The Roman governor at Jerusalem had a young wife, and she had had a
dream during the night preceding the day when Faustina entered the city.
She dreamed that she stood on the roof of her house and looked down upon
the beautiful court, which, according to the Oriental custom, was paved
with marble, and planted with rare growths.
But in the court she saw assembled all the sick and blind and halt there
were in the world. She saw before her the pest-ridden, with bodies
swollen with boils; lepers with disfigured faces; the paralytics, who
could not move, but lay helpless upon the ground, and all the wretched
creatures who writhed in torment and pain.
They all crowded up towards the entrance, to get into the house; and a
number of those who walked foremost pounded on the palace door.
At last she saw that a slave opened the door and came out on the
threshold, and she heard him ask what they wanted.
Then they answered him, saying: “We seek the great Prophet whom God hath
sent to the world. Where is the Prophet of Nazareth, he who is master of
all suffering? Where is he who can deliver us from all our torment?”
Then the slave answered them in an arrogant and indifferent tone—as
palace servants do when they turn away the poor stranger:
“It will profit you nothing to seek the great Prophet. Pilate has killed
him.”
Then there arose among all the sick a grief and a moaning and a gnashing
of teeth which she could not bear to hear. Her heart was wrung with
compassion, and tears streamed from her eyes. But when she had begun to
weep, she awakened.
Again she fell asleep; and again she dreamed that she stood on the roof
of her house and looked down upon the big court, which was as broad as a
square.
And behold! the court was filled with all the insane and soul-sick and
those possessed of evil spirits. And she saw those who were naked and
those who were covered with their long hair, and those who had braided
themselves crowns of straw and mantles of grass and believed they were
kings, and those who crawled on the ground and thought themselves
beasts, and those who came dragging heavy stones, which they believed to
be gold, and those who thought that the evil spirits spoke through their
mouths.
She saw all these crowd up toward the palace gate. And the ones who
stood nearest to it knocked and pounded to get in.
At last the door opened, and a slave stepped out on the threshold and
asked: “What do you want?”
Then all began to cry aloud, saying: “Where is the great Prophet of
Nazareth, he who was sent of God, and who shall restore to us our souls
and our wits?”
She heard the slave answer them in the most indifferent tone: “It is
useless for you to seek the great Prophet, Pilate has killed him.”
When this was said, they uttered a shriek as wild as a beast’s howl, and
in their despair they began to lacerate themselves until the blood ran
down on the stones. And when she that dreamed saw their distress, she
wrung her hands and moaned. And her own moans awakened her.
But again she fell asleep, and again, in her dream, she was on the roof
of her house. Round about her sat her slaves, who played for her upon
cymbals and zithers, and the almond trees shook their white blossoms
over her, and clambering rose-vines exhaled their perfume.
As she sat there, a voice spoke to her: “Go over to the balustrade which
incloses the roof, and see who they are that stand and wait in your
court!”
But in the dream she declined, and said: “I do not care to see any more
of those who throng my court to-night.”
Just then she heard a clanking of chains and a pounding of heavy
hammers, and the pounding of wood against wood. Her slaves ceased their
singing and playing and hurried over to the railing and looked down. Nor
could she herself remain seated, but walked thither and looked down on
the court.
Then she saw that the court was filled with all the poor prisoners in
the world. She saw those who must lie in dark prison dungeons, fettered
with heavy chains; she saw those who labored in the dark mines come
dragging their heavy planks, and those who were rowers on war galleys
come with their heavy iron-bound oars. And those who were condemned to
be crucified came dragging their crosses, and those who were to be
beheaded came with their broadaxes. She saw those who were sent into
slavery to foreign lands and whose eyes burned with homesickness. She
saw those who must serve as beasts of burden, and whose backs were
bleeding from lashes.
All these unfortunates cried as with one voice: “Open, open!”
Then the slave who guarded the entrance stepped to the door and asked:
“What is it that you wish?”
And these answered like the others: “We seek the great Prophet of
Nazareth, who has come to the world to give the prisoners their freedom
and the slaves their lost happiness.”
The slave answered them in a tired and indifferent tone: “You can not
find him here. Pilate has killed him.”
When this was said, she who dreamed thought that among all the unhappy
there arose such an outburst of scorn and blasphemy that heaven and
earth trembled. She was ice-cold with fright, and her body shook so that
she awaked.
When she was thoroughly awake, she sat up in bed and thought to herself:
“I would not dream more. Now I want to remain awake all night, that I
may escape seeing more of this horror.”
And even whilst she was thinking thus, drowsiness crept in upon her
anew, and she laid her head on the pillow and fell asleep.
Again she dreamed that she sat on the roof of her house, and now her
little son ran back and forth up there, and played with a ball.
Then she heard a voice that said to her: “Go over to the balustrade,
which incloses the roof, and see who they are that stand and wait in
your court!” But she who dreamed said to herself: “I have seen enough
misery this night. I can not endure any more. I would remain where I
am.”
At that moment her son threw his ball so that it dropped outside the
balustrade, and the child ran forward and clambered up on the railing.
Then she was frightened. She rushed over and seized hold of the child.
But with that she happened to cast her eyes downward, and once more she
saw that the court was full of people.
In the court were all the peoples of earth who had been wounded in
battle. They came with severed bodies, with cut-off limbs, and with big
open wounds from which the blood oozed, so that the whole court was
drenched with it.
And beside these, came all the people in the world who had lost their
loved ones on the battlefield. They were the fatherless who mourned
their protectors, and the young maidens who cried for their lovers, and
the aged who sighed for their sons.
The foremost among them pushed against the door, and the watchman came
out as before, and opened it.
He asked all these, who had been wounded in battles and skirmishes:
“What seek ye in this house?”
And they answered: “We seek the great Prophet of Nazareth, who shall
prohibit wars and rumors of wars and bring peace to the earth. We seek
him who shall convert spears into scythes and swords into pruning
hooks.”
Then answered the slave somewhat impatiently: “Let no more come to
pester me! I have already said it often enough. The great Prophet is not
here. Pilate has killed him.”
Thereupon he closed the gate. But she who dreamed thought of all the
lamentation which would come now. “I do not wish to hear it,” said she,
and rushed away from the balustrade. That instant she awoke. Then she
discovered that in her terror she had jumped out of her bed and down on
the cold stone floor.
Again she thought she did not want to sleep more that night, and again
sleep overpowered her, and she closed her eyes and began to dream.
She sat once more on the roof of her house, and beside her stood her
husband. She told him of her dreams, and he ridiculed her.
Again she heard a voice, which said to her: “Go see the people who wait
in your court!”
But she thought: “I would not see them. I have seen enough misery
to-night.”
Just then she heard three loud raps on the gate, and her husband walked
over to the balustrade to see who it was that asked admittance to his
house.
But no sooner had he leaned over the railing, than he beckoned to his
wife to come over to him.
“Know you not this man?” said he, and pointed down.
When she looked down on the court, she found that it was filled with
horses and riders, slaves were busy unloading asses and camels. It
looked as though a distinguished traveler might have landed.
At the entrance gate stood the traveler. He was a large elderly man with
broad shoulders and a heavy and gloomy appearance.
The dreamer recognized the stranger instantly, and whispered to her
husband: “It is Cæsar Tiberius, who is here in Jerusalem. It can not be
any one else.”
“I also seem to recognize him,” said her husband; at the same time he
placed his finger on his mouth, as a signal that they should be quiet
and listen to what was said down in the court.
They saw that the doorkeeper came out and asked the stranger: “Whom seek
you?”
And the traveler answered: “I seek the great Prophet of Nazareth, who is
endowed with God’s power to perform miracles. It is Emperor Tiberius who
calls him, that he may liberate him from a terrible disease, which no
other physician can cure.”
When he had spoken, the slave bowed very humbly and said: “My lord, be
not wroth! but your wish can not be fulfilled.”
Then the Emperor turned toward his slaves, who waited below in the
court, and gave them a command.
Then the slaves hastened forward—some with handfuls of ornaments,
others carried goblets studded with pearls, other again dragged sacks
filled with gold coin.
The Emperor turned to the slave who guarded the gate, and said: “All
this shall be his, if he helps Tiberius. With this he can give riches to
all the world’s poor.”
But the doorkeeper bowed still lower and said: “Master, be not wroth
with thy servant, but thy request can not be fulfilled.”
Then the Emperor beckoned again to his slaves, and a pair of them
hurried forward with a richly embroidered robe, upon which glittered a
breastpiece of jewels.
And the Emperor said to the slave: “See! This which I offer him is the
power over Judea. He shall rule his people like the highest judge, if he
will only come and heal Tiberius!”
The slave bowed still nearer the earth, and said: “Master, it is not
within my power to help you.”
Then the Emperor beckoned once again, and his slaves rushed up with a
golden coronet and a purple mantle.
“See,” he said, “this is the Emperor’s will: He promises to appoint the
Prophet his successor, and give him dominion over the world. He shall
have power to rule the world according to his God’s will, if he will
only stretch forth his hand and heal Tiberius!”
Then the slave fell at the Emperor’s feet and said in an imploring tone:
“Master, it does not lie in my power to attend to thy command. He whom
thou seekest is no longer here. Pilate hath killed him.”