{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_76998/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_76998","id":"gutenberg_76998","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/76998","summary":null,"tags":["Category: American Literature","Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Category: Novels","Category: Science-Fiction & Fantasy","Jonah (Biblical prophet) -- Fiction"],"text":"_JONAH_\n\n\n\n\n  _Books by ROBERT NATHAN_\n\n  [Illustration]\n\n  AUTUMN: _A novel_\n\n  THE PUPPET MASTER: _A novel_\n\n  YOUTH GROWS OLD: _A book of verse_\n\n\n\n\n  JONAH :: :: _by_\n  ROBERT NATHAN\n\n  ROBERT M. McBRIDE & COMPANY\n  NEW YORK  :: :: :: :: ::  1925\n\n\n\n\n  JONAH BY ROBERT NATHAN WAS FIRST PRINTED AND PUBLISHED IN NINETEEN\n  HUNDRED AND TWENTY-FIVE IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND IS\n  COPYRIGHTED NINETEEN HUNDRED AND TWENTY-FIVE BY ROBERT M. MC BRIDE\n  AND COMPANY\n\n\n\n\n  _To_\n  ALICE AND ARTHUR CARNS\n\n\n\n\nJONAH\n\n\n\n\nI\n\n\nIn those days there were prophets in Israel. They lived in the desert,\nbeyond the Jordan, in caves and in rude huts made of clay and mats.\nThere were many holy men among them, whose ears had been pierced by the\nsweetness of God\u2019s voice and whose eyes had been dazzled by the fiery\nappearance of His angels. They were like the saints to whom in later\ntimes the Virgin Mary used to come with eyes melting with tenderness,\nand who used to perform such astonishing miracles in the desert near\nThebes. Theirs was an holy and severe life, made anxious by the sins of\nthe Jews, whose punishment they prophesied in tones of great bitterness\nand haunting sadness.\n\nSurrounded by gloomy rocks, they beheld visions, and conversed with\nangels. They shared their meals with the lions of the desert, with\nsuch birds and beasts as foxes, gazelles, snakes, mice, and ravens.\nMany of these were holy beings; more than human, but less than divine,\nthey were obliged to eat, and devoured with shy and reverent looks the\nfood set apart for Jehovah.\n\nIt was a life of poverty, of danger, and of glory. In the silence\nof the desert the prophets drew together in an austere community.\nThose returning from lands across the Jordan brought back news to the\nSchools. It was said that Amos of Tekoa had spoken at Bethel; standing\nin the presence of King Jeroboam, surrounded by the proudest nobles,\nhe had prophesied the doom of Israel. Two angels attended him while he\nspoke, and collected the drops of moisture which fell from his brow.\n\nThereafter an earthquake, followed by a drought, destroyed the crops of\nIsrael and Judah.\n\nWhen Jonah, the prophet, heard this news, he left his hut in Golan, and\ntaking his stick and a gourd filled with water, set his face southward\ntoward the Land of Tob. He walked from dawn to dusk; his thoughts were\ngrave, and his expression serious. As evening fell he found himself\nbeside a little pool in the desert; here he sat down to rest. The sky\nwas green with early night; the evening star, smaller than the moon\nand silver as a distant sea, sailed above Sharon. Before him lay the\ndesert, heavy with silence, drenched with the cold dew of evening.\nJonah shivered, and drew his cloak closer about him.\n\nAs he sat there, his head bowed upon his hand, a fox came out of a hole\nand, seeing Jonah, exclaimed,\n\n\u201cThere is the man of God.\u201d\n\nTouched and astonished at this mark of recognition, Jonah offered the\nlittle animal some meal with which he had expected to make his own\nsupper. Then the fox lay down beside Jonah and remarked,\n\n\u201cI am not a theologian. So I do not understand the wars of Judah and\nthe other tribes. However, I would like to ask you something. When I go\ndown into my hole, God goes down after me. What I want to know is this:\nis He a Jew, or a fox?\u201d\n\nJonah answered as he had been taught in the Schools: \u201cGod has the\nappearance of a man. From His beard, which extends to His feet and is\ndivided into thirteen portions, fall drops of gracious balm; and from\nHis mouth proceed the names of all things. His angels also appear as\nmen, with long white wings, and faces shining with light.\u201d And he gazed\nat the little animal in a kindly manner.\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said the fox, \u201ca beard or a tail, that is merely a matter of\ndirection.\u201d So saying, he put his head down between his paws, and fell\nasleep. Jonah also slept, watched by the stars, and by an angel, who\nsaid to him just before dawn:\n\n\u201cArise, Jonah, and hasten to Bethel. Say to King Jeroboam, \u2018Against the\ninsolence of Hamath, Israel shall prevail once again.\u2019\u201d\n\nJonah immediately awoke, and gave thanks to God. Then he took leave\nof the fox, who said to him, \u201cI dreamed that God was a raven, and was\ngiving me some sharp pecks with His beak.\u201d\n\nIn the gray light of dawn Jonah started toward the hills which guard\nthe Jordan. He breathed the pure air of the desert, sweet with desert\nflowers, fresh and cold as water; he lifted his face to the western\nsky, into which night was retreating like a storm; and his heart sang.\n\n\u201cGod will redeem Israel through me,\u201d he thought.\n\nAt noon he entered the valley of Jezreel, on the other side of the\nJordan. There the fig trees were in blossom, and their scent mingled\nwith almonds in the air. At every village he saw roadside altars\nabove which were erected rude copies of the golden bulls of Tyre. The\nafternoon sun cast sinister shadows behind them, and Jonah averted his\nface as he went by.\n\nHe stayed that night near Joseph\u2019s Well, in the cottage of a poor\nherdsman. A faint and holy glow illuminated one corner of the kitchen\nwhere the prophet lay, while the wide wings of seraphim, like slow\nbirds, beat overhead through the darkness. In the morning the herdsman,\nwho had not slept all night, hurried out to purify himself in the river\nfrom such close contact with divinity.\n\nWhen Jonah arrived at Bethel, he went at once to the house of the High\nPriest Amaziah. A servant admitted the prophet, dusty with travel, into\nthe presence of his master. And Jonah gazed proudly and without fear at\nthe priest.\n\nAmaziah, High Priest of Israel, was a churchman; therefore he disliked\nconfusion. For that reason also he detested the prophets who he felt\nwere unable to understand the problems of administration. Seated upon\na bench of ivory, he gazed wearily at Jonah before addressing him in\nthese terms:\n\n\u201cI do not know your name, but from your gloomy countenance covered with\nhair, I can see that you are a prophet from Golan, or the Land of Tob.\nAnd I suppose that you have come, like all the others, to tell me that\nGod admires Judah more than Israel. In that case I must say to you what\nI said to Amos: \u2018Go south, to Jerusalem, and prophesy in Judah, because\nwhat you have to say does not amuse me.\u2019\u201d\n\nJonah replied simply, \u201cI must speak at Bethel, because that is what God\ntold me to do.\u201d\n\nBut he added that he did not intend to prophesy another earthquake, as\nAmos had done. \u201cWhat I have to say,\u201d he declared, \u201cconcerns Israel,\nand Hamath in the north.\u201d\n\nAt this the High Priest looked pleased. \u201cSo,\u201d he said; \u201cwell, that is\nbetter.\u201d And he regarded Jonah with a kindlier expression.\n\nBut presently he burst out again in an exasperated voice: \u201cYou prophets\ndo not understand the difficulties of my position. You imagine that\nbecause I am High Priest, I should be able to control the forms in\nwhich the people of Israel worship the Divinity. Nothing is more\nimprobable, seeing that every one has his own idea of what is truly\nnoble.\u201d\n\nTo this outburst Jonah replied, with dignity: \u201cStill, the God of the\nJews does not look like a bull, or a little dove. It is a sin to\nworship such things.\u201d\n\nAmaziah gave utterance to a long sigh. \u201cMy son,\u201d he said gently, \u201cI\nsee that you are like all prophets, which is to say that you are\nimpractical. Otherwise you would know that it is impossible not to\nworship the Divinity in some form or other. And since He refuses to\nreveal Himself in His proper form, one is left to imagine Him in any\nform one pleases. That is a great mistake, in my opinion; but it is\nGod\u2019s mistake, not mine. I cannot help it if the inhabitants of Dan,\nwho are mostly farmers, admire the dignified mien of a bull, or if the\nvillagers of Asher, who are lazy and uxorious, choose to worship the\nDivine Power in the form of a dove.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe dove and the bull,\u201d declared Jonah, who remembered what he had\nstudied in the Schools, \u201cbelong to the moon and to the sun. God, having\ncreated man in His Own image, necessarily has the form of a man. He\nis bearded; and His face shines with wisdom and benevolence. He also\ncreated the animals, but He created them in the image of animals. That\nis the important thing to remember in dealing with such matters.\u201d\n\nBut Amaziah replied that Jonah was an idealist. \u201cYou will understand,\u201d\nhe said, \u201cwhen I tell you that idealism is something to which close\nattention to the disputes and duties of the Temple does not dispose me.\nWe churchmen are obliged to be practical. The important thing is that\nthere should be uniformity. And that is impossible where one person\nmust be right, and the other wrong. I am not here to help men argue,\nbut to help them agree. Many trees bear fruit upon this earth, my\nfriend; the leaf is different, but a tree is a tree. So let us all be\nright, or at least as many of us as possible.\u201d\n\nJonah remained silent and gloomy; he respected the Law, and did not\nknow how to reply to Amaziah. The old priest regarded him in a more\ngenial manner, and continued:\n\n\u201cHowever, these pastoral matters need not concern you. You are a\nprophet, not a priest, a messenger, not an interpreter. That is\nsomething you prophets could learn to your advantage.\n\n\u201cTell me what tidings you bear the King. You speak of Hamath, and the\nAram\u00e6ans; is it possible that you know of some conspiracy in the north\nof which your rulers are ignorant?\u201d\n\nJonah replied that as far as he knew, the Aram\u00e6ans were peaceful, and\ntheir army was unprepared. \u201cAn angel appeared to me in a dream,\u201d he\ndeclared. \u201cThis angel was more beautiful than I can say, and had long\nwhite wings which kept up a slow movement in the air. I could wish that\nthe women of Israel had such wings, which lend to the figure a charm\nthat cannot be described. The beauty of that angel caused my heart to\noverflow with grief and longing.\u201d\n\nAnd he remained silent, lost in painful memories. He resumed:\n\n\u201cIn a voice of heavenly sweetness I was told to arise, and bidden to\nsay to King Jeroboam, \u2018Against the insolence of Hamath, Israel shall\nprevail once again.\u2019 When I awoke I found on the ground a white feather\nwhich shone like snow. I picked it up, and put it beneath my cloak.\u201d\nAnd he held out to Amaziah a white feather about a foot long.\n\n\u201cHere is the proof,\u201d he said, \u201cof what I have told you.\u201d\n\nAmaziah reverently received the angelic token, which he put to his nose\nand carefully tasted with his tongue, before remarking, \u201cIt does not\nsurprise me, seeing the marvelous economy of Heaven, that the wings\nwhich support the angels should be not unlike those on which the snowy\nherons sail so majestically above the hills. However, as the king and\nhis nobles might consider this feather a trifle too light to support\nso august a body as an angel through the air, let me place this sacred\nrelic in the Tabernacle, and give you, instead, the feather of an\neagle, which has a more important look. Do not draw back in dismay, my\nson; in dealing with simple minds, a certain amount of ingenuity is\nneeded. It is a characteristic which has distinguished the Jews in the\npast even more than their valor. I have only to remind you of David\u2019s\ntreaties with the Philistines, and the manner in which the heroic Jael\ndivorced the head of Sisera from his Canaanite body. It is upon such\nstratagems as these, added to the irresistible power of the Lord, that\nthe glory of Israel depends.\u201d\n\nHe sat for a brief space, his head sunk forward upon his breast in\nmeditation. Presently he said thoughtfully:\n\n\u201cAfter all, there is nothing like a war to draw together a nation\u2019s\ndiverse elements. The trouble with Israel is that her wars have been\nso often civil wars. Civil wars are of no value, since they destroy\nuniformity; they are, besides, inclined to be a little half-hearted,\nseeing that the vanquished do not expect to be plundered, raped, and\nmurdered with the same methodical energy by their own people as by\nstrangers.\u201d\n\nAnd he added humbly, \u201cIs it likely that God in His infinite wisdom\nshould see this any less clearly than I do?\u201d\n\nWhen Jonah had supped on lettuce, olives, and wine, he left his host\nand went out to walk in the city. The night was cold, and the odor of\nthe streets mingled with the sweet aroma of earth. He filled his lungs\nwith the clear air of the hills, stained by the smoke of fires and the\nsour smell of wine; he heard about him in the gloom the lazy hum of the\ncity, the faint, sharp chime of voices, far-off cries, the crowing of a\ncock, the creak of a water-wheel.\n\nHe thought, \u201cHere is thy home, O Israel, in the land of thy God.\u201d\n\nAnd he gazed in silence and with a heart overflowing with reverence at\nthe sky, blue with night, above the roofs of Bethel.\n\nIn the morning, pale but confident, he presented himself before the\nking.\n\nSeated upon a golden throne in his palace of broadstone, his hair and\nbeard glistening with oil, and surrounded by proud and bearded nobles,\nJeroboam listened with attention to what the prophet had to say.\n\nThen he asked for the opinion of Amaziah, who stood at the side of the\nthrone. The old priest hesitated a moment, before replying in a grave\nvoice:\n\n\u201cWho am I to question the will of the Almighty? A war against Aram is\na holy war, since God Himself desires it. This prophet speaks in a\nvoice of heavenly wisdom. I foresee that your soldiers will rush with\nimpetuous enthusiasm upon a foe by no means prepared to defend himself.\nI shudder to think of such carnage. However, your commands are mine, O\nKing.\u201d\n\nSo saying, he withdrew. Jeroboam then passed around a large feather\ngiven him by Jonah as proof of his prophetic mission. A noble who\nlooked after the royal falcons remarked,\n\n\u201cThis indeed must be the feather of an angel, for it is larger than\nthat of an eagle, which it favors in color, although it is more divine\nin appearance.\u201d\n\nThe king next asked for the opinion of Ahab, who owned a great deal of\nland bordering on the country of Aram. This prince, whose beard curled\nlike an Assyrian\u2019s, spoke without hesitation in favor of war. In a dry\nvoice he declared,\n\n\u201cIt stands to reason that God would prefer His own people to have the\npasture lands which obviously belong to them, according to geography,\nhistory, and the opinion of every right-minded person. I only wonder\nthat He did not think of it before.\u201d\n\nThe young prince Absalom, who had more than fifty wives, exclaimed in\nringing tones,\n\n\u201cI am in favor of war, to teach these barbarians to know and worship\nthe God of the Jews.\u201d And he held up his sword, the handle of which was\ncarved to represent the Adonis of Sidon, to whose inexhaustible vigor\nthe prince sacrificed, every spring, a ram and a cock.\n\nThis speech of Absalom\u2019s was received with acclaim by the nobles. The\nnext day the armies of Israel, led by the king, and accompanied by more\nthan a thousand priests of Adonis, Astarte, Kemosh, Melcarth, the local\nBaalim, and the Holy Ark, set out for the frontiers of Aram.\n\n\n\n\nII\n\n\nNight came gently down over Israel. The darkness of earth slid like\na shadow across the rocks stained by the sunset. Calm and deep the\nsea of Cinnereth reflected the stars whose lights gleamed upon the\ntrans-Jordanic hills. There the desert slept; while in the north the\nlights of Tyre shone upon the sea.\n\nThe village herds returned from their pastures. Then the roads\nof Zebulon resounded with the tonk of bells, as the cows with\nsweet-smelling breath wound down from the hills. The day was over, and\ntheir stalls awaited them. Melancholy and austere, they parted from\neach other without regret.\n\nAaron, the brother of Jonah, walked behind them. In his hand he carried\na rod with which he beat now and then upon the flanks of the animals\nnearest him. Then they rushed forward, clumsily, to avoid the blows\nwhich fell upon them without force.\n\nThe young man enjoyed this hour of the day, when he strode home through\nthe village, driving the herds before him. He was proud to be in charge\nof the village cows. His mother also was proud of him; she foresaw an\nimportant future for him. \u201cAlways do your best,\u201d she said. \u201cHowever,\u201d\nshe added, \u201cdo not tire yourself out. And in case of robbers, or a\nlion, please come home; and do not make a fool of yourself.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d the young man would say, twirling his stick, \u201cwe\u2019ll see about\nthat.\u201d\n\nAaron did not think that his brother led a very sensible life. To live\nall alone in the desert seemed to him a nonsensical thing to do, and\nhe felt sure that his mother agreed with him. Else why did she shake\nher head so sadly, and heave such a sigh, when she spoke of her eldest\nson? As a matter of fact, she relived in Jonah, but very faintly, the\ndreamy, mild, religious ecstasy of her maidenhood. That was all over\nfor her now; life had long ago got down to being practical. Besides,\none did not hear so much about God as when she was a girl. Still, she\nremembered the beauty of those times, when her heart beat with joy\nand love, when a sweet unrest brought her to her knees, and she felt\nthrough her prayers the breath of holiness upon her cheek.\n\nNo, one did not hear nowadays so much about God. Take Aaron, for\nexample: as he came home from the pastures at evening, he bent his\nhead before the golden bull which adorned the wayside shrine. In the\nspring he enjoyed the feasts of the Passover; and he also enjoyed the\ncelebrations in honor of Astarte and Adonis, in company with the other\nyoung men of the village. The problems of theology did not concern him;\nhe simply wished to enjoy himself, and to get on in the world. To\ndo that, one did something about it; one began by taking care of the\nvillage herds. Then one could look confidently to the future, and leave\nGod to dispute with other people about what He looked like.\n\nWhen the last of the cattle was safely housed, Aaron turned back to his\nown home, and entering the yard gate, walked toward the kitchen from\nwhose open door a rosy glow spread over the yard. Jonah was at home;\nand Aaron stood a moment in the doorway, gazing with a smile at his\nmother, who was preparing supper. Deborah kept one eye on the oven,\nand the other on her elder son, who, with a small cake of bread in his\nhand, was relating to her some incidents of the Aram\u00e6an campaign. She\nwished to know if Hamath was as large as Salem, or Bethel.\n\n\u201cIt is larger than Bethel,\u201d replied Jonah, \u201cbut not as large as\nJerusalem.\u201d Deborah sighed happily; it was something to have traveled\nas much as that.\n\n\u201cThe armies of Aram,\u201d said Jonah, biting into the coarse bread, \u201cwere\ndrawn up in a truly terrifying array. I saw a number of men seated upon\nostriches, so I knew that we were obliged to battle against demons. Not\nin the least frightened, our men rushed at the foe in an irresistible\nmanner. Nevertheless, they would have been beaten, and were already\nin flight, when the High Priest Amaziah appeared upon a nearby hill,\nand announced that the King of Aram with all his generals had been\nconsumed by a thunderbolt. At this our men decided to turn once more\nupon the foe, who retreated in confusion, and we rushed triumphantly\nforward into the enemy\u2019s camp, where we surprised and killed a number\nof generals, including the King of Aram, and his High Priest.\n\n\u201cWhen our victorious armies arrived at the gates of Hamath, Prince\nAbsalom came out to greet us, accompanied by the women of the town\nbearing flowers and bowls of wine for our thirsty soldiers. This noble\nprince, disguised as a Syrian, had left the battle-field before the\narmies had begun to fight, and had gone quietly off to prepare our\nwelcome in the city, where he knew a number of prominent people. It is\nfaith joined to foresight of this nature that has made Israel great.\u201d\n\nHe was silent; the light from the oven glowed upon his face, which\nshone with enthusiasm and love. He thought to himself, \u201cAll Israel\nresounds with my glory. There is a new prophet; and his name is Jonah.\u201d\n\nAnd he added, humbling himself before God,\n\n\u201cI understand that this is Your doing.\u201d\n\nAnxious that Deborah should know of his part in his country\u2019s history,\nhe mumbled shyly, with his mouth full,\n\n\u201cThe King considers me a greater prophet even than Amos of Tekoa.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said Deborah sensibly, \u201cwhy not?\u201d Coming up to Jonah, she\nsmoothed his hair with her hand, and gazed at him anxiously. \u201cWhat\na trouble you are to me,\u201d she said gently; \u201cmaking wars and such\nmischief. Well....\u201d\n\nSeeing her younger son standing in the doorway, she called to him:\n\u201cCome in, Aaron, here is your brother Jonah. He has just made a war.\nTschk ... you would think there was nothing but fighting in the world.\u201d\n\nAaron came into the room, and went up to Jonah with frank curiosity. He\nwished to know all about it, and he asked innumerable questions. When\nhe learned that Jonah had not brought home any gold ornaments, or rich\nshawls, he was disappointed.\n\n\u201cNo, really,\u201d he exclaimed, \u201cwhat is the good of a war like that?\u201d And\nhe sat sulkily down in a corner.\n\nBut Deborah took Jonah\u2019s part. \u201cNo, Aaron,\u201d she said, \u201cthat would be\nall right for you; if you made a war, I should expect you to come home\nwith something, a colored shawl for me, or some gold bracelets. But\nJonah is different; and living in the desert, the way he does, gives\nhim ideas. Better a war far away, like this one, than like what we\nused to have in your father\u2019s time, right under my nose, killing and\nfighting all day long.\u201d\n\nShe turned to Jonah with a sigh. \u201cWhy,\u201d she exclaimed, \u201cdid you choose\nthe Aram\u00e6ans to make a war with? Such wild people.\u201d She shook her head\nruefully. \u201cAlways trouble,\u201d she decided; \u201cnever what would be sensible.\n\n\u201cAt any rate,\u201d she wound up, \u201cperhaps you\u2019ll settle down now for a\nwhile and let your mother look after you, instead of living all alone\nin a desert with foxes.\n\n\u201cAk, what an old coat you have.\u201d\n\nShe went back to her oven with a smile; cheerful and loving, she found\nin everything some cause for satisfaction, or at least hope, if she was\ngiven time enough. And she sang now, under her breath, as she always\ndid when she was disturbed or happy--for happiness or sorrow, either\none, disturbed only a little her amiable, confused spirit:\n\n  \u201c_Men dead long ago\n    Have set me like a tree.\n    Let the wind blow,\n    What is that to me?\n    My roots are in their dust,\n    My roots are deep, I trust.\n    My son is at my knee._\u201d\n\nJonah looked at her with a gloomy but tender expression. \u201cMother,\u201d he\nsaid, \u201cwhat is the matter with my coat? Because it is old? It does me\nvery well. Must I also be a beauty, to suit you?\u201d\n\nAfter supper Deborah\u2019s brother David came in to see Jonah. He also\nwished to know about the war, concerning which he had heard rumors.\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d he said to his sister, \u201cso we have actually a prophet in our\nfamily. I congratulate you. We could afford to give a little party in\nhonor of this.\u201d\n\nAnd he looked around him with pride.\n\n\u201cNo, really,\u201d cried Jonah; \u201cwhat an idea.\u201d He blushed to think of it.\nBut his uncle peered angrily at him from under his shaggy eyebrows.\n\n\u201cSo,\u201d he said slowly, \u201cthat is the kind of prophet you are, then. You\nthink only of yourself, but what about your family? Do you imagine we\nhave so many opportunities to give feasts, and call in the neighbors?\nOr have you done something to be ashamed of? When an honor comes to\nus, that is the time to talk about it.\u201d\n\nAaron agreed with his uncle, although he did not see what they had to\nbe proud of. \u201cWe are no better off than before,\u201d he complained, \u201cseeing\nthat Jonah brought home nothing with him from the war.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat?\u201d exclaimed Uncle David. \u201cWhat a pity.\u201d He wagged his old head\nmeditatively. \u201cThere it is,\u201d he said; \u201ctimes change, whether you like\nit or not. When I was a young man it was entirely different. Feasts,\nfestivals.... I can tell you, we knew how to enjoy ourselves. And\nwhat is more, we were religious; it was not like to-day. At any rate,\nchildren were respectful, and considered their parents; when they went\nto a war, they brought something home.\u201d\n\nAnd he lamented the decay of Israel\u2019s greatness.\n\nBut Deborah put in a good word for her son. \u201cIf he brought me nothing,\u201d\nshe said, \u201cit was because he knows that really I am satisfied with\nwhat I have, and besides there was nothing there which caught his\nfancy.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe old days are no more,\u201d said David, and relapsed into gloomy\nsilence.\n\nAaron, who had been growing restless in his corner, got to his feet.\n\u201cMother,\u201d he said, \u201cI am going out for a while, to see some of my\nfriends.\u201d\n\n\u201cAgain,\u201d cried Deborah, \u201cso soon, when your brother has just come home,\nand Uncle David is here? Aaron, no....\u201d\n\n\u201cI will go with him,\u201d said Jonah quietly; \u201cI should like to visit old\nNaaman, who lives at the edge of the village. Do you remember, Mother,\nhow I used to go there when I was young; and I have not seen him in\nmany years.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d said Deborah with a smile, \u201cit is true; I remember, you were\nalways there; whenever I could not find you, I had only to look for you\nin Naaman\u2019s house, and there you were. Go along, but do not be late;\nand\u201d--she added in a whisper--\u201cwhen you come home I will have some food\nset out for you.\u201d\n\nShe turned sternly to her younger son. \u201cAaron,\u201d she said, \u201cplease do\nnot get into any fresh mischief with your friends. Perhaps you would\ndo better to go with your brother; it would do you good for a change\ninstead of running up and down the village with nobody knows who.\u201d\n\nHer gaze followed her sons with tender anxiety across the threshold.\n\n\u201cSo thin he looks,\u201d she murmured; \u201cand his cloak is so tattered;\nreally, I am ashamed. But what can I do; I have nothing; and he is so\nproud, besides.\u201d\n\nAnd she smiled at her brother, with a tear shining in her eye.\n\nJonah and Aaron walked along in silence, under the dark boughs of\ntrees. At last Aaron remarked: \u201cWell ... you see ... you have made a\nstart now with things. The desert is all very well for old men. But\nwhat sort of life is that, after all?\u201d\n\nAnd in an embarrassed manner he took his leave of Jonah, and went off\nto join his companions, whose voices could be heard raised in youthful\nlaughter among the shadows.\n\nJonah stood leaning upon his staff in the darkness. A few lights\ngleamed among the trees, whose branches bent above him as though to\nenvelope him in their quiet embrace. The odors of night crept around\nhim; he remembered his youth, spent in this village, and he felt in\nhis heart a longing for that lonely boy whose only friends had been\nan old man and his own dreams. So much of life had gone by, yet here\nhe was again, wearier, wiser, still led by hopes, of what he did not\nknow, hurt by memories, but why he could not tell. He heard the voices\nof Aaron and his friends fading in the distance; he knew that in the\nshadows young lovers whispered together, although he could not see\nthem. All about him trembled the happy laughter of youth, the peace of\nage, the quietness of rest after labor. The sky of heaven, shining with\nstars, bent upon his home a regard of kindness; and the wind, moving\nthrough the sycamores, spoke to him in the accents of the past.\n\nBowing his head upon his breast, he thought, \u201cJonah, Jonah, what have\nyou done with your youth?\u201d\n\nSlowly, and with halting steps, he approached the house of Naaman, at\nthe village edge.\n\n\n\n\nIII\n\n\nHe found his old teacher seated beneath an acacia tree whose branches\nperfumed the air. A beam of light from the house, falling among the\nleaves, touched Naaman\u2019s white hair and his long, snowy beard with a\ngentle gleam. That was how his pupil had remembered him, the picture of\nwisdom and peace. He greeted Jonah with affection, but without surprise.\n\n\u201cIt is you, my son,\u201d he said. \u201cI am glad to see you again. Your fame\nhas spread, for I heard of you, no later than to-day, as the young\nprophet who had inspired the king at Bethel.\u201d\n\nAnd he added gayly, \u201cCome, sit here beside me, and tell me about\nyourself. As you see, my tree is blossoming again. Thus, at the end of\nmy life, it is vouchsafed me to behold each year the return of spring\nand the marriage of earth with the Eternal One.\u201d\n\n\u201cI do not know what you mean by the Eternal One,\u201d said Jonah; \u201cfor all\nthe gods are immortal and eternal. It is only you and I, Naaman, who\ngrow older each year. But I am glad to see that you are well, and to\nknow that your tree is blossoming.\u201d\n\nNaaman replied gently, \u201cMy son, you have traveled, and you have learned\nsomething. Have you not learned that there is only one God? Did you not\nlearn that in the desert, Jonah?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, Naaman,\u201d said Jonah gravely, \u201cI have not learned it. I have been\nin the desert, where God is. And I have also been in Tyre in the month\nbefore our Passover, when the quail return in great numbers to mourn\nthe death of a god. I will tell you something about Tyre: there, before\nthey are married, the maidens sacrifice their hair to Astarte. You\nshould travel, Naaman, and hear of other gods.\u201d\n\n\u201cI do not need to travel,\u201d replied Naaman; \u201chere in this quiet garden\nthe sun sets and the moon rises; the breeze of evening whispers through\nthe leaves of my acacia tree, and I see through the branches the stars\nwhich have not changed; I hear the voices of cicada, shrill and sad,\nas when I was a boy, I hear the herds winding down from the hills. All\nis as it was and as it will be; and my heart overflows with love and\npeace.\u201d\n\nJonah shrugged his shoulders. \u201cThat is all very well for you,\u201d he\nrepeated, \u201cbut when one goes about, as I do, one sees many strange\nthings. In Aram, for instance, there are gods which look like snakes.\nBut it is possible to charm them with a flute. What has that to do with\nthe God of the Jews?\u201d\n\n\u201cWere you not also in Aram?\u201d asked Naaman quietly. \u201cYet you are a Jew.\u201d\n\n\u201cI was with the army ...\u201d said Jonah.\n\nBut Naaman broke in, continuing: \u201cDo you imagine that God would be\ncontent with a few tribes and a strip of sea-coast on this earth, which\nHe created with so much trouble? Such an idea is highly improbable.\nMoreover, there is a regularity about the seasons which would be\nimpossible in the case of a number of gods.\u201d\n\nBut Jonah shook his head. \u201cThat is all nonsense, Naaman,\u201d he said. \u201cI\ncannot understand it. Why should God send the Jews to take the country\nand the flocks of the Aram\u00e6ans, if they already belong to Him? And if\nthere is no other God but Israel\u2019s God, then who created the other\npeople of the earth? You see into what difficulties an idea of this\nsort inevitably leads you. There is no doubt that our God is the true\nGod, but to say that He is the only God does not seem to be justified,\nin the light of history.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat do we learn from history?\u201d asked Naaman. \u201cLittle enough and\nnothing to our credit. The golden calf of Og has grown to be a bull.\nWell, so much for history.\u201d\n\nBut Jonah replied discontentedly, \u201cThat is all very well theologically\nspeaking, but you lose sight of the problems of administration.\u201d And he\nrepeated to Naaman what Amaziah, the High Priest, had told him.\n\n\u201cAfter all,\u201d he said, \u201cmen must worship God in some form or other.\u201d\n\nBut Naaman replied with grave anxiety:\n\n\u201cThat is not the voice of Jonah that I hear. My son, do not let\nyourself be persuaded by those to whose ears the divine speech has\nnever penetrated. God does not speak in the Temple, but in the silence\nof the heart. The hearts of His prophets are His tabernacles. There, in\nthe quiet, in the hush of lonely piety, He speaks to Israel in tones\nof sorrow and command. Let us keep His tabernacles holy and austere. Go\nback to the desert, Jonah; and do not meddle with the affairs of this\nworld.\n\n\u201cGo back to the desert, my son.\u201d\n\nJonah remained silent for a moment, gazing out at the soft spring night\nwith its faint shine and shadow of leaves. At last he said slowly,\n\u201cWell, of course, after a while....\u201d But he thought to himself, \u201cMust I\nhurry? A little holiday will not do me any harm.\n\n\u201cI thought,\u201d he said doubtfully to Naaman, \u201cthat I might stay a few\ndays with my mother, who is growing old, and who after all does not see\nso much of me.\u201d\n\nBut Naaman shook his head. \u201cMy son,\u201d he said, \u201cyou cannot have both\nheaven and earth. If you are so fortunate as to count angels among your\nfriends, it is because you have no mother and no brother. Be lonely,\nand content; and do not turn back to this life so full of passion and\ninjustice. Grief and joy are not for you, Jonah; they are nothing for a\nprophet. The desert is your home; do not go too far away from it.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou are right, Naaman,\u201d said Jonah, after a while; \u201cone must not get\ntoo far away from the desert.\u201d He rose to go, helping himself to his\nfeet with his staff. \u201cGood-by,\u201d he said, \u201cmy teacher and my friend.\nOnce again you convince me, a little against my will. As of old, I\nleave you, filled with a peace which is not entirely happy.\u201d\n\nAnd embracing his old teacher, he set off for his mother\u2019s house\nthrough the night.\n\n\n\n\nIV\n\n\nPrince Ahab lived in a palace of stone and fragrant cedarwood, on a\nhill above the village of Gath-Hepher, and almost within sight of the\nlittle cottage occupied by Jonah\u2019s mother. The prince, whose large\nholdings in the North had increased in value due to the success of\nthe war in Syria, surrounded himself with every luxury. Nevertheless,\nin the midst of jewels, silks, slaves, and the richest perfumes, he\nhimself remained simple and straightforward. Of a martial, almost to\nsay gloomy appearance, he affected the stern manners of the Assyrians,\nwith whose thick gold fringes he decorated his cloak and his girdle.\nHe was heavy, but he was vigorous and active; like the nobles of\nAssur, he took endless pleasure in hunting, for which he imported\nblooded falcons and swift horses from Iran. He lived in the saddle;\nand he complained of the degeneracy of Israel. \u201cEffeminate people,\u201d he\nexclaimed, \u201cyou do not exercise enough.\u201d And the sleepy citizens of\nBethel would be awakened by the trampling of horses and the sound of\nhorns, as Ahab rode out at dawn to hunt boar in the forests of Baal\nHazor.\n\nIn the afternoon, while the king deliberated with his nobles upon\naffairs of state, Ahab dozed. Upon being reminded of the presence\nbefore the council of important matters, he remarked that he had been\nout riding. And he exclaimed with enthusiasm:\n\n\u201cExercise is the thing.\u201d\n\nAn old woman by the name of Sarah kept house for him in his palace\nof cedarwood and broadstone. She was sharp and severe, but she knew\nher own value. By noticing the faults of other people, she kept her\nself-respect. She managed the house and the slaves, and acted as nurse\nto Ahab\u2019s niece, his sister\u2019s child, Judith.\n\nJudith at sixteen possessed a voluptuous body, a pious spirit, and an\ninexperienced mind. Her gentle soul united in itself the gay ardors of\na child with the cloudy desires of a woman. Everything surprised her,\nand everything pleased her; she was anxious to know everything, and she\nknew nothing. Eager and trusting, her brown eyes explored with sympathy\nbut without understanding the life she saw all about her. She was happy\nand dreamy by turns; but sometimes at night her pillow was wet with\ntears. She would have said that something beautiful had made her cry,\nperhaps a thought, perhaps a feeling. But she could not have explained\nwhat it was, not even to Sarah, to whom she told everything. Perhaps it\nwas the moonlight in the courtyard, and the scent of jasmine or lotus\nfrom the garden. But that was lovely; why should it make her cry? Such\nthings perplexed her.\n\nSometimes she wished she were a boy, so that she might go hunting with\nher uncle. Then she saw herself seated on a white horse, with her green\ncape blowing in the wind, galloping and shouting. But at the thought\nof piercing an animal with her spear, she turned away with quick\ndispleasure. \u201cNo,\u201d she thought, \u201cI should not like to go hunting.\u201d\n\nAnd she told her uncle that she was glad she was a girl. \u201cSo am I,\u201d he\nreplied, \u201cbecause if you were a boy, I should be disgusted with you.\u201d\nHe loved his niece, but he liked people to be active and hardy. \u201cThe\nwomen of to-day,\u201d he often said, \u201cdo not amount to much.\n\n\u201cThey have no enthusiasm.\u201d\n\nNow Judith sat before her bronze mirror, twisting her long brown hair\ninto plaits. As she sat, she sang:\n\n  \u201c_My love is a shepherd in Sharon,\n    By rivers he waters his sheep,\n    Blue are the waters of Sharon,\n    Rivers of Sharon are deep._\u201d\n\nShe knew no one in Sharon. Nevertheless her nurse said to her angrily,\n\u201cNow tell me, what sort of song is that for a young girl to sing?\u201d\n\nJudith replied that it was just a song. She added with a smile, \u201cYou\nare vexed because you do not know any shepherds, and because you have\nno lover.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is my own business,\u201d said Sarah, drawing herself up with dignity.\n\u201cHowever, I must say that it does not become you to speak of things\nlike that. What do you know about love? Nothing, I sincerely hope. You\nshould be thinking of marriage, with respectful modesty.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said Judith, \u201cas a matter of fact, I think love is silly. It\ndoes not interest me, really. Were you ever in love? Tell me honestly,\nSarah; I cannot imagine such a thing.\u201d\n\nSarah gazed gloomily at her mistress. Presently a blush overspread her\nsallow countenance. \u201cIn love?\u201d she exclaimed; \u201ccertainly not. With\nwhat, if I may ask? The trouble with you is that your head is full of\nnonsense. When I was your age I had more decorum. I was prettier than\nI am to-day, and I attracted the attention of a very handsome man, a\ncamel driver, but such a wild one. He was not good enough for me, and I\nsent him about his business. I knew my own worth.\u201d\n\nSo saying she tossed her head, with an air. But Judith clapped her\nhands. \u201cA camel driver,\u201d she exclaimed, \u201cwhy, Sarah, you never told me.\nDid he take you up on his camel? Just think, how delightful. That\u2019s\nreally life, isn\u2019t it, Sarah?\u201d\n\n\u201cAk,\u201d cried the nurse, \u201cwhere do you get such ideas?\u201d\n\nAnd turning to Prince Ahab, who was entering the room at that moment,\nshe exclaimed,\n\n\u201cGod knows who puts such things into her head.\u201d\n\nPrince Ahab replied, with a discouraged gesture, \u201cDo not ask me, Sarah,\nfor I do not know who puts anything into people\u2019s heads nowadays. I\nassure you, the entire world is mad. Do you know what the king is\ndoing, now that the war is over? You would think he would be getting\nready for the next one. Not at all; he prefers to discuss the marriage\nlaws with Prince Absalom. What a state of affairs. Do not expect me to\nknow what makes a young girl foolish besides.\u201d\n\n\u201cI am not foolish, Uncle,\u201d said Judith; \u201cwhen I am older, I shall be\njust as wise as you or Sarah.\u201d\n\n\u201cBe respectful to your uncle,\u201d said Sarah.\n\nAhab shrugged his shoulders. \u201cNo one is respectful any more,\u201d he said;\n\u201cI simply wonder that people do not go around with their fingers\nactually to their noses. But, then, with so many prophets filling the\nair with groans and complaints.... Amos, Joel, Hosea, they are enough\nto fill the mind of anybody with disrespect.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd Jonah?\u201d asked Judith.\n\nAhab replied gravely: \u201cJonah is not like the others. He comes of a\nworthy family of Zebulon; as a matter of fact, his home is here in this\nvillage. So, you can see, there is something to him. His brother is the\nvillage herdsman. Yes, Jonah is quite a different thing altogether.\u201d\n\nJudith looked lazily at her face in the mirror. \u201cTell me what he is\nlike,\u201d she said.\n\n\u201cWhat\u2019s that to you?\u201d asked Sarah. She added that she supposed he was\nold and had a long white beard.\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d replied Ahab, \u201che is not old. He is young, and enthusiastic. His\neyes seem to burn. He is a little thin, but one can understand that,\nliving in the desert, and probably starving most of the time. It is not\na healthy life. I came upon him during the battle against the Aram\u00e6ans;\nthe fighting had made him sick. He is not what I would call a very\nrobust individual.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd did he really see an angel,\u201d asked Judith, \u201cas they say he did?\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy not?\u201d said Ahab. \u201cIs there any reason why a man from my own\nvillage should not see an angel? He has certainly as much right to see\none as Amos of Tekoa; or do you imagine that angels only appear to the\nmen of Judah?\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat an idea,\u201d cried Sarah.\n\nAnd she added with conviction, \u201cFor myself, I would sooner take the\nword of a man from Zebulon.\u201d\n\nBut when Prince Ahab had gone, she said, sniffing the air with\nvexation, \u201cMen ought to stay out of the women\u2019s apartments, where they\nhave no business, whether they are uncles or not.\u201d Seizing a vial of\nsweet-smelling oil, she began to sprinkle its contents in the room.\nThis consoled her nose, which had been outraged by the prince, who, as\nusual, had come from the stables.\n\nJudith went out into the warm spring morning. The bees were humming in\nthe blossoms, the birds sang quietly and gaily in the trees, and trees\nand blossoms stretched themselves luxuriously in the bright sunshine.\nJudith took a deep breath of the hot, sweet air; it was like eating\nflowers, she thought. Underfoot, in the grass, beetles moved gravely to\nand fro on their mysterious business; the world of stones and twigs was\nbeing explored by little eager ants; wasps hung and buzzed. The earth\nexhaled the beneficent fragrance of spring; everywhere was drowsy joy,\ntranquil activity. A tanager flew overhead with scarlet wings, turned,\nshone, and fled among the trees. The girl paused, and looked up at the\nsky, blue as a robin\u2019s egg. \u201cI should like to dance,\u201d she thought.\n\nA moment later she added doubtfully, \u201cBut perhaps it would be wrong.\u201d\n\nAt her feet a beetle with a bright green coat which reflected the light\nwas walking soberly toward his house. Presently an ant approached him\nand gave him a bite on the leg. The beetle turned an anxious look on\nhis tiny assailant, whose head barely came up to his knee, \u201cCome,\ncome,\u201d he exclaimed, \u201chave you no respect for beauty? Do you think God\nenjoys having you bite me? He would be very much upset if anything\nhappened to me.\u201d\n\nDisdaining to reply, the ant went away to find his friends and discuss\nthe situation. \u201cI gave it to him,\u201d he said; \u201cI gave him a bite he won\u2019t\nforget in a hurry. Now he knows who I am.\u201d\n\nLeft to himself, the beetle hurried home in an agitated manner. And\nJudith, remarking his awkward gait, cried,\n\n\u201cThere, you are dancing, you strange creature, with your lovely green\ncoat. But that is quite another matter, because you are a beetle, and\nnot a Jew.\u201d\n\nShe had a sudden thought. \u201cPerhaps,\u201d she said, \u201cthat is why you are\ndancing. Perhaps you are a little god, with such a fine green coat.\nWell, go in peace, I will not step on you. I will make a wish, instead.\nLittle beetle, tell me what love is. It does not interest me, really; I\nwould simply like to know....\u201d\n\nShe broke off with a start. A shadow had fallen on the grass at her\nfeet, and she looked up with surprise. There, behind her and to one\nside, stood a young man. He was not good-looking, but his expression\nwas gentle and kind. He had on an old, tattered cloak, and he leaned\nthoughtfully upon a rough staff which easily supported his weight.\nJudith looked at him with wide-open eyes.\n\n\u201cOh, my,\u201d she said.\n\nAnd she added faintly, but in accents of hope, \u201cAre you also a camel\ndriver?\u201d\n\nThe young man shook his head. \u201cNo,\u201d he said, \u201cI am not a camel driver.\u201d\n\nSeeing that his reply had disappointed the young woman, he added simply,\n\n\u201cI am Jonah, the prophet.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nV\n\n\nJonah and Judith sat on a bank of ferns and moss beneath the shade of a\ngiant sycamore tree. Already they were friends; they talked earnestly\ntogether, and twisted in their fingers the ferns with their tough\nstalks and cool leaves.\n\n\u201cWell, but tell me,\u201d said Judith, \u201cdid you really see an angel? Just\nimagine, how exciting that must be. What was this angel like? Very\nbeautiful, I suppose.\u201d And she looked down with a frown.\n\n\u201cSuch beauty,\u201d said Jonah gravely, \u201cI cannot describe to you.\nBecause, actually, one does not see beauty, one feels it. One looks\nat something, and suddenly one feels a pain in one\u2019s heart. Then one\nthinks \u2018what a beautiful thing.\u2019\u201d\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d said Judith. \u201cWell, tell me, did this angel have dark hair too,\nlike mine?\u201d\n\n\u201cI do not know,\u201d replied Jonah candidly. \u201cI did not exactly see any\nhair. But I remember the wide, white, folded wings, and the glow which\nentered my heart at the sight of that serene face.\u201d\n\nJudith pouted. \u201cDidn\u2019t you notice anything at all?\u201d she enquired. \u201cFor\ninstance, what did she wear. And was she young or old? What a strange\nfellow you are; you saw almost nothing, or at any rate, nothing of any\nconsequence.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy do you speak always of \u2018her\u2019?\u201d asked Jonah. \u201cThis angel was not a\nwoman. At least, I did not think so.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen he was a man,\u201d cried Judith.\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d said Jonah slowly, \u201che was not a man, either.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou see,\u201d said Judith, \u201cI was right; she was a woman. And besides, if\nshe was so beautiful, naturally she was a woman.\u201d\n\n\u201cI confess,\u201d admitted Jonah, \u201cthat had not occurred to me.\u201d\n\n\u201cOf course not,\u201d said Judith. \u201cBut it occurred to me, because I am a\nwoman.\u201d\n\nAnd she added with a smile,\n\n\u201cEven if I am not as beautiful as an angel.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou are very pretty,\u201d said Jonah shyly. \u201cBut it is not the same\nthing.\u201d And he dug in the moss with his staff.\n\n\u201cDo you really think I am pretty?\u201d asked Judith. \u201cSarah, my nurse, says\nthat to be pretty is nothing, because any one can be pretty. She would\nrather I were virtuous, because virtue is woman\u2019s richest jewel. Of\ncourse I mean to be virtuous, and to do what is expected of me.\u201d\n\nShe began to weave some ferns into a chaplet. \u201cSometimes,\u201d she said in\na low voice, \u201cI look at myself in my mirror, and I give myself a little\nkiss. Do you think it is wrong? Nobody sees me.\u201d\n\nJonah moved uncomfortably in the moss. \u201cGod...?\u201d he said.\n\n\u201cOh,\u201d said Judith. \u201cWell, God ... old God.\n\n\u201cAnyway,\u201d she added, \u201cI don\u2019t think He sees me.\u201d\n\nShe looked at the garden from which an overpowering fragrance arose,\nat the flowers languidly lifting their bright-colored faces to the\nsun, drinking in the warmth and the light. \u201cI have a little dove,\u201d\nshe said, \u201cmade all of silver. It is a copy of the doves of Eryx, and\nit is sacred to Astarte. My uncle brought it to me from Tyre. It is\npretty, because it is of silver, with eyes of rubies. I put it on the\nwindow-sill of my room. It brought the birds; they came and sang on my\nwindow-sill.\n\n\u201cMy little dove sees me kiss myself in my mirror.\n\n\u201cIs it wrong, Jonah?\u201d\n\nWhen Jonah did not reply, she said, \u201cTell me what it is like in the\ndesert. Just imagine, to live all alone in a little hut or a cave, how\nexciting that is.\u201d\n\nJonah began to tell her of his life in the desert. Seated in the shade\non the moss, while the bees hummed outside in the sun, he described the\nway in which the prophets came together for study and meditation. \u201cI\nhave a little cell,\u201d he said, \u201cin Golan, near a tiny stream which rises\nin the hills. It is clear and cold, and many prophets live beside its\nbanks among the rushes. In the morning, after we have prayed, we gather\nin the shade to listen to some learned man, or eminent saint. Our\nmidday meal is simple, a few dates, some maize, a little oil or wine,\nperhaps a fish from the deep waters of Cinnereth across the hills.\nAnd in the afternoon we meditate upon the Law, and the history of our\npeople.\n\n\u201cEvening comes suddenly in the wilderness. The shadows lengthen, and\nnight approaches across the desert. The wind of night blows upon the\neast, which turns dark and blue with cold. In the west the sun goes\ndown into the sea; the sky turns yellow, then green, and shines like\na lamp. The stars appear, the dews descend, and the wings of angels\nbegin to sweep through the skies. It is cold, and the desert is silent,\nsave for the prayers of the hermits, which rise in a soft sigh from the\nearth. As it grows darker the voices of animals begin to mingle with\nour psalms, and we hear, far off, the roaring of lions on their way to\ndrink. Then our fires are lighted, to guide the Hosts of Heaven to our\nhomes.\n\n\u201cThe animals are our friends. The little divinities of the rocks and\nstreams know and reverence us. They bring us food, and they tell us of\nthe approach of demons in the form of ostriches and jackals. Against\nsuch beings as these our holiness is sufficient protection while we are\non God\u2019s land.\n\n\u201cWell, that is all, really. It is a simple life, but it has its beauty.\nIn the quiet of the desert our hearts expand like flowers in warm\nweather, and in our minds blossom lovely and tranquil thoughts.\u201d\n\nMoved by a sweet emotion, Judith replied, \u201cHow delightful it must be to\nlive in the desert.\u201d\n\nShe continued in a low tone, \u201cWhen you speak of God, I seem to feel Him\nin my heart. It is such a strange feeling, so peaceful and yet a little\npainful.\u201d\n\nAnd she looked at him with surprised and shining eyes.\n\nSuddenly she looked down; the dark lashes rested softly against her\ncheeks warm as sunny roses. \u201cI must go home now,\u201d she murmured.\n\u201cGood-by.\u201d\n\nShe got swiftly to her feet. \u201cI will not look in my mirror any more,\u201d\nshe said, \u201cif you think it is wrong.\u201d\n\nAnd she ran away without once looking behind her. When she got home\nshe hid her mirror in a box of ivory and sandalwood. Then she went to\nput her silver dove away also. But all at once, instead of hiding it,\nshe gave it a kiss on its ruby eyes.\n\n\u201cLittle dove,\u201d she said, \u201ctell me what love is.\u201d\n\nGoing to her box, she took out her mirror again, and gazed for a long\ntime, and with a smile, at her own reflection.\n\nJonah went thoughtfully home. There he found his Uncle David, who\nhad stopped in for a moment to see if anything was being cooked.\nDeborah was filling the lamps for the Sabbath. When she saw Jonah she\nstraightened her bent back, and remarked anxiously, \u201cWhere have you\nbeen all morning?\u201d\n\n\u201cI have been out walking,\u201d replied Jonah evasively. And he sat gloomily\ndown in a corner of the room, as far as possible from his uncle. Then\nall at once he burst out laughing. When his mother asked him what he\nwas laughing at, he answered,\n\n\u201cI was thinking of a green beetle.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou see,\u201d said Uncle David, nodding his head, \u201che is not all there.\u201d\n\nDeborah arose, and went to fetch more oil for the lamps. As she passed\nher son, she touched his forehead with her hand. \u201cWhat is there so\npeculiar about that?\u201d she demanded of her brother. \u201cOr perhaps you have\nnever seen a green beetle? Well, I have been amused by them myself.\u201d\n\n\u201cSit still for a little,\u201d she said anxiously to Jonah; \u201cafter walking\nso much in the sun.\u201d\n\nUncle David settled himself comfortably in his seat. \u201cTo-day,\u201d he said,\n\u201cwho should I meet but Bildad, the water carrier. He said to me, \u2018This\nis fine news about your nephew, Jonah. I suppose that we shall hear\nfrom you soon,\u2019 and with that he gave me a look full of meaning.\n\n\u201cI did not reply; naturally, because I had nothing to say. Could I tell\nhim the truth? We should be the laughing-stock of the entire village.\nI simply wrinkled my forehead and looked as grave as possible. At any\nrate, my expression struck him as peculiar, because he said as he went\naway, \u2018Excuse me for intruding in your affairs.\u2019\u201d\n\n\u201cI have been thinking of something,\u201d said Deborah. \u201cIt has occurred to\nme that if we do not give a feast, people might begin to think that we\nwished to give ourselves airs.\u201d\n\n\u201cThere you are,\u201d said David; \u201cthat is the way I feel about it, word for\nword. Speak up, and people believe you. Otherwise what is the good of\nall this?\u201d\n\nJonah stirred uneasily in his corner. \u201cMother,\u201d he said, \u201cdo you really\ninsist upon giving a feast for me? I think it is foolish. Still, if it\nwould give you pleasure ... but who would come? The whole village, I\nsuppose. Would you actually ask the prince, and his niece?\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat?\u201d cried David; \u201cwhat? I shall ask him myself, because I am\nacquainted with him in a humble way.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said Jonah, hesitating.... \u201cBut what would you wear, Mother?\u201d\nhe asked with sudden anxiety. \u201cThese old rags.... And who would pay for\nit? No, it is impossible.\u201d\n\n\u201cDo not worry about what I would wear,\u201d returned Deborah sharply. \u201cYou\nwill not be ashamed of me. As for who is to pay for it ... you need not\nworry about that, either, because it will not be you, at all events.\u201d\n\nJonah sat for a long time without speaking. At last he sighed. \u201cVery\nwell,\u201d he said, \u201cif you like....\n\n\u201cI will stay a few days longer.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nVI\n\n\nSo Jonah did not at once return to the desert. Instead, he said shyly\nto his mother the next morning: \u201cMy cloak is torn almost in two. Is\nthere nothing else for me to wear?\u201d\n\n\u201cThere is an old coat which belonged to your father,\u201d said Deborah.\n\u201cBut it is brightly colored, and it is too heavy for this mild weather.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt cannot be helped,\u201d replied Jonah; \u201cif people are going to notice\nme.\u201d\n\nWhen it was brought to him, he regarded it with a timid expression.\nNevertheless, he put it on, giving Deborah his old coat to mend.\n\n\u201cYou will be overheated,\u201d said Deborah. She added, \u201cMust you go out on\nsuch a hot day? You will come home all wet, like a river.\u201d\n\n\u201cMother,\u201d said Jonah earnestly, \u201cI am not a child any longer.\u201d\n\n\u201cWas I interfering in your affairs?\u201d cried Deborah. \u201cI simply said it\nwas such a hot day.\u201d\n\nClasping her hands anxiously, she asked, \u201cShall I put some oil upon\nyour hair before you go out?\u201d\n\nFor she thought, \u201cThen his head will be cool, at all events.\u201d\n\nWithout waiting for an answer, she ran to get the oil. Then she combed\nher son\u2019s beard and poured oil upon his hair. \u201cThere,\u201d she said,\nstepping back to admire him, \u201cnow you look like somebody.\u201d\n\nAs Jonah stalked gloomily out of the house, she called after him\ntenderly, \u201cKeep out of the sun.\u201d\n\nIn the village Jonah met Bildad, the water carrier. Balancing his heavy\ngourds upon his shoulder by means of a wooden yoke and some leather\nthongs, the old man was going slowly from house to house with his\nwares. When he saw Jonah, he stopped and said with surprise,\n\n\u201cI see that you have a new coat.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d said Jonah.\n\nBildad scratched his head. \u201cI am glad to see that you are doing so well\nin your profession,\u201d he said.\n\nAnd he passed by, carrying his water gourds.\n\nWalking hastily through the village, Jonah climbed the hill toward\nAhab\u2019s house. The moment he entered the garden he saw Judith. She was\nseated in the same spot as the day before, and she was twining a wreath\nof flowers in her hair.\n\n\u201cWhat a surprise,\u201d she exclaimed, \u201cto see you again.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d said Jonah. \u201cI was passing by; it occurred to me to stop ...\nthat is, I thought you might be interested to hear that I am going\nback to the desert again.\u201d\n\nJudith\u2019s face remained drowsy and content. \u201cAre you going soon?\u201d she\nasked, and held up her wreath to admire it. The wide golden sleeves of\nher robe fell back from her round brown arms; and she smiled dreamily\nat nothing.\n\nJonah replied that he had decided to wait a few days in order to\nsatisfy his mother, who wished to give a feast in his honor. \u201cJust\nimagine,\u201d he said, with a laugh. \u201cNevertheless, her heart is set on it.\u201d\n\nJudith sighed. \u201cI wish I were a man,\u201d she said, \u201cand could go to\nfeasts.\u201d\n\nJonah told her that the whole village was to be asked. \u201cYour uncle,\nthe great prince,\u201d he said, \u201chas also been invited. He might even,\u201d he\nadded timidly, \u201cbring his family.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, how exciting that would be,\u201d she cried.\n\nAnd they looked at each other with happy smiles.\n\n\u201cWhy are you going back to the desert?\u201d she asked at length. \u201cBut I\nsuppose it is necessary for a prophet. Well, I hope you will be a great\nman.\u201d\n\nSomething suddenly occurred to her, for she added, \u201cMy goodness, you\nare really a great man already, aren\u2019t you?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, no,\u201d he said; \u201cit was nothing; God simply wished to speak to me.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou are modest,\u201d said Judith; \u201cthat is nice.\u201d\n\nSmiling, she looked at the flowers in her hand. Suddenly she frowned,\nand said seriously,\n\n\u201cOne finds so few modest people nowadays. All the prophets have so much\nto say, but I do not like what they say; they talk about such gloomy\nthings. Jonah, tell me--what is there to be so sad about in Israel?\u201d\n\nJonah replied gravely, \u201cWe are sad because life is not simple, the way\nit used to be. We imitate other nations and so we are not certain about\nourselves any more. We are not even sure of God; we begin to wonder if\nHe is not a bull, or a dove, and if He is not also the god of Aram and\nBabylon. That is why we are unhappy. When the things we believe in are\nquestioned, it makes us restless and sad. Patriots are the only happy\npeople, for they believe in themselves; and if other people disagree\nwith them, they do not forgive them for it.\u201d\n\nJudith gazed at the young prophet with admiration. His black eyes\nglowed, his head was lifted, and he continued bitterly:\n\n\u201cHowever, that is not all, by any means. One expects a certain amount\nof ignorance among the poor. But the rich ought to be an example to\nthe rest of the people. Well, the rich have only one desire, to forget\nthat they are Jews. With their beards curled like Assyrians, they vex\nand oppress the poor, who cry out to the gods of other lands for\ndeliverance.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is not true,\u201d cried Judith angrily. \u201cAnd I will not let you speak\nof my uncle like that.\u201d\n\n\u201cYour uncle,\u201d stammered Jonah; \u201cyes ... well ....\u201d\n\nHe sat staring at the grass, with burning cheeks. Presently Judith\nremarked timidly,\n\n\u201cForgive me.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou see,\u201d said Jonah in a low voice, \u201cyou do not know what it is to be\npoor.\u201d\n\n\u201cI am sorry,\u201d said Judith sweetly. And she added, \u201cWhat is the good of\ntalking about it?\u201d\n\n\u201cDo you think that I mind being poor?\u201d cried Jonah. \u201cI do not wish to\nbe anything else. Since I am poor, I am free, my heart is at peace.\nRemember that I live in the desert, where all your uncle\u2019s wealth would\nnot do him the least good. It is you, not I, for whom you ought to\nreserve your sympathy. I do not need anything; I am happy, my heart is\nfull of beauty, like the wilderness, quiet, fragrant, and bare.\u201d\n\nJudith bowed her head, \u201cMy heart is bare, too,\u201d she thought. But\nsomething moved in it, and she sighed.\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d she told herself, \u201cmy heart is quite bare.\u201d\n\nJonah continued: \u201cYou have never seen the dawn come up across the\ndesert. The night rolls away into the west like the last clouds of\na storm, dark and terrifying. The east grows brighter and brighter,\nshining like a lamp, so clear and quiet; and the sky seems to be full\nof angels going out into the world. There is no sound, for the birds do\nnot sing yet. All is peace, all is holiness and beauty. No, you do not\nknow anything about such things.\u201d\n\nJudith sat silent, her hands clasped in her lap, her brown eyes cloudy.\nAt last she murmured sighing,\n\n\u201cI should like to be poor, like you.\u201d\n\nAnd they sat dreaming, hearing their thoughts knock like echoes on the\nwalls of their hearts.\n\nAt noon Jonah returned home through the field where his brother Aaron\nwas grazing the village cattle. Bright-colored insects buzzed and\nhummed about him as he walked; lazy lizards sunned themselves on\nstones; in the noonday heat earth spoke with faint but audible voices.\nThe trees drank in the light; the wild bees hurried to and fro among\nthe flowers which opened their petals with voluptuous joy to the south\nwind.\n\nThe prophet found his brother asleep beneath a locust tree. \u201cSo,\u201d he\nsaid, rousing him with his staff, \u201cthat is the way you make a success,\nby going to sleep. I could do that too, without any trouble.\u201d\n\nAaron sat up and rubbed his eyes. \u201cI have my hands full,\u201d he said.\n\u201cRemember that I am up at daybreak. And then there are all these cows.\nIf I doze now and then, it is what any one would do in my place.\u201d\n\nSeeing Jonah\u2019s coat, he cried out angrily, \u201cThat is the coat mother\npromised me.\u201d\n\nJonah paid no attention to this outburst. \u201cTell me,\u201d he said seriously,\n\u201chow does one make a living? I am interested, and should like to know a\nfew things.\u201d\n\nAn appeal of this nature made Aaron feel pleased. \u201cTo make a living,\u201d\nhe said thoughtfully, \u201cis, to begin with, a very difficult thing. Then\nthere are other questions to consider: such as, what sort of a living\ndo you wish to make? Any one can live. Look at Uncle David.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d said Jonah; \u201cby a living I mean a family and children.\u201d\n\nBut Aaron shook his head. \u201cThere again,\u201d he replied, \u201cit depends on\nwhat kind of wife will do. Must she be expensive? Then you need a good\nliving, naturally. But what could you do, Jonah? Could you sell cloth,\nor gold? Or perhaps you might build roads.\u201d\n\nAnd he burst out laughing.\n\n\u201cHa, ha, ha.\u201d\n\n\u201cThere is always the cattle business,\u201d he said finally, pointing to the\ncows.\n\n\u201cI am not joking, Aaron,\u201d cried Jonah impatiently.\n\nHis tone caused his younger brother to sit up, and to regard him with\na curious expression. \u201cAre you in earnest, Jonah?\u201d he asked. \u201cDo you\nreally mean to settle down? I thought you would never leave the desert.\nAre you going to be married? Good Heavens....\u201d\n\nJonah replied carefully, with his eyes on the ground, \u201cNo ... what\nan idea. I may leave the desert for a while, but only to be with our\nmother. As for marriage ... well, to tell the truth, I had heard it\nsaid of you....\u201d\n\n\u201cOf me?\u201d cried Aaron with wide-open eyes. \u201cYou are dreaming, Jonah,\nthe heat has touched you. A wife, for me? Why, I could only afford a\npoor girl from the village. No, when I marry I mean to take a wife from\ntown. But that will cost a good deal. One pays for a wife in Israel;\nperhaps you have forgotten that.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou are right,\u201d said Jonah; \u201cI had forgotten it.\u201d And he turned home\nagain. His thoughts were grave, and he walked slowly, with a serious\nair. At the entrance to the village he passed the statue of a winged\nbull, before which lay the remains of a sacrifice of cereal, which was\nbeing enjoyed by some birds. Jonah looked for a long time at the idol\nwhich seemed to gaze back at him with an ironic expression.\n\n\u201cPerhaps,\u201d he said sadly at last, \u201cit is I, not you, who am a stranger\nhere in Israel.\u201d\n\nAnd he felt a coldness lay itself upon his heart.\n\n\n\n\nVII\n\n\nMoonlight covered the earth, the trees showered down their perfume of\nblossom and cedar, the fragrance of lilies rose through the night.\nVoices sang softly in the shadows, teased, laughed, whispered in the\nmoonlight; lamps shone, light fell upon trees. In Deborah\u2019s kitchen\nUncle David passed around cakes, fruits, and bitter almonds, and helped\nthe guests to wine, milk, and honey. He was a genial host; his eyes\nshone, he urged every one to enjoy himself.\n\nDeborah moved among her friends, anxious and happy. She kept one eye on\nUncle David, and had something to say to everybody.\n\n\u201cWell, this is like old times. This is what peace does for a country.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat a lovely night.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe should have such a war every year.\u201d\n\n\u201cA son to be proud of.\u201d\n\nUnder a tree in the garden two old men were discussing religion. They\npulled at their long beards and gazed at each other with indignation.\n\u201cGod belongs to Israel,\u201d said one; \u201cdo not lend Him around.\u201d\n\nThe other replied: \u201cDoes the earth belong to the tree? Does the air\nbelong to the wind? Can I lend the sky? How many gods are there, then?\u201d\n\nFirst old man: \u201cMaybe a hundred, maybe two hundred. There is nothing in\nthe Laws of Moses which says how many. Do you wish to dispute with the\nHoly One Himself?\u201d\n\nSecond old man: \u201cAs for that, I am not the disputer. I simply say of\nGod, \u2018He is everywhere, and He does not look like anything.\u2019 But you\nsay, \u2018No. He is here, and He looks like a Jew.\u2019\u201d\n\nFirst old man: \u201cAll the gods look like something. There is a tribe in\nthe south whose god is only two feet high, and entirely covered with\nshort black hair. His people are naturally pygmies. What have you to\nsay to that? or would you like me to believe that our God is also the\nfather of pygmies?\u201d\n\nSecond old man: \u201cPygmies are not human beings, but monsters. It does\nnot surprise me to find monsters in the world. I say it does not\nsurprise me because I can see a little beyond the front of my face. On\nthe other hand you cannot see anything but what is right under your\nnose. You are not a philosopher; you are a patriot. You would like to\nkeep God all to yourself.\u201d\n\nFirst old man: \u201cExactly, I am a patriot. And what are you? I hesitate\neven to say it.\u201d\n\nThe two old men glared angrily at each other.\n\n\u201cLook,\u201d said the first old man to Bildad, the water carrier, who was\npassing by, \u201che wishes to give God away to the Gentiles.\u201d\n\nBildad shook his head. \u201cNo,\u201d he said accusingly: \u201cOh, my.\u201d And he\nhurried away to join a group of villagers about Prince Ahab, who was\nstanding by the side of a table on which was set out a large bowl of\nwine.\n\nThe prince was in the best of humor. \u201cMy friends,\u201d he exclaimed, \u201cwhat\nwe need is more exercise. That is what makes a nation healthy. Talk is\nall very well, but there is too much of it.\u201d\n\nHe paused to take a long drink of wine. Several farmers who worked in\nthe fields from dawn until dark applauded his remarks. It was easy to\nsee that they respected his opinions, and that they did not know what\nhe was talking about.\n\n\u201cJust imagine,\u201d said Bildad, \u201cthere is a man outside who wishes to give\nour God away to the gentiles.\u201d\n\n\u201cHe is an ignoramus,\u201d said Ahab. He continued,\n\n\u201cEvery one will agree with me that a good horse is the most beautiful\nthing in the world. Next to a horse, the best thing in the world is to\nbe active, and to take a lot of exercise.\u201d\n\nUncle David nodded his head vigorously. \u201cExactly,\u201d he said; \u201cthose are\nmy opinions, almost word for word. A good active life is what I say.\u201d\n\nThe Prince turned upon Uncle David a face flushed with wine. \u201cWhat,\u201d he\nexclaimed, \u201chere is an honest man.\u201d And he embraced Uncle David, who\nsaid proudly to those standing near by,\n\n\u201cWe agree with each other. After all, he is a noble fellow.\u201d\n\nThen he quietly asked Bildad to point out to him the old man who wished\nto give God away. When he found him, he went up to him and said,\n\n\u201cGo away; please get out of this, as we do not want an ignoramus here.\u201d\n\nReturning to the kitchen, he looked around him with an important air,\nand after blowing his nose, exclaimed,\n\n\u201cUnhealthy people.\u201d\n\nPrince Ahab was still talking. Clutching his beard, stained with grape,\nhe concluded morosely,\n\n\u201cNobody rides any more.\u201d\n\nIt was time to divide the roasted ox among the guests. But first it was\nnecessary to find Jonah, who was expected to perform the sacrifice to\nthe god, in the absence of a priest. So Uncle David went to look for\nhim; but he did not find him at once. For Jonah was in a corner of the\ngarden with Judith, Ahab\u2019s niece.\n\nThe moonlight fell down upon them through the leaves like a shower of\nmilky petals and blossoms without weight and without fragrance. The\nfaint cheep of frogs, the shrill screech of the cicada, rose from\nthe ground and answered from the branches through the air laden with\nsweetness. A single bird, cheated by the moon, sang far away; his song\ntumbled through the air like water falling.\n\nThey leaned against the trunk of a tree, shadows making pools of\ndarkness over their eyes, moonlight in their hair and on their hands.\nAnd their hearts, cheated, too, by the night, sang in confusion a song\nof joy which seemed to them like pain.\n\nThey had little to say to each other. They discussed the weather.\n\n\u201cWhat a beautiful night,\u201d said Jonah. \u201cIt is like the nights on the\ndesert, so still, so calm, and yet it makes me sad.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt makes me sad, too,\u201d whispered Judith. \u201cWhy does it make me sad,\nJonah?\u201d\n\nHe shook his head. \u201cI do not know,\u201d he said. \u201cBeauty often makes people\nsad. It is something they would like in their hearts, and their\nsadness is their longing.\u201d\n\nShe looked at him in the darkness. \u201cYes,\u201d she said, \u201cthat\u2019s it; that is\nwhat I feel sometimes when I look in my little mirror.\u201d\n\nJonah did not answer. The fragrance, the rapture of the night, moved\nthrough his heart. It seemed to flow from the young girl at his side\nand return to her again, lovely, obscure, a sweet sorrow, a longing\nfilled with grief. He raised his head to the little dapple of moonlight\namong the leaves.\n\n\u201cI\u2019ve never felt anything like this before,\u201d he thought. \u201cIt is like\nhaving God speak to me.\n\n\u201cHow beautiful she is. And she would like to be poor, like me. Of\ncourse, that is nonsense. Still....\u201d\n\nHe thought that she swayed a little closer to him. Intoxicated by an\nimperceptible warmth, he touched her hand. \u201cJudith,\u201d he whispered.\n\n\u201cYes?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo--nothing. How lovely it is out here.\u201d He trembled; his hand, twined\nwith hers, was moist and warm, but he shivered as though with cold.\n\nShe stood beside him, breathless, drowsy with sweetness, waiting....\n\u201cThis is love,\u201d she thought. \u201cHe loves me, and I love him. How exciting\nit is.\n\n\u201cI am a young girl, and already I am in love with a prophet.\u201d\n\nShe gave his hand a faint squeeze. Jonah sighed deeply. Was there\nanything else so lovely in the whole world, he thought.\n\nJudith raised her head. \u201cListen,\u201d she said, \u201cthere\u2019s a bird singing.\nJust think, in the moonlight; isn\u2019t it sweet, Jonah? This is beauty,\nisn\u2019t it? I could stay here forever.\u201d\n\nNo--there was nothing else in the whole world....\n\nFrom the garden arose the sound of voices; shadows moved among the\ntrees. Aaron went by with a village girl, his hands stuffed with\ncakes. He offered them to her to nibble at, and kissed her mouth\nfull of crumbs. She accepted his caresses with pleasure, but without\npassion. \u201cWhat a thing you are,\u201d she cried. \u201cThere\u2019s your brother; he\nbehaves himself, at least.\u201d\n\n\u201cHe is a noodle,\u201d said Aaron; \u201cmost of him is still in the desert. Who\nis that with him? My goodness....\u201d\n\nThey ran away, linked in laughter. Jonah looked after them, but he did\nnot see them. The desert was in his heart, wide, starry, still; all the\nbeauty in the world trembled at the moment\u2019s edge. If it made itself\nknown ... would the heart break with it?\n\n\u201cThis is too beautiful,\u201d he wanted to cry; \u201cwait, you are hurting me.\u201d\n\nIn another part of the garden Deborah said to Sarah, Judith\u2019s nurse,\n\n\u201cHow charming your Judith is. She is not spoilt like so many of the\nyoung girls to-day. And when you consider her wealth, that makes it all\nthe more remarkable.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d said Sarah with satisfaction, \u201cshe knows nothing of life. She is\na pure lily.\u201d\n\nShe added, \u201cI have brought her up myself.\u201d\n\nDeborah nodded her head. \u201cChildren cannot be brought up too strictly,\u201d\nshe said. \u201cThat is what is responsible for the success of my son Jonah.\u201d\n\nAnd she moved away, smiling at her guests. Sarah gazed after her with\npursed lips. \u201cIndeed,\u201d she said to herself. \u201cWell, that is one thing to\ncall it, of course.\u201d\n\nJonah was not thinking about being a prophet. His heart beat heavily;\nhe felt as though he were all eyes, staring blindly into the night. The\nsweet, heavy scent of lilies struck him like a wind. He felt terrified\nof what he was about to say, of what he felt obliged to ask. But there\nwas no help for it; the very shadows would begin to murmur if he were\nsilent longer.\n\n\u201cJudith, do you love me?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, Jonah.\u201d\n\nAstonished, they gazed at each other without speaking.\n\nThen, slowly, their dark heads bent together.\n\nAt that moment Uncle David, hurrying through the garden, caught sight\nof them under the tree. \u201cWell,\u201d he cried briskly, \u201cthere you are. Come,\nmy son; the ox is about to be divided.\u201d\n\nJonah had only time to whisper, \u201cWait here for me, Judith.\u201d Then he\nwent, in a daze, to make the sacrifice. He heard but little of what was\ngoing on around him, the gay shouts, the pious wailing, but the sudden\nhush as he consigned the holy portions to the flames broke on him like\na light.\n\n\u201cWait,\u201d he said to himself; \u201csomething has happened.\u201d\n\nAnd suddenly he began to feel very gay.\n\n\u201cWhy,\u201d he thought, looking around at the familiar faces, \u201cwhat are all\nthese people so happy about? They do not know what has happened. They\nhave no reason to be happy, as I have.\n\n\u201cI ought at least to be happier than they are.\u201d\n\nSeizing a cup of wine, he threw the contents on the blazing altar. \u201cFor\nYou, too, God,\u201d he cried recklessly; \u201cenjoy Yourself.\u201d\n\nAt once murmurs of protest arose. The old man who had caused the\nphilosopher to be sent home expressed the opinion that such an act was\nnot customary. \u201cWhat does he mean, \u2018Enjoy yourself,\u2019\u201d he exclaimed. \u201cIs\nthat a way to speak to God? Or does he think that the Eternal One and\nhe are such good friends already?\u201d\n\nPrince Ahab shrugged his shoulders. \u201cWhat do you expect of young people\nto-day?\u201d he inquired. \u201cIt only surprises me that he did not call God\nsomething even more irreverent.\u201d\n\nUncle David went anxiously about among the guests with apologies. \u201cHe\nis a little wild,\u201d he said to several people; \u201cyou must excuse it ...\nthe life he leads, in the sun....\u201d He tapped his head significantly.\n\u201cHe is not all there.\u201d\n\nDeborah, on the other hand, did not seem at all disturbed. In a calm\nmanner she explained that very likely there were different ways of\nmaking a sacrifice. \u201cAfter all,\u201d she said, \u201cmy son is a prophet, and\ntherefore closer to God than any of us here. Did you see the feather\nhe brought home, actually from an angel? Besides, if you ask me, why\nshouldn\u2019t God enjoy Himself, if He likes?\u201d\n\nBut she gave Jonah a look, when no one was watching, which said\nplainly, \u201cWhat a trouble you always make for yourself and for me.\u201d\n\nWhen the sacrifice was over, Jonah hurried back to the tree where he\nhad left Judith. But she was gone; Sarah had come to take her home.\n\nAs if in a dream he wandered off in the moonlight, down the road and\nthrough the fields. Behind him the lights and the hum of the feast\nfaded out; he was alone, in the silence of night. About him the\npastures, bathed in dew, shone like silver under the moon which covered\nthe earth with delicate mist. Everything was peaceful, everything\nbreathed a quiet and resigned joy. Only in the heart of the man, filled\nwith bliss, there was no peace.\n\nHe spread out his arms, \u201cI am happy,\u201d he cried, \u201cI am happy.\u201d\n\nHe thought of the Deity to whom he had so often prayed. \u201cThank You,\u201d he\nwhispered.\n\nAnd he gazed with love at the heavens, pale, and shining with stars.\n\nHe began to imagine the future. \u201cWhat does it matter if we are poor?\u201d\nhe thought. \u201cOne cannot buy beauty. We will live in a little house, and\nI will do great things, like Nathan, or Elisha.\u201d\n\nBut that mood did not suit his spirit for long. \u201cNo,\u201d he exclaimed, \u201cI\nwill never allow her to be poor. I will make a large fortune, to keep\nher comfortably.\u201d\n\nBut how? He did not trouble to find out. Already he was living in his\npalaces, surrounded by slaves.\n\nAll night he walked through the fields soaked with dew, through the\nwoods, silent and dark. The moon floated on to the west, and went down\nover seas and lands unknown, undreamed. The world slept; even the frogs\nwere still. But there was no sleep for Jonah that night; his joy kept\nhim awake. Accustomed to sorrow and indignation, he could not bear his\nown happiness.\n\n\u201cJudith,\u201d he cried over and over, in a sort of amazement. \u201cJudith.\u201d\n\nDawn broke in the east, and hunger turned him homeward. On the road\nnear the village he passed a golden litter, also bound for Gath-Hepher,\non whose curtains were woven in silver the little doves of Eryx. The\nlitter was followed by several donkeys, laden with merchandise, and\na number of servants in the livery of the Ph\u0153nicians. \u201cThere goes a\nrich man,\u201d thought Jonah, \u201cbut I am happier than he. I will buy his\nlitter and give it to Judith, because of the little silver doves on the\ncurtains.\u201d\n\nIt was Hiram, a merchant of Tyre, on his way to visit Prince Ahab,\nwith dyed silks from Sidon, sandalwood, and cloves. Jonah had no\nforebodings. Cold, wet, weary, but overborne by happiness, he went on\nhome to his mother\u2019s house for breakfast.\n\n\n\n\nVIII\n\n\nThat morning Jonah said to his mother, \u201cMother, I am going to be\nmarried.\u201d\n\nDeborah did not stop singing to herself as she sat mixing curds. But\nshe looked at Jonah as though to say, \u201cAre you preparing some new\ntrouble for us both?\u201d\n\nAt last, since Jonah did not offer any further information, she\nremarked quietly:\n\n\u201cWhat of your career?\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat of it?\u201d replied Jonah. \u201cI have been alone a long while; now I am\ngoing to take a wife.\u201d\n\nDeborah went on stirring her curds. But she stopped singing. Presently\nshe put down her wooden spoon and sat still, staring at her son.\n\n\u201cYou know,\u201d she said gravely, \u201cthat I want you to be happy. But what\nare you doing? Your father also had a great deal of talent. He might\nhave been a priest, but he preferred to marry me; and he died by\nbeing gored by a bull. Marriage is a serious thing, and nothing for a\nprophet.\u201d\n\n\u201cDo you think prophets are made of wood or stone?\u201d cried Jonah\nirritably. \u201cThey also have feelings, like any one else.\u201d\n\nDeborah nodded her head. \u201cI suppose so,\u201d she said. \u201cStill, how much\nbetter it would be if you could find something else to do with those\nfeelings.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, I can\u2019t,\u201d said Jonah. And he relapsed into gloomy silence.\n\nHis mother began to stir her curds again. \u201cIf that is the case,\u201d she\nsaid at last, \u201cyou had better tell me all about it, and we will see\nwhat can be done.\u201d\n\nSince Jonah did not reply, she added, \u201cI suppose it is some woman of\nBethel, or perhaps a girl from the desert.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is Judith,\u201d said Jonah simply, \u201cAhab\u2019s niece.\u201d\n\nThe spoon fell with a clatter into the bowl. \u201cAk,\u201d cried Deborah. And\nshe gazed at her son in consternation.\n\n\u201cHave you gone out of your mind?\u201d she exclaimed at last. \u201cDo you\nimagine for a single moment such a thing would be allowed? Who are you,\nJonah, the grandson of King David? Or are you perhaps a nephew of King\nHiram of Tyre? You must be mad, my son.\u201d\n\nAnd she added, shaking her head, \u201cIt is always something difficult or\nimpossible with you.\u201d\n\nJonah raised his eyes, burning with enthusiasm, to his mother. \u201cAfter\nall,\u201d he said with dignity, \u201cit was I who led the Jews against Aram. Is\nthat nothing? Is it nothing that I have spoken with God? Or is a noble\na greater person in Israel than the God of the Jews? Let him order the\nangels, then.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat does a noble know about God?\u201d cried Deborah. \u201cI am poor, and your\nmother; I know what it means to be a prophet. But a noble--no, my son,\nyou have taken leave of your senses. All he knows is what he can buy,\nwhich is nearly everything.\u201d\n\n\u201cCan he buy love?\u201d asked Jonah scornfully.\n\nDeborah thought to herself, \u201cYes, love, too\u201d; but she did not say so.\nPutting aside her bowl, she asked more gently,\n\n\u201cDo you love her so much?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, mother.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd does she love you, my son?\u201d\n\nWhen Jonah nodded his head, she arose and, coming over to him, put her\nhand a moment on his hair.\n\n\u201cPoor Jonah,\u201d she whispered.\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d she said, after a silence, sighing, \u201cwell ... I will see what I\ncan do.\u201d\n\nTaking down her best shawl, she went to find Uncle David, to discuss\nthe matter.\n\nAt first Uncle David was frightened. \u201cHe is crazy,\u201d he exclaimed. But\nafter a while, when he had listened to Deborah, he began to take a more\nhopeful point of view. \u201cWho knows,\u201d he said, \u201cperhaps God is with him.\u201d\n\nHe thought: \u201cIt is not as though our family were just a common one.\u201d\n\nAnd he began to feel that he was already connected with nobility.\nBut he had no scented oil for his hair, and he wished to make a good\nimpression when he went to call. Therefore, as there was a little oil\nof olives left over from the feast, he put this on his hair, and,\ntaking also his me\u2019il, or over-garment, which he kept for special\noccasions, he exclaimed hopefully to his sister,\n\n\u201cNow, leave all this to me, because I know Prince Ahab very well, and\nwe understand each other, he and I.\u201d\n\nAnd he began to rehearse what he would say to the Prince. \u201cOf course,\u201d\nhe declared, with a wave of his hand, \u201cthe difference in wealth.... But\nyou are a man of the world. You know that a prophet is not born every\nday.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd such a good son,\u201d said Deborah.\n\n\u201cAnd such a good son,\u201d added Uncle David.\n\n\u201cAlso, I say to you as one father to another, or, at least, an uncle,\nwhat is there in the world like youth? Can we old ones tell the young\nhow to behave?\u201d\n\n\u201cCome,\u201d said Deborah; \u201cyou are only wasting time.\u201d\n\nGravely, with slow steps and thoughtful expressions, they went up\nthrough the village to the palace. Uncle David helped Deborah over the\nrough places, and she leaned upon his arm.\n\nPrince Ahab came to meet them in his hall in which a single fountain\nsang. There a peacock led his long tail across the floor set in\ntriangles of marble and ebony. Rich silks adorned the walls, which\nexhaled an odor of musk and cedar.\n\nAfter greeting them cordially, the Prince offered his guests cakes in\nwhich cinnamon, spices, and poppy-seeds were happily mingled. Then he\nsaid in a hearty voice,\n\n\u201cWhat a splendid feast you gave us last night. I wish to thank you in\nthe name of my household, all of whom enjoyed themselves.\u201d\n\n\u201cThank you,\u201d said Deborah shyly. She was timid and ill at ease, yet she\nmanaged to appear calm and smiling. \u201cIt was nothing, or at least for\nsuch an occasion, nothing....\u201d\n\nAnd she gave Uncle David a nudge with her elbow. But now that Uncle\nDavid found himself called upon to say something, confusion rendered\nhim speechless. \u201cYes,\u201d he said feebly, \u201can occasion....\u201d\n\nPrince Ahab broke in, with a smile: \u201cA feast in honor to a prophet. Do\nyou think I have forgotten what is due your son for his help against\nAram? A feast like that is not too good for him.\u201d\n\nWarmed by his tone, Deborah said eagerly: \u201cIf you only knew him; such\nkindness, with all that talent besides. He has made a great success,\nand he is still a very young man.\u201d\n\n\u201cI do not doubt it,\u201d replied Prince Ahab.\n\n\u201cHe speaks to angels,\u201d continued Deborah proudly, \u201cbut he is like a\nlamb with his own mother.\u201d\n\n\u201cSay something,\u201d she whispered to Uncle David; \u201cmake an effort.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d said Uncle David.\n\n\u201cI congratulate you upon your son,\u201d said Prince Ahab heartily; \u201cthere\nare too few in Israel like him. I am proud to have him in my village.\nI was saying as much the other day to my niece, the Lady Judith.\u201d\n\nAnd he added hopefully, \u201cDoes he speak of another war?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d said Deborah, \u201che is not thinking of wars just now.\u201d She hung her\nhead, and gazed at the floor. Presently she lifted her head again, and\nlooked, full of blushes, at the Prince. \u201cHe has something else on his\nmind,\u201d she said.\n\n\u201cAre you dumb?\u201d she whispered in Uncle David\u2019s ear.\n\nUncle David gave a start. \u201cAs a matter of fact,\u201d he said huskily, \u201cit\nis this way: Jonah is thinking of settling down.\u201d\n\n\u201cAh,\u201d said Prince Ahab, and curled his beard idly in his fingers.\n\u201cWell, that would be too bad. Such men as he have work to do in the\nworld. We cannot afford to lose such optimistic voices. To whom is\nIsrael to look for her glory if not to such prophets as your son, my\ngood Deborah? No, no, I hope he will not settle down.\u201d\n\n\u201cHe has made up his mind,\u201d said Deborah; \u201cI cannot argue with him.\u201d And\nshe added in a voice too low for Ahab\u2019s ears, \u201cHe is like a goat.\u201d\n\n\u201cAs a matter of fact,\u201d said Uncle David suddenly, \u201che has made up his\nmind to marry.\u201d\n\n\u201cTo marry?\u201d exclaimed Prince Ahab. \u201cWhat?\u201d And he stood frowning with\ndisappointment.\n\n\u201cThen there will be no more wars,\u201d he declared gloomily.\n\nBut Deborah replied with conviction: \u201cOne can marry and still be a\nprophet. And my son is particularly suited to be a husband. He is\ngentle and pure.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat must please you,\u201d said Ahab, \u201calthough I do not know if it is the\nbest thing in a husband.\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d he said, with a sigh, \u201cI dare say there is no help for it. So\ntell me what I can do for you, my good Deborah.\u201d\n\nAnd he gazed amiably at the two who stood before him shifting on their\nfeet with embarrassment.\n\nIt was Deborah at last who spoke.\n\n\u201cMy brother should by rights speak for me,\u201d she said, looking\nindignantly at Uncle David, \u201cbut as he is so dumb, I shall have to\nspeak for myself.\u201d\n\nShe took a deep breath. \u201cPrince Ahab,\u201d she said, \u201cmy son Jonah, the\nprophet, wishes to marry your niece, the Lady Judith.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat\u2019s it,\u201d said Uncle David; \u201cthat\u2019s what we came to say.\u201d\n\nThe smile died upon Prince Ahab\u2019s face, and he stared at them in\namazement. \u201cWhat?\u201d he exclaimed; \u201cdid I hear you aright?\u201d\n\nDeborah repeated in a firmer tone what she had said; then, raising her\neyes to his, looked at him with a candid and satisfied expression. Now\nthat the declaration was out, she felt entirely different.\n\nBut Prince Ahab began to laugh.\n\n\u201cMy good woman,\u201d he cried, \u201care you mad? Such a thing is impossible.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy is it impossible?\u201d asked Deborah calmly. \u201cI do not see anything\nimpossible about it. Do you, David?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d said David hurriedly, \u201cno. Of course it seems impossible; I said\nat once that it looked absurd. Still ... there you are.\n\n\u201cHa ha.\u201d\n\nAnd he also essayed a laugh like a croak.\n\nPrince Ahab controlled himself with an effort. \u201cMadam,\u201d he said, \u201cwhat\ndoes this extraordinary son of yours offer as price for my niece, if I\nmay be so bold as to inquire?\u201d\n\nDeborah at least had the grace to blush. \u201cNothing,\u201d she said in a low\ntone. \u201cBut he thought, being a prophet ... and what is wealth to you,\nwho have so much?\u201d\n\nPrince Ahab let out a sudden roar of anger. The joke no longer amused\nhim. \u201cNothing,\u201d he cried.\n\n\u201cHe wishes to give me nothing for the Lady Judith.\n\n\u201cWhat impudence.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat did I tell you?\u201d said David, trembling, turning to his sister.\n\u201cHe has insulted her. O my God.\u201d\n\nPrince Ahab spread his legs apart, and clutched his beard with both\nhands. \u201cWoman,\u201d he cried in thunderous tones, \u201clet me tell you that my\nsister\u2019s daughter will not marry a pauper, prophet or no prophet. A fig\nfor your prophets. They are dirty, unhealthy, meddlesome creatures.\nTell your son to go back to the desert where he belongs. And as for my\nniece, she has been given too much liberty. I shall see that she is\nproperly guarded hereafter.\n\n\u201cWhat ideas. I tell you there is no respect in this unhappy country.\u201d\n\nSummoning his slaves, he bade them hustle Deborah from his sight. Then\nhe went off in a violent mood to find his niece. Fortunately for Judith\nshe was not in the garden; instead he came upon Hiram, the Ph\u0153nician,\nstrolling among the flowers. Prince Ahab took the wealthy merchant by\nthe arm. \u201cCome,\u201d he said, \u201cI am in a rage. Let me show you my horses.\nI have some things to talk over with you. I have had a shock this\nmorning, and I do not know what the world is coming to. What ideas.\nWhat impudence. Let us go riding for a while; it will do me good.\u201d\n\nAnd he hurried to the stables.\n\nDeborah walked home with her head in the air, the color bright on her\nface. In the village she stopped to speak a few words to the gossips,\nwho greeted her with curiosity and interest.\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d she said, \u201cJonah is going back to the desert soon. God will\nneed him again shortly.\n\n\u201cSuch excitement last night; I couldn\u2019t sleep after it. So I still have\non my shawl, taking some air in the morning.\u201d\n\nShe passed on, humming a little tune to herself.\n\nUncle David hurried home before her. Dripping with perspiration, and\nwith a white face, he burst into the house, and sank dejectedly upon a\nbench.\n\n\u201cAll is lost,\u201d he cried.\n\n\u201cWoe is me.\u201d\n\nHe could say no more. Deborah, when she came home, told Jonah the story.\n\n\n\n\nIX\n\n\nWhen Prince Ahab told his niece that she was not to be allowed to marry\nJonah, she wept bitterly. For an entire day she refused to eat or\nspeak; for she thought her heart was broken. In the evening she went to\nthe tree in the garden where she had sat with Jonah; and, as she leaned\nher cheek against its bark, she saw again in her mind the dark, thin\nface of her lover, the brown eyes speaking to her in silence. She heard\nhis voice:\n\n\u201cBeauty often makes people sad. It is something they would like to have\nin their hearts, and their sadness is their longing.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, Jonah, Jonah....\u201d\n\nAnd her tears fell unchecked.\n\nWhen she returned to the house, Sarah said to her indignantly,\n\n\u201cDo you know that your young man wished to marry you for nothing? What\nan impertinence.\u201d\n\nJudith replied tearfully, \u201cHe has nothing, the poor fellow.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is what makes the insult all the harder to bear,\u201d said Sarah. \u201cIf\nhe has nothing, he should keep quiet, for your sake. What would people\nthink of you if you were to marry for nothing? You would be ruined\nsocially.\u201d\n\nJudith sat up straight, with red cheeks. \u201cWhy,\u201d she exclaimed, \u201cwhat an\nidea.\u201d\n\nBut she remained thoughtful for the rest of the evening. The next\nmorning she said to Sarah, \u201cHe is so gentle and sweet. I love him.\u201d And\nshe added,\n\n\u201cMen are so thoughtless.\u201d\n\nAt once Sarah, who knew what she was doing, exclaimed, \u201cMy poor lamb,\nyou have been badly treated.\u201d\n\nJudith\u2019s eyes filled with tears again. \u201cI am a young girl,\u201d she\nthought, \u201cand already my heart has been broken.\u201d\n\nAll day she was pale, and said nothing. Occasionally she wept, but\nwithout violence. In the evening she walked among her flowers, composed\nand quiet, her brown eyes sad and wondering, like a child\u2019s. And as the\nsky faded from the color of roses to the color of leaves, she breathed\na name sadly, but so faintly, into the air.\n\n\u201cJonah....\u201d\n\nNo one answered, and her heart vibrated with sadness and with peace. \u201cI\nhave lived,\u201d she thought, \u201cI have loved, I have been unhappy.\n\n\u201cThat is life, isn\u2019t it....\u201d\n\nAnd coming upon Hiram the Ph\u0153nician among the roses, she gave him a\ndignified bow.\n\nIn the morning, in the bright sunshine, she said to herself, \u201cMen are\nso selfish. Just imagine, if I were married for nothing, what would\npeople think of me?\u201d\n\nAnd she said seriously to Sarah, \u201cI feel so old, Sarah. I feel as old\nas Methuselah.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou are a little pale,\u201d said Sarah, \u201cbut that does not do any harm.\u201d\n\n\u201cDo I look well?\u201d asked Judith in surprise. \u201cNo.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou are like a lily,\u201d said Sarah.\n\nBut Judith insisted that she looked, at least, a little thin. \u201cAnd my\neyes are all red from crying,\u201d she added.\n\nShe did not walk in her rose garden that night. In the morning Sarah\nsaid to her, \u201cYou are yellow as a dead leaf.\u201d And she brought the\nlittle mirror for her mistress to look into.\n\nJudith looked at her reflection for a long time. She seemed a little\nproud and a little vexed at what she saw. \u201cIt is because I have\nsuffered so much,\u201d she said at last to Sarah. And she added,\n\n\u201cMen are so cruel.\u201d\n\nIn the afternoon she dressed in white, with a girdle of silver about\nher hips. And Hiram, meeting Sarah in the court, cool with its\nfountain, said to the nurse,\n\n\u201cThe Lady Judith has a very spiritual face. Is she unhappy about\nsomething?\u201d\n\nBut Sarah threw up her hands at the mere thought of such a thing.\n\u201c\u2018Unhappy\u2019?\u201d she cried; \u201cwhat an idea. She knows nothing of life. She\nis like a lily. If she looks a little sad, it is because of her gentle\nnature.\u201d\n\nThat night Judith dined with her uncle and his guest. Her cheeks were\npink as the youngest roses in her garden, her lips red again, like\npoppies. Ahab, seeing her blooming so, was satisfied. And Hiram also\nwatched her carefully, with his shrewd dark eyes.\n\nIn Judith\u2019s apartments Sarah put away the pots of red and pink paste,\nthe myrrh and cassia buds, and the little silver mirror. Then with a\nsigh she sat down to await the return of her mistress. She was content;\nshe felt that the worst was over.\n\n\u201cA woman should know her own worth,\u201d she said to herself; \u201cin that way\nshe saves every one a lot of trouble.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nX\n\n\nJonah stood again before Amaziah, the High Priest. On his face, dark\nwith woe, were drawn lines of determination. He held out his hands,\nempty, and brown as the earth.\n\n\u201cI have not brought you anything this time,\u201d he said, \u201cnot even an\neagle\u2019s feather.\u201d\n\nAmaziah chose to ignore this greeting. \u201cWhat now, Jonah,\u201d he exclaimed\ncheerfully; \u201cdo you not bring me another war? The presence of my\nfavorite prophet fills me with the liveliest hopes.\u201d\n\nBut Jonah shook his head. \u201cI am weary of being a prophet,\u201d he said\nsimply; \u201cI have come to ask you to make me a priest.\u201d\n\nWithout losing the serenity of his expression, Amaziah looked\nthoughtfully at the young man whose weary face expressed\ndissatisfaction and bitterness. The old High Priest seemed to be\nreaching back into his own past, to the time when he, too, had had\na choice to make. And his face, as he gazed at Jonah, softened; an\nexpression almost of pity crossed his features, sharp and cruel as a\nhawk\u2019s.\n\n\u201cThis is bad news, Jonah,\u201d he said gently. And he was silent, waiting\nfor an answer.\n\nBut Jonah had nothing further to say.\n\nAmaziah stroked his chin. \u201cTell me,\u201d he said at last, \u201cwhat has caused\nyou to look with dissatisfaction on your career at the very moment when\nall Israel speaks of you with admiration?\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat is the good of admiration?\u201d asked Jonah sadly. \u201cI have a living\nto make.\u201d\n\n\u201cAh,\u201d said Amaziah, and his face clouded, \u201cso that is it. What a\nnuisance.\u201d\n\nAnd he sat looking before him with a frown.\n\n\u201cYou do not really wish to be a priest,\u201d he said at last; \u201cfor one\nthing the duties would soon prove irksome to one of your temperament.\u201d\n\nJonah threw out his hands. \u201cWhat is there for me to do?\u201d he cried.\n\u201cShall I keep cattle, like my brother Aaron? Or am I to beg, with a\nbowl?\u201d\n\n\u201cThere are worse things than begging,\u201d said Amaziah. \u201cIn the desert\nevery one is a beggar.\u201d\n\n\u201cI am tired of the desert,\u201d said Jonah; \u201cI am not going to live there\nany longer.\u201d\n\nBut Amaziah held up his hand reprovingly. \u201cMy son,\u201d he said gravely,\n\u201cone does not change the course of one\u2019s life with impunity, or for no\nreason.\u201d\n\n\u201cThere is a reason,\u201d said Jonah. He looked down at his feet; then he\nlooked boldly up again. \u201cI wish to marry,\u201d he said.\n\nThe High Priest made a gesture of discouragement. \u201cI might have\nguessed,\u201d he murmured. And he gazed sadly at the prophet, on whom he\nhad been counting to help further his own plans. Presently he said with\na sigh,\n\n\u201cI can see that this maiden\u2019s father does not wish to give her away for\nnothing.\u201d\n\n\u201cHe is wealthy,\u201d said Jonah gloomily. \u201cFor that reason he cannot abide\na poor man for a son-in-law.\u201d\n\nAmaziah nodded his head. \u201cNaturally,\u201d he agreed; \u201cif he is wealthy, he\nfeels obliged to add to his fortune. It is only those without anything\nwho can give away what they have, without suffering an overbearing\nsense of loss. For one thing they do not lose as much, and for another,\nhaving nothing, they are not required to succeed in the world, and so\nthey can afford to be generous.\u201d\n\nAs Jonah did not reply to this observation, he continued in a grave\nvoice:\n\n\u201cAre you really determined upon this thing, my son? Think well.\nMarriage in your case may well be a calamity. You have a name already\nfamous in Israel. You are at the outset of a career like that of\nSamuel. It is safe to predict that you will go far. And you wish to\ngive this up in order to be married? Such a thing is incredible.\nFarewell to glory, Jonah.\u201d\n\nJonah folded his arms, and regarded the High Priest with a gloomy and\nobstinate look. \u201cNevertheless,\u201d he said firmly, \u201cthat is my decision.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is not even your loss,\u201d continued Amaziah earnestly, \u201cwholly; it\nis Israel\u2019s. It is you who shine like a lamp in her darkness; yours is\nthe voice of hope in her night. If you were Amos, or Hosea, I should\nsay that Israel could get along without you. But you are different; you\nare the messenger of God\u2019s geniality. Israel cannot afford to lose you,\nJonah, my son.\u201d\n\nHowever, Jonah was proof against arguments of this kind. Seeing which,\nAmaziah exclaimed,\n\n\u201cWhat will God think of His prophet, who no longer listens to His\nvoice?\u201d\n\nJonah replied with an effort: \u201cIs God only audible in the desert?\nAnd must He be silent in the Temple? I tell you, He will speak to me\nwherever I am.\u201d\n\nAlmost at once he astonished Amaziah by crying out in a muffled voice,\nfull of pain, \u201cDo you think this is easy for me?\u201d\n\nAmaziah seized what he took to be his advantage. \u201cYou are confident,\u201d\nhe remarked in quiet tones, \u201cbut I have noticed that God does not speak\nto my priests with the same enthusiasm with which He addresses Himself\nto the wild and savage hermits who live in the desert of Tob and Golan.\nAnd it is my experience that His angels do not enter the cottages of\nmarried men with the same boldness with which they visit the huts of\nbachelors. If it is true that prophets have sometimes been married, it\nis also true that they have often left their wives and gone out alone\nto live in the wilderness.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat,\u201d said Jonah stubbornly, \u201cis a personal matter, which need not\nconcern us.\u201d\n\nAnd he added, \u201cYou cannot shake me in my resolve.\u201d\n\nAmaziah looked at him sadly. But suddenly his brow cleared, and he\nstruck his palms together. \u201cWait,\u201d he cried; \u201cif the father of this\nyoung woman did not object to your poverty, then there would be no\nreason for you to become a priest.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said Jonah sourly, \u201che does object.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen,\u201d exclaimed Amaziah, \u201cfor the glory of his country he shall be\nprevailed upon to change his mind.\u201d\n\nAnd he waited with a smile for the name of the unreasonable man whose\nopinions were making a successful war with Nineveh highly improbable.\n\n\u201cIt is Prince Ahab,\u201d said Jonah.\n\nAt once the smile left Amaziah\u2019s face, to be replaced by a look of\nconsternation. The High Priest sank back in his seat, and stared at\nJonah with brows which slowly drew together into a frown. His fingers\ncaressed his chin; he sat for a long time without speaking. At last he\nsaid:\n\n\u201cMy son, the more I think of things, the more convinced I am that you\nwould not make a good priest. It is the duty of a priest to serve men,\nand the Temple. You cannot be a good priest, and at the same time be\ngiven to divine illumination, because God deals only in generalities,\nand does not bother Himself about the details of administration.\n\n\u201cA priest must conform; he must not have ideas of his own. He is a\nsoldier with certain duties to perform: he must obey his superiors, and\nmust serve the interests of the men and women who worship the god.\n\n\u201cThat would never do for you; your spirit is too lively. You would try\nto change everything.\n\n\u201cMoreover, since you are not a Levite, I cannot make you a priest of\nAdonai. I cannot believe that you would be willing to become a priest\nof a baal such as Melcarth or Kemosh.\n\n\u201cBesides, can you read or write? No? Well....\n\n\u201cI can do nothing for you.\u201d\n\nSo saying, he clapped his hands, to show that the interview was at an\nend.\n\n\u201cWill you speak to Prince Ahab?\u201d cried Jonah wildly.\n\nAmaziah did not reply. Instead, two Nubian slaves came forward, and\nhustled Jonah out of the house.\n\nA number of people, hearing that the prophet Jonah was in town, had\ngathered in the street, to gaze at the man who had won a victory over\nthe Aram\u00e6ans. When they saw Jonah they waved their sticks and shawls,\nand cried,\n\n\u201cHurrah for the prophet.\u201d\n\n\u201cGod bless Jonah.\u201d\n\n\u201cThere is a great man; just look at him.\u201d\n\nOne old woman came hobbling forward, to touch the hem of his cloak.\nJonah did not even see her. His eyes, hot with anger, were on the\nground; he saw the dust, and the tip of his own beard. Finding an old\nwoman in his path, he gave her a shove; whereat she fell with a bump to\nthe ground.\n\n\u201cOh my,\u201d she said, when she had got her breath. \u201cOh my. Well, there\u2019s a\ngreat man for you. Tst; I feel better already.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nXI\n\n\nHiram, the Ph\u0153nician, was short, dark, and compactly built. His hair\nwas curled and oily; his body, dressed in richest silks, and in linens\nforbidden to the Jews, exhaled an arresting fragrance. He walked in the\ngarden with Judith and her nurse, Sarah, as evening was falling.\n\n\u201cRedder roses than these,\u201d he said, \u201cbloom in the gardens of Tyre. The\nserpent priestesses of Astarte, the Kedeshoth, wear them in their hair\nat the festival of their goddess, who reigns in Sidon as the deity of\ncows, but in Tyre as the goddess of doves.\u201d\n\nHe had about him an air of the world, of cities by the shores of seas,\nof mountains far away. As he stood on the terrace at Gath-Hepher, his\ndark, shrewd eyes seemed to behold in the distance the white domes of\nTyre, shining above the deep blue waters of the Mediterranean.\n\n\u201cHe reminds me of a man I knew long ago,\u201d said Sarah to Judith in a low\nvoice; \u201che was a camel driver, and he had been everywhere.\u201d\n\nThe Ph\u0153nician went on to describe the wonders of his country; the\nmighty trees of Lebanon, from which Solomon\u2019s Temple had been built,\nthe markets of Acre, with their silks, fruits, and ivory, the Temple of\nMelcarth, Baal of Tyre, with its two great pillars of marble and gold.\nHe told them of the spacious Temple of Atareatis at Ascalon, with its\npool in which floated sacred fish adorned with ornaments of gold.\n\n\u201cAt Aphaca,\u201d he said, \u201cthere is a temple dedicated to Astarte, with a\npool into which gifts are thrown by her worshippers. Once a year this\npool is visited by the goddess in the form of a falling star. It is a\nmarvelous sight and makes one very thoughtful.\u201d\n\n\u201cHow strange,\u201d said Judith. \u201cAnd how I should love to see such a thing.\u201d\n\nHiram looked at her proudly. \u201cYou can understand,\u201d he said, \u201cthat your\ntemples do not compare with ours. In the first place, ours is a very\nold country. And then, our religion is not like yours. Our gods have\nfaces you can look at, and love.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d said Judith, thinking of her little silver dove.\n\n\u201cWhat is more,\u201d continued Hiram, \u201cyou who live inland cannot imagine\nthe wonders of the great sea-coast cities. This is all very well;\nyou have a pleasant garden here. But it is nothing compared to the\nterraces above the harbor at Tyre, looking out over the sea. There is\nmagnificence for you. Well, you see, ships have come from all over the\nworld to decorate them.\u201d\n\nSarah sighed. \u201cI\u2019d have seen them,\u201d she said, \u201cif I had gone as I was\nbid.\u201d\n\nThe Ph\u0153nician gave Sarah a wise look. \u201cPerhaps you will see them after\nall,\u201d he said. And he glanced for a moment at Judith as he turned away.\n\n\u201cOh,\u201d said Sarah.\n\nOverhead the sky had grown dull with evening, green in the west, where\nthe evening star, planet of love, hung silver over the hills. Shadows\ndrew down about the garden, the wind rose and moved among the trees,\nthe scent of flowers in the slow-falling dew ascended from the earth\nand mingled with the fragrance of pines.\n\n\u201cHow you would love the markets,\u201d said Hiram, \u201cwith their bales of silk\nand rich stuffs, the strange fruits from the West and South, the gold\nand ivory. And such an enchanting odor of spices in the air.\u201d\n\n\u201cJust imagine,\u201d said Judith.\n\nHiram continued: \u201cAll the nations of the earth trade with my city.\nThe masts of our ships rise like a forest along the sea wall, and\ntheir sails in the harbor are like orange and yellow moons. Ophir and\nEgypt, the colonies of Carthage, the isles of the barbaric Greeks with\ngolden hair, all send their produce to us, in exchange for our linens,\ncedarwood, and dyes. It is a wonderful sight to see the ships come in,\nloaded with so much wealth.\u201d\n\nJudith sighed. \u201cHow I should love that,\u201d she said. And she looked\naround her at her uncle\u2019s simple garden.\n\n\u201cThat is life, isn\u2019t it?\u201d she said; \u201cto live in the world, in a great\ncity with ships, and strange things to wear, and interesting sights to\nsee.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is the life of a Ph\u0153nician,\u201d said Hiram simply.\n\nAnd he added, \u201cThis sort of thing is all very well, but where does it\nlead to? You spend your life in a rose garden, between some low hills,\namong ignorant people.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou would never believe how ignorant some of these people are,\u201d said\nSarah, nodding her head.\n\n\u201cThe life of a merchant,\u201d said Hiram, \u201cis another thing entirely. Take\nmyself, for example; I travel a great deal. And it is really amazing\nhow much information one is able to pick up here and there. I have been\nto Crete, where I went to look at the sewers. They are made out of\nstone, and very interesting. But perhaps sewers do not appeal to you?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, yes,\u201d said Judith, \u201cthey appeal to me very much. But tell me\nsomething about your own city. What do the women wear? I suppose they\nare very beautiful.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d said Hiram slowly, with his eyes on Judith, \u201cthey are beautiful.\nBut to tell you the truth, I have never bothered much with women. How\ndo they dress? With jewels, of course, and silks.... I hardly know. I\nam too busy most of the time to notice such things.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said Sarah firmly, \u201cI am sure you\u2019ve seen no one in your city,\nor in any other city, for that matter, to compare with our young lady.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d said Hiram, with a smile, \u201cthat is true.\u201d\n\nJudith blushed a fiery red. \u201cWhy,\u201d she cried, \u201cI am not even pretty.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou see,\u201d said Sarah in Hiram\u2019s ear, \u201cshe is not at all spoiled. What\na jewel.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe life of a merchant,\u201d said Hiram thoughtfully, \u201cis the most\ninteresting life in the world. There is nothing like commerce to give\none a liberal education. For one thing, the merchant has to travel a\ngreat deal, because naturally he has to see what he is buying; he has\nto visit other countries, in order to know what to sell. As you can\nimagine, it is a delightful way to occupy oneself.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s quite another thing from living in a stable,\u201d said Sarah.\n\n\u201cWhy, Sarah,\u201d exclaimed Judith indignantly, \u201cwe don\u2019t live in a stable.\u201d\n\n\u201cMaybe not,\u201d the nurse admitted. \u201cBut we might just as well.\u201d\n\n\u201cIn the morning,\u201d said Hiram, \u201cI go down to the docks, to see what\nships are in. Several of the captains are known to me, and we discuss\nsome matters of importance. Then I visit the markets, to see for\nmyself what people are buying, because that is the only way to make a\nsuccess of business. It is very interesting, all of it. One has to be\nperspicacious, to be a merchant. For instance, if people wish to buy\nsilk in Damascus, it is useless to send them sandalwood, or betel-nut,\neven though I, personally, might prefer such things.\n\n\u201cIn the evening one goes for a stroll on the terraces above the water,\nto drink syrups, and watch the sun go down in the sea.\n\n\u201cOn festival occasions the streets are gayly decorated with flowers and\nrugs, and processions carrying the god pass among the houses, and meet\nat the Temple. Then there is music in the evening on the terraces, and\nbands of priests and worshippers perform the dances in honor of the\ndeity.\u201d\n\nJudith heaved a deep sigh. \u201cHow exciting that must be,\u201d she said. And\nshe gazed before her with parted lips and dreamy eyes. But the breeze,\ncold with dew, soon made her shiver.\n\n\u201cLet me bring you a shawl,\u201d said Hiram. And he returned to the house\nfor a shawl of heavy silk, dyed in Tyrian purple, with a holy fringe,\nwhich he had brought along with him as a gift to Judith. When he was\ngone, Sarah remarked,\n\n\u201cThat is the sort of man I like; one who has made a success in the\nworld and who says right out what he means.\n\n\u201cWhat a wonderful life he leads. You can see that he knows how to live.\nA merchant--yes; that\u2019s the life for a person.\u201d\n\nJudith did not answer. When the Ph\u0153nician returned with the shawl, and\ndrew it around her shoulders, she thanked him faintly; she would not\neven have noticed how beautiful it was, if it had not been for Sarah.\nThe last birds were singing before night; the sky shone with the blue\nof evening. Far off beyond the hills lay the great ocean, wide as the\nworld, with its sails, like orange moons, blowing home from barbarous\nlands. And over it, terrace on terrace, the queenly city with its\nlaughing festivals, its temples, its sacred pools.... She closed her\neyes ... such beauty, such dignity to life, so much to see and hear of;\nher young heart, dry with curiosity, filled like a pool with longing\nand despair; her pure and ignorant mind gave itself up in abandon to\nexcitement, to happiness, to festivals with music, to syrup on the\nterraces as the sun went down ... to ships and wonder....\n\n\u201cOh, how I should like to be a merchant,\u201d she cried.\n\nHiram of Tyre bent his dark head humbly upon her hand.\n\n\n\n\nXII\n\n\nWith a heavy heart Jonah climbed the hill to the garden. He wore\nhis old coat, and his face was weary and gloomy. He had come to say\nto Judith, \u201cWe cannot be married because I am poor, and cannot get\nanything to do.\u201d But as he drew near the garden, he forgot what he had\ncome to say, and thought only of seeing her again.\n\nWhen he came to the tree under which he had sat with her, Hiram, who\nwas walking with a satisfied air among the flowers, said to him,\n\n\u201cYou, there, are you one of the servants?\n\n\u201cWell, just be so good as to bring me a bowl for these roses.\u201d\n\n\u201cI am not a servant,\u201d said Jonah proudly.\n\n\u201cNo?\u201d said Hiram. \u201cThen what are you? Are you interested in horses?\u201d\n\n\u201cI am a prophet,\u201d said Jonah.\n\nHiram made a small bow. \u201cForgive me,\u201d he said. \u201cIn my country the\nprophets are dressed a little differently, because they have priestly\nconnections. However, it is interesting to meet other kinds of\nprophets. It is an interesting profession. Well ... what a pleasant day\nit is. Perhaps you would do me the favor to prophesy me something.\u201d\n\nJonah stared at him angrily. \u201cI have some business with the Lady\nJudith,\u201d he declared.\n\n\u201cShe is in the house,\u201d said Hiram. And the two men stood looking at\neach other with surprise and alarm.\n\nHiram went to fetch her. She came slowly, with downcast eyes, and\ncheeks as white as her own lilies. \u201cHow do you do, Jonah,\u201d she said.\n\nAt the sight of her, Jonah felt his heart beating through his body, and\na strange sweet sorrow rose up in his eyes. He wanted to say to her,\n\u201cThis is like coming home. I have been so unhappy, but you will comfort\nme. Because you love me, you will feel my sorrow. How sweet it is to\nhave such a secret together.\u201d\n\n\u201cHow do you do, Judith,\u201d he said; \u201cI have been away.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d she said. And they stood without speaking, and without looking\nat each other.\n\n\u201cWell, did you have a good time?\u201d she asked finally.\n\nIt troubled Jonah that she would not look at him. \u201cI did not go away to\namuse myself,\u201d he said simply. And he added in a lower voice,\n\n\u201cDid you miss me?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, I suppose so. At least ... I have been so busy. What hot days\nthese have been.\u201d\n\n\u201cI went to Bethel,\u201d said Jonah. He wondered how to go on; he was\npuzzled and depressed. This was not as he had thought it would be.\n\n\u201cDidn\u2019t you know?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo.... Did you prophesy again? What is going to happen now? My\ngoodness, you prophets, you are always going about.\n\n\u201cI suppose you will be going back to the desert soon.\u201d\n\nJonah stared at her. She kept her head down, and her hands twisted\ntogether. He began to feel as he did sometimes before God spoke to\nhim, still and empty inside, with a terrible stillness, waiting for\nsomething.\n\n\u201cJudith,\u201d he half whispered.\n\n\u201cYes, Jonah,\u201d she said, looking up at him, for only a moment, and then\nlooking away again.\n\n\u201cAll the time I was gone, I thought of only one thing. I remembered\nonly one thing.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, Jonah?\u201d--ever so faintly.\n\n\u201cThat night in the garden, and the white moon in the trees like a bird\nin the branches....\n\n\u201cDo you remember?\u201d\n\nJudith looked away. \u201cThat seems like so long ago, doesn\u2019t it?\u201d she\nanswered.\n\n\u201c\u2018Long ago\u2019?\u201d cried Jonah, and his heart sank. \u201cWhy, it is no more than\nseven days ... Judith, have you forgotten?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d murmured Judith unhappily; \u201cbut I do not exactly remember....\u201d\n\n\u201cYou said you loved me,\u201d he cried, in a voice which sounded like a\ncroak.\n\nShe put the backs of her hands to her two cheeks, and whispered with\nbent head, \u201cWhat must you think of me?\u201d\n\n\u201cBut,\u201d stammered Jonah. Words would not come; he stood staring at her,\neyes wide with unbelief.\n\n\u201cForgive me,\u201d she said calmly. \u201cYou can understand ... I hardly knew\nwhat I was doing. Do not think too badly of me.\u201d\n\nJonah did not move or speak. But within him there were voices enough,\ntoo many. \u201cWhat? I do not believe it. It is impossible. No, it is not\nimpossible. Well, it has happened. But such things cannot happen ... to\nyou, Jonah, to you....\u201d\n\nHe was still, waiting for the clamor to subside, for the voices to\nreduce themselves to one voice. He was afraid to move even; bewildered,\nhorrified, he was like a man clinging with his finger-tips to the edge\nof a precipice. If he moved ... if even a little earth slid from under\nhis fingers....\n\nNo, he must keep very still; not a word, not a motion ... then it would\nall turn out right again....\n\nIt was Judith who moved, and spoke. Coming forward a step, she laid her\nhand timidly on his arm. \u201cYou will forgive me,\u201d she said. \u201cYou have\nwork to do in the world. You must go on, you must be a great prophet\nfor my sake. I am going to be married. I shall be so proud of you.\u201d\n\nAnd turning, she ran back to meet Sarah, who was hurrying out of the\nhouse after her.\n\nJonah went home. His feet led him back down the hill to his mother\u2019s\nhouse, but he did not notice where he was going. He felt strangely\nlight-headed, almost as if he had been drinking. His set face, with\nwide amazed eyes, was lifted to the sky. And he kept thinking:\n\n\u201cSomething has happened, something has happened....\u201d\n\nBut what was it? Could he tell? Something had happened out of all\nreason, as though a tree had moved, and stood upright on its head. How\ncould one believe such a thing? But there it was--on its head.\n\nWhat was God about? And what had he, Jonah, done to deserve such a\nthing?\n\nHe passed the field where Aaron kept his cows. And suddenly, as he saw\nhis brother in the distance, his shoulders sagged, his face broke into\ncreases, his body seemed to fall together; and he stood weakly wringing\nhis hands, while a wave of physical sickness stormed through his body\n... remembering, remembering....\n\nThen he went on again, with clumsy steps, and bent head.\n\nIf only it were something he could understand. But how could he\nunderstand it; how could he ever understand? How could one love, he\nwondered, and then not love? Love did something to one\u2019s whole being;\nit made one gentle, and tender....\n\nHow could she have hurt him so, if she loved him?\n\nAnd where was God all this time? What did He think about such a thing?\n\u201cYou, up there--God--what have You to say?\u201d\n\nNothing.\n\nHe came slowly into the house, and sat down with his hands clasped\nbetween his knees. One look at him was enough for Deborah; she knew.\nBut then, she had expected it. And keeping her glance busily upon her\nsewing, she began to sing softly to herself.\n\nBut her eyes were full of pain.\n\n  \u201c_Men dead long ago.\n    Have set me like a tree...._\n\n\u201cYou are tired, my son.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, Mother.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt has been hot. The poor always feel the extremes of weather most. If\nI had a daughter, I would never let her marry a poor man.\u201d\n\nAnd she glanced swiftly at her son, sunk in despair upon his stool.\n\n  \u201c_Let the wind blow,\n    What is that to me?_\n\n\u201cEverywhere I go,\u201d she continued calmly, \u201cthey speak of you with such\nadmiration. He is a real prophet, they say. Everybody expects great\nthings of you. It makes me so happy.\u201d\n\nStill Jonah did not answer. And Deborah said, sighing,\n\n\u201cIs it time you were going back to the desert, Jonah?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, Mother.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, I suppose you are right. It will be a rest for you, after all\nthis. We shall miss you. It will be peaceful in the desert.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, Mother.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will send Aaron to you soon, with news, and some little comforts\nfor you. Even if you have to live with the foxes, you can at least be\ncomfortable.\u201d\n\nSlowly, putting her sewing away, she rose, and came over to him.\n\u201cJonah,\u201d she said gently, and laid her hand ever so lightly upon his\nhair, \u201cmy boy....\n\n\u201cPeople are not very kind to one another.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo ... Mother....\u201d\n\nShe began to sing again, softly, taking his head in her hands, drawing\nhim gently to her:\n\n  \u201c_My roots are in their dust,\n    My roots are deep, I trust...._\u201d\n\nAnd Jonah wept, with his head against his mother\u2019s breast.\n\n  \u201c_My son is at my knee._\u201d\n\n\n\n\nXIII\n\n\nNaaman sat beneath his acacia tree. Gentle and austere, his thoughts\nusually concerned themselves with the universe and with God, who he did\nnot believe belonged exclusively to the Jews. However, he no longer\nfelt called upon to say so, unless he was asked; then he stated his\nopinions with dignity but without the least hope of convincing any one.\nWhen any one wished to know why he, who loved peace, clung to such\ndisturbing ideas, he replied, \u201cI am an old man, and I like to have in\nmy mind only what is comfortable there.\u201d\n\nNow, however, his brows were drawn in a frown, and he looked gloomily\nat Jonah, who sat with bent head at his feet. And his hands, as he\ncaressed his long white beard, trembled with age, with pity, and with\nindignation.\n\n\u201cSo, my son,\u201d he said, \u201cyou have hurt yourself. When you were a child\nyou used to come running to me with eyes full of tears, to show me some\nbruise you had received. I can still remember what I used to tell you:\nif you did not fall you would not get a bump. The one followed the\nother, almost as to make one believe that they were the same thing. And\nso I used to ask you: Jonah, are you crying because of the fall or the\nbump? Well, my son?\u201d\n\nJonah smiled sadly. \u201cYes,\u201d he replied. \u201cAnd then you went on to say\nthat I was not a philosopher. How that used to wound me, for I wished\nabove all things to be a philosopher.\n\n\u201cWell, now it is the bump that has made me cry, Naaman.\u201d\n\nNaaman nodded his head. \u201cExactly,\u201d he said. \u201cBut do you think perhaps\nyou are any more of a philosopher than you were then? I doubt it, my\nson. For you bring me your bruise with the same astonishment as of\nold, not seeing that, having fallen, you can expect nothing else.\u201d\n\nJonah spread out his hands in a gesture of discouragement. \u201cHow is one\nto stand upright in this world then, Naaman,\u201d he said, \u201cbeing but a\nman, and less than a god.\u201d\n\nThe old hermit regarded him gravely. \u201cYou are not a man, Jonah,\u201d he\nsaid finally; \u201calthough,\u201d he added quickly, \u201cyou are not a god, either.\nBut you are not a man in the sense that your brother Aaron is a man.\nNor do you live in the world he lives in. You belong to another world\naltogether, as different from that one as Thebes from Nineveh.\n\n\u201cAnd that world, my son, where you belong, is not here, among the\ntribes, among the towns and villages. It is in the desert; it is in the\nwilderness, where there is quiet for God to speak, where there is room\nfor His angels to move about. When you left Golan, your heart was like\nthe desert, spacious and calm. But now it is like a crowded village,\nfull of tumult and pain.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d said Jonah in a low voice, \u201cit is full of pain.\u201d\n\n\u201cI hoped you would not stay here,\u201d continued Naaman; \u201cI implored you to\nreturn to Golan, to your home. Yet you stayed; with the result it was\nimpossible not to foresee.\u201d\n\n\u201cI did not foresee it,\u201d said Jonah.\n\n\u201cThat is because you are ignorant,\u201d said Naaman severely. \u201cYou do not\nknow the world, yet you wish to live in it.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d said Jonah, \u201cthat is not true. For such things do not happen to\neverybody, or to other people. Why, love is holy, Naaman. It is as\nthough God had told a lie.\u201d\n\n\u201cBe silent,\u201d exclaimed Naaman harshly, \u201cand do not blaspheme. Love\nis not holy; and God does not lie. That alone is holy which concerns\nitself with holy things. But love ... no, my son; it is pain and\nimpurity, it is violence and sorrow. The world of desire is the world\nof demons, of concealment, of Sathariel which hides the face of mercy.\u201d\n\nJonah regarded the old man with astonishment. \u201cYou are so bitter,\u201d he\nexclaimed; \u201cI have never heard you speak in that tone before.\u201d\n\nNaaman peered off beneath his shaggy white eyebrows to the distant\nhillside, swimming in the haze of summer heat. For a moment he did not\nspeak, but presently he said, sighing,\n\n\u201cYou know but little of my life, my son. I, too, loved in my youth.\nDoes that surprise you? Yes, it is hard to imagine that old men have\never been in love, swept by the flames of passion and of sorrow. And\nsometimes it is hard for the old to remember how it goes with the young\nmen, with their joy, and their pain.\n\n\u201cI, too, was young like you, Jonah. Do you think your heart is the\nfirst to break? Other hearts have broken before; and other men have\nwept, as you are weeping. I know; for I, too, wept, Jonah, my son.\u201d\n\nHe was silent. Jonah took the old man\u2019s trembling hand between his two\nbrown palms. \u201cI am sorry,\u201d he said. And he remained respectfully silent.\n\n\u201cBut, Naaman,\u201d he broke out at last, \u201cwhat then is holy here on earth?\u201d\n\nNaaman replied gently and inexorably, \u201cMy son, the love of earth is\nholy, the love that God bears the least of His creatures, without\ndesire, without envy, and without malice. That mercy and generosity\nwith which the sun warms and the soil nourishes its flowers and trees,\nis holy; all that gives of itself, without reason, without measure, and\nwithout return. For that is the way of God; it is the way of the One,\nfrom which all things spring, to which all things return. Go back to\nthe desert, Jonah; go back to the desert, and learn that God is One,\nand that His love is holy.\u201d\n\nBut Jonah did not understand him. \u201cYes,\u201d he said. \u201cI shall go back\nto the desert, because that is all I can do. But I shall have no\nhappiness, Naaman; my heart will never be at peace again. There is no\nbeauty in the world for me now, ever. Oh, Naaman,\u201d he cried suddenly,\nclasping his hands together, \u201cif God loves His creatures, how can He\nmake them suffer so?\u201d\n\nNaaman looked sadly at the young prophet whose face was hidden from\nhim. \u201cMust you have beauty, too, Jonah?\u201d he asked.\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d said Jonah.\n\nRising to his feet, he added, \u201cYou do not know what it is to love and\nto be unhappy.\u201d\n\nAnd he went home again. As he entered his yard, a green beetle crossed\nhis path. He went a few steps out of his way in order to tread upon it.\n\n\n\n\nXIV\n\n\nAnd so Jonah returned to the desert, to his hut among the rushes in\nGolan. As he stood waiting for the ferry to take him across the Jordan,\na party of soldiers coming from Hamath passed him on their way home.\n\u201cThere is Jonah,\u201d they said, \u201cthe prophet. Now we shall have another\nwar.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is the sort of prophet to have.\u201d\n\n\u201cHurrah for Jonah.\u201d\n\nBut Jonah paid no attention to them. He was thin and deathly tired, and\nhis eyes, which burned with a deep and weary fire, were fixed on the\ndistant hills beyond the river. There, Naaman had said, he would have\npeace again.\n\nHe walked northward through Tob, climbing from the river valley toward\nthe table-land behind the hills. His heart was heavy, so heavy it\nseemed to weigh him down; and he walked slowly. At dusk he found\nhimself still far from Golan, with a river yet to cross, and near the\nlittle pool at which he had halted on his way to Bethel, months before.\nHow different life had seemed to him then. Why, it was not the same\nthing at all any longer; now it seemed like a dream, without reality,\nwithout anything about it that he could feel.\n\nHe sank down and looked around him.\n\nThe night came on. The shrill frogs sang together; and the little fox\ncame out of his hole, and lay down beside Jonah, whom he recognized.\n\n\u201cAh,\u201d he remarked, as he settled himself comfortably at his side, \u201chere\nis the man of God again.\u201d\n\nJonah let his hand stroke the fox\u2019s soft fur. His face was turned to\nthe west, and he peered back through the darkness over the way he had\ncome, as though trying to see again the home he had left. Uncle David,\nAaron--his mother....\n\nHe remembered how she had pressed him to her breast as he departed.\n\u201cGo, my son,\u201d she had said, \u201cgo back to God. He misses you. Here is a\nlittle cake for the journey, and a few silver pieces. They are all I\nhave. Buy yourself a coat on the way.\u201d\n\nShe had sold her shawl to give him a coat. But he left the silver\npieces in a pot before the oven. He wanted nothing, only to forget\nthe sickness of his heart, the heaviness like a weight of lead in his\nbreast.\n\n\u201cCheer up,\u201d she had said at the last; \u201csee, you will forget all this\nafter a while. There is the storm, and then the sun shines. Do not stay\naway too long. Who knows, maybe God will send you home again soon.\u201d\n\nAnd she had kissed him. No, he would not forget all this soon. Would he\never forget it? that was what he wondered. And Judith, with her brown\neyes, and the scent of lilies and jasmine in the moonlight....\n\n\u201cO Judith, Judith, how could you do such a thing to me?\u201d\n\nHis eyes filled with tears, and he bowed his head.\n\nThe fox stirred beneath his hand. \u201cWell, Jonah,\u201d he said sadly, \u201cGod is\na raven. I believe that now, since a jackal ate my wife. He could not\nvery well be a fox, and allow such things; or even an old man with a\nbeard.\u201d\n\n\u201cPerhaps you are right,\u201d said Jonah in a low tone; \u201cperhaps He is a\nraven.\u201d\n\nHearing this, the Devil, who was going by in the form of a scorpion,\nstopped, and said to himself,\n\n\u201cI shall tempt this holy man a little.\u201d\n\nAnd remembering how Jonah\u2019s quiet and pious spirit had vexed him in the\npast, Satan considered how best to be revenged on the prophet.\n\n\u201cThere is nothing like an odor,\u201d he thought, \u201cto hurt the memory.\u201d\n\nAnd he changed himself into a jasmine vine. The unwilling night wind,\ntrembling and sighing, carried the fragrance of its blossoms toward\nJonah, who shivered as though with cold.\n\n\u201cAk,\u201d he thought, \u201cI can never forget.\u201d\n\nAnd staring with wide eyes at the west, he saw again the garden, with\nthe moonlight falling through the leaves like honey; heard the voices\nof the old men under the trees, the whispers of lovers, and laughter,\nlike a sound of flutes; felt on his hand the touch of her fingers....\nJudith\u2019s....\n\n\u201cWhat a beautiful night.... It makes me sad. Why does it make me sad,\nJonah?\n\n\u201cListen ... there\u2019s a bird singing. Just think, in the moonlight; isn\u2019t\nit sweet, Jonah? This is beauty, isn\u2019t it.\n\n\u201cI could stay here forever.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, Judith, Judith....\u201d\n\n\u201cThere is a smell of sulphur here,\u201d said the fox, wrinkling up his nose.\n\nBut Jonah did not hear him. Something was hurting in his throat. He\nsprang to his feet, and took a deep breath. \u201cLook,\u201d he cried out to\nGod, \u201clook; it is I, Jonah.\u201d\n\nAnd he stood there, with bowed head, in the silence.\n\n\u201cThis is very good,\u201d said Satan to himself.\n\nAfter thinking for a moment, the Arch-Demon decided to become a woman\nwith brown eyes and brown hair. She came up to Jonah out of the\ndarkness, timidly, draped in her shawls. \u201cWell, Jonah,\u201d she said, \u201chere\nis the desert. See how quiet it is; what peace, what beauty. How happy\nwe shall be here.\u201d\n\n\u201cGo away,\u201d cried Jonah, throwing out his hands in front of his face,\n\u201cgo away.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy do you want me to go away?\u201d asked the woman quietly. \u201cHave I not\ncome all this long way with you, as you wished? Am I not your love,\ntender and gentle and kind? Come, let me make you happy.\u201d\n\nAnd as Jonah stood trembling, unable to reply, she continued in her\nsoft voice,\n\n\u201cAre you not young, Jonah, and lonely? The young ought not to be\nlonely. See how beautiful the night is with its stars, its clouds, half\nseen, half guessed, how the music of the wind rises over the desert and\nsings in the hills, softly, softly. It is a night for love, Jonah, for\nyoung hearts beating each to each in the silence, in the darkness. That\nis what life is for, Jonah, for lips to kiss, for hands to fondle....\nThere is no beauty like mine, Jonah, no voice like mine to hurt your\nheart so, no hands like mine to hold your face tenderly, to kiss your\nmouth, Jonah, and your tired eyes, your mouth and your eyes....\n\n\u201cAnd you in your little hut, all alone among the rushes, all alone,\nJonah, all alone....\n\n\u201cYou will always be alone now, summer and winter, winter and summer,\nyour pillow the earth, harder and colder than my arms; only the song of\nbirds and the sound of rain in your ears.... And you will never see me\nagain, Jonah, never hold my young white beauty close to your breast,\nnever feel, as other men, love singing in your heart, and peace folding\ndown upon your eyes. You will be all alone, Jonah, with no one to tell\nthe secret things in your heart to at the set of sun, at the rise of\nmoon ... until at last, old and sleepy, you take my single kiss with\nyou into the darkness ... alone in the darkness too, Jonah ... alone in\nthe darkness....\u201d\n\n\u201cO God,\u201d cried Jonah, sobbing, \u201chelp me, help me.\u201d\n\n\u201cGod will not help you now,\u201d said the woman.\n\nThe drowsy fragrance of her body spread through the night. \u201cCome,\u201d she\nsaid, holding out her arms to him.\n\n\u201cGod cannot help you now, my poor Jonah.\u201d\n\nJonah took a step forward, and fell upon his knees. And then, one by\none far off and near, the demons of the desert broke into laughter,\nwild peals of laughter, bitter and full of pain, cruel and without pity.\n\n\u201cHa, ha, ha.\u201d\n\n\u201cAlone, alone....\u201d\n\n\u201cGod cannot help you now.\u201d\n\nUnder that mocking clamor, Jonah swayed like a reed, beaten to the\nearth, his face hidden in his hands. And then, at last, when it seemed\nto him as though he could bear no more, the terrible laughter stopped.\nThere was a cry, and then silence.\n\nJonah got up and looked around him. Nothing was to be seen; the woman\nhad vanished.\n\nThe little fox had run forward, and seized the demon by the leg. Once\nagain the desert was filled with a holy peace, as though brooding\nbeneath the wings of angels.\n\n\u201cOne can at least always help oneself,\u201d remarked the fox.\n\nHe lay down next to Jonah with a contented sigh. And presently the man\nand the fox fell asleep together.\n\nIn her kitchen at home, Deborah sat praying for her son. She prayed\nthat God would be kind to him. \u201cHe is only a boy,\u201d she said; \u201cdo not\nask him to behave like a man. Watch over him a little. I do not ask for\nanything for myself. I am an old woman, and my heart was broken long\nago. But he is so young ... leave a little of his heart unbroken.\u201d\n\nShe lifted up her eyes full of tears. \u201cLeave me my son,\u201d she said.\n\nAnd Judith, at her window in Tyre, knelt with a pale and weary face,\npeering out across the plains and hills of Ph\u0153nicia, across the wide\nwaters of Meram, far off and unseen, toward the desert, where the night\nhad already rolled up its cold blue clouds. And she, too, thought of\nJonah; she, too, saw in the moonlight, in the little garden, the thin,\nworn face with its grave, dark eyes. They seemed to follow her, without\nreproach, but with infinite tenderness, pitying and forgiving. And\nsuddenly she thought, \u201cYes, there in the desert there is peace; it is\ngentle out there, where Jonah is. O my dear, my dear, do you forgive\nme? Have you forgotten? It would have been different, Jonah, it would\nhave been so different....\u201d\n\nWearily she went to her little gold box, and drew out her silver dove.\nHolding it in her hands like a tiny live bird, she kissed its ruby eyes\nand its silver beak. \u201cLittle dove,\u201d she said sadly, \u201ctell me what love\nis.\u201d\n\nBut the dove said nothing. And all at once she let it fall to the\nground.\n\n\u201cAk,\u201d she cried, \u201cyou don\u2019t know anything about it.\u201d\n\nAnd as she wept, Hiram\u2019s steps mounted through the house to her room.\n\n\n\n\nXV\n\n\nGod was worried about Jonah. Watched by reverent cherubim, whose wings\nfanned the air all about Him, the Lord of Hosts walked up and down in\nthe sky, and said to Moses, who was accompanying Him,\n\n\u201cI must find something for this young man to do.\u201d\n\nMoses looked down at Jonah with an expression of contempt. \u201cHe is\nhardly worth the effort,\u201d he declared gloomily. \u201cHe seems to me to lack\ncharacter.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou are right,\u201d said God. \u201cStill, he expects something from Me.\u201d\n\nAnd He added, smiling gently, \u201cPerhaps that is why I am fond of him. He\nhas not your strong and resourceful mind, Moses, nor Noah\u2019s faithful\nheart; but he has suffered. He is simply a man, like anybody.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat?\u201d cried Noah, hurrying up, \u201care you talking about me?\u201d\n\nGod replied: \u201cI was saying that Jonah did not trust Me as you did, My\nfriend.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d said Noah; \u201cbut then, what do you expect? There are so many\ndifferent ideas now in the world. I do not recognize my posterity in\nthese warring nations. Let us have another flood, Lord.\u201d\n\nMoses looked sadly down at Jerusalem, where golden idols were being\nsold in the streets. \u201cYou are right, Noah,\u201d he said, \u201cbut I do not\nlike the idea of a flood. A flood does not teach people how to live.\nSometimes I wonder if anything can teach people what they are unwilling\nto learn.\u201d\n\n\u201cNonsense,\u201d said Noah. \u201cA flood is the most sanitary thing. Wait and\nsee; even you could learn something about sewers from a good flood.\u201d\n\nGod checked the old patriarch with a kindly hand. \u201cThings are not the\nsame as they used to be in the early days,\u201d He said. \u201cI cannot drown\nthe world to-day without drowning My wife, Israel. She is young, and a\nnuisance, but she has yet to bear Me a son. I foresee that He will give\nHis mother a great deal of pain, but that cannot be helped.\n\n\u201cLet us not think of Israel now, but of the prophet Jonah. Moses is of\nthe opinion that he is not a first-class prophet, and I am inclined\nto agree with him. He is a poet; and for that reason I feel warmly\ninclined toward him. After all, you, Noah, and you, Moses, see only one\nside of My nature. You try to look upon the Greater Countenance, but\nwhat you see is the Lesser Countenance. It is different with a poet. He\ndoes not see Hod, or Chesed, the thrones of Glory and Mercy. He looks\nthrough Beauty to the Crown itself. Whereas you, Moses, have never seen\nbeyond Knowledge; and you, my good Noah, have seen My face only in\nSeverity.\u201d\n\nMoses and Noah bowed their heads. \u201cIt is true, Lord,\u201d said Noah humbly.\n\nGod continued:\n\n\u201cAt this moment Jonah does not see Me at all. In the first place, he\nis unhappy, and he no longer looks toward beauty. He believes that\nthere is no more beauty in the world because his heart is broken. He is\nmistaken; and after a while his sorrow will sharpen his eyes. Then he\nwill see more than before.\u201d\n\n\u201cIn that case,\u201d said Moses, \u201cwhy do You bother Yourself?\u201d\n\nThe Lord considered a moment before replying. It was obvious that He\nwished to express Himself in terms intelligible to His hearers.\n\n\u201cThe trouble, My friends,\u201d He said at last, \u201cis this: our young prophet\nis a patriot. He is convinced that I am God of Israel alone. I do not\nmind that point of view in a prophet, but it will not do in a poet.\nSeverity, glory, knowledge, belong to the nations, if you like. But\nbeauty belongs to the world. It is the portion of all mankind in its\nGod.\n\n\u201cI have covered the heavens with beauty, the green spaces of the earth,\nthe cloudy waters, the tall and snowy peaks. These are for all to see,\nthese are for all to love. Shall any one take beauty from another, and\nsay, \u2018This is mine\u2019?\u201d\n\n\u201cNow He is beginning to talk,\u201d said Moses in an undertone to Noah;\n\u201cthis is like old times.\u201d\n\nBut God grew silent again. Presently he continued wearily,\n\n\u201cIt is your fault, Moses, that the Jews believe I belong to them\nentirely. Well, I do not blame you, for you could not have brought\nthem safely through the desert otherwise. But you did not tell them\nthat I was a bull. I foresee that for a long time yet men will be\nirresistibly led to worship Me in the form of an animal.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, then,\u201d said Noah, \u201cif You foresee so much....\u201d\n\n\u201cBe silent,\u201d said God, in a voice of thunder which made the wings of\nangels tremble. He continued more gently, \u201cActually, at the moment, I\nam not interested in theology. I am thinking of Jonah.\u201d\n\nAnd He walked quietly up and down in the sky, thinking. The cherubim,\nmoving all about Him, beat with their snowy wings the air perfumed with\nfrankincense; and the clouds rolled under His feet.\n\nLeft to themselves, Moses and Noah regarded each other in an unfriendly\nmanner. At last Moses shrugged his shoulders. He was vexed to think\nthat he did not know everything.\n\n\u201cWell, old man,\u201d he said to Noah, \u201chave you nothing to talk about\nexcept the flood? You do not understand conditions in the world\nto-day.\u201d\n\n\u201cI understand this much,\u201d replied Noah calmly, \u201cthat faith is more\nimportant than knowledge. Where would you be, with all your wisdom, if\nit had not been for me and my ark? You would be a fish, swimming in the\nsea.\u201d\n\n\u201cDo you take credit for saving your own skin?\u201d cried Moses. \u201cWonderful.\nI, on the other hand, was very comfortable in Egypt. What I did was\nfrom the highest motives. I am not even sure that I am a Jew.\u201d\n\n\u201cI believed in God,\u201d said Noah stoutly, \u201cand I did as He told me.\u201d\n\n\u201cSo did I,\u201d said Moses angrily, \u201cbut I also used my wits a little.\nFaith is nothing; any animal can have faith. You and your faith had to\nget inside a wooden ark, in order to keep dry. But when I wished to\ntake an entire nation across the sea, I simply parted the waters. I\nshall not tell you how I did it, because it would be lost on you. It\ntakes a first-rate intelligence to understand such a thing.\u201d\n\nNoah replied excitedly, \u201cPlease remember that I am your ancestor, and\ntreat me with more respect.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou are an old drunkard,\u201d said Moses.\n\nBut at this point God joined them again, and they were silent, to hear\nwhat the Holy One had to say.\n\n\u201cThis young man,\u201d said God, \u201cdoes not believe in Me any more. How then\nshall I convince him of Myself?\u201d\n\nDesirous of showing his knowledge, Moses began to quote from the Book\nof Wisdom: \u201cInfidelity, violence, envy, deceit, extreme avariciousness,\na total want of qualities, with impurity, are the innate faults of\nwomankind.\u201d\n\n\u201cNevertheless,\u201d said God, \u201cthey are also My creations. In My larger\naspects I am as impure as I am pure; otherwise there would not be a\nbalance. However, as I have said, we are not concerned with My larger\naspects.\u201d\n\nNoah broke in at this point. \u201cSend him to sea, Lord,\u201d he begged. \u201cThere\nis nothing like a long trip at sea to quiet the mind. It is very\npeaceful on the water. One forgets one\u2019s disappointments.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou are right,\u201d said God; \u201cwe need the sea; it will give him peace.\nBut as a matter of fact, I do not care whether he finds peace or not.\nAs I have told you, I simply wish this poet to understand that I am\nGod, and not Baal of Canaan. The attempt to confuse Me with a sun-myth,\nwith the fertility of earth as symbolized by the figure of a bull, or\na dove, vexes Me. Increase is man\u2019s affair, not God\u2019s. Besides, where\nwill all this increase end? I regret the days of Adam and Eve and the\nGarden of Eden. Already there are more people on earth than I have any\nuse for, socially speaking. Now I could wish there were more beauty in\nthe world. I should like some poet to speak of Me in words other than\nthose of a patriot. Yet if I try to explain Myself, who will understand\nMe? Not even you, Moses, with all your wisdom. And so I, in turn,\nmust forget My wisdom, in order to explain Myself. I must act as the\nnot-too-wise God of an ignorant people. That this is possible is due to\nthe fact that along with infinite wisdom, I include within Myself an\nequal amount of ignorance.\u201d\n\nHe sighed deeply. \u201cI shall send Jonah to Nineveh,\u201d he concluded. \u201cThe\nsubjects of King Shalmaneser the Third are honest, hard-working men and\nwomen. I enjoy, in some of My aspects, their vigorous and spectacular\nfestivals. Nevertheless, repentance will not do them any harm, since\nfor one thing they will not know exactly what it is they are asked to\nrepent of, and for another, they will soon go back to their old ways\nagain.\n\n\u201cThus I shall convince Jonah of Myself where he least expects to\nfind Me. He shall hear from Me at sea, and again within the walls of\nNineveh. It will surprise him. And perhaps the rude beauty of that city\nwill speak to his heart, dreamy with woe.\u201d\n\n\u201cI do not doubt that it will surprise him,\u201d said Moses, \u201cbut will he be\nconvinced?\u201d\n\nGod did not answer. Already He was on his way to earth. And Noah,\nlooking after Him, shook his hoary head with regret.\n\n\u201cA flood would have been the better way,\u201d he said.\n\n\n\n\nXVI\n\n\nGod went down to the water. He stood on the shores of the sea and\ncalled; like the voice of the storm a name rolled forth from those\naugust lips across the deep. And the deeps trembled. Presently a\ncommotion took place in the waters; wet and black the huge form of\nLeviathan rose gleaming from the sea, and floated obediently before its\nGod.\n\nThe Lord spoke, and the whale listened. After He had explained the\nsituation, God said:\n\n\u201cI foresee that Jonah will not go to Nineveh as I command. He will\nattempt to flee from Me, and he will choose the sea as the best means\nof escape. It will not help him. I shall raise a storm upon the waters,\nand the ignorant sailors will cast him overboard as a sacrifice to the\ngods of the storm. That is where you can be of assistance to Me, My old\nfriend. As he sinks through the water, I wish you to advance upon him,\nand swallow him.\u201d\n\n\u201cAk,\u201d said the whale; \u201cO my.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said God impatiently, \u201cwhat is the matter?\u201d\n\nThe great fish blew a misty spray of water into the air. \u201cIt is\nimpossible,\u201d he declared; \u201cin the first place, I should choke to death.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou are an ignorant creature,\u201d said God; \u201cyou have neither faith, nor\nscience. Let Me tell you a few things about yourself in the light of\nfuture exegesis. Know then, that you are a cetacean, or whalebone type\nof whale. Such animals obtain their food by swimming on or near the\nsurface of the water, with their jaws open.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is true,\u201d said the whale, reverent and amazed.\n\n\u201cThe screen of whalebone,\u201d continued the Lord, \u201copens inward, and\nadmits solid objects to the animal\u2019s mouth. This screen does not allow\nthe egress of any solid matter, only of water. As the gullet is very\nsmall, only the smallest objects can pass down it.\n\n\u201cJonah will therefore be imprisoned in your mouth. You cannot swallow\nhim; and he cannot get out, because of the screen of whalebone.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen he will suffocate,\u201d said the whale.\n\n\u201cNonsense,\u201d said God. \u201cRemember that you are an air-breathing,\nwarm-blooded animal, and can only dive because of the reservoir of air\nin your mouth. When this air becomes unfit to breathe, you must rise to\nthe surface for a fresh supply.\n\n\u201cWhile you have air to breathe, Jonah will have it also.\n\n\u201cSo do not hesitate any longer, but do as you are told.\u201d\n\nThe whale heaved a deep sigh; his breath groaned through the ocean,\ncausing many smaller fish, terrified, to flee with trembling fins.\n\n\u201cHow horrid for me,\u201d he exclaimed.\n\nGod replied soothingly, \u201cIt will assure you a place in history.\u201d\n\nSo saying, the Lord blessed Leviathan, who sank sadly back to the\ndepths of the sea; and, turning from the shore, the Light of Israel\nrolled like thunder across the valleys toward Golan.\n\nThe night came to meet Him from the east, pouring down over the hills\nlike smoke. In the cold night air God went to look for Jonah.\n\nPoor Jonah, he had not found peace after all. The lonely desert, so\ncalm and quiet in the past, had given no rest to his thoughts. His\nmind went back over and over again to those days at home; he felt the\nwonder of the love-night, his heart shrank again with sickness for what\nfollowed. And he asked himself for the thousandth time how such things\ncould be. Then he cried out against Judith for her cruelty; yet the\nnext moment he forgave her.\n\nAnd these thoughts, climbing and falling wearily up and down through\nhis head, kept him awake until long after the desert was asleep. In the\nmorning, when he awoke, it was with regret; he tried to sleep a little\nlonger, to keep his eyes closed, to keep from thinking again ... why\nwake at all? he wondered. There was nothing to wake to. Only the hot\nsun over the desert, only his heavy heart, which grew no lighter as the\ndays went by.\n\nWhy wake at all?\n\nGod found him sitting wearily upon a rock, his head bowed between his\nhands. The Lord spoke, and the desert was silent.\n\n\u201cJonah,\u201d said God in a voice like a great wave breaking, slowly, and\nwith the peace of the sea, \u201cJonah, you have wept enough.\u201d\n\nJonah replied simply, \u201cI have been waiting for You a long while, and I\nam very tired.\u201d\n\n\u201cI had not forgotten you,\u201d said God; \u201cI have been thinking.\u201d\n\nAnd He added, \u201cNow I have something for you to do.\u201d\n\nJonah remained seated without looking up. He seemed no longer to care\nwhat God had for him to do.\n\n\u201cArise, Jonah,\u201d said God, \u201cand go to Nineveh. Cry out against that\ngreat city for its sins.\u201d\n\nBut Jonah looked more dejected than ever. \u201cWhat have I to do with\nNineveh?\u201d he asked. \u201cAm I prophet to the Assyrians? I am a Jew. Do not\nmock me, Lord.\u201d\n\n\u201cI do not mock you,\u201d said God gravely. \u201cGo, then, and do My bidding.\u201d\n\nAnd as Jonah did not reply, he added sadly, \u201cDo you still doubt Me?\u201d\n\nJonah rose slowly to his feet. His eyes blazed, and his hands were\ntightly clenched. \u201cOh,\u201d he cried bitterly, all the passion in his\nheart storming out at last in a torrent of despair, \u201cYou ... what are\nYou God of? Were You God of Israel when a Tyrian stole my love? Was I\nYour prophet then? Have You power over Tyre, that You let Your servant\nsuffer such anguish? Or are You God of the desert, where the demons\nmock me night and day, where the very stones cry out against me, and\nthe whole night is noisy with laughter? Nineveh ... Nineveh ... in\nwhose name shall I cry out against Nineveh? Do the gods of Assur visit\ntheir wrath upon Jerusalem? What power have You in Nineveh? For my\nyouth which I gave You, what have You given me? How have You returned\nmy love, with what sorrow? What have You done to me, Lord? I stand\nin the darkness, weary, and with a heavy heart. What are You God of?\nAnswer: what are You God of?\u201d\n\nAnd God answered gently, \u201cI am your God, Jonah, and where you go, there\nyou will find Me.\u201d\n\nJonah sank down upon the rock again. His passion had exhausted him; but\nhe was not convinced. \u201cWell,\u201d he said in a whisper, \u201cYou are not God in\nNineveh, and I will not go.\u201d\n\nThen the wrath of the Lord, slow to start, flamed for a moment over the\ndesert, and Jonah cowered to earth while the heavens groaned and the\nground shook with fright. And in his hole by the pool in the Land of\nTob, the little fox said to himself, \u201cJonah is talking to God.\u201d\n\nBut God\u2019s anger passed, leaving Him sad and holy.\n\n\u201cPeace unto you, Jonah,\u201d He said in tones of divine sweetness; \u201ctake up\nyour task, and doubt Me no more.\u201d\n\nAnd He returned to heaven in a cloud. Overcome with weariness, empty\nof passion, Jonah fell asleep upon the ground.\n\nNo jackals laughed that night. Silence brooded over the desert. The\nstars kept watch without a sound, and Jonah slept with a quiet heart.\n\n\n\n\nXVII\n\n\nBut in the morning his doubts returned more strongly than ever.\n\u201cThey will mock me in Nineveh,\u201d he told himself. \u201cI shall be made a\nlaughing-stock. What power has the Light of Israel in the land of\nMarduk, of Dagon, of Istar, of the warrior Ashur? I should count myself\nlucky if I escaped being stoned to death.\n\n\u201cFor how can God destroy Nineveh? I might as well preach to the fish in\nthe sea.\u201d\n\nBut now he had something to do, at least. He determined to flee from\nGod. \u201cI shall go to Tarshish,\u201d he thought, \u201cand begin life over again.\nThere is nothing for me here any longer. The desert will be glad to be\nrid of me.\u201d\n\nAnd without bothering even to return to his hut, he started south,\ntoward Joppa, where he expected to find a ship bound west for Tarshish.\n\nHe traveled swiftly, on other roads from those he had come. Late on the\nafternoon of the second day he crossed the Brook Kanah, and saw in the\ndistance the white domed roofs of Joppa shining above the sea.\n\nAs he came down from the low hills, the sight of ocean rounded like a\nbowl under the wide arch of the sky, the distant and titanic clouds\npiled above the unseen shores of Africa, filled his heart for a moment\nwith beauty. But then he thought:\n\n\u201cThis is like Tyre. It is by the shore of this same sea that Judith has\ngone to live.\u201d\n\nAnd he cursed the beauty that hurt him.\n\nIt was late when he came to the shore, and night was already moving\nupon the deep. In profound silence he leaned above the harbor wall and\nregarded the shadowless water which with the sound of immemorial tides\npassed under him in the darkness. It was the season when the mists\nfrom the ocean blow landward in the evening. In the gray night fog the\nmasts of the vessels at anchor rocked toward one another on the long,\nlow waves; and the mist, salty with sea air, mingled along the quays\nwith the odors of the city.\n\nIt was the dark of the moon in the month of Nisan. The moon was gone,\nand his youth with it. Other moons would rise, fall through the\nbranches of a tree, and cheat a bird to sing. But where would Jonah be?\nAnd Judith, in her great house over the terraces of Tyre; she would\ngrow old, soon she would be like Deborah, looking backward over her\nlife.... What happened to youth, to beauty? Where did they go? They\nhardly lasted at all.\n\nNight hung black and silent over the sea. The wings of angels leaned\nupon the wind which moved dark and vast between the earth and sky. The\nstars paled, and the sun rose like a ball of fire in the east. Then the\nocean mist, cold as frost, melted away. The tide turned, and the waves,\nbreaking far out, spoke with their murmur like the sound of wind to the\nsleeping city on the shore.\n\nIn the morning Jonah found a ship bound for Tarshish. The cargo was\nalready loaded; and when he had made his bargain, he went aboard.\nBearded and singing, the seamen hoisted the sails, yellow as a slice\nof moon; with a sly, tranquil motion the ship moved out of the harbor,\nover the blue sea, sparkling in the sun, past sails stained blue as the\nsky, or brown as the sands. The white roofs of Joppa faded behind them\nin the east, lost in the gradual fog; the seagulls cried above them;\nand Jonah sat silent, dreaming, gazing at the sea.\n\nHe was tired, and listless. \u201cNow,\u201d he said to himself, \u201cGod has lost\nme.\u201d\n\nAnd he thought of Deborah with sadness and peace. He remembered what\nshe had said to him, as she had held him, weeping bitterly, in her\narms, on her breast.\n\n\u201cJonah,\u201d she had said, \u201cwhen you are dead, or perhaps very old and\nready to die, people will say of you, \u2018There, he was a great prophet.\u2019\nAnd they will feel honored because they knew you, because their names\nwill be spoken of with yours. But now ...\u201d she sighed; she wanted to\nsay, \u201cnow you are only a nuisance.\u201d\n\nWhat she finally said was, \u201cWell, people are like that.\u201d\n\nBut Jonah knew what she wanted to say. And as he sat quietly on the\ndeck of the ship under the yellow, curved sail, he thought,\n\n\u201cI shall not bother anybody now.\u201d\n\nThe warmth of the sun, reflected from the sea, entered his mind and\nlulled his limbs. Sea-quiet took hold of him; the peace of ocean bathed\nhis spirit. He grew drowsier and drowsier; he began to doze. And as he\nfell asleep, his last thought was that he had got away from God.\n\nAll day the sails sang in the wind, under the sun. Jonah slept; his\ndreams swept out like homing birds over the calm waters; and in his\nsleep he wept.\n\nBut in the afternoon the wind died away; an ominous haze enveloped the\nsky; and the sea grew oily. The sails were hastily drawn in; and the\noars were made ready. Huddled together on the deck, the seamen spoke in\nlow, anxious voices. All eyes were turned toward the east, which grew\ndarker and darker. All was still; the air did not stir. Moved by fear,\nthe men trembled; and as though herself frightened, the ship started\nto creak in all her timbers. All at once the sky uttered a moan; high\nabove them the air began to sing; and the sea rolled in slow, unwilling\nswells. And then it seemed as if the sky fell down upon the sea, for\nthe water rose like the hills, and the dark came down upon it. Unable\nto move, the ship trembled from bow to stern, lifted dizzily upon the\nwaves, tilted in the wind, and dropped like a stone into the trough.\nThe gulls were flattened to the sea, and the air was filled with the\nshout of the gale, and the crash of water falling upon itself. It was\nGod\u2019s storm, but Satan also was enjoying it.\n\nPale with fear, the sailors rushed to lighten the ship by throwing the\ncargo overboard. Then, as the tiny vessel dashed about in the water\nlike a cork, they fell upon their knees and prayed to their gods, to\nRamman, the thunderer, to Dagon, to Enlil, the old god of storms.\n\nSeeing that Jonah still slept, sheltered by the deck which curved above\nhim, the captain ran to awaken him. \u201cHere,\u201d he said, \u201cthis is a storm.\nWell, see for yourself. You should be more anxious, my friend. Have\nyou a god? Then pray to him, for we need all the help we can get.\u201d\n\nDazed by the tumult, still half asleep, Jonah gazed in confusion at the\nheaving waters. The wind lashed him to the deck; he stared in dismay at\nthe mighty waves rising above him on every side like mountains. \u201cI will\nnot pray,\u201d he said. And the captain shrank back at the sight of his\nface.\n\nBut the seamen, clinging to the deck, looked anxiously at Jonah, and\nat the great seas which broke over them without ceasing. \u201cThis is no\ncommon storm,\u201d they told each other; \u201csome great god is angry.\u201d\n\nThey were good and simple men. Had one of them sinned, to draw down\nupon them all such wrath? No, it was Jonah, the stranger whose face\nwas like a demon\u2019s, dark as the storm itself. They looked at him with\nterror.\n\nAnd Jonah looked back at them as frightened as they were. His mind\nreeled; had he not got away from God after all? Had God come after\nhim--out there on the sea? Was there no way to flee from God?\n\nWhy had he tried to run away? What a fool.... God would never forgive\nhim for it.\n\nAnd then, in the crash of wind and water, a feeling of disdain came\nover Jonah, a bitter strength, a final pride. Well, here was the storm\n... here was God still. God had taken everything away from him. What\nwas his life worth to him now? Oh, be done with it, once and for all.\n\u201cLook ... if You want it, God ... it is of no value to me any more....\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is my fault,\u201d he said to the sailors proudly. \u201cI alone am to blame.\nI am a Jew who has denied his God. It is my life that is wanted. Throw\nme overboard.\u201d\n\nBut the sailors were frightened, and they would not touch him. \u201cNo,\u201d\nthey said, \u201cwe will row back to Joppa again. Then your god can do as\nhe likes. If we throw you overboard, you will drown. Then we shall have\nblood upon our hands.\u201d\n\nThey tried with all their strength to row against the storm. But the\nblack sea, breaking, splintered their oars, and the wind pressed them\nbackwards.\n\nThen they said humbly, in fear, \u201cThis sea belongs to Iaveh, the god of\nthe Jews. We cannot prevail against him any longer.\u201d\n\nAnd seizing Jonah, they cast him overboard, with a prayer. \u201cDo not lay\ninnocent blood upon us,\u201d they said, \u201cO god of the Jews. This is your\ndoing, not ours.\u201d\n\nSo saying they waited, trembling.\n\nAt once the sea grew calm, the wind died away, and the sun sank\ntranquilly down in the clear west. The peace of evening brooded again\nupon the water. And the ship, with all her sails set for Joppa, fled to\nthe east.\n\nJonah sank through the waters without complaint. It was the end,\nand he had no desire to live. But as his breath failed, so his mind\nbrought back to him the blue and shining sky, the sweet odors of the\ndesert, the happy dreams of his youth, of glory, of peace. He began to\nstruggle; his body fought against the sea, his mind shouted against\ndeath. \u201cNo,\u201d he cried to himself, \u201cno, I must live; I must live.\u201d\n\nWith a groan Leviathan hurled himself through the waves and took the\nprophet into his mouth.\n\n\n\n\nXVIII\n\n\nIn the darkness the whale spoke to Jonah. \u201cWhat a lot of trouble you\nhave made for yourself,\u201d he said. And he told Jonah how God had made\narrangements.\n\nJonah was not unhappy. In the whale\u2019s mouth he was uncomfortable, but\nhe had a great deal to think about. His mind was filled with wonder.\n\nSo it turned out that God was at home everywhere; that He commanded the\nfish of the sea, as well as the hosts of the air, and the creatures of\nthe land. That was an extraordinary thing.\n\nWhat an upset to theology.\n\nJonah asked the whale many questions. And the whale, who had often\nthought about such things as he rested among the weeds at the bottom\nof the sea, answered him as best he could.\n\n\u201cDo you deny,\u201d said Jonah, \u201cthat God created man in His own image?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d replied the whale, \u201cbut on the other hand, do you suppose God\nhas only one image? And then it depends, besides, on who is looking;\nbecause people do not see things all alike. Well, do you suppose a\nwhale does not also look like God?\u201d\n\n\u201cA whale does not look like God at all,\u201d replied Jonah firmly.\n\n\u201cStill,\u201d said the whale thoughtfully, \u201cthe most beautiful sight in the\nworld, in my opinion, is a female whale. And you must admit I have seen\nas much of God as you have. So you see what difficulties you make for\nyourself.\u201d\n\nBut Jonah would not believe that God looked like a whale. And they\ndiscussed other aspects of theology.\n\nThe whale swam through the waters green with daylight, or black with\nnight, rising to the surface now and then to breathe. Out of respect\nfor the sanctity of the prophet, he did not attempt to eat any of the\nsmall fish which fled in terror from his path. \u201cWe will fast together,\u201d\nhe said kindly to Jonah.\n\nIn his warm, black prison, Jonah slept, and woke, and thought about\nGod. His spirit lifted; he felt peaceful, resigned, and almost happy.\nGone was the bitter sense of defeat, the shame of betrayal. What if his\nheart ached still? he had God again. And what a God, now that he saw\nHim: the thunder of sea-surges, the holy calm of the desert, all peace,\nall beauty, were His ... one need not seek it, it was there, it was\neverywhere. Jerusalem was His--Tarshish and Tyre....\n\n\u201cI am your God, Jonah, and where you go, there you will find Me.\u201d\n\nTyre was His, too. The Master strode through the streets of the city\nwith thunder on His brow, with love and sorrow in His hands. And His\nprophet walked beside Him, wrapped in glory, like a king.\n\nWhen they came to Judith\u2019s house it was Jonah who blessed it with\ngently outstretched arms.\n\n\u201cMy sister,\u201d he said; \u201cmy poor, faithless love.\u201d\n\nThe whale asked Jonah what he was doing. \u201cI was dreaming,\u201d said Jonah.\n\n\u201cI think you had better pray,\u201d said the whale. So Jonah prayed.\n\n\u201cLord, I have sinned,\u201d he said humbly. \u201cI was unhappy; and I ran away.\nAnd for that reason You cast me into the sea; the waves passed over me.\n\n\u201cThe waves passed over my soul, Lord.\n\n\u201cI went down to the bottom of the hills; the bars of the earth were\nabout me. But I did not perish. You heard my cry, and You remembered\nme. I thank You, Lord.\n\n\u201cLook, I am not vain any longer; I do not wish anything for myself.\nLet me do Your bidding again, with a quiet heart.\u201d\n\nAnd he added with a cry, \u201cGive me peace, Lord.\u201d\n\nThe whale swam on, past schools of appetizing fish, down through the\ndim flower-branches of the sea\u2019s deep bed, up through sunny foam.\nHungry, weary, but hopeful, the great fish waited patiently for God to\nspeak.\n\nOn the third day, God spoke. And the whale, lashing the waters with his\ntail, sped like an eager minnow to the shore, and vomited Jonah forth\nupon the sand.\n\n\n\n\nXIX\n\n\nJonah was let out of the whale in the North, near Arvad, and not far\nfrom Kadesh as a crow might fly, which is to say, over the coastal\nhills and then in a straight line across the jungles and the desert.\nThis was the route he took as being the shortest way to Nineveh. He was\nin a hurry; he was impatient to begin his mission. He was filled with\nenthusiasm.\n\nHow different from his flight to sea, this vigorous return across the\nland dry with the sun of midsummer. Now he marched with a firm and\nhurried step, his face darkly radiant with divine purpose, with pious\nanger. Yes, he would speak; Nineveh would hear him. Let them stone him\nif they liked, God would amply repay them for it. What glory.\n\nAnd this was all his, not hers, not for her sake; let her be proud of\nhim if she liked; what did it matter any more? She would hear enough of\nit in Tyre; Jonah here, and Jonah there....\n\nYes, they would speak of it in Tyre.\n\nAs he passed the wayside altars of the baalim with their pillars\nsurmounted by horns of sacrifices, he smiled at them in derision.\n\n\u201cYou,\u201d he said scornfully, \u201cyou ... what are you gods of, anyway?\u201d\n\nAt Kadesh he saw statues of the river deities, Chrysonhoa and Pegai. He\nspat in the dust before them; fortunately, no one was looking. In the\nsun of late afternoon their shadows pointed like great spears toward\nNineveh.\n\n\u201cIsrael will hear my name again,\u201d he thought proudly.\n\nThe evergreen oaks of the hills gave way to the tamarisks of the Syrian\njungles, and the palms and scrub of the desert. He slept the first\nnight in the wilderness between Kadesh and Rehoboth. The jackals were\nsilent, awed by the presence of lions among the rocks. Padding to and\nfro, the great beasts watched Jonah from afar, with eyes like flames.\nAnd Jonah dreamed of Deborah; when he awoke, he remembered her gentle\nsmile.\n\nIn the fresh light of early morning a mother goat divided her milk\nbetween the prophet and her ewe. \u201cThese are stirring times, Jonah,\u201d she\nsaid; \u201cangels are abroad in great numbers.\u201d Recognizing a minor deity,\nJonah blessed her and resumed his journey.\n\nAt the end of the second day he began to pass the boundary stones of\nAssyria, set up to warn trespassers upon private property. Thinking\nthem altars, Jonah cursed each one as he went by. The next day he\npassed kilns in which colored bricks were being baked. As far as he\ncould see, the blue, green, and yellow bricks stood in rows on the red\nearth.\n\nThat night he slept outside the gates of Nineveh. The city rose above\nhim in the dark; he heard the sentries challenge on the walls.\n\nIn the morning he entered the city with some farmers on their way to\nthe markets. The sun was rising, gleaming upon the great winged bulls\nbefore the temples, the green and yellow lions upon the walls. Under\nthe clear upland sky the city shone with color like a fair. The markets\nopened; the streets filled with men and women in their colored shawls\nand clashing ornaments. And Jonah, looking and looking, was astonished.\n\u201cWhy,\u201d he thought, \u201cthis is strange; there is something bright and bold\nabout all this. This is fine, after all.\u201d And he felt a gayety of heart\ntake hold of him. How vigorous these mountain people looked with their\ninsolent faces and their swaggering air. There was nothing old or sad\nin Nineveh. He forgot why he had come; he was excited, and happy. It\nwas not at all what he had expected; and he forgot himself.\n\nBut not for long. As the hours passed, he grew weary; and as the\nbrightness wore off, and he began to think of his own life again, he\nbegan to hate Nineveh, to hate the bold colors all around him, the\nyouth that carried itself so proudly and carelessly in the streets.\n\u201cYes,\u201d he thought, \u201cthat is all very well for you; but you know\nnothing about life.\u201d And, lifting his arms, he cried aloud with gloomy\nsatisfaction, \u201cYet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.\u201d\n\nThe success of this remark astonished him. Without waiting to find\nout any more about it, the Assyrians hurried home and put ashes on\ntheir heads. Nineveh repented like a child of its sins; in an orgy\nof humility the city gave up its business, and dressed itself in\nsackcloth. The king, even, left his throne, and sat down in some ashes.\n\nJonah was vexed. This, also, was not what he had expected. He had\nlooked for a wind of fury, for stones, and curses, and a final effect\nof glory. And when he learned that because of its repentance Nineveh\nwas to be spared, his courage gave way in a flood of disappointment.\n\n\u201cI knew it,\u201d he said bitterly to God; \u201cI knew You\u2019d never do it.\u201d\n\nAnd with an angry countenance he retired to an open field on the east\nside of the city, to see what would happen. His heart was very sore.\n\n\u201cWhere is my glory now?\u201d he thought.\n\nThen God, who was anxiously watching, spoke to Jonah from the sky. \u201cWhy\nare you angry?\u201d said the Holy One. \u201cHave I done you a wrong?\u201d\n\nJonah replied, sighing, \u201cWho will ever believe me now, Lord?\u201d\n\nAnd for the rest of the day he maintained a silence, full of reproach.\n\nThen because the sun was very hot, and because where Jonah was sitting\nthere was no shade of any sort, God made a vine grow up, overnight, to\nshelter Jonah.\n\n\u201cThere,\u201d said God, \u201cthere is a vine for you. Rest awhile and see.\u201d\n\nThat day Jonah sat in comfort beneath his shelter. The wind was in the\nwest, full of agreeable odors; at noon a farmer brought him meal, salt,\nand oil; he ate, was refreshed, and dozed beneath his vine. The sun\nwent down over the desert; and the evening star grew brighter in the\nsky, which shone with a peaceful light. The dews descended; and Jonah,\nwrapped in his cloak, dreamed of home.\n\nBut in the morning worms had eaten the leaves of the vine; gorged and\ncomfortable, they regarded Jonah from the ground with pious looks. As\nthe day progressed, the sun beat down upon him without pity, a strong\nwind blew up from the east, out of the desert, and the prophet grew\nfaint with misery. Too hot even to sweat, he nevertheless refused to\nmove.\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d he said, \u201cI shall sit here.\u201d\n\nAn obstinate rage kept him out in the sun, although he half expected to\ndie of it. \u201cWell,\u201d he said to himself, \u201cwhat if I do?\u201d\n\nIt seemed to him that he had nothing more to live for.\n\nThen God said to Jonah, \u201cDo you do well to be angry, My son?\u201d\n\nJonah did not wish to reply. But he was sure of one thing: that he had\nevery right to be angry. \u201cWhy did You wither my vine, Lord?\u201d he asked\nbitterly. \u201cWas that also necessary?\u201d\n\nGod, looking down on His prophet, smiled sadly. \u201cWhat is a vine?\u201d He\nsaid gently. \u201cWas it your vine, Jonah? You neither planted it nor\ncared for it. It came up in a night, and it perished in a night. And\nnow you think I should have spared the vine for your sake. Yes ... but\nwhat of Nineveh, that great city, where there are so many people who\ncannot discern between their right hand and their left hand? Shall I\nnot spare them, too, for My sake, Jonah?\u201d\n\nJonah rose wearily to his feet. \u201cWell,\u201d he said, \u201cI may as well go home\nagain.\u201d\n\nAnd with bowed head he passed through the city, and out of the western\ngate. In the streets the citizens made way for him with pious murmurs\nand anxious looks, but Jonah did not notice them. All his courage was\ngone, his pride, his hope of glory, all gone down in the dust of God\u2019s\nmercy to others, to all but him. To him alone God had been merciless\nand exacting. One by one the warm hopes of the youth, the ardors of\nthe man, had been denied him; peace, love, pride, everything had been\ntaken from him. What was there left? Only the desert, stony as life\nitself ... only the empty heart, the deliberate mind, the bare and\npatient spirit. Well, Jonah ... what a fool to think of anything else.\nGlory ... yes, but the glory is God\u2019s, not yours.\n\nBut he had not learned even that. He was not a good prophet. The\nflowers of his hope, the bitter blossoms of his grief, sprang up\neverywhere, where there should have been only waste brown earth. No, he\nwas not a prophet; he was a man, like anybody else, whose love had been\nfalse, whose God had been unkind....\n\nAnd as he trudged dejectedly along, his heart, bare now of pride,\nfilled with loneliness and longing. He thought of Judith, of the\nhappiness that would never be his; and he wept.\n\nHigh among the clouds, God turned sadly to Moses. \u201cYou Jews,\u201d He said\nwearily, \u201cyou do not understand beauty. With you it is either glory or\ndespair.\u201d\n\nAnd with a sigh He looked westward to the blue \u00c6gean. Warm and gold the\nsunlight lay over Greece.\n\n\nTHE END\n\n\n\n\nTRANSCRIBER\u2019S NOTES:\n\n\n  Italicized text is surrounded by underscores: _italics_.\n\n  Perceived typographical errors have been corrected.\n\n  Archaic or variant spelling has been retained.\n\n  New original cover art included with this eBook is granted to the\n    public domain.","title":"Jonah","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":30966}