Jeremiah Part 59

He is in a frenzy.--Look how convulsions rack him.--He is twisted with pain like a woman in labour.--Heed not his words.--G.o.d has punished him.

[JEREMIAH sinks to the ground broken]

Look, look, the hand of the Lord hath fallen upon him.--Go not near him whom G.o.d hath banned.

[They draw farther away from JEREMIAH and huddle together. JEREMIAH lies like a felled tree. For a few moments there is a hush of despair. This silence is broken by the sound of a distant trumpet]

ZEPHANIAH

Alas, they draw near, the heralds of disaster.

THE CROWD

[To ZEPHANIAH] What is it?--What has happened?--What meaneth this summons?

ZEPHANIAH

'Tis Nebuchadnezzar's message to the remnant of the people.

VOICES

Must we go forth to hear the message?--Dare we leave our shelter?--What shall we do, Zephaniah?

ZEPHANIAH

No need for haste. Evil tidings ever come too soon.

VOICES

What is to happen?--What is our doom?

ZEPHANIAH

It is the will of Nebuchadnezzar that our city be utterly destroyed.

[There is a wail of horror. The trumpet is heard once more, nearer]

Those who survive must go as slaves to Babylon.

VOICES

We are to leave Zion?

THE ELDER

I will not go. Here will I remain.

ZEPHANIAH

Who refuses to go, shall perish by the sword. All are to make ready for the journey and are to a.s.semble in the marketplace. Thrice at dawning will the trumpet sound. Thereafter, anyone who lingers in the city, is to be slain.

THE ELDER

Let death come! I will not go. There is no life for me away from Jerusalem. The grave is better than slavery in a far country.

A WOMAN

My brother, my nephew, and my husband have all been slain. Tombs are my heritage, and this heritage will I keep.

A MAN

I shall stay! I shall stay! Here have I struck my roots, and from this soil alone can I draw strength. Palsied would be my arm should I try to plough the furrow in another land, and my eyes would not serve me in a strange world.

VOICES

[In the enthusiasm of despair] Let us stay.--Let us choose death.--Better death than slavery.--Never will we go into exile.--Better to die.

THE WOUNDED MAN

[Half rising] No, no.--Not death for me. Life is what I crave. Exile is better than death. I cannot walk, and if ye stay who will carry me? Do not forsake me. Life, life!

HIS SISTER

Be calm. I will carry you.

THE WOUNDED MAN

[Deliriously] Yes ... Let us go. Let us leave these mad folk, who want to die. Why should we seek death?

THE ELDER

His body is parched with fever. He knows not what he says.

THE WOUNDED MAN

[Fiercely] I know, I know. I have been near to death, and would rather live than die. Better to burn, better to suffer, than to feel nothing at all. While there is life there is hope.

A YOUNG WOMAN

True, true! I too want to live. My life lies before me. As yet I have seen nothing, felt nothing. Young and vigorous are my limbs. Death is cold, life is warm. I will not stay. I will go with you, anywhere, anywhere.

ANOTHER WOMAN

Shameless one, are you willing to be the concubine of an enemy?

THE YOUNG WOMAN

Anything, if I can but live.