Then Pilate spoke unto the people and said: "Men of Judea, it is customary that I liberate to you a prisoner at the feast. Look upon these two. One with mild countenance and dignified demeanor, the ideal of a wise teacher, whom you have long honored as such, convicted of no single evil deed and already humiliated by the severest chastisement. The other, a vicious, savage man, convicted of robbery and murder, a horrible image of a perfect scoundrel. I appeal to your reason, to your human feelings--choose! Which will ye that I shall release unto you, Barabbas or Jesus, who is called the Christ?" Then the priests and people cried out together, "Let Barabbas go free." "Will ye not that I release unto you the king of the Jews?" asked Pilate. Then the priests and people cried, "Away with him, release unto us, Barabbas." Then said Caiaphas, "Thou hast promised to release him whom the people demand." Pilate answered shortly to Caiaphas, "I am accustomed to keep my promise without needing a reminder." Then said he to the people, "What shall I do with the king of the Jews?" And the priests and the people cried, "Crucify him!" "What," said Pilate, "shall I crucify your king?" And the people cried, "We have no king but Caesar." Pilate said, "I cannot condemn this man, for I find no fault in him. He has been sufficiently chastised; I will let him go free." Then said the priests, "If thou let him go free thou art no friend of Caesar's." Caiaphas added, "He has proclaimed himself king"; and the priests said, "Who proclaims himself king is a rebel against Caesar." And Nathanael said, "And is this rebel still to remain unpunished, still to scatter abroad the seed of revolt?" Then cried the people, "It is the duty of the governor to put him out of the way." Caiaphas seeing that Pilate answered not, pressed more vehemently upon him, saying, "We have done our duty as subjects of Caesar and delivered this rebel to thee. If thou payest no attention to our accusation and the desire of the people, then are we free from guilt. Thou alone, O Governor, art responsible to Caesar for the consequences." And Annas said, "If on account of this man universal disorder and revolt ensues, then we know who must bear this guilt, and," he added significantly, "Caesar shall know it also." Then cried the people again, "The matter must be brought before Caesar." Then Ezekiel said to Pilate, "They will be astonished when they hear at Rome that Caesar's viceroy has taken under his protection a traitor whose death the whole people desired." And the crowd cried, "Thou must execute him, or otherwise there would be no peace in the land." Then said Pilate, "Why, what evil hath he done? I cannot, I dare not, condemn the innocent to death."