The Epic of Saul

by William Cleaver Wilkinson

All had been teemed from Shimei's fruitful brain.
First, he had mixed the listening crowd around
The weaver at that moment with base men,
His creatures, who, for hirelings' pay, should stir
Their neighbors up to wreak indignity
Upon Saul's person, wounding to his pride,
And in the public view disparaging.
Then, at the point of need, to succor Saul,
Bringing his haughty colleague under debt
To himself, Shimei, for his very life—
This was that crafty plotter's next concern.
A band accordingly of men-at-arms,
Sworn in the service of the Sanhedrim,
He had made ready; and these now appeared
Confronting that tumultuary crowd.
Saul rescued—not without some disarray
And soil of rent apparel, hair and beard
Dishevelled, and disfigured countenance,
His person thus disparaged to the eye,
Hirani, as ringleader of the rout,
Chained and brought forward, while go free, but blamed
For being misled, the others—Shimei then
To view emerges. He addresses Saul:
"Well met! That fellow, with his crew of like,
Treated you badly, Saul. You might have prayed
To be delivered into Stephen's hands
From tender mercies such as theirs! I trust
You have not suffered worse than what I see,
Some slight derangement of apparel shown,
Your hair and beard less sleek than might beseem,
With here and there a scratch scored on your face—
Nothing more serious, let me trust? Our men
Were at the nick of time in coming up.
It was not pure coincidence. You see,
Both knowing your mettle and the vicious ways
These sanctimonious ruffians have at times,
I had misgivings that you might be rash,
And suffer disadvantage at their hands.
So, as in like case you would do by me,
I, with these faithful servitors of ours,
Run to your rescue here, and not too soon!
A little later would have been too late.
You were well started down the steep incline,
Which, very happily, as I learn, you styled
'The way of Stephen and all heretics.'
Droll, very, with of course its serious side,
Queer irony, you know, of will Divine,
Supposing they had really stoned you, Saul!
Well, well, it turns out better than your fears.
You will not, true, and I lament it, make
Quite a triumphal entry with your man
Before the Sanhedrim, leading him in,
With air of captain fresh from glorious war,
Who brings proud trophy of his single spear
Redoubtable; but the main point is ours,
The man we want is safe in custody."

Thus Shimei with his devilish sneering glee
Nettled the heart of Saul and cheered his own.

Before the council Shimei stood forth,
Instead of Saul, to accuse the prisoner.
With plausible glib mendacity, he said:
"Not only is this fellow heretic
After the manner of those Galilæans,
But myself saw with mine own eyes just now
How he the idlers in the street stirred up
To most unseemly act of violence
Against our brother Saul, worthy of death,
As being aimed at death, unless that I
Had ready been at hand with force enough
To rescue one of our own number thus
To the most imminent brink of stoning brought.
Saul, if he would, might show himself to you
In lively witness of the things I say."

Hereon to Saul he signed with hand and eye;
But Saul arose and calmly, with disdain,
Thus spoke: "The man here present prisoner
Is, out of his own mouth, disciple proved
Of Jesus Nazarene. As such I sought
To bring him hither before you to be judged.
This my attempt, most unexpectedly,
A crowd of idlers round about him drawn
Vacantly listening to discourse from him,
Resented; they, resisting, thrust me back—
I had ventured single-handed and alone—
And, borne to madness, might perhaps have wrought
Some harm to me—I know not; but one thing
I know, and that I freely testify,
This man, our prisoner, did nought of all,
Contrariwise, with all his eloquence
Endeavored to dissuade those violent,
Constantly saying and averring he,
In any case, should, of his own free will,
Give himself up to you—thereby to clear
The Name he sought to honor of reproach
For wild deeds done as in defence of him."

A moment, having heard Saul testify,
The Sanhedrim sat silent in fixed thought.
Then Shimei, ever easily equal found
To his occasion, when need seemed to him
Of whatsoever fraud in word or act,
Said that of course from brother Saul was heard
Never aught other than he deemed was true;
But the fact was, as would by witnesses
Be amply proved, that all this culprit's show
Of zeal to stay those rioters back was show
Merely, dust in the eyes of Saul to cast,
Or rather sport to make of him, the prey
Secure supposed of his, the prisoner's,
Malicious machination through the hands
Of his confederates, or tools, who knew
Better their master's purposes, his real
Purposes, than his feigned dissuasive words
To heed, and let his victim go. Saul's state
Was at the moment such, so ill at ease
His mind—why, even his body in that vile
Duress was hardly to be called his own—
Saul—and without offence would Shimei say it—
Might be regarded as not competent
On this particular point to testify.
At all events, here were good witnesses
Who, from a safer, steadier point of view
Than Saul's, and longer occupied, could tell
Both what the prisoner's wont had been to teach,
And what he instigated in this case.

With such preamble to prepare their minds,
Minds used to guess the drift of Shimei's wish,
This arch-artificer of fraud produced
As witnesses the men whom he had late
Mixed with Hirani's audience to foment
That lawlessness. Such serviceable tongues
Failed not to swear, in all, as Shimei wished.

Saul, in his secret mind with anguish torn,
Gazed at the man forsworn against, maligned,
And almost envied him. A look of peace
Was on him like a light of fixéd stars,
So constant, and so inaccessible
Of change through jar, through stain, so clear, so fair!
He listened to the voices round him loud,
As if some softer voice from farther sent
Made ever an inner music to his mind
Charming him with a melody unheard.
He saw the things, the faces, and the forms,
About him nigh, as if he looked beyond
Or through them, and beheld far, far away
Or whom or what to others was unseen.

So when the high-priest, from his middle seat
Among the councillors, accosted him,
Asking, "To all these things what sayest thou?"
The prisoner, like one absent-minded brought
To sudden sense of present things, replied:
"I hardly understand what 'these things' are,
For otherwhither I was drawn in thought.
But if it be inquired concerning Him
Whom lately they not knowing crucified,
Why, this I answer for my testimony:
'Let there be light,' said God, and light there was.
Almost thus did that Man of Nazareth,
Creative, speak for me, and changed my world
Of native darkness to this cheerful scene
Above, beneath, about me, sudden spread,
And sun and moon and stars for me ordained.
I praise Him as the Lord of life and light,
And Giver of light and life to dead and blind.
All glory to His ever-blesséd Name!"

The simple ecstasy from which he spoke,
Illuminated, and the holy power
Of truth, in witness such, meekly so borne,
Wrought even upon the jealous Sanhedrim
An influence which they could not resist,
And a pang shot to the inmost heart of Saul.
A faltering of compunction close on shame
Made the high-priest half-tenderly, with tone
As of a father toward a child in fault,
Say: "Nay, my son, deceived art thou; of will
Surely thou dost not utter blasphemy.
If so be demon power had leave from God
To give thee back one day what demon power
Had erst one day from God had leave to take
Away, thy sight—be glad indeed, but fear
To yield wrongly thy praise to demon power
Permitted; all to God permissive yield.
Glory belongs to God alone. My son,
Bethink thee now betimes and save thy soul.
'Jesus of Nazareth anathema!'
Those words repeat for all to hear, and go
Acquitted hence of that thy blasphemy."

So the high-priest to him, but he replied:
"Blinded again I should expect to be,
My eyeballs blasted to the roots of sight,
Nay, worse, my inner seeing quenched in dark,
Forever and forevermore past cure,
Were I to speak that Name except to praise.
Glory to God and glory to His Son,
Forever and forever in the heavens,
The heaven of heavens, seated at His right hand!"