DIONYSUS: (On an ass, with Fauns and Bacchae.)
By following in His train.
* He setteth on Him a helmet.
CHORUS:
Let us sing, whate'er befall:
Jesus Christ is Lord of all.
* They salute Him soldierly.
PATRIOT OF ANOTHER NATIONALITY:
That helmet's not the proper sort . . .
Makes Him look like poor old Jah . . .
To be a modern God He ought
To wear such weapons as mine are.
* He setteth on Him a helmet of another fashion.
CHORUS:
Let us sing, whate'er befall:
Jesus Christ is Lord of all.
* The Patriots squabble and spit on each other and on Christ.
SENTIMENTAL PERSON:
Gentle Jesus mild and meek
Smooth Your hair down neat and sleek;
I am sure You did not say:
"Tasteless salt is cast away" . . .
Jesus, that would never do,
Or what would become of You?
* He parts Christ's hair in the middle.
CHORUS:
Let us sing, whate'er befall:
Jesus Christ is Lord of all.
* They bow the knee.
A MUMMER:
Ho! stand away there! form a ring about!
Here comes the King of Fools with all his rout.
* Cometh in a Higher Critic, habited as the Roy des Sotz, with his masque.
Dionysiacs you've heard of . . .
Centuries cannot disperse us,
Crown Him, crown Him, pluck His beard off
And invest Him with the thyrsus.
Though His priests and flock despise us,
Still He's only Dionysus,
Riding high on the twin asses
Ere the summer solstice passes.
* He plucketh Christ by the beard and setteth the thyrsus in His hand.
OSIRIS:
Bring hither the white crown and the red
For Him that is Lord of the North and the South,
Risen quick from the land of the dead,
The lotus-lily in His mouth . . .
His Name is life in the courts of hell
And the porters know that Name right well.
* He giveth Him the red crown and the white, and a lotus flower.
ELIJAH: He does not look very like me, but they say we are the same . . . And in any case you'll know it by the likeness of the name, Yes, for Jesus and Elijah must be forms of the same name.
JOSHUA:
Pardon me, I think you're wrong . . .
The resemblance is not strong.
Joshua and Jesus clearly
Are the same . . . or very nearly.
He puts out the sun and moon,
I can stop the sun at noon.
Two can't play at such a game,
Obviously we're the same.