“And arrived at evening, not a moment too soon/Finding the place; it was (you may say) satisfactory.”
This could be interpreted as the haughty, snarky view of kings looking down upon the stable in which Christ was born. But some scholars have seen in it a reference to Article 31 of the Anglican Articles, in which Christ's sacrifice "satisfies" the debt of all mankind’s sins, making the word resonate in a totally different way: the place is "satisfactory" because, being the place where Christ is born, it will lead to the "satisfaction" of our debts—i.e., the salvation of mankind. We should also realize that the opinion of the reader—presumably a Christian, especially given that this poem was originally sent out as a Christmas gift—could be different from that of the Magus. “You may say” that Christ being born is a satisfactory occurrence—but for the pagan Magi, it is in fact a calamity, given that it marks the end of their way of life.
“but set down/This set down/This: were we led all that way for/ Birth or Death? There was a Birth, certainly,/We had evidence and no doubt./I had seen birth and death,/But had thought they were different; this Birth was/Hard and bitter agony for us, like Death, our death.”
The “but” introduces a qualification to the earlier affirmation of the value of the journey. The Magus follows it with the urgent plea, repeated twice, to “set down this.” (That means “write this down”). Then we get the central question of the poem: “were we led all that way for/Birth or Death?” He assesses the historical fact of Jesus’ birth. He relates this to his past experience with birth and death and says that he “had thought they were different.” Birth and death are usually figured as opposites. But his emotional experience of Christ’s birth was ironic: “this Birth was/Hard and bitter agony for us, like Death, our death.” This experience has changed his view of the fundamental meaning of life and death, and made them synonymous. It reflects the painful paradox at the heart of Christianity: Christ was born to die. The capitalizations of Birth and Death in these lines grants a deference to Christ. The second “death” in this line is not capitalized, as it refers to the Magi’s death. It sets up a contrast: the Christ’s “Death” is more important than the Magi’s “death.” This must refer to a metaphoric death, since the Magus speaks while he is still living. The birth of Christianity is also the death of the old ways of Magicians.
