FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   110   111   112   113   114   115   116   117   118   119   120   121   122   123   124   125   126   127   128   129   130   131   132   133   134  
135   136   137   138   139   140   141   142   143   144   145   146   147   148   149   150   151   152   153   154   155   156   157   158   159   >>   >|  
s of silver for Jesus!" he cried in a voice of wild madness, most pleasing to Annas. "For Jesus of Nazareth! You wish to buy Jesus for thirty pieces of silver? And you think that Jesus can be betrayed to you for thirty pieces of silver?" Judas turned quickly to the wall, and laughed in its smooth, white fence, lifting up his long hands. "Do you hear? Thirty pieces of silver! For Jesus!" With the same quiet pleasure, Annas remarked indifferently: "If you will not deal, go away. We shall find some one whose work is cheaper." And like old-clothes men who throw useless rags from hand to hand in the dirty market-place, and shout, and swear and abuse each other, so they embarked on a rabid and fiery bargaining. Intoxicated with a strange rapture, running and turning about, and shouting, Judas ticked off on his fingers the merits of Him whom he was selling. "And the fact that He is kind and heals the sick, is that worth nothing at all in your opinion? Ah, yes! Tell me, like an honest man!" "If you--" began Annas, who was turning red, as he tried to get in a word, his cold malice quickly warming up under the burning words of Judas, who, however, interrupted him shamelessly: "That He is young and handsome--like the Narcissus of Sharon, and the Lily of the Valley? What? Is that worth nothing? Perhaps you will say that He is old and useless, and that Judas is trying to dispose of an old bird? Eh?" "If you--" Annas tried to exclaim; but Judas' stormy speech bore away his senile croak, like down upon the wind. "Thirty pieces of silver! That will hardly work out to one obolus for each drop of blood! Half an obolus will not go to a tear! A quarter to a groan. And cries, and convulsions! And for the ceasing of His heartbeats? And the closing of His eyes? Is all this to be thrown in gratis?" sobbed Iscariot, advancing toward the high priest and enveloping him with an insane movement of his hands and fingers, and with intervolved words. "Includes everything," said Annas in a choking voice. "And how much will you make out of it yourself? Eh? You wish to rob Judas, to snatch the bit of bread from his children. No, I can't do it. I will go on to the market-place, and shout out: 'Annas has robbed poor Judas. Help!'" Wearied, and grown quite dizzy, Annas wildly stamped about the floor in his soft slippers, gesticulating: "Be off, be off!" But Judas on a sudden bowed down, stretching forth his hands submissively:
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   110   111   112   113   114   115   116   117   118   119   120   121   122   123   124   125   126   127   128   129   130   131   132   133   134  
135   136   137   138   139   140   141   142   143   144   145   146   147   148   149   150   151   152   153   154   155   156   157   158   159   >>   >|  



Top keywords:

silver

 

pieces

 
obolus
 

fingers

 

market

 
useless
 

Thirty

 
quickly
 
thirty
 

turning


Valley
 

ceasing

 

closing

 

Perhaps

 

convulsions

 

heartbeats

 

senile

 

speech

 

quarter

 
dispose

exclaim
 

stormy

 

choking

 
Wearied
 
robbed
 

wildly

 

stamped

 
sudden
 

stretching

 

submissively


slippers
 

gesticulating

 

children

 
priest
 

enveloping

 

insane

 

movement

 

advancing

 

thrown

 
gratis

sobbed

 
Iscariot
 

intervolved

 
Includes
 
snatch
 

indifferently

 
pleasure
 

remarked

 

cheaper

 
clothes