1. "Just man," said to him the disguised spies of the Governor of
Jerusalem, "tell us if we must continue to do the will of Cæsar, or
expect our near deliverance?"
2. And Issa, who recognized the questioners as the apostate spies sent
to follow him, replied to them: "I have not told you that you would be
delivered from Cæsar; it is the soul sunk in error which will gain its
deliverance.
3. "There cannot be a family without a head, and there cannot be order
in a people without a Cæsar, whom ye should implicitly obey, as he will
be held to answer for his acts before the Supreme Tribunal."
4. "Does Cæsar possess a divine right?" the spies asked him again; "and
is he the best of mortals?"
5. "There is no one 'the best' among human beings; but there are many
bad, who--even as the sick need physicians--require the care of those
chosen for that mission, in which must be used the means given by the
sacred law of our Heavenly Father;
6. "Mercy and justice are the high prerogatives of Cæsar, and his name
will be illustrious if he exercises them.
7. "But he who acts otherwise, who transcends the limits of power he has
over those under his rule, and even goes so far as to put their lives in
danger, offends the great Judge and derogates from his own dignity in
the eyes of men."
8. Upon this, an old woman who had approached the group, to better hear
Issa, was pushed aside by one of the disguised men, who placed himself
before her.
9. Then said Issa: "It is not good for a son to push away his mother,
that he may occupy the place which belongs to her. Whoso doth not
respect his mother--the most sacred being after his God--is unworthy of
the name of son.
10. "Hearken to what I say to you: Respect woman; for in her we see the
mother of the universe, and all the truth of divine creation is to come
through her.
11. "She is the fount of everything good and beautiful, as she is also
the germ of life and death. Upon her man depends in all his existence,
for she is his moral and natural support in his labors.
12. "In pain and suffering she brings you forth; in the sweat of her
brow she watches over your growth, and until her death you cause her
greatest anxieties. Bless her and adore her, for she is your only friend
and support on earth.
13. "Respect her; defend her. In so doing you will gain for yourself her
love; you will find favor before God, and for her sake many sins will be
remitted to you.
14. "Love your wives and respect them, for they will be the mothers of
tomorrow and later the grandmothers of a whole nation.
15. "Be submissive to the wife; her love ennobles man, softens his
hardened heart, tames the wild beast in him and changes it to a lamb.
16. "Wife and mother are the priceless treasures which God has given to
you. They are the most beautiful ornaments of the universe, and from
them will be born all who will inhabit the world.
17. "Even as the Lord of Hosts separated the light from the darkness,
and the dry land from the waters, so does woman possess the divine gift
of calling forth out of man's evil nature all the good that is in him.
18. "Therefore I say unto you, after God, to woman must belong your best
thoughts, for she is the divine temple where you will most easily obtain
perfect happiness.
19. "Draw from this temple your moral force. There you will forget your
sorrows and your failures, and recover the love necessary to aid your
fellow men.
20. "Suffer her not to be humiliated, for by humiliating her you
humiliate yourselves, and lose the sentiment of love, without which
nothing can exist here on earth.
21. "Protect your wife, that she may protect you--you and all your
household. All that you do for your mothers, your wives, for a widow,
or for any other woman in distress, you will do for your God."