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CHRISTUS, going up the mountain. WHO do the people say I am?
JOHN. Some say | |
| That thou art John the Baptist; some, Elias; | |
And others Jeremiah.
JAMES. Or that one | |
| Of the old Prophets is arisen again. | |
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CHRISTUS. But who say ye I am?
PETER. Thou art the Christ! | 5 |
Thou art the Son of God!
CHRISTUS. Blessed art thou, | |
| Simon Barjona! Flesh and blood hath not | |
| Revealed it unto thee, but even my Father, | |
| Which is in Heaven. And I say unto thee | |
| That thou art Peter; and upon this rock | 10 |
| I build my Church, and all the gates of Hell | |
| Shall not prevail against it. But take heed | |
| Ye tell to no man that I am the Christ. | |
| For I must go up to Jerusalem, | |
| And suffer many things, and be rejected | 15 |
| Of the Chief Priests, and of the Scribes and Elders, | |
| And must be crucified, and the third day | |
Shall rise again!
PETER. Be it far from thee, Lord! | |
This shall not be!
CHRISTUS. Get thee behind me, Satan! | |
| Thou savorest not the things that be of God, | 20 |
| But those that be of men! If any will | |
| Come after me, let him deny himself, | |
| And daily take his cross, and follow me. | |
| For whosoever will save his life shall lose it, | |
| And whosoever will lose his life shall find it. | 25 |
| For wherein shall a man be profited | |
| If he shall gain the whole world, and shall lose | |
Himself or be a castaway?
JAMES, after a long pause. Why doth | |
| The Master lead us up into this mountain? | |
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PETER. He goeth up to pray.
JOHN. See, where He standeth | 30 |
| Above us on the summit of the hill! | |
| His face shines as the sun! and all his raiment | |
| Exceeding white as snow, so as no fuller | |
| On earth can white them! He is not alone; | |
| There are two with Him there; two men of eld, | 35 |
| Their white beards blowing on the mountain air, | |
Are talking with him.
JAMES. I am sore afraid! | |
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PETER. Who and whence are they?
JOHN. Moses and Elias! | |
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PETER. O Master! it is good for us to be here! | |
| If thou wilt, let us make three tabernacles; | 40 |
| For thee one, and for Moses and Elias! | |
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JOHN. Behold a bright cloud sailing in the sun! | |
| It overshadows us. A golden mist | |
| Now hides them from us, and envelops us | |
| And all the mountain in a luminous shadow! | 45 |
| I see no more. The nearest rocks are hidden. | |
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VOICE from the cloud. Lo! this is my beloved Son! Hear Him! | |
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PETER. It is the voice of God. He speaketh to us, | |
| As from the burning bush He spake to Moses! | |
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JOHN. The cloud-wreaths roll away. The veil is lifted; | 50 |
| We see again. Behold! He is alone. | |
| It was a vision that our eyes beheld, | |
| And it hath vanished into the unseen. | |
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CHRISTUS, coming down from the mountain. I charge ye, tell the vision unto no one, | |
| Till the Son of Man be risen from the dead! | 55 |
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PETER, aside. Again He speaks of it! What can it mean, | |
This rising from the dead?
JAMES. Why say the Scribes | |
Elias must first come?
CHRISTUS. He cometh first, | |
| Restoring all things. But I say to you, | |
| That this Elias is already come. | 60 |
| They knew him not, but have done unto him | |
| Whate’er they listed, as is written of him. | |
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PETER, aside. It is of John the Baptist He is speaking. | |
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JAMES. As we descend, see, at the mountain’s foot, | |
| A crowd of people; coming, going, thronging | 65 |
| Round the disciples, that we left behind us, | |
| Seeming impatient, that we stay so long. | |
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PETER. It is some blind man, or some paralytic | |
| That waits the Master’s coming to be healed. | |
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JAMES. I see a boy, who struggles and demeans him | 70 |
| As if an unclean spirit tormented him! | |
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A CERTAIN MAN, running forward. Lord! I beseech thee, look upon my son. | |
| He is mine only child; a lunatic, | |
| And sorely vexed; for oftentimes he falleth | |
| Into the fire and oft into the water. | 75 |
| Wherever the dumb spirit taketh him | |
| He teareth him. He gnasheth with his teeth, | |
| And pines away. I spake to thy disciples | |
| That they should cast him out, and they could not. | |
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CHRISTUS. O faithless generation and perverse! | 80 |
| How long shall I be with you, and suffer you? | |
Bring thy son hither.
BYSTANDERS. How the unclean spirit | |
| Seizes the boy, and tortures him with pain! | |
| He falleth to the ground and wallows, foaming! | |
He cannot live.
CHRISTUS. How long is it ago | 85 |
Since this came unto him?
THE FATHER. Even of a child. | |
| Oh, have compassion on us, Lord, and help us, | |
If thou canst help us.
CHRISTUS. If thou canst believe. | |
| For unto him that verily believeth, | |
All things are possible.
THE FATHER. Lord, I believe! | 90 |
Help thou mine unbelief!
CHRISTUS. Dumb and deaf spirit, | |
| Come out of him, I charge thee, and no more | |
| Enter thou into him! The boy utters a loud cry of pain, and then lies still.
BYSTANDERS. How motionless | |
| He lieth there. No life is left in him. | |
| His eyes are like a blind man’s, that see not. | 95 |
The boy is dead!
OTHERS. Behold! the Master stoops, | |
| And takes him by the hand; and lifts him up. | |
He is not dead.
DISCIPLES. But one word from those lips, | |
| But one touch of that hand, and he is healed! | |
Ah, why could we not do it?
THE FATHER. My poor child! | 100 |
| Now thou art mine again. The unclean spirit | |
| Shall never more torment thee! Look at me! | |
| Speak unto me! Say that thou knowest me! | |
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DISCIPLES to CHRISTUS, departing. Good Master, tell us, for what reason was it | |
We could not cast him out?
CHRISTUS. Because of your unbelief! | 105 |
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