When thou wast young thou
girdedst
thyself, and walkedst
Whither thou wouldst; but when thou shalt be old,
Thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and other men
Shall gird and carry thee whither thou wouldst not.
Longfellow
PETER.
Yea, dearest Lord, I love thee.
Thou knowest that I love thee.
CHRISTUS.
Feed my sheep.
THOMAS, aside.
Again, the selfsame question, and the answer
Repeated with more vehemence. Can the Master
Doubt if we love Him?
CHRISTUS.
Simon, son of Jonas,
Lovest thou me?
PETER, grieved.
Dear Lord, thou knowest all things.
Thou knowest that I love thee.
CHRISTUS.
Feed my sheep.
When thou wast young thou
girdedst
thyself, and walkedst
Whither thou wouldst; but when thou shalt be old,
Thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and other men
Shall gird and carry thee whither thou wouldst not.
Follow thou me!
JOHN, aside.
It is a prophecy
Of what death he shall die.
PETER, pointing to JOHN.
Tell me, O Lord,
And what shall this man do?
CHRISTUS.
And if I will
He tarry till I come, what is it to thee?
Follow thou me!
PETER.
Yea, I will follow thee, dear Lord and Master!
Will follow thee through fasting and temptation,
Through all thine agony and bloody sweat,
Thy cross and passion, even unto death!
EPILOGUE
SYMBOLUM APOSTOLORUM
PETER.
I believe in God the Father Almighty;
JOHN.
Maker of heaven and Earth;
JAMES.
And in Jesus Christ his only Son, our Lord;