Act IV: Scene I and II
SALOMITH.With a majestic step, beside my mother,Near Zachariah, walks Eliacin.What hide they, sisters, underneath their cloaks?In short, what is that sword that's borne before them?
JOSABET (to Zachariah).Place on that table, reverentially,The book redoubted of our holy law:And also you, my loved Eliacin,This diadem place near the book divine.Levites we must have there, Joad orders it,The sword of David close beside the crown.
JOAS.Princess, what then is this strange spectacle?This sacred book, this diadem, this sword?I ne'er have seen example of like form,Since in His temple God accepted me.
JOSABET.Soon all your doubts, my son, will be dispelled.
JOAS.Why will you fit this diadem on my brow?Ah, princess! keep its glory unprofaned!Respect the memory of the king who wore it.A wretched child abandoned to the bears--
JOSABET (tries on the diadem).Allow me, son, I do what I am ordered.
JOAS.But from your lips I hear your sobs arise!Princess, you weep, What pity touches you?To-day presented as burnt offeringAm I, as formerly was Jeptha's daughter,By my own death to appease the wrath of God?Alas! a child has nought a father mayNot claim.
JOSABET.Here's one will tell you of the will of Heaven;Fear nothing. Let us leave these precincts.
( Joas running into the arms of the high-priest.)JOAD.Well, my son?
JOAS.What is it, pray, that they prepare?
JOAD.'Tis right my sonI should inform you, even before all,Of God's great ends o'er you and o'er His people.Be armed with new fidelity and zeal!'Tis time to show this ardour and this faith,Which to the bottom of your heart my caresHave cultivated; and to pay to GodThe debt you owe Him. Do you feel this nobleAnd generous aspiration?
JOAS.I feel prepared, if wished, to give my life.
JOAD.You've oft heard read the history of our kings:My son, do you remember what strict lawMust be imposed on him who takes the crown?
JOAS.Thus God Himself declares that a wise kingDoes not rely on riches and on gold;But fears the Lord his God; and ever hathBefore him His stern judgments, precepts, laws,And crusheth not his brethren with oppression.
JOAD.But of our kings, if you must copy one,Which, from your choice, my son, would you be like?
JOAS.David, who full of loyal love to God,Appears the type most perfect of great kings.
JOAD.Then, in their riot, you'd not imitateThe faithless Joram, godless Ochoziah?
JOAS.O my father!
JOAD.Continue, say what you think.
JOAS.Whoe'er resembles, may he die like them.
(Joad prostrates himself at his feet).My father, in what state are you before me?
JOAD.I render you the homage of my king.
JOAS.Joas! me?
JOAD.You know the signal grace by whichGod, foiling the designs of a bad woman,Already with her dagger in your breast,He chose, and saved you from amid the carnage.You have not yet eluded all her madness:With the same passion she has ever hungeredTo lose in you the last child of her son,Her cruelty is fixed to reach your death;Under your name assumed, she hunts you still.But 'neath your standard I have now arrangedA people prompt to vengeance and obedience.Come, generous chiefs of sacred families,By turns be honoured by the holy priest.
Words in this poem
- reverentially adv.
- In a reverential manner.
- redoubted a.
- Formidable; dread.
- princess n.
- A female prince; a woman having sovereign power, or the rank of a prince. [F. princesse. See Prince, and cf. Princesse.]
- ardour n.
- Heat, in a literal sense; as, the ardor of the sun's rays. [L. ardor, fr. ardere to burn: cf. OF. ardor, ardur, F. ardeur.]
- generous a.
- Of honorable birth or origin; highborn. [F. généreux, fr. L. generous of noble birth, noble, excellent, magnanimous, fr. genus birth, race: cf. It. generoso. See 2d Gender.]
- aspiration n.
- The act of aspirating; the pronunciation of a letter with a full or strong emission of breath; an aspirated sound. [L. aspiratio, fr. aspirare: cf. F. aspiration.]
- godless a.
- Having, or acknowledging, no God; without reverence for God; impious; wicked.
- foiling n.
- A foil. Simmonds.
- amid prep.
- In the midst or middle of; surrounded or encompassed by; among. [OE. amidde, amiddes, on midden, AS. on middan, in the middle, fr. midde the middle. The s is an adverbial ending, originally marking the genitive; the t is a la]
- carnage n.
- Flesh of slain animals or men. [F. carnage, LL. carnaticum tribute of animals, flesh of animals, fr. L. caro, carnis, flesh. See Carnal.]
- hungered a.
- Hungry; pinched for food.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Act IV: Scene I and II 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 IV: Scene I and II, in Athaliah: A Tragedy (1873), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #21967, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/racine-athaliah/act-iv-scene-i-and-ii.html, id L26971.
Form and metre
Act IV: Scene I and II is 99 lines in 24 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.
- 11 --AAA---A- joad · son · allA · peopleA · zealA · faith · cares · god · nobleA · aspiration
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 |
|---|---|---|
| SALOMITH. | 3 | ··· |
| With a majestic step, beside my mother, | 11 | ··˘/˘·˘/·/˘ |
| Near Zachariah, walks Eliacin. | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| What hide they, sisters, underneath their cloaks? | 10 | ···/˘·˘/·· |
| In short, what is that sword that's borne before them? | 11 | ··········· |
| JOSABET (to Zachariah). | 8 | ·····˘/˘ |
| Place on that table, reverentially, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| The book redoubted of our holy law: | 10 | ··˘/˘·//˘· |
| And also you, my loved Eliacin, | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| This diadem place near the book divine. | 10 | ·/˘·····˘/ |
| Levites we must have there, Joad orders it, | 10 | /˘·····/˘· |
| The sword of David close beside the crown. | 10 | ···/˘·˘/·· |
| JOAS. | 1 | · |
| Princess, what then is this strange spectacle? | 10 | /˘·····/˘˘ |
| This sacred book, this diadem, this sword? | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| I ne'er have seen example of like form, | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| Since in His temple God accepted me. | 10 | ···/˘·˘/˘· |
| JOSABET. | 3 | ··· |
| Soon all your doubts, my son, will be dispelled. | 10 | ········˘/ |
| JOAS. | 1 | · |
| Why will you fit this diadem on my brow? | 11 | ·····/˘···· |
| Ah, princess! keep its glory unprofaned! | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| Respect the memory of the king who wore it. | 11 | ˘/·/˘······ |
| A wretched child abandoned to the bears-- | 10 | ·/˘·˘/˘··· |
| JOSABET (tries on the diadem). | 9 | ······/˘· |
| Allow me, son, I do what I am ordered. | 11 | ˘/·······/˘ |
| JOAS. | 1 | · |
| But from your lips I hear your sobs arise! | 10 | ········˘/ |
| Princess, you weep, What pity touches you? | 10 | /˘···/˘/˘· |
| To-day presented as burnt offering | 10 | ··˘/˘··/˘˘ |
| Am I, as formerly was Jeptha's daughter, | 11 | ···/˘˘···/˘ |
| By my own death to appease the wrath of God? | 11 | ·····˘/···· |
| Alas! a child has nought a father may | 10 | ˘/·····/˘· |
| Not claim. | 2 | ·· |
| JOSABET. | 3 | ··· |
| Here's one will tell you of the will of Heaven; | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| Fear nothing. Let us leave these precincts. | 9 | ·/˘····/· |
| ( Joas running into the arms of the high-priest.) | 11 | ·/˘········ |
| JOAD. | 1 | · |
| Well, my son? | 3 | ··· |
| JOAS. | 1 | · |
| What is it, pray, that they prepare? | 8 | ······˘/ |
| JOAD. | 1 | · |
| 'Tis right my son | 4 | ···· |
| I should inform you, even before all, | 10 | ··˘/·/˘··· |
| Of God's great ends o'er you and o'er His people. | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| Be armed with new fidelity and zeal! | 10 | ····˘/˘˘·· |
| 'Tis time to show this ardour and this faith, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Which to the bottom of your heart my cares | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Have cultivated; and to pay to God | 10 | ·/˘·˘····· |
| The debt you owe Him. Do you feel this noble | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| And generous aspiration? | 8 | ·/˘˘·˘/˘ |
| JOAS. | 1 | · |
| I feel prepared, if wished, to give my life. | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| JOAD. | 1 | · |
| You've oft heard read the history of our kings: | 10 | ·····/˘·/· |
| My son, do you remember what strict law | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| Must be imposed on him who takes the crown? | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| JOAS. | 1 | · |
| Thus God Himself declares that a wise king | 10 | ··˘/˘/···· |
| Does not rely on riches and on gold; | 10 | ··˘/·/˘··· |
| But fears the Lord his God; and ever hath | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Before him His stern judgments, precepts, laws, | 10 | ·····/˘/·· |
| And crusheth not his brethren with oppression. | 11 | ·/˘··/˘·˘/˘ |
| JOAD. | 1 | · |
| But of our kings, if you must copy one, | 10 | ··/····/˘· |
| Which, from your choice, my son, would you be like? | 10 | ·········· |
| JOAS. | 1 | · |
| David, who full of loyal love to God, | 10 | /˘···/˘··· |
| Appears the type most perfect of great kings. | 10 | ˘/···/···· |
| JOAD. | 1 | · |
| Then, in their riot, you'd not imitate | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| The faithless Joram, godless Ochoziah? | 10 | ·/˘/˘/˘··· |
| JOAS. | 1 | · |
| O my father! | 4 | ··/˘ |
| JOAD. | 1 | · |
| Continue, say what you think. | 7 | ˘/˘···· |
| JOAS. | 1 | · |
| Whoe'er resembles, may he die like them. | 9 | ·˘/˘····· |
| (Joad prostrates himself at his feet). | 8 | ·/˘˘/··· |
| My father, in what state are you before me? | 11 | ·/˘········ |
| JOAD. | 1 | · |
| I render you the homage of my king. | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| JOAS. | 1 | · |
| Joas! me? | 2 | ·· |
| JOAD. | 1 | · |
| You know the signal grace by which | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| God, foiling the designs of a bad woman, | 11 | ·/˘·˘/···/˘ |
| Already with her dagger in your breast, | 10 | ˘/˘··/˘··· |
| He chose, and saved you from amid the carnage. | 11 | ······˘/·/˘ |
| You have not yet eluded all her madness: | 11 | ····˘/˘··/˘ |
| With the same passion she has ever hungered | 11 | ···/˘··/˘/˘ |
| To lose in you the last child of her son, | 10 | ·········· |
| Her cruelty is fixed to reach your death; | 10 | ·/˘··˘···· |
| Under your name assumed, she hunts you still. | 10 | ····˘/···· |
| But 'neath your standard I have now arranged | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| A people prompt to vengeance and obedience. | 11 | ·/˘··/˘·˘/˘ |
| Come, generous chiefs of sacred families, | 11 | ·/˘˘··/˘/˘˘ |
| By turns be honoured by the holy priest. | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
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