Act III: Scene VI
JOSABET.The storm has burst!The queen, enraged, demands Eliacin.Already of his birth, and your designsThey have begun to pierce the mystery:Mathan but failed to name to me his father.
JOAD.To the perfidious Mathan who has told it?Has not your agitation said too much?
JOSABET.I did whate'er I could to curb myself.Howe'er, believe me, peril presses, Sir;For happier times let us reserve that child.Whilst wicked ones deliberate with each other,Before he is surrounded, torn from us,Allow me to conceal him once again;To him are open yet the doors, the gates.Shall we convey him to the wildest desert?I am prepared, I know a secret way,By which myself and he, still unperceived,The torrents of the Cedron passing over,May go into the desert, where in tears,And seeking safety, like ourselves, in flight,David escaped his rebel son's pursuit.I shall, on his account, fear wild beasts less;--But why do you not favour Jehu's aid?Perhaps good counsel I may offer you;Let us make Jehu guardian of this treasure,We could to-day conduct him to his kingdom,For short the road is leading to his court.Jehu has not a wild, relentless heart;The name of David's honoured in his eyes.Alas! is he a king so callous, cruel,Unless his mother was a Jezebel,That he would not commiserate the fateOf such a suppliant? Is not his causeThe common one of kings?
JOAD.Dare you propose to me such timid counsels?What can you hope in Jehu's countenance?
JOSABET.Does God forbid all care and all prevision?Will not an over-confidence offend Him?Employing human means to sacred ends,Has He Himself not Jehu's arm equipt?
JOAD.Jehu, on whom I see your hopes are built,Paying His gifts with thankless thoughtlessness,Jehu in peace leaves Ahab's hideous daughter;Following the course profane of Israel's kings,Of Egypt's worthless god he saves the temples;Jehu, at length, dares offer on the heightsAn incense rash which God can not allow:His heart's not just enough, nor pure his hands,To serve His cause--to avenge His injuries.No, No, 'tis God alone we must engage.Far from concealing, let us show the boy,And let the diadem surround his head:I even will urge on the expected hour,Before vile Mathan's complots can be formed.
Words in this poem
- 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,]
- rebel a.
- Pertaining to rebels or rebellion; acting in revolt; rebellious; as, rebel troops. [F. rebelle, fr. L. rebellis. See Rebel, v. t.]
- favour n.
- Kind regard; propitious aspect; countenance; friendly disposition; kindness; good will. [Written also favour.]
- jehu n.
- A coachman; a driver; especially, one who drives furiously. [From Jehu, son of Nimshi. 2 Kings ix. 20.]
- relentless a.
- Unmoved by appeals for sympathy or forgiveness; insensible to the distresses of others; destitute of tenderness; unrelenting; unyielding; unpitying; as, a prey to relentless despotism.
- jezebel n.
- A bold, vicious woman; a termagant. Spectator. [From Jezebel, Heb. Izebel, the wife of Ahab king of Israel.]
- commiserate v. t.
- To feel sorrow, pain, or regret for; to pity. [L. commiseratus, p. p. of commiserari to commiserate; com- + miserari to pity. See Miserable.]
- suppliant a.
- Asking earnestly and submissively; entreating; beseeching; supplicating. [F., p.pr. of supplier to entreat, L. supplicare. See Supplicate, and cf. Supplicant.]
- propose v. i.
- To speak; to converse.
- prevision n.
- Foresight; foreknowledge; prescience. H. Spencer. [Cf. F. prévision.]
- thankless a.
- Not acknowledging favors; not expressing thankfulness; unthankful; ungrateful.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Act III: Scene VI is in the public domain. This text is taken from Athaliah: A Tragedy, Project Gutenberg ebook #21967, the J. Donkersley translation; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Jean Racine, Act III: Scene VI, in Athaliah: A Tragedy (1873), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #21967, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/racine-athaliah/act-iii-scene-vi.html, id L26968.
Form and metre
Act III: Scene VI is 60 lines in 6 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 87%).
See other poems in iambic pentameter.
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 -----A---------A------------ josabet · myself · sir · child · other · usA · again · gates · desert · way · unperceived · over · tears · flight · pursuit · lessA · aid · you · treasure · kingdom · court · heart · eyes · cruel · jezebel · fate · cause · kings
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. Read against iambic pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| JOSABET. | 3 | ··· |
| The storm has burst! | 4 | ···· |
| The queen, enraged, demands Eliacin. | 10 | ··˘/˘/···· |
| Already of his birth, and your designs | 10 | ˘/˘·····˘/ |
| They have begun to pierce the mystery: | 10 | ··˘/···/˘˘ |
| Mathan but failed to name to me his father. | 11 | /˘·······/˘ |
| JOAD. | 1 | · |
| To the perfidious Mathan who has told it? | 12 | ··˘/˘˘/˘···· |
| Has not your agitation said too much? | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| JOSABET. | 3 | ··· |
| I did whate'er I could to curb myself. | 11 | ··˘˘/·····/ |
| Howe'er, believe me, peril presses, Sir; | 10 | ··˘/·/˘/˘· |
| For happier times let us reserve that child. | 10 | ·/˘···˘/·· |
| Whilst wicked ones deliberate with each other, | 11 | ·/˘·˘/˘··/˘ |
| Before he is surrounded, torn from us, | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| Allow me to conceal him once again; | 10 | ˘/··˘/··˘/ |
| To him are open yet the doors, the gates. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Shall we convey him to the wildest desert? | 11 | ··˘/···/˘/˘ |
| I am prepared, I know a secret way, | 10 | ··˘/···/˘· |
| By which myself and he, still unperceived, | 10 | ···/······ |
| The torrents of the Cedron passing over, | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| May go into the desert, where in tears, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| And seeking safety, like ourselves, in flight, | 10 | ·/˘/˘·˘/·· |
| David escaped his rebel son's pursuit. | 10 | /˘˘/·/˘·˘/ |
| I shall, on his account, fear wild beasts less;-- | 10 | ····˘/···· |
| But why do you not favour Jehu's aid? | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Perhaps good counsel I may offer you; | 10 | ˘/·/˘··/˘· |
| Let us make Jehu guardian of this treasure, | 11 | ···/˘/˘··/˘ |
| We could to-day conduct him to his kingdom, | 11 | ····˘/···/˘ |
| For short the road is leading to his court. | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Jehu has not a wild, relentless heart; | 10 | /˘····˘/˘· |
| The name of David's honoured in his eyes. | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| Alas! is he a king so callous, cruel, | 11 | ˘/·····/˘/˘ |
| Unless his mother was a Jezebel, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘˘ |
| That he would not commiserate the fate | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| Of such a suppliant? Is not his cause | 10 | ···/˘˘···· |
| The common one of kings? | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| JOAD. | 1 | · |
| Dare you propose to me such timid counsels? | 11 | ··˘/···/˘/˘ |
| What can you hope in Jehu's countenance? | 10 | ·······/˘˘ |
| JOSABET. | 3 | ··· |
| Does God forbid all care and all prevision? | 11 | ··˘/····˘/˘ |
| Will not an over-confidence offend Him? | 10 | ····/˘˘˘/· |
| Employing human means to sacred ends, | 10 | ˘/˘/˘··/˘· |
| Has He Himself not Jehu's arm equipt? | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| JOAD. | 1 | · |
| Jehu, on whom I see your hopes are built, | 10 | /˘········ |
| Paying His gifts with thankless thoughtlessness, | 10 | /˘···/˘··· |
| Jehu in peace leaves Ahab's hideous daughter; | 11 | /˘···/·/˘/˘ |
| Following the course profane of Israel's kings, | 10 | /˘··˘/·/˘· |
| Of Egypt's worthless god he saves the temples; | 11 | ·/˘/˘····/˘ |
| Jehu, at length, dares offer on the heights | 10 | /˘···/˘··· |
| An incense rash which God can not allow: | 10 | ·/······˘/ |
| His heart's not just enough, nor pure his hands, | 10 | ····˘/···· |
| To serve His cause--to avenge His injuries. | 11 | ·····˘/·/˘˘ |
| No, No, 'tis God alone we must engage. | 10 | ····˘/··˘/ |
| Far from concealing, let us show the boy, | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| And let the diadem surround his head: | 10 | ···/˘·˘/·· |
| I even will urge on the expected hour, | 11 | ·/····˘/˘/˘ |
| Before vile Mathan's complots can be formed. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
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