Jeremiah. Stefan Zweig

hair would stand on end,

      And sleep would depart from them

      For ever.

      The Mother

      Jeremiah, what do you mean?

      Jeremiah

      The end draweth near; the end!

      Evil appeareth out of the north,

      Fire is its chariot,

      Massacre its pinions!

      Already the heavens ring with terror,

      The earth shakes with the stamping of the hoofs.

      The Mother

      [Horrified] Jeremiah!

      Jeremiah

      [Seizing her arm, listens] Do you hear, do you not hear, the rushing of chariots?

      The Mother

      I hear nothing! Day is dawning. The shepherds are piping in the valleys, and a gentle breeze blows across the roof.

      Jeremiah

      A gentle breeze?

      Woe is me!

      With mighty roaring

      The wind is rising,

      The whirlwind of God.

      From the caverns

      Of the north down-rushing,

      Terror it brandishes

      Over the town.

      Mother! Mother! Do you not hear it?

      Swords clash in the wind,

      Loud roar the chariot wheels,

      The night flashes with lances and with armor;

      Warrior upon warrior, countless in number,

      The whirlwind scatters over the land.

      The Mother

      All is illusion, the madness of dreams!

      Jeremiah

      They are coming, they are coming,

      Strangers from the east,

      Men of an ancient people,

      Men of a mighty people.

      They hasten from the east

      In unending files;

      Their arrows speed like lightning;

      Their chargers are shod with swiftness;

      Their chariots are solid as rock.

      Among them there rideth,

      With blood-stained crown,

      The destroyer of cities

      By fire and sword,

      The tyrant of nations,

      The king of kings from the north.

      The Mother

      The king from the north? You dream. The king from the north!

      Jeremiah

      Whom the Lord has awakened

      That he may scourge the people for all its transgressions,

      That he may crumble the walls and throw down the towers,

      That he may quench the light and the laughter of homes,

      That he may raze the city and the temple to the ground,

      And that he may plough up the streets of Jerusalem.

      The Mother

      Blasphemous folly! The city endureth for ever!

      Jeremiah

      It is falling!

      The onslaughts of God

      None may withstand!

      Below ground

      Its roots shall wither,

      Above ground

      Its fruits shall rot!

      With axe and with fire

      The horsemen shall ravage

      Israel’s forest and Zion’s fair plains.

      The Mother

      [Breaking in] It is false!

      Ne’er shall an enemy circle our wall,

      David’s city be taken, Jerusalem fall.

      Though foes from the ends of the earth should rage,

      The towering battlements ever shall stand.

      Firm Israel’s heart, and mighty her hand,

      Eternal the days of Jerusalem!

      Jeremiah

      It is falling! Broken is the staff and foretold is the hour. The end draws near, the end of Israel.

      The Mother

      False prophet! We are the elect of the Lord, and our strength shall endure through the ages! Never shall Jerusalem perish!

      Jeremiah

      I have seen it in my dreams; ’twas made plain to my eyes.

      The Mother

      Evil is he who dreams such dreams, and seven times an evildoer he who believes them. Alas that I should have lived to see this day when my own blood is fearful for Zion and has lost faith in the Lord! Jeremiah, do you wish me to curse the womb that bore you?

      Jeremiah

      The horror came upon me against my will; naught could I do to ward off the faces.

      The Mother

      Watch and pray against them and shatter their lies in the name of the Lord. Forget not, Jeremiah, that you are an anointed and consecrated son, that your voice should praise the Lord, that you should uplift the hearts of the sorrowful and fill with hope the minds of the despairing!

      Jeremiah

      How can I? My own despair is the greatest of all. Leave me, Mother, leave me!

      The Mother

      I will not leave you, neither will I abandon your soul to despair. Jeremiah, my only son, hearken to me. For the first time let me tell you something which may awaken your courage. Hear the words that are forced from me by my distress. I, too, was once filled with despair, inasmuch as for ten years the Lord had closed my womb. I was the sport of my companions and the mock of the concubines. For ten long years I bore my lot patiently, and had almost given up hope; but in the eleventh year my heart was kindled, and I went to the house of God to implore him that my womb should bear fruit. Throwing myself on the ground, I watered it with tears, vowing that if a son were vouchsafed me I would devote him to the Lord’s service. I swore to be silent, to utter no word during my time of trial, that my son in days to come might speak abundantly, praising God.

      Jeremiah

      You also consecrated me, Mother?

      The Mother

      The selfsame day your father knew me and I was blessed with you. Hearken, Jeremiah. For nine months did I faithfully refrain from speech that you might speak abundantly, that you might glorify the everlasting God! Thus did I fulfil my vow, and we brought you up to read the scripture, and sweetly did you sing to the psaltery. Know, then, that from the first you were a consecrated priest and devoted to the service of the Lord. Rend the veil of your dreams and come forth into the daylight.

      Jeremiah

      A double consecration, Mother, a twofold witness