Jeremiah Part 19

THE HERALD

Let none hold back; let none be faint-hearted. Who speaks of fear, him shall ye put to the sword; who talks of flight, him shall ye chase beyond the walls. Ye may not gather in the streets; each shall keep his own house, ready for the fight. Up, Israel! Gather your forces, fearing nothing, for Jerusalem endureth for ever!

THE CROWD

[Again in tumult] Jerusalem endureth for ever.--To arms.--I must fetch my sword.--Up, against Ashur.--Let us take heart.--To the walls.--We shall break them.--Jerusalem endureth for ever.

[The crowd disperses in confusion, so that the square is rapidly emptied, and the noise is followed by silence. JEREMIAH slowly draws himself up, and, still hiding his face, ascends the steps of the temple.

BARUCH follows him]

BARUCH

Whither away, master? Do not leave your faithful disciple.

JEREMIAH

I must go alone to seek light from the Lord. He made me deliver a sign before the people. Nevertheless, Baruch, I cannot believe that the faces in my ghastly visions are truly from G.o.d. Would that I could feel a.s.sured they are all illusion, and not the message of G.o.d's spirit. Woe indeed if I be chosen as revealer and if my dreams be true.

BARUCH

You are chosen, master. It has been made plain to me in this hour. The sign came to you from G.o.d. The spirit and the power of the prophets are upon you.

JEREMIAH

[Still mounting the steps, flees before him, repelling BARUCH with his hands] Say not that I am chosen. Tempt me not! For Israel's sake, for Jerusalem's sake, it is impossible that my words can be true. Far better for me to bear the laughter and the scorn of the people, than that this message of terror should be fulfilled. Rather let me be proved liar and fool, than the prophet of such a truth. May I be thy victim Lord, and not this city. Let me disappear into the darkness of oblivion, if thy towers may still s.h.i.+ne, O Jerusalem. May my words vanish like smoke, so long as thou endurest, eternal city. G.o.d forget me, if he will but remember thee. I will kneel before his altar praying him to give me the lie; I will beseech him to prove my message false. Pray with me, Baruch, that I be known for a liar in Jerusalem.

[JEREMIAH, humbly bending his head, goes up the last steps into the porch of pillars of the temple. Without moving, BARUCH gazes after him until he disappears]

THE WATCH ON THE RAMPARTS

SCENE FOUR

Again the word of the Lord came unto me, saying: ... When I bring the sword upon a land, if the people of the land take a man from among them, and set him for their watchman, ... if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned, and the sword come, and take any person from among them, ... his blood will I require at the watchman's hand. EZEKIEL x.x.xIII, 1-6.

SCENE FOUR

On the ramparts of Jerusalem. The walls, of hewn stone, surround the town. In the background is the starry sky, and faint in the distance the valley with hazy outlines and lights twinkling here and there. The masonry s.h.i.+nes in the moonlight. On the wall two sentries march up and down. Their faces are shadowed by their helmets; their spears gleam as they move. Though the hour is late and midnight approaches, a few civilians have ventured on to the wall and are looking out into the distance.

A WOMAN

It is bedtime. You will see the wretches soon enough in the morning. Do come home; this may be our last quiet night.

A MAN

How can one sleep when the enemy is arrayed against us? My heart has been heavier than lead since I have been standing here; and yet I cannot leave. It seems as if I were forced to remain in the flood which is rising to overwhelm us. Last night and to-day the hors.e.m.e.n have been streaming across the plain. Again and again we thought that all must have come, but still there came more and yet more, as if whole countries had been emptied like sacks of grain; while the spears were as the stalks of the corn in number.

ANOTHER

Already have they pitched their tents, so that a white forest now stands in the valley.

A THIRD

Alas, they are settling down for the siege.

A FOURTH

They must have come with the speed of the wind. Yesterday they were still at Bethel, and to-day they have already encircled Zion.

THE FIRST MAN

Terrible is the might of Ashur. G.o.d help us all.

THE WOMAN

Look at the glow in the north, like a pillar rising heavenward.

SECOND MAN

That is where Samaria lies.

THIRD MAN

'Tis a pillar of fire that rises heavenward. Samaria has fallen.

VOICES

Alas!--It is not possible.--Samaria is a strong fortress, within a triple wall.--Nay, it is certainly Samaria.

A VOICE

Look there to the east, another pillar of fire. That must be Gilgal.

ANOTHER VOICE

They are ravaging the countryside like a hurricane. Fierce is the wrath of Ashur.

ANOTHER VOICE

Never should we have entered into a struggle with such as they.