Charles Davidson — English Mystery Plays. 197 



Children strew branches and g-arments before him, singing Gloria and Laus. Now the 

 Pharisee invites him to dinner. He accepts, and the Pharisee urges his servants to ^ 

 hasten the preparations.! 



Mary Magdalenes sings in Latin of the joys of this world, and seeks the merchant 

 with her girl companions to buy for herself ointment. The merchant offei's his wares 

 in Latin. Mary sings a German love song with the chorus : 



Seht mich an, junge man, 

 Lkt mich eu gevallen. 



She now enters the house, and an angel announces to her that Jesus, the Nazarene, who 

 forgives the sins of the people, is dining with Simon. She rises, and again sings her 

 song of the delights of life,—" Mundi delectatio dulcis est et grat^," etc. A lover enters, 

 whom Mary salutes. They converse, then Mary sings to the girls : 



Koufe wir die varwe da. 



Die uns machen schoene unde wolget^ne. 



She now appeals again to the merchant, who tenders his wares this time in German. 

 The ointment purchased, she again enters the house, and the angel meets her as before, 

 and disappears. She rises once more and repeats her song of the pleasures of the 

 world, then falls asleep, and the angel appearing repeats his song of Jesus who for- 

 gives sinners. 



Mary awakes and breaks into lamentation : " Heu vita praeterita, vita plena malis," 

 etc. 



The angel appears and says : " I declare unto you that there is joy in Heaven over one 

 sinner that repenteth." 



Mary scorns her secular garb and lays aside her robes, putting on a black garment. 

 The lover and the devil retire.^ She goes again to the merchant, seeking precious 

 ointment,* which the merchant sells her for a talent of gold. 



The chorus sings : "■ Accessit ad pedes." s 



Mary now enters the house of Simon, and, weeping, approaches Jesus. As she anoints 

 his feet she sings one stanza in Latin, followed by two in German. The Pharisee utters 

 the well-known words, and Judas bewails the waste. Jesus declares the work a good 

 one, addresses to Simon Peter his question about the debtors, asking which of those for- 

 given would love the more. Peter replies, and Christ announces to Mary the foi'give- 

 ness of her sins. Mary, at this, retires lamenting : 



Awe, awe daz ich ie wart geborn. 



Jesus now departs to raise Lazarus and is met by the sisters,6 wailing for their brother. 

 There is no expansion of the Biblical narrative. The incident closes with " Lazare, veni 

 foras,"'' alter which there is a chant by the clergy. 



Judas, meanwhile, hastens to the pi-iests exclaiming, "O Pontiflees, o viri magni 

 consilii, lesum volo nobis tradei'e." The bargain is struck, the sign is agreed upon, and 

 the Jews follow Judas with swords and lights. 



1 This requires four stations, beginning at the sea-shore. Peter and Andrew appar- 

 ently follow Christ to the house of the Pharisee. He crosses the boundary and sits 

 down. 



2 Evidently rises from her place and advances to the merchant's station. 



3 It would seem that the lover has been sitting in the house since his first entrance, 

 although he has said nothing. The devil is hard to account for. 



4 It is there supposed that some time has elapsed, and that her precious purchase is 

 exhausted. 



5 An evidence of intimate connection with the service. 



6 Evidently Mary withdrew to join her sister in the Bethany station. Such examples 

 of preparation for future situations are comparatively rare. 



7 Lazarus probably did not appear upon the stage. The symbolic nature of this inci- 

 dent illustrates the intimacy existing between the symbolism of the ritual and the 

 realism of the play. In the six lines given to the scene, three are chanted by the clergy: 

 it is practically a leaf of the church service slipped into the drama, and seems to have 

 satisfied author and audience, although the motived utterance, "Lazare, veni foras," 

 leads to no issue. 



Trans. Conn. Acad., Vol. IX. October, 1892. 



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