Act V: Scene II — Antiochus; Philip; a Messenger
MESSENGER.May the King live forever!
ANTIOCHUS.Who art thou, and whence comest thou?
MESSENGER.My Lord,I am a messenger from Antioch,Sent here by Lysias.
ANTIOCHUS.A strange forebodingOf something evil overshadows me.I am no reader of the Jewish Scriptures;I know not Hebrew; but my High-Priest Jason,As I remember, told me of a ProphetWho saw a little cloud rise from the seaLike a man's hand and soon the heaven was blackWith clouds and rain. Here, Philip, read; I cannot;I see that cloud. It makes the letters dimBefore mine eyes.
PHILIP (reading)."To King Antiochus,The God, Epiphanes."
ANTIOCHUS.O mockery!Even Lysias laughs at me!--Go on, go on.
PHILIP (reading)."We pray thee hasten thy return. The realmIs falling from thee. Since thou hast gone from usThe victories of Judas MaccabaeusForm all our annals. First he overthrewThy forces at Beth-horon, and passed on,And took Jerusalem, the Holy City.And then Emmaus fell; and then Bethsura;Ephron and all the towns of Galaad,And Maccabaeus marched to Carnion."
ANTIOCHUS.Enough, enough! Go call my chariot-men;We will drive forward, forward, without ceasing,Until we come to Antioch. My captains,My Lysias, Gorgias, Seron, and Nicanor,Are babes in battle, and this dreadful JewWill rob me of my kingdom and my crown.My elephants shall trample him to dust;I will wipe out his nation, and will makeJerusalem a common burying-place,And every home within its walls a tomb!
PHILIP.Antiochus! Antiochus! Alas,The King is ill! What is it, O my Lord?
ANTIOCHUS.Nothing. A sudden and sharp spasm of pain,As if the lightning struck me, or the knifeOf an assassin smote me to the heart.'T is passed, even as it came. Let us set forward.
PHILIP.See that the chariots be in readinessWe will depart forthwith.
ANTIOCHUS.A moment more.I cannot stand. I am become at onceWeak as an infant. Ye will have to lead me.Jove, or Jehovah, or whatever nameThou wouldst be named,--it is alike to me,--If I knew how to pray, I would entreatTo live a little longer.
PHILIP.O my Lord,Thou shalt not die; we will not let thee die!
ANTIOCHUS.How canst thou help it, Philip? O the pain!Stab after stab. Thou hast no shield againstThis unseen weapon. God of Israel,Since all the other gods abandon me,Help me. I will release the Holy City.Garnish with goodly gifts the Holy Temple.Thy people, whom I judged to be unworthyTo be so much as buried, shall be equalUnto the citizens of Antioch.I will become a Jew, and will declareThrough all the world that is inhabitedThe power of God!
PHILIP.He faints. It is like death.Bring here the royal litter. We will bear himIn to the camp, while yet he lives.
ANTIOCHUS.O Philip,Into what tribulation am I come!Alas! I now remember all the evilThat I have done the Jews; and for this causeThese troubles are upon me, and beholdI perish through great grief in a strange land.
PHILIP.Antiochus! my King!
ANTIOCHUS.Nay, King no longer.Take thou my royal robes, my signet-ring,My crown and sceptre, and deliver themUnto my son, Antiochus Eupator;And unto the good Jews, my citizens,In all my towns, say that their dying monarchWisheth them joy, prosperity, and health.I who, puffed up with pride and arrogance,Thought all the kingdoms of the earth mine own,If I would but outstretch my hand and take them,Meet face to face a greater potentate,King Death--Epiphanes--the Illustrious!
Words in this poem 17
- hast
- , 2d pers. sing. pres. of. Fave, contr. of havest.
- annals n.
- A relation of events in chronological order, each event being recorded under the year in which it happened. [L. annalis (sc. liber), and more frequently in the pl. annales (sc. libri), chronicles, fr. annus year. Cf. Annual.]
- dreadful a.
- Full of dread or terror; fearful.
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
- depart v. i.
- To part; to divide; to separate. [OE. departen to divide, part, depart, F. départir to divide, distribute, se départir to separate one's self, depart; pref. dé- (L. de) + partir to part, depart,]
- forthwith adv.
- Immediately; without delay; directly.
- jove n.
- The chief divinity of the ancient Romans; Jupiter. [L. Jupiter, gen. Jovis, OL. Jovis, nom. & gen. for Djovis; akin to E. Tuesday. See Tuesday, and cf. Jupiter.]
- entreat v. t.
- To treat, or conduct toward; to deal with; to use. [OE. entreten to treat, request, OF. entraiter to treat of; pref. en- (L. in) + traitier to treat. See Treat.]
- shalt
- 2d per. sing. of Shall.
- unseen a.
- Not seen or discovered.
- garnish v. t.
- To decorate with ornamental appendages; to set off; to adorn; to embellish. [OE. garnischen, garnissen, OF. garnir to provide, strengthen, prepare, garnish, warn, F. garnir to provide, furnish, garnish, -- of German origin; cf. OHG. warn]
- goodly a.
- Pleasant; agreeable; desirable. [OE. godlich, AS. g. See Good, and Like.]
- inhabited a.
- Uninhabited. Brathwait.
- tribulation n.
- That which occasions distress, trouble, or vexation; severe affliction. [OE. tribulacium, F. tribulation, L. tribulatio, from tribulare to press, afflict, fr. tribulum a thrashing sledge, akin to terere, tritum, to rub. See Trite.]
- sceptre n.
- A staff or baton borne by a sovereign, as a ceremonial badge or emblem of authority; a royal mace. [F. sceptre, L. sceptrum, from Gr. shaft. See Shaft, and cf. Scape a stem, shaft.]
- outstretch v. t.
- To stretch out.
- potentate n.
- One who is potent; one who possesses great power or sway; a prince, sovereign, or monarch. [LL. potentatus, fr. potentare to exercise power: cf. F. potentat. See Potent, a.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Act V: Scene II — Antiochus; Philip; a Messenger 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 V: Scene II — Antiochus; Philip; a Messenger, in Judas Maccabaeus (1872), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1365, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/longfellow-judas-maccabaeus/act-v-scene-ii-antiochus-philip-a-messenger.html, id L19135.
Form and metre
Act V: Scene II — Antiochus; Philip; a Messenger is 107 lines in 18 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.
- 4 --A---A---- antiochus · foreboding · meA · scriptures · jason · prophet · seaA · black · cannot · dim · eyes
- 12 ---A-A-- antiochus · more · once · meA · name · meA · entreat · longer
- 14 -----------AA antiochus · pain · against · israel · me · city · temple · unworthy · equal · antioch · declare · inhabitedA · godA
- 18 ---A------A-- antiochus · longer · ring · themA · eupator · citizens · monarch · health · arrogance · own · themA · potentate · illustrious
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 |
|---|---|---|
| MESSENGER. | 3 | /˘˘ |
| May the King live forever! | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
| ANTIOCHUS. | 4 | ˘/˘˘ |
| Who art thou, and whence comest thou? | 8 | ········ |
| MESSENGER. | 3 | /˘˘ |
| My Lord, | 2 | ·· |
| I am a messenger from Antioch, | 10 | ···/˘˘·/˘· |
| Sent here by Lysias. | 5 | ····· |
| ANTIOCHUS. | 4 | ˘/˘˘ |
| A strange foreboding | 5 | ··˘/˘ |
| Of something evil overshadows me. | 10 | ·/˘/˘/˘/˘· |
| I am no reader of the Jewish Scriptures; | 11 | ···/˘··/˘/˘ |
| I know not Hebrew; but my High-Priest Jason, | 11 | ···/˘····/˘ |
| As I remember, told me of a Prophet | 11 | ··˘/˘····/˘ |
| Who saw a little cloud rise from the sea | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Like a man's hand and soon the heaven was black | 10 | ·······/·· |
| With clouds and rain. Here, Philip, read; I cannot; | 11 | ·····/˘··/˘ |
| I see that cloud. It makes the letters dim | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Before mine eyes. | 4 | ···· |
| PHILIP (reading). | 4 | /˘/˘ |
| "To King Antiochus, | 6 | ··˘/˘˘ |
| The God, Epiphanes." | 5 | ····· |
| ANTIOCHUS. | 4 | ˘/˘˘ |
| O mockery! | 4 | ·/˘˘ |
| Even Lysias laughs at me!--Go on, go on. | 10 | /········· |
| PHILIP (reading). | 4 | /˘/˘ |
| "We pray thee hasten thy return. The realm | 10 | ···/˘·˘/·· |
| Is falling from thee. Since thou hast gone from us | 11 | ·/˘········ |
| The victories of Judas Maccabaeus | 10 | ·/˘˘·/˘··· |
| Form all our annals. First he overthrew | 10 | ··//˘···˘/ |
| Thy forces at Beth-horon, and passed on, | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| And took Jerusalem, the Holy City. | 11 | ··˘/˘˘·/˘/˘ |
| And then Emmaus fell; and then Bethsura; | 10 | ··/˘······ |
| Ephron and all the towns of Galaad, | 9 | /˘······· |
| And Maccabaeus marched to Carnion." | 9 | ·····˘··· |
| ANTIOCHUS. | 4 | ˘/˘˘ |
| Enough, enough! Go call my chariot-men; | 10 | ˘/˘/···/˘· |
| We will drive forward, forward, without ceasing, | 11 | ···/˘/˘··/˘ |
| Until we come to Antioch. My captains, | 11 | ·····/˘··/˘ |
| My Lysias, Gorgias, Seron, and Nicanor, | 11 | ··········· |
| Are babes in battle, and this dreadful Jew | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Will rob me of my kingdom and my crown. | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| My elephants shall trample him to dust; | 10 | ·/˘˘·/˘··· |
| I will wipe out his nation, and will make | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Jerusalem a common burying-place, | 10 | ˘/˘·/˘/˘˘· |
| And every home within its walls a tomb! | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| PHILIP. | 2 | /˘ |
| Antiochus! Antiochus! Alas, | 10 | ˘/˘˘˘/˘˘˘/ |
| The King is ill! What is it, O my Lord? | 10 | ·········· |
| ANTIOCHUS. | 4 | ˘/˘˘ |
| Nothing. A sudden and sharp spasm of pain, | 11 | /˘·/˘··/˘·· |
| As if the lightning struck me, or the knife | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Of an assassin smote me to the heart. | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| 'T is passed, even as it came. Let us set forward. | 12 | ···/······/˘ |
| PHILIP. | 2 | /˘ |
| See that the chariots be in readiness | 11 | ···/˘˘··/˘˘ |
| We will depart forthwith. | 6 | ··˘/// |
| ANTIOCHUS. | 4 | ˘/˘˘ |
| A moment more. | 4 | ·/˘· |
| I cannot stand. I am become at once | 10 | ·/˘···˘/·· |
| Weak as an infant. Ye will have to lead me. | 11 | ···/˘······ |
| Jove, or Jehovah, or whatever name | 10 | ··˘/˘··/˘· |
| Thou wouldst be named,--it is alike to me,-- | 10 | ······˘/·· |
| If I knew how to pray, I would entreat | 10 | ········˘/ |
| To live a little longer. | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| PHILIP. | 2 | /˘ |
| O my Lord, | 3 | ··· |
| Thou shalt not die; we will not let thee die! | 10 | ·········· |
| ANTIOCHUS. | 4 | ˘/˘˘ |
| How canst thou help it, Philip? O the pain! | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Stab after stab. Thou hast no shield against | 10 | ·········· |
| This unseen weapon. God of Israel, | 10 | ·˘//˘··/˘˘ |
| Since all the other gods abandon me, | 10 | ···/˘·˘/˘· |
| Help me. I will release the Holy City. | 11 | ····˘/·/˘/˘ |
| Garnish with goodly gifts the Holy Temple. | 11 | /˘·/˘··/˘/˘ |
| Thy people, whom I judged to be unworthy | 11 | ·/˘·····˘/˘ |
| To be so much as buried, shall be equal | 11 | ·····/˘··/˘ |
| Unto the citizens of Antioch. | 10 | ···/˘˘·/˘· |
| I will become a Jew, and will declare | 10 | ··˘/····˘/ |
| Through all the world that is inhabited | 10 | ······˘/˘˘ |
| The power of God! | 5 | ·/˘·· |
| PHILIP. | 2 | /˘ |
| He faints. It is like death. | 6 | ······ |
| Bring here the royal litter. We will bear him | 11 | ···/˘/˘···· |
| In to the camp, while yet he lives. | 8 | ········ |
| ANTIOCHUS. | 4 | ˘/˘˘ |
| O Philip, | 3 | ·/˘ |
| Into what tribulation am I come! | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| Alas! I now remember all the evil | 11 | ˘/··˘/˘··/˘ |
| That I have done the Jews; and for this cause | 10 | ·········· |
| These troubles are upon me, and behold | 10 | ·/˘·····˘/ |
| I perish through great grief in a strange land. | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| PHILIP. | 2 | /˘ |
| Antiochus! my King! | 6 | ˘/˘˘·· |
| ANTIOCHUS. | 4 | ˘/˘˘ |
| Nay, King no longer. | 5 | ···/˘ |
| Take thou my royal robes, my signet-ring, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| My crown and sceptre, and deliver them | 10 | ···/˘·˘/˘· |
| Unto my son, Antiochus Eupator; | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| And unto the good Jews, my citizens, | 10 | ·······/˘˘ |
| In all my towns, say that their dying monarch | 11 | ·······/˘/· |
| Wisheth them joy, prosperity, and health. | 10 | /˘··˘/˘˘·· |
| I who, puffed up with pride and arrogance, | 10 | ·······/˘˘ |
| Thought all the kingdoms of the earth mine own, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| If I would but outstretch my hand and take them, | 11 | ····˘/····· |
| Meet face to face a greater potentate, | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| King Death--Epiphanes--the Illustrious! | 10 | ······˘/˘˘ |
The reader shows the same poem with its rhymes coloured and a stress row above each line, the notes beside their stanzas, and any word's definition on a tap; the analysis page takes the whole book apart. How every part of this site was made.