And there came a fear On all the people, and they glorified The Lord, and said, rejoicing: A great Prophet Is risen up among us! and the Lord Hath visited his people! PETER.
A great Prophet?
Ay, greater than a Prophet: greater even Than John the Baptist! PHILIP.
Yet the Nazarenes Rejected him.
PETER.
The Nazarenes are dogs! As natural brute beasts, they growl at things They do not understand; and they shall perish, Utterly perish in their own corruption.
The Nazarenes are dogs! PHILIP.
They drave him forth Out of their Synagogue, out of their city, And would have cast him down a precipice, But, passing through the midst of them, he vanished Out of their hands.
PETER.
Wells are they without water, Clouds carried with a tempest, unto whom The mist of darkness is reserved forever.
PHILIP.
Behold, he cometh.

There is one man with him I am amazed to see! ANDREW.
What man is that?
PHILIP.
Judas Iscariot; he that cometh last, Girt with a leathern apron.

No one knoweth His history; but the rumor of him is He had an unclean spirit in his youth.
It hath not left him yet.
CHRISTUS, passing.
Come unto me, All ye that labor and are heavy laden, And I will give you rest! Come unto me, And take my yoke upon you and learn of me, For I am meek, and I am lowly in heart, And ye shall all find rest unto your souls! PHILIP.
Oh, there is something in that voice that reaches The innermost recesses of my spirit! I feel that it might say unto the blind: Receive your sight! and straightway they would see! I feel that it might say unto the dead, Arise! and they would hear it and obey! Behold, he beckons to us! CHRISTUS to PETER and ANDREW.
Follow me! PETER.
Master, I will leave all and follow thee.
VII THE DEMONIAC OF GADARA A GADARENE.
He hath escaped, hath plucked his chains asunder, And broken his fetters; always night and day Is in the mountains here, and in the tombs, Crying aloud, and cutting himself with stones, Exceeding fierce, so that no man can tame him! THE DEMONIAC from above, unseen.
O Aschmedai! O Aschmedai, have pity! A GADARENE.
Listen! It is his voice! Go warn the people Just landing from the lake! THE DEMONIAC.
O Aschmedai! Thou angel of the bottomless pit, have pity! It was enough to hurl King Solomon, On whom be peace! two hundred leagues away Into the country, and to make him scullion In the kitchen of the King of Maschkemen! Why dost thou hurl me here among these rocks, And cut me with these stones?
A GADARENE.
He raves and mutters He knows not what.
THE DEMONIAC, appearing from a tomb among the rocks.
The wild cock Tarnegal Singeth to me, and bids me to the banquet, Where all the Jews shall come; for they have slain Behemoth the great ox, who daily cropped A thousand hills for food, and at a draught Drank up the river Jordan, and have slain The huge Leviathan, and stretched his skin Upon the high walls of Jerusalem, And made them shine from one end of the world Unto the other; and the fowl Barjuchne, Whose outspread wings eclipse the sun, and make Midnight at noon o'er all the continents! And we shall drink the wine of Paradise From Adam's cellars.
A GADARENE.
O thou unclean spirit! THE DEMONIAC, hurling down a stone.
This is the wonderful Barjuchne's egg, That fell out of her nest, and broke to pieces And swept away three hundred cedar-trees, And threescore villages!--Rabbi Eliezer, How thou didst sin there in that seaport town When thou hadst carried safe thy chest of silver Over the seven rivers for her sake! I too have sinned beyond the reach of pardon.
Ye hills and mountains, pray for mercy on me! Ye stars and planets, pray for mercy on me! Ye sun and moon, oh pray for mercy on me! CHRISTUS and his disciples pass.
A GADARENE.
There is a man here of Decapolis, Who hath an unclean spirit; so that none Can pass this way.

He lives among the tombs Up there upon the cliffs, and hurls down stones On those who pass beneath.
CHRISTUS.
Come out of him, Thou unclean spirit! THE DEMONIAC.
What have I to do With thee, thou Son of God?
Do not torment us.
CHRISTUS.
What is thy name?
THE DEMONIAC.
Legion; for we are many.
Cain, the first murderer; and the King Belshazzar, And Evil Merodach of Babylon, And Admatha, the death-cloud, prince of Persia And Aschmedai the angel of the pit, And many other devils.

We are Legion.
Send us not forth beyond Decapolis; Command us not to go into the deep! There is a herd of swine here in the pastures, Let us go into them.
CHRISTUS.
Come out of him, Thou unclean spirit! A GADARENE.
See how stupefied, How motionless he stands! He cries no more; He seems bewildered and in silence stares As one who, walking in his sleep, awakes And knows not where he is, and looks about him, And at his nakedness, and is ashamed.
THE DEMONIAC.
Why am I here alone among the tombs?
What have they done to me, that I am naked?
Ah, woe is me! CHRISTUS.
Go home unto thy friends And tell them how great things the Lord hath done For thee, and how He had compassion on thee! A SWINEHERD, running.
The herds! the herd! O most unlucky day! They were all feeding quiet in the sun, When suddenly they started, and grew savage As the wild boars of Tabor, and together Rushed down a precipice into the sea! They are all drowned! PETER.
Thus righteously are punished The apostate Jews, that eat the flesh of swine, And broth of such abominable things! GREEKS OF GADARA.
We sacrifice a sow unto Demeter At the beginning of harvest and another To Dionysus at the vintage-time.
Therefore we prize our herds of swine, and count them Not as unclean, but as things consecrate To the immortal gods.