Come in, good welcome, Herod.
PROCULA. Welcome, sir.
HEROD. To Rome, to Pilate, and to Beauty, greeting;
Give me your hands. What joy is in this meeting.
Pilate, again. You, you have hurt your hand?
PILATE. It is nothing, sir.
HEROD. Beauty has touched this land,
A wound has followed.
PBOCULA. What you please to call
Beauty, my lord, did nothing of the kind.
An earthen vessel tilted with a wall.
HEROD. May it soon mend. Now let me speak my mind.
Pilate, since you have ruled here, there have been
Moments of ... discord, shall we say? between
Your government and mine. I am afraid
That I, the native here, have seldom made
Efforts for friendship with you.
PILATE. Come.
HEROD. I should
Have done more than I have, done all I could,
Healed the raw wound between the land and Rome,
Helped you to make this hellish town a home,
Not left it, as I fear it has been, hell
To you and yours cooped in a citadel
Above rebellion brewing. For the past
I offer deep regret, grief that will last,
And shame; your generous mind leaves me ashamed.
PILATE. Really, my lord.
PROCULA. These things must not be named.
PILATE. It is generous of you to speak like this,
But, Herod, hark.
PROCULA. If things have been amiss,
The fault was ours.
HEROD. No, the fault was mine.
Your generous act this morning was a sign
Of scrupulous justice done to me by you
For all these years, unnoticed hitherto,
Unrecognized, unthanked. I thank you now.
Give me your hand ... so ... thus.
PILATE. Herod, I bow
To what you say. To think that I have done
Something (I know not what) that has begun
A kindlier bond between us, touches home.
I have long grieved lest I have injured Rome
By failing towards yourself, where other men
Might have been wiser.... That is over, then?
Our differences henceforth may be discussed
In friendly talk together;
HEROD. So I trust.
PILATE. Give me your hand; I have long hoped for this.
I need your help, and you, perhaps, need mine.
The tribes are restless on the border-line,
The whole land seethes: the news from Rome is bad.
But this atones.
PROCULA. O, fully.
HEROD. I am glad.
PILATE. Let us go in.
HEROD. You lead.
PROCULA. A moment, one....
You named a generous act that he had done....?
HEROD. This morning, yes; you sent that man to me
Because his crime was laid in Galilee.
A little thing, but still it touched me close;
It made me think how our disputes arose
When thieves out of your province brought to me
Were punished with a fine, perhaps set free,
Not sent to you to judge, as you sent him.
In future you will find me more a friend.
Or so I hope.
PILATE. Thanks. May the gods so send
That this may lead to happier days for us.
VOICES OF THE CROWD [_who are now flocking
in, among them_ THE MADMAN]. Herod the good, Herod the glorious.
Long life to Herod.
PILATE. Come, the crowd begin....
VOICES. Herod for ever.
PILATE. Let us go within....
HEROD. Yes. By the by, what happened to the man?
I sent him back to you; a rumor ran
That he was crucified.
PILATE. He was.
HEROD. The priests
Rage upon points of doctrine at the feasts.
VOICES. God bless you, Herod; give you length of days, Herod.
HEROD [_to the_ CROWD]. Go home. To God alone give praise.
This is Deliverance Night; go home, for soon
Over the dusty hill will come the moon,
And you must feast, with prayer to the Adored.
[_To_ PILATE.] He well deserved his death.
VOICES. God bless you, Lord.
PILATE. I'll lead the way....
VOICES. Herod.
HEROD [_to_ PROCULA]. Lady, your hand.
PROCULA. There is a just man's blood upon the sand.
Mind how you tread.
_They go in. The bronze doors are
closed. The _CROWD_ remains for an
instant watching the doors._
A VOICE. Herod the Fox makes friends with Pilate. Why?
A VOICE. He needs a Roman loan.
A VOICE. Look at the sky,
The Paschal moon has risen.
A VOICE. God is great.
Why did I linger here? I shall be late. [_Going._]
A VOICE. Good night and blessing.
A VOICE [_going_]. Pilate's color changed
When we cheered Herod.
A VOICE. They have been estranged
A long while now; but now they will be friends. [_Going._]
A VOICE. What joy it is when Preparation ends.
Now to our Feast. Do you go down the stair?
A VOICE. Yes, past the pools; will you come with me there?