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+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 76998 ***
+
+
+
+
+
+_JONAH_
+
+
+
+
+  _Books by ROBERT NATHAN_
+
+  [Illustration]
+
+  AUTUMN: _A novel_
+
+  THE PUPPET MASTER: _A novel_
+
+  YOUTH GROWS OLD: _A book of verse_
+
+
+
+
+  JONAH :: :: _by_
+  ROBERT NATHAN
+
+  ROBERT M. McBRIDE & COMPANY
+  NEW YORK  :: :: :: :: ::  1925
+
+
+
+
+  JONAH BY ROBERT NATHAN WAS FIRST PRINTED AND PUBLISHED IN NINETEEN
+  HUNDRED AND TWENTY-FIVE IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND IS
+  COPYRIGHTED NINETEEN HUNDRED AND TWENTY-FIVE BY ROBERT M. MC BRIDE
+  AND COMPANY
+
+
+
+
+  _To_
+  ALICE AND ARTHUR CARNS
+
+
+
+
+JONAH
+
+
+
+
+I
+
+
+In those days there were prophets in Israel. They lived in the desert,
+beyond the Jordan, in caves and in rude huts made of clay and mats.
+There were many holy men among them, whose ears had been pierced by the
+sweetness of God’s voice and whose eyes had been dazzled by the fiery
+appearance of His angels. They were like the saints to whom in later
+times the Virgin Mary used to come with eyes melting with tenderness,
+and who used to perform such astonishing miracles in the desert near
+Thebes. Theirs was an holy and severe life, made anxious by the sins of
+the Jews, whose punishment they prophesied in tones of great bitterness
+and haunting sadness.
+
+Surrounded by gloomy rocks, they beheld visions, and conversed with
+angels. They shared their meals with the lions of the desert, with
+such birds and beasts as foxes, gazelles, snakes, mice, and ravens.
+Many of these were holy beings; more than human, but less than divine,
+they were obliged to eat, and devoured with shy and reverent looks the
+food set apart for Jehovah.
+
+It was a life of poverty, of danger, and of glory. In the silence
+of the desert the prophets drew together in an austere community.
+Those returning from lands across the Jordan brought back news to the
+Schools. It was said that Amos of Tekoa had spoken at Bethel; standing
+in the presence of King Jeroboam, surrounded by the proudest nobles,
+he had prophesied the doom of Israel. Two angels attended him while he
+spoke, and collected the drops of moisture which fell from his brow.
+
+Thereafter an earthquake, followed by a drought, destroyed the crops of
+Israel and Judah.
+
+When Jonah, the prophet, heard this news, he left his hut in Golan, and
+taking his stick and a gourd filled with water, set his face southward
+toward the Land of Tob. He walked from dawn to dusk; his thoughts were
+grave, and his expression serious. As evening fell he found himself
+beside a little pool in the desert; here he sat down to rest. The sky
+was green with early night; the evening star, smaller than the moon
+and silver as a distant sea, sailed above Sharon. Before him lay the
+desert, heavy with silence, drenched with the cold dew of evening.
+Jonah shivered, and drew his cloak closer about him.
+
+As he sat there, his head bowed upon his hand, a fox came out of a hole
+and, seeing Jonah, exclaimed,
+
+“There is the man of God.”
+
+Touched and astonished at this mark of recognition, Jonah offered the
+little animal some meal with which he had expected to make his own
+supper. Then the fox lay down beside Jonah and remarked,
+
+“I am not a theologian. So I do not understand the wars of Judah and
+the other tribes. However, I would like to ask you something. When I go
+down into my hole, God goes down after me. What I want to know is this:
+is He a Jew, or a fox?”
+
+Jonah answered as he had been taught in the Schools: “God has the
+appearance of a man. From His beard, which extends to His feet and is
+divided into thirteen portions, fall drops of gracious balm; and from
+His mouth proceed the names of all things. His angels also appear as
+men, with long white wings, and faces shining with light.” And he gazed
+at the little animal in a kindly manner.
+
+“Well,” said the fox, “a beard or a tail, that is merely a matter of
+direction.” So saying, he put his head down between his paws, and fell
+asleep. Jonah also slept, watched by the stars, and by an angel, who
+said to him just before dawn:
+
+“Arise, Jonah, and hasten to Bethel. Say to King Jeroboam, ‘Against the
+insolence of Hamath, Israel shall prevail once again.’”
+
+Jonah immediately awoke, and gave thanks to God. Then he took leave
+of the fox, who said to him, “I dreamed that God was a raven, and was
+giving me some sharp pecks with His beak.”
+
+In the gray light of dawn Jonah started toward the hills which guard
+the Jordan. He breathed the pure air of the desert, sweet with desert
+flowers, fresh and cold as water; he lifted his face to the western
+sky, into which night was retreating like a storm; and his heart sang.
+
+“God will redeem Israel through me,” he thought.
+
+At noon he entered the valley of Jezreel, on the other side of the
+Jordan. There the fig trees were in blossom, and their scent mingled
+with almonds in the air. At every village he saw roadside altars
+above which were erected rude copies of the golden bulls of Tyre. The
+afternoon sun cast sinister shadows behind them, and Jonah averted his
+face as he went by.
+
+He stayed that night near Joseph’s Well, in the cottage of a poor
+herdsman. A faint and holy glow illuminated one corner of the kitchen
+where the prophet lay, while the wide wings of seraphim, like slow
+birds, beat overhead through the darkness. In the morning the herdsman,
+who had not slept all night, hurried out to purify himself in the river
+from such close contact with divinity.
+
+When Jonah arrived at Bethel, he went at once to the house of the High
+Priest Amaziah. A servant admitted the prophet, dusty with travel, into
+the presence of his master. And Jonah gazed proudly and without fear at
+the priest.
+
+Amaziah, High Priest of Israel, was a churchman; therefore he disliked
+confusion. For that reason also he detested the prophets who he felt
+were unable to understand the problems of administration. Seated upon
+a bench of ivory, he gazed wearily at Jonah before addressing him in
+these terms:
+
+“I do not know your name, but from your gloomy countenance covered with
+hair, I can see that you are a prophet from Golan, or the Land of Tob.
+And I suppose that you have come, like all the others, to tell me that
+God admires Judah more than Israel. In that case I must say to you what
+I said to Amos: ‘Go south, to Jerusalem, and prophesy in Judah, because
+what you have to say does not amuse me.’”
+
+Jonah replied simply, “I must speak at Bethel, because that is what God
+told me to do.”
+
+But he added that he did not intend to prophesy another earthquake, as
+Amos had done. “What I have to say,” he declared, “concerns Israel,
+and Hamath in the north.”
+
+At this the High Priest looked pleased. “So,” he said; “well, that is
+better.” And he regarded Jonah with a kindlier expression.
+
+But presently he burst out again in an exasperated voice: “You prophets
+do not understand the difficulties of my position. You imagine that
+because I am High Priest, I should be able to control the forms in
+which the people of Israel worship the Divinity. Nothing is more
+improbable, seeing that every one has his own idea of what is truly
+noble.”
+
+To this outburst Jonah replied, with dignity: “Still, the God of the
+Jews does not look like a bull, or a little dove. It is a sin to
+worship such things.”
+
+Amaziah gave utterance to a long sigh. “My son,” he said gently, “I
+see that you are like all prophets, which is to say that you are
+impractical. Otherwise you would know that it is impossible not to
+worship the Divinity in some form or other. And since He refuses to
+reveal Himself in His proper form, one is left to imagine Him in any
+form one pleases. That is a great mistake, in my opinion; but it is
+God’s mistake, not mine. I cannot help it if the inhabitants of Dan,
+who are mostly farmers, admire the dignified mien of a bull, or if the
+villagers of Asher, who are lazy and uxorious, choose to worship the
+Divine Power in the form of a dove.”
+
+“The dove and the bull,” declared Jonah, who remembered what he had
+studied in the Schools, “belong to the moon and to the sun. God, having
+created man in His Own image, necessarily has the form of a man. He
+is bearded; and His face shines with wisdom and benevolence. He also
+created the animals, but He created them in the image of animals. That
+is the important thing to remember in dealing with such matters.”
+
+But Amaziah replied that Jonah was an idealist. “You will understand,”
+he said, “when I tell you that idealism is something to which close
+attention to the disputes and duties of the Temple does not dispose me.
+We churchmen are obliged to be practical. The important thing is that
+there should be uniformity. And that is impossible where one person
+must be right, and the other wrong. I am not here to help men argue,
+but to help them agree. Many trees bear fruit upon this earth, my
+friend; the leaf is different, but a tree is a tree. So let us all be
+right, or at least as many of us as possible.”
+
+Jonah remained silent and gloomy; he respected the Law, and did not
+know how to reply to Amaziah. The old priest regarded him in a more
+genial manner, and continued:
+
+“However, these pastoral matters need not concern you. You are a
+prophet, not a priest, a messenger, not an interpreter. That is
+something you prophets could learn to your advantage.
+
+“Tell me what tidings you bear the King. You speak of Hamath, and the
+Aramæans; is it possible that you know of some conspiracy in the north
+of which your rulers are ignorant?”
+
+Jonah replied that as far as he knew, the Aramæans were peaceful, and
+their army was unprepared. “An angel appeared to me in a dream,” he
+declared. “This angel was more beautiful than I can say, and had long
+white wings which kept up a slow movement in the air. I could wish that
+the women of Israel had such wings, which lend to the figure a charm
+that cannot be described. The beauty of that angel caused my heart to
+overflow with grief and longing.”
+
+And he remained silent, lost in painful memories. He resumed:
+
+“In a voice of heavenly sweetness I was told to arise, and bidden to
+say to King Jeroboam, ‘Against the insolence of Hamath, Israel shall
+prevail once again.’ When I awoke I found on the ground a white feather
+which shone like snow. I picked it up, and put it beneath my cloak.”
+And he held out to Amaziah a white feather about a foot long.
+
+“Here is the proof,” he said, “of what I have told you.”
+
+Amaziah reverently received the angelic token, which he put to his nose
+and carefully tasted with his tongue, before remarking, “It does not
+surprise me, seeing the marvelous economy of Heaven, that the wings
+which support the angels should be not unlike those on which the snowy
+herons sail so majestically above the hills. However, as the king and
+his nobles might consider this feather a trifle too light to support
+so august a body as an angel through the air, let me place this sacred
+relic in the Tabernacle, and give you, instead, the feather of an
+eagle, which has a more important look. Do not draw back in dismay, my
+son; in dealing with simple minds, a certain amount of ingenuity is
+needed. It is a characteristic which has distinguished the Jews in the
+past even more than their valor. I have only to remind you of David’s
+treaties with the Philistines, and the manner in which the heroic Jael
+divorced the head of Sisera from his Canaanite body. It is upon such
+stratagems as these, added to the irresistible power of the Lord, that
+the glory of Israel depends.”
+
+He sat for a brief space, his head sunk forward upon his breast in
+meditation. Presently he said thoughtfully:
+
+“After all, there is nothing like a war to draw together a nation’s
+diverse elements. The trouble with Israel is that her wars have been
+so often civil wars. Civil wars are of no value, since they destroy
+uniformity; they are, besides, inclined to be a little half-hearted,
+seeing that the vanquished do not expect to be plundered, raped, and
+murdered with the same methodical energy by their own people as by
+strangers.”
+
+And he added humbly, “Is it likely that God in His infinite wisdom
+should see this any less clearly than I do?”
+
+When Jonah had supped on lettuce, olives, and wine, he left his host
+and went out to walk in the city. The night was cold, and the odor of
+the streets mingled with the sweet aroma of earth. He filled his lungs
+with the clear air of the hills, stained by the smoke of fires and the
+sour smell of wine; he heard about him in the gloom the lazy hum of the
+city, the faint, sharp chime of voices, far-off cries, the crowing of a
+cock, the creak of a water-wheel.
+
+He thought, “Here is thy home, O Israel, in the land of thy God.”
+
+And he gazed in silence and with a heart overflowing with reverence at
+the sky, blue with night, above the roofs of Bethel.
+
+In the morning, pale but confident, he presented himself before the
+king.
+
+Seated upon a golden throne in his palace of broadstone, his hair and
+beard glistening with oil, and surrounded by proud and bearded nobles,
+Jeroboam listened with attention to what the prophet had to say.
+
+Then he asked for the opinion of Amaziah, who stood at the side of the
+throne. The old priest hesitated a moment, before replying in a grave
+voice:
+
+“Who am I to question the will of the Almighty? A war against Aram is
+a holy war, since God Himself desires it. This prophet speaks in a
+voice of heavenly wisdom. I foresee that your soldiers will rush with
+impetuous enthusiasm upon a foe by no means prepared to defend himself.
+I shudder to think of such carnage. However, your commands are mine, O
+King.”
+
+So saying, he withdrew. Jeroboam then passed around a large feather
+given him by Jonah as proof of his prophetic mission. A noble who
+looked after the royal falcons remarked,
+
+“This indeed must be the feather of an angel, for it is larger than
+that of an eagle, which it favors in color, although it is more divine
+in appearance.”
+
+The king next asked for the opinion of Ahab, who owned a great deal of
+land bordering on the country of Aram. This prince, whose beard curled
+like an Assyrian’s, spoke without hesitation in favor of war. In a dry
+voice he declared,
+
+“It stands to reason that God would prefer His own people to have the
+pasture lands which obviously belong to them, according to geography,
+history, and the opinion of every right-minded person. I only wonder
+that He did not think of it before.”
+
+The young prince Absalom, who had more than fifty wives, exclaimed in
+ringing tones,
+
+“I am in favor of war, to teach these barbarians to know and worship
+the God of the Jews.” And he held up his sword, the handle of which was
+carved to represent the Adonis of Sidon, to whose inexhaustible vigor
+the prince sacrificed, every spring, a ram and a cock.
+
+This speech of Absalom’s was received with acclaim by the nobles. The
+next day the armies of Israel, led by the king, and accompanied by more
+than a thousand priests of Adonis, Astarte, Kemosh, Melcarth, the local
+Baalim, and the Holy Ark, set out for the frontiers of Aram.
+
+
+
+
+II
+
+
+Night came gently down over Israel. The darkness of earth slid like
+a shadow across the rocks stained by the sunset. Calm and deep the
+sea of Cinnereth reflected the stars whose lights gleamed upon the
+trans-Jordanic hills. There the desert slept; while in the north the
+lights of Tyre shone upon the sea.
+
+The village herds returned from their pastures. Then the roads
+of Zebulon resounded with the tonk of bells, as the cows with
+sweet-smelling breath wound down from the hills. The day was over, and
+their stalls awaited them. Melancholy and austere, they parted from
+each other without regret.
+
+Aaron, the brother of Jonah, walked behind them. In his hand he carried
+a rod with which he beat now and then upon the flanks of the animals
+nearest him. Then they rushed forward, clumsily, to avoid the blows
+which fell upon them without force.
+
+The young man enjoyed this hour of the day, when he strode home through
+the village, driving the herds before him. He was proud to be in charge
+of the village cows. His mother also was proud of him; she foresaw an
+important future for him. “Always do your best,” she said. “However,”
+she added, “do not tire yourself out. And in case of robbers, or a
+lion, please come home; and do not make a fool of yourself.”
+
+“Well,” the young man would say, twirling his stick, “we’ll see about
+that.”
+
+Aaron did not think that his brother led a very sensible life. To live
+all alone in the desert seemed to him a nonsensical thing to do, and
+he felt sure that his mother agreed with him. Else why did she shake
+her head so sadly, and heave such a sigh, when she spoke of her eldest
+son? As a matter of fact, she relived in Jonah, but very faintly, the
+dreamy, mild, religious ecstasy of her maidenhood. That was all over
+for her now; life had long ago got down to being practical. Besides,
+one did not hear so much about God as when she was a girl. Still, she
+remembered the beauty of those times, when her heart beat with joy
+and love, when a sweet unrest brought her to her knees, and she felt
+through her prayers the breath of holiness upon her cheek.
+
+No, one did not hear nowadays so much about God. Take Aaron, for
+example: as he came home from the pastures at evening, he bent his
+head before the golden bull which adorned the wayside shrine. In the
+spring he enjoyed the feasts of the Passover; and he also enjoyed the
+celebrations in honor of Astarte and Adonis, in company with the other
+young men of the village. The problems of theology did not concern him;
+he simply wished to enjoy himself, and to get on in the world. To
+do that, one did something about it; one began by taking care of the
+village herds. Then one could look confidently to the future, and leave
+God to dispute with other people about what He looked like.
+
+When the last of the cattle was safely housed, Aaron turned back to his
+own home, and entering the yard gate, walked toward the kitchen from
+whose open door a rosy glow spread over the yard. Jonah was at home;
+and Aaron stood a moment in the doorway, gazing with a smile at his
+mother, who was preparing supper. Deborah kept one eye on the oven,
+and the other on her elder son, who, with a small cake of bread in his
+hand, was relating to her some incidents of the Aramæan campaign. She
+wished to know if Hamath was as large as Salem, or Bethel.
+
+“It is larger than Bethel,” replied Jonah, “but not as large as
+Jerusalem.” Deborah sighed happily; it was something to have traveled
+as much as that.
+
+“The armies of Aram,” said Jonah, biting into the coarse bread, “were
+drawn up in a truly terrifying array. I saw a number of men seated upon
+ostriches, so I knew that we were obliged to battle against demons. Not
+in the least frightened, our men rushed at the foe in an irresistible
+manner. Nevertheless, they would have been beaten, and were already
+in flight, when the High Priest Amaziah appeared upon a nearby hill,
+and announced that the King of Aram with all his generals had been
+consumed by a thunderbolt. At this our men decided to turn once more
+upon the foe, who retreated in confusion, and we rushed triumphantly
+forward into the enemy’s camp, where we surprised and killed a number
+of generals, including the King of Aram, and his High Priest.
+
+“When our victorious armies arrived at the gates of Hamath, Prince
+Absalom came out to greet us, accompanied by the women of the town
+bearing flowers and bowls of wine for our thirsty soldiers. This noble
+prince, disguised as a Syrian, had left the battle-field before the
+armies had begun to fight, and had gone quietly off to prepare our
+welcome in the city, where he knew a number of prominent people. It is
+faith joined to foresight of this nature that has made Israel great.”
+
+He was silent; the light from the oven glowed upon his face, which
+shone with enthusiasm and love. He thought to himself, “All Israel
+resounds with my glory. There is a new prophet; and his name is Jonah.”
+
+And he added, humbling himself before God,
+
+“I understand that this is Your doing.”
+
+Anxious that Deborah should know of his part in his country’s history,
+he mumbled shyly, with his mouth full,
+
+“The King considers me a greater prophet even than Amos of Tekoa.”
+
+“Well,” said Deborah sensibly, “why not?” Coming up to Jonah, she
+smoothed his hair with her hand, and gazed at him anxiously. “What
+a trouble you are to me,” she said gently; “making wars and such
+mischief. Well....”
+
+Seeing her younger son standing in the doorway, she called to him:
+“Come in, Aaron, here is your brother Jonah. He has just made a war.
+Tschk ... you would think there was nothing but fighting in the world.”
+
+Aaron came into the room, and went up to Jonah with frank curiosity. He
+wished to know all about it, and he asked innumerable questions. When
+he learned that Jonah had not brought home any gold ornaments, or rich
+shawls, he was disappointed.
+
+“No, really,” he exclaimed, “what is the good of a war like that?” And
+he sat sulkily down in a corner.
+
+But Deborah took Jonah’s part. “No, Aaron,” she said, “that would be
+all right for you; if you made a war, I should expect you to come home
+with something, a colored shawl for me, or some gold bracelets. But
+Jonah is different; and living in the desert, the way he does, gives
+him ideas. Better a war far away, like this one, than like what we
+used to have in your father’s time, right under my nose, killing and
+fighting all day long.”
+
+She turned to Jonah with a sigh. “Why,” she exclaimed, “did you choose
+the Aramæans to make a war with? Such wild people.” She shook her head
+ruefully. “Always trouble,” she decided; “never what would be sensible.
+
+“At any rate,” she wound up, “perhaps you’ll settle down now for a
+while and let your mother look after you, instead of living all alone
+in a desert with foxes.
+
+“Ak, what an old coat you have.”
+
+She went back to her oven with a smile; cheerful and loving, she found
+in everything some cause for satisfaction, or at least hope, if she was
+given time enough. And she sang now, under her breath, as she always
+did when she was disturbed or happy--for happiness or sorrow, either
+one, disturbed only a little her amiable, confused spirit:
+
+  “_Men dead long ago
+    Have set me like a tree.
+    Let the wind blow,
+    What is that to me?
+    My roots are in their dust,
+    My roots are deep, I trust.
+    My son is at my knee._”
+
+Jonah looked at her with a gloomy but tender expression. “Mother,” he
+said, “what is the matter with my coat? Because it is old? It does me
+very well. Must I also be a beauty, to suit you?”
+
+After supper Deborah’s brother David came in to see Jonah. He also
+wished to know about the war, concerning which he had heard rumors.
+
+“Well,” he said to his sister, “so we have actually a prophet in our
+family. I congratulate you. We could afford to give a little party in
+honor of this.”
+
+And he looked around him with pride.
+
+“No, really,” cried Jonah; “what an idea.” He blushed to think of it.
+But his uncle peered angrily at him from under his shaggy eyebrows.
+
+“So,” he said slowly, “that is the kind of prophet you are, then. You
+think only of yourself, but what about your family? Do you imagine we
+have so many opportunities to give feasts, and call in the neighbors?
+Or have you done something to be ashamed of? When an honor comes to
+us, that is the time to talk about it.”
+
+Aaron agreed with his uncle, although he did not see what they had to
+be proud of. “We are no better off than before,” he complained, “seeing
+that Jonah brought home nothing with him from the war.”
+
+“What?” exclaimed Uncle David. “What a pity.” He wagged his old head
+meditatively. “There it is,” he said; “times change, whether you like
+it or not. When I was a young man it was entirely different. Feasts,
+festivals.... I can tell you, we knew how to enjoy ourselves. And
+what is more, we were religious; it was not like to-day. At any rate,
+children were respectful, and considered their parents; when they went
+to a war, they brought something home.”
+
+And he lamented the decay of Israel’s greatness.
+
+But Deborah put in a good word for her son. “If he brought me nothing,”
+she said, “it was because he knows that really I am satisfied with
+what I have, and besides there was nothing there which caught his
+fancy.”
+
+“The old days are no more,” said David, and relapsed into gloomy
+silence.
+
+Aaron, who had been growing restless in his corner, got to his feet.
+“Mother,” he said, “I am going out for a while, to see some of my
+friends.”
+
+“Again,” cried Deborah, “so soon, when your brother has just come home,
+and Uncle David is here? Aaron, no....”
+
+“I will go with him,” said Jonah quietly; “I should like to visit old
+Naaman, who lives at the edge of the village. Do you remember, Mother,
+how I used to go there when I was young; and I have not seen him in
+many years.”
+
+“Yes,” said Deborah with a smile, “it is true; I remember, you were
+always there; whenever I could not find you, I had only to look for you
+in Naaman’s house, and there you were. Go along, but do not be late;
+and”--she added in a whisper--“when you come home I will have some food
+set out for you.”
+
+She turned sternly to her younger son. “Aaron,” she said, “please do
+not get into any fresh mischief with your friends. Perhaps you would
+do better to go with your brother; it would do you good for a change
+instead of running up and down the village with nobody knows who.”
+
+Her gaze followed her sons with tender anxiety across the threshold.
+
+“So thin he looks,” she murmured; “and his cloak is so tattered;
+really, I am ashamed. But what can I do; I have nothing; and he is so
+proud, besides.”
+
+And she smiled at her brother, with a tear shining in her eye.
+
+Jonah and Aaron walked along in silence, under the dark boughs of
+trees. At last Aaron remarked: “Well ... you see ... you have made a
+start now with things. The desert is all very well for old men. But
+what sort of life is that, after all?”
+
+And in an embarrassed manner he took his leave of Jonah, and went off
+to join his companions, whose voices could be heard raised in youthful
+laughter among the shadows.
+
+Jonah stood leaning upon his staff in the darkness. A few lights
+gleamed among the trees, whose branches bent above him as though to
+envelope him in their quiet embrace. The odors of night crept around
+him; he remembered his youth, spent in this village, and he felt in
+his heart a longing for that lonely boy whose only friends had been
+an old man and his own dreams. So much of life had gone by, yet here
+he was again, wearier, wiser, still led by hopes, of what he did not
+know, hurt by memories, but why he could not tell. He heard the voices
+of Aaron and his friends fading in the distance; he knew that in the
+shadows young lovers whispered together, although he could not see
+them. All about him trembled the happy laughter of youth, the peace of
+age, the quietness of rest after labor. The sky of heaven, shining with
+stars, bent upon his home a regard of kindness; and the wind, moving
+through the sycamores, spoke to him in the accents of the past.
+
+Bowing his head upon his breast, he thought, “Jonah, Jonah, what have
+you done with your youth?”
+
+Slowly, and with halting steps, he approached the house of Naaman, at
+the village edge.
+
+
+
+
+III
+
+
+He found his old teacher seated beneath an acacia tree whose branches
+perfumed the air. A beam of light from the house, falling among the
+leaves, touched Naaman’s white hair and his long, snowy beard with a
+gentle gleam. That was how his pupil had remembered him, the picture of
+wisdom and peace. He greeted Jonah with affection, but without surprise.
+
+“It is you, my son,” he said. “I am glad to see you again. Your fame
+has spread, for I heard of you, no later than to-day, as the young
+prophet who had inspired the king at Bethel.”
+
+And he added gayly, “Come, sit here beside me, and tell me about
+yourself. As you see, my tree is blossoming again. Thus, at the end of
+my life, it is vouchsafed me to behold each year the return of spring
+and the marriage of earth with the Eternal One.”
+
+“I do not know what you mean by the Eternal One,” said Jonah; “for all
+the gods are immortal and eternal. It is only you and I, Naaman, who
+grow older each year. But I am glad to see that you are well, and to
+know that your tree is blossoming.”
+
+Naaman replied gently, “My son, you have traveled, and you have learned
+something. Have you not learned that there is only one God? Did you not
+learn that in the desert, Jonah?”
+
+“No, Naaman,” said Jonah gravely, “I have not learned it. I have been
+in the desert, where God is. And I have also been in Tyre in the month
+before our Passover, when the quail return in great numbers to mourn
+the death of a god. I will tell you something about Tyre: there, before
+they are married, the maidens sacrifice their hair to Astarte. You
+should travel, Naaman, and hear of other gods.”
+
+“I do not need to travel,” replied Naaman; “here in this quiet garden
+the sun sets and the moon rises; the breeze of evening whispers through
+the leaves of my acacia tree, and I see through the branches the stars
+which have not changed; I hear the voices of cicada, shrill and sad,
+as when I was a boy, I hear the herds winding down from the hills. All
+is as it was and as it will be; and my heart overflows with love and
+peace.”
+
+Jonah shrugged his shoulders. “That is all very well for you,” he
+repeated, “but when one goes about, as I do, one sees many strange
+things. In Aram, for instance, there are gods which look like snakes.
+But it is possible to charm them with a flute. What has that to do with
+the God of the Jews?”
+
+“Were you not also in Aram?” asked Naaman quietly. “Yet you are a Jew.”
+
+“I was with the army ...” said Jonah.
+
+But Naaman broke in, continuing: “Do you imagine that God would be
+content with a few tribes and a strip of sea-coast on this earth, which
+He created with so much trouble? Such an idea is highly improbable.
+Moreover, there is a regularity about the seasons which would be
+impossible in the case of a number of gods.”
+
+But Jonah shook his head. “That is all nonsense, Naaman,” he said. “I
+cannot understand it. Why should God send the Jews to take the country
+and the flocks of the Aramæans, if they already belong to Him? And if
+there is no other God but Israel’s God, then who created the other
+people of the earth? You see into what difficulties an idea of this
+sort inevitably leads you. There is no doubt that our God is the true
+God, but to say that He is the only God does not seem to be justified,
+in the light of history.”
+
+“What do we learn from history?” asked Naaman. “Little enough and
+nothing to our credit. The golden calf of Og has grown to be a bull.
+Well, so much for history.”
+
+But Jonah replied discontentedly, “That is all very well theologically
+speaking, but you lose sight of the problems of administration.” And he
+repeated to Naaman what Amaziah, the High Priest, had told him.
+
+“After all,” he said, “men must worship God in some form or other.”
+
+But Naaman replied with grave anxiety:
+
+“That is not the voice of Jonah that I hear. My son, do not let
+yourself be persuaded by those to whose ears the divine speech has
+never penetrated. God does not speak in the Temple, but in the silence
+of the heart. The hearts of His prophets are His tabernacles. There, in
+the quiet, in the hush of lonely piety, He speaks to Israel in tones
+of sorrow and command. Let us keep His tabernacles holy and austere. Go
+back to the desert, Jonah; and do not meddle with the affairs of this
+world.
+
+“Go back to the desert, my son.”
+
+Jonah remained silent for a moment, gazing out at the soft spring night
+with its faint shine and shadow of leaves. At last he said slowly,
+“Well, of course, after a while....” But he thought to himself, “Must I
+hurry? A little holiday will not do me any harm.
+
+“I thought,” he said doubtfully to Naaman, “that I might stay a few
+days with my mother, who is growing old, and who after all does not see
+so much of me.”
+
+But Naaman shook his head. “My son,” he said, “you cannot have both
+heaven and earth. If you are so fortunate as to count angels among your
+friends, it is because you have no mother and no brother. Be lonely,
+and content; and do not turn back to this life so full of passion and
+injustice. Grief and joy are not for you, Jonah; they are nothing for a
+prophet. The desert is your home; do not go too far away from it.”
+
+“You are right, Naaman,” said Jonah, after a while; “one must not get
+too far away from the desert.” He rose to go, helping himself to his
+feet with his staff. “Good-by,” he said, “my teacher and my friend.
+Once again you convince me, a little against my will. As of old, I
+leave you, filled with a peace which is not entirely happy.”
+
+And embracing his old teacher, he set off for his mother’s house
+through the night.
+
+
+
+
+IV
+
+
+Prince Ahab lived in a palace of stone and fragrant cedarwood, on a
+hill above the village of Gath-Hepher, and almost within sight of the
+little cottage occupied by Jonah’s mother. The prince, whose large
+holdings in the North had increased in value due to the success of
+the war in Syria, surrounded himself with every luxury. Nevertheless,
+in the midst of jewels, silks, slaves, and the richest perfumes, he
+himself remained simple and straightforward. Of a martial, almost to
+say gloomy appearance, he affected the stern manners of the Assyrians,
+with whose thick gold fringes he decorated his cloak and his girdle.
+He was heavy, but he was vigorous and active; like the nobles of
+Assur, he took endless pleasure in hunting, for which he imported
+blooded falcons and swift horses from Iran. He lived in the saddle;
+and he complained of the degeneracy of Israel. “Effeminate people,” he
+exclaimed, “you do not exercise enough.” And the sleepy citizens of
+Bethel would be awakened by the trampling of horses and the sound of
+horns, as Ahab rode out at dawn to hunt boar in the forests of Baal
+Hazor.
+
+In the afternoon, while the king deliberated with his nobles upon
+affairs of state, Ahab dozed. Upon being reminded of the presence
+before the council of important matters, he remarked that he had been
+out riding. And he exclaimed with enthusiasm:
+
+“Exercise is the thing.”
+
+An old woman by the name of Sarah kept house for him in his palace
+of cedarwood and broadstone. She was sharp and severe, but she knew
+her own value. By noticing the faults of other people, she kept her
+self-respect. She managed the house and the slaves, and acted as nurse
+to Ahab’s niece, his sister’s child, Judith.
+
+Judith at sixteen possessed a voluptuous body, a pious spirit, and an
+inexperienced mind. Her gentle soul united in itself the gay ardors of
+a child with the cloudy desires of a woman. Everything surprised her,
+and everything pleased her; she was anxious to know everything, and she
+knew nothing. Eager and trusting, her brown eyes explored with sympathy
+but without understanding the life she saw all about her. She was happy
+and dreamy by turns; but sometimes at night her pillow was wet with
+tears. She would have said that something beautiful had made her cry,
+perhaps a thought, perhaps a feeling. But she could not have explained
+what it was, not even to Sarah, to whom she told everything. Perhaps it
+was the moonlight in the courtyard, and the scent of jasmine or lotus
+from the garden. But that was lovely; why should it make her cry? Such
+things perplexed her.
+
+Sometimes she wished she were a boy, so that she might go hunting with
+her uncle. Then she saw herself seated on a white horse, with her green
+cape blowing in the wind, galloping and shouting. But at the thought
+of piercing an animal with her spear, she turned away with quick
+displeasure. “No,” she thought, “I should not like to go hunting.”
+
+And she told her uncle that she was glad she was a girl. “So am I,” he
+replied, “because if you were a boy, I should be disgusted with you.”
+He loved his niece, but he liked people to be active and hardy. “The
+women of to-day,” he often said, “do not amount to much.
+
+“They have no enthusiasm.”
+
+Now Judith sat before her bronze mirror, twisting her long brown hair
+into plaits. As she sat, she sang:
+
+  “_My love is a shepherd in Sharon,
+    By rivers he waters his sheep,
+    Blue are the waters of Sharon,
+    Rivers of Sharon are deep._”
+
+She knew no one in Sharon. Nevertheless her nurse said to her angrily,
+“Now tell me, what sort of song is that for a young girl to sing?”
+
+Judith replied that it was just a song. She added with a smile, “You
+are vexed because you do not know any shepherds, and because you have
+no lover.”
+
+“That is my own business,” said Sarah, drawing herself up with dignity.
+“However, I must say that it does not become you to speak of things
+like that. What do you know about love? Nothing, I sincerely hope. You
+should be thinking of marriage, with respectful modesty.”
+
+“Well,” said Judith, “as a matter of fact, I think love is silly. It
+does not interest me, really. Were you ever in love? Tell me honestly,
+Sarah; I cannot imagine such a thing.”
+
+Sarah gazed gloomily at her mistress. Presently a blush overspread her
+sallow countenance. “In love?” she exclaimed; “certainly not. With
+what, if I may ask? The trouble with you is that your head is full of
+nonsense. When I was your age I had more decorum. I was prettier than
+I am to-day, and I attracted the attention of a very handsome man, a
+camel driver, but such a wild one. He was not good enough for me, and I
+sent him about his business. I knew my own worth.”
+
+So saying she tossed her head, with an air. But Judith clapped her
+hands. “A camel driver,” she exclaimed, “why, Sarah, you never told me.
+Did he take you up on his camel? Just think, how delightful. That’s
+really life, isn’t it, Sarah?”
+
+“Ak,” cried the nurse, “where do you get such ideas?”
+
+And turning to Prince Ahab, who was entering the room at that moment,
+she exclaimed,
+
+“God knows who puts such things into her head.”
+
+Prince Ahab replied, with a discouraged gesture, “Do not ask me, Sarah,
+for I do not know who puts anything into people’s heads nowadays. I
+assure you, the entire world is mad. Do you know what the king is
+doing, now that the war is over? You would think he would be getting
+ready for the next one. Not at all; he prefers to discuss the marriage
+laws with Prince Absalom. What a state of affairs. Do not expect me to
+know what makes a young girl foolish besides.”
+
+“I am not foolish, Uncle,” said Judith; “when I am older, I shall be
+just as wise as you or Sarah.”
+
+“Be respectful to your uncle,” said Sarah.
+
+Ahab shrugged his shoulders. “No one is respectful any more,” he said;
+“I simply wonder that people do not go around with their fingers
+actually to their noses. But, then, with so many prophets filling the
+air with groans and complaints.... Amos, Joel, Hosea, they are enough
+to fill the mind of anybody with disrespect.”
+
+“And Jonah?” asked Judith.
+
+Ahab replied gravely: “Jonah is not like the others. He comes of a
+worthy family of Zebulon; as a matter of fact, his home is here in this
+village. So, you can see, there is something to him. His brother is the
+village herdsman. Yes, Jonah is quite a different thing altogether.”
+
+Judith looked lazily at her face in the mirror. “Tell me what he is
+like,” she said.
+
+“What’s that to you?” asked Sarah. She added that she supposed he was
+old and had a long white beard.
+
+“No,” replied Ahab, “he is not old. He is young, and enthusiastic. His
+eyes seem to burn. He is a little thin, but one can understand that,
+living in the desert, and probably starving most of the time. It is not
+a healthy life. I came upon him during the battle against the Aramæans;
+the fighting had made him sick. He is not what I would call a very
+robust individual.”
+
+“And did he really see an angel,” asked Judith, “as they say he did?”
+
+“Why not?” said Ahab. “Is there any reason why a man from my own
+village should not see an angel? He has certainly as much right to see
+one as Amos of Tekoa; or do you imagine that angels only appear to the
+men of Judah?”
+
+“What an idea,” cried Sarah.
+
+And she added with conviction, “For myself, I would sooner take the
+word of a man from Zebulon.”
+
+But when Prince Ahab had gone, she said, sniffing the air with
+vexation, “Men ought to stay out of the women’s apartments, where they
+have no business, whether they are uncles or not.” Seizing a vial of
+sweet-smelling oil, she began to sprinkle its contents in the room.
+This consoled her nose, which had been outraged by the prince, who, as
+usual, had come from the stables.
+
+Judith went out into the warm spring morning. The bees were humming in
+the blossoms, the birds sang quietly and gaily in the trees, and trees
+and blossoms stretched themselves luxuriously in the bright sunshine.
+Judith took a deep breath of the hot, sweet air; it was like eating
+flowers, she thought. Underfoot, in the grass, beetles moved gravely to
+and fro on their mysterious business; the world of stones and twigs was
+being explored by little eager ants; wasps hung and buzzed. The earth
+exhaled the beneficent fragrance of spring; everywhere was drowsy joy,
+tranquil activity. A tanager flew overhead with scarlet wings, turned,
+shone, and fled among the trees. The girl paused, and looked up at the
+sky, blue as a robin’s egg. “I should like to dance,” she thought.
+
+A moment later she added doubtfully, “But perhaps it would be wrong.”
+
+At her feet a beetle with a bright green coat which reflected the light
+was walking soberly toward his house. Presently an ant approached him
+and gave him a bite on the leg. The beetle turned an anxious look on
+his tiny assailant, whose head barely came up to his knee, “Come,
+come,” he exclaimed, “have you no respect for beauty? Do you think God
+enjoys having you bite me? He would be very much upset if anything
+happened to me.”
+
+Disdaining to reply, the ant went away to find his friends and discuss
+the situation. “I gave it to him,” he said; “I gave him a bite he won’t
+forget in a hurry. Now he knows who I am.”
+
+Left to himself, the beetle hurried home in an agitated manner. And
+Judith, remarking his awkward gait, cried,
+
+“There, you are dancing, you strange creature, with your lovely green
+coat. But that is quite another matter, because you are a beetle, and
+not a Jew.”
+
+She had a sudden thought. “Perhaps,” she said, “that is why you are
+dancing. Perhaps you are a little god, with such a fine green coat.
+Well, go in peace, I will not step on you. I will make a wish, instead.
+Little beetle, tell me what love is. It does not interest me, really; I
+would simply like to know....”
+
+She broke off with a start. A shadow had fallen on the grass at her
+feet, and she looked up with surprise. There, behind her and to one
+side, stood a young man. He was not good-looking, but his expression
+was gentle and kind. He had on an old, tattered cloak, and he leaned
+thoughtfully upon a rough staff which easily supported his weight.
+Judith looked at him with wide-open eyes.
+
+“Oh, my,” she said.
+
+And she added faintly, but in accents of hope, “Are you also a camel
+driver?”
+
+The young man shook his head. “No,” he said, “I am not a camel driver.”
+
+Seeing that his reply had disappointed the young woman, he added simply,
+
+“I am Jonah, the prophet.”
+
+
+
+
+V
+
+
+Jonah and Judith sat on a bank of ferns and moss beneath the shade of a
+giant sycamore tree. Already they were friends; they talked earnestly
+together, and twisted in their fingers the ferns with their tough
+stalks and cool leaves.
+
+“Well, but tell me,” said Judith, “did you really see an angel? Just
+imagine, how exciting that must be. What was this angel like? Very
+beautiful, I suppose.” And she looked down with a frown.
+
+“Such beauty,” said Jonah gravely, “I cannot describe to you.
+Because, actually, one does not see beauty, one feels it. One looks
+at something, and suddenly one feels a pain in one’s heart. Then one
+thinks ‘what a beautiful thing.’”
+
+“Yes,” said Judith. “Well, tell me, did this angel have dark hair too,
+like mine?”
+
+“I do not know,” replied Jonah candidly. “I did not exactly see any
+hair. But I remember the wide, white, folded wings, and the glow which
+entered my heart at the sight of that serene face.”
+
+Judith pouted. “Didn’t you notice anything at all?” she enquired. “For
+instance, what did she wear. And was she young or old? What a strange
+fellow you are; you saw almost nothing, or at any rate, nothing of any
+consequence.”
+
+“Why do you speak always of ‘her’?” asked Jonah. “This angel was not a
+woman. At least, I did not think so.”
+
+“Then he was a man,” cried Judith.
+
+“No,” said Jonah slowly, “he was not a man, either.”
+
+“You see,” said Judith, “I was right; she was a woman. And besides, if
+she was so beautiful, naturally she was a woman.”
+
+“I confess,” admitted Jonah, “that had not occurred to me.”
+
+“Of course not,” said Judith. “But it occurred to me, because I am a
+woman.”
+
+And she added with a smile,
+
+“Even if I am not as beautiful as an angel.”
+
+“You are very pretty,” said Jonah shyly. “But it is not the same
+thing.” And he dug in the moss with his staff.
+
+“Do you really think I am pretty?” asked Judith. “Sarah, my nurse, says
+that to be pretty is nothing, because any one can be pretty. She would
+rather I were virtuous, because virtue is woman’s richest jewel. Of
+course I mean to be virtuous, and to do what is expected of me.”
+
+She began to weave some ferns into a chaplet. “Sometimes,” she said in
+a low voice, “I look at myself in my mirror, and I give myself a little
+kiss. Do you think it is wrong? Nobody sees me.”
+
+Jonah moved uncomfortably in the moss. “God...?” he said.
+
+“Oh,” said Judith. “Well, God ... old God.
+
+“Anyway,” she added, “I don’t think He sees me.”
+
+She looked at the garden from which an overpowering fragrance arose,
+at the flowers languidly lifting their bright-colored faces to the
+sun, drinking in the warmth and the light. “I have a little dove,”
+she said, “made all of silver. It is a copy of the doves of Eryx, and
+it is sacred to Astarte. My uncle brought it to me from Tyre. It is
+pretty, because it is of silver, with eyes of rubies. I put it on the
+window-sill of my room. It brought the birds; they came and sang on my
+window-sill.
+
+“My little dove sees me kiss myself in my mirror.
+
+“Is it wrong, Jonah?”
+
+When Jonah did not reply, she said, “Tell me what it is like in the
+desert. Just imagine, to live all alone in a little hut or a cave, how
+exciting that is.”
+
+Jonah began to tell her of his life in the desert. Seated in the shade
+on the moss, while the bees hummed outside in the sun, he described the
+way in which the prophets came together for study and meditation. “I
+have a little cell,” he said, “in Golan, near a tiny stream which rises
+in the hills. It is clear and cold, and many prophets live beside its
+banks among the rushes. In the morning, after we have prayed, we gather
+in the shade to listen to some learned man, or eminent saint. Our
+midday meal is simple, a few dates, some maize, a little oil or wine,
+perhaps a fish from the deep waters of Cinnereth across the hills.
+And in the afternoon we meditate upon the Law, and the history of our
+people.
+
+“Evening comes suddenly in the wilderness. The shadows lengthen, and
+night approaches across the desert. The wind of night blows upon the
+east, which turns dark and blue with cold. In the west the sun goes
+down into the sea; the sky turns yellow, then green, and shines like
+a lamp. The stars appear, the dews descend, and the wings of angels
+begin to sweep through the skies. It is cold, and the desert is silent,
+save for the prayers of the hermits, which rise in a soft sigh from the
+earth. As it grows darker the voices of animals begin to mingle with
+our psalms, and we hear, far off, the roaring of lions on their way to
+drink. Then our fires are lighted, to guide the Hosts of Heaven to our
+homes.
+
+“The animals are our friends. The little divinities of the rocks and
+streams know and reverence us. They bring us food, and they tell us of
+the approach of demons in the form of ostriches and jackals. Against
+such beings as these our holiness is sufficient protection while we are
+on God’s land.
+
+“Well, that is all, really. It is a simple life, but it has its beauty.
+In the quiet of the desert our hearts expand like flowers in warm
+weather, and in our minds blossom lovely and tranquil thoughts.”
+
+Moved by a sweet emotion, Judith replied, “How delightful it must be to
+live in the desert.”
+
+She continued in a low tone, “When you speak of God, I seem to feel Him
+in my heart. It is such a strange feeling, so peaceful and yet a little
+painful.”
+
+And she looked at him with surprised and shining eyes.
+
+Suddenly she looked down; the dark lashes rested softly against her
+cheeks warm as sunny roses. “I must go home now,” she murmured.
+“Good-by.”
+
+She got swiftly to her feet. “I will not look in my mirror any more,”
+she said, “if you think it is wrong.”
+
+And she ran away without once looking behind her. When she got home
+she hid her mirror in a box of ivory and sandalwood. Then she went to
+put her silver dove away also. But all at once, instead of hiding it,
+she gave it a kiss on its ruby eyes.
+
+“Little dove,” she said, “tell me what love is.”
+
+Going to her box, she took out her mirror again, and gazed for a long
+time, and with a smile, at her own reflection.
+
+Jonah went thoughtfully home. There he found his Uncle David, who
+had stopped in for a moment to see if anything was being cooked.
+Deborah was filling the lamps for the Sabbath. When she saw Jonah she
+straightened her bent back, and remarked anxiously, “Where have you
+been all morning?”
+
+“I have been out walking,” replied Jonah evasively. And he sat gloomily
+down in a corner of the room, as far as possible from his uncle. Then
+all at once he burst out laughing. When his mother asked him what he
+was laughing at, he answered,
+
+“I was thinking of a green beetle.”
+
+“You see,” said Uncle David, nodding his head, “he is not all there.”
+
+Deborah arose, and went to fetch more oil for the lamps. As she passed
+her son, she touched his forehead with her hand. “What is there so
+peculiar about that?” she demanded of her brother. “Or perhaps you have
+never seen a green beetle? Well, I have been amused by them myself.”
+
+“Sit still for a little,” she said anxiously to Jonah; “after walking
+so much in the sun.”
+
+Uncle David settled himself comfortably in his seat. “To-day,” he said,
+“who should I meet but Bildad, the water carrier. He said to me, ‘This
+is fine news about your nephew, Jonah. I suppose that we shall hear
+from you soon,’ and with that he gave me a look full of meaning.
+
+“I did not reply; naturally, because I had nothing to say. Could I tell
+him the truth? We should be the laughing-stock of the entire village.
+I simply wrinkled my forehead and looked as grave as possible. At any
+rate, my expression struck him as peculiar, because he said as he went
+away, ‘Excuse me for intruding in your affairs.’”
+
+“I have been thinking of something,” said Deborah. “It has occurred to
+me that if we do not give a feast, people might begin to think that we
+wished to give ourselves airs.”
+
+“There you are,” said David; “that is the way I feel about it, word for
+word. Speak up, and people believe you. Otherwise what is the good of
+all this?”
+
+Jonah stirred uneasily in his corner. “Mother,” he said, “do you really
+insist upon giving a feast for me? I think it is foolish. Still, if it
+would give you pleasure ... but who would come? The whole village, I
+suppose. Would you actually ask the prince, and his niece?”
+
+“What?” cried David; “what? I shall ask him myself, because I am
+acquainted with him in a humble way.”
+
+“Well,” said Jonah, hesitating.... “But what would you wear, Mother?”
+he asked with sudden anxiety. “These old rags.... And who would pay for
+it? No, it is impossible.”
+
+“Do not worry about what I would wear,” returned Deborah sharply. “You
+will not be ashamed of me. As for who is to pay for it ... you need not
+worry about that, either, because it will not be you, at all events.”
+
+Jonah sat for a long time without speaking. At last he sighed. “Very
+well,” he said, “if you like....
+
+“I will stay a few days longer.”
+
+
+
+
+VI
+
+
+So Jonah did not at once return to the desert. Instead, he said shyly
+to his mother the next morning: “My cloak is torn almost in two. Is
+there nothing else for me to wear?”
+
+“There is an old coat which belonged to your father,” said Deborah.
+“But it is brightly colored, and it is too heavy for this mild weather.”
+
+“It cannot be helped,” replied Jonah; “if people are going to notice
+me.”
+
+When it was brought to him, he regarded it with a timid expression.
+Nevertheless, he put it on, giving Deborah his old coat to mend.
+
+“You will be overheated,” said Deborah. She added, “Must you go out on
+such a hot day? You will come home all wet, like a river.”
+
+“Mother,” said Jonah earnestly, “I am not a child any longer.”
+
+“Was I interfering in your affairs?” cried Deborah. “I simply said it
+was such a hot day.”
+
+Clasping her hands anxiously, she asked, “Shall I put some oil upon
+your hair before you go out?”
+
+For she thought, “Then his head will be cool, at all events.”
+
+Without waiting for an answer, she ran to get the oil. Then she combed
+her son’s beard and poured oil upon his hair. “There,” she said,
+stepping back to admire him, “now you look like somebody.”
+
+As Jonah stalked gloomily out of the house, she called after him
+tenderly, “Keep out of the sun.”
+
+In the village Jonah met Bildad, the water carrier. Balancing his heavy
+gourds upon his shoulder by means of a wooden yoke and some leather
+thongs, the old man was going slowly from house to house with his
+wares. When he saw Jonah, he stopped and said with surprise,
+
+“I see that you have a new coat.”
+
+“Yes,” said Jonah.
+
+Bildad scratched his head. “I am glad to see that you are doing so well
+in your profession,” he said.
+
+And he passed by, carrying his water gourds.
+
+Walking hastily through the village, Jonah climbed the hill toward
+Ahab’s house. The moment he entered the garden he saw Judith. She was
+seated in the same spot as the day before, and she was twining a wreath
+of flowers in her hair.
+
+“What a surprise,” she exclaimed, “to see you again.”
+
+“Yes,” said Jonah. “I was passing by; it occurred to me to stop ...
+that is, I thought you might be interested to hear that I am going
+back to the desert again.”
+
+Judith’s face remained drowsy and content. “Are you going soon?” she
+asked, and held up her wreath to admire it. The wide golden sleeves of
+her robe fell back from her round brown arms; and she smiled dreamily
+at nothing.
+
+Jonah replied that he had decided to wait a few days in order to
+satisfy his mother, who wished to give a feast in his honor. “Just
+imagine,” he said, with a laugh. “Nevertheless, her heart is set on it.”
+
+Judith sighed. “I wish I were a man,” she said, “and could go to
+feasts.”
+
+Jonah told her that the whole village was to be asked. “Your uncle,
+the great prince,” he said, “has also been invited. He might even,” he
+added timidly, “bring his family.”
+
+“Oh, how exciting that would be,” she cried.
+
+And they looked at each other with happy smiles.
+
+“Why are you going back to the desert?” she asked at length. “But I
+suppose it is necessary for a prophet. Well, I hope you will be a great
+man.”
+
+Something suddenly occurred to her, for she added, “My goodness, you
+are really a great man already, aren’t you?”
+
+“Oh, no,” he said; “it was nothing; God simply wished to speak to me.”
+
+“You are modest,” said Judith; “that is nice.”
+
+Smiling, she looked at the flowers in her hand. Suddenly she frowned,
+and said seriously,
+
+“One finds so few modest people nowadays. All the prophets have so much
+to say, but I do not like what they say; they talk about such gloomy
+things. Jonah, tell me--what is there to be so sad about in Israel?”
+
+Jonah replied gravely, “We are sad because life is not simple, the way
+it used to be. We imitate other nations and so we are not certain about
+ourselves any more. We are not even sure of God; we begin to wonder if
+He is not a bull, or a dove, and if He is not also the god of Aram and
+Babylon. That is why we are unhappy. When the things we believe in are
+questioned, it makes us restless and sad. Patriots are the only happy
+people, for they believe in themselves; and if other people disagree
+with them, they do not forgive them for it.”
+
+Judith gazed at the young prophet with admiration. His black eyes
+glowed, his head was lifted, and he continued bitterly:
+
+“However, that is not all, by any means. One expects a certain amount
+of ignorance among the poor. But the rich ought to be an example to
+the rest of the people. Well, the rich have only one desire, to forget
+that they are Jews. With their beards curled like Assyrians, they vex
+and oppress the poor, who cry out to the gods of other lands for
+deliverance.”
+
+“That is not true,” cried Judith angrily. “And I will not let you speak
+of my uncle like that.”
+
+“Your uncle,” stammered Jonah; “yes ... well ....”
+
+He sat staring at the grass, with burning cheeks. Presently Judith
+remarked timidly,
+
+“Forgive me.”
+
+“You see,” said Jonah in a low voice, “you do not know what it is to be
+poor.”
+
+“I am sorry,” said Judith sweetly. And she added, “What is the good of
+talking about it?”
+
+“Do you think that I mind being poor?” cried Jonah. “I do not wish to
+be anything else. Since I am poor, I am free, my heart is at peace.
+Remember that I live in the desert, where all your uncle’s wealth would
+not do him the least good. It is you, not I, for whom you ought to
+reserve your sympathy. I do not need anything; I am happy, my heart is
+full of beauty, like the wilderness, quiet, fragrant, and bare.”
+
+Judith bowed her head, “My heart is bare, too,” she thought. But
+something moved in it, and she sighed.
+
+“No,” she told herself, “my heart is quite bare.”
+
+Jonah continued: “You have never seen the dawn come up across the
+desert. The night rolls away into the west like the last clouds of
+a storm, dark and terrifying. The east grows brighter and brighter,
+shining like a lamp, so clear and quiet; and the sky seems to be full
+of angels going out into the world. There is no sound, for the birds do
+not sing yet. All is peace, all is holiness and beauty. No, you do not
+know anything about such things.”
+
+Judith sat silent, her hands clasped in her lap, her brown eyes cloudy.
+At last she murmured sighing,
+
+“I should like to be poor, like you.”
+
+And they sat dreaming, hearing their thoughts knock like echoes on the
+walls of their hearts.
+
+At noon Jonah returned home through the field where his brother Aaron
+was grazing the village cattle. Bright-colored insects buzzed and
+hummed about him as he walked; lazy lizards sunned themselves on
+stones; in the noonday heat earth spoke with faint but audible voices.
+The trees drank in the light; the wild bees hurried to and fro among
+the flowers which opened their petals with voluptuous joy to the south
+wind.
+
+The prophet found his brother asleep beneath a locust tree. “So,” he
+said, rousing him with his staff, “that is the way you make a success,
+by going to sleep. I could do that too, without any trouble.”
+
+Aaron sat up and rubbed his eyes. “I have my hands full,” he said.
+“Remember that I am up at daybreak. And then there are all these cows.
+If I doze now and then, it is what any one would do in my place.”
+
+Seeing Jonah’s coat, he cried out angrily, “That is the coat mother
+promised me.”
+
+Jonah paid no attention to this outburst. “Tell me,” he said seriously,
+“how does one make a living? I am interested, and should like to know a
+few things.”
+
+An appeal of this nature made Aaron feel pleased. “To make a living,”
+he said thoughtfully, “is, to begin with, a very difficult thing. Then
+there are other questions to consider: such as, what sort of a living
+do you wish to make? Any one can live. Look at Uncle David.”
+
+“No,” said Jonah; “by a living I mean a family and children.”
+
+But Aaron shook his head. “There again,” he replied, “it depends on
+what kind of wife will do. Must she be expensive? Then you need a good
+living, naturally. But what could you do, Jonah? Could you sell cloth,
+or gold? Or perhaps you might build roads.”
+
+And he burst out laughing.
+
+“Ha, ha, ha.”
+
+“There is always the cattle business,” he said finally, pointing to the
+cows.
+
+“I am not joking, Aaron,” cried Jonah impatiently.
+
+His tone caused his younger brother to sit up, and to regard him with
+a curious expression. “Are you in earnest, Jonah?” he asked. “Do you
+really mean to settle down? I thought you would never leave the desert.
+Are you going to be married? Good Heavens....”
+
+Jonah replied carefully, with his eyes on the ground, “No ... what
+an idea. I may leave the desert for a while, but only to be with our
+mother. As for marriage ... well, to tell the truth, I had heard it
+said of you....”
+
+“Of me?” cried Aaron with wide-open eyes. “You are dreaming, Jonah,
+the heat has touched you. A wife, for me? Why, I could only afford a
+poor girl from the village. No, when I marry I mean to take a wife from
+town. But that will cost a good deal. One pays for a wife in Israel;
+perhaps you have forgotten that.”
+
+“You are right,” said Jonah; “I had forgotten it.” And he turned home
+again. His thoughts were grave, and he walked slowly, with a serious
+air. At the entrance to the village he passed the statue of a winged
+bull, before which lay the remains of a sacrifice of cereal, which was
+being enjoyed by some birds. Jonah looked for a long time at the idol
+which seemed to gaze back at him with an ironic expression.
+
+“Perhaps,” he said sadly at last, “it is I, not you, who am a stranger
+here in Israel.”
+
+And he felt a coldness lay itself upon his heart.
+
+
+
+
+VII
+
+
+Moonlight covered the earth, the trees showered down their perfume of
+blossom and cedar, the fragrance of lilies rose through the night.
+Voices sang softly in the shadows, teased, laughed, whispered in the
+moonlight; lamps shone, light fell upon trees. In Deborah’s kitchen
+Uncle David passed around cakes, fruits, and bitter almonds, and helped
+the guests to wine, milk, and honey. He was a genial host; his eyes
+shone, he urged every one to enjoy himself.
+
+Deborah moved among her friends, anxious and happy. She kept one eye on
+Uncle David, and had something to say to everybody.
+
+“Well, this is like old times. This is what peace does for a country.”
+
+“What a lovely night.”
+
+“We should have such a war every year.”
+
+“A son to be proud of.”
+
+Under a tree in the garden two old men were discussing religion. They
+pulled at their long beards and gazed at each other with indignation.
+“God belongs to Israel,” said one; “do not lend Him around.”
+
+The other replied: “Does the earth belong to the tree? Does the air
+belong to the wind? Can I lend the sky? How many gods are there, then?”
+
+First old man: “Maybe a hundred, maybe two hundred. There is nothing in
+the Laws of Moses which says how many. Do you wish to dispute with the
+Holy One Himself?”
+
+Second old man: “As for that, I am not the disputer. I simply say of
+God, ‘He is everywhere, and He does not look like anything.’ But you
+say, ‘No. He is here, and He looks like a Jew.’”
+
+First old man: “All the gods look like something. There is a tribe in
+the south whose god is only two feet high, and entirely covered with
+short black hair. His people are naturally pygmies. What have you to
+say to that? or would you like me to believe that our God is also the
+father of pygmies?”
+
+Second old man: “Pygmies are not human beings, but monsters. It does
+not surprise me to find monsters in the world. I say it does not
+surprise me because I can see a little beyond the front of my face. On
+the other hand you cannot see anything but what is right under your
+nose. You are not a philosopher; you are a patriot. You would like to
+keep God all to yourself.”
+
+First old man: “Exactly, I am a patriot. And what are you? I hesitate
+even to say it.”
+
+The two old men glared angrily at each other.
+
+“Look,” said the first old man to Bildad, the water carrier, who was
+passing by, “he wishes to give God away to the Gentiles.”
+
+Bildad shook his head. “No,” he said accusingly: “Oh, my.” And he
+hurried away to join a group of villagers about Prince Ahab, who was
+standing by the side of a table on which was set out a large bowl of
+wine.
+
+The prince was in the best of humor. “My friends,” he exclaimed, “what
+we need is more exercise. That is what makes a nation healthy. Talk is
+all very well, but there is too much of it.”
+
+He paused to take a long drink of wine. Several farmers who worked in
+the fields from dawn until dark applauded his remarks. It was easy to
+see that they respected his opinions, and that they did not know what
+he was talking about.
+
+“Just imagine,” said Bildad, “there is a man outside who wishes to give
+our God away to the gentiles.”
+
+“He is an ignoramus,” said Ahab. He continued,
+
+“Every one will agree with me that a good horse is the most beautiful
+thing in the world. Next to a horse, the best thing in the world is to
+be active, and to take a lot of exercise.”
+
+Uncle David nodded his head vigorously. “Exactly,” he said; “those are
+my opinions, almost word for word. A good active life is what I say.”
+
+The Prince turned upon Uncle David a face flushed with wine. “What,” he
+exclaimed, “here is an honest man.” And he embraced Uncle David, who
+said proudly to those standing near by,
+
+“We agree with each other. After all, he is a noble fellow.”
+
+Then he quietly asked Bildad to point out to him the old man who wished
+to give God away. When he found him, he went up to him and said,
+
+“Go away; please get out of this, as we do not want an ignoramus here.”
+
+Returning to the kitchen, he looked around him with an important air,
+and after blowing his nose, exclaimed,
+
+“Unhealthy people.”
+
+Prince Ahab was still talking. Clutching his beard, stained with grape,
+he concluded morosely,
+
+“Nobody rides any more.”
+
+It was time to divide the roasted ox among the guests. But first it was
+necessary to find Jonah, who was expected to perform the sacrifice to
+the god, in the absence of a priest. So Uncle David went to look for
+him; but he did not find him at once. For Jonah was in a corner of the
+garden with Judith, Ahab’s niece.
+
+The moonlight fell down upon them through the leaves like a shower of
+milky petals and blossoms without weight and without fragrance. The
+faint cheep of frogs, the shrill screech of the cicada, rose from
+the ground and answered from the branches through the air laden with
+sweetness. A single bird, cheated by the moon, sang far away; his song
+tumbled through the air like water falling.
+
+They leaned against the trunk of a tree, shadows making pools of
+darkness over their eyes, moonlight in their hair and on their hands.
+And their hearts, cheated, too, by the night, sang in confusion a song
+of joy which seemed to them like pain.
+
+They had little to say to each other. They discussed the weather.
+
+“What a beautiful night,” said Jonah. “It is like the nights on the
+desert, so still, so calm, and yet it makes me sad.”
+
+“It makes me sad, too,” whispered Judith. “Why does it make me sad,
+Jonah?”
+
+He shook his head. “I do not know,” he said. “Beauty often makes people
+sad. It is something they would like in their hearts, and their
+sadness is their longing.”
+
+She looked at him in the darkness. “Yes,” she said, “that’s it; that is
+what I feel sometimes when I look in my little mirror.”
+
+Jonah did not answer. The fragrance, the rapture of the night, moved
+through his heart. It seemed to flow from the young girl at his side
+and return to her again, lovely, obscure, a sweet sorrow, a longing
+filled with grief. He raised his head to the little dapple of moonlight
+among the leaves.
+
+“I’ve never felt anything like this before,” he thought. “It is like
+having God speak to me.
+
+“How beautiful she is. And she would like to be poor, like me. Of
+course, that is nonsense. Still....”
+
+He thought that she swayed a little closer to him. Intoxicated by an
+imperceptible warmth, he touched her hand. “Judith,” he whispered.
+
+“Yes?”
+
+“No--nothing. How lovely it is out here.” He trembled; his hand, twined
+with hers, was moist and warm, but he shivered as though with cold.
+
+She stood beside him, breathless, drowsy with sweetness, waiting....
+“This is love,” she thought. “He loves me, and I love him. How exciting
+it is.
+
+“I am a young girl, and already I am in love with a prophet.”
+
+She gave his hand a faint squeeze. Jonah sighed deeply. Was there
+anything else so lovely in the whole world, he thought.
+
+Judith raised her head. “Listen,” she said, “there’s a bird singing.
+Just think, in the moonlight; isn’t it sweet, Jonah? This is beauty,
+isn’t it? I could stay here forever.”
+
+No--there was nothing else in the whole world....
+
+From the garden arose the sound of voices; shadows moved among the
+trees. Aaron went by with a village girl, his hands stuffed with
+cakes. He offered them to her to nibble at, and kissed her mouth
+full of crumbs. She accepted his caresses with pleasure, but without
+passion. “What a thing you are,” she cried. “There’s your brother; he
+behaves himself, at least.”
+
+“He is a noodle,” said Aaron; “most of him is still in the desert. Who
+is that with him? My goodness....”
+
+They ran away, linked in laughter. Jonah looked after them, but he did
+not see them. The desert was in his heart, wide, starry, still; all the
+beauty in the world trembled at the moment’s edge. If it made itself
+known ... would the heart break with it?
+
+“This is too beautiful,” he wanted to cry; “wait, you are hurting me.”
+
+In another part of the garden Deborah said to Sarah, Judith’s nurse,
+
+“How charming your Judith is. She is not spoilt like so many of the
+young girls to-day. And when you consider her wealth, that makes it all
+the more remarkable.”
+
+“Yes,” said Sarah with satisfaction, “she knows nothing of life. She is
+a pure lily.”
+
+She added, “I have brought her up myself.”
+
+Deborah nodded her head. “Children cannot be brought up too strictly,”
+she said. “That is what is responsible for the success of my son Jonah.”
+
+And she moved away, smiling at her guests. Sarah gazed after her with
+pursed lips. “Indeed,” she said to herself. “Well, that is one thing to
+call it, of course.”
+
+Jonah was not thinking about being a prophet. His heart beat heavily;
+he felt as though he were all eyes, staring blindly into the night. The
+sweet, heavy scent of lilies struck him like a wind. He felt terrified
+of what he was about to say, of what he felt obliged to ask. But there
+was no help for it; the very shadows would begin to murmur if he were
+silent longer.
+
+“Judith, do you love me?”
+
+“Yes, Jonah.”
+
+Astonished, they gazed at each other without speaking.
+
+Then, slowly, their dark heads bent together.
+
+At that moment Uncle David, hurrying through the garden, caught sight
+of them under the tree. “Well,” he cried briskly, “there you are. Come,
+my son; the ox is about to be divided.”
+
+Jonah had only time to whisper, “Wait here for me, Judith.” Then he
+went, in a daze, to make the sacrifice. He heard but little of what was
+going on around him, the gay shouts, the pious wailing, but the sudden
+hush as he consigned the holy portions to the flames broke on him like
+a light.
+
+“Wait,” he said to himself; “something has happened.”
+
+And suddenly he began to feel very gay.
+
+“Why,” he thought, looking around at the familiar faces, “what are all
+these people so happy about? They do not know what has happened. They
+have no reason to be happy, as I have.
+
+“I ought at least to be happier than they are.”
+
+Seizing a cup of wine, he threw the contents on the blazing altar. “For
+You, too, God,” he cried recklessly; “enjoy Yourself.”
+
+At once murmurs of protest arose. The old man who had caused the
+philosopher to be sent home expressed the opinion that such an act was
+not customary. “What does he mean, ‘Enjoy yourself,’” he exclaimed. “Is
+that a way to speak to God? Or does he think that the Eternal One and
+he are such good friends already?”
+
+Prince Ahab shrugged his shoulders. “What do you expect of young people
+to-day?” he inquired. “It only surprises me that he did not call God
+something even more irreverent.”
+
+Uncle David went anxiously about among the guests with apologies. “He
+is a little wild,” he said to several people; “you must excuse it ...
+the life he leads, in the sun....” He tapped his head significantly.
+“He is not all there.”
+
+Deborah, on the other hand, did not seem at all disturbed. In a calm
+manner she explained that very likely there were different ways of
+making a sacrifice. “After all,” she said, “my son is a prophet, and
+therefore closer to God than any of us here. Did you see the feather
+he brought home, actually from an angel? Besides, if you ask me, why
+shouldn’t God enjoy Himself, if He likes?”
+
+But she gave Jonah a look, when no one was watching, which said
+plainly, “What a trouble you always make for yourself and for me.”
+
+When the sacrifice was over, Jonah hurried back to the tree where he
+had left Judith. But she was gone; Sarah had come to take her home.
+
+As if in a dream he wandered off in the moonlight, down the road and
+through the fields. Behind him the lights and the hum of the feast
+faded out; he was alone, in the silence of night. About him the
+pastures, bathed in dew, shone like silver under the moon which covered
+the earth with delicate mist. Everything was peaceful, everything
+breathed a quiet and resigned joy. Only in the heart of the man, filled
+with bliss, there was no peace.
+
+He spread out his arms, “I am happy,” he cried, “I am happy.”
+
+He thought of the Deity to whom he had so often prayed. “Thank You,” he
+whispered.
+
+And he gazed with love at the heavens, pale, and shining with stars.
+
+He began to imagine the future. “What does it matter if we are poor?”
+he thought. “One cannot buy beauty. We will live in a little house, and
+I will do great things, like Nathan, or Elisha.”
+
+But that mood did not suit his spirit for long. “No,” he exclaimed, “I
+will never allow her to be poor. I will make a large fortune, to keep
+her comfortably.”
+
+But how? He did not trouble to find out. Already he was living in his
+palaces, surrounded by slaves.
+
+All night he walked through the fields soaked with dew, through the
+woods, silent and dark. The moon floated on to the west, and went down
+over seas and lands unknown, undreamed. The world slept; even the frogs
+were still. But there was no sleep for Jonah that night; his joy kept
+him awake. Accustomed to sorrow and indignation, he could not bear his
+own happiness.
+
+“Judith,” he cried over and over, in a sort of amazement. “Judith.”
+
+Dawn broke in the east, and hunger turned him homeward. On the road
+near the village he passed a golden litter, also bound for Gath-Hepher,
+on whose curtains were woven in silver the little doves of Eryx. The
+litter was followed by several donkeys, laden with merchandise, and
+a number of servants in the livery of the Phœnicians. “There goes a
+rich man,” thought Jonah, “but I am happier than he. I will buy his
+litter and give it to Judith, because of the little silver doves on the
+curtains.”
+
+It was Hiram, a merchant of Tyre, on his way to visit Prince Ahab,
+with dyed silks from Sidon, sandalwood, and cloves. Jonah had no
+forebodings. Cold, wet, weary, but overborne by happiness, he went on
+home to his mother’s house for breakfast.
+
+
+
+
+VIII
+
+
+That morning Jonah said to his mother, “Mother, I am going to be
+married.”
+
+Deborah did not stop singing to herself as she sat mixing curds. But
+she looked at Jonah as though to say, “Are you preparing some new
+trouble for us both?”
+
+At last, since Jonah did not offer any further information, she
+remarked quietly:
+
+“What of your career?”
+
+“What of it?” replied Jonah. “I have been alone a long while; now I am
+going to take a wife.”
+
+Deborah went on stirring her curds. But she stopped singing. Presently
+she put down her wooden spoon and sat still, staring at her son.
+
+“You know,” she said gravely, “that I want you to be happy. But what
+are you doing? Your father also had a great deal of talent. He might
+have been a priest, but he preferred to marry me; and he died by
+being gored by a bull. Marriage is a serious thing, and nothing for a
+prophet.”
+
+“Do you think prophets are made of wood or stone?” cried Jonah
+irritably. “They also have feelings, like any one else.”
+
+Deborah nodded her head. “I suppose so,” she said. “Still, how much
+better it would be if you could find something else to do with those
+feelings.”
+
+“Well, I can’t,” said Jonah. And he relapsed into gloomy silence.
+
+His mother began to stir her curds again. “If that is the case,” she
+said at last, “you had better tell me all about it, and we will see
+what can be done.”
+
+Since Jonah did not reply, she added, “I suppose it is some woman of
+Bethel, or perhaps a girl from the desert.”
+
+“It is Judith,” said Jonah simply, “Ahab’s niece.”
+
+The spoon fell with a clatter into the bowl. “Ak,” cried Deborah. And
+she gazed at her son in consternation.
+
+“Have you gone out of your mind?” she exclaimed at last. “Do you
+imagine for a single moment such a thing would be allowed? Who are you,
+Jonah, the grandson of King David? Or are you perhaps a nephew of King
+Hiram of Tyre? You must be mad, my son.”
+
+And she added, shaking her head, “It is always something difficult or
+impossible with you.”
+
+Jonah raised his eyes, burning with enthusiasm, to his mother. “After
+all,” he said with dignity, “it was I who led the Jews against Aram. Is
+that nothing? Is it nothing that I have spoken with God? Or is a noble
+a greater person in Israel than the God of the Jews? Let him order the
+angels, then.”
+
+“What does a noble know about God?” cried Deborah. “I am poor, and your
+mother; I know what it means to be a prophet. But a noble--no, my son,
+you have taken leave of your senses. All he knows is what he can buy,
+which is nearly everything.”
+
+“Can he buy love?” asked Jonah scornfully.
+
+Deborah thought to herself, “Yes, love, too”; but she did not say so.
+Putting aside her bowl, she asked more gently,
+
+“Do you love her so much?”
+
+“Yes, mother.”
+
+“And does she love you, my son?”
+
+When Jonah nodded his head, she arose and, coming over to him, put her
+hand a moment on his hair.
+
+“Poor Jonah,” she whispered.
+
+“Well,” she said, after a silence, sighing, “well ... I will see what I
+can do.”
+
+Taking down her best shawl, she went to find Uncle David, to discuss
+the matter.
+
+At first Uncle David was frightened. “He is crazy,” he exclaimed. But
+after a while, when he had listened to Deborah, he began to take a more
+hopeful point of view. “Who knows,” he said, “perhaps God is with him.”
+
+He thought: “It is not as though our family were just a common one.”
+
+And he began to feel that he was already connected with nobility.
+But he had no scented oil for his hair, and he wished to make a good
+impression when he went to call. Therefore, as there was a little oil
+of olives left over from the feast, he put this on his hair, and,
+taking also his me’il, or over-garment, which he kept for special
+occasions, he exclaimed hopefully to his sister,
+
+“Now, leave all this to me, because I know Prince Ahab very well, and
+we understand each other, he and I.”
+
+And he began to rehearse what he would say to the Prince. “Of course,”
+he declared, with a wave of his hand, “the difference in wealth.... But
+you are a man of the world. You know that a prophet is not born every
+day.”
+
+“And such a good son,” said Deborah.
+
+“And such a good son,” added Uncle David.
+
+“Also, I say to you as one father to another, or, at least, an uncle,
+what is there in the world like youth? Can we old ones tell the young
+how to behave?”
+
+“Come,” said Deborah; “you are only wasting time.”
+
+Gravely, with slow steps and thoughtful expressions, they went up
+through the village to the palace. Uncle David helped Deborah over the
+rough places, and she leaned upon his arm.
+
+Prince Ahab came to meet them in his hall in which a single fountain
+sang. There a peacock led his long tail across the floor set in
+triangles of marble and ebony. Rich silks adorned the walls, which
+exhaled an odor of musk and cedar.
+
+After greeting them cordially, the Prince offered his guests cakes in
+which cinnamon, spices, and poppy-seeds were happily mingled. Then he
+said in a hearty voice,
+
+“What a splendid feast you gave us last night. I wish to thank you in
+the name of my household, all of whom enjoyed themselves.”
+
+“Thank you,” said Deborah shyly. She was timid and ill at ease, yet she
+managed to appear calm and smiling. “It was nothing, or at least for
+such an occasion, nothing....”
+
+And she gave Uncle David a nudge with her elbow. But now that Uncle
+David found himself called upon to say something, confusion rendered
+him speechless. “Yes,” he said feebly, “an occasion....”
+
+Prince Ahab broke in, with a smile: “A feast in honor to a prophet. Do
+you think I have forgotten what is due your son for his help against
+Aram? A feast like that is not too good for him.”
+
+Warmed by his tone, Deborah said eagerly: “If you only knew him; such
+kindness, with all that talent besides. He has made a great success,
+and he is still a very young man.”
+
+“I do not doubt it,” replied Prince Ahab.
+
+“He speaks to angels,” continued Deborah proudly, “but he is like a
+lamb with his own mother.”
+
+“Say something,” she whispered to Uncle David; “make an effort.”
+
+“Yes,” said Uncle David.
+
+“I congratulate you upon your son,” said Prince Ahab heartily; “there
+are too few in Israel like him. I am proud to have him in my village.
+I was saying as much the other day to my niece, the Lady Judith.”
+
+And he added hopefully, “Does he speak of another war?”
+
+“No,” said Deborah, “he is not thinking of wars just now.” She hung her
+head, and gazed at the floor. Presently she lifted her head again, and
+looked, full of blushes, at the Prince. “He has something else on his
+mind,” she said.
+
+“Are you dumb?” she whispered in Uncle David’s ear.
+
+Uncle David gave a start. “As a matter of fact,” he said huskily, “it
+is this way: Jonah is thinking of settling down.”
+
+“Ah,” said Prince Ahab, and curled his beard idly in his fingers.
+“Well, that would be too bad. Such men as he have work to do in the
+world. We cannot afford to lose such optimistic voices. To whom is
+Israel to look for her glory if not to such prophets as your son, my
+good Deborah? No, no, I hope he will not settle down.”
+
+“He has made up his mind,” said Deborah; “I cannot argue with him.” And
+she added in a voice too low for Ahab’s ears, “He is like a goat.”
+
+“As a matter of fact,” said Uncle David suddenly, “he has made up his
+mind to marry.”
+
+“To marry?” exclaimed Prince Ahab. “What?” And he stood frowning with
+disappointment.
+
+“Then there will be no more wars,” he declared gloomily.
+
+But Deborah replied with conviction: “One can marry and still be a
+prophet. And my son is particularly suited to be a husband. He is
+gentle and pure.”
+
+“That must please you,” said Ahab, “although I do not know if it is the
+best thing in a husband.
+
+“Well,” he said, with a sigh, “I dare say there is no help for it. So
+tell me what I can do for you, my good Deborah.”
+
+And he gazed amiably at the two who stood before him shifting on their
+feet with embarrassment.
+
+It was Deborah at last who spoke.
+
+“My brother should by rights speak for me,” she said, looking
+indignantly at Uncle David, “but as he is so dumb, I shall have to
+speak for myself.”
+
+She took a deep breath. “Prince Ahab,” she said, “my son Jonah, the
+prophet, wishes to marry your niece, the Lady Judith.”
+
+“That’s it,” said Uncle David; “that’s what we came to say.”
+
+The smile died upon Prince Ahab’s face, and he stared at them in
+amazement. “What?” he exclaimed; “did I hear you aright?”
+
+Deborah repeated in a firmer tone what she had said; then, raising her
+eyes to his, looked at him with a candid and satisfied expression. Now
+that the declaration was out, she felt entirely different.
+
+But Prince Ahab began to laugh.
+
+“My good woman,” he cried, “are you mad? Such a thing is impossible.”
+
+“Why is it impossible?” asked Deborah calmly. “I do not see anything
+impossible about it. Do you, David?”
+
+“No,” said David hurriedly, “no. Of course it seems impossible; I said
+at once that it looked absurd. Still ... there you are.
+
+“Ha ha.”
+
+And he also essayed a laugh like a croak.
+
+Prince Ahab controlled himself with an effort. “Madam,” he said, “what
+does this extraordinary son of yours offer as price for my niece, if I
+may be so bold as to inquire?”
+
+Deborah at least had the grace to blush. “Nothing,” she said in a low
+tone. “But he thought, being a prophet ... and what is wealth to you,
+who have so much?”
+
+Prince Ahab let out a sudden roar of anger. The joke no longer amused
+him. “Nothing,” he cried.
+
+“He wishes to give me nothing for the Lady Judith.
+
+“What impudence.”
+
+“What did I tell you?” said David, trembling, turning to his sister.
+“He has insulted her. O my God.”
+
+Prince Ahab spread his legs apart, and clutched his beard with both
+hands. “Woman,” he cried in thunderous tones, “let me tell you that my
+sister’s daughter will not marry a pauper, prophet or no prophet. A fig
+for your prophets. They are dirty, unhealthy, meddlesome creatures.
+Tell your son to go back to the desert where he belongs. And as for my
+niece, she has been given too much liberty. I shall see that she is
+properly guarded hereafter.
+
+“What ideas. I tell you there is no respect in this unhappy country.”
+
+Summoning his slaves, he bade them hustle Deborah from his sight. Then
+he went off in a violent mood to find his niece. Fortunately for Judith
+she was not in the garden; instead he came upon Hiram, the Phœnician,
+strolling among the flowers. Prince Ahab took the wealthy merchant by
+the arm. “Come,” he said, “I am in a rage. Let me show you my horses.
+I have some things to talk over with you. I have had a shock this
+morning, and I do not know what the world is coming to. What ideas.
+What impudence. Let us go riding for a while; it will do me good.”
+
+And he hurried to the stables.
+
+Deborah walked home with her head in the air, the color bright on her
+face. In the village she stopped to speak a few words to the gossips,
+who greeted her with curiosity and interest.
+
+“Well,” she said, “Jonah is going back to the desert soon. God will
+need him again shortly.
+
+“Such excitement last night; I couldn’t sleep after it. So I still have
+on my shawl, taking some air in the morning.”
+
+She passed on, humming a little tune to herself.
+
+Uncle David hurried home before her. Dripping with perspiration, and
+with a white face, he burst into the house, and sank dejectedly upon a
+bench.
+
+“All is lost,” he cried.
+
+“Woe is me.”
+
+He could say no more. Deborah, when she came home, told Jonah the story.
+
+
+
+
+IX
+
+
+When Prince Ahab told his niece that she was not to be allowed to marry
+Jonah, she wept bitterly. For an entire day she refused to eat or
+speak; for she thought her heart was broken. In the evening she went to
+the tree in the garden where she had sat with Jonah; and, as she leaned
+her cheek against its bark, she saw again in her mind the dark, thin
+face of her lover, the brown eyes speaking to her in silence. She heard
+his voice:
+
+“Beauty often makes people sad. It is something they would like to have
+in their hearts, and their sadness is their longing.”
+
+“Oh, Jonah, Jonah....”
+
+And her tears fell unchecked.
+
+When she returned to the house, Sarah said to her indignantly,
+
+“Do you know that your young man wished to marry you for nothing? What
+an impertinence.”
+
+Judith replied tearfully, “He has nothing, the poor fellow.”
+
+“That is what makes the insult all the harder to bear,” said Sarah. “If
+he has nothing, he should keep quiet, for your sake. What would people
+think of you if you were to marry for nothing? You would be ruined
+socially.”
+
+Judith sat up straight, with red cheeks. “Why,” she exclaimed, “what an
+idea.”
+
+But she remained thoughtful for the rest of the evening. The next
+morning she said to Sarah, “He is so gentle and sweet. I love him.” And
+she added,
+
+“Men are so thoughtless.”
+
+At once Sarah, who knew what she was doing, exclaimed, “My poor lamb,
+you have been badly treated.”
+
+Judith’s eyes filled with tears again. “I am a young girl,” she
+thought, “and already my heart has been broken.”
+
+All day she was pale, and said nothing. Occasionally she wept, but
+without violence. In the evening she walked among her flowers, composed
+and quiet, her brown eyes sad and wondering, like a child’s. And as the
+sky faded from the color of roses to the color of leaves, she breathed
+a name sadly, but so faintly, into the air.
+
+“Jonah....”
+
+No one answered, and her heart vibrated with sadness and with peace. “I
+have lived,” she thought, “I have loved, I have been unhappy.
+
+“That is life, isn’t it....”
+
+And coming upon Hiram the Phœnician among the roses, she gave him a
+dignified bow.
+
+In the morning, in the bright sunshine, she said to herself, “Men are
+so selfish. Just imagine, if I were married for nothing, what would
+people think of me?”
+
+And she said seriously to Sarah, “I feel so old, Sarah. I feel as old
+as Methuselah.”
+
+“You are a little pale,” said Sarah, “but that does not do any harm.”
+
+“Do I look well?” asked Judith in surprise. “No.”
+
+“You are like a lily,” said Sarah.
+
+But Judith insisted that she looked, at least, a little thin. “And my
+eyes are all red from crying,” she added.
+
+She did not walk in her rose garden that night. In the morning Sarah
+said to her, “You are yellow as a dead leaf.” And she brought the
+little mirror for her mistress to look into.
+
+Judith looked at her reflection for a long time. She seemed a little
+proud and a little vexed at what she saw. “It is because I have
+suffered so much,” she said at last to Sarah. And she added,
+
+“Men are so cruel.”
+
+In the afternoon she dressed in white, with a girdle of silver about
+her hips. And Hiram, meeting Sarah in the court, cool with its
+fountain, said to the nurse,
+
+“The Lady Judith has a very spiritual face. Is she unhappy about
+something?”
+
+But Sarah threw up her hands at the mere thought of such a thing.
+“‘Unhappy’?” she cried; “what an idea. She knows nothing of life. She
+is like a lily. If she looks a little sad, it is because of her gentle
+nature.”
+
+That night Judith dined with her uncle and his guest. Her cheeks were
+pink as the youngest roses in her garden, her lips red again, like
+poppies. Ahab, seeing her blooming so, was satisfied. And Hiram also
+watched her carefully, with his shrewd dark eyes.
+
+In Judith’s apartments Sarah put away the pots of red and pink paste,
+the myrrh and cassia buds, and the little silver mirror. Then with a
+sigh she sat down to await the return of her mistress. She was content;
+she felt that the worst was over.
+
+“A woman should know her own worth,” she said to herself; “in that way
+she saves every one a lot of trouble.”
+
+
+
+
+X
+
+
+Jonah stood again before Amaziah, the High Priest. On his face, dark
+with woe, were drawn lines of determination. He held out his hands,
+empty, and brown as the earth.
+
+“I have not brought you anything this time,” he said, “not even an
+eagle’s feather.”
+
+Amaziah chose to ignore this greeting. “What now, Jonah,” he exclaimed
+cheerfully; “do you not bring me another war? The presence of my
+favorite prophet fills me with the liveliest hopes.”
+
+But Jonah shook his head. “I am weary of being a prophet,” he said
+simply; “I have come to ask you to make me a priest.”
+
+Without losing the serenity of his expression, Amaziah looked
+thoughtfully at the young man whose weary face expressed
+dissatisfaction and bitterness. The old High Priest seemed to be
+reaching back into his own past, to the time when he, too, had had
+a choice to make. And his face, as he gazed at Jonah, softened; an
+expression almost of pity crossed his features, sharp and cruel as a
+hawk’s.
+
+“This is bad news, Jonah,” he said gently. And he was silent, waiting
+for an answer.
+
+But Jonah had nothing further to say.
+
+Amaziah stroked his chin. “Tell me,” he said at last, “what has caused
+you to look with dissatisfaction on your career at the very moment when
+all Israel speaks of you with admiration?”
+
+“What is the good of admiration?” asked Jonah sadly. “I have a living
+to make.”
+
+“Ah,” said Amaziah, and his face clouded, “so that is it. What a
+nuisance.”
+
+And he sat looking before him with a frown.
+
+“You do not really wish to be a priest,” he said at last; “for one
+thing the duties would soon prove irksome to one of your temperament.”
+
+Jonah threw out his hands. “What is there for me to do?” he cried.
+“Shall I keep cattle, like my brother Aaron? Or am I to beg, with a
+bowl?”
+
+“There are worse things than begging,” said Amaziah. “In the desert
+every one is a beggar.”
+
+“I am tired of the desert,” said Jonah; “I am not going to live there
+any longer.”
+
+But Amaziah held up his hand reprovingly. “My son,” he said gravely,
+“one does not change the course of one’s life with impunity, or for no
+reason.”
+
+“There is a reason,” said Jonah. He looked down at his feet; then he
+looked boldly up again. “I wish to marry,” he said.
+
+The High Priest made a gesture of discouragement. “I might have
+guessed,” he murmured. And he gazed sadly at the prophet, on whom he
+had been counting to help further his own plans. Presently he said with
+a sigh,
+
+“I can see that this maiden’s father does not wish to give her away for
+nothing.”
+
+“He is wealthy,” said Jonah gloomily. “For that reason he cannot abide
+a poor man for a son-in-law.”
+
+Amaziah nodded his head. “Naturally,” he agreed; “if he is wealthy, he
+feels obliged to add to his fortune. It is only those without anything
+who can give away what they have, without suffering an overbearing
+sense of loss. For one thing they do not lose as much, and for another,
+having nothing, they are not required to succeed in the world, and so
+they can afford to be generous.”
+
+As Jonah did not reply to this observation, he continued in a grave
+voice:
+
+“Are you really determined upon this thing, my son? Think well.
+Marriage in your case may well be a calamity. You have a name already
+famous in Israel. You are at the outset of a career like that of
+Samuel. It is safe to predict that you will go far. And you wish to
+give this up in order to be married? Such a thing is incredible.
+Farewell to glory, Jonah.”
+
+Jonah folded his arms, and regarded the High Priest with a gloomy and
+obstinate look. “Nevertheless,” he said firmly, “that is my decision.”
+
+“It is not even your loss,” continued Amaziah earnestly, “wholly; it
+is Israel’s. It is you who shine like a lamp in her darkness; yours is
+the voice of hope in her night. If you were Amos, or Hosea, I should
+say that Israel could get along without you. But you are different; you
+are the messenger of God’s geniality. Israel cannot afford to lose you,
+Jonah, my son.”
+
+However, Jonah was proof against arguments of this kind. Seeing which,
+Amaziah exclaimed,
+
+“What will God think of His prophet, who no longer listens to His
+voice?”
+
+Jonah replied with an effort: “Is God only audible in the desert?
+And must He be silent in the Temple? I tell you, He will speak to me
+wherever I am.”
+
+Almost at once he astonished Amaziah by crying out in a muffled voice,
+full of pain, “Do you think this is easy for me?”
+
+Amaziah seized what he took to be his advantage. “You are confident,”
+he remarked in quiet tones, “but I have noticed that God does not speak
+to my priests with the same enthusiasm with which He addresses Himself
+to the wild and savage hermits who live in the desert of Tob and Golan.
+And it is my experience that His angels do not enter the cottages of
+married men with the same boldness with which they visit the huts of
+bachelors. If it is true that prophets have sometimes been married, it
+is also true that they have often left their wives and gone out alone
+to live in the wilderness.”
+
+“That,” said Jonah stubbornly, “is a personal matter, which need not
+concern us.”
+
+And he added, “You cannot shake me in my resolve.”
+
+Amaziah looked at him sadly. But suddenly his brow cleared, and he
+struck his palms together. “Wait,” he cried; “if the father of this
+young woman did not object to your poverty, then there would be no
+reason for you to become a priest.”
+
+“Well,” said Jonah sourly, “he does object.”
+
+“Then,” exclaimed Amaziah, “for the glory of his country he shall be
+prevailed upon to change his mind.”
+
+And he waited with a smile for the name of the unreasonable man whose
+opinions were making a successful war with Nineveh highly improbable.
+
+“It is Prince Ahab,” said Jonah.
+
+At once the smile left Amaziah’s face, to be replaced by a look of
+consternation. The High Priest sank back in his seat, and stared at
+Jonah with brows which slowly drew together into a frown. His fingers
+caressed his chin; he sat for a long time without speaking. At last he
+said:
+
+“My son, the more I think of things, the more convinced I am that you
+would not make a good priest. It is the duty of a priest to serve men,
+and the Temple. You cannot be a good priest, and at the same time be
+given to divine illumination, because God deals only in generalities,
+and does not bother Himself about the details of administration.
+
+“A priest must conform; he must not have ideas of his own. He is a
+soldier with certain duties to perform: he must obey his superiors, and
+must serve the interests of the men and women who worship the god.
+
+“That would never do for you; your spirit is too lively. You would try
+to change everything.
+
+“Moreover, since you are not a Levite, I cannot make you a priest of
+Adonai. I cannot believe that you would be willing to become a priest
+of a baal such as Melcarth or Kemosh.
+
+“Besides, can you read or write? No? Well....
+
+“I can do nothing for you.”
+
+So saying, he clapped his hands, to show that the interview was at an
+end.
+
+“Will you speak to Prince Ahab?” cried Jonah wildly.
+
+Amaziah did not reply. Instead, two Nubian slaves came forward, and
+hustled Jonah out of the house.
+
+A number of people, hearing that the prophet Jonah was in town, had
+gathered in the street, to gaze at the man who had won a victory over
+the Aramæans. When they saw Jonah they waved their sticks and shawls,
+and cried,
+
+“Hurrah for the prophet.”
+
+“God bless Jonah.”
+
+“There is a great man; just look at him.”
+
+One old woman came hobbling forward, to touch the hem of his cloak.
+Jonah did not even see her. His eyes, hot with anger, were on the
+ground; he saw the dust, and the tip of his own beard. Finding an old
+woman in his path, he gave her a shove; whereat she fell with a bump to
+the ground.
+
+“Oh my,” she said, when she had got her breath. “Oh my. Well, there’s a
+great man for you. Tst; I feel better already.”
+
+
+
+
+XI
+
+
+Hiram, the Phœnician, was short, dark, and compactly built. His hair
+was curled and oily; his body, dressed in richest silks, and in linens
+forbidden to the Jews, exhaled an arresting fragrance. He walked in the
+garden with Judith and her nurse, Sarah, as evening was falling.
+
+“Redder roses than these,” he said, “bloom in the gardens of Tyre. The
+serpent priestesses of Astarte, the Kedeshoth, wear them in their hair
+at the festival of their goddess, who reigns in Sidon as the deity of
+cows, but in Tyre as the goddess of doves.”
+
+He had about him an air of the world, of cities by the shores of seas,
+of mountains far away. As he stood on the terrace at Gath-Hepher, his
+dark, shrewd eyes seemed to behold in the distance the white domes of
+Tyre, shining above the deep blue waters of the Mediterranean.
+
+“He reminds me of a man I knew long ago,” said Sarah to Judith in a low
+voice; “he was a camel driver, and he had been everywhere.”
+
+The Phœnician went on to describe the wonders of his country; the
+mighty trees of Lebanon, from which Solomon’s Temple had been built,
+the markets of Acre, with their silks, fruits, and ivory, the Temple of
+Melcarth, Baal of Tyre, with its two great pillars of marble and gold.
+He told them of the spacious Temple of Atareatis at Ascalon, with its
+pool in which floated sacred fish adorned with ornaments of gold.
+
+“At Aphaca,” he said, “there is a temple dedicated to Astarte, with a
+pool into which gifts are thrown by her worshippers. Once a year this
+pool is visited by the goddess in the form of a falling star. It is a
+marvelous sight and makes one very thoughtful.”
+
+“How strange,” said Judith. “And how I should love to see such a thing.”
+
+Hiram looked at her proudly. “You can understand,” he said, “that your
+temples do not compare with ours. In the first place, ours is a very
+old country. And then, our religion is not like yours. Our gods have
+faces you can look at, and love.”
+
+“Yes,” said Judith, thinking of her little silver dove.
+
+“What is more,” continued Hiram, “you who live inland cannot imagine
+the wonders of the great sea-coast cities. This is all very well;
+you have a pleasant garden here. But it is nothing compared to the
+terraces above the harbor at Tyre, looking out over the sea. There is
+magnificence for you. Well, you see, ships have come from all over the
+world to decorate them.”
+
+Sarah sighed. “I’d have seen them,” she said, “if I had gone as I was
+bid.”
+
+The Phœnician gave Sarah a wise look. “Perhaps you will see them after
+all,” he said. And he glanced for a moment at Judith as he turned away.
+
+“Oh,” said Sarah.
+
+Overhead the sky had grown dull with evening, green in the west, where
+the evening star, planet of love, hung silver over the hills. Shadows
+drew down about the garden, the wind rose and moved among the trees,
+the scent of flowers in the slow-falling dew ascended from the earth
+and mingled with the fragrance of pines.
+
+“How you would love the markets,” said Hiram, “with their bales of silk
+and rich stuffs, the strange fruits from the West and South, the gold
+and ivory. And such an enchanting odor of spices in the air.”
+
+“Just imagine,” said Judith.
+
+Hiram continued: “All the nations of the earth trade with my city.
+The masts of our ships rise like a forest along the sea wall, and
+their sails in the harbor are like orange and yellow moons. Ophir and
+Egypt, the colonies of Carthage, the isles of the barbaric Greeks with
+golden hair, all send their produce to us, in exchange for our linens,
+cedarwood, and dyes. It is a wonderful sight to see the ships come in,
+loaded with so much wealth.”
+
+Judith sighed. “How I should love that,” she said. And she looked
+around her at her uncle’s simple garden.
+
+“That is life, isn’t it?” she said; “to live in the world, in a great
+city with ships, and strange things to wear, and interesting sights to
+see.”
+
+“It is the life of a Phœnician,” said Hiram simply.
+
+And he added, “This sort of thing is all very well, but where does it
+lead to? You spend your life in a rose garden, between some low hills,
+among ignorant people.”
+
+“You would never believe how ignorant some of these people are,” said
+Sarah, nodding her head.
+
+“The life of a merchant,” said Hiram, “is another thing entirely. Take
+myself, for example; I travel a great deal. And it is really amazing
+how much information one is able to pick up here and there. I have been
+to Crete, where I went to look at the sewers. They are made out of
+stone, and very interesting. But perhaps sewers do not appeal to you?”
+
+“Oh, yes,” said Judith, “they appeal to me very much. But tell me
+something about your own city. What do the women wear? I suppose they
+are very beautiful.”
+
+“Yes,” said Hiram slowly, with his eyes on Judith, “they are beautiful.
+But to tell you the truth, I have never bothered much with women. How
+do they dress? With jewels, of course, and silks.... I hardly know. I
+am too busy most of the time to notice such things.”
+
+“Well,” said Sarah firmly, “I am sure you’ve seen no one in your city,
+or in any other city, for that matter, to compare with our young lady.”
+
+“No,” said Hiram, with a smile, “that is true.”
+
+Judith blushed a fiery red. “Why,” she cried, “I am not even pretty.”
+
+“You see,” said Sarah in Hiram’s ear, “she is not at all spoiled. What
+a jewel.”
+
+“The life of a merchant,” said Hiram thoughtfully, “is the most
+interesting life in the world. There is nothing like commerce to give
+one a liberal education. For one thing, the merchant has to travel a
+great deal, because naturally he has to see what he is buying; he has
+to visit other countries, in order to know what to sell. As you can
+imagine, it is a delightful way to occupy oneself.”
+
+“It’s quite another thing from living in a stable,” said Sarah.
+
+“Why, Sarah,” exclaimed Judith indignantly, “we don’t live in a stable.”
+
+“Maybe not,” the nurse admitted. “But we might just as well.”
+
+“In the morning,” said Hiram, “I go down to the docks, to see what
+ships are in. Several of the captains are known to me, and we discuss
+some matters of importance. Then I visit the markets, to see for
+myself what people are buying, because that is the only way to make a
+success of business. It is very interesting, all of it. One has to be
+perspicacious, to be a merchant. For instance, if people wish to buy
+silk in Damascus, it is useless to send them sandalwood, or betel-nut,
+even though I, personally, might prefer such things.
+
+“In the evening one goes for a stroll on the terraces above the water,
+to drink syrups, and watch the sun go down in the sea.
+
+“On festival occasions the streets are gayly decorated with flowers and
+rugs, and processions carrying the god pass among the houses, and meet
+at the Temple. Then there is music in the evening on the terraces, and
+bands of priests and worshippers perform the dances in honor of the
+deity.”
+
+Judith heaved a deep sigh. “How exciting that must be,” she said. And
+she gazed before her with parted lips and dreamy eyes. But the breeze,
+cold with dew, soon made her shiver.
+
+“Let me bring you a shawl,” said Hiram. And he returned to the house
+for a shawl of heavy silk, dyed in Tyrian purple, with a holy fringe,
+which he had brought along with him as a gift to Judith. When he was
+gone, Sarah remarked,
+
+“That is the sort of man I like; one who has made a success in the
+world and who says right out what he means.
+
+“What a wonderful life he leads. You can see that he knows how to live.
+A merchant--yes; that’s the life for a person.”
+
+Judith did not answer. When the Phœnician returned with the shawl, and
+drew it around her shoulders, she thanked him faintly; she would not
+even have noticed how beautiful it was, if it had not been for Sarah.
+The last birds were singing before night; the sky shone with the blue
+of evening. Far off beyond the hills lay the great ocean, wide as the
+world, with its sails, like orange moons, blowing home from barbarous
+lands. And over it, terrace on terrace, the queenly city with its
+laughing festivals, its temples, its sacred pools.... She closed her
+eyes ... such beauty, such dignity to life, so much to see and hear of;
+her young heart, dry with curiosity, filled like a pool with longing
+and despair; her pure and ignorant mind gave itself up in abandon to
+excitement, to happiness, to festivals with music, to syrup on the
+terraces as the sun went down ... to ships and wonder....
+
+“Oh, how I should like to be a merchant,” she cried.
+
+Hiram of Tyre bent his dark head humbly upon her hand.
+
+
+
+
+XII
+
+
+With a heavy heart Jonah climbed the hill to the garden. He wore
+his old coat, and his face was weary and gloomy. He had come to say
+to Judith, “We cannot be married because I am poor, and cannot get
+anything to do.” But as he drew near the garden, he forgot what he had
+come to say, and thought only of seeing her again.
+
+When he came to the tree under which he had sat with her, Hiram, who
+was walking with a satisfied air among the flowers, said to him,
+
+“You, there, are you one of the servants?
+
+“Well, just be so good as to bring me a bowl for these roses.”
+
+“I am not a servant,” said Jonah proudly.
+
+“No?” said Hiram. “Then what are you? Are you interested in horses?”
+
+“I am a prophet,” said Jonah.
+
+Hiram made a small bow. “Forgive me,” he said. “In my country the
+prophets are dressed a little differently, because they have priestly
+connections. However, it is interesting to meet other kinds of
+prophets. It is an interesting profession. Well ... what a pleasant day
+it is. Perhaps you would do me the favor to prophesy me something.”
+
+Jonah stared at him angrily. “I have some business with the Lady
+Judith,” he declared.
+
+“She is in the house,” said Hiram. And the two men stood looking at
+each other with surprise and alarm.
+
+Hiram went to fetch her. She came slowly, with downcast eyes, and
+cheeks as white as her own lilies. “How do you do, Jonah,” she said.
+
+At the sight of her, Jonah felt his heart beating through his body, and
+a strange sweet sorrow rose up in his eyes. He wanted to say to her,
+“This is like coming home. I have been so unhappy, but you will comfort
+me. Because you love me, you will feel my sorrow. How sweet it is to
+have such a secret together.”
+
+“How do you do, Judith,” he said; “I have been away.”
+
+“Yes,” she said. And they stood without speaking, and without looking
+at each other.
+
+“Well, did you have a good time?” she asked finally.
+
+It troubled Jonah that she would not look at him. “I did not go away to
+amuse myself,” he said simply. And he added in a lower voice,
+
+“Did you miss me?”
+
+“Yes, I suppose so. At least ... I have been so busy. What hot days
+these have been.”
+
+“I went to Bethel,” said Jonah. He wondered how to go on; he was
+puzzled and depressed. This was not as he had thought it would be.
+
+“Didn’t you know?”
+
+“No.... Did you prophesy again? What is going to happen now? My
+goodness, you prophets, you are always going about.
+
+“I suppose you will be going back to the desert soon.”
+
+Jonah stared at her. She kept her head down, and her hands twisted
+together. He began to feel as he did sometimes before God spoke to
+him, still and empty inside, with a terrible stillness, waiting for
+something.
+
+“Judith,” he half whispered.
+
+“Yes, Jonah,” she said, looking up at him, for only a moment, and then
+looking away again.
+
+“All the time I was gone, I thought of only one thing. I remembered
+only one thing.”
+
+“Yes, Jonah?”--ever so faintly.
+
+“That night in the garden, and the white moon in the trees like a bird
+in the branches....
+
+“Do you remember?”
+
+Judith looked away. “That seems like so long ago, doesn’t it?” she
+answered.
+
+“‘Long ago’?” cried Jonah, and his heart sank. “Why, it is no more than
+seven days ... Judith, have you forgotten?”
+
+“No,” murmured Judith unhappily; “but I do not exactly remember....”
+
+“You said you loved me,” he cried, in a voice which sounded like a
+croak.
+
+She put the backs of her hands to her two cheeks, and whispered with
+bent head, “What must you think of me?”
+
+“But,” stammered Jonah. Words would not come; he stood staring at her,
+eyes wide with unbelief.
+
+“Forgive me,” she said calmly. “You can understand ... I hardly knew
+what I was doing. Do not think too badly of me.”
+
+Jonah did not move or speak. But within him there were voices enough,
+too many. “What? I do not believe it. It is impossible. No, it is not
+impossible. Well, it has happened. But such things cannot happen ... to
+you, Jonah, to you....”
+
+He was still, waiting for the clamor to subside, for the voices to
+reduce themselves to one voice. He was afraid to move even; bewildered,
+horrified, he was like a man clinging with his finger-tips to the edge
+of a precipice. If he moved ... if even a little earth slid from under
+his fingers....
+
+No, he must keep very still; not a word, not a motion ... then it would
+all turn out right again....
+
+It was Judith who moved, and spoke. Coming forward a step, she laid her
+hand timidly on his arm. “You will forgive me,” she said. “You have
+work to do in the world. You must go on, you must be a great prophet
+for my sake. I am going to be married. I shall be so proud of you.”
+
+And turning, she ran back to meet Sarah, who was hurrying out of the
+house after her.
+
+Jonah went home. His feet led him back down the hill to his mother’s
+house, but he did not notice where he was going. He felt strangely
+light-headed, almost as if he had been drinking. His set face, with
+wide amazed eyes, was lifted to the sky. And he kept thinking:
+
+“Something has happened, something has happened....”
+
+But what was it? Could he tell? Something had happened out of all
+reason, as though a tree had moved, and stood upright on its head. How
+could one believe such a thing? But there it was--on its head.
+
+What was God about? And what had he, Jonah, done to deserve such a
+thing?
+
+He passed the field where Aaron kept his cows. And suddenly, as he saw
+his brother in the distance, his shoulders sagged, his face broke into
+creases, his body seemed to fall together; and he stood weakly wringing
+his hands, while a wave of physical sickness stormed through his body
+... remembering, remembering....
+
+Then he went on again, with clumsy steps, and bent head.
+
+If only it were something he could understand. But how could he
+understand it; how could he ever understand? How could one love, he
+wondered, and then not love? Love did something to one’s whole being;
+it made one gentle, and tender....
+
+How could she have hurt him so, if she loved him?
+
+And where was God all this time? What did He think about such a thing?
+“You, up there--God--what have You to say?”
+
+Nothing.
+
+He came slowly into the house, and sat down with his hands clasped
+between his knees. One look at him was enough for Deborah; she knew.
+But then, she had expected it. And keeping her glance busily upon her
+sewing, she began to sing softly to herself.
+
+But her eyes were full of pain.
+
+  “_Men dead long ago.
+    Have set me like a tree...._
+
+“You are tired, my son.”
+
+“Yes, Mother.”
+
+“It has been hot. The poor always feel the extremes of weather most. If
+I had a daughter, I would never let her marry a poor man.”
+
+And she glanced swiftly at her son, sunk in despair upon his stool.
+
+  “_Let the wind blow,
+    What is that to me?_
+
+“Everywhere I go,” she continued calmly, “they speak of you with such
+admiration. He is a real prophet, they say. Everybody expects great
+things of you. It makes me so happy.”
+
+Still Jonah did not answer. And Deborah said, sighing,
+
+“Is it time you were going back to the desert, Jonah?”
+
+“Yes, Mother.”
+
+“Well, I suppose you are right. It will be a rest for you, after all
+this. We shall miss you. It will be peaceful in the desert.”
+
+“Yes, Mother.”
+
+“I will send Aaron to you soon, with news, and some little comforts
+for you. Even if you have to live with the foxes, you can at least be
+comfortable.”
+
+Slowly, putting her sewing away, she rose, and came over to him.
+“Jonah,” she said gently, and laid her hand ever so lightly upon his
+hair, “my boy....
+
+“People are not very kind to one another.”
+
+“No ... Mother....”
+
+She began to sing again, softly, taking his head in her hands, drawing
+him gently to her:
+
+  “_My roots are in their dust,
+    My roots are deep, I trust...._”
+
+And Jonah wept, with his head against his mother’s breast.
+
+  “_My son is at my knee._”
+
+
+
+
+XIII
+
+
+Naaman sat beneath his acacia tree. Gentle and austere, his thoughts
+usually concerned themselves with the universe and with God, who he did
+not believe belonged exclusively to the Jews. However, he no longer
+felt called upon to say so, unless he was asked; then he stated his
+opinions with dignity but without the least hope of convincing any one.
+When any one wished to know why he, who loved peace, clung to such
+disturbing ideas, he replied, “I am an old man, and I like to have in
+my mind only what is comfortable there.”
+
+Now, however, his brows were drawn in a frown, and he looked gloomily
+at Jonah, who sat with bent head at his feet. And his hands, as he
+caressed his long white beard, trembled with age, with pity, and with
+indignation.
+
+“So, my son,” he said, “you have hurt yourself. When you were a child
+you used to come running to me with eyes full of tears, to show me some
+bruise you had received. I can still remember what I used to tell you:
+if you did not fall you would not get a bump. The one followed the
+other, almost as to make one believe that they were the same thing. And
+so I used to ask you: Jonah, are you crying because of the fall or the
+bump? Well, my son?”
+
+Jonah smiled sadly. “Yes,” he replied. “And then you went on to say
+that I was not a philosopher. How that used to wound me, for I wished
+above all things to be a philosopher.
+
+“Well, now it is the bump that has made me cry, Naaman.”
+
+Naaman nodded his head. “Exactly,” he said. “But do you think perhaps
+you are any more of a philosopher than you were then? I doubt it, my
+son. For you bring me your bruise with the same astonishment as of
+old, not seeing that, having fallen, you can expect nothing else.”
+
+Jonah spread out his hands in a gesture of discouragement. “How is one
+to stand upright in this world then, Naaman,” he said, “being but a
+man, and less than a god.”
+
+The old hermit regarded him gravely. “You are not a man, Jonah,” he
+said finally; “although,” he added quickly, “you are not a god, either.
+But you are not a man in the sense that your brother Aaron is a man.
+Nor do you live in the world he lives in. You belong to another world
+altogether, as different from that one as Thebes from Nineveh.
+
+“And that world, my son, where you belong, is not here, among the
+tribes, among the towns and villages. It is in the desert; it is in the
+wilderness, where there is quiet for God to speak, where there is room
+for His angels to move about. When you left Golan, your heart was like
+the desert, spacious and calm. But now it is like a crowded village,
+full of tumult and pain.”
+
+“Yes,” said Jonah in a low voice, “it is full of pain.”
+
+“I hoped you would not stay here,” continued Naaman; “I implored you to
+return to Golan, to your home. Yet you stayed; with the result it was
+impossible not to foresee.”
+
+“I did not foresee it,” said Jonah.
+
+“That is because you are ignorant,” said Naaman severely. “You do not
+know the world, yet you wish to live in it.”
+
+“No,” said Jonah, “that is not true. For such things do not happen to
+everybody, or to other people. Why, love is holy, Naaman. It is as
+though God had told a lie.”
+
+“Be silent,” exclaimed Naaman harshly, “and do not blaspheme. Love
+is not holy; and God does not lie. That alone is holy which concerns
+itself with holy things. But love ... no, my son; it is pain and
+impurity, it is violence and sorrow. The world of desire is the world
+of demons, of concealment, of Sathariel which hides the face of mercy.”
+
+Jonah regarded the old man with astonishment. “You are so bitter,” he
+exclaimed; “I have never heard you speak in that tone before.”
+
+Naaman peered off beneath his shaggy white eyebrows to the distant
+hillside, swimming in the haze of summer heat. For a moment he did not
+speak, but presently he said, sighing,
+
+“You know but little of my life, my son. I, too, loved in my youth.
+Does that surprise you? Yes, it is hard to imagine that old men have
+ever been in love, swept by the flames of passion and of sorrow. And
+sometimes it is hard for the old to remember how it goes with the young
+men, with their joy, and their pain.
+
+“I, too, was young like you, Jonah. Do you think your heart is the
+first to break? Other hearts have broken before; and other men have
+wept, as you are weeping. I know; for I, too, wept, Jonah, my son.”
+
+He was silent. Jonah took the old man’s trembling hand between his two
+brown palms. “I am sorry,” he said. And he remained respectfully silent.
+
+“But, Naaman,” he broke out at last, “what then is holy here on earth?”
+
+Naaman replied gently and inexorably, “My son, the love of earth is
+holy, the love that God bears the least of His creatures, without
+desire, without envy, and without malice. That mercy and generosity
+with which the sun warms and the soil nourishes its flowers and trees,
+is holy; all that gives of itself, without reason, without measure, and
+without return. For that is the way of God; it is the way of the One,
+from which all things spring, to which all things return. Go back to
+the desert, Jonah; go back to the desert, and learn that God is One,
+and that His love is holy.”
+
+But Jonah did not understand him. “Yes,” he said. “I shall go back
+to the desert, because that is all I can do. But I shall have no
+happiness, Naaman; my heart will never be at peace again. There is no
+beauty in the world for me now, ever. Oh, Naaman,” he cried suddenly,
+clasping his hands together, “if God loves His creatures, how can He
+make them suffer so?”
+
+Naaman looked sadly at the young prophet whose face was hidden from
+him. “Must you have beauty, too, Jonah?” he asked.
+
+“Yes,” said Jonah.
+
+Rising to his feet, he added, “You do not know what it is to love and
+to be unhappy.”
+
+And he went home again. As he entered his yard, a green beetle crossed
+his path. He went a few steps out of his way in order to tread upon it.
+
+
+
+
+XIV
+
+
+And so Jonah returned to the desert, to his hut among the rushes in
+Golan. As he stood waiting for the ferry to take him across the Jordan,
+a party of soldiers coming from Hamath passed him on their way home.
+“There is Jonah,” they said, “the prophet. Now we shall have another
+war.”
+
+“That is the sort of prophet to have.”
+
+“Hurrah for Jonah.”
+
+But Jonah paid no attention to them. He was thin and deathly tired, and
+his eyes, which burned with a deep and weary fire, were fixed on the
+distant hills beyond the river. There, Naaman had said, he would have
+peace again.
+
+He walked northward through Tob, climbing from the river valley toward
+the table-land behind the hills. His heart was heavy, so heavy it
+seemed to weigh him down; and he walked slowly. At dusk he found
+himself still far from Golan, with a river yet to cross, and near the
+little pool at which he had halted on his way to Bethel, months before.
+How different life had seemed to him then. Why, it was not the same
+thing at all any longer; now it seemed like a dream, without reality,
+without anything about it that he could feel.
+
+He sank down and looked around him.
+
+The night came on. The shrill frogs sang together; and the little fox
+came out of his hole, and lay down beside Jonah, whom he recognized.
+
+“Ah,” he remarked, as he settled himself comfortably at his side, “here
+is the man of God again.”
+
+Jonah let his hand stroke the fox’s soft fur. His face was turned to
+the west, and he peered back through the darkness over the way he had
+come, as though trying to see again the home he had left. Uncle David,
+Aaron--his mother....
+
+He remembered how she had pressed him to her breast as he departed.
+“Go, my son,” she had said, “go back to God. He misses you. Here is a
+little cake for the journey, and a few silver pieces. They are all I
+have. Buy yourself a coat on the way.”
+
+She had sold her shawl to give him a coat. But he left the silver
+pieces in a pot before the oven. He wanted nothing, only to forget
+the sickness of his heart, the heaviness like a weight of lead in his
+breast.
+
+“Cheer up,” she had said at the last; “see, you will forget all this
+after a while. There is the storm, and then the sun shines. Do not stay
+away too long. Who knows, maybe God will send you home again soon.”
+
+And she had kissed him. No, he would not forget all this soon. Would he
+ever forget it? that was what he wondered. And Judith, with her brown
+eyes, and the scent of lilies and jasmine in the moonlight....
+
+“O Judith, Judith, how could you do such a thing to me?”
+
+His eyes filled with tears, and he bowed his head.
+
+The fox stirred beneath his hand. “Well, Jonah,” he said sadly, “God is
+a raven. I believe that now, since a jackal ate my wife. He could not
+very well be a fox, and allow such things; or even an old man with a
+beard.”
+
+“Perhaps you are right,” said Jonah in a low tone; “perhaps He is a
+raven.”
+
+Hearing this, the Devil, who was going by in the form of a scorpion,
+stopped, and said to himself,
+
+“I shall tempt this holy man a little.”
+
+And remembering how Jonah’s quiet and pious spirit had vexed him in the
+past, Satan considered how best to be revenged on the prophet.
+
+“There is nothing like an odor,” he thought, “to hurt the memory.”
+
+And he changed himself into a jasmine vine. The unwilling night wind,
+trembling and sighing, carried the fragrance of its blossoms toward
+Jonah, who shivered as though with cold.
+
+“Ak,” he thought, “I can never forget.”
+
+And staring with wide eyes at the west, he saw again the garden, with
+the moonlight falling through the leaves like honey; heard the voices
+of the old men under the trees, the whispers of lovers, and laughter,
+like a sound of flutes; felt on his hand the touch of her fingers....
+Judith’s....
+
+“What a beautiful night.... It makes me sad. Why does it make me sad,
+Jonah?
+
+“Listen ... there’s a bird singing. Just think, in the moonlight; isn’t
+it sweet, Jonah? This is beauty, isn’t it.
+
+“I could stay here forever.”
+
+“Oh, Judith, Judith....”
+
+“There is a smell of sulphur here,” said the fox, wrinkling up his nose.
+
+But Jonah did not hear him. Something was hurting in his throat. He
+sprang to his feet, and took a deep breath. “Look,” he cried out to
+God, “look; it is I, Jonah.”
+
+And he stood there, with bowed head, in the silence.
+
+“This is very good,” said Satan to himself.
+
+After thinking for a moment, the Arch-Demon decided to become a woman
+with brown eyes and brown hair. She came up to Jonah out of the
+darkness, timidly, draped in her shawls. “Well, Jonah,” she said, “here
+is the desert. See how quiet it is; what peace, what beauty. How happy
+we shall be here.”
+
+“Go away,” cried Jonah, throwing out his hands in front of his face,
+“go away.”
+
+“Why do you want me to go away?” asked the woman quietly. “Have I not
+come all this long way with you, as you wished? Am I not your love,
+tender and gentle and kind? Come, let me make you happy.”
+
+And as Jonah stood trembling, unable to reply, she continued in her
+soft voice,
+
+“Are you not young, Jonah, and lonely? The young ought not to be
+lonely. See how beautiful the night is with its stars, its clouds, half
+seen, half guessed, how the music of the wind rises over the desert and
+sings in the hills, softly, softly. It is a night for love, Jonah, for
+young hearts beating each to each in the silence, in the darkness. That
+is what life is for, Jonah, for lips to kiss, for hands to fondle....
+There is no beauty like mine, Jonah, no voice like mine to hurt your
+heart so, no hands like mine to hold your face tenderly, to kiss your
+mouth, Jonah, and your tired eyes, your mouth and your eyes....
+
+“And you in your little hut, all alone among the rushes, all alone,
+Jonah, all alone....
+
+“You will always be alone now, summer and winter, winter and summer,
+your pillow the earth, harder and colder than my arms; only the song of
+birds and the sound of rain in your ears.... And you will never see me
+again, Jonah, never hold my young white beauty close to your breast,
+never feel, as other men, love singing in your heart, and peace folding
+down upon your eyes. You will be all alone, Jonah, with no one to tell
+the secret things in your heart to at the set of sun, at the rise of
+moon ... until at last, old and sleepy, you take my single kiss with
+you into the darkness ... alone in the darkness too, Jonah ... alone in
+the darkness....”
+
+“O God,” cried Jonah, sobbing, “help me, help me.”
+
+“God will not help you now,” said the woman.
+
+The drowsy fragrance of her body spread through the night. “Come,” she
+said, holding out her arms to him.
+
+“God cannot help you now, my poor Jonah.”
+
+Jonah took a step forward, and fell upon his knees. And then, one by
+one far off and near, the demons of the desert broke into laughter,
+wild peals of laughter, bitter and full of pain, cruel and without pity.
+
+“Ha, ha, ha.”
+
+“Alone, alone....”
+
+“God cannot help you now.”
+
+Under that mocking clamor, Jonah swayed like a reed, beaten to the
+earth, his face hidden in his hands. And then, at last, when it seemed
+to him as though he could bear no more, the terrible laughter stopped.
+There was a cry, and then silence.
+
+Jonah got up and looked around him. Nothing was to be seen; the woman
+had vanished.
+
+The little fox had run forward, and seized the demon by the leg. Once
+again the desert was filled with a holy peace, as though brooding
+beneath the wings of angels.
+
+“One can at least always help oneself,” remarked the fox.
+
+He lay down next to Jonah with a contented sigh. And presently the man
+and the fox fell asleep together.
+
+In her kitchen at home, Deborah sat praying for her son. She prayed
+that God would be kind to him. “He is only a boy,” she said; “do not
+ask him to behave like a man. Watch over him a little. I do not ask for
+anything for myself. I am an old woman, and my heart was broken long
+ago. But he is so young ... leave a little of his heart unbroken.”
+
+She lifted up her eyes full of tears. “Leave me my son,” she said.
+
+And Judith, at her window in Tyre, knelt with a pale and weary face,
+peering out across the plains and hills of Phœnicia, across the wide
+waters of Meram, far off and unseen, toward the desert, where the night
+had already rolled up its cold blue clouds. And she, too, thought of
+Jonah; she, too, saw in the moonlight, in the little garden, the thin,
+worn face with its grave, dark eyes. They seemed to follow her, without
+reproach, but with infinite tenderness, pitying and forgiving. And
+suddenly she thought, “Yes, there in the desert there is peace; it is
+gentle out there, where Jonah is. O my dear, my dear, do you forgive
+me? Have you forgotten? It would have been different, Jonah, it would
+have been so different....”
+
+Wearily she went to her little gold box, and drew out her silver dove.
+Holding it in her hands like a tiny live bird, she kissed its ruby eyes
+and its silver beak. “Little dove,” she said sadly, “tell me what love
+is.”
+
+But the dove said nothing. And all at once she let it fall to the
+ground.
+
+“Ak,” she cried, “you don’t know anything about it.”
+
+And as she wept, Hiram’s steps mounted through the house to her room.
+
+
+
+
+XV
+
+
+God was worried about Jonah. Watched by reverent cherubim, whose wings
+fanned the air all about Him, the Lord of Hosts walked up and down in
+the sky, and said to Moses, who was accompanying Him,
+
+“I must find something for this young man to do.”
+
+Moses looked down at Jonah with an expression of contempt. “He is
+hardly worth the effort,” he declared gloomily. “He seems to me to lack
+character.”
+
+“You are right,” said God. “Still, he expects something from Me.”
+
+And He added, smiling gently, “Perhaps that is why I am fond of him. He
+has not your strong and resourceful mind, Moses, nor Noah’s faithful
+heart; but he has suffered. He is simply a man, like anybody.”
+
+“What?” cried Noah, hurrying up, “are you talking about me?”
+
+God replied: “I was saying that Jonah did not trust Me as you did, My
+friend.”
+
+“No,” said Noah; “but then, what do you expect? There are so many
+different ideas now in the world. I do not recognize my posterity in
+these warring nations. Let us have another flood, Lord.”
+
+Moses looked sadly down at Jerusalem, where golden idols were being
+sold in the streets. “You are right, Noah,” he said, “but I do not
+like the idea of a flood. A flood does not teach people how to live.
+Sometimes I wonder if anything can teach people what they are unwilling
+to learn.”
+
+“Nonsense,” said Noah. “A flood is the most sanitary thing. Wait and
+see; even you could learn something about sewers from a good flood.”
+
+God checked the old patriarch with a kindly hand. “Things are not the
+same as they used to be in the early days,” He said. “I cannot drown
+the world to-day without drowning My wife, Israel. She is young, and a
+nuisance, but she has yet to bear Me a son. I foresee that He will give
+His mother a great deal of pain, but that cannot be helped.
+
+“Let us not think of Israel now, but of the prophet Jonah. Moses is of
+the opinion that he is not a first-class prophet, and I am inclined
+to agree with him. He is a poet; and for that reason I feel warmly
+inclined toward him. After all, you, Noah, and you, Moses, see only one
+side of My nature. You try to look upon the Greater Countenance, but
+what you see is the Lesser Countenance. It is different with a poet. He
+does not see Hod, or Chesed, the thrones of Glory and Mercy. He looks
+through Beauty to the Crown itself. Whereas you, Moses, have never seen
+beyond Knowledge; and you, my good Noah, have seen My face only in
+Severity.”
+
+Moses and Noah bowed their heads. “It is true, Lord,” said Noah humbly.
+
+God continued:
+
+“At this moment Jonah does not see Me at all. In the first place, he
+is unhappy, and he no longer looks toward beauty. He believes that
+there is no more beauty in the world because his heart is broken. He is
+mistaken; and after a while his sorrow will sharpen his eyes. Then he
+will see more than before.”
+
+“In that case,” said Moses, “why do You bother Yourself?”
+
+The Lord considered a moment before replying. It was obvious that He
+wished to express Himself in terms intelligible to His hearers.
+
+“The trouble, My friends,” He said at last, “is this: our young prophet
+is a patriot. He is convinced that I am God of Israel alone. I do not
+mind that point of view in a prophet, but it will not do in a poet.
+Severity, glory, knowledge, belong to the nations, if you like. But
+beauty belongs to the world. It is the portion of all mankind in its
+God.
+
+“I have covered the heavens with beauty, the green spaces of the earth,
+the cloudy waters, the tall and snowy peaks. These are for all to see,
+these are for all to love. Shall any one take beauty from another, and
+say, ‘This is mine’?”
+
+“Now He is beginning to talk,” said Moses in an undertone to Noah;
+“this is like old times.”
+
+But God grew silent again. Presently he continued wearily,
+
+“It is your fault, Moses, that the Jews believe I belong to them
+entirely. Well, I do not blame you, for you could not have brought
+them safely through the desert otherwise. But you did not tell them
+that I was a bull. I foresee that for a long time yet men will be
+irresistibly led to worship Me in the form of an animal.”
+
+“Well, then,” said Noah, “if You foresee so much....”
+
+“Be silent,” said God, in a voice of thunder which made the wings of
+angels tremble. He continued more gently, “Actually, at the moment, I
+am not interested in theology. I am thinking of Jonah.”
+
+And He walked quietly up and down in the sky, thinking. The cherubim,
+moving all about Him, beat with their snowy wings the air perfumed with
+frankincense; and the clouds rolled under His feet.
+
+Left to themselves, Moses and Noah regarded each other in an unfriendly
+manner. At last Moses shrugged his shoulders. He was vexed to think
+that he did not know everything.
+
+“Well, old man,” he said to Noah, “have you nothing to talk about
+except the flood? You do not understand conditions in the world
+to-day.”
+
+“I understand this much,” replied Noah calmly, “that faith is more
+important than knowledge. Where would you be, with all your wisdom, if
+it had not been for me and my ark? You would be a fish, swimming in the
+sea.”
+
+“Do you take credit for saving your own skin?” cried Moses. “Wonderful.
+I, on the other hand, was very comfortable in Egypt. What I did was
+from the highest motives. I am not even sure that I am a Jew.”
+
+“I believed in God,” said Noah stoutly, “and I did as He told me.”
+
+“So did I,” said Moses angrily, “but I also used my wits a little.
+Faith is nothing; any animal can have faith. You and your faith had to
+get inside a wooden ark, in order to keep dry. But when I wished to
+take an entire nation across the sea, I simply parted the waters. I
+shall not tell you how I did it, because it would be lost on you. It
+takes a first-rate intelligence to understand such a thing.”
+
+Noah replied excitedly, “Please remember that I am your ancestor, and
+treat me with more respect.”
+
+“You are an old drunkard,” said Moses.
+
+But at this point God joined them again, and they were silent, to hear
+what the Holy One had to say.
+
+“This young man,” said God, “does not believe in Me any more. How then
+shall I convince him of Myself?”
+
+Desirous of showing his knowledge, Moses began to quote from the Book
+of Wisdom: “Infidelity, violence, envy, deceit, extreme avariciousness,
+a total want of qualities, with impurity, are the innate faults of
+womankind.”
+
+“Nevertheless,” said God, “they are also My creations. In My larger
+aspects I am as impure as I am pure; otherwise there would not be a
+balance. However, as I have said, we are not concerned with My larger
+aspects.”
+
+Noah broke in at this point. “Send him to sea, Lord,” he begged. “There
+is nothing like a long trip at sea to quiet the mind. It is very
+peaceful on the water. One forgets one’s disappointments.”
+
+“You are right,” said God; “we need the sea; it will give him peace.
+But as a matter of fact, I do not care whether he finds peace or not.
+As I have told you, I simply wish this poet to understand that I am
+God, and not Baal of Canaan. The attempt to confuse Me with a sun-myth,
+with the fertility of earth as symbolized by the figure of a bull, or
+a dove, vexes Me. Increase is man’s affair, not God’s. Besides, where
+will all this increase end? I regret the days of Adam and Eve and the
+Garden of Eden. Already there are more people on earth than I have any
+use for, socially speaking. Now I could wish there were more beauty in
+the world. I should like some poet to speak of Me in words other than
+those of a patriot. Yet if I try to explain Myself, who will understand
+Me? Not even you, Moses, with all your wisdom. And so I, in turn,
+must forget My wisdom, in order to explain Myself. I must act as the
+not-too-wise God of an ignorant people. That this is possible is due to
+the fact that along with infinite wisdom, I include within Myself an
+equal amount of ignorance.”
+
+He sighed deeply. “I shall send Jonah to Nineveh,” he concluded. “The
+subjects of King Shalmaneser the Third are honest, hard-working men and
+women. I enjoy, in some of My aspects, their vigorous and spectacular
+festivals. Nevertheless, repentance will not do them any harm, since
+for one thing they will not know exactly what it is they are asked to
+repent of, and for another, they will soon go back to their old ways
+again.
+
+“Thus I shall convince Jonah of Myself where he least expects to
+find Me. He shall hear from Me at sea, and again within the walls of
+Nineveh. It will surprise him. And perhaps the rude beauty of that city
+will speak to his heart, dreamy with woe.”
+
+“I do not doubt that it will surprise him,” said Moses, “but will he be
+convinced?”
+
+God did not answer. Already He was on his way to earth. And Noah,
+looking after Him, shook his hoary head with regret.
+
+“A flood would have been the better way,” he said.
+
+
+
+
+XVI
+
+
+God went down to the water. He stood on the shores of the sea and
+called; like the voice of the storm a name rolled forth from those
+august lips across the deep. And the deeps trembled. Presently a
+commotion took place in the waters; wet and black the huge form of
+Leviathan rose gleaming from the sea, and floated obediently before its
+God.
+
+The Lord spoke, and the whale listened. After He had explained the
+situation, God said:
+
+“I foresee that Jonah will not go to Nineveh as I command. He will
+attempt to flee from Me, and he will choose the sea as the best means
+of escape. It will not help him. I shall raise a storm upon the waters,
+and the ignorant sailors will cast him overboard as a sacrifice to the
+gods of the storm. That is where you can be of assistance to Me, My old
+friend. As he sinks through the water, I wish you to advance upon him,
+and swallow him.”
+
+“Ak,” said the whale; “O my.”
+
+“Well,” said God impatiently, “what is the matter?”
+
+The great fish blew a misty spray of water into the air. “It is
+impossible,” he declared; “in the first place, I should choke to death.”
+
+“You are an ignorant creature,” said God; “you have neither faith, nor
+science. Let Me tell you a few things about yourself in the light of
+future exegesis. Know then, that you are a cetacean, or whalebone type
+of whale. Such animals obtain their food by swimming on or near the
+surface of the water, with their jaws open.”
+
+“That is true,” said the whale, reverent and amazed.
+
+“The screen of whalebone,” continued the Lord, “opens inward, and
+admits solid objects to the animal’s mouth. This screen does not allow
+the egress of any solid matter, only of water. As the gullet is very
+small, only the smallest objects can pass down it.
+
+“Jonah will therefore be imprisoned in your mouth. You cannot swallow
+him; and he cannot get out, because of the screen of whalebone.”
+
+“Then he will suffocate,” said the whale.
+
+“Nonsense,” said God. “Remember that you are an air-breathing,
+warm-blooded animal, and can only dive because of the reservoir of air
+in your mouth. When this air becomes unfit to breathe, you must rise to
+the surface for a fresh supply.
+
+“While you have air to breathe, Jonah will have it also.
+
+“So do not hesitate any longer, but do as you are told.”
+
+The whale heaved a deep sigh; his breath groaned through the ocean,
+causing many smaller fish, terrified, to flee with trembling fins.
+
+“How horrid for me,” he exclaimed.
+
+God replied soothingly, “It will assure you a place in history.”
+
+So saying, the Lord blessed Leviathan, who sank sadly back to the
+depths of the sea; and, turning from the shore, the Light of Israel
+rolled like thunder across the valleys toward Golan.
+
+The night came to meet Him from the east, pouring down over the hills
+like smoke. In the cold night air God went to look for Jonah.
+
+Poor Jonah, he had not found peace after all. The lonely desert, so
+calm and quiet in the past, had given no rest to his thoughts. His
+mind went back over and over again to those days at home; he felt the
+wonder of the love-night, his heart shrank again with sickness for what
+followed. And he asked himself for the thousandth time how such things
+could be. Then he cried out against Judith for her cruelty; yet the
+next moment he forgave her.
+
+And these thoughts, climbing and falling wearily up and down through
+his head, kept him awake until long after the desert was asleep. In the
+morning, when he awoke, it was with regret; he tried to sleep a little
+longer, to keep his eyes closed, to keep from thinking again ... why
+wake at all? he wondered. There was nothing to wake to. Only the hot
+sun over the desert, only his heavy heart, which grew no lighter as the
+days went by.
+
+Why wake at all?
+
+God found him sitting wearily upon a rock, his head bowed between his
+hands. The Lord spoke, and the desert was silent.
+
+“Jonah,” said God in a voice like a great wave breaking, slowly, and
+with the peace of the sea, “Jonah, you have wept enough.”
+
+Jonah replied simply, “I have been waiting for You a long while, and I
+am very tired.”
+
+“I had not forgotten you,” said God; “I have been thinking.”
+
+And He added, “Now I have something for you to do.”
+
+Jonah remained seated without looking up. He seemed no longer to care
+what God had for him to do.
+
+“Arise, Jonah,” said God, “and go to Nineveh. Cry out against that
+great city for its sins.”
+
+But Jonah looked more dejected than ever. “What have I to do with
+Nineveh?” he asked. “Am I prophet to the Assyrians? I am a Jew. Do not
+mock me, Lord.”
+
+“I do not mock you,” said God gravely. “Go, then, and do My bidding.”
+
+And as Jonah did not reply, he added sadly, “Do you still doubt Me?”
+
+Jonah rose slowly to his feet. His eyes blazed, and his hands were
+tightly clenched. “Oh,” he cried bitterly, all the passion in his
+heart storming out at last in a torrent of despair, “You ... what are
+You God of? Were You God of Israel when a Tyrian stole my love? Was I
+Your prophet then? Have You power over Tyre, that You let Your servant
+suffer such anguish? Or are You God of the desert, where the demons
+mock me night and day, where the very stones cry out against me, and
+the whole night is noisy with laughter? Nineveh ... Nineveh ... in
+whose name shall I cry out against Nineveh? Do the gods of Assur visit
+their wrath upon Jerusalem? What power have You in Nineveh? For my
+youth which I gave You, what have You given me? How have You returned
+my love, with what sorrow? What have You done to me, Lord? I stand
+in the darkness, weary, and with a heavy heart. What are You God of?
+Answer: what are You God of?”
+
+And God answered gently, “I am your God, Jonah, and where you go, there
+you will find Me.”
+
+Jonah sank down upon the rock again. His passion had exhausted him; but
+he was not convinced. “Well,” he said in a whisper, “You are not God in
+Nineveh, and I will not go.”
+
+Then the wrath of the Lord, slow to start, flamed for a moment over the
+desert, and Jonah cowered to earth while the heavens groaned and the
+ground shook with fright. And in his hole by the pool in the Land of
+Tob, the little fox said to himself, “Jonah is talking to God.”
+
+But God’s anger passed, leaving Him sad and holy.
+
+“Peace unto you, Jonah,” He said in tones of divine sweetness; “take up
+your task, and doubt Me no more.”
+
+And He returned to heaven in a cloud. Overcome with weariness, empty
+of passion, Jonah fell asleep upon the ground.
+
+No jackals laughed that night. Silence brooded over the desert. The
+stars kept watch without a sound, and Jonah slept with a quiet heart.
+
+
+
+
+XVII
+
+
+But in the morning his doubts returned more strongly than ever.
+“They will mock me in Nineveh,” he told himself. “I shall be made a
+laughing-stock. What power has the Light of Israel in the land of
+Marduk, of Dagon, of Istar, of the warrior Ashur? I should count myself
+lucky if I escaped being stoned to death.
+
+“For how can God destroy Nineveh? I might as well preach to the fish in
+the sea.”
+
+But now he had something to do, at least. He determined to flee from
+God. “I shall go to Tarshish,” he thought, “and begin life over again.
+There is nothing for me here any longer. The desert will be glad to be
+rid of me.”
+
+And without bothering even to return to his hut, he started south,
+toward Joppa, where he expected to find a ship bound west for Tarshish.
+
+He traveled swiftly, on other roads from those he had come. Late on the
+afternoon of the second day he crossed the Brook Kanah, and saw in the
+distance the white domed roofs of Joppa shining above the sea.
+
+As he came down from the low hills, the sight of ocean rounded like a
+bowl under the wide arch of the sky, the distant and titanic clouds
+piled above the unseen shores of Africa, filled his heart for a moment
+with beauty. But then he thought:
+
+“This is like Tyre. It is by the shore of this same sea that Judith has
+gone to live.”
+
+And he cursed the beauty that hurt him.
+
+It was late when he came to the shore, and night was already moving
+upon the deep. In profound silence he leaned above the harbor wall and
+regarded the shadowless water which with the sound of immemorial tides
+passed under him in the darkness. It was the season when the mists
+from the ocean blow landward in the evening. In the gray night fog the
+masts of the vessels at anchor rocked toward one another on the long,
+low waves; and the mist, salty with sea air, mingled along the quays
+with the odors of the city.
+
+It was the dark of the moon in the month of Nisan. The moon was gone,
+and his youth with it. Other moons would rise, fall through the
+branches of a tree, and cheat a bird to sing. But where would Jonah be?
+And Judith, in her great house over the terraces of Tyre; she would
+grow old, soon she would be like Deborah, looking backward over her
+life.... What happened to youth, to beauty? Where did they go? They
+hardly lasted at all.
+
+Night hung black and silent over the sea. The wings of angels leaned
+upon the wind which moved dark and vast between the earth and sky. The
+stars paled, and the sun rose like a ball of fire in the east. Then the
+ocean mist, cold as frost, melted away. The tide turned, and the waves,
+breaking far out, spoke with their murmur like the sound of wind to the
+sleeping city on the shore.
+
+In the morning Jonah found a ship bound for Tarshish. The cargo was
+already loaded; and when he had made his bargain, he went aboard.
+Bearded and singing, the seamen hoisted the sails, yellow as a slice
+of moon; with a sly, tranquil motion the ship moved out of the harbor,
+over the blue sea, sparkling in the sun, past sails stained blue as the
+sky, or brown as the sands. The white roofs of Joppa faded behind them
+in the east, lost in the gradual fog; the seagulls cried above them;
+and Jonah sat silent, dreaming, gazing at the sea.
+
+He was tired, and listless. “Now,” he said to himself, “God has lost
+me.”
+
+And he thought of Deborah with sadness and peace. He remembered what
+she had said to him, as she had held him, weeping bitterly, in her
+arms, on her breast.
+
+“Jonah,” she had said, “when you are dead, or perhaps very old and
+ready to die, people will say of you, ‘There, he was a great prophet.’
+And they will feel honored because they knew you, because their names
+will be spoken of with yours. But now ...” she sighed; she wanted to
+say, “now you are only a nuisance.”
+
+What she finally said was, “Well, people are like that.”
+
+But Jonah knew what she wanted to say. And as he sat quietly on the
+deck of the ship under the yellow, curved sail, he thought,
+
+“I shall not bother anybody now.”
+
+The warmth of the sun, reflected from the sea, entered his mind and
+lulled his limbs. Sea-quiet took hold of him; the peace of ocean bathed
+his spirit. He grew drowsier and drowsier; he began to doze. And as he
+fell asleep, his last thought was that he had got away from God.
+
+All day the sails sang in the wind, under the sun. Jonah slept; his
+dreams swept out like homing birds over the calm waters; and in his
+sleep he wept.
+
+But in the afternoon the wind died away; an ominous haze enveloped the
+sky; and the sea grew oily. The sails were hastily drawn in; and the
+oars were made ready. Huddled together on the deck, the seamen spoke in
+low, anxious voices. All eyes were turned toward the east, which grew
+darker and darker. All was still; the air did not stir. Moved by fear,
+the men trembled; and as though herself frightened, the ship started
+to creak in all her timbers. All at once the sky uttered a moan; high
+above them the air began to sing; and the sea rolled in slow, unwilling
+swells. And then it seemed as if the sky fell down upon the sea, for
+the water rose like the hills, and the dark came down upon it. Unable
+to move, the ship trembled from bow to stern, lifted dizzily upon the
+waves, tilted in the wind, and dropped like a stone into the trough.
+The gulls were flattened to the sea, and the air was filled with the
+shout of the gale, and the crash of water falling upon itself. It was
+God’s storm, but Satan also was enjoying it.
+
+Pale with fear, the sailors rushed to lighten the ship by throwing the
+cargo overboard. Then, as the tiny vessel dashed about in the water
+like a cork, they fell upon their knees and prayed to their gods, to
+Ramman, the thunderer, to Dagon, to Enlil, the old god of storms.
+
+Seeing that Jonah still slept, sheltered by the deck which curved above
+him, the captain ran to awaken him. “Here,” he said, “this is a storm.
+Well, see for yourself. You should be more anxious, my friend. Have
+you a god? Then pray to him, for we need all the help we can get.”
+
+Dazed by the tumult, still half asleep, Jonah gazed in confusion at the
+heaving waters. The wind lashed him to the deck; he stared in dismay at
+the mighty waves rising above him on every side like mountains. “I will
+not pray,” he said. And the captain shrank back at the sight of his
+face.
+
+But the seamen, clinging to the deck, looked anxiously at Jonah, and
+at the great seas which broke over them without ceasing. “This is no
+common storm,” they told each other; “some great god is angry.”
+
+They were good and simple men. Had one of them sinned, to draw down
+upon them all such wrath? No, it was Jonah, the stranger whose face
+was like a demon’s, dark as the storm itself. They looked at him with
+terror.
+
+And Jonah looked back at them as frightened as they were. His mind
+reeled; had he not got away from God after all? Had God come after
+him--out there on the sea? Was there no way to flee from God?
+
+Why had he tried to run away? What a fool.... God would never forgive
+him for it.
+
+And then, in the crash of wind and water, a feeling of disdain came
+over Jonah, a bitter strength, a final pride. Well, here was the storm
+... here was God still. God had taken everything away from him. What
+was his life worth to him now? Oh, be done with it, once and for all.
+“Look ... if You want it, God ... it is of no value to me any more....”
+
+“It is my fault,” he said to the sailors proudly. “I alone am to blame.
+I am a Jew who has denied his God. It is my life that is wanted. Throw
+me overboard.”
+
+But the sailors were frightened, and they would not touch him. “No,”
+they said, “we will row back to Joppa again. Then your god can do as
+he likes. If we throw you overboard, you will drown. Then we shall have
+blood upon our hands.”
+
+They tried with all their strength to row against the storm. But the
+black sea, breaking, splintered their oars, and the wind pressed them
+backwards.
+
+Then they said humbly, in fear, “This sea belongs to Iaveh, the god of
+the Jews. We cannot prevail against him any longer.”
+
+And seizing Jonah, they cast him overboard, with a prayer. “Do not lay
+innocent blood upon us,” they said, “O god of the Jews. This is your
+doing, not ours.”
+
+So saying they waited, trembling.
+
+At once the sea grew calm, the wind died away, and the sun sank
+tranquilly down in the clear west. The peace of evening brooded again
+upon the water. And the ship, with all her sails set for Joppa, fled to
+the east.
+
+Jonah sank through the waters without complaint. It was the end,
+and he had no desire to live. But as his breath failed, so his mind
+brought back to him the blue and shining sky, the sweet odors of the
+desert, the happy dreams of his youth, of glory, of peace. He began to
+struggle; his body fought against the sea, his mind shouted against
+death. “No,” he cried to himself, “no, I must live; I must live.”
+
+With a groan Leviathan hurled himself through the waves and took the
+prophet into his mouth.
+
+
+
+
+XVIII
+
+
+In the darkness the whale spoke to Jonah. “What a lot of trouble you
+have made for yourself,” he said. And he told Jonah how God had made
+arrangements.
+
+Jonah was not unhappy. In the whale’s mouth he was uncomfortable, but
+he had a great deal to think about. His mind was filled with wonder.
+
+So it turned out that God was at home everywhere; that He commanded the
+fish of the sea, as well as the hosts of the air, and the creatures of
+the land. That was an extraordinary thing.
+
+What an upset to theology.
+
+Jonah asked the whale many questions. And the whale, who had often
+thought about such things as he rested among the weeds at the bottom
+of the sea, answered him as best he could.
+
+“Do you deny,” said Jonah, “that God created man in His own image?”
+
+“No,” replied the whale, “but on the other hand, do you suppose God
+has only one image? And then it depends, besides, on who is looking;
+because people do not see things all alike. Well, do you suppose a
+whale does not also look like God?”
+
+“A whale does not look like God at all,” replied Jonah firmly.
+
+“Still,” said the whale thoughtfully, “the most beautiful sight in the
+world, in my opinion, is a female whale. And you must admit I have seen
+as much of God as you have. So you see what difficulties you make for
+yourself.”
+
+But Jonah would not believe that God looked like a whale. And they
+discussed other aspects of theology.
+
+The whale swam through the waters green with daylight, or black with
+night, rising to the surface now and then to breathe. Out of respect
+for the sanctity of the prophet, he did not attempt to eat any of the
+small fish which fled in terror from his path. “We will fast together,”
+he said kindly to Jonah.
+
+In his warm, black prison, Jonah slept, and woke, and thought about
+God. His spirit lifted; he felt peaceful, resigned, and almost happy.
+Gone was the bitter sense of defeat, the shame of betrayal. What if his
+heart ached still? he had God again. And what a God, now that he saw
+Him: the thunder of sea-surges, the holy calm of the desert, all peace,
+all beauty, were His ... one need not seek it, it was there, it was
+everywhere. Jerusalem was His--Tarshish and Tyre....
+
+“I am your God, Jonah, and where you go, there you will find Me.”
+
+Tyre was His, too. The Master strode through the streets of the city
+with thunder on His brow, with love and sorrow in His hands. And His
+prophet walked beside Him, wrapped in glory, like a king.
+
+When they came to Judith’s house it was Jonah who blessed it with
+gently outstretched arms.
+
+“My sister,” he said; “my poor, faithless love.”
+
+The whale asked Jonah what he was doing. “I was dreaming,” said Jonah.
+
+“I think you had better pray,” said the whale. So Jonah prayed.
+
+“Lord, I have sinned,” he said humbly. “I was unhappy; and I ran away.
+And for that reason You cast me into the sea; the waves passed over me.
+
+“The waves passed over my soul, Lord.
+
+“I went down to the bottom of the hills; the bars of the earth were
+about me. But I did not perish. You heard my cry, and You remembered
+me. I thank You, Lord.
+
+“Look, I am not vain any longer; I do not wish anything for myself.
+Let me do Your bidding again, with a quiet heart.”
+
+And he added with a cry, “Give me peace, Lord.”
+
+The whale swam on, past schools of appetizing fish, down through the
+dim flower-branches of the sea’s deep bed, up through sunny foam.
+Hungry, weary, but hopeful, the great fish waited patiently for God to
+speak.
+
+On the third day, God spoke. And the whale, lashing the waters with his
+tail, sped like an eager minnow to the shore, and vomited Jonah forth
+upon the sand.
+
+
+
+
+XIX
+
+
+Jonah was let out of the whale in the North, near Arvad, and not far
+from Kadesh as a crow might fly, which is to say, over the coastal
+hills and then in a straight line across the jungles and the desert.
+This was the route he took as being the shortest way to Nineveh. He was
+in a hurry; he was impatient to begin his mission. He was filled with
+enthusiasm.
+
+How different from his flight to sea, this vigorous return across the
+land dry with the sun of midsummer. Now he marched with a firm and
+hurried step, his face darkly radiant with divine purpose, with pious
+anger. Yes, he would speak; Nineveh would hear him. Let them stone him
+if they liked, God would amply repay them for it. What glory.
+
+And this was all his, not hers, not for her sake; let her be proud of
+him if she liked; what did it matter any more? She would hear enough of
+it in Tyre; Jonah here, and Jonah there....
+
+Yes, they would speak of it in Tyre.
+
+As he passed the wayside altars of the baalim with their pillars
+surmounted by horns of sacrifices, he smiled at them in derision.
+
+“You,” he said scornfully, “you ... what are you gods of, anyway?”
+
+At Kadesh he saw statues of the river deities, Chrysonhoa and Pegai. He
+spat in the dust before them; fortunately, no one was looking. In the
+sun of late afternoon their shadows pointed like great spears toward
+Nineveh.
+
+“Israel will hear my name again,” he thought proudly.
+
+The evergreen oaks of the hills gave way to the tamarisks of the Syrian
+jungles, and the palms and scrub of the desert. He slept the first
+night in the wilderness between Kadesh and Rehoboth. The jackals were
+silent, awed by the presence of lions among the rocks. Padding to and
+fro, the great beasts watched Jonah from afar, with eyes like flames.
+And Jonah dreamed of Deborah; when he awoke, he remembered her gentle
+smile.
+
+In the fresh light of early morning a mother goat divided her milk
+between the prophet and her ewe. “These are stirring times, Jonah,” she
+said; “angels are abroad in great numbers.” Recognizing a minor deity,
+Jonah blessed her and resumed his journey.
+
+At the end of the second day he began to pass the boundary stones of
+Assyria, set up to warn trespassers upon private property. Thinking
+them altars, Jonah cursed each one as he went by. The next day he
+passed kilns in which colored bricks were being baked. As far as he
+could see, the blue, green, and yellow bricks stood in rows on the red
+earth.
+
+That night he slept outside the gates of Nineveh. The city rose above
+him in the dark; he heard the sentries challenge on the walls.
+
+In the morning he entered the city with some farmers on their way to
+the markets. The sun was rising, gleaming upon the great winged bulls
+before the temples, the green and yellow lions upon the walls. Under
+the clear upland sky the city shone with color like a fair. The markets
+opened; the streets filled with men and women in their colored shawls
+and clashing ornaments. And Jonah, looking and looking, was astonished.
+“Why,” he thought, “this is strange; there is something bright and bold
+about all this. This is fine, after all.” And he felt a gayety of heart
+take hold of him. How vigorous these mountain people looked with their
+insolent faces and their swaggering air. There was nothing old or sad
+in Nineveh. He forgot why he had come; he was excited, and happy. It
+was not at all what he had expected; and he forgot himself.
+
+But not for long. As the hours passed, he grew weary; and as the
+brightness wore off, and he began to think of his own life again, he
+began to hate Nineveh, to hate the bold colors all around him, the
+youth that carried itself so proudly and carelessly in the streets.
+“Yes,” he thought, “that is all very well for you; but you know
+nothing about life.” And, lifting his arms, he cried aloud with gloomy
+satisfaction, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.”
+
+The success of this remark astonished him. Without waiting to find
+out any more about it, the Assyrians hurried home and put ashes on
+their heads. Nineveh repented like a child of its sins; in an orgy
+of humility the city gave up its business, and dressed itself in
+sackcloth. The king, even, left his throne, and sat down in some ashes.
+
+Jonah was vexed. This, also, was not what he had expected. He had
+looked for a wind of fury, for stones, and curses, and a final effect
+of glory. And when he learned that because of its repentance Nineveh
+was to be spared, his courage gave way in a flood of disappointment.
+
+“I knew it,” he said bitterly to God; “I knew You’d never do it.”
+
+And with an angry countenance he retired to an open field on the east
+side of the city, to see what would happen. His heart was very sore.
+
+“Where is my glory now?” he thought.
+
+Then God, who was anxiously watching, spoke to Jonah from the sky. “Why
+are you angry?” said the Holy One. “Have I done you a wrong?”
+
+Jonah replied, sighing, “Who will ever believe me now, Lord?”
+
+And for the rest of the day he maintained a silence, full of reproach.
+
+Then because the sun was very hot, and because where Jonah was sitting
+there was no shade of any sort, God made a vine grow up, overnight, to
+shelter Jonah.
+
+“There,” said God, “there is a vine for you. Rest awhile and see.”
+
+That day Jonah sat in comfort beneath his shelter. The wind was in the
+west, full of agreeable odors; at noon a farmer brought him meal, salt,
+and oil; he ate, was refreshed, and dozed beneath his vine. The sun
+went down over the desert; and the evening star grew brighter in the
+sky, which shone with a peaceful light. The dews descended; and Jonah,
+wrapped in his cloak, dreamed of home.
+
+But in the morning worms had eaten the leaves of the vine; gorged and
+comfortable, they regarded Jonah from the ground with pious looks. As
+the day progressed, the sun beat down upon him without pity, a strong
+wind blew up from the east, out of the desert, and the prophet grew
+faint with misery. Too hot even to sweat, he nevertheless refused to
+move.
+
+“No,” he said, “I shall sit here.”
+
+An obstinate rage kept him out in the sun, although he half expected to
+die of it. “Well,” he said to himself, “what if I do?”
+
+It seemed to him that he had nothing more to live for.
+
+Then God said to Jonah, “Do you do well to be angry, My son?”
+
+Jonah did not wish to reply. But he was sure of one thing: that he had
+every right to be angry. “Why did You wither my vine, Lord?” he asked
+bitterly. “Was that also necessary?”
+
+God, looking down on His prophet, smiled sadly. “What is a vine?” He
+said gently. “Was it your vine, Jonah? You neither planted it nor
+cared for it. It came up in a night, and it perished in a night. And
+now you think I should have spared the vine for your sake. Yes ... but
+what of Nineveh, that great city, where there are so many people who
+cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand? Shall I
+not spare them, too, for My sake, Jonah?”
+
+Jonah rose wearily to his feet. “Well,” he said, “I may as well go home
+again.”
+
+And with bowed head he passed through the city, and out of the western
+gate. In the streets the citizens made way for him with pious murmurs
+and anxious looks, but Jonah did not notice them. All his courage was
+gone, his pride, his hope of glory, all gone down in the dust of God’s
+mercy to others, to all but him. To him alone God had been merciless
+and exacting. One by one the warm hopes of the youth, the ardors of
+the man, had been denied him; peace, love, pride, everything had been
+taken from him. What was there left? Only the desert, stony as life
+itself ... only the empty heart, the deliberate mind, the bare and
+patient spirit. Well, Jonah ... what a fool to think of anything else.
+Glory ... yes, but the glory is God’s, not yours.
+
+But he had not learned even that. He was not a good prophet. The
+flowers of his hope, the bitter blossoms of his grief, sprang up
+everywhere, where there should have been only waste brown earth. No, he
+was not a prophet; he was a man, like anybody else, whose love had been
+false, whose God had been unkind....
+
+And as he trudged dejectedly along, his heart, bare now of pride,
+filled with loneliness and longing. He thought of Judith, of the
+happiness that would never be his; and he wept.
+
+High among the clouds, God turned sadly to Moses. “You Jews,” He said
+wearily, “you do not understand beauty. With you it is either glory or
+despair.”
+
+And with a sigh He looked westward to the blue Ægean. Warm and gold the
+sunlight lay over Greece.
+
+
+THE END
+
+
+
+
+TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES:
+
+
+  Italicized text is surrounded by underscores: _italics_.
+
+  Perceived typographical errors have been corrected.
+
+  Archaic or variant spelling has been retained.
+
+  New original cover art included with this eBook is granted to the
+    public domain.
+
+
+
+*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 76998 ***
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+<body>
+<div style='text-align:center'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 76998 ***</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter hide"><img src="images/coversmall.jpg" width="450" alt=""></div>
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<h1><i>JONAH</i></h1>
+</div>
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+<div class="bbox">
+<p><i>Books by<br>
+ROBERT NATHAN</i></p>
+<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/i_ii.jpg" alt=""></div>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Autumn</span>: <i>A novel</i></p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">The Puppet
+Master</span>: <i>A novel</i></p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Youth Grows
+Old</span>: <i>A book of verse</i></p>
+</div></div></div></div>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/i_title.jpg" alt="title page"></div>
+</div>
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+<div class="titlepage">
+<p><span class="xxlarge">JONAH &#160;::&#160; :: &#160;<i>by</i></span><br>
+<span class="xlarge">ROBERT NATHAN</span></p>
+
+<p><span class="large">ROBERT M. McBRIDE &amp; COMPANY</span><br>
+  NEW YORK &#160; :: &#160; :: &#160; :: &#160; :: &#160; :: &#160; 1925</p>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p class="center">JONAH BY ROBERT NATHAN WAS FIRST<br>
+PRINTED AND PUBLISHED IN NINETEEN HUNDRED<br>
+AND TWENTY-FIVE IN THE UNITED<br>
+STATES OF AMERICA AND IS COPYRIGHTED<br>
+NINETEEN HUNDRED AND TWENTY-FIVE BY<br>
+ROBERT M. MC BRIDE AND COMPANY</p>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p class="center"><i>To</i><br>
+  <span class="smcap large">Alice and Arthur Carns</span></p>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+<div class="chapter">
+<p class="ph2">JONAH</p>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+<div class="chapter">
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_3">[3]</span>
+<h2 class="nobreak">I</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class="drop-cap">IN those days there were prophets in Israel.
+They lived in the desert, beyond
+the Jordan, in caves and in rude huts
+made of clay and mats. There were many
+holy men among them, whose ears had been
+pierced by the sweetness of God’s voice and
+whose eyes had been dazzled by the fiery appearance
+of His angels. They were like the
+saints to whom in later times the Virgin
+Mary used to come with eyes melting with
+tenderness, and who used to perform such
+astonishing miracles in the desert near
+Thebes. Theirs was an holy and severe life,
+made anxious by the sins of the Jews, whose
+punishment they prophesied in tones of great
+bitterness and haunting sadness.</p>
+
+<p>Surrounded by gloomy rocks, they beheld
+visions, and conversed with angels. They
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_4">[4]</span>shared their meals with the lions of the desert,
+with such birds and beasts as foxes, gazelles,
+snakes, mice, and ravens. Many of
+these were holy beings; more than human,
+but less than divine, they were obliged to eat,
+and devoured with shy and reverent looks
+the food set apart for Jehovah.</p>
+
+<p>It was a life of poverty, of danger, and
+of glory. In the silence of the desert the
+prophets drew together in an austere community.
+Those returning from lands across
+the Jordan brought back news to the Schools.
+It was said that Amos of Tekoa had spoken
+at Bethel; standing in the presence of King
+Jeroboam, surrounded by the proudest nobles,
+he had prophesied the doom of Israel.
+Two angels attended him while he spoke,
+and collected the drops of moisture which
+fell from his brow.</p>
+
+<p>Thereafter an earthquake, followed by a
+drought, destroyed the crops of Israel and
+Judah.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_5">[5]</span>When Jonah, the prophet, heard this news,
+he left his hut in Golan, and taking his stick
+and a gourd filled with water, set his face
+southward toward the Land of Tob. He
+walked from dawn to dusk; his thoughts
+were grave, and his expression serious. As
+evening fell he found himself beside a little
+pool in the desert; here he sat down to rest.
+The sky was green with early night; the evening
+star, smaller than the moon and silver
+as a distant sea, sailed above Sharon. Before
+him lay the desert, heavy with silence,
+drenched with the cold dew of evening.
+Jonah shivered, and drew his cloak closer
+about him.</p>
+
+<p>As he sat there, his head bowed upon his
+hand, a fox came out of a hole and, seeing
+Jonah, exclaimed,</p>
+
+<p>“There is the man of God.”</p>
+
+<p>Touched and astonished at this mark of
+recognition, Jonah offered the little animal
+some meal with which he had expected to
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_6">[6]</span>make his own supper. Then the fox lay
+down beside Jonah and remarked,</p>
+
+<p>“I am not a theologian. So I do not understand
+the wars of Judah and the other
+tribes. However, I would like to ask you
+something. When I go down into my hole,
+God goes down after me. What I want to
+know is this: is He a Jew, or a fox?”</p>
+
+<p>Jonah answered as he had been taught in
+the Schools: “God has the appearance of a
+man. From His beard, which extends to
+His feet and is divided into thirteen portions,
+fall drops of gracious balm; and from
+His mouth proceed the names of all things.
+His angels also appear as men, with long
+white wings, and faces shining with light.”
+And he gazed at the little animal in a kindly
+manner.</p>
+
+<p>“Well,” said the fox, “a beard or a tail,
+that is merely a matter of direction.” So
+saying, he put his head down between his
+paws, and fell asleep. Jonah also slept,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_7">[7]</span>watched by the stars, and by an angel, who
+said to him just before dawn:</p>
+
+<p>“Arise, Jonah, and hasten to Bethel. Say
+to King Jeroboam, ‘Against the insolence of
+Hamath, Israel shall prevail once again.’”</p>
+
+<p>Jonah immediately awoke, and gave
+thanks to God. Then he took leave of the
+fox, who said to him, “I dreamed that God
+was a raven, and was giving me some sharp
+pecks with His beak.”</p>
+
+<p>In the gray light of dawn Jonah started
+toward the hills which guard the Jordan.
+He breathed the pure air of the desert, sweet
+with desert flowers, fresh and cold as water;
+he lifted his face to the western sky, into
+which night was retreating like a storm; and
+his heart sang.</p>
+
+<p>“God will redeem Israel through me,” he
+thought.</p>
+
+<p>At noon he entered the valley of Jezreel,
+on the other side of the Jordan. There the
+fig trees were in blossom, and their scent
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_8">[8]</span>mingled with almonds in the air. At every
+village he saw roadside altars above which
+were erected rude copies of the golden bulls
+of Tyre. The afternoon sun cast sinister
+shadows behind them, and Jonah averted his
+face as he went by.</p>
+
+<p>He stayed that night near Joseph’s Well,
+in the cottage of a poor herdsman. A faint
+and holy glow illuminated one corner of the
+kitchen where the prophet lay, while the
+wide wings of seraphim, like slow birds, beat
+overhead through the darkness. In the
+morning the herdsman, who had not slept all
+night, hurried out to purify himself in the
+river from such close contact with divinity.</p>
+
+<p>When Jonah arrived at Bethel, he went
+at once to the house of the High Priest Amaziah.
+A servant admitted the prophet, dusty
+with travel, into the presence of his master.
+And Jonah gazed proudly and without fear
+at the priest.</p>
+
+<p>Amaziah, High Priest of Israel, was a
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_9">[9]</span>churchman; therefore he disliked confusion.
+For that reason also he detested the prophets
+who he felt were unable to understand
+the problems of administration. Seated
+upon a bench of ivory, he gazed wearily at
+Jonah before addressing him in these terms:</p>
+
+<p>“I do not know your name, but from your
+gloomy countenance covered with hair, I
+can see that you are a prophet from Golan,
+or the Land of Tob. And I suppose that
+you have come, like all the others, to tell me
+that God admires Judah more than Israel.
+In that case I must say to you what I said
+to Amos: ‘Go south, to Jerusalem, and
+prophesy in Judah, because what you have
+to say does not amuse me.’”</p>
+
+<p>Jonah replied simply, “I must speak at
+Bethel, because that is what God told me to
+do.”</p>
+
+<p>But he added that he did not intend to
+prophesy another earthquake, as Amos had
+done. “What I have to say,” he declared,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_10">[10]</span>“concerns Israel, and Hamath in the north.”</p>
+
+<p>At this the High Priest looked pleased.
+“So,” he said; “well, that is better.” And
+he regarded Jonah with a kindlier expression.</p>
+
+<p>But presently he burst out again in an exasperated
+voice: “You prophets do not understand
+the difficulties of my position. You
+imagine that because I am High Priest, I
+should be able to control the forms in which
+the people of Israel worship the Divinity.
+Nothing is more improbable, seeing that
+every one has his own idea of what is truly
+noble.”</p>
+
+<p>To this outburst Jonah replied, with dignity:
+“Still, the God of the Jews does not
+look like a bull, or a little dove. It is a sin
+to worship such things.”</p>
+
+<p>Amaziah gave utterance to a long sigh.
+“My son,” he said gently, “I see that you
+are like all prophets, which is to say that you
+are impractical. Otherwise you would know
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_11">[11]</span>that it is impossible not to worship the Divinity
+in some form or other. And since
+He refuses to reveal Himself in His proper
+form, one is left to imagine Him in any form
+one pleases. That is a great mistake, in my
+opinion; but it is God’s mistake, not mine.
+I cannot help it if the inhabitants of Dan,
+who are mostly farmers, admire the dignified
+mien of a bull, or if the villagers of Asher,
+who are lazy and uxorious, choose to worship
+the Divine Power in the form of a dove.”</p>
+
+<p>“The dove and the bull,” declared Jonah,
+who remembered what he had studied in the
+Schools, “belong to the moon and to the sun.
+God, having created man in His Own image,
+necessarily has the form of a man. He is
+bearded; and His face shines with wisdom
+and benevolence. He also created the animals,
+but He created them in the image of
+animals. That is the important thing to remember
+in dealing with such matters.”</p>
+
+<p>But Amaziah replied that Jonah was an
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_12">[12]</span>idealist. “You will understand,” he said,
+“when I tell you that idealism is something
+to which close attention to the disputes and
+duties of the Temple does not dispose me.
+We churchmen are obliged to be practical.
+The important thing is that there should be
+uniformity. And that is impossible where
+one person must be right, and the other
+wrong. I am not here to help men argue,
+but to help them agree. Many trees bear
+fruit upon this earth, my friend; the leaf is
+different, but a tree is a tree. So let us all
+be right, or at least as many of us as possible.”</p>
+
+<p>Jonah remained silent and gloomy; he respected
+the Law, and did not know how to
+reply to Amaziah. The old priest regarded
+him in a more genial manner, and continued:</p>
+
+<p>“However, these pastoral matters need not
+concern you. You are a prophet, not a
+priest, a messenger, not an interpreter.
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_13">[13]</span>That is something you prophets could learn
+to your advantage.</p>
+
+<p>“Tell me what tidings you bear the King.
+You speak of Hamath, and the Aramæans;
+is it possible that you know of some conspiracy
+in the north of which your rulers are
+ignorant?”</p>
+
+<p>Jonah replied that as far as he knew, the
+Aramæans were peaceful, and their army
+was unprepared. “An angel appeared to
+me in a dream,” he declared. “This angel
+was more beautiful than I can say, and had
+long white wings which kept up a slow movement
+in the air. I could wish that the
+women of Israel had such wings, which lend
+to the figure a charm that cannot be described.
+The beauty of that angel caused
+my heart to overflow with grief and longing.”</p>
+
+<p>And he remained silent, lost in painful
+memories. He resumed:</p>
+
+<p>“In a voice of heavenly sweetness I was
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_14">[14]</span>told to arise, and bidden to say to King
+Jeroboam, ‘Against the insolence of Hamath,
+Israel shall prevail once again.’
+When I awoke I found on the ground a
+white feather which shone like snow. I
+picked it up, and put it beneath my cloak.”
+And he held out to Amaziah a white feather
+about a foot long.</p>
+
+<p>“Here is the proof,” he said, “of what I
+have told you.”</p>
+
+<p>Amaziah reverently received the angelic
+token, which he put to his nose and carefully
+tasted with his tongue, before remarking,
+“It does not surprise me, seeing the
+marvelous economy of Heaven, that the
+wings which support the angels should be
+not unlike those on which the snowy herons
+sail so majestically above the hills. However,
+as the king and his nobles might consider
+this feather a trifle too light to support
+so august a body as an angel through the
+air, let me place this sacred relic in the Tabernacle,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_15">[15]</span>and give you, instead, the feather
+of an eagle, which has a more important
+look. Do not draw back in dismay, my
+son; in dealing with simple minds, a certain
+amount of ingenuity is needed. It is a characteristic
+which has distinguished the Jews
+in the past even more than their valor. I
+have only to remind you of David’s treaties
+with the Philistines, and the manner in which
+the heroic Jael divorced the head of Sisera
+from his Canaanite body. It is upon such
+stratagems as these, added to the irresistible
+power of the Lord, that the glory of Israel
+depends.”</p>
+
+<p>He sat for a brief space, his head sunk
+forward upon his breast in meditation.
+Presently he said thoughtfully:</p>
+
+<p>“After all, there is nothing like a war to
+draw together a nation’s diverse elements.
+The trouble with Israel is that her wars have
+been so often civil wars. Civil wars are of
+no value, since they destroy uniformity; they
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_16">[16]</span>are, besides, inclined to be a little half-hearted,
+seeing that the vanquished do not
+expect to be plundered, raped, and murdered
+with the same methodical energy by
+their own people as by strangers.”</p>
+
+<p>And he added humbly, “Is it likely that
+God in His infinite wisdom should see this
+any less clearly than I do?”</p>
+
+<p>When Jonah had supped on lettuce, olives,
+and wine, he left his host and went out to
+walk in the city. The night was cold, and
+the odor of the streets mingled with the sweet
+aroma of earth. He filled his lungs with
+the clear air of the hills, stained by the smoke
+of fires and the sour smell of wine; he heard
+about him in the gloom the lazy hum of the
+city, the faint, sharp chime of voices, far-off
+cries, the crowing of a cock, the creak of a
+water-wheel.</p>
+
+<p>He thought, “Here is thy home, O Israel,
+in the land of thy God.”</p>
+
+<p>And he gazed in silence and with a heart
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_17">[17]</span>overflowing with reverence at the sky, blue
+with night, above the roofs of Bethel.</p>
+
+<p>In the morning, pale but confident, he
+presented himself before the king.</p>
+
+<p>Seated upon a golden throne in his palace
+of broadstone, his hair and beard glistening
+with oil, and surrounded by proud and
+bearded nobles, Jeroboam listened with attention
+to what the prophet had to say.</p>
+
+<p>Then he asked for the opinion of Amaziah,
+who stood at the side of the throne.
+The old priest hesitated a moment, before
+replying in a grave voice:</p>
+
+<p>“Who am I to question the will of the Almighty?
+A war against Aram is a holy war,
+since God Himself desires it. This prophet
+speaks in a voice of heavenly wisdom. I
+foresee that your soldiers will rush with impetuous
+enthusiasm upon a foe by no means
+prepared to defend himself. I shudder to
+think of such carnage. However, your commands
+are mine, O King.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_18">[18]</span>So saying, he withdrew. Jeroboam then
+passed around a large feather given him by
+Jonah as proof of his prophetic mission. A
+noble who looked after the royal falcons remarked,</p>
+
+<p>“This indeed must be the feather of an
+angel, for it is larger than that of an eagle,
+which it favors in color, although it is more
+divine in appearance.”</p>
+
+<p>The king next asked for the opinion of
+Ahab, who owned a great deal of land bordering
+on the country of Aram. This prince,
+whose beard curled like an Assyrian’s, spoke
+without hesitation in favor of war. In a
+dry voice he declared,</p>
+
+<p>“It stands to reason that God would prefer
+His own people to have the pasture lands
+which obviously belong to them, according
+to geography, history, and the opinion of
+every right-minded person. I only wonder
+that He did not think of it before.”</p>
+
+<p>The young prince Absalom, who had
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_19">[19]</span>more than fifty wives, exclaimed in ringing
+tones,</p>
+
+<p>“I am in favor of war, to teach these barbarians
+to know and worship the God of
+the Jews.” And he held up his sword, the
+handle of which was carved to represent the
+Adonis of Sidon, to whose inexhaustible
+vigor the prince sacrificed, every spring, a
+ram and a cock.</p>
+
+<p>This speech of Absalom’s was received
+with acclaim by the nobles. The next day
+the armies of Israel, led by the king, and
+accompanied by more than a thousand
+priests of Adonis, Astarte, Kemosh, Melcarth,
+the local Baalim, and the Holy Ark,
+set out for the frontiers of Aram.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_20">[20]</span>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak">II</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class="drop-cap">NIGHT came gently down over
+Israel. The darkness of earth slid
+like a shadow across the rocks
+stained by the sunset. Calm and deep the
+sea of Cinnereth reflected the stars whose
+lights gleamed upon the trans-Jordanic
+hills. There the desert slept; while in the
+north the lights of Tyre shone upon the sea.</p>
+
+<p>The village herds returned from their pastures.
+Then the roads of Zebulon resounded
+with the tonk of bells, as the cows with
+sweet-smelling breath wound down from the
+hills. The day was over, and their stalls
+awaited them. Melancholy and austere,
+they parted from each other without regret.</p>
+
+<p>Aaron, the brother of Jonah, walked behind
+them. In his hand he carried a rod with
+which he beat now and then upon the flanks
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_21">[21]</span>of the animals nearest him. Then they
+rushed forward, clumsily, to avoid the blows
+which fell upon them without force.</p>
+
+<p>The young man enjoyed this hour of the
+day, when he strode home through the village,
+driving the herds before him. He was
+proud to be in charge of the village cows.
+His mother also was proud of him; she foresaw
+an important future for him. “Always
+do your best,” she said. “However,” she
+added, “do not tire yourself out. And in
+case of robbers, or a lion, please come home;
+and do not make a fool of yourself.”</p>
+
+<p>“Well,” the young man would say, twirling
+his stick, “we’ll see about that.”</p>
+
+<p>Aaron did not think that his brother led a
+very sensible life. To live all alone in the
+desert seemed to him a nonsensical thing to
+do, and he felt sure that his mother agreed
+with him. Else why did she shake her head
+so sadly, and heave such a sigh, when she
+spoke of her eldest son? As a matter of
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_22">[22]</span>fact, she relived in Jonah, but very faintly,
+the dreamy, mild, religious ecstasy of her
+maidenhood. That was all over for her now;
+life had long ago got down to being practical.
+Besides, one did not hear so much
+about God as when she was a girl. Still, she
+remembered the beauty of those times, when
+her heart beat with joy and love, when a
+sweet unrest brought her to her knees, and
+she felt through her prayers the breath of
+holiness upon her cheek.</p>
+
+<p>No, one did not hear nowadays so much
+about God. Take Aaron, for example: as
+he came home from the pastures at evening,
+he bent his head before the golden bull which
+adorned the wayside shrine. In the spring
+he enjoyed the feasts of the Passover; and
+he also enjoyed the celebrations in honor of
+Astarte and Adonis, in company with the
+other young men of the village. The problems
+of theology did not concern him; he
+simply wished to enjoy himself, and to get
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_23">[23]</span>on in the world. To do that, one did something
+about it; one began by taking care of
+the village herds. Then one could look confidently
+to the future, and leave God to dispute
+with other people about what He
+looked like.</p>
+
+<p>When the last of the cattle was safely
+housed, Aaron turned back to his own home,
+and entering the yard gate, walked toward
+the kitchen from whose open door a rosy
+glow spread over the yard. Jonah was at
+home; and Aaron stood a moment in the
+doorway, gazing with a smile at his mother,
+who was preparing supper. Deborah kept
+one eye on the oven, and the other on her
+elder son, who, with a small cake of bread in
+his hand, was relating to her some incidents
+of the Aramæan campaign. She wished to
+know if Hamath was as large as Salem, or
+Bethel.</p>
+
+<p>“It is larger than Bethel,” replied Jonah,
+“but not as large as Jerusalem.” Deborah
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_24">[24]</span>sighed happily; it was something to have
+traveled as much as that.</p>
+
+<p>“The armies of Aram,” said Jonah, biting
+into the coarse bread, “were drawn up
+in a truly terrifying array. I saw a number
+of men seated upon ostriches, so I knew that
+we were obliged to battle against demons.
+Not in the least frightened, our men rushed
+at the foe in an irresistible manner. Nevertheless,
+they would have been beaten, and
+were already in flight, when the High
+Priest Amaziah appeared upon a nearby
+hill, and announced that the King of Aram
+with all his generals had been consumed by
+a thunderbolt. At this our men decided to
+turn once more upon the foe, who retreated
+in confusion, and we rushed triumphantly
+forward into the enemy’s camp, where we
+surprised and killed a number of generals,
+including the King of Aram, and his High
+Priest.</p>
+
+<p>“When our victorious armies arrived at
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_25">[25]</span>the gates of Hamath, Prince Absalom came
+out to greet us, accompanied by the women
+of the town bearing flowers and bowls of
+wine for our thirsty soldiers. This noble
+prince, disguised as a Syrian, had left the
+battle-field before the armies had begun to
+fight, and had gone quietly off to prepare
+our welcome in the city, where he knew a
+number of prominent people. It is faith
+joined to foresight of this nature that has
+made Israel great.”</p>
+
+<p>He was silent; the light from the oven
+glowed upon his face, which shone with enthusiasm
+and love. He thought to himself,
+“All Israel resounds with my glory. There
+is a new prophet; and his name is Jonah.”</p>
+
+<p>And he added, humbling himself before
+God,</p>
+
+<p>“I understand that this is Your doing.”</p>
+
+<p>Anxious that Deborah should know of his
+part in his country’s history, he mumbled
+shyly, with his mouth full,</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_26">[26]</span>“The King considers me a greater prophet
+even than Amos of Tekoa.”</p>
+
+<p>“Well,” said Deborah sensibly, “why
+not?” Coming up to Jonah, she smoothed
+his hair with her hand, and gazed at him
+anxiously. “What a trouble you are to me,”
+she said gently; “making wars and such mischief.
+Well....”</p>
+
+<p>Seeing her younger son standing in the
+doorway, she called to him: “Come in,
+Aaron, here is your brother Jonah. He has
+just made a war. Tschk ... you would
+think there was nothing but fighting in the
+world.”</p>
+
+<p>Aaron came into the room, and went up
+to Jonah with frank curiosity. He wished
+to know all about it, and he asked innumerable
+questions. When he learned that Jonah
+had not brought home any gold ornaments,
+or rich shawls, he was disappointed.</p>
+
+<p>“No, really,” he exclaimed, “what is the
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_27">[27]</span>good of a war like that?” And he sat sulkily
+down in a corner.</p>
+
+<p>But Deborah took Jonah’s part. “No,
+Aaron,” she said, “that would be all right
+for you; if you made a war, I should expect
+you to come home with something, a
+colored shawl for me, or some gold bracelets.
+But Jonah is different; and living in
+the desert, the way he does, gives him ideas.
+Better a war far away, like this one, than
+like what we used to have in your father’s
+time, right under my nose, killing and fighting
+all day long.”</p>
+
+<p>She turned to Jonah with a sigh. “Why,”
+she exclaimed, “did you choose the Aramæans
+to make a war with? Such wild people.”
+She shook her head ruefully. “Always trouble,”
+she decided; “never what would be
+sensible.</p>
+
+<p>“At any rate,” she wound up, “perhaps
+you’ll settle down now for a while and let
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_28">[28]</span>your mother look after you, instead of living
+all alone in a desert with foxes.</p>
+
+<p>“Ak, what an old coat you have.”</p>
+
+<p>She went back to her oven with a smile;
+cheerful and loving, she found in everything
+some cause for satisfaction, or at least hope,
+if she was given time enough. And she sang
+now, under her breath, as she always did
+when she was disturbed or happy—for happiness
+or sorrow, either one, disturbed only
+a little her amiable, confused spirit:</p>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+<div class="first">“<i>Men dead long ago</i></div>
+<div class="verse"><i>Have set me like a tree.</i></div>
+<div class="verse"><i>Let the wind blow,</i></div>
+<div class="verse"><i>What is that to me?</i></div>
+<div class="verse"><i>My roots are in their dust,</i></div>
+<div class="verse"><i>My roots are deep, I trust.</i></div>
+<div class="verse"><i>My son is at my knee.</i>”</div>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>Jonah looked at her with a gloomy but
+tender expression. “Mother,” he said,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_29">[29]</span>“what is the matter with my coat? Because
+it is old? It does me very well. Must I
+also be a beauty, to suit you?”</p>
+
+<p>After supper Deborah’s brother David
+came in to see Jonah. He also wished to
+know about the war, concerning which he
+had heard rumors.</p>
+
+<p>“Well,” he said to his sister, “so we have
+actually a prophet in our family. I congratulate
+you. We could afford to give a
+little party in honor of this.”</p>
+
+<p>And he looked around him with pride.</p>
+
+<p>“No, really,” cried Jonah; “what an idea.”
+He blushed to think of it. But his uncle
+peered angrily at him from under his shaggy
+eyebrows.</p>
+
+<p>“So,” he said slowly, “that is the kind of
+prophet you are, then. You think only of
+yourself, but what about your family? Do
+you imagine we have so many opportunities
+to give feasts, and call in the neighbors? Or
+have you done something to be ashamed of?
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_30">[30]</span>When an honor comes to us, that is the time
+to talk about it.”</p>
+
+<p>Aaron agreed with his uncle, although he
+did not see what they had to be proud of.
+“We are no better off than before,” he complained,
+“seeing that Jonah brought home
+nothing with him from the war.”</p>
+
+<p>“What?” exclaimed Uncle David. “What
+a pity.” He wagged his old head meditatively.
+“There it is,” he said; “times change,
+whether you like it or not. When I was a
+young man it was entirely different. Feasts,
+festivals.... I can tell you, we knew how
+to enjoy ourselves. And what is more, we
+were religious; it was not like to-day. At
+any rate, children were respectful, and considered
+their parents; when they went to a
+war, they brought something home.”</p>
+
+<p>And he lamented the decay of Israel’s
+greatness.</p>
+
+<p>But Deborah put in a good word for her
+son. “If he brought me nothing,” she said,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_31">[31]</span>“it was because he knows that really I am
+satisfied with what I have, and besides there
+was nothing there which caught his fancy.”</p>
+
+<p>“The old days are no more,” said David,
+and relapsed into gloomy silence.</p>
+
+<p>Aaron, who had been growing restless in
+his corner, got to his feet. “Mother,” he
+said, “I am going out for a while, to see
+some of my friends.”</p>
+
+<p>“Again,” cried Deborah, “so soon, when
+your brother has just come home, and Uncle
+David is here? Aaron, no....”</p>
+
+<p>“I will go with him,” said Jonah quietly;
+“I should like to visit old Naaman, who lives
+at the edge of the village. Do you remember,
+Mother, how I used to go there when I
+was young; and I have not seen him in many
+years.”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes,” said Deborah with a smile, “it is
+true; I remember, you were always there;
+whenever I could not find you, I had only
+to look for you in Naaman’s house, and there
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_32">[32]</span>you were. Go along, but do not be late;
+and”—she added in a whisper—“when you
+come home I will have some food set out for
+you.”</p>
+
+<p>She turned sternly to her younger son.
+“Aaron,” she said, “please do not get into
+any fresh mischief with your friends. Perhaps
+you would do better to go with your
+brother; it would do you good for a change
+instead of running up and down the village
+with nobody knows who.”</p>
+
+<p>Her gaze followed her sons with tender
+anxiety across the threshold.</p>
+
+<p>“So thin he looks,” she murmured; “and
+his cloak is so tattered; really, I am
+ashamed. But what can I do; I have nothing;
+and he is so proud, besides.”</p>
+
+<p>And she smiled at her brother, with a tear
+shining in her eye.</p>
+
+<p>Jonah and Aaron walked along in silence,
+under the dark boughs of trees. At last
+Aaron remarked: “Well ... you see ...
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_33">[33]</span>you have made a start now with things. The
+desert is all very well for old men. But
+what sort of life is that, after all?”</p>
+
+<p>And in an embarrassed manner he took his
+leave of Jonah, and went off to join his companions,
+whose voices could be heard raised
+in youthful laughter among the shadows.</p>
+
+<p>Jonah stood leaning upon his staff in the
+darkness. A few lights gleamed among the
+trees, whose branches bent above him as
+though to envelope him in their quiet embrace.
+The odors of night crept around him;
+he remembered his youth, spent in this village,
+and he felt in his heart a longing for
+that lonely boy whose only friends had been
+an old man and his own dreams. So much
+of life had gone by, yet here he was again,
+wearier, wiser, still led by hopes, of what he
+did not know, hurt by memories, but why he
+could not tell. He heard the voices of Aaron
+and his friends fading in the distance; he
+knew that in the shadows young lovers whispered
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_34">[34]</span>together, although he could not see
+them. All about him trembled the happy
+laughter of youth, the peace of age, the
+quietness of rest after labor. The sky of
+heaven, shining with stars, bent upon his
+home a regard of kindness; and the wind,
+moving through the sycamores, spoke to him
+in the accents of the past.</p>
+
+<p>Bowing his head upon his breast, he
+thought, “Jonah, Jonah, what have you done
+with your youth?”</p>
+
+<p>Slowly, and with halting steps, he approached
+the house of Naaman, at the village
+edge.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_35">[35]</span>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak">III</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class="drop-cap">HE found his old teacher seated beneath
+an acacia tree whose
+branches perfumed the air. A
+beam of light from the house, falling among
+the leaves, touched Naaman’s white hair and
+his long, snowy beard with a gentle gleam.
+That was how his pupil had remembered
+him, the picture of wisdom and peace. He
+greeted Jonah with affection, but without
+surprise.</p>
+
+<p>“It is you, my son,” he said. “I am glad
+to see you again. Your fame has spread,
+for I heard of you, no later than to-day, as
+the young prophet who had inspired the
+king at Bethel.”</p>
+
+<p>And he added gayly, “Come, sit here beside
+me, and tell me about yourself. As
+you see, my tree is blossoming again. Thus,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_36">[36]</span>at the end of my life, it is vouchsafed me to
+behold each year the return of spring and
+the marriage of earth with the Eternal
+One.”</p>
+
+<p>“I do not know what you mean by the
+Eternal One,” said Jonah; “for all the gods
+are immortal and eternal. It is only you
+and I, Naaman, who grow older each year.
+But I am glad to see that you are well, and
+to know that your tree is blossoming.”</p>
+
+<p>Naaman replied gently, “My son, you
+have traveled, and you have learned something.
+Have you not learned that there is
+only one God? Did you not learn that in
+the desert, Jonah?”</p>
+
+<p>“No, Naaman,” said Jonah gravely, “I
+have not learned it. I have been in the
+desert, where God is. And I have also been
+in Tyre in the month before our Passover,
+when the quail return in great numbers to
+mourn the death of a god. I will tell you
+something about Tyre: there, before they
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_37">[37]</span>are married, the maidens sacrifice their hair
+to Astarte. You should travel, Naaman,
+and hear of other gods.”</p>
+
+<p>“I do not need to travel,” replied Naaman;
+“here in this quiet garden the sun sets
+and the moon rises; the breeze of evening
+whispers through the leaves of my acacia
+tree, and I see through the branches the
+stars which have not changed; I hear the
+voices of cicada, shrill and sad, as when I
+was a boy, I hear the herds winding down
+from the hills. All is as it was and as it will
+be; and my heart overflows with love and
+peace.”</p>
+
+<p>Jonah shrugged his shoulders. “That is
+all very well for you,” he repeated, “but
+when one goes about, as I do, one sees many
+strange things. In Aram, for instance,
+there are gods which look like snakes. But
+it is possible to charm them with a flute.
+What has that to do with the God of the
+Jews?”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_38">[38]</span>“Were you not also in Aram?” asked
+Naaman quietly. “Yet you are a Jew.”</p>
+
+<p>“I was with the army ...” said Jonah.</p>
+
+<p>But Naaman broke in, continuing: “Do
+you imagine that God would be content with
+a few tribes and a strip of sea-coast on this
+earth, which He created with so much trouble?
+Such an idea is highly improbable.
+Moreover, there is a regularity about the
+seasons which would be impossible in the
+case of a number of gods.”</p>
+
+<p>But Jonah shook his head. “That is all
+nonsense, Naaman,” he said. “I cannot understand
+it. Why should God send the Jews
+to take the country and the flocks of the
+Aramæans, if they already belong to Him?
+And if there is no other God but Israel’s
+God, then who created the other people of
+the earth? You see into what difficulties an
+idea of this sort inevitably leads you. There
+is no doubt that our God is the true God,
+but to say that He is the only God does not
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_39">[39]</span>seem to be justified, in the light of history.”</p>
+
+<p>“What do we learn from history?” asked
+Naaman. “Little enough and nothing to
+our credit. The golden calf of Og has
+grown to be a bull. Well, so much for history.”</p>
+
+<p>But Jonah replied discontentedly, “That
+is all very well theologically speaking, but
+you lose sight of the problems of administration.”
+And he repeated to Naaman what
+Amaziah, the High Priest, had told him.</p>
+
+<p>“After all,” he said, “men must worship
+God in some form or other.”</p>
+
+<p>But Naaman replied with grave anxiety:</p>
+
+<p>“That is not the voice of Jonah that I
+hear. My son, do not let yourself be persuaded
+by those to whose ears the divine
+speech has never penetrated. God does not
+speak in the Temple, but in the silence of
+the heart. The hearts of His prophets are
+His tabernacles. There, in the quiet, in the
+hush of lonely piety, He speaks to Israel in
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_40">[40]</span>tones of sorrow and command. Let us keep
+His tabernacles holy and austere. Go back
+to the desert, Jonah; and do not meddle with
+the affairs of this world.</p>
+
+<p>“Go back to the desert, my son.”</p>
+
+<p>Jonah remained silent for a moment, gazing
+out at the soft spring night with its
+faint shine and shadow of leaves. At last he
+said slowly, “Well, of course, after a
+while....” But he thought to himself,
+“Must I hurry? A little holiday will not do
+me any harm.</p>
+
+<p>“I thought,” he said doubtfully to Naaman,
+“that I might stay a few days with my
+mother, who is growing old, and who after
+all does not see so much of me.”</p>
+
+<p>But Naaman shook his head. “My son,”
+he said, “you cannot have both heaven and
+earth. If you are so fortunate as to count
+angels among your friends, it is because you
+have no mother and no brother. Be lonely,
+and content; and do not turn back to this life
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_41">[41]</span>so full of passion and injustice. Grief and
+joy are not for you, Jonah; they are nothing
+for a prophet. The desert is your home; do
+not go too far away from it.”</p>
+
+<p>“You are right, Naaman,” said Jonah,
+after a while; “one must not get too far
+away from the desert.” He rose to go, helping
+himself to his feet with his staff. “Good-by,”
+he said, “my teacher and my friend.
+Once again you convince me, a little against
+my will. As of old, I leave you, filled with
+a peace which is not entirely happy.”</p>
+
+<p>And embracing his old teacher, he set off
+for his mother’s house through the night.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_42">[42]</span>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak">IV</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class="drop-cap">PRINCE AHAB lived in a palace
+of stone and fragrant cedarwood, on
+a hill above the village of Gath-Hepher,
+and almost within sight of the little
+cottage occupied by Jonah’s mother.
+The prince, whose large holdings in the
+North had increased in value due to the success
+of the war in Syria, surrounded himself
+with every luxury. Nevertheless, in the
+midst of jewels, silks, slaves, and the richest
+perfumes, he himself remained simple and
+straightforward. Of a martial, almost to
+say gloomy appearance, he affected the stern
+manners of the Assyrians, with whose thick
+gold fringes he decorated his cloak and his
+girdle. He was heavy, but he was vigorous
+and active; like the nobles of Assur, he took
+endless pleasure in hunting, for which he imported
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_43">[43]</span>blooded falcons and swift horses
+from Iran. He lived in the saddle; and he
+complained of the degeneracy of Israel.
+“Effeminate people,” he exclaimed, “you do
+not exercise enough.” And the sleepy citizens
+of Bethel would be awakened by the
+trampling of horses and the sound of horns,
+as Ahab rode out at dawn to hunt boar in the
+forests of Baal Hazor.</p>
+
+<p>In the afternoon, while the king deliberated
+with his nobles upon affairs of
+state, Ahab dozed. Upon being reminded
+of the presence before the council of important
+matters, he remarked that he had
+been out riding. And he exclaimed with enthusiasm:</p>
+
+<p>“Exercise is the thing.”</p>
+
+<p>An old woman by the name of Sarah kept
+house for him in his palace of cedarwood and
+broadstone. She was sharp and severe, but
+she knew her own value. By noticing the
+faults of other people, she kept her self-respect.
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_44">[44]</span>She managed the house and the
+slaves, and acted as nurse to Ahab’s niece,
+his sister’s child, Judith.</p>
+
+<p>Judith at sixteen possessed a voluptuous
+body, a pious spirit, and an inexperienced
+mind. Her gentle soul united in itself the
+gay ardors of a child with the cloudy desires
+of a woman. Everything surprised her, and
+everything pleased her; she was anxious to
+know everything, and she knew nothing.
+Eager and trusting, her brown eyes explored
+with sympathy but without understanding
+the life she saw all about her. She was
+happy and dreamy by turns; but sometimes
+at night her pillow was wet with tears. She
+would have said that something beautiful
+had made her cry, perhaps a thought, perhaps
+a feeling. But she could not have explained
+what it was, not even to Sarah, to
+whom she told everything. Perhaps it was
+the moonlight in the courtyard, and the scent
+of jasmine or lotus from the garden. But
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_45">[45]</span>that was lovely; why should it make her cry?
+Such things perplexed her.</p>
+
+<p>Sometimes she wished she were a boy, so
+that she might go hunting with her uncle.
+Then she saw herself seated on a white horse,
+with her green cape blowing in the wind,
+galloping and shouting. But at the thought
+of piercing an animal with her spear, she
+turned away with quick displeasure. “No,”
+she thought, “I should not like to go hunting.”</p>
+
+<p>And she told her uncle that she was glad
+she was a girl. “So am I,” he replied, “because
+if you were a boy, I should be disgusted
+with you.” He loved his niece, but
+he liked people to be active and hardy. “The
+women of to-day,” he often said, “do not
+amount to much.</p>
+
+<p>“They have no enthusiasm.”</p>
+
+<p>Now Judith sat before her bronze mirror,
+twisting her long brown hair into plaits.
+As she sat, she sang:</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_46">[46]</span></p>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+<div class="first">“<i>My love is a shepherd in Sharon,</i></div>
+<div class="verse"><i>By rivers he waters his sheep,</i></div>
+<div class="verse"><i>Blue are the waters of Sharon,</i></div>
+<div class="verse"><i>Rivers of Sharon are deep.</i>”</div>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>She knew no one in Sharon. Nevertheless
+her nurse said to her angrily, “Now tell
+me, what sort of song is that for a young
+girl to sing?”</p>
+
+<p>Judith replied that it was just a song.
+She added with a smile, “You are vexed
+because you do not know any shepherds, and
+because you have no lover.”</p>
+
+<p>“That is my own business,” said Sarah,
+drawing herself up with dignity. “However,
+I must say that it does not become you
+to speak of things like that. What do you
+know about love? Nothing, I sincerely
+hope. You should be thinking of marriage,
+with respectful modesty.”</p>
+
+<p>“Well,” said Judith, “as a matter of fact,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_47">[47]</span>I think love is silly. It does not interest
+me, really. Were you ever in love? Tell me
+honestly, Sarah; I cannot imagine such a
+thing.”</p>
+
+<p>Sarah gazed gloomily at her mistress.
+Presently a blush overspread her sallow
+countenance. “In love?” she exclaimed;
+“certainly not. With what, if I may ask?
+The trouble with you is that your head is full
+of nonsense. When I was your age I had
+more decorum. I was prettier than I am to-day,
+and I attracted the attention of a very
+handsome man, a camel driver, but such a
+wild one. He was not good enough for me,
+and I sent him about his business. I knew
+my own worth.”</p>
+
+<p>So saying she tossed her head, with an air.
+But Judith clapped her hands. “A camel
+driver,” she exclaimed, “why, Sarah, you
+never told me. Did he take you up on his
+camel? Just think, how delightful. That’s
+really life, isn’t it, Sarah?”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_48">[48]</span>“Ak,” cried the nurse, “where do you get
+such ideas?”</p>
+
+<p>And turning to Prince Ahab, who was
+entering the room at that moment, she exclaimed,</p>
+
+<p>“God knows who puts such things into
+her head.”</p>
+
+<p>Prince Ahab replied, with a discouraged
+gesture, “Do not ask me, Sarah, for I do not
+know who puts anything into people’s heads
+nowadays. I assure you, the entire world is
+mad. Do you know what the king is doing,
+now that the war is over? You would think
+he would be getting ready for the next one.
+Not at all; he prefers to discuss the marriage
+laws with Prince Absalom. What a
+state of affairs. Do not expect me to know
+what makes a young girl foolish besides.”</p>
+
+<p>“I am not foolish, Uncle,” said Judith;
+“when I am older, I shall be just as wise as
+you or Sarah.”</p>
+
+<p>“Be respectful to your uncle,” said Sarah.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_49">[49]</span>Ahab shrugged his shoulders. “No one
+is respectful any more,” he said; “I simply
+wonder that people do not go around with
+their fingers actually to their noses. But,
+then, with so many prophets filling the air
+with groans and complaints.... Amos,
+Joel, Hosea, they are enough to fill the mind
+of anybody with disrespect.”</p>
+
+<p>“And Jonah?” asked Judith.</p>
+
+<p>Ahab replied gravely: “Jonah is not like
+the others. He comes of a worthy family of
+Zebulon; as a matter of fact, his home is
+here in this village. So, you can see, there is
+something to him. His brother is the village
+herdsman. Yes, Jonah is quite a different
+thing altogether.”</p>
+
+<p>Judith looked lazily at her face in the
+mirror. “Tell me what he is like,” she said.</p>
+
+<p>“What’s that to you?” asked Sarah. She
+added that she supposed he was old and had
+a long white beard.</p>
+
+<p>“No,” replied Ahab, “he is not old. He is
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_50">[50]</span>young, and enthusiastic. His eyes seem to
+burn. He is a little thin, but one can understand
+that, living in the desert, and probably
+starving most of the time. It is not a healthy
+life. I came upon him during the battle
+against the Aramæans; the fighting had
+made him sick. He is not what I would call
+a very robust individual.”</p>
+
+<p>“And did he really see an angel,” asked
+Judith, “as they say he did?”</p>
+
+<p>“Why not?” said Ahab. “Is there any
+reason why a man from my own village
+should not see an angel? He has certainly
+as much right to see one as Amos of Tekoa;
+or do you imagine that angels only appear
+to the men of Judah?”</p>
+
+<p>“What an idea,” cried Sarah.</p>
+
+<p>And she added with conviction, “For myself,
+I would sooner take the word of a man
+from Zebulon.”</p>
+
+<p>But when Prince Ahab had gone, she said,
+sniffing the air with vexation, “Men ought
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_51">[51]</span>to stay out of the women’s apartments,
+where they have no business, whether they
+are uncles or not.” Seizing a vial of
+sweet-smelling oil, she began to sprinkle its
+contents in the room. This consoled her
+nose, which had been outraged by the prince,
+who, as usual, had come from the stables.</p>
+
+<p>Judith went out into the warm spring
+morning. The bees were humming in the
+blossoms, the birds sang quietly and gaily
+in the trees, and trees and blossoms stretched
+themselves luxuriously in the bright sunshine.
+Judith took a deep breath of the hot,
+sweet air; it was like eating flowers, she
+thought. Underfoot, in the grass, beetles
+moved gravely to and fro on their mysterious
+business; the world of stones and twigs
+was being explored by little eager ants;
+wasps hung and buzzed. The earth exhaled
+the beneficent fragrance of spring; everywhere
+was drowsy joy, tranquil activity.
+A tanager flew overhead with scarlet wings,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_52">[52]</span>turned, shone, and fled among the trees.
+The girl paused, and looked up at the sky,
+blue as a robin’s egg. “I should like to
+dance,” she thought.</p>
+
+<p>A moment later she added doubtfully,
+“But perhaps it would be wrong.”</p>
+
+<p>At her feet a beetle with a bright green
+coat which reflected the light was walking
+soberly toward his house. Presently an ant
+approached him and gave him a bite on the
+leg. The beetle turned an anxious look on
+his tiny assailant, whose head barely came
+up to his knee, “Come, come,” he exclaimed,
+“have you no respect for beauty? Do you
+think God enjoys having you bite me? He
+would be very much upset if anything happened
+to me.”</p>
+
+<p>Disdaining to reply, the ant went away to
+find his friends and discuss the situation. “I
+gave it to him,” he said; “I gave him a bite
+he won’t forget in a hurry. Now he knows
+who I am.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_53">[53]</span>Left to himself, the beetle hurried home
+in an agitated manner. And Judith, remarking
+his awkward gait, cried,</p>
+
+<p>“There, you are dancing, you strange
+creature, with your lovely green coat. But
+that is quite another matter, because you are
+a beetle, and not a Jew.”</p>
+
+<p>She had a sudden thought. “Perhaps,”
+she said, “that is why you are dancing. Perhaps
+you are a little god, with such a fine
+green coat. Well, go in peace, I will not
+step on you. I will make a wish, instead.
+Little beetle, tell me what love is. It does
+not interest me, really; I would simply like
+to know....”</p>
+
+<p>She broke off with a start. A shadow had
+fallen on the grass at her feet, and she
+looked up with surprise. There, behind her
+and to one side, stood a young man. He
+was not good-looking, but his expression was
+gentle and kind. He had on an old, tattered
+cloak, and he leaned thoughtfully upon a
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_54">[54]</span>rough staff which easily supported his
+weight. Judith looked at him with wide-open
+eyes.</p>
+
+<p>“Oh, my,” she said.</p>
+
+<p>And she added faintly, but in accents of
+hope, “Are you also a camel driver?”</p>
+
+<p>The young man shook his head. “No,”
+he said, “I am not a camel driver.”</p>
+
+<p>Seeing that his reply had disappointed the
+young woman, he added simply,</p>
+
+<p>“I am Jonah, the prophet.”</p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_55">[55]</span>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak">V</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class="drop-cap">JONAH and Judith sat on a bank of
+ferns and moss beneath the shade of
+a giant sycamore tree. Already they
+were friends; they talked earnestly together,
+and twisted in their fingers the ferns with
+their tough stalks and cool leaves.</p>
+
+<p>“Well, but tell me,” said Judith, “did you
+really see an angel? Just imagine, how exciting
+that must be. What was this angel
+like? Very beautiful, I suppose.” And she
+looked down with a frown.</p>
+
+<p>“Such beauty,” said Jonah gravely, “I
+cannot describe to you. Because, actually,
+one does not see beauty, one feels it. One
+looks at something, and suddenly one feels
+a pain in one’s heart. Then one thinks ‘what
+a beautiful thing.’”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_56">[56]</span>“Yes,” said Judith. “Well, tell me, did
+this angel have dark hair too, like mine?”</p>
+
+<p>“I do not know,” replied Jonah candidly.
+“I did not exactly see any hair. But I remember
+the wide, white, folded wings, and
+the glow which entered my heart at the sight
+of that serene face.”</p>
+
+<p>Judith pouted. “Didn’t you notice anything
+at all?” she enquired. “For instance,
+what did she wear. And was she young or
+old? What a strange fellow you are; you
+saw almost nothing, or at any rate, nothing
+of any consequence.”</p>
+
+<p>“Why do you speak always of ‘her’?”
+asked Jonah. “This angel was not a woman.
+At least, I did not think so.”</p>
+
+<p>“Then he was a man,” cried Judith.</p>
+
+<p>“No,” said Jonah slowly, “he was not a
+man, either.”</p>
+
+<p>“You see,” said Judith, “I was right; she
+was a woman. And besides, if she was so
+beautiful, naturally she was a woman.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_57">[57]</span>“I confess,” admitted Jonah, “that had
+not occurred to me.”</p>
+
+<p>“Of course not,” said Judith. “But it occurred
+to me, because I am a woman.”</p>
+
+<p>And she added with a smile,</p>
+
+<p>“Even if I am not as beautiful as an
+angel.”</p>
+
+<p>“You are very pretty,” said Jonah shyly.
+“But it is not the same thing.” And he dug
+in the moss with his staff.</p>
+
+<p>“Do you really think I am pretty?” asked
+Judith. “Sarah, my nurse, says that to be
+pretty is nothing, because any one can be
+pretty. She would rather I were virtuous,
+because virtue is woman’s richest jewel. Of
+course I mean to be virtuous, and to do what
+is expected of me.”</p>
+
+<p>She began to weave some ferns into a
+chaplet. “Sometimes,” she said in a low
+voice, “I look at myself in my mirror, and I
+give myself a little kiss. Do you think it is
+wrong? Nobody sees me.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_58">[58]</span>Jonah moved uncomfortably in the moss.
+“God...?” he said.</p>
+
+<p>“Oh,” said Judith. “Well, God ... old
+God.</p>
+
+<p>“Anyway,” she added, “I don’t think He
+sees me.”</p>
+
+<p>She looked at the garden from which an
+overpowering fragrance arose, at the flowers
+languidly lifting their bright-colored faces
+to the sun, drinking in the warmth and the
+light. “I have a little dove,” she said,
+“made all of silver. It is a copy of the doves
+of Eryx, and it is sacred to Astarte. My
+uncle brought it to me from Tyre. It is
+pretty, because it is of silver, with eyes of
+rubies. I put it on the window-sill of my
+room. It brought the birds; they came and
+sang on my window-sill.</p>
+
+<p>“My little dove sees me kiss myself in my
+mirror.</p>
+
+<p>“Is it wrong, Jonah?”</p>
+
+<p>When Jonah did not reply, she said, “Tell
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_59">[59]</span>me what it is like in the desert. Just imagine,
+to live all alone in a little hut or a cave,
+how exciting that is.”</p>
+
+<p>Jonah began to tell her of his life in the
+desert. Seated in the shade on the moss,
+while the bees hummed outside in the sun, he
+described the way in which the prophets
+came together for study and meditation. “I
+have a little cell,” he said, “in Golan, near a
+tiny stream which rises in the hills. It is
+clear and cold, and many prophets live beside
+its banks among the rushes. In the
+morning, after we have prayed, we gather in
+the shade to listen to some learned man, or
+eminent saint. Our midday meal is simple,
+a few dates, some maize, a little oil or wine,
+perhaps a fish from the deep waters of Cinnereth
+across the hills. And in the afternoon
+we meditate upon the Law, and the history
+of our people.</p>
+
+<p>“Evening comes suddenly in the wilderness.
+The shadows lengthen, and night approaches
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_60">[60]</span>across the desert. The wind of
+night blows upon the east, which turns dark
+and blue with cold. In the west the sun
+goes down into the sea; the sky turns yellow,
+then green, and shines like a lamp. The
+stars appear, the dews descend, and the
+wings of angels begin to sweep through the
+skies. It is cold, and the desert is silent, save
+for the prayers of the hermits, which rise in
+a soft sigh from the earth. As it grows
+darker the voices of animals begin to mingle
+with our psalms, and we hear, far off, the
+roaring of lions on their way to drink. Then
+our fires are lighted, to guide the Hosts of
+Heaven to our homes.</p>
+
+<p>“The animals are our friends. The little
+divinities of the rocks and streams know and
+reverence us. They bring us food, and they
+tell us of the approach of demons in the
+form of ostriches and jackals. Against such
+beings as these our holiness is sufficient protection
+while we are on God’s land.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_61">[61]</span>“Well, that is all, really. It is a simple
+life, but it has its beauty. In the quiet of
+the desert our hearts expand like flowers in
+warm weather, and in our minds blossom
+lovely and tranquil thoughts.”</p>
+
+<p>Moved by a sweet emotion, Judith replied,
+“How delightful it must be to live in
+the desert.”</p>
+
+<p>She continued in a low tone, “When you
+speak of God, I seem to feel Him in my
+heart. It is such a strange feeling, so peaceful
+and yet a little painful.”</p>
+
+<p>And she looked at him with surprised and
+shining eyes.</p>
+
+<p>Suddenly she looked down; the dark
+lashes rested softly against her cheeks warm
+as sunny roses. “I must go home now,” she
+murmured. “Good-by.”</p>
+
+<p>She got swiftly to her feet. “I will not
+look in my mirror any more,” she said, “if
+you think it is wrong.”</p>
+
+<p>And she ran away without once looking
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_62">[62]</span>behind her. When she got home she hid her
+mirror in a box of ivory and sandalwood.
+Then she went to put her silver dove away
+also. But all at once, instead of hiding it,
+she gave it a kiss on its ruby eyes.</p>
+
+<p>“Little dove,” she said, “tell me what love
+is.”</p>
+
+<p>Going to her box, she took out her mirror
+again, and gazed for a long time, and with
+a smile, at her own reflection.</p>
+
+<p>Jonah went thoughtfully home. There he
+found his Uncle David, who had stopped in
+for a moment to see if anything was being
+cooked. Deborah was filling the lamps for
+the Sabbath. When she saw Jonah she
+straightened her bent back, and remarked
+anxiously, “Where have you been all morning?”</p>
+
+<p>“I have been out walking,” replied Jonah
+evasively. And he sat gloomily down in a
+corner of the room, as far as possible from
+his uncle. Then all at once he burst out
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_63">[63]</span>laughing. When his mother asked him what
+he was laughing at, he answered,</p>
+
+<p>“I was thinking of a green beetle.”</p>
+
+<p>“You see,” said Uncle David, nodding his
+head, “he is not all there.”</p>
+
+<p>Deborah arose, and went to fetch more
+oil for the lamps. As she passed her son,
+she touched his forehead with her hand.
+“What is there so peculiar about that?” she
+demanded of her brother. “Or perhaps you
+have never seen a green beetle? Well, I
+have been amused by them myself.”</p>
+
+<p>“Sit still for a little,” she said anxiously
+to Jonah; “after walking so much in the
+sun.”</p>
+
+<p>Uncle David settled himself comfortably
+in his seat. “To-day,” he said, “who should
+I meet but Bildad, the water carrier. He
+said to me, ‘This is fine news about your
+nephew, Jonah. I suppose that we shall
+hear from you soon,’ and with that he gave
+me a look full of meaning.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_64">[64]</span>“I did not reply; naturally, because I had
+nothing to say. Could I tell him the truth?
+We should be the laughing-stock of the entire
+village. I simply wrinkled my forehead
+and looked as grave as possible. At any
+rate, my expression struck him as peculiar,
+because he said as he went away, ‘Excuse me
+for intruding in your affairs.’”</p>
+
+<p>“I have been thinking of something,” said
+Deborah. “It has occurred to me that if we
+do not give a feast, people might begin to
+think that we wished to give ourselves airs.”</p>
+
+<p>“There you are,” said David; “that is the
+way I feel about it, word for word. Speak
+up, and people believe you. Otherwise what
+is the good of all this?”</p>
+
+<p>Jonah stirred uneasily in his corner.
+“Mother,” he said, “do you really insist
+upon giving a feast for me? I think it is
+foolish. Still, if it would give you pleasure
+... but who would come? The whole village,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_65">[65]</span>I suppose. Would you actually ask
+the prince, and his niece?”</p>
+
+<p>“What?” cried David; “what? I shall ask
+him myself, because I am acquainted with
+him in a humble way.”</p>
+
+<p>“Well,” said Jonah, hesitating....
+“But what would you wear, Mother?” he
+asked with sudden anxiety. “These old
+rags.... And who would pay for it? No,
+it is impossible.”</p>
+
+<p>“Do not worry about what I would wear,”
+returned Deborah sharply. “You will not
+be ashamed of me. As for who is to pay for
+it ... you need not worry about that,
+either, because it will not be you, at all
+events.”</p>
+
+<p>Jonah sat for a long time without speaking.
+At last he sighed. “Very well,” he
+said, “if you like....</p>
+
+<p>“I will stay a few days longer.”</p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_66">[66]</span>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak">VI</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class="drop-cap">SO Jonah did not at once return to the
+desert. Instead, he said shyly to his
+mother the next morning: “My cloak
+is torn almost in two. Is there nothing else
+for me to wear?”</p>
+
+<p>“There is an old coat which belonged to
+your father,” said Deborah. “But it is
+brightly colored, and it is too heavy for this
+mild weather.”</p>
+
+<p>“It cannot be helped,” replied Jonah; “if
+people are going to notice me.”</p>
+
+<p>When it was brought to him, he regarded
+it with a timid expression. Nevertheless, he
+put it on, giving Deborah his old coat to
+mend.</p>
+
+<p>“You will be overheated,” said Deborah.
+She added, “Must you go out on such a hot
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_67">[67]</span>day? You will come home all wet, like a
+river.”</p>
+
+<p>“Mother,” said Jonah earnestly, “I am
+not a child any longer.”</p>
+
+<p>“Was I interfering in your affairs?” cried
+Deborah. “I simply said it was such a hot
+day.”</p>
+
+<p>Clasping her hands anxiously, she asked,
+“Shall I put some oil upon your hair before
+you go out?”</p>
+
+<p>For she thought, “Then his head will be
+cool, at all events.”</p>
+
+<p>Without waiting for an answer, she ran to
+get the oil. Then she combed her son’s beard
+and poured oil upon his hair. “There,” she
+said, stepping back to admire him, “now you
+look like somebody.”</p>
+
+<p>As Jonah stalked gloomily out of the
+house, she called after him tenderly, “Keep
+out of the sun.”</p>
+
+<p>In the village Jonah met Bildad, the
+water carrier. Balancing his heavy gourds
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_68">[68]</span>upon his shoulder by means of a wooden
+yoke and some leather thongs, the old man
+was going slowly from house to house with
+his wares. When he saw Jonah, he stopped
+and said with surprise,</p>
+
+<p>“I see that you have a new coat.”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes,” said Jonah.</p>
+
+<p>Bildad scratched his head. “I am glad to
+see that you are doing so well in your profession,”
+he said.</p>
+
+<p>And he passed by, carrying his water
+gourds.</p>
+
+<p>Walking hastily through the village,
+Jonah climbed the hill toward Ahab’s house.
+The moment he entered the garden he saw
+Judith. She was seated in the same spot as
+the day before, and she was twining a wreath
+of flowers in her hair.</p>
+
+<p>“What a surprise,” she exclaimed, “to see
+you again.”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes,” said Jonah. “I was passing by;
+it occurred to me to stop ... that is, I
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_69">[69]</span>thought you might be interested to hear that
+I am going back to the desert again.”</p>
+
+<p>Judith’s face remained drowsy and content.
+“Are you going soon?” she asked, and
+held up her wreath to admire it. The wide
+golden sleeves of her robe fell back from her
+round brown arms; and she smiled dreamily
+at nothing.</p>
+
+<p>Jonah replied that he had decided to wait
+a few days in order to satisfy his mother,
+who wished to give a feast in his honor.
+“Just imagine,” he said, with a laugh.
+“Nevertheless, her heart is set on it.”</p>
+
+<p>Judith sighed. “I wish I were a man,”
+she said, “and could go to feasts.”</p>
+
+<p>Jonah told her that the whole village was
+to be asked. “Your uncle, the great prince,”
+he said, “has also been invited. He might
+even,” he added timidly, “bring his family.”</p>
+
+<p>“Oh, how exciting that would be,” she
+cried.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_70">[70]</span>And they looked at each other with happy
+smiles.</p>
+
+<p>“Why are you going back to the desert?”
+she asked at length. “But I suppose it is
+necessary for a prophet. Well, I hope you
+will be a great man.”</p>
+
+<p>Something suddenly occurred to her, for
+she added, “My goodness, you are really a
+great man already, aren’t you?”</p>
+
+<p>“Oh, no,” he said; “it was nothing; God
+simply wished to speak to me.”</p>
+
+<p>“You are modest,” said Judith; “that is
+nice.”</p>
+
+<p>Smiling, she looked at the flowers in her
+hand. Suddenly she frowned, and said seriously,</p>
+
+<p>“One finds so few modest people nowadays.
+All the prophets have so much to say,
+but I do not like what they say; they talk
+about such gloomy things. Jonah, tell me—what
+is there to be so sad about in Israel?”</p>
+
+<p>Jonah replied gravely, “We are sad because
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_71">[71]</span>life is not simple, the way it used to
+be. We imitate other nations and so we are
+not certain about ourselves any more. We
+are not even sure of God; we begin to wonder
+if He is not a bull, or a dove, and if He
+is not also the god of Aram and Babylon.
+That is why we are unhappy. When the
+things we believe in are questioned, it makes
+us restless and sad. Patriots are the only
+happy people, for they believe in themselves;
+and if other people disagree with them, they
+do not forgive them for it.”</p>
+
+<p>Judith gazed at the young prophet with
+admiration. His black eyes glowed, his
+head was lifted, and he continued bitterly:</p>
+
+<p>“However, that is not all, by any means.
+One expects a certain amount of ignorance
+among the poor. But the rich ought to be an
+example to the rest of the people. Well, the
+rich have only one desire, to forget that they
+are Jews. With their beards curled like
+Assyrians, they vex and oppress the poor,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_72">[72]</span>who cry out to the gods of other lands for
+deliverance.”</p>
+
+<p>“That is not true,” cried Judith angrily.
+“And I will not let you speak of my uncle
+like that.”</p>
+
+<p>“Your uncle,” stammered Jonah; “yes
+... well ....”</p>
+
+<p>He sat staring at the grass, with burning
+cheeks. Presently Judith remarked timidly,</p>
+
+<p>“Forgive me.”</p>
+
+<p>“You see,” said Jonah in a low voice, “you
+do not know what it is to be poor.”</p>
+
+<p>“I am sorry,” said Judith sweetly. And
+she added, “What is the good of talking
+about it?”</p>
+
+<p>“Do you think that I mind being poor?”
+cried Jonah. “I do not wish to be anything
+else. Since I am poor, I am free, my heart
+is at peace. Remember that I live in the
+desert, where all your uncle’s wealth would
+not do him the least good. It is you, not I,
+for whom you ought to reserve your sympathy.
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_73">[73]</span>I do not need anything; I am
+happy, my heart is full of beauty, like the
+wilderness, quiet, fragrant, and bare.”</p>
+
+<p>Judith bowed her head, “My heart is bare,
+too,” she thought. But something moved in
+it, and she sighed.</p>
+
+<p>“No,” she told herself, “my heart is quite
+bare.”</p>
+
+<p>Jonah continued: “You have never seen
+the dawn come up across the desert. The
+night rolls away into the west like the last
+clouds of a storm, dark and terrifying. The
+east grows brighter and brighter, shining
+like a lamp, so clear and quiet; and the sky
+seems to be full of angels going out into the
+world. There is no sound, for the birds do
+not sing yet. All is peace, all is holiness and
+beauty. No, you do not know anything
+about such things.”</p>
+
+<p>Judith sat silent, her hands clasped in her
+lap, her brown eyes cloudy. At last she
+murmured sighing,</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_74">[74]</span>“I should like to be poor, like you.”</p>
+
+<p>And they sat dreaming, hearing their
+thoughts knock like echoes on the walls of
+their hearts.</p>
+
+<p>At noon Jonah returned home through
+the field where his brother Aaron was grazing
+the village cattle. Bright-colored insects
+buzzed and hummed about him as he
+walked; lazy lizards sunned themselves on
+stones; in the noonday heat earth spoke with
+faint but audible voices. The trees drank in
+the light; the wild bees hurried to and fro
+among the flowers which opened their petals
+with voluptuous joy to the south wind.</p>
+
+<p>The prophet found his brother asleep beneath
+a locust tree. “So,” he said, rousing
+him with his staff, “that is the way you make
+a success, by going to sleep. I could do that
+too, without any trouble.”</p>
+
+<p>Aaron sat up and rubbed his eyes. “I
+have my hands full,” he said. “Remember
+that I am up at daybreak. And then there
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_75">[75]</span>are all these cows. If I doze now and then,
+it is what any one would do in my place.”</p>
+
+<p>Seeing Jonah’s coat, he cried out angrily,
+“That is the coat mother promised me.”</p>
+
+<p>Jonah paid no attention to this outburst.
+“Tell me,” he said seriously, “how does one
+make a living? I am interested, and should
+like to know a few things.”</p>
+
+<p>An appeal of this nature made Aaron feel
+pleased. “To make a living,” he said
+thoughtfully, “is, to begin with, a very difficult
+thing. Then there are other questions
+to consider: such as, what sort of a living
+do you wish to make? Any one can live.
+Look at Uncle David.”</p>
+
+<p>“No,” said Jonah; “by a living I mean a
+family and children.”</p>
+
+<p>But Aaron shook his head. “There
+again,” he replied, “it depends on what kind
+of wife will do. Must she be expensive?
+Then you need a good living, naturally. But
+what could you do, Jonah? Could you sell
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_76">[76]</span>cloth, or gold? Or perhaps you might build
+roads.”</p>
+
+<p>And he burst out laughing.</p>
+
+<p>“Ha, ha, ha.”</p>
+
+<p>“There is always the cattle business,” he
+said finally, pointing to the cows.</p>
+
+<p>“I am not joking, Aaron,” cried Jonah
+impatiently.</p>
+
+<p>His tone caused his younger brother to sit
+up, and to regard him with a curious expression.
+“Are you in earnest, Jonah?” he
+asked. “Do you really mean to settle
+down? I thought you would never leave the
+desert. Are you going to be married?
+Good Heavens....”</p>
+
+<p>Jonah replied carefully, with his eyes on
+the ground, “No ... what an idea. I may
+leave the desert for a while, but only to be
+with our mother. As for marriage ...
+well, to tell the truth, I had heard it said of
+you....”</p>
+
+<p>“Of me?” cried Aaron with wide-open
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_77">[77]</span>eyes. “You are dreaming, Jonah, the heat
+has touched you. A wife, for me? Why, I
+could only afford a poor girl from the village.
+No, when I marry I mean to take a
+wife from town. But that will cost a good
+deal. One pays for a wife in Israel; perhaps
+you have forgotten that.”</p>
+
+<p>“You are right,” said Jonah; “I had forgotten
+it.” And he turned home again. His
+thoughts were grave, and he walked slowly,
+with a serious air. At the entrance to the
+village he passed the statue of a winged bull,
+before which lay the remains of a sacrifice of
+cereal, which was being enjoyed by some
+birds. Jonah looked for a long time at the
+idol which seemed to gaze back at him with
+an ironic expression.</p>
+
+<p>“Perhaps,” he said sadly at last, “it is I,
+not you, who am a stranger here in Israel.”</p>
+
+<p>And he felt a coldness lay itself upon his
+heart.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_78">[78]</span>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak">VII</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class="drop-cap">MOONLIGHT covered the earth,
+the trees showered down their
+perfume of blossom and cedar,
+the fragrance of lilies rose through the
+night. Voices sang softly in the shadows,
+teased, laughed, whispered in the moonlight;
+lamps shone, light fell upon trees. In
+Deborah’s kitchen Uncle David passed
+around cakes, fruits, and bitter almonds,
+and helped the guests to wine, milk, and
+honey. He was a genial host; his eyes shone,
+he urged every one to enjoy himself.</p>
+
+<p>Deborah moved among her friends, anxious
+and happy. She kept one eye on Uncle
+David, and had something to say to everybody.</p>
+
+<p>“Well, this is like old times. This is what
+peace does for a country.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_79">[79]</span>“What a lovely night.”</p>
+
+<p>“We should have such a war every year.”</p>
+
+<p>“A son to be proud of.”</p>
+
+<p>Under a tree in the garden two old men
+were discussing religion. They pulled at
+their long beards and gazed at each other
+with indignation. “God belongs to Israel,”
+said one; “do not lend Him around.”</p>
+
+<p>The other replied: “Does the earth belong
+to the tree? Does the air belong to the wind?
+Can I lend the sky? How many gods are
+there, then?”</p>
+
+<p>First old man: “Maybe a hundred, maybe
+two hundred. There is nothing in the Laws
+of Moses which says how many. Do you
+wish to dispute with the Holy One Himself?”</p>
+
+<p>Second old man: “As for that, I am not
+the disputer. I simply say of God, ‘He is
+everywhere, and He does not look like anything.’
+But you say, ‘No. He is here, and
+He looks like a Jew.’”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_80">[80]</span>First old man: “All the gods look like
+something. There is a tribe in the south
+whose god is only two feet high, and entirely
+covered with short black hair. His people
+are naturally pygmies. What have you to
+say to that? or would you like me to believe
+that our God is also the father of pygmies?”</p>
+
+<p>Second old man: “Pygmies are not human
+beings, but monsters. It does not surprise
+me to find monsters in the world. I
+say it does not surprise me because I can see
+a little beyond the front of my face. On the
+other hand you cannot see anything but
+what is right under your nose. You are not
+a philosopher; you are a patriot. You would
+like to keep God all to yourself.”</p>
+
+<p>First old man: “Exactly, I am a patriot.
+And what are you? I hesitate even to say
+it.”</p>
+
+<p>The two old men glared angrily at each
+other.</p>
+
+<p>“Look,” said the first old man to Bildad,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_81">[81]</span>the water carrier, who was passing by, “he
+wishes to give God away to the Gentiles.”</p>
+
+<p>Bildad shook his head. “No,” he said accusingly:
+“Oh, my.” And he hurried away
+to join a group of villagers about Prince
+Ahab, who was standing by the side of a
+table on which was set out a large bowl of
+wine.</p>
+
+<p>The prince was in the best of humor.
+“My friends,” he exclaimed, “what we need
+is more exercise. That is what makes a nation
+healthy. Talk is all very well, but there
+is too much of it.”</p>
+
+<p>He paused to take a long drink of wine.
+Several farmers who worked in the fields
+from dawn until dark applauded his remarks.
+It was easy to see that they respected
+his opinions, and that they did not
+know what he was talking about.</p>
+
+<p>“Just imagine,” said Bildad, “there is a
+man outside who wishes to give our God
+away to the gentiles.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_82">[82]</span>“He is an ignoramus,” said Ahab. He
+continued,</p>
+
+<p>“Every one will agree with me that a
+good horse is the most beautiful thing in the
+world. Next to a horse, the best thing in
+the world is to be active, and to take a lot
+of exercise.”</p>
+
+<p>Uncle David nodded his head vigorously.
+“Exactly,” he said; “those are my opinions,
+almost word for word. A good active life
+is what I say.”</p>
+
+<p>The Prince turned upon Uncle David a
+face flushed with wine. “What,” he exclaimed,
+“here is an honest man.” And he
+embraced Uncle David, who said proudly to
+those standing near by,</p>
+
+<p>“We agree with each other. After all, he
+is a noble fellow.”</p>
+
+<p>Then he quietly asked Bildad to point out
+to him the old man who wished to give God
+away. When he found him, he went up to
+him and said,</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_83">[83]</span>“Go away; please get out of this, as we
+do not want an ignoramus here.”</p>
+
+<p>Returning to the kitchen, he looked
+around him with an important air, and after
+blowing his nose, exclaimed,</p>
+
+<p>“Unhealthy people.”</p>
+
+<p>Prince Ahab was still talking. Clutching
+his beard, stained with grape, he concluded
+morosely,</p>
+
+<p>“Nobody rides any more.”</p>
+
+<p>It was time to divide the roasted ox
+among the guests. But first it was necessary
+to find Jonah, who was expected to perform
+the sacrifice to the god, in the absence
+of a priest. So Uncle David went to look for
+him; but he did not find him at once. For
+Jonah was in a corner of the garden with
+Judith, Ahab’s niece.</p>
+
+<p>The moonlight fell down upon them
+through the leaves like a shower of milky
+petals and blossoms without weight and
+without fragrance. The faint cheep of
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_84">[84]</span>frogs, the shrill screech of the cicada, rose
+from the ground and answered from the
+branches through the air laden with sweetness.
+A single bird, cheated by the moon,
+sang far away; his song tumbled through
+the air like water falling.</p>
+
+<p>They leaned against the trunk of a tree,
+shadows making pools of darkness over their
+eyes, moonlight in their hair and on their
+hands. And their hearts, cheated, too, by
+the night, sang in confusion a song of joy
+which seemed to them like pain.</p>
+
+<p>They had little to say to each other. They
+discussed the weather.</p>
+
+<p>“What a beautiful night,” said Jonah.
+“It is like the nights on the desert, so still,
+so calm, and yet it makes me sad.”</p>
+
+<p>“It makes me sad, too,” whispered Judith.
+“Why does it make me sad, Jonah?”</p>
+
+<p>He shook his head. “I do not know,” he
+said. “Beauty often makes people sad. It
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_85">[85]</span>is something they would like in their hearts,
+and their sadness is their longing.”</p>
+
+<p>She looked at him in the darkness. “Yes,”
+she said, “that’s it; that is what I feel sometimes
+when I look in my little mirror.”</p>
+
+<p>Jonah did not answer. The fragrance,
+the rapture of the night, moved through his
+heart. It seemed to flow from the young
+girl at his side and return to her again,
+lovely, obscure, a sweet sorrow, a longing
+filled with grief. He raised his head to the
+little dapple of moonlight among the leaves.</p>
+
+<p>“I’ve never felt anything like this before,”
+he thought. “It is like having God speak to
+me.</p>
+
+<p>“How beautiful she is. And she would
+like to be poor, like me. Of course, that is
+nonsense. Still....”</p>
+
+<p>He thought that she swayed a little closer
+to him. Intoxicated by an imperceptible
+warmth, he touched her hand. “Judith,” he
+whispered.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_86">[86]</span>“Yes?”</p>
+
+<p>“No—nothing. How lovely it is out
+here.” He trembled; his hand, twined with
+hers, was moist and warm, but he shivered
+as though with cold.</p>
+
+<p>She stood beside him, breathless, drowsy
+with sweetness, waiting.... “This is love,”
+she thought. “He loves me, and I love him.
+How exciting it is.</p>
+
+<p>“I am a young girl, and already I am in
+love with a prophet.”</p>
+
+<p>She gave his hand a faint squeeze. Jonah
+sighed deeply. Was there anything else so
+lovely in the whole world, he thought.</p>
+
+<p>Judith raised her head. “Listen,” she
+said, “there’s a bird singing. Just think, in
+the moonlight; isn’t it sweet, Jonah? This is
+beauty, isn’t it? I could stay here forever.”</p>
+
+<p>No—there was nothing else in the whole
+world....</p>
+
+<p>From the garden arose the sound of
+voices; shadows moved among the trees.
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_87">[87]</span>Aaron went by with a village girl, his hands
+stuffed with cakes. He offered them to her
+to nibble at, and kissed her mouth full of
+crumbs. She accepted his caresses with
+pleasure, but without passion. “What a
+thing you are,” she cried. “There’s your
+brother; he behaves himself, at least.”</p>
+
+<p>“He is a noodle,” said Aaron; “most of
+him is still in the desert. Who is that with
+him? My goodness....”</p>
+
+<p>They ran away, linked in laughter. Jonah
+looked after them, but he did not see them.
+The desert was in his heart, wide, starry,
+still; all the beauty in the world trembled
+at the moment’s edge. If it made itself
+known ... would the heart break with
+it?</p>
+
+<p>“This is too beautiful,” he wanted to cry;
+“wait, you are hurting me.”</p>
+
+<p>In another part of the garden Deborah
+said to Sarah, Judith’s nurse,</p>
+
+<p>“How charming your Judith is. She is
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_88">[88]</span>not spoilt like so many of the young girls
+to-day. And when you consider her wealth,
+that makes it all the more remarkable.”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes,” said Sarah with satisfaction, “she
+knows nothing of life. She is a pure lily.”</p>
+
+<p>She added, “I have brought her up myself.”</p>
+
+<p>Deborah nodded her head. “Children
+cannot be brought up too strictly,” she said.
+“That is what is responsible for the success
+of my son Jonah.”</p>
+
+<p>And she moved away, smiling at her
+guests. Sarah gazed after her with pursed
+lips. “Indeed,” she said to herself. “Well,
+that is one thing to call it, of course.”</p>
+
+<p>Jonah was not thinking about being a
+prophet. His heart beat heavily; he felt as
+though he were all eyes, staring blindly into
+the night. The sweet, heavy scent of lilies
+struck him like a wind. He felt terrified of
+what he was about to say, of what he felt
+obliged to ask. But there was no help for it;
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_89">[89]</span>the very shadows would begin to murmur if
+he were silent longer.</p>
+
+<p>“Judith, do you love me?”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes, Jonah.”</p>
+
+<p>Astonished, they gazed at each other
+without speaking.</p>
+
+<p>Then, slowly, their dark heads bent together.</p>
+
+<p>At that moment Uncle David, hurrying
+through the garden, caught sight of them
+under the tree. “Well,” he cried briskly,
+“there you are. Come, my son; the ox is
+about to be divided.”</p>
+
+<p>Jonah had only time to whisper, “Wait
+here for me, Judith.” Then he went, in a
+daze, to make the sacrifice. He heard but
+little of what was going on around him, the
+gay shouts, the pious wailing, but the sudden
+hush as he consigned the holy portions
+to the flames broke on him like a light.</p>
+
+<p>“Wait,” he said to himself; “something has
+happened.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_90">[90]</span>And suddenly he began to feel very gay.</p>
+
+<p>“Why,” he thought, looking around at the
+familiar faces, “what are all these people so
+happy about? They do not know what has
+happened. They have no reason to be
+happy, as I have.</p>
+
+<p>“I ought at least to be happier than they
+are.”</p>
+
+<p>Seizing a cup of wine, he threw the contents
+on the blazing altar. “For You, too,
+God,” he cried recklessly; “enjoy Yourself.”</p>
+
+<p>At once murmurs of protest arose. The
+old man who had caused the philosopher to
+be sent home expressed the opinion that such
+an act was not customary. “What does he
+mean, ‘Enjoy yourself,’” he exclaimed. “Is
+that a way to speak to God? Or does he
+think that the Eternal One and he are such
+good friends already?”</p>
+
+<p>Prince Ahab shrugged his shoulders.
+“What do you expect of young people to-day?”
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_91">[91]</span>he inquired. “It only surprises me
+that he did not call God something even
+more irreverent.”</p>
+
+<p>Uncle David went anxiously about among
+the guests with apologies. “He is a little
+wild,” he said to several people; “you must
+excuse it ... the life he leads, in the
+sun....” He tapped his head significantly.
+“He is not all there.”</p>
+
+<p>Deborah, on the other hand, did not seem
+at all disturbed. In a calm manner she explained
+that very likely there were different
+ways of making a sacrifice. “After all,” she
+said, “my son is a prophet, and therefore
+closer to God than any of us here. Did you
+see the feather he brought home, actually
+from an angel? Besides, if you ask me, why
+shouldn’t God enjoy Himself, if He likes?”</p>
+
+<p>But she gave Jonah a look, when no one
+was watching, which said plainly, “What a
+trouble you always make for yourself and
+for me.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_92">[92]</span>When the sacrifice was over, Jonah hurried
+back to the tree where he had left
+Judith. But she was gone; Sarah had come
+to take her home.</p>
+
+<p>As if in a dream he wandered off in the
+moonlight, down the road and through the
+fields. Behind him the lights and the hum
+of the feast faded out; he was alone, in the
+silence of night. About him the pastures,
+bathed in dew, shone like silver under the
+moon which covered the earth with delicate
+mist. Everything was peaceful, everything
+breathed a quiet and resigned joy. Only
+in the heart of the man, filled with bliss,
+there was no peace.</p>
+
+<p>He spread out his arms, “I am happy,”
+he cried, “I am happy.”</p>
+
+<p>He thought of the Deity to whom he had
+so often prayed. “Thank You,” he whispered.</p>
+
+<p>And he gazed with love at the heavens,
+pale, and shining with stars.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_93">[93]</span>He began to imagine the future. “What
+does it matter if we are poor?” he thought.
+“One cannot buy beauty. We will live in a
+little house, and I will do great things, like
+Nathan, or Elisha.”</p>
+
+<p>But that mood did not suit his spirit for
+long. “No,” he exclaimed, “I will never
+allow her to be poor. I will make a large
+fortune, to keep her comfortably.”</p>
+
+<p>But how? He did not trouble to find out.
+Already he was living in his palaces, surrounded
+by slaves.</p>
+
+<p>All night he walked through the fields
+soaked with dew, through the woods, silent
+and dark. The moon floated on to the west,
+and went down over seas and lands unknown,
+undreamed. The world slept; even
+the frogs were still. But there was no sleep
+for Jonah that night; his joy kept him
+awake. Accustomed to sorrow and indignation,
+he could not bear his own happiness.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_94">[94]</span>“Judith,” he cried over and over, in a sort
+of amazement. “Judith.”</p>
+
+<p>Dawn broke in the east, and hunger
+turned him homeward. On the road near
+the village he passed a golden litter, also
+bound for Gath-Hepher, on whose curtains
+were woven in silver the little doves of
+Eryx. The litter was followed by several
+donkeys, laden with merchandise, and a
+number of servants in the livery of the Phœnicians.
+“There goes a rich man,” thought
+Jonah, “but I am happier than he. I will
+buy his litter and give it to Judith, because
+of the little silver doves on the curtains.”</p>
+
+<p>It was Hiram, a merchant of Tyre, on his
+way to visit Prince Ahab, with dyed silks
+from Sidon, sandalwood, and cloves. Jonah
+had no forebodings. Cold, wet, weary, but
+overborne by happiness, he went on home to
+his mother’s house for breakfast.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_95">[95]</span>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak">VIII</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class="drop-cap">THAT morning Jonah said to his
+mother, “Mother, I am going to be
+married.”</p>
+
+<p>Deborah did not stop singing to herself as
+she sat mixing curds. But she looked at
+Jonah as though to say, “Are you preparing
+some new trouble for us both?”</p>
+
+<p>At last, since Jonah did not offer any further
+information, she remarked quietly:</p>
+
+<p>“What of your career?”</p>
+
+<p>“What of it?” replied Jonah. “I have
+been alone a long while; now I am going to
+take a wife.”</p>
+
+<p>Deborah went on stirring her curds. But
+she stopped singing. Presently she put
+down her wooden spoon and sat still, staring
+at her son.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_96">[96]</span>“You know,” she said gravely, “that I
+want you to be happy. But what are you
+doing? Your father also had a great deal
+of talent. He might have been a priest, but
+he preferred to marry me; and he died by
+being gored by a bull. Marriage is a serious
+thing, and nothing for a prophet.”</p>
+
+<p>“Do you think prophets are made of wood
+or stone?” cried Jonah irritably. “They
+also have feelings, like any one else.”</p>
+
+<p>Deborah nodded her head. “I suppose
+so,” she said. “Still, how much better it
+would be if you could find something else to
+do with those feelings.”</p>
+
+<p>“Well, I can’t,” said Jonah. And he relapsed
+into gloomy silence.</p>
+
+<p>His mother began to stir her curds again.
+“If that is the case,” she said at last, “you
+had better tell me all about it, and we will
+see what can be done.”</p>
+
+<p>Since Jonah did not reply, she added, “I
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_97">[97]</span>suppose it is some woman of Bethel, or perhaps
+a girl from the desert.”</p>
+
+<p>“It is Judith,” said Jonah simply,
+“Ahab’s niece.”</p>
+
+<p>The spoon fell with a clatter into the bowl.
+“Ak,” cried Deborah. And she gazed at
+her son in consternation.</p>
+
+<p>“Have you gone out of your mind?” she
+exclaimed at last. “Do you imagine for a
+single moment such a thing would be allowed?
+Who are you, Jonah, the grandson
+of King David? Or are you perhaps a
+nephew of King Hiram of Tyre? You must
+be mad, my son.”</p>
+
+<p>And she added, shaking her head, “It is
+always something difficult or impossible with
+you.”</p>
+
+<p>Jonah raised his eyes, burning with enthusiasm,
+to his mother. “After all,” he said
+with dignity, “it was I who led the Jews
+against Aram. Is that nothing? Is it nothing
+that I have spoken with God? Or is a
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_98">[98]</span>noble a greater person in Israel than the
+God of the Jews? Let him order the angels,
+then.”</p>
+
+<p>“What does a noble know about God?”
+cried Deborah. “I am poor, and your
+mother; I know what it means to be a
+prophet. But a noble—no, my son, you
+have taken leave of your senses. All he
+knows is what he can buy, which is nearly
+everything.”</p>
+
+<p>“Can he buy love?” asked Jonah scornfully.</p>
+
+<p>Deborah thought to herself, “Yes, love,
+too”; but she did not say so. Putting aside
+her bowl, she asked more gently,</p>
+
+<p>“Do you love her so much?”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes, mother.”</p>
+
+<p>“And does she love you, my son?”</p>
+
+<p>When Jonah nodded his head, she arose
+and, coming over to him, put her hand a moment
+on his hair.</p>
+
+<p>“Poor Jonah,” she whispered.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_99">[99]</span>“Well,” she said, after a silence, sighing,
+“well ... I will see what I can do.”</p>
+
+<p>Taking down her best shawl, she went to
+find Uncle David, to discuss the matter.</p>
+
+<p>At first Uncle David was frightened.
+“He is crazy,” he exclaimed. But after a
+while, when he had listened to Deborah, he
+began to take a more hopeful point of view.
+“Who knows,” he said, “perhaps God is with
+him.”</p>
+
+<p>He thought: “It is not as though our family
+were just a common one.”</p>
+
+<p>And he began to feel that he was already
+connected with nobility. But he had no
+scented oil for his hair, and he wished to
+make a good impression when he went to
+call. Therefore, as there was a little oil of
+olives left over from the feast, he put this on
+his hair, and, taking also his me’il, or over-garment,
+which he kept for special occasions,
+he exclaimed hopefully to his sister,</p>
+
+<p>“Now, leave all this to me, because I know
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_100">[100]</span>Prince Ahab very well, and we understand
+each other, he and I.”</p>
+
+<p>And he began to rehearse what he would
+say to the Prince. “Of course,” he declared,
+with a wave of his hand, “the difference in
+wealth.... But you are a man of the
+world. You know that a prophet is not born
+every day.”</p>
+
+<p>“And such a good son,” said Deborah.</p>
+
+<p>“And such a good son,” added Uncle
+David.</p>
+
+<p>“Also, I say to you as one father to another,
+or, at least, an uncle, what is there in
+the world like youth? Can we old ones tell
+the young how to behave?”</p>
+
+<p>“Come,” said Deborah; “you are only
+wasting time.”</p>
+
+<p>Gravely, with slow steps and thoughtful
+expressions, they went up through the village
+to the palace. Uncle David helped
+Deborah over the rough places, and she
+leaned upon his arm.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_101">[101]</span>Prince Ahab came to meet them in his
+hall in which a single fountain sang. There
+a peacock led his long tail across the floor
+set in triangles of marble and ebony. Rich
+silks adorned the walls, which exhaled an
+odor of musk and cedar.</p>
+
+<p>After greeting them cordially, the Prince
+offered his guests cakes in which cinnamon,
+spices, and poppy-seeds were happily mingled.
+Then he said in a hearty voice,</p>
+
+<p>“What a splendid feast you gave us last
+night. I wish to thank you in the name of
+my household, all of whom enjoyed themselves.”</p>
+
+<p>“Thank you,” said Deborah shyly. She
+was timid and ill at ease, yet she managed
+to appear calm and smiling. “It was nothing,
+or at least for such an occasion, nothing....”</p>
+
+<p>And she gave Uncle David a nudge with
+her elbow. But now that Uncle David
+found himself called upon to say something,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_102">[102]</span>confusion rendered him speechless. “Yes,”
+he said feebly, “an occasion....”</p>
+
+<p>Prince Ahab broke in, with a smile: “A
+feast in honor to a prophet. Do you think
+I have forgotten what is due your son for
+his help against Aram? A feast like that is
+not too good for him.”</p>
+
+<p>Warmed by his tone, Deborah said
+eagerly: “If you only knew him; such kindness,
+with all that talent besides. He has
+made a great success, and he is still a very
+young man.”</p>
+
+<p>“I do not doubt it,” replied Prince
+Ahab.</p>
+
+<p>“He speaks to angels,” continued Deborah
+proudly, “but he is like a lamb with his
+own mother.”</p>
+
+<p>“Say something,” she whispered to Uncle
+David; “make an effort.”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes,” said Uncle David.</p>
+
+<p>“I congratulate you upon your son,” said
+Prince Ahab heartily; “there are too few in
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_103">[103]</span>Israel like him. I am proud to have him in
+my village. I was saying as much the other
+day to my niece, the Lady Judith.”</p>
+
+<p>And he added hopefully, “Does he speak
+of another war?”</p>
+
+<p>“No,” said Deborah, “he is not thinking
+of wars just now.” She hung her head, and
+gazed at the floor. Presently she lifted her
+head again, and looked, full of blushes, at
+the Prince. “He has something else on his
+mind,” she said.</p>
+
+<p>“Are you dumb?” she whispered in Uncle
+David’s ear.</p>
+
+<p>Uncle David gave a start. “As a matter
+of fact,” he said huskily, “it is this way:
+Jonah is thinking of settling down.”</p>
+
+<p>“Ah,” said Prince Ahab, and curled his
+beard idly in his fingers. “Well, that would
+be too bad. Such men as he have work to
+do in the world. We cannot afford to lose
+such optimistic voices. To whom is Israel
+to look for her glory if not to such prophets
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_104">[104]</span>as your son, my good Deborah? No, no, I
+hope he will not settle down.”</p>
+
+<p>“He has made up his mind,” said Deborah;
+“I cannot argue with him.” And she
+added in a voice too low for Ahab’s ears,
+“He is like a goat.”</p>
+
+<p>“As a matter of fact,” said Uncle David
+suddenly, “he has made up his mind to
+marry.”</p>
+
+<p>“To marry?” exclaimed Prince Ahab.
+“What?” And he stood frowning with disappointment.</p>
+
+<p>“Then there will be no more wars,” he declared
+gloomily.</p>
+
+<p>But Deborah replied with conviction:
+“One can marry and still be a prophet. And
+my son is particularly suited to be a husband.
+He is gentle and pure.”</p>
+
+<p>“That must please you,” said Ahab, “although
+I do not know if it is the best thing
+in a husband.</p>
+
+<p>“Well,” he said, with a sigh, “I dare say
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_105">[105]</span>there is no help for it. So tell me what I
+can do for you, my good Deborah.”</p>
+
+<p>And he gazed amiably at the two who
+stood before him shifting on their feet with
+embarrassment.</p>
+
+<p>It was Deborah at last who spoke.</p>
+
+<p>“My brother should by rights speak for
+me,” she said, looking indignantly at Uncle
+David, “but as he is so dumb, I shall have
+to speak for myself.”</p>
+
+<p>She took a deep breath. “Prince Ahab,”
+she said, “my son Jonah, the prophet, wishes
+to marry your niece, the Lady Judith.”</p>
+
+<p>“That’s it,” said Uncle David; “that’s
+what we came to say.”</p>
+
+<p>The smile died upon Prince Ahab’s face,
+and he stared at them in amazement.
+“What?” he exclaimed; “did I hear you
+aright?”</p>
+
+<p>Deborah repeated in a firmer tone what
+she had said; then, raising her eyes to his,
+looked at him with a candid and satisfied
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_106">[106]</span>expression. Now that the declaration was
+out, she felt entirely different.</p>
+
+<p>But Prince Ahab began to laugh.</p>
+
+<p>“My good woman,” he cried, “are you
+mad? Such a thing is impossible.”</p>
+
+<p>“Why is it impossible?” asked Deborah
+calmly. “I do not see anything impossible
+about it. Do you, David?”</p>
+
+<p>“No,” said David hurriedly, “no. Of
+course it seems impossible; I said at once
+that it looked absurd. Still ... there you
+are.</p>
+
+<p>“Ha ha.”</p>
+
+<p>And he also essayed a laugh like a croak.</p>
+
+<p>Prince Ahab controlled himself with an
+effort. “Madam,” he said, “what does this
+extraordinary son of yours offer as price for
+my niece, if I may be so bold as to inquire?”</p>
+
+<p>Deborah at least had the grace to blush.
+“Nothing,” she said in a low tone. “But
+he thought, being a prophet ... and what
+is wealth to you, who have so much?”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_107">[107]</span>Prince Ahab let out a sudden roar of
+anger. The joke no longer amused him.
+“Nothing,” he cried.</p>
+
+<p>“He wishes to give me nothing for the
+Lady Judith.</p>
+
+<p>“What impudence.”</p>
+
+<p>“What did I tell you?” said David, trembling,
+turning to his sister. “He has insulted
+her. O my God.”</p>
+
+<p>Prince Ahab spread his legs apart,
+and clutched his beard with both hands.
+“Woman,” he cried in thunderous tones,
+“let me tell you that my sister’s daughter
+will not marry a pauper, prophet or no
+prophet. A fig for your prophets. They
+are dirty, unhealthy, meddlesome creatures.
+Tell your son to go back to the desert where
+he belongs. And as for my niece, she has
+been given too much liberty. I shall see that
+she is properly guarded hereafter.</p>
+
+<p>“What ideas. I tell you there is no respect
+in this unhappy country.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_108">[108]</span>Summoning his slaves, he bade them hustle
+Deborah from his sight. Then he went
+off in a violent mood to find his niece. Fortunately
+for Judith she was not in the garden;
+instead he came upon Hiram, the Phœnician,
+strolling among the flowers. Prince
+Ahab took the wealthy merchant by the arm.
+“Come,” he said, “I am in a rage. Let me
+show you my horses. I have some things to
+talk over with you. I have had a shock this
+morning, and I do not know what the world
+is coming to. What ideas. What impudence.
+Let us go riding for a while; it will
+do me good.”</p>
+
+<p>And he hurried to the stables.</p>
+
+<p>Deborah walked home with her head in
+the air, the color bright on her face. In the
+village she stopped to speak a few words to
+the gossips, who greeted her with curiosity
+and interest.</p>
+
+<p>“Well,” she said, “Jonah is going back to
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_109">[109]</span>the desert soon. God will need him again
+shortly.</p>
+
+<p>“Such excitement last night; I couldn’t
+sleep after it. So I still have on my shawl,
+taking some air in the morning.”</p>
+
+<p>She passed on, humming a little tune to
+herself.</p>
+
+<p>Uncle David hurried home before her.
+Dripping with perspiration, and with a
+white face, he burst into the house, and sank
+dejectedly upon a bench.</p>
+
+<p>“All is lost,” he cried.</p>
+
+<p>“Woe is me.”</p>
+
+<p>He could say no more. Deborah, when
+she came home, told Jonah the story.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_110">[110]</span>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak">IX</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class="drop-cap">WHEN Prince Ahab told his
+niece that she was not to be
+allowed to marry Jonah, she
+wept bitterly. For an entire day she refused
+to eat or speak; for she thought her heart
+was broken. In the evening she went to the
+tree in the garden where she had sat with
+Jonah; and, as she leaned her cheek against
+its bark, she saw again in her mind the dark,
+thin face of her lover, the brown eyes speaking
+to her in silence. She heard his voice:</p>
+
+<p>“Beauty often makes people sad. It is
+something they would like to have in their
+hearts, and their sadness is their longing.”</p>
+
+<p>“Oh, Jonah, Jonah....”</p>
+
+<p>And her tears fell unchecked.</p>
+
+<p>When she returned to the house, Sarah
+said to her indignantly,</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_111">[111]</span>“Do you know that your young man
+wished to marry you for nothing? What an
+impertinence.”</p>
+
+<p>Judith replied tearfully, “He has nothing,
+the poor fellow.”</p>
+
+<p>“That is what makes the insult all the
+harder to bear,” said Sarah. “If he has
+nothing, he should keep quiet, for your sake.
+What would people think of you if you were
+to marry for nothing? You would be ruined
+socially.”</p>
+
+<p>Judith sat up straight, with red cheeks.
+“Why,” she exclaimed, “what an idea.”</p>
+
+<p>But she remained thoughtful for the rest
+of the evening. The next morning she said
+to Sarah, “He is so gentle and sweet. I love
+him.” And she added,</p>
+
+<p>“Men are so thoughtless.”</p>
+
+<p>At once Sarah, who knew what she was
+doing, exclaimed, “My poor lamb, you have
+been badly treated.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_112">[112]</span>Judith’s eyes filled with tears again. “I
+am a young girl,” she thought, “and already
+my heart has been broken.”</p>
+
+<p>All day she was pale, and said nothing.
+Occasionally she wept, but without violence.
+In the evening she walked among her flowers,
+composed and quiet, her brown eyes sad
+and wondering, like a child’s. And as the
+sky faded from the color of roses to the color
+of leaves, she breathed a name sadly, but so
+faintly, into the air.</p>
+
+<p>“Jonah....”</p>
+
+<p>No one answered, and her heart vibrated
+with sadness and with peace. “I have lived,”
+she thought, “I have loved, I have been unhappy.</p>
+
+<p>“That is life, isn’t it....”</p>
+
+<p>And coming upon Hiram the Phœnician
+among the roses, she gave him a dignified
+bow.</p>
+
+<p>In the morning, in the bright sunshine,
+she said to herself, “Men are so selfish. Just
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_113">[113]</span>imagine, if I were married for nothing, what
+would people think of me?”</p>
+
+<p>And she said seriously to Sarah, “I feel
+so old, Sarah. I feel as old as Methuselah.”</p>
+
+<p>“You are a little pale,” said Sarah, “but
+that does not do any harm.”</p>
+
+<p>“Do I look well?” asked Judith in surprise.
+“No.”</p>
+
+<p>“You are like a lily,” said Sarah.</p>
+
+<p>But Judith insisted that she looked, at
+least, a little thin. “And my eyes are all
+red from crying,” she added.</p>
+
+<p>She did not walk in her rose garden that
+night. In the morning Sarah said to her,
+“You are yellow as a dead leaf.” And she
+brought the little mirror for her mistress to
+look into.</p>
+
+<p>Judith looked at her reflection for a long
+time. She seemed a little proud and a little
+vexed at what she saw. “It is because I
+have suffered so much,” she said at last to
+Sarah. And she added,</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_114">[114]</span>“Men are so cruel.”</p>
+
+<p>In the afternoon she dressed in white, with
+a girdle of silver about her hips. And
+Hiram, meeting Sarah in the court, cool
+with its fountain, said to the nurse,</p>
+
+<p>“The Lady Judith has a very spiritual
+face. Is she unhappy about something?”</p>
+
+<p>But Sarah threw up her hands at the mere
+thought of such a thing. “‘Unhappy’?”
+she cried; “what an idea. She knows nothing
+of life. She is like a lily. If she looks
+a little sad, it is because of her gentle nature.”</p>
+
+<p>That night Judith dined with her uncle
+and his guest. Her cheeks were pink as the
+youngest roses in her garden, her lips red
+again, like poppies. Ahab, seeing her
+blooming so, was satisfied. And Hiram also
+watched her carefully, with his shrewd dark
+eyes.</p>
+
+<p>In Judith’s apartments Sarah put away
+the pots of red and pink paste, the myrrh
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_115">[115]</span>and cassia buds, and the little silver mirror.
+Then with a sigh she sat down to await the
+return of her mistress. She was content;
+she felt that the worst was over.</p>
+
+<p>“A woman should know her own worth,”
+she said to herself; “in that way she saves
+every one a lot of trouble.”</p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_116">[116]</span>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak">X</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class="drop-cap">JONAH stood again before Amaziah,
+the High Priest. On his face, dark
+with woe, were drawn lines of determination.
+He held out his hands, empty,
+and brown as the earth.</p>
+
+<p>“I have not brought you anything this
+time,” he said, “not even an eagle’s feather.”</p>
+
+<p>Amaziah chose to ignore this greeting.
+“What now, Jonah,” he exclaimed cheerfully;
+“do you not bring me another war?
+The presence of my favorite prophet fills
+me with the liveliest hopes.”</p>
+
+<p>But Jonah shook his head. “I am weary
+of being a prophet,” he said simply; “I have
+come to ask you to make me a priest.”</p>
+
+<p>Without losing the serenity of his expression,
+Amaziah looked thoughtfully at the
+young man whose weary face expressed dissatisfaction
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_117">[117]</span>and bitterness. The old High
+Priest seemed to be reaching back into his
+own past, to the time when he, too, had had
+a choice to make. And his face, as he gazed
+at Jonah, softened; an expression almost of
+pity crossed his features, sharp and cruel as
+a hawk’s.</p>
+
+<p>“This is bad news, Jonah,” he said gently.
+And he was silent, waiting for an answer.</p>
+
+<p>But Jonah had nothing further to say.</p>
+
+<p>Amaziah stroked his chin. “Tell me,” he
+said at last, “what has caused you to look
+with dissatisfaction on your career at the
+very moment when all Israel speaks of you
+with admiration?”</p>
+
+<p>“What is the good of admiration?” asked
+Jonah sadly. “I have a living to make.”</p>
+
+<p>“Ah,” said Amaziah, and his face clouded,
+“so that is it. What a nuisance.”</p>
+
+<p>And he sat looking before him with a
+frown.</p>
+
+<p>“You do not really wish to be a priest,”
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_118">[118]</span>he said at last; “for one thing the duties
+would soon prove irksome to one of your
+temperament.”</p>
+
+<p>Jonah threw out his hands. “What is
+there for me to do?” he cried. “Shall I keep
+cattle, like my brother Aaron? Or am I to
+beg, with a bowl?”</p>
+
+<p>“There are worse things than begging,”
+said Amaziah. “In the desert every one is a
+beggar.”</p>
+
+<p>“I am tired of the desert,” said Jonah; “I
+am not going to live there any longer.”</p>
+
+<p>But Amaziah held up his hand reprovingly.
+“My son,” he said gravely, “one does
+not change the course of one’s life with impunity,
+or for no reason.”</p>
+
+<p>“There is a reason,” said Jonah. He
+looked down at his feet; then he looked
+boldly up again. “I wish to marry,” he said.</p>
+
+<p>The High Priest made a gesture of discouragement.
+“I might have guessed,” he
+murmured. And he gazed sadly at the
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_119">[119]</span>prophet, on whom he had been counting to
+help further his own plans. Presently he
+said with a sigh,</p>
+
+<p>“I can see that this maiden’s father does
+not wish to give her away for nothing.”</p>
+
+<p>“He is wealthy,” said Jonah gloomily.
+“For that reason he cannot abide a poor
+man for a son-in-law.”</p>
+
+<p>Amaziah nodded his head. “Naturally,”
+he agreed; “if he is wealthy, he feels obliged
+to add to his fortune. It is only those without
+anything who can give away what they
+have, without suffering an overbearing sense
+of loss. For one thing they do not lose as
+much, and for another, having nothing, they
+are not required to succeed in the world, and
+so they can afford to be generous.”</p>
+
+<p>As Jonah did not reply to this observation,
+he continued in a grave voice:</p>
+
+<p>“Are you really determined upon this
+thing, my son? Think well. Marriage in
+your case may well be a calamity. You have
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_120">[120]</span>a name already famous in Israel. You are
+at the outset of a career like that of Samuel.
+It is safe to predict that you will go far.
+And you wish to give this up in order to be
+married? Such a thing is incredible. Farewell
+to glory, Jonah.”</p>
+
+<p>Jonah folded his arms, and regarded the
+High Priest with a gloomy and obstinate
+look. “Nevertheless,” he said firmly, “that
+is my decision.”</p>
+
+<p>“It is not even your loss,” continued
+Amaziah earnestly, “wholly; it is Israel’s.
+It is you who shine like a lamp in her darkness;
+yours is the voice of hope in her night.
+If you were Amos, or Hosea, I should say
+that Israel could get along without you.
+But you are different; you are the messenger
+of God’s geniality. Israel cannot afford
+to lose you, Jonah, my son.”</p>
+
+<p>However, Jonah was proof against arguments
+of this kind. Seeing which, Amaziah
+exclaimed,</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_121">[121]</span>“What will God think of His prophet,
+who no longer listens to His voice?”</p>
+
+<p>Jonah replied with an effort: “Is God
+only audible in the desert? And must He
+be silent in the Temple? I tell you, He will
+speak to me wherever I am.”</p>
+
+<p>Almost at once he astonished Amaziah by
+crying out in a muffled voice, full of pain,
+“Do you think this is easy for me?”</p>
+
+<p>Amaziah seized what he took to be his advantage.
+“You are confident,” he remarked
+in quiet tones, “but I have noticed that God
+does not speak to my priests with the same
+enthusiasm with which He addresses Himself
+to the wild and savage hermits who live
+in the desert of Tob and Golan. And it is
+my experience that His angels do not enter
+the cottages of married men with the same
+boldness with which they visit the huts of
+bachelors. If it is true that prophets have
+sometimes been married, it is also true that
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_122">[122]</span>they have often left their wives and gone out
+alone to live in the wilderness.”</p>
+
+<p>“That,” said Jonah stubbornly, “is a
+personal matter, which need not concern us.”</p>
+
+<p>And he added, “You cannot shake me in
+my resolve.”</p>
+
+<p>Amaziah looked at him sadly. But suddenly
+his brow cleared, and he struck his
+palms together. “Wait,” he cried; “if the
+father of this young woman did not object
+to your poverty, then there would be no
+reason for you to become a priest.”</p>
+
+<p>“Well,” said Jonah sourly, “he does object.”</p>
+
+<p>“Then,” exclaimed Amaziah, “for the
+glory of his country he shall be prevailed
+upon to change his mind.”</p>
+
+<p>And he waited with a smile for the name
+of the unreasonable man whose opinions
+were making a successful war with Nineveh
+highly improbable.</p>
+
+<p>“It is Prince Ahab,” said Jonah.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_123">[123]</span>At once the smile left Amaziah’s face, to
+be replaced by a look of consternation. The
+High Priest sank back in his seat, and stared
+at Jonah with brows which slowly drew together
+into a frown. His fingers caressed
+his chin; he sat for a long time without
+speaking. At last he said:</p>
+
+<p>“My son, the more I think of things, the
+more convinced I am that you would not
+make a good priest. It is the duty of a
+priest to serve men, and the Temple. You
+cannot be a good priest, and at the same
+time be given to divine illumination, because
+God deals only in generalities, and does not
+bother Himself about the details of administration.</p>
+
+<p>“A priest must conform; he must not have
+ideas of his own. He is a soldier with certain
+duties to perform: he must obey his
+superiors, and must serve the interests of
+the men and women who worship the god.</p>
+
+<p>“That would never do for you; your spirit
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_124">[124]</span>is too lively. You would try to change
+everything.</p>
+
+<p>“Moreover, since you are not a Levite, I
+cannot make you a priest of Adonai. I
+cannot believe that you would be willing to
+become a priest of a baal such as Melcarth
+or Kemosh.</p>
+
+<p>“Besides, can you read or write? No?
+Well....</p>
+
+<p>“I can do nothing for you.”</p>
+
+<p>So saying, he clapped his hands, to show
+that the interview was at an end.</p>
+
+<p>“Will you speak to Prince Ahab?” cried
+Jonah wildly.</p>
+
+<p>Amaziah did not reply. Instead, two
+Nubian slaves came forward, and hustled
+Jonah out of the house.</p>
+
+<p>A number of people, hearing that the
+prophet Jonah was in town, had gathered in
+the street, to gaze at the man who had won
+a victory over the Aramæans. When they
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_125">[125]</span>saw Jonah they waved their sticks and
+shawls, and cried,</p>
+
+<p>“Hurrah for the prophet.”</p>
+
+<p>“God bless Jonah.”</p>
+
+<p>“There is a great man; just look at him.”</p>
+
+<p>One old woman came hobbling forward,
+to touch the hem of his cloak. Jonah did
+not even see her. His eyes, hot with anger,
+were on the ground; he saw the dust, and
+the tip of his own beard. Finding an old
+woman in his path, he gave her a shove;
+whereat she fell with a bump to the ground.</p>
+
+<p>“Oh my,” she said, when she had got her
+breath. “Oh my. Well, there’s a great man
+for you. Tst; I feel better already.”</p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_126">[126]</span>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak">XI</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class="drop-cap">HIRAM, the Phœnician, was short,
+dark, and compactly built. His
+hair was curled and oily; his body,
+dressed in richest silks, and in linens forbidden
+to the Jews, exhaled an arresting fragrance.
+He walked in the garden with Judith
+and her nurse, Sarah, as evening was
+falling.</p>
+
+<p>“Redder roses than these,” he said, “bloom
+in the gardens of Tyre. The serpent priestesses
+of Astarte, the Kedeshoth, wear them
+in their hair at the festival of their goddess,
+who reigns in Sidon as the deity of cows,
+but in Tyre as the goddess of doves.”</p>
+
+<p>He had about him an air of the world, of
+cities by the shores of seas, of mountains far
+away. As he stood on the terrace at Gath-Hepher,
+his dark, shrewd eyes seemed to behold
+in the distance the white domes of Tyre,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_127">[127]</span>shining above the deep blue waters of the
+Mediterranean.</p>
+
+<p>“He reminds me of a man I knew long
+ago,” said Sarah to Judith in a low voice;
+“he was a camel driver, and he had been
+everywhere.”</p>
+
+<p>The Phœnician went on to describe the
+wonders of his country; the mighty trees of
+Lebanon, from which Solomon’s Temple
+had been built, the markets of Acre, with
+their silks, fruits, and ivory, the Temple of
+Melcarth, Baal of Tyre, with its two great
+pillars of marble and gold. He told them of
+the spacious Temple of Atareatis at Ascalon,
+with its pool in which floated sacred fish
+adorned with ornaments of gold.</p>
+
+<p>“At Aphaca,” he said, “there is a temple
+dedicated to Astarte, with a pool into which
+gifts are thrown by her worshippers. Once
+a year this pool is visited by the goddess in
+the form of a falling star. It is a marvelous
+sight and makes one very thoughtful.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_128">[128]</span>“How strange,” said Judith. “And how
+I should love to see such a thing.”</p>
+
+<p>Hiram looked at her proudly. “You can
+understand,” he said, “that your temples do
+not compare with ours. In the first place,
+ours is a very old country. And then, our
+religion is not like yours. Our gods have
+faces you can look at, and love.”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes,” said Judith, thinking of her little
+silver dove.</p>
+
+<p>“What is more,” continued Hiram, “you
+who live inland cannot imagine the wonders
+of the great sea-coast cities. This is all very
+well; you have a pleasant garden here. But
+it is nothing compared to the terraces above
+the harbor at Tyre, looking out over the sea.
+There is magnificence for you. Well, you
+see, ships have come from all over the world
+to decorate them.”</p>
+
+<p>Sarah sighed. “I’d have seen them,” she
+said, “if I had gone as I was bid.”</p>
+
+<p>The Phœnician gave Sarah a wise look.
+“Perhaps you will see them after all,” he
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_129">[129]</span>said. And he glanced for a moment at Judith
+as he turned away.</p>
+
+<p>“Oh,” said Sarah.</p>
+
+<p>Overhead the sky had grown dull with
+evening, green in the west, where the evening
+star, planet of love, hung silver over
+the hills. Shadows drew down about the
+garden, the wind rose and moved among the
+trees, the scent of flowers in the slow-falling
+dew ascended from the earth and mingled
+with the fragrance of pines.</p>
+
+<p>“How you would love the markets,” said
+Hiram, “with their bales of silk and rich
+stuffs, the strange fruits from the West and
+South, the gold and ivory. And such an enchanting
+odor of spices in the air.”</p>
+
+<p>“Just imagine,” said Judith.</p>
+
+<p>Hiram continued: “All the nations of the
+earth trade with my city. The masts of our
+ships rise like a forest along the sea wall,
+and their sails in the harbor are like orange
+and yellow moons. Ophir and Egypt, the
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_130">[130]</span>colonies of Carthage, the isles of the barbaric
+Greeks with golden hair, all send their
+produce to us, in exchange for our linens,
+cedarwood, and dyes. It is a wonderful
+sight to see the ships come in, loaded with so
+much wealth.”</p>
+
+<p>Judith sighed. “How I should love
+that,” she said. And she looked around her
+at her uncle’s simple garden.</p>
+
+<p>“That is life, isn’t it?” she said; “to live
+in the world, in a great city with ships, and
+strange things to wear, and interesting
+sights to see.”</p>
+
+<p>“It is the life of a Phœnician,” said
+Hiram simply.</p>
+
+<p>And he added, “This sort of thing is all
+very well, but where does it lead to? You
+spend your life in a rose garden, between
+some low hills, among ignorant people.”</p>
+
+<p>“You would never believe how ignorant
+some of these people are,” said Sarah, nodding
+her head.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_131">[131]</span>“The life of a merchant,” said Hiram, “is
+another thing entirely. Take myself, for
+example; I travel a great deal. And it is
+really amazing how much information one is
+able to pick up here and there. I have been
+to Crete, where I went to look at the sewers.
+They are made out of stone, and very interesting.
+But perhaps sewers do not appeal
+to you?”</p>
+
+<p>“Oh, yes,” said Judith, “they appeal to
+me very much. But tell me something about
+your own city. What do the women wear?
+I suppose they are very beautiful.”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes,” said Hiram slowly, with his eyes
+on Judith, “they are beautiful. But to tell
+you the truth, I have never bothered much
+with women. How do they dress? With
+jewels, of course, and silks.... I hardly
+know. I am too busy most of the time to
+notice such things.”</p>
+
+<p>“Well,” said Sarah firmly, “I am sure
+you’ve seen no one in your city, or in any
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_132">[132]</span>other city, for that matter, to compare with
+our young lady.”</p>
+
+<p>“No,” said Hiram, with a smile, “that is
+true.”</p>
+
+<p>Judith blushed a fiery red. “Why,” she
+cried, “I am not even pretty.”</p>
+
+<p>“You see,” said Sarah in Hiram’s ear,
+“she is not at all spoiled. What a jewel.”</p>
+
+<p>“The life of a merchant,” said Hiram
+thoughtfully, “is the most interesting life in
+the world. There is nothing like commerce
+to give one a liberal education. For one
+thing, the merchant has to travel a great
+deal, because naturally he has to see what he
+is buying; he has to visit other countries, in
+order to know what to sell. As you can
+imagine, it is a delightful way to occupy
+oneself.”</p>
+
+<p>“It’s quite another thing from living in a
+stable,” said Sarah.</p>
+
+<p>“Why, Sarah,” exclaimed Judith indignantly,
+“we don’t live in a stable.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_133">[133]</span>“Maybe not,” the nurse admitted. “But
+we might just as well.”</p>
+
+<p>“In the morning,” said Hiram, “I go
+down to the docks, to see what ships are in.
+Several of the captains are known to me,
+and we discuss some matters of importance.
+Then I visit the markets, to see for myself
+what people are buying, because that is the
+only way to make a success of business. It
+is very interesting, all of it. One has to be
+perspicacious, to be a merchant. For instance,
+if people wish to buy silk in Damascus,
+it is useless to send them sandalwood,
+or betel-nut, even though I, personally,
+might prefer such things.</p>
+
+<p>“In the evening one goes for a stroll on
+the terraces above the water, to drink syrups,
+and watch the sun go down in the sea.</p>
+
+<p>“On festival occasions the streets are
+gayly decorated with flowers and rugs, and
+processions carrying the god pass among the
+houses, and meet at the Temple. Then there
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_134">[134]</span>is music in the evening on the terraces, and
+bands of priests and worshippers perform
+the dances in honor of the deity.”</p>
+
+<p>Judith heaved a deep sigh. “How exciting
+that must be,” she said. And she gazed
+before her with parted lips and dreamy eyes.
+But the breeze, cold with dew, soon made her
+shiver.</p>
+
+<p>“Let me bring you a shawl,” said Hiram.
+And he returned to the house for a shawl
+of heavy silk, dyed in Tyrian purple, with a
+holy fringe, which he had brought along
+with him as a gift to Judith. When he was
+gone, Sarah remarked,</p>
+
+<p>“That is the sort of man I like; one who
+has made a success in the world and who says
+right out what he means.</p>
+
+<p>“What a wonderful life he leads. You
+can see that he knows how to live. A merchant—yes;
+that’s the life for a person.”</p>
+
+<p>Judith did not answer. When the Phœnician
+returned with the shawl, and drew it
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_135">[135]</span>around her shoulders, she thanked him
+faintly; she would not even have noticed how
+beautiful it was, if it had not been for Sarah.
+The last birds were singing before night;
+the sky shone with the blue of evening. Far
+off beyond the hills lay the great ocean, wide
+as the world, with its sails, like orange
+moons, blowing home from barbarous lands.
+And over it, terrace on terrace, the queenly
+city with its laughing festivals, its temples,
+its sacred pools.... She closed her eyes ...
+such beauty, such dignity to life, so
+much to see and hear of; her young heart,
+dry with curiosity, filled like a pool with
+longing and despair; her pure and ignorant
+mind gave itself up in abandon to excitement,
+to happiness, to festivals with music,
+to syrup on the terraces as the sun went
+down ... to ships and wonder....</p>
+
+<p>“Oh, how I should like to be a merchant,”
+she cried.</p>
+
+<p>Hiram of Tyre bent his dark head humbly
+upon her hand.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_136">[136]</span>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak">XII</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class="drop-cap">WITH a heavy heart Jonah
+climbed the hill to the garden.
+He wore his old coat, and his
+face was weary and gloomy. He had come
+to say to Judith, “We cannot be married because
+I am poor, and cannot get anything
+to do.” But as he drew near the garden, he
+forgot what he had come to say, and thought
+only of seeing her again.</p>
+
+<p>When he came to the tree under which he
+had sat with her, Hiram, who was walking
+with a satisfied air among the flowers, said to
+him,</p>
+
+<p>“You, there, are you one of the servants?</p>
+
+<p>“Well, just be so good as to bring me a
+bowl for these roses.”</p>
+
+<p>“I am not a servant,” said Jonah proudly.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_137">[137]</span>“No?” said Hiram. “Then what are you?
+Are you interested in horses?”</p>
+
+<p>“I am a prophet,” said Jonah.</p>
+
+<p>Hiram made a small bow. “Forgive me,”
+he said. “In my country the prophets are
+dressed a little differently, because they
+have priestly connections. However, it is
+interesting to meet other kinds of prophets.
+It is an interesting profession. Well ... what
+a pleasant day it is. Perhaps you
+would do me the favor to prophesy me something.”</p>
+
+<p>Jonah stared at him angrily. “I have
+some business with the Lady Judith,” he declared.</p>
+
+<p>“She is in the house,” said Hiram. And
+the two men stood looking at each other with
+surprise and alarm.</p>
+
+<p>Hiram went to fetch her. She came
+slowly, with downcast eyes, and cheeks as
+white as her own lilies. “How do you do,
+Jonah,” she said.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_138">[138]</span>At the sight of her, Jonah felt his heart
+beating through his body, and a strange
+sweet sorrow rose up in his eyes. He wanted
+to say to her, “This is like coming home. I
+have been so unhappy, but you will comfort
+me. Because you love me, you will feel my
+sorrow. How sweet it is to have such a secret
+together.”</p>
+
+<p>“How do you do, Judith,” he said; “I
+have been away.”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes,” she said. And they stood without
+speaking, and without looking at each other.</p>
+
+<p>“Well, did you have a good time?” she
+asked finally.</p>
+
+<p>It troubled Jonah that she would not look
+at him. “I did not go away to amuse myself,”
+he said simply. And he added in a
+lower voice,</p>
+
+<p>“Did you miss me?”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes, I suppose so. At least ... I have
+been so busy. What hot days these have
+been.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_139">[139]</span>“I went to Bethel,” said Jonah. He wondered
+how to go on; he was puzzled and depressed.
+This was not as he had thought it
+would be.</p>
+
+<p>“Didn’t you know?”</p>
+
+<p>“No.... Did you prophesy again?
+What is going to happen now? My goodness,
+you prophets, you are always going
+about.</p>
+
+<p>“I suppose you will be going back to the
+desert soon.”</p>
+
+<p>Jonah stared at her. She kept her head
+down, and her hands twisted together. He
+began to feel as he did sometimes before
+God spoke to him, still and empty inside,
+with a terrible stillness, waiting for something.</p>
+
+<p>“Judith,” he half whispered.</p>
+
+<p>“Yes, Jonah,” she said, looking up at him,
+for only a moment, and then looking away
+again.</p>
+
+<p>“All the time I was gone, I thought of
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_140">[140]</span>only one thing. I remembered only one
+thing.”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes, Jonah?”—ever so faintly.</p>
+
+<p>“That night in the garden, and the white
+moon in the trees like a bird in the
+branches....</p>
+
+<p>“Do you remember?”</p>
+
+<p>Judith looked away. “That seems like
+so long ago, doesn’t it?” she answered.</p>
+
+<p>“‘Long ago’?” cried Jonah, and his heart
+sank. “Why, it is no more than seven
+days ... Judith, have you forgotten?”</p>
+
+<p>“No,” murmured Judith unhappily; “but
+I do not exactly remember....”</p>
+
+<p>“You said you loved me,” he cried, in a
+voice which sounded like a croak.</p>
+
+<p>She put the backs of her hands to her two
+cheeks, and whispered with bent head,
+“What must you think of me?”</p>
+
+<p>“But,” stammered Jonah. Words would
+not come; he stood staring at her, eyes wide
+with unbelief.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_141">[141]</span>“Forgive me,” she said calmly. “You can
+understand ... I hardly knew what I was
+doing. Do not think too badly of me.”</p>
+
+<p>Jonah did not move or speak. But within
+him there were voices enough, too many.
+“What? I do not believe it. It is impossible.
+No, it is not impossible. Well, it has
+happened. But such things cannot happen ... to
+you, Jonah, to you....”</p>
+
+<p>He was still, waiting for the clamor to
+subside, for the voices to reduce themselves
+to one voice. He was afraid to move even;
+bewildered, horrified, he was like a man
+clinging with his finger-tips to the edge of
+a precipice. If he moved ... if even a little
+earth slid from under his fingers....</p>
+
+<p>No, he must keep very still; not a word,
+not a motion ... then it would all turn out
+right again....</p>
+
+<p>It was Judith who moved, and spoke.
+Coming forward a step, she laid her hand
+timidly on his arm. “You will forgive me,”
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_142">[142]</span>she said. “You have work to do in the
+world. You must go on, you must be a
+great prophet for my sake. I am going to
+be married. I shall be so proud of you.”</p>
+
+<p>And turning, she ran back to meet Sarah,
+who was hurrying out of the house after her.</p>
+
+<p>Jonah went home. His feet led him back
+down the hill to his mother’s house, but he
+did not notice where he was going. He felt
+strangely light-headed, almost as if he had
+been drinking. His set face, with wide
+amazed eyes, was lifted to the sky. And he
+kept thinking:</p>
+
+<p>“Something has happened, something has
+happened....”</p>
+
+<p>But what was it? Could he tell? Something
+had happened out of all reason, as
+though a tree had moved, and stood upright
+on its head. How could one believe such a
+thing? But there it was—on its head.</p>
+
+<p>What was God about? And what had he,
+Jonah, done to deserve such a thing?</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_143">[143]</span>He passed the field where Aaron kept his
+cows. And suddenly, as he saw his brother
+in the distance, his shoulders sagged, his face
+broke into creases, his body seemed to fall together;
+and he stood weakly wringing his
+hands, while a wave of physical sickness
+stormed through his body ... remembering,
+remembering....</p>
+
+<p>Then he went on again, with clumsy steps,
+and bent head.</p>
+
+<p>If only it were something he could understand.
+But how could he understand it;
+how could he ever understand? How could
+one love, he wondered, and then not love?
+Love did something to one’s whole being; it
+made one gentle, and tender....</p>
+
+<p>How could she have hurt him so, if she
+loved him?</p>
+
+<p>And where was God all this time? What
+did He think about such a thing? “You,
+up there—God—what have You to say?”</p>
+
+<p>Nothing.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_144">[144]</span>He came slowly into the house, and sat
+down with his hands clasped between his
+knees. One look at him was enough for
+Deborah; she knew. But then, she had expected
+it. And keeping her glance busily
+upon her sewing, she began to sing softly to
+herself.</p>
+
+<p>But her eyes were full of pain.</p>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+<div class="first">“<i>Men dead long ago.</i></div>
+<div class="verse"><i>Have set me like a tree....</i></div>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>“You are tired, my son.”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes, Mother.”</p>
+
+<p>“It has been hot. The poor always feel
+the extremes of weather most. If I had a
+daughter, I would never let her marry a
+poor man.”</p>
+
+<p>And she glanced swiftly at her son, sunk
+in despair upon his stool.</p>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+<div class="first">“<i>Let the wind blow,</i></div>
+<div class="verse"><i>What is that to me?</i></div>
+</div></div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_145">[145]</span>“Everywhere I go,” she continued calmly,
+“they speak of you with such admiration.
+He is a real prophet, they say. Everybody
+expects great things of you. It makes me
+so happy.”</p>
+
+<p>Still Jonah did not answer. And Deborah
+said, sighing,</p>
+
+<p>“Is it time you were going back to the
+desert, Jonah?”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes, Mother.”</p>
+
+<p>“Well, I suppose you are right. It will
+be a rest for you, after all this. We shall
+miss you. It will be peaceful in the desert.”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes, Mother.”</p>
+
+<p>“I will send Aaron to you soon, with
+news, and some little comforts for you.
+Even if you have to live with the foxes, you
+can at least be comfortable.”</p>
+
+<p>Slowly, putting her sewing away, she rose,
+and came over to him. “Jonah,” she said
+gently, and laid her hand ever so lightly
+upon his hair, “my boy....</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_146">[146]</span>“People are not very kind to one another.”</p>
+
+<p>“No ... Mother....”</p>
+
+<p>She began to sing again, softly, taking his
+head in her hands, drawing him gently to
+her:</p>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+<div class="first">“<i>My roots are in their dust,</i></div>
+<div class="verse"><i>My roots are deep, I trust....</i>”</div>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>And Jonah wept, with his head against his
+mother’s breast.</p>
+
+<p class="center">“<i>My son is at my knee.</i>”</p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_147">[147]</span>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak">XIII</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class="drop-cap">NAAMAN sat beneath his acacia
+tree. Gentle and austere, his
+thoughts usually concerned themselves
+with the universe and with God, who
+he did not believe belonged exclusively to the
+Jews. However, he no longer felt called
+upon to say so, unless he was asked; then he
+stated his opinions with dignity but without
+the least hope of convincing any one. When
+any one wished to know why he, who loved
+peace, clung to such disturbing ideas, he replied,
+“I am an old man, and I like to have
+in my mind only what is comfortable there.”</p>
+
+<p>Now, however, his brows were drawn in a
+frown, and he looked gloomily at Jonah,
+who sat with bent head at his feet. And his
+hands, as he caressed his long white beard,
+trembled with age, with pity, and with indignation.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_148">[148]</span>“So, my son,” he said, “you have hurt
+yourself. When you were a child you used
+to come running to me with eyes full of tears,
+to show me some bruise you had received. I
+can still remember what I used to tell you:
+if you did not fall you would not get a bump.
+The one followed the other, almost as to
+make one believe that they were the same
+thing. And so I used to ask you: Jonah,
+are you crying because of the fall or the
+bump? Well, my son?”</p>
+
+<p>Jonah smiled sadly. “Yes,” he replied.
+“And then you went on to say that I was
+not a philosopher. How that used to wound
+me, for I wished above all things to be a
+philosopher.</p>
+
+<p>“Well, now it is the bump that has made
+me cry, Naaman.”</p>
+
+<p>Naaman nodded his head. “Exactly,” he
+said. “But do you think perhaps you are
+any more of a philosopher than you were
+then? I doubt it, my son. For you bring
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_149">[149]</span>me your bruise with the same astonishment
+as of old, not seeing that, having fallen, you
+can expect nothing else.”</p>
+
+<p>Jonah spread out his hands in a gesture
+of discouragement. “How is one to stand
+upright in this world then, Naaman,” he
+said, “being but a man, and less than a god.”</p>
+
+<p>The old hermit regarded him gravely.
+“You are not a man, Jonah,” he said finally;
+“although,” he added quickly, “you are not
+a god, either. But you are not a man in
+the sense that your brother Aaron is a man.
+Nor do you live in the world he lives in.
+You belong to another world altogether, as
+different from that one as Thebes from
+Nineveh.</p>
+
+<p>“And that world, my son, where you belong,
+is not here, among the tribes, among
+the towns and villages. It is in the desert;
+it is in the wilderness, where there is quiet
+for God to speak, where there is room for
+His angels to move about. When you left
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_150">[150]</span>Golan, your heart was like the desert, spacious
+and calm. But now it is like a crowded
+village, full of tumult and pain.”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes,” said Jonah in a low voice, “it is
+full of pain.”</p>
+
+<p>“I hoped you would not stay here,” continued
+Naaman; “I implored you to return
+to Golan, to your home. Yet you stayed;
+with the result it was impossible not to foresee.”</p>
+
+<p>“I did not foresee it,” said Jonah.</p>
+
+<p>“That is because you are ignorant,” said
+Naaman severely. “You do not know the
+world, yet you wish to live in it.”</p>
+
+<p>“No,” said Jonah, “that is not true. For
+such things do not happen to everybody, or
+to other people. Why, love is holy, Naaman.
+It is as though God had told a lie.”</p>
+
+<p>“Be silent,” exclaimed Naaman harshly,
+“and do not blaspheme. Love is not holy;
+and God does not lie. That alone is holy
+which concerns itself with holy things. But
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_151">[151]</span>love ... no, my son; it is pain and impurity,
+it is violence and sorrow. The world of
+desire is the world of demons, of concealment,
+of Sathariel which hides the face of
+mercy.”</p>
+
+<p>Jonah regarded the old man with astonishment.
+“You are so bitter,” he exclaimed;
+“I have never heard you speak in that tone
+before.”</p>
+
+<p>Naaman peered off beneath his shaggy
+white eyebrows to the distant hillside, swimming
+in the haze of summer heat. For a moment
+he did not speak, but presently he said,
+sighing,</p>
+
+<p>“You know but little of my life, my son.
+I, too, loved in my youth. Does that surprise
+you? Yes, it is hard to imagine that
+old men have ever been in love, swept by the
+flames of passion and of sorrow. And sometimes
+it is hard for the old to remember how
+it goes with the young men, with their joy,
+and their pain.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_152">[152]</span>“I, too, was young like you, Jonah. Do
+you think your heart is the first to break?
+Other hearts have broken before; and other
+men have wept, as you are weeping. I
+know; for I, too, wept, Jonah, my son.”</p>
+
+<p>He was silent. Jonah took the old man’s
+trembling hand between his two brown
+palms. “I am sorry,” he said. And he remained
+respectfully silent.</p>
+
+<p>“But, Naaman,” he broke out at last,
+“what then is holy here on earth?”</p>
+
+<p>Naaman replied gently and inexorably,
+“My son, the love of earth is holy, the love
+that God bears the least of His creatures,
+without desire, without envy, and without
+malice. That mercy and generosity with
+which the sun warms and the soil nourishes
+its flowers and trees, is holy; all that gives of
+itself, without reason, without measure, and
+without return. For that is the way of God;
+it is the way of the One, from which all
+things spring, to which all things return. Go
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_153">[153]</span>back to the desert, Jonah; go back to the
+desert, and learn that God is One, and that
+His love is holy.”</p>
+
+<p>But Jonah did not understand him.
+“Yes,” he said. “I shall go back to the desert,
+because that is all I can do. But I shall
+have no happiness, Naaman; my heart will
+never be at peace again. There is no beauty
+in the world for me now, ever. Oh, Naaman,”
+he cried suddenly, clasping his hands
+together, “if God loves His creatures, how
+can He make them suffer so?”</p>
+
+<p>Naaman looked sadly at the young
+prophet whose face was hidden from him.
+“Must you have beauty, too, Jonah?” he
+asked.</p>
+
+<p>“Yes,” said Jonah.</p>
+
+<p>Rising to his feet, he added, “You do not
+know what it is to love and to be unhappy.”</p>
+
+<p>And he went home again. As he entered
+his yard, a green beetle crossed his path. He
+went a few steps out of his way in order to
+tread upon it.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_154">[154]</span>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak">XIV</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class="drop-cap2">AND so Jonah returned to the desert,
+to his hut among the rushes in
+Golan. As he stood waiting for the
+ferry to take him across the Jordan, a party
+of soldiers coming from Hamath passed
+him on their way home. “There is Jonah,”
+they said, “the prophet. Now we shall have
+another war.”</p>
+
+<p>“That is the sort of prophet to have.”</p>
+
+<p>“Hurrah for Jonah.”</p>
+
+<p>But Jonah paid no attention to them. He
+was thin and deathly tired, and his eyes,
+which burned with a deep and weary fire,
+were fixed on the distant hills beyond the
+river. There, Naaman had said, he would
+have peace again.</p>
+
+<p>He walked northward through Tob,
+climbing from the river valley toward the
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_155">[155]</span>table-land behind the hills. His heart was
+heavy, so heavy it seemed to weigh him
+down; and he walked slowly. At dusk he
+found himself still far from Golan, with a
+river yet to cross, and near the little pool at
+which he had halted on his way to Bethel,
+months before. How different life had
+seemed to him then. Why, it was not the
+same thing at all any longer; now it seemed
+like a dream, without reality, without anything
+about it that he could feel.</p>
+
+<p>He sank down and looked around him.</p>
+
+<p>The night came on. The shrill frogs sang
+together; and the little fox came out of his
+hole, and lay down beside Jonah, whom he
+recognized.</p>
+
+<p>“Ah,” he remarked, as he settled himself
+comfortably at his side, “here is the man of
+God again.”</p>
+
+<p>Jonah let his hand stroke the fox’s soft
+fur. His face was turned to the west, and
+he peered back through the darkness over
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_156">[156]</span>the way he had come, as though trying to see
+again the home he had left. Uncle David,
+Aaron—his mother....</p>
+
+<p>He remembered how she had pressed him
+to her breast as he departed. “Go, my son,”
+she had said, “go back to God. He misses
+you. Here is a little cake for the journey,
+and a few silver pieces. They are all I have.
+Buy yourself a coat on the way.”</p>
+
+<p>She had sold her shawl to give him a coat.
+But he left the silver pieces in a pot before
+the oven. He wanted nothing, only to forget
+the sickness of his heart, the heaviness
+like a weight of lead in his breast.</p>
+
+<p>“Cheer up,” she had said at the last; “see,
+you will forget all this after a while. There
+is the storm, and then the sun shines. Do
+not stay away too long. Who knows, maybe
+God will send you home again soon.”</p>
+
+<p>And she had kissed him. No, he would
+not forget all this soon. Would he ever forget
+it? that was what he wondered. And
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_157">[157]</span>Judith, with her brown eyes, and the scent
+of lilies and jasmine in the moonlight....</p>
+
+<p>“O Judith, Judith, how could you do such
+a thing to me?”</p>
+
+<p>His eyes filled with tears, and he bowed
+his head.</p>
+
+<p>The fox stirred beneath his hand. “Well,
+Jonah,” he said sadly, “God is a raven. I
+believe that now, since a jackal ate my wife.
+He could not very well be a fox, and allow
+such things; or even an old man with a
+beard.”</p>
+
+<p>“Perhaps you are right,” said Jonah in a
+low tone; “perhaps He is a raven.”</p>
+
+<p>Hearing this, the Devil, who was going by
+in the form of a scorpion, stopped, and said
+to himself,</p>
+
+<p>“I shall tempt this holy man a little.”</p>
+
+<p>And remembering how Jonah’s quiet and
+pious spirit had vexed him in the past, Satan
+considered how best to be revenged on the
+prophet.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_158">[158]</span>“There is nothing like an odor,” he
+thought, “to hurt the memory.”</p>
+
+<p>And he changed himself into a jasmine
+vine. The unwilling night wind, trembling
+and sighing, carried the fragrance of its
+blossoms toward Jonah, who shivered as
+though with cold.</p>
+
+<p>“Ak,” he thought, “I can never forget.”</p>
+
+<p>And staring with wide eyes at the west,
+he saw again the garden, with the moonlight
+falling through the leaves like honey; heard
+the voices of the old men under the trees, the
+whispers of lovers, and laughter, like a sound
+of flutes; felt on his hand the touch of her
+fingers.... Judith’s....</p>
+
+<p>“What a beautiful night.... It makes
+me sad. Why does it make me sad, Jonah?</p>
+
+<p>“Listen ... there’s a bird singing. Just
+think, in the moonlight; isn’t it sweet,
+Jonah? This is beauty, isn’t it.</p>
+
+<p>“I could stay here forever.”</p>
+
+<p>“Oh, Judith, Judith....”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_159">[159]</span>“There is a smell of sulphur here,” said
+the fox, wrinkling up his nose.</p>
+
+<p>But Jonah did not hear him. Something
+was hurting in his throat. He sprang to his
+feet, and took a deep breath. “Look,” he
+cried out to God, “look; it is I, Jonah.”</p>
+
+<p>And he stood there, with bowed head, in
+the silence.</p>
+
+<p>“This is very good,” said Satan to himself.</p>
+
+<p>After thinking for a moment, the Arch-Demon
+decided to become a woman with
+brown eyes and brown hair. She came up
+to Jonah out of the darkness, timidly,
+draped in her shawls. “Well, Jonah,” she
+said, “here is the desert. See how quiet it is;
+what peace, what beauty. How happy we
+shall be here.”</p>
+
+<p>“Go away,” cried Jonah, throwing out his
+hands in front of his face, “go away.”</p>
+
+<p>“Why do you want me to go away?”
+asked the woman quietly. “Have I not
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_160">[160]</span>come all this long way with you, as you
+wished? Am I not your love, tender and
+gentle and kind? Come, let me make you
+happy.”</p>
+
+<p>And as Jonah stood trembling, unable to
+reply, she continued in her soft voice,</p>
+
+<p>“Are you not young, Jonah, and lonely?
+The young ought not to be lonely. See how
+beautiful the night is with its stars, its
+clouds, half seen, half guessed, how the
+music of the wind rises over the desert and
+sings in the hills, softly, softly. It is a night
+for love, Jonah, for young hearts beating
+each to each in the silence, in the darkness.
+That is what life is for, Jonah, for lips to
+kiss, for hands to fondle.... There is no
+beauty like mine, Jonah, no voice like mine
+to hurt your heart so, no hands like mine to
+hold your face tenderly, to kiss your mouth,
+Jonah, and your tired eyes, your mouth and
+your eyes....</p>
+
+<p>“And you in your little hut, all alone
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_161">[161]</span>among the rushes, all alone, Jonah, all
+alone....</p>
+
+<p>“You will always be alone now, summer
+and winter, winter and summer, your pillow
+the earth, harder and colder than my arms;
+only the song of birds and the sound of rain
+in your ears.... And you will never see
+me again, Jonah, never hold my young white
+beauty close to your breast, never feel, as
+other men, love singing in your heart, and
+peace folding down upon your eyes. You
+will be all alone, Jonah, with no one to tell
+the secret things in your heart to at the set
+of sun, at the rise of moon ... until at last,
+old and sleepy, you take my single kiss with
+you into the darkness ... alone in the
+darkness too, Jonah ... alone in the darkness....”</p>
+
+<p>“O God,” cried Jonah, sobbing, “help me,
+help me.”</p>
+
+<p>“God will not help you now,” said the
+woman.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_162">[162]</span>The drowsy fragrance of her body spread
+through the night. “Come,” she said, holding
+out her arms to him.</p>
+
+<p>“God cannot help you now, my poor
+Jonah.”</p>
+
+<p>Jonah took a step forward, and fell upon
+his knees. And then, one by one far off and
+near, the demons of the desert broke into
+laughter, wild peals of laughter, bitter and
+full of pain, cruel and without pity.</p>
+
+<p>“Ha, ha, ha.”</p>
+
+<p>“Alone, alone....”</p>
+
+<p>“God cannot help you now.”</p>
+
+<p>Under that mocking clamor, Jonah
+swayed like a reed, beaten to the earth, his
+face hidden in his hands. And then, at last,
+when it seemed to him as though he could
+bear no more, the terrible laughter stopped.
+There was a cry, and then silence.</p>
+
+<p>Jonah got up and looked around him.
+Nothing was to be seen; the woman had vanished.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_163">[163]</span>The little fox had run forward, and seized
+the demon by the leg. Once again the desert
+was filled with a holy peace, as though
+brooding beneath the wings of angels.</p>
+
+<p>“One can at least always help oneself,”
+remarked the fox.</p>
+
+<p>He lay down next to Jonah with a contented
+sigh. And presently the man and
+the fox fell asleep together.</p>
+
+<p>In her kitchen at home, Deborah sat praying
+for her son. She prayed that God would
+be kind to him. “He is only a boy,” she
+said; “do not ask him to behave like a man.
+Watch over him a little. I do not ask for
+anything for myself. I am an old woman,
+and my heart was broken long ago. But he
+is so young ... leave a little of his heart
+unbroken.”</p>
+
+<p>She lifted up her eyes full of tears.
+“Leave me my son,” she said.</p>
+
+<p>And Judith, at her window in Tyre, knelt
+with a pale and weary face, peering out
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_164">[164]</span>across the plains and hills of Phœnicia,
+across the wide waters of Meram, far off and
+unseen, toward the desert, where the night
+had already rolled up its cold blue clouds.
+And she, too, thought of Jonah; she, too,
+saw in the moonlight, in the little garden, the
+thin, worn face with its grave, dark eyes.
+They seemed to follow her, without reproach,
+but with infinite tenderness, pitying and forgiving.
+And suddenly she thought, “Yes,
+there in the desert there is peace; it is gentle
+out there, where Jonah is. O my dear, my
+dear, do you forgive me? Have you forgotten?
+It would have been different, Jonah,
+it would have been so different....”</p>
+
+<p>Wearily she went to her little gold box,
+and drew out her silver dove. Holding it in
+her hands like a tiny live bird, she kissed its
+ruby eyes and its silver beak. “Little dove,”
+she said sadly, “tell me what love is.”</p>
+
+<p>But the dove said nothing. And all at
+once she let it fall to the ground.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_165">[165]</span>“Ak,” she cried, “you don’t know anything
+about it.”</p>
+
+<p>And as she wept, Hiram’s steps mounted
+through the house to her room.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_166">[166]</span>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak">XV</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class="drop-cap">GOD was worried about Jonah.
+Watched by reverent cherubim,
+whose wings fanned the air all
+about Him, the Lord of Hosts walked up
+and down in the sky, and said to Moses, who
+was accompanying Him,</p>
+
+<p>“I must find something for this young
+man to do.”</p>
+
+<p>Moses looked down at Jonah with an expression
+of contempt. “He is hardly worth
+the effort,” he declared gloomily. “He
+seems to me to lack character.”</p>
+
+<p>“You are right,” said God. “Still, he expects
+something from Me.”</p>
+
+<p>And He added, smiling gently, “Perhaps
+that is why I am fond of him. He has not
+your strong and resourceful mind, Moses,
+nor Noah’s faithful heart; but he has suffered.
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_167">[167]</span>He is simply a man, like anybody.”</p>
+
+<p>“What?” cried Noah, hurrying up, “are
+you talking about me?”</p>
+
+<p>God replied: “I was saying that Jonah
+did not trust Me as you did, My friend.”</p>
+
+<p>“No,” said Noah; “but then, what do you
+expect? There are so many different ideas
+now in the world. I do not recognize my
+posterity in these warring nations. Let us
+have another flood, Lord.”</p>
+
+<p>Moses looked sadly down at Jerusalem,
+where golden idols were being sold in the
+streets. “You are right, Noah,” he said,
+“but I do not like the idea of a flood. A
+flood does not teach people how to live.
+Sometimes I wonder if anything can teach
+people what they are unwilling to learn.”</p>
+
+<p>“Nonsense,” said Noah. “A flood is the
+most sanitary thing. Wait and see; even
+you could learn something about sewers
+from a good flood.”</p>
+
+<p>God checked the old patriarch with a
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_168">[168]</span>kindly hand. “Things are not the same as
+they used to be in the early days,” He said.
+“I cannot drown the world to-day without
+drowning My wife, Israel. She is young,
+and a nuisance, but she has yet to bear Me
+a son. I foresee that He will give His
+mother a great deal of pain, but that cannot
+be helped.</p>
+
+<p>“Let us not think of Israel now, but of
+the prophet Jonah. Moses is of the opinion
+that he is not a first-class prophet, and I am
+inclined to agree with him. He is a poet;
+and for that reason I feel warmly inclined
+toward him. After all, you, Noah, and you,
+Moses, see only one side of My nature. You
+try to look upon the Greater Countenance,
+but what you see is the Lesser Countenance.
+It is different with a poet. He does not see
+Hod, or Chesed, the thrones of Glory and
+Mercy. He looks through Beauty to the
+Crown itself. Whereas you, Moses, have
+never seen beyond Knowledge; and you, my
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_169">[169]</span>good Noah, have seen My face only in
+Severity.”</p>
+
+<p>Moses and Noah bowed their heads. “It
+is true, Lord,” said Noah humbly.</p>
+
+<p>God continued:</p>
+
+<p>“At this moment Jonah does not see Me
+at all. In the first place, he is unhappy, and
+he no longer looks toward beauty. He believes
+that there is no more beauty in the
+world because his heart is broken. He is
+mistaken; and after a while his sorrow will
+sharpen his eyes. Then he will see more
+than before.”</p>
+
+<p>“In that case,” said Moses, “why do You
+bother Yourself?”</p>
+
+<p>The Lord considered a moment before replying.
+It was obvious that He wished to
+express Himself in terms intelligible to His
+hearers.</p>
+
+<p>“The trouble, My friends,” He said at
+last, “is this: our young prophet is a patriot.
+He is convinced that I am God of Israel
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_170">[170]</span>alone. I do not mind that point of view in
+a prophet, but it will not do in a poet. Severity,
+glory, knowledge, belong to the nations,
+if you like. But beauty belongs to the
+world. It is the portion of all mankind in
+its God.</p>
+
+<p>“I have covered the heavens with beauty,
+the green spaces of the earth, the cloudy
+waters, the tall and snowy peaks. These are
+for all to see, these are for all to love. Shall
+any one take beauty from another, and say,
+‘This is mine’?”</p>
+
+<p>“Now He is beginning to talk,” said
+Moses in an undertone to Noah; “this is
+like old times.”</p>
+
+<p>But God grew silent again. Presently he
+continued wearily,</p>
+
+<p>“It is your fault, Moses, that the Jews believe
+I belong to them entirely. Well, I do
+not blame you, for you could not have
+brought them safely through the desert otherwise.
+But you did not tell them that I was
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_171">[171]</span>a bull. I foresee that for a long time yet
+men will be irresistibly led to worship Me in
+the form of an animal.”</p>
+
+<p>“Well, then,” said Noah, “if You foresee
+so much....”</p>
+
+<p>“Be silent,” said God, in a voice of thunder
+which made the wings of angels tremble.
+He continued more gently, “Actually, at the
+moment, I am not interested in theology. I
+am thinking of Jonah.”</p>
+
+<p>And He walked quietly up and down in
+the sky, thinking. The cherubim, moving
+all about Him, beat with their snowy wings
+the air perfumed with frankincense; and the
+clouds rolled under His feet.</p>
+
+<p>Left to themselves, Moses and Noah regarded
+each other in an unfriendly manner.
+At last Moses shrugged his shoulders. He
+was vexed to think that he did not know
+everything.</p>
+
+<p>“Well, old man,” he said to Noah, “have
+you nothing to talk about except the flood?
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_172">[172]</span>You do not understand conditions in the
+world to-day.”</p>
+
+<p>“I understand this much,” replied Noah
+calmly, “that faith is more important than
+knowledge. Where would you be, with all
+your wisdom, if it had not been for me and
+my ark? You would be a fish, swimming in
+the sea.”</p>
+
+<p>“Do you take credit for saving your own
+skin?” cried Moses. “Wonderful. I, on the
+other hand, was very comfortable in Egypt.
+What I did was from the highest motives.
+I am not even sure that I am a Jew.”</p>
+
+<p>“I believed in God,” said Noah stoutly,
+“and I did as He told me.”</p>
+
+<p>“So did I,” said Moses angrily, “but I
+also used my wits a little. Faith is nothing;
+any animal can have faith. You and your
+faith had to get inside a wooden ark, in
+order to keep dry. But when I wished to
+take an entire nation across the sea, I simply
+parted the waters. I shall not tell you
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_173">[173]</span>how I did it, because it would be lost on you.
+It takes a first-rate intelligence to understand
+such a thing.”</p>
+
+<p>Noah replied excitedly, “Please remember
+that I am your ancestor, and treat me
+with more respect.”</p>
+
+<p>“You are an old drunkard,” said Moses.</p>
+
+<p>But at this point God joined them again,
+and they were silent, to hear what the Holy
+One had to say.</p>
+
+<p>“This young man,” said God, “does not
+believe in Me any more. How then shall I
+convince him of Myself?”</p>
+
+<p>Desirous of showing his knowledge,
+Moses began to quote from the Book of
+Wisdom: “Infidelity, violence, envy, deceit,
+extreme avariciousness, a total want of
+qualities, with impurity, are the innate faults
+of womankind.”</p>
+
+<p>“Nevertheless,” said God, “they are also
+My creations. In My larger aspects I am as
+impure as I am pure; otherwise there would
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_174">[174]</span>not be a balance. However, as I have said,
+we are not concerned with My larger aspects.”</p>
+
+<p>Noah broke in at this point. “Send him
+to sea, Lord,” he begged. “There is nothing
+like a long trip at sea to quiet the mind.
+It is very peaceful on the water. One forgets
+one’s disappointments.”</p>
+
+<p>“You are right,” said God; “we need the
+sea; it will give him peace. But as a matter
+of fact, I do not care whether he finds peace
+or not. As I have told you, I simply wish
+this poet to understand that I am God, and
+not Baal of Canaan. The attempt to confuse
+Me with a sun-myth, with the fertility
+of earth as symbolized by the figure of a bull,
+or a dove, vexes Me. Increase is man’s affair,
+not God’s. Besides, where will all this
+increase end? I regret the days of Adam
+and Eve and the Garden of Eden. Already
+there are more people on earth than
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_175">[175]</span>I have any use for, socially speaking. Now
+I could wish there were more beauty in the
+world. I should like some poet to speak of
+Me in words other than those of a patriot.
+Yet if I try to explain Myself, who will understand
+Me? Not even you, Moses, with
+all your wisdom. And so I, in turn, must
+forget My wisdom, in order to explain Myself.
+I must act as the not-too-wise God of
+an ignorant people. That this is possible is
+due to the fact that along with infinite wisdom,
+I include within Myself an equal
+amount of ignorance.”</p>
+
+<p>He sighed deeply. “I shall send Jonah
+to Nineveh,” he concluded. “The subjects
+of King Shalmaneser the Third are honest,
+hard-working men and women. I enjoy, in
+some of My aspects, their vigorous and spectacular
+festivals. Nevertheless, repentance
+will not do them any harm, since for one
+thing they will not know exactly what it is
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_176">[176]</span>they are asked to repent of, and for another,
+they will soon go back to their old
+ways again.</p>
+
+<p>“Thus I shall convince Jonah of Myself
+where he least expects to find Me. He shall
+hear from Me at sea, and again within the
+walls of Nineveh. It will surprise him.
+And perhaps the rude beauty of that city
+will speak to his heart, dreamy with woe.”</p>
+
+<p>“I do not doubt that it will surprise him,”
+said Moses, “but will he be convinced?”</p>
+
+<p>God did not answer. Already He was on
+his way to earth. And Noah, looking after
+Him, shook his hoary head with regret.</p>
+
+<p>“A flood would have been the better way,”
+he said.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_177">[177]</span>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak">XVI</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class="drop-cap">GOD went down to the water. He
+stood on the shores of the sea and
+called; like the voice of the storm a
+name rolled forth from those august lips
+across the deep. And the deeps trembled.
+Presently a commotion took place in the
+waters; wet and black the huge form of
+Leviathan rose gleaming from the sea, and
+floated obediently before its God.</p>
+
+<p>The Lord spoke, and the whale listened.
+After He had explained the situation, God
+said:</p>
+
+<p>“I foresee that Jonah will not go to
+Nineveh as I command. He will attempt
+to flee from Me, and he will choose the sea
+as the best means of escape. It will not help
+him. I shall raise a storm upon the waters,
+and the ignorant sailors will cast him overboard
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_178">[178]</span>as a sacrifice to the gods of the storm.
+That is where you can be of assistance to
+Me, My old friend. As he sinks through
+the water, I wish you to advance upon him,
+and swallow him.”</p>
+
+<p>“Ak,” said the whale; “O my.”</p>
+
+<p>“Well,” said God impatiently, “what is
+the matter?”</p>
+
+<p>The great fish blew a misty spray of water
+into the air. “It is impossible,” he declared;
+“in the first place, I should choke to death.”</p>
+
+<p>“You are an ignorant creature,” said
+God; “you have neither faith, nor science.
+Let Me tell you a few things about yourself
+in the light of future exegesis. Know then,
+that you are a cetacean, or whalebone type
+of whale. Such animals obtain their food
+by swimming on or near the surface of the
+water, with their jaws open.”</p>
+
+<p>“That is true,” said the whale, reverent
+and amazed.</p>
+
+<p>“The screen of whalebone,” continued the
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_179">[179]</span>Lord, “opens inward, and admits solid objects
+to the animal’s mouth. This screen
+does not allow the egress of any solid matter,
+only of water. As the gullet is very
+small, only the smallest objects can pass
+down it.</p>
+
+<p>“Jonah will therefore be imprisoned in
+your mouth. You cannot swallow him; and
+he cannot get out, because of the screen of
+whalebone.”</p>
+
+<p>“Then he will suffocate,” said the whale.</p>
+
+<p>“Nonsense,” said God. “Remember that
+you are an air-breathing, warm-blooded animal,
+and can only dive because of the reservoir
+of air in your mouth. When this air
+becomes unfit to breathe, you must rise to
+the surface for a fresh supply.</p>
+
+<p>“While you have air to breathe, Jonah
+will have it also.</p>
+
+<p>“So do not hesitate any longer, but do as
+you are told.”</p>
+
+<p>The whale heaved a deep sigh; his breath
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_180">[180]</span>groaned through the ocean, causing many
+smaller fish, terrified, to flee with trembling
+fins.</p>
+
+<p>“How horrid for me,” he exclaimed.</p>
+
+<p>God replied soothingly, “It will assure
+you a place in history.”</p>
+
+<p>So saying, the Lord blessed Leviathan,
+who sank sadly back to the depths of the sea;
+and, turning from the shore, the Light of
+Israel rolled like thunder across the valleys
+toward Golan.</p>
+
+<p>The night came to meet Him from the
+east, pouring down over the hills like smoke.
+In the cold night air God went to look for
+Jonah.</p>
+
+<p>Poor Jonah, he had not found peace after
+all. The lonely desert, so calm and quiet in
+the past, had given no rest to his thoughts.
+His mind went back over and over again to
+those days at home; he felt the wonder of the
+love-night, his heart shrank again with sickness
+for what followed. And he asked himself
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_181">[181]</span>for the thousandth time how such things
+could be. Then he cried out against Judith
+for her cruelty; yet the next moment he forgave
+her.</p>
+
+<p>And these thoughts, climbing and falling
+wearily up and down through his head, kept
+him awake until long after the desert was
+asleep. In the morning, when he awoke, it
+was with regret; he tried to sleep a little
+longer, to keep his eyes closed, to keep from
+thinking again ... why wake at all? he
+wondered. There was nothing to wake to.
+Only the hot sun over the desert, only his
+heavy heart, which grew no lighter as the
+days went by.</p>
+
+<p>Why wake at all?</p>
+
+<p>God found him sitting wearily upon a
+rock, his head bowed between his hands.
+The Lord spoke, and the desert was silent.</p>
+
+<p>“Jonah,” said God in a voice like a great
+wave breaking, slowly, and with the peace of
+the sea, “Jonah, you have wept enough.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_182">[182]</span>Jonah replied simply, “I have been waiting
+for You a long while, and I am very
+tired.”</p>
+
+<p>“I had not forgotten you,” said God; “I
+have been thinking.”</p>
+
+<p>And He added, “Now I have something
+for you to do.”</p>
+
+<p>Jonah remained seated without looking
+up. He seemed no longer to care what God
+had for him to do.</p>
+
+<p>“Arise, Jonah,” said God, “and go to
+Nineveh. Cry out against that great city
+for its sins.”</p>
+
+<p>But Jonah looked more dejected than
+ever. “What have I to do with Nineveh?”
+he asked. “Am I prophet to the Assyrians?
+I am a Jew. Do not mock me, Lord.”</p>
+
+<p>“I do not mock you,” said God gravely.
+“Go, then, and do My bidding.”</p>
+
+<p>And as Jonah did not reply, he added
+sadly, “Do you still doubt Me?”</p>
+
+<p>Jonah rose slowly to his feet. His eyes
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_183">[183]</span>blazed, and his hands were tightly clenched.
+“Oh,” he cried bitterly, all the passion in his
+heart storming out at last in a torrent of despair,
+“You ... what are You God of?
+Were You God of Israel when a Tyrian
+stole my love? Was I Your prophet then?
+Have You power over Tyre, that You let
+Your servant suffer such anguish? Or are
+You God of the desert, where the demons
+mock me night and day, where the very
+stones cry out against me, and the whole
+night is noisy with laughter? Nineveh ...
+Nineveh ... in whose name shall I cry out
+against Nineveh? Do the gods of Assur
+visit their wrath upon Jerusalem? What
+power have You in Nineveh? For my youth
+which I gave You, what have You given
+me? How have You returned my love, with
+what sorrow? What have You done to me,
+Lord? I stand in the darkness, weary, and
+with a heavy heart. What are You God of?
+Answer: what are You God of?”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_184">[184]</span>And God answered gently, “I am your
+God, Jonah, and where you go, there you
+will find Me.”</p>
+
+<p>Jonah sank down upon the rock again.
+His passion had exhausted him; but he was
+not convinced. “Well,” he said in a whisper,
+“You are not God in Nineveh, and I
+will not go.”</p>
+
+<p>Then the wrath of the Lord, slow to start,
+flamed for a moment over the desert, and
+Jonah cowered to earth while the heavens
+groaned and the ground shook with fright.
+And in his hole by the pool in the Land of
+Tob, the little fox said to himself, “Jonah
+is talking to God.”</p>
+
+<p>But God’s anger passed, leaving Him sad
+and holy.</p>
+
+<p>“Peace unto you, Jonah,” He said in
+tones of divine sweetness; “take up your
+task, and doubt Me no more.”</p>
+
+<p>And He returned to heaven in a cloud.
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_185">[185]</span>Overcome with weariness, empty of passion,
+Jonah fell asleep upon the ground.</p>
+
+<p>No jackals laughed that night. Silence
+brooded over the desert. The stars kept
+watch without a sound, and Jonah slept with
+a quiet heart.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_186">[186]</span>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak">XVII</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class="drop-cap">BUT in the morning his doubts returned
+more strongly than ever.
+“They will mock me in Nineveh,”
+he told himself. “I shall be made a laughing-stock.
+What power has the Light of
+Israel in the land of Marduk, of Dagon, of
+Istar, of the warrior Ashur? I should count
+myself lucky if I escaped being stoned to death.</p>
+
+<p>“For how can God destroy Nineveh? I
+might as well preach to the fish in the sea.”</p>
+
+<p>But now he had something to do, at least.
+He determined to flee from God. “I shall
+go to Tarshish,” he thought, “and begin life
+over again. There is nothing for me here
+any longer. The desert will be glad to be
+rid of me.”</p>
+
+<p>And without bothering even to return to
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_187">[187]</span>his hut, he started south, toward Joppa,
+where he expected to find a ship bound west
+for Tarshish.</p>
+
+<p>He traveled swiftly, on other roads from
+those he had come. Late on the afternoon
+of the second day he crossed the Brook
+Kanah, and saw in the distance the white
+domed roofs of Joppa shining above the sea.</p>
+
+<p>As he came down from the low hills, the
+sight of ocean rounded like a bowl under the
+wide arch of the sky, the distant and titanic
+clouds piled above the unseen shores of
+Africa, filled his heart for a moment with
+beauty. But then he thought:</p>
+
+<p>“This is like Tyre. It is by the shore of
+this same sea that Judith has gone to live.”</p>
+
+<p>And he cursed the beauty that hurt him.</p>
+
+<p>It was late when he came to the shore, and
+night was already moving upon the deep.
+In profound silence he leaned above the harbor
+wall and regarded the shadowless water
+which with the sound of immemorial tides
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_188">[188]</span>passed under him in the darkness. It was
+the season when the mists from the ocean
+blow landward in the evening. In the gray
+night fog the masts of the vessels at anchor
+rocked toward one another on the long, low
+waves; and the mist, salty with sea air, mingled
+along the quays with the odors of the
+city.</p>
+
+<p>It was the dark of the moon in the month
+of Nisan. The moon was gone, and his
+youth with it. Other moons would rise, fall
+through the branches of a tree, and cheat a
+bird to sing. But where would Jonah be?
+And Judith, in her great house over the terraces
+of Tyre; she would grow old, soon she
+would be like Deborah, looking backward
+over her life.... What happened to
+youth, to beauty? Where did they go?
+They hardly lasted at all.</p>
+
+<p>Night hung black and silent over the sea.
+The wings of angels leaned upon the
+wind which moved dark and vast between
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_189">[189]</span>the earth and sky. The stars paled, and the
+sun rose like a ball of fire in the east. Then
+the ocean mist, cold as frost, melted away.
+The tide turned, and the waves, breaking
+far out, spoke with their murmur like the
+sound of wind to the sleeping city on the
+shore.</p>
+
+<p>In the morning Jonah found a ship bound
+for Tarshish. The cargo was already
+loaded; and when he had made his bargain,
+he went aboard. Bearded and singing, the
+seamen hoisted the sails, yellow as a slice of
+moon; with a sly, tranquil motion the ship
+moved out of the harbor, over the blue sea,
+sparkling in the sun, past sails stained blue
+as the sky, or brown as the sands. The
+white roofs of Joppa faded behind them
+in the east, lost in the gradual fog; the seagulls
+cried above them; and Jonah sat silent,
+dreaming, gazing at the sea.</p>
+
+<p>He was tired, and listless. “Now,” he
+said to himself, “God has lost me.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_190">[190]</span>And he thought of Deborah with sadness
+and peace. He remembered what she had
+said to him, as she had held him, weeping
+bitterly, in her arms, on her breast.</p>
+
+<p>“Jonah,” she had said, “when you are dead,
+or perhaps very old and ready to die, people
+will say of you, ‘There, he was a great
+prophet.’ And they will feel honored because
+they knew you, because their names
+will be spoken of with yours. But now ...”
+she sighed; she wanted to say, “now
+you are only a nuisance.”</p>
+
+<p>What she finally said was, “Well, people
+are like that.”</p>
+
+<p>But Jonah knew what she wanted to say.
+And as he sat quietly on the deck of the ship
+under the yellow, curved sail, he thought,</p>
+
+<p>“I shall not bother anybody now.”</p>
+
+<p>The warmth of the sun, reflected from the
+sea, entered his mind and lulled his limbs.
+Sea-quiet took hold of him; the peace of
+ocean bathed his spirit. He grew drowsier
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_191">[191]</span>and drowsier; he began to doze. And as he
+fell asleep, his last thought was that he had
+got away from God.</p>
+
+<p>All day the sails sang in the wind, under
+the sun. Jonah slept; his dreams swept out
+like homing birds over the calm waters; and
+in his sleep he wept.</p>
+
+<p>But in the afternoon the wind died away;
+an ominous haze enveloped the sky; and the
+sea grew oily. The sails were hastily drawn
+in; and the oars were made ready. Huddled
+together on the deck, the seamen spoke in
+low, anxious voices. All eyes were turned
+toward the east, which grew darker and
+darker. All was still; the air did not stir.
+Moved by fear, the men trembled; and as
+though herself frightened, the ship started
+to creak in all her timbers. All at once the
+sky uttered a moan; high above them the air
+began to sing; and the sea rolled in slow,
+unwilling swells. And then it seemed as if
+the sky fell down upon the sea, for the water
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_192">[192]</span>rose like the hills, and the dark came down
+upon it. Unable to move, the ship trembled
+from bow to stern, lifted dizzily upon the
+waves, tilted in the wind, and dropped like a
+stone into the trough. The gulls were flattened
+to the sea, and the air was filled with
+the shout of the gale, and the crash of water
+falling upon itself. It was God’s storm, but
+Satan also was enjoying it.</p>
+
+<p>Pale with fear, the sailors rushed to
+lighten the ship by throwing the cargo overboard.
+Then, as the tiny vessel dashed
+about in the water like a cork, they fell upon
+their knees and prayed to their gods, to
+Ramman, the thunderer, to Dagon, to Enlil,
+the old god of storms.</p>
+
+<p>Seeing that Jonah still slept, sheltered by
+the deck which curved above him, the captain
+ran to awaken him. “Here,” he said,
+“this is a storm. Well, see for yourself.
+You should be more anxious, my friend.
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_193">[193]</span>Have you a god? Then pray to him, for
+we need all the help we can get.”</p>
+
+<p>Dazed by the tumult, still half asleep,
+Jonah gazed in confusion at the heaving
+waters. The wind lashed him to the deck;
+he stared in dismay at the mighty waves rising
+above him on every side like mountains.
+“I will not pray,” he said. And the captain
+shrank back at the sight of his face.</p>
+
+<p>But the seamen, clinging to the deck,
+looked anxiously at Jonah, and at the great
+seas which broke over them without ceasing.
+“This is no common storm,” they told each
+other; “some great god is angry.”</p>
+
+<p>They were good and simple men. Had
+one of them sinned, to draw down upon them
+all such wrath? No, it was Jonah, the
+stranger whose face was like a demon’s, dark
+as the storm itself. They looked at him with
+terror.</p>
+
+<p>And Jonah looked back at them as frightened
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_194">[194]</span>as they were. His mind reeled; had
+he not got away from God after all? Had
+God come after him—out there on the sea?
+Was there no way to flee from God?</p>
+
+<p>Why had he tried to run away? What a
+fool.... God would never forgive him for
+it.</p>
+
+<p>And then, in the crash of wind and water,
+a feeling of disdain came over Jonah, a bitter
+strength, a final pride. Well, here was
+the storm ... here was God still. God had
+taken everything away from him. What
+was his life worth to him now? Oh, be done
+with it, once and for all. “Look ... if
+You want it, God ... it is of no value to
+me any more....”</p>
+
+<p>“It is my fault,” he said to the sailors
+proudly. “I alone am to blame. I am a
+Jew who has denied his God. It is my life
+that is wanted. Throw me overboard.”</p>
+
+<p>But the sailors were frightened, and they
+would not touch him. “No,” they said, “we
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_195">[195]</span>will row back to Joppa again. Then your
+god can do as he likes. If we throw you
+overboard, you will drown. Then we shall
+have blood upon our hands.”</p>
+
+<p>They tried with all their strength to row
+against the storm. But the black sea, breaking,
+splintered their oars, and the wind
+pressed them backwards.</p>
+
+<p>Then they said humbly, in fear, “This sea
+belongs to Iaveh, the god of the Jews. We
+cannot prevail against him any longer.”</p>
+
+<p>And seizing Jonah, they cast him overboard,
+with a prayer. “Do not lay innocent
+blood upon us,” they said, “O god of the
+Jews. This is your doing, not ours.”</p>
+
+<p>So saying they waited, trembling.</p>
+
+<p>At once the sea grew calm, the wind died
+away, and the sun sank tranquilly down in
+the clear west. The peace of evening
+brooded again upon the water. And the
+ship, with all her sails set for Joppa, fled to
+the east.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_196">[196]</span>Jonah sank through the waters without
+complaint. It was the end, and he had no
+desire to live. But as his breath failed, so
+his mind brought back to him the blue and
+shining sky, the sweet odors of the desert,
+the happy dreams of his youth, of glory, of
+peace. He began to struggle; his body
+fought against the sea, his mind shouted
+against death. “No,” he cried to himself,
+“no, I must live; I must live.”</p>
+
+<p>With a groan Leviathan hurled himself
+through the waves and took the prophet into
+his mouth.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_197">[197]</span>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak">XVIII</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class="drop-cap">IN the darkness the whale spoke to
+Jonah. “What a lot of trouble you
+have made for yourself,” he said. And
+he told Jonah how God had made arrangements.</p>
+
+<p>Jonah was not unhappy. In the whale’s
+mouth he was uncomfortable, but he had a
+great deal to think about. His mind was
+filled with wonder.</p>
+
+<p>So it turned out that God was at home
+everywhere; that He commanded the fish
+of the sea, as well as the hosts of the air,
+and the creatures of the land. That was an
+extraordinary thing.</p>
+
+<p>What an upset to theology.</p>
+
+<p>Jonah asked the whale many questions.
+And the whale, who had often thought about
+such things as he rested among the weeds at
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_198">[198]</span>the bottom of the sea, answered him as best
+he could.</p>
+
+<p>“Do you deny,” said Jonah, “that God
+created man in His own image?”</p>
+
+<p>“No,” replied the whale, “but on the other
+hand, do you suppose God has only one
+image? And then it depends, besides, on
+who is looking; because people do not see
+things all alike. Well, do you suppose a
+whale does not also look like God?”</p>
+
+<p>“A whale does not look like God at all,”
+replied Jonah firmly.</p>
+
+<p>“Still,” said the whale thoughtfully, “the
+most beautiful sight in the world, in my
+opinion, is a female whale. And you must
+admit I have seen as much of God as you
+have. So you see what difficulties you
+make for yourself.”</p>
+
+<p>But Jonah would not believe that God
+looked like a whale. And they discussed
+other aspects of theology.</p>
+
+<p>The whale swam through the waters green
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_199">[199]</span>with daylight, or black with night, rising to
+the surface now and then to breathe. Out of
+respect for the sanctity of the prophet, he
+did not attempt to eat any of the small fish
+which fled in terror from his path. “We
+will fast together,” he said kindly to Jonah.</p>
+
+<p>In his warm, black prison, Jonah slept,
+and woke, and thought about God. His
+spirit lifted; he felt peaceful, resigned, and
+almost happy. Gone was the bitter sense of
+defeat, the shame of betrayal. What if his
+heart ached still? he had God again. And
+what a God, now that he saw Him: the thunder
+of sea-surges, the holy calm of the desert,
+all peace, all beauty, were His ... one
+need not seek it, it was there, it was everywhere.
+Jerusalem was His—Tarshish and
+Tyre....</p>
+
+<p>“I am your God, Jonah, and where you
+go, there you will find Me.”</p>
+
+<p>Tyre was His, too. The Master strode
+through the streets of the city with thunder
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_200">[200]</span>on His brow, with love and sorrow in His
+hands. And His prophet walked beside
+Him, wrapped in glory, like a king.</p>
+
+<p>When they came to Judith’s house it was
+Jonah who blessed it with gently outstretched
+arms.</p>
+
+<p>“My sister,” he said; “my poor, faithless
+love.”</p>
+
+<p>The whale asked Jonah what he was doing.
+“I was dreaming,” said Jonah.</p>
+
+<p>“I think you had better pray,” said the
+whale. So Jonah prayed.</p>
+
+<p>“Lord, I have sinned,” he said humbly.
+“I was unhappy; and I ran away. And for
+that reason You cast me into the sea; the
+waves passed over me.</p>
+
+<p>“The waves passed over my soul, Lord.</p>
+
+<p>“I went down to the bottom of the hills;
+the bars of the earth were about me. But I
+did not perish. You heard my cry, and You
+remembered me. I thank You, Lord.</p>
+
+<p>“Look, I am not vain any longer; I do
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_201">[201]</span>not wish anything for myself. Let me do
+Your bidding again, with a quiet heart.”</p>
+
+<p>And he added with a cry, “Give me peace,
+Lord.”</p>
+
+<p>The whale swam on, past schools of appetizing
+fish, down through the dim flower-branches
+of the sea’s deep bed, up through
+sunny foam. Hungry, weary, but hopeful,
+the great fish waited patiently for God to
+speak.</p>
+
+<p>On the third day, God spoke. And the
+whale, lashing the waters with his tail, sped
+like an eager minnow to the shore, and
+vomited Jonah forth upon the sand.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_202">[202]</span>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak">XIX</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class="drop-cap">JONAH was let out of the whale in the
+North, near Arvad, and not far from
+Kadesh as a crow might fly, which is
+to say, over the coastal hills and then in a
+straight line across the jungles and the desert.
+This was the route he took as being the
+shortest way to Nineveh. He was in a
+hurry; he was impatient to begin his mission.
+He was filled with enthusiasm.</p>
+
+<p>How different from his flight to sea, this
+vigorous return across the land dry with the
+sun of midsummer. Now he marched with
+a firm and hurried step, his face darkly radiant
+with divine purpose, with pious anger.
+Yes, he would speak; Nineveh would hear
+him. Let them stone him if they liked, God
+would amply repay them for it. What
+glory.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_203">[203]</span>And this was all his, not hers, not for her
+sake; let her be proud of him if she liked;
+what did it matter any more? She would
+hear enough of it in Tyre; Jonah here, and
+Jonah there....</p>
+
+<p>Yes, they would speak of it in Tyre.</p>
+
+<p>As he passed the wayside altars of the
+baalim with their pillars surmounted by
+horns of sacrifices, he smiled at them in derision.</p>
+
+<p>“You,” he said scornfully, “you ...
+what are you gods of, anyway?”</p>
+
+<p>At Kadesh he saw statues of the river
+deities, Chrysonhoa and Pegai. He spat in
+the dust before them; fortunately, no one
+was looking. In the sun of late afternoon
+their shadows pointed like great spears toward
+Nineveh.</p>
+
+<p>“Israel will hear my name again,” he
+thought proudly.</p>
+
+<p>The evergreen oaks of the hills gave way
+to the tamarisks of the Syrian jungles, and
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_204">[204]</span>the palms and scrub of the desert. He slept
+the first night in the wilderness between Kadesh
+and Rehoboth. The jackals were silent,
+awed by the presence of lions among
+the rocks. Padding to and fro, the great
+beasts watched Jonah from afar, with eyes
+like flames. And Jonah dreamed of Deborah;
+when he awoke, he remembered her
+gentle smile.</p>
+
+<p>In the fresh light of early morning a
+mother goat divided her milk between the
+prophet and her ewe. “These are stirring
+times, Jonah,” she said; “angels are abroad
+in great numbers.” Recognizing a minor
+deity, Jonah blessed her and resumed his
+journey.</p>
+
+<p>At the end of the second day he began to
+pass the boundary stones of Assyria, set up
+to warn trespassers upon private property.
+Thinking them altars, Jonah cursed each
+one as he went by. The next day he passed
+kilns in which colored bricks were being
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_205">[205]</span>baked. As far as he could see, the blue,
+green, and yellow bricks stood in rows on
+the red earth.</p>
+
+<p>That night he slept outside the gates of
+Nineveh. The city rose above him in the
+dark; he heard the sentries challenge on the
+walls.</p>
+
+<p>In the morning he entered the city with
+some farmers on their way to the markets.
+The sun was rising, gleaming upon the great
+winged bulls before the temples, the green
+and yellow lions upon the walls. Under the
+clear upland sky the city shone with color
+like a fair. The markets opened; the
+streets filled with men and women in their
+colored shawls and clashing ornaments.
+And Jonah, looking and looking, was astonished.
+“Why,” he thought, “this is strange;
+there is something bright and bold about
+all this. This is fine, after all.” And he
+felt a gayety of heart take hold of him. How
+vigorous these mountain people looked with
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_206">[206]</span>their insolent faces and their swaggering
+air. There was nothing old or sad in
+Nineveh. He forgot why he had come; he
+was excited, and happy. It was not at all
+what he had expected; and he forgot himself.</p>
+
+<p>But not for long. As the hours passed,
+he grew weary; and as the brightness wore
+off, and he began to think of his own life
+again, he began to hate Nineveh, to hate the
+bold colors all around him, the youth that
+carried itself so proudly and carelessly in
+the streets. “Yes,” he thought, “that is all
+very well for you; but you know nothing
+about life.” And, lifting his arms, he cried
+aloud with gloomy satisfaction, “Yet forty
+days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.”</p>
+
+<p>The success of this remark astonished him.
+Without waiting to find out any more about
+it, the Assyrians hurried home and put ashes
+on their heads. Nineveh repented like a
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_207">[207]</span>child of its sins; in an orgy of humility the
+city gave up its business, and dressed itself
+in sackcloth. The king, even, left his throne,
+and sat down in some ashes.</p>
+
+<p>Jonah was vexed. This, also, was not
+what he had expected. He had looked for
+a wind of fury, for stones, and curses, and
+a final effect of glory. And when he learned
+that because of its repentance Nineveh was
+to be spared, his courage gave way in a flood
+of disappointment.</p>
+
+<p>“I knew it,” he said bitterly to God; “I
+knew You’d never do it.”</p>
+
+<p>And with an angry countenance he retired
+to an open field on the east side of the
+city, to see what would happen. His heart
+was very sore.</p>
+
+<p>“Where is my glory now?” he thought.</p>
+
+<p>Then God, who was anxiously watching,
+spoke to Jonah from the sky. “Why are
+you angry?” said the Holy One. “Have I
+done you a wrong?”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_208">[208]</span>Jonah replied, sighing, “Who will ever believe
+me now, Lord?”</p>
+
+<p>And for the rest of the day he maintained
+a silence, full of reproach.</p>
+
+<p>Then because the sun was very hot, and
+because where Jonah was sitting there was
+no shade of any sort, God made a vine grow
+up, overnight, to shelter Jonah.</p>
+
+<p>“There,” said God, “there is a vine for
+you. Rest awhile and see.”</p>
+
+<p>That day Jonah sat in comfort beneath his
+shelter. The wind was in the west, full of
+agreeable odors; at noon a farmer brought
+him meal, salt, and oil; he ate, was refreshed,
+and dozed beneath his vine. The sun went
+down over the desert; and the evening star
+grew brighter in the sky, which shone with
+a peaceful light. The dews descended; and
+Jonah, wrapped in his cloak, dreamed of
+home.</p>
+
+<p>But in the morning worms had eaten the
+leaves of the vine; gorged and comfortable,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_209">[209]</span>they regarded Jonah from the ground with
+pious looks. As the day progressed, the sun
+beat down upon him without pity, a
+strong wind blew up from the east, out of
+the desert, and the prophet grew faint with
+misery. Too hot even to sweat, he nevertheless
+refused to move.</p>
+
+<p>“No,” he said, “I shall sit here.”</p>
+
+<p>An obstinate rage kept him out in the
+sun, although he half expected to die of it.
+“Well,” he said to himself, “what if I do?”</p>
+
+<p>It seemed to him that he had nothing more
+to live for.</p>
+
+<p>Then God said to Jonah, “Do you do well
+to be angry, My son?”</p>
+
+<p>Jonah did not wish to reply. But he was
+sure of one thing: that he had every right
+to be angry. “Why did You wither my vine,
+Lord?” he asked bitterly. “Was that also
+necessary?”</p>
+
+<p>God, looking down on His prophet, smiled
+sadly. “What is a vine?” He said gently.
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_210">[210]</span>“Was it your vine, Jonah? You neither
+planted it nor cared for it. It came up in a
+night, and it perished in a night. And now
+you think I should have spared the vine for
+your sake. Yes ... but what of Nineveh,
+that great city, where there are so many people
+who cannot discern between their right
+hand and their left hand? Shall I not spare
+them, too, for My sake, Jonah?”</p>
+
+<p>Jonah rose wearily to his feet. “Well,”
+he said, “I may as well go home again.”</p>
+
+<p>And with bowed head he passed through
+the city, and out of the western gate. In the
+streets the citizens made way for him with
+pious murmurs and anxious looks, but
+Jonah did not notice them. All his courage
+was gone, his pride, his hope of glory, all
+gone down in the dust of God’s mercy to
+others, to all but him. To him alone God
+had been merciless and exacting. One by
+one the warm hopes of the youth, the ardors
+of the man, had been denied him; peace, love,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_211">[211]</span>pride, everything had been taken from him.
+What was there left? Only the desert,
+stony as life itself ... only the empty
+heart, the deliberate mind, the bare and patient
+spirit. Well, Jonah ... what a fool
+to think of anything else. Glory ... yes,
+but the glory is God’s, not yours.</p>
+
+<p>But he had not learned even that. He
+was not a good prophet. The flowers of his
+hope, the bitter blossoms of his grief, sprang
+up everywhere, where there should have
+been only waste brown earth. No, he was
+not a prophet; he was a man, like anybody
+else, whose love had been false, whose God
+had been unkind....</p>
+
+<p>And as he trudged dejectedly along, his
+heart, bare now of pride, filled with loneliness
+and longing. He thought of Judith,
+of the happiness that would never be his;
+and he wept.</p>
+
+<p>High among the clouds, God turned sadly
+to Moses. “You Jews,” He said wearily,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_212">[212]</span>“you do not understand beauty. With you
+it is either glory or despair.”</p>
+
+<p>And with a sigh He looked westward to
+the blue Ægean. Warm and gold the sunlight
+lay over Greece.</p>
+
+<p class="center">THE END</p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+<div class="chapter">
+<div class="transnote">
+<p class="ph1">TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES:</p>
+
+<p>Perceived typographical errors have been corrected.</p>
+
+<p>Archaic or variant spelling has been retained.</p>
+
+<p>New original cover art included with this eBook is granted to the public domain.</p>
+</div></div>
+<div style='text-align:center'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 76998 ***</div>
+</body>
+</html>
+
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+This book, including all associated images, markup, improvements,
+metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be
+in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES.
+
+Procedures for determining public domain status are described in
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+
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+Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for book #76998
+(https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/76998)