Opening the text

The Cry for Justice: An Anthology of the Literature of Social Protest: The writings of philosophers, poets, novelists, social reformers, and others who have voiced the struggle against social injustice; selected from twenty-five languages; covering a period of five thousand years

General

The Cry for Justice: An Anthology of the Literature of Social Protest: The writings of philosophers, poets, novelists, social reformers, and others who have voiced the struggle against social injustice; selected from twenty-five languages; covering a period of five thousand years

Social justice; Social problems

And the King shall answer and say unto them, "Verily I say unto
you, inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these
my brethren, ye have done it unto me."

Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, "Depart from
me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil
and his angels: for I was a hungered, and ye gave me no meat;
I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink; I was a stranger, and
ye took me not in; naked, and ye clothed me not; sick, and in
prison, and ye visited me not."

Then shall they also answer him, saying, "Lord, when saw we
thee a hungered, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick,
or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?"

Then shall he answer them, saying, "Verily I say unto you,
inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did
it not to me."


The Easter Children

(_From "The Frozen Grail and other Poems"_)

BY ELSA BARKER

(See page 315)

    "Christ the Lord is risen!"
    Chant the Easter children,
    Their love-moulded faces
    Luminous with gladness,
    And their costly raiment
    Gleaming like the lilies.

    But last night I wandered
    Where Christ had not risen,
    Where love knows no gladness,
    Where the lord of Hunger
    Leaves no room for lilies,
    And no time for childhood.

    And today I wonder
    Whether I am dreaming;
    For above the swelling
    Of their Easter music
    I can hear the murmur,
    "Suffer _all_ the children."

    Nay, the world is dreaming!
    And my seeing spirit
    Trembles for its waking,
    When their Saviour rises
    To restore the lilies
    To the outcast children.


The Quest

BY FREDERIK VAN EEDEN

 (The most widely read of modern Dutch novels, this story of the life
 of "Little Johannes" is perhaps the most successful of the many
 attempts that have been made to portray the coming of Jesus into the
 modern world. Johannes is a boy of good family, who meets a strange,
 homeless workingman, to whom he becomes devoted, and whom he calls his
 "Brother." The present selection narrates how Johannes was taken to
 church.)

"You see, Father," said the countess, "we have come to seek
Jesus. Johannes, also."

"He is waiting for you," replied the priest, solemnly, pointing
out the great crucifix above the altar. Then he disappeared
into the sacristy.

Johannes immediately fastened his eyes upon that figure, and
continued to contemplate it while the people were taking their
places.

Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.

Opening the text

General

The Cry for Justice: An Anthology of the Literature of Social Protest: The writings of philosophers, poets, novelists, social reformers, and others who have voiced the struggle against social injustice; selected from twenty-five languages; covering a period of five thousand years

Social justice; Social problems

And the King shall answer and say unto them, "Verily I say unto
you, inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these
my brethren, ye have done it unto me."

Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, "Depart from
me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil
and his angels: for I was a hungered, and ye gave me no meat;
I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink; I was a stranger, and
ye took me not in; naked, and ye clothed me not; sick, and in
prison, and ye visited me not."

Then shall they also answer him, saying, "Lord, when saw we
thee a hungered, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick,
or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?"

Then shall he answer them, saying, "Verily I say unto you,
inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did
it not to me."


The Easter Children

(_From "The Frozen Grail and other Poems"_)

BY ELSA BARKER

(See page 315)

    "Christ the Lord is risen!"
    Chant the Easter children,
    Their love-moulded faces
    Luminous with gladness,
    And their costly raiment
    Gleaming like the lilies.

    But last night I wandered
    Where Christ had not risen,
    Where love knows no gladness,
    Where the lord of Hunger
    Leaves no room for lilies,
    And no time for childhood.

    And today I wonder
    Whether I am dreaming;
    For above the swelling
    Of their Easter music
    I can hear the murmur,
    "Suffer _all_ the children."

    Nay, the world is dreaming!
    And my seeing spirit
    Trembles for its waking,
    When their Saviour rises
    To restore the lilies
    To the outcast children.


The Quest

BY FREDERIK VAN EEDEN

 (The most widely read of modern Dutch novels, this story of the life
 of "Little Johannes" is perhaps the most successful of the many
 attempts that have been made to portray the coming of Jesus into the
 modern world. Johannes is a boy of good family, who meets a strange,
 homeless workingman, to whom he becomes devoted, and whom he calls his
 "Brother." The present selection narrates how Johannes was taken to
 church.)

"You see, Father," said the countess, "we have come to seek
Jesus. Johannes, also."

"He is waiting for you," replied the priest, solemnly, pointing
out the great crucifix above the altar. Then he disappeared
into the sacristy.

Johannes immediately fastened his eyes upon that figure, and
continued to contemplate it while the people were taking their
places.

Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.

The Cry for Justice: An Anthology of the Literature of Social Protest: The writings of philosophers, poets, novelists, social reformers, and others who have voiced the struggle against social injustice; selected from twenty-five languages; covering a period of five thousand years

The Cry for Justice: An Anthology of the Literature of Social Protest: The writings of philosophers, poets, novelists, social reformers, and others who have voiced the struggle against social injustice; selected from twenty-five languages; covering a period of five thousand years

No reviews yet