[In bitter distress] Lead a wife home to desolation? Beget children for the slaughter? In sooth, it is not the bridal hour that approaches!
The Mother
I do not understand.
Jeremiah
Shall I build a house in the abyss? Shall I build my life in death? Shall I sow corruption, and sing the praises of disaster? I say unto you, Mother, blessed is he whose heart is now free from ties to the living, for whosoever breathes this day is already drinking the waters of death.
The Mother
What mad fancy has seized you? When were the times more propitious? When was the land more peaceful?
Jeremiah
No, Mother, the fools say: Peace, Peace. But their words do not bring peace. They lie down to sleep unheeding, and as they sleep they are on their way to death. A time is coming such as Israel has never yet known, a war such as the world has never yet seen. The living will covet the peace of the dead in their graves, and those who can see will envy the darkness with which the blind are stricken. Not yet can the fools see, not yet is it manifest to the dreamers; but I have beheld it night after night. Higher leap the flames, nearer comes the foe; the day of tumult and destruction is at hand; war’s red star is rising on the night.
The Mother