The Epic of Paul

by William Cleaver Wilkinson

Paul ended with a look toward Publius, then
Also toward Julius present there, which these
Felt as fixed firmness tempered with appeal.
Publius took counsel with quick sounding eyes
On the centurion bent, and answered thus,
His own thought by that other's fortified:
"O Paul, have thou thy will; no will have I
In this thing; all is one to me; our gods
Are our conventions, and we worship them
In form, but not in spirit. Strange to us
It seems, us more enlightened than the crowd,
Us who have tasted of philosophy,
To see thee thus engaged in earnestness
On the behalf of things not seen, not known."
Paul broke in with a burst of testimony:
"But I have seen, but I have known. The Lord,
The Lord Christ, Son of God declared, from heaven
Flashed in a sudden vision once on me,
Sudden and swift, for both my eyes went blind."
"It was a stroke of lightning blinded thee,"
Said Publius. "Nay, the sky was cloudless clear,"
Paul answered, "and the hour was high midnoon;
The Syrian sun was shining in his strength.
I know whom I believe and I adore
And bless Him, calling on my soul and all
That is within me to adore and bless
His holy name. Whether we eat or drink,
Or whatsoever do, in word or deed,
We His redeemed do all in our Lord's name,
To God the Father giving thanks through Him."
"Is this thy Lord to whom thou renderest thus
Thy service, the whole service of a life,"
So interrupted Publius, "is this Lord
The same as he whom Mary tells us of?"
"The same, O Publius," answered Paul. "But he—
I thought that he was put to death," replied
Publius. "Yea, but He burst the bands of death,
He rose in power and glory from the grave,
He thence ascended far above all height
Into the heaven of heavens beyond all thought,
Where He sat down enthroned forevermore
By the right hand of God;" so Paul, enrapt
And with his rapture aweing all who heard.

Publius then said, for now with meat and drink
The appetite to each was satisfied:
"O Paul, what thou thus sayest quickens in me
Desire to hear the rest of Mary's tale.
That death of shame, however undeserved,
Yet fallen on him as if inevitable—
He surely would have shunned it, if he could—
Had, I will own, induced in me some doubt
Whether the man who suffered it could be
Indeed the worker of such miracles
As those that Mary thought she saw from him.
But his triumphant rising from the dead,
His after showing of himself to thee,
That, this, if that, if this, did happen—why,
Such conquest over death and Hades won
And by such proof assured to us, were much.
But let us listen to what Mary yet
Will tell us of the last things to that life
And of the shameful death that ended it."

Then, with the genial sun, somewhat declined
From his steep noon, streaming his golden rays
Into the room to qualify the cool;
And with, beside, two ample braziers brought
Of coals in ruddy glow, one at each end,
To cheer the shadowed spaces of no sun,
The company, in comfortable wise—
After the fragments of the feast, with due
Despatchful ministry of practised hands,
Had disappeared, disposed themselves at will
And sat attentive to hear Mary's words.

But Mary's words hung and she did not speak;
Her voice had like a failing fountain failed,
And drifts of pallor whitened all her cheek.
A doubtful moment, and she swayed to fall
In death or death-like swoon upon the floor.
But Ruth who sat next quickly stayed her up;
Then, letting her sink softly toward supine
On her own bosom, held her resting thus.
Resourceful ministration soon revived
Her spirits to Mary, till she seemed herself
Again, and thought that they might trust her now
Not to disturb them more with cause for fear.
So, with a certain added gentleness
In tone and manner marking her, she spoke
Thus, while the rest with added reverence heard:

"That image of my Lord abides to me;
I see Him as I saw Him when I heard
'Behold the man!' The memory of my eyes
Is vivid and it seems to dazzle dark
The vision that by faith I ought to see.
I know and I believe that Jesus now
Is glorious in the heaven beyond all reach
Of anything to flaw His perfect fair.
But what he then was still will swim between,
And I perforce see this instead of that.
My ears ring with the maddening murderous shout
Of the chief priests and rulers with the mob
Mingling their voices now, 'Crucify Him!'
'He made himself the Son of God,' they cry.
That frightened Pilate, and, 'Whence art thou?' he
Asked Jesus, in his palace-hall withdrawn;
But Jesus never answered him a word.
Pilate was vexed, and tried browbeating Him.
'Speakest thou not to me? Dost thou not know
I can release thee if I will,' he said;
'Or, if I will can send thee to the cross?'
Then Jesus spoke. He said: 'No power is thine
Save as bestowed upon thee from above.
Therefore who gave me up to thee, he hath
The greater sin.'

"Pilate perhaps was awed,
Or he perhaps, albeit a cruel man,
Was truly for this once compassionate.
However it was, he sought with quickened zeal
To pacify the Jews for the release
Of Jesus; but they knew that governor,
And he knew that they knew him, and when they
Cried out, 'Thou art not Cæsar's friend, if thou
Release this man; whoever makes himself
A king, speaks against Cæsar,' Pilate then
Trembled within his mind for guilty fear.
He covered over his weakness with vain show
Of mock and sarcasm as, with Jesus brought
Forth from within before them, he exclaimed,
'Behold your king!' Tumultuously all
Hooted, 'Away with him! Away with him!
Crucify him!' 'What! Crucify your king?'
Bitterly said Pilate, dashing ruth with sneer.
Those proud chief priests, eating their pride at once
And God abjuring, said: 'We have no king
But Cæsar.' Then he gave Him up to them.

"But Pilate acted out before them all
In symbol a purgation of himself.
He had a basin of water brought, and washed
His hands, and said: 'Lo, I am innocent
Of this just blood; see ye yourselves to it.'
And all my people shouted out a curse
Upon themselves which for their sakes I fain
Had stopped my ears against—if not to hear,
Could have undone that dreadful curse! They cried,
'On us and on our children be his blood!'
God waits yet, but not long, to wreak that curse.

"That was the end of all until the cross.
A multitude of people followed Him,
As He went forth out of the city gate
Bearing His cross to Golgotha, the place
Where He should suffer. Thither going, they
Met Simon a Cyrenean coming in,
And, of some wanton humor seized, they made
Him take the cross and bear it. With the throng
Mingled, were many women who like me
Wailed and lamented. But the Lord to us
Turning said: 'Daughters of Jerusalem,
Weep not for me; but for yourselves weep ye,
Yea, and your children. For the days will come
When, Blessed are the barren, ye shall say,
And breasts that never nourished children. Lo,
Then to the mountains men shall lift their cry,
Fall ye upon us; Cover us, to the hills.'

"While they nailed Jesus to His cross, He spake
Words such as never other spake before;
Upward He spake, praying, and not to them.
'Father,' He prayed, 'forgive them, for, behold,
They know not what they do.' So there He hung,
The Savior of the world, upon His cross.
I saw the soldiers four whose watch it was
Sit unconcerned—not knowing what they did!—
And cast lots for the garments of the Lord.
'Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews,'
Pilate had written in three languages,
Hebrew, and Greek, and Latin, on the cross;
For so he gave his jeering humor play.
The chief priests winced at this, and begged of him,
'King of the Jews, write not, but that he said,
King of the Jews am I.' But Pilate spoke
Curtly, 'What I have written, I have written.'
There then the title stood, a bitterness
Mixed in their cup of triumph to the Jews,
And a truth deeper far than Pilate guessed.

"Mary, the mother of the Lord, stood by;
Jesus beheld her, and, close at her side,
That one of His disciples whom He loved.
A word then from those suffering lips which wrung
The mother-heart of Mary with sweet woe
To hear it spoken at such time as this.
'Woman,' said Jesus, to His mother speaking,
'Behold, thy son!' He meant John, for to him
Likewise He spake, 'Behold, thy mother!' So
Thenceforward Mary had with John her home.