Abraham. If thou dost not return to thine own self, what reward in the life to come canst thou expect for fasting, prayer, and watching, since fallen as from heaven’s heights thou now art sunk in hellish depths?
Maria. Woe, woe is me!
Abraham. Why didst thou thus deceive me? why turn from me? Why didst thou not make known to me thy wretchedness, that I and my beloved Ephrem might work for thy repentance?
Maria. Once fallen into sinfulness, I dared not face you who are holy.
Abraham. But is there any one entirely faultless, except the Virgin’s Son?
Maria. Nay, no one.
Abraham. ’Tis human to be frail, but to persist in wickedness is of the devil. Not he who falls of a sudden is condemned, but he who, having fallen, does not strive forthwith to rise again.
Maria. Woe unto me, wretch that I am!
(She sinks to the ground.)
Abraham. Why dost thou sink? why lie upon the ground? Arise and ponder what I am saying.