Page 1 of 126 THE PEOPLE OF THE ABYSS - The People of the Abyss

The Project Gutenberg eBook, The People of the Abyss, by Jack London

This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net

Transcribed from the Thomas Nelson and Sons edition by David Price, email ccx074@coventry.ac.uk

THE PEOPLE OF THE ABYSS

The chief priests and rulers cry:-

"O Lord and Master, not ours the guilt,

We build but as our fathers built;

Behold thine images how they stand

Sovereign and sole through all our land.

"Our task is hard--with sword and flame,

To hold thine earth forever the same,

And with sharp crooks of steel to keep,

Still as thou leftest them, thy sheep."

Then Christ sought out an artisan,

A low-browed, stunted, haggard man,

And a motherless girl whose fingers thin

Crushed from her faintly want and sin.

These set he in the midst of them,

And as they drew back their garment hem

For fear of defilement, "Lo, here," said he,

"The images ye have made of me."

JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL.

		As a rule we disbelieve all the facts and theories for which we have no use. Gustave Flaubert