Therefore I beseech thee, 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, 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 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, 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 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!
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 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, 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, 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, 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 MACCABAEUS 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, 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, 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!
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 To lose it or to save it, as may best Serve the designs of Him who giveth life.
SCENE II -- JUDAS MACCABAEUS; JEWISH FUGITIVES.
JUDAS.
Who and what are ye, that with furtive steps Steal in among our tents?
FUGITIVES.
O Maccabaeus, Outcasts are we, and fugitives as thou art, 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.
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, 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 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 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?
'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 Mahala 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;
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 watchword Whisper, or cry aloud, "The Help of God."SCENE III.-- JUDAS MACCABAEUS; NICANOR.
NICANOR.
Hail, Judas Maccabaeus!
JUDAS.
Hail!--Who art thou 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 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.
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.
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?