Enter Jonas.
Jonas. From forth the depth of my imprison'd soul
Steal you, my sighs, [to] testify my pain;
Convey on wings of mine immortal tone,
My zealous prayers unto the starry throne.
Ah, merciful and just, thou dreadful God!
Where is thine arm to lay revengeful strokes
Upon the heads of our rebellious race?
Lo, Israel, once that flourish'd like the vine,
Is barren laid; the beautiful increase
Is wholly blent, and irreligious zeal
Encampeth there where virtue was enthron'd:
Alas, the while the widow wants relief,
The fatherless is wrong'd by naked need,
Devotion sleeps in cinders of contempt,
Hypocrisy infects the holy priest!
Ah me, for this! woe me, for these misdeeds!
Alone I walk to think upon the world,
And sigh to see thy prophets so contemn'd,
Alas, contemn'd by cursèd Israel!
Yet, Jonas, rest content, 'tis Israel's sin
That causeth this; then muse no more thereon,
But pray amends, and mend thy own amiss.
An Angel appears to Jonas.
Angel. Amittai's son, I charge thee muse no more:
I AM hath power to pardon and correct;
To thee pertains to do the Lord's command.
Go girt thy loins, and haste thee quickly hence;
To Nineveh, that mighty city, wend,
And say this message from the Lord of hosts,
Preach unto them these tidings from thy God;—
"Behold, thy wickedness hath tempted me,
And piercèd through the nine-fold orbs of heaven:
Repent, or else thy judgment is at hand."
[This said, the Angel vanishes.
Jonas. Prostrate I lie before the Lord of hosts,
With humble ears intending[87] his behest:
Ah, honour'd be Jehovah's great command!
Then Jonas must to Nineveh repair,
Commanded as the prophet of the Lord.
Great dangers on this journey do await,
But dangers none where heavens direct the course.
What should I deem? I see, yea, sighing see,
How Israel sins, yet knows the way of truth,
And thereby grows the bye-word of the world.
How, then, should God in judgment be so strict
'Gainst those who never heard or knew his power.
To threaten utter ruin of them all?
Should I report this judgment of my God,
I should incite them more to follow sin,
And publish to the world my country's blame.
It may not be, my conscience tells me—no.
Ah, Jonas, wilt thou prove rebellious then?
Consider, ere thou fall, what error is.
My mind misgives: to Joppa will I fly,
And for a while to Tharsus shape my course,
Until the Lord unfret his angry brows.
Enter certain Merchants of Tharsus, a Master, and some Sailors.
Master. Come on, brave merchants; now the wind doth serve,
And sweetly blows a gale at west-south-west,
Our yards across; our anchor's on the pike;
What, shall we hence, and take this merry gale?
First Mer. Sailors, convey our budgets straight aboard,
And we will recompense your pains at last:
If once in safety we may Tharsus see,
Master, we'll feast these merry mates and thee.
Master. Meanwhile content yourselves with silly cates;
Our beds are boards, our feasts are full of mirth:
We use no pomp, we are the lords of sea;
When princes sweat in care, we swink[88] of glee.
Orion's shoulders and the Pointers serve
To be our loadstars in the lingering night;
The beauties of Arcturus we behold;
And though the sailor is no bookman held,
He knows more art than ever bookmen read.
First Sai. By heavens, well said in honour of our trade!
Let's see the proudest scholar steer his course,
Or shift his tides, as silly sailors do;
Then will we yield them praise, else never none.
First Mer. Well spoken, fellow, in thine own behalf.
But let us hence: wind tarries none, you wot,
And tide and time let slip is hardly got.
Master. March to the haven, merchants; I follow you.
[Exeunt Merchants.
Jonas [aside]. Now doth occasion further my desires;
I find companions fit to aid my flight.—
Stay, sir, I pray, and hear a word or two.
Master. Say on, good friend, but briefly, if you please;
My passengers by this time are aboard.
Jonas. Whither pretend[89] you to embark yourselves?
Master. To Tharsus, sir, and here in Joppa-haven
Our ship is prest[90] and ready to depart.
Jonas. May I have passage for my money, then?
Master. What not for money? pay ten silverlings,[91]
You are a welcome guest, if so you please.
Jonas [giving money]. Hold, take thine hire; I follow thee, my friend.
Master. Where is your budget? let me bear it, sir.
Jonas. Go on in peace; who sail as I do now[92]
Put trust in him who succoureth every want.
[Exeunt.
Oseas. When prophets, new-inspir'd, presume to force
And tie the power of heaven to their conceits;
When fear, promotion, pride, or simony,
Ambition, subtle craft, their thoughts disguise,
Woe to the flock whereas the shepherd's foul!
For, lo, the Lord at unawares shall plague
The careless guide, because his flocks do stray.
The axe already to the tree is set:
Beware to tempt the Lord, ye men of art.
SCENE II.—A Public Place in Nineveh.
Enter Alcon, Thrasybulus, Samia, and Clesiphon.
Cles. Mother, some meat, or else I die for want.