56
BALLADS OF BATTLE
Better, O Cæsar—Caiaphas, High Priest,
With all thy servile Scribes and Pharisees—
Thou'dst ne'er been born
Than put to scorn
One of the least of these!
With all thy servile Scribes and Pharisees—
Thou'dst ne'er been born
Than put to scorn
One of the least of these!
Proud Kaiser, who has drowned the world in tears,
And deluged all the earth with reddest rain—
Christ's brow is torn
With crown of thorn—
Thine bears the brand of Cain!
And deluged all the earth with reddest rain—
Christ's brow is torn
With crown of thorn—
Thine bears the brand of Cain!
O King in name, who might have been in deed,
Who chose the darkness rather than the light:
I see thee go
Forth from thy foe—
And it is night!
Who chose the darkness rather than the light:
I see thee go
Forth from thy foe—
And it is night!
