"We shall see," added Jesus, "people rise against people, kingdom
against kingdom; so shall men pine away with fear in the expectation of
all that is to happen in the universe, for the virtues of heaven shall
be shaken."

A sullen murmur of fear circulated through the crowd at these prophecies
of Jesus of Nazareth recounted by Peter, and several voices exclaimed:--

'Mighty storms, then, will burst forth in heaven.'

'So much the better; these clouds of iniquity must burst, that the
heavens may be cleared and the eternal sun be resplendent.'

'And if they gnash their teeth on earth before grinding them in eternal
fire, these rich, these high priests, these crowned king Pharaoh's, they
have brought it on themselves,' exclaimed Banaias; 'they have brought it
on themselves.'

'Yes, yes, it's true.'

'Oh!' continued Banaias, 'this is not the first time the prophets have
shouted in their ears!

'Amend your lives! be good! be just! be merciful! Look down at your feet
instead of admiring yourselves in your pride! What! reptiles that you
are, you reject from your plates the most delicate meats!

'You fall down gorged with wine; next your cups filled to the very
brims; you ask yourselves, shall I put on to-day my furred robe with the
gold embroidery, or my robe of plush, embroidered with silver? And your
neighbor, shivering with cold beneath his rags, cannot simply taste from
your cup, or lick up the crumbs of your feasts? By the entrails of
Jeremiah, can it endure for any length of time?'

'Yes, yes,' cried several voices, 'this has lasted long enough--the most
patient weary toward the end!'

'The quietest bullock finishes by turning against the spur!'

'And what spur is there like hunger?'

'Yes,' continued Peter, 'yes, this has endured long enough; yes, it has
endured too long; therefore, Jesus, our master, hath said:

"The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to
preach the gospel to the poor--he hath sent me to heal the broken
hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight
to the blind; to preach the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day
when he shall avenge himself on his enemies."

These words of the Nazarene, quoted by Peter, excited a fresh
enthusiasm, and Genevieve heard one of the two secret emissaries of the
law and the high-priests say to his companion:

'This time the Nazarene shall not escape us, such words are really too
seditious and outrageous!'