MY SOUL. 59 CHAPTER IV. I ENTER RELIGION, AND SEEK TO SAVE MY SOUL. So I studied many months with my master the serine. But now my mind was drawn to a new matter. In going through the streets I often met men who looked so strangely, that I could not help stopping to gaze at them. They had on their foreheads black bands which covered the whole of the head above the eyes. Broad purple stripes and long fringes hung from their robes. They walked forward as if they saw no one, being lost in meditation. Sometimes two or three would be standing together repeating prayers during a long time. I remember that one morning I passed one of them as I went to my school. He was standing at the corner of a street repeating prayers aloud ; and when I came back, some hours after, he was there still, and was still repeating his prayers. Many men and women looked at him wonder- ing. When I asked who these people were, the man to whom I spoke marvelled, and said, k ' Dost thou not know that they belong to the holy society? These men are those who pro- fess purity, and separate themselves from others, that they may lead pure lives. Some call them Pharisees, or the Separate Ones. And I tell thee, young man," continued he, '■' that these holy men are the safety of our nation, and atone for all its sins." Then I wished to know more concerning this society of the Separate Ones. After I had learned about them, it seemed to me, that, what the scribes taught, the Separate Ones performed. They promised each other to keep free GO THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. from all sin against the law. When they joined the society, tbey bound themselves by strict rules. The first was to give to the Lord a tenth part of every tiling which was bought or sold, or eaten or drunk, by them. And therefore they had a second rule, which was this, — never to eat or drink in the house of an}' who was not a Separate One. lest they should eat something of which the tenth part had not been paid to the Lord. Another rule was. not to touch any thing un- clean. And they were very strict about unclean things and about washings. They washed their hands continually to free themselves from any uncleanness, and they said that the hands became unclean, not only when they touched an unclean jar, but when they were put into the empty space inside of it, and that even touching the Scriptures made the hands unclean. Some of them, however, taught that only the Book of Songs, which is Solomon's ^'ong, and the hook Kohaleth, or Ecclesiastes, make the hands unclean. And when I heard how good and holy these men were. and how they lived poorly, and despised all pleasure and all repose, and how full of zeal they were for our holy religion, and gave their money to the poor, and fasted often, and denied themselves all enjoyment, for the sake of God, and went far away among the heathen to teach the law of Moses to all mankind, then I desired to become a member of this holy society : for I Ion-red for excellence, and I thought the Separate Ones were more holy than the scribes. I there- fore wenl to one of them and told him my wish ; and he said. '•If thou wilt belong to our holy body, and enter religion, and obey the rules, and separate thyself, in order to be a saint, thou must first learn what thou wilt have to do. We are they who come out from the world, and oppose all mix- ture, wishing to be pure : for as a little poison mixed in water may destroy life, and a little contagion in the air may carry disease, so a little mixture of the Roman and Greek customs may destroy our whole religion." I ENTER RELIGION, AND SEEK TO SAVE MY SOUL. t> 1 Then he examined me to see whether I knew the law and the tradition; and he asked, "What, O Thomas! is the Shemah? " And I replied, "It is the command of Moses, 'Hear, O Israel ; The Lord our God is one Lord : and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength.' " " How often and how late must one repeat the Shemah? " I answered, " At least twice a day, and as late as midnight, or till the pillar of the morning ascends." "How often should one fast?" I said, "It is good to fast twice a week ; but the men who stand near the priest during the sacrifice, in place of the whole nation, may fast also on other days, only not on the sabbath, nor on the days before and after the sabbath." After asking many such questions, and being contented with my answers, he admitted me as a disciple of the holy society in the presence of witnesses. And I became very zealous for the law and the regulations. So I went into the work of religion, joining myself to the other members of the Separate Ones with the same force of soul with which I had studied the traditions in the house of the learned. I lived now with three members, in a room of a house belonging to the society. We were obliged to live together in order to be separate from the common peo- ple, and to obey our rules strictly. Each one wore the robe of the order, with its purple stripes and fringes, and its black band over the forehead. Every day we went to a hall in the temple to be taught the rules of the order. We sat on the ground around our teacher ; and, as he taught the rules, we repeated them after him three times, and before the end of the day we had to repeat them again to each other many times to fix them in our memory. All this I did with such zeal, and such full belief of my heart, that I could even now repeat to you, my children, a great multitude of such com- 62 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. maudments. These things at this time appear to me no better than the dust which the idle wind blows into the eyes of the traveller ; but then we sincerely thought to save our souls, and to become pure from all evil, by perfect obedience to all these rules of religion. When I think of our strong and honest devotion to such empty practices, I remember what I have read in a letter written by my wise brother in Christ, Saul, who is also called Paul. He, too, had belonged to our society, and had strictly obeyed its rules. I remem- ber that he scarcely ate or slept, but prayed and fasted more than any of us. The good Lord has also broken his chain, and given to him the blessed liberty of those who are God's children, and not his slaves. But perhaps lie was thinking of the vast edifice of minute rules which our teachers had built up, when he said, k ' If a man build a house of wood, or dried grass, or the stubble of corn, it will be burned, and all his labor thrown away : but, if the builder be honest though ignorant, his own soul may be saved, though with difficulty, like a man who hardly escapes with his life from a burning house." Certainly God will not punish an honest man for his mistakes; and yet he who spends his life in considering anxiously idle questions and empty distinctions must have a starved ami puny soul. Only truth and reality make the true bread which strengthens man's heart. I am sure, that, if this religious discipline could do good, it would have done good to me ; for I spent all my time in learning the rules, and trying to obey them. We had rules for every tiling we did. taught by our rabbis, and handed down by tradition. There were rules for prayer, telling us precisely how often to pray, and what to say. Our rabbi was Gamaliel, and there was sweetness and much lib- erty in his teaching, when compared with some others ; for he belonged to the school of Hillel, which gave more freedom than the school of Shammai. It was said that our rabbi. Gamaliel, repeated his prayers as usual on the evening of I ENTER RELIGION, AND SEEK TO SAVE MY SOUL. 63 his marriage, and his disciples reminded him that he had taught that a bridegroom was exempt at such a time. He answered, " I will not withhold my homage from the kingdom of heaven for a single moment." He also bathed when his wife died, thus violating his own law of liberty, and excused himself by saying, U I am not like other men: I am weak, and need to be more strict in my obedience." And when his slave Tabbi died he received visits of sympathy. Again his disciples reminded him that visits of consolation were not to be received for slaves. Then he replied, lt My slave Tabbi was not like other slaves: he was a friend of God." Thus our rabbi himself sometimes modified his own rules according to the reason of the thing. We had rules for every thing we did ; and all our actions had to be carefully weighed and measured, as the tradesman weighs meal in scales, or measures cloth with a rod. The rules commanded us to say eighteen benedictions every day. If we were riding on an ass, we must dismount to say them ; if in a cart or ship, we must turn our thoughts to the Holy of Holies in the temple. We must pause before we prayed, to direct our heart to God. On some kinds of food we must ask a blessing ; on others not. AYhere different fruits were in one dish, we must ask separate blessings on each. A dif- ferent prayer was to be said for thunder, for the sight of mountains, for the sight of the ocean, for rain, for good news, and for bad news. Neither must we ask a blessing on any thing which belonged to an idolater. We had many rules in regard to washing. If we ate bread which was not consecrated, we must first wash our hands up to the wrist ; but if it was consecrated, we must wash them twice in this way. We must not pour water on each other's hands, nor out of the bung-hole of a cask, nor water which had been used for any other purpose. The rules for the sabbath were very numerous, and we must distinctly remember them in order not to be sabbath- G4 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. breakers. Thus if a beggar took money with his own hand from the wallet which was handed to him, the beggar broke the sabbath, but the other not. We were taught that we broke the sabbath if we took a needle out of the cloth in which it was sticking, when not a single stitch had been made ; if we went out with a reed-pen in our hand ; if we rsad by candle-light; or if we did any thing on the sabbath eve which might cause work to be done on the sabbath day. Lamps might be lighted on the sabbath with some kind of wicks, but not with others ; nor must we put out a lamp already burning to save the Oil or the wick. Meat must not be cooked on the sabbath, nor water heated. All these rules and many others I carefully learned, and endeavored faithfully to fulfil, lint, instead of finding any peace or satisfaction from all this effort. I seemed only to be more dissatistied with myself. I denied myself all pleas- ures and many comforts ; 1 spent much time in reciting my prayers; I fasted often: but gloom, instead of peace, filled my mind. I groaned under a great weight of sin. The more I tried to do right, the more I seemed to go wrong. I had no comfort nor satisfaction in any thing which I did. or from which 1 abstained. All life seemed to be going away out of my heart. What made the matter worse was a doubt which now began to enter my mind in regard to the superior holiness of some of our society. There were three teachers whom I often met walking, who were much in each other's society, though very different from each other. One of them was our own teacher. Rabbi Gamaliel; the second was named Rabbi Nehemiah ; and the third was Rabbi Ben Gamlah. Rabbi Gamaliel was a wise and kind man. and I could not help loving him : but. somehow, every thing he said seemed to throw a gentle spray of moisture on the fire of my zeal. No doubt he loved our religion, and was very much interested in all its doctrines and its worship ; but I missed in him that burning I ENTER RELIGION, AND SEEK TO SAVE MY SOUL. 65 conviction that every thing not Jewish was hateful to God, which I had always thought essential to true piety. To hate with a holy hatred the idolatries and idolaters of the world I believed to be a main part of the Jewish faith. But Rabbi Gamaliel was in the habit of speaking of other religions as though they might contain some truth mixed with a great deal of error. He thought it very wrong to worship idols ; but he said that many who were called idolaters did not really worship the idol, but used it merely to fix their minds on God. He compared them to those whom } T ou will some- times see looking at a painted likeness of a friend, and talk- ing to it lovingly, as though it were itself their friend. He said that they were not so foolish as really to confound their friend with his picture ; but they used it to lix their mind upon their friend. And thus, said he, do some idolaters use their idols. He wore a ring bearing upon it a head carved in the stone. And some thought that he broke the command- ment which saj T s, "Thou shalt not make any graven image the likeness of anything in heaven or on earth." But he replied, that the law did not forbid the making, but only the worshipping ; for Moses himself who gave this law made a brazen serpent in the likeness of the serpents upon the earth. "Moreover," said he, "•do } t ou not see the golden grape-vine, with its leaves and clusters, on the holy place itself ? That is made in the likeness of the vine and grapes on earth. It is not making these things, but worshipping them, that God forbids." I also heard that once, when Rabbi Gamaliel visited Tibe- rias, he went into a bath where was an image of a devil, very beautiful, called Venus, whom the Romans worshipped. And, when some men rebuked him for doing so, he said, " I went in to bathe, and not to worship that piece of stone. The stone is nothing: why should I fear it? The bath was not made for the stone ; but the stone was put there because of the bath." And they greatly marvelled at him. 66 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. I sometimes walked in the fields with my master Gamaliel ; and once lie took me to a height where we could see the snowy peak of Hermon to the north, and the great sea gleaming in the sunshine on the west, and the black moun- tains of Moab beyond the Dead Sea. Then he talked of the goodness of God who had made the world so beautiful. He •also repeated passages from the Greeks, which showed them to be feeling after God ; and he told us that the Greeks had their prophets as we had, though much inferior to ours. I loved to hear my master Gamaliel talk in this way : for. while he spoke. .Jehovah seemed to fill the world, and not be confined only to our own small nation. But at the same time 1 found my zeal for my own religion growing less; lor if the religion of the heathens were not wholly false, and if they might also he saved, then why need we care so much about making them proselytes to our own religion? Thus my mind was filled with doubt; and I carried with me the sen^r of sin. which was a burden hard to bear. I have said that there were two other rabbis who walked often with Gamaliel, but were unlike him. Rabbi Nehemiah was very kindly-natured, and merry of heart. I observed that he was fond of eating and drinking, and talked a great deal about his dinner and the kind of wine he liked best. He was often seen talking and laughing with the people at the corner of the street. All liked him, and came to him for advice. Some people told him that he laughed too much, and cared too much for the things of this world. But lie quoted the Scripture, that ki a merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance." and that "a merry heart doeth good like a medicine : " and the other Scripture which tells us to " drink our wine with a merry heart." And I knew that he, also, was a good man : but somehow to see him, and to hear him talk, weakened my zeal for my religion. The third of these three was Rabbi Ben Gamlah. and he was different from the others. He smiled when he looked at I ENTER RELIGION, AND SEEK TO SAVE MY SOUL. G7 you, but never laughed. His eye watched every one with whom he spoke, and noticed every thing that happened. Like that creature which they call a chameleon, he changed his aspect wherever he was, and became like the people about him, and so was pleasant to all. His cheeks were thin and dark ; nor could any man tell from his face or his voice what he thought, for his tones were measured, and he spoke care- fully. He did not care much for knowledge, and still less for pleasure ; but what he desired most was power. He desired that the Pharisees should become powerful among the Jews, and that he should become powerful among the Pharisees. He cared not for the happiness of others nor for his own, so that he might gain power, and with it build up the society. He meant to do every thing for the glory of God ; and I think he would have been willing to sacrifice his own life or that of others for this end. Any thing was right which would help this great cause. It was fearful to see a man so strong and so determined in his own mind who was ready to run any risk himself, or inflict any pain on others, in what he considered the cause of God. And this fear which came over me at the sight of his dark face and glittering eye also increased my doubts and my discouragement. One clay Rabbi Gamaliel sent for me to come to him in his chamber in the temple. I passed through the crowded streets, narrow and dark, from which the high walls on either side shut out the sun. Then I entered the Court of the Gentiles through the southern gate, which was like a great stone building with a double arch. Going through this gateway, I passed from the darkness and closeness of the outer streets into the grand Court of the Gentiles, filled with the sunshine on the pavement below. Double rows of Corinthian columns stretched from one end to the other of the vast enclosure. I came to the marble screen, which no Gentile must pass under peril of death, and went up through the Beautiful Gate, covered with gilding and carving, to the 68 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. chamber of the rabbi. He said to me, "I have sent for thee, Thomas, to give unto thee tins roll, which contains a book thou hast not yet read ; but the time has now come for thee to read it. Thou hast studied the sacred language of our fathers, and thou art now able to read the Scripture. This is the Book of Job. Head it through, and then come to me, and say what it has done for thy squI." So I took it with me to my room, and spent the whole day in reading it. Even now. after many years, I remember the feelings roused within me by this wonderful poem. It seemed to take me into another' world. There was a strange, solemn music- in the verses. They marched on with the measured tramp of an army. The pictures of the vast earth, with its infinite varieties of animals and plants, mountains and rivers; the solitude of the wilderness ; the crowds of cities; the solemn night with great star-clusters moving on through the sky : the north, with its fields of snow, and its rivers made solid with ice : the hot winds of the south, making the desert like a furnace, with the sky burning above as a brazen mirror,— all this was a world of wonders passing before my eyes. So it is when the banks of a river, with its trees, houses, and hills, pass by a man drifting down the stream in a boat. I had been brought up in the strictest school of Hebrew piety. My awe for the great Creator. King of kings, Lord of lords, knew no bounds. But before I read this book, it was a blind and ignorant fear; now it was a sacred fear tilled with knowledge. I seemed to see the Being of beinga in the very act of creation : laying the foundation of the earth; fixing its deep corner-stone: gathering in his hands the vast ocean, and pouring it out into its deep abysses; holding up his linger until the enormous waves subsided at his divine command. I heard his deep voice ordering the morning dawn, rosy red. to go to the east ; telling the light where to pass, the Vain when to fall; leading all the beauti- ful stars to their places, and grouping them in well-ordered I KNTER RELIGION, AND SEEK TO SAVE MY SOUL. 09 families. And then appeared in the broad firmament of heaven the rejoicing multitude of angels and archangels, filling the universe with harmonies of celestial praise, eveii the stars sending forth music as they moved, and the sons of God shouting for joy. Again the picture changed, and there came before me the far-reaching sandy deserts, swept by steadfast winds. The hawk was hanging in the air above, poised on his motionless wings. Below, I saw the heedless ostrich sweeping in care- less flight over the desert plains. Presently there came upon the scene a wild Arab clan, with white turbans and glittering spears, watching the approach of a hostile tribe. They came toward me at full speed ; the wild fury of motion sweeping man and horse along, like a raging torrent which has broken its banks. I heard the scream of the trumpets, the thunder of the galloping horsemen, the awful crash when the battle joined and horses and men struggled together like writhing serpents. And now it was night, and the desert was silent. Pale in the solemn moonlight lay on the sand the horses and their riders. On far-stretching wings the eagles hovered above, waiting to descend upon their prey. Then as I read on, entranced by these wonderful pictures, I was carried into Egypt, and beheld the Nile rolling its majestic stream between the shores where grow the papyrus and the lotus, and where among the reeds wallow enormous monsters. On the land there stood a terrible unknown crea- ture, covered with impenetrable armor, breathing fire from his mouth, and full of such fierceness that the bravest trem- bled in his presence. But far more than these wonders of the world was the knowledge which this book gave me of the heart and life of man I was carried back to those early days when God could be heard talking among his angels, and when good men were his friends. I heard the debate in heaven when 70 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. Yahveh held a council of angels, and listened to their judg- ments on the conduct of men below. They talked about Job, a chief of chiefs in Arabia, whom all men reverenced, whose cattle filled the valleys, and whose flocks whitened the hills. He was the friend of God and of men. The light of Yahveh shone on his path. He was the protector of the poor, and plucked the prey from the jaws of the tyrant. Honor and reverence waited on his steps. Then, by the permission of God, the searching angel was allowed to test his goodness with dreadful calamities. Yet he held fast his integrity, and accepted in silence the evil with the good, at the hands of God. Then came the three friends, and sat beside him, mourn- ing and weeping, till Job at last, weighed down by his awful sorrow, uttered a great cry of despair, cursing the day of his birth, and wishing that he had died before lie was born. His friends, showing no sympathy with his sorrow, gave him advice, and told him. that, since he suffered, it must be as a punishment for some sins. They charged him to confess his sins, and said that God would then forgive him. "All suf- fering," said they, "is punishment; for even if a child be born blind, it must be a punishment for some sin of his parents, or for seme sin of his own committed in a previous state of being." Therefore they asked Job to bethink him- self whether he had not been too proud of his uprightness, or trusted too much in his own piety, so as to excite the jeal- ousy of Yahveh. Some great crime he must certainly have committed, else he would not have been so severely punished. Now. this doctrine was exactly what I myself had always believed. It surprised me. therefore, to find Job declaring that he had not sinned at all, or, if he had, that he did not know it. " Convince me that I have sinned." said he, " and 1 will admit it; or let God himself show me wherein I have done wrong, and then I will confess it. I know my words were rash and hasty ; but the words of a desperate man are I ENTER RELIGION, AND SEEK TO SAVE MY SOUL. 71 but air. Let the inspector of men show me what I hr.,ve done amiss, and 1 will own it. But I will not tell a lie, even to please the Almighty. He is all-powerful ; he can destroy me when he will : but I will not profess what I do not be- lieve because he is the Almighty. I will hold fast my integ- rity, and not let it go : I will not speak words of wind iii order to please the All-powerful." There was sublime strength in this, and a courage, which filled me with admiration, but also with fear. It shocked me to hear any man say he was not a sinner. To refuse to con- fess his sins until he saw them seemed a wicked audacity. I had been taught that it was impossible to say too much in confessing one's sins. Our rabbi used to quote continually the saying of the prophet, that " the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked ; " and that other saying, that "all our righteousness is like filthy rags." Thus I thought that Job must be wrong in refusing to call himself a sinner ; and I read on, impatient to see the end thereof. As the conversation went on, and the discussion between Job and his friends became more hot, my interest increased. But my mind was divided, and I grew irresolute, unable to decide whether Job, or his friends, were right. All my old belief was on their side ; but my feelings were with Job. They seemed to me to be right in saying that he was a sin- ner, and that he ought to confess his sins, and submit to the will of God. I could not comprehend the lofty pride which clung to its own convictions of right, even against the Al- mighty. I thought the friends had the truth with them when they said that the creature had no right to doubt the justice of the Creator, and still less to deny his own sinfulness. Yet there was something which touched a deep place in my soul in this picture of a human being refusing to submit to mere power, and demanding to see that this power was guided by justice. That I might understand it better, I put into my own language the substance of this conversation. 72 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMLS. PART FIRST. 1 # j OB . — " I arn so miserable I would I had never been boi*n." 2. Eliphaz. — u Thou oughtest not to say that. Thou oughtest instead to ask God to forgive thy sin. Thou must be a sinner; for even the angels are not pure before God. Thou art punished for thy sin, and it is for thy good. Only submit to God's will, and he will be thy friend again." .">. Job. — "I suppose I spoke hastily ; but it was because I was in sueh affliction. Ye ought to be patient with me, and sympathize with me: but ye fail me in my afllietion. Ye are like the brooks which dry up in summer, when they are most needed. Do not rebuke me. but convince me. Do not reproach me, but explain to me my fault. Do not object to my language : the words of a desperate man are only air." 4. Bildad. — tk But thou oughtest not to complain of God ; since whatever he doth must be right." ;,. Job. — "I know that well. He is infinite in every thing. Hut I complain of this, that Cod maketh no differ- ence in his treatment of good men and bad. This world is given into the hands of the wicked. If this is not the Lord's doing, whose doing is it? I do not pretend to answer the Almighty, for he is too high above me. But if there were some one who could stand between us. and put his hand Upon us both, some mediator, then I might speak ; but now I can only say. Spare me ! " 6. Zophak. — " This is all wicked talk. What canst thou understand of the ways of the Almighty? Repent of thy wickedness : that is the only thing for thee to do." 7. Job. — " No doubt ye have all the wisdom there is in the world ; and it will die when ye are gone. I know that God is almighty as well as ye know it ; but what I want is the truth. AVhy manufacture lies, and put them in my ; ENTER RELIGION, AND SEEK TO SAVE MY SOUL. 73 hiouth? Can I deceive the Lord by flattery, and please him with falsehood, as if he were a man? Ye are physicians of no value. Your maxims are lighter than dust, and your arguments fortresses of clay. But though 1 have no hope, and though God slay me, I will justify my ways before him." PART SECOND. 1. Elipiiaz. — "If what thou sayest, O Job, be true, there is an end to piety, reverence for the Almighty, peni- tence, and prayer. This shows that thou must lie wrong." 2. Job. — "It is very easy for ye to talk in this way; for ye have no suffering like mine. It does no good for me to speak, or be silent. Either way there lies nothing but misery ; and the best thing I can hope for is to die, and so there shall be an end to all." 3. Bildad. — " Why talk thus? Thou art only adding to thy sin, and therefore to thy misery. It is not true that God treats the good and the bad alike. No one is punished, except for his wickedness." 4. Jon. — " O my friends, why revile me, and tear me in pieces with your words? Have pit} 7 upon me, O my friends, have pity upon me in my utter misery ! I have asked only for justice. I have spoken only the truth. Would that all I have said were graven in deep letters on the face of a rock, where they would last forever ! For the time will come when all I say will be proved true. God himself shall be my Vindicator, and show how wicked your accusations are." 5. Zophar only repeats what has been said before. G. Job. — " God doth not punish the wicked. They grow old in comfort and peace, and all the time they neither fear God,, nor regard man. Ye may say that their prosperity is unstable, and soon comes to an end. Not at all. The bad man dies full of years and full of comforts. Ye may say that they are punished in their children's disasters. But 74 THE LEGEND OV THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. why docs not God punish the wicked man himself? What does he eare for what may happen after he is gone, when he will know nothing about it ? " 7. Eliphaz. — "What claim hast thou on God, or what rights hast thou against him? What good does thy good- ness do to him, even supposing that thou art good, which thou art not? All men are sinners, and thou art a sinner like the rest. Thine iniquities, like those of all men, are num- berless, and thou hast no right to any thing but to be punished." ,s. Job. — " Oh that I could find God, and speak to him ; for he would understand me, as ye do not. He would justify me ; for he knows that my wish has been to do right." 9. Bildad repeats that God is almighty, and that all men are sinners. As the other friends have nothing more to say. Job goes on, and declares that the one tiling he believes in is truth. "As long as I have life," says he, " my lips shall not consent to any falsehood. I will never acknowledge that ye speak rightly. I will declare my integrity to my last breath. I will hold fast my innocence, and not let it go ; for my heart reproaches me for no part of my life. " But how shall I ever learn the meaning of these myste- ries ? Man finds every thing else ; he mines the earth for o;old, he digs under the roots of the mountains: but he can- not find Truth. The deepest Cavern mutters, ' It is not in me.' Broad Ocean murmurs, 'It is not in me.' It cannot be bought with all the gold of the earth. Death and Destruc- tion have only heard of it. Truth belongs to God : man can never know it — all he can do is to fear and obey." And then I read how Job, his accusers being silent, de- scribed the nobleness and happiness of his past life ; how universal homage waited on him ; how the greatest princes reverenced his power, and the poorest child blessed his good- ness ; how he was on earth like God, protecting the weak, I ENTER RELIGION, AND SEEK TO SAVE MY SOUL. 7o and punishing the oppressor. And now how all was changed ! Now he was despised by those younger than himself, whose fathers he would have disdained to place with the dogs of his Hock. Then he solemnly asserts his innocence of every crime, mentioning each sin one by one, and declaring him- self free of any offence which could justly bring down upon him so great a punishment. He had kept his life pure from inward and outward stain. He had done strict justice to the most humble of his servants. He had fed the hungry, and clothed the naked. He had not trusted in his riches. He had not worshipped the sun, moon, or stars, like the tribes who lived around him. He had been hospitable to strangers, even when they were his enemies. Finally he challenges all mankind to bring any charge against him. My whole heart was moved by this story. My soul melted within me on account of Job, he was so grand in his right- eousness and his truth. And yet all he said was sinful, ac- cording to what I had been taught in the schools of the Pharisees. The doctrine of my teachers declared man to be a sinner and always so. Else why these perpetual sacrifices, penances, washings, fastings, sin-offerings, trespass-offerings, and repeated ceremonies? And why, when Job justified himself, did he have nothing to say of these ceremonies and sacrifices? He must be wrong in claiming any merit for himself on account of his own goodness. No doubt, I said, he will be told in the end that he can have his sins pardoned only by offering sacrifices in the temple, by keeping the sabbath, the feasts and fasts, and giving tithes of all that he possessed. So I read on. Next came the speech of Elihu, who was angry with Job for calling himself righteous, and also angry with the three friends, because they were not able to answer Job. I said, "Here cometh the judge to settle the question. He will tell Job that he is a sinner, because all men are sin- ners ; and he will tell him that God has given us a way by 76 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. which sin can be forgiven ; namely, the Law of Moses and the Ritual of Aaron." What was my astonishment, then, in finding that Elihu said nothing of this. He blamed Job for calling God unjust, and for being impatient, and not willing to wait. He blamed him for thinking that he had a claim on God for comforts and happiness because of his righteous life. He did not tell him that he ought to say he was a sinner, but rather that he ought to say, " What I see not, teach thou me : if I have done wrong, I will do so no more." That was all. Then I said, " Elihu does not know more than the others; but the Lord himself will speak, and teach Job the right way." Thru I read the wonderful words of Yahveh at the end of the book, and my astonishment was greater than before ; for still he said nothing of what I had expected to hear. The Lord said nothing about the law, or sacrifices, or keep- ing the sabbath, or any such thing. There was a glorious declaration of the power of God in creation, a wonderful account of his greatness and goodness in the universe. All nature seemed to pass before me in one grand march, like that of an army. 1 stood by. and beheld the creation of the world, the harmonies of the stars, and triumphant shouts of the angels. The waters were rushing with rejoicing around the whole earth. The new-born oceans roared exultingly, pouring their mighty waves on every side. Then a hand was stretched from the clouds ; a voice spoke, and the seas obeyed, and weat to their own place : then the rosy morning smiled on the green earth as it rose from the abysses of the deep. I read how the same great hand divided the light from the darkness ; heaping up the snows in the north ; with a touch of its finger sending the rain to its home in the clouds, and the glittering lightning to its hiding-place ; teaching all the burning stars to arrange themselves in shining groups, and so placing the whole world on its solid foundations. I ENTER RELIGION, AND SEEK TO SAVE MY SOUL. 77 After this I read how all the animals were provided for by the same mighty power, — the lions in their dens, the wild- goats among the rocks, the ravens filling the air with their melancholy cries, the wild ass roaming over the desert, herds of great buffaloes trampling the earth with a sound like far-off thunder. I saw the ostrich with up-lifted wings sweeping gladly over the sand, and the horse in the rage of his courage devouring the ground. The hawk circled aloft in the air, and the eagle, with far-penetrating eyes, was sit- ting on the 'lofty crag. The mighty animals of the deep were also there, their terrible forms rushing through the water, and making it boil like a caldron. That was all. No word was added. The majestic picture of creation was shown to Job, and it was enough. He had learned his lesson, and he bowed in silence, only saying, " I spoke ignorantly ; but now I know and repent. In the pres- ence of the universe and its Maker man ought to wait and be patient." To complete my astonishment, the Lord Yahveh then declared that what Job had said concerning him was good, and what the friends had said was evil. Yet the friends had spoken as my masters the Pharisees spoke, and Job had said the contrary. So I went away much perplexed, but yet feeling as if I had escaped out of a narrow, close and dark room, into the open ah', where all was sunshine and fresh breezes. My mind was full of wonder, and much dis- turbed. In my heart I cried, " O Lord, let me know thy will. I shall walk at liberty, if I seek thy precepts." From this day I resolved always to ask the Lord to open my eyes, that I might myself behold the wonderful things of his law. The truth was sweet to my taste, and I sought to understand all the ways of God. 78 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. CHAPTER V. I GO TO ALEXANDREIA, AND STUDY THE HIGHER JUDAISM. After reading the Book of Job, I went to see Rabbi Gamaliel. And, when he asked me what I thought of it, I said I knew not what to think, since it seemed to contradict much which I had learned in the school of the Pharisees. And I said, "0 Master! which of these is true? for both cannot be true." And Gamaliel replied with a grave smile, "Why not, my son? There are different truths, — some higher, and some lower, — and they may seem to contradict each other ; but in reality they do not. It is true that the body needs food, and when we have fasted long we are hungry. But it is still more true, and a higher truth, that the mind needs food ; for, when the mind is hungry, the bodily hunger ceases. AVhile thou wert reading that mighty poem, thy body was hungry, but thou didst not know it. Now thou hast become aware of thy hunger: for I observe that thine eye lias wandered while speaking to those grapes on my table. Take a cluster, my son, and eat, and satisfy the bodily want, now that the soul has been fed." I then became aware that I had fasted all the day. and gladly took the grapes, and ate thereof ; and my wise teacher continued to speak : — " All the ceremonies and rites of our law — its temple and sacrifices, its sabbaths and festivals — are like the hunger of the body ; for religion has a body as well as a soul. The divine truths thou hast been reading to-day are food for the I GO TO ALEXANDREIA, AND STUDY THE HIGHER JUDAISM. 79 higher spirit which is in man. Thou hast seen the people going up the steps to the inner court of the temple. If there were no steps, they could not go up : when they have gone up, they need the steps no more. So the steps are necessary, and not necessary, — necessary as a way, not ne- cessary when we are at the end of the way. Listen, Thomas, and understand. The doctrine of the Pharisee is necessary, else were I not a Pharisee ; but it is necessary like steps by which to ascend to a higher knowledge. If thou hast gone up by these steps, do not despise them because thou dost no longer need them ; for they still may be very necessary for others." "But," I said, "there may be many others beside myself who need this higher knowledge. Why not tell to them also that which thou hast told me, that they may know that the doctrine of the Pharisees is only a ladder, and the temple worship only the steps by which to go up to something higher ? ' ' "Every thing in its time," replied Gamaliel. " The time has not come for this great doctrine to be widely known. Perhaps thirty or fifty years from this time, the Lord, who has sent so many prophets, rising up early and sending them, will send a prophet to teach this truth also. Yet I fear, when he comes, that the people will kill him, as they have killed others. I, my son, am not a prophet. The Lord has given me the word of wisdom, by which to understand the differ- ences between things ; and as I hear I teach. But he has not given to me the word of prophecy, which burns mightily in the heart, and helps a man to make his, face like a flint against the faces of those who resist him. Such men are greatly needed, and without them the world would fall asleep. But men like myself are also needed, and may do good, also, in their way. Now, my son, the time has come that thou shouldst learn more of the inward meaning of our law. For - that purpose thou must go to Alexandreia, where my brother 80 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. Philo teaches. He, like myself, is a Pharisee ; but he has gone far beyond the husk of the law, and feeds on the ker- nel. He will teach thee what thou art fitted to know. Moreover, thy mind will be enlarged by the sight of that great city, where all men congregate for study. It is the city of learning, as Rome is the city of power, and Athens the city of beauty, and Jerusalem the city of religion." I was well pleased with this advice, longing, like all young men, to see the world. I soon made myself ready, sending a message by a Galilean to my home to say whither my journey tended. I then departed afoot to Caesarea Stratonis, on the shore of the sea. where I had the hope to find a ship going to Alexandria. I also had a desire to see this Roman capital, built by the great Herod, of which I had often heard; and I also longed to behold the vast sea. which reaches to Greece and Rome, and to almost all coun- tries of the world. Therefore one morning I set forth with my staff, and soon began the descent into the valleys. The plains were cov- ered with the growing corn, which gently bent before the soft airs coming up the valley from the distant sea. Through these fields of grain I walked all day alone, sometimes meet- ing a peasant and saving a few words to him, or asking him concerning the road. Sometimes the footpatli would ascend so that I could overlook a large extent of country : in other places it would pass through a ravine of rocks, or a grove of palms. In a little village I stopped to take my noontide meal, and I asked what hill rose on the east. They told me it was the mountain of Gibeon, and away to the west was the vale of Ajalon. In the old war-songs of my people, contained in the Book of Jasher, it was sum-', that, at Joshua's command, the sun stood still over the mountain of Gibeon, and the moon over the vale of Ajalon. Here was fought that great fight which gave the whole land of promise to my people. Here, in one mighty victory, were the assem- I GO TO ALEX ANDREI A, AND STUDY THE HIGHER JUDAISM. 81 bled kings of the plain defeated. There was no day like this, before it, or after it. So I walked on, musing on these things. At Csesarea I found a large corn-ship bound from the mouth of the Orontes to Alexandreia for corn. I took passage on this ship ; and the north winds blew steadily, and soon brought us in sight of the lofty lighthouse which stands at the mouth of the great harbor. We hauled up to the docks, near the vast mole of stone which joins the city to Pharos. As we drew near the shore, we saw it lined with palaces, and behind them the buildings of the Bruchion, or the theatre, the Temple of Neptune, the great Market, the Royal Palace of the Ptolemies, with the buildings of the Museum and the Amphitheatre, and the mountain of Pan behind. Far away toward the right soared aloft the white marble tower of the Serapeum. As we landed, I was con- fused by the tumult of the streets, and the crowds. People in the dresses of all nations were pushing past each other, crying out in all languages, buying, selling, bargaining to- gether. I heard two men talking in Greek, and I inquired in that language the way to the Jews' quarter of the city. The Greek civilly showed me the way, and I soon found myself among the familiar faces of my own people. I asked for the house of my mother's brother, who had long lived in the city. He received me kindly, and before many days I began to be at peace in this new home. During the first week of my stay I pleased myself in walking about Alexandreia, and looking at the buildings. From the top of the Paneum, which stood in the midst, and was higher than any other summit except that of the Serapeum, I could survey the whole city. I saw the two streets which intersected the whole place, — one going east and west, from the Gate of Canopus to the Gate of the Necropolis ; and the other north and south, from the Gate of the Sun opposite the mole to the Gate of the Moon near 82 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMTJS. Lake Mareotis. Near me, as I stood, on the west, rose the square fortress of red Egyptian stone, with towers at each of the four corners, which surrounded and defended the Temple of Serapis. This temple, called the Serapeum, one of the wonders of the world, soared upward to a great height. It was supported on arches below ; and a stairway of °a hundred steps led up to the portico above, through which one entered the central hall. From the middle of this hall ascended a lofty column, which could be seen by ships far out at sea. The Corinthian capital of this column was covered with gold, as were also the roofs of the porticos, and the ranges of columns which surrounded the temple. Within this temple were chambers for the priests and the sacrifices, and the great library, only second to that of the Museum. The statue of Serapis, made of gold, silver, and marble, stood in a dark room, and could be seen only at cer- tain appointed hours, when the priests opened a window, and allowed the rays of the sun to kiss its lips, and light up its face. It was with a hesitating step that I went one day to see this splendid idol ; for I had been taught to worship a God not made with hands. I knew, indeed, that an idol is nothing : and yet I felt sinful in going into its temple. The Greeks worshipped it as Jupiter, and said it was like their Zeus, who was at Olympia. The Egyptians worshipped it as Osiris, whose scattered limbs the sad Isis sought to col- lect in all lands. And this Serapis was thought to protect mariners, and was the patron of merchants, and so was the protecting deity of this great city of traders. Beyond the Serapeum, on the west, as I stood on the high top of the Paneum. I saw the Necropolis, or city of the dead, filled with many monuments. To the north were the ships crowded in the smaller harbor of Eunostus. But toward the north-east was the most glorious part of the city. The tomb of Arsinoe was near me. just under the Paneum. Before it stood an obelisk eighty cubits high. I GO TO ALEXANDREIA, AND STUDY THE HIGHER JUDAISM. 83 which the queen's husband, Ptolemy Philadelphus, had caused to be brought down the Nile from the quarry, and set up here. Farther away was an amphitheatre, and beyond it the tomb of Alexander the Great, to which the body of the conqueror was brought in a long procession from the centre of Persia. I looked at it with awe, and said, " Here lies that heart once unresting, but now so still, — a heart that the conquest of the world could not satisfy. He needs only this little spot of earth now. Yet all I see around me is his monument ; for it was his mind which planned and created this wonderful city." Beyond the tomb (the Greeks called it, not the tomb, but the body ; for the body was more than the tomb) stood the palaces built by the different kings. They all joined each other, and also were connected by lofty porticos with the Museum, so named because in this place all the Muses had their home. This was founded by the wise Ptolemy, son of Lagus, chief captain, and friend of Alex- ander. Here he collected a library of Greek literature. To this place he invited scholars, artists, poets, men of all knowl- edge. In this great building he gave them a home. They dined together in the hall every day, surrounded by books, and in this hall they lectured, one by one, from morning till evening. In chambers around the hall sat the copyists, copy- ing the manuscripts. All students were made welcome here, either to read, -or to take copies of the manuscripts. In this library were all the rolls which had belonged to the great Aris- totle, some in his own handwriting. These were the books he left to Theophrastus. But vast numbers had been de- stroyed by fire when Caesar took the city ; yet the Museum was rebuilt, and the Roman Antony brought another library from Pergamos, and gave it to Cleopatra. Part of this library was placed in the Serapeum, and a part in the new museum. All these buildings, and many more, I saw from the roof of the Paneum. Away to the east I beheld where the Nile entered the sea by the Canopus mouth, and behind 84 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. me rushed up on the shore the waves of the Lake Mareotis. A million of people swarmed in the streets, and merchants from all the world came to these markets to sell and buy. I found my kinsmen, the Jews, very numerous in Alexan- dria, occupying two wards out of five in the city. They were engaged in trade, were prosperous, and had full liberty to worship the God of their fathers in their own way. I knew that the Jews in Egypt had a temple which was imi- tated from the temple at Jerusalem ; but I had been taught to believe that this was an abomination, as there ought to be only one temple for our whole nation wherein to offer up its worship. This temple was in the city of On, near Mem- phis, and had been given to Onias the Jewish priest by Ptolemy Philometor. It was an old Egyptian shrine, re- built by Onias,— perhaps that of which Joseph's father-in- law, Potiphera, was priest and prince. And this city of On was built by the Hebrews for Pharaoh. This place, therefore, was selected by Onias for a temple, because Joseph lived there, and the place itself had been built by the labors of our nation. Moreover, the old Egyptian shrine, which was thus turned into a Jewish temple, had from the beginning belonged to the one true God, unseen and almighty; for such a God did those kings of Lower Egypt worship. These were the kings who knew Joseph, and who avoided idols. After I had satisfied my curiosity by going through tins great city, and had looked at its wonders, I asked my uncle if he knew a philosopher named Philo, a Jew. » Cer- tainlv I know him," he replied ; » for he is one of our chief men' He is the brother of Alexander, president of our colony. Alexander is one of the richest men, a dealer in money, and a friend of the Herods. Knowest thou not that Alexander sent the gold with which nine of the doors of the temple at Jerusalem are plated? His brother, our great philosopher, lives in a part of his house. If thou dost wish to meet him. I will show thee the way." I GO TO ALEXANDREIA, AND STUDY THE HIGHER JUDAISM. 85 When we reached the house, I followed my uncle into a chamber, where, amid rolls of papyrus piled around his seat, so that he could easily reach them, sat a man of middle age, whose hair had fallen away from his broad forehead. He had a long gray beard, and his eyes were large and dark, and full of thought. When I gave him the letter from Rabbi Gamaliel, he examined the seal, and said, "I know his signet. He is a wise and good man." Having cut the silk fastening, he unrolled the parchment, and read it, and said to me, " Rabbi Gamaliel hath commended thee to me as a youth seeking the truth, and of a free and honest mind. I have a hall in this house, built for me by my brother, where I lecture every day at sunrise. If thou wilt come and listen, thou shalt be welcome. But sit on this couch, and I will tell thee what we seek." Then I sat ; and Philo continued : — ' ' Thou seest this vast city, to which merchants resort from every land to exchange their merchandise, each bringing that of which his people have a superfluity, and taking away that in which their nation is deficient. Such is the meaning of commerce. But what the merchants of this city do for the bodily wants of men, the scholars of this place do for their souls. We exchange with each other clothing for the mind, food for the soul. The Greeks bring the truths taught them by Plato and Aristotle, the beautiful works of their poets, their learned histories of nations, their accounts of every thing which the Lord Gocl has created in this outward world. And we bring his holy law given to Moses, his sacred hymns sung by David, the wisdom of Solomon, and the inspiration of the prophets. Thus are we merchants of the soul. Thomas. — " This is a great work, rabbi, if, indeed, these Greeks and Romans have any true knowledge. But how can they have any, while they worship idols of stone, wood, and silver? Much less, as it seems to me, can the Egyptians 86 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. give us any true knowledge ; for they worship monsters with the heads of rams and eagles." PmL0 . _ " That they worship idols is their folly and their Bin. Yet God has given to all men something good, and left something wanting, that each, by giving and receiving, may live in friendship with his neighbor. It is the part of wisdom, therefore, to know what others have which we have not, and what we have that others need. Then the com- merce of the mind begins. Thus we give to the Greeks the knowledge of the true God. sovereign ruler of all things, and they give to us their poetry and wisdom. For Greece is the only country which produces man, that heavenly plant, that divine offshoot. The Greeks alone possess that kind of accurate and refined reason which searches after knowl- edge. This is because God has given to them a dry soil, and an air full of lightness. They have given us Plato, of all writers the most sweet ; they have taught us astronomy, the queen of all knowledges ; they send to us Aristotle, who has a knowledge in some sense holy, so great is it. Then the Roman world is ruled by admirable laws, and all its parts are kept in great harmony, from the rising to the setting sun; from the Euphrates its eastern boundary, to the Rhine which bridles the Germans. Thus we can learn from Rome how nations may he brought into unity, and kept in peace. But come, my son. thou shalt hear more of this hereafter. If thou wilt, "thou shalt come to my lectures ; for I lecture m this house." Then I thanked him. and promised to come, and listen to his teaching, and be very attentive ; since for this I had come to Alexandria. The next day I began to visit these lectures with many other students. On that day Philo taught us concerning cre- ation, as described by Moses in the Book of Beginnings. Till this time I had believed, as I had been taught, in the letter of the books of Moses. I believed that God created the I GO TO ALEXANDEEIA, AND STUDY THE HIGHER JUDAISM. 87 heavens and the earth in six days, and rested on the seventh. But Philo, after reading these words, spake thus : — ' ' It would be a proof of great simplicity to believe that the world was created in six days, or in any length of time. For what is time ? Is it not that which is measured by the movements of the sun, causing day and night, and the sea- sons, and years? How, then, could there be days before there was any sun? or any time at all? By 'six days' Moses means to use six as a perfect number ; for it in- cludes unity and plurality, that which is odd and that which is even, matter divided and matter indivisible, solid mat- ter and fluid. And finally it includes all motion ; since motion is in six directions. All mortal beings are thus measured by six. To create in six days means to create all mortal things, alive and dead. " Nor can we suppose," continued Philo, " that God really rested, or needed rest, or could rest, on the seventh day ; for God never ceases from making something. As it is the property of fire to burn, so is it the nature of God to create. He therefore rested on the seventh day from creating mortal beings, and began to create immortal and heavenly beings. Seven is a divine number, since all nature delights in the number seven. There are seven planets, and seven stars in the bear. The moon has seven motions ; there are seven pe- riods of human life, and seven vowels. A lyre has seven tones. There are seven tones to the voice ; and we have other such examples. This is what is meant by God's bless- ing the seventh day. "We are not, then, to remain in the mere words of the Scriptures. There is a much holier meaning in them than is in the letters. There is a divine spirit in the Scriptures which alone is of value. Of this I will give you some further examples to show that Scripture is like a fountain, from which having taken one draught, many more may be taken. The first draught is the outward fact ; the second 88 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDVMCS. is the symbolic meaning ; the third is the spiritual meaning •, and the fourth is the mystical meaning. The common man remains in the outside meaning of Scripture ; one who goes deeper sees the allegorical meaning ; by going still deeper, we come to the spiritual meaning ; and finally some few arrive at the most interior sense of all, which is the mystical meaning. This last can be known, but cannot be told to another. And, for this, preparation of the soul is also necessary, by retirement into solitude, fasting and prayer. By some, this mystical sense is also called the Kabbala. "But now, my children, we will speak of the symbolic sense of Scripture ; that is. the allegory. " You read in Scripture of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, and you think of them as three men. They are so accord- ing to the outward sense ; but in reality they are three vir- tues, or three graces. Abraham signifies divine wisdom, or piety. Abraham's going out from his own country is leaving natural pleasure for divine joys. Sarah the wife is, allegoric-ally, virtue. The King of Egypt who wished to take her from her husband is earthly wisdom, which would divorce morals from piety, and make it useful only for this world. Isaac is a name which signifies laughter ; but this is not childish mirth, but a settled happiness of the soul. The wise man offers this as a sacrifice to God, being willing to give up his happiness in order to fulfil God's will. But, when he does tin's, he finds his happiness again, as Isaac was restored to Abraham. Jacob is the prudence which struggles against the senses, and at last conquers them, and then it sees. God, and is called Israel. "Thus you see, my children, how much more beautiful the Scriptures become, and how much more useful in build- ing up our soul, when we seek for their inward sense. What doth it profit us to know that there was a man called Abra- ham, and another named Isaac? But to meditate on these names as signifying virtue — this elevates the soul. I GO TO ALEXANDRIA, AND STUDY THE HIGHER JUDAISM. 89 " Moreover, there are many things in Scripture, which, according to the natural sense, are opposed to common rea- son and right judgment, and offend the mind of the Greeks, heing a stumbling-stone by which they fall. These things cause them to reject our great doctriue of the oneness of God, and of spiritual worship. They are like children who have found a nut, the shell of which is too hard for them to crack with their teeth, and so they throw the nut away. But we, by our system of allegories, crack the shell, and throw it away, and eat the wholesome meat within. " Consider again the story of Adam and Eve in paradise, the serpent, and the eating of the tree of knowledge. If you read this to a wise Greek, he immediately says, ' How can you believe such foolish stories ? Does God plant gar- dens, and walk in them ? Do serpents talk to men ? Does an almighty God, full of good-will, punish his creatures for eating the very fruit he himself has put in their wa}^ ? ' Thus the story is a rock of offence, and blocks the way, and keeps many from believing in the only true and living God. "But, when we explain it as an allegory, all is simple. Adam, which means earth, is the earthly mind in us, which is first awakened by visible and earthly things. It gives names to them ; that is, it studies their natures. Adam's wife is Eve, which means life ; for all things become alive by the action of the natural mind. And thus Eve proceeds from Adam. " When we read that God planted a paradise in Eden, let no such impiety occupy our thoughts as to suppose that God cultivates the land, as though to make for himself a garden. Let no such fabulous nonsense enter our mind ; for God dwells in no one place, but is a place to himself. To plant a paradise means to sow the seeds of virtue in the human soul, and to educate the soul by favorable influences. Virtue is symbolically a paradise, and Eden means enjoyment. A paradise planted in Eden is the innocence of childhood, which 90 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDVML S. dwells in joy. In the midst of the paradise God plants tin- tree of life. This is a wonderful allegory ; for it teaches us that man is by nature immortal, and would never die if he continued to live in paradise ; that is, in virtue. For sin corrupts the body as well as the soul. There are also four rivers in paradise, which go out of it in four directions. These four rivers are prudence, temperance, courage, and justice. And all go forth from Eden to water paradise ; that is. the heart which is full of joy, and is satisfied, has these virtues ; and these virtues feed and support all virtue. "Then we read that the Lord God takes the man he lias made (that is, the higher and purer mind), and causes him to guard the virtues. He tells him he may eat of every tree in paradise : that is. of all virtues. But, since he must not cat of the tree of knowledge, it is evident that this is not in paradise. If he eats it. he must die the death: that is, he must go out of paradise in order to eat it. and thus die to the life of virtue. But who is k the serpent ' who beguiles the woman? It is the pleasure of sense, which always tempts the woman in man. that is. desire ; and desire tempts Adam, that is. wisdom. But the pleasures of sense are cunning, like the serpent, not wise, like the man. This is. then, the allegory hidden within this story of Eden." Then I asked him this question: "If. teacher! the literal history is the shell, and the inner meaning the kernel, and if only the kernel is essential, need those who have reached the kernel follow the ceremonies and scripture of the Jews ? ' ' He answered. " Yes : since the Jewish institutions are the appointed plan ordained by God to teach his truth. It is not safe, therefore, to neglect them. Just so, when thou art travelling in an unknown country, it is not safe to leave the main road, nor to try a shorter way through the woods." I did not answer: but I thought to myself, "Either our Jewish sj'stem of sacrifices, circumcision, festivals, and i go to al::xandreia, and STUDY THE HIGHER JUDAISM. 91 scripture, is essential, or it is not essential. Our teacher says only the inward part, which is symbolized by this, is essential. But then why should I, having once found the inward truth, go back, and go over again forever the steps which lead to it ? " On another day I heard Philo lecture on the creation of the world. And again he took the Book of Beginnings of Moses, and read from it how in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. He said, that, before he created, the visible heavens and earth, he created their types or ideas in an invisible heavens and an unseen earth. And all that we see as sky and earth and water, beasts, birds, fishes, men, had incorporeal forms, which were created at first, and then had their home in the divine reason. These were made the archetype and model of the world ; for all things must exist forever in the divine mind, which are to be created afterwards in time and space, since God, being infi- nite, sees all things from the beginning. These divine ideas are the living powers which continually create anew the outward world according to an eternal law. The eternal law of the everlasting God is the strong and lasting support of the universe. This law extends from the centre of the world to its extremities, and, again, back from the extremi- ties to the centre. Thus it works in the unwearied and irresistible course of nature, uniting and binding together all parts of the universe. This has the Father of all consti- tuted as the indissoluble bond of the creation. "All this," said Philo, "was intended by Moses, when he said, 'In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth ; and the earth was invisible, and without solidity ; and darkness cc r- ered the abyss of being.' Thus he describes the creation of the world of ideas, the invisible archetypes of things seen." Then Philo continued .to teach us that God, the most perfect being, can by no means come into contact with matter and visible things ; but he employs as instruments 92 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. his ideas, which ever surround him, and are his ministering spirits. These sometimes appear to men, and are called angels. "The highest of these," said Philo, "is 'the Word,' or ' Logos. ' All the ideas live in the Logos, as the plan of a city is in the soul of the architect. There is a logos also in the soul of man, and of a twofold kind. There is the in- ward thought, and the uttered word which flows from it. So in the mind of God there is the inward logos, or reason, which is the world of ideas, and the expressed logos, or word which goes out into the visible creation ; as when God says, k Let there be light,' and light came. All this Moses taught when he said, ' God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him ; male and female created he them.' For that which is true of man must also be true of the whole universe." While I listened to these and the like teachings of Philo, I for a time was greatly pleased. He told us how Hesiod and Plato and Aristotle had borrowed these truths from Moses, who lived long before them. But, as I became more fond of these studies, I found my old joy in the Jewish scriptures gradually leaving me. Philo explained them as having the same meaning as that which Plato taught ; yet it seemed to me that Plato had taught these truths more plainly than Moses ; and, indeed, if he had not taught them thus, we should never have known that they were taught by Moses. Thus there grew up in my mind a strong desire to learn the wisdom of the Greeks, and to study their books, from which Philo often quoted beautiful passages. When I told him my wish, he said, " Go, my son, to the museum, and there thou shalt hear all these Greek writings read aloud, and thou canst see how much loftier are the words of our own prophets." The museum, as I have said, stood in the centre of the city, in the quarter called Bruchium. There were shady I GO TO ALEXANDREIA, AND STUDY THE HIGHER JUDAISM. 93 porticos, where the philosophers walked, and discoursed with their disciples ; gardens with statues, and seats under the wide-spreading trees. There was a large hall in the centre of the building, where the men of learning, scholars, and teachers took their daily meal, provided for them by the royal treasury. Here, also, were rooms where they slept. And around the hall, which was open to the sky in the centre, were long porches where, were kept the rolls of books. In these porches sat students reading the books, and scribes copying them on rolls of papyrus manufactured in the city, or on parchment from Pergamos. The attendants went to and fro, carrying the rolls to those who demanded them, or returning them again to the shelves. There were also in the museum smaller halls, in which lectures were given on Homer, or Plato, or the Greek trage- dies, and other writers. First I went to a course of lec- tures on the history of the museum itself, given by the librarian, Cheremon, who was so eminent a scholar as to be selected by the Emperor Tiberius as the tutor of his nephew. I was glad to hear these lectures ; for I desired to learn how such a great institution of learning had grown up. I will therefore insert here what I wrote down at the time in my tablets. NOTES OF LECTURES BY CHEREMON, DIRECTOR OF THE MUSEUM AT ALEXANDRIA. I shall tell you in these lectures of the origin and history of this museum, which, as the name shows, is dedicated to all the Muses. This museum was founded by Ptolemy Lagus, first Greek king of Egypt, and one of the chief generals of Alexander. After the death of that hero, Ptolemy selected Egypt for his portion. Whether, as most men thought, Ptolemy was really the brother of Alexander, or not, he resembled him in his genius. He chose Egypt as his province, and chose wisely. It was wealthy and 94 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. populous, and far removed from the rest of Alexander's kingdom. Here he could govern independently, till he should become really independent. He brought the body of Alexander and buried it in the Soma, which is close to us. He governed Egypt with justice, under good laws, and Alexandreia was like a Greek democracy. All the citizens met in the gymnasium to discuss and vote on pub- lic questions. The Greeks lived together in this city, leaving the rest of Egypt under its own customs and its native governors. Thus all were satisfied and happy. This great city of Alexandreia, begun by order of Alexander, was finished by Ptolemy, son of Lagus, his successor, three hun- dred years ago. He it was who joined Pharos to the mainland by the long mole, who built the large docks for ships-of-war, the emporium for merchants, and other great buildings around us. And it was his wise mind which founded this museum, with its halls and porticos, its gardens and library. He appointed an income from the royal treasury to pay the professors and to sup- port them. He himself was a writer of no small repute. The palace of Ptolemy was in another part of this building. Beside the public table which he maintained, he often invited scholars and artists to dine at his own table, and talked with them like a friend and comrade. One of his guests was Euclid, who taught geoin.-try in the museum. It is said that the king once asked him if he could teach him geometry in some easier way than that by which he taught his other pupils. Euclid answered that there was no royal road to geometry. Ptolemy also invited Stilpo, a famous philosopher, to come from Athens to visit him, and Theo- pompus the historian, and Erasistratus, founder of anatomy. This was he who first dissected human bodies in the surgical department of this museum. This was hateful to many, to whom the dead body of man was sacred; yet the surgeons persevered, and became acquainted with the organs of the human body. Ptolemy, our founder, was a plain man in his manners, without luxury or "ostentation. He called himself only Ptolemy the Mace- donian. He was ready in his answers. Once, when marching, his soldiers found an anchor, and they said it was an omen teach- ing that they must stop, and go no farther. But Ptolemy said, " An anchor is to keep us from drifting backward, not to keep us from going forward." I GO TO ALEXANDREIA, AND STUDY THE HIGHER JUDAISM. 95 His son Ptolemy Philadelphia carried on his father's work. He bought books for our library in Athens and in Rhodes, and among the rest the library of Aristotle. Zenedotus was his libra- rian, and he collected all the copies of the poems of Homer, com- paring them to find which was the most correct text. Mechanical machines were also devised in our museum for useful purposes. One of the inventors was Ctesibius, who dis- covered the water-clock. We also had in the museum at this time two great poets, Theo- critus and Calliinachus. One wrote poems in which shepherds and country-people speak, and the other sang hymns to the gods. These made Alexandreia the chief place in the world for poetic renown. In our museum, also, great discoveries were made in astronomy. Thus we have catalogues of the stars, and their places in the heavens. Aristarchus, in the reign of Philadelphus, declared what seems impossible, — that the sun stands still, and the earth goes round it in a circle. He also declared another paradox, — that the earth's circle round the sun is so small, compared with the distance of the stars, that it is only like the size of the point at the centre of a circle to its distance from the circumference. Ara- tus also wrote in this reign his great poem on the stars, of which the Roman poet Ovid has said that it will be read as long as the sun and moon shall shine. It was by order of Philadelphus that Manetho wrote in this museum the history of Ancient Egypt. Here, too, in the theatre, the king ordered the rhetoricians to read aloud the works of Herodotus and Homer, and all the people were invited to hear them. He also decorated his palaces and the museum with paint- ings and statues. He was a friend to all races, and redeemed from slavery one hundred and twenty thousand Jews who were held in bondage in Egypt; he himself paying their ransom, of thirty shekels each, in Jewish money. He also caused the seventy learned Jews to translate into Greek the Jewish Scriptures, and gave them a home in the museum while they did this work. So much delight did he take in other nations, and even in their religions. On the death of his wife, Arsinde, Philadelphus built the tomb which is now called the Arsinceum, and brought an obelisk eighty 'JG THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. cubits high, from Upper Egypt, to set up before it, where it now stands. In the next reign, that of Ptolemy Euergetes, we had in our museum the great astronomer and geographer Eratosthenes. He first discovered how, by measuring the height of the sun, to fix the place of a city on the earth. He taught that the earth was round, like a ball, and found out how large was the circle that went round it. He also taught how far the sun's path in the sky was from the equator of the heavens. He was the keeper of our library during the reign of Philadelphia. After this reign, in the time of Ptolemy Philometer, we had lure Ilipparchus, mathematician and astronomer. He found the length of the year to be less than three hundred and sixty-five days and a quarter. He also discovered that the year, as meas- ured by the stars, is not the same as that measured by the seasons. And many other things did our director of the museum teach us concerning its history and its wise men. But this will suffice for the present. After hearing these lectures, I studied in other rooms, under other teachers, and a long time I devoted to reading the works of the Greeks, until the language became familiar to me. Having learned the language, I went to the Hall of Homer, and for many days listened to the rhapsodist who recited his verses. Then I spent much time in listening to a lecturer in the Hall of Plato. Thus the weeks passed, and the months, until I found I had been more than two years in Alexandreia. But at last a great weariness came over me. I seemed, after hearing all these teachings, to know nothing certainly. I had ceased to be sure of any thing. My childish trust was gone, and nothing had come to take its place. The teaching of Philo did not satisfy me ; for he seemed rather to have put the meaning of Plato into the Jewish Scripture than to have found it there. I had taken great delight in this phi- losophy of Plato as taught in the museum. But then there I GO TO ALEXANDREIA, AND STUDY THE HIGHER JUDAISM. 97 was a Hall of Aristotle, where a different doctrine was taught. There was a Hall of Zeno, where still another was explained and defended. And there was also a Hall of Epicurus, where we were told that the gods had nothing to do with this world. It was not the work of wisdom, but of chance. Innumerable atoms, falling blindly through space, had made the world. • Only matter and force governed the universe ; and the best thing in life was to enjoy our little day, for when it was over there was no hereafter. Tired out with a vain attempt to decide what was true among all these doctrines, I left the city one morning by the Gate of the Moon, and came to the beach washed by the waters of the great lake called Mareotis. Here I found a vessel about to cross the lake, and entered it. "We could just see the high ground on the opposite shore. The Nile, being at its inundation, was pouring into the lake by nu- merous canals, and the waters swept us along in a strong current. After a while we reached islands, covered with vineyards, where the best Mareotic wine was made, which the patricians at Rome eagerly bought. Passing these islands, we approached, in some hours, the opposite shore, a strong northern breeze filling our sail. Landing, I found myself in a beautiful country, where the fig-tree and the vine were cul- tivated, with many other fruits. I longed for quiet, and I was on my way to the home of the healers, or titer upeutaz. They were so called because they could heal both the body and the soul by wise arts. They were men of my own race, Jews, who had retired from the world to live a life of prayer and contemplation. I said, " Here, perhaps, I shall find peace." When I reached the enclosure, within which were the houses of the therapeutce, I was met at the gate by one dressed in white linen, who civilly asked me what I desired. I then handed to him the tablet given me by Philo, addressed to the president of the Society of Healers. The watcher of 98 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. the gate, having looked at it, called one of the elders, who led me to a hall. There they offered me a meal consisting of bread and water, salt and cresses ; for this was their only food. They then told me that I might enter their company as a novice, to remain with them until I found whether their mode of life suited me. They lived thus. Each had his own cell. They rose at l»reak of day. and prayed at the rising of the sun. They asked that their souls might be filled with heavenly light. In the evening they prayed again, asking that their minds might be freed from earthly cares, and rest iu the peace of God. During the day they divided the time between work- ing in the fields, studying the Scriptures, and reading the writings of wise men. They also composed and sang hymns to God in a great variety of measures. On the seventh day they came together, both men and women, in a sacred assembly, and the men sat on one side and the women on the other. An elder read, and then dis- coursed to them, not to delight their ears with rhetoric, but to penetrate the soul by the power of truth. After this assembly, they united for a common feast, still eating only bread, and full of cheerfulness. They had no slaves to minister to them, believing slavery to be contrary to nature : but they served each other in turn, of their free will. And. after the feast, they passed the night in singing hymns, the choirs of men and women responding to each other, till the sun rose, when they separated, and returned to their homes. Admitted into this society, I remained there during some weeks. Day followed day, each like the other. I felt happy in following the direction of the superiors in the community, whether I was told to work in the field, to copy books on papyrus in the library, or to carry the produce of the farms to Alexandria for sale. Day followed day in one long dream of quiet. I forgot my studies, my anxieties, my fears and I GO TO ALEXANDRBIA, AND STUDY THE HIGHER JUDAISM. 1)9 hopes ; I forgot my home and friends. At last I aroused myself from this lethargy, and a wish came over me to go back to Palestine, and to my home. I left the therapeutce, crossed Lake Mareotis, taking ship in Alexandreia. Landing again at Csesarea, I followed the road which led me toward Galilee by the foot of Mount Carmel, through a portion of the fair vale of Sharon. 100 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. CHAPTER VI. THE FALL OF MIRIAM. I GO TO THE MONASTERIES OF THE ESSENES. So I went back to my home, and once more stood on the summit which overhangs the lake of my love. It is said that men have in them a dark foreboding of the evil which is to come, as the dove in mid-heaven feels suddenly the shadow of the hawk thrown down on her from above. The wise men tell us that approaching sorrow is known, as the light- ning is known by the thunder, which, indeed, is the servant who follows one flash, but also the herald who goes before another. But I knew nothing of the woe before me, which was to change my life, kill my hope, and freeze my heart within me. The path which I took had carried me near the foot of Tabor. That fair mountain rose by itself from the plain, standing alone, like the altar of the land, to send the incense of its flowers up to God. I crossed brooks whose waters sparkled and leaped as they ran to join the River Kishon. I thought that these waters would, after a few hours, pass near the place where the host of Sisera was destroyed when the stars fought against him. I saw afar off the cliffs of Karmel. which I could reach in a three-hours' journey. They hung dark over the plain of Meggido, where the mighty ?,ung away their shields. I thought how Barak, and Deborah by his side, went down with their ten thousand troops from their camp on the level summit of Tabor, to attack this mighty host, terrible with its multitude of war-chariots. Then I THE FALL OF MIRIAM. 101 saw in my fancy the clouds gather black and lurid in the eastern sky, and the torrents of rain and hail driven by the storm beating in the faces of the heathen. Then Barak's host uttered its war-cry, and rushed on the foe through the glen of the mountains. And then I saw how there came to the idolaters another terror ; how the falling torrents of rain tilled the brooks, and swelled Kishon to a raging flood. The river below and the heavens above fought on our side. The plain, where the vast army was collected with its chariots, was turned into soft clay and deep pools. The chariots sank down ; the waters roared around the warriors of Kanaan ; and the men of Zebulun and Naphthali- thundered in the rear of the struggling multitude, until they threw away sword and shield, and fled toward their own hills. This picture came before me as I stood and looked, first at green Tabor on my right, rolling upward, like a vast wave of verdure, into the sky ; and, on the other side, gazing at the blue precipices of Karmel, beneath which rushed the torrent of " that ancient river, the River Kishon," — a river which was even then, fifteen centuries before my time, full of stories of past days. I bathed in these memories of the years of ancient time, when the boys of Israel were warriors, and the women were captains, and the men were like gods on earth. I plunged in my fancy deep into their past. So, out of the hot and dusty air of noon, the diver leaps into the lake, going down into the dark and cold waters below. Thus I refreshed my soul, thinking of what Israel had once been. In the plain before me a man walked, carrying his light plough on his shoulders, and goading his oxen occasionally with the pointed staff, as they moved lazily before him. "Such are we now," I said, — "powerful like those oxen, which are strong enough to trample their driver to the earth ; but in our sloth we let ourselves be driven by a few Romans. Are not we as able to win our rigfhts as were our fathers ? 102 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. They had been slaves for four hundred years, — cowardly slaves, only half men. But forty years in the wilderness, moving from pasture to pasture in Arabia, living in tents, fighting the robber tribes, had made of them a race of heroes. Why are we worse than they, but that they had great leaders? A single voice, the voice of Deborah, roused them from their sleep to battle and victory. And here be- fore me, beyond the path where this ploughman goes, in the valley, is the town called after Deborah, which has borne her name for more than a thousand years." Then in my mind I saw Deborah standing, that mighty woman, who from her distant home amid the innumerable fountains of Mount Ephraim, from her tent under a great oak, sent messengers to Barak, the Son of Lightning, saying, " Arise, Barak, for the Lord will deliver Sisera and his host into thy hand." And Barak indeed refused to go, unless she, the mother in Israel, would go by his side. Men called her the Bee ; for she had honey for her friends, but a sting for her enemies. Her Song of Triumph sounded in my ears, and I repeated it as I looked at the places where she had been ; for the place brought back to my mind, unconsciously, the song: and I repeated, before I understood why I was saying it, the Song of Triumph : — " For the leaders of Israel, For the people who willingly offered themselves, Praise be to the Lord. " In the days of Shamgar, in the days of Jael, The highways were deserted, and the travellers walked by moun- tain-paths ; The inhabitants ceased from the villages. " Then I arose, Deborah, a mother in Israel, For my people had chosen new gods, And there was no peace in the land ; And among forty thousand men of Israel not one had a shield Of spear. THE FALL OF MIRIAM. 103 " Awake, awake, Deborah ! Awake, awake, and sing ! Arise, Barak, and lead captivity captive. " Kings came and fought, — Kings of Kanaan by the waters of Megiddo ; But they carried away no spoil. " For the heavens fought against them ; The stars in their courses fought against Sisera ; The River of Kishon swept them away, — That ancient river, the River of Kishon. " Trample down their strength, O my soul ! The horses trampled down each other, And all their mighty men were crushed in the plunging, and the plunging." So I walked forward, repeating the words of this ancient song; and I said, "Is there no Deborah to-day to say to some Barak, ' Arise ' ? " Then Miriam came to my mind, as strong, as proud, as majestic in her womanly beauty, as full of the high fire of the spirit, as Deborah herself could have been. I was no hero like Barak ; but I thought, if Miriam called me, I should have the soul of ten men within me to go against the Roman locusts ; and surely, like Barak, I should say, ' l If thou wilt go with me, then I will go ; but, if thou wilt not go with me, then I will not go." And I saw myself in the midst of my army, two tents side by side, — the tent of Miriam near my own, and the children of Israel led against the enemy. The stars and the heavens, storms and lightning, the terror that walketh in darkness, and the destruction that wasteth at noonday, should baffle and defeat the foe, till our land, our holy land, should be once again our own ; and then, when the land was at rest, Miriam might be mine. Feeding my soul with such hopes, I at last reached the 104 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. summit which divided the waters running into the lake from those which ran to the sea. Once more our dear lake lay before me in its peaceful mood ; the long shadows of the hills resting on its bosom, the white sails motionless on its blue surface, the snowy top of Hermon to the north, the black wall of Moab on the east. Passiug down, I approached two men who were talking aloud. One said, "Miriam can do with the kiug as she will. They say her beauty has made him mad." " Of whom do you speak?" said I, sudden terror clutch- ing at my breast. "Of Miriam of Migdol," he answered. "Know you not that she is in the palace of Herod, and is his favorite wife? " I turned icy cold, and staggered, as if struck with an arrow. " How can that be? " I muttered. Wk It is strange, indeed," replied they. "All that is known is, that she disappeared from her home many weeks since. Lately she has been seen by the side of Herod, in his chariot, after the fashion of the Romans, covered with jewels and bracelets of gold. And men say that the king is frantic with the love of the maiden." Thus speaking, the men turned into a side-path, and left me. I stumbled onward for a few steps, and then sank on the ground. There was the lake as before, sparkling in the sun, or sleeping in the shadows ; but how were all things changed to me ! God seemed to have left the world, and gone away. All life had departed from sky and land, and it was empty. I sat on the ground in a stupor. At last my mind began to recover. I cried, "It is false! It is a lie, told by the father of lies. Not Miriam, not my Miriam ! No, it cannot be ! Why should I believe this ? Would she believe it of me, if she were told I had become a thief or a liar? No! It is false, and I will find out what it means." New life came back to me. My blood rushed through my THE FALL OF MIKIAM. 105 veins, and I leaped down the steep path, and did not stop till I reached my mother's home. She heard my step, and came forth, looked at me, and saw the pale despair on my cheek, and the hungry, asking look in my eyes, and, putting her arms around my neck, said, "Yes, Thomas, it is true. Miriam has fallen away from her God and her people." So saying, she led me into the house, and I laid my head on her shoulder, and wept long. At last I rose, and said, " Only from her own mouth will I believe it. I go to the city of Herod, and will see her." My mother sought to prevent me, fearing the jealousy of the king ; but, seeing that nothing else would satisfy my mind, she said, "Go, my son ! and may the God of Israel give you a power and language to bring back this daughter of disaster to her old faith ! ' ' Then I went speedily, not thinking beforehand what to do or to say, but believing that the God of my fathers must help me to save this pearl of price from utter ruin, such hope mixed itself with the bitterness of my soul. " Not for myself," I cried, — "let her be henceforward nothing to me, — but for her own sake, and her father's house, and for the sake of our people, help me to save her, O my God ! " A Roman soldier in armor stood in the gateway of Tiberias, in the shadow of a lofty palm. As I passed him, he looked at me, but said nothing. The street I entered was straight, wide, and long, and on either side rose palaces of white marble. Along the sides of the streets were palms, and in the middle were fountains fed from the hot-springs a little way off. The streets were full of people coming from many lands, — from Damascus, men with baskets full of costly raiment woven on the looms of the East ; from Arabia, men bearing boxes of frankincense and rich spices ; there were singing-boys, black as the night, from India ; and merchants of Tyre, who trade in all the works of man in all the earth. I passed through these crowds till I saw a man of Galilee lOG THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. whom I had known ; and I asked him, " Where is the palace of the king?" He pointed to a marble building opposite, built of large stones, with columns in front of red porphyry. The gate into the inner court was open ; and the Galilean said to me, "Stand here with me, and see Herod and his officers ; for they will presently come forth." Then there came from the court the sound of flutes aud horns, with the clang of cymbals. Directly a body of soldiers appeared, with helmets, large shields ornamented with gold, and spears whose handles were surrounded with rings of solid silver. Behind them I saw approaching the chariot of Herod, drawn by four white horses. It was cir- cular, and I looked in fear to see if Miriam was by his side. But he was alone ; and when the procession had passed out, and the gates were closed, I was confused, not knowing what to do. Directly the gates opened again ; and there issued forth another troop of men and women, on foot, with robes flow- ing to the breeze, following after Herod, but some distance behind. And, as they passed, one turned, and looked me full in the face, and I seemed to receive a blow. Was that my Miriam? All the splendid beauty was there: but how hard, how cold, was the look which met mine ! She turned, aud spoke a few words to an attendant, who directly fell behind, and. leaving the procession, came to me. and said, " My mistress will see thee to-night. Be at the gate of the palace after dark." When night came. I went to the place as if moved by no will of my own, but forced on by some blind necessity. I was led into a room of the palace lighted by a tall candle- stick from which hung four lamps. A cm-tain moved, and Miriam stood before me. She looked at me long ; and, as I stood silent, she said in a hard and hollow voice, — " Speak, Thomas ; ask me if it is true. Say all thou pleas- est. Reproach me to the utmost. I know that 1 am a by- THE FALL OK MIRIAM. 107 word and a hissing to my people. Yes, I am Herod's wife, one of them. I am a queen, Thomas ! Didst thou ever see a queen before? Look at me, and see what a proud and happy woman a queen among the Romans may be ! " And she laughed aloud, — not her old bird-like laugh, but a laugh in which was no joy, but derision and contempt. I still stood silent ; for all the thoughts I had in my mind were gone in this great misery. She spoke again: "Sit on this seat, and I will tell thee all. Thou hast a right to know what I am and what I may become. " Thomas, I seem to myself to be driven by furies. The first demons who took possession of me were pride and am- bition. I was proud of my mind and my knowledge : I am proud of them still. Have I not a right? Who like myself can see through men, and read them like an open scroll? Who can bend them to her will, and make them come and go, as I ? I have power over souls : I move them by their secret wishes, which are no secret to me. " Having such power, why was I not a man? Is there any Agrippa or Herod of them all who could have made friends and wealth in the imperial court at Rome like me ? I could move the Senate by my speech. I could make my people a name, and win for them their rights. " But I am a woman ; and therefore all this must be shut into my breast, and my powers can be of no use to any one. Do not the Pharisees say, ' Let not a woman learn beyond her distaff ; let the tribute of the temple be destroyed, rather than the words of the law be given to a woman ' ? Do not they class us with servants and children, saying that ' women, servants, and children are not bound to recite their phylacteries, or to wear them' ? But to a man they say, ' If thou dost pronounce the words of the phylacteries distinctly, exactly, and correctly, the shadow of death shall be cool to 108 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. her for any cause, — if she spoils his broth, or if he finds any other person more beautiful than his wife ? A fool may be my husband ; and I, who know many times more than he ever dreamed, — am I to sit at home with my distaff? " No, Thomas, I will not submit to this. Since they allow no open way to the daughters of Israel, to whom God has giveu power, we will make one. They shall find that women can go forward when men hold back. The Roman power totters, and a woman shall give it the blow which will bring it down in ruin." " But thou art married to a Roman," said I. " Thou art the wife of a Roman." She saw the anguish in my eyes, and said more tenderly, "Do not grieve for that, Thomas. I did not marry him because I loved him." Then, suddenly changing, she whis- pered in my ear with a hissing sound like that of a serpent, ' • I married him because I hated him ; and I hate him now with all the hatred of my soul. It would be sweet to me to do to him as Jael did to Sisera, and as Judith did to Holo- f ernes." I looked at her, and shuddered at the fierce light in her eye. She seemed possessed by a demon of fury. I whis- pered also, and said, " Thou shalt do no murder." "Well," said she, "what is murder? Was it murder when Jael took a tent-nail, and drove it into the forehead of Sisera? He was her guest, guarded by the sacred rights of hospitality. He was at peace with her tribe. He was asleep, trusting to her care. She killed him ; and Deborah has glo- rified her name, and said, 'Blessed above women be Jael.' If I should kill, would not some prophet say, ' Blessed among women is Miriam ' ? " "It cannot make a wrong thing right," answered I, " even to be blessed by a prophet." " Iu truth," said she, " that is also my belief. I have not now much faith in those old scriptures, which, we were THE FALL OF MIRIAM. 109 taught, came from God. All nations have their sacred writ- ings. Why should we think ours more holy than the books of the Assyrians or the Egyptians ? Come to the reason of the matter. If a man is a tyrant and a murderer, it is right to kill him. Herod is black with crime, and she who slays him does a good deed." " Why, then, didst thou marry him ? " " It was the work of Satan. I was tempted by a devil in the garb of a Pharisee. Dost thou remember Rabbi Ben Gamlah, that holy man, whom my father persuaded to be my teacher in all the wisdom of the Greeks and Romans ? How I reverenced that man ; for he seemed wise as an angel of light ! He taught me to read the books of the Greeks and the Romans ; but he taught me evil lessons, — lessons of contempt for every thing which was not either knowledge or power. He is a great man. He rules by his dark wisdom the company of the Pharisees, and they govern the Jewish people. Nothing is sacred to him which stands in the way of his purpose. He cares neither for God nor man, but only for the destruction of the Romans and the triumph of his party and people. He clothes himself in lies ; and he is so false, that he could cheat Gabriel, just come from the throne of God. He is a chief favorite with Herod, whom he flatters and deceives, and means to destroy. Without pity for my innocence, he determined to sacrifice me, soul and body, to his ends. He fed my ambition ; he encouraged my vanity and pride. He told me that all means were right which would lift up our nation. He tempted my love of luxury with the promise of splendor in Herod's court. I was to have jewels, slaves, chariots, a palace. I was to be a new Esther. But I resisted the serpent, though his poison* ran into my veins. Then, one night, he agreed with Herod to have soldiers near by, and betrayed me into their hands. I was taken, a prisoner, to Herod's court. The king offered to make me his wife, or, if I refused, to compel me to marry 110 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. a deformed slave, a negro from Africa. Then the tempter came again ; and, when I cried to him for pity, he laughed at my tears, and told me, that if I would consent to be Herod's queen, all doors would be open to me, and the free- dom and power I longed for would be mine. So I yielded ; and here behold me, Thomas, a Roman queen." 1 b And art thou happy ? ' ' "Happy? No. lam the most miserable of women. I live in lies. I pretend to love Herod, and I hate him. The freedom I hoped for is not mine. I am envied and watched by so many jealous eyes, that I am in perpetual bondage. I cauuot pray to God ; for either there is no God, or he does not care for man. The gods are too far off, Thomas : they have their own matters to think of." So she laughed again, a hard, cold, miserable laugh. "■One hope is left me," she continued, " and that is re- venge. I shall be the destruction of Herod and his court. I am watching for my time. And it will come ; it will come. If only, like Samson, I can pull down this temple of idols on their head, and on nry own too, I shall be happy. But go, Thomas. Thou wert my friend once, though thou canst not care for me now. When I saw thy face to-day, I deter- mined to meet thee, and tell thee my story, although this meeting of ours is at the risk of both our lives." Then my mouth was opened, and my heart enlarged. I, who found it so hard to tell my thought, spoke to Miriam with the tongue of men and of angels. I implored her to fly, to quit that evil place, to forsake that dreadful life, — to fly with me to Egypt, to Babylon, anywhere. I would be her brother, her friend ; I would watch for her, and help her. Other and better doors should be open. We would begin a new life. I thought I must convince her, and that she would then yield, so full of faith I was in what I said. She listened quietly to my words, and then looked at me with a sadness so terrible, that tears gushed from my eyes. THE FALL OF MIRIAM. Ill " Too late, too late ! " said she. " I have shown thee some of the devils which possess me, but not the worst. Thou hast looked into my heart, and seen there six demons, — Pride, Ambition, Falsehood, Murder, Luxury, Unbelief. There is another, worse than all ; for he makes it impossible for me to drive out the rest. His name, the king of tb« devils, is Despair. I cannot believe, I cannot hope. My soul is dead, lying in its tomb ; and on the tombstone above me, which shuts me down, is written Despair." At this moment an attendant ran in, and whispered some- thing. Miriam disappeared ; and the woman, seizing my hand, drew me through a dark passage to the street, pushed me out, and closed the door. I went through the street like one stunned ; went out of the gate, walked by the shore of the lake, above which the moon was shining, making a tremulous highway of light over its water, and reached my mother's house. Struck down by this dreadful calamity, I fled again from my home. The sweet lake and its calm neighborhood had become hateful to me. I took my staff, and bade farewell to my mother, telling her that I must go away for a little space. And my mother blessed me, and told me not to for- get these two things, — first, that I should always have a mother's love, and, next, that I was a Jew, bound always to remember that I was a son of Abraham and a servant of Yahveh. And so I bade her farewell again, and left her with many tears. I thought now only to flee to some land where I should see no more any familiar face. I had supposed, before this event took place, that my faith had already gone ; but I found that there had remained one deep foundation- rock, which was now taken away also. I had before this time lost my belief in the religion of my country, and its long story had passed into emptiness and shadows. I had been like one who has looked at a great range of snowy mountains rising 112 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. above the distant horizon in long ascending lines, up through vast moving sweeps of hills, into steep precipices of ice. All at once they begin to change, and fade away, and he sees that they are only clouds, misty exhalations from the soil. 80 had my faith passed into morning mist ; so Moses and the prophets, the heroic souls of saints and martyrs, had ceased to be real to me. I had ceased to believe in the God of my fathers : he had become one with the gods of the nations. I had thought my most sacred beliefs gone ; one only had remained, the most important, — faith in the reality of goodness, faith in human nobleness. On this founda- tion all the others had been built, and now this, also, was gone ; for my first aspirations after a higher life had been inspired by the soul of Miriam. She had roused in me the conviction that man might rise above himself, and make himself a tower, like the pharos of Alexandreia, to cast light during centuries over the stormy ocean of human existence, — a hope and comfort for all shipwrecked souls. My faith in this vast possibility rested on my trust in Miriam. And now this, also, was gone. ''Cursed be those," I cried, "who show themselves to 11s as gods, and are in reality rotten within, who raise us so high only to cast us clown again ! Let the robber of the wilderness take my life if he will ; let him drive his knife into my body — but these murder our souls. O Miriam ! thou hast killed all that was best in me — forever and forever. There is no such thing as goodness below or above." All my desire now was to go far away, and be alone. The sight of men was hateful to me. First I bethought myself of returning to Egypt, and making myself one of the tliera- peutce with whom I had stayed before. But I remem- bered that I had been told of some anchorites of a severer sort, who lived in the wilderness of Engedcli, in the holes of the rocks and in the clefts of the ragged rocks. These were called Essenes. When I went to the therapeutie, I THE FALL OF MIRIAM. 113 was seeking peace : I no longer hoped to find peace ; I asked only for the torpor of forgetfulness. Therefore, taking my staff once more in my hand, I went wearily to Jerusalem on my way to this wilderness, which was on the west of the Dead Sea. From Jerusalem I travelled southward unto the ancient city of Hebron, one of the old- est cities known among men. After leaving Jerusalem, I ascended a rocky hill from the valley of Hinnom, and then walked over a long and cultivated plain, to where the ground began to rise again toward the city of David, which is Bethle- hem, the House of Bread. On the road I saw near me a small stone building, and of a shepherd near by asked the name thereof. "Art thou a stranger here? " said he, " and knowest not the tomb of Rachel, the wife of our father Jacob, and beloved mother of Joseph and Benjamin?" Then I remembered having read in the Book of Begin- nings, "And Rachel died, and was buried on the way to Ephrath, which is Bethlehem." There on my left rose the city of David ; and on these hills around me the young David kept his father's flocks, and sang his hymn of praise to God, — " The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want; " and here, close by the tomb of Rachel, when Samuel had anointed Saul to be king, Saul met the messengers sent by his father Kish to seek him. Crossing a rocky slope, I went down until I saw before me a lovely valley filled with vineyards and gardens. There grew the fig and almond, and the pomegranate ; and the waters murmured pleasantly down the hillside from three large tanks of stone, raised, one above the other, on the side of the hill. These I knew to be the pools built by Solyma to supply Jerusalem and the temple with water, by conduits of stone which ran underground. The overflow of thes*e great square stone pools made all 114 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. the valley below like a garden. And at once came into my memory the woixls of the Preacher : "I made me gardens and orchards ; and I planted trees in them of all kinds of fruits ; I made me pools of water with which to water my trees and my gardens." And it was of this valley, also, that he spoke in his song; "Awake, O north wind, and come thou south, and blow on my garden, that its fragrance may be scattered abroad." Along this road on which I walked, came the great king every morning, with his horsemen and his court, riding out to see his gardens, and to pass the day in the cool shade with his queens. Passing on farther, the road once more ascended, now crossing rocky ravines, and then rising again. Around me grew the oaks, with old forests of terebinth, and orchards of olives. Along the hillsides were large terraces covered with grape-vines ; and the clusters of grapes surprised me by their size. Then I remembered that this was Eshkol, from which the spies carried the great clusters of grapes. And I seemed to be living in the days of old. And from thence I passed on till I came to Hebron, the city of Abraham. Before me it rose, seen in the distance over the trees and the vines which covered the rolling surface of the plain. Here. then, was the plain of Mamre, where Abraham first encamped with his tribe, and built an altar to the most High God. On the other side of that high ridge of hills Lot had gone down to dwell in the fertile valley near to the Sea of Death. Here Abraham sat in the door of his tent, and received the three angels who came to tell him of the destruction hanging over Sodom. From the top of that high ridge, behind Hebron, he looked down into the valley beyond, and saw the smoke going up from the cities of the plain like the smoke of a furnace. Here, also, Sarah died, and Abraham bought the cave of Machpelah in which to bury her. And there before me stood the massive walls of the building which surrounds the cave. I went toward it, and THE FALL OF MIRIAM. 115 asked to be admitted. I entered by a gateway, and was led to an opening in the rock, where, as it is said, still rest the remains of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and their wives, and the body of Joseph. So, once again, the history of Israel, which seemed so dim to me, became real. From this ancient city of my fathers, I passed down, by the narrow valley of a torrent, toward the Dead Sea. Black rocks rose on either side ; above me swept the eagle in long circles, a moving spot on the deep blue sky. After a while, I saw the dark opening of a cave ; and the shepherd-boy who guided me said, "This is the cave of Adullam, where David lived with his followers, when pursued by Saul. Here he remained, with his four hundred followers who had fled to him, pursued by debt or other trouble." The mouth of the cave was a black spot, high above the ravine, on the side of the great mountain. I climbed by a steep and narrow ledge abng the rocks, where one man could resist a thousand. I entered the cave, into which some light came from the en- trance and from openings above. The passage to the cave was narrow, but led me into a large cavern ; so large that David and his four hundred men might have lived together, and had space and room. Out of this cavern dark pas- sages led to other underground halls and chambers. As I was about to enter one of them, a half-naked form came forth, and said, "Who art thou that dost disturb our si- lence?" I answered, "A man weary of the world, who seeks forgetfulness." Then he held out his hand, and said, " Then art thou a brother. Hast thou come to join the holy company of the Essenes?" I answered that I had thus come, but knew not that this was one of their abodes. " I am a hermit of Engeddi," he answered. " I and my breth- ren live in these caves. We will receive thee, if thou art sincere. But thou must be tried, as gold is tested, even by the fire of sharp discipline." And I answered, "lam ready to endure it." 116 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. " For the present, then," said the elder, after asking me further of myself, "thou shalt be under my charge, and sleep in this cave near to mine. But the first test to which I shall put thy purpose is obedience. I shall be thy director in all things. It is not for thee to answer or question me, but to obey. Thou must be like a staff in my hands. Canst thou bear this trial? If not, go hence; for this is not thy place. ' ' And I answered, "Father, I am a man weary of myself. I have no will nor desire. Why should I not do as I am commanded? I am tired of freedom. Dost thou ask if I will be unto thine order as a staff? Willingly would I be a dead body. Yet it seems the act of a coward, or a fool, to die by his own hand. — of a coward, for it is to flee before the enemy. Life is my enemy ; and, if I cannot conquer it, I will flee not from it. It is the act of a fool to take his own life ; for he goeth blindly, he knoweth not whither or where- fore. Do thou command. I am ready to obey." The elder: "Listen, then, to our rules. Our company live in these caves, or in stone houses built in the secret recesses of these mountains. We and those called by the name of Pharisees once belonged to the same society, and together we sought holiness. We forsook the world : and our law was, ' Touch not. taste not. handle not, any for- bidden thing.' But the Pharisees said. 'We need not leave the world, that we may be separate from it. We will surround ourselves with a wall, which shall encompass us whithersoever we go : we will have such rules, such cus- toms, and such a dress, that all shall see we are not of the world.' But we. the Essenes. think differently; for we believe that no one can live in the midst of disease, and not breathe thereof : therefore we say. ' Flee from it, and be alone.' They, the Pharisees, are the 'Separate Ones;' but we are the ' Solitary Ones.' " And he continued : "In our community there are four TIIK FALL OF MIRIAM. 117 classes. First, the class of novices, or beginners ; second, the class of experimenters ; third, the class of disciples ; fourth, the class of elders. During the first year thy place will be with the beginners. To-night thou shalt be initiated into that order, and receive thy instructions." And, when night had come, the members of the society came together in the large vaulted cavern, which was lighted with many torches. On one side sat the elders, clothed in white robes, which hid their whole body and almost all of their faces ; on their right sat the disciples, dressed in dark robes ; on their left, the initiated of the second and third year ; and on the fourth side stood the novices, with their hands on their mouths, as a token of silence and obedience. Then they called me forward into the midst, and demanded of me why I had come among them. I answered, " Because my desire is for silence, and rest of soul." Then the elders consulted ; and one said, " Brother, thou hast come to us for rest. We can give thee rest, but only as a reward for obedience. Art thou ready to take an oath to obey the rules of our order ? ' ' And I answered, "I am." Then the elder said, " Repeat after me the oath : — " I swear by the name of the living God, Maker of heaven and earth, and as I hope to be forgiven my sins, and to be with the blessed in paradise, to obey these rules : " I will honor God in all things. " I will be just to all men, and do wrong to none. "T will injure no man willingly, nor will I be led by others to injure any one. " I will hate wickedness. "I will help all good men. " I will obey my superiors. " I will unmask liars. " These seven rules I will repeat morning and evening, and make it my purpose to keep them always." 118 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. When I had taken the oath, all those present cried out, "Amen and amen." Then the elder gave unto me an axe, an apron, and a white robe ; and he said, — -This axe which I give unto thee represents industry. Work is the key which opens the outer gate of heaven. It keeps the mind in content and peace. The apron represents obedience: it belongs to servants. The white robe repre- sents temperance and chastity. Remember, thou, these three duties, — work, obedience, purity." And I said, " I will remember them." Then I was placed under the control of a disciple, and told to take all my orders from him, and to do as he com- manded me in all things, even though what he commanded mio-ht seem unreasonable. And then all who were in the congregation sang a hymn, and the assembly was ended. During many months my days passed on in the same path I°arose early, and attended a meeting of the novices, presided over by a disciple, when hymns were sung, and prayers recited. I took my morning meal of bread, water, and herbs, and then spent the day in labor. Before sun- rise we were at work, and continued till after sunset, resting for a brief space in the heat of the day. Some tended sheep ; some cultivated the fields, and raised grain ; some took care of the cattle in the plains below, near the Sea of Death ; some kept bees, and raised honey ; some took the products of the farms to Bethlehem or Jerusalem ; some made baskets, or mats, or boxes, or seats. Thus the day passed by. But by degrees I learned that all was not peace in our community. I heard of envyings and jealousies, even anion- the elders. Grave disputes often arose about what seemed to me trifles. Then I saw that by flying from the THE PALL OF MIRIAM. 119 world one could not escape from one's self. We had taken with us into our solitude the same passions which we hoped to leave behind among men. I lived much alone during these months. During the middle of the day, when we rested, I sometimes read in the rolls which were preserved in one of the buildings of our order. It so chanced that I found the roll of the scripture which contained the sad book of Solyma, called ' ' The Preacher." This book seemed to speak to my present state. It reflected my own despair. Here was one, who, like myself, had lost all faith ; to whom life seemed to have no purpose ; existence, no meaning ; to whom all things were emptiness and vanity. His gloom was more black than my own. I shuddered in reading these words of dreadful an- guish : "Therefore I hated life, because the works wrought under the sun were grievous unto me. Therefore I praised the dead more than those who were yet alive : yea, better than both are they who have never been born." I asked what was the meaning of this book of unbelief and despair, and why it was numbered with the sacred writ- ings of our people. None of the elders could give me any answer. They only said, " It was written by King Solyma." As I read this book, and read it again, I seemed to enter into the mind of the great king. He had received all the blessings of this world, — power, wealth, wisdom, — and they left his soul empty ; yet I saw every day, in the valleys beneath, simple shepherds or laborers who went home at night to peaceful rest, and on whose brow cheerfulness had its seat. Then I saw that man was not made to enjo} T , but to labor. We are happy only when we are doing some- thing useful for others. Nor was man made to flee from the world, and so try to live alone with God. " God is no more here," I said, " than in the crowds of cities. If there be a God, and if, perchance, he careth for men, he careth also for those who live in society. But, if there be no God, then 120 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED D1DYMLS. are we better to be with our fellowmen, so that we may seek to do them some good." Thus I grew by degrees to dislike this hard, cold, and unnatural life ; and, when my year of beginnings was over, I spake unto the elders, and told them that I should continue no longer in their community, but leave it. Life indeed had moved on like a tranquil stream ; and, as I look back to that period, I am thankful that I had that season of rest in the midst of my troubled days. But my heart began to weary of this sameness. I felt a desire to see my home again. I longed for the society of my fellow- men. I said, " God has not made us to be apart from our race. He said, when he created the mother of all living, ' It is not good for the man to be alone.' We grow selfish in solitude, even though it be a religious solitude. Men think only of saving their own souls, and forget that they should help to save the souls of others." Therefore I bade farewell to the elders, and thanked them for their hos- pitality. They blessed me, and bade me farewell with calmness, even as they had received me. To them all things were as one. And I became once more a wanderer, and took my way back unto Galilee. I RETURN AGAIN UNTO MY OLD HOME. 121 CHAPTER VIL I RETURN AGAIN UNTO MY OLD HOME. The longing for my native land had again seized me. I wished to see once more the peaceful shores of the inland sea framed with hills, which, during the years of my suffer- ing and struggle, had been always sleeping peacefully, or only swept by an occasional gust. That, at least, would be the same, if all else had changed. I had lost my God, my faith, my hopes ; the fire of my youth was quenched, and in ashes ; my life was darkened by shadows which no sun could disperse. But Nature, at least, would remain the same, — sun, trees, snow-capped mountains, the sea broken into a million sparkles of light, the summer air, and the mem- ories of the past. And my heart yearned for my mother's love. It seemed that I might perhaps feel young again on the shores of Gennesaret. One morning I took my staff in my hand, and departed, with a vague hope in my mind. To travel on foot in a land like ours, and so by bodily exercise to keep down painful thoughts, brings contentment to the heart. Day after day I journeyed on, climbing along the summits of the hills when I could, or descending into the valleys where the fields of grain were quietly ripening in the sun. Sometimes, on the upland, I could catch a white gleam from the great sea of the west, or a glimpse of some snowy summit in the north, or of the great black mountain-wall of Moab on the east. Shepherds sat under 122 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. the trees, watching their flocks ; and once I heard one sing- ing the Psalm of David : — " The Lord is my Shepherd. I shall not want." I hastened away; for I could not say, "Amen!" Alas! Yakveh was no more my shepherd. There was only a great darkness above me, a vast emptiness around. Sometimes I met a Jewish priest, or a Levite, sometimes a Roman soldier. A feeling of rage which then took pos- session of me reminded me that I was still a Jew. That feeling of impotent hatred against my country's enemies was all that remained of my early passions and beliefs. But gradually, as I walked on alone, there came over me a certain calm. This vast Everywhere around me was not quite dead. Something whispered in me of life and of love coming down in the torrents of sunshine which fell from the sky, talking in the prattling leaves of the olives, and the stately contentment of the palms. I could not resist the influence of this sweet motherly smile which was on the face of land and sky. And there came to me an old saying of the sacred writing, which I could still listen to without resistance: " Wait on the Lord, and he will comfort thy heart. Wait." "Yes," I answered: "I can at least wait." It began to be about the ninth hour when I reached the summit of the ridge above the Sea of Gennesar. There it lay, the fair sweet maiden lake, the same gentle ripple on its bosom I had seen so often. There rose the vast hills, stern guardians of its peace, light vapors curling up their sides, and drifting away from their summits. There, far below me, were the villages and cities on the shore of the deep-lying Chinnereth, or Gennesar. or Gennesaret ; for we called our favorite lake in all these ways, as men give tender names to those they love. The waters lay deep down in the gulf below the black rocks which the fire had melted I RETURN AGAIN UNTO MY OLD HOME. 123 and burned in some former age, perhaps when the cities of the lower plain were devoured by names out of the earth, and by brooks of fire. Nine cities and many towns, my children, cluster round this water, where summer prevails all the year. Wonderful kinds of trees and plants grow there, with strange flowers and fruits, such as we never saw on the upper plains or hills of Syria. As I looked down, I beheld the white walls of Kana, farther down those of Kapharnaum and Migdol and Magedan ; and, proudly domineering over all, the towers, walls, and marble palaces of the hateful Tiberias. But, from the height where I sat, they all seemed to slumber in peace, remote from hate or love. As I sat, still gazing on the familiar scene, two men came near, ascending the path. One of them, as he approached, threw aloft his arms, and spake eagerly to the other in the well-known tones and pronunciation of the lake- valley. His face seemed familiar too ; and, as he came near, I remem- bered him, and knew that he was a famous fisherman, called Simon, or Simon-bar-Johanan. His fellow-fishermen said often that Johanan his father was no prophet when he named him Simon, which in our language, my children, means "the hearer;" for he loved to speak more than to listen. He acted with quickness ; he always went before his com- panions ; he was prompt to speak and to do ; his boat led the others on the lake ; and on the land he ever walked in front, leading the way. He was so certain in his beliefs, that he made others do as he thought best ; and I have known a whole company of boats follow his boat across the lake to some bay where he thought certainly to find fish, and thus lose half a day fishing there in vain. Then Simon ever grieved, and that bitterly, and called himself a foolish per- son, and shed tears ; so that their anger against him was forgotten, seeing his sorrow. If any opposed him with words or blows, he was brave as a lion ; but if they were cold 124 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. to him, or seemed to laugh at him, he was sorely perplexed, making excuses, and saying any thing to please them. Nev- ertheless, he was so active, so open, so kind, that all men loved him. As he came near, sometimes turning to speak to the man behind, he saw me and stopped, and at last cried out, " It is he 5 — Thomas the twin!" And he came swiftly toward me, and cried, "The Lord bless thee!" and, lifting his arms, bowed his head in salutation, according to the custom. Then he asked me with eagerness whence I came, and many other questions. But I, answering him, also inquired concerning the towns and the people. Then he broke forth, like a swollen stream in the time of rains, which cannot be held back, but carries away all that is opposed to it : " O Thomas ! marvellous things have come to pass, and greater are to come. A new prophet has arisen, and once more there is open vision. He seeth through all veils, and the hidden worlds of God are all naked and open to his eyes. He reads the thoughts of men, and shows unto each man his own soul. When he speaks of the kingdom of Him who is to come, he seems to be making pictures of it all. The power of Yahveh goes with him, and angels are by his side unseen. He loves to heal the sick ; and, when he touches them with his hand, the demon of disease flies affrighted away. I saw with my own eyes the spirit of madness leave a raging man of whom the moon- demon had taken possession. All these demons of wrath and pain hate him and fear him. Yet is he not such as I deemed a prophet must be. He hath in him no bitterness, but is ever gentle and kindly. He dwells not in deserts, but goes among men. Nor loves he that men should hold much discourse concerning him ; but eA r er, when the evil spirit is cast forth, he chargeth the man who is healed that he speak not of it to any. Neither will he receive thanks, but teaches men to thank God only, since all good things I RETURN AGAIN UNTO MY OLD HOME. 125 come from God. I asked him once why he forbade us to tell of all his goodness. And he said, " Call not me good ; none is good, save God. When I heal with my right hand, I let not my left hand know it." I replied, and asked, "But what, then, teacheth he con- cerning the kingdom which is to come ? ' ' "Strange things," replied Simon, "and such as I do not well understand. He tells us not to hate the Romans, nor cloth he prophesy their desolation ; but at one time he said that those who would be children of the kingdom must love even the Romans, and pray for them." "Then," cried I, "he is no true prophet of Yahveh. What, then ! must we love the Romans, who trample down our worship, who defile our temples, who corrupt our people, who make slaves of the children of God? How is the king- dom of the Anointed King and Priest of God to come, ex- cept we destroy totally out of the land these tigers and devouring plagues? How is the Lord's house to be above all other temples till all the rest are utterly overthrown ? ' ' " The thought of my heart resembled thine," said Simon. "And I marvel ever at these things when I am alone ; but, when I am with him, I hearken unto his words, and they All my heart with such a hope, that I am sure he speaketh the truth, though I may not understand how. — How sayest thou, brother Andreas? " " In truth my thought is like thine," replied Andreas, who was a brother of Simon, "and has ever been such since I heard the Baptizer call him ' the Lamb of God. ' But as yet thou hast not told Thomas who the prophet is. He comes from Nazirah, — that littls place among the hills, on the side of the shoulder of Lebanon, where it descendeth into the great plain. His name with his people is Joshua-bar- Yoshe ph ; but the Greeks call him Jesus." "A poor place," said I, "is Nazirah, that it should send forth a prophet. It hath a people, if I remember aright, 126 TJIE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. who are a proverb in Israel for their ignorance of all sacred things ; a people who neglect the feasts, and are hardly children of Abraham." " Thou hast said truly," replied Andreas ; " but in a peck of chaff are ever to be found some kernels of wheat. Men say that Maria, the mother of Jesus, is a daughter of holi- ness : her feet walk ever in the paths of peace. And Yosheph, the father, is a just man and honorable." "These things may be," I answered; " yet I follow not a prophet whose teachings are of love toward the Eomans. I am still a Jew ; and I hold to my hatred unto them, though the remainder of the faith of my fathers has gone from me. But how is it that ye, Simon and Andreas, are friends of one who differs greatly from your great master, Johanan the Baptizer? His fame came unto me even in the land of Egypt ; for men spake of his sternness, and of his holy life in the wilderness, and that he was set apart unto God by his father, the priest, from his childhood ; of his denying himself as no man hath done since the days of El-jab ; and how, when he came forth to prophesy, he feared not the face of man. but denounced the wrath of the Lord on all sinners, and set his face like a flint, and went in the heat and bitter- ness of his spirit to call men to repentance. Many related that men's hearts were shaken by his word, as when the tem- pest beats upon the branches of a wood, or as the earth is shaken when the demons below tremble at the name of Yah- veh. Ye call yourselves followers of this mighty prophet, whose word is with power. Why leave ye him for another, who concealeth even his good deeds, and whose words are so low and soft that unto this hour no man speaketh his name ? ' ' '" Is it not written," said Andreas. " that the Lord Yahveh came once to the prophet El-jah, not in the tempest, nor in the earthquake, nor the fire, but in the still small voice which followed them? We, also, have seen prophets of the fire and I RETURN AGAIN UNTO MY OLD HOME. 127 of the tempest. The Baptist, indeed, was like unto a shak- ing of the earth ; perchance he of whom we speak is the still small voice, and through him the Lord shall talk unto his people. " Moreover, I tell unto thee, O Thomas, a thing marvel- lous, yet true. Johanan, even Johauan the Baptizer himself, has bowed himself before this man of Nazirah, saying, ' I am not worthy to unfasten the thongs of thy sandals, O Joshua, Lamb of God.' And from Johanan received we this commandment, even to follow after Joshua-bar- Yosheph, and hearken unto the words of his mouth. For Johanan said, ' He shall baptize you with the spirit of God and with fire.' Truly I know not the meaning of this saying ; but the words I repeat unto thee as spoken." ' ' And are the followers of this new prophet many ? ' ' asked I. " It is easily to be believed; since he is a preacher of peace. For the courage of the Maccabees has fled from our people, and men love not the prophet who calls them ever forth to battle. The prophet who teaches love unto the Romans — many disciples will be his." Thus I spake in bitterness. JjVtany follow him ; but few adhere unto himjj' said Simon. ' ' Most men desire that he should call down fire from heaven to drive these devouring locusts out of the land. If men hear, perchance, of some great work wrought by his hands, they throng after him, for men ever hasten after that which is new and strange. And at the speech of his lips they stand amazed, for there is a power in his words which hold- eth them, and willingly they leave him not. He speaketh not as some rabbis, who utter pompous words, and foam at the mouth, and would thus drive us where they will ; but, as he speaketh, our thoughts follow him willingly. Neither cloth any man doubt aught that the prophet sayeth ; for he shows unto us the world of God above, as though he stood at its portal, and looked therein. He useth none of the arguments 128 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. of the scribes, but talketh to us with much simplicity. Some- times he teaches us with stories, which are like the nuts of the pistachio, which must be broken to find the meat inside. Often, as thou knowest, a nut is too hard to be broken by our teeth : and even thus oftentimes we see not the meaning of the tale. Yet we remember the story, for the manner of the tale causeth it to cleave unto our minds ; and after many days the truth contained therein becometh clear unto us. Thus we find the kernel, and it feedeth us. All his teaching is wholesome food to the soul." " Thy words," said Simon, " call to my mind his saying, that we should eat and drink him. Dost thou remember, Andreas, how we wondered, and were amazed, and knew not what to say ? But he loveth sometimes to say strange things, and hard things. We are astonished by such sayings, and out mind becomes wide open : so we ponder the dark saying until the light breaks in. Who was it who found out what he meant by saying that we must eat him and drink him, if we would get any real life out of him?" "That man was Johanan. — Thou hast not forgotten our old partners in the fishing-boat, Thomas, — Jacob and Johann (or John as we call him for shortness), — the sons of old Zabdi, who owned so many boats on the lake? After the prophet had told us so gravely, that, to receive any life from him, we must eat him and drink him, I saw Johann walk- ing by himself, his head sunk on his bosom. At last he cried out. L I see it ! Suppose I give two loaves to two men : one is hungry, and eats his loaf ; the other puts his away. After a time I say to them. " Where are }*our loaves? " One says. "I have mine here," and shows it. The other says, " I cannot show it to you, for I have eaten it : I have made it a part of myself. But it has given me strength, so that I can work for you. I cannot give you back your loaf ; but I can give you back, instead of it, much work." Thus, if the prophet says, "What was the doctrine which I taught I RETURN AGAIN UNTO MY OLD HOME. 129 unto you many days ago?" one, who can remember words well, repeateth unto the prophet the words he said ; but an- other, who remembereth not the words, hath already begun to obey the truth, and live by it. The last hath eaten and drunken the truth, and so eaten and drunken the master ; for this teacher is the very truth made into flesh, and living in our midst.' Thus said Johann, and methinks he spoke well." Then I answered, " That doctrine suits irie well ; for words have ever escaped from me when I most desired to keep them, — even as a beautiful butterfly escapes out of the hand when we think to hold it, — but the sense remains long after the words have gone. And I see that if a man hungers for truth, and swallows it because he loves it, it may do him more good than to remember the words. In speaking thus, your teacher, methinks, spoke well. But tell me where he first was seen by you. ' ' Simon answered, and said, "We first saw him at the River Jordan, where great crowds had come to hear the Baptizer. Never man was braver than the Baptizer. He cared neither for Roman soldier nor Jewish priest. He taught that all were sinners, and that all must repent ; for the end of the old age had come, and a new age was to begin ; and, when the new age should begin, all who had not repented of their sins, and been washed in the holy river, would be swept away into the fires of Hinnom. So he spoke day by day, and no man dared oppose him. Certain priests went from Jerusalem, and were baptized, loudly confessing that they had taken money from widows and orphans, and kept it for them- selves. Others went away in anger, and told King Antipas at Tiberias, that the Baptizer had called him an adulterer, whom Heaven would destroy. This made the king wroth, and yet he dared not put the Baptizer to silence, so great was the power of his word. Many said Johann must be the Comma: One. But Johann denied that he was the Comma; 130 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDVMUS. One, the great King. He said, ' I am only a sound and a voice, a cry which comes before him ; but he is close at hand — he is near by. I see him standing on the threshing- floor. The people of the land are the seeds of grain which have been beaten to pieces by cruel Roman soldiers and tyrannical kings. These kings are flails, in the hands of angels, to bruise the seed, and separate the chaff from the wheat. And now the great King of kings takes the fan in his hand, and will send the strong wind through the granary, and drive away the light chaff, and save the good wheat. Repent, repent, O ye who are only chaff ! Light and empty souls, repent, before ye are cast into unquenchable fire. I hear the trumpets blowing in the heavens, which proclaim his coming. He is here ! He is here ! Repent, or perish forever ! ' Thus spoke the Baptizer with a cry of terrible anguish ; and the people called aloud for mercy, and thronged to the water, seeking to be baptized. "On a certain day there came among them a } T oung man, whom all looked upon with reverence. In his face was to be seen power and good will, and withal a piercing look, which entered the soul. As he drew near, the Baptizer ceased speaking, and gazed on him. and said. • Why should I bap- tize thee, O thou pure of heart? Rather baptize thou me. Thou needest no repentance ; but I myself am also a sinner. O thou Lamb of God. take away my sins, and that of all the world.' But Joshua-bar- Yosheph bowed his head, saying, ' Yet suffer it to be so ; for it is becoming to fulfil every thing which is right.' Then Johann baptized him ; and, when Joshua-bar- Yosheph came up out the water, Johann said. ' Behold, ye children, here is one on whom I see the spirit of Yahveh descending. It cometh down on him softly, flying like a dove, and resteth on him. Since his childhood it hath rested on him, and remaineth with him. The voice which commanded me to baptize said that when I should find one on whom the holy spirit of Yahveh remaineth always, he is I RETURN AGAIN UNTO MY OLD HOME. 131 the King who is to come; he is the Sou of God.' Thus spoke the Baptizer ; aud all who stood near heard him. My brother and I stood by and hearkened also, and asked, ' Who, then, is this youth? ' And they answered us, ' Joshua, also called Jesus, the son of Yosheph of Nazirah in Galilee.' Therefore we, desirous of knowing all goodness, followed him. But Andreas followed him first with another, and asked him where he dwelt, and he said unto them, 'Come with me.' All that day they staid with him, and he spake unto them of the great kingdom which is to come ; and spake with such knowledge, that they hastened to me, and said, ' This must be he, — the One who is to come.' " " But why," asked I, " did the Baptizer, who believes in a kingdom of power, receive this peaceful prophet as the King who is to come ? ' ' "They had known each other from childhood, and I think were cousins. ' Things which are different,' saith the prov- erb, 'cling more closely than things which are alike.' The Baptizer said that the new prophet was higher than himself. ' He cometh after me,' said he, ' but is before me, for he was always better than I.' It was strange to see this proud man, who had withstood kings, become so humble in the presence of this youth of Nazirah, saying, ' He shall grow greater, and I shall become less.' But I think he was displeased with our prophet afterward, because he did not openly proclaim him- self the anointed King of Israel in the sight of all men. After Herod had put the Baptizer in prison, Johann became impatient, and could wait no longer, and sent two of his disciples unto Jesus (for so the people now call Joshua, where Greek is spoken) to rebuke him for his backwardness. Ah ! Johann knew well how to rebuke all men, even kings and Roman generals, and he dared to rebuke him whom he believed to be the Anointed ; for he feared no one." " But what said the two disciples of Johann? " " They came to where the poor people stood around Jesus, 132 THE LEGEND OK THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. listening to his words ; and, rudely interrupting him, cried out, ' Johann the Baptizer has sent us to ask whether thou art He that is to come, or whether we shall have to look around to find another.' And we were angry at this speech. But Jesus lifted his hand, and said very quietly to the mes- sengers, 'Come with me, and judge for yourselves.' So he went to where a great multitude of sick and blind and lame persons were gathered together. They waited for the time when Jesus should cease speaking to the people words of comfort, in the hope that he might thereafter aid their in- firmities. And Jesus went down to the little hollow where they sat and lay in the shade of the tall palms : and, as he came near, all their sad eyes turned longingly toward him ; hut none spake. The disciples of Johann came after him, wondering what this should mean. Then Jesus, having lifted up his eyes and hands to heaven, walked forward, raising his arms over them, and telling them to be full of cheer, for God forgave them their sins. And I saw the light of hope coming into their eyes. Some who were lame stretched out their hands to him ; and lie said. l Arise, and walk.' In his voice there was a deep music such as I never heard : it was full of courage and power. The lame men staggered up on their feet, and cried out, ' We can walk, we can walk!' And the faces of the blind lost their sad- ness, and their eyes began to turn hither and thither, and they reached out their hands as if to touch what was before them, not believing that they saw. Near by was a group of white lepers, most unhappy of men. All the people avoided them ; but Jesus went, without pausing, unto them, touching them without fear ; and in a voice which thrilled the soul said unto each of them, ' Be clean ! ' Then, O wonderful sight ! the white spots slowly disappeared, and, instead of the gloom in their faces, joy began to come like sunshine into their eyes. Yet they believed not that they were healed, until Jesus said, ' Go, show yourselves to the priest, that hd I RETURN AGAIN UNTO MY OLD HOME. 133 may examine you, and see that } 7 ou are well. Be washed and purified, and offer your two sparrows, as the law commands.' And when they all cried aloud, and blessed him, he said, 'Bless God, not man; for every good gift is from him.' And he turned to the messengers of Johann, and bade them that they should go and tell Johann what they had seen, and to say to him, moreover, that he is blessed who sees God's presence wherever there is any good done to man. He told them that no one ought to be offended, as Johann was offended, because, where he might expect a great power to conquer and destroy, he should find instead thereof a great power to help and to save. " So the messengers of Johann went away, half ashamed, and much astonished. And we, when they were gone, were sorely displeased at Johann, because, after having seen the greatness of our prophet, he had thus dared to rebuke him for neglecting his work, saying that the people must leave him to try to find a better leader. For if Jesus were the greater of the two, as Johann said, how could he command him what he must do, and what forbear doing ? Is it right that a lesser prophet should rebuke a greater? Thus we were displeased because of these hard words of blame uttered in the presence of all the people. We feared that men would no longer honor our master, seeing that Johann, whom all reverenced as a just person, had openly threatened him that he should cease to be a prophet in Israel. ' ' Therefore we spoke angrily concerning Johann and his message, and his messengers, and said that he had a devil. But Jesus blamed us for this, and spoke in behalf of him who had rebuked him, saying that we must not censure Johann, since God had made him strong and brave, like a soldier, for his work, and not made him to be like those who speak daintily, and cover hard thoughts with smooth words. The voice which cried in the wilderness so mightily that all men went forth to hear it was not like the voices which mur- 134 THE LEGENB OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. mur soft things in the palaces of kings. 'Did you go out into the wilderness,' said he, 'to see a reed shaken by the wind? or a man clothed in soft raiment? No ! but to see a prophet, and one more than a prophet.' And thus he made us see and understand that a man who is sent by the Lord to do one work cannot be like the man who is sent to do another; that the man of the wilderness cannot be like the man of the city. He whose work is to cry aloud and spare not in the fields and streets, so that all men must fain hear, will indeed have a voice sounding harshly. And he told us concerning Johann, that he was as great a prophet as any who had ever come to preach repentance to Israel; that he had in him the very soul of the great El-jah, and that there- fore it was said that El-jah must come again before the new " kingdom should be established. Thus we ceased to be wroth concerning Johann. And so was fulfilled the saying of the ancients, that 'as a large bowl will contain a smaller bowl and all its contents, but a smaller bowl will not hold a larger one, so a greater mind can see all the truth and goodness in a smaller one, but a smaller one cannot understand the wis- dom of the larger.' " But afterward, when I, Thomas, had learned to know Jesus, he talked with us more deeply concerning John, in words hard to be understood, and which I can scarcely remember. But this I know, that he taught us how Johann was the greatest of the prophets under the law. having in him the spirit of the law and the prophets ; but that, when the law was fulfilled in the kingdom of the Christ, the least child in that kingdom would be higher than Johann, knowing something which was above the knowledge of those born under the law. For the kingdom of heaven, he said, was hi-her than the law; and all the children of the kingdom would see what the wisest men before them were not able to understand. And I, meditating on these words, thought thus : that the man who has the best eyes cannot see in the I RETURN AGAIN UNTO MY OLD HOME. 135 night what a man with poor eyesight can see in the day. For, my children, the law reigned during the darkness by fear and force, by the commandment and authority of the holy God ; but the age of the kingdom of Jesus is like the day. The time of the good news, in which we live, is a reign of love, in which we are drawn to what is right by the goodness of God and his forgiving grace. In the time of which I speak we were like those who were passing from the dark and cold night into a sunny day. The night was gone ; but the day had not come. It was neither night nor day. The law and the prophets ruled before the time of Johann, and ended with him. The day of the Christ began when he rose out of death into a higher life ; but between the two was the day of the Baptizer, when neither law nor love were wholly supreme. We were looking for the light, but were still in darkness. Thus I felt at that time in my cloudy mind. Nevertheless, I heard gladly this new prophet ; though, to speak the truth, I hoped not to receive any thing from him. Could a man of Nazirah give me back the faith I had lost? I believed it not at all, yet I asked to hear more concerning him. Then, sitting by my side, looking down over the olive- trees and palm-trees, to the valley below, to the blue lake, and to the black hills beyond, Simon and Andreas continued their narration : — "Tell Thomas," said Andreas, "of the draught of fishes." " I came back to the lake," replied Simon, " after having listened to the Baptizer, and I mused in my heart concerning this teacher from Nazirah, and desired much to see him again. At last I was told that he continued to teach and to work wonders on the coast and in the cities of the coast. It was the sabbath, and I sat in my own house ; for my wife was with her mother who had been taken with a fever, and was very sick. I heard a sound of many feet, and of voices, 136 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. outside the door. "When I opened it, I saw the Prophet Jesus, and a multitude behind him, who cried, ' Glory ! ' aud ' Hosanna ! ' for he had just driven an evil spirit from a man in the synagogue, and all rejoiced, and were telling of the wonder. To escape the throng, he came into my house. And, when I told him of the sickness of the woman, he went unto the bedside, and looked her in the face, and in a voice which seemed to penetrate to the dividing asunder of the heart said some words which I could not hear. But a great calmness came over the restless woman, and drops of mois- ture were on her forehead. Then she said, ' Lo ! I am already better ; the heat is gone, and the uneasiness.' After a time she rose from the bed, and brought to us bread aud fruit, and we ate thereof. "But outside of the house the same noise continued, for all men were waiting to see what next thing should be done. As the sun descended behind these hills on which we now sit, and the burning heats of the day were over, they brought to my door manj r sick persons on mats, and on beds made of branches of palm. Then Jesus went out among them, and prayed, and spoke to them, and laid his hands on them. The sickness fled, and the illness faded away from them. Aud we wondered greatly at the power of God. " When the people came again to my house on the next day. to look for him, he had already departed. Early in the morning, as the day dawned, he went away, to avoid the crowd and the tumult ; and he went on foot, and alone, into the desert. Thus he sta3 T s but a short time in one place, teaching, and doing good works, and then goes elsewhere. Thus the peace of the people is not much disturbed, and calm returns to them. " But on another day I was near my boat on the shore, with this my brother Andreas. Near by was another boat, belonging to Zabdi the boat-owner, who was with his two sons, Jacob and Johann. We sat on the shore, and dried I RETURN AGAIN UNTO MY OLD HOME. 137 our nets on the grass, mending them where they were broken. Then came Jesus, talking with the people, and answering their questions. As all wished to be near him, they crowded each other, and no one could well hear what he said. Jesus called to me, and said, ' Simon, I will go into thy boat, and I beseech thee to push a little way from the shore, that I may speak to the people from the boat while they stand on the beach.' I did so. I heard him say many wise words, telling them of the love and the truth of Yahveh. But at last he said, ' Enough for this time. Push out, Simon, into the deep places of the lake, and let down thy net, and take fish.' But I answered, ' Master, there are no fish now in this part of the lake ; for both we and the sons of Zabdi have labored diligently all night long, and have caught nothing.' — 'Nevertheless/ he answered, ' suffer it for a time, and let down thy net here where we now are.' I did so; and, behold! when I began to raise it, a great number of fishes were enclosed, and we could see their white bellies and their fins as they were caught in the meshes of the net. And so many were they, that Andreas and I together could not raise them from the sea : so we called to Zabdi and his sons, and they, also, came with their boat. We pulled up the net at last, and poured the fishes into it ; and the boat lay over on its side with the weight. Great fear then came over my soul ; for it seemed as if the power of God were there. I thought of all my sins, and trembled before that face, so full of power and holiness. Then I said, ' Depart from me, master ; for I am too sinful to be near to thee.' He smiled, and an- swered, ' Be not afraid ; for thou shalt henceforth be a fisher of men.' What thinkest thou, Thomas, of all this? " I answered, as my mind impelled me: "I come from a land, even Egypt, where are many sorcerers and astrologers, and I have seen wonderful things clone by enchantment. I have seen demons active, and the dead called from their 138 THE LEGEND OF TIIOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. graves. But I think not that the great God doeth all this ; nor doth he send power to help men to astonish each other in such ways, or to win fame and riches by doing wonders. Many such things are done through deceit, and many are done ignorantly, by unwise men, who know not the secret powers hidden in the nature of things. I also have seen men cured of disease by the confident word of a physician. There is a true magical art, as my teacher in Egypt assured me, which is in use among the Persians. It is a knowledge of the book of nature, and a keen insight of the soul into many mysteries. Perhaps your master hath learned this wis- dom, and hence can speak to disease with power, and can see where the fishes most throng in the sea. But not because of this do I believe that he is He that is to come." Thus I spoke, for I had lost my faith in the mighty signs and wonders in which our people trusted, believing in the great power of Yahveh. But Andreas replied, — "To see is to believe. Come and look with thine own eyes, and hear his words, and faith will return unto thee." I answered, and said, "Verily, I suppose your prophet is clothed in wretched raiment, and liveth miserably on roots, and alone in the desert, and astonisheth all men by his pov- erty and self-denial, and long prayers, hating the joys of life. For thus have all prophets done, and the Baptizer more than all." They smiled at this, and answered, " But our prophet doth not at all on this wise. He seeketh no such glory. He eateth, drinketh, and sleepeth, and is dressed like others. He walketh in the streets, and eateth with Romans, and doth not refuse to go into rich men's houses, and yet he loveth better to be with the poor, and blesseth them greatly. He is not seen to pray, but goeth away alone, if he prays, and, indeed, hath no set hours for prayer. He goeth to see the glad and the sad alike. We will give unto thee a proof of this. "When he first began to preach and to teach on these I RETURN AGAIN UNTO MY OLD HOME. 139 shores of the lake, after the Baptizer had so greatly glorified him, all men were very attentive to his words and actions. And one day there was a wedding in the town called Kana, among the hills, which in truth is not far from Nazirah. The mother of Jesus, who is called Maria, a wise and noble woman, together with her sons, was a guest at the wedding. We, also, were there, and many more ; for the family had many friends. The feast lasted several days, and toward the end of it the wine had been all drunken and gone. And Miriam said to her son that the wine was gone, for she had confidence in his knowledge and power. What he answered I know not, but he commanded the servants that they should fill some large jars which stood near by with water. When they had done so, it became wine, and so good that no man had tasted 1 tetter. Then they saw that this prophet was not like those who went before, but that he wished men to be glad and joyful. Many said, however, ' We do not call a man like this a prophet. How can a prophet go to weddings, and make wine for men to drink when they have already drunken much ? He is a wine- bibber and a glutton. And, besides this, he goeth among the sinners and Gentiles, and all baser people.' " ' ' And what answered your prophet unto this ? ' ' "He said that he was like a physician, who goeth among the sick to heal them. If any should say, i That man goeth ever among sick people, he cannot be a physician,' you would answer, ' Where, then, but among the sick, ought the physician to go ? ' Wherever men are, whether good men or bad, our master goeth to teach and help them. He is like the sunshine, which the Lord sends on the good and bad alike. And, when they blamed him because he made wine for the wedding, he said, ' You are like the little children we saw to-day playing in the market. Some of them were angry, and would not play. The others entreated them, saying, ' ' We will play a wedding, or we will play a funeral : 140 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. choose which." But they would play neither. Thus it is with you. Ye did not like Johann the Baptizer, because he was stern and serious, and would not eat nor drink with you ; and ye do not like me, and ye blame me because I eat and drink. But Johann was right in his way, and I am right in my way ; for wisdom has many different children, and no two are alike.' Something like this he said. For this prophet, Thomas, is not like the others who have come before. He is very gentle to the poor, the weak, the sinful, vei'y tender to his friends ; and he behaves himself unto his enemies as if they also were his friends. But he is bold to show the people their sins, and to speak against all falsehood and hypocrisy, all guile and cruelty. One day thou wilt see him, and judge for thyself of these things." Then rising, they went their way ; and I descended, going toward the lake. I MEET JESUS OF NAZIKAH. 141 CHAPTER VIII. I MEET JESUS OF NAZIKAH ; AND I LISTEN TO HIM AS HE PROPHESIES, AND TEACHES THE PEOPLE. I descended the hill toward the lake, by the well-known path which wound among the olive-groves, with their light flickering leaves, and came unto a place where the houses stood surrounded by fig-trees in all their summer luxuriance. 1 thought of what I had heard of this new prophet. Truly I could not receive the belief that he might be the great Deliverer. How cuuld this poor peasant of Nazirah do what the Baptizer could not do, before whose word all men trembled, — he whom Herod feared as well as hated, whom the priests and Pharisees dared not oppose? Jesus was ignorant of letters ; he went among the poor people ; he taught only peace and good will. As well try to break an iron bar with the blow of a feather as to shake off the chain of Roman power by such means as these. As to the wonder- ful works of which I had heard, I believed them not. I believed that he might have cured sick people by speaking with power to their minds, and creating faith in himself : such works had I seen in Alexandreia. Perhaps he had some magical charm with which to blind the eyes of those who beheld him ; but that the God of my fathers had given power to this prophet to break the laws of the world, that I could not believe. I had lost my faith in God's thus inter- fering in man's affairs. No, the world was left to go its own way. Force and craft ruled all things. Blind chance or iron destiny were the only gods I knew. Yet my thoughts 142 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMCS. returned to this Joshua, or Jesus as they had named him. There was a strangeness in his ways which roused my curiosity. He followed not the paths of the prophets I had known. Most of the men of religion lived alone, in caves or woods : he went among the people. They ate only herbs, and drank only water : he ate meat, and drank wine. They prayed where men could see them, and might be moved to wonder at their holiness ; they knelt all day on the ground, and repeated a great multitude of prayers : but this man prayed not at any fixed hours, nor where men could see him. The others were mighty in proclaiming die vengeance of God, and calling down curses on his enemies and their own : this man was reported to speak only kind words, and to do good actions. No great power, I thought, could come from such a man ; but the sweetness of his life drew my thoughts to him. He could teach me nothing new, but I thought I should be glad to hear old words made new from such lips. And, thus thinking, I went on, and came at last to the shore road, and saw before me the rich and thriving Kaphar-nahum, or the City of Consolation. I walked along the pebbly beach ; and the little waves as they ran up to the shore, and sparkled in the sun, seemed to welcome back the wanderer. As I came near to the white walls of Kaphar-nahum, I beheld the house of the tax-gatherer, which stood by the gate, where all who brought any thing into the city must pay their taxes to the publican, or collector of taxes. There was a crowd around the house, and much talking ; and I said, "They are disputing his demands, and seeking to avoid paying the tax;" for very frequent and bitter were the quarrels concerning taxes. The great publicans at Rome bought from the Senate the right to tax our province of Syria, and sold this right again to other publicans. So each grasped all that he could extort from the nation. They were like robbers, or like hungry wolves, and were hated by the people. I had known well the man who held this place at I MEET JESUS OF NAZIRAII. 143 Kaphar-nahum, and loved him as a dear friend. He was called Levi-Matthew, son of Alpheus. He was better than the others, and did much good with his badly-gained money. As I approached, I saw Levi talking with those who stood around, and some of his servants were collecting and pack- ing in boxes his rolls of accounts; and I said, "O Levi! may blessings wait on thee ! Dost thou go from this place, and hath thine office been taken from thee?" He replied, " Mine office hath not been taken ; but I have given it up, and collect taxes no more. These friends lament, for they think that perchance a more cruel man than I may come into my place ; yet I hope not, for the people have need of all they have, and with difficulty pay their tax." I said, " But why dost thou quit thine office, O Levi ? Though they mock at thee because of it, and spit on the ground as they pass, yet many, I know, would willingly take it themselves, for it is full of profit." But Matthew (which is Levi), the son of Alpheus, answered and said, "I have been called to-day to be a follower and a scholar of the new prophet, my kinsman, Jesus of Nazirah. I so love and honor him, that I shall leave all, and go wherever he desires. But tell me, Thomas, whence comest thou? It is long since I have seen thee. Come with me to my home, and let us talk together ; and I will make thee known unto the prophet, for he cometh to- day unto the feast which I give those who have been my companions and friends in my business. All the great publi- cans will be there, and others also. Though many hate us, and will not speak to us, nor eat with us, many others, as thou knowest, refuse not to salute us." Thus we walked together into the city, and passed through the narrow streets, where the high houses cast down shadows even at noon, and make a pleasant coolness ; for Kaphar-nahum was rightly so called, and was indeed a place of many comforts. As we walked, I said, "I know, O Matthew! that many Jews are friendly unto thee and unto thy brethren ; but 144 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. very bitter is the hatred borne thee by the common people, and also by the Pharisees, leaders of the people. I, too, had I not well known thy manner of life, and that thou art a just man, would not have spoken unto thee to-day ; for thou servest the enemies of my country, even the Romans. How, then, has this prophet chosen thee to be one of his followers and friends? All men will say, ' This cannot be a prophet ; since he has a servant of Rome, even a publican, a robber of the people, for his companion.' Also I much marvel that he should consent to come unto thy feast ; since most men will cry out against him for eating with thee, and great will be his dishonor in the eyes of the multitude." Then Matthew said, " He indeed goeth with all persons, and maketh no difference between one and another. All men are dear to him, and I think those are dearest whom other men most despise. It is now a few days only since one of the Pharisees, a man of much wealth and power, asked him to eat meat in his house, and Jesus went ; for, though he loves ' most the poor and sorrowing, he also loves well the rich and prosperous, knowing, that, though outwardly fortunate, they may hide many secret griefs in their souls. His eyes search every man's heart, and he sees what is in man ; for is he not in truth my kinsman, whom I have known now for many years, though only to-day have I become one of those who follow him constantly, to be taught by him, and to be wit- nesses of all that he doeth? " Thus spake Levi, who is called Matthew; and I went by his side in silence, astonished at the power which went forth from this man Jesus. But Matthew spake once more, and • «I have told thee of his eating meat in the house of Simon the Pharisee, where was a great company of the Pharisees. And, while we sat and talked, we lifted up our eyes, and, behold, a woman stood in the doorway. Her eyes were full of tears, and her dress was that of a strange I MEET JESUS OF NAZIRAH. 145 woman. She had sandals bright with gold on her feet, and her veil had dropped, and her face was like that of a fallen angel. And we knew her to be a woman full of sins, and wondered that she dared to come into the house of a holy man like Simon. Yet she seemed to pay heed to no one, and came softly forward to the place where Jesus lay on the couch near unto the host, with the others who lay around the table. As she passed behind the couch, some one said unto me that she had a costly box in her hand. Then she stood behind Jesus, and the tears dropped from her eyes on his feet ; and, when she saw it, she wiped them with her long hair. And she stooped and kissed his feet, and opened her box, and put costly ointment on his feet, so that the perfume filled the whole room. And Simon the Pharisee turned, and spoke to his neighbor, saying, ' Now I see that this man is no prophet ; for he is not offended at the woman, nor does he refuse to be touched by her. Surely he does not know, what we all know, that she is a sinner.' And all who were there were displeased with the woman, and doubted concerning Jesus. "Now, Jesus had been looking downwai'd, not appear- ing to see what the woman did, nor to notice the discontent of those around. At last he raised his eyes, and turned them on Simon, the giver of the feast, and said with a pleasant smile, as though some thought had suddenly come to him, ' Simon, I have somewhat to say to thee.' And the Phari- see was pleased, and answered with satisfaction, 'Master, say on.' Then Jesus told a story of two debtors, — one owing a large debt, and the other a small one, to the same lord ; and how he forgave them both. Afterward Jesus asked Simon to say which of these debtors would love the good man the most. Simon answered that he supposed lie would love him most to whom he had forgiven most. Then Jesus turned, and looked at the woman kneeling behind the couch, and said to Simon, but still with a smile, and showing 146 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDTMUS. that he knew what had been in his thoughts, ' Seest thou, this woman, Simon? I came into thine house, and was thy guest ; thou gavest me no water for my feet : but this woman hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head. Thou gavest me no kiss of salu- tation on my cheek : but this woman, since I came in, hath not ceased to kiss, even my feet. Thou didst not bring oil to put on my head : but this woman hath anointed my feet with costly ointment. Seest thou not in this, Simon, her great love? Her love is great, because, her sin having been great, I have brought to her pardon from God. Those who see not that they commit sins feel not the need of pardon. Thou thoughtest I knew not that she was a sinner. I know that her sin hath been great, and her soul full of disease ; but she is now healed.' O Thomas! when he said that, it was like the sun breaking suddenly into the room. All felt ashamed who had said evil words about the woman ; for we knew she had repented of her sins, and had saved her soul alive. Then Jesus told her to go in peace, and she went out, still weepiug ; but I think her tears were tears of joy. Simon began to make excuses ; but Jesus said, ' Forbear, but remember, that, when God has cleansed a soul, thou must not call it unclean. God's forgiveness can make sins which are like scarlet as white as snow.' Thus did Jesus speak, or somewhat thus ; for I myself was not there, but I heard of it from others." And this story, O my children! sank into my heart. I have often repeated it unto you ; for in it is the essence of the glad tidings of great joy. Then, while I listened to Matthew, a sudden ray of light flashed into the darkness of my soul. I saw for a moment how all evil might be changed to good ; since even sin, when repented of and forgiven, is thus trans- formed into that love which casteth out fear, and maketh us sit even now, in heaven, among the angels. Thus talking, we came to the house of Matthew ; and, as I MEET JESUS OF NAZIRAH. 147 we entered, we saw vessels of water placed where the purify- ing ablutions could be performed, as the rabbis ordain. And I, also, poured the water on my hands carefully, according to the directions ; for though my faith in the law of my fathers had fled, and I had no longer any belief in Yahveh, and my soul within was full of darkness, I still practised the outward ceremonies of my people as of old, and would have felt sinful had I neglected them. Thus the forms of religion will often remain, my children, after its soul has gone ; as, when the life of a tree has fled, its dead trunk remains, or as the shell of a nut continues sound when the kernel within is dead. Therefore I carefully poured the water of purify- ing on my hands, first looking to see that no black drop had colored it, and remembering the rule that we must not pour the water on the two hands with a single gush from the vessel, nor let the water poured on the wrist run back into the hand, nor pour the water out of one hand upon the other. For thus had we been taught. Now, when we were sitting in the cool shadow, the doors were opened, and I saw a young man come in, followed by others. A murmur went around the chamber, "This is he ! " When I saw him, I was aston- ished ; for the youth did not appear as a mighty prophet, but rather as one of the beautiful angels who stand near the throne of God. As he and his followers went by the water- pots of purifying, and did not pour water on their hands, a murmur of discontent went around the room. The youth- ful master paused, and said to us, "If we wish to be really clean, let us cleanse that which is within, not that which is without." Yet I thought within myself, "But why not both?" Afterward, when I came to know him well, I asked him this question, repeating what my Master Gamaliel had once said to me : "Must not every soul have a body ? In religion, are not such works as the washing of hands, keeping the sabbath, abstaining from unclean meats, fasting at certain 148 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. times, hours of prayer, and sacrifices, the body of which faith, hope, and love are the soul? The body which hath no soul is a corpse, and ought to be buried out of the way ; but the soul which has no body is a ghost, and doth not become useful to the people, but only frighteneth them, because its natural organs of speech and touch are wanting. If these are dead works, would it not be better to make them alive by putting more of soul into them, than to cast them aside altogether? Thou and thy disciples fast not, neither wash hands before meat, nor abstain from unclean food, nor pray at regular hours, nor keep the sabbath ; and thus those whose consciences are weak are offended. Weak souls need such outward supports, and find much comfort in them ; and, if suddenly deprived of them, their religion goes away at once. Moreover, our religion is so tied and bound to these actions, that, when we do the outward act, the inward spirit is born again within us. If spiritual exercises keep the body healthy and pure, bodily exercises, in turn, arouse the soul." Thus I spoke, repeating the arguments I had heard from the lips of nvy old teacher, the wise Gamaliel, disciple of the benignant Hillel. He used to add, " These traditions are a fence around the law, as abstinence is a fence around tem- perance, and as the outward sabbath-keeping is a fence around the inward sabbath-keeping, or rest of the soul." The master and I sat beneath the shade of a pomegranate- tree ; and, the fruit being ripe, I had gathered one, and had eaten it. And the master asked me what I had done with the hard rind, which was like the leather of which men make sandals. I pointed to the fragments which I had thrown on the ground. And he told me that the works of the law, such as fasting, and abstaining from meats, were like the rind of a fruit, or the shell of a nut, — good while the fruit is grow- ing, to keep it from harm, but to be broken and cast away when the fruit is ripe. At another time he compared these Jewioli ceremonies to the leathern bottles intu which wine is I MEET JESUS OF NAZIRAH. 149 put : and he said, that if we put the new wine, which is still fermenting, into an old leather bottle which has become stiff and hard, the wine will burst it; but the new wine when put into new bottles will only cause them to swell and ex- pand, and they will not burst. Moreover, he told us that the wine of his truth was new wine, and must be put into "new bottles. Still we were grieved to give up all the reli- gious actions which we had been taught from childhood. At another time Jesus declared how all outward actions should agree with the inward state ; that to fast when we were glad was not a true fast, and made a falsehood in the soul ; that to pray merely because the hour of prayer had come, when we did not feel the need of any thing from God, was not to pray in spirit and truth ; and he warned us not to pray, or fast, or give to the poor, in order that men should see us and praise us, but only to be seen of God. While Jesus was with us, all this seemed good ; for he was so full of the power and presence of God, and such a tenderness from God looked out of his eyes, that we needed not hours of prayer. After he was gone, many said, " This is a cold religion. It hath no priests, nor sacrifices, nor days of fasting, nor sabbaths, nor feasts, nor ablutions, nor syna- gogues. It is hardly any religion at all." Many, therefore, went back, and walked no more with us, but said, "The Jewish religion is old, and this of Jesus is of yesterday. That is spread over the world, and is a great power among the nations, so that even the emperor trembles when he hears of us ; but this religion of Jesus is a small thing, hiding away in caves and in upper chambers, where no manseeth it. It hath no solemn rites and awful forms, but is bare and naked ; and the soul is cold in such a freezing climate." My children, not long since, a messenger of the churches, whom the Greeks call an angel, came to this place, sent to see the brethren scattered abroad, and to learn of their affairs. He brought us news of the state of things in Syria 150 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. and Galatia, in Asia, and Greece, and Rome. He said this same doubt yet disturbed the peace of the churches, and that a certain disciple named Paul (whom, indeed, I had known) had said that we were saved from sin only by giv- ing our faith to Jesus, and trusting our soul to the mercy of God, and not by any keeping of outward sabbaths or out- ward sacrifices, or circumcision which is outward in the flesh. He said that much indignation was expressed by those of our religion who live at Jerusalem, because of this. He told me the followers of my old friend Simon Peter (as they now call him) declared this to lie false, and said that Paul was no apostle, for he was not one of the twelve. Peter said that these outward acts were necessary to protect and keep safe the inward soul of faith, as the walls of a house are neces- sary to keep the cold out of the rooms where the family are together. The walls are not a home, for the family makes the home; "nevertheless," said Peter, "the Avails are needed, likewise, to keep the family safe." Thus Peter argued. But the messenger of the churches brought with him also two rolls, one of them a letter from this same Paul to the Assembly of the Disciples in the great city which men call Rome. In this letter Paul taught that no man need do any of these Jewish actions in order to be a disciple of Jesus, and to escape from sin and Hades. When we repent, and turn from our sins, we have only to trust in God mani- fested to us in Jesus as our best friend and helper. Thus Paul declared. And when I remember how Jesus, though a Jew, refused to wash his hands, and to do such acts of reli- gion, I am indeed satisfied that this Paul, whom I believe to be my old companion, is right ; and that the friend of my youth, Simon, is wrong, in this matter. The other roll which the messenger brought was that which we also have read in our assembly, called a Letter to the Hebrews of the Dispersion. It besought them not to I MEET JESUS OF NAZIRAII. 151 leave Jesus, and not to go back to the Jewish religion, be- cause of its priests and sacrifices, its temple and festivals. "■For," saith this writer (arguing as I used to hear the dis- ciples of riiilo teach in Alexandria) , "we have in Christ Jesus the essential thing, — the core and heart, of which these are only the husks and the shell." He saith, " The Christ is our priest : the Christ is our passover ; the Christ is our sacrifice ; and the Christ in the soul is our sabbath of rest." But you, my children, who have never known any thing of these Jewish ceremonies, understood not well this Letter to the Hebrews, nor could you see what was the meaning thereof. At the e~d, it told of those who had lived and died in faith, showing how much greater is faith than all outward ceremonies. I have left my story, speaking of these things. Now I will return to my first knowledge of our master. Early in the morning Matthew came to my bedside, and touched me on the shoulder, and said, "Arise, Thomas ! We go soon to hear the teacher, for he will speak to the people concerning the kingdom and the laws thereof ; and already the multitude passeth by the house, through the streets, on their way to the mountain near by, where he will teach to- day." And I arose quickly, and when we had eaten dates, and a cluster of grapes, and bread, we went unto the moun- tain. The people, both men and women, were gathered together along the sides of the hill above a little valley. They sat on the grass, under the shade of the palms and oaks, which gi'ew side by side in this fortunate land. And the murmur of waters descending from above was in our ears. Then I saw the teacher come down the mountain from above, where he had passed the night in prayer (as some of his disciples told me), while the disciples slept on the grass. Such was the custom of the teacher. He had no fixed hours 152 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. of pra3 T er, like the Pharisees ; but when he went forth to any work, or when he did any important action, he prayed beforehand for power to do it aright, calling on God, as a father, to aid him in his task. Thus the Helper was always near when he needed help. But because he did not pray according to the prayer of formality, at fixed seasons, men said of him that he had no religion, but was only a man of morality. Thus men judge by appearances, and not right- eously. And, behold ! as I drew near, the teacher had seated him- self on a stone to speak. And when he had lifted up his eyes toward the people, who sat around and above him on the sides of the hill, he opened his mouth, and spoke of the kingdom of heaven, which we all hoped soon to see in our land. First of all he told us who were to belong to the kingdom, and how happy they would be as servants of the King who was to come, even the Messiah. I well remember the first word he spoke : for it fell on my ear with a tone and a power which aroused my whole soul to listen. The word was, — " Blessed ! " And then he paused, and looked around with eyes full of pity, as he saw the poor people, so wretched, so forlorn, hungry, and half-naked (for there were many of these who had been plundered of all they had by Roman soldiers) , and many sick, also ; others, moreover, who were rich and well, with some rulers and scribes among them. And all listened with eagerness for the words of his lips. And I repeat the thought as I recall it, but not the very words ; for these escape my memory. " Blessed are ye poor," said he again ; " for ye are nearer to the kingdom of God than if ye were rich." And then he stopped a moment, and spoke once more : — "But blessed are ye whose souls are poor; for the king- dom of God has come unto you to make your souls rich. I MEET JFSL'S OF NAZIKAH. 153 "Blessed are ye that weep now, and are sad; for your sadness shall be turned to joy." And he went on, and pronounced those really blessed and fortunate who were persecuted, hated, and reviled, and whom men should cast out, because they were the friends of the Son of man. And I said to Matthew, " Who, then, is this Son of man?" But he made no reply. And the teacher went on, and said, "Blessed are the meek, and the merciful, and the peacemakers, and the pure in heart, and all who seek to be righteous." And he said that all these were the true sons of the kingdom. And I was greatly astonished, both at the majesty with which he spoke, and at the nature of his teaching. I would tell you, O my children, of his face and his per- son ; but it is not easy to do this, not though I could speak as the Greek poet Homer does when he describes the gods. You remember, my children, that I once read to you, from the heroic songs called " The Iliads," a description of Zeus, and another of the far-darting Phoebus. AVhen I looked at the teacher, these verses came to my mind. Some- times such an authority was in his voice, that the heavens above and the earth around seemed to assent to his words, and the air vibrated in answer. His eyes were filled with a heavenly light. He spoke as a king, and strength stood behind, and obedience went before him. "Whenever that voice of command came from his lips, no one could resist its power. But now he spoke with another accent, so musical, yet so strong, that all listened with hushed attention. When he said, " Blessed are ye poor," a whole world of pity was in the words; and when he said afterward, "Blessed are those whose souls are poor, ' ' a still more heavenly tenderness was there, so that light came into the eyes of the wretched people. But I comprehended not fully the meaning of these words. 154 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. \7hy bless the spiritually poor, who were sinners and break- ers of the law ? The great teachers whose words had come to me had ever said, tk Blessed are the rich in spirit, blessed are the virtuous;" but this teacher, though he blessed the pure in heart, also blessed the sinful. Afterward I learned, my children, the hidden meaning of this saying. The doctors of the law taught us to obey, and that strictly, every command of God and every tradition of the elders, that we might become pure from sin. Those who attained unto this perfect righteousness were said to be blessed. But what became of those who reached it not? There was no comfort for them, no hope. " He who doeth these things shall live by them." Therefore, while our teach- ers helped good men to grow bette", they gave no courage to bad men to grow good. But Jesus brought good news for the bad men who were tired of their badness, for sinners whose desire was to escape from their sin. He told them to love their enemies ; since God, also, loved Ms enemies, send- ing sun and rain on the evil and the good. For though they were indeed sinful, yet was God their best friend ; though their hearts were dead in evil, the breath of the life of God was within them to make their souls come forth out of their graves. AVas not this blessed news for the spiritually poor? All the prophets had blessed the spiritually rich : this one came to bring pardon, peace, courage, and hope to the spiritu- ally poor. I listened, amazed, to these words, not understanding them. He continued, and said that our nation was the salt to keep the earth from being corrupt. For this end was Israel created. But, if the very salt was bad, there was nothing else by which it could be salted. And he said that if the Jewish nation ceased from righteousness, and became corrupt, the Lord would suffer it to be trampled down and destroyed. Instead of this, it ought to be a great light to lighten the whole world. I MEET JESUS OF NAZIRAII. 155 And because men had said he was a sabbath-breaker, and one who profaned the law, and taught others to do the same, he declared that he came, not to destroy the law or the prophets, or any good thing, but to make it better by filling it full of more abundant life. Nothing which is a real part of God's law, though it be but the smallest letter in the books of Moses, but must remain until it grows up into something yet higher and better. I found afterward that these words were true ; for though our master did not keep the sabbath outwardly, after the cus- tom of the Pharisees, he filled the heart full of a peace which made every day a sabbath of rest. He gave us an inward sabbath, instead of an outward sabbath. He gave us inward purity, and truth in the soul, instead of hands washed often with water. Instead of a sin-offering on the altar at Jerusalem, he showed us God's heavenly tenderness and gracious love, by making his own life an offering and a sacrifice ; so that sin fled away before the joy of being one with our Father. He fulfilled every thing ; he destroyed nothing. He made religion more religious, and goodness more good. All that he taught filled us with new astonishment. He first roused and then appeased the mind, by his wonderful words. What he said appeared strange to us in the begin- ning, and this aroused our mind ; but, after we had meditated a little, we saw how true it was, and we were appeased. His mind was ever at liberty, — as free as the birds, which have no paths in the air, but fly as they will. All the old roads, marked and fenced in by the traditions of the fathers during many hundred years, he moved over as if they existed not. Tradition, custom, law, opinion, rules of belief and conduct, he did not indeed oppose and contend against, but rather acted and spoke as if they had never been. Nevertheless, we found, that, though he set aside the outward law of the doc- tors, he obeyed an inward law of God, written in his heart. 156 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMl'S. He cast aside the righteousness of the Pharisees, not that he might have less righteousness, but more, and of a better kind. It greatly surprised us when he said, "Unless your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, }*e shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven ; ' ' for the Pharisees were the wisest and best people in the land. I who had lived among them knew that many were clothed in pretence and falsehood, and seemed pious outwardly, but inwardly allowed all selfish desires. But I knew many others who were not hypocrites, but truly good men, full of knowledge and good will, loving and helping other men. If those good Pharisees might not enter the kingdom of God, which was to be soon established in Judaea, who, then, might belong to it? I know at this time, my children, the meaning of his words. Every man who is really in the kingdom of heaven has in his heart the new power of love, which lifts him up above the painful goodness of the Pharisees. If he" be not better than they now are, yet he has within a growing virtue. Thus a stone may be larger than an acorn ; yet, as the acorn is alive, it may grow into a tree much larger than the stone. Listen to this parable : — A father had two children. One of them obeyed him, but did not love him : the other loved him, but did not obey him. The first went early to the field every morning, and worked hard all day, and did all his father commanded ; but his face had no gladness in it, and no tenderness. He did what he was told to do, but no more. He smiled not, neither said he ever a kind word to any man, nor a word of love unto his father. The second child slept until the sun was high, and often forgot the commandments of his father ; but he loved his father, and mourned over his faults, and so at last he learned to do right, and became better and better every day. Thus his love for his father caused his goodness to grow up into all things excellent. I MEET JESUS OF NAZIRAH. 157 The righteousness of the Pharisees was like that of the first son ; but that which Jesus desired was the other. The righteousness of the Pharisees was to obey the whole law, in order to escape the torments of Gehenna, and to flee the wrath of the great judge, Yahveh : the righteousness of the Christ came forth from love for the Father, who is both in heaven and on earth, who forgiveth our sins, and helpeth us to conquer them. Thus the kingdom of God and its righteousness would not come so much with doing as with loving. He who is in- wardly a lover of God cannot help doing something good. When we make pure the spring, the water flowing from it will be pure ; for out of the heart proceed all good and all bad actions. A good heart is like a good tree, which, without any painful endeavor, brings forth good fruit. A bad heart is like an evil tree, which cannot by any effort bring forth good fruit, but only sour or hard fruit, not to be eaten. Thus he showed us that real murder is not in the hand which strikes the deadly blow, but in the heart which hates another. Anger is murder in its seed : when the anger breaks out into passionate rebuke, the seed has begun to grow up into a stalk ; but when the anger has become con- tempt and hatred for another, then it only needs opportunity and provocation to become murder in act. It is full-grown murder in the heart, and carries the fires of Gehenna with it. The soul of one who hateth and despiseth his brother, already tastes the fire of hell. So taught our teacher in this dis- course on the mountain. Then he also taught us that we should be like God, who forgiveth his enemies, and doeth good unto them alwa} T . k 'If you will be true children of God," said he, " forgive your enemies, bless them, pray for them, help them in their trials, be pitiful to them in their sorrows." But this was more than I could believe or do. What! — forgive and love the cruel Antipas, the Romans who tortured our people, the false 158 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. Pharisee who had ruined my noble Miriam? No, truly, never ! I could bear no more, and I turned away. I walked to a distance and sat down, my mind distracted. But I heard from time to time, where I sat, the music of the master's voice, which drew me toward him. Slowly I re- turned ; and, as I drew near, he was saying some such words as these : " No man can serve two masters ; for, when they command different acts, he must obey the first and disobey the last, or he must obey the last and disobey the first. Let your eye be single, and your body shall be full of light. Therefore serve God only and wholly, and help only his cause of truth aud love ; then will all things come well at the last, What good doth anxiety, whether it be anxiety about your body or about your soul, about your earthly or your heavenly meat? Trust in God. Do what is right, and trust in God, then all that you need you shall have." "Verily," 1 said, "if I could only believe this! But how can I in a world so filled with darkness and evil? " So I turned away once more ; for, though my heart drew me unto Jesus. I was not yet able to believe what he said con- cerning the kingdom which was to come down from God out of heaven, to be established in the midst of our land, and to which all nations should flow. Then he went down the mountain ; and great numbers of people went with him, the man so attracted them. They suffered him not to depart from among them ; such great strength, peace, and hope came unto them from his words. His speech came down on their weary hearts like rain, after many weeks of drought, on a parched laud. As they passed by me, one said to another, " I heard never any man speak like this man, not even Rabbi Onias." And another said, "His words are with power, and are weighty with truth. The words of the scribes are light as chaff, but his are heavy as gold." And these were common people, who knew not how to utter their thoughts, or to snve a reason for them. Then I, who had also felt his I MEET JESUS OP NAZIRAII. 159 speech to be with power, sat still in the place, seeking to understand with myself why I felt thus ; for I was attracted and repelled at once. I could not accept what he said, for all my belief seemed to me to be wholly different from his. Yet I longed to believe his teaching ; for it was as the heavenly light when the sun rises through the clefts of the mountains, and the white mists melt away before his face. As I pondered on this prophet's speech, in which he plainly told the whole plan of the coming kingdom, and the work of the coming King, I saw how opposite it was to my own belief and expectation, and to that of the great teachers of the Jews. His plan was to conquer our oppressors by loving them and blessing them. His belief was in a power of love and truth which can overcome wickedness. He had faith that the force of CaBsar was not equal to the might of goodness. The Messiah, indeed, as he taught, was to come, and to reign, but far otherwise than most of our people thought. The Jewish nation was truly to possess the earth, but by being its teachers, helpers, comforters. Yahveh was to be obeyed by all the nations, but by being shown to them as a heavenly Father and an infinite tender Friend. Jeru- salem was in truth to be the metropolis of the earth, because it was to be a fountain pouring forth forever fresh water of life for the healing of the nations. This whole doctrine, nevertheless, seemed to me vague, airy, poetic, and impos- sible. And yet his speech was very full of confidence. He spoke as one who knew certainly the truth he taught. I saw, indeed, that what he said in this proclamation of his faith was to him substantial as the rock whereon he sat. Xo tremor of hesitation or impatience disturbed his calm utter- ance. And, the more I pondered, the more I saw how each part fitted into every other, and made an entire whole, want- ing nothing. I had seen in Alexandrcia men who made 160 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. curious cabinets for the rich, into which their jewels could be concealed in secret divisions, behind small doors. Once I saw a skilful workman engaged in making one out of the hard black wood brought down the Nile. And he told me that there were more than two hundred joints in the cabinet, which must exactly fit, or all would be awry. And when he had made it, and put it together, his measures were so perfect, that every part was perfectly "joined with every other. So I saw that in this doctrine, to me so new and strange, of the coming One and his kingdom, every part fitted every other. For truly he began, not by calling to- gether the powerful, the rich, the strong, but the poor, the sinful, the wretched. But this was wise, not only because it would show the Romans and Herod Autipas that no rebel- lion was intended against them, but also because these poor people could better receive the new doctrine of love. Also he said that the Jewish nation were called to be the light of the world, and that they would do the work of God by letting their light shine. His meaning I believed to be like that which 1 had heard in Egypt, — that God had made dif- ferent nations for different duties. The Greeks were made to teach beauty to men by their arts ; the Romans were to be an iron chain binding the whole world together by means of power; but the Jews were to be salt, to purify its moral nature, and light, to show to it goodness and God. By using force against the Romans, we took weapons which were not ours ; and in the use of such weapons they could always defeat us. But, if we used only the weapons of truth and love, we must conquer. The Greek philosophers, whose writings I had studied in Alexandria, always wished to say something new. They sought for some thoughts, opinions, or statements which had never before been uttered. They put every thing into new forms. Thales said that " water," that is, the element, the fluid, " is the root of all things." Another came, and said. I MEET JESL'S OF NAZIKAH. 1G1 "Air is the origin of all things;" another said, "Num- bers;" another said, "The One and All;" another said, "The Self-Existent;" another said, " Generation and De- struction ; " another said, "The four Elements ; " Another, "Contradictions and Reconciliations;" another, "Atoms." Each new philosopher denied all that the others had said, and began again as if nothing had been done before. This made men feel that there was no progress anywhere ; and thus we grew weary of such studies, which seemed to lead to no end. It was like the wind, which whirleth about continually, and returneth again according to its circuit. It ended always in new phrases and a new system of words. But this teacher, Joshua-ben- Yosheph, sought no such novelty of words or thoughts. Yet, while he spoke, I felt that he made all things new. God, man, nature, life, all became new under the power of his teaching. Many of his sayings were like those of the rabbis re- ported to us in the traditions of the fathers. Thus, when he said that " not the smallest letter of the law, not even the little letter Jod, or the point on the Daleth which distin- guishes it from Resh, should pass from the law, till all was fulfilled," I remembered like sayings. One rabbi said that the letter Jod came and prostrated itself before God, and said, " O eternal Lord, thou hast taken me out of the name of the blessed Sarai, the holy woman ! " And the Lord answered, "In truth I have taken thee from the end of a woman's name ; but I will put thee at the beginning of a man's name, even Hoshea, whom I will call Je-hoshea." Thus, too, he always in his teaching called Yahveh " Our Father," and " Your Father," and " Our Father in heaven." These were words well known to me, and often uttered ; yet, as they came from his lips, they had a power of tender love in them which made me sure that no one was ever truly a son of God until this time. There was nothing new in the words when this teacher 1G2 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. prayed that God's kingdom might come ; for I remembered ithe axiom in the Jewish schools, "That prayer wherein is no mention of the kingdom of God is not a prayer." There was nothing new in the words, when he said, " Thy will be done on earth, as in heaven;" for Rabbi Eliezer said, "What is the short prayer? It is this, 'O God, do thy will in heaven, and give quietness of spirit to those who fear thee below.' " And, when he spoke of the mote and the beam, I was reminded of the same proverb as I had heard it in the schools. Thus Rabbi Tarphon said, "Will any in this age endure reproof? For if I say to any, ' Cast out of thine eye that mote,' he will reply. 'O rabbi, there is a beam in thine own eye.' " Also in that great saying which is now called "the com- mandment made of gold," "Do to others all things ye would they should do unto you," there was no newness in the letter. For I remember hearing that a Gentile once came to Shammai, and said, " Tell me the substance of the whole law, and all things essential therein, while I stand on one foot. " And Shammai drove him away in anger. But he came to Hillel with this request; and Hilled replied, " Yea, verily, the whole law is here : ' That which is odious to thyself, do it not to thy neighbor.' " Therefore I said, "The letter of this teaching is not new. It is not a new framework of thought, uttered in sayings not heard before ; but it is the old and everlasting truth of all the religions of men, made alive once more for all men to believe: it is a new spirit, making the letter new." In spring all nature appears new, though the leaves of the fig and the vine are no novelties, but shaped exactly as they were last year. The power of this master was. that he w:is so full of new life that he made all things new wherever he went. x\ll the old things had passed away : and we, too, became like new men ourselves, being verily full of a new life. I MEET JESUS OF NAZIRAH. 1G3 I also saw, as I meditated on this speech, that he stripped off from our law all that was like a wall of partition around our nation ; making the law spiritual, and thus universal. All righteousness came from the heart : the outward part was the husk and the shell alone. To pray was not to recite the eighteen prayers of our ritual, but to be alone with God in the closet of one's soul. The true fast was not to appear sad, or to rend one's garments, and put ashes on one's head : it was to give up our own joy for that of another, and to be cheerful when we acted thus, not appearing unto men to be fasting at all. But that which he taught with such power and such strong confidence, that it filled our hearts with fire, and our eyes with happy tears, was a perfect trust in our heavenly Father as our nearest friend. While he spake, it seemed as though I could never doubt or distrust any more that perfect love. Alas ! too soon, the old doubts returned, and new clouds came up to veil from me the face of that infinite tenderness. 164 THE LEU END OF THOMAS, CALLED D1DYMUS. CHAPTER IX. THE CONVERSION OF MIRIAM. — I BECOME A DISCIPLE OF JESUS, AND ONE OF THE TWELVE MISSIONARIES. I sat alone in the shade of a terebinth-tree, for the teacher and the multitude were gone. " In truth," I said to myself, "the hearer was right who said that this man's teaching is not like that of the scribes. The scribes debate concerning every question, and give many reasons for the one side, and many for the other. They fill their mouths with arguments, and what one says another denies. They are ever seeking, but care little for finding ; and thus a mist of doubt hangs over all matters. If Hillel and his school say this, then Shammai and his school say something different. In truth, they declare this uncertainty to be good ; since it leaves the minds of the learned men free, so that they examine always, yet are not they tied to any belief. But this makes of truth something for our amusement, and not that by which we live." For I had felt in myself the misery of an empty soul. But our new teacher, Jesus, seemed not like a seeker after truth, but as one who had found it ; for, if a man has found a diamond, he does not give reasons to prove that he has found a diamond, but rather opens his hand, and shows it. - Jesus opened his hand, and showed us the jewels of truth which he held therein. He gave no reasons, he used no arguments, but simply said, "Look, and see." Thus he differed from the scribes, and spoke with authority. I have heard men speak with authority of another sort. THE CONVERSION OF MIUIAM. 165 They say, " Believe me : I know I am right. No one knows so much as I." Such men have the authority of will, but not that of knowledge. They believe as they choose, and so speak with a tone of violence ; and, if opposed, they speak more loudly, and bear down the opposers. But he who is certain of what he says is not violent. If I talk with blind men, who see not the sun, I do not become wroth against them, but seek to explain to them what I see, saying, " Here is a house, and here a tree, and here a lake of water." Thus spake Jesus, and we appeared to ourselves as blind men while he spake, and that he alone had sight. Moreover, I continued my discourse with myself, fathom- ing the secret of his strange power; and I said, "If two men sat on the Mount of Olives, over against Jerusalem, but with their backs turned toward it, they might argue concern- ing the city, even as the scribes argue. They would dispute concerning the temple, as to where it was placed, also con- cerning the Tower of Antonia, and the upper city and the lower, each man giving reasons for his opinion. But if another sat by them, with his face turned toward the city, he would not argue, but rather say, ' Behold ! there ariseth from the rocks the vast walls, like those of a castle, with towers upon them ; and within riseth higher another wall, with huge stones, built to last forever ; and still within, and above both, I see the Holy Place, and before it a gateway covered with a golden vine and great multitudes of clusters of golden grapes.' Thus would he describe the things he saw, with- out argument. And those who listened would say, ' Verily, this man knoweth what he seeth, else how could he describe it, thus making it appear before our eyes ? He pauseth not to consider what words to use, but answereth every question at once.' " And thus Jesus spoke ; for he appeared to look inwardly at some vision revealed to his soul. But a part of his authority was also in this, that, as he spake, something within my heart replied, assenting to his 166 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. speech. Thpugh my mind disbelieved, my heart in that moment believed. My soul was like the rock or hill, which returns every word of a speaker. Something deep down within me, below all my opinions, repeated like an echo his words. For the moment I also believed in God and in a divine law. I trembled on the edge of a new faith, and I believed in the midst of my unbelief. Yet, when the sound of his voice died away, the darkness came back over my mind. I dropped my face into my hands, and sat long, without any thought, but with an mpty soul. Soon steps drew near ; and, lifting up my eyes, I saw women approaching me. A voice fell on my ear to which all my heart leaped up in response. The face turned toward me : it was the face of Miriam. She knew me at once ; for her face lighted up with something of the former fire, and she said a few words to the other women. Then she left them, and came toward me. They passed on, and once more I was alone with Miriam. The same, but how different ! The proud look was gone ; a shadow of melancholy rested on her face : yet courage and hope were in her eyes, and tender sympathy dwelt on her lips. A womanly softness such as I had never seen in her before filled the air around her like a halo, as she stood before me. Her face showed that she had been through the most dreadful grief, and that rivers of tears had flowed over her cheeks ; yet amid all there was a serene peace, and the marks of a mind which had become balanced, steadfast, and at one with itself. And I cried with a great cry, " Miriam, Miriam ! " "Yes, Thomas," said she, "I am Miriam again, thy friend. The demons have been cast out of me, I trust not again to return. The mad woman whom thou sawest before is gone. The cruel fiends who possessed me have departed. I have found one who has shown to me that God loves me, and has brought me to see myself as God sees me. I THE CONVERSION OF MI1UAM. 167 sec my sin in all its horror, and yet I have hope. 1 have repented of the wickedness which I have committed, and trust to save my soul alive by doing henceforth what is right and good." "Blessed, blessed be God ! " said I, forgetting that I had no faith in God. "Blessed be God! who would not that such a soul as thine should perish. — But tell me, O Miriam ! how came this to pass ? ' ' " I will tell thee the whole story," she replied, " although it is painful. When I saw thee in Tiberias, my heart was full of evil. There was falsehood there ; for I lived a lie, professing to love a man whom I hated. There was murder there, since I longed every day to deliver the tetrarch to death through the Romans. Black pride was there ; for I believed myself strong enough to rise to the highest place, and to become a power, like that of the Queen of Egypt, to rule the empire. I said I should restore the kingdom to Israel ; and in my madness I even hoped to be the Messiah, and by the Roman power to establish the worship of our God, the living and true God, throughout the world. Now I have learned that a man cannot create good by means of evil, and that Satan will never cast out Satan. Then, too, I was in love with luxury. I loved the arts of Greece and Rome. I heaped up wealth, that I might satisfy myself with gorgeous robes and jewels, with statues and paintings, golden and silver chariots drawn by the horses of the East, palaces of marble. Selfishness was in my heart : it was hard as the lower millstone. I was full of unbelief. I had a form of faith in Yahveh and the temple, but none of the power of God was in me. I was inwardly possessed by a spirit of despair ; for all at which I aimed I knew to be empty, dead, rotten, but I had no hopeof any thing higher." She paused, and looked at me, her eyes full of tears. "And yet God had mercy — he had great mercy." She went on: "In the midst of my pride, when all my 168 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDVMUS. hopes were swollen, like the bags of wine in the season of fermentation, came the destruction. A haughty spirit goes before a fall. "There is a man who flattered me and misled me. He is the son of dark ways and secret plans. He has only one purpose, one wish, — the triumph of his party, the Pharisees, and by their means the conquest of the world. His name is Ben-Gamlah. He spareth no one who stands in the way of his work. He corrupted my soul by his seeming holi- ness, but he was like that marble tomb on the top of the neighboring summit. How fair it seems, with its slender columns, but how foul within with rottenness ! Such a one is Ben-Gamlah. He taught me that falsehood, murder, cruelty, were right, when done for Yahveh ; that whatever was done to exalt our nation was done for Yahveh ; and that what was done for the Pharisees was for the nation. He made me believe that Moses was not so great as the rabbis ; that they could forgive all sin ; that to serve them and their cause would make me like Deborah and Esther. He flattered my pride : he said that no woman such as I had risen in Israel ; that I could lead Antipas as I would ; and that, by feeding his ambition, I could lead him to his ruin. I was taught by Gamlah to persuade Herod to go to Rome to obtain a larger dominion ; and when the emperor, jealous of his designs, should banish him to Gaul, I might easily be- come the wife of a Roman prince, and one day Queen of Rome. And he taught me that all this was to be done for the glory of God. He was cunning as a fox, and seemed white as a dove. Yet how could I believe him ? I know not. My hungry pride, and my selfish love of glory and luxury, were my ruin. "But I was not all he needed. He could not control me utterly. Something better remained in me which resisted his dark designs. It may be that he thought, if I became powerful, I should cease to be his slave. It is certain that THE CONVERSION OF MIHIAM. 1G9 he at last determined on my ruin ; and, when that implacable soul has determined on any thing, he spares no means to bring it about. tl His plan was to give Antipas another favorite in my place. He chose Herodias, the wife of the brother of Antipas. The nature of Antipas is feeble and suspicious. He is not strong enough for any generous love or lasting ambition. The jealousy which runs in the veins of his race is in him also. Our natures were opposite : he knew it. He saw that there was no real reverence nor love for him in my soul. He suspected and feared me. I easily controlled him when I was with him ; but, when I was away, I think he hated me for that very supremacy of my spirit. " One day, as I sat in my palace, surrounded by my women, a Roman centurion entered with a file of soldiers, and put in my hands a tablet, on which was written an order from Antipas, commanding me immediately to leave Tiberias, and never to enter it again, nor to appear in the tetrarch's pres- ence, under pain of death. A mist came before my eyes : the chamber turned round, and the floor shook as with an earthquake. When I recovered my reason, I demanded to see Rabbi Ben-Gamlah. He came at once, calm as that lake below us. I showed him the tablet, and demanded the mean- ing of the words written thereon. " ' It means,' said he quietly, ' that thou hast proved unfit for thy work ; and that Yahveh, the God of Abraham, hath chosen another in thy place.' " ' This is thy doing, demon ! ' I cried. "'Even so, in part,' he answered, with unmoved face. ' I, also, am an instrument in the hands of the Lord. Neither thou nor I can alter what we are. We do what was ordained for each of us before the foundation of the earth. The Lord .turough me raised thee up ; now by my hands he plucketh thee clown. Thou art not of the right temper for the work : thou art too soft on one side, too violent on the other. 170 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. And, worst of all, thou hast thine own thoughts, and art not willing to be led.' " ' Have I fulfilled, or not, all thy commandments? ' said I. " 'Most of my commandments hast thou fulfilled; but I saw that thine obedience to me grew ever weaker, and that sooner or later thou wouldst choose thine own course, not mine. Think not of it. We are all dry leaves, driven hither and thither by a mighty rushing wind. When my work is done, I, too, shall fall.' Then he wrapped his mantle around him, and strode away. " 'And this is the end,' I said, 'the end of my mighty ambition. Oh, fool, fool! thou who thoughtest thyself so strong, so proud of thy great intelligence. I have been an Egyptian puppet, pulled secretly by wires in the hands of this dark and narrow soul. Because I was filled with many thoughts, and he knew but one, he has led me into this abyss of sin and ruin.' "I rose, and staggered to the door. All my attendants had deserted me ; and I went forth from the palace, and through the streets, alone. Alone I went forth from the city, and along the shore. Men were near me on the beach : they drew their boats by ropes to the strand. I perceived the water dripping from their hands. I beheld a single sail swaying to and fro on the surface, close to the path of light made by the moon over the water. I saw the men gaze fixedly at me as I passed on. But my mind was a blank, and I knew not what I did. " At last I found myself at my own home, just outside the walls of Migdol. All my family were gone ; but I knew that my father's grave was near, and I went and sat upon it, and looked down at the grass, and talked to him who slept below. 'Yes, father,' I murmured, the words coming of themselves from my lips, 'here is thy poor, wicked, foolish child, of whom thou wast so proud. She has become a child of shame, and has made thy name a shameful thing, and has TIIK CONVERSION OF MIUIAM. 171 dishonored her nation. Why was I ever born ? What grave is deep enough to hide my misery ? ' " And yet, Thomas, in that dreadful hour, when all my sins came over me like a winter torrent over a sleeping valley, I thought less of myself than of the evil in the world. It was to me as if a great horror of darkness lested on all nature and all life. A worm was at the root of every flower. 'Vanity,' I cried, — 'all is vanity! There is no God, no Yahveh, nothing but black, iron, deadly fate. There is no goodness, no sin.' "Morning had dawned while I was thus plunged ever deeper into a woe without remedy. Suddenly I felt a soft in- fluence go over my soul, like the air from Karmel upon a hot cheek. I raised my eyes. There stood before me one with a face, oh, so calm, so strong, so heavenly ! with eyes which searched my soul, and yet searched it so graciously. His companions were a little space distant, on the path. He had left them, and had come to me. " 'Woman,' said he, — and his voice was like the music of angels, pure, strong, and tender, — ' why weepest thou ? What is thy woe ? Whence is thy despair ? There is still hope for thee and for all.' " His look, his words, drew the poison from my heart. He sat on a stone near by, while his disciples rested at a little distance. And I told him all, — all my life, — all my hope and ambition, my selfishness, my cruel hatreds, my unbelief, my despair. He said words to ~ne which sometimes pene- trated like the knife of the surgeon, and sometimes healed like the physician's balm. He led me out of myself, and led me toward God. As he spoke, God drew very near : an infinite, blessed tenderness melted my heart in tears, which were no more bitter, but hopeful. I forgot even his presence in the wonderful sense of the presence of God. And, when I looked at him, I saw not him, but I saw my Father in heaven speaking through him, looking out of his eyes. He 172 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. seemed so one with God by his divine faith, that he made me also one with God ; and I said in my soul, ' Whosoever seeth this man seeth the Father.' " And I sobbed forth, ' But can I be forgiven — can I ever be forgiven — my sin is so great, so devilish? ' "He answered, 'When thou art ready to forgive, thou canst be forgiven. God has the same law for himself and for us. Canst thou forgive Antipas and Ben-Gamlah? ' " I shuddered at these names, and I felt the serpent hatred rousing himself again in my heart. ' Oh ! how can I forgive those monsters?' said I. " ' Are they greater sinners than thyself, Miriam? Thou hast also become the poor slave of evil, as they are the slaves of evil. If God is willing to deliver thee from this chain, and to set thee free, canst thou not desire that they also shall be free from evil, and repent, and be saved? ' " ' I can wish that,* I answered ; ' but I cannot wish them well while they remain such demons.' "Then he spake, and showed me how God's great love flowed over the earth, taking care of good and evil ; how he would that all should be saved, and come to the knowledge of the truth ; how he taught us to forgive our enemies, even thousands of times ; and that his own forgiveness for us is as large as that which he commands. He said thit T might be forgiven even now, and that God's forgiving love would purify my heart, and show me how to love him. Then as he looked into my face, I felt my pride and wrath leaving me, and a sweet hope began to stir in my soul. And then with a voice, — oh, how mighty and how tender ! — he said, — and that voice, though but a whisper, penetrated into the very sources of life, — k Daughter, be of good cheer, thy sins are forgiven thee. ' "And, O Thomas! I was almost able to believe it. It seemeth to me that faith is like fire, which can kindle the same fire when the fuel is ready. The great faith of this THE CONVERSION OF MIRIAM. 173 teacher in the presence and help of God began to create a like faith in me. My lost God seemed almost to come back to me again. The demons left me ; despair, the most deadly, fleeing first of all. The whole world was new. The sun shone more bright and warm ; the grass was more green ; the very air was full of the love of God. It terrified me, this sudden change. How could it last? He saw my fear in my eyes, and said, ' It is the gift of God, Miriam, and will continue. God taketh back never what he hath once given.' " And it is true, Thomas. God hath never wholly taken from me the memory of that hour. Clouds returned after the rain. Terrible doubts came back. I even became filled with doubts concerning him, my good and wise teacher. I said, 'He knoweth me not. He cannot help me further.' My pride rose up in rebellion against him, because I thought he despised me, knowing my sin. All the old demons raged, and sometimes almost won the victory. But the master knew the struggle. Even if he were far off, he knew what was in my heart, by some secret divination, and I found him near me. Then, with the deep tone which thou hast heard, full of heavenly harmony, he called on me to rise, and con- quer the demons. Long time I resisted. I thought that there was no hope, and that I was only wearying this kind friend for no purpose. Thus I opposed his appeals, and hardened my heart ; but with infinite patience he waited, and his holy purpose was always stronger than my mad wil- fulness. I may not say how long this conflict lasted, nor how often the demons returned. But the new life hath grown deeper every day. It is a new hope, born out of death and utter woe. He suffered me at last to keep near him, with other women, — with his mother, who is wise and good be- yond all women I have known, and his sisters also, and his mother's sister. And thus I often hear him speak, and his words feed my soul, so that I appear to myself not merely to listen and remember, but to eat and drink of his spirit and life. But now, Thomas, my friend, tell me of thyself ! " 174 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. Then I told her my whole story ; .for once more I felt that we might be friends. Her e}'es had no earthly love in them ; but they prophesied a friendship such as angels may feel for each other in heaven. They bade me answer her without reserve. When she had heard all, she said, " And now, Thomas, I long to have thee share my blessing. AVe have each gone down into the abyss of despair. I have been helped out of it by no power or goodness of my own : thou, too, shalt taste this divine joy of God's forgiving love in thy heart. Let me lead thee to the master, and he will look into thy soul, and see what is thine inmost need ; for he knoweth what is in men, and their hearts lie open before him as the open scroll before the scribe, who can read the ancient language of the law, and explain its meaning until all men understand it." Then she led me to where the master sat, talking with those who stood around. And I wondered, listening, at the gra- cious words which proceeded out of his mouth. Wherein lay their charm ? As he spoke, it was not merely thought which came into the understanding, as when I had listened long hours at the feet of the doctors ; but the very spirit of faith, hope, and peace, which was in him, seemed to flow into the soul of those who listened. I remembered what I had read in the Greek rabbi Plato, how that the poet is like that stone of attraction which is named a loadstone. If a man hang to it an iron ring, the ring becomes full of the spirit of the loadstone, and will sustain another ring hanging to it, and that another, the life of the first going into all. Such a poet, full of the life of God, was our teacher ; and the life flowed from him into all who heard, if they listened with open hearts. Some, who feared a loss of power from his presence, closed their e}'es, and their ears, and their hearts, and shut out this voice of God. Such freedom, my children, does Yahveh give to men, that they may choose or refuse, and that no one need be saved against his will. THE CONVERSION OF MIRIAM. 175 When he had finished his words, he looked at Miriam and at me, and called us to come to him. Before she could speak, he prevented her, saying, "■Thomas, I know the soreness of thy heart, and thy need, and also I know that thou art true, and hast never lied to God. Wilt thou, then, be my disciple, and one of my twelve messengers, — to be with me always, to hear my words, to see my actions, and go out as a bearer of my truth to my people ? ' ' And I was greatly astonished and grieved ; for I thought, "Surely he cannot know me." Then I tried to speak, but could say nothing. And the master replied to my thought, "Said I not, Thomas, that I knew thy sore need? Those who are whole need not a physician, but those who are sick. Thou canst not believe now ; but the Lord is patient, and can wait. When thou dost believe, thou shalt be my messenger to the doubt- ers. Meantime remain with me, and listen to my words." Thus, my children, I was made one of the twelve missiona- ries, though I had no real faith in my soul then, nor until long after. Much that my teacher said I understood not. The A'oice of the spirit often seemed to me like the wandering mists which are lighted by the moonlight, and have no sub- stance. It was only what I could touch with my hands, and see with my eyes, which was to me real. Yet I loved my master greatly, it may be as much as the others loved him ; and I trusted his words that I should one day know what I knew not then. Thus I let no words of his drop to the ground, but put them away in my heart, as the miser puts gold into a hidden place. His words were pieces of gold, which I hid until I could buy wine and meat with them. In those days I had no faith in God. How could I, when I thought nothing real but that which I could see, feel, touch, taste, or smell? God, a spirit, could not be known by the senses, and therefore could not be known at all. We might have a feeling concerning him, but could truly not know any thing of him. 176 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. Neither believed I in any life to come, but thought that when this life ended all would be over ; for to me soul was a word which meant the thoughts and feelings which come from the motion of the bodily atoms moving to and fro. At death all these motions cease : how, then, can one live again Neither believed I that this teacher was the great King who was to come. Where were the armies of David, the mighty warriors, each taller than Goliath, stronger than Samson? AVhere were the hosts which should trample on the power of Rome, of the Herods, of the empires of the East? No! it was folly to think that his goodness could ever conquer the hosts of evil. He could cure sick bodies and sick souls, that I believed ; but how could soft words overcome Roman legions? how could pity throw down stonewalls? I knew that in Samson's riddle sweetness came from strength ; but when did strength ever come from sweetness ? Yet, if he suffered me to become one of his twelve mis- sionaries, I would gladly abide with him, and learn of him. Though I believed not on him, I already loved him : I loved him for what he had done for Miriam ; and in my soul I had a hope that I, too, might attain unto a faith like hers. THE MIGHTY SIGNS AND WONDERS. 177 CHAPTER X. THE MIGHTY SIGNS AND WONDERS. There was a mysterious power in this new prophet which I much desired to understand. He had a power over dis- eases through the minds of the sick. It was as if he con- trolled the body through the soul. His words aroused a power of life which caused the bodily disease to go out of the man, sometimes very speedily. I had seen something of the same sort in Egypt. Many persons were there skilled in natural magic, knowing the secrets of nature and the laws of life, and able to cure dis- eases without drugs, — by imposition of hands, or by words uttered with power, looking into the eyes of the sick man. This I had often witnessed, and could not deny. 1 knew, therefore, that the vital power within, which we call soul, can be roused by the influence of another soul, and made able to put away disease. But in such cases there had been failures often ; and some preparations, also, were necessary. The magician dressed himself in strange garb, and used curious instruments, to rouse amazement in the mind of the diseased. Moreover, he took money from those he healed. He announced his coming by boys, who cried through the place that the great magician had arrived ; and these boys stood in the market, relating to the people his' marvel- lous works. But nothing of this was done by Jesus, our prophet. He did not cry aloud, nor let his voice be heard in the streets : nor did he exhort us to proclaim his wonderful works ; but he commanded us to conceal them, and ordered 178 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. those who were cured not to speak of them. He told them to give thanks to God, not to himself. Once, indeed, he said to one whom he had healed, that he should go home, and tell his friends what great things God had done for him, I asked the master why he did this ; and he answered me, "There are sleeping people who cannot be aroused, unless by a loud cry. But you do not cry aloud with a mighty voice when speaking to those who stand near you, and are awake." Then he added, that he sought not to astonish men by his works of power, lest they should think more of the power than of the truth, but wished to arouse them when their minds suffered a palsy. Most of these works he did from the good- ness of his heart, because he had such great compassion for the poor and sorrowful ; but he did not ask them to believe in him because of these wonders, nor sought to make dis- ciples by means of them. It made him very sad when men followed him only on account of his mighty works. Bad men, he told us, might do deeds of power ; but God was seen only in the good acts which any man did. If men believed that God sent him, because he did good deeds, then he was well pleased ; but when Nicodemus declared that he knew Jesus was a teacher from God, because of his wonders, he told Nicodemus that he must be wholly changed before he could even see the nature of his kingdom. Once, when the people had followed him into the wilder- ness, and were far from any place where they could buy bread, and his disciples had only a few loaves and some fishes, he told them to sit down on the grass. He seemed filled with a mighty pity for these poor people who followed him, because they had no friend nor any helper in their misery ; and he was to them such a friend, that they could not bear to go away from him. He had crossed the lake to escape the crowds, and had gone into a mountain to stay some days, until the gatherings had dispersed ; but the poor people followed after him, all the way around the upper end THE MIGHTY SIGNS AND WONDERS. 179 of the lake, and came to the place where he was, standing still, watching him. They seemed like sheep, who follow blindly wherever the shepherd goes, moving when he moves, and standing still when he stops. He told us, "They have no other shepherd, these poor sheep, but myself." He asked them to sit down on the grass, and taught them of the good- ness of God to all his creatures, and that to do good and give, brought greater joy to the heart than to receive. So the day wore away, and evening drew near ; and we said to each other, ' ' Let us ask him to send them away, that they may go and buy something to eat." Thus we spoke; but he replied, telling us to give them to eat out of our own stores. And, when we counted what we had brought for two days for our own food in the desert, we found we had only five loaves, and two fishes to make the bread more pleasant to the taste. But he took it, and told the people that all men should give to each other ; and, if they gave what they had, God would make what they gave enough for all, and that, as a proof, he would give them his own food to divide among them all. And then he lifted up his hands, and asked God to bless us with the food of the heart, to make us truly care for others more than for ourselves. The prayer was so heavenly, that all my own hunger went away ; and tears were falling from many eyes. The people took little morsels from his hands, and tasted, and gave it quickly to their neighbors. I saw man} 7 who had concealed their food to keep it for their own use ; and they, also, brought it forward to be blessed, and gave it speedily to each other. Thus, as he continued to speak, we all sat in heavenly places, and ate the food of angels, each caring for others more than for himself. When all had eaten, Jesus told us to gather up the fragments which remained, that nothing be lost ; for he always taught us to reverence the gifts of God. He said, that, as we would not throw away carelessly the wooden toy which a friend had carved for us with much pains, so we 180 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMLS. ought not heedlessly to squander and waste what the infinite Father had wisely and carefully made for us all. Thus we gathered up the fragments, and they filled twelve baskets ; and men said it was a mighty work of power, which had caused the few loaves suddenly to grow into a great number. I, too, thought it a mighty and wonderful work ; but I thought it was not done to the bread, but to the souls of the men, by creating pity for each other, and making them glad to bestow on others whatever they had. The poor, I know, often are made covetous and hard-hearted by their poverty ; but the words of Jesus had so opened their hearts, that the poorest produced the bread hidden in their wallets and their garments, so that there was more than enough for all. Perhaps, also, the food given to their souls, and the heavenly illumination, had taken away the hunger of the body. But most of those who were there went away, and told how five loaves had been made into a thousand. Those who heard this tale came in great crowds to see another wonder of the same sort. Jesus had already sent -us away to go back to the western side of the lake, to Kaphar-nahum. He did not go in the boat with us, but staid behind, at which we wondered greatly ; for there was no other boat there in which he could follow. He staid behind, saying that he must go into a mountain to ask the Lord to give him help for his next work. So we embarked on the boat, and hoisted the sail ; but the wind blew fiercely down from the moun- tains, and the waves rose, and the boat labored heavily. AVe were forced to take down the sail, and row ; and the heavy waves struck the bow of the vessel, and much water came into it. At once we heard a voice, and looked, and, behold, Jesus was near the vessel, but walking lightly over the waves, as though they were solid ground. Some were frightened, and cried out, thinking it an evil spirit coming after us. But I saw who it was, and I thought I saw a THE MIGHTY SIGNS AND WONDERS. 181 fight coming from his eyes, and giving light to his face, — a strange thing to tell. Then he stepped from the water into the ship, and soon after the winds ceased ; for on that lake they rise and fall very suddenly. Now it is strange to me, as I look back, that such things did not appear more wonderful when they took place. But, truly, whatever Jesus did was done so easily and peacefully, that it all seemed to belong to the very movement of nature. When I saw him thus moving over the waves, it looked natural, and as that which any one might do. I did not wonder, therefore, that Simon Peter tried to imitate his master. But it turned out that he had not any such power unfolded in him, for he was almost drowned. I thought how often, in my dreams, I had seemed to myself to rise from the ground, all the weight being taken from my body, so that I could float without wings in the air. Perhaps, indeed, such dreams are a prophecy of the time to come, when the laws of lightness and weight will be understood, and men will be able to learn how to destroy for a time the weight of their bodies. But what I now speak of is, that this strange action was not done by the master out of any display, nor did he speak of it to us, or to others, as a won- derful thing. I think it was because he knew our trouble and peril, that he felt compassion for us, and the power of his compassion drew forth in bim this strange human faculty. I call it human ; for all his actions were human, — either such as men do now or may do hereafter. Because of this vast humanity in his soul and body, he loved, I think, to call himself "the Son of man," or "the Man." All that is in man was in him ; and he was the type and perfect model of what man — not corrupt, not diseased, not sinful — ought to be. If, among ten thousand oaks, most are deformed, or stunted, and at last only one is found which has become perfect, the same thing may be true of mankind. The perfect oak is the type of all oaks, and is 182 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. the only true oak : so the perfect man is the type of all men, and is the only true man. I think that Jesus, at this period, wished to escape for a short time from the crowd, and to rest with his disciples and his twelve missionaries, to teach them what they needed to know. But we had hardly reached Kaphar-nahum before the boats began to come across from the other side. These boats had carried people over from Tiberias who had heard of the wonders. They were astonished when they found Jesus on this side ; for they knew, that, till their boats arrived at the place of the feeding, there were no others there ; and the people on the other side told them that he did not go over in the boat with his missionaries. So they asked him how he came across. But he, still averse to speaiving of merely wonderful things, told them that not even the sight of the wonders had brought them, but the desire of another feast. Then he taught us that the truest feast is the feast of the heart and soul, such as he came to give to us. His kingdom was to be a feast of love on the earth, making all men more alive. Indeed, I think he saw in the feast of the five loaves a sign of the kingdom which was to be. A man who approaches us when the sun is rising behind him sends his shadow before, and his shadow arrives before himself : so did the coming kingdom send shadows before it. When the multitude were so fed with the teach- ing of Jesus, that they thought of others more than of themselves, and found more pleasure in giving their food to others than in eating it, he saw in this the sign and foreshadow of the coming kingdom. But the men who now came from Tiberias were not thus simple-minded, nor ready to be taught ; but they wished for signs and wonders, and asked him to give them another feast of bread from heaven, and then they would believe in him. He answered them, saying that he himself — that is, I suppose, the truth and the love which was in him, and went out of him — was the THE MIGHTY SIGNS AND WONDERS. 183 real bread of God, which made a heavenly feast. They were vexed at this, and angry that a man whose father and mother they knew should call himself heavenly bread. Here was fulfilled again the proverb he uttered before, saying that a prophet did not have honor in his own country. And it was at this time that he said, as he said before, that they must eat him and drink him in order that he should do them good. They must have hunger for his word in order that it should be taken with profit. Only those whose minds had been made ready by the Providence of God would be drawn to him, so as to eat him and drink him. Some of his followers, who did not really love truth and goodness, but only hoped to be made great by his help, did not like these words : they saw that he asked of them what they could not give, and went their way. But the twelve missionaries loved his teach- ing, because it fed their souls with life : yet even one of this small number proved false at the end, as you shall hear. Thus you see, my children, that Jesus did not do these wonders that men might believe ; for he knew that no one could believe, unless he had the love of truth and of good- ness. Jesus had the power of God and man in him, and did his wonderful works where they would help men, but not to compel them to believe. Belief comes from seeing truth, and not from seeing power. Truly, the doctors of our law had taught this before ; for, when I was in the school of the Pharisees, I heard how Rabbi Yochanan Ben- Zacchai, the youngest of Hillel's eighty disciples, was once disputing in the courts of the temple with a learned teacher, who, being unable to reply to his argument, called on the pillars of the temple to testify on his behalf. And the pil- lars of the temple shook, or seemed to nod, to confirm his words. But Jochanan, not disturbed, cried out, "O pillars of the house ! what have ye to do with the disputes of the learned ? Why threaten us ? We know that ye are doomed to ruin. Stand erect, and be still." And the columns were 184 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. rebuked, and dared not interfere again. Thus we were taught that miracles are no proof of truth. And thus, also, Jesus taught us, saying that " a wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign." And he added, on a certain occasion, that "no sign should be given to this generation, but the sign of the prophet Jonah." That sign was one of appar- ent defeat and ruin. Jonah, when swallowed by the fish, as the story tells, was believed to be forever lost. Jesus, when crucified, was believed to be wholly conquered by his enemies. Instead of the sign of power which was asked of Jesus, to make it easy to believe be was of God, he said they would have one of defeat, his cause lost, himself destroyed. Thus he taught us that wonders of power were not to be any proof to us of the truth of his teaching. I think it pained him that people cared so much for won- ders, and so little for truth : hence he exclaimed that the generation which longed for signs was adulterous, mixing the love of truth with a longing for displays of outward force, — loving divine law, but also hoping to see astound- ing infractions of that law. Whenever this spirit appeared, he avoided using his marvellous faculty. When he used it, it seemed to be a part of the order of nature. Also there were some conditions necessary in order that the result should be obtained. The power could be com- municated, as other kinds of skill can be taught by a teacher to his pupil. Sometimes, too, he exercised the power with- out intention. Once a woman who had been suffering for many years under a malady very difficult to cure, came and touched him, hoping to be helped merely by the touch. It seems that some power of a medical sort went from him into the woman, though it was in the midst of a crowd. The woman was perhaps cured of her disease, both by her own strong desire and confidence, which made her suscepti- ble to the power, and also by the power itself, which dwelt in the body of Jesus. He did not know, at first, who it was THE MIGHTY SIGNS AND WONDERS. 185 that touched him ; but he perceived that some force had gone from him. For this reason I have believed that his body was as superior to that of other men as his soul, and that he possessed some natural power of healing in a high degree. But. that this power had its laws, and was not wholly sub- ject to will, was also manifest on another occasion, when a terrible instance of possession by an evil spirit was brought to him. The demon had dwelt in a poor boy from his childhood, producing horrible spasms, dumbness, and fits, throwing him on the ground, and causing madness. Jesus being absent, some of his disciples tried to cure the boy. Matthew, if I remember aright, was of these. He took the boy's hands in his, as he had seen his master do, and commanded the evil spirit to leave him ; but the paroxyms increased in fury. The scribes who stood by, and had been watching the affair, spoke aloud, and said, " Thus all these wonders come to an end when they are examined. At Jerusalem, they declare that Jesus and his disciples, when in Galilee, can cure all diseases ; but now that we are here, and see things with our own eyes, it is found that their attempts fail, and they can do nothing." While they spoke, we saw Jesus approaching, with Peter and John. Jesus heard the voices of the scribes and of the disciples, contending, — the scribes denying that any such power existed, and saying such cures were by chance ; and the disciples relating the wonders they had seen. Jesus asked concerning the subject of the dispute, and they told him. Then he said, "This is a generation which finds it hard to believe. How long must I be with you to convince you that man is spirit, and not body only ? ' ' Then he told them to bring the child to him. His presence aggravated the disease ; for the poor boy fell on the ground, screaming frightfully, and foaming at the mouth. But Jesus was calm, and questioned the father as to the malady, and asked how long the boy had suffered. The father said, "From a child;" and then begged Jesus to help him. 186 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. Jesus told him to put forth all his power of faith, and so assist in the cure. He came close to the child, and, look- ing at him with a fixed gaze, cried aloud, commanding the evil spirit to leave him, and return no more. Then there came another terrible convulsion, and the boy fell back as if dead. And the scribes looked at him, and said, "He is not cured: he is killed." But Jesus took his hand, and lifted him up. The boy opened his eyes, and stood on his feet, though feeble ; and a smile came to his face when he saw his father. Thus we perceived that the disease was gone. Then all the people began to talk aloud once more, and said, "It is a great miracle." But the scribes went away in silence. When the crowd had gone, and we were walking alone with the master toward the fountain of Paneas, we asked him why we had failed in working the wonder. Jesus replied, that it was because we had doubted the power of God to help : our faith was not strong. But he added, ' ' This kind of evil cometh not out, save by prayer and fast- ing." Hence I saw that even such wonderful works have their laws and conditions, and so take their place in the mysteries of nature. Seeing this, and like wonders, with my own eyes, I could not doubt the wonderful power of Jesus. But I did not, therefore, believe him to be the " Coming One," nor that there was a Providence in the world. Jesus believed that he did such works by the help of God, but I ascribed them to a mysterious natural power which gave him supremacy over other men less gifted. It was a new way of curing disease by the power of mind over body ; but it did not bring God any nearer to me, nor fill the vast void between the finite and the infinite. I heard the scribes muttering, as they went away, " He casts out demons by Beelzebub, the king of demons." This explanation I deemed very foolish. I was by no means sure that these diseased persons were possessed by evil spirits ; THE MIGHTY SIGNS AND WONDERS. 187 but, at all events, the power of Jesus was not from beneath. It was an angelic power, and not a devilish one ; for it was used for good. Jesus did not seem to believe that this power of the soul over nature was peculiar to himself, for he ever maintained it was his faith in God which enabled him to perform the wonderful works. He told his scholars on this very occa- sion that faith in the soul, no larger than a mustard-seed, would enable them to move a mountain ; and, at another time, he told them that they could and would do greater works than he himself did. I deem, therefore, that this strange power was not superhuman, but human, and one which all men may partake of according to certain conditions and laws. When all men become, like Jesus, sons of God, dwelling always in the bosom of the Father, they will have something of this influx from God thus dwelling in them. In saying this I do not see in Jesus a less noble figure, but one more grand, and more to be adored ; for who is most to be worshipped, — the being whose gifts are for himself alone, or he who receives them that he may share them? The Greeks and Egyptians made gods and goddesses of those who invented the plough, or who discovered how to work in iron, or to make grain into bread. There is nothing more like God than to share all we have with our brothers, since God does all things for his creatures. Now, I think Jesus, our master, had nothing which he did not wish to share with his disciples, that they, in turn, might share them with their fellowmen. Thus he was made in all respects like his brethren in order to show us what man may become. Among the stories which are circulated among our people are some acts which I do not think were done by Jesus. It is usual with men to surround every real wonder with others which are imaginary. I myself never saw Jesus do a won- derful work merely to astonish men, to make them admire his power, or to gain any good for himself. He did his 188 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMIS. works not to be seen of men ; and often, when he cured the sick by a word of power, he suffered not his left hand to know what his right hand did. His power was always the sen-ant of his goodness. He comforted his people. He helped the poorest and lowest by transmitting to them the divine force which flowed to him because of his union with God by faith. This is the ride and measure by which to dis- tinguish his true works from those wonderful stories which have grown up around the real ones, as weeds will always spring up around the wheat which man has planted. A man from the Greek coast of the Euxine once told me concerning a wonderful work of Jesus which seemed to him a mighty miracle. It came to him. he said, direct from one of the disciples of my companion. — Matthew-Levi. It was this : that once the collectors of the tribute for the temple (which was a half -shekel each year from every Jew) came and asked if Jesus meant to pay his tax, or whether, like the Saddu- cees, he opposed such payments. And the story was. that Jesus told them to catch a fish, and they would find a piece of money in its mouth ; and they did so. But I remembered the event, and saw immediately how this error came. There had been a long struggle between the Pharisees and Sadducees as to whether this religious tribute from all the Jews should be made a tax, to be paid by compulsion, or be left as a free gift. The Pharisees at last had won the victory : and the Sanhedrim had passed a law making this tax an obligation, to be paid under penalty of punishment. When they asked Peter if his master paid his tax. Peter replied, ''Certainly he does. Is he not a religious man?" But Peter in this was hasty, as in other things ; for Jesus, hearing of it, said. " Does the Roman emperor receive taxes from Roman citizens, or only from the provinces?" And Peter answered. '-From subjects in the provinces." Then Jesus said, "Should not. then, the children of God give freely to the worship of God ? " He THE MIGHTY SIGNS AND WONDERS. 189 also added, that we need not always insist on our rights ; but, for the sake of peace, we might often not claim them. "Go, Peter," he added, " and find the money in the mouth of a fish." This was a proverb among the fishermen of the lake, which we all understood. If we needed money, we said, " Let us find it in a fish's mouth," meaning, " Let us catch some fish, and sell them." Now, Matthew spoke the Syrian language of the lake shore; but his Greek dis- ciples translated his language into their own dialect, and did not know the meaning of this proverb, but thought it meant that a miracle had been wrought by Jesus merely to obtain money with which to pay his tax. And how could a piece of money be in a fish's mouth, unless it had been put there by some superhuman power? This would have been a por- tent done only to astonish the disciples, and much unlike the other works of Jesus. I suppose other acts of Jesus may have been told as wonders which were not so. Yet I saw some strange works done by the master, which even now I cannot understand. Once we were all crossing the lake from the western to the eastern shore to escape the crowds, and the excitement of the people. He had been teaching these crowds from the boat, as they stood on the shore ; for the multitudes who had heard of his healing the sick had been gathering from many places and great distances, as far away as from Arabia and the coun- tries east of the Jordan, and Phoenicians from Sidon. Dur- ing many days the excitement grew continually, and the multitudes thronged around him, and filled the houses where- ever he entered. He had not time to eat bread, so much did they crowd around, and beg him for help for their maladies ; much less was he able to speak and teach : therefore he had a boat — one of the small ships of the lake — always at hand, waiting to take him on board when the crowd became too pressing. He had been teaching all the day concerning the importance of listening aright to the truth. As I remem- 190 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. ber, he had told the story of the four kinds of hearers, — the wayside hearers, the stony-ground hearers, the thorny-ground hearers, and the good-ground hearers. And yet they did not listen quietly, but kept crying out, " We want a miracle!" "Give us some sign from heaven!" and the like; which made him sad. And one woman thought to please him by crying out, " AVhat a blessed woman is thy mother ! " But he smiled, and said, "Those are yet more blessed, who, when they hear the word of God spoken, are willing to listen to it." And another man in the crowd interrupted him again foolishly, by crying aloud, "Master, master, here are thy mother and thy brothers outside of the crowd, who have come to find thee, and speak unto thee." But Jesus, who turned all things into a lesson, replied, "My friend, knowest thou who is my mother, and who are my brethren ? ' ' And the man stood agape, with open mouth, not knowing what to say. And all were made silent, and the crowd was hushed, wondering what he would answer. Then he turned, and pointed to us, his disciples, sitting near him in the boat, and said, " Here is my mother, and these are my brethren. If ye will listen to the word of God, and hear it, that ye may do it, ye will all be as my mother and my brethren." And he told another story to them, because many of them had learned of the Baptizer to give up their old sins for fear of the wrath which was coming. He said that the evil spirit might go out of a man's soul ; but if the soul is left empty, and no good spirit comes in to fill the place, the man will, sooner or later, fall back into greater sin, and his last state be worse than his first. For an empty soul is like an empty cask, which can be filled with dirt ; but, if it be already full of grain, no dirt can be put into it. After he had taught thus all day, and was fatigued, and the crowds still pressed up close to the water, he told us to hoist the sail, and to go across to the other shore. He, bL'ing weary, lay down in the after-part of the boat, and fell THE MIGHTY SIGNS AND WONDERS. 191 asleep, his head resting on a mat. We sailed on quietly through the night, — which was not dark, for the moon was shining on the water, — until we came near the eastern shore ; but as we approached a high cliff which came down to the lake, with a mountain behind it, a furious wind blew down from this mountain. Then the sea rose, and we took down the sail, and began to row. But the wind increased in vio- l-nee ; the sky became black ; and the waves rose higher, and poured over the vessel. Still the master slept ; though the noise was great, and the vessel was tossed violently on the sea. At last a great wave burst over the ship, and filled it, so that it seemed about to sink. Then we could refrain no longer, and shook his shoulder, and said, " Awaken, master! See! we are about to perish." And he arose very calmly, and said, with a smile on his face, "Be not afraid: have faith." Then he turned his face full to the storm, and spoke some words, not loudly, but in a grave, solemn tone, as if ordering the winds to be still, and the waters to sink. And almost directly we could perceive the fury of the storm had abated, and passed by ; and the waves began to subside. I was greatly amazed, but could not believe any human power could govern the storm : therefore I thought it to be only a chance that the storm fell at that moment. At that time I had no faith in Providence, nor in spirit, but only in earthly laws and forces. Even now, my children, I hardly know whether to believe this great wonder or not ; since such a power over nature seems to pass the limits of what is reasonable. There is only one way by which I can understand it. When I was in Egypt, studying the philosophy of the Greeks, in the Library of the Serapeum, I learned that there are two opposite opin- ions concerning the universe. One of these supposes all events to take place by material forces, blind and senseless, and that all things are ruled by inexorable fate : the other teaches that all forces proceed from spirit, and are ccntinu- 192 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMCS. ally put forth in nature by spiritual power. According to this view, nothing in nature is dead or blind. Myriads of myriads of spiritual beings are everywhere active, obeying, indeed, the supreme laws of the one God who is above all and through all, but able, like man, to originate both good and evil within certain limits. The beneficent powers send us good ; the turbulent and violent ones send the evils which beset us : yet all are restrained by the Supreme Power, so that the evil they can do is limited. According to this view of the world, a mighty soul, like that of Jesus, at one with God and with himself, may exert power over the storms aud seas. Yet I remain uncertain, unable even now to decide this question. ISor do I think it necessary to settle it ; for I have no doubt in my soul as to the power of truth and of love that dwelt in my master, making him Son of God, and the Coming King of the world. All beside this is of small importance for our faith. These marvellous acts are the shadowy side of the life of our prophet, of which no one can speak with full assurance. In regard to these occult powers, we may remember his word, " No one knows who the Son is but the Father." Many thousand years may pass before the world will grow up to the fulness of the stature of Jesus, so as to understand his powers by a similar unfolding of powers in itself. The time may come, my children, when men shall become fully the sons of God, and be at one with the Father. When that day arrives, it will not seem strange for the soul to com- mand the powers of the universe, and be obeyed. Xor can any one measure the wonderful force which was in this mighty soul. I know that what we call death gave way before him, for this I saw myself. Three times in the course of his teaching he was believed to have raised the dead. Once it was the daughter of the ruler of the syna- gogue at Kaphar-nahum, Jair by name, whom the Greeks call Jairus. At this time I was not present ; since the master, THE MIGHTY SIGNS AND WONDERS. 193 from consideration to the grief of the parents, took with him only three disciples. The second was when he raised the dead son of a widow, on the way to the burial. Though I did not see these wonders, 1 believe that they were effected ; for my fellow-missionaries described them to me, and could hardly be deceived. Moreover, the limits between life and death, when the life has just departed, are not to be known. Who can tell when seeming death is real death? And may not death itself, in its beginnings, be arrested by the same hidden power of the soul which can conquer and dispel dis- ease? Therefore, knowing so much of the power of the master, I could easily believe more, and yet believe that this was no violent incursion of the power of God, but a vast unfolding of powers latent in man. It was not God coming down, but man going up. God was still far off, and I could not find him. Nor did all this convince me that our master was the Coming One, who was to conquer the world. I be- lieved his goodness heaventy goodness, but still I doubted whether the most heavenly goodness would be ever the same as heavenly power. Not till I believed this, could I say that he was the Coming One. The third case of this raising the dead to life was more astonishing ; and I will describe it hereafter. It was of Lazarus, our friend, whom we all loved for his goodness, — who was dear to us all, and to the master. If one can ever be declared truly dead, he was so. But I will not speak of this event now. Yet, as I look back, I see how true were the master's words,* that those who believe not Moses and the prophets will not be persuaded, though one rise from the dead. 194 THE LEGEND OE THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. CHAPTER XI. JESUS IN GALILEE. HIS SUCCESS. BEGINNING OF OPPOSI- TION. This period of my life, while I was going to and fro in Galilee with the master, was one of pure happiness. 1 was always in the company of this dear friend, whose influence on my mind and heart brought to me a heavenly peace. I was also in the frequent society of Miriam, whose noble nature now seemed at rest again, after all the storms which had made her heart bitter. My brother-missionaries were honest aud true men, without disguise or guile, and devoted to the master. At this period, even Judas of Karioth, though less friendly than the others, and often gloomy, seemed to be, like the rest of us, powerfully drawn to our great leader. Our usual daily course was this. We travelled on foot from place to place in Galilee, returning from time to time to Kaphar-nahum. The master led the way, talking with the twelve missionaries, who walked by his side. After them came another company of disciples, and, in a body by them- selves, the women. Sometimes Jesus called to him two or three of the disciples to talk with them, and sometimes he asked the women also to join those who were with him. When he came near a town, he sat down under a grove of trees, where there were cool shade and grass. His disciples then went through the town, and called the people to come out, and hear the good news of the coming kingdom. AVhen all were collected, and seated around him on the grass, he spoke to them of the reign of peace and love which was about to JESUS IN GALILEE. 195 begin, when all men should be friends to each other, and all the nations of the earth should worship the same heavenly Father. And he told them how the poor and suffering n ght find comfort and love in that kingdom, and no man should look down upon any other man. All there would be like brothers and sisters. If they wished to enter that kingdom, they must begin now to make ready, by forsaking their sins, and by forgiving their enemies. They must become like little children in trust and simplicity, for the coming of the Christ was at hand. Thus he spake, and with such power and such tenderness, that the people wept aloud, and con- fessed their sins, and begged pardon of each other. Then he spoke words of comfort and hope to them, and directed them to wait patiently for this consolation of Israel. But he told them to be ready, for it might come at any time. After the people were gone, the women went to the village, and bought bread ; and we all sat on the grass together, and ate. The master talked with us, and asked us questions for an hour or two ; and then we would arise, and go on to some other city or town. "When evening came, after speaking to the people who sat on the ground near the gate of the towu, we went into the houses, and slept. In most of the towns the houses were built around an inner court ; and there the master sometimes sat, and talked with the people who stood or sat around him. Others stood on the roof above, which made a terrace around the court, and leaned over the rail, listening to the master's voice as it rose from below. Once, as I remember, he sat in such an inner court, teaching. The place was filled full of people, but on the flat roof above only a few others stood and listened. Then came four men bringing one stiff and immovable, stricken with the dis- ease which the Greeks call paralusis. And the crowd was so great, that they could not come near Jesus : therefore they carried him on his mattress up the steps which led from the street to the roof-top, and passed on around the court, 196 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. till they stood above the head of the master. Then they took away the curtain stretched over the court as a shelter from sun and rain, and with cords let down the poor sick man on his mat. The mat, with the man on it, descended, till it came in front of the master's face, while he spoke. To us it seemed rude thus to interrupt his words ; but Jesus smiled, well pleased that they had such trust in the power of God present among them. I think he also saw that the man's soul was dark with the sense of his sins, so that he needed most the sight of God's face of love. Because of this, he said to him in low and tender tones, " Have courage, my son, and hope in God ; for thy sins are forgiven." Then the man's face became full of a wondering and yet a doubtful joy : for he believed, and yet believed not, that this grace had come to him. Others sitting round, scribes from Jerusalem, looked angry, and muttered to each other, " This is sheer blasphemy ; for who can forgive sins, but God only? " Jesus, who saw into the very souls of men, smiled, and said, " You think it easy to say to this man, ' Thy sins are forgiven,' but not easy to know if they are forgiven. You think that God alone can forgive sins. That is true, but God can give power to man to carry his divine love to other men. The Son of man has power to forgive sin on earth, as God forgives in heaven. That ye may know this, listen and observe." Then he rose to his feet, and said to the paralyzed man, "Arise! take up thy mat, and go to thy home." As he said this, the light of love and power streamed from his eyes, and such majesty was in his tones, that I was not surprised when I saw the man slowly rising, till at last he stood on his feet, and looked around, wonder- ing at himself. Then, stooping, he raised his mat, and turned to go out. The people, filled with amazement, gave way, and left an open path through which he passed out into the street. This happened at Kaphar-nahum. At this time I did not believe in forgiveness of sin. In JESUS IN GALILEE. 197 truth, I did not know what forgiveness of sin might mean. I thought God's forgiveness was like that of a Roman procu- rator, who could pardon a criminal by letting him go, instead of putting him to death. When God pardoned sin, I thought it meant that he would not punish the man in the future place of torment, which was in Sheol, or the dark abyss below, called Gehenna, or Tophet. We believed there was a vast hollow in the depths of the earth, where all the dead went. This all-devouring cavern contained the souls of men and demons, kept for the future judgment and resurrection. The good souls were preserved in Paradise, on one side of Sheol, where were gardens and feasts ; over which Abraham ruled, reclining at the head of a table, with Isaac his first-born, or his grandson Jacob, leaning on his bosom, in the place of honor. Once we were astonished when our master told us that a poor beggar, despised by all, would, after his death, be in this place of honor, with his head on the breast of Abraham. We believed that the wicked would be kept on the other side of Sheol, where a river of fire, called Gehenna, ran, in which they were plunged in order to be punished, and perhaps purified. And this river of fire below corresponded to the Valley of Hinnom above, in which perpetual fires consumed the corruption of the city. The Paradise near it, where the good went, corresponded to the Jerusalem above this Valley of Hinnom. So that when God pardoned sin, we supposed it meant to take the sinner out of his punishment in the fires of Gehenna, and place him in the other part of Sheol, — in the gardens of the blest. But if to forgive meant to take away the punishment, how could our master pardon the sinner, since he had not yet gone into Sheol? Therefore I did not understand why he should say to this man, " Thy sins are forgiven thee." Afterward I learned to understand this better. Jesus knew the might of the soul to cure the diseases of the body, and how, by filling the spirit with life, you may heal the sick ; lii.S THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. and therefore he addressed his medicine to the soul. He saw in the sick body a soul more diseased. What gloom, what sadness of heart, rushes, like a river of death, into our spirit, when we see our own meanness and emptiness, see how we have fatally injured others and ourselves, how we have been ungrateful and disobedient to God, false and cruel to our friends. Such was the death in this man's spirit ; and Jesus poured the wine of healing and the oil of comfort into these deep spiritual wounds. Trust in God, peace with man, con- tentment, hope, all descended into his heart ; and the bodily disease was overcome by this tide of love. I felt something of this ; but I did not see clearly into its meaning, till one day the master told us the story of the two sons, — one wasteful and one prudent. I have often told you this story, my children, and I have seen the tears drop from your eyes when I repeated it ; nor do I wonder, for in truth it goes to the deepest places in the heart of man. You heard that when the younger son, who wasted all his share of his father's goods in riotous living, had reached the lowest misery and shame, even becoming a servant of the aecursed animal, seeing the swine he fed have the food they needed, while he starved, this misery and degradation brought him to his true self. " When he came to himself," were the master's words, describing his repentance. His shame was good medicine, for it made him see both his sin and his folly. "He came to himself:*" those are strange words, my children; for how can a man come to himself? Are there not, perhaps, two men in us, who can go from each other, and then return again ? Did you never feel something like this ? The true self in us, the master meant to teach, is the good self, the knowledge of what is true, and the love of what is right. This is the inward deepest self in all men. The outer self is the man's upper thought and wilful action. We think and say things from the surface of our mind vehe- mently, while we half hear a denial made by the true self JESUS IN GALILEE. 199 within us. When we let ourselves be hurried away by the outward world, its pleasures and joys, we do not hear that voice within. We go into a far country then, like this poor sinful boy, and waste our substance, the real wealth of our soul, in riotous living. Then comes the health-bringing famine, the divine hunger, the life-creating shame, the blessed punishment which shuts us from the outward world, and brings us back to our real self. With this, comes back what my old teacher Philo called the primal faith, the origi- nal trust of the heart in God ; for God has made all little children to believe in love, to trust in God and man. In that solemn hour of repentance we become little children again, and there dawns within us a rosy light of hope in God. We remember our Father : we say, " I will arise, and go to my Father." Then, my children, our Father sees us a great way off : long before we have really come to him, he comes to us. He pours his reconciling love into our heart, and we become once more at one with him. This, my chil- dren, is forgiveness of sin : it is not remission of punish- ment ; it is not giving us back what we have wasted. The father did not again divide his property, or give a second portion of goods to the younger child. To remit punish- ment, the natural and necessary punishment of sin, would not be a benefit nor a blessing to the sinner. He needs the suffering for his own sake, to prevent him from wandering away again. Repentance and faith bring to the sick soul the immediate life-giving power of heavenly love. It becomes from that moment filled with new health, new life. So when Jesus said those words to the man whose limbs were stiff with paralusis, he said them because he saw that this sinner had already thought in his heart, "I will arise, and go to my Father." The love of God, which was in Christ, came to him while he was a great way off. It was this love which fell on his neck, and kissed him. It was 200 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. because Jesus had himself become the well-beloved Son, dwelling always in the bosom of the Father, that he could thus be a channel through which the heavenly grace might flow. He did not say, "Thou shalt not be punished here- after," but, "Have peace now." He did not say, "Thy sins shall be forgiven thee in another world," but, " Thy sins are forgiven thee here." So the love and life of God flowed easily through the soul of Jesus into the sinner's heart ; and, as soon as he was filled with the joy of this new life, his soul became strong enough, through faith in God, to assist in the cure of his body. Jesus, perchance, could better cure his body when he had first cured his soul. " Alas ! " you cry, " why cannot we, also, hear that voice, speaking from the bosom of the Father, and saying to our sick hearts, ' Thy sins are forgiven thee ' ? Why may not we, too, listen to him who spoke as one having authority?" We cannot, my children, hear that voice, of the Word made flesh in Jesus. But the Word made flesh is yet here, in the heart of every true disciple. Whoever has a real faith in the Christ draws through him this same power from God to forgive sin. All of us, in proportion to our faith, have this power to lift the burden of despair from human hearts. Jesus was so full of faith, that he could forgive sins with a single word : we must use many words, for our faith is diluted with doubts. When he spoke, the fire of divine love passed directly from his lips into the heart of the sinner, and kindled a sudden flame of faith, and with that faith a solid knowledge that God forgave his sins. But ought not we to be glad, when, by much patience and prayer, we can gradu- ally make ourselves a channel by which this same heavenly grace shall flow into a sick brother's heart? I understand this now, but I did not understand it then. To me then, still tossed helplessly on a sea of doubt, "for- giveness ' ' was a word without meaning. Yet I could not but see that some wonderful power went from my master's soul JESUS IN GALILEE. 201 to give peace and joy to the souls of the forlorn. I kept this hidden in my heart, and pondered over it often ; but as yet I found no explanation of the mystery. The joy with which the people listened to these good tidings was so great, and the numbers who thronged wher- ever we came were so ready to become our master's fol- lowers and soldiers, that we believed he would immediately proclaim himself the King, Son of David, and Son of God. "We rose every morning, hoping that we should hear him call on the multitudes to go with him to take possession of the city of David. It seemed to us that the reign of God had already begun. Our people had groaned under the burden of minute laws, which ruled every act of their life. Jesus had broken this yoke. Now we walked at liberty. "We lived in the presence of infinite love, and the weight of the law was taken away. The ritual of the Jews kept the conscience of the whole people in an irritable state. "We were taught to weigh every word and act, and to see if we had not committed some offence for which we must make atonement. This ever-present sense of sin was the sting of our life and the sting of death. No people in the world had such a consciousness of sin as we had. The religion of the Greeks was one of joy. They lived without law, following their instincts and the law written in their hearts. But our life, if we tried to do right, was a perpetual torment, a never-ending struggle. Our law tortured us with its un- ceasing demands, which we were never able to satisfy. But in the presence of our master all these anxieties and these fears were taken away. Peace reigned, and the sense of sin disappeared. Heaven had begun. Love had cast out all fear. We were like the little children, who having sat on the ground in silence all day before their teacher, gazing sadly at their tablets, and trying to know the difference beween Alpha and Beta, are dismissed at the setting of the sun. How the little ones rush from school, dancing as they 202 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. go, because released from the long constraint ! And so we felt, when our master had taken us from the schoolhouse of the law into the open air of his sunny world of love. We had no care about ablutions, fastings, prayers : we served God freely, in grateful joy. Wherever we journeyed, this gladness went with us. The poor people listened to the good news, and rejoiced. The sick were healed, and went away proclaiming the power and goodness of this great prophet who had come with so mighty a salvation. But what surprised us was that our master withdrew him- self from the multitudes who thronged after him to become his disciples. When the crowds became large, and they shouted his name aloud with many hosannas, he would leave the place, and go elsewhere. I once asked him why he did this. He replied by telling me that he did not wish the people to feel too strongly till they saw more clearly. He told me, that, when men's feel- ings were roused, they urged them often in a wrong direction. If their thoughts turned in the right direction, their feelings moved them in the right way ; but, if their thoughts went astray, their feelings then moved them the wrong way. He said, that, "till they see and know better than now what the kingdom of God is, I do not wish them to be moved by violent feelings. The more zealous they are for me and my kingdom, the more evil will come from that zeal. Therefore I watch the movements of their minds ; and, when the feeling outweighs the knowledge, I go elsewhere, that the feelings may become cool. I wish for heat, but only while light goes with it. The light and the heat of the sun are so mingled, that they cause the grass to grow, and the trees to blossom. Thus must light and heat be mingled in the soul, if the soul is to bear fruit for God." Somewhat like this, the master answered, but not in these words. JESUS IN GALILEE. 203 And now I will tell you of a conversation which we had concerning the new kingdom and its nature. I had read in Alexandreia the dialogues of the Greek theologian Plato, in which Sokrates talks with his disciples concerning the beautiful, the true, and the good. Jesus also talked with us in a like manner ; and I, as well as I can remember, will write down for you some of these most divine dia- logues. But I do not pretend to give you the very words of the master, on account of my poor memory, but only his thoughts. Some persons easily remember words ; but I can only recollect thoughts, for the words fly away and escape me, like birds from the hand when it is opened. 204 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED D1DVMUS. CHAPTER Xn. WHAT JESUS TAUGHT CONCERNING THE COMING KINGDOM. Once, during our journeys in Galilee, we came to a hill- top, from which we looked down on the fair land of our birth. One silver line of our dear lake was to be seen beyond the nearer hills. The great mountain of Hermon rose, a wall of white snow, into the sky ; far to the south we saw the green top of Tabor, and on its right the steeps of Karmel, and in the blue distance the hills around Jerusalem. We sat on the grass for our noontide meal of bread and figs ; the sycamores, which reached their large arms over us, throwing mighty shadows around. And one of the disciples said to his neighbor, " The kingdom must soon be mani- fested." And Jesus, whose ear was so fine that no whisper escaped him, said, " And why so, my son? " Then Andrew (I believe it was Andrew) said, "Because, O master, all men are ready. Never have I known or heard of such a movement in the mind of our nation, — no, not at the preaching of John the Baptizer, nor in the days of the Maccabees. Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod's steward, tells us that Herod is so terrified, that he has thought of flying from Tiberias. And, indeed, you have only to say a word, and this vile king, who sought to take your life, will be cast into the middle of the lake, and his soldiers with him. The people of Tiberias are ready to do this without help from any others. Almost every day men from Kaphar-nahum and Tiberias arrive, asking of us, ' Is the hour come? ' And we reply, ' Wait, and be patient, the time is not yet.' " WHAT JESUS TAUGHT CONCERNING THE COMING KINGDOM. 205 So spoke Andrew, whom men called the "Manly One." And Jesus answered, — " No, Andrew, my hour has not yet come. Nor do I wish that Herod, or any other, should be slain. The Son of man has come, not to destroy men's lives, but to save them. I am here to give more life to the world, not to take life away. The kingdom of God does not come by shedding of blood, unless, indeed, it be that of the Son of man. Let Herod go his way : it is not he who can hinder my work. Be not afraid of those who, like Herod, can only kill the body, and there their power ends ; but fear those tempters — the Satans about us here — who can cast the soul, after it is murdered, into the hell of evil. But remember this, that God's kingdom cannot come until we can conquer evil with good." "Then, master," said I, "I fear it will never come ; for how can good conquer evil, unless it has also force to help it, and wisdom to guide the force ? It is not goodness which conquers in this world, but evil or good, according as either has those allies of power and knowledge. Andrew, indeed, has spoken of the Maccabees. When they arose, evil had conquered good in our land. The temple was polluted ; the whole land was filled with heathen gods and sacrifices : but the Maccabees, who were good, were also strong and wise. Good conquered evil then, because it was ready to fight, and destroy evil with the sword. my master, must it not do so now ? ' ' Thus I spoke, full of strong desire, and longing to know his thought. But he replied, — "They were, indeed, noble men and heroes; but they were not the Christ of God. What they won by the sword the sword has. again taken from us. The victories of force, even when it is used for the sake of truth, are only for a time ; but the victories of truth and good are forever." Then Judas of Karioth, whose soul had been poisoned by Ben Gamlah, spoke, — 206 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. " The Christ, when he comes, is to be the Son of David, and will have the power of his father David, and sit on his throne to rule the twelve tribes of Israel. David was a mighty captain, and conquered his enemies by sword and spear. The Son of David must also be a mighty captain. I can never believe that the Romans can be conquered by any thing but iron and the sword of war." Jesus then said that Judas of Karioth had uttered the thought in the minds of most men, and that gold and iron did indeed seem to rule the world. But a prophet must see not only what is now, but what is to come. He added, "Ye call me Prophet and Master, and ye say well : I am so. I am able to see the Power which is to conquer the world in the age to come, as the Roman legions conquer it now. The Power which is coming is mightier than any thing we see. It is hidden from your eyes, but I see it plainly. The Christ, when he comes, will not be the Son of David, but the Lord of David. His power shall be like that of the rain, which comes softly down on the young grass. His sword shall be the truth, which makes the hearts of men bow down, and which slays the wickedness within them. This age to come is close at hand. Whoever would enter the kingdom must be humble, meek, and trusting as a little child. If ye are thus lowly and obedient, ye shall be exalted to sit on thrones, and govern all the tribes of Israel." Thus he talked with us, day by day, about the kingdom which was at hand, and the age of the Christ. He said the old age of force and fraud was drawing to an end, and the new age was soon to begin. But it would not come with observation. People would not see it coming outwardly, nor point to it, sa3'ing, " There it is ! " but would find it in their own hearts. It would be an age in which no man would hate his neighbor, but each would forgive the other's sin, and evil would be swallowed up by good. Then God would be no more King or Judge, but the Father of tenderness and WHAT JESUS TAUGHT CONCERNING THE COMING KINGDOM. 207 the Comforter. This comfort of God would enter every soul, and teach it all the truth. So we travelled, day by day, among the villages of Galilee. The days were mild, the air warm and full of perfume. The food we ate was the fruit which grew plentifully around us, and bread brought by the villagers or bought of them. We slept in the open air, beneath the trees, with fires blazing near by to keep off the chills of night. The master at times taught us by stories, asking us to find out their meaning. We listened eagerly to these stories, and often understood something of their hidden sense. Some of them taught us that the world of unbelievers was also dear to God, and that the Gentiles who did justly were nearer to the love of the Father than those children of Abraham who were cruel and dishonest. But this seemed to us strange doctrine, and a hard saying. Thus travelling on, we came one day to the upper region, where the Jordan takes its rise from great fountains at the foot of Hermon. We followed the path which led up to the city built by Philip the Tetrarch, which he named for Tiberius Caesar. As we passed a grove of ilex, we saw before us marble buildings, and a Roman temple beyond. Behind this arose a red cliff ; and above all soared into the sky Mount Hermon, with vast ravines cutting its sides. The sound of rushing water was in our ears, and soon we came where the torrent leaped in white foam along the bottom of a deep hollow. All around were olive-trees and vines. Soft green turf was beneath our feet as we wound along the edge, and looked down, through green masses of leaves, to the waters which rushed below. The master led the way to the left, leaving the city. We climbed another hill, and came to where some old oaks stood in a circle. Here we sat down, and took our meal of bread, figs, and grapes. The birds sang in the trees above us, and all was still and lovely. 208 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. The master told those of us who wished, to go and look at the city, and see the temple, and the cave which the Greeks said was sacred to their god Pan, who represented all things. Many, therefore, went ; but a few remained, hoping that the master would talk with us. Peter and John, and Miriam of Migdol, remained ; and I, also, staid with them. I said, " Master, I have heard that this place is defiled by the worship of false gods. The demon-goddess of Syria, Baal-Ashtaroth, whom the Greeks call Astarte, was wor- shipped in this very grove where we sit. And Pan, so it is said, dwelt in the cave under the cliff ; and there they served him. And now the Romans, who worship mortals like them- selves, have raised to Caesar the white marble temple beyond the torrent. If there is one true God, why does he allow these false gods to be worshipped ? ' ' The master replied, " The Gentiles have never been taught to know the one true God, who is spirit, and who does not dwell in temples made with hands. Therefore they are to be pitied, rather than blamed ; for they are seeking God, though blindly, some calling him Baal, and others Pan. But the hour cometh when all who are true in heart, and honest, shall see and know the true God, and call him Father." " But why, then," asked I, " were they allowed to remain in darkness so long ? ' ' And he told us that no one could answer that question, not even the best beloved Son of God, who dwells closest to the Father's heart. The times and seasons God alone knows. But all things come in their appointed time, — first the blade, then the ear, afterward the full corn in the ear. Then Miriam said, ' k Master, there is something I, also, would say." And he told her to say on. And she said, " O master, thou art very good to us, and very patient, and, best of all, thou hast made us see and know that God is also patient with us. I, in my misery, WHAT JESUS TAUGHT CONCERNING THE COMING KINGDOM. 209 have found hope, and I trust that at last my sins also shall be blotted out. Yet at times some evil spirit torments me, and whispers in my ear that I am deceived. The demon says, ' He never sinned : therefore he cannot know any thing of thy sin. He stands so far away in his holiness, that he cannot see the evil that is in thy heart. He knows not how bad and hard thy heart is, nor how great thy wickedness : if he did, he would not have said that thy sins are forgiven.' " Thus Miriam spoke, lifting up imploring eyes to Jesus, — eyes from which the tears were falling. I was glad to hear her words ; for the same thought had come to me, that Jesus was too good to know how great my sins had been, and thus his forgiveness had less value. But the prophet sat lost in meditation, and for a long time did not speak. At last he lifted up his eyes ; and as I looked in his face it was like the surface of the lake as I have seen it when the shadows of clouds went over it, and it became dark in their shade, and then bright again in sun- shine. So the shadows from past time, of things felt and thought, seemed to be passing through the master's mind. At last he spake. I would, my children, I could give you the very words he then said ; but, because I felt so deeply the spirit of his discourse, the words all flew away. He began by telling us that he, also, had seen the nature of evil, and knew it well. He knew the power of temptation, and had fought against it, resisting it until the blood of his heart seemed to leave him in that awful conflict. He spoke partly in a parable, and partly in words so deep that we his hearers could hardly see their meaning. Just so, in our lake, there were parts which were said to have no bottom, because our longest lines did not find it. He told us how he studied the Scriptures in his } 7 outh, and meditated on the words of Moses and the prophets. There he learned, that, amid all the calamities of the times, thev 210 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. looked forward to a great day of joy, when the Lord's house should be ou the top of the mountains, and all nations should flow into it. It should be a day of peace, when the sword and spear should be beaten into ploughshares and pruning- hooks. It should be a day of universal comfort, when the poor and wretched should be consoled, and the wilderness of barren hearts should blossom as the rose. Then he told us how by degrees he came to know that the great kingdom was to be one of love and truth in the soul. He saw that outward power came to nothing. The power of David was gone ; the glory of Solyma had passed away ; the heroic courage of the Maccabees had ended in another slavery : nothing of all the greatness of our nation had remained, but the mighty truths taught by Moses and the prophets. These had gone over the world, had entered the palaces of kin^s and the huts of peasants. The Messiah, when he came, must, therefore, be one who should reveal truths yet more divine, and much more beautiful than any that eye had seen, or ear heard, or the heart of man conceived. He who could see such truths would lift the world to God, and take all bitterness out of men's hearts and lives. Then he told us. that as he walked over the hills above Nazareth, after his day's work was done, there came to his soul wonderful visions. The world of spirit was opened to him, and he saw its laws. Just as, with the outward eye. we see Mount Hermon, always covered with snow, in the north, and Tabor, always green, in the south, so, with his inward eye, he saw always before him a world of righteousness ami love, as solid as Hermon, as green and beautiful as Tabor. Those truths which he taught us he had seen unveiled in such hours of open vision. I then understood why he spoke with such authority. When he said, "He who exalteth himself shall be abased, he who humbleth himself shall be exalted," he was describing that which he knew, not that which he merely believed. Thus a whole world of knowledge lay WHAT JESUS TAUGHT CONCERNING THE COMING KINGDOM. 211 before his mind, whenever he looked inward, as real and as unchanging as the world of hills, woods, and waters around us. After this he told us that the Spirit of God led him deeper into another world of thought, and higher into a more heavenly world of love. Both beneath and above the world of truth was a world of love : wherever he looked, within or without, he saw the smile of God. He saw God's love in the whole world about him and the whole world within his soul. As he mused, the fire burned with a soft warm blaze : the land and sea and sky were full of God. The little birds sang praise to him, the skies were overflowed with his blessing. Thus the prophet passed through the knowledge of truth to the knowledge of love, and saw his Father in all things. He and his Father were one. Nothing divided or separated him at any hour from God. There was no sense of sin in his soul. He had become the Son of God, dwelling always in the bosom of the Father. But again he found a new sense opening within him. He had the power of looking into men's hearts. He was drawn by strong cords of desire toward all men, and wished to save them by bringing them into the same state in which he lived. He ceased to judge and condemn any man for his sins, for he saw in all men the seed of goodness. It was choked by tares ; it Was lying helpless on the bare rock ; it had no deep soil : but it was the seed of God in each man's heart. Human souls became open to him, so that he could look and see whatever was within. All were to him as brothers, — the Pharisee belonging to the Separate Society, the hard tax-gatherer, the foul leper, the cruel Roman. He did not hate them for their sins : he pitied them. He was like the physician, who is not angry with the sick man, but only wishes to save him and cure him. All men were equally dear to him, for all were the children of his Father. Greek 212 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. and Koman, Barbarian and Scythian, — all were God's chil- dren, and all struggling and seeking for some light and some good. Then, also, he told us how he came to see that all the ceremonies of our law — its sacrifices, its worship, its sab- bath, its priests and Levites, its washings — were the husk of the fruit, ready to drop off, and come to an end. The new wine must be put into new bottles. In this he knew he should be bitterly opposed by the rulers and priests, scribes and Pharisees. They had given their lives to strengthening this husk and shell of religion : how could they give it up ? This body of religion seemed to them as essential as the soul, but this corruptible form of religion was weighing down its spirit. There must be a resurrection of the soul of Israel out of this body into a higher one. He saw before him the warfare he must wage with these proud men intrenched in forms, doctrines, traditions, and thinking themselves the most holy of the people. He told us, moreover, how, when he lived thus close to God, not only the truth and love of his Father came and dwelt in him, but also the power of the Father. Nature in all her parts became submissive to his will. He had only to wish strongly, and the sick man arose and walked ; with a word he could release the madman and lunatic from their bitter bondage, with a word cause the plague of leprosy to flee away. Yet he knew that all this power was not his own, but his Father's, and to be used only for the good of the Father's other children, and to cause the kingdom of love and truth to come. So the days and years passed without reproach or fear, in which he constantly entered into the deeper places of God, and became more and more his well-beloved Son. Meantime his cousin Johann (or John), who was a man eaten up with zeal for righteousness, went forth into the wilderness to escape the evils of the world. The greatness of our master WHAT JESUS TAUGHT CONCERNING THE COMING KINGDOM. 213 was also shown in this, that this stern prophet, the Baptizcr, bowed down reverently before one so different from himself, declaring that he was not fit to perform the duties of a disciple by unfastening our master's shoestrings. The Bap- tizer told his disciples that one would come after him in time, who was to be before him in rank, and who always was before him in character. He called himself only the servant running before to announce the Coming One. He said he was but a voice crying in the wilderness. When Jesus came to the place where the Baptizer was, John cried out that this was the one who was to be greater than himself, and would increase more and more, while he himself should grow less. He also testified of our master, that he was the Lamb of God, who would take away men's sins, and make them holy and pure. These things I heard related by John's disciples, who were astonished that one who set himself above kings, and defied them, who rebuked the holy ones of the Separate Society, and called them " a generation of vipers," should have hum- bled himself so exceedingly before Jesus, whom he had known from a child. He also declared, that, though he knew the holiness of Jesus, he had not known that Jesus was to baptize men with the Holy Spirit, and to become greater than himself, until Jesus came be baptized. Then he saw the power of God resting on him ; and there came over the face of Jesus a spirit of such majestic goodness, that it seemed to descend on him from heaven, as a dove comes down out of the skies. He likened it to a dove's flight, because this bird comes suddenly but gently, and, though quick, makes little noise with its wings. After telling us thus how his soul grew up, and increased in power and knowledge, the master said to us that the heaven where God dwells is not far off in the skies, but close to the soul. Heaven is so near, that we can be in heaven while we are on earth. We come out of heaven, he said, when we 214 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYMUS. leave the innocence of childhood ; for the souls of children always behold the face of the Father in heaven. And no one could ascend up into heaven, unless he came out of it; for if it were not natural to us to behold the face of God, and if God had not made our souls able to see him, how could we do it by any effort or virtue of our owu ? Thus no one can go up into heaven, but he who comes down out of heaven ; and when one is truly the son of man then he is both in heaven and on earth at once. For as when we speak, the thought comes out of our mind, and still remains in the mind : so we can come out of heaven to help our fellow-men, but remain in heaven still with God and his love. This seemed dark to me when the master said it, but since then I know also the truth of this saying. And I know now that the master, while he walked with us on earth, was always in heaven. We sometimes see a little of the face of God, but he saw God always. We sometimes have the spirit of God come to us to make us generous, and to create faith in our heart : but the spirit was not given to him by measure, a little at a time, but it abode with him always ; and the Father never left him alone. Thus, too, when we saw our master, and talked with him, we seemed to see God, and talk with God ; for he was full of God's light, and the light came from his face to ours. That was why he said, "He who has seen me has seen the Father; since the Father dwells in me, and I in him." His words, he said, were not his own words, but the words of God, and the works he did were the works of God ; for he did nothing of himself, nor of his own private will. Yet this made it seem more strange when he told us this morning that he also was tempted like ourselves. How it came about was thus described : — Walking thus in the heavenly world, and seeing its won- ders and mysteries, it was plain to him that the kingdom which was to come, and which should be at last the universal WHAT JESUS TAUGHT CONCERNING THE COMING KINGDOM. 215 reign of God, must be spirit and truth, not force. In that kingdom, those who humbled themselves would be exalted, those who would be great must become servants of all. They must conquer their enemies by forgiving them ; they must bless those who cursed them ; and so, by sure and certain laws, good would at last overcome evil, truth conqw r falsehood, and the world be full of the knowledge of God. These divine laws he beheld plainly. But when he came down out of this heaven, and looked at the world and the people, he also saw that the power of evil was so great, that he must give his life to redeem the world. One who knows trees, when he sees an acorn, sees the oak which is in the acorn ; one who knows birds, when he finds an egg, sees what kind of bird will come out of the egg : so Jesus, look- ing at the nation as it was, saw what would grow out of it as soon as the sun and rain of his truth fell on it. The seeds of thorns and thistles were there ; and they would grow up first, and choke the good seed. The pride of the rulers, the hardness of the Pharisees, the blind rage of the people against the Romans, — these would be a wall of rock in his way. Then there came a great struggle in his mind, and a temptation to do a vast good to the world by varying a little from the perfect plan. He told us of this temptation in a parable. He said, that being in the wilderness, and fasting, he became hungry ; and Satan said, " If thou art really the Son of God, change these stones into bread." That was the first temptation. When he resisted it, and conquered it, Satan came again, and took him through the air to Jeru- salem, and put him on the lofty porch of Herod, overhanging the court of the Gentiles, which was filled with people. And while the people in this court, and in the courts of the women and Hebrews and priests, looked up and saw him, Satan said, "Cast thyself down, and let a cloud of angels gently uphold thee, and this shall be a sign by which all men shall 216 THE LEGEND OF THOMAS, CALLED DIDYA] W that thou art the Son of God." Having resisted this temptation also, Satan took him to the top of a hi