Northern Nut Growers Association - "Northern Nut Growers Report of the Proceedings at the Twenty First Annual Meeting"

John Lewis Burckhardt - "Travels In Arabia"

Mark Lemon - "The Jest Book"

Arthur Train - "The Confessions of Artemas Quibble"

Annual Bibliography of Commonwealth Literature 2007
This paper argues that discourses of love in Ghanaian market literature for youth offer a view into complex negotiations of agency and empowerment. Drawing on Deborah Durham's notion of youth as "social `shifters'" and Francis Nyamnjoh's conception of the "interconnectedness" of agency, I take Ghanaian market literature as one specific case of how African literature for youth foregrounds questions of continuity and change as African societies enter into increasingly complex global relations. In this literature for youth, received notions of love, often constructed out of impressions from American pop and hip hop music, carry new notions of agency that compete with existing "domesticated" forms. Authors like Ike Tandoh and Evelyn Tay employ discourses of love to offer youth alternative avenues for empowerment in a context of socio-economic disenfranchizement. In a creative process of "straddling", this writing both reveals and reproduces the contradictions that obtain in youth configurations of agency.

The Coming of the King

B >> Bernie Babcock >> The Coming of the King




When Claudia had reached this part of her vision she screamed and covered
her eyes, and the soldiers and servants who had crowded about, drew back
in terror, their gaze transfixed.

Suddenly she cried, throwing her hands out to the eunuch: "I must have
speech with Pilate. Fly thou to the Judgment Seat! Let no door stop
thee! Let no guard stay thy feet! And when thou hast gained the ear of
Pilate, tell into it, 'Thus sayeth thy wife--have nothing to do with this
just man for I have this day suffered many things in a dream because of
him!' Thus shall it be that Claudia shall raise her voice to save the
hands of Pontius Pilate from the livid stain of innocent blood and the
pale face of the Jew from forever haunting the centuries."




CHAPTER XXXI

KING OF THE JEWS

"Jove, but my eyes are tired! Since the third watch hath my service
been required, yet am I feverish to see the end of this matter. Look!
Yonder housetops are black with men, eager-eyed, and the streets are
swarmed with early risers running hither and thither like ants much
stirred up. When did ever the morning sun shine on such a scene?"

"Where is he now, this enemy of our Tiberius that hath thus stirred up
the populace?"

"To the barracks of the Tower of Antonio they have taken him for the
_flagellum horrible_."

"And will they be long in laying open the flesh of his back?"

"Nay, for twelve brawny armed and deaf to the cries of pity will lay on
the scourge. Soon will he be brought again before Pilate." The
speaker was a scribe in the palace of Herod the Great. With two Romans
visiting in Jerusalem, he stood on the steps of the Praetorium looking
out over the open court which united its two colossal wings.

"Didst thou see the mighty procession which heralded the new King?"
asked one of the visitors.

"Yea, by the gods it was a great outpouring! Peoples from all nations
of the earth were there to bear back the news that one had arisen to
take the throne of Caesar. And well hath the time been chosen for
revolt when the city is gorged with strangers, and the flower of Rome's
legions in Palestine, is called to Syria. Of him who betrayed the
Galilean revolutionist and hatched the plot for his deliverance, Rome
should make a divinity."

"A betrayer was there?"

"Yea, a betrayer and a plot else those pious dogs of the Sanhedrin had
not yet laid hands on him who stirred the people, for by day his
followers, who were many, kept near him, and by night hath he cunningly
concealed himself. Cowards and curs are these Jews whose faces are
solemn and whose prayers are long. Rome shows her hand in the open.
But these move under dark cloaks of piety, spin webs and heap up much
spoil."

"Hast thou seen this stirrer up of strife?"

"Yea, and heard his speech. Daily he taught in the Temple and though
he is called a Galilean peasant, he hath much knowledge. A strange
people were those of his race, and strange were the kings that once sat
on their thrones, for out of the Galilean's mouth their law allowed no
usury, left fruit on the vine for the poor, and turned vast estates
back to be redistributed. Aye, this stirrer up of sedition makes much
of the poor. Perchance hunger hath gnawed at his own vitals. By
traffic in 'traditions' and sacrifices have their priests grown rich
filching from the poor. For this did the Galilean call them a den of
thieves and curse and beat them, and for this gained he their hatred.
Yet they did not dare lay hands on him openly for fear of the populace.
Yesternight his hiding-place was learned. At midnight as his followers
lay sleeping on the hills outside the city, a body of armed men with
the midnight guard of the Temple, crossed Kedron and found the revolter
at an old olive farm. Then was he brought before the Sanhedrin--sly
foxes, evil beasts--for by their own law it is not lawful to hold
council until sunrise. But fearing lest his followers should rescue
him if daylight found him uncondemned, even at the cock crowing was he
led before Caiaphas. Then was he led before Pilate. By Pilate was he
sent to Herod. A raw joke, this that Pilate did poke at Herod in the
face of much people."

"Doth Pilate not love the Tetrarch of Galilee?"

"Nay, and yet more than Herod doth love him. The father of Herod, he
who was called the Great, was crowned a king by the Senate at Rome.
Yet did Pilate fall heir to the glory thereof and the hurt hath worked
on Herod like a running sore. Yet must his lips be ever sealed. Now
hath Pilate sent one accused to this man, knowing that he hath no power
of life and death under the Roman law in Jerusalem. But if he had, yet
would the joke be a raw one, for is not the following of the Galilean
from the province of Herod? With what wisdom could he lift his arm
against the chosen one of so great and zealous a following? So Herod
did send the accused back to Pilate and while the man passed back and
forth, the mob gathered and those pious murderers from the Temple, like
worms of corruption, worked in and out among the mob whispering,
'Traitor! Traitor! Treason! Revolt!' throwing into the face of
Pilate that he is no friend of Caesar if this one be not crucified.
Then gave Pilate the rebel to the flayers. Next comes the cross."

"So shall ever perish those who espouse the cause of the poor. None
but a fool dreams crowns come to the poor. What reason hath this man
who would be king, for befriending the poor? Hath he a reason?"

"Aye. He teacheth of that which he doth call 'Liberty.' By his way
there would be no more slave, but all masters."

"Strange--passing strange! How then if there is no _articulata
implementa_, could there be Roman property? And who would pay for the
circus?"

"I know not. But the arm of Caesar will see that no chance is given
this wild teaching of liberty. Not since Sparticus lifted the sword to
get freedom for his kind has the head of our Caesar rested on an easy
pillow. Revolt and insurrection rumble in the hearts of the slave and
the poor rabble, as still fire smolders in the heart of Vesuvius. Like
a brand in a dry corn field will this revolt grow into insurrection
unless it is put down. The arm of Rome is sufficient--but see! The
mob parts! They are coming from the scourge with him who is to be
crucified. The death warrant hath been already written."

"Dost write death warrants for all crucified ones?"

"Nay, no more than for flies or vermin, else the earth would be running
over with warrants. But a stirrer up of sedition, this is the one
crime that Rome doth not forgive. Look! Yonder he comes! Lo, he
weareth a gaudy robe. His face is pale from loss of blood. Look you!
It drips from under the gaudy robe and follows his feet in plotches
which stain the mosaic. The thongs must have cut deep. Ha! ha! He
weareth a crown--a crown for a King--a crown of prickly thorns. It
hath left its mark on his forehead, and across one cheek there lieth a
purple stripe!"

"Listen--they are calling '_Staurosate_! _Staurosate_!' Like demons
do they yell as he is being led before Pilate."

"Canst see?"

"Yea. Pilate doth have him mount the steps so that the mob may see
him. Look you; what manner of man is he, who moveth like a conqueror
among those shouting his praises? There is majesty in the tread of the
feet that leave a trail of blood! And look! Across his breast doth he
fold his arms; he lifteth his head; he looketh out over the multitude
as Julius Caesar might look upon a handful of chained slaves who had
breathed against his power invincible. Why hath this Galilean this
majestic presence? See thou--it doth impress the mob until their
tongues stop wagging and the buzz dieth to the stillness of the dead.
Look--look! The Procurator ariseth. He is full robed! And about to
speak!"

Pontius Pilate moved himself so that the hungry mob, awed for the
moment into silence by the sight of one condemned, might look upon the
voice of power back of the Judgment Hall and Tower of Antonio. When
every eye had turned from the royal-robed figure looking out on the mob
with god-like calm, Pilate himself turned his eyes from the solitary
man to the multitude and after prolonging the silence a moment said,
"_Ecce homo_!"

For the spell of a few short breaths, as if something heavy hung over
the heads of the gaping crowd, the silence lasted. Then from a dozen
sources, like the fierce yelping of the pack came the cry,
'_Staurosate_! Crucify him!"

"Hear! Hear!" exclaimed the scribe to his visitor, "those curs of long
prayers and dangling frontlet do much loyal shouting for Caesar whom in
their hearts they curse. Neither for Caesar care they, neither for
their Temple, but for the favor of Caesar and the gold of the Temple
will they swear lies and lick the hand of power. But let me turn aside
for a brief spell to deliver up the superscription that Pilate hath
commanded be fastened on the cross above the thorn-cut brow of him who
would be king. Look you--read: '_Jesus Nasarenus, Rex Judaeorum_.'"
The scribe and his visitors laughed heartily. "And lest among the
multitude that hath heard of a new king, there are those unfamiliar
with our own tongue, Pilate hath given command that the superscription
be written in Greek and in the ancient letters of the Jews' own Law.
Also I would put the seal on the death sentence. Wouldst thou see this
too?"

"Yea, for not before hath it been given my eyes to read the death
sentence of a 'King.'"

The scribe spread a fresh parchment[1] on the table and the Romans bent
over it to read. "Yet a moment!" the scribe called to the men at the
table. "Something strange is happening--look! Pilate is washing his
hands in a basin! What hath so defiled them that ablution doth take
place in the eyes of the shouting mob?"

"A mystery--yea. But look you--aye, look you! To mystery is added yet
more mystery! Herod the Tetrarch doth approach Pilate. He smileth
until the rising light doth sparkle on his teeth. He holdeth forth his
hand! Will the Procurator whose hands are yet wet from their strange
cleansing give him greeting? Look you! Steady thine eyes for a rare
sight. He doth not hesitate! Now is the hand of Pontius Pilate
gripped together with that of Herod Antipas. By Castor and Pollux--by
Jove himself a rare fellowship hath been born of this tempest. What
next?" and laughing, the Romans turned back to the death sentence.



[1] The original of what is accepted as Pilate's sentence was
discovered about the year 1380 in an iron tube among the marble ruins
of a temple in the city of Aquila, Italy, written in Hebrew characters
on parchment. It is now in the custody of the Keeper of the Royal and
General Archives of Simancus, Spain. The following is the translation
from the original parchment:

In the year 17 of Tiberius Caesar, Emperor of Rome and of all the
world, unconquerable monarch: In the CXXI Olympiad; in the XXIV Illiad
and of the creation of the world according to the number and count of
the Hebrews, four times 1157; of the propagation of the Roman Empire,
the year 73; of the deliverance from slavery to Babylon the year 430;
and the restitution of the Holy Empire, the year 497. Lucius Marius
Sauricus being Consuls of Rome and Pontiff, Proconsuls of the
unconquerable Tiberius; Public Governor of Judea, Regent and Governor
of the City of Jerusalem, Flavius IV; its graceful president Pontius
Pilate; Regent of Lower Galilee, Herod Antipas; Pontiff of the High
Priesthood--Caiaphas; Ales Maelo, Master of the Temple; Rababan Ambe,
Centurion of the Consuls and of the City of Jerusalem. Quintas
Cornelius Sublimius and Setus Pompilius Rufus, on the 25th, I Pontius
Pilate, representative of the Roman Empire, in the Palace of Larchi,
our residence, judge, condemn and sentence to death, Jesus, called
Christ, the Nazarene, of the multitude of Galilee, a man seditious of
the Mosaic Law, against the Great Emperor Tiberius Caesar, I determine
and pronounce by reason of the explained, that he shall suffer death
nailed to the cross, according to the usage of criminals, because
having congregated many men, rich and poor, he hath not ceased to stir
up tumults throughout Galilee, pretending to be the Son of God, and
King of Israel, threatening the ruin of Jerusalem and the Holy Empire,
and denying the tribute to Caesar; having the boldness to enter with
palms of triumph and accompanied by a multitude as King within the City
of Jerusalem in the Sacred Temple.

I therefore command my Centurion, Quintas Cornelius, that he conduct
publicly through the City of Jerusalem this Jesus Christ and that he be
tied and flogged, dressed in purple and crowned with prickly thorns,
with his own cross on his shoulders, so that he may serve as an example
to malefactors; and to take with him two homicidal thieves; all of whom
shall leave by the Giarancola Gate, designed to-day Antonia, and will
proceed to the mount of the wicked, called Calvary, where crucified and
dead, the body shall remain on the cross so that it may be a spectacle
and example to all criminals, and on said cross there shall be the
inscription in three languages, Hebrew, Greek and Latin, in Hebrew
'Jesu Aloi Alisidin'; in Greek 'Iesous Nazarenos Basileus ion
Iouoaion'; in Latin 'Jesus Nazarenus Rex Judaeorum.' We likewise
command that no one of whatever class he may be, shall attempt
imprudently to impede this justice by us commanded, administered and
followed with all rigor, according to the decrees and laws of the Roman
and Hebrews, under penalty which those incur who rebel against the
Empire."


[Transcriber's note: The Greek phrase in the above footnote was
transliterated as follows:

Iesous: Iota, eta, sigma, omicron, (rough breathing mark) upsilon,
final sigma.

Nazarenos: Nu, alpha, zeta, alpha, rho, eta, (rough breathing mark)
omicron, final sigma.

Basileus: Beta, alpha, sigma, iota, lambda, epsilon, (soft breathing
mark) upsilon, final sigma.

ion: iota, omega, nu.

Iouoaion: (soft breathing mark) Iota, omicron, upsilon, (soft breathing
mark) omicron, alpha, iota, omega, nu.]




CHAPTER XXXII

BY THIS SIGN

At the side of a roadway leading up the sloping ascent of a bald hill,
on the outskirts of Jerusalem, stood a rock, which by the stone rolled
against it, was evidently a tomb of ancient days. This roadway, which
had been tramped into fine dust by the tread of many feet, ran along
the edge of a ravine, the far side of which was cut with sepulchres and
fissured into narrow caves. Just beyond the tomb, the road turned to
the top of the hill which was hidden by a solitary dying olive that
cast its black branches across a pile of bleached gray rock. On this
bald hill three crosses had been set up and since sunrise a vast crowd
had thronged the roadway, for it had early become news that he who had
been acclaimed King of the Jews had been hanged between two thieves,
and many there were who were curious to see the sad plight of the King.

As the mocking crowd surged about the hill-top, and the sun was shining
high in the heavens, the victim on the center cross uttered a cry which
seemed to vibrate into the very element and turn the light of midday
into impenetrable darkness and shake the earth with a mighty trembling.
Rocks rattled down the ravine; tomb-doors were shaken from their
holdings; the moaning of wind, like a dying breath, passed the length
of the valley below and from the black depths a leper cried, "Unclean!
Unclean!" his despairing wail answered by the scream of a maniac.

In the midst of the darkness there were fitful outbursts of dull green
light, like the expiring effort of a perishing sun, and in these
ghostly gleams people could be seen running to and fro. Among them
were a woman and a man; the woman wrapped in a long cloak, the man,
mighty in size, with scarce enough garments to cover his body, but to
these the woman clung as they crept behind the wayside rock for
shelter. Scarcely had they settled close to the rock than it began to
tremble, and then the stone rolled away from before it and a skeleton
toppled out, falling at the very feet of the woman.

With a scream she cried, "My dream! My dream! Even now it cometh to
pass! Help! Help!"

The man drew the woman away from the skeleton and closer to the
trembling rock.

"Even the dead come forth!" she wailed. "It is the end of all things!
By the death of us all shall the gods avenge the death of the Jew! Oh,
my eunuch, save me! Thou art strong! Thou wert a follower and a
believer. Save me!" and she threw herself into his arms.

"Calm thyself, most noble Claudia," the man said in quiet tones. "That
which maketh the earth tremble until stones roll from the grave, is
naught but the same power that piles still water into waves of rocking
mountains and that breaks the cedars of the hills as if they were dead
grass. Fear not."

"Thou sayest--but feel the rocking of the earth."

"Yea, it doth tremble. Yet hath it trembled before and will tremble
again. In Thrace have I seen the earth shake open in yawning pits."

"But the sun is dark at midday! What meaneth it?"

"Something hath come between the sun and thy vision. The sun yet
shineth."

"Nay! Nay! Even the sun doth darker, its face in shame that the Jew,
that just man, should be hung upon a cross to die! Oh, Pilate!
Pilate! How could you?"

While they were speaking the darkness lightened and two soldiers
crossed the road. When they reached the skeleton whose white outlines
could be dimly seen in the gray light, they stopped suddenly.

"The dead come forth! Wherefore?" exclaimed one.

"Because this thing came of a race that knowest nothing, not even that
it is dead." He kicked the skull which separated itself from the body
and rolled toward him. Stopping it with his boot he said, "Aye, good
Jew, art thou dead or alive? Speak!"

"He is lacking a tongue," and the second soldier laughed. The first
ran his sword through the ribs of the skeleton and flinging it into the
ravine kicked the skull after it.

In the silence that followed this clearing of the roadway, a moan was
heard from the hidden hill-top. It was one of the malefactors begging
for a stupefying potion to stay his torment.

"Hear," said one of the soldiers. "_He_ beggeth with a good tongue."

"Yea, but the Jew that hangeth between the two refused the draught."

"He refuseth nothing now. The tongue of the 'King of the Jews' waggeth
no longer in profane bragging against Caesar. Let us see to him."

When the soldiers had turned up the hill, the woman behind the rock
spoke again. "Oh, my eunuch," she said, "go thou to the cross and
inquire of the Jew. They say he is dead--dead," and her voice ended in
a sob.

"Be comforted, most gracious Claudia. Methinks they speak what they
know not. Yet will thy servant inquire."

While the eunuch was gone a group of soldiers came down the road
bearing a purple robe. Near the rock behind which Claudia stood
concealed they seated themselves, removed their helmets and dropped
dice in them.

"A goodly apparel," one soldier said, holding forth the robe.

"Yea, and a crown went with it," a second said.

"Yea, and a cross followed after it," a third added.

"For Pilate is the friend of Caesar."

"Thus ever with those Rome hath cause to fear," the first soldier
observed as he shook the dice in his helmet. Then in turn the soldiers
rattled their dice and spoke.

"Look thou! Look thou!"

"Aye, but look here."

"Yea, but cast thine eyes on my luck!"

"I throw well!"

"I throw better!"

"I throw best! Look! The garment is mine!"

While they had been casting lots for the robe, several bystanders had
collected. Among them was a thickly built man with a peculiar mark on
his face. Straight above the line of his black beard it lay across one
cheek like a red and purple band ending in a black mark at the tip on
his ear. He wore a handsomely embroidered turban and carried a blue
cloak. When the game, which he watched with interest, was finished and
the new owner of the robe had taken possession of it, the bystander
said, "How fareth the King whose robe now becometh thine?"

"When we left him but a short time since, he no longer begged for water
and his head hung limp."

"Perhaps he hath but fainted," the man with the blue cloak suggested.

"Then shall the breaking of bones make sure his end."

"Knowest thou where the bone-breaker is?"

"I am he."

"And when wilt thou break the bones of his body?"

"What matter to thee when his bones are broken?"

"None save this. When the vast darkness that just now is lifting, was
blackest, I heard a company of his followers whispering, and they did
say he swore that, though dead, yet on the third day would he rise from
the grave."

"And thou wouldst know of a surety that his legs are broken so that if
he be stolen from the tomb his legs carry him not far?" and the
soldiers laughed. "Fret not, the bones of the Jew will soon be broken."

"Wouldst thou break them sooner for a piece of gold?" and he drew from
his cloak a wallet.

The soldier sprang up eagerly and held out his hand saying, "A coin
upon the palm doth grant thy desire before thine eyes. The coin--then
come, let us to the bone-breaking."

The man with the wallet had his hand on the gold, and the man with the
heavy sword had his hand well held out for the gift, when a woman
appeared suddenly before them and said to the soldier, "Lift not thy
hand against the bones of the Jew!"

"What meanest thou--follower of the Jew?" the soldier replied angrily.

"Nay, not a follower of the Jew am I. Yet I know he was a just man."

"Thou dost lie with clumsy tongue," the soldier declared. "Thou art
one of his followers."

"Whether I lie, or whether I lie not, break not a bone of the Jew's
body!"

"Thou art a cunning follower of the Jew, and bold. Yet shall his bones
be broken. Move thou on farther from the cross. Stand to one side,"
and he lifted his broad sword.

"And when did it come to pass," she said without moving, "that a dog of
a soldier lifted the sword against a Roman?"

"A Roman? In my eye, a Roman," and the soldier laughed.

"Yea, a Roman--and more than a Roman. Let thine eyes look!" With the
words Claudia threw back the long cloak and stood forth in the gorgeous
apparel of a Roman noblewoman. The soldiers moved back a step and
looked in wonderment as she spoke again. "A Roman? More than a Roman
is Claudia Procula, wife of Pontius Pilate! Knowest thou,
bone-breakers of the Tower of Antonio, who Pilate is? Not a follower
of the Jew am I, but by the ring upon my hand I am the wife of the
Roman Procurator, and I say to thee, not a bone of this just man's body
shall be broken, else with thy broken body wilt thou pay bone for bone!"

The soldiers moved back a few steps farther. Then one said, "And when
hath it come to pass that Pilate's wife giveth orders?"

"When Pilate washeth his hands of the tragedy, then doth Claudia
command."

"Thou dost talk strangely for a Roman."

"This is a time of strange things. Strange darkness--strange trembling
of the earth--strange bravery of a just man. Yea, a time of strange
happenings. But break thou not the bones of the Jew."

The bystander with blue cloak and open wallet had moved aside a short
distance. To him Claudia now turned, and after a moment of scrutiny
she said, "By thy nose made fast against thy head and the twist of thy
tongue when it doth barter where gold is passed, thou art a Jew. A
Jew--and _such_ a Jew! For the hardness of thy heart may the dark and
ugly stripe thou wearest stay with thee ever. Even as thou standest
before me in the dust, my eyes behold thee shrink into a viper! Get
thee hence!"

When the soldiers and the Jewish bystander had gone down the roadway
toward the city, Claudia stepped back behind the rock. During the time
she had been talking the dim light had given way again to the
brightness of the day. From her place she watched the passers-by and
harkened their comment. Some, mocking, said, "He saved others, himself
he could not save." Some marveled that his last breath should be a
prayer of forgiveness for those who had robbed him of his life; some
declared the show were not worth the dusty pilgrimage from Jerusalem on
a hot day; some laughed to find a King in so sad a plight. Some wept.
One such a woman in black who came slowly, leaning on the arm of a
young man, and sobbing: "He is dead! He is dead!" And when the young
man sought to comfort her as a son would comfort a mother, her moaning
heart cried only, "He is dead! My son--my little Jehu--he is dead!"
And the suffering of the woman moved the heart of Claudia until tears
wet her face.

Gradually the number of passers-by grew less and by the conversation of
the stragglers Claudia knew that the body had been taken from the
cross. After what seemed hours of waiting, the eunuch returned to her.

"Long hast thou been gone!" she said.

"Yea, most noble Claudia, for it hath been given thy scarred servant to
take in his strong arm the body of the Galilean from his cross. Holy
service!"

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