Samson and Delilah; Or Dagon Stoops To Sabaoth
Samson and Delilah; Or Dagon Stoops To Sabaoth
Samson and Delilah; Or Dagon Stoops To Sabaoth:
A Biblio-Romantic Tragedy, In The Five Acts, With A Prelude.
By Herman M. Bien.
"And the lords of the Philistines gathered themselves together for to offer a great sacrifice unto Dagon their god, and to rejoice; for they said, 'Our god hath delivered Samson our enemy into our hand.'" — JUDGES XVI. 23.
"All the contest is now 'Twixt God and Dagon." — JOHN MILTON'S Samson Agonistes.
"Who is the king of glory? The Lord Sabaoth is the king of glory. Selah." — PSALM XXIV 10.
SAN FRANCISCO:
COMMERCIAL STEAM PRESSES, 129 SANSOME STREET
1860
Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1859, BY REVEREND HERMAN M. BIEN,
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Northern District of California.
TO HIS EXCELLENCY
Gov. J. G. DOWNEY,
AND
THE PEOPLE OF CALIFORNIA,
As an humble testimonial of the high esteem and admiration for the patriotic virtues of the former and the unrivaled development and progress of the latter,
Tms UNWORTHY PRODUCTION—A PACIFIC PIONEER TRAGEDY—ENTITLED
“SAMSON AND DELILAH,”
IS DEDICATED MOST RESPECTFULLY
BY THE AUTHOR.
DRAMATIS PERSONAE.
AN ANGEL.
MEN.
PLIAS, The Prince of the Philistines BOLON, DAGON'S High Priest SAMSON, Israel's Giant Judge MANOAH, Samson's father The three Philistine Messengers The Chief of the Philistine Warriors The Two Hebrew Shepherds Chorus of Philistine Priests and Warriors. People.
WOMEN.
DELILAH, the sister of PLIAS. NAMILAH, the eldest daughter of BOLON and the first wife of SAMSON. ABIGAIL, Samson's mother. Attendants.
DIVISION
PRELUDE: The Annunciation.
ACT I. A Betrothal.
ACT II. Plot of the Traitors.
ACT III. DELILAH beguiles and DAGON prevails.
ACT IV. The Giant Judge eyeless and in bondage.
ACT V. SAMSON'S Revenge and SABAOTH'S Triumph.
FINAL TABLEAU: The Fall of DAGON'S Temple.
The STAGE DIRECTIONS.
COSTUMES.
ANGEL—Auburn traveling garb, underneath a white garment, reaching down to the knees for transformation. First, with turban; after transformation without head-dress. Long waving locks. In the commencement with a staff—at the transformation with a palm branch in the hand.
PLIAS—Crown. Pancer. Gold embroidered purple cloak, with wide folds, held together at the neck by some golden emblem of sovereignty.
BOLON—Sea-green, long Priest’s robe, gold embroidered, ornamented with silver and golden figures of fishes and sea monsters. Over the head down to the shoulders hangs a white toga, over which is set a kind of crown, representing a shark’s jaw, resembling that of Dagon.
SAMSON.——A lion’s skin thrown over the shoulder; underneath, a short, light-blue, silver embroidered garb. Turban. Wig with seven long locks. Curled beard. Short side-weapon. From Fourth Act, prison robe, fleshings.
Manoah.—Turban. Dark and long garment, with side pieces falling down. Bearing a staff.
DELILAH.—Rose robe, with dark-green Tunic. Long, gold-embroidered veil, flowing in two parts down her shoulders, the hair extending under the head ornament and charmingly slided behind the ears.
NAMILAH.—White robe with gold-embroidered Tunic. A long veil turned sideways. Light flower wreath in the curled hair. From the Fourth Act, dark boy's dress, the hair bound up with a blue ribbon.
ABIGAIL—White turban lowered deep on the face. Long dark garment.
SHEPHERDS—Long black cloaks, with black capes.
MESSENGERS AND CHORUS OF WARRIORS.—Helmets and shields.
CHORUS OF PRIESTS.—Oriental robes, perspicuous and brilliant, all with togas and fish figures—wearing fleshings and sandals.
CHORUS OF PHILISTINE WOMEN.—Long garments of brilliant colors, with turban and veil.
SCENERY.
PRELUDE.—Foot of a mountain, with a perspicuous rock on the stage, Palm trees and chaotic vegetation.
FIRST ACT.—The Court before Dagon's Temple.
SECOND ACT.—First and Third Scenes, the Orientally adorned Saloon. Second Scene, the Scenery of the First Act.
THIRD ACT.—First Scene, Scenery of the First Act. Second Scene, Garden decorated with Oriental richness and splendor. On the right in foreground a widely opened myrtle veranda. Third Scene, Gorgeous sleeping apartment in an Oriental style. An ottoman and an escutcheon at the right side. Fourth Scene, Hall for private worship of the Idolaters. Dagon's statue stands in the background; before him stands a small altar.
FOURTH ACT.—Dark walled prison—a heavy block with chains at the side.
FIFTH ACT.—First Scene, the Court before the Dagon's Temple. Second Scene, The open Dagon's Temple. Dagon stands—the fire glowing in the back ground. It is a figure with a misshaped face of a man—long chin, beard and large cross-eyes. On the head, like a crown, he wears an opened shark's jaw—the fins instead of the hands, which look as if stretched forth. Steps are leading to the Idol. On the right side and the left side of the steps stand the pillars, the parts of which are slightly fastened—connected by the cornices with the door pillars. The whole area must be so arranged that it easily falls. The back wall is double and it falls down at the destruction of the Temple, then representing the ruins of the tottered edifice.
SAMSON AND DELILAH.
PRELUDE.
THE ANNUNCIATION.
[Judges XIII. 1-23. Josephus, Antiq. of the Jews, Book V., Chap, VIII.]
SCENE THE FIRST.
[Previous to the rise of the curtain sacred music, between which are heard the bells of flocks grazing in the background. The scene represents a mountainous landscape, a group of rocks extending to the center of the stage. An ANGEL is discovered in the background advances, and sings:]
THE ANGEL: Sacred hymns I'll chant to THEE,
Thine eternal love and power Mighty worlds reveal to me,
Nor does less this violet flower.
[Kneeling.]
List, oh, list unto my word, Holy, holy, holy Lord!
[Rises, and advances still more to the front of the stage.]
Before the highest throne, where bands of angels
Pay homage and partake of sacred blessings,
There reigns forever in glory unexpressed
A vernal season of unrelenting peace.
But, bountiful Creator, Oh, accept,
No less from hence, my Hail! My Hallelujah!
For, THOU hast also formed this fragrant globe,
Capable of peace and happiness and glory;
Before the highest throne, where bands of angels
That it appears to me most wonderful,
A photogeny, on clay, of my bright home.
Delightful must it be, this life below,
Where thou, Sun, thou footstool of thy Maker,
Break'st forth from thy auroral gates diminished,
This landscape bathing with thy golden gleams,
While thousandfold thy radiant brilliancy
Is mirrored in each drop of morning dew.
It must be beautiful, this world of mortals.
Our human equals, who compare with us
In all, except their garments, grave-destined.
And felt I not embarrassed and constrained
To wear this body, as the decoration
For messengers of Heaven, dispatched to man,
I would not care, were I allowed to dwell
Forever with the children of hope and love.
But hark! I hear them slowly now approach.
For sake of their domestic peace descended,
I must repeatedly proclaim to them
That message, which comprises all their wishes.
Though I, to whom the future is revealed,
I spend a tear of my immortal nature
For him whose coming I shall prophesy,
His high commission Heaven hath thus ordained:
"To live a life of errors, passions, trials,
And die a death heroically sublime,
That he proclaim: Triumph for Sabaoth!"
[Enter MANOAH and ABIGAIL.]
ABIGAIL: There stands the holy man; and now I hope
That thou wilt silence for all future days
Thy foolish jealousy. Whilst a girl.
Always was I called a lotus bloom.
For living blameless, pure, and virtuous,
As it behooveth all true Israel's daughters.
Now, nearly old, reproachless and unblemished,
I will not bear it, that thou dar'st to doubt
My constancy, the pledge of youthful love.
MANOAH: If aught I wronged thee, pardon it, Abigail.
But how may I believe those things so strange,
"Which thou relatest ? Yet art thou fair, wife!
And beauty kindleth fear and—
ABIGAIL: Peace! For lo,
The holy man, who came to me, ere this
Waiteth smilingly: he would be spoken to.
MANOAH: Art thou the stranger, who within these days
Hath spoken to this woman, and of things
Which shall hereafter come to pass ?
ANGEL: I am.
ABIGAIL: 'Tis he.
MANOAH: Pray let me also hear thy words.
Which heretofore thou hast proclaimed to her,
That I may learn the mission of that son.
ANGEL: Be't even thus.—As I advised the woman
So will it be fulfilled; but let her beware,
That she do not partake of unclean things.
Nor let her taste of wine nor drink that's strong.
For lo, the child shall be a Nazarite!
No razor e'er must come upon his head.
And he it is who shall begin delivering
The Israelites from the Philistine hands,
Into whose servitude they are consigned
Long since, for their committing godless deeds.
MANOAH: Let me beseech thee, be detained, and grant
That I prepare refreshments for my guest.
ANGEL: Though ye detain me, I accept of naught.
But will ye bring it as a sacrifice
Before the Lord, prepare a holocaust.
MANOAH: Abigail, go; and cause that yonder shepherds
Forthwith prepare an offering.
[Exit ABIGAIL.]
O thou, proclaiming things miraculous,
For which fulfillment oft I have besought
Most fervently my God, so that my name
May not be blotted out in Israel,
Permit that I may ask of thee a boon.
Tell me thy name, that I may duly praise thee,
Whence come to pass those promised joyful tidings.
ANGEL: All praise to Him alone who sends me hither.
[Re-enter ABIGAIL, with the two shepherds, who bring the covered sacrifice, and place it on the rock.]
ABIGAIL: As thou desirdest,
I've done; yon rock may serve
As an altar, where our gift is sacrificed.
Thou, stranger, surely art a priest, for asking
Of us to sacrifice; come, then, and do
According to our law—for all is ready—
While we kneel down devoutly here and pray.
[MANOAH, ABIGAIL, and the shepherds kneel; (the white fire;) the ANGEL throws off his disguise, blesses them, and ascends the rock; he touches the sacrifice with a palm-branch that he holds in his hands; the flames (the red fire) break forth and illumine the tableau, during which the curtain falls.]
ACT FIRST:
A BETROTHAL. JUDGES XIV. 1—14.
SCENE THE FIRST
[MANOAH and ABIGAIL pensive before the pillars of DAGON'S Temple. Enter SAMSON, with some antique urn.]
SAMSON: Shalam Alichum, venerable parents!
ABIGAIL: Alichum Shalam, dear son!
MANOAH: O, Lord,
Thy peace be granted to our erring child!
SAMSON: Behold what I obtained by Heaven's grace,
Since we parted where yon roads divide.
Fatigued and famished from a weary voyage.
You vowed religiously not to partake
Of aught which Israel's law forbids. On honey
May you be refreshed. By chance I found it
Within a lion's decomposed remains.
A hive of bees choose strangely there to settle,
Against that insect's natural inclination.
ABIGAIL: Thanks, son, for thy affection dutiful.
Which sweet, honey-like, refreshed my heart;
Yet, had'st thou fought and conquered first the lion—
SAMSON: [Aside.] Exactly as it happened lately, though
The deed I owned not, that I vainly boast
Before my tribe, but held my peace discreet.
ABIGAIL: If thou hadst risked thy life to win the prize,
It could ne'er compare with the sacrifice
Which we shall bring to gratify thy wishes.
MANOAH: Thus far parental fondness leads astray,
That we stand now before the Gentiles' temple,
And are about demanding of a heathen
A wife for our only beloved son.
SAMSON: I pray ye, silence! By divine impulsion,
I feel thus prompted to select my wife.
MANOAH: My son, my child! Our God hath chosen thee
To save and to redeem our fettered nation.
SAMSON: Yet I believe, and do confess, it is
Not brutal force for which the Lord our God
Ordained this noble calling unto me.
May I not peaceably unite two nations
Who previously have shed their blood in streams?
May I not raise the banner of our faith
Upon this land of blind idolaters?
God's cause is peace! I'll teach that to the world,
With all the inspiration of my heart.
I thus have argued, when you sent me hither
To find occasion to infest our foes;
And while their lines I sought for first attack,
I conquered. Chance—if such a thing as chance
Exists—nay, Providence divine, I trust,
Brought me in contact with the heathen priest;
And then, with o'erpowering arguments,
Supported by the eloquence that's given
Involuntarily by good cause, I have
Inspired with such esteem and admiration
The Dagon's high priest, that I surely hope
My mission's end will be attained in peace,
By the conversion of a Gentile nation.
To gain this victory I have selected
Love for my counsel and interpreter.
No longer therefore interfere; I pray
To have Namilah for my legal spouse.
MANOAH: Though hard it be disturbing these sweet dreams,
To which a noble, youthful heart inspires,
Ah, Samson! Couldst thou but see with fathers' eyes,
Hadst thou experienced all the luring vileness,
All baseness, of their false and selfish hearts,
The lack of conscience and of holy truth
Of the uncircumcised thou seekst befriending.—
Thou wouldst now disdain thy ungodly choice.
Ne'er will that mutual discord harmonize,
Which always has constrained us from this nation.
On whose account the Lord through Moses bade us,
"Not covenant with them, nor show them mercy;
Thy daughters give thou not unto their sons,
Nor shalt thou take unto thy sons their daughters;
For they will turn thy seed away from God!"
ABIGAIL: Our tribe regards thy father as a sage,
An upright, pious man; he means it well.
O, listen, son! I urge thee with my tears;
Return e'en yet, ere thou repent too late.
SAMSON: I'll render to Heaven and to my race
All service I am able to perform,
But I will not for this destroy my peace.
These hands shall never, never be in bondage;
They shape, united with this head and heart,
My life's own course, my home, my happiness;
Nor will I these resign e'en for your story.
That I, a Nazarite, be not deprived
Of these my seven locks.
ABIGAIL: Pray, senseless man, how oft shall I relate
That I was childless, like a barren tree?
I tilled the field as respite from my grief;
The soil drank many times my bitter tears;
For it appeared to me a dream so dear,
To be embraced by one beloved child!
Thus toiling pensively, behold,
To me appeared the Angel of the Lord,
Who unto me revealed this promise bright:
"Thou shalt be the mother of a Nazarite!"
SAMSON: Spare thy words! Against God's decree 'tis struggling;
For I shall reconcile these hostile nations.
But should I fail, then lends this coalition
To me, a deadly weapon for all future.
MANOAH: Since that most solemn moment of our life,
Thy mother deemed herself as graced by Heaven;
As if she were the holy tabernacle.
Wherein the high priest had retired to sleep.
And after thou hadst entered life, my son,
She suffered as no other mother doth,
In fear, anxiety, and trembling hope.
Constant on guard in day-time were our cares;
By night, disturbed from rest, we watched thy sleep.
And when I sometimes rightly disapproved
Such fond excess of her maternal love—
ABIGAIL: Then did I lift thee in my arms, and cried,
Lo, the deliverer of our shackled people!
SAMSON: Take this my sword, and thrust it through my breasts;
More agonies, ah, death cannot contain,
Than those remonstrances against my love!
MANOAH: Is there within the bounds of Israel
No maiden worthy of thyself and us?
Among the dark-eyed daughters of our race,
Couldst none select to wed, and be content?
Ay, must thou to these Gentiles go, to take
Thy wife—a daughter of their idol's priest?
SAMSON: Will prudence—reason—argue well with love?
Doth morning dew, before its falling, ask
If it shall hang on briars' dusty thorns,
Or silvery pearl upon the buds of roses?
Doth prematurely calculate the sun,
If his first rays in spring shall hold embraced
The icicles of gorgeous mountain crags,
Or kiss the dew from off some white May flower?
Again—a fountain bursts the breast of rock:
Is it not equal to the murmuring brook.
If watering here industrious peasant fields,
Or there is blessing the acres of rich misers,
And then pursues through God's or Dagon's temple
Its winded course towards the roaring ocean?
These things, heartless and dumb and deaf, obey
God's everlasting natural commands.
How can a man beforehand be enabled
To figure up adjusting arguments,
When all at once his most vehement feeling,
His noblest passion—love—breaks forth to light
Like morning dew, or vernal sun or fountain?
Can you expect an answer to nice questions,
When in the mind all thoughts are wild and whirling,
And every drop of blood is burning fever?
No! Love—true love—is ne'er constrained by creeds,
Nor doth it calculate with prudent sense;
Its laws a loving heart but comprehends.
MANOAH: Let us with him no longer remonstrate:
His heart is overwhelmed, so that his words
Are blazing sentiments, too passionate,
Too lofty for a common understanding.
[He knocks at the Temple door.]
[Enter the High Priest, BOLON.]
BOLON: Blessed be ye all in Dagon's holy name!
Ye strangers are received by him with grace.
Our heartfelt gratitude accept. Yet, Bolon,
As strangers, pray, upon us look no longer.
For these here are my dear beloved parents.
Who came, according to your national customs,
To ask of thee, of the Philistines all.
Thy daughter, promised to me long ere this.
BOLON: The rites of our new covenant of peace
We previously must then exchange, my son.
Those will secure our future satisfaction.
I, friendly, therefore, shall embrace thee, father
Of this much-coveted, heroic son.
MANOAH: [Aside to Samson.] Inform the Gentile, son, that I abhor
To speak to him whose very breath I shun.
[BOLON embraces him. MANOAH, though not resisting, shows by action his abhorence.]
BOLON: And prostrating myself, I kiss thy feet,
O, blessed mother of our mighty Samson.
ABIGAIL: [Aside to Samson.] I'd rather have my soles upon his neck,
Than grant his unclean lips to touch my sandals.
[BOLON, prostrate, and kisses her feet.]
MANOAH: [Aside to Abigail.] How shall I find the strength to ask of him
That he receive our Samson for his own?
ABIGAIL: The lips of man must find it oft convenient
To smile at times when the heart revolts and grieves.
BOLON: Hark ye! in long procession now approacheth—Namilah followed by her troop of playmates.
[Music. Enter the procession in this order. The Warriors with banners. PLIAS under a throne-palanquin. Attendants. NAMILAH and DELILAH. Attendants of the women.]
PLIAS: Hail, all hail to Dagon!
CHORUS: Hail, all hail!
BOLON: To him all glory forever!
CHORUS: Hail, all hail!
To him who ruleth all life within the waters,
We yearly bring a holy sacrifice;
He yearly asks of us a human being—
A little boy burnt in his altar flames.
On whose expiring life he looks with grace.
Should we dispense with this, he wields the storm—
Lets loose the hurricane from his throne of shells,
And, foamingly, calamities he thundereth
Upon the sons of clay.
PLIAS: [Aside.] Dagon, I pray Send on these strangers all thy raging wrath.
DELILAH: [Aside.] Send on them thy simoon's scorching breath.
BOLON: Proceed, originators of our hero,
According to our usage, you must claim
Namilah as a legal spouse for Samson,
Adopting her thereby as your own daughter,
While I accept him for my flesh and blood.
MANOAH: Ay, Samson, take thy father's place and speak.
BOLON: It must not be ! 'tis 'gainst our laws.
MANOAH: I am compelled then—O, it breaks my heart!
SAMSON: Namilah, come! Console my rev'rend parents,
Persuade and reconcile them, to our love.
Thy rosy lips will surely have more force
To make them understand our happiness.
NAMILAH: No! Never will I, dare I, think of parting
With him by his own dear parents' hands—
No! Venerable father, mother, no!
Ye will not take from me that precious place
In both of your beloved hearts. No, no!
Do grant that I may be your child or slave.
When oft by the moon's silver rays, my Samson
Related his ancestors' deeds and life.
Unknown emotions, new to me till then,
Awak'ned their unshaken faith in God.
He spoke of Abraham, your prototype.
Who built the altar on the mountain's top,
For sacrificing, piously to God,
His only son, the long devoutly prayed for,
Of Isaac—quietly submitting, suffering
His life to bleed away upon the stone.
Already lifts his eyes the son to Heaven—
Already flashed the knife ui the father's grasp.
In that most solemn moment of their trial
The angel of the Lord bids Abr'am stop.
And shouts, "I know now that thou fears't the Lord,
For thou hast not withheld thy only one
From me. Thou, therefore, shalt a blessing be
To all the nations of the universe."
Yes! When then Samson, with sonorous voice,
With joyful hope, repeated Abr'am's answer—
That solemn answer: Here am I, my Lord,
Like lightning in a night of storm, it seemed
Man's godly destiny revealed to me
In deeds of such devoted piety.
But hear the angel's voice again: Your son
And I, we are prepar'd, if you refuse.
Come, Samson, I embrace their knees; let them
(If I cannot persuade,) now bind our hands
To be their sacrifice. But God, from Heaven,
Bids ye, as once to Abra'ham, stop!
ABIGAIL: Manoah, see, my eyes with tears are filled;
Thy heart, too, her appeals must needs have touched.
[Embraces NAMILAH.]
Rise, for I wish myself no better daughter.
MANOAH: Maiden! Thou hast conquer'd not alone the son.
But also more mature affection won.
[Embraces NAMILAH, then advances to BOLON.]
Here take my hand, according to your customs;
I will make friendship, covenant of peace,
With ye, foes of my land and Sabaoth.
This maiden be my son's beloved wife,
Thou wilt hereafter own him as thy son.
BOLON: According: to our country's custom, then,
I make with ye a covenant of peace.
Here take my hand, foe of my God and country.
My daughter shall henceforth your child be called,
She is confirmed by me as Samson's wife.
For seven days, the nuptial ceremonies
We'll celebrate. Ye all I bid my guests.
PLIAS: Yet hear; before thou bless this pair, and part,
Samson, thou must, according to our usage.
Give to your guests a chance to win of thee
A bridegroom's prize—some valuable present.
SAMSON: I will—let me propose to you a riddle—
PLIAS: [Aside.] Perdition on him! He escapes the snare
Which I had laid for him, did he choose a fight
Or game with weapons, as I did expect
Of one that boasts to be so brave and strong!
SAMSON: And if you can succeed in solving this
Within the week, I promise forfeiture
Of thirty festive shirts and thirty garments.
But if you fail, then you must pay to me
The same amount.
PLIAS: 'T is fair; we all agree.
SAMSON: Then, listen:—"The devourer gave nourishment,
And sweets came from the strong."
PLIAS: Is that the whole?
SAMSON: It is! Though simple in its frame—beware
That the expense pay not your failing wits.
PLIAS: I hurl the snare back to its origin,
For Isr'el serves yet to Philistia.
SAMSON: By Heaven's disposition t'was decreed.
We otherwise were not subdued by cowards.
BOLON: Keep counsel, noblemen; cause not a breach
Of peace, whose covenant we just have made.
Ere we begin the solemn festival,
Our children, come, be blessed for evermore!
MUSIC AND CHORUS: Hail, hail, hail!
When mankind frail,
Unite in peace and love,
Then smile the gods down from above,
Their choicest blessings without fail;
We therefore shout, "hail, hail, hail!"
[Tableau:—SAMSON and NAMILAH (bowing.) MANOAH, ABIGAIL, and BOLON, blessing them with their outstretched hands. DELILAH. Semicircle of the attendants. PLIAS. (DELILAH and PLIAS aside gesticulate their anger and disgust.)]
[The curtain slowly falls.]
ACT SECOND
PLOT OF THE TRAITORS
JUDGES XV.15—20-, XVI. 1—4
[A hall Orientally decorated, Enter PLIAS and DELILAH conversing.]
PLIAS: Could I but independently hold position
O'er that most fickle people, who adore
And worship all like slaves until aroused
By some displeasure — then they set aside
Rank, merit, birth, and trample under foot
Him who soon an object of their hatred groweth.
I dare not risk an act of violence
Or force against that hypocritic priest.
Already I most humbly have besought
Namilah to transfer her heart to me;
But all I've reaped is repulse, contempt from her,
And friendly admonitions from the father.
DELILAH: Thy whining lamentations shall not cause me
To form with thee a unity of action.
Nor shall inspire me thy insipid feelings
Which thou and thy weak comrades nickname love.
And which I never owned nor comprehended.
But I will not permit this 'cursed Samson
To dare disgrace thee, prince, before our nation—
Thou, who hast conquered his hated race.
Within my breasts, like mountain's thunder, echoes
One only strain! Nought else, I dream.
It constitutes my hope and sole ambition.
Downtrodden be this Israel, Dagon's foe!
In spite of our High-priests' conspiracy.
In spite of Samson, Danite's boist'rous judge,
While proudly on the ruins rise my country.
My glorious home, I'll see thee free henceforth,
An awful foe to foes, a friend to friends.
PLIAS: Permit that I may worship thee here kneeling—
Thy words sublime, heaven's oracle must be.
A deity perhaps in human form
Appearest thou before the world, to tear asunder
A wide-spread superstitious belief
That: "Whosoever Israel may harm,
Sabaoth's chosen nation, shall perish
By heavenly decrees."
DELILAH: Show not thyself thus cowardly, a fool
Disheartened by nursery tales, like children,
A man changed by a maiden to a woman.
Cheer up thy courage — we play daring games,
And we know one road leads to a two-fold goal.
Rise, rise! I hear the approach of our friends and subjects.
[Exit DELILAH.]
[Enter the Warriors and Attendants.]
PLIAS: I waited anxiously for you, my brethren,
I am eager for you to understand
How far our enemy has gained a prize
Within our ranks—right in our sight already.
Since this accursed Hebrew dares to ask
Of all the Philistine maidens the most precious;
And with a riddle so impenetrable
The costly garments of abused guests.
Aye! Shall we bear this, and without resistance?
See, without our indignation bursting forth.
The High Priest of our own, perfidiously
With him unite?
ALL: Disgrace! Shame! Scorn!
PLIAS: My countrymen and true confederates,
Let me reveal it—know I love Namilah,
And mark me how first kindled was this passion:
The night ere Samson was betrothed to her
I dreamt, beholding him in highest glory,
The infidel drew ridicule on Dagon,
While strutting scornfully before his altar;
Yet all Philistines fell upon their knees,
To do him homage equal unto me,
The regent of this land.
ALL: Disgrace! Shame!
PLIAS: Then in high passion, jealous and disgusted,
Wrathfully did I seize his crown, and tear it;
My arms I pressed with an unusual force
Against him—he tottered from the sacred stand
As if by Dagon' s lightning smitten. Down
He senseless fell. Namilah, my adored.
Permitted and returned my love, and clung
Affectionately on my longing breast.
You, all my efforts, full of joy, applauding,
Called blessings down from heaven upon our union.
Then I awoke, and rising vowed to Dagon
Death—destruction by my royal hand—
Death and destruction to that hideous monster.
Pray tell me now, who will basely kneel to Samson,
(And thus abide in our disgrace and shame,)
Or who will stand by me and my fair fame?
ALL: We all! We all will stand by thee!
[Enter BOLON.]
BOLON: The grace of Dagon be upon ye!
ALL: All hail!
PLIAS: With due respect unto thy reverend self—
Mark, High-priest, 'ere thou finish'st thy work,
Betraying Dagon and thy nation—mark!
All persuasion, artfully, I've tried
A perjurer, thou heed'st none of my entreaties.
But ne'er shall we submit to it, and swear
Thy child cannot be taken off from us;
Nor shall this stranger have our festive garments.
If thou refusest still to break this link
Which binds thee to that dreaded Hebrew tyrant,
If thou refusest to solve the riddle, and to give
To me thy daughter — I adore her, Priest!
We then shall burn thy house — thy family
We'll murder — thy wife and thy child!
ALL: We swear it!
BOLON: Short-sighted infidels! Do ye believe
That I would tremble at your empty threats?
Unworthy knaves! Ye do not feel the deeds
I execute for our beloved country.
The tyrant who would have our brethren slain,
Reposes on the bosoms of a girl
And babbles love, and dreams, in vanity,
That he, the fool, our nation will convert.
His haughty spirit, not his life I'll crush.
And thus my plots are wisely calculated:
We will so utterly disgrace and shame him,
That he shall lack respect and confidence—
Those sole materials to grow a hero.
An abject thing, the jest here and abroad.
Thus morally we'll slay him, and heartbroken
We send him home a bye-word and reproach.
Then let him boast henceforth upon his mission.
Which, as he says, was mystically foretold
By Israel's God, before his birth.
Begone! Before the evening star this night shall twinkle
I solve the riddle, prince, thou win'st the bride.’
[Exit PLIAS, the Warriors and Attendants. Enter NAMILAH.]
NAMILAH: Sternly and pensively looks my father.
BOLON: In sadness, child.
NAMILAH: And what has caused this, pray?
Thou hast assured me, more than thousand times,
If once Namilah only should be cared for
Thou knowest no other wish upon this earth.
And now that I am happy all with Samson—
BOLON: Since thou did'st cringe to him, thou hast forgotten
Thy poor old father.
NAMILAH: Could I e'er forsake
My dear, beloved parent? Kind Father, thou
Who hast such tender care on me bestowed?
Maternal utmost fondness for a child
Could do no more than thou hast done for me
Since I my mother lost in infancy.
Yes! I adore my Samson, worship God—
But for my father would I part with life—
Would tear them both from out my bleeding breasts.
BOLON: Give me some proof, my child!
NAMILAH: What must I do?
BOLON: I am compelled to solve that heinous riddle—
My honor and my nation's pride stand pledged.
Thou art the only one who hast the power
To guard us all 'gainst shame, defeat and scorn,
With thy sweet smiles, whom no one can resist.
Beguile thy Samson to disclose to thee
His secret. A loving heart, declines no boon
To the object of its affections.
NAMILAH: Aye, so be it
What arts persuasive through a maiden lip
May win, I will employ for this, my trial
Yet doubt success; for Samson did resist
Already my most fervent questions. Know,
Inquisitively, I myself, worked hard,
Since all this festive week, that he entrust
To me his secret—yet has he declined.
BOLON: [He started going.] Thou must not fail to win the secret.
[Exit BOLON and NAMILAH.]
SCENE THE SECOND
[The Temple Court. SAMSON walking up and down. Enter NAMILAH.]
SAMSON: This is the spot where my return awaits
Namilah, when cease my daily aimless rambles—
At last the moment comes that ends this strife;
This day departs—and I lead home my bride.
NAMILAH: Be welcom'd, dear Samson.
SAMSON: Beloved maiden,
Here am I, back — returning to thy arms,
Methinks my happiness is unsurpassed.
NAMILAH: Thou flatterest me. Ah! Samson, thy sweet words
Are many—yet thy heart beats not like mine—
Entire, devoted, faithful, true affection.
SAMSON: Behold the crimson moon rise on the azure;
Vast millions of the golden stars serve twinklingly
Around our globe. Here, soft repose, sweet dreams,
Have hovered beneath the wing of night.
And we appear within this sleeping landscape,
True types of our parental innocence,
While they in guiltless Eden yet could dwell.
Namilah, pray—what may'st thou ask of me
In such a moment that I would not grant,
While I encircle thee within these arms
And call thee mine, sweet partner of my soul.
NAMILAH: Did I entreat thee not continually
To satisfy my weak curiosity,
Disclosing that strange riddle's explanation
To me?
SAMSON: From my own parents I withheld it—
How may'st thou press me for its revelation?
NAMILAH: Thereby I'd try thy pure love's true foundation;
Such are thy vows—I weep—and thou refusest.
SAMSON: When the maidens weep, the firmest will must falter.
To the children dwindle the giants, when beset
By the all-potent tears of a suppliant woman.
I will no longer show resistance. Come, cheer up
For I submit the mystery to explain.
NAMILAH: Do, do! Dear Samson — trust to me thy secret.
SAMSON: Thou art aware that stealthily I often
Have visited my dear Namilah's home;
Thus once in meditations I, forlorn
Roamed, straying o'er the blooming wine-clad hills,
And dreamingly walked on—when all at once
A lion leaped upon me from the bushes,
With glaring eyes that flashed of bloodthirst and hunger.
He thrust his talons sharp', into my flesh.
Now came the spirit of the Lord upon me,
A strength all supernatural.
With both my arms I force him off—I throw him down—and gripe
The ravenous brute by both his jaws. One foot
I place into his wrath-swelled rising mane.
And tear, with one firm, muscular attempt,
The beast to halves, as one would tear a kid.
From this affair thou easily may'st trace
My question; for "what is stronger than a lion?"
NAMILAH: Great heavens! Thou didst dare such feat to risk?
What would become of me if thou hadst failed.
SAMSON: This consideration only did inspire me.
But listen on. It came to pass thereafter
That I returned by that same route once more—
Fatigued and famished did I reach the spot;
There mouldered the corpse—and wonderfully,
Within the decomposed remains had settled
A hive of bees, depositing their sweets,
Which did refresh my parched lips anew,
And then preserved me truly from starvation.
Such is full explanation of my riddle—
For, tell me what is sweeter yet than honey?
NAMILAH: If thou dost press thy lips upon my own
It's sweeter than all honey of the bees.
But let us hence—our guests must long have waited;
We should be present when they are received.
SAMSON: Nay—thou must leave me not, without thou first
Refresh my soul with that sweet voice of thine,
And sing the song I love to hear of thee.
NAMILAH: All that thou lovest I most like to do.
SONG:
They tell me not to love thee
Thou art not of my creed.
Nay, let the selfish scoff me
I cannot, will not heed.
'Tis vain, 'tis vain forever
Affection true, to part.
Thus nought my love can sever
From thy beloved heart.
I climbed the mountains lonely,
The solitude above
With silent tongue asked only
What creed forbids to love?
I walked the sea shore musing.
The surf beneath my feet
Sang evermore accusing—
"Love cares not for a creed."
Where'er I went I met thee,
It's vain, I'll not forsake—
For ere I could forget thee
My bleeding heart must break.
'Tis vain, 'tis vain forever
Affection true to part I
Nought, nought my love can sever
From thy beloved heart!
[Exeunt both.]
SCENE THE THIRD
[Decorations of Scene the First, yet more festively garlanded. Set the tables with the antique wine urns and the goblets. PLIAS, the Warriors and the Attendants, DELILAH and Attendants, seated around the tables. Enter BOLON, SAMSON and NAMILAH.]
BOLON: With hospitable greeting all are welcomed,
To close this wedding festival of Samson.
Should incense wanting be, or spice, or myrtle,
Let conversation be its substitute.
Here, Samson, ere thou tak'st thy place, I pledge thee
By sparkling wine: Hail to our covenant!
SAMSON: Wine! 'tis forbidden fruit to me—
And yet, 'tis good to look at; and by what
I've heard, it gladdens ev'ry human heart
In its effects—if it be sin in man
To taste of wine, then was it still more wrong
That sin was in so sweet a form created.
I therefore thus return thy gracious pledge:
"Peace and prosperity to both our nations!"
BOLON: We thank thee heartily—right well was done
Thy first attempt in emptying a goblet.
PLIAS: But hast thou not forgotten the festive garments
Which are our dues if we can solve thy riddle?
NAMILAH: [Aside.] Didst thou betray me, Father?
I entrusted Thee with the secret, yet our guests, too, know it.
I have committed treachery on Samson
And will—
BOLON: Hush, senseless girl, and instantly
SAMSON: Be not so hasty, prince—first guess correctly
And then demand the winner's due reward.
PLIAS: Thy riddle?
SAMSON: Nourishment came from the strong!
PLIAS: What is stronger than a lion?
SAMSON: [Aside.] Deceit! They know it.
PLIAS: Proceed.
SAMSON. The devourer sweetness gave:
PLIAS: Nought sweeter than honey!
SAMSON: Serpent of a woman!
BOLON: Thou must not angrily thus gnash thy teeth;
Man should keep merrily what he hath promised.
SAMSON: I swear it by my beard, thou needst not fear.
I've ever faithfully my words fulfilled.
My wrath was kindled only by your wiles—
For had ye not been ploughing with my heifer,
Which means, had not thus a frail woman's tongue
Deceivingly betrayed me and my riddle.
Disgraced, would you now occupy my place.
I must take leave of you my word to keep,
Ye shall the fruits of your seeding reap!
[Exit SAMSON.]
BOLON: Brethren! The prize we've won — indeed we have I
He fell into my smart and cunning snares.
Now to finish my well-plotted schemes.
Take, thou rebel, on our priesthood and our laws,
Namilah for thy legal wife directly;
These are your nuptial guests, to bear us witness
PLIAS: Thanks, thousand thanks, priest, for thy gracious gift;
But why, Namilah, turn aside in sadness?
BOLON: Why are thine eyes, my daughter, filled with tears?
Is not the royal offspring of thy country:—
Is not the playmate of thy childhood worthier
Than such a foreign fugitive can be?
Who has with soft beguiling tongue alone
Wrapt thy unconscious heart in guilty love.
Not thy possession he desired—no, no!
Our homes to conquer was his deceitful object.
He ne'er meant his wife in thee to honor;
Dagon's throne he wished to overthrow,
Upon the ruins his own god to raise—
A god of fiction, who has nor hands nor feet—
Who, as they feign, resides above yon blue;
This thought in him alone should be his death.
NAMILAH: Within my breasts what struggle passions reared
'Gainst duty stern my heart's true love appeals;
This noble feeling must not be impaired,
Though reason all its strong persuasion wields.
Be't death or life—love conquers, wins the prize,
Thus flow the tears which trembling fill my eyes.
BOLON: Thou dost abandon then thy hoary father?
Dost not remember thy own sentiments?
Philistines, know this was her sacred promise
"Yes, I adore my Samson, worship God,
But for my father would I part with him—
Would tear them both from out my bleeding breasts!"
NAMILAH: So 'tis, my life be taken, I'll die for thee—
But live I cannot without him.
PLIAS: Dost thou devise
To be a traitress to our faith and country?
NAMILAH: Ye taught me to deceive my noble Samson,
More dear to me than God and all Philistines.
DELILAH: We taught it punishing inconstancy.
In secret, ay! Thy much adored betrothed
Did offer me his heart, while he demanded
Our High-priest's daughter for his legal wife.
Girl, weak and wily,
[NAMILAH'S gestures show that she does not believe and despises the words.]
I can give thee proofs—
These here all bear me witness to my words.
PLIAS: We listened and heard his amorous vows.
NAMILAH: [Depressed and then at once starting up again.] Here, I am yours again, my countrymen.
Curse upon such deceit which breaks the heart;
Curse fall on him—no, curse him not—if even
He did betray me—no, no! —Curse him not—
Accept my hand—I'll be thy spouse, now prince;
'Tis immaterial who from the dust selects
A flower, faded and to wither doomed.
And thou, my dear, beloved father—pray.
Oh, pardon those hard words I basely uttered;
It was so sweet a dream—a passing vision.
How do I feel —My heart is chilled—I tremble.
My eyes grow dim—[She swoons.]—help! Samson!
Samson!
[BOLON and PLIAS bear her away.]
DELILAH: Thus have I guarded you against disgrace—
Ensnaring wiles will always master truth.
Yet shall I execute hereafter deeds
Which will bring honor upon you and me,
And superiority to Dagon's reign.
Samson I've not without a cause accused
Of an inconstant heart—this fickle man
I easily can judge; and know the giant
Will dwindle and he but a baby-toy
If some bright maiden eyes are fixed upon him.
I'll try my charms to captivate him thus,
And should he fall into these small, smooth fingers,
Ne'er shall again this deadly hated foe
Raise proudly over us his curly head
To boast upon those victories any longer
Which he did win amongst your ranks, brave men. [Aside.]
Men only by their sex—but fools and cowards
When called upon to act in time of trial. [Aloud.]
I have a heart which equals that of Samson
In vigor and in pride; and every nerve
Is stretched within me to match myself with him.
Philistines, here you shall assistance vow;
And be assured—your prize—if I succeed.
My vengeance sacrifice—will Samson be!
ALL: [Upon their knees] We swear it!
[Re-enter BOLON and PLIAS.]
BOLON: We, too, belong to your confederacy!
DELILAH: Rise, Rise! I Samson hear approach. Attend,
It is too late this night for risking deeds.
But hold yourselves prepared and always ready,
Each hour may call us to united service.
[Enter SAMSON and a servant bearing a bundle of cloth.]
SAMSON: Here duly you receive what I have promised—
Count—thirty festive shirts and thirty garments;
We'll longer not suspend the nuptials close.
Where is my bride?
ALL: [Laughing.] Ha! Ha! Ha!—His bride!
SAMSON: How! Do you dare to laugh and sneer at me!
Behold these neaves! They'll crush you to the dust;
DELILAH: [Aside.] Arouse him not—for he fulfills his threats!
'Tis best to reconcile him, Bolon.
BOLON: Thou art aware, noble Samson, never,
According to our creed, insult we strangers?
SAMSON: Stranger? Am I a stranger still among you?
PLIAS: So thou didst act—for recently arrived
A message thou hadst causeless shed the blood
Of thirty thee befriended Philistines.
SAMSON: In self-defense! While wantonly attacked
I was—the single man, by thirty ruffians!
I hardly laid my hands on these weak creatures
And they already fell like summer flies
When cold draws nigh.
BOLON: We therefore considered
That thou didst hate us all. I gave thy bride
To Plias. He, our prince, has wedded her.
But here, behold our nation's younger offspring!
[DELILAH coquettes with SAMSON.]
Kin to the vernal bud bedewed by morning;
Take her to wife, in place of my poor daughter.
SAMSON: [Aside.] By Heaven, she is a most beauteous maiden;
Her youthful bloom would win my admiration.
[Aside.] Just cause henceforth have I 'gainst ye Philistines—
Your laughter hurled defiance in my face.
Thou took my wife—henceforth must rage between us
Eternal tempest, never to be calmed.
Now mark these words:—I lift my arms and vow
By Heaven! I'll be revenged, revenged upon you!
Suspended be within my heart and soul
A peaceable or friendly inclination
Towards your race of heartless, faithless villains.
Destruction, death, and deathful deeds,
Shall be the retribution on my foes—
Shall be the combat for which Samson stands.
Revenged I'll be! Revenged on all devoted
To the abhorred mammoth fish-god, Dagon.
Down with both idol and idolaters!
That my mission be henceforth, my vengeance,
Samson shall Israel yet deliver!
[The Philistines all crowd into the background.]
Hence from my sight! Hence, accursed traitors!
Away! I say—If ye would not behold
The sight—that presently these arms alone
Shall level all your bodies to the ground
I I'll slay whatever bears a human face!
BOLON: Fly! Fly before the mad destroyer's wrath!
[Tableau: The Philistines all in a flying position. SAMSON retaining his threatening stand. Music.]
[The curtain slowly falls.]
ACT THIRD
Delilah beguiles and Dagon prevails.
JUDGES XV. 4—20; XVI, 1—5, and 15—21.
SCENE THE FIRST
[The Court before the Temple. People assemble.]
THE CHIEF OF THE PHILISTINES: Our priest heaped this calamity upon us;
So this shunned Hebrew rages freely 'gainst
Whatever bears the name of Philistine.
THE FIRST MESSENGER: [Enters running.] Hark! Hark! Two hundred foxes Samson caught,
He twisted strongly their long cues together,
Between each fastening a torch; he turned
Them loose on our ripe harvests—that a blaze
Around the country stands. Starvation stares
The poor people in the face.
THE CHIEF OF THE PHILISTINES: That's Samson's vengeance.
All for the sake of that accursed priest,
Whose daughter he desired to have for his spouse,
And was so badly cheated out of her.
[Enter the Second Messenger.]
THE SECOND MESSENGER: Hark! Hark! We marched, for battle armed, to Lehy
The border city of Philistia
And Israel, destroying everything
That came before us. We declared by Dagon
To visit 'pon all Israel Samson's mischief
Within our suffering country, till they would
Surrender him, each limb by shackles bound.
Hereon, three thousand men of Judah's tribe
Went forth against the Danite, and they found him
Reposing, sheltered on the rock of Etam;
And with reproaches for his doing evil
To all his nation, did inform him that
They had in bonds needs to surrender him
To Philistia; on which he did consent
Provided they would solemnly declare
That none of his own nation should lay hand
Upon him. This agreed, they brought the captive
To Lehy. Our tents already we had pitched,
And as we saw him, loud our war-song shouted,
When all at once the spirit of strange powers
Came mightily upon him, and the cords
Which bound his arms became like flax that burns.
He straight from off his wrists tore them asunder,
A jawbone of an ass he found, and grasped it
Most horrid weapon in such hands! He smooth'd
Our ranks! While each blow kills a man, he shouts—
"Revenge of Samson for a priest's deceit!"
I hither fled alone to tell the fact.
ALL: Misery! Misery!
THE THIRD MESSENGER: [Enters gasping for breath.] Hark! Hark!
Last evening late, when Samson did arrive
At Gaza, he lodged in this our sister city
At a noted wanton's inn. The citizens
Information soon received; and their forces
Turned out with implements of war, intending
By every means to captivate the dreaded.
At sunrise he the ponderous gates approached,
Which were with rams and locks most firmly set.
The guards fly at the sight of him; and lo!—
Indeed, it scarcely can be comprehended—
He easily with his huge shoulders heaves
All—doors and posts! And bears them on his back
'Pon the summit of a hill, and shouts
Aloud to us with boist'rous scornful laughter:
"Revenge of Samson for a priest's deceit!"
ALL: Oh! Oh! Oh!
THE CHIEF OF THE PHILSTINES: I would that Samson
Were reconciled. We all are lost and gone!
Let's kill the priest at once.
ALL: Aye, kill the priest!
THE CHIEF OF THE PHILISTINES: And burn his house!
ALL: [Rushing off.] Fire! Fire! Fire!
[A strong blaze from without.]
SCENE THE SECOND
[The garden with the exotic vegetation. At the right side is a retreat. Enter DELILAH and PLIAS conversing.]
PLIAS: This moment I received that mournful message
A furious riot was at Timnath raised.
Against the priest and us revolts the mass.
Our palaces lie burnt—and woe on me,
My bride, Namilah, and her father, perished—
All for the sake of pacifying Samson.
DELILAH: That seals his doom!
PLIAS: Avenge thy brother, girl!
Thou didst assert, more vigor bear thy wiles
Than our united arms 'gainst such a foe.
'Tis promising much—yet hast thou nought fulfilled.
DELILAH: Reproaches, accusations durst to offer—
Add but one single word against thy sister,
And Samson shall receive a friendly warning.
PLIAS: I've not intended to arouse thy passion;
But eager vengeance, irresistible
Has that event stirred in my burning breasts.
A thousand shekels of the finest silver
Pays our confed'racy—if thou aspirest
This very day to overcome our foe.
DELILAH: His strength, according to his own assertion,
Consists in some inviolated secret.
I'll solve that mystery—I'm pledged to solve it I
Yet for this willing task I'll not accept
Base proffers of reward.
PLIAS: Success be thine!
A laurel wreath will crown thy raven locks—
Thy fame shall equal our immortal heroes.
Thy honor gloriously in national hymns
We'll sing—but for thy trouble, take reward.
DELILAH: Be't even as thou sayest. But thou, a man
Who plumes himself on his sagacity,
Know woman's greatest satisfaction is,'
To creep into secrets with success.
And publish them to all the world besides.
What night to us in confidence intrusts.
Our garments e'en in broad light of day reveal.
But hark! Our common foe. Samson, approacheth,
[Steps are heard from within.]
To a nocturnal feast I him invited.
With juice of grapes and love's parley I'll try
My strength his secret to extort. If wine
Doth stir itself aright, in dissipation
It makes the senses reel and leaves the heart
Unguarded 'gainst a woman's shrewd temptations.
Let us retreat forthwith to this verandah.
[Exeunt both and enter SAMSON.]
SAMSON: Such inconsistent cowardice! 'Tis weak—
Lack of character it must be called.
Base conduct 'tis, for which I shun myself.
Strange doth attract me this accursed spot I
Compare me to that pitied bird—a prey,
Fixed, spell-bound 'pon our palms, in trembling fear
By the coiled serpent's fascinating eyes.
From branch to branch it leaps involuntarily,
Then shrieking shrill, it lifeless sinks at last
Into the open'd jaws of the huge monster.
Shame! Shame! Shame!
[He closes his eyes and buries his face in his hands. Enter DELILAH taking beguilingly his right hand. The whole of her following acting should be sweet persuasion, yet betraying her purpose.]
Ah! Thou here?
How fares my beauteous deceitful maiden?
DELILAH: Deceit, I suppose, is but correct —
An attribute of the one who false, without
The least regard, advantage takes, and boldly
From the straight path of truthfulness departs.
SAMSON: Most so, since I declined to let thee enter—
And twice, in secrets which I must ne'er reveal
To any one—and least to a curious woman.
Let notwithstanding peace between us reign.
We will but love my maiden and forget
The harmless wrong.
[Enter PLIAS.]
PLIAS: Do not disturb our feast
With broils. Ye slaves! Bring wine!
[Enter the Attendant, bringing urns with wine and goblets.]
I pledge thy health.
SAMSON: Ha, Plias! I with the only toast accord:
"Perdition on my foes!" Believe ye not
Me reconciled for having killed your priest.
No, no! Think not my hate and wrath subdued!
DELILAH: I know right well why not! For there has perished—
Namilah too, thy sweet affection, which e'en
Subdued a Samson, and him her captive made.
SAMSON: Me—subdued?—a captive!—Say'st thou so?
Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!
DELILAH: Fearest thou no woman's snare?
SAMSON: The whole dear female army of Philistia
With few sweet stories of the heart I'd tame.
They sue for peace when seeming they do resist.
DELILAH: Thy mighty word is equal to thy strength.
But let us have a trial, mighty hero;
I, single-handed, and a timid maiden,
Defy thee for the honor of our women!
SAMSON: With love? Thou easily canst conquer me,
For then I lend thee my own armor.
DELILAH: Beware! Thou scornest me!
Thou wilt find a foe that's brave.
SAMSON: Be my antagonist in all, except
In heart affairs!
DELILAH: Thy jest is ill employed;
Most dangerous are weapons women carry.
SAMSON: I venture, maiden — 'tis no club nor war-axe
Thy hands, so soft and tender shaped, can wield.
DELILAH: E'en tender hands may execute great deeds!
And women, though they ne'er contend with iron,
They employ their eyes and tongues and hearts.
These are their war-engines with which they conquer!
SAMSON: We must not battle. Come, let me pledge thee here.
DELILAH: My sentiment then have—Good luck to hatred!
[They drink, and the goblets are re-filled.]
PLIAS: And mine—May ever grand thy people be!
SAMSON: My Israel the world may persecute;
But e'en in fetters, free and grand remains
God's chosen people,
For hearts and souls and faith cannot be conquered.
PLIAS: Another toast! May true religion prosper!
Hail, Dagon! [He drinks.]
SAMSON: Nay, hail, Sabaoth!
[He dashes the goblet away.]
Thou shalt not, Gentile, and in bad
society
Wantonly our holy cause profane.
Intolerant, stray-running quarrels have
Ever turned man's happiness, religion's aim,
Into its worst antagonistic field.
Intolerance! Did tongues and hearts not know thee,
The world ten centuries were in advance.
But here I'll prophecy it: Time will come
When mankind shall expel from out their midst
The tyrants of their civil rights; and then,
The nations will unite to tear asunder
The strongly twisted chains which bind their consciences.
Then, aye! The time will come that breaks the walls.
Which man divides from man. Jew and Gentile
Will open their blindfolded eyes at last,
And guided by the power of rational thought,
Their own spiritual government assume.
Upon the ruins of hypocrisy erects
Religion its true covenant of love.
As there is but one freedom—there will be
But one religion; and, as each individual
Obeying law and order is a citizen,
So everyone, who doth as he desires
To be done unto, is a member of good standing
In that great universal church sublime
Which shall in truth be called "Messiah's time."
PLIAS: What dost thou consider shall be done
With all those numerous structures where we worship.
For which we amply sacrificed our gold?
SAMSON: Transformed they'll be into halls of education
Of young and old; or into nurseries
For the homeless, helpless and misery-stricken sick.
When men thus worship. Heaven will rejoice!
DELILAH: Thou growest sentimental—Come, drink! Drink!
In wine we best forget our cares and sorrows.
[SAMSON drinks hastily and empties the goblet several times.]
SAMSON: What strange excitement runs through all my pulse;
My blood shoots liquid fire through my brain.
Who now would risk a grasp of these my fingers?
And were his bones and sinews adamantine,
I into dust would pulverize the mortal.
Begone, ye slaves!—Avaunt!—Away!—Begone!
Let me alone with her!—Away!—Begone!
[He forces PLIAS and the Attendants off; DELILAH follows; thus exeunt all.]
SCENE THE THIRD
[The gorgeous sleeping apartment in the Oriental style. An ottoman and an escutcheon at the right side. DELILAH, fascinatingly attired, leads in SAMSON, who is highly intoxicated. She sits on the ottoman, SAMSON on the escutcheon, his head reposing in her lap.]
DELILAH: Well, well! Dear Samson, repose thus by my side.
Let in my arms recline thy head excited,
To find there quiet from wine and mental care.
Oh, that thou though'st me worthy! Pray, ope
The secret of thy precious heart to me.
I'll, too, impart glad news to thee, my Samson.
Mark me attentively, and happy feel;
For, the high trust, wherein delighteth a woman,
As far as the Orient reacheth, to me was granted;
Remember that I bear love's sweetest pledge
Beneath this true and constant heart, my Samson.
SAMSON: I'll slay the man who is my enemy—
But with a female, love is my revenge.
DELILAH: Be kind, before sweet sleep doth close thine eyes.
Pray, grant my wish.
[SAMSON was more intoxicated and unconscious.]
SAMSON: I'll grant — grant anything.
DELILAH: Ere this, did I receive thy promise twice,
Yet twice most vexingly was I betrayed.
SAMSON. Art thou not false? And thou wilt find me true?
DELILAH. I am to thee, and thee alone, devoted;
I love but thee—to prove it, feel—I'll kiss
Thy lovely lips; [She kisses him fervently.]; thus, thus, Delilah kisses.
SAMSON: Oh! Thou wilt madden me—wilt craze my brain.
DELILAH: Come, let me win thy secret—what part of thine
Has summed thy strength—unfold to me thy breast.
Look in my eyes—and not betray again!
SAMSON: This woman holds me—I cannot resist. [He tries to arouse himself.]
Where is my head? My wavering eyes grow dim!
Am I, this day, by my own hands to fall?
DELILAH: The wine acts on thy nerves. Another kiss.
[Kisses him again.]
Wert ever thou more fervently embraced?
SAMSON: [Despairing.] The serpent, nay, a woman, Adam culled.
DELILAH: Confess, dear partner of my heart, confess.
SAMSON: [Broken and hasty.] I must disclose it, or I cannot sleep.
Know then—I am a Nazarite; ne'er came
A razor on my head; were I deprived
Of these, my seven locks, I would be weak,
And equal found in strength to other men.
Alas I now let me sleep; I'm deathly faint.
DELILAH: Sleep, sleep. Sweet dreams of peace may visit thee.
My slaves without pour forth the sweetest songs.
And let your harps in mellow strains speak music.
Let song and melody and sleep be mingled.
[Song with harp accompaniment from within.]
Into thine eye
I've fondly gazed,
Since ever nigh
To thee are chased
My thoughts, my peace—
I ne'er cease
To think of thee,
To cling to thee.
If far away or by,
My heart, my soul, my dreams,
All gaze into thine eye,
To catch its loving gleams.
For since thy looks have gazed on me,
I, all and e'er belong to thee!
[During the song, SAMSON has fallen asleep. DELILAH lays his head on the ottoman, and satisfies herself of his unconsciousness.]
DELILAH: Samson! Samson! Samson!
[Rushes excited to the front of the stage.]
At last, success! He has revealed the truth.
Free is my country! I will be revenged,
And win ambition's highest, glorious prize.
[She gives a signal. Enter PLIAS, hastily.]
PLIAS: Delilah, did'st thou succeed? Oh! Speak, my sister!
DELILAH: There! Captivate the giant! Silently,
And with all speed, procure the sharpest razor;
Then carefully we must approach, to sever
From his ne'er shaven head, those seven braids.
Prepare also our friends; we conquer him.
Revenge thyself and me, and all Philistines.
PLIAS: But I consider: he must not be killed.
New punishments, unheard of, we will use.
DELILAH: He shall not die a lauded martyr!
No! No! No! Begone! On that I'll muse; begone!
[Exit PLIAS. Pause. DELILAH lost a moment in reflection.]
There is of all parts of the human body
Not one more tender nor more obvious.
Like precious jewels guarded carefully—
None is more indispensable to man
Than are his eyes. For our existence is,
Of light deprived, a baleful chaos.
Take from the sun his light, the world is dead;
Enwrap our earth in everlasting night.
And she will totter; take a man born blind—
To him it were much better his Creator
Had made of him a soulless, heartless stone.
And even if his face were perfect beauty.
Eyeless, the splendor would increase our pity.
And were his muscles adamantine strong.
Blind, he were helpless, weak as infants are.
[Enter PLIAS.]
Thus it is we'll break this giant's strength;
If eyeless, he will be alive, yet dead.
[They approach noiselessly. PLIAS cuts the locks. Both then rush forward. PLIAS throws the hair to DELILAH.]
PLIAS: 'Tis done I
Receive all seven of his braids;
In yonder ambush have I placed our allies.
DELILAH: Call them immediately to our succor,
PLIAS: [Shouts.] Philistines and Dagon!
This way, to overcome Samson!
[Enter the Warriors.]
Take fearless hold of him with solid grasp.
DELILAH: His supernatural power is all dispelled.
PLIAS: But heed I the one who slays him, him shall I slay.
The work of vengeance I myself will do.
[SAMSON awakes and looks around bewildered.]
SAMSON: Where, where am I? How do I feel?
Despair! My seven braids—are shorn!
Heavens! I am lost!
DELILAH: Ha! Ha! Ha! [Scornfully laughing.] At last thou art!
PLIAS: At last, thy slaughter-work is ended.
Lay hands' on!
[To the Warriors.]
[They struggle; SAMSON is forced down.]
SAMSON: Assassins! Then for life have I to combat.
Tour whole united powers I defy!
[They hold him entirely in their power.]
No, no! 'tis out! I have profaned my pledge,
The mystery of Heaven betrayed to a woman.
PLIAS: Thou wilt no longer harm us. Bring the ropes.
[Enter the Slaves with the ropes.]
Strongly be his limbs secured.
[They fetter him.]
SAMSON: Kill me!—Kill!
I have deserved to die. While I expire,
Behold a sacrifice to a wild desire.
DELILAH: Thou shalt not die! Too large is our account.
Unpaid yet stands mine and my nation's vengeance!
[The Warriors drag him off. Exit DELILAH.]
PLIAS: We will exhibit him throughout the land.
We'll show him caged, like an ensnared hyena.
Here, then, [Lifting his dagger and exits running.] and here!
[SAMSON, was heard from within, shrieks twice.]
Live on—but eyeless live!
Dagon has conquered! We are revenged! Revenged!
[SAMSON'S groans are heard from within. The shifting of scenery must be very precise and quick.]
SCENE THE FOURTH
[The Hall for the private worship of the Idolaters. Dagon's statue stands in the background; before him stands a small altar. DELILAH, PLIAS and the Warriors form a group around SAMSON, who is blindfolded. He staggers forward and utters, despairingly.]:
SAMSON: All-just Heaven—I acknowledge my affliction!
Oh blind—my father, my mother—Woe! Woe! Woe!
[He falls down unconsciously.]
DELILAH: Triumph! Free is Philistia! We are avenged!
Be off! Send messengers throughout the land;
Proclaim with trumpets loud our full success
We'll celebrate a great, a national feast.
When all Philistines to their joy behold
The eyeless Samson, whom my hands have felled,
The gold of that reward you promised me
I'll consecrate to celebrate that day.
PLIAS: Thy proposition I approve; till then,
My sister, he may be our slave, to tread
The mill at Gazah—grinding corn that's used
To Dagon's sacrifice. Who'll lead him thither?
DELILAH: A starving boy came 'stray to me this day.
He begged for work. 'T is well he lead the blind.
Slaves! Bring him here.
PLIAS: Away, ye friends! Speed on! Messengers, I send ye
All through the country—loud proclaim our glory,
And when the moon, whose face we half now see,
Will full return the seventh time again—
Then, let us meet in Timnath to our feast.
It is the term for Dagon's annual
Blood sacrifice, when we a priest elect.
[Enter NAMILAH disguised as a boy.]
DELILAH: My son, who wanted work, here find employ.
When this blind man returns to consciousness,
Then lead him safely up to Gazah. Here,
Let this my purse be his support and thine.
NAMILAH: I'll faithfully obey thy wishes, Mistress.
[Exit DELILAH, PLIAS and the Warriors.]
By traveling day and night, I have succeeded
In flying the enraged fanaticism.
My own base countrymen have furiously
Revolted 'gainst their tyrant and their priest.
My father died in these my trembling arms,
His locks grown hoary in the sacred office,
His gold-embroidered Toga flamed in fire.
He whispered in my ear the last, last words:
"Namilah—Dagon whom I served and worshipped
My life-long days, alas I avails us naught.
He is not the true Almighty God."
Then did I faint away. Behind the altar
Of Dagon, I at length regained my senses;
And by my side I found these garments lying.
I thus disguised, fled through the country safe,
A type of misery, detested, famished.
My feet are sore, my body is exhausted.
I heard but yesterday that Samson dwells here.
Oh, that I met him. For his former love
May still return, and we be happy yet.
Lo there! Poor man—oh how he bleeds;
They cruelly laid hands on both his eyes.
I'll speak to him—perhaps he may recover.
[She approaches him. SAMSON raises slowly his head.]
SAMSON: No, hesitate not pierce my breasts—my heart
Have pity I feel like human beings! Brutes,
It is less pain to die, than to be sightless.
Despair doth clutch me with its iron arms,
I feel wild madness overcome my brain;
Is no one here? They have abandoned me
To perish blind in isolated mis'ry.
[He turns his face towards NAMILAH.]
Yet hark! I hear a breathing! For pity sake
Who is it here? Art thou a human being?
NAMILAH: Horror! Horror! Samson—is it thee, Samson?
SAMSON: 'Tis he that Samson was; destroyed is all
But his afflicted heart and a sightless casket.
[He falls back again, groaning with pain.]
NAMILAH: Infamous deed! If they had killed the man—
A foe's revenge—it should have satisfied;
But it is more than cruel, it is infernal,
To spare the life, but kill the power to enjoy it.
'Tis like the burying of a man alive.
For this, their deed, I curse my heartless race;
From Dagon's faith I'm severed for all future.
Before this blind unfortunate captive here
Here I kneel, in presence of yon high
Heaven I raise my hand, and solemnly avow
That I henceforth belong to Samson's nation,
And worship but hereafter Israel's God.
Such charity as his religion teaches,
In his affliction I'll bestow on him,
For thus he taught me in our happy days:
The first of duties, man doth owe to man
It is benevolence to all who suffer!
Unknown to him I'll be his nurse and guide.
My eyes be his, devoted be my life
To reconcile his fate; by tender care
Of Heaven and man, he never shall despair!
[SAMSON returns to consciousness.]
We now must leave. Samson—come, come, Samson!
Take courage—rise—lean 'gainst my shoulders—come—
Try and walk; lose not thy trust in Heaven.
[SAMSON, by her aid, rises heavily.]
SAMSON: His mighty anger justly smote and crushed me.
NAMILAH: His hands may strike, but also heal the wound.
SAMSON: Thus am I constituted an example.
Yea, retribution visits wickedness!
NAMILAH: Art thou a man?—Let not thy firmness falter:
Repent thy wrongs by making good the past.
SAMSON: Ah I who art thou? Perhaps dispatched to man,
Again that angel who prophesied my birth,
To render light my dark and joyless future!
NAMILAH: All men, the most superior e'en are weak.
They ne'er may have remembered their Creator
While shines on them spring's ever-smiling sun.
But when the thunders roll, and storms are raging,
If in distress, and if in misery.
Then—instantly almost, man will remember
Him, whom he had forgotten in prosperous days.
SAMSON: That I but had the strength, I would submit
To bear it with patience. Alas! But with my sight
Took also leave the vigor of my soul.
NAMILAH: Canst thou not pray? Devotion, true and meek,
Relieves the wretched.
SAMSON: Tell me, dost thou belong
To Israel's creed and covenant?
NAMILAH: With all my heart and soul.
SAMSON: I truly thank thee.
Come, kneel with me, and let us pray together.
[They kneel. Sacred music.]
Crushed hath the mighty arm of Providence
My life in fearful judgment. But, Oh! Thou
Whose grace entirely never doth abate,
Grant that submissively I bear my fate.
NAMILAH: Oh! May it so in Heaven be resolved!
[The curtain slowly falls.]
ACT FOURTH.
The Giant Judge Blind and in Prison. JUDGES XVI. 21, 22.
SCENE THE FIRST.
[Prison. SAMSON chained to a block. NAMILAH by his side.]
NAMILAH: Why brood upon thy sore affliction thus?
Ah, Samson! Mute despair in man is like
An eating evil—consuming slow but certain!
SAMSON: They murdered basely my external eyes,
But inwardly is kindled bright a sight.
No brooding is it—nay, my soul reflects
On past transgressions and my present state.
Lo! I behold myself: Samson crushed
By strange calamities and dire misfortunes,
A thrall of slaves—he turns the mill by day,
Is caged by night, like some poor captive brute.
And then, again I see reversed the picture:
That Samson, who, according to his mission,
Delivereth Palestine from disgraceful bondage,
A nation's hope, his parents' pride and solace,
Distinguished, honored, revered and beloved.
Could I but be a monitor to the young.
When they in life take their decisive parting,
When lies before them the onward path to Heaven,
I would aloud to them cry out: On! On!
Though it be hardship, though it may be rough.
For ye, like Samson, miserable and despairing,
May be beguiled into yon laughing pathway,
Where flowers cover the abyss of destruction.
NAMILAH: Doth Providence not guide all steps of mortals?
SAMSON. Most so. But Heaven hinders not all actions
Of man endowed with reason and free will.
That makes my punishment the more severe.
I know, I had a high and noble mission;
But have debased myself, and lost the prize.
NAMILAH: Hark! One doth approach. I'll go and see who comes.
[Exit NAMILAH.]
SAMSON: These brutes! They rise with early dawn—around
Me stay till midnight; abuse and scoff
A helpless man with force and violence.
Oh! that I could but once use these my arms;
I would avenge in blood my loss of sight.
[Re-enter NAMILAH.]
NAMILAH: Compose thyself. Thou wilt embrace anon
Thy dearest kin—thy parents have arrived.
SAMSON: Oh I often have I longed for them in vain;
And now, that my desire at length is granted,
Alas! The grave were better than to witness
The grief and tears and sorrows of poor parents,
When now their trembling arms, unnerved from age,
Embrace their bygone hope—blind, captive Samson.
[Enter ABIGAIL and MANOAH. Both embrace SAMSON.]
ABIGAIL: Samson, oh, my Samson!
SAMSON: Mother! Mother!
MANOAH: These lamentations will but add to break
Our hearts. My withered eyes have weeped enough.
Let us seek piously for reconciliation.
No grievance is so strong, no care so hard,
That faith and patience can not soft and soothe.
SAMSON: My disobedience has brought forth these fruits.
Ye zealously endeavored to restrain
My course of life, detestable and sinful.
I listen'd not when ye from Dagon's temple,
With tears, attempted to persuade me, fool,
That I should leave this false and treacherous people.
Then I would not mind—now I'm fairly punished.
ABIGAIL: 'Twas tempting, not invoking Heaven, to weep
While toiling in the field. I wished for children.
Why condescend to grant my foolish wishes?
Gave I therefore birth to a Nazarite.—
That I should find him thus, deprived of sight.
Expelled from life's co-equal, light and freedom;
A proverb now to all who knew and feared him.
Why Heaven would'st accept my foolish prayers?
MANOAH: Oh, tempt not thus again the Everlasting!
SAMSON: I, not Heaven, blighted all your joyful hopes.
MANOAH: Stay accusations 'gainst thyself, my son,
For man is weak by nature—he will err;
The best that ever lived have had their failings.
SAMSON: Aye! From all wrongs I ever have endured.
From all the woe that has my heart afflicted.
The heaviest of all blows were aimed at me
By the rude hands of my own countrymen.
To Israel, my own distracted nation,
I rightly may impute my fall and faults.
A most disastrous pestilence, a curse,
A living: curse consumes this people.
Its name—Ah! 'tis—division and unbounded pride!
Since they did know, as they must have known, indeed,
How gloriously I battled 'gainst our foes—
Why did all Israel firmly not unite,
And place a powerful army at my command?
They would now be free and their land unyoked.
But nay, they have ignored me altogether;
And, shame! They even allied with our foes—
Came armed against me when I dwelt at Lehy;
They bound my limbs, and sternly did intend
Surrend'ring me to merciless pursuers,
Who would have butchered their defenseless foe.
[Steps heard from within. Exit NAMILAH.]
MANOAH: 'Tis most true! Our people ruin themselves.
They are unmindful of their precious threshold.
Discord and selfishness cause their decline.
They worship more than e'er the golden idol.
Yet I despair not. Heaven's consoling promise
Is, that the chosen nation will repent.
And return unto their noble mission. Then,
Shall all mankind be blessed by Israel.
[Re-enter NAMILAH.]
NAMILAH: New trials still await thee, Samson. Know—
The Gentiles' prince will presently arrive
To take thee hence into the idol's temple.
[Enter PLIAS and the Warriors.]
PLIAS: Take off the shackles from his fettered feet.
Be fearless, men! The mill and prison tame.
Thou must accompany me, Samson, come!
[SAMSON'S feet are unchained by the Warriors.]
SAMSON: I must? What must I?—speak—whereto must I?
PLIAS: To Timnath thou shalt hence, immediately.
We celebrate this day our annual feast.
Thy strength exhibited we will enjoy.
ABIGAIL: Thou art a mighty sovereign, Philistines:
Hear, hear!—A mother bathed in tears solicits.
Name but the sum, propose the price in gold,
To be a ransom for this captive blind—
For he is like a babe, dependent, helpless,
Beneath your fear, reduced to misery.
Ye made him harmless—now permit him peace,
That to parental care he may return.
I'll travel begging, if it must be so.
His fate throughout all Israel repeating,
From door to door, from place to place, and ask
For charity, collecting the amount.
But grant his liberty—release my child!
MANOAH: Dost thou think ever to grow old? Look hero
Upon a father—tired of life, heart-broken.
Most miserable, grieved, unfortunate.
I once expected, should my head wax hoary,
He would support me until called to sleep
Beside my ancestors. Now he is doubly older than I am.
The utmost of your vengeance must be sated.
Propose a ransom; willingly I'll pay
For his redemption all my earthly wealth.
My whole inheritance it may compass.
All readily I'll render up to you.
Take me myself besides, I'll be your slave,
But him release, that he in peace depart.
PLIAS: It is not gold we crave—scorn shall pay scorn!
Nor does a feeble old man well exchange
A giant.
MANOAh: No, see here—I'm strong, I'm strong!
I will exert myself to toil severe.
Thou knowest not what a father's love can do
For the relief of an unfortunate son.
PLIAS: In vain will ye implore—come, we'll hence,
To open market. Thou must follow me;
Do not resist. Come, or I'll force thee hence!
SAMSON: Hal say' st thou, '-force me hence?
Come—dare approach;
My eyes are dead, but all my strength revives.
I hear thee say that thou wilt force me hence,
Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! My hair has grown anew.
[He breaks the chains from off his arms and dishevels his hair.]
Come! Dare draw near, and say, thou'lt force me hence!
Let me but grasp thee, ha! With these my arms,
I'll strike thee dead, I'll shatter limbs and skull!
The man shall not live who says, "Samson must!"
NAMILAH: [Interposes mildly.] Oh! Rev'rend parents of this noble captive.
Lord Philistine, and thou, Oh Samson, too.
Permit that I, a youth, may come into
Your counsel, and allow me speak, where I should listen.
ABIGAIL: Who is he?
SAMSON: My guardian angel, parents!
Whom Heaven most mercifully hath commissioned
That I beneath my yoke sink not entirely.
NAMILAH: Accompany him, Samson—I will lead thee.
Thou wouldst resist in vain he rightly says.
Their captive, at the public mill a drudge,
Though thou wert firmer fastened than a rock.
They would contend to trail thee through their streets.
I know, they yet will multiply thy sufferings;
Never mind, but bear it patiently,
The inward peace grows stronger in misfortunes.
Go therefore with them. Heaven and I will guide.
MANOAH: Prophetically doth advise the youth.
Obey, my son! Who knows if this is not
A part coroborate of thy high calling.
We'll also follow to the Temple's city.
It is not far; yet distance great for thee.
We'll stay there at the public inn: for never
Will I witness this triumph of the accursed,
Abominable worshippers of an idol.
[Enter DELILAH, rushing wildly in.]
DELILAH: Ha! Let me see the captive in his bonds,
How he, a conquered slave, clangs wild his chains.
NAMILAH: The presence of this fiend, who but arrived
To ridicule poor Samson, I can not bear.
DELILAH: Ah! Sightless giant, whom a woman tamed,
Hear things, for which I almost wished
Thou hadst yet eyes, thou hadst the gift of sight.
While thou consumest the news Delilah brings.
Each nerve of thine will shake, and every drop
Of blood within thy veins will freeze with horror.
SAMSON: I hear the luring voice of my vile traitress.
Now thrilling through my heart like a serpent's hiss!
Demon! Enwrapt in thy tempting beauteous body,
Thou art akin to that most dangerous race
Which under shining skin bears certain death.
\Why doth thy throat arouse the sleeping echo
Within this adamantine coffin of freedom?
DELILAH: Thou shalt be petrified, thou boasting giant,
By hst'ning. Mark me, I have a son—the offspring
Of our brief love; and ah! Again mark—mark!
He lives, that I may fally wield my vengeance!
SAMSON: Angry father of light! is yet not filled
My bitter cup of sufferings and of trials?
Must all thy wrath be poured upon my head?
MANOAH: Do not blaspheme! Heaven never doth forsake!
ABIGAIL: Thou'lt kill me! Bear it like a man, my son.
DELILAH: Thy offspring have I borne—him have nursed
And guarded. Surely, mothers, the most tender,
Can not bestow more care upon a child.
For know—our son shall be a sacrifice
To Dagon, who's delighted with such gifts.
SAMSON: And why, hyena, dost thou tear by piecemeal
Thus every nerve of my distracted heart?
Thou hast betrayed me—ah! Thy pitiless dagger
Hath pierced my eyes, to make me a slave and a captive.
All that is cruel have I already suffered.
Submissively though, I've endured my fate.
DELILAH: I know it; unbroken is thy spirit still:
I therefore came, a weak, unheeded woman,
To try if I now cannot crush thy pride.
I'll prove who is the stronger of us two.
SAMSON: Before these present witnesses, Delilah,
I'll pardon all the wrong thou heap'st upon me,
And, for the first time of my bitter life,
The first time since I breathe, since I have learned
To use my limbs, behold me supplicating.
Oh! Thus far humbled—lo! See Samson kneels.
Before a woman, Samson bends his knees!
MANOAH: The Israelite but kneels before his Maker!
ABIGAIL: Do not disgrace thyself to kneel to her,
The fiend resembles but a human being.
SAMSON: Were Satan subject to parental feeling,
He even were I think to be persuaded
To spare a child, that's guiltless and resistless.
I therefore bent my knees to thee, Delilah.
Blood flows as painful substitute for tears
From out the cavities of my lost eyes.
Surrender to my mother's care the boy.
The first name he shall learn to speak be thine Delilah!
Thus I implore thee, thou will grant
Such doleful boon to his unfortunate father.
DELILAH: I all alone—a young unheeded woman,
Resolved to reinstate my nation's honor;
I ne'er shall these thy mocking words forget:
"I'll slay the man who is my enemy.
But with a female—love is my revenge."
I will revenge myself, too, in this manner:
The offspring of thy love to woman, dies!
His father's spirit shall not be inherited.
SAMSON: Thou thirst for blood! Take mine—take drop by drop:
There is my naked breasts—disrobed my arm—
Look if one muscle of my face contracts.
Stab on! Stab on! But woman spare, O spare
The child that's guiltless of my crimes.
ABIGAIL AND MANOAH: Hear him!
DELILAH: I know that thou would gladly die; yet, Samson,
Thou shalt live on. Ere I leave my vengeance.
The granite of this prison may be moved.
SAMSON. Hence, hence for Timnath—willingly I follow
Hence to the idol's temple—to the feast.
NAMILAH: How passionate thou art, and wildly roused.
SAMSON: No longer raves the combat between men,
"For all the contest is henceforth alone
"Twixt God and Dagon. Dagon hath presumed
"Me overthrown; to enter list with God,
"His deity, comparing and preferring
"Before the God of Abraham. He, be sure,
"Will not connive or linger thus provoked,
"But will rise, and his great name assert.
"Dagon must stoop, and shall ere long receive
"Such a discomfit as shall quite despoil him
"Of all these boasted trophies won on me,
"And with confusion blank his worshippers."
[Milton.]
Hence, hence to Timnath, to the Dagon's temple.
I feel myself anew the giant Samson.
The history of my life shall mark this day
As having been my mission's final sway.
[MANOAH steps forth and kneels; ABIGAIL, SAMSON and NAMILAH follow. DELILAH, PLIAS and the Philistines stand in the background.]
MANOAH: Hear me, Heaven—my prayer grant!
Oh! Govern his mind, and strengthen his hand—
That idol may totter, the Gentiles exclaim.
All glory forever to Sabaoth's name!
[Sacred music. The curtain slowly falls.]
ACT FIFTH
Samson's Revenge and Sabaoth's Triumph. JUDGES XVI. 21—31; PSALM XXIV.10
SCENE THE FIRST
[Dagon's Temple. Enter DELILAH.]
DELILAH: Priestess this day, adorned with sacred glory!
What can withhold from me the crown and throne?
That Ecron, Gazah, Ashdod are my lieges?
My brother Plias!
[PLIAS is seen listening.]
That man in name alone,
For my first slave and subject is he fit!
If he resigns not voluntarily,
This dagger silences all his objections.
[Enter PLIAS.]
PLIAS: How fares my sister now? Say, why so cruel
To lift thy hand 'gainst thy own flesh and blood?
Our foe sufficiently endured already.
Revenge itself has certain boundaries
Which man, unpunished, never oversteps.
The people feel for Samson sympathies
Which, if increased, may fatal end for us.
Another infant boy is easily found
For the high sacrifice if thou'llt consent.
DELILAH: I thirst myself for this unselfish honor;
For I have given preference already
To free my country from its mighty foe.
That grants to me ambition's highest prize.
Already doth adorn my head this laurel;
My name's immortalized in national hymns;
I therefore yet will sacrifice my boy.
That gives me to the vacant priesthood claim.
And who foretells the honors for me in store—
Such as are now possessed by unworthy owners?
[Exit DELILAH, haughtily.]
PLIAS: She's gone—a manifest adder by her sting,
Till now concealed; discovered, though, at last.
I listened to thy vain soliloquy,
Which marshalled me the way to all thy plots.
Thou seekest usurpingly my throne and crown
Ha! Ha! A dagger previously shall silence
All my objections, and give my rights to thee!
Well calculated! Thou art the only sister
Of the monarch; him removed, thou alone
Hast claim upon his royal inheritance.
All is well! But that same man may yet
Defeat thy threatening schemes ere they have ripened.
This day I met, returning from the prison,
A wonder-doctor, who to me presented
This vial, filled with new-invented drug.
Three drops, he has explained would be sufficient
When acting on the blood and brains, to madden
The strongest constitution. This compound
I'll mix with secret wine, with which I must
At Dagon's altar give credence to priesthood,
Ordaining her, as prince, officially.
The ceremony me awaits; and to this deed I'll hence.
Defiance shall defiance meet!
[Exit PLIAS. Music heard from within.]
SCENE THE SECOND.
[The full inside view of Dagon's Temple, whose image, red-hot, closes the scene. Enter the Procession in the following order:]
1. Horses drawing the hand-mill turned by SAMSON.
2. NAMILAH pouring corn into the mill.
3. Warriors as Guards.
4. Attending Priest, cup and veil bearer.
5. PLIAS in royal robes.
6. Attendants.
7. DELILAH with a babe in her arms.
8. Attendants of Women.
9. Train of People.
CHORUS: [Singing until all of them arrive on the stage.] Hail! Hail! Hail! Our god disbands
His enemies, and gives them in our hands.
[When all of them have arrived on the stage:]
PLIAS: In yonder court the mill be placed.
There, Samson, Proceed—toil on!
DELILAH: And never rest until
Our rites are finished.
SAMSON: Ha! I will not groan.
Lead on, my boy—my breast and head be quiet.
[Exeunt the train with the mill, SAMSON and NAMILAH. The remaining Philistines form two rows on the stage. DELILAH stands in the center-front. On her right stood PLIAS; on her left, stood the Chief of the Warriors.]
PLIAS: My countrymen, and noble citizens,
Who here assemble to this festive scene!
Since yet without a priest our temple is.
Shout forth whom ye think worthy of this office.
ALL: Delilah! Delilah!
THE CHIEF OF THE PHILISTINES: She be the priestess of Dagon.
Well merited an honor for the service
She patriotically rendered to our country.
DELILAH: Thanks, thanks, Philistines, for this peerless honor.
PLIAS: With this, the sacred toga of the priesthood,
Then, in the presence of our nation, I
Enfold thee, dearest sister, now our priestess.
[He covers her with the toga; then he takes a goblet from an attendant, and mixes it quickly.]
And of this consecrated wine I bid thee
Drink, while we all exclaim.
Triumph for Dagon!
[DELILAH drinks.]
ALL: Triumph for Dagon!
PLIAS: Blessed be his name
He is a mighty god, who ever conquers.
DELILAH: Blessed be his name, for he accepts
As a sacrifice the human flesh and blood.
On the expiring life he looks with grace.
Should we dispense with it, he uprears the storm,
Let's loose the hurricanes from his throne of shells;
And foamingly calamities he thunders
Upon the sons of clay.
PLIAS: [Aside.] Dagon, I pray
Thy raving wrath confuse her daring mind.
[DELILAH ascends the altar, and places the child in Dagon's arms; then she remains kneeling.]
SAMSON: [From within.] Lord Sabaoth! Be blessed for evermore,
That Thou no heathen hast created me
CHORUS: Devoted to Dagon's holy bliss
The flesh and blood of mankind is,
If it ascends a sacrifice
'Gainst thund'ring wrath 'tis calming spice.
We therefore bring
This child, and sing,
Oh, roar no longer on the billows of the sea;
For be invoked! Our gift, let it accepted be.
[While the chorus sing, DELILAH'S gestures and actions show the madness, which develops itself by degrees. She throws the veil off; loosens and dishevels her hair. When the song ceases, she rushes forward, wildly laughing. All start back in terror.]
DELILAH: Hahaha! Hahaha!
My child!—Give back my child!
I am his mother! Who presumes to force me—
No, no—I will not—can not sacrifice him.
Night grows before mine eyes—my senses reel—
For Heaven's sake—Help! Help!—Save but my child.
Quick! I see no more like Samson I am blind.
Oh Samson ! Samson ! Samson!—
Save but our babe, and all I may redeem
I'll pluck my own eyes to restore thy sight.
Come, only come, come, come—oh, save the child.
Hear, hear! It screams; see, see! It trembles, dies!
Must I despair? I feel my brain distracted
By thousand tortures of remorse and grief
I curse thee, Dagon! For thou takest my child!
I curse thee, Plias, for thy scornful smile.
On all, on all of ye—on land and nation
My lips mad curse and condemnation fall.
Ah! Proves it truth yet whosoever harms
Heaven's chosen nation, Israel, must perish
By Heavenly decrees. Oh! Oh! Oh!
Thus have I tortured Samson—Samson! Samson!
[DELILAH falls and dies in great agony. All stand mute around her. After some pause—]
PLIAS: A female priest Dagon would accept not;
'Tis visibly revealed by Heaven's decree!
Guests, bear her body hence to be embalmed.
We'll pay her homage in the tomb of kings.
Our feast, however, must not be disturbed.
[DELILAH is home off by the attending priests.]
Repair ye all now to the balcony
Which forms the temple's roof, designed
To grant us room. There celebrate the day.
[Exeunt all during the song.]
CHORUS: Hail! Hail! Hail! To Dagon, hail!
For life and death are his—Hail! Hail!
[Enter SAMSON, led by NAMILAH.]
SAMSON: A little onward lead thy guiding hand;
A little onward, boy, to yonder pillars.
The two supporting columns of the temple.
[She guides him there.]
This place, son, once was very dear to me;
I listened here to sweet affectionate words
Of my first love. That maiden seemed so good,
So lovely—still betrayed me treacherously.
Namilah! Had constant been thy heart to me,
Not blind and vengeance-craving I'd stand here.
NAMILAH: Dost thou remember her, and wilt not pardon?
SAMSON: She was a woman in her faults and graces;
That closes her account. I pardon all!
[NAMILAH speaks the next in suppressed and sobbing voice.]
NAMILAH: Here are those columns; leave thy arms to me,
That I direct both pillars to embrace.
[She kisses his hands before guiding them to the pillars.]
SAMSON: My fate deserves those tears of pity, son:
For nothing has my heart yet owned in love,
That would not turn unto deceit and treason.
Revenge alone proved faithful true to me.
But, nay—I must except thee from this rule;
Thou hast consoled me with unparalleled
Devotion of a friend and soothed my sufferings.
Heaven must reward such deeds of charity.
That to repay, is not in human power.
One favor yet I'll ask of thee—leave, leave me
Few moments to myself I'd pray alone
And unobserved to Heaven.
NAMILAH: I will obey. [She kisses his mouth and pretends to go off.]
His vengeance ripeneth; death will reap a rich harvest
[A moment's pause; SAMSON lost in reflection.]
SAMSON: It is an awful moment when a man,
Whose heart and brains throb passionately,
Is forced to solve the question whether
Life or death deserve, and shall receive a preference.
Existence ignominious and hateful,
A life that hath nor hope, nor love nor future,
But lingers on its hours in deep remorse
For former degradation! No; that's death
Administered in regulated doses.
There is no choice if, on the other hand,
Appears a chance to leave this life
Most gloriously, with an heroic deed;
With one bold dash, that goads, perhaps,
A fettered nation to its longed-for freedom,
And crushes down a tyrant's usurped power
Death is no death; self-violence no crime,
When fallen grandeur re-erects sublime.
[SAMSON kneels.]
My God I remember me I pray. All-just,
Here I beseech Thee, strengthen me this once;
Oh grant that I may be once more avenged
On the Philistines for the sake of my lost eyes.
[He rises, tears the pillars and shouts:—]
With the Philistines will I die this day— The idol fall!
SAMSON AND NAMILAH: Triumph for Sabaoth!
[TABLEAU FINALE: Music tremulando. The pillars break and bury SAMSON and NAMILAH. Numbers of Philistines are discovered slain. The whole of the stage is covered with the ruins. Strong (red fire) flames burst forth. Upon the crushed altar appears the ANGEL, who shouts:]
THE ANGEL: Triumph for Sabaoth!
[The curtain slowly falls.]
THE END.