Emma Lazarus

“ Oh, 't is a rosy bed Where we shall couch, compared with that whereon They lie who kindle this accursed blaze. Ye shrink? ye would avert your martyred brows From the immortal crowns the angels offer? What! are we Jews and are afraid of death? God's chosen people, shall we stand a-tremble Before our Father, as the Gentiles use? REUBEN. Shall the smoke choke us, father? or the flame Consume our flesh? SUSSKIND. I know not, boy. Be sure The Lord will temper the shrewd pain for those Who trust in Him. REUBEN. May I stand by thy side, And hold my hand in thine until the end? ”

“ RIBERA. Nay, but found it. I, who was dull of wit, am keen at last. "Don John is comely," and "Don John is kind;" "A wonderful musician is Don John," "A princely artist"—and then, meek of mien, You enter in his presence, modest, simple. And who beneath that kitten grace had spied The claws of mischief? Who! Why, all the world, Save the fond, wrinkled, hoary fool, thy father. Out, girl, for shame! He will be here anon; Hence to your room—he shall not find you here. Thank God, thank God! no evil hath been wrought That may not be repaired. ”

“ Her mother seemed grave, and even displeased, when Dr. Steck had spoken so eloquently at the table, and Rahel had no eyes for any one else while Max was with her. She would discover everything for herself, and then present to them all her prince in disguise, and he should know that never for an instant had she been deceived by the shabby surface.
She looked more like a child than yesterday, as she sprang down-stairs into the open air, for she had left her plaited hair hanging down her back, and replaced her coronet of braids with a snood of pale-blue ribbon. ”

“ SUSSKIND. I think, sir, we are in the hand of God, I trust the Prince—your father and my friend. PRINCE WILLIAM. Trust no man! flee! I have not come to-night To little purpose. Your arch enemy, The Governor of Salza, Henry Schnetzen, Has won my father's ear. Since yester eve He stops at Eisenach, begging of the Prince The Jews' destruction. SUSSKIND (calmly) . Schnetzen is my foe, I know it, but I know a talisman, Which at a word transmutes his hate to love. Liebhaid, my child, look cheerly. What is this? Harm dare not touch thee; the oppressor's curse, Melts into blessing at thy sight. ”

“ And what an hour is this to thank the Fates?" "Thrice blessed be the gods!—for God himself Has sued for me,—they are not stern and deaf. Cry, and they answer: commune with your soul, And they send counsel: weep with rainy grief, And these will sweeten you your bitterest tears. On one condition King Admetus lives, And ye, on hearing, will lament no more, Each emulous to save." Then—for she spake Assured, as having heard an oracle— They asked: "What deed of ours may serve the king?" "The Fates accept another life for his, And one of you may die." ”

“ Rahel was chattering to the sacristan, who led her and Madame Duroc away from the others, down the long aisle.
"Alide," said Goethe, in a low voice, as she raised her eyes towards him, "I love you dearly when I see you thus, and yet you are not mine at such a time: you seem rapt away from me in some beautiful vision where I cannot follow. The gates of heaven are open for an instant, and then all is dark to me, until you return to earth, bringing upon your brow a reflection of the very glory of Paradise." ”

“ RABBI JACOB. The Lord is nigh unto the broken heart. Out of the depths we cry to thee, oh God! Show us the path of everlasting life; For in thy presence is the plenitude Of joy, and in thy right hand endless bliss. Enter SUSSKIND, REUBEN, etc. SEVERAL VOICES. Woe unto us who perish! A JEW. Susskind von Orb, Thou hast brought down this doom. Would we had heard The prophet's voice! SUSSKIND. Brethren, my cup is full! Oh let us die as warriors of the Lord. The Lord is great in Zion. Let our death Bring no reproach to Jacob, no rebuke To Israel. ”

“ The minister of God Rose to invoke a blessing on his flock, And then began the service,—not in words To raise the lowly, and to heal the sick, But an alien tongue, with phrases formed, And meaningless observances. The knight, Unmoved, yet thirsting for the simple word That might have moved him, held his bitter thoughts, But when in his own speech a new priest spake, Looked up with hope revived, and heard the text: "Go, preach the Gospel unto all the world. He that believes and is baptized, is saved. He that believeth not, is damned in hell!" ”

“ She explained to him in a few words the discomfort and humiliation of her sister's position.
"Was that all?" he thought, with a sigh of relief, and he looked quickly and searchingly into Alide's ingenuous face. "I cannot dispute it," answered he: "poor Rahel has been miserably restless and unhappy here; the situation was a novel one for her, and its exactions have chafed terribly her wild spirit. But it is the more admirable how you, Alide, have fitted yourself to each new condition; everywhere you seem free as a bird in the branches." ”

“ Even as the Jews Did nail the Lord of heaven on the Cross, So will they murder all his followers, When once they have the might. Beware, beware! SUSSKIND. So YOU are the accuser, my lord Schnetzen? Now I confess, before you I am guilty. You are in all this presence, the one man Whom any Jew hath wronged—and I that Jew. Oh, my offence is grievous; punish me With the utmost rigor of the law, for theft And violence, whom ye deemed an honest man, But leave my tribe unharmed! I yield my hands Unto your chains, my body to your fires; Let one life serve for all. ”

“ One who through conquered trouble had grown wise, To read the grief unspoken, unexpressed, The misery of the blank and heavy eyes,— Or through youth's infinite compassion guessed The heavy burden,—such a one brought rest, And bade her lay aside her doubts and fears, While the hard pain dissolved in blessed tears. X. Patience. The passion of despair is quelled at last; The cruel sense of undeserved wrong, The wild self-pity, these are also past; She knows not what may come, but she is strong; She feels she hath not aught to lose nor gain, Her patience is the essence of all pain. ”

“ Make ready, Jew, for death—and warn thy tribe. SUSSKIND (kneeling) . Is there a God in heaven? I who ne'er knelt Until this hour to any man on earth, Tyrant, before thee I abase myself. If one red drop of human blood still flow In thy congealed veins, if thou e'er have known Touch of affection, the blind natural instinct Of common kindred, even beasts partake, Thou man of frozen stone, thou hollow statue, Grant me one prayer, that thou wilt look on her. Then shall the eyes of thy dead wife gaze back From out the maiden's orbs, then shall a voice Within thine entrails, cry—This is my child. ”

“ Our saviours are not saints and ministers, But tear-strung women, children soft of heart, Or fellow-sufferers, who, by some chance word, Some glance of comfort, save us from despair. These I have found, thank heaven! to strengthen trust In mine own kind, when all the world grew dark. Make me not proud in spirit, O my God! Yea, in thy sight I am one mass of sin, One black and foul corruption, yet I know My frailty is exceeded by thy love. Neither is this the slender straw of hope, Whereto I, drowning, cling, but firm belief, That fills my inmost soul with vast content. ”

“ The shock of her words was so great to Goethe, as he stood in the bright sunshine, expecting momently to see the laughing face of Rahel beam out upon him from the door or the window, that the sudden tears started in his eyes. All that exuberant life and spirit already passed from earth! He was afraid to ask the child any more questions; but she had taken such a fancy to his appearance that she was bold enough to begin prattling herself. "Papa is away; but all the rest are at home,—grandpapa, and grandmamma, and Aunt Alide." ”

“ I spy peril, Fierce flame invisible from the lesser peaks. God's time is now. Delayed truth leaves a lie Triumphant. If you harbor any secret, Potent to force an ear that's locked to mercy, In God's name, now disbosom it. SUSSKIND. Kind Heaven! Would that my people's safety were assured So is my child's! Where shall we turn? Where flee? For all around us the Black Angel broods. We step into the open jaws of death If we go hence. PRINCE WILLIAM. Better to fall beneath The hand of God, than be cut off by man. SUSSKIND. We are trapped, the springe is set. ”

“ DON RAFAEL. "I would not have," he said, "Tears, nor the black pall, nor the wormy grave, Grief's hideous panoply I would not have Round me when I am dead. "Music and flowers and light, And choric dances to guitar and flute, Be these around me when my lips are mute, Mine eyes are sealed from sight. "So let me lie one day, One long, eternal day, in sunshine bathed, In cerements of silken tissue swathed, Smothered 'neath flowers of May. "One perfect day of peace, Or ere clean flame consume my fleshly veil, My life—a gilded vapor—shall exhale, Brief as a sigh—and cease. ”

“ Even as a tawny flock of huddled sheep, Grazing each other's heels, urged by one will, With bleat and baa following the wether's lead, Or the wise shepherd, so o'er the Moldau bridge Trotted the throng of yellow-caftaned Jews, Chattering, hustling, shuffling. At their head Marched Rabbi Jochanan ben-Eleazar, High priest in Prague, oldest and most revered, To greet the star of Israel. As a father Yearns toward his son, so toward the noble Raschi Leapt at first sight the patriarch's fresh old heart. "My home be thine in Prague! Be thou my son, Who have no offspring save one simple girl. ”

“ But he withdrawing not: "Will any life Suffice ye for Admetus?" "Yea," the crones Three times repeated. "We know no such names As king or queen or slave: we want but life. Begone, and vex us in our work no more." With broken blessings, inarticulate joy And tears, Alcestis thanked Hyperion, And worshipped. Then he gently: "Who will die, So that the king may live?" And she: "You ask? Nay, who will live when life clasps hands with shame, And death with honor? Lo, you are a god; You cannot know the highest joy of life,— To leave it when 't is worthier to die. ”

“ SUSSKIND (as he passes the platform) . Woe to the father Who murders his own child! SCHNETZEN. I am avenged, Susskind von Orb! Blood for blood, fire for fire, And death for death! [Exeunt SUSSKIND, LIEBHAID, etc.] Enter Jewish youths and maidens. YOUTHS (in chorus) . Let us rejoice, for it is promised us That we shall enter in God's tabernacle! MAIDENS. Our feet shall stand within thy gates, O Zion, Within thy portals, O Jerusalem! [Exeunt.] CITIZEN'S WIFE. I can see naught from here. Let's follow, Hans. CITIZEN. Be satisfied. There is no inch of space For foot to rest on yonder. ”