Chant

Hail, mighty Rimmon, ruler of the whirl-storm,Hail, shaker of mountains, breaker-down of forests,Hail, thou who roarest terribly in the darkness,Hail, thou whose arrows flame across the heavens!Hail, great destroyer, lord of flood and tempest,In thine anger almighty, in thy wrath eternal,Thou who delightest in ruin, maker of desolations,Immeru, Addu, Berku, Rimmon!See we tremble before thee, low we bow at thine altar,Have mercy upon us, be favourable unto us,Save us from our enemy, accept our sacrifice,Barku, Immeru, Addu, Rimmon!

REZON:O King, last night the counsel from aboveWas given in answer to our divination.Ambassadors must go forthwith to craveAssyria's pardon, and a second offerOf the same terms of peace we did rejectNot long ago.

BENHADAD:Dishonour! Yet I seeNo other way! Assyria will refuse,Or make still harder terms. Disaster, shameFor this gray head, and ruin for Damascus!

REZON:Yet may we trust Rimmon will favour us,If we adhere devoutly to his worship.He will incline his brother-god, the Bull,To spare us, if we supplicate him nowWith costly gifts. Therefore I have preparedA sacrifice: Rimmon shall be well pleasedWith the red blood that bathes his knees to-night!

BENHADAD:My mind is dark with doubt,--I do forebodeSome horror! Let me go,--I am an old man,--If Naaman my captain were alive!But he is dead,--the glory is departed!

BENHADAD:Art thou a ghost escaped from Allatu?How didst thou pass the seven doors of death?O noble ghost I am afraid of thee,And yet I love thee,--let me hear thy voice!

NAAMAN:No ghost, my King, but one who lives to serveThee and Damascus with his heart and swordAs in the former days. The only GodHas healed my leprosy: my life is cleanTo offer to my country and my King.

BENHADAD:O welcome to thy King! Thrice welcome!

Stay!The leper must appear before the priest,The only one who can pronounce him clean.

Yea,--thou art cleansed: Rimmon hath pardoned thee,--In answer to the daily prayers of herWhom he restores to thine embrace,--thy wife.

NAAMAN:From him who rules this House will I receiveNothing! I seek no pardon from his priest,No wife of mine among his votaries!

TSARPI:Am I not yours? Will you renounce our vows?

NAAMAN:The vows were empty,--never made you mineIn aught but name. A wife is one who sharesHer husband's thought, incorporates his heartWith hers by love, and crowns him with her trust.She is God's remedy for loneliness,And God's reward for all the toil of life.This you have never been to me,--and soI give you back again to Rimmon's HouseWhere you belong. Claim what you will of mine,--Not me! I do renounce you,--or release you,--According to the law. If you demandA further cause than what I have declared,I will unfold it fully to the King.

REZON:No need of that! This duteous lady yieldsTo your caprice as she has ever done:She stands a monument of loyaltyAnd woman's meekness.

NAAMAN:Let her stand for that!Adorn your temple with her piety!But you in turn restore to me the treasureYou stole at midnight from my tent.

REZON:What treasure! I have stolen none from you.

NAAMAN:The very jewel of my soul,--Ruahmah!My King, the captive maid of Israel,To whom thou didst commit my broken lifeWith letters to Samaria,--my light,My guide, my saviour in this pilgrimage,--Dost thou remember?

BENHADAD:I recall the maid,--But dimly,--for my mind is old and weary,She was a fearless maid, I trusted herAnd gave thee to her charge. Where is she now?

NAAMAN:This robber fell upon my camp by night,--While I was with Elisha at the Jordan,--Slaughtered my soldiers, carried off the maid,And holds her somewhere in imprisonment.O give this jewel back to me, my King,And I will serve thee with a grateful heartFor ever. I will fight for thee, and leadThine armies on to glorious victoryOver all foes! Thou shalt no longer fearThe host of Asshur, for thy throne shall standEncompassed with a wall of dauntless hearts,And founded on a mighty people's love,And guarded by the God of righteousness.

BENHADAD:I feel the flame of courage at thy breathLeap up among the ashes of despair.Thou hast returned to save us! Thou shalt haveThe maid; and thou shalt lead my host again!Priest, I command you give her back to him.

REZON:O master, I obey thy word as thouHast ever been obedient to the voiceOf Rimmon. Let thy fiery captain waitUntil the sacrifice has been performed,And he shall have the jewel that he claims.Must we not first placate the city's godWith due allegiance, keep the ancient faith,And pay our homage to the Lord of Wrath?

BENHADAD:I am the faithful son of Rimmon's House,--And lo, these many years I worship him!My thoughts are troubled,--I am very old,But still a King! O Naaman, be patient!Priest, let the sacrifice be offered.

sound. The curtain is rolled back, disclosingthe image of Rimmon; a gigantic and hideous idol,with a cruel human face, four horns, the mane ofa lion, and huge paws stretched in front of himenclosing a low altar of black stone. RUAHMAHstands on the altar, chained, her arms are bareand folded on her breast. The people prostratethemselves in silence, with signs of astonishment

REZON:Behold the sacrifice! Bow down, bow down!

NAAMAN:Bow thou, black priest! Down,--down to hell!Ruahmah! do not die! I come to thee.

crying "Sacrilege! Kill him!" But the soldiersstand on the steps and beat them back. He springsupon the altar and clasps her by the hand. Tumultand confusion. The King rises and speaks with a

BENHADAD:Peace, peace! The King commands all weapons down!O Naaman, what wouldst thou do? BewareLest thou provoke the anger of a god.

NAAMAN:There is no God but one, the Merciful,Who gave this perfect woman to my soulThat I might learn through her to worship Him,And know the meaning of immortal Love.

BENHADAD:Yet she is consecrated, bound, and doomedTo sacrificial death; but thou art swornTo live and lead my host,--Hast thou not sworn?

NAAMAN:Only if thou wilt keep thy word to me!Break with this idol of iniquityWhose shadow makes a darkness in the land;Give her to me who gave me back to thee;And I will lead thine army to renownAnd plant thy banners on the hill of triumph.But if she dies, I die with her, defying Rimmon.

BENHADAD:Is this the choice? Must we destroy the bondOf ancient faith, or slay the city's living hope!I am an old, old man,--and yet the King!Must I decide?--O let me ponder it!

NAAMAN:Ruahmah, my Ruahmah! I have comeTo thee at last! And art thou satisfied?

RUAHMAH:Beloved, my beloved, I am gladOf all, and glad for ever, come what may.Nothing can harm me,--since my lord is come!