[Previous: lines 684-738]
Joseph narrates. The Magi journey to pay tribute to Jesus.
“Illis extremo quippe ex oriente diebus------------
tres adeò magni reges ditione profecti, [740]
huc sese intulerant, puero dona ampla ferentes,
aurumque, et thuris glebas, stactæque liquorem.
His vis astrorum, ac ratio volventis Olympi
monstrârat regem nostris in finibus ortum,
quoi coeli terræque paterent debita sceptra: [745]
sancti igitur partûs studio huc venere videndi.
Stella facem ducens venientibus usque coruscam
dux erat, atque viam signabat lumine largo;
ceu quondam patribus deserta per avia nostris
in patriam tandem Pharia redeuntibus ora, [750]
præcurrens monstrabat iter nocte ignea lampas
desuper, et mirum spargebat lucida lumen.
Iamque urbem ingressi sedes adiere tyranni
Herodis, causamque viæ docuere, rati olli
hanc sobolem, quòd erat rex his in finibus, ortam. [755]
Obstupuit simul, atque animo perterritus ille est,
nec mora permetuens sibi ne succederet hæres
quæsitus puer in regnis externus avitis,
indigenas vates iubet intra mænia cogi
regia, scitarique omnes tempusque locumque [760]
nascentis pueri, patriamque domumque requirit.
Illi autem Bethlen veterum monimenta minari
cuncta docent, dux unde ortus se tolleret olim
fama ingens, claris ingens super æthera factis.
Tum magis, atque magis curarum fluctuat æstu, [765]
sollicitamque gerit cassa formidine mentem.
“Tandem his affatus reges dimittit Eoos:
‘Quæ vos causa, viri, nostris nunc applicat oris,
hæc eadem longè spe nos suspendit, aventes
cernere promissos pueri tot vatibus ortus. [770]
Haud procul hinc saxo Bethle fundata vetusto
urbs colitur nostris. Natum illuc quærite regem:
mox iubeo, inventum nobis qui nunciet, inde
mittite; nostro etiam puer accumuletur honore.’
Sic ait, et falso simulat nova gaudia vultu. [775]
Verùm longè aliud malè amico pectore agebat;
demens, qui coeli regem, cui sidera parent,
crederet in terris mortalia regna morari.”
“In those days, in the extreme East, there were------------
three great and wealthy kings, who set out [740]
to come here, and give the child rich presents
of gold, and frankincense, and myrrh. The power
of astronomy and celestial rounds
had taught them a king had been born in this land
to whom heaven and earth would yield the sceptre: [745]
and so they came eager to see the blessed birth.
A glittering star showed them the way to where
the king was, marking their path with its great light;
—like that fiery lamp that shone above the waste
when our forefathers fled from Pharaoh, [750]
guiding them through the desert night-time, a
lucid brilliance to bring us to our homeland.
At last they reached the city, and met the tyrant
Herod, telling him their mission—thinking that
the child born was his, since he was the king. [755]
He was struck dumb and shaken with terror!
Without delay, fearing a usurper—
that the boy would supplant him on the throne—
he called the local seers to his palace,
wanting to know from them the location of [760]
this child’s birth, what his bloodline and tribe were.
They told him that Bethlehem was the place
where the prophets said a mighty leader would come
great in fame and superhuman in his powers.
All this only overwhelmed him more with [765]
anxiety, tormenting his mind with vague fears.
“Finally he addressed those Eastern kings:
‘I share the cause that brought you to our land:
I too have long hoped to see the advent
of this boy, promised by so many prophets. [770]
Not far from here is a town called Bethlehem,
settled by our race. There you’ll find the newborn:
only I ask—when you find him, send word
to me; that I might heap honours upon him’
So he spoke, falsely feigning a joy not his. [775]
The truth was his heart was far from benign—
a madman, who thought to pit against Heaven’s
king the lingering realm of mortal men.”
Despite what Christmas convention has encouraged us to believe, there’s no evidence the three wise men saw a new-born Jesus. Matthew 2-1-12 places the visit ‘at an unspecified point after Christ's birth in which an unnumbered party of unnamed “wise men” (μάγοι, mágoi) visits him in a house (οἰκίαν, oikian), not a stable, with only “his mother” mentioned as present.’ The relevant bit is here (in the New Revised Standard Version):
In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, ‘Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.’ When King Herod heard this, he was frightened and all Jerusalem with him; and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They told him, ‘In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet: “And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who is to shepherd my people Israel”.’ Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, ‘Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage.’ When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another path.‘The text,’ says Wikipedia, ‘specifies no interval between the birth and the visit, and artistic depictions and the closeness of the traditional dates of December 25 and January 6 encourage the popular assumption that the visit took place the same winter as the birth, but later traditions varied, with the visit taken as occurring up to two winters later. This maximum interval explained Herod's command at Matthew 2:16-18 that the Massacre of the Innocents included boys up to two years old.’
A non-Renaissance image at the head of this particular post, for a change: James Tissot's The Magi Journeying (c. 1890), Brooklyn Museum, New York City.
[Next: lines 779-799]
No comments:
Post a Comment