CAPTAIN
Herod, most High, how shall the vanished be slain?
No sign gives us token
Where child and mother and manger and guiding star
Are vanished away.
HEROD
Powers of my crown and throne! Am I not Herod,
Herod, the Mighty? Who shall defeat my power?
Fifth Chorus: B,2 & A,4. The Wrath of Herod.
(Close by, from the Place of Empire, deep Choral Voices reiterate HEROD’S boasts of triumph; far off, from the Place of Outcasts, they are answered in antiphony by high, sweet Choirs, affirming his defeat.)