like to have the people bow to you very low, Nullius? I do not like
it--human beings are not dogs that they should crawl on their bellies.
And you like to have the people tell you, Nullius, that you are the
wisest, the most magnanimous, the best of all living beings--whereas
you are only an ordinary old Jew, like many another Jew. I do not
like it, Nullius,--for the sons of the God of truth and mercy it is
unbecoming to lie, even while dying of the cruelties of truth.
ANATHEMA.
_Thoughtfully._
Riches are a terrible power, Leizer. No one asks you where your money
came from; they see your might and they worship it.
DAVID.
Might? And Naum? And I, Nullius? Can I buy for all the money even a
single day of health and life?
ANATHEMA.
You look considerably fresher now.
DAVID.
_Smiling gloomily._
Yes? Should I, perhaps, also engage a dancing-master? What do you
advise me, Nullius?
SARAH.
Don't forget Rosa, father. Is it not a great sin against God to hide
the beauty of the face? It is given as a joy and a pleasure to the
eyes; God Himself reveals His beauty in a beautiful face, and did we
not lift our hands against God Himself when we stained our Rosa's face
with coal and soot, when we made her terrible and sorrowful to look
upon?
DAVID.
Beauty is withering. Everything is dying, Sarah.
SARAH.
But the lily also withers, and the narcissus dies, the petals of the
yellow rose fall apart--would you, David, trample all flowers under
foot and heap abuse upon the yellow rose? Do not doubt, David,--the
God of righteousness has given you riches--will you who were so firm in
misfortune that you did not blaspheme God even once--will you grow weak
in your happiness?
ANATHEMA.
You are perfectly right, madam Leizer. Rosa has so many suitors that
all she needs is to choose.
DAVID.
_Rising angrily._
I will not give Rosa to any of them.
SARAH.
Why not, David?
DAVID.
I will not give Rosa to any of them. They are like dogs that want to
eat out of the golden bowl--I will drive the dogs away.
_Enter Rosa. She is dressed richly, but simply. She
is somewhat pale and fatigued, but very beautiful.
She tries to speak and to move gracefully, but at
times she forgets herself and becomes rude and
vociferous. She feds tormented by this. Rosa is
accompanied by two horsemen. The older man is very
pale and he frowns angrily. Naum clings to Rosa, as
though seeking protection in her youth, strength,
and beauty, and he walks faintly after her._
DAVID.
_In a rather loud voice._
Sarah, here are the suitors.
SARAH.
_Waving her hand._
Oh, be silent, David.
ROSA.
_Kissing her mother carelessly._
How tired I am, mamma. Good afternoon, father.
SARAH.
Take care of yourself, Rosochka; you mustn't study so much.
_To the older of the two cavaliers._
Please tell her that she mustn't work so hard--what does she need to
work for now?
YOUNG RIDER.
_In a low voice._
People should pray before your daughter, madam Leizer. Soon a temple
will be erected in her honor.
OLDER RIDER.
_Smiling._
And near the temple, a cemetery. Madam Leizer, there are always
cemeteries near the temples.
ROSA.
Good-by. I am tired. If you are disengaged, come in to-morrow
morning--I may go out with you again.
OLDER RIDER.
_Shrugging his shoulders._
Disengaged? Oh, yes, of course, we are entirely free.
_Harshly._
Good-by.
YOUNG RIDER.
_With a sigh._
Good-by.
_They go out._
SARAH.
_Uneasily._
Rosochka, I think you have offended him. Why did you do it?
ROSA.
That doesn't matter, mamma.
ANATHEMA.
_To David._
These are not suitors, David.
_David laughs morosely. Anathema runs over to Rosa
and offers her his arm. He leads her, half-dancing,
merrily whistling the same tune that the organ had
played._
ANATHEMA.
Oh, Rosa, were it not for my age (_whistles_) and not for my illness
(_whistles_), I would be the first to ask your hand.
ROSA.
_Laughing haughtily._
Better illness than death.
DAVID.
You are a very gay man, Nullius.
ANATHEMA.
_Whistling._
The absence of wealth and, then, a clear conscience, David, a clear
conscience. I have nothing to do, so I walk arm in arm with Rosa. You
spoke of death, Rosa?
ROSA.
Yes.
ANATHEMA.
_Stopping._
You are indeed beautiful, Rosa.
_Thoughtfully._
And what if.... If.... But no; duty above all. Listen to me, Rosa:
don't give yourself away to any one less than a prince, even though the
prince of darkness.
NAUM.
Rosochka, why did you go away from me? I feel cold when you do not hold
my hand. Hold my hand, Rosochka.
ROSA.
_Hesitating._
But I must go to change my dress, Naum.
NAUM.
I will accompany you as far as your room. You know, I danced again
to-day and danced very well. I am not so short of breath now any longer.
_With a feeling of adoration and slight envy._
How beautiful you are, Rosochka!
SARAH.
Wait, Rosochka, I will comb your hair myself. Will you allow me?
ROSA.
You do it very badly, mamma; you kiss it more than you comb it--my hair
gets entangled from your kisses.
DAVID.
Is that how you answer your mother, Rosa?
ROSA.
_Stopping._
Why do you despise my beauty, father?
DAVID.
Before, I used to love your beauty, Rosa.
SARAH.
_With indignation._
What did you say, David?
DAVID.
Yes, Sarah. I love the pearl when it is on the bottom of the sea; but
after it is taken out of the sea, it becomes blood--and then I do not
like pearls, Sarah.
ROSA.
Why do you despise my beauty, father? Do you know what another girl in
my place would have done? She would have lost her mind and would have
whirled about on earth like a dog that swallowed a pin. But what am I
doing? I am studying, father. I am studying by day and night, father.
_In great agitation._
I don't know anything. I don't know how to speak, I don't even know how
to walk--I stoop, I stoop as I walk.
SARAH.
That isn't true, Rosa.
ROSA.
_Agitated._
Here I have forgotten myself for a while, and I am shouting, I am
croaking hoarsely, like a crow that has caught cold. I want to be
beautiful--that's what I was born for. You laugh? It is in vain. Do you
know that your daughter will be a duchess, a princess? I want to add a
scepter to my crown!
ANATHEMA.
Oho!
_All three go out. David jumps from his seat angrily and paces the room
quickly._
DAVID.
What a comedy, Nullius! Yesterday she begged Heaven for a herring,
and to-day a crown is not enough for her. To-morrow she will take the
throne away from Satan and will sit upon it, Nullius, and she will sit
firmly! What a comedy!
_Anathema has changed the expression of his face;
he is stern and morose._
ANATHEMA.
No, David Leizer, it is a tragedy.
DAVID.
'Tis a comedy, Nullius, a comedy. Don't you hear the laughter of Satan
in all this?
_Pointing at the door._
You saw a corpse dancing--I see it every morning.
ANATHEMA.
Is Naum so dangerously ill?
DAVID.
Dangerously ill? Three physicians, three serious gentlemen, examined
him yesterday and told me quietly that in a month from now Naum will
die, that he is already more than half a corpse. And every morning
I see in this white marble parlor a corpse jumping to the tune of
music--is it not a dream, Nullius? Is it not the laughter of Satan?
ANATHEMA.
And what did they say about your health, David?
DAVID.
I did not ask them. I don't want them to tell me. You may also jump to
the tune of music, David. How would you like it, Nullius: two corpses
dancing in a white marble hall?
_He laughs bitterly._
ANATHEMA.
You frighten me, my friend. What is going on within your soul?
DAVID.
Do not touch my soul, Nullius--there is horror in it!
_Clasps his head._
Oh! what shall I do? What shall I do? I am alone in the whole world.
ANATHEMA.
What ails you, David? Calm yourself.
DAVID.
_Stopping before Anathema, horror-stricken._
Death, Nullius, death! You have brought us death. Was I not mute before
the face of Death? Did I not wait for it as for a friend? But here
you have brought us riches--and I want to dance. I want to dance,
yet death clutches at my heart; I want to eat, for hunger has entered
my very bones,--but my old stomach refuses to accept any food; I want
to laugh, but my face is sobbing, my eyes are weeping, and my soul is
crying with mortal fear. Hunger has crept into my bones, and poison is
already in my blood--there is no salvation for me; Death has overtaken
me.
ANATHEMA.
_Significantly._
The poor are waiting for you, David.
DAVID.
What matters it?
ANATHEMA.
The poor are waiting for you, David.
DAVID.
The poor are always waiting.
ANATHEMA.
_Sternly._
Now I see that you are really lost, David. God has forsaken you.
_David stops and looks at him, surprised and angry.
Anathema, with head thrown back haughtily, meets
his look calmly and sternly. Silence._
DAVID.
You say this to me, Nullius?
ANATHEMA.
Yes, I say this to you, David Leizer. Beware, David Leizer, you are in
Satan's hands.
DAVID.
_Terrified._
Nullius, my friend, you frighten me. What have I done to deserve
your anger and these cruel, terrible words of yours? You have always
treated me and my children so kindly.... Your hair is just as grey
as mine, in your face I have long observed a hidden grief, and--I
respect you, Nullius! Why are you silent? A terrible fire is burning
in your eyes.--Who are you, Nullius? But you are silent.--No, no, do
not lower your eyes, I am even more terrified when they are lowered,
for then upon your brow appear fiery letters of some vague--of some
terrible--fatal truth.
ANATHEMA.
_Tenderly._
David!
DAVID.
_Joyously._
You have started to speak, Nullius.
ANATHEMA.
Be silent and listen to me. From madness I will bring you back to
wisdom, from death to life.
DAVID.
I am silent and I am listening.
ANATHEMA.
Your madness consists of this, David Leizer,--you have sought for God
all your life, and when God came to you, you said: "I do not know You."
Your death consists of this, David Leizer,--blinded by misfortunes,
like a horse that is turning around in the darkness, you failed to
notice the people and you remained in their midst alone, with your
illness and your riches. There in the yard Life is waiting for you--and
you, blind man, you close the door against it. Dance, David, dance,--
Death has lifted the bow and is waiting for you. Be more graceful,
David Leizer, more graceful; round out your steps more neatly!
DAVID.
What do you want of me?
ANATHEMA.
Return to God that which God has given to you.
DAVID.
_Darkly._
Has God given me anything?
ANATHEMA.
Every rouble in your pocket is a knife which you thrust into the heart
of the hungry. Distribute your fortune to the poor, give bread to the
hungry, and you will conquer Death.
DAVID.
No one gave a crust of bread to David when he was hungry. By satisfying
their hunger, will I still the hunger that is in my bones?
ANATHEMA.
In them your own hunger will be stilled.
DAVID.
Shall I get back my health and my strength?
ANATHEMA.
In them you will be strong.
DAVID.
Shall I drive out death, already in my blood, which is as thin as
water, which is already in my veins, that have become hard like
dried-up cords? Shall I recover life?
ANATHEMA.
By their life you will prolong your life. Now you have but one heart,
David,--but then you will have a million hearts.
DAVID.
But I shall die!
ANATHEMA.
No, you will be immortal!
_David retreats in horror._
DAVID.
Your lips have uttered a terrible word. Who are you that you dare
promise immortality? Are not life and death in the hand of God?
ANATHEMA.
God said: Reestablish life through life.
DAVID.
But people are wicked and vicious, and the hungry one is nearer to God
than the well-fed.
ANATHEMA.
Remember Hannah and Benjamin....
DAVID.
Be silent!
ANATHEMA.
Remember Raphael and little Moishe....
DAVID.
_Grief-stricken._
Be silent, be silent!
ANATHEMA.
Remember your little birds who died upon the cold branches of winter--
_David cries Utterly._
ANATHEMA.
When the lark sings in the blue sky, will you say to it: "Be silent,
little bird, God does not need your song"--And will you not give a
kernel to it when it is hungry? And will you not cover it upon your
breast when it is cold, that it may feel warm and save its voice for
Spring? Who are you, then, unfortunate man, who has no pity on birds
and who turns children out into the storm? Remember how your little
Moishe died. Remember, David, and say: "The people are vicious, wicked,
and unworthy of my kindness!"
_David bends his knees as under a heavy weight and
lifts his hands, as though warding off from his
head a blow from the sky. He speaks hoarsely._
DAVID.
Adenoi! Adenoi!
_Anathema, with arms folded on his breast, looks at
him in silence._
DAVID.
Mercy! Mercy!
ANATHEMA.
_Quickly._
David, the poor are waiting for you. They will go away soon.
DAVID.
No, no!
ANATHEMA.
The poor are always waiting, but they grow tired of waiting and they go
away.
DAVID.
They will not go away from me. Oh, Nullius, Nullius!... Oh, wise
Nullius! Oh, foolish Nullius! Is it possible that you did not
understand that I have long been waiting for the poor and that their
voice is in my ears and in my heart? When wheels are riding along a
dust-covered road, on which rain had just fallen, they think as they
turn and leave a trace: Here we are making a road. But the road was
there before, Nullius, the road was there before!
_Gayly._
Call the poor over to me.
ANATHEMA.
Consider, David, whom you are calling.
_Darkly._
Do not deceive me, David.
DAVID
I have never deceived any one, Nullius.
_Resolutely and majestically._
You spoke and I was silent, and I listened; now be silent and listen to
me: I have given my soul not to man but to God, and His power is over
me. And I command you: Call my wife Sarah over here, and my children
Naum and Rosa, and all the people in my household, whoever they may be.
ANATHEMA.
_Obediently._
I shall call them.
DAVID.
And call the poor who are waiting for me in the yard. And when you go
out on the street, see whether there are any poor people waiting for
me, and if you see them, call them also. For my lips are burning with
their thirst, their hunger torments my body with insatiable hunger, and
I am hastening to announce to the people my last, unchangeable will.
Go!
ANATHEMA.
_Obediently._
Your will is upon me.
_Anathema goes to the door. Silence._
DAVID.
The spirit of God has come over me. Adenoi. Adenoi.... Who was the
terrible one that spoke through the voice of old Nullius, when he spoke
about my little children who died? Only an arrow out of the bow of
the Omniscient strikes the very heart with such good aim. My little
birds.... Verily, You have saved me upon the edge of the abyss, and You
have torn my spirit away from the clutches of the Devil. He who looks
straight at the sun may grow blind, but with the lapse of time the
light may come back to the revived eyes; but he who looks into darkness
grows blind forever. My little birds....
_Suddenly he laughs softly and joyously, and he
whispers._
I myself shall bring them bread and milk, I shall hide myself behind
the bed-curtain that they should not see me--children are so tender
and easily frightened and they are afraid of unfamiliar people; and I
have such a terrible beard. (_Laughs._) I shall hide myself behind the
bed-curtain and will watch how the children are eating. They need so
little; they eat a little crust of bread and they have enough; they
drink a cup of milk and they know no thirst any longer. Then they
sing--But how strange! does not the night pass away when the sun comes?
do not the waves, at the end of the storm, lie down calmly and quietly
like lambs resting in the pasture? Whence came the alarm, the slight
confusion, and the fear? Shades of unknown woes are passing over my
soul and soaring noiselessly over my thoughts. Ah, if I remained poor,
if I remained unknown, under the shade of the fence where the refuse is
cast away! You have lifted me to the peak of the mountain and You show
my old, sorrowful face to the world. But such is Your will. You will
command--and the lamb will become a lion; You will command--and the
furious lion will stretch out her powerful breasts to her little ones;
You will command--and David Leizer, who has grown white in shade, will
fearlessly rise to the sun. Adenoi! Adenoi!
_Sarah, Naum, and Rosa enter, alarmed._
SARAH.
David, what is it you have called us for? And why was your Nullius so
strict when he told us of your command? We have not sinned against
you, and if we have sinned, investigate it, but do not look at us so
sternly.
ROSA.
May I sit down?
DAVID.
Be silent and wait. All those whom I have called are not here yet. Be
seated, Rosa, if you are tired, but when the time comes, rise. You,
too, may sit down, Naum.
_The servants enter irresolutely; a lackey,
resembling an English Minister; a chamber-maid; a
cook; a gardener; a dish-washer, and others. They
move about in confusion. Soon about fifteen or
twenty poor people enter, in groups. Among them
are: Abraham Khessin, an old man; Sonka's girl;
Joseph Kritsky, Sarah Lepke, and several other
Jews and Jewesses. But there are also Greeks, and
Little Russians, and Russians and other paupers
whose nationality has been lost in rags and filth;
two drunkards. Purikes, Ivan Bezkrainy, and the
Organ-grinder, with the same outworn instrument,
are also here. But Anathema is still away._
DAVID.
Please, please. Come in more boldly, don't stop at the
threshold,--others are coming behind you. But it would be well if you
wiped your feet first; this rich house is not mine, and I must return
it as clean as when I took it.
KHESSIN.
We have not yet learned how to walk on rugs, and we have not yet any
patent leather shoes, as your son Naum has. How do you do, David
Leizer? Peace be upon your house.
DAVID.
Peace unto you, too, Abraham. But why do you call me David Leizer, when
you used to call me simply David before?
KHESSIN.
You are now such a mighty man, David Leizer. Yes, I used to call you
merely David before, but here I was waiting for you in the yard, and
the longer I waited, the longer your name grew, Mr. David Leizer.
DAVID.
You are right, Abraham: when the sun sets, the shadows become longer,
and when a man becomes smaller, his name grows longer. But wait
another while, Abraham.
LACKEY.
_To drunkard._
You better move away from me.
DRUNKARD.
Keep quiet, fool! You are a servant here, while we are the guests.
LACKEY.
Ruffian! You aren't in a car here, that you spit on the floor.
DRUNKARD.
Mr. Leizer, a certain man, who looked like an old devil, caught me by
the collar and said: "David Leizer, who received an inheritance, is
calling you." I asked him, "What for?" So he answered: "David wants to
make you his heir," and he began to laugh. And now that I came here,
your servant is chasing me away.
DAVID.
_Smiling._
Nullius is a gay man and he never misses an opportunity for jesting.
But you are my guest, and I ask you to wait.
SARAH.
_After some hesitancy._
Well, how is your business getting along, Ivan? You have fewer
competitors now.
BEZKRAINY.
It's bad, Sarah; we have no customers.
PURIKES.
_Like an echo._
No customers.
SARAH.
_Compassionately._
Ai--Ai--Ai! It's bad, if there are no customers.
ROSA.
Don't speak, mamma. Do you want, perhaps, to smear my face again with
soot?
_Pushing several paupers into the door, Anathema
enters, apparently fatigued._
ANATHEMA.
Well, David, meanwhile receive these. Your millions frighten the poor,
and nobody wanted to follow me, thinking that some deception is hidden
here.
DRUNKARD.
This is the man who caught me by the collar.
ANATHEMA.
Ah, is that you? How do you do? How do you do?
DAVID.
Thank you, Nullius. Now take ink and paper and sit down near me, by the
table; bring me my old counting-board.... As everything I am about to
say is very important, I ask you to write it correctly and to make no
errors--we shall give an account of every word before God. I ask you
all to rise and listen attentively, striving to understand the great
words which I am about to utter.
_Sternly._
Rise, Rosa.
SARAH.
God, have mercy on us! What are you going to do, David?
DAVID.
Be silent, Sarah. You will come with me.
ANATHEMA.
Ready.
_All listen, standing._
DAVID.
_Solemnly._
Upon the death of my brother, Moses Leizer, I received an inheritance
(_on the counting-board_) of two million dollars.
ANATHEMA.
_Nervously, lifting four fingers._
Which means four million roubles.
DAVID.
_Sternly._
Do not interrupt me, Nullius. Yes, it does mean four million roubles.
And now, submitting to the voice of my conscience and the command of
God, and also in memory of my children, Hannah, Benjamin, Raphael, and
Moses, who died of hunger and disease in their childhood....
_He lowers his head and weeps bitterly. Sarah also
cries bitterly._
SARAH.
Oh, my little Moishe! David, David, our little Moishe is dead.
DAVID.
_Wiping his eyes with a large red handkerchief._
Be silent, Sarah. What was I going to say to them, Nullius?... Well,
write, Nullius, write. I know.
_Firmly._
I have resolved, in accordance with the command of God, who is Truth
and Mercy, to distribute all my possessions to the poor. Am I speaking
properly, Nullius?
ANATHEMA.
I hear God in your words.
_At first no one believes David; but soon joyous
doubts and unexpected fear come over them. As
though in sleep the people repeat: "Four millions,
four millions!" and they hide their faces with
their hands. The Organ-grinder comes forward._
ORGAN-GRINDER.
_Morosely._
Will you buy me a new organ, David?
ANATHEMA.
Hush, musician! Back!
ORGAN-GRINDER.
_Retreating._
I want also a new monkey.
DAVID.
Let your hearts rejoice, O unfortunate people, and with a smile on your
lips answer the mercy of Heaven. Go from here to the city, like heralds
of happiness,--go through all its streets and squares, and shout
everywhere: "David Leizer, the old Jew, who is to die soon, received
an inheritance and now distributes it among the poor." And if you will
see a man weeping, and a child whose face is bloodless and whose eyes
are dim, and a woman whose breasts are shrunken like those of an old
goat,--tell them also: "Go, David is calling you." Do I speak properly,
Nullius?
ANATHEMA.
Yes, yes. But have you called all those who should be called?
DAVID.
And if you should see an intoxicated man slumbering amidst his
vomitings, wake him and tell him: "Go, David is calling you." And if
you should see a thief thrashed in the market-place by those he had
robbed, call him also, with words of kindness, yet firm enough to be
regarded as a command: "Go, David is calling you." And if you should
see people who in their misery have become irritated and furious and
who are beating one another with sticks and bits of brick, announce to
them also in words of peace: "Go, David is calling you." And if you
should see a bashful man, who while walking in the wide street lowers
his eyes before the eyes of others, but who stares greedily when no
one looks at him, tell him also in a low voice, without offending his
pride: "Are you not looking for David? Go, he has long been waiting for
you." And if in the evening, when the Devil sows the seeds of night
over the earth, you should see a woman, hideously painted, just as the
heathen paint the bodies of their dead, and who stares boldly, for she
has lost all shame, and who lifts her shoulders, for fear of a blow,
tell her also: "Go, David is calling you." Do I speak properly, Nullius?
ANATHEMA.
Yes, David. But have you called all who should be called?
DAVID.
And whatever form of aversion or fear poverty may assume, and in
whatever colors misery may paint itself, and by whatever words
suffering may fence itself around, rouse with a loud call those who
are fatigued, in words of life return life to those who are dying! Do
not trust the silence and the darkness if they obstruct your way like
a wall: Shout more loudly into the silence and the darkness, for there
dwells unspeakable horror.
ANATHEMA.
That's right, David, that's right! I see how your spirit climbs to the
peak of the mountain and how you knock loudly at the iron gates of
eternity: Open! I love you, David, I kiss your hand, David,--like a dog
I am ready to crawl before you and to obey your commandments. Call,
David, call! Rise, O earth! North and South, East and West, I command
you, by the will of David, my master, answer the call of him who calls
you, and stop at his feet like four oceans of tears. Call, David, call!
DAVID.
_Lifting his hands._
North and South....
ANATHEMA.
East and West....
DAVID.
David is calling you all.
ANATHEMA.
David is calling you all.
_Confusion, tears, laughter,--for all believe him
now. Anathema kisses David's hand, springing about
delightedly. He drags the Organ-grinder by the
collar to the center._
ANATHEMA.
Look, David, here's a musician!