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Page 1 of 21898 · PDF PAGE 29
…mous upon the host Of these idolatrous that thus invade Our fencéd cities, these that put to sword Our helpless. Hear the cry of widowed men! And young men fatherless! And old men reft Of children! Grant us victory to avenge Their innocent shed blood, and ruined land. So, to gain time for prayer and penitence For grievous trespass of idolatry Done to th’ accurséd Baalim, and time To gather fugitives, and make them men, And straggling herdsmen for our armament, We send thee, herald, to the furious king Who lies with all his power encamped somewh…
1898 · PDF PAGE 18
14 JEPHTHAH. For in the South a cloud of many men, And desert horsemen fiery as the sun, Swarmed on the plains, a crescent from the hills That girdle Mahanaim: and behold! Our men were hemmed before the city gates, The elders having fortified them : so They fled about the city, and the horsemen, Dashing, destroyed them as the wind that sweeps Sere leaves before its fury: then the city With arrows darkened all the air; and luck Smote down some few pursuing ; but their captain, Riding his horse against the gate, drove in His spear, and cried to t…
1898 · PDF PAGE 25
…ctory, we swear, And by the strong foundations, and the Kingdom, Flower of all kingdoms, and by the holy Crown Concealed with all concealments, highest of all, We swear to be true men to thee and thine. JEPHTHAH. I thank you, people. Let the younger men Gather their swords and spears, and pass before This spear I strike into the earth, that so I see how many fight for Israel. CHORUS. The young men are girded with swords, And the spears flash on high, and each shield Gleams bright like the fury of lords Through the steam of the well-foughten fie…
1898 · PDF PAGE 35
…God It might be so a little ere I die! CHORUS OF ELDERS. This doubtful word his fuming lips gave forth: A maiden shall be slain for many men. This only of his fury seemed obscure. JEPHTHAH. A maiden shall be slain for many men. Surely, O people, and men of Israel, The prophecy is happy to the end. For see yon moon that creeps inviolate Against the corner of the mountains so, Slowly and gracefully to lighten us. So, ere three nights be gone, the course of heaven Shall be most monstrously o’erwhelmed for us Ere sundown, as for Joshua, and the moo…
1898 · PDF PAGE 49
JEPHTHAH. 45 Into the bowels of the earth, and close Upon those grisly men of war, whose life Groans from the prison that shall crush it out. CHORUS OF ELDERS. Be thou most blessed of the Lord for ever! But what shall he that hath delivered us Have for his guerdon when he comes in triumph ? A milk-white ass shall bear him through the city, And wreaths of roses be instead of dust, And dancing girls, and feet of maidens most, Shall strike a measure of delight, and boys With bright unsullied curls shall minister Before him all the days of life God…
1898 · PDF PAGE 12
8 JEPHTHAH. CHORUS. And who shall bridle him, or turn his way? For Fate alone of gods, inflexible, And careless of men’s deeds, is firm in heaven. PROPHET. I see a sword whose hilt is to thy hand. CHORUS. But which of us shall wield the shining blade? PROPHET. I see a dove departing to the hills. CHORUS. I pray it bring an olive-branch to us. PROPHET. The god has overcome me, I am silent. CHORUS. He lies as one lies dead; none wakens him. Nor life nor death must touch him now: beware! ELEAZAR. Beware now, all ye old wise men, of this. For high …
1898 · PDF PAGE 28
…elves, and sleep to-night. I will send messages to their dread lord Demanding his fell purpose, threatening ‘ My present aid to you with men of valour Chosen of all your tribes, and charging him As he loves life, and victory, to content His army with their present brief success, Lest he pass by the barrier of our suffering, And find our wrath no broken sword, and find Despair more terrible than hope. Go now. A SOLDIER. We go, my lord, less readily to sleep Than if you bade us march. No man of us But stirs a little, I warrant, in his dreams, And…
1898 · PDF PAGE 31
…ce they came With iron, massacre, and flame, And turn their own devouring blade On city fired and violate maid, That Israel conquer, and men know God is our God against a foe. For the web of the battle is woven Of men that are strong as the sea, When the rocks by its tempest are cloven, And waves wander wild to the lee; When ships are in travail forsaken, And tempest and tumult awaken ; When foam by fresh foam overtaken Boils sanguine and fervent and free. For its sides are a million of paces; Its centre is Death as he stands Pale-horsed, where…
1898 · PDF PAGE 30
…ing Ring out your frosty peal, and smite Loud fingers on the harp, and touch Lutes, and clear psalteries musical, And all stringed instruments, to indite A noble song of triumph, such As men may go to fight withal. For freedom on her fiery wings Flies over camps and tented kings, And bears a sword avenging us, And turns her face to Israel thus. For now a captain brave and strong Shall break the fury of the thong Wherewith the sons of Ammon scourge Our country; and his war shall urge Long columns of victorious men To blackest wood and dimmest de…
1898 · PDF PAGE 27
JEPHTHAH. 23 His wrong he may not forget, But he pitieth men that call From the heart that is broken with fear and the noise of funeral. JEPHTHAH. Are all these ready for their hearth and altars To perish suddenly upon the field, Pavilioned with the little tents at noon, And ere the nightfall tented with the dead, And every hollow made a sepulchre, And every hill a vantage ground whereon Hard-breathing fighting men get scanty sleep Till the dawn lift his eyebrows, and the day Renew the battle? Will ye follow me Through slippery ways of blood to…
1898 · PDF PAGE 23
JEPHTHAH. And blossom ; as when two-and-thirty men, The sons of Jair, on milk-white asses rode, And judged us righteously, and each abode Safe in the shadow of his vine ; as when The peace of Joshua lay upon the land, And God turned not away His piteous eyes, Nor smote us with the fury of His hand, Nor clouded over His mysterious skies, And storm and wind had no more might at all, And death and pestilence forgotten were, And angels came to holy men that call, And gracious spirits thronged the happy air; When God was very gracious to all folk, A…
1898 · PDF PAGE 11
…. PROPHET. A harlot shall be mother of Israel. CHORUS. He speaks of her who sighed for Gilead. PROPHET. A maiden shall be slain for many men. CHORUS. A doubtful word, and who shall fathom it? | PROPHET. Thy help is from the hills and desert lands. CHORUS. Our help is from the hills: we know the Lord. PROPHET. Death rides most violently against the sun.
1898 · PDF PAGE 64
… Jephthah, speak! What ill has fallen? Speak! [Szlence. After a little the Chorus of Maidens understand, and break into watling. The old men gradually understand, and fill the atr with incoherent lamentations. BehindJephthah the soldiers, with white lips, have assumed their military formation, and stand at atten- tion by a visible effort of self-control.
1898 · PDF PAGE 9
…n with us; thy mouth Shall thirst for our inheritance in vain ; Thou hast no lot nor part in Gilead. And now, he gathers to himself vain men, Violent folk, and breakers of the law, And holds aloof in rocky deserts, where The land, accurst of God, is barren still Of any herb, or flower, or any tree, And has no shelter, nor sweet watersprings, Save where a lonely cave is hollow, and where A meagre fountain sucks the sand. Our folk Are naked of his counsel and defence Against the tribe of Ammon, and stand aghast; Our feeble arms sway doubtfully lo…
1898 · PDF PAGE 33
…he desert where I dwelt I had strange store of books obscure ; books written Not openly for fools, but inwardly Toward the heart of wise men. And myself Studied no little while upon these things, And, seeking ever solitude, I went Nightly upon a rock that stood alone Threatening the sandy wilderness, and prayed. Where many visions came before mine eyes So strange—these eyes have started from my head, And every hair, grown fearful, like a steed Reared in its frenzy ; see, these lips of mine Have blanched, these nails have bitten through my flesh…
1898 · PDF PAGE 20
…les He fights as we fight them, our victories bring For His temple a tribute of tears. Enter Jephthah amid his Soldiers, with many young men of Israel. | JEPHTHAH. Yea, for a man’s sword should not turn again To his own bosom, and the sword of fear Smites not in vain the heart of cowardice. But who hath called me hither to what end ? ELEAZAR. For these, and for the sake of Israel. JEPHTHAH. And who are these? And who are Israel? CHORUS. Turn not thy face from us in wrath, for we Are thine own father’s children, and his loins With double fervour…
1898 · PDF PAGE 26
…His hand Was heavy to bring us grief; He brought down fire on the land, And withered us root and leaf Until we were utterly broken, lost men, without a chief. But whom we scorned we have set A leader and judge over all;
1898 · PDF PAGE 48
…. SECOND MESSENGER. Rejoice, O Israel, for this day hath seen Utter destruction overtake, and death Ride furious over, trampled necks of men Desperate in vain, and seen red hell gape wide To swallow up the heathen. Victory Swells the red-gleaming torrent of pursuit, And Israel shakes her lazy flanks at last A lion famished, and is greedy of death. CHORUS. O joyful day! And where is Jephthah now? | MESSENGER. Faint with the heat of a hard battle fought, But following hard after with the horse. For from Aroer even unto Minnith He smote them with …
1898 · PDF PAGE 52
…er ivory throne. What folly is it they will now be at, Gray beards, and goatish manners? Hearken them! CHORUS. In the brave old days ere men began To bind young hearts with an iron tether, Ere love was brief as life, a span, Ere love was light as life, a feather, Earth was free as the glad wild weather, God was father and friend to man. AHINOAM. Then when with mildness and much joy our judge Draw hither, let us send to meet his steps
1898 · PDF PAGE 32
…ts on the banner Of Israel like to a bird; It flaps in the air, and Hosanna! Flings up to the sky for a word! Long streams of light horsemen are flashing Through fields where the tempest was lashing, Through the pools of the battle-blood splashing, Long swords to the rout of the herd. For fighters slip down on the dying, And flying folk stumble on dead, And the sound of the pitiless crying Of slaughter is heavy and red, The sound of the lust of the slayer As fierce as a Persian’s prayer, And the sound of the loud harp-player Like the wind beats…