"How knowest thou what is in that letter?" so
Syrus, with honest scruple, asked his friend.
"Paul is a good man, aye; but good men need
Money in Rome to serve themselves withal.
He makes a merit of returning thee
Haply and in his letter claims reward
Which thou thyself shalt pay with servitude
Exacted henceforth heavier than before—
Besides the stripes and brands for runaways.
Thou hast thy freedom, keep it, and be wise."
Onesimus was wise, but he went back;
Onesimus was wise; yea, and he kept
His freedom also, double freedom kept,
Of spirit as of flesh, though he went back.
This was the letter which the bondman bore:
Paul, prisoner of Christ Jesus, and with him
Timotheus the brother, to our friend
Belovéd and our fellow-laborer,
Philemon; and to Appia the sister;
And to our fellow-soldier of the truth,
Archippus; and to all the church with thee:
Grace unto you and peace in plenteous store,
From God our Father and His Son our Lord!
'I never cease pouring out thanks to God
For thee, my brother, in my daily prayers;
I hear such tidings of thy faith and love
Toward our Lord Jesus and toward all God's own.
I pray thy faith may multiply itself
Richly in others, and of influence prove
To spread the knowledge everywhere abroad
Of all the good in us to work for Christ.
Joy have I and sweet comfort in thy love,
Because God's people oft have been in heart
Cheered by thee, brother. So, albeit I might
Boldly in the authority of Christ
Enjoin upon thee what is seemly, yet
For love's sake I beseech thee rather, I,
Being such as Paul the aged, prisoner now
Of Jesus Christ—beseech thee for my son
Whom I have late begotten in my bonds,
Onesimus; unprofitable once
To thee but now to thee and me alike
Found profitable. I have sent him back—
Him have sent back, that is, mine own heart sent;
I fain myself had kept him with me here
To minister to me in thy stead, while I
For preaching the glad tidings wear these bonds;
But I would nothing do without thy mind
In order that thy kindness may not be
As of compulsion but of free good will.
Who knows but in God's grace and wisdom he
Was parted from thee for a little time
That thou mightst have him for thine own forever,
As slave no longer, but above a slave,
Brother belovéd now, greatly to me,
But how much more to thee, both in the flesh
And in the Lord! If then a partner's place
I hold in thy regard, receive thou him
Even as myself. If he have wronged thee aught,
Or anywise have fallen in debt to thee,
Put that to mine account.'
Until these words,
Paul had let Stephen catch with ear alert
What issued hastening from his fervid lips,
And fix it on the parchment with swift hand.
But now himself he seized the pen and wrote
As so to make his promise fast and good.
'Put that to mine account,' he wrote; 'I, Paul,
Write this with mine own hand; I will repay
Thee; for I would not say to thee that thou
Owest to me thy very self besides.
Yea, brother'—now by Stephen's hand once more—
Let me have joy of thee in Christ the Lord;
Comfort thou me in Him. I write to thee
In fullest faith of thine obedient heed;
Thou wilt go even beyond my word I know.
Moreover I have hope to be thy guest
Erelong; make ready for me; through the prayers
Of you belovéd all, I trust to come.
Epaphras, fellow-prisoner of mine
In Jesus Christ, sends greeting to thee; Mark
Likewise, and Aristarchus, Demas, Luke,
My fellow-laborers, wish thee health and peace.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ abide
A guestship with your spirit evermore!'
The generous trust Paul staked upon him found
Philemon worthy, or him worthy made.
At first he frowned on his returning slave,
Who shrank before him, conscious of his fault.
But in the truth and secret of their hearts,
Master and bondman toward each other yearned.
Either remembered what before had been,
The wont of mutual human-heartedness
Which, between such as they, could not but spring
To blossom in kind offices exchanged
To make the bond of master and of slave
Unnatural though it was yet tolerable.
Philemon, less in anger and despite
Than in love disappointed and aggrieved,
Was ready to burst out upon the youth
In loud upbraidings of his gracelessness
To have made his master such return for all
The kindness he had tasted in his house;
Whereto Onesimus would have replied
With protestations of his penitence
And tears of promise never to offend
Again a master so magnanimous;
But when Philemon broke the letter's seal
And read what Paul had written, his eyes swam
And his heart melted and he flung his arms
Wide to embrace his slave and welcome him
With kisses of a brother to his breast;
And they twain wept together happy tears
Of equal love and heavenly gratitude,
And fell upon their knees before the Lord
And poured out all their soul in fervent prayer
For Paul through whom their blessing came to them.
Soon after, from Philemon charged with gifts
To Paul and many messages of love,
Onesimus went joyful back to Rome
To serve his master there by serving Paul.
He faithfully rehearsed to Syrus all
That at Colossæ chanced to him, and said:
"Paul never told me that he knew my lord,
That therefore I might trust him all in all.
He must have wished to put me so to proof
What naked peril I would dare for Christ.
I tremble when I think: 'If I had failed
In faith and in obedience to Paul's word!
Had I not made the venture to go back!
What had I lost on earth, perhaps in heaven!'
But I am glad the venture was so sheer,
Since I at last went back in spite of doubt.
But, know, my heart beat thick against my ribs,
When I was on the brink to meet him first,
My master—for in truth I had wrought him wrong.
But, Syrus, what thinkest thou my master did?
Thou hast never, I suppose, beheld a slave
Wept over by his master as in love,
And like an equal drawn unto his breast
And kissed. But so my master did to me.
For he too was disciple, like myself,
And Paul erst won him to discipleship;
And thus we twain were brethren in the Lord.
And he was tried and found not wanting too!
And here am I in Rome, no runaway,
But hither by Philemon's wishes sped
To be a happy minister to Paul."
When Syrus heard such things, the skeptic heart
That had resisted all Paul's eloquence
Was overcome at last through works to faith.