“For through our sufferance of your hateful lives, Who stand accursed in the sight of Heaven, These taxes and afflictions are befallen, And therefore thus we are determined: “First, the tribute money of the Turks shall all be levied amongst the Jews, and each of them to pay one-half of his estate. “Secondly, he that denies to pay shall straight become a Christian. “Lastly, he that denies this shall absolutely lose all he has.” How truly mediaeval the whole scene is! The other Jews consent to give up one-half of their estates. Barabas upbraids them for their cowardice, and stoutly refuses to comply. But his refusal of half only leads to the confiscation of the whole of his property. In return for this sacrifice Barabas is cheerfully told that he will be suffered to live in Malta, and, “if he can,” make another fortune. The Hebrew argues: “How can I multiply? of naught is nothing made.” But the Christian retorts: “From naught at first thou com’st to little wealth, from little unto more, from more to most.” But what need have we of argument? “If your first curse fall heavy on thy head, And make thee poor and scorned of all the world, ’Tis not our fault, but thy inherent sin.” Thus the poor millionaire is preached out of his possessions. What if he individually be blameless? He is one of the accursed race, and must pay the penalty for the collective sins of his forefathers. All that he obtains by his vigorous protests is the comfortless saw: “Excess of wealth is cause of covetousness, And covetousness, O, ’tis a monstrous sin.” He is stripped of all he had, his goods, his money, his ships, his stores; and his mansion is converted into a nunnery. Nothing remains to him but his life, and he is left to bewail his misery and to curse its authors to his heart’s content. This he proceeds to do in the following terms: “The Plagues of Egypt, and the curse of Heaven, Earth’s barrenness, and all men’s hatred Inflict upon them, thou great _Primus Motor_! And here upon my knees, striking the earth, I ban their souls to everlasting pains And extreme tortures of the fiery deep, That thus have dealt with me in my distress.” His brethren, too timid to second Barabas in his struggle, now gather round him and strive to console him in his sorrow. But Barabas is not to be comforted, any more than Job was under like circumstances. Indeed, he compares his lot with Job’s, and finds it immeasurably harder: “He had seven thousand sheep, Three thousand camels, and two hundred yoke Of labouring oxen, and five hundred She-asses; but for every one of those, Had they been valued at indifferent rate, I had at home, and in mine argosy, And other ships that came from Egypt last, As much as would have bought his beasts and him, And yet have kept enough to live upon.” What is there left to him to live for or upon? He likens himself to a general