And swift to change, gentle and yielding always.
Be steadfast, O my son!
THE SAME VOICE (within).
Thou, like a fury, 45
Takest us from this present life, but God,
Who rules the world, shall raise us up again
Into life everlasting.
THE MOTHER.
God, I thank thee
That thou hast breathed into that timid heart
Courage to die for thee. O my Adaiah, 50
Witness of God! if thou for whom I feared
Canst thus encounter death, I need not fear;
The others will not shrink.
THIRD VOICE (within).
Behold these hands
Held out to thee, O King Antiochus,
Not to implore thy mercy, but to show 55
That I despise them. He who gave them to me
Will give them back again.
THE MOTHER.
O Avilan,
It is thy voice. For the last time I hear it;
For the last time on earth, but not the last.
To death it bids defiance, and to torture. 60
It sounds to me as from another world,
And makes the petty miseries of this
Seem unto me as naught, and less than naught.
Farewell, my Avilan; nay, I should say
Welcome, my Avilan; for I am dead 65
Before thee. I am waiting for the others.
Why do they linger?
FOURTH VOICE (within).
It is good, O King,
Being put to death by men, to look for hope
From God, to be raised up again by Him.
But thou — no resurrection shalt thou have 70
To life hereafter.
THE MOTHER.
Four! already four!
Three are still living; nay, they all are living,
Half here, half there. Make haste, Antiochus,
To reunite us; for the sword that cleaves
These miserable bodies makes a door 75
Through which our souls, impatient of release,
Rush to each other’s arms.
FIFTH VOICE (within).
Thou hast the power;
Thou doest what thou wilt. Abide awhile,
And thou shalt see the power of God, and how
He will torment thee and thy seed.
THE MOTHER.
O hasten; 80
Why dost thou pause? Thou who hast slain already
So many Hebrew women, and hast hung
Their murdered infants round their necks, slay me,
For I too am a woman, and these boys
Are mine. Make haste to slay us all, 85
And hang my lifeless babes about my neck.
SIXTH VOICE (within).
Think not, Antiochus, that takest in hand
To strive against the God of Israel,
Thou shalt escape unpunished, for his wrath
Shall overtake thee and thy bloody house. 90
THE MOTHER.
One more, my Sirion, and then all is ended.
Having put all to bed, then in my turn
I will lie down and sleep as sound as they.
My Sirion, my youngest, best beloved!
And those bright golden locks, that I so oft 95
Have curled about these fingers, even now
Are foul with blood and dust, like a lamb’s fleece,
Slain in the shambles. — Not a sound I hear.
This silence is more terrible to me
Than any sound, than any cry of pain, 100
That might escape the lips of one who dies.
Doth his heart fail him? Doth he fall away
In the last hour from God? O Sirion, Sirion,
Art thou afraid? I do not hear thy voice.
Die as thy brothers died. Thou must not live! 105
SCENE II. — THE MOTHER; ANTIOCHUS; SIRION.
THE MOTHER.
Are they all dead?
ANTIOCHUS.
Of all thy Seven Sons
One only lives. Behold them where they lie;
How dost thou like this picture?
THE MOTHER.
God in heaven!
Can a man do such deeds, and yet not die
By the recoil of his own wickedness? 110
Ye murdered, bleeding, mutilated bodies
That were my children once, and still are mine,
I cannot watch o’er you as Rizpah watched
In sackcloth o’er the seven sons of Saul,
Till water drop upon you out of heaven 115
And wash this blood away! I cannot mourn
As she, the daughter of Aiah, mourned the dead,
From the beginning of the barley-harvest
Until the autumn rains, and suffered not
The birds of air to rest on them by day, 120
Nor the wild beasts by night. For ye have died
A better death, a death so full of life
That I ought rather to rejoice than mourn. —
Wherefore art thou not dead, O Sirion?
Wherefore art thou the only living thing 125
Among thy brothers dead? Art thou afraid?
ANTIOCHUS.
O woman, I have spared him for thy sake,
For he is fair to look upon and comely;
And I have sworn to him by all the gods
That I would crown his life with joy and honor, 130
Heap treasures on him, luxuries, delights,
Make him my friend and keeper of my secrets,
If he would turn from your Mosaic Law
And be as we are; but he will not listen.
THE MOTHER.
My noble Sirion!
ANTIOCHUS.
Therefore I beseech thee, 135
Who art his mother, thou wouldst speak with him,
And wouldst persuade him. I am sick of blood.
THE MOTHER.
Yea, I will speak with him and will persuade him.
O Sirion, my son! have pity on me,
On me that bare thee, and that gave thee suck, 140
And fed and nourished thee, and brought thee up
With the dear trouble of a mother’s care
Unto this age. Look on the heavens above thee,
And on the earth and all that is therein;
Consider that God made them out of things 145
That were not; and that likewise in this manner
Mankind was made. Then fear not this tormentor;
But, being worthy of thy brethren, take
Thy death as they did, that I may receive thee
Again in mercy with them.
ANTIOCHUS.
I am mocked, 150
Yea, I am laughed to scorn.
SIRION.
Whom wait ye for?
Never will I obey the King’s commandment,
But the commandment of the ancient Law,
That was by Moses given unto our fathers.
And thou, O godless man, that of all others 155
Art the most wicked, be not lifted up,
Nor puffed up with uncertain hopes, uplifting
Thy hand against the servants of the Lord,
For thou hast not escaped the righteous judgment
Of the Almighty God, who seeth all things! 160
ANTIOCHUS.
He is no God of mine; I fear Him not.
SIRION.
My brothers, who have suffered a brief pain,
Are dead; but thou, Antiochus, shalt suffer
The punishment of pride. I offer up
My body and my life, beseeching God 165
That He would speedily be merciful
Unto our nation, and that thou by plagues
Mysterious and by torments mayest confess
That He alone is God.
ANTIOCHUS.
Ye both shall perish
By torments worse than any that your God, 170
; Here or hereafter, hath in store for me.
THE MOTHER.
My Sirion, I am proud of thee!
ANTIOCHUS.
Be silent!
Go to thy bed of torture in yon chamber,
Where lie so many sleepers, heartless mother!
Thy footsteps will not wake them, nor thy voice, 175
Nor wilt thou hear, amid thy troubled dreams,
Thy children crying for thee in the night!
THE MOTHER.
O Death, that stretchest thy white hands to me,
I fear them not, but press them to my lips,
That are as white as thine; for I am Death, 180
Nay, am the Mother of Death, seeing these sons
All lying lifeless. — Kiss me, Sirion.
Act III.
The Battle-Field of Beth-Horon
SCENE I. — JUDAS MACCABÆUS in armor before his tent.
JUDAS.
THE TRUMPETS sound; the echoes of the mountains
Answer them, as the Sabbath morning breaks
Over Beth-horon and its battle-field,
Where the great captain of the hosts of God,
A slave brought up in the brick-fields of Egypt, 5
O’ercame the Amorites. There was no day
Like that, before or after it, nor shall be.
The sun stood still; the hammers of the hail
Beat on their harness; and the captains set
Their weary feet upon the necks of kings, 10
As I will upon thine, Antiochus,
Thou man of blood! — Behold the rising sun
Strikes on the golden letters of my banner,
Be Elohim Yehovah! Who is like
To thee, O Lord, among the gods? — Alas! 15
I am not Joshua, I cannot say,
“Sun, stand thou still on Gibeon, and thou Moon,
In Ajalon!” Nor am I one who wastes
The fateful time in useless lamentation;
But one who bears his life upon his hand 20
To lose it or to save it, as may best
Serve the designs of Him who giveth life.
SCENE II. — JUDAS MACCABÆUS; JEWISH FUGITIVES.
JUDAS.
Who and what are ye, that with furtive steps
Steal in among our tents?
FUGITIVES.
O Maccabæus,
Outcasts are we, and fugitives as thou art, 25
Jews of Jerusalem, that have escaped
From the polluted city, and from death.
JUDAS.
None can escape from death. Say that ye come
To die for Israel, and ye are welcome.
What tidings bring ye?
FUGITIVES.
Tidings of despair. 30
The Temple is laid waste; the precious vessels,
Censers of gold, vials and veils and crowns,
And golden ornaments, and hidden treasures,
Have all been taken from it, and the Gentiles
With revelling and with riot fill its courts, 35
And dally with harlots in the holy places.
JUDAS.
All this I knew before.
FUGITIVES.
Upon the altar
Are things profane, things by the law forbidden;
Nor can we keep our Sabbaths or our Feasts,
But on the festivals of Dionysus 40
Must walk in their processions, bearing ivy
To crown a drunken god.
JUDAS.
This too I know.
But tell me of the Jews. How fare the Jews?
FUGITIVES.
The coming of this mischief hath been sore
And grievous to the people. All the land 45
Is full of lamentation and of mourning.
The Princes and the Elders weep and wail;
The young men and the maidens are made feeble;
The beauty of the women hath been changed.
JUDAS.
And are there none to die for Israel? 50
‘T is not enough to mourn. Breastplate and harness
Are better things than sackcloth. Let the women
Lament for Israel; the men should die.
FUGITIVES.
Both men and women die; old men and young:
Old Eleazer died: and Máhala 55
With all her Seven Sons.
JUDAS.
Antiochus,
At every step thou takest there is left
A bloody footprint in the street, by which
The avenging wrath of God will track thee out!
It is enough. Go to the sutler’s tents: 60
Those of you who are men, put on such armor
As ye may find; those of you who are women,
Buckle that armor on; and for a watch-word
Whisper, or cry aloud, “The Help of God.”
SCENE III. — JUDAS MACCABÆUS; NICANOR.
NICANOR.
Hail, Judas Maccabæus!
JUDAS.
Hail! — Who art thou 65
That comest here in this mysterious guise
Into our camp unheralded?
NICANOR.
A herald
Sent from Nicanor.
JUDAS.
Heralds come not thus
Armed with thy shirt of mail from head to heel,
Thou glidest like a serpent silently 70
Into my presence. Wherefore dost thou turn
Thy face from me? A herald speaks his errand
With forehead unabashed. Thou art a spy
Sent by Nicanor.
NICANOR.
No disguise avails!
Behold my face; I am Nicanor’s self. 75
JUDAS.
Thou art indeed Nicanor. I salute thee.
What brings thee hither to this hostile camp
Thus unattended?
NICANOR.
Confidence in thee.
Thou hast the nobler virtues of thy race,
Without the failings that attend those virtues. 80
Thou canst be strong, and yet not tyrannous,
Canst righteous be and not intolerant.
Let there be peace between us.
JUDAS.
What is peace?
Is it to bow in silence to our victors?
Is it to see our cities sacked and pillaged, 85
Our people slain, or sold as slaves, or fleeing
At night-time by the blaze of burning towns;
Jerusalem laid waste; the Holy Temple
Polluted with strange gods? Are these things peace?
NICANOR.
These are the dire necessities that wait 90
On war, whose loud and bloody enginery
I seek to stay. Let there be peace between
Antiochus and thee.
JUDAS.
Antiochus?
What is Antiochus, that he should prate
Of peace to me, who am a fugitive? 95
To-day he shall be lifted up; to-morrow
Shall not be found, because he is returned
Unto his dust; his thought has come to nothing.
There is no peace between us, nor can be,
Until this banner floats upon the walls 100
Of our Jerusalem.
NICANOR.
Between that city
And thee there lies a waving wall of tents
Held by a host of forty thousand foot,
And horsemen seven thousand. What hast thou
To bring against all these?
JUDAS.
The power of God, 105
Whose breath shall scatter your white tents abroad,
As flakes of snow.
NICANOR.
Your Mighty One in heaven
Will not do battle on the Seventh Day;
It is his day of rest.
JUDAS.
Silence, blasphemer.
Go to thy tents.
NICANOR.
Shall it be war or
peace? 110
JUDAS.
War, war, and only war. Go to thy tents
That shall be scattered, as by you were scattered
The torn and trampled pages of the Law,
Blown through the windy streets.
NICANOR.
Farewell, brave foe!
JUDAS.
Ho, there, my captains! Have safe-conduct given 115
Unto Nicanor’s herald through the camp,
And come yourselves to me. — Farewell, Nicanor!
SCENE IV. — JUDAS MACCABÆUS; CAPTAINS AND SOLDIERS.
JUDAS.
The hour is come. Gather the host together
For battle. Lo, with trumpets and with songs
The army of Nicanor comes against us. 120
Go forth to meet them, praying in your hearts,
And fighting with your hands.
CAPTAINS.
Look forth and see!
The morning sun is shining on their shields
Of gold and brass; the mountains glisten with them,
And shine like lamps. And we, who are so few 125
And poorly armed, and ready to faint with fasting,
How shall we fight against this multitude?
JUDAS.
The victory of a battle standeth not
In multitudes, but in the strength that cometh
From heaven above. The Lord forbid that I 130
Should do this thing, and flee away from them.
Nay, if our hour be come, then let us die;
Let us not stain our honor.
CAPTAINS.
‘T is the Sabbath.
Wilt thou fight on the Sabbath, Maccabæus?
JUDAS.
Ay; when I fight the battles of the Lord, 135
I fight them on his day, as on all others.
Have ye forgotten certain fugitives
That fled once to these hills, and hid themselves
In caves? How their pursuers camped against them
Upon the Seventh Day, and challenged them? 140
And how they answered not, nor cast a stone,
Nor stopped the places where they lay concealed,
Delphi Complete Works of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (Delphi Poets Series Book 13) Page 122
