Scene IV

(Egypt. Open halls in the foreground. Adam as Pharaoh in his youth, on a throne. Lucifer as his minister. A brilliant retinue at a respectful distance. In the background, slaves are engaged in building a pyramid; overseers, with straps in their hands drive them to their work. Bright daylight.)

LUCIFER.
O Royal Sire, with sorrow asks thy land, —
Which e'er to die for thee, doth ready stand; —
Why is it, that her mighty Pharaoh,
Upon his cushioned throne no rest can know?
Why yieldest thou the blessings of the day,
And why the night's sweet dreamland fancies' play,
Why leav'st thou not to servitors, the care
Of executing thy great plans? for share
Can no one in thy universal might,
And is not thine all pleasure and delight?
An hundred lands their treasures yield to thee ;
Each fragrant flower, the fruit of every tree
Is thine ; for thee, a thousand bosoms sigh :
The beauty fair, with languishing blue eye,
Like to some sportive elf's, her slender form ;
The dusky maid, with panting lips, so warm,
And burning eyes, mad passion that betray ;
All are thine own ; with their fate thou can'st play ;
Each feels she hath fulfilled her humble lot,
If to thy bliss she hath vouchsafed one jot.

ADAM.
But of all these, not one can touch my heart.

I do not strive for them ; they are but part
Of that thy power secured, and not my own.
But now, creating this great work of stone,
I feel I've found the path which leads me on
To real greatness. That which shall be done,
This work of art, e'en nature will outdo ;
And centuries its wonders yet will view
And throughout ages herald my renown.
No hurricane will ever tear it down,
No earthquake e'er uproot it, for man now,
In strength, e'en to his God, cares not to bow.

LUCIFER.
And yet, Oh! Pharaoh, art happy thou,
In this thy fancy's flight? The truth avow !

ADAM.
Not I. A void unspeakable I feel ;
Toward glory only do I bend my zeal.
But what of that, for bliss is not my goal ;
My name will yet appear on fame's proud roll,
But let the herd know not the pain I feel,
For pity would from adoration steal.

LUCIFER.
But then, if thou in time should'st ever see,
That glory is but hollow mockery?
ADAM.
It cannot be.

LUCIFER.
But if so?

ADAM.
I would die,
Cursing the world which I could thus defy.

LUCIFER.
Thou wilt not die, but ever undergo
The same experience, and all thy woe.

(The overseers whip one of the slaves so mercilessly)

that he runs screaming with pain to the front,
into the hall, where he sinks down before the
throne. )

THE SLAVE.
Help, Majesty!
(Eve, as the slave's wife, tears herself from the)
crowd, and sobbing piteously, throws herself upon
her husband.)

EVE.
Thou dost appeal in vain;
For he who never shared our grief and pain,
Ne'er comprehends. — The ruler's throne is high,
And sorrow's voice is low ; but do not I
Thy body shield, the lashes on mine own
Receiving?

ADAM.
(To the overseers, who attempt to drag the slave and)
his wife away.)
Away from here! Leave them alone!

(The overseers all retire.)
What strange emotion creeps into my heart?
Who is this woman, what her charm — or art,
By which, as with a chain, the mighty king,
Down to her humble level, she doth bring?

LUCIFER.
This is another of those subtle threads,
Thy Lord disdainfully about thee weaves.
To rouse in thee the consciousness of this,
Thy chrysalis existence, when thou seekst, —
In thy delusion — like the butterfly
To soar. Thou'st seen the power of this frail thread ;
It slips from out our grasp, and for this reason
I'm powerless to destroy it

ADAM.
(Descending the steps of the throne.)
Attempt it not.
It is not ill, although it presseth sore.

LUCIFER.
But it beseemeth not a king and sage
To groan beneath it.
ADAM.
What then, can I do?

LUCIFER.
There's nothing left but science, which denies
The whole existence of these occult threads,
Which force and matter jeeringly deride.

ADAM.
I neither can deride them, nor deny.

EVE.
Ah! dear one, how thy blood doth flow; let me
Quench it a little. Ah ! and is thy pain so great?

SLAVE.
It is only life that pains me, soon
All will be o'er.

EVE.
Not so ! Not so ! for why
Did'st live at all, if so, thou now must die?

SLAVE.
What right have slaves to live? To carry stones
For pyramids, planned by great kings on thrones,
Bear children for the yoke that was their own,
Then die, — a million for one man, alone.

ADAM.
Ah! Lucifer, what mean these dreadful words?
LUCIFER.
Delirious ravings of a dying man !

ADAM.
What does he say?

LUCIFER.
Great Pharaoh, to thee
'Tis naught; and yet it is of consequence:
The earth is cumbered with just one slave less.

EVE.
Ah ! naught to thee, but all the world to me,
Woe! Woe! who now will love me tenderly?
SLAVE.
No longer I ; forget me, wife — for aye !

(Dies.)

ADAM.
Thou shalt be mine. — The dead man bear away.
My lady, rise! Upon my cushioned throne
Is now thy place; I'm king of power alone;
But queen of beauty thou — and thou and I
Were destined now to meet, beneath the sky.

EVE.
Thy wish is law to me, great Pharaoh;
Our fate lies but in thy commands, I know,
Nor do I seek escape ; but now alone
Leave me a while, and then command thine own.

ADAM.
No more that word. Oh! can it, can it be,
That in commands doth lie my sov'reignty?

EVE.
Enough, that thy command, in this first hour,
Gives me no pain, as o'er my spouse I shower
My bitter tears. Then envy not the dead
O'er whom — in death still beautiful — they're shed.

(Falls upon him.)

ADAM.
" Fair " and " dead ! "—What contrariety !
This peace doth bring reproach on all our strivings,
And pityingly mocks our vanity.

LUCIFER.
The liberated slave, who scornful says,
" E'en stronger than thy chains, have I become ! "

ADAM.
Peace to the dead, and to the living, bliss!
He feeleth not thy tears, but to forego
Thy smile, is pain to me.

(They carry the dead man away. Adam leads Eve to the throne.)

Here, at my side,

(Lamentations are heard among the workmen. Eve swoons.)

What is it, love?

EVE.
Oh! dost not hear
The people's cries?

ADAM.
It is but now, I hear.
'Tis no sweet music, sure, but listen not!
And in my kisses be the world forgot.
(To Lucifer) Can'st thou not stop these lamentations wild?

LUCIFER.
I cannot; 'tis the people's right; that right
Which with their yoke, they have inherited.
(Another cry of grief. Eve sobs aloud. Adam rises.)

ADAM.
Thou sufferest, my lady, yet I know
No help to give. Thy own heart's awful woe
Like light'ning strikes my brain, and now I feel
As if to me the whole world did appeal.

EVE.
Oh, Pharaoh! destroy me, but forgive,
If to their cry, my heart is sensitive.
I know full well that I am but thy slave,
That all my aim in life, until the grave,
Must be to please, and to please thee alone.
I cheerfully forget all I have known:
Sorrows and joys, love dreams, all, all ; and I
Do e'en forget my dead, to gratify
But thee; that passionate be my love sigh;
That burning lips, with kiss to kiss reply ;
But when this being multiform, without —
Lashed on its back with whips — in pain doth shout,
Then I, an atom of that body, smart
With all its agony, e'en to my heart.

ADAM.
I feel it too—" A million for the one."
So hath the dead man said.

EVE.
What have I done,
Great Pharaoh, that thou'rt so sad become?
Drive me away, or teach me to be dumb,
As well as deaf.

ADAM.
Beloved, no ! in naught
Hast failed; a better teacher thou, who'st taught
Me to hear sorrow's tones ; and now no more
Shall they resound on earth, for I abhor
Henceforth, that fame, which is but one man's share,
And for which men, e'en million wise, must bear
The yoke of woe. The bliss, for one, I feel,
But a million cries, to me in pain appeal.

LUCIFER.
O Pharaoh, thou dreamest! Certain 't is,
That fate the herd has destined to the work,
As beasts of burden, to tread the mill, at each
Command; for that they were created. Give
To them their liberty, to-day; but that
Which thou dost sacrifice, will be no gain
To them. To-morrow, a new master, they
Will seek, for thinkest thou could'st override
The herd, felt it no need of sov'reignty,
If consciousness within its bosom dwelt?

ADAM.
Why then do they lament, as if to them
Their servitude were pain?
LUCIFER.
They suffer, but

They know not why ; for ev'ry creature longs
For mastery; and this alone, it is,
And not fraternity, that draws the crowd
Round freedom's standard; though to consciousness
They never wake, but a presentiment
Or something new to come, an overthrowal
Of established laws, impelleth them,
And 't is this hope, embodied in their dreams
Of happiness, they view. — The populace
Is a deep sea, whose under-waters dark,
The sunshine can not penetrate; the wave,
Alone, doth sparkle and reflect the light, —
And even thou dost chance to be this wave.

ADAM.
And why just It

LUCIFER.
Or other, like to thee,
In whom once patriotism is aroused,
As freedom's champion adored, doth dare
Approach thine own illustrious place. The herd
Doth nothing gain ; naught but its name is changed,
While the tyrant still remains.

ADAM.
Endless
Is the circle of thy reasoning,
From which perhaps, there may be no escape.

LUCIFER.
There is escape. Choose but a few ; load them
With gold and jewels and other toys; place them
Above the masses ; say thou hold'st them nobler,
Thy word believing, the people they will scorn,
Enduring, in their turn, thy scorn of them.

ADAM.
No more of thy misleading sophistries!
Away with slaves ! let every one be free !
Proclaim to them their freedom ; but make haste,
Less I should rue it, and 't would be too late.

LUCIFER (Aside).
Thou thinkest forward, of thyself, to move,
When thou art borne but by the flood of fate.
(Exit.)
ADAM.

This work will stand forever incomplete;
A warning ruin, to all those, whose plans
Are great and high, a mighty question-mark
Forever to our potency, and frailty.
(Workmen are heard talking joyfully, without.)
Lucifer returns.)

Rejoice ye slaves that greatness bows to thee!
But ne'er believe, that I could be constrained.

EVE.
Console thyself, O thou my own beloved!
What cometh of this glory, lone and drear —
A clammy serpent that between us creeps?

ADAM.
But still, how great!

EVE.
Away with it! They weep
No more; their cries no longer rend our ears.
Upon my breast, what more could'st thou desire?

ADAM.
O woman, narrow thy horizon is,
But it is just for this man gives life's meed
To thee. The strong must ever love the weak;
The suckling, helpless in its mother's arms,
Is loved more tenderly than all the rest.

EVE.
Ah, Pharaoh! perhaps thus soon, my vain
And foolish chatter wearies thee. Alas!
How were it otherwise? I am not learned.

ADAM.
Nor need thou wish for wisdom, my dear one ;
For mind sufficient, in myself I find,
'T is not for power or greatness that I lean
Upon thy breast, nor e'en for wisdom ; that
Far better with my books I can achieve.
Speak, only speak, that I may hear thy voice,
That it may flood my heart with melody.
Say what thou wilt, for oh ! who e'er doth ask
The meaning of the bird's song? but we list
In rapture, when we hear his tuneful lay.
Be but a flower, a costly gem, useless,
Though beautiful, for that beseems thee well.
(To Lucifer.)

Another wish wakes in this heart of stone,
A foolish wish perhaps — but grant it me ;
A bold glance in the future, let me cast,
A couple of thousand years from now. I fain
Would see what of my fame will then remain.

LUCIFER.
While thou'rt giving kiss for kiss,
Dost thou not feel the tepid breeze,
That gently fans thy burning cheeks,
And then away as gently, flees?
An atom of the dust it blows,
Which in a year an inch hath grown,
A few feet in a century;
When a few thousand years have flown
The pyramids will be entombed
And thy great name be buried low
'Neath heaps of sand; and then, where lie
Thy fairest pleasure gardens now,
Jackals will claim their beastly reign,
Which with their howling will resound
And, on the desert plain encamped,
A servile beggar-race be found.

(As Lucifer speaks, all becomes visible.)

And that which Heaven-rending storm,
And earthquake cannot bring about,
By the caressing, gentle breeze
In its calm, silent course is wrought.

ADAM.
A frightful picture!

LUCIFER (Mockingly.)
Ye need have no fear,
Thy soul alone is lost; thy body here
Remains, a mummy ; and in times to come
The wonder of all schoolboys who would know
What mystic, half-effaced inscriptions show:
If it had been a King or but a slave.
(A Mummy stalks out, appearing before the throne, then slowly going down the steps.)

ADAM (Springing up.)
Infernal vision, monstrous thing, begone!
Ambition and conceit henceforth I shun.
Still in my ear, rings " Millions for the one."
So to these millions then, be justice done
In a free state, for else it cannot be:
The one must perish, if mankind be free;
And it is for the common weal I yearn.

EVE.
And me too, leavest thou, from me dost turn?

ADAM.
All! Thee, the throne, all, must I leave.
Lead on, O Lucifer, I did deceive
Myself; too long in error's path did roam.

EVE.
My King, if e'er with shattered hopes thou fain
Would'st solace find, come to my heart again.

ADAM.
Ay! Ay! I do believe that we shall meet;
Then in some nobler guise I thee shall greet ;
And thou wilt love me, not at my command,
But as my peer, with passion strong and grand.

LUCIFER.
Not so precipitate ; thou'lt reach the goal,
And when 't is gained, thy now impatient soul,
With anguish will bemoan the loss sustained;
While I shall laugh at thee, for what I've gained.