Jeremiah. Stefan Zweig

      Issachar

      I can only tell you what the messenger, my father-in-law, told me. Pharaoh is sending the finest warriors of Egypt. With them are many slaves bearing gifts. Nothing like these gifts has come to Zion since the days of Solomon.

      Voices

      Long live Pharaoh!—Glory to his reign!—Hail Egypt!

      An Old Man

      No alliance with Egypt! Their wars are not ours!

      Issachar

      But our need is the same as theirs. They do not want to be the slaves of the Chaldeans.

      Voices

      Nor we, nor we.—Down with Ashur.—Let us break the yoke.—Let us be on our guard.

      Baruch

      [A young man, in great excitement] We spend our days in chains. Month after month, when the moon is new, our messengers go forth to Babylon bearing tribute of golden shekels. How long shall we suffer it?

      Zebulon

      [Baruch’s father] Silence. It is not for you to speak. A light yoke is the yoke of Chaldea.

      Voices

      But we want no yoke at all.—The day of freedom has dawned.—Down with Ashur!—Let us form an alliance with the Egyptians.

      Zebulon

      Never did good come out of Mizraim. We must feel our way cautiously, patient and ever mistrustful.

      Voices

      We must renew the furniture of the temple.—No longer shall Baal enjoy our holy things.—Down with the robbers of the temple!—Now is the appointed hour.

      Other Voices

      [From farther up the street] They are coming! They are coming!

      Voices

      [From all sides] Here they are.—Make room.—Come higher up.—Come back here.—I can see them already. You can see them from here.

      [The people swarm up the steps and form a lane through which the Egyptian embassy can pass to the palace. At first nothing can be seen of the newcomers but the spear points showing above the noisy throng]

      Voices

      How finely they march.—Who is the leader?—Araxes is their leader.—Look at the gifts.—Look at the carrying chairs.—One of them is curtained.—That must be Pharaoh’s daughter.—Hail Araxes!—Hail Egypt!—Those are heavy chests; there must be gold in them!—We shall have to pay for it with our blood!—How short their swords are.—Ours are better.—Look at their proud gait.—They must be mighty warriors.—Long live Pharaoh-Necho.—Hail Egypt!—God punish Ashur.—Hail Araxes!—Blessings on Pharaoh!—Blessings on the alliance!

      [With frenzied acclamations, the people close in upon the procession of the Egyptians. These latter, richly appareled, march proudly by. They rattle their swords and make gracious acknowledgments]

      Baruch

      [Speaking from the steps] May the king fulfil your wishes! May he cement the alliance!

      [The Egyptians have mounted the steps to the palace, and have entered the porch of pillars. The people throng at their heels. Other sections of the crowd disappear into the streets. On the steps there now remain only isolated groups of the older men, while the soldiers and the women hasten after the Egyptians, eager to see what they are bearing, and vanishing after the train in the entry to the palace]

      Baruch

      [Who has been looking on in ecstasy] I must go with them.

      Zebulon

      Stay where you are.

      Baruch

      I want to see for myself how Israel rises against the oppressors. My soul is consumed with desire to behold great deeds, and now the hour is at hand.

      Zebulon

      Stay where you are. The time is God’s choice, not ours. The king will decide.

      Baruch

      Listen to the shouts of joy! Let me go with them, father.

      Zebulon

      You will have many other opportunities. The people always flock to hear loud talkers, and crowd ever to witness showy sights.

      Another

      Why do you deny him the pleasure? Is not the day come for which we have been longing? Friends have been raised up for Israel.

      Zebulon

      Never was Mizraim the friend of Israel.

      Baruch

      Our shame is theirs, and Israel’s need is Egypt’s.

      Zebulon

      Naught have we in common with any other folk on earth. Our strength lies in isolation.

      The Other

      But they will fight for us.

      Zebulon

      They will fight for themselves. Each nation fights for itself alone.

      Baruch

      Are we still to be slaves? Shall Zedekiah be a king of slaves, and Zion remain in bondage to Chaldea? Were but Zedekiah a true king!

      Zebulon

      Silence, I command you. It befits not a boy to lay down the law for kings.

      Baruch

      It is true that I am young; but who is Jerusalem, if it be not her young men? It was not the cautious elders who built Jerusalem. David, young David, established her towers, and made her great among the nations.

      Zebulon

      Hold your peace. You have no right to speak in the marketplace.

      Baruch

      Shall only the cautious elders speak, none but the aged give counsel, that Israel may grow old before her time and God’s word decay in our hearts? The moment is ours, and it is for us to take revenge. You have abased yourselves, and we will lift ourselves up; you have faltered, but we will bring fruition; you had peace, and we want war.

      Zebulon

      What do you know of war? We, the fathers, have known war. In books war is great, but in reality war is a destroyer, a ravisher of life.

      Baruch

      I fear not war. Let us have done with slavery!

      A Voice

      Zedekiah hath sworn an oath of peace.

      Voices

      The oath matters nothing.—Let him break his oath.—No oath need be kept with the heathen.

      Other Voices

      [Exultant, coming from the street] Abimelech!—Hail Abimelech!—Abimelech, our leader!

      [Groups crowd round Abimelech, the general, and acclaim him]

      Voices

      Abimelech!—Is it true that Egypt offers an alliance? Draw your sword.—Up, march against Ashur.—Gather Israel’s forces.—We are ready.—We are ready.

      Abimelech

      [Speaks to the crowd from the top of the steps] Make ready, people of Jerusalem, for the hour of freedom is at hand.

      [The crowd shouts exultantly]

      Pharaoh-Necho has offered us the help of his armies. He wishes us to join him in breaking the might of Ashur, and we shall do it, people of Jerusalem.

      The Crowd

      On