The Mother
Evil is he who dreams such dreams, and seven times an evildoer he who believes them. Alas that I should have lived to see this day when my own blood is fearful for Zion and has lost faith in the Lord! Jeremiah, do you wish me to curse the womb that bore you?
Jeremiah
The horror came upon me against my will; naught could I do to ward off the faces.
The Mother
Watch and pray against them and shatter their lies in the name of the Lord. Forget not, Jeremiah, that you are an anointed and consecrated son, that your voice should praise the Lord, that you should uplift the hearts of the sorrowful and fill with hope the minds of the despairing!
Jeremiah
How can I? My own despair is the greatest of all. Leave me, Mother, leave me!
The Mother
I will not leave you, neither will I abandon your soul to despair. Jeremiah, my only son, hearken to me. For the first time let me tell you something which may awaken your courage. Hear the words that are forced from me by my distress. I, too, was once filled with despair, inasmuch as for ten years the Lord had closed my womb. I was the sport of my companions and the mock of the concubines. For ten long years I bore my lot patiently, and had almost given up hope; but in the eleventh year my heart was kindled, and I went to the house of God to implore him that my womb should bear fruit. Throwing myself on the ground, I watered it with tears, vowing that if a son were vouchsafed me I would devote him to the Lord’s service. I swore to be silent, to utter no word during my time of trial, that my son in days to come might speak abundantly, praising God.