Act III: Scene II — Judas Maccabaeus; Jewish Fugitives
JUDAS.Who and what are ye, that with furtive stepsSteal in among our tents?
FUGITIVES.O Maccabaeus,Outcasts are we, and fugitives as thou art,Jews of Jerusalem, that have escapedFrom the polluted city, and from death.
JUDAS.None can escape from death. Say that ye comeTo die for Israel, and ye are welcome.What tidings bring ye?
FUGITIVES.Tidings of despair.The Temple is laid waste; the precious vessels,Censers of gold, vials and veils and crowns,And golden ornaments, and hidden treasures,Have all been taken from it, and the GentilesWith revelling and with riot fill its courts,And dally with harlots in the holy places.
JUDAS.All this I knew before.
FUGITIVES.Upon the altarAre things profane, things by the law forbidden;Nor can we keep our Sabbaths or our Feasts,But on the festivals of DionysusMust walk in their processions, bearing ivyTo crown a drunken god.
JUDAS.This too I know.But tell me of the Jews. How fare the Jews?
FUGITIVES.The coming of this mischief hath been soreAnd grievous to the people. All the landIs full of lamentation and of mourning.The Princes and the Elders weep and wail;The young men and the maidens are made feeble;The beauty of the women hath been changed.
JUDAS.And are there none to die for Israel?'T is not enough to mourn. Breastplate and harnessAre better things than sackcloth. Let the womenLament for Israel; the men should die.
FUGITIVES.Both men and women die; old men and young:Old Eleazer died: and MahalaWith all her Seven Sons.
JUDAS.Antiochus,At every step thou takest there is leftA bloody footprint in the street, by whichThe avenging wrath of God will track thee out!It is enough. Go to the sutler's tents;Those of you who are men, put on such armorAs ye may find; those of you who are women,Buckle that armor on; and for a watchwordWhisper, or cry aloud, "The Help of God."
Words in this poem
- furtive a.
- Stolen; obtained or characterized by stealth; sly; secret; stealthy; as, a furtive look. Prior. [L. furtivus, fr. furtum theft, fr. fur thief, akin to ferre to bear: cf. F. furtif. See Fertile.]
- dally v. i.
- To waste time in effeminate or voluptuous pleasures, or in idleness; to fool away time; to delay unnecessarily; to tarry; to trifle. [OE. , dailien; cf. Icel. pylja to talk, G. dallen, dalen, dahlen, to trifle, talk nonsense, OSw. tule a droll or funny man; or AS. dol foolish, E. dull.]
- sackcloth n.
- Linen or cotton cloth such a sacks are made of; coarse cloth; anciently, a cloth or garment worn in mourning, distress, mortification, or penitence.
- footprint n.
- The impression of the foot; a trace or footmark; as,
- aloud adv.
- With a loud voice, or great noise; loudly; audibly. [Pref. a- + loud.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Act III: Scene II — Judas Maccabaeus; Jewish Fugitives is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Complete Poetical Works of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Project Gutenberg ebook #1365; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Act III: Scene II — Judas Maccabaeus; Jewish Fugitives, in Judas Maccabaeus (1872), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1365, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/longfellow-judas-maccabaeus/act-iii-scene-ii-judas-maccabaeus-jewish-fugitives.html, id L19128.
Form and metre
Act III: Scene II — Judas Maccabaeus; Jewish Fugitives is 58 lines in 11 stanzas.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 3 -AA- judas · comeA · welcomeA · ye
- 4 --A--A-- fugitives · despair · vesselsA · crowns · treasures · gentilesA · courts · places
- 8 ----AA- fugitives · sore · land · mourning · wailA · feebleA · changed
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| JUDAS. | 2 | /˘ |
| Who and what are ye, that with furtive steps | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Steal in among our tents? | 7 | ····/˘· |
| FUGITIVES. | 3 | /˘˘ |
| O Maccabaeus, | 4 | ···· |
| Outcasts are we, and fugitives as thou art, | 10 | /····/˘··· |
| Jews of Jerusalem, that have escaped | 10 | ··˘/˘˘··˘/ |
| From the polluted city, and from death. | 10 | ··˘/˘/˘··· |
| JUDAS. | 2 | /˘ |
| None can escape from death. Say that ye come | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| To die for Israel, and ye are welcome. | 11 | ···/˘˘···/˘ |
| What tidings bring ye? | 5 | ·/˘·· |
| FUGITIVES. | 3 | /˘˘ |
| Tidings of despair. | 5 | /˘·˘/ |
| The Temple is laid waste; the precious vessels, | 11 | ·/˘····/˘/˘ |
| Censers of gold, vials and veils and crowns, | 10 | /˘··/˘···· |
| And golden ornaments, and hidden treasures, | 11 | ·/˘/˘˘·/˘/˘ |
| Have all been taken from it, and the Gentiles | 11 | ···/˘····/· |
| With revelling and with riot fill its courts, | 10 | ·˘/˘··/··· |
| And dally with harlots in the holy places. | 12 | ·/˘·/˘··/˘/˘ |
| JUDAS. | 2 | /˘ |
| All this I knew before. | 6 | ······ |
| FUGITIVES. | 3 | /˘˘ |
| Upon the altar | 5 | ···/˘ |
| Are things profane, things by the law forbidden; | 11 | ··˘/····˘/˘ |
| Nor can we keep our Sabbaths or our Feasts, | 10 | ····//˘·/· |
| But on the festivals of Dionysus | 10 | ···/˘˘···· |
| Must walk in their processions, bearing ivy | 11 | ····˘/˘/˘/˘ |
| To crown a drunken god. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| JUDAS. | 2 | /˘ |
| This too I know. | 4 | ···· |
| But tell me of the Jews. How fare the Jews? | 10 | ·········· |
| FUGITIVES. | 3 | /˘˘ |
| The coming of this mischief hath been sore | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| And grievous to the people. All the land | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| Is full of lamentation and of mourning. | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| The Princes and the Elders weep and wail; | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| The young men and the maidens are made feeble; | 11 | ·····/˘··/˘ |
| The beauty of the women hath been changed. | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| JUDAS. | 2 | /˘ |
| And are there none to die for Israel? | 10 | ·······/˘˘ |
| 'T is not enough to mourn. Breastplate and harness | 12 | ···˘/··/··/˘ |
| Are better things than sackcloth. Let the women | 11 | ·/˘··/˘··/˘ |
| Lament for Israel; the men should die. | 10 | ˘/·/˘˘···· |
| FUGITIVES. | 3 | /˘˘ |
| Both men and women die; old men and young: | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Old Eleazer died: and Mahala | 9 | ·/˘˘··/˘˘ |
| With all her Seven Sons. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| JUDAS. | 2 | /˘ |
| Antiochus, | 4 | ˘/˘˘ |
| At every step thou takest there is left | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| A bloody footprint in the street, by which | 10 | ·/˘/······ |
| The avenging wrath of God will track thee out! | 11 | ·˘/˘······· |
| It is enough. Go to the sutler's tents; | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| Those of you who are men, put on such armor | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| As ye may find; those of you who are women, | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| Buckle that armor on; and for a watchword | 11 | /˘·/˘····/· |
| Whisper, or cry aloud, "The Help of God." | 10 | /˘··˘/···· |
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