Page:Mistral - Mirèio. A Provençal poem.djvu/241

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"'Wherefore, to purge this vileness, and to end
Man's torment and our pilloried race befriend,
He sent his own Son out of heaven down.
Naked and poor, wearing no golden crown,
He came, was of a virgin born, and saw
The daylight first pillowed on stable-straw.

"'People of Arles, turn to this lowly One.
Ourselves can show the wonders he hath done,
Who were his comrades; and, in that far land
Where rolls the yellow Jordan, saw him stand,
In his white linen robe, amid the crowd,
Who him assailed with maledictions loud.

"'Full gentle was his message: for he showed
That men should love each other, and that God
Is both almighty and all merciful;
And that the kingdom where he beareth rule
Descendeth not to tyrants, cheats, and scorners,
But to the poor, the lowly, and the mourners.

"'These were his teachings: and he them attested
By walking on the waters; and arrested
Sickness most bitter by a glance, a word.
The dead, by the grim rampart undeterred,
Came back to earth. This Lazarus whom you see
Once rotted in the grave. But jealousy