I have thought, why recal a thought that— (he pauses, as agitated)- Spirit! Here we are in thy world; speak not of mine. Thou hast shown me wonders; thou hast shown me those Mighty Pre-Adamites who walk'd the earth Of which ours is the wreck; thou hast pointed out Myriads of starry worlds, of which our own But not all: show me where Jehovah dwells, Lucifer. Here, and o'er all space. Have some allotted dwelling - as all things; tenants; All temporary breathing creatures their Peculiar element; and things which have, Long ceased to breathe our breath, have theirs, thou sayst; And the Jehovah and thyself have thineYe do not dwell together? Lucifer. No, we reign Together, but our dwellings are asunder. Cain. Would there were only one of ye! perchance An unity of purpose might make union Lucifer. Art thou not Abel's brother? And so we shall remain; but were it not so, Jarring and turning space to misery- Lucifer. To reign. Cain. Did ye not tell me that Cain. And what I have seen, Lucifer. Ay. Cain. And cannot ye both reign then?— is there not Enough?-why should ye differ? Cain. But one of you makes evil. Cain. Thou! for If thou canst do man good, why dost thou not? Lucifer. And why not he who made? I made ye not; Ye are his creatures, and not mine. His creatures, as thou sayst we are, or show me Thy dwelling, or his dwelling. Both; but the time will come thou shalt see one Of them for evermore. Cain. And why not now? Lucifer. Thy human mind hath scarcely grasp to gather The little I have shown thee into calm And clear thought; and thou wouldst go on aspiring To the great double Mysteries! the two And gaze upon them on their secret thrones! Cain. And let me perish, so I see them! The son of her who snatch'd the apple spake! But thou wouldst only perish, and not see them; That sight is for the other state. Lucifer. That is the prelude. Now that I know it leads to something definite. Lucifer. And now I will convey thee to thy world, Where thou shalt multiply the race of Adam, Eat, drink, toil, tremble, laugh, weep, sleep, and die. Cain. And to what end have I beheld these things Which thou hast shown me? Lucifer. Didst thou not require Knowledge? And have I not, in what I show'd, Taught thee to know thyself? Lucifer. And this should be the human sum Of knowledge, to know mortal nature's nothingness; Bequeath that science to thy children, and Thou speakst it proudly; but thyself, Lucifer. No! By heaven, which He Holds, and the abyss, and the immensity Of worlds and life, which I hold with him-No! I have a victor-true; but no superior. innocent! thou hast not pluck'd the fruit Thou knowst not thou art naked! Must the time To you already in your little world? With me, then, to thine earth, and try the rest АСТ III. unknown, Where'er thou wilt: where'er thou art, I feel not SCENE I.—The Earth near Eden, as in Act I. The want of this so much regretted Eden. Of a contented knowledge; but I see Thy guide hath done thee evil: still I thank him, And can forgive him all, that he so soon Hath given thee back to us. Cain. So soon? Adah. Tis scarcely Two hours since ye departed: two long hours To me, but only hours upon the sun. Cain. And yet I have approach'd that sun, and seen Worlds which he once shone on, and never more Adah. Alas! thou sinnest now my Cain; thy words Sound impious in mine ears. Though thy God left thee. Cain. Say, what have we here? Adah. Two altars, which our brother Abel made During thine absence, whereupon to offer A sacrifice to God on thy return. Cain. And how knew he, that I would be so ready Shall light; and worlds he never lit: me- With the burnt offerings, which he daily thought Years had roll'd o'er my absence. Cain. The mind then hath capacity of time, And measures it by that which it beholds, And, gazing on eternity, methought I had borrow'd more by a few drops of ages Adah. Wherefore said he so? Cain. No: he contents him With making us the nothing which we are; And after flattering dust with glimpses of Eden and Immortality, resolves It back to dust again-for what? Adah. Thou knowst― Even for our parents' error. Cain. What is that To us? they sinn'd, then let them die! Adah. Thou hast not spoken well, nor is that thought Thy own, but of the spirit who was with thee. Would I could die for them, so they might live! Cain. Why, so say I-provided that one Might satiate the insatiable of life, The harmless for the guilty? what atonement Were there? why, we are innocent: what have we in the sun According to the curse:-must I do more? For being dust, and groveling in the dust, Be contrite? for my father's sin, already The germ of an eternal misery The rocks, than let him live to- Touch not the child-my child! thy child! Cain. Fear not! for all the stars, and all the power Which sways them, I would not accost yon infant With ruder greeting than a father's kiss. Adah. Then, why so awful in thy speech? Cain. I said, "Twere better that he ceased to live,than give Done, that we must be victims for a deed Life to so much of sorrow as he must Before our birth, or need have victims to Endure,and,harder still,bequeath; but since Atone for this mysterious, nameless sin-That saying jars you, let us only sayIf it be such a sin to seek for knowledge? Twere better that he never had been born. Adah. Oh, do not say so! Where were then the joys, The mother's joys of watching, nourishing, For then we are all alike; is 't not so, Cain? Look! how he laughs and stretches out his arms, And opens wide his blue eyes upon thine, To hail his father; while his little form Flutters as wing'd with joy. Talk not of pain! The childless cherubs well might envy thee The pleasures of a parent! Bless him, Cain ! As yet he hath no words to thank thee, but His heart will, and thine own too. Cain. Bless thee, boy! If that a mortal blessing may avail thee, Surely a father's blessing may avert Cain. Of that I doubt; But bless him ne'er the less. Cain. The dead, The immortal, the unbounded, the omnipotent, The overpowering mysteries of spaceThe innumerable worlds that were and are— A whirlwind of such overwhelming things, Suns, moons, and earths, upon their loudvoiced spheres Singing in thunder round me, as have made me Unfit for mortal converse: leave me, Abel. Abel. Thine eyes are flashing with unnatural light Thy cheek is flush'd with unnatural hue— Thy words are fraught with an unnatural sound— What may this mean? Cain. It means—I pray thee, leave me. Abel. Not till we have pray'd and sacrificed together. Cain. Abel, I pray thee, sacrifice alone— Jehovah loves thee well. Abel. Both well, I hope. Cain. But thee the better: I care not for that; Thou art fitter for his worship than I am: Revere him, then - but let it be aloneAt least without me. Abel. Brother, I should ill Deserve the name of our great father's son, If as my elder I revered thee not, And in the worship of our God call'd not On thee to join me, and precede me in Our priesthood-'tis thy place. Cain. But I have ne'er I am a tiller of the ground, and must Yield what it yieldeth to my toil-its fruit: [He gathers fruits. Behold them in their various bloom and ripeness. [They dress their altars, and kindle a flame upon them. Abel. My brother, as the elder, offer first Thy prayer and thanksgiving with sacrifice. Cain. No-I am new to this; lead thou the way, And I will follow-as I may. Abel (kneeling). Oh God! Who made us, and who breathed the breath of life Within our nostrils, who hath blessed us, - Sole Of good, and glory, and eternity; Without whom all were evil,and with whom Nothing can err, except to some good end Of thine omnipotent benevolenceInscrutable, but still to be fulfill'dAccept from out thy humble first of shepherd's First of the first-born flocks-an offering, In itself nothing - as what offering can be Aught unto thee?-but yet accept it for The thanksgiving of him who spreads it in The face of thy high heaven,bowing his own Even to the dust, of which he is, in honour Of thee, and of thy name, for evermore! Cain (standing erect during this speech). Spirit! whate'er or whosoe'er thou art, Omnipotent, it may be—and, if good, Shown in the exemption of thy deeds from evil; Jehovah upon earth! and God in heaven! And soften'd with a sacrifice, receive them! On my right hand, hath shed it for thy service Or if the sweet and blooming fruits of earth, seem Good to thee, inasmuch as they have not Suffer'd in limb or life, and rather form A sample of thy works, than supplication To look on ours! If a shrine without victim, And altar without gore, may win thy favour, Look on it! and for him who dresseth it, He is—such as thou mad'st him; and seeks nothing Which must be won by kneeling: if he's evil, Strike him! thou art omnipotent, and mayst, For what can he oppose? If he be good, Strike him,or spare him, as thou wilt! since all Rests upon thee; and good and evil seem To have no power themselves, save in thy will; And whether that be good or ill I know not, Not being omnipotent, nor fit to judge Omnipotence, but merely to endure Its mandate; which thus far I have endured. The fire upon the altar of ABEL kindles into a column of the brightest flame, and ascends to heaven; while a whirlwind throws down the altar of Cain, and scatters the fruits abroad upon the earth. Abel (kneeling). Oh, brother, pray! Jehovah's wroth with thee! |