'Poor young man!' said Aurelia, addressing Jane: 'he is the sport of
misfortune; every one is against him!'
'Let us listen,' said Jane anxiously: 'let us listen!'
'You see, Seigneur Pontius Pilate,' exclaimed at the same time the high
priest, the doctor, and the banker, 'not a day passes on which this
Nazarene does not disturb the public peace.'
'Answer me,' said the governor to the officer:--'what does it concern?'
"Some people arrived from Bethany pretend that three days ago, Jesus of
Nazareth brought the dead to life: all the people in the town are in
extraordinary commotion; bands of ragged fellows are at the present
moment running about the streets of Jerusalem, with torches crying:
'Glory to Jesus of Nazareth, who brings the dead to life!'"
'The audacious knave!' exclaimed Caiphus: 'to try to imitate our holy
prophets! to imitate Elias, who resuscitated the son of the widow: of
Elisha, who resuscitated Joreb! Profanation, profanation!'
'He is an impostor!' exclaimed Jonas: ''tis impious, sacrilegious
deception! Our holy scriptures announce that the Messiah shall bring the
dead to life. The Nazarene would play his character to the end.'
'They go so far as to give the name of the dead man resuscitated,'
observed the officer: 'he is named Lazarus!'
'I demand from the Seigneur Pontius Pilate,' exclaimed Caiphus, 'that
they discover and arrest this Lazarus on the instant!'
'There must be an example,' exclaimed the doctor of law: 'this Lazarus
must be hung! this will teach him to come to life!'
'Do you hear them? they will put this poor man to death,' said Aurelia,
addressing Jane, and shrugging her shoulders: 'to lose one's life,
because we have regained it despite ourself! for they will not accuse
him, I suppose, of soliciting to be resuscitated: decidedly they are
mad.'
'Alas! dear Aurelia,' said Chusa's wife mournfully, 'there are wicked
madmen.'
'I repeat,' exclaimed Doctor Baruch, 'that this Lazarus must be hung.'
'Stuff! my seigneurs: why, look you, here is an honest corpse sleeping
tranquilly in its sepulchre, not thinking of any harm; he is brought to
life; he cannot help it, and you would have me hang him for this?'
'Yes, seigneur,' exclaimed Caiphus; 'we must extirpate the disease at
the root; for if this Nazarene now takes to resuscitating the dead....'
'It is impossible to foresee where it will end,' cried Doctor Baruch: 'I
therefore formally demand of the Seigneur Pontius Pi
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