Chapter Murder in the Cathedral (1935) pp. 317-350 Chapter DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511485466.017 Cambridge University Press
M U R D E R I N T H E CAT H E D R A L 1935
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MURDER IN THE CATHEDRAL by T. S. Eliot
London Faber and Faber Limited
24 Russell Square
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“Mr. Eliot’s New Play.” Times Literary Supplement 1741 (13 June 1935), 376.
would have him revive the worldly pleasures of his youth, and when rejected remarks: “I leave you to the pleasures of your higher vices.” Another tempter would have him re-seek the power he once held as Chancellor. To whom Becket replies: Those who put their faith in worldly order Not controlled by the order of God, [. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .] Degrade what they exalt. A third tempter would have him lead rebellion against the king; a fourth makes a subtler appeal—to triumph over his enemies by martyrdom: Think, Thomas, think of enemies dismayed, Creeping in penance, frightened of a shade; [. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .] Think of the miracles, by God’s grace, And think of your enemies, in another place. But Becket is aware of the danger of this last temptation: “To do the right deed for the wrong reason.” As an interlude we see him preaching in the cathedral on Christmas morning, 1170,