--but yet accept it for 240
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!
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!
Byron
Cain!
that proud Spirit, who withdrew thee hence,
Hath saddened thine still deeper. I had hoped
The promised wonders which thou hast beheld,
Visions, thou say'st, of past and present worlds,
Would have composed thy mind into the calm
Of a contented knowledge; but I see 50
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 approached that sun, and seen
Worlds which he once shone on, and never more
Shall light; and worlds he never lit: methought
Years had rolled o'er my absence.
_Adah_. Hardly hours.
_Cain_. The mind then hath capacity of time, 60
And measures it by that which it beholds,
Pleasing or painful[126]; little or almighty.
I had beheld the immemorial works
Of endless beings; skirred extinguished worlds;
And, gazing on eternity, methought
I had borrowed more by a few drops of ages
From its immensity: but now I feel
My littleness again. Well said the Spirit,
That I was nothing!
_Adah_. Wherefore said he so?
Jehovah said not that.
_Cain_. No: _he_ contents him 70
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 know'st--
Even for our parents' error.
_Cain_. What is that
To us? they sinned, 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 victim 80
Might satiate the Insatiable of life,
And that our little rosy sleeper there
Might never taste of death nor human sorrow,
Nor hand it down to those who spring from him.
_Adah_. How know we that some such atonement one day
May not redeem our race?
_Cain_. By sacrificing
The harmless for the guilty? what atonement[127]
Were there? why, _we_ are innocent: what have we
Done, that we must be victims for a deed
Before our birth, or need have victims to 90
Atone for this mysterious, nameless sin--
If it be such a sin to seek for knowledge?
_Adah_. Alas! thou sinnest now, my Cain: thy words
Sound impious in mine ears.
_Cain_. Then leave me!
_Adah_. Never,
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
With the burnt offerings, which he daily brings 100
With a meek brow, whose base humility
Shows more of fear than worship--as a bribe
To the Creator?
_Adah_. Surely, 'tis well done.
_Cain_. One altar may suffice; _I_ have no offering.
_Adah_. The fruits of the earth,[128] the early, beautiful,
Blossom and bud--and bloom of flowers and fruits--
These are a goodly offering to the Lord,
Given with a gentle and a contrite spirit.
_Cain_. I have toiled, and tilled, and sweaten in the sun,
According to the curse:--must I do more? 110
For what should I be gentle? for a war
With all the elements ere they will yield
The bread we eat? For what must I be grateful?
For being dust, and grovelling in the dust,
Till I return to dust? If I am nothing--
For nothing shall I be an hypocrite,
And seem well-pleased with pain? For what should I
Be contrite? for my father's sin, already
Expiate with what we all have undergone,
And to be more than expiated by 120
The ages prophesied, upon our seed.
Little deems our young blooming sleeper, there,
The germs of an eternal misery
To myriads is within him! better 'twere
I snatched him in his sleep, and dashed him 'gainst
The rocks, than let him live to----
_Adah_. Oh, my God!
Touch not the child--my child! _thy_ child! Oh, Cain!
_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. 130
_Adah_. Then, why so awful in thy speech?
_Cain_. I said,
'Twere better that he ceased to live, than give
Life to so much of sorrow as he must
Endure, and, harder still, bequeath; but since
That saying jars you, let us only say--
'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,
And loving him? Soft! he awakes. Sweet Enoch!
[_She goes to the child_.
Oh, Cain! look on him; see how full of life, 140
Of strength, of bloom, of beauty, and of joy--
How like to me--how like to thee, when gentle--
For _then_ we are _all_ alike; is't not so, Cain?
Mother, and sire, and son, our features are
Reflected in each other; as they are
In the clear waters, when _they_ are _gentle_, and
When _thou_ art _gentle_. Love us, then, my Cain!
And love thyself for our sakes, for we love thee.
Look! how he laughs and stretches out his arms,
And opens wide his blue eyes upon thine, 150
To hail his father; while his little form
Flutters as winged 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,
To save thee from the Serpent's curse!
_Adah_. It shall.
Surely a father's blessing may avert
A reptile's subtlety.
_Cain_. Of that I doubt; 160
But bless him ne'er the less.
_Adah_. Our brother comes.
_Cain_. Thy brother Abel.
_Enter_ ABEL.
_Abel_. Welcome, Cain! My brother,
The peace of God be on thee!
_Cain_. Abel, hail!
_Abel_. Our sister tells me that thou hast been wandering,
In high communion with a Spirit, far
Beyond our wonted range. Was he of those
We have seen and spoken with, like to our father?
_Cain_. No.
_Abel_. Why then commune with him? he may be
A foe to the Most High.
_Cain_. And friend to man.
Has the Most High been so--if so you term him? 170
_Abel_. _Term him! _ your words are strange to-day, my brother.
My sister Adah, leave us for awhile--
We mean to sacrifice[129].
_Adah_. Farewell, my Cain;
But first embrace thy son. May his soft spirit,
And Abel's pious ministry, recall thee
To peace and holiness! [_Exit_ ADAH, _with her child_.
_Abel_. Where hast thou been?
_Cain_. I know not.
_Abel_. Nor what thou hast seen?
_Cain_. The dead--
The Immortal--the Unbounded--the Omnipotent--
The overpowering mysteries of space--
The innumerable worlds that were and are-- 180
A whirlwind of such overwhelming things,
Suns, moons, and earths, upon their loud-voiced 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 flushed with an 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 prayed and sacrificed together.
_Cain_. Abel, I pray thee, sacrifice alone-- 190
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 alone--
At 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, called not
On thee to join me, and precede me in
Our priesthood--'tis thy place.
_Cain_. But I have ne'er 200
Asserted it.
_Abel_. The more my grief; I pray thee
To do so now: thy soul seems labouring in
Some strong delusion; it will calm thee.
_Cain_. No;
Nothing can calm me more. _Calm! _ say I? Never
Knew I what calm was in the soul, although
I have seen the elements stilled. My Abel, leave me!
Or let me leave thee to thy pious purpose.
_Abel_. Neither; we must perform our task together.
Spurn me not.
_Cain_. If it must be so----well, then,
What shall I do?
_Abel_. Choose one of those two altars. 210
_Cain_. Choose for me: they to me are so much turf
And stone.
_Abel_. Choose thou!
_Cain_. I have chosen.
_Abel_. 'Tis the highest,
And suits thee, as the elder. Now prepare
Thine offerings.
_Cain_. Where are thine?
_Abel_. Behold them here--
The firstlings of the flock, and fat thereof--
A shepherd's humble offering.
_Cain_. I have no flocks;
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 aflame upon them_[130].
_Abel_. My brother, as the elder, offer first 220
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,
And spared, despite our father's sin, to make
His children all lost, as they might have been,
Had not thy justice been so tempered with
The mercy which is thy delight, as to
Accord a pardon like a Paradise, 230
Compared with our great crimes:--Sole Lord of light!
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 benevolence!
Inscrutable, but still to be fulfilled!
Accept from out thy humble first of shepherds'
First of the first-born flocks--an offering,
In itself nothing--as what offering can be
Aught unto thee?
--but yet accept it for 240
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 it may be with other names, because
Thine attributes seem many, as thy works:-- 250
If thou must be propitiated with prayers,
Take them! If thou must be induced with altars,
And softened with a sacrifice, receive them;
Two beings here erect them unto thee.
If thou lov'st blood, the shepherd's shrine, which smokes
On my right hand, hath shed it for thy service
In the first of his flock, whose limbs now reek
In sanguinary incense to thy skies;
Or, if the sweet and blooming fruits of earth,
And milder seasons, which the unstained turf 260
I spread them on now offers in the face
Of the broad sun which ripened them, may seem
Good to thee--inasmuch as they have not
Suffered 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[ck], 270
Strike him! thou art omnipotent, and may'st--
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 earths_[131]
_Abel_ (_kneeling_).
Oh, brother, pray! Jehovah's wroth with thee. 280
_Cain_. Why so?
_Abel_. Thy fruits are scattered on the earth.
_Cain_. From earth they came, to earth let them return;
Their seed will bear fresh fruit there ere the summer:
Thy burnt flesh-offering prospers better; see
How Heaven licks up the flames, when thick with blood!
_Abel_. Think not upon my offering's acceptance,
But make another of thine own--before
It is too late.
_Cain_. I will build no more altars,
Nor suffer any----
_Abel_ (_rising_). Cain! what meanest thou?
_Cain_. To cast down yon vile flatterer of the clouds, 290
The smoky harbinger of thy dull prayers--
Thine altar, with its blood of lambs and kids,
Which fed on milk, to be destroyed in blood.
_Abel_ (_opposing him_).
Thou shalt not:--add not impious works to impious
Words! let that altar stand--'tis hallowed now
By the immortal pleasure of Jehovah,
In his acceptance of the victims.
_Cain_. _His_!
_His pleasure! _ what was his high pleasure in
The fumes of scorching flesh and smoking blood,
To the pain of the bleating mothers, which 300
Still yearn for their dead offspring? or the pangs
Of the sad ignorant victims underneath
Thy pious knife? Give way! this bloody record
Shall not stand in the sun, to shame creation!
_Abel_. Brother, give back! thou shalt not touch my altar
With violence: if that thou wilt adopt it,
To try another sacrifice, 'tis thine.
_Cain_. Another sacrifice! Give way, or else
That sacrifice may be----
_Abel_. What mean'st thou?
_Cain_. Give--
Give way! --thy God loves blood! --then look to it:-- 310
Give way, ere he hath _more_!
_Abel_. In _his_ great name,
I stand between thee and the shrine which hath
Had his acceptance.
_Cain_. If thou lov'st thyself,
Stand back till I have strewed this turf along
Its native soil:--else----
_Abel_ (_opposing him_). I love God far more
Than life.
_Cain_ (_striking him with a brand, on the temples, which
he snatches from the altar_). Then take thy life unto thy God,
Since he loves lives.
_Abel_ (_falls_). What hast thou done--my brother?
_Cain_. Brother!
_Abel_. Oh, God! receive thy servant! and
Forgive his slayer, for he knew not what
He did--Cain, give me--give me thy hand; and tell 320
Poor Zillah--
_Cain_ (_after a moment's stupefaction_).
_My_ hand! 'tis all red, and with----
What? [_A long pause. --Looking slowly round_.
Where am I? alone! Where's Abel? where
Cain? Can it be that I am he? My brother,
Awake! --why liest thou so long on the green earth?
'Tis not the hour of slumber:--why so pale?
What hast thou! --thou wert full of life this morn!
Abel! I pray thee, mock me not! I smote
Too fiercely, but not fatally. Ah, why
Wouldst thou oppose me? This is mockery;
And only done to daunt me:--'twas a blow-- 330
And but a blow. Stir--stir--nay, only stir!
Why, so--that's well! --thou breathest! breathe upon me!
Oh God! Oh God!
_Abel_ (_very faintly_). What's he who speaks of God?
_Cain_. Thy murderer.
_Abel_. Then may God forgive him! Cain,
Comfort poor Zillah:--she has but one brother
Now. [ABEL _dies_.
_Cain_. And I none! --Who makes me brotherless?
His eyes are open! then he is not dead!
Death is like sleep[132]; and sleep shuts down our lids.
His lips, too, are apart; why then he breathes;
And yet I feel it not. --His heart! --his heart! -- 340
Let me see, doth it beat? methinks----No! --no!
This is a vision, else I am become
The native of another and worse world.
The earth swims round me:--what is this? --'tis wet;
[_Puts his hand to his brow, and then looks at it_.
And yet there are no dews! 'Tis blood--my blood--
My brother's and my own! and shed by me!
Then what have I further to do with life,
Since I have taken life from my own flesh?
But he can not be dead! --Is silence death?
No; he will wake; then let me watch by him. 350
Life cannot be so slight, as to be quenched
Thus quickly! --he hath spoken to me since--
What shall I say to him? --My brother! --No:
He will not answer to that name; for brethren
Smite not each other. Yet--yet--speak to me.
Oh! for a word more of that gentle voice,
That I may bear to hear my own again!
_Enter_ ZILLAH.
_Zillah_. I heard a heavy sound; what can it be?
'Tis Cain; and watching by my husband. What
Dost thou there, brother? Doth he sleep? Oh, Heaven! 360
What means this paleness, and yon stream? --No, no!
It is not blood; for who would shed his blood?
Abel! what's this? --who hath done this? He moves not;
He breathes not: and his hands drop down from mine
With stony lifelessness! Ah! cruel Cain!
Why camest thou not in time to save him from
This violence? Whatever hath assailed him,
Thou wert the stronger, and shouldst have stepped in
Between him and aggression! Father! --Eve! --
Adah! --come hither! Death is in the world! 370
[_Exit_ ZILLAH, _calling on her Parents, etc. _
_Cain_ (_solus_). And who hath brought him there? --I--who abhor
The name of Death so deeply, that the thought
Empoisoned all my life, before I knew
His aspect--I have led him here, and given
My brother to his cold and still embrace,
As if he would not have asserted his
Inexorable claim without my aid.
I am awake at last--a dreary dream
Had maddened me;--but _he_ shall ne'er awake!
_Enter_ ADAM, EVE, ADAH, _and_ ZILLAH.
_Adam_. A voice of woe from Zillah brings me here-- 380
What do I see? --'Tis true! --My son! --my son!
Woman, behold the Serpent's work, and thine! [_To_ EVE.
_Eve_. Oh! speak not of it now: the Serpent's fangs
Are in my heart! My best beloved, Abel!
Jehovah! this is punishment beyond
A mother's sin, to take _him_ from me!
_Adam_. Who,
Or what hath done this deed? --speak, Cain, since thou
Wert present; was it some more hostile angel,
Who walks not with Jehovah? or some wild
Brute of the forest?
_Eve_. Ah! a livid light 390
Breaks through, as from a thunder-cloud! yon brand
Massy and bloody! snatched from off the altar,
And black with smoke, and red with----
_Adam_. Speak, my son!
Speak, and assure us, wretched as we are,
That we are not more miserable still.
_Adah_. Speak, Cain! and say it was not _thou_!
_Eve_. It was!
I see it now--he hangs his guilty head,
And covers his ferocious eye with hands
Incarnadine!
_Adah_. Mother, thou dost him wrong--
Cain! clear thee from this horrible accusal, 400
Which grief wrings from our parent.
_Eve_. Hear, Jehovah!
May the eternal Serpent's curse be on him!
For he was fitter for his seed than ours.
May all his days be desolate! May----
_Adah_. Hold!
Curse him not, mother, for he is thy son--
Curse him not, mother, for he is my brother,
And my betrothed.
_Eve_. He hath left thee no brother--
Zillah no husband--me _no son! _ for thus
I curse him from my sight for evermore!
All bonds I break between us, as he broke 410
That of his nature, _in yon_----Oh Death!
Hath saddened thine still deeper. I had hoped
The promised wonders which thou hast beheld,
Visions, thou say'st, of past and present worlds,
Would have composed thy mind into the calm
Of a contented knowledge; but I see 50
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 approached that sun, and seen
Worlds which he once shone on, and never more
Shall light; and worlds he never lit: methought
Years had rolled o'er my absence.
_Adah_. Hardly hours.
_Cain_. The mind then hath capacity of time, 60
And measures it by that which it beholds,
Pleasing or painful[126]; little or almighty.
I had beheld the immemorial works
Of endless beings; skirred extinguished worlds;
And, gazing on eternity, methought
I had borrowed more by a few drops of ages
From its immensity: but now I feel
My littleness again. Well said the Spirit,
That I was nothing!
_Adah_. Wherefore said he so?
Jehovah said not that.
_Cain_. No: _he_ contents him 70
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 know'st--
Even for our parents' error.
_Cain_. What is that
To us? they sinned, 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 victim 80
Might satiate the Insatiable of life,
And that our little rosy sleeper there
Might never taste of death nor human sorrow,
Nor hand it down to those who spring from him.
_Adah_. How know we that some such atonement one day
May not redeem our race?
_Cain_. By sacrificing
The harmless for the guilty? what atonement[127]
Were there? why, _we_ are innocent: what have we
Done, that we must be victims for a deed
Before our birth, or need have victims to 90
Atone for this mysterious, nameless sin--
If it be such a sin to seek for knowledge?
_Adah_. Alas! thou sinnest now, my Cain: thy words
Sound impious in mine ears.
_Cain_. Then leave me!
_Adah_. Never,
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
With the burnt offerings, which he daily brings 100
With a meek brow, whose base humility
Shows more of fear than worship--as a bribe
To the Creator?
_Adah_. Surely, 'tis well done.
_Cain_. One altar may suffice; _I_ have no offering.
_Adah_. The fruits of the earth,[128] the early, beautiful,
Blossom and bud--and bloom of flowers and fruits--
These are a goodly offering to the Lord,
Given with a gentle and a contrite spirit.
_Cain_. I have toiled, and tilled, and sweaten in the sun,
According to the curse:--must I do more? 110
For what should I be gentle? for a war
With all the elements ere they will yield
The bread we eat? For what must I be grateful?
For being dust, and grovelling in the dust,
Till I return to dust? If I am nothing--
For nothing shall I be an hypocrite,
And seem well-pleased with pain? For what should I
Be contrite? for my father's sin, already
Expiate with what we all have undergone,
And to be more than expiated by 120
The ages prophesied, upon our seed.
Little deems our young blooming sleeper, there,
The germs of an eternal misery
To myriads is within him! better 'twere
I snatched him in his sleep, and dashed him 'gainst
The rocks, than let him live to----
_Adah_. Oh, my God!
Touch not the child--my child! _thy_ child! Oh, Cain!
_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. 130
_Adah_. Then, why so awful in thy speech?
_Cain_. I said,
'Twere better that he ceased to live, than give
Life to so much of sorrow as he must
Endure, and, harder still, bequeath; but since
That saying jars you, let us only say--
'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,
And loving him? Soft! he awakes. Sweet Enoch!
[_She goes to the child_.
Oh, Cain! look on him; see how full of life, 140
Of strength, of bloom, of beauty, and of joy--
How like to me--how like to thee, when gentle--
For _then_ we are _all_ alike; is't not so, Cain?
Mother, and sire, and son, our features are
Reflected in each other; as they are
In the clear waters, when _they_ are _gentle_, and
When _thou_ art _gentle_. Love us, then, my Cain!
And love thyself for our sakes, for we love thee.
Look! how he laughs and stretches out his arms,
And opens wide his blue eyes upon thine, 150
To hail his father; while his little form
Flutters as winged 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,
To save thee from the Serpent's curse!
_Adah_. It shall.
Surely a father's blessing may avert
A reptile's subtlety.
_Cain_. Of that I doubt; 160
But bless him ne'er the less.
_Adah_. Our brother comes.
_Cain_. Thy brother Abel.
_Enter_ ABEL.
_Abel_. Welcome, Cain! My brother,
The peace of God be on thee!
_Cain_. Abel, hail!
_Abel_. Our sister tells me that thou hast been wandering,
In high communion with a Spirit, far
Beyond our wonted range. Was he of those
We have seen and spoken with, like to our father?
_Cain_. No.
_Abel_. Why then commune with him? he may be
A foe to the Most High.
_Cain_. And friend to man.
Has the Most High been so--if so you term him? 170
_Abel_. _Term him! _ your words are strange to-day, my brother.
My sister Adah, leave us for awhile--
We mean to sacrifice[129].
_Adah_. Farewell, my Cain;
But first embrace thy son. May his soft spirit,
And Abel's pious ministry, recall thee
To peace and holiness! [_Exit_ ADAH, _with her child_.
_Abel_. Where hast thou been?
_Cain_. I know not.
_Abel_. Nor what thou hast seen?
_Cain_. The dead--
The Immortal--the Unbounded--the Omnipotent--
The overpowering mysteries of space--
The innumerable worlds that were and are-- 180
A whirlwind of such overwhelming things,
Suns, moons, and earths, upon their loud-voiced 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 flushed with an 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 prayed and sacrificed together.
_Cain_. Abel, I pray thee, sacrifice alone-- 190
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 alone--
At 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, called not
On thee to join me, and precede me in
Our priesthood--'tis thy place.
_Cain_. But I have ne'er 200
Asserted it.
_Abel_. The more my grief; I pray thee
To do so now: thy soul seems labouring in
Some strong delusion; it will calm thee.
_Cain_. No;
Nothing can calm me more. _Calm! _ say I? Never
Knew I what calm was in the soul, although
I have seen the elements stilled. My Abel, leave me!
Or let me leave thee to thy pious purpose.
_Abel_. Neither; we must perform our task together.
Spurn me not.
_Cain_. If it must be so----well, then,
What shall I do?
_Abel_. Choose one of those two altars. 210
_Cain_. Choose for me: they to me are so much turf
And stone.
_Abel_. Choose thou!
_Cain_. I have chosen.
_Abel_. 'Tis the highest,
And suits thee, as the elder. Now prepare
Thine offerings.
_Cain_. Where are thine?
_Abel_. Behold them here--
The firstlings of the flock, and fat thereof--
A shepherd's humble offering.
_Cain_. I have no flocks;
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 aflame upon them_[130].
_Abel_. My brother, as the elder, offer first 220
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,
And spared, despite our father's sin, to make
His children all lost, as they might have been,
Had not thy justice been so tempered with
The mercy which is thy delight, as to
Accord a pardon like a Paradise, 230
Compared with our great crimes:--Sole Lord of light!
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 benevolence!
Inscrutable, but still to be fulfilled!
Accept from out thy humble first of shepherds'
First of the first-born flocks--an offering,
In itself nothing--as what offering can be
Aught unto thee?
--but yet accept it for 240
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 it may be with other names, because
Thine attributes seem many, as thy works:-- 250
If thou must be propitiated with prayers,
Take them! If thou must be induced with altars,
And softened with a sacrifice, receive them;
Two beings here erect them unto thee.
If thou lov'st blood, the shepherd's shrine, which smokes
On my right hand, hath shed it for thy service
In the first of his flock, whose limbs now reek
In sanguinary incense to thy skies;
Or, if the sweet and blooming fruits of earth,
And milder seasons, which the unstained turf 260
I spread them on now offers in the face
Of the broad sun which ripened them, may seem
Good to thee--inasmuch as they have not
Suffered 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[ck], 270
Strike him! thou art omnipotent, and may'st--
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 earths_[131]
_Abel_ (_kneeling_).
Oh, brother, pray! Jehovah's wroth with thee. 280
_Cain_. Why so?
_Abel_. Thy fruits are scattered on the earth.
_Cain_. From earth they came, to earth let them return;
Their seed will bear fresh fruit there ere the summer:
Thy burnt flesh-offering prospers better; see
How Heaven licks up the flames, when thick with blood!
_Abel_. Think not upon my offering's acceptance,
But make another of thine own--before
It is too late.
_Cain_. I will build no more altars,
Nor suffer any----
_Abel_ (_rising_). Cain! what meanest thou?
_Cain_. To cast down yon vile flatterer of the clouds, 290
The smoky harbinger of thy dull prayers--
Thine altar, with its blood of lambs and kids,
Which fed on milk, to be destroyed in blood.
_Abel_ (_opposing him_).
Thou shalt not:--add not impious works to impious
Words! let that altar stand--'tis hallowed now
By the immortal pleasure of Jehovah,
In his acceptance of the victims.
_Cain_. _His_!
_His pleasure! _ what was his high pleasure in
The fumes of scorching flesh and smoking blood,
To the pain of the bleating mothers, which 300
Still yearn for their dead offspring? or the pangs
Of the sad ignorant victims underneath
Thy pious knife? Give way! this bloody record
Shall not stand in the sun, to shame creation!
_Abel_. Brother, give back! thou shalt not touch my altar
With violence: if that thou wilt adopt it,
To try another sacrifice, 'tis thine.
_Cain_. Another sacrifice! Give way, or else
That sacrifice may be----
_Abel_. What mean'st thou?
_Cain_. Give--
Give way! --thy God loves blood! --then look to it:-- 310
Give way, ere he hath _more_!
_Abel_. In _his_ great name,
I stand between thee and the shrine which hath
Had his acceptance.
_Cain_. If thou lov'st thyself,
Stand back till I have strewed this turf along
Its native soil:--else----
_Abel_ (_opposing him_). I love God far more
Than life.
_Cain_ (_striking him with a brand, on the temples, which
he snatches from the altar_). Then take thy life unto thy God,
Since he loves lives.
_Abel_ (_falls_). What hast thou done--my brother?
_Cain_. Brother!
_Abel_. Oh, God! receive thy servant! and
Forgive his slayer, for he knew not what
He did--Cain, give me--give me thy hand; and tell 320
Poor Zillah--
_Cain_ (_after a moment's stupefaction_).
_My_ hand! 'tis all red, and with----
What? [_A long pause. --Looking slowly round_.
Where am I? alone! Where's Abel? where
Cain? Can it be that I am he? My brother,
Awake! --why liest thou so long on the green earth?
'Tis not the hour of slumber:--why so pale?
What hast thou! --thou wert full of life this morn!
Abel! I pray thee, mock me not! I smote
Too fiercely, but not fatally. Ah, why
Wouldst thou oppose me? This is mockery;
And only done to daunt me:--'twas a blow-- 330
And but a blow. Stir--stir--nay, only stir!
Why, so--that's well! --thou breathest! breathe upon me!
Oh God! Oh God!
_Abel_ (_very faintly_). What's he who speaks of God?
_Cain_. Thy murderer.
_Abel_. Then may God forgive him! Cain,
Comfort poor Zillah:--she has but one brother
Now. [ABEL _dies_.
_Cain_. And I none! --Who makes me brotherless?
His eyes are open! then he is not dead!
Death is like sleep[132]; and sleep shuts down our lids.
His lips, too, are apart; why then he breathes;
And yet I feel it not. --His heart! --his heart! -- 340
Let me see, doth it beat? methinks----No! --no!
This is a vision, else I am become
The native of another and worse world.
The earth swims round me:--what is this? --'tis wet;
[_Puts his hand to his brow, and then looks at it_.
And yet there are no dews! 'Tis blood--my blood--
My brother's and my own! and shed by me!
Then what have I further to do with life,
Since I have taken life from my own flesh?
But he can not be dead! --Is silence death?
No; he will wake; then let me watch by him. 350
Life cannot be so slight, as to be quenched
Thus quickly! --he hath spoken to me since--
What shall I say to him? --My brother! --No:
He will not answer to that name; for brethren
Smite not each other. Yet--yet--speak to me.
Oh! for a word more of that gentle voice,
That I may bear to hear my own again!
_Enter_ ZILLAH.
_Zillah_. I heard a heavy sound; what can it be?
'Tis Cain; and watching by my husband. What
Dost thou there, brother? Doth he sleep? Oh, Heaven! 360
What means this paleness, and yon stream? --No, no!
It is not blood; for who would shed his blood?
Abel! what's this? --who hath done this? He moves not;
He breathes not: and his hands drop down from mine
With stony lifelessness! Ah! cruel Cain!
Why camest thou not in time to save him from
This violence? Whatever hath assailed him,
Thou wert the stronger, and shouldst have stepped in
Between him and aggression! Father! --Eve! --
Adah! --come hither! Death is in the world! 370
[_Exit_ ZILLAH, _calling on her Parents, etc. _
_Cain_ (_solus_). And who hath brought him there? --I--who abhor
The name of Death so deeply, that the thought
Empoisoned all my life, before I knew
His aspect--I have led him here, and given
My brother to his cold and still embrace,
As if he would not have asserted his
Inexorable claim without my aid.
I am awake at last--a dreary dream
Had maddened me;--but _he_ shall ne'er awake!
_Enter_ ADAM, EVE, ADAH, _and_ ZILLAH.
_Adam_. A voice of woe from Zillah brings me here-- 380
What do I see? --'Tis true! --My son! --my son!
Woman, behold the Serpent's work, and thine! [_To_ EVE.
_Eve_. Oh! speak not of it now: the Serpent's fangs
Are in my heart! My best beloved, Abel!
Jehovah! this is punishment beyond
A mother's sin, to take _him_ from me!
_Adam_. Who,
Or what hath done this deed? --speak, Cain, since thou
Wert present; was it some more hostile angel,
Who walks not with Jehovah? or some wild
Brute of the forest?
_Eve_. Ah! a livid light 390
Breaks through, as from a thunder-cloud! yon brand
Massy and bloody! snatched from off the altar,
And black with smoke, and red with----
_Adam_. Speak, my son!
Speak, and assure us, wretched as we are,
That we are not more miserable still.
_Adah_. Speak, Cain! and say it was not _thou_!
_Eve_. It was!
I see it now--he hangs his guilty head,
And covers his ferocious eye with hands
Incarnadine!
_Adah_. Mother, thou dost him wrong--
Cain! clear thee from this horrible accusal, 400
Which grief wrings from our parent.
_Eve_. Hear, Jehovah!
May the eternal Serpent's curse be on him!
For he was fitter for his seed than ours.
May all his days be desolate! May----
_Adah_. Hold!
Curse him not, mother, for he is thy son--
Curse him not, mother, for he is my brother,
And my betrothed.
_Eve_. He hath left thee no brother--
Zillah no husband--me _no son! _ for thus
I curse him from my sight for evermore!
All bonds I break between us, as he broke 410
That of his nature, _in yon_----Oh Death!
