the
dregs of the populace; to excite them to the pillage of the rich. Is it
not basely flattering the detestable passions of these tattered
vagabonds, whom Jesus of Nazareth takes such delight in, and with whom,
they say, he gets drunk?'

'I cannot find fault with the fellow for being fond of wine,' said
Pontius Pilate, laughing, and extending his cup to his slave. 'Drinkers
are not dangerous men.'

"But this is not all," said Caiphus, the high priest: "not only does
this Nazarene outrage law, authority, and the possession of riches; he
attacks no less audaciously the religion of our fathers. Thus
Deuteronomy explicitly says, 'You shall not lend in usury to your
brother, but only to strangers'--remark well this, 'but only to
strangers.' Well, despising the precepts of our holy religion, the
Nazarene arrogates to himself the right of saying: 'Do good to all, and
lend without expecting anything;' and he took care to add: 'You cannot
serve God and Mammon.' So that religion declares formally that it is
lawful to obtain a profit for one's money from strangers; whilst the
Nazarene, blaspheming the holy scriptures in one of its most pre-eminent
dogmas, denies what it affirms, and defends what it permits."

'My condition as a heathen,' replied Pontius Pilate, more and more
good-humored, 'does not permit me to take part in such a discussion; I
will inwardly invoke our god Bacchus. Some wine, slave! some wine!'

'Nevertheless, Seigneur Pontius Pilate,' said the banker, Jonas, who
seemed with difficulty to restrain the rage which the indifference of
the Roman caused him, 'even putting aside whatever sacrilege there may
be in the proposition of the Nazarene, you will admit that it is one of
the most outrageous; for, my seigneurs, I ask you, what would then
become of our commerce?'

''Tis the ruin of public wealth!'

"What would they have me do with the gold in my coffers if I made no
profit from it; if I lend 'without expecting anything,' as this
audacious reformer says? It would make one laugh if it was not so
odious."

'And it does not even concern an isolated attack, directed against our
holy religion,' said Caiphus, the priest. 'With the Nazarene 'tis a
settled plan to outrage and undermine at its base the faith of our
fathers; here is a fresh proof: lately the sick were plunged into the
pool of Bethesda.'

'Near the Gate of the Lambs?'

'Precisely; and the day was the Sabbath. Now you know, seigneurs, how
sacred