CORNELL 
 
 UNIVERSITY 
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 BOUGHT WITH THE INCOME 
 OF THE SAGE ENDOWMENT 
 FUND GIVEN IN 1891 BY 
 
 HENRY WILLIAMS SAGE 
 
Cornell University Library 
 PA 8142.B91J5 1902 
 
 3 1924 026 506 786 
 
The original of this book is in 
 the Cornell University Library. 
 
 There are no known copyright restrictions in 
 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://archive.org/details/cu31924026506786 
 
JEPHTHA 
 
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 "GEORGE." 
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PRINTED BV 
 ALEXANDER GARDNER, PAISLEY 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 At the time when George Buchanan was one of the 
 professors in the College de Guyenne at Bordeaux, 
 it was the custom of the students to act Latin plays. 
 For the stage of the College, Buchanan translated 
 the Medea and Alcestis of Euripides, and also com- 
 posed two tragedies — Baptistes and Jephthes. 
 " The tragedy of Jephthes," says Irving (Memoirs of 
 Buchanan, 2nd edition, p. 28), " is conformable to 
 the models of the Grecian theatre, and is not desti- 
 tute of interest. The subject is highly dramatic ; 
 it is a subject which Buchanan's great exemplar 
 Euripides might have been inclined to select. The 
 situation of a father who had unwarily subjected 
 himself to the dreadful necessity of sacrificing a 
 beloved and only child, the repugnant and excru- 
 ciating sensations of the mother, the daughter's 
 mingled sentiments of heroism and timidity are 
 
6 Preface. 
 
 delineated with considerable felicity of dramatic 
 conception. 1 ' 
 
 The attention of the present translator was first 
 drawn to this powerful drama by the following words 
 of Mr. Hume Brown {Life of George Buchanan, 
 1890, p. 121): — "Of his two original dramas, 
 Jephthes and Baptistes, the former, as he himself 
 justly thought, is undoubtedly much the more 
 striking dramatic performance. The story of 
 Jephtha and his daughter is clearly one which 
 presents all the materials for tragedy of the highest 
 order ; and Buchanan, shackled though he is by con- 
 ventional forms and a dead language, has certainly 
 risen to the greatness of his theme. His conception 
 of Jephtha and his daughter Iphis, is indeed quite 
 Miltonic in intensity and elevation. But here, 
 again, we can but express regret that there should 
 have been lost to Buchanan's native literature a 
 talent which, even under such untoward conditions, 
 could achieve so much." 
 
Preface. 7 
 
 Having conceived the idea of rendering Jephthes 
 into English verse, the translator, through the 
 kindness of an esteemed parishioner — Sir Archibald 
 Lawrie of the Moss — whose house stands on the site 
 formerly occupied by that in which George Buchanan 
 was born, obtained access to the Advocates' Library, 
 where he found two translations of this drama — one 
 into French verse — Jephte, cm Le Voeu, Tragedie 
 traduite du Latin de Buchanan, par Florent 
 Chrestien (Paris : par Mamert Patisson, Imprimeur 
 du Roy, 1587, 12mo);* the other into English 
 prose, by William Tait, schoolmaster at Drum- 
 melzier, Edinburgh, 1750. 
 
 This translation into English verse is offered to 
 
 * Irving states (footnote in Memoirs, 2nd edition, p. 36), that 
 there were two editions of the French version issued previously 
 to that mentioned above — Orleans, hoys Rabier, 1 567, 4to ; Paris, 
 Robert Estienne, 1573, 8vo ; and a later one — M. Patisson, 
 1595, 12mo. Ue also mentions an Italian version — L'lefte 
 Tragedia di Giorgio Bucanano recata di Latino in Volgare da 
 Scipione Bargagli. In Venezia per Matteo Valentini ; 1600, 
 18vo. 
 
8 Preface. 
 
 the public in the hope that it may be found to 
 reflect some of the sublimity and beauty of a noble 
 poem by that illustrious Scotsman concerning whom 
 Joseph Scaliger wrote : — 
 
 " Namque ad supremum perducta Foetica culmen 
 In te stat, nee quo progrediatur habet. 
 Imperii fuerat Roraani Scotia limes : 
 Roman i eloquii Scotia finis erit. '' 
 
 Kllleakn Manse, 
 November, 1902. 
 
&a tije fWrmoig 
 
 of 
 
 ;Pg parents 
 
" ' Strength came to me that equall'd my desire. 
 How beautiful a thing it was to die 
 For God and for my sire. 
 
 " ' It comforts me in this one thought to dwell, 
 That I subdued me to my father's will ; 
 Because the kiss he gave me, ere I fell, 
 Sweetens the spirit still. 
 
 " ' Moreover, it is written that my race 
 ffew'd Ammon, hip and thigh, from Aroer 
 On Arnon unto Minneth.' Here her face 
 Glowed as I looked at her. 
 
 " She locked her lips : she left me where I stood : 
 ' Glory to God,' she sang, and past afar, 
 Thridding the sombre boskage of the wood, 
 Toward the morning-star." 
 
 Tennyson, "A Dream of Fair Women.' 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Author's Preface, 17 
 
 Jkphtha, 25 
 
 Notes, 127 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 ' Her eyes like stars, her hair that vied with 
 
 gold," - - Frontispiece 
 
 1 Of tears a flowing river, 
 Shall bear away thy joy for ever, To face page :>S 
 
 ' Strew o'er the land abuudantly 
 Flowers in oolour diversified," - ,, 51 
 
 ' Yet Misery holds me in her firmest grasp," ,, 71 
 
 ' Hung, as a sweet burden, from thy nook," „ 111 
 
JEPHTHES, 
 
 SIVE 
 
 VOTUM, 
 
 TRAGCEDIA 
 AUCTORE 
 
 Georgio Buchanano 
 
 SCOTO 
 
THE 
 
 AUTHOR'S PREFACE AND DEDICATION 
 
 TO THE COMTE DE BRISSAC. 
 
 TO 
 
 that most distinguished man 
 
 Charles du Cosse', 
 
 Marshal of France, and Commander-in-Chief of the 
 
 King of France among the Turinese, 
 
 The Preface 
 
 of 
 
 The Tragedy of Jephtha. 
 
 To some I may appear to be committing an act of 
 folly in sending this small literary gift to you who 
 from your youth upwards have been devoted to 
 military studies, and always occupied with arms and 
 wars ; but, for the most part, those that will deem 
 my act one of folly are persons who either do not 
 sufficiently consider the affinity that exists between 
 arms and letters, or else are defective in their per- 
 ception of your genius. For military science and 
 
1 8 The Author's Preface. 
 
 the study of letters are not sojincorflpatible as most 
 people wrongly suppose : on the "contrary, rather is 
 there between them an intimate alliance, and a 
 certain subtle harmony of nature. For, although in 
 some past ages, either from indolence, or from some 
 erroneous conviction, these professions have been 
 sundered from one another, nevertheless the wrong 
 notion of the unlearned cannot so far prevail as that 
 they themselves should forget their ancient and (so 
 to speak) natural kinship. For all the Generals of 
 every age who have done famous deeds have been 
 either themselves most learned men, or have be- 
 stowed the deepest affection upon such as were dis- 
 tinguished for their learning. And, indeed, it is 
 impossible that a great and exalted mind which 
 keeps its regards fixed upon eternity to the neglect 
 of that which is transitory, should not also love 
 literature which is the guardian of remembrance and 
 antiquity. And, for the most part, the men that 
 hate and despise literature are those that, basely 
 living a life of knavery and wickedness, dread the 
 conscience of posterity, as Claudian sings, it seems 
 to me, with no less truth than felicity : — 
 
 Brave men delight to hear 
 
 The Muse their deeds rehearse, 
 
 And verse is loved by him 
 That does what's worth a verse. 
 
The Author's Preface. 19 
 
 Then, on the other hand, as for those who give 
 their every endeavour to the task of setting before 
 themselves for a model the likeness of consummate 
 valour, 
 
 and drinking in, with mental eyes, 
 
 What Nature to the mortal sight denies, 
 
 how great joy may we think will possess their hearts 
 should they have obtained a (so to speak) living and 
 breathing image of what they, with such earnestness, 
 have pursued ? But to this mutual admiration of 
 valour, and this affinity of nature of which I have 
 spoken, there falls to be added a kind of mutual 
 accommodation. For as the doer of famous deeds 
 justly looks up to the man whom he recognises 
 as a master and artist qualified for the task of 
 celebrating and commemorating his achievements, 
 and cherishes as a parent one from whom he expects 
 to receive not merely such brief loan of light as we 
 enjoy, but that much longer life which is laid up 
 in the recollection of posterity ; so, on the other 
 hand, the man of letters gladly occupies that field, 
 and employs that subject-matter provided for him 
 bv the man of action, upon which his own reputa- 
 tion depends, and 
 
 Whereby he soars into the general ken, 
 
 And flies in triumph through the mouths of men. 
 
20 The Author's Preface. 
 
 For both alike seek a fruit of glory, of unequal 
 excellence, indeed, in the opinion of men, yet with 
 equal zeal, and from the same source. But all who, 
 as Sallust says, " seek the fame of notable deeds or of 
 the liberal arts," are thus far related to one another. 
 And, surely, the above considerations come home to 
 you, since, from the time of your earliest youth you 
 have manifested such love for your country, such 
 courage in war, such moderation and fairness in 
 peace, as furnish to all who cultivate letters a 
 pattern of your good qualities which they both 
 can, and ought, to set forth for the imitation of 
 posterity ; since, also, albeit in a different walk of 
 life, you have taken it upon yourself to cherish and 
 protect literature, deprived as it is of the patronage 
 of your brother, Philip Cosse, Bishop of Constance ; 
 since, further, you ever consort with men of the 
 highest learning, with whom, even in the midst of 
 the heat of the fiercest campaign, 
 
 You temper stern Minerva with the Muse, 
 And with Apollo moderate Getic Mars ; 
 
 since, in fine, you cause your son in his boyhood to 
 be so trained in literature as that he may be able, 
 not only to maintain^ but even to increase the so 
 generous heritage of celebrity and fame which he 
 has received from his father. For myself, before 
 
The Author's Preface. 21 
 
 you had even seen me, and when I was altogether 
 unknown to you save by repute as a scholar, you 
 have so cherished me with all the offices of kindness 
 and generosity that, should my genius yield any 
 fruit, should there be vouchsafed any offspring, as 
 it were, to my vigils, then with justice it should 
 redound to you. Hence, indeed, it is that this my 
 Jephtha, which has hitherto dreaded the public eye 
 and the assemblages of men, in reliance upon your 
 patronage, eagerly goes forth, not without uplifting 
 itself into some expectance even of popular favour. 
 For what may it not hope from auspices under 
 which it sees military discipline corrected in accord- 
 ance with the example of ancient severity, and the 
 old martial glory of France restored ; when it sees 
 law and equity go hand in hand with warlike 
 courage 4 when it sees the completest freedom in 
 everything conjoined with the completest self- 
 restraint in everything, not only on your own 
 part, but also on the part of all that are yours ? 
 This it is that prompts my desire that this my little 
 work should go forth, under your most powerful 
 name, into the hands of men. And surely you (as 
 I hope) will take in good part both this testimony 
 to your good offices towards me, and this expression 
 of my warm regards towards you. Farewell. At 
 Paris, 27th July, 1554. 
 
THE ARGUMENT: 
 
 Taken from the Book of Judges. 
 
 Jephtha, the son of Gilead, on the death of his 
 father was driven from home by his brethren, who 
 held that it was unfair that an illegitimate son 
 should have a share equal to that of lawful sons in 
 the paternal inheritance. Under stress of poverty, 
 he collected a band of robbers and lived by plunder. 
 Such was the courage that he displayed in this 
 mode of life, that, first by his kinsfolk, and then by 
 the rest of the Hebrews, he was chosen as leader 
 against the Ammonites, who, for nearly twenty 
 years, had subjected them to the most grievous 
 bondage. When about to set forth on his cam- 
 paign, he vows that, if he should return in triumph, 
 he will sacrifice to God whatever first should come 
 forth out of his house. The first to meet him on 
 his return is his daughter ; he offers her up to God. 
 
PERSONS. 
 
 AN ANGEL, who delivers the Prologue. 
 
 STORGE, the wife of Jephtha. 
 
 IPHIS, the daughter of Jephtha. 
 
 CHORUS of maidens of Israel. 
 
 JEPHTHA, commander of the army of Israel. 
 
 SYMMACHUS, a friend of Jephtha. 
 
 A PRIEST. 
 
 A MESSENGER. 
 
JEPHTHA. 
 
 PROLOGUE. 
 
 An Angel. 
 
 I, a winged messenger of Him whose hand 
 Holdeth the thunder, am to Israel sent, 
 And to the land promised to Israel's seed — 
 T he land predestined to imperial sw ay 
 Had it but kept inviolate the pa ct 
 Of covenant divine, but which, afe ard 
 Under the slavish yoke of Amnion's arms, 
 Hath borne whate'er of sad, or cruel, or fierc e 
 A wrathful foe essays, or vanquished dread s. 
 By such discomfiture dispirited 
 Slowly the rebel race is brought to know ( 
 
26 Jephtha. 
 
 Their fathers' God — to see and understand 
 The sin, the falsehood, and the mockery 
 Of worship misbestowed on alien gods, 
 
 I And, having seen, to count it vanity : 
 Slowly, I say, and late, the rebel race 
 Returns as prodigal to father true. 
 
 J Alas ! the mind of man, prone to extremes, 
 Is swollen with pride by prosperous success. 
 The more God in His goodness gives His child 
 
 j The deeper does he sink in careless ease, 
 The higher is his foolish heart uplift 
 And puffed with empty pride. As horse unbroke 
 Fumes 'gainst his master in his obstinate pride, — 
 If he perceive a slackness in the rein, 
 Only by dint of bit and bloody spur 
 He learns to obey and own his rider lord ; — 
 So this perverse and stiff-necked race of men, 
 To evil prone, if God laid by His scourge, 
 Took to itself new gods, and sacrificed 
 At Gentile shrines, and alien rites observed. 
 Therefore their God, in kindness, tames their proud 
 And wayward hearts by famine and the sword 
 And by the plague, curbing their insolent rage ; 
 
 fi 
 
Jephtha. 27 
 
 But now, again, lest faith of heart should fail, 
 He timely mitigates their chastisement, 
 He sends His prophets, raises men of war 
 Who free the nation from their slavish chains 
 And force them to resume the ancient rites \\ 
 As instance, now He hath incited Ammon 
 Against that rebel race, to error sold ; 
 But, setting bounds unto His righteous wrath, 
 In mercy He hath sent deliverance, i 
 
 Not by the hand of any mighty man 
 Besieged by crowds of suppliants and blest 
 With powerful offspring, but by the chosen hand 
 Of exiled Jephtha, whom his brethren scorn, 
 Jephtha, the harlot's son, whom God elects 
 Lest the proud race take glory to themselves ^ 
 For what the arm of God alone achieves, 
 That Ammon, too, may know he overcame 
 Not by his own might, but as the instrument 
 To execute the vengeance of the Lord. 
 And, yet again, lest Jephtha's self-esteem 
 Be measured by the issue of the war, 
 Lest good success inflate his mind with pride, 
 He shall forthwith be stricken with a grief 
 
28 Jephtha. 
 
 Domestic, and his haughty heart shall break 
 And sink before the stern decree of God. 
 For, as he arms against the faithless foe, 
 He has resolved, if victory be vouchsafed, 
 To sacrifice whate'er he first may meet, 
 As home he fares in triumph from the field. 
 J Alack ! how vast the weight of woe at hand 
 For thee, O hapless man ! how keen the grief 
 That soon shall whelm thee ! how art thou deceived 
 In fond expectance of approaching joy ! 
 Thy daughter, only scion of thy stock, 
 Shall first present herself unto her sire 
 That she may hail thee victor in the fight. 
 Then shall the miserable maiden pay 
 With interest dread — even with her virgin blood — 
 The mortal price of her untimely joy. 
 And lo ! her stricken mother quits the house 
 Where, through the silent watches she has tossed 
 And shuddered in the clutch of frightful dreams. 
 Her daughter walks beside her, and the twain, 
 By downcast looks, by gestures of despair, 
 By lips in sorrow sealed, make manifest 
 The heavy melancholy of their minds. 
 
Jephtha. 29 
 
 STORGE and IPHIS. 
 
 Storge. 
 Ah me ! so great my terror, that my heart 
 Yet knocks against my breast and my mind reels 
 With horror, my tongue cleaves to the roof of my 
 
 mouth. 
 Well-nigh am I bereft of power to speak, 
 So frightful are the visions of the night 
 That terrify and keep me from my rest, 
 And burn my anxious heart with grievous care. 
 But, Thou high God that rul'st the shining sky. 
 Avert from us and turn against our foes 
 The doleful, deadly evil that I dread : 
 Be favourable to me and to my child, 
 The only hope and solace of her house, 
 The only prop of my declining years. 
 
 Iphis. 
 Nay but, sweet mother, if you prophesy, 
 Foretell a fairer future ; cast away 
 
30 Jephtha. 
 
 The spectral fears that prey upon your mind. 
 
 Be not disquieted, but calmly scorn 
 
 These brain-sick fancies ; scorn them and forget. 
 
 Storge. 
 
 Would that I could ! but oft as I recall 
 My new-born dread, with terror quails my mind, 
 And the stern phantom of my dismal dream 
 Stalks through my soul and horrifies my heart. 
 When night had brought the gentle hour of rest 
 And, at the touch of sleep, the world was dumb, 
 DLo ! I beheld a pack of ravening wolves, 
 Their wild and bloody jaws agape for prey, 
 And flecked with foam, together headlong rush, 
 With curved claws, upon a peaceful flock, 
 Bereft, it seemed, of shepherd's watchful eye. 
 Then did the guardian dog, to duty true, 
 Repel the wolves, and save the trembling sheep : 
 But then upon the feeble flock he turned, 
 Yet breathless with the memory of their fear, 
 And from my very bosom snatched a lamb, 
 The which his brutal tooth did lacerate. I 
 
Jephtha. 31 
 
 O Sun ! restless Moon ! O glittering Stars 
 That light your fires above the silent earth ! 
 And thou, O Night, that knowest the dismay 
 
 -.Brought on thy sable wings, in dreams, to me ! 
 
 I If Fate hold ought calamitous in store, 
 If any woe be destined to my child, 
 Wrap, ere it fall, this head in final gloom, 
 In pity of the anguish of my breast 
 That, whilst in dire suspense as to her lot, 
 
 £_Is torn between a brood of hopes and fears. 
 
 Iphis. 
 
 Why, mother, dost thou torture thus thy mind, 
 And by thine own, augment the public grief, 
 And whet anew the edge of anxious care ? 
 Lay by thy plaint on this auspicious day, 
 And gladly go to hail my sire's return, 
 The rather that (unless with presage vain 
 My overweening heart deceives my mind) 
 He shall come home, splendid with costly spoils, 
 Upon his native country and his race, 
 Conferring weal and praise and endless fame. 
 
2,2 Jephtha. 
 
 Storge. 
 Therewith does not accord the constant tone 
 Of the sad life destined by Fate for me. 
 What day for me has been devoid of tears 
 Since first I issued from my mother's womb ? 
 My youth beheld the bondage of the land, 
 The direful menace of a foreign host, 
 Seizure of cattle, fields unharvested, 
 Bloodshed and carnage, desolation, fire, 
 And holy rites with heathenish confused. 
 The gentle flow of life from anguish free 
 Hath not been mine to feel : wave urges wave, 
 Billow gives place to billow that succeeds, 
 Each dying day by new-born day is sped, 
 And ever thus it is my hap to see 
 New ills come hard on old in train unbroke, 
 Grief take griefs place, and woe on woe attend. 
 Brother and sire the rage of war laid low. . . . 
 O child ! thy mother, with distress foredone, 
 Grows grey amid the slaughter of her kin, 
 And now her husband with a faithless foe 
 Contends. But evil greater yet than these 
 My fearful mind forebodes. 
 
Jephtha. 33 
 
 Iphis. 
 
 Unbridled fear 
 Makes ready use of adverse auguries. 
 
 Storge. 
 
 Would that I knew by prosperous report 
 My lord returned, his ranks without a gap, 
 His family safe. 
 
 Iphis. 
 
 Without a doubt my sire 
 Scathless shall come. God, at whose hest he fought, 
 Will lead him home with new-won praises fraught. 
 
34 Jephtha. 
 
 CHORUS. 
 
 glassy stream of Jordan, 
 
 Whose flow maintains the verdure of our vale, 
 
 Thridding thy placid course 
 
 Among the fertile meads of Israel, 
 
 And thou, fair grove of palmy Salem, 
 
 That shed'st no leaf in Winter's cold, 
 
 Say, shall I ever behold 
 
 The golden light of an auspicious morn 
 
 When, free in my country's emancipation, 
 
 Free from the spirit of gloom, 
 
 1 shall hail the release of the nation 
 From her barbarous foemen's scorn, 
 And the chains of her slavish doom ? 
 
 The high-born race of Israel 
 Calls an ignoble enemy her master, 
 And we, whom Pharoah, haughty king, 
 Whose rushing chariot-wheels 
 Upon their axle-trees displayed 
 
Jephtha. 35 
 
 The keen-edged battle blade, 
 
 Did never make afraid — 
 
 We, who escaped the rage of the Red Sea 
 
 Reserved for Egypt's dire disaster — 
 
 We, to whose hearts the desert did not bring 
 
 Despair — Arabian waste that never feels 
 
 The share of any plough — 
 
 We who did still uplift a fearless brow 
 
 When mighty sons of Anak would appal — 
 
 We, the same race, are now 
 
 Become to timid Ammon thrall ; 
 
 And 'tis a craven thing, 
 
 A thing of which the shame exceeds the ill, 
 
 Beneath a coward lord to bow — 
 
 To feel his hateful yoke and yet be still. 
 
 But thou, O Father, who art over all, 
 
 Thou, who the swelling sea 
 
 Layest to rest at will, 
 
 And who again the squall 
 
 Obedient to Thy call 
 
 Commandest to arise 
 
 From out the stormy West, 
 
 And make the scowling clouds to flee, 
 
36 Jephtha. 
 
 And rouse the tranquil ocean from his rest — 
 \Thou, whose dread word can make 
 The firm-set earth to quake, 
 And stay the motion of the rolling skies — 
 Cease from Thy wrath, O cease ! 
 Let our past sufferings suffice, 
 And for Thy chosen race opprest 
 Some gracious remedy devise 
 To heal the weary land, and give it peace. 
 
 But, if our sins demand a doom 
 That mercy gives no room ; 
 If still implacable, Thou look'st askance 
 Upon Thy once loved race, 
 And turnest from their plaint Thy face ; 
 If, O our God, in hopeless gloom 
 Thy rebel sons their orphaned way must trace 
 Beneath Thy wrath that must consume 
 The chosen lot of Thine inheritance ; — 
 O, then, to Thee we cry aloud, 
 Let not the Syrian, nor Ammon hateful, 
 Nor Pharoah, big with menace proud, 
 Perform Thy purpose fateful, 
 
Jephtha. tf 
 
 Nor in the battle of the Lord 
 
 Be power assigned unto a godless sword. 
 
 Thyself, the rather, heavenly Sire 
 Visit us in Thine ire — 
 Grasp in Thy hand Thy bolt of forked fire, 
 And with the torch of Thine avenging flame 
 Destroy the cities that disown Thy name. 
 Or, in Thy judgment's hour, 
 When there is none to save, 
 Bid yawning earth devour, 
 Or let Thy voice command 
 The mighty ocean-wave 
 To overspread the land 
 And draw a sinful people to their grave. I 
 
 So pray we, Lord of Hosts, 
 Lest the fierce foe grow vain, iy 
 The worshippers of senseless posts, 
 Who with unlawful rites Thy shrines profane. 
 So pray we, lest Thine anger stern, 
 The Ammonite to his own glory turn, 
 Offering his sacrifice perfumed 
 
38 Jephtha. 
 
 To stocks with rottenness consumed, 
 
 The while, with speech insane, 
 
 He brags Thou could'st not save the land 
 
 And chosen people doomed 
 
 From his victorious hand. 
 
 Ah, wretch ! enjoy thy laughter ! 
 Soon bitter weeping cometh after : 
 Of tears a flowing river 
 Shall bear away thy joy for ever : 
 And light and swift the hour is hither flying- 
 I (If hope be not defeated, 
 Nor the fond prophet cheated 
 By semblance vain and lying) — 
 The hour is on the wing, 
 The time will soon be here 
 When he who now exulteth, 
 And God's own folk insulteth, 
 Shall for his mirth pay dear, 
 Shall feel in turn that grievous thing, 
 The bondman's weary sighing. 
 
0F-TEAR5- A- FLOWING - RIVER , 
 VILL-BEAK-AV/y-mT-JOY-K)KEVE^ ! 
 
Jephtha. 39 
 
 Because it cannot be J 
 
 That evermore 
 Thy holy people's gore 
 Shall cry for vengeance, Lord, to Thee ; 
 Nor wilt Thou give Thine altars o'er 
 For ever to the stain 
 Of heathen rites profane. _J 
 
 O, would that heavenly grace 
 
 Might lengthen out the space 
 
 Of time I have to live, 
 
 And me this favour give — 
 
 My term to that bright hour prolong 
 
 When, in our fathers' ancient way, 
 
 Anew to Thee our sacred rites we pay, 
 
 Anew Thy holy name adore, 
 
 And loud Thy mercies trace 
 
 With a full heart, in grateful strains of song. 
 
 But see ! a messenger with hasting step 
 Draws hither ; and, unless I judge amiss, 
 He cometh from the field. I know him well ; 
 'Tis even so. I long to hear his news. 
 
40 Jephtha. 
 
 MESSENGER and CHORUS. 
 
 Messenger. 
 
 Hail ! daughters of our father Abraham, 
 And holy seed of truly holy sire. 
 Is this the house of Jephtha, the commander ? 
 Or do my wandering feet mistake their way ? 
 
 Chorus. 
 
 It is, indeed, his house, and this his child. 
 But, if thou hast a moment's leisure, tell 
 What word of hope thou bearest from the field. 
 
 Messenger. 
 
 In sooth, the very thing I come to do. 
 
 The enemy are quelled and put to rout ; 
 
 The day of triumph, wealth, and fame has dawned; 
 
 Our troops are safe. Such, in a word, my news. 
 
Jephtha. 41 
 
 Chorus. 
 
 Thou speakest volumes in that word ; but come, 
 
 Inform us first of this — if but thine ear 
 
 Have heard, or eyes perceived whereof thou tell'st. 
 
 My words are gathered from no idle talk. 
 
 I speak, as one who in the fight took part, 
 
 Of things both seen and done, and true and sure. 
 
 Chorus. 
 Pray, then, unfold thy tidings of the fight. 
 
 Messenger. 
 
 Gladly to you my joyful tale I tell. / 
 
 Soon as the morn suffused the heav'ns with rose \j 
 Ammon, intolerant of dull delay, 
 With dreadful din of warlike chariots, 
 Poured forth his horse and foot into the field. 
 Battalion by battalion he deployed 
 His infantry in battle-line ; while flashed 
 
 3 
 
42 Jephtha. 
 
 Their harness and their sword-blades in the sun : 
 His vanguard was a formidable troop 
 Of chariots with their sickled axle-trees : 
 Squadrons of horse guarded this flank and that. 
 J Meanwhile our army, placing not their trust 
 In the rude strength of arms and warlike show, 
 But looking to the faithfulness of God, 
 And to avenge His quarrel just resolved, 
 Held to the heights that skirt the open plain. 
 And there essayed our leader to conclude, 
 Ere blood was spilled, a fair and righteous peace. 
 Forth hied a herald to the enemy's lines, 
 To offer counsel that both sides, content 
 With their aforetime frontiers, should abstain 
 From mutual injury and violence ; 
 And, touching ought assumed by force, thereof 
 Should to the owner restitution make, 
 Thus choosing peace in preference to war, 
 And settled terms rather than doubtful strife. 
 But the proud foe, that placed his trust in arms, 
 Fierce-railing on our herald, and to abuse 
 
 L Adding envenomed threats, declared he sought 
 By war most just and pious to regain 
 
Jephtha. 43 
 
 Those lands whence Israel by force of arms 
 Had driven forth the Ammonite, what time 
 They journeyed from the valley of the Nile. 
 Those lands, quoth he, did they persist to hold, 
 Did they unsheathe the sword to ward the wrong 
 Their sword had done, refusing to restore 
 The territory they had snatched by force, 
 Then would the avenging gods respect his plea. 
 But, should the Hebrew race elect to yield 
 What they by force obtained, and freely cede 
 The land that Arnon and the Jabbok bound, 
 The space between the desert's utmost reach 
 And the stream Jordan's gently-rolling wave, 
 Then let them know that Ammon was prepared 
 On terms of justice to conclude a peace, 
 Which, so concluded, they would sacred hold, 
 To high advantage of the nations twain. 
 The herald bringing word to such effect, 
 Jephtha once more despatched him with reply / 
 Immediate : neither he, nor yet his sires 
 Had ought of injury, by force or fraud, 
 Against the Ammonitish people done : 
 That the same lands he asked them to restore 
 
44 Jephtha. 
 
 Had never been by Amnion's bounds embraced, 
 But had by Jacob's progeny been held, 
 Without a challenge, for three hundred years. 
 Meanwhile no word is said of doubtful right, 
 In earnest or in jest, unless it be 
 That they will yield to thee of right whate'er 
 Chemosh, thy god, has held, and God the Lord 
 Will quit the lands that now He calls His own. 
 He will not quit them : as before, in war 
 Victorious, He of lands our foes despoiled, 
 So now the same just Judge will give this fight 
 
 ■ A favourable issue, as accords 
 
 (With equity and justice. 
 
 Thus replied 
 The herald, and at once a tumult hoarse 
 Rose through the air and smote the skyey vault, \J 
 The shout of men, the snort of steedsoTwar, 
 The clash of arms, the rattling chariots' boom. 
 Heaven bellows back the din ; earth on her poles, 
 Afflicted, groans ; and, from the hills repelled, 
 Comes replication of the battle's roar. 
 Each army for the mastery contends 
 By valour or by craft ; now this that struck 
 
;reng 
 
 1 
 
 Jephtha. 45 
 
 In turn is stricken ; and now this that drave 
 In turn is driven : the rivers redden with blood : 
 A cloud of dust obscures the face of heaven 
 With murky night : emboldened by his strength, 
 Ammon pressed hotly on : faith in our God] 
 And our more righteous cause incited us 
 To fight with spirit equal to his own. 
 While yet each host urged forward its attack 
 Unyielding, lo ! amid the cloud of dust, 
 Amid the plaints and groans of them that fell, 
 And shouts of captains cheering on their men, 
 The cloud withdrew, the sun shone forth again ; 
 Pervaded either side a thunderous noise 
 Ascending to the sky ; a spirit base 
 Of fear unmans the warriors ; nerveless hands 
 Wield feeble blades ; an icy chill lays hold 
 Upon their stiffening limbs ; and straightway now 
 
 Our general, with visage keen, lifts up 
 
 A mighty voice, and cries : " Father of all, 
 Lead Thou us on ! we follow in the fight 
 Thee and Thine Angel. Lo ! our God, our God 
 Lays low our foemen with these flames : behold, 
 With shining squadrons are the heav'ns afire." 
 
46 Jephtha. 
 
 Now, when this word passed through the armies 
 twain, 
 
 Madly one side betook itself to flight; 
 
 With heart renewed, the other sets upon 
 
 The panic-stricken fugitives ; nor ends 
 
 The flight nor the pursuit, till gloomy night, 
 ^Drawing her sable curtain o'er the scene, 
 I To us gives rest, to them a hiding-place. 
 
 Chorus. 
 Why, then, leads not the victor back his troops ? 
 
 Messenger. 
 Stay, till thou hear the end of the whole war. 
 
 Chorus. 
 Perchance the foe took heart and fell on him. 
 
 Messenger. 
 
 Yes, if dead men take heart ; for God has led 
 The total strength of that perfidious race 
 Into one battle, there to mow it down. 
 
Jephtha. 47 
 
 Hence, either, slain upon the field, they hold 
 In heaps of dead the ground whereon they stood, 
 Or else their carrion, scattered o'er the land 
 In ghastly carnage, feeds the maws of kites. 
 Our prescient leader looked to future years, "j 
 And guarded 'gainst recurrence of the war. 
 He has obtained a peace that will descend 
 To children's children. Fetching compass swift 
 Round Amnion's force of whatsoever name, 
 Our general victorious has destroyed 
 The walls, and overthrown the power of full 
 A score of towns ; giv'n houses to the flames ; 
 1 Put to the sword the males ; wasted the fields. 
 Only their feeble greybeards, tender lads, 
 And their unwarlike women wander o'er 
 The lonesome land, and wail their country's falU 
 
48 Jephtha. 
 
 CHORUS. 
 
 Bringer of the golden light, 
 Sun ! that ever onward glidest — 
 Thou that o'er the day presidest, 
 And with wandering flame so bright 
 Seasons of the globe dividest ! 
 After weary years a score, 
 Thou with blessed beams abidest 
 Over Israel free once more. 
 
 An attack of evil omen, 
 Made by hordes of haughty foemen, 
 Jephtha with his right hand foiled — 
 Crushed the spirit of fierce Ammon, 
 And the spoiler now is spoiled. 
 
 Scythian string propelled the steel 
 Of their winged shafts : 'twas bootless. 
 Flashed the scythe-blade on the wheel : 
 Yet their onset keen was fruitless. 
 
Jephtha. 49 
 
 Not their horses 1 might could save ; 
 Not their serried host so brave ; 
 Nothing, nothing them availeth 
 Whom the God of heaven assaileth. 
 I Now be instructed, ye infidels ! 
 Stocks and stones are no Deity. 
 ''God is never the statua 
 Graven by skilful artificer ; 
 God is never the handiwork 
 Fashioned of clay that he moisteneth 
 Deftly by hand of the modeller, 
 
 LWho, by dint of his mimicry, 
 Feigneth the mortal countenance. 
 
 ^God the Highest inhabiteth 
 
 Shining celestial citadels — 
 
 Maker and Guard of the universe — 
 |Lord of omnipotent majesty, 
 
 Not by the eye discernible — 
 ''Wor is portraying Divinity 
 
 Ever an art attainable 
 £By the hand of humanity. 
 
50 Jephtha. 
 
 IHe the insensate haughtiness 
 Curbeth of kings, and impious 
 / (Vows and wishes inordinate 
 
 JBrmgeth to nought in His righteousness. 
 
 J He the innocent breast of the 
 
 | Sorely afflicted sufferer 
 Timely with succour alleviates — 
 Raiseth from dust the penniless — 
 Likewise the lowly custodian, 
 Shepherd of flock unsavoury, 
 Lifteth to golden sovereignty — 
 Crowneth with kingly diadem 
 Humble temples of husbandmen. 
 
 Exquisite work of intelligence — 
 Earth of whatever latitude ! 
 Land where the Daystar orient 
 Poureth his earliest radiance! 
 Burning land where the Light-bringer 
 Rideth in glory meridian ! 
 Thou that of Tagus, statelily 
 Rolling his golden plenitude, 
 
«"a> 
 
 Jephtha. 51 
 
 Drinkest ! and thou that inhabitest 
 
 Regions condemned to tolerate 
 
 Burden of snows perpetual ! 
 
 Own Him, and love, and adoringly 
 
 Praise this Monarch and Deity. Y^ "* " Cs g 
 
 Come, then, maidens of Israel ! v ^J v 
 
 Fasten your golden necklaces ; 7 " 
 
 Let your tresses be redolent — 
 
 Let them breathe of ambrosia. 
 
 Come, ye maidens of Israel ! 
 
 Bind on your brows for ornament 
 
 Flashing jewels of India. 
 
 Strew o'er the land abundantly 
 
 Flowers in colour diversified. 
 
 When shall your cymbals silvery, 
 
 Strings of your lyre and psaltery, 
 
 Flute of the numerous apertures, 
 
 Cease to offer adoringly s 
 
 Praise to your Lord the Conqueror? \ 
 
 Who but stamps the earth with a 
 Glorious rapture of liberty ? 
 
52 Jephtha. 
 
 Who but gladly expels from his 
 Breast corroding solicitude, 
 Giving his hours to melodious 
 Singing and holiday mirth-making ? 
 
 r 
 
 t^Bring the Lord of the herd to be 
 Slain as a solemn sacrifice. 
 Let the flame of your holocaust 
 Lift a cloud to the firmament, 
 Breathing aroma of essences, 
 LjSpicy odours of Araby. 
 
 I Thou, O child of our general, 
 Hope of a noble family, 
 Don thy raiment magnificent, 
 Go thou with joy unspeakable, 
 Greet the sire that returns to you, 
 Clasp him with arms affectionate. 
 Purple be thy habiliments : 
 Bind, O Iphis, thy ringleted 
 Tresses : the shout of the soldiery 
 „ Striketh thine ear : and, O damosel, 
 j^See ! thy father approacheth us. 
 
Jephtha. 53 
 
 JEPHTHA. 
 
 Jephtha. 
 
 Ruler of all the earth, the one true God, 
 
 Thou gracious Deity, supreme in strength 
 
 And might, Who art a t once the stern /\Y "g" r 
 
 And Father all benign— d rfifldfnl and stern 
 
 To them that hate Thee, but to th frn Th"ii 1^<=+ 
 
 The God of tender mercy a nd salvation — 
 
 Thou that in wrath art terrible, and yet 
 
 Easy to be entreated — Fire of love 
 
 And Fire of righteous anger — just the doom 
 
 Of bondage Thou dost visit us withal. 
 
 We have been gu ^+y ftf iT"pi pt Yi 
 
 And earned the wp ^r tr +Tl ° i™pi""« J" ", ^/XftY-tOL ' ~*~°- 
 
 Who Thee forsook, ou rKin g and Benefacto r. 
 
 Fath er of all, Fount of eternal good . 
 
 And to dumb s t ones o ffered our orison s. 
 
 And to deaf loffs uttered our empty vows. 
 
54 Jephtha. 
 
 Shameful confession ! man that apprehends 
 The Eternal Mind, with reason dowered, adores 
 Unthinking stocks : the living to the dead 
 Offers his incense ; with religious fear 
 The workman views his work. 
 
 Therefore, O Lord, 
 We that forsook have been ourselves forsaken. 
 Discomfited in war, and overwhelmed 
 By evil, we have paid the penalty. 
 For now by Idumea, now by Syria, 
 And now by Palestine, and now by Ammon, 
 Thy chosen land and heritage are defiled. 
 
 At length, instructed by adversity, 
 And by our foemen's ridicule constrained, 
 Tardy we turn, O Lord, to Thee again. 
 But Thou, O gracious God and pitiful, 
 Curbest the bridle of Thy vengeance just. 
 Thou lettest go Thine anger and forgett'st 
 Thy sore displeasure, and, compassionate, 
 Bring'st back Thy children that forsake their s in : 
 Nay^jro ore, as though it were too slight a boon 
 
Jephtha. 55 
 
 To pardon guilty rebels, heap'st upon them 
 Glories all new an d victory and fam e. 
 
 Amnion dispirited, with bow unstrung, 
 
 Stript of his arms has fled, and many a corse, 
 
 Strewn over all the plains, impedes his cars 
 
 In their attempted flight. Who proudly forged 
 
 A chain for Israel is the vulture's food. 
 
 The slain bestrew the fields, and crimson gore 
 
 Of savage foemen swells the rising wave. 
 
 Therefore, O Maker of earth, and mighty Judge, 
 Cherishing the remembrance of Thy grace, 
 We gladly render thanks with grateful hearts, 
 And with ance stral rite we offe r prayer , 
 And sacrifice our victims at Thy shrine ; 
 To Thee o u r God, and Parent of our sir es. 
 Ascribing glory, Who through surging dep ths 
 Of the Red Sea didst passage safe provi de 
 For ourprogenitora^ what time the mas s 
 Unwieldy of the sea, at Thy comman d, 
 Laid by its turbulence — the restless waves , 
 Compelled to change th eir course, grew motionless ; 
 
56 Jephtha. 
 
 Till, in a crystal wall suspended fast 
 On this side and on that, the glassy deep 
 Obeyed Thy will that it should yield a path. 
 
 Be mindful of Thy Covenant, O Lord ; 
 Be please d t o receive with fav our this 
 T hy servant's vow, a thing of slight regar d, 
 Ye t giv'n with thankful heart, and recently 
 To Thee made payable : w hatever first 
 May mee t me on my safe arrival hom e 
 Will, as. a pleasing sacrifice, imbue 
 Thine altar with its blood. Tis true, J 3Lord, 
 Thy goodness far surpasses victims all ; 
 Yet Thou construest with benevolence 
 The gifts of mind ful votaries ; as Thou 
 Art faithful in the keeping of Thy word, 
 Shewing Thy might upon rebellious men, 
 Shewing Thymercy to the men that fear Thee . 
 I t is Thy pleasure that Thy servants too 
 Be faithful in the paying of their vow s. 
 To Thee, O Lord, alone belongeth pow er, 
 Whom let the earth and sky and hell obey . 
 
Jephtha. 57 
 
 IPHIS, JEPHTHA, SYMMACHUS, and 
 CHORUS. 
 
 Iphis. 
 
 I go ; with how great joy and happiness 
 
 I see the face of my returning sire. 
 
 O God ! how good Thou art ! . . . my honoured 
 
 father ! 
 Let me be folded to thy loving heart. . . . 
 Why, father, dost thou turn, stern-eyed, away ? 
 
 Jephtha. 
 O wretched man that I am ! 
 
 Iphis. 
 
 Upon our foes 
 May God divert this omen. 
 
 4 
 
58 Jephtha. 
 
 Jephtha. 
 
 Would He might ! 
 But it descends on us. 
 
 Iphis. 
 Ah ! what do I hear ? 
 
 Jephtha. 
 Most wretched father of a wretched child ! 
 
 Iphis. 
 Ah me ! I tremble. Is the army safe ? 
 
 Jephtha. 
 Tis safe. 
 
 Iphis. 
 And thou victorious ? 
 
 Jephtha. 
 
 It is so. 
 
Jephtha. 59 
 
 Iphis. 
 Thy body is not hurt by any wound ? 
 
 Jephtha. 
 It is not. 
 
 Iphis. 
 
 Why, then, mourning, dost thou heave 
 So deeply-drawn and so mysterious sighs ? 
 
 Jephtha. 
 There is no need that thou shouldst know at present. 
 
 Iphis. 
 
 Wretch that I am ! What evil have I done 
 Against thee, O my father ? 
 
 Jephtha. 
 
 None 1 at all. 
 My child, it is thy father wrongeth thee. 
 
60 Jephtha. 
 
 Iphis. 
 
 Assuredly I know of nought amiss 
 That thou to me hast done ; but, were it so, 
 The matter should not trouble thee at all. 
 RFor children must with meek and patient mind 
 (JReceive such wrongs as parents may have done. 
 
 Jephtha. 
 
 Wise and becoming, daughter, is thy speech. 
 Yet, the more wise thy words the deeper still 
 '' Thou openest again my wounded heart. 
 
 Iphis. 
 
 My father, lay aside whatever care 
 
 Troubles thy mind. Forbear by thine own grief 
 
 To taint the joys by all our countrymen 
 
 Procured through thee; let friends enjoy thy presence. 
 
 Jephtha. 
 For us this presence absence will beget . 
 
Jephtha. 61 
 
 Iphis. 
 Perchance war's perils call for thee anew. 
 
 Jephtha. 
 Crisis more grave than arms threaten my house. 
 
 Iphis. 
 Can graver risks than war's be found at home ? 
 
 Jephtha. 
 In war I safety found, at home I perish. 
 
 Iphis. 
 And, yet, through thee thy land and house are safe ? 
 
 Jephtha. 
 Yes : and for this to God my thanks I owe. 
 
 Iphis. 
 And may'st thou ever owe him thanks for this. 
 
62 Jephtha. 
 
 Jephtha. 
 I fear our safety will not long endure. 
 
 Iphis. 
 
 Wherefore, O father, now, when thine affair s 
 
 Are in the noontide of prosperity . 
 
 To pray becomes thee, and to pay thy vows : 
 
 Not, when the breath of changeful Fo rtune blows 
 
 The adverse way, to touch the heart of G ael 
 
 With snpplinatinns • and, w hen thou art bl est 
 
 With good success, to intermit thy rites 
 
 Religious, with oblivious neglec t. 
 
 The man, who, whilst unharmed, makes it his aim 
 
 Well to deserve of gra cious Deity, 
 
 Under assault of adverse circumstan ce, 
 
 Having endeavoured to secure the fru it 
 
 Of a good conscience, may with freedom dare 
 
 Approach a God propitious, and presen t 
 
 His vows with mnrp assuranc e, and survey 
 
 The future with a better-grounded hope. 
 
Jephtha. 63 
 
 Jephtha. 
 To do this thing my purpose long has bee n. 
 
 Iphis. 
 Why then delay ? 
 
 Jephtha. 
 
 My daughter, leave these matters 
 To be attended to by me ; regard 
 As thy concerns the things that appertain 
 To character and years of maidenhood. 
 
 Iphis. 
 Whate'er affects my sire is my concern. 
 
 Jephtha. 
 
 Granted : but, for the present, see that all 
 
 At home is rightly ordered ; gratify 
 
 The wishes of thy father ; here again, 
 
 After a little while, return to me. 
 
 Thou should'st be present soon at sacrifice, v 
 
64 Jephtha. 
 
 Iphis. 
 Let be : I come again. . . . Ah wretched me ! 
 What can have changed my father's wonted mind 
 Towards his child ? Tis but as yesterday 
 Never did father love his offspring more. 
 Now he is harsh, forbidding, stern, and fierce, 
 Bearing disquietude, as if of war, 
 Before him in his visage menacing. 
 Whate'er it be, I cannot, much I fear, 
 Divine that one affair wherefor he says 
 On my account he grieves ; for nought I kno w 
 Of any evil done by me that migh t. 
 Offend a sir e. O crowlof womankind! 
 By fortune hard exposed to whispering hpight s 
 That, howso innocent of blame ye be, 
 Malign report with spiteful tooth assails . 
 Whate'er the spleen of tattling slave may feign, 
 Whate'er a jealous husband may imagine, 
 Or ill-willed neighbourhood, is held for truth. 
 I have done nought to render me suspect 
 By him that did beget me ; this I dee m 
 The surest medicine of my present grief. : 
 /..To know the joy of consci ence nnHpfilprl 
 
Jephtha. 65 
 
 Symmachus. 
 
 Well hast thou spoken, thou daughter true 
 
 Of a victorious sire, a mother chaste, 
 
 And famous land. Though man's malignity 
 
 May have contrived an accusation false, 
 
 To God are known the secrets of the heart, 
 
 And at His righteous bar the guiltless mind 
 
 I s vind icated ; 'tis from Him we hope 
 
 And strive to g:ain a well-spent life's re ward. 
 
 But children meekly mu st endure th e wrong 
 
 A father, just or unjust, may have don e. 
 
 Go home, then, in obedience to thy sire. 
 
 I go to wait upon him, and shall watch 
 
 For any rumour that may blow abroad, 
 
 Which, caught, I straightway shall to thee disclose. 
 
 Chorus. 
 
 Why then not hasten to accomplish this, 
 \ Friend Symmachus ? 
 
 Symmachus. 
 It shall with care be done. 
 
66 Jephtha. 
 
 Chorus. 
 
 But to the utmost of thy power, set free 
 The trembling maiden from her anxious fear. 
 This is demanded by the ancient rite 
 Of friendship which, from cradled infancy, 
 Has to the course of loyalty been true. 
 This is demanded by thy native land 
 That owes its safe estate to Jephtha's hand. 
 
 Symmachus. 
 
 Why wilt thou not be silent, and commit 
 The matter to my trust ? 
 
 Chorus. 
 
 Nay, but take care 
 The thing is done with policy ; explore 
 The dark and inmost secrets of his soul. 
 
 Symmachus. 
 
 Fear not that he has power or will to hide 
 His mind from me ; my time I know and bide. 
 
Jephtha. 67 
 
 CHORUS. 
 
 Happy go ; and good success 
 Step for step with thee progress ! 
 O may He Who all surveys — 
 Judge most just in all His ways — 
 He Who knows the inmost part, 
 All the secrets of the heart, 
 On thee in thy task attend — 
 Bring it to a prosp'rous end. 
 
 But for thee, O Envy curst ! 
 Of the foes of men the worst, 
 Bold to fabricate a lie — 
 By a whisper false and sly 
 To embroil as foe with foe 
 Those that friendship's sweetness know- 
 To dissolve, by tale malign, 
 Wedlock's covenant divine — 
 Envy ! thou whom it doth fill 
 With rejoicing to instil 
 
68 Jephtha. 
 
 Venom dark in parent's tongue 
 For the stinging of his young — 
 O may He Who all beholds — 
 Judge who secret things unfolds — 
 Banish thee to gloom condign, 
 Thee to shades of hell consign ! 
 Nevermore may issue thence 
 Rumour's wandering pestilence. 
 
 Were but God to set us free 
 From thy presence, then with thee 
 From the race of man would go 
 How much trouble toil and woe ! 
 Direst cares, that make their prey 
 Human hearts, would flee away. 
 
Jephtha. 69 
 
 SYMMACHUS, JEPHTHA, and CHORUS. 
 
 Symmachus. 
 
 Why, O commander great in martial fame, 
 Hath changed the fashion of thy countenance 
 Thus suddenly ? What melancholy mood 
 Troubles the gladsome joy that fits the time ? 
 Our fears have taken flight ; the faithless foe 
 Has suffered punishment ; tranquillity 
 Is now the portion of our native land. 
 At such a season, when the happy State 
 Rejoices with thee in thine hour of triumph, 
 When, on the breath of praise, thy country lifts 
 Thy name to heav'n, shouting her festal songs, 
 Is it not meet that thou, to whom we owe 
 The public joy, should'st with the public share 
 The celebration of thy victory ? 
 
"jo Jephtha. 
 
 Jephtha. 
 O happy liberty of low estate 
 From weary care ! I judge him born beneath 
 A happy star, in some sequestered scene 
 Whose lot it is to lead a life obscure, 
 In silence safe, from all commotion far. 
 
 Symrnachus. 
 More blest I deem the man whose valour true 
 Has won for him a name that will endure — 
 Who, drawn by glory from the common shade, 
 And from the indolent populace set apart, 
 Through future ages bears the chrism of fame. 
 As for the man who yields himself a prey 
 To lethargy and sloth, and leads a life 
 Sluggish as that of cattle, I opine 
 It matters nothing whether he be dead, 
 Or live a life than death more darkling still, 
 Both ways, by silence equally supprest. 
 Now, therefore, when the gifts of heav'n are showered 
 Upon thy head — praise, honour and success, 
 Splendour and victory — whatever b oon 
 A favourable God can give tounan — 
 
Jephtha. 71 
 
 G ratefully own a bounty all divine, 
 Nor things so glorious taint with p altr y saw s. 
 Assure thee, nothi ng better pleases God 
 Than d ue remembrance of His benefit s. 
 
 Jephtha. 
 Honour and splendour, victory and triumph, 
 And glory won in war are famous things. 
 But look more narrowly at that which seems 
 So sweet at one brief glance, and understand 
 That it is flavoured with a bitterness 
 As sharp as that of gall. T ^fcrt.iine smile 
 Never so beamingly, in evil da y 
 She for her favours payment may exact. 
 Such is the grievous changefulness of fate, 
 That ming les j oy with grief, and gripf with joy 
 Thon deerrTst, me happy, measuring happines s 
 By idle splendour and the crowd's acc laim ; 
 Yet Misery holds me in her firmest j gasp. 
 
 Symmachus. 
 Do but conceive a favourable fate 
 Thee to have proffered all thy heart's desire : 
 
72 Jephtha. 
 
 What, then, remains that thou still covetest ? 
 Despised, an exile from thy father's house 
 Repelled, and thrust into a solitude 
 Profound, the master of a humble hut — 
 Sudden, as in a dream, thou art become 
 A man of wealth ; yet judge so ill thou art 
 Of thine own bliss that thou complainest still. 
 If so it be that thou canst not stand erect 
 On fortune's heights, thou art of spirit mea n : 
 
 Or., if t.hnn f-aristnotjvrin g thy minrl to mm 
 Thp pnnrhipss r>f t.hy fl-p d, " t.wprp fit f.Vinn i-h a n gp 
 
 Thy present glory for thy former cot - 
 Men hunt for empery through fight and fire : 
 To thee has come a princely destin y 
 
 Without thy stir. Many thprp hf whn wi n 
 g]ir™»ga i" fi ght at cost of their own VilonH j 
 Or army thinned by death, and public loss : 
 Rut thon, thysplf nnwnnnrlerlj hring'st with tnpp 
 A bloodless triumph and an army safe. 
 The saviour of thy land, her foemen's dread, 
 To wealth exalted from a low estate, 
 Free who wast once a slave, thou with thy front 
 Strikest the lofty pinnacle of glory. 
 
Jephtha. J 3 
 
 Raised from the populace, a princely place 
 Thou holdest ; nor is lacking ought at all 
 That may complete thy bliss, except it be 
 A spirit able to sustain the load 
 Of benefits so great, and fit to grace 
 The high prosperity of thine affairs. 
 
 Jephtha. 
 
 I see, my friend, thou shar'st the common error ; 
 But, with thy mind's eye, didst thou clear perceive 
 The mighty ill to which this mighty good 
 Is subject, thou that art thus wise profuse 
 In praise of my estate, wouhTst apprehend 
 That I am the most miserable of men. 
 
 Symmachus. 
 
 Comes it not almost never but by blame 
 That we ourselves incur — by fickleness 
 Of our unrestful souls — that we can bear 
 No lot at all with a well-balanced mind ? 
 The rich man praises the serenity 
 Of huts where poor men dwell — the stilly hush 
 
 5 
 
74 Jephtha. 
 
 Unbroken by the battle-trumpet, sleep 
 That dreams disturb not, nightly watches free 
 From care. Unstintedly the poor extol 
 Purple and gold, retainers, vassalage, 
 Magnificence, as if of regal state, 
 And spacious halls — deeming the rich alone 
 Are happy. But let each estate be weighed 
 And separately scanned — the truth is here : 
 J With both there mingles something of distress. 
 The poor are vexed by want, the rich by fear. 
 The portion of the wealthy man is pleasure ; 
 The boon of poverty is unconcern. 
 A mingled cup of sweet and sour is dealt 
 JJy Fortune both on this side and on that. 
 But none the less that lot is to be held 
 The best of all in which a multitude 
 Of joys are mingled with distresses few. 
 
 Such is the lot God's mercy has assigned 
 To thee that bear'st a load of honour, fame, 
 Success and victory, which to wave away 
 Were action of a fool ; and not to own 
 As gift of God were to be faithless found ; 
 
Jephtha. 75 
 
 And not to bear with calm were proof, I deem, 
 That thou scarce worthy art of the name of man. 
 
 Jephtha. 
 In vain thou seek'st to heal this wound of mine 
 With common simples : know this injury 
 Remediless : it holds the seat of life, 
 And reaches to its depths my bosom's core. 
 Here is my sorro w's sting : home to my breast 
 My l oss by blame, my fault by woe is prest . 
 
 Symmachus. 
 Why not disclose thy trouble to a friend '< 
 Fear not to trust it to a faithful ear. 
 
 Jephtha. 
 My vow — dost thou remember ought of it ? 
 
 Symmachus. 
 What thou didst promis e^/rerefthe army safe ? 
 
 Jephtha. 
 { Thou hast it : would that I had warier been 
 \ And wiser in the offering of my vow ! 
 
7 6 Jephtha. 
 
 Symmachus. 
 I cannot think what is this fault of thine. 
 
 Jephtha. 
 Which, yet, is to destroy both me and mine. 
 
 Symmachus. 
 What offered victim can destroy your lives ? 
 
 Jephtha. 
 My child, sole hope that to my house survives. 
 
 Symmachus. 
 Her wilt thou slay ? What would to this constrain ? 
 
 Jephtha. 
 She met me first when I came home again. 
 
 Symmachus. 
 But, say, in this how did thy child transgress ? 
 
 Jephtha. 
 A vow once made demandeth faithfulness. 
 
Jephtha. 77 
 
 Symmachus. 
 Is this the care that weighs upon thy heart ? 
 
 Jephtha. 
 
 It weighs, . . . nor can it from my breast be 
 
 pluckt 
 Till, stained with blood of dreadful sacrifice, 
 I, wretched man, do perish on the spot 
 Where I did cause my wretched family 
 To perish, paying thus the lawful debt 
 To them and to myself by me incurred ; 
 But Thou, O King, in Whose almighty han d 
 ffiuivers the thundprholt — Who makest qua il 
 f The earth, the sky above, and hell beneath — 
 If ever, swift to follow Thy commands. 
 I ought have said or done tha t pleaseth Thee, 
 Attend my pray'r, with fa vour speed my vo w. 
 I ask not now proud victories from Thee 
 And festal shouts of praise ; give war agai n ; 
 Let ven geful Ammon overcome and rush 
 Upon me in his fury, and expel 
 My guilty spirit with a thousand wounds. 
 
78 Jephtha. 
 
 Chorus. 
 
 Ah ! the change of startling Fate ! 
 Nevermore may joys attend, 
 In a train that does not end, 
 
 Mortal man's estate. 
 
 Jephtha. 
 
 Or, Thou that split'st the sky with three-forked fire, 
 
 On me, a wretched, godless 'parricide, 
 
 Discharge the bolt by whirling flame propelled. 
 
 Banish my soul, that, thus far innocent, 
 
 Life, if prolonged, will brand with guilty stain, 
 
 Down to the depths profound of gloomy hell. 
 
 Symmachus. 
 So great affairs must not be rashly done 
 What time thy mind, shaken by darkling storm, 
 Chafes itself into fury ; calm thy soul. 
 When once this rage subsides, thy spirit free 
 Will sound advice receive, and, with thy friends 
 Deliberating, be resolved on all. 
 
Jephtha. 79 
 
 Jephtha. 
 
 Advice brings help to them that stand in doubt. 
 Who taketh counsel when no hope remains, 
 By his own act adds folly to his woe. 
 
 Symmachus. 
 
 While yet no action has been taken, help 
 And healing ever are at hand. 
 
 Jephtha. 
 
 To wit 
 For malady of such a character 
 As does of cure allow. 
 
 Symmachus. 
 
 If so it be 
 This matter difficult at first appear, 
 There is no instant reason for despair, 
 But rather all the more necessity 
 For taking counsel, inasmuch as oft 
 The coil that seems to one inextricable 
 Another will with ease at unce unwind. 
 
80 Jephtha. 
 
 Be the result of counsel good or ill, 
 'Twill bring thee praise : if bad the consequence, 
 ! Thou hast at least absolved thyself from blame. 
 With a great counsellor to play the fool 
 Is almost to be wise. But be it so 
 That force resistless, fate inexorable 
 On all hands closes every door of hope, 
 If counsel cannot clearly forth be set, 
 Come what come may, this much will be evinced : 
 What men thou tookest with thee to consult. 
 Else, if thou others leave in ignorance, 
 And follow out thy novel course alone, 
 » The man who, if consulted, had approved, 
 I Will be the first to censure the event. 
 ! For, though of remedy he nothing knew, 
 i Yet credit he for knowledge seeks to gain. 
 
 Chorus. 
 
 f Scorn not the voice of admonition just ; 
 [ Rash doers oft repent in ash and dust. 
 
Jephtha. 81 
 
 CHORUS. 
 
 Though I tell of painful things, and sad, 
 Though new sorrow unto old I add, 
 I design in order to express 
 All the mother's and the child's distress. 
 Prayer or plan may yet obtain relief 
 From the gloom of this impending erief. 
 Come what may, I judge that nowljmght 
 To bewail the common human lot.l/ 
 
 t First shall I lament the sire in woe, 
 Bound by chain that will not let him go, 
 And enslaved to the delusive thought 
 Counsel to dispel availeth not, 
 Only by an impious act that he 
 Can intact preserve his piety ? 
 
 Shed I for the wretched maid my tears, 
 Whom in early flower of tender years, 
 
 . . i - j . , 6 
 
 -W_ 
 
 
 
82 Jephtha. 
 
 Sweetly blooming 'neath a vernal sky, 
 (Taught to cherish noble thoughts and high, 
 No incursive bands, that make a prey 
 Of her country, rudely snatch away, 
 Not a pestilence, tremendous doom 
 Sent by heav'n, despatches to the tomb ? 
 Sacrificial zeal in fatherhood 
 
 Dyes a dreadful alta rjwjfchJbeE-blood ; 
 Warm with life, will stream the ruddy r ain 
 N ot from bruteh^ut_from virg in vein. 
 Tender limbs that never are to kn ow 
 Desecrating touch of savage foe — 
 Limbs that no ferocious mountain b ear 
 V enture would with bloody tooth to te ar — 
 Will the knife of sacrifi ce divide. 
 That which from victorious foe abid e 
 Never did this miserable maid, 
 
 B y victorious sire will be essayed . 
 
 Corses of our foemen ! widely spread 
 O'er the plains, if ever to the dead — 
 If to frames, of sense that seem bereft, 
 Any spark of consciousness be left, 
 
Jephtha. 83 
 
 W hile your conquYor does himself despite . 
 Mark him well, and glory in the sigh t. 
 
 Truly this is part of mortal lot : 
 
 Passages of joy continue not ; 
 
 Grief succeeds them, when their term is done, 
 
 As the dark ensues at set of sun, 
 
 As tempestuous Winter takes the place 
 
 Balmy-breathing Summer late did grace. 
 
 Joys unmingled are not found at all ; 
 
 S orrow seasons each with bitter gal l. 
 
 Fickle Fortune ever mixes up 
 
 Stern mutation with the huma n cup. 
 
 As when gentle Ocean placid lay 
 
 ' Neath the light serene of peaceful day — 
 
 Massing murky force of Tempest, raves 
 
 Hurricane, and piles the surging waves ; 
 
 Here and there the ship, in doubtful state, 
 
 Staggers onward through the foaming strait, 
 
 Sucked by floods' regurgitating flow, 
 
 Rushing whither blasts of storm may blow : 
 
 See, herein, a picture of our life, 
 
 Passed in midst of rapine, death, and strife, 
 
84 Jephtha. 
 
 And the fear to mingle with the dead — 
 Fear than mortal end itself more dread ; 
 If a sunbeam dart upon our tro uble, 
 &> , r ris but as, among the burning stubble , 
 
 i Flits the gleam of evanescent flame— 
 
 ^ v\p> Swift as breeze it goes, as swift it came . 
 
 Follow, then, of griefs a weary train — 
 Links of an interminable chai n. 
 
Jephtha. 85 
 
 JEPHTHA and A PRIEST. 
 
 Jephtha. 
 
 O sun, the author of the light of day ! 
 
 ye, my fathers ! O whatever powers 
 Are innocent of hu man wicked ness ! 
 Ave rt the face from this my cursed ri te. 
 
 Or Earth, about to drink the guiltless blood 
 Of maiden , yawn, and, throug h a v qtfiY ff 11 ^! 
 Suck in my sri111 +■" rawrns immense. 
 Bury me where thou wilt, while, free from crim e, 
 
 1 yet can perish Tntn VipII itself. 
 
 If so thou please, I do not grudge to go. 
 S o there., unstained by parricide, I dwe ll. 
 Why do I speak of hell ? My home is h ell. 1/ 
 pO. with how woe-hegone a countenance— 
 Wi th what a stream of gushing tears my wif e 
 Tn me will make her prayer ! With what a face 
 
 My daughter, doomed to death, will me behold ! 
 
86 Jephtha. 
 
 O what entreaties, urged in piteous ton es, 
 C lasping my neck, will she to ™ p address ! 
 
 Priest. 
 Grief such as this is wont to company 
 With evils so extreme as when a wound 
 No surgeon's art can heal, or when a sin, 
 <Once done, our hands are powerless to undo. 
 >J With thine own self it rests to make thy life 
 Wretched or happy ; thou'rt at libe rty 
 To sacrifice thy daughter or to spare ; 
 Or. rather, thou art not at liberty . 
 If none by wilful choice would be in woe. 
 
 How can'st tho u be at liberty to do 
 
 W hat piety opposes — God abhors ? 
 
 Of all affections deepest in our breast 
 
 Hath been by Nature planted love of offspring. 
 
 Nor doth this feeling move the heart of man 
 
 Alone, but whatso swiftly swims along 
 
 The pathways of the deep, and whatso cleaves 
 
 The air, on wings upborne — whatever form 
 
 Of life may issue from Earth's teeming womb — 
 
 Of this affection feels the sacred flame. 
 
Jephtha. 87 
 
 T his love ? eternal Providence of Sire 
 Divine ha th into mortal breasts inst illed 
 As power for use in nurturing their you ng, 
 And for the mainten ance of general p eace, 
 And for replenishing the earth with seed . 
 H e hath. Himself, been pleased to h e_called 
 T he Father, that more straitly He may pr ess 
 Upon our minds the sense of parenthoo d : 
 Thus, by example which Himself affords, 
 And likewise beast, and fish, and fowl of air, 
 
 ffFhe bond of love parental He approves. 
 But we, who, to preserve our name of man, 
 Humanity should more than all display, 
 Are far surpassed in kindness by the brutes. 
 'Tis no t enough for us to steep our.h ands 
 ■\ In crime ; it is our pleasure to impute 
 
 \ Our nameless guilt to heav'n ; we feign the lie- — 
 W hich Egypt, ign o rant of Deity , 
 And the Assyrian, wholly given o 'er 
 To superstition, do not fabrica te — \ / >j 
 
 That God in gory sacri fice delight s. 
 
 [What is more right for us, who owe our life 
 
 \ To fathers undefiled, than from the staitit 
 
88 Jephtha. 
 
 Of guilt our hands to guard, and pious pay 
 The rites immaculate by God enjoi ned ? 
 In vain we see k to win the smile of hea v'n 
 By slaught ered victims, or by oxen's bl ood. 
 The sac rifices o f our God are hearts 
 Untainted by th' infecting touch of si n. 
 And minds that simple ve rity informs, 
 ^nd lincontam inated cp ns^p"fps 
 
 Jephtha. 
 Why, then, do victims holy laws require ? 
 
 Priest. 
 'Tis not because their death rejoices God, 
 1 Or flesh of calves His hunger satisfies, 
 Jut He commands us to obey His Word. 
 
 Jephtha. 
 J The vows we offer ought we not to pay ? 
 
 Priest. 
 
 SYes : but the law demands we offer none 
 But righteous vows. 
 
 i 
 
Jephtha. 89 
 
 Jephtha. 
 
 I grant it hath been well 
 At first to promise what would be approved 
 By our ancestral customs ; now the thing 
 Is done, and what has once been vowed to God 
 A heav'n-sent law commands us to resign. 
 
 Priest. 
 What law demands that parents offspring slay ? 
 
 la. 
 That which commands us offered vows to pay. ) 
 
 Priest. 
 Promise, 'twere sin to keep, can God allow ? | 
 
 la. 
 The greater sin is not to pay our vow. 
 
 Priest. 
 
 Suppose thy vow to burn the laws of sires ? | 
 
 6 
 
9 o Jephtha.' 
 
 Jephtha. 
 No m ortal sane would vow them to th efires. 
 
 Priest. 
 WhyJ_Jf .'+ ""*■ hecause the laws condemn ? 
 
 Jephthd. 
 It is. 
 
 Priest. 
 Well, children-slayers— what of the m ? 
 
 LNot whatwe do so weighs as why we do . 
 
 Priest. 
 To God'sjco mmands is not .obedience due ? 
 
 Jephtha. 
 A hram to slav his son did God c ommand. 
 
 Priest. 
 Who bade, forbade to lay on him a hand. 
 
"Jephtha. 91 
 
 Jephtha. 
 Why bade He him ? 
 
 Priest. 
 T o put his faith to pr oof, 
 Of all succeed ing ages in beh oof. 
 
 Jephtha. 
 And why forbade He ? 
 
 Priest. 
 
 Surely thus He show s : 
 The willing spirit, that the gift bestows, 
 Mnw pleaset.h him than offered victims could. 
 
 Jephtha. 
 Admittest thou to keep God's jaws is flood ? 
 
 Priest. 
 
 Jephtha. 
 TWs fy flfl tn vow co mmand ? 
 
92 Jephtha. 
 
 — ■ ^ 
 
 Priest. 
 
 As, 
 
 Jephtha. 
 P ayment of our vo ws does He demand ? 
 
 Priest. 
 Tis so . 
 
 Jephtha. 
 
 Delay in payment do es He chide, 
 And on the faithless does His wrath abid e ? 
 
 Priest. 
 
 A paltry pretext for a deed of cr ime ! 
 Who chooses nameless wickedness to d o, 
 
 En slaves himself to his inspngg+p nnnnrlg 
 
 And vain imaginations. Therefore cease, 
 Whatever vow thou mayst have made to Go d. 
 \ To claim His sanction for thy cruelty. 
 Shall He who hates the wicked, and proclaim s, 
 By sacred laws, unholy rites accur st, 
 With favour look on act of wickedness ? 
 
Jephtha. 93 
 
 The voice of God is one — unmingled truth V 
 For ever in agreement with itself. 
 
 ot one of His commandments but pursues, 
 n changeless path, its course inviolate ; 
 
 or, by a hair's-breadth to the right or left, 
 Can ought avail to turn it. This design 
 S hould man before him set with single heart : 
 To regulate the counsels of his life 
 By universal ordinance of Trut h. 
 For God hath this appointed as a torch 
 T hrough pathways dim our faltering fop* *n gniH^j 
 And drive the shades of error from our sight 
 Since from this lampj^ouTiaSlJonfesseffl that far 
 Thy footsteps rash are bent, before they stray 
 To further distance, seek the path again. 
 If thou supposest that thy foolish vows 
 Can be atoned for by a heinous rite, 
 Thou art deceived. That act of cruelty 
 Will not remove, but aggravate, thy guilt. 
 Let no delusive semblance cheat thy mind : 
 Ou r God, while H e delights in hallowed gifts, 
 With scorn rejecteth vows abominable ; 
 And none has hurtless borne himself away 
 
94, Jephtha. 
 
 t Who, albeit by holy zeal inspired, 
 Kindled upon His altar fire profane. 
 Despise not, then, the voice of friendly warning, 
 And, in the wish to gain the grace of God, 
 Refrain thou from provoking Him to wrath. 
 He taketh no delight in worship paid 
 According to thy self-imposed design : 
 The worship He accepts obeys the laws, 
 And rites, and customs, which Himself approves. 
 
 Jephtha. 
 
 Oft have I found that men who wisest seem, 
 And put a value on themselves above 
 The ignorant crowd, possess the least discretion. 
 None in such heartless fashion celebrates 
 Our ancient -worship, or more cheap regards 
 Our holy mysteries : artless and untaught, 
 And innocent of guile, the common throng 
 Hold fast their vows, and that inviolable 
 Account which they have promised once to God. 
 But nothing, now-a-days, methinks, is held 
 To smack of wisdom, but to know the art 
 
Jephtha. 95 
 
 Of hiding evil with a seemly veil, 
 
 And varnishing the vilest deed of sin. 
 
 Whereas with justice it were better deemed 
 
 Faultless to be, than innocent to seem, 
 
 Or, with the cloak of wily vigilance, 
 
 A wicked bosom's cunning to conceal. 
 
 Therefore, let whoso would his children have 
 
 After a life of piety aspire, ° 
 
 Take heed he, more than due, instruct them not, j 
 
 For the more skilled a man in arts of schools \ 
 
 The less regardful he of things divine. 
 
 Priest. 
 
 If thou hast time, yet hear me, excellent sir. 
 
 How easy 'tis for sightless ignorance 
 
 To fool the simple mind ! He who defends 
 
 His deeds with shield of popular delusion, 
 
 I deem, in no wise palliates his fault. 
 
 Nor does the universal Sire supreme 
 
 To maxims ill such governance allow 
 
 As that, at wicked crowd's consenting will, 
 
 Should virtue vice, and evil good become. 
 
96 Jephtha. 
 
 And, though it be the pleasing blandishments, 
 That flatter tyrants, so abase the names 
 Our actions bear, as to commend a sin ; 
 J I t does not follow to thej m" 1 ^*' 1 ^ 
 
 Tlmt wVm+ »!PPms right i s st.ra.icrli t wa)' rig ht ™Ab?A 
 
 The quality of Truth is ever one 
 And uncompounded ; this no tyrant might, 
 Or will, howe'er so powerful, can avail 
 In any wise to foul or to destroy. 
 
 rNow, then, in general, among the crowd 
 The more unlearned any man may be, 
 The greater his assurance in his claim 
 To be a judge in matters most obscure ; 
 And, if some notion he has once embraced, 
 With obstinacy born of ignorance 
 He wards it, nor submits it to the test 
 Of balance true, to prove it right or wrong ; 
 But, blind, he charges them that see with blindness, 
 Although, himself, he sees the worst of all. 
 As one, whose burning veins with fever glow, 
 Supposes all things bitter, and esteems 
 No palate sound but his, though most it errs ; 
 So ye, whose souls are shrouded by a mist 
 
Jephtha. 97 
 
 Of gloomy darkness, fain would rule the men 
 
 Whom it would best become you to obey : 
 
 Ye deem yourselves the teachers of the wise 
 
 By whose instructions ye should guide your course, 
 
 And thus do ye make shipwreck of your lives. 
 
 To worship God by self-invented plan, 
 
 Or victims indiscriminate to slay, 
 
 Is not true faith and piety, but this : — 
 
 To offer sacrifices in accord 
 
 With claims of laws imposed by heav'n on man, 
 
 And sanctioned by the customs of our sires. 
 
 Jephtha. 
 
 Whate'er with mind sincere is done, to God 
 Is pleasing, and whate'er from simple heart 
 Proceeds, He ever graciously receives. 
 The spirit of the giver, not his gift 
 Of gold, obtains the favour of the Lord. 
 
 Priest. 
 
 If what is right be spoiled by wickedness 
 
 Of evil heart, it follows not from this 
 
 That foolish mind can make the crooked straight. 
 
98 Jephtha. 
 
 Now, what ye right, and honest, and sincere 
 
 Are pleased to call, is maddest falsity, 
 
 Unless, perchance, there can be ought more false 
 
 Than eyes to close upon the light of truth. 
 
 Then thou, to blindness voluntary prey, 
 
 On specious pretext cravest praise for crime, 
 
 And tak'st away the difFrences of things, 
 
 The while thou art resolved within thy mind 
 
 To deem that wrong is right, and foul is fair, 
 
 At the dictation of the rabblement. 
 
 But, if to fools' arbitrament such power 
 
 Attach as that it maketh good of bad, 
 
 Just of unjust, and sacred of profane, 
 
 Why not conclude that these same witless men 
 
 Are likewise able to convert at will 
 
 Fire into water, water into fire, 
 
 Stones into fagots, and to call the dead 
 
 Back into life again : if such their power, 
 
 Let them arrest the rapid flight of time, 
 
 And banish from the world perpetual change. 
 
 But, if thou judgest this exceeds the power 
 
 Of mortal man, and appertains alone 
 
 To Him that hath the world's foundations laid, 
 
fephtha. 99 
 
 iws He once put forth 
 >ermanent and fixt, 
 has been vouchsafed 
 .erewith to man. 
 g day of ultimate doom 
 ;atutes ; earth and sky 
 melt in final flame, 
 ; law by heav'n ordained 
 • shall discrown. 
 
 Jephtha. 
 
 possess repute 
 lay, if so ye please, 
 h these words of yours. 
 sh Truth pref er 
 
 le d by deceit . "'•?.. 
 
 C. 
 
 
ioo Jephtha. 
 
 CHORUS. 
 
 O mother in Israel, 
 Whose life was late the pattern of a favoured lot, 
 How swift hath Fortune fell 
 On thee destruction brought ! 
 With what a sudden stroke doth Fate o'erthrow 
 Thy glory that had reached the stars at last, 
 And turned thy smiling sunshine to a stormy blast 
 Of sighs and bitter woe ! 
 
 Alas ! the knowledge hath been never won 
 
 By man of woman born, 
 
 What on the coming morn 
 
 It may be his to seek for or to shun. 
 
 Redoubted leader ! thee to-day 
 
 Who did not with an envious mind survey ? 
 
 Well-nigh beyond thine own desire, 
 
 A happy fortune beamed upon thy way. 
 
Jephtha. 101 
 
 The lustre of a famous race, 
 
 The blessing of a hallowed couch, 
 
 The glory that thy deeds avouch — 
 
 All these were late thine own. 
 
 Ah ! what a change comes now ! 
 
 Sudden disaster hath upon thee rushed, 
 
 A heap of ruins takes thy fortune's place, 
 
 Beneath it thou art crushed. 
 
 Thee in thy woeful state 
 
 Our very foemen might commiserate, 
 
 As, calling back thy vow, 
 
 The voice of thy lament 
 
 Thou liftest upward to the firmament. 
 
 Surely the mists of Error so surround 
 
 The minds of mortal men, 
 
 And Ignorance profound 
 
 So buries in her dark and noisome den, 
 hat never power in them is found 
 f simple Truth, clear-eyed, to see the ray, 
 
 Of Virtue plain to tread the certain way. 
 
 at 
 
 I 
 
102 Jephtha. 
 
 But, as an elfin Light, 
 
 That flits where secret ways through forest shadows 
 
 wind, 
 The traveller beguiles, 
 And, by its cunning wiles, 
 Conducts his erring feet 
 
 To where, with doubtful course, a thousand path- 
 ways meet ; 
 And, while his footsteps wander 
 Where devious tracks meander, 
 A pleasing or displeasing road he cannot find : 
 'Tis so with every mortal wight ; 
 ^/ We wander here and there with doubtful mind, 
 ^And cannot find a way to lead our feet aright. 
 
 One man of restless mood 
 
 Seeks, as the highest good, 
 
 To win a victor's name, 
 
 And from the rigorous field of war to reap 
 
 The laurel that is bought with blood. 
 
 He binds it on his brow, while widows weep, 
 
 And gains the noisy cheers of futile fame. 
 
Jephtha. 103 
 
 Another pays the price 
 
 Of childless home, in crowd of parasites ; 
 
 He foils their schemes with craftier device, 
 
 And gaping rooks to make, in turn, his sport delights. 
 
 Another would not give the murmurs bland 
 
 And babbled plaint of infant tongue 
 
 For all the wealth that Croesus can command, 
 
 Or all the yellow sand 
 
 The affluent wave of Hermus rolls along. 
 
 But no one hath the power 
 , So wisely to ordain his course of life, 
 As with his own appointments not to be at strife 
 Ten times, it may be, in a single hour. 
 
 And see, in grievous woe, 
 
 The wretched mother and her child draw nigh. 
 
 Alas ! how changed from those who were, an hour 
 
 ago, 
 Beheld by every eye, 
 As, flushed with recent victory's glow, 
 
104 Jephtha. 
 
 They with their lofty foreheads almost touched the 
 
 sky! 
 With envy-stirring blessings were they fraught ; 
 But now they instance yield of changeful human lot. 
 
 \ So God, for woe or weal, 
 The affairs of man doth onward wheel, 
 As nimble dust is driven 
 By the swift-whirling wind of heaven ; 
 Or as the white array, 
 
 When skies with wintry storms are overcast, 
 Flung by the furious blast 
 
 Upon the lofty mountains, and the spreading fields. 
 Soon as the gale hath ceased, 
 And, in the rosy East, 
 
 Flames the effulgent torch of lightsome Day, 
 The snowy mantle yields, 
 And, almost ere the sun is seen, dissolves away. 
 
Jephtha. 105 
 
 STORGE, JEPHTHA, and IPHIS. 
 
 Storge. 
 
 expectation vain ! my child, for thee 
 
 1 was preparing marriage festival. 
 
 I longed that joyful morning to descry 
 When I should see thee, by a prosperous lot, 
 Blest with a noble husband, and increased 
 With children ; and I promised to myself 
 That thou wouldst be the solace and the stay 
 Of my declining years ; but, all in vain, 
 I prophesied of thee deceitful dreams. 
 A wrathful Fate with measureless derision 
 Assails me, and, with furious cruelty, 
 From the high peak of rapture drags me down, 
 Involving all in wreck at one assault. 
 "Thrice-happy they who, by a hostile sword, 
 j Or by the scourge of famine, or by plague, 
 Have been bereaved of children ; for their tears 
 
 7 
 
106 Jephtha. 
 
 Are free from taint of sin, and they can charge 
 
 Another hand than theirs with their distress. 
 
 But here, in single sin, a host of sins 
 
 Hath Fortune mingled : — sire that slays his child, 
 
 Most wicked rites, and, after savage mode, 
 
 An altar stained with impious sacrifice. 
 
 If holy rites, observed with holiness, 
 Alone thou deem'st acceptable to God, 
 Away, then, with this heathenish ordinance ! 
 Or, if by inhumanity is gained 
 The favour of thy God, then slaughter thou 
 Me also, as a victim, with my child. 
 
 Jephlha. 
 My fate hath in itself more than enough 
 Of bitterness, without access of ill. 
 Cease, therefore, to incense thyself and me 
 By loud reproach that does not help our grief. 
 For, though of stern misfortune all possess 
 Their share, my lot is sterner far than yours. 
 1 With all your ills is mingled innocence, 
 I Your sore distress is free from soil of sin. 
 
Jephtha. 107 
 
 \l neither can be wicked without woe, 
 Nor live in sorrow without wickedness. 
 To do as "well as to endure the act 
 I only am compelled. 
 
 Storge. 
 
 That is to say 
 Thou, of thine own accord, compel'st thyself. 
 
 Jephiha. 
 
 Would that this vow were matter of my choice, 
 And that without impiety I might 
 Refuse what I have promised ! 
 
 Storge. 
 
 Wicked vow s 
 Can never be a cceptable to God. 
 
 Jephtha. 
 My victory proves that God accepted them. 
 
 Storge. 
 What ! canst thou promise what is not thine own ? 
 
108 Jephtha. 
 
 Jephtha. 
 Is not my child my own ? 
 
 Storge. 
 
 To such extent 
 As she is also mine. She is a pledge 
 Of mutual love : why, therefore, may her sire 
 Destroy, while I may not protect her life ? 
 Nay, be it so that children may, of right, 
 Be made the sport of either parent's whim, 
 And that love's bond by impious divorce 
 Asunder may be broken at our will, 
 Then, in our offspring greater share than thine, 
 In justice, there would appertain to me — 
 A mother who, to save her child, would fain 
 Withdraw her from a father who designs, 
 Of his free choice, to yield her up to death. 
 What if her sire a husband for his child 
 Had chosen, and her nuptial rites were nigh, 
 Would not our mutual authority, 
 With equal force, command our child's consent ? 
 But this is an unreasonable league — 
 
Jephtha. 109 
 
 A usurpation of the partner's rights 
 
 In wedlock : — that the mother may not save, 
 
 And yet the father may destroy his child ; 
 
 If to destroy he can, indeed, be said 
 
 Her whom he slaughters, while he boasts himself, 
 
 Standing beside his daughter done to death, 
 
 In his parade of inhumanity — 
 
 Who, while he rends the curtain of the soul, 
 
 While from her side he plucks the savage blade, 
 
 Therewith extracting, from the inmost seat 
 
 Of life, the lingering spirit, yet desires 
 
 To be beheld, and lacks not solacement ; 
 
 But makes his daughter's blood a bait for fame, 
 
 And with an air of sanctimony seeks 
 
 To counterpoise a crime, and plumes himself 
 
 Upon the praises of his parricide. 
 
 If, moved by raging madness, thou hast cast 
 
 From thee a parent's miud towards his child, 
 
 At least permit a mother's tender heart 
 
 To love what not to love were height of sin, 
 
 To save what to destroy were height of crime, 
 
 What to have willingly delivered up 
 
 Were blacker deed than any parricide, 
 
no Jephtha. 
 
 And what, with one's own hand, to immolate 
 Were savagery worse than that of beasts. 
 If we must needs divide our pledge of love, 
 Thus our division is not fairly made : — 
 That thou should'st have the power of life and death, 
 Whilst I, her mother, should have nought but tears, 
 Sorrow, and sighing, and the voice of woe. 
 O, thou more callous than the senseless rocks ! 
 Surely from some rough oak thy life hath sprung, 
 Or the sharp flints among the dens of beasts, 
 And thou dost hold no drop of human blood. 
 While weeps his daughter, while his wife laments, 
 Gives to his mournful kinsfolk any groan, 
 As sign of woe, the batcher of his child ? 
 
 Throw thyself down, child, at thy father's feet. 
 By tears or by entreaties, if thou canst, 
 Bend his hard heart and break his iron mind. 
 
 Iphis. 
 
 Pity me, father, I pray thee, by this hand 
 That has obtained thy wish, and victory won. 
 
Jephtha. 1 1 1 
 
 If ever I have well deserved of thee — 
 
 If ever clasped thee with my little arms, 
 
 And hung, as a sweet burden, from thy neck — 
 
 By ought of pleasure thou in me hast found — 
 
 Turn from thy cruel design towards thy child. 
 
 Forget this fierceness : or, if any ill 
 
 I have against thee done, then make it known, 
 
 For better I could bear whatever comes, 
 
 Should I but know I suffered my deserts . . . 
 
 Why dost thou turn away thy countenance ? . . . 
 
 Wretch that I am ! what evil have I done 
 
 To make me so detested by my sire 
 
 That on my face he cannot bend an eye ? 
 
 Jephtha. 
 
 No evil, daughter, hath been done by thee. 
 The sin is mine, mine only is the guilt. 
 Thou of myjashness, in thine innocence, 
 Dost pay the price. I, miserable man, 
 Have both myself and thee, poor child, undone, 
 By vow unspeakable. O, would to God 
 I had been warier in those words of mine, 
 Or else in battle more unfortunate, 
 
ii2 Jephtha. 
 
 And, gathered to the heap of valiant men 
 
 In honourable death by hostile hand, 
 
 I had pre-occupied my port of woe ! 
 
 A bitter lot has kept me still in life 
 
 That grief on grief attending I may see. 
 
 I swear to thee by that accursed vo. w 
 
 Which I ha ve made a gainst the will of God , 
 
 An d by the load of my calamity, 
 
 And by the piteous memory of thy lo ss. 
 
 If thou from death could'st by another's deat h 
 
 Be ransomed, gladly would I give my l ife 
 
 For thee, my daughter. D p T sppm tr» be 
 
 O ught happier than vou. my wife and child ? 
 
 Iphis. 
 
 Thou art as miserable as are we, 
 Or even more so. 
 
 Storge. 
 
 My authority 
 As parent is esteemed of slight account, 
 Therefore, as spouse to spouse, but one request, 
 And that my last, I make : give thou command 
 
Jephtha. 113 
 
 That I likewise should die. If thou me lov'st, 
 Thou may'st ascribe my death to my own will, 
 And, if thou hate me, say thou compassed it. 
 Deliver me by death from all my woes, 
 And from thy troubles thine own self set free. 
 
 Jephtha. 
 
 More than enough the load of guilt I bear 
 By sacrifice of one. 
 
 Storge. 
 
 O holiness I 
 O righteousness and innocence ! forsooth , 
 The slayer of his offspring fears to sin ! 
 
 Iphis. 
 
 My dearest mother, prithee, dry thy tears , 
 
 Cease thy r-oimplfli "*^ i3i«pntpg anA loud reproach : 
 
 And thou, my father , lay aside the care 
 
 That weighs upon thy breast ; n or interchange 
 
 A word upo n the matter of my deat h. 
 
 That thou here to art driven un willingly — 
 
ii4 Jephtha. 
 
 Of stern compulsion — I am Jag ught to see 
 By many things, as : this thy present grief , 
 T hy former tenderness, my cons ciousness 
 That I have done no wrong that might deser ve 
 Death from my sire. Wher e fore, whate vgxJbe 
 Th e dire necessity that calls for t his, 
 I gru dge no more to suffer patient ly ; 
 I gladly render up the life I owe 
 My father and my country \ _ hear the last 
 Request I make thee, mother, who hencefo rth 
 Will never any more ask ought of thee ; — 
 Harbour no an ger, trouble not my sire 
 • Because of me : be sure if, to the dead 
 And buried, any consciousness survive 
 Of things the living do. it will affor d 
 M ore than ought else of pleasure to my ghost 
 To have assurance that ye live your life 
 Jn Miss qnd wpa1 1 _ariH that, on you, my parents — 
 To each of whom I ought to minister 
 T he mutual offices of life, and pay 
 T he debt I owe you for m y nurturing , 
 And be your stay in feebleness of age — 
 Through me, should never grief nor pain be brought. 
 
Jephtha. 115 
 
 Storge. 
 
 Would that the sway of Amnion might return, 
 (If such a prayer be holy and devout) 
 And that our country bore his yoke again ! 
 Then, daughter, though a slave, thou still would'st 
 
 live, 
 Or thou, at least, no heinous death would'st die. 
 The fury of a proud and raging foe 
 Were gentler than a father's victory. 
 For, by a turn of fate most strange and sad, 
 A vow means bondage, victory means defeat. 
 Stern Fortune ! that, till now, on us hast smiled, 
 What floods of bitter tears dost thou exact 
 As usury for loan of transient joy ! 
 
 Iphis. 
 
 Nay, rather, be the retribution just 
 
 Of their offences by our foes endured : 
 
 And, if it needs be, let us consecrate 
 
 With blood our guiltless altars, and requite, 
 ! Freely and gladly, with one sacrifice 
 ; The slaughter of a host of enemies. 
 
n6 Jephtha. 
 
 Jephtha. 
 
 Ah, daughter, now at length I understand, 
 i Wretch that I am ! how savage, foul, and fell 
 ! ( Has been my purpose rashly to bereave 
 [Myself of such a child. With all my heart 
 On mine own head I will requite my sin. 
 'T would be unjust that thou, a harmless girl, 
 ShoukTst expiate my madness, while survives 
 The author of thy sorrow. I mysel f 
 Will r eco mpense my folly : in reproa ch 
 Ofjne no spiteful neighbourhood w ill say 
 That I, my daughter's murder er, spared mysplf 
 In life's 1a.it. stage, and held my offspring's b lood 
 S o cheap as to exact it for the pr ice 
 Of the vain breath of a disgraceful fame - 
 B ut thou, whose age hath better claim to live , 
 Blest with this love of thine, live for thy sir e ! 
 Live for thy land ! thy p aren t who alone , 
 According to desert, can recompense 
 Thy noble disposition^ with his life 
 Will buy what, free o fcosLjiecannnt. give. 
 
Jephtha. 117 
 
 IpMs. 
 Refrain, O sire, from joining word to word 
 In hindrance of my purpose : do not break 
 My heart with tender speeches : 'tis not righ t 
 Or iust that thou this office in my stea d 
 Should'st execute : 'tis me thy vo w demands. 
 Therefore I gladly offer up my life 
 T o thee, my father, and my native lan d. 
 The day will never dawn that can disprove 
 My title to be sprung of Jephtha's race. 
 Take me . . . bring me . . . command they lead 
 
 me hence. 
 Consecrate victim, vowed to the altar — 
 Love of the sunlight I have abandoned. 
 Tedious is all delay ; my dearest mother, 
 Farewell ! and thou, my father's Home, wherein 
 I happy days have passed, with tender love 
 Nurtured in generous hopes — for splendid rites 
 Of nuptial day designed — a long farewell ! 
 O Fate ! O Fate ! O spirits of my sires ! 
 Receive ye graciously this so ul of m ine, 
 T o welfare of my country consecrate ! 
 And thou, O Light of day ! the last of all 
 Our eyes drink in for ever, fare thee well ! 
 
n8 Jephtha. 
 
 CHORUS. 
 
 Praise and pride of womankind ! 
 Glory of thy noble race ! 
 / Thou that art a maid in grace, 
 But a very man in mind ! 
 What though Fate, with wanton shears, 
 Cut away thy goodliest years — 
 Pluck in fierce and ruthless rage 
 Tender blossom of thine age ? 
 What she takes away in days, 
 She restores in deathless praise. 
 
 And, to multitudes unborn, 
 Where o'er furthest Ind the Morn 
 Lifts her globe of golden flame 
 Tongues will tell aloud thy fame. 
 He that drinketh of the Nile 
 Ere its wave hath sped a mile, 
 He that, putting fear afar, 
 
Jephtha. 119 
 
 Crosseth, in Sarmatian car, 
 Frozen Danube's glassy stream 
 Thee will make his praise's theme. 
 
 They will sing of thee a maid 
 By no mortal dread dismayed, 
 Who thy native land for dower 
 Gladly gav'st thine age's flower. 
 
 Long, O maiden ! o'er thy story 
 Will our virgins grieve and glory. 
 They that never laid a head 
 On the holy marriage-bed, 
 As the seasons come and go, 
 Still shall sing their song of woe ; 
 Still, with lamentable wail, 
 Shall recount thy piteous tale. 
 
 As for you, who, to_your shame, 
 Grudge your lan d the vital flame. 
 Time_§haU quench your paltry_spark, 
 Whelm you in eternal dark . 
 
120 Jephtha. 
 
 And oblivion profoun d. 
 Useless cumberers of the groun d [ 
 Men inglorious ! the disgra ce 
 And reproach of human race. 
 Whom the passing hours disow n, 
 Who, to-morrow, are not known. 
 
Jephtha. 121 
 
 STORGE and A MESSENGER. 
 
 Storge. 
 
 Ah, wretched me ! is every hope of help 
 Extinguished ? Speak. 
 
 Messenger. 
 
 lady, the affair. 
 For thing of woe, has happened not so ilL 
 
 Storge. 
 
 If any good has chanced, 'tis flattery 
 
 Of cruel Fortune that with honey sweet 
 
 Mingles the deadly poison of her cup. 
 
 Relate, then, what of ill thou fain would'st hide. 
 
 My heart is blunted by acquaintanceship 
 
 And lengthened intercourse with grief ; no more 
 
 Can fate accomplish that may do me hurt. 
 
 A sure but miserable apathy 
 
 Remains for me. 
 
122 Jephtha. 
 
 Messenger. 
 
 Then, madam, hear, in brief, 
 How the event befell. As o'er against 
 The dismal altar stood the virgin fair 
 For sacrifice designed, her visage pale 
 Was mantled with a crimson blush of shame 
 As unaccustomed to the spectacle 
 Of multitude of men : so one might stain 
 With purple dye the ivory of Ind, 
 Or roses mix with lilies white as snow. 
 And, yet, the ruddy glow that did suffuse 
 Her countenance was more than that of shame : 
 Manifest valour, dauntless trust were there. 
 While other eyes were tearful, hers were dry, 
 And, with a tranquil mien, erect she stood. 
 But, though the maiden, now about to die, 
 Repressed her tears, the people freely wept. 
 Here was one heart by the remembrance touched 
 Of recent service rendered by her sire, 
 And native land from servile yoke redeemed. 
 Another mourned her grievous change of lot, 
 The loneliness of an illustrious house, 
 
Jephtha. 123 
 
 Abiding grief the price of fleeting joy, 
 
 And seldom firmly-grounded confidence 
 
 In the prosperity of man's affairs. 
 
 Another wept the flower of maidenhood, 
 
 Her eyes like stars, her hair that vied with gold, 
 
 Her more than woman's constancy of mind. 
 
 Mayhap had Nature breathed into her frame 
 
 A more than wonted dignity and grace, 
 
 As though she deemed the death of heroine 
 
 So noble, worthy of a final gift. 
 
 As, in departing, pleases most the eye 
 
 The glory of the sun that hastes to set 
 
 Beneath the Atlantic billow, as the hue 
 
 And scent of roses most enchant the sense 
 
 When Summer is about to take her flight, 
 
 This virgin, standing on the utmost verge 
 
 Of destiny, for sacrifice prepared, 
 
 Shewing no weak unwillingness to die, 
 
 By no base dread of her departure numbed, 
 
 Gave pause to all, and, with a marvellous power, 
 
 Attracted to herself the steady gaze 
 
 Of the astounded populace, and caused 
 
 A gloomy hush to settle o'er the crowd. 
 
124 Jephtha. 
 
 Storge. 
 
 Proceed to tell the manner of the fact. 
 Nor spare a mother's ears ; thou can'st relate 
 Nothing so sad to hear as that my mind 
 Something does not imagine sadder still. 
 I more than have anticipated all. 
 
 Messenger. 
 
 Thereafter did this valorous-minded girl, 
 Lifting her eyes to the bright stars of heaven, 
 Give utterance, with her taintless lips, in tones 
 Unbroken by adversity, to prayer : — 
 
 " Eternal Father of all, Parent divine 
 Of men, look favourably on Thy people. 
 Forgive their sin, and graciously receive 
 The victim that they offer. If it be 
 That Thou demandest ought to pacify 
 Thine anger, then, I pray whatever guilt 
 We, who with obstinate pride our Father Thee 
 Abandoned, have incurred, this blood of mine 
 
Jephtha. 125 \ 
 
 May expiate. O would that it were mine CuM^ , V^*' 
 
 To shed it more than once for native land ! ^> 
 
 Yea, if the preservation of my sire 
 
 And countrymen thereon depend, I would 
 
 That, through a thousand deaths, I could divert 
 
 Thy stroke of wrath and fury on myself. 
 
 But priest what fearest thou ? (for icy fear 
 
 Had made him tremble) come, despatch from light 
 
 This soul ; unbolt the door that stays its flight, 
 
 And from this vow my father and the State 
 
 And mine own self hereby emancipate." 
 
 As thus the maiden spake, long time her sire, 
 
 A cruel sight, than tiger more enraged, 
 
 Cursing himself for his incautious vow, 
 
 With his a pparel, h idhis_streaming-«yes. 
 
 Dissolved in tears, the priest had scarce the power 
 
 To ope a pathway for the maiden's soul. 
 
 A gloomy silence long the voiceless crowd 
 
 Kept spellbound ; but when once again the course 
 
 Of speech was clear, no groan, no murmured sound 
 
 And wailing, such as that of those in woe, 
 
 Was heard : the noise confused that filled the air 
 
126 Jephtha. 
 
 Was that of an assemblage giving thanks, 
 And hailing thee as, for the grievous wounds 
 Of adverse fate, and for the gladsome gifts 
 Of pleasing fortune, one who art, at once, 
 Most blest and woe-begone of womankind : 
 For, deeply as thy heart is pierced with grief, 
 Thy great distress is mixed with comfort great. 
 
 Storge. 
 
 The solace is more grievous than the ill. 
 The old affliction, that it seems to soothe, 
 It aggravates indeed, and, evermore 
 Recalling to my mind my bitter grief, 
 It makes my gaping wounds to bleed anew. 
 7 The more courageously my daughter died, 
 The keener anguish must my soul abide. 
 
NOTES. 
 
 Buchanan's Preface. — P. 20. Getic, i.p.. Gothic. — The 
 use of this adjective, with a double meaning, cost Helvius 
 Pertinax his life. The Emperor Oaracalla, who had 
 murdered his brother, Geta, had assumed the names of 
 several vanquished nations. Pertinax remarked that the 
 name Geticus might be appropriately added to Parthicus, 
 Alemannicus, etc. Buchanan has been blamed by Vinetus 
 for using the expression Geticus Mars on the ground that 
 the reference of the poet Ausonius, from whom he 
 quotes, is to the war waged by the Roman Emperor 
 against the Goths, whereas Cosse 1 was fighting against 
 the Ligurians. "But," says the Annotator to the Polio 
 Edition of Buchanan's Works (Edinburgh : Robert Free- 
 bairn), "Vinetus appears to be under a mistake, for the 
 epithet Geticus Mars is a very -common one among the 
 poets." "Geticus," he goes on to say, on the authority 
 of Turneb., Advers., book iv., chap. 22, "is the same as 
 Thracius ; and Mars was so called, because Juno miracul- 
 ously conceived and gave birth to him in Thrace." 
 
 P. 44. Jephtha : Chemosh thy god. — According to 
 Judges, xi. 24, Chemosh, the national deity of the 
 Moabites, was also the national deity of the Ammonites. 
 The opinion has been expressed that there is here an 
 error in the text, and that for Chemosh should be sub- 
 stituted Milcom, the special god of the Ammonites. 
 
 W 
 
128 Notes. 
 
 P. 48. Chorus: Flashed the scythe-blade on the wheel. — 
 The scythed chariot was in ancient times frequently em- 
 ployed by Eastern belligerents. At the battle of Arbela, 
 there were two hundred of these in the army of Darius. 
 According to a statement contained in a speech by the 
 Emperor Alexander Severus to the Roman Senate, the 
 army of Artaxerxes, with which he was engaged in a.d. 
 233, was furnished with no fewer than eighteen hundred 
 chariots armed with scythes. 
 
 P. 78. Jephtha : On me, a wretched, godless parricide. — 
 The word in the original is parricida. The English 
 equivalent is here used in the wider sense given in John- 
 son's Dictionary: — "One who destroj's any to whom he 
 owes particular reverence." 
 
 P. 103. Chobus : For all the wealth that Croesus can com- 
 mand. — This passage has called forth the following adverse 
 criticism from Dr. Irving (Memoirs of Buchanan, 2nd 
 edition, p. 32) : — "The Chorus in very familiar terms 
 mentions Croesus, who was not born till about six 
 hundred years after Jephtha." This, Irving thinks, is a 
 glaring example of impropriety ; but, if our dramatist 
 errs, he errs in good company. Shakespeare, as is pointed 
 out by Dr. Johnson in his Preface to the works of that 
 writer, " had no regard to distinction of time or place, 
 but gives to one age or nation, without scruple, the cus- 
 toms, institutions, and opinions of another, at the expense 
 not only of likelihood, but of possibility. . . . We do not 
 wonder to find Hector quoting Aristotle, when we see the 
 loves of Theseus and Hippolyta combined with the Gothic 
 mythology of fairies. Shakespeare, indeed, was not the 
 
Notes. 129 
 
 only violator of chronology, for in the same age Sidney, 
 who wanted not the advantage of learning, has, in his 
 Arcadia, confounded the pastoral with the feudal times, 
 the days of innocence, quiet, and security, with those of 
 turbulence, violence, and adventure." 
 
 P. 119. Chokus : Frozen Danube's glassy stream. — " The 
 Pannonian legions," says Gibbon, were "accustomed to 
 vanquish the barbarians on the frozen Danube " (chap. v.). 
 "Some ingenious writers," says the same historian (chap, 
 ix.), "have suspected that Europe was much colder 
 formerly than it is at present." In support of their 
 theory, Gibbon mentions (ibid.) that " The great rivers 
 which covered the Roman Provinces, the Rhine and the 
 Danube, were frequently frozen over, and capable of sup- 
 porting the most enormous weights. The barbarians, who 
 often chose that severe season for their inroads, trans- 
 ported, without apprehension or danger, their numerous 
 armies, their cavalry, and their heavy waggons, over a 
 vast and solid bridge of ice. Modern ages have not pre- 
 sented an instance of a like phenomenon." 
 
 P. 121. Messenger: 
 
 lady, the affair, 
 For thing of wot, has happened not so ill. 
 
 Buchanan sacrifices the unity of time to the exigencies of 
 the drama, suppressing the fact that Jephtha's daughter 
 bewailed her virginity two months before her father "did 
 with her according to his vow which he had vowed." To 
 quote Dr. Johnson again (Preface to Shakespeare), 
 " Nothing is essential to the fable but unity of action." 
 
130 
 
 Notes. 
 
 P. 122. Messenger : 
 
 /So one might stain 
 With pwrple dye the ivory of Ind. 
 
 An imitation of Virgil : — 
 
 " Indum sangulneo veluti viola verit ostro 
 Si quis ebur ; vel mixta rubent ubi lilia multa 
 Alba rosa; tales virgo dabat ore colores." 
 
 Aeneid, xii. 67.