The Resources Of Quinola Part 3

Quinola The most insignificant and the most devoted of your subjects; the servant of a man who pines in the prisons of the Holy Office, accused of magic, because he desires to give to your Majesty the power of escaping from similar disasters--

Philip II.

If you are really a servant, rise to your feet. Only grandees are wont to kneel here, in presence of the king.

Quinola My master, then, shall kneel at your feet.

Philip II.

Explain yourself in brief; the moments of the king's whole life are not so numerous as are his subjects.

Quinola You must have, then, but one hour for each of your empires. My master, Senor Alfonso Fontanares, is in the prison of the Holy Office--

Philip II. (to the Grand Inquisitor) Father (the Grand Inquisitor approaches), what can you tell us of a certain Alfonso Fontanares?

The Grand Inquisitor He is a pupil of Galileo. He professes the heretical doctrine of his master and boasts the power to do wonders while he refuses to explain the means. He is accused of being rather a Moor than a Spaniard.

Quinola (aside) That sallow face is going to spoil all! (To the King) Sire, my master knows no sorcery, excepting so far as he is madly in love, first with the glory of your Majesty, next with a maid of Barcelona, heiress of Lothundiaz, the richest burgess of the town. As he picked up more science than wealth in studying natural science in Italy, the poor youth has failed in his attempt to marry this maid.--And notice, sire, how great men are calumniated; in his despair he made a pilgrimage to the Virgen del Pilar, to beg her a.s.sistance, because Marie was the name of the lady he loved. On leaving the church, he sat down wearied under a tree and fell asleep. In his dreams the Virgin appeared to him and communicated to him an invention by which he could navigate s.h.i.+ps without sails, without oars, against wind and tide. He approached you, sire; but between the sun and him a cloud intervened, and after a deadly conflict with the cloud, he is now suffering for his confidence in the Virgen del Pilar and in his king. No one but his servant has sufficient courage to come and throw at your feet the news that there exists a means of realizing universal dominion.

Philip II.

I will see your master when I leave the chapel.

The Grand Inquisitor Surely, the king will not expose himself to such peril?

Philip II.

My duty is to inquire.

The Grand Inquisitor And mine is to make men respect the privileges of the Sacred Office.

Philip II.

I know them. Obey me and keep silence. I know that I owe you a hostage. I know it. (He looks round) Tell me, where is the Duke of Olmedo?

Quinola (aside) Aha!

The Marchioness (aside) We are lost.

The Captain of the Guards Sire, the duke is not yet--arrived--

Philip II.

Who has given him leave thus boldly to forsake the duties of his office? (Aside) Some one is deceiving me. (To the Captain of the Guards) Tell him, if he comes, that the king has committed him as a prisoner of the Holy Office. (To the Grand Inquisitor) Issue the order.

The Grand Inquisitor Sire, I will go myself.

The Queen And what if the duke fails to come?

Philip II.

In that case he must be dead. (To the captain) You will take his place in the execution of my orders. (He enters the chapel.)

The Marchioness (to Quinola) Run to the duke's house, tell him to come and comport himself as if he were not wounded to the death. The report will then be considered mere calumny.

Quinola You may reckon upon me, but grant us your protection. (Alone) Great heavens! The king seemed charmed by my little fable of the Virgen del Pilar; I must make a vow to her--but what shall it be?--we will see after we have succeeded.

(Scene curtain.)

SCENE NINTH

(A cell of the Inquisition.)

Fontanares (alone) I understand now why Columbus desired that his fetters should be placed beside him in his coffin. What a lesson for discoverers! A great discovery is a revelation of truth. And truth destroys so many abuses and errors that all those who live by falsehood rise up to slay the truth; they begin by a.s.sailing the man. Let inventors then have patience! I myself desire to have it. Unfortunately, my patience proceeds from my love. In the hope of obtaining Marie, I dream of glory and I pursue it. I saw a piece of straw fly up above a boiler.

All men have had the same experience since boilers and straw existed.

But I saw there a force; in order to estimate its violence, I put a lid on the boiler; the lid flew off but did not kill me. Archimedes and I are of the same mind! He wished for a lever and a fulcrum to move the world; I possess this lever and have been fool enough to say so; since then--misfortunes have overwhelmed me. If I should die, you, man of genius who shall discover the secret, act on it, but keep silence. The light which we discover, men take from us, only to set on fire our funeral pile. Galileo, my master, is in prison for having said that the earth moves, and I am here for attempting to apply the forces of the earth. No! I am here because I rebel against the cupidity of those who desire to steal my secret; were it not for my love for Marie, I would claim my liberty to-night, leaving to them the profit, keeping to myself the fame--Ah! What rage is in my heart! But rage is only fit for children; let me be calm and then I shall be strong. Would that I might have news of the only man who has faith in me! He is at liberty, he, who begged to win me bread. But faith is only found among the poor, who have need of it.

SCENE TENTH

The Grand Inquisitor, a familiar and Fontanares.

The Grand Inquisitor Well, my son, how are you? You were speaking of faith, doubtless you have made some sage reflections recently. Come now, spare the Holy Office a resort to severity.

Fontanares Father, what do you wish me to say?

The Grand Inquisitor Before setting you at liberty, the Holy Office must be sure that the means you employ are natural--

Fontanares Father, if I had made a compact with the Evil One, would he have let me languish here?

The Grand Inquisitor Your words are impious; the devil has a master whose existence is proved by our burning of heretics.

Fontanares Have you ever seen a s.h.i.+p on the sea? (The Grand Inquisitor a.s.sents.) By what means is it propelled?

The Grand Inquisitor The wind fills the sails.

Fontanares Did the devil reveal this method of navigation to the first sailor?

The Grand Inquisitor Do you know who he was?

Fontanares He was, perhaps, the founder of some long forgotten power that ruled the sea--at any rate, the means that I employ are not less natural than his. I have seen a certain force in nature, a force controllable by man. For the wind is G.o.d's creature, and man is not its master, but the wind propels the s.h.i.+ps of man, while my force is in the s.h.i.+p itself.

The Grand Inquisitor (aside) This man may prove a dangerous fellow. (Aloud) And you refuse to tell us what it is?

Fontanares I will tell the king, in presence of the court; for, after that, no one will be able to rob me of my glory and the fortune that it brings.

The Grand Inquisitor You call yourself an inventor, and yet you think of nothing but fortune! You are too ambitious to be a man of genius.

Fontanares Father, I am so profoundly disgusted by the jealousy of the vulgar, by the avarice of the great, by the behavior of sham philosophers, that-- but for my love for Marie--I would give back that which chance has bestowed upon me.

The Grand Inquisitor Chance?