Father Hudson. My heart is moved with sorrow: the sins of men enter into me and I am constrained. Why was this man chosen for suffering; and what balm is there for his seed?
Both Choruses. Fear God and seek not thine own advantage. Pluck not the grape thyself; for who knows whether it be intended for thee?
I will weep freely and lift up my voice for the sorrows of men. There is none that shall comfort me.
Come, Father, let us weep together and add our tears to thy streams; for so only can the medicine of this grief flow down to the children of men.
INTERMEZZO
Father Hudson. Is it finished?
Leader of Men. No; it is begun.
Father Hudson. His pain enters into me. I must endure these things. Woe is me that ever I was born of the brooks or received by the meadows! The pains of new birth get hold on me, and I see that life is sorrow. Why could ye not let me alone, ye pangs of knowledge; or go by on the other side, ye piercings of understanding? Must I be bound up forever with sin, and feel the hand of unevenness on my loins?
Both Choruses. So it is with all creatures of a deep spirit. They are caught with the net; they are frozen in the ice of God; they are very helpless, and cry for relief day and night.
Accept thy pains, for they are good. Reason not against fate but lay down thy will in earnest.