Opening the library…

Home Bible Corpus Discover You

Search the Bible

Infancy Gospel of Thomas

Unknown

Section 7

About this work

Author: Unknown

7. And when the teacher Zacchæus heard the child speaking such

‹ Section 6 Section 8 ›

and

so

great

allegories

of

the

first

letter

,

he

was

at

a

great

loss

about

such

a

narrative

,

and

about

His

teaching

.

And

He

said

to

those

that

were

present

:

Alas

!

I

,

wretch

that

I

am

,

am

at

a

loss

,

bringing

shame

upon

myself

by

having

dragged

this

child

hither

.

Take

him

away

,

then

,

I

beseech

thee

,

brother

Joseph

.

I

cannot

endure

the

sternness

of

his

look

;

I

cannot

make

out

his

meaning

at

all

.

That

child

does

not

belong

to

this

earth

;

he

can

tame

even

fire

.

Assuredly

he

was

born

before

the

creation

of

the

world

.

What

sort

of

a

belly

bore

him

,

what

sort

of

a

womb

nourished

him

,

I

do

not

know

.

Alas

!

my

friend

,

he

has

carried

me

away

;

I

cannot

get

at

his

meaning

:

thrice

wretched

that

I

am

,

I

have

deceived

myself

.

I

made

a

struggle

to

have

a

scholar

,

and

I

was

found

to

have

a

teacher

.

My

mind

is

filled

with

shame

,

my

friends

,

because

I

,

an

old

man

,

have

been

conquered

by

a

child

.

There

is

nothing

for

me

but

despondency

and

death

on

account

of

this

boy

,

for

I

am

not

able

at

this

hour

to

look

him

in

the

face

;

and

when

everybody

says

that

I

have

been

beaten

by

a

little

child

,

what

can

I

say

?

And

how

can

I

give

an

account

of

the

lines

of

the

first

letter

that

he

spoke

about

?

I

know

not

,

O

my

friends

;

for

I

can

make

neither

beginning

nor

end

of

him

.

Therefore

,

I

beseech

thee

,

brother

Joseph

,

take

him

home

.

What

great

thing

he

is

,

either

god

or

angel

,

or

what

I

am

to

say

,

I

know

not

.

Notes

8
Instead of this chapter, the Paris ms. has: And he was ashamed and perplexed, because he knew not whence he knew the letters. And he arose, and went home, in great astonishment at this strange thing. It then goes on with a fragment of the history of the dyer’s shop, as given in the Arabic Gospel of the Infancy, ch. 37.