composes himself. But for the most part he buys string quartets from
us; he erases the signatures and has them played in his castle. The
courtiers flatter him and pretend that they have guessed him to be the
composer. He does not deny it. He tries to appear confused. And now he
has succeeded in composing a Requiem. But that will reduce my pride.
CONSTANZE
You know he will only be laughed at. The music will speak for itself.
Heaven wanted to give us four hundred crowns--
MOZART
And Heaven went about it humorously.
CONSTANZE
What was his wife like?
MOZART
Her impudences smelt to Heaven. She dressed like a page and called
herself Cherubin. Her red cheeks and her black teeth and her sixty
years are in my mind now.
CONSTANZE
[_After a pause._]
We’ll give back the money. You can write the music, without writing it
for them.
MOZART
No, I like this game. I like it for its very falseness. What does it
matter who signs such music or to whom it is addressed?
[_He flings himself upon the sofa and turns his face to the wall._]
For whom do we write music?--for musicians? Salieri!--for patrons? Von
Walsegg!--for the public? The Countess von Walsegg! I shall write this
Requiem, but it shall be for myself, since I am dying.
CONSTANZE
My beloved, don’t talk so! Go to sleep.
[_She spreads a shawl over his body._]
How can you say such things? Imagine even thinking such a thing! You
will live many years and write countless beautiful pages. We will
return the money and refuse the commission. Then the matter will be
closed. Now go to sleep, my treasure.
[_She goes out, quietly closing the door behind her._ MOZART, _at
the mercy of his youth, his illness and his genius, is shaken
by a violent fit of weeping. The sobs gradually subside and he
falls asleep. In his dream_ THE GRAY STEWARD _returns_.]
THE GRAY STEWARD
Mozart! Turn and look at me. You know who I am.
MOZART
[_Not turning._]
You are the steward of the Count von Walsegg. Go tell him to write his
own music. I will not stain my pen to celebrate his lady, so let the
foul bury the foul.
THE GRAY STEWARD
Lie then against the wall, and learn that it is Death itself that
commissions....
MOZART
Death is not so fastidious. Death carries no perfumed handkerchief.
THE GRAY STEWARD
Lie then against the wall. Know first that all the combinations of
circumstance can suffer two interpretations, the apparent and the real.
MOZART
Then speak, sycophant, I know the apparent one. What other reading can
this humiliation bear?
THE GRAY STEWARD
It is Death itself that commands you this Requiem. You are to give a
voice to all those millions sleeping, who have no one but you to speak
for them. There lie the captains and the thieves, the queens and the
drudges, while the evening of their earthly remembrance shuts in, and
from that great field rises an eternal _miserere nobis_. Only through
the intercession of great love, and of great art which is love, can
that despairing cry be eased. Was that not sufficient cause for this
commission to be anonymous?
MOZART
[_Drops trembling on one knee beside the couch._]
Forgive me.
THE GRAY STEWARD
And it was for this that the pretext and mover was chosen from among
the weakest and vainest of humans. Death has her now, and all her folly
has passed into the dignity and grandeur of her state. Where is your
pride now? Here are her slippers and her trinkets. Press them against
your lips. Again! Again! Know henceforth that only he who has kissed
the leper can enter the kingdom of art.
MOZART
I have sinned, yet grant me one thing. Grant that I may live to finish
the Requiem.
THE GRAY STEWARD
No! No!
[_And it remains unfinished._]
_HAST THOU CONSIDERED MY SERVANT JOB?_
_Now it came to pass on the day when the sons of God came to present
themselves before_ SATAN _that_ CHRIST _also came among them. And_
SATAN
[_Said unto_ CHRIST.]
_Whence comest Thou?_
CHRIST
[_Answered_ SATAN _and said_]
_From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in
it._
[_And_]
SATAN
[_Said unto_ CHRIST]
_Hast Thou considered my servant Judas? For there is none like him in
the earth, an evil and a faithless man, one that feareth me and turneth
away from God._
[_Then_]
CHRIST
[_Answered_ SATAN _and said_]
_Doth Judas fear thee for naught? Hast thou not made a hedge about him,
and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? But
draw back thy hand now and he will renounce thee to thy face._
[_And_]
SATAN
[_Said unto_ CHRIST]
_Behold, all that he hath is in thy power._
[_So_ CHRIST _went forth from the presence of_ SATAN.]
* * * * *
[_He descended to the earth. Thirty-three years are but a moment
before_ SATAN _and before_ GOD, _and at the end of this moment_
CHRIST _ascends again to His own place. He passes on this
journey before the presence of the adversary._]
SATAN
You are alone! Where is my son Judas whom I gave into your hands?
CHRIST
He follows me.
SATAN
I know what you have done. And the earth rejected you? The earth
rejected you! All Hell murmurs in astonishment. But where is Judas, my
son and my joy?
CHRIST
Even now he is coming.
SATAN
Even Heaven, when I reigned there, was not so tedious as this waiting.
Know, Prince, that I am too proud to show all my astonishment at your
defeat. But now that you are swallowing your last humiliation, now that
your failure has shut the mouths of the angels, I may confess that for
a while I feared you. There is a fretfulness in the hearts of men. Many
are inconstant, even to me. Alas, every man is not a Judas. I knew even
from the beginning that you would be able, for a season, to win their
hearts with your mild eloquence. I feared that you would turn to your
own uses this fretfulness that visits them. But my fears were useless.
Even Judas, even when my power was withdrawn from him, even Judas
betrayed you. Am I not right in this?
CHRIST
You are.
SATAN
You admitted him into your chosen company. Is it permitted to me to ask
for how much he betrayed you?
CHRIST
For thirty pieces of silver.
SATAN
[_After a pause._]
Am I permitted to ask to what rôle he was assigned in your company?
CHRIST
He held its money-bags.
SATAN
[_Dazed._]
Does Heaven understand human nature as little as that? Surely the
greater part of your closest companions stayed beside you to the end?
CHRIST
One stayed beside me.
SATAN
I have overestimated my enemy. Learn again, Prince, that if I were
permitted to return to the earth in my own person, not for thirty
years, but for thirty hours, I would seal all men to me and all the
temptations in Heaven’s gift could not persuade one to betray me. For
I build not on intermittent dreams and timid aspirations, but on the
unshakable passions of greed and lust and self-love. At last this is
made clear: Judas, Judas, all the triumphs of Hell await you. Already
above the eternal pavements of black marble the banquet is laid.
Listen, how my nations are stirring in new hope and in new joy. Such
music has not been lifted above my lakes and my mountains since the day
I placed the apple of knowledge between the teeth of Adam.
[_Suddenly the thirty pieces of silver are cast upward from the
revolted hand of_ JUDAS. _They hurtle through the skies,
flinging their enormous shadows across the stars and continue
falling forever through the vast funnel of space._
[_Presently_ JUDAS _rises, the black stains about his throat and
the rope of suicide_.]
SATAN
What have they done to you, my beloved son? What last poor revenge have
they attempted upon you? Come to me. Here there is comfort. Here all
this violence can be repaired. The futile spite of Heaven cannot reach
you here. But why do you not speak to me? My son, my treasure!
[JUDAS _remains with lowered eyes_.]
CHRIST
Speak to him then, my beloved son.
JUDAS
[_Still with lowered eyes, softly, to_ SATAN.]
Accursed be thou, from eternity to eternity.
[_These two mount upward to their due place and_ SATAN _remains to
this day, uncomprehending, upon the pavement of Hell_.]
_THE FLIGHT INTO EGYPT_
_From time to time there are auctions of the fittings that made up the
old Dime Museums, and at such an auction you should be able to
pick up a revolving cyclorama of the Holy Land and Egypt, which is
the scenery for this piece. Turn down the gas-lights, for it is
night in Palestine, and introduce a lady and a child on a donkey.
They are accompanied by an old man on foot. The Donkey’s name is_
HEPZIBAH.
HEPZIBAH
[_For the tenth time._]
I’m tired.
OUR LADY
I know, I know.
HEPZIBAH
I’m willing to carry you as far and as fast as I can, but within reason.
ST. JOSEPH
If you didn’t talk so much you’d have more strength for the journey.
HEPZIBAH
It’s not my lungs that are tired, it’s my legs. When I talk I don’t
notice how tired I am.
OUR LADY
Do as you think best, Hepzibah, but do keep moving. I can still hear
Herod’s soldiers behind us.
[_Noise of ironmongery in the wings, right._]
HEPZIBAH
Well, I’m doing my best.
[_Silence. The Tigris passes on the cyclorama._]
We must talk or I’ll have to halt. We talked over the Romans and the
whole political situation, and I must say again that I and every
thinking person can only view such a situation with alarm, with real
alarm. We talked over the village, and I don’t think there’s anything
more to say about that. Did I remember to tell you that Issachar’s
daughter’s engagement had been broken?
OUR LADY
Yes.
HEPZIBAH
Well, there’s always ideas. I hope I can say honestly that I am at home
in ideas of all sorts. For instance, back in the yard I’m the leader of
a group. Among the girls. Very interesting religious discussions, I can
tell you. Very helpful.
ST. JOSEPH
[_As some more iron is heard falling in Judæa; the Euphrates
passes._]
Can’t you hurry a bit?
HEPZIBAH
I always say to the girls: Girls, even in faith we are supposed to use
our reason. No one is intended to swallow hook, line and sinker, as the
saying is. Now take these children that Herod is killing. Why were they
born, since they must die so soon? Can any one answer that? Or put it
another way: Why is the little boy in your arms being saved while the
others must perish?
ST. JOSEPH
Is it necessary to stop?
HEPZIBAH
I was stopping for emphasis.--Mind you, it’s not that I doubt. Honest
discussion does not imply doubt necessarily.--What was that noise?
OUR LADY
I beg of you to make all the haste you can. The noise you hear is that
of Herod’s soldiers. My child will be slain while you argue about
Faith. I beg of you, Hepzibah, to save him while you can.
HEPZIBAH
I assure you I’m doing the best I can, and I think I’m moving along
smartly. I didn’t mean that noise, anyway; it was a noise ahead. Of
course, your child is dearer to you than others, but _theologically
speaking_, there’s no possible reason why you should escape safely into
Egypt while the others should be put to the sword, as the Authorized
Version has it. When the Messiah comes these things will be made clear,
but until then I intend to exercise my reasoning faculty. My theory is
this....
OUR LADY
Hepzibah, we shall really have to beat you if you stop so often.
Hepzibah, don’t you remember me? Don’t you remember how you fell on
your knees in the stable? Don’t you remember my child?
HEPZIBAH
What? What! Of course!
OUR LADY
Yes, Hepzibah.
HEPZIBAH
Let me stop just a moment and look around. No, I don’t dare to stop.
Why didn’t I recognize you before! Really, my lady, you should have
spoken more sharply to me. I didn’t know I could run like this; it’s a
pleasure. Lord, what a donkey I was to be arguing about reason while my
Lord was in danger.
[_A pyramid flies by._]
Do you see the lights of the town yet? That’s the Sphinx at the right,
madam, yes, 3655 B.C. Well, well, it’s a queer world where the survival
of the Lord is dependent on donkeys, but so it is. Why didn’t you tell
me before, my lady?
ST. JOSEPH
We thought you could carry us forward on your own merit.
HEPZIBAH
Oh, forgive me, madam; forgive me, sir. You don’t hear any more
soldiers now, I warrant you. Please don’t direct me so far--excuse
me--to the right, madam. That’s the Nile, and there are crocodiles. My
lady, may I ask one question now that we’re safe?
OUR LADY
Yes, Hepzibah.
HEPZIBAH
It’s this matter of faith and reason, madam. I’d love to carry back to
our group of girls whatever you might say about it....
OUR LADY
Dear Hepzibah, perhaps some day. For the present just do as I do and
bear your master on.
[_More pyramids fly by; Memnon sings; the Nile moves dreamily
past, and the inn is reached._]
_THE ANGEL THAT TROUBLED THE WATERS_
_The Pool.--A vast gray hall with a hole in the ceiling open to the
sky. Broad stone steps lead up from the water on its four sides.
The water is continuously restless and throws blue reflections
upon the walls. The sick, the blind and the malformed are lying on
the steps. The long stretches of silence and despair are broken
from time to time when one or another groans and turns in his
rags, or raises a fretful wail or a sudden cry of exasperation at
long-continued pain. A door leads out upon the porch where the
attendants of the sick are playing at dice, waiting for the call
to fling their masters into the water when the angel of healing
stirs the pool. Beyond the porch there is a glimpse of the fierce
sunlight and the empty streets of an oriental noonday._
_Suddenly the_ ANGEL _appears upon the top step. His face and robe
shine with a color that is both silver and gold, and the wings of
blue and green, tipped with rose, shimmer in the tremulous light.
He walks slowly down among the shapeless sleepers and stands
gazing into the water that already trembles in anticipation of its
virtue._
[_A new invalid enters._]
THE NEWCOMER
Come, long-expected love. Come, long-expected love. Let the sacred
finger and the sacred breath stir up the pool. Here on the lowest
step I wait with festering limbs, with my heart in pain. Free me,
long-expected love, from this old burden. Since I cannot stay, since I
must return into the city, come now, renewal, come, release.
[_Another invalid wakes suddenly out of a nightmare, calling: “The
Angel! The Angel has come. I am cured.” He flings himself into
the pool, splashing his companions. They come to life and gaze
eagerly at the water. They hang over the brink and several
slide in. Then a great cry of derision rises: “The Fool! Fool!
His nightmare again. Beat him! Drive him out into the Porch.”
The mistaken invalid and his dupes drag themselves out of the
water and lie dripping disconsolately upon the steps._]
THE MISTAKEN INVALID
I dreamt that an angel stood by me and that at last I should be free of
this hateful place and its company. Better a mistake and this jeering
than an opportunity lost.
[_He sees the NEWCOMER beside him and turns on him plaintively._]
Aïe! You have no right to be here, at all events. You are able to walk
about. You pass your days in the city. You come here only at great
intervals, and it may be that by some unlucky chance you might be the
first one to see the sign. You would rush into the water and a cure
would be wasted. You are yourself a physician. You have restored my own
children. Go back to your work and leave these miracles to us who need
them.
THE NEWCOMER
[_Ignoring him; under his breath._]
My work grows faint. Heal me, long-expected Love; heal me that I may
continue. Renewal, release; let me begin again without this fault that
bears me down.
THE MISTAKEN INVALID
I shall sit here without ever lifting my eyes from the surface of the
pool. I shall be the next. Many times, even since I have been here,
many times the Angel has passed and has stirred the water, and hundreds
have left the hall leaping and crying out with joy. I shall be the next.
THE ANGEL
[_Kneels down on the lowest step and meditatively holds his finger
poised above the shuddering water._]
Joy and fulfilment, completion, content, rest and release have been
promised.
THE NEWCOMER
Come, long-expected Love.
THE ANGEL
[_Without turning makes himself apparent to the_ NEWCOMER _and
addresses him_.]
Draw back, physician, this moment is not for you.
THE NEWCOMER
Angelic visitor, I pray thee, listen to my prayer.
THE ANGEL
Healing is not for you.
THE NEWCOMER
Surely, surely, the angels are wise. Surely, O, Prince, you are not
deceived by my apparent wholeness. Your eyes can see the nets in
which my wings are caught; the sin into which all my endeavors sink
half-performed cannot be concealed from you.
THE ANGEL
I know.
THE NEWCOMER
It is no shame to boast to an Angel of what I might yet do in Love’s
service were I but freed from this bondage.
THE MISTAKEN INVALID
Surely the water is stirring strangely to-day! Surely I shall be whole!
THE ANGEL
I must make haste. Already the sky is afire with the gathering host,
for it is the hour of the new song among us. The earth itself feels the
preparation in the skies and attempts its hymn. Children born in this
hour spend all their lives in a sharper longing for the perfection that
awaits them.
THE NEWCOMER
Oh, in such an hour was I born, and doubly fearful to me is the flaw
in my heart. Must I drag my shame, Prince and singer, all my days more
bowed than my neighbor?
THE ANGEL
[_Stands a moment in silence._]
Without your wound where would your power be? It is your very remorse
that makes your low voice tremble into the hearts of men. The very
angels themselves cannot persuade the wretched and blundering children
on earth as can one human being broken on the wheels of living. In
Love’s service only the wounded soldiers can serve. Draw back.
[_He swiftly kneels and draws his finger through the water. The
pool is presently astir with running ripples. They increase and
a divine wind strikes the gay surface. The waves are flung upon
the steps. The_ MISTAKEN MAN _casts himself into the Pool, and
the whole company lurches, rolls, or hobbles in. The servants
rush in from the porch. Turmoil. Finally the no longer_
MISTAKEN INVALID _emerges and leaps joyfully up the steps. The
rest, coughing and sighing, follow him. The_ ANGEL _smiles for
a moment and disappears_.]
THE HEALED MAN
Look, my hand is new as a child’s. Glory be to God! I have begun again.
[_To the_ NEWCOMER.]
May you be the next, my brother. But come with me first, an hour only,
to my home. My son is lost in dark thoughts. I--I do not understand
him, and only you have ever lifted his mood. Only an hour ... my
daughter since her child has died, sits in the shadow. She will not
listen to us....
Transcriber’s Notes
❧ Italics represented with surrounding _underscores_.
❧ Small caps converted to ALL CAPS.
❧ Duplicate chapter titles removed in the text version.
❧ Obvious typographic errors silently corrected.
❧ Variations in hyphenation kept as in the original.