Chant

Hear the words of Rimmon! Thus your Maker speaketh:I, the god of thunder, riding on the whirlwind,I, the god of lightning leaping from the storm-cloud,I will smite with vengeance him who dares defy me!He who leads Damascus into war with Asshur,Conquering or conquered, bears my curse upon him.Surely shall my arrow strike his heart in secret,Burn his flesh with fever, turn his blood to poison.Brand him with corruption, drive him into darkness;He shall surely perish by the doom of Rimmon.

RUAHMAH:Be not afraid! There is a greater GodShall cover thee with His almighty wings:Beneath his shield and buckler shalt thou trust.

BENHADAD:Repent, my son, thou must not brave this curse.

NAAMAN:My King, there is no curse as terribleAs that which lights a bosom-fire for himWho gives away his honour, to prolongA craven life whose every breath is shame!If I betray the men who follow me,The city that has put her trust in me,What king can shield me from my own deep scornWhat god release me from that self-made hell?The tender mercies of AssyriaI know; and they are cruel as creeping tigers.Give up Damascus, and her streets will runRivers of innocent blood; the city's heart,That mighty, labouring heart, wounded and crushedBeneath the brutal hooves of the wild Bull,Will cry against her captain, sitting safeAmong the nobles, in some pleasant place.I shall be safe,--safe from the threatened wrathOf unknown gods, but damned forever byThe men I know,--that is the curse I fear.

BENHADAD:Speak not so high, my son. Must we not bowOur heads before the sovereignties of heaven?The unseen rulers are Divine.

NAAMAN:O King,I am unlearned in the lore of priests;Yet well I know that there are hidden powersAbout us, working mortal weal and woeBeyond the force of mortals to control.And if these powers appear in love and truth,I think they must be gods, and worship them.But if their secret will is manifestIn blind decrees of sheer omnipotence,That punish where no fault is found, and smiteThe poor with undeserved calamity,And pierce the undefended in the darkWith arrows of injustice, and foredoomThe innocent to burn in endless pain,I will not call this fierce almightinessDivine. Though I must bear, with every man,The burden of my life ordained, I'll keepMy soul unterrified, and tread the pathOf truth and honour with a steady heart!Have ye not heard, my lords? The oracleProclaims to me, to me alone, the doomOf vengeance if I lead the army out."Conquered or conquering!" I grip that chance!Damascus free, her foes all beaten back,The people saved from slavery, the KingUpheld in honour on his ancient throne,--O what's the cost of this? I'll gladly payWhatever gods there be, whatever priceThey ask for this one victory. Give meThis gilded sign of shame to carry back;I'll shake it in the face of Asshur's king,And break it on his teeth.

BENHADAD:Then go, my never-beaten captain, go!And may the powers that hear thy solemn vowForgive thy rashness for Damascus' sake,Prosper thy fighting, and remit thy pledge.

REZON:The pledge, O King, this man must seal his pledgeAt Rimmon's altar. He must take the cupOf soldier-sacrament, and bind himselfBy thrice-performed libation to abideThe fate he has invoked.

NAAMAN:And so I will.

REZON is filling the cup which TSARPI holds.RUAHMAH throws herself before NAAMAN, clasping

RUAHMAH:My lord, I do beseech you, stay! There's deathWithin that cup. It is an offeringTo devils. See, the wine blazes like fire,It flows like blood, it is a cursed cup,Fulfilled of treachery and hate.Dear master, noble master, touch it not!

NAAMAN:Poor maid, thy brain is still distraught. Fear not,But let me go! Here, treat her tenderly!

Can harm befall me from the wife who bearsMy name? I take the cup of fate from her.I greet the unknown powers;I will perform my vow;I will abide my fate;I pledge my life to keep Damascus free.