The Epic of Saul

by William Cleaver Wilkinson

Rudely thus parted from his sister, Saul
Straightway sought certain of his synagogue—
The synagogue of the Cilicians—men
Less alien from himself than Shimei was
In spirit, while compatriot too by birth
As was not Shimei, an Asian he—
And these made privy to his changed resolve.
They, glad of such adhesion, opened free
Their counsel to him, telling, with grimace
Added, and shrug of shoulder, to attest
Their scorn of Shimei, Shimei's scheme, which they
Sourly, as from compulsion, now took up.
Saul, swallowing a great throe of innermost
Revolt that well-nigh mastered him, subscribed
Himself, by silence, partner of their deed.

Rachel, spurned from him by her brother, sat
Moveless a while, the image of dismay,
Her two ears caves of roaring sound, her mind
A whirling void of sheer astonishment.
When presently the storm a little calmed
Within her, and she knew herself once more,
She cleared her thought by settling it in words—
Words which through fluent mood and mood changed swift
From passionate soliloquy to prayer,
And from prayer back to soft soliloquy:
"My brother shall not excommunicate
His sister! While I love him he is mine,
And I shall not be 'separate' from him
'Forever'—let him hate me as he will,
Who hates himself, and otherwise amiss
Hates liberally. Why did I let him go?
I should have held him, should have told him I
Am of one blood with him, as high as he
In spirit; though a 'woman,' not to be
Put down; he gave me right, with speech like that,
To equal him in stinging word for word.
I could have done it. Woman am I? Yea,
And Deborah was a woman, Miriam too.
I feel my blood a-tingle in my veins
With lust to have him back, and make him know
The lion with the lamb lies down in me
Together; and I showed him but the lamb!
The lion rouses late, occasion gone!
Did he cow me? So tamely I endured
His contumely! Anger none till now,
Nor shame not to be angry at such speech
From him; but now—anger with burning shame
Turns inward and incenses me like fire.
I scorn myself for that, reed-like, my head
I bowed before the tempest of his scorn,
When blast for blast I should have blown him back
His tempest."

Rachel's indignation so
Like a sea wrought and was tempestuous.
But the recoil of her own violent speech
First gave her pause, then pierced her with remorse.
Daily, from when she, hearing Stephen speak,
Heard God through Stephen speaking, and obeyed,
Rachel, first having in baptism testified
Her death to sin, her birth to righteousness—
Never her absent brother dreaming it—
Gladsome had broken bread of fellowship
With the disciples of the Lord, and learned,
Both from their lips and from their lives beheld,
Deep lessons in the lore of Jesus, apt
By the tuition of the Holy Ghost.
The better spirit, for a moment lost,
So lately made her own, came back to her.
Sadly she mused, recalling her hot words
Of passion:
"'Tempest'? Tempest sure just now
Hummed in me. 'Scorn myself'? What word was that?
Rachel forsooth forbade Saul saying, 'I hate
Myself'—and scorn herself does she, yea, here
Sit impotently brooding scorn for scorn
To rival him? Surely I missed my way.
'Scorn,' 'hate,' one spirit both these speak, such scorn
Such hate, in him, in me. One spirit both,
And that the spirit of this world, not His,
Not Christ's, no spirit of Thine, O Crucified,
Thou meek and lowly holy Lamb of God!
Forgive, forgive me, from Thy cross of shame
And passion, O Thou suffering Son of God!
Once prayedst Thou thence for those that murdered Thee,
'Father, forgive them, for they know not what
They do.' I knew not what I did when so
I crucified Thee afresh through shameful pride.
My heart breaks with my sorrow for my sin,
A broken and a contrite heart, O Lord,
Thou never wilt despise.
"And now yet more
My heart breaks with forgiveness poured on me.
O sweet and blessed flood, pour on me still!
Deliciously I tremble and rejoice.
To be thus broken is bliss more to me
Than to be whole. I love to lie dissolved,
Dissolving, under this soft fall of peace
Distilled like dew from out Thy bleeding heart!
Lo, here I wholly, wholly, wholly yield
To Thee, O Christ, am fluid utterly,
To take whatever shape Thee best may please.
Remake me after Thine own image, Lord!

"I pray Thee for my brother. Suffer not
That he act out his purposed madness. Save,
O save him from that dreadful sin he means
Against Thee and against Thy holy cause.
I cannot bear it, that my brother rage
Against Thee like the heathen. Thou art strong,
O Christ! I pray Thee—Thee I pray, O Christ,
Thee only, for none other can—meet Thou
And master Saul! His sister pleads with Thee;
I plead for his sake, he being dear to me,
But more for Thine own name and glory's sake,
And for Thy suffering cause!
I thank Thee, Lord,
With joyful tears, I thank Thee, gracious Lord,
That Thou restrainedst me dumb with silence then
When Saul spake evil of me—for Thy sake.
Through Thee, Who, when reviled, reviledst not
Again, through Thee, through Thee, I, also I,
Proud foolish Rachel, then refrained from words!
No taunt retorted, no reproach, no blame,
Stung him from me to sin; I thank Thee, Lord,
For that!
"Now is there naught that I may do?
May I not warn that prophet Stephen? Saul
Wildly foreshadowed harm himself might wreak
On him; and what meant Shimei's visit here?
Mischief, no doubt of that; collusion strange,
Incredible, impossible, such twain,
That Shimei and my brother! I will go
And talk with Stephen's wife, her, what I can,
Without disloyalty to Saul, stir up
To fear for Stephen's safety; he need not,
Surely, dauntless high prophet of the Lord
Although he be, still ready-girt to die,
Rush blindfold into danger unforewarned."

So to the house of Stephen Rachel went
With haste, and there, in darkened words to Ruth,
Perturbed her woman's breast with vague alarms:
'Her husband must of stratagem beware,
And even of violence, aimed against his life.'
Stephen, by Ruth his wife, of all advised,
Armed him his heart to face what must befall.

Ruth shook him to the centre of his soul
With storms of wife's complaints and love and tears:
"Nay, Stephen, many a time, bear witness thou,
My heart before she came misgave me sore;
But now, since Rachel's words, no peace I find
Concerning thee, in this thy wilful way
Wherein thou goest—whither, I know not, whence,
Too well I know, for from a home thou goest
Once happy, ere this madness came on thee!"
Sharply so Stephen's wife upbraided him.
Gravely and gently he admonished her:
"Name it not madness, woman, lest thereby
Thou sin that sin against the Holy Ghost.
No madness is it when the soul of man
Is sovereignly usurped by the Most High
To be the organ of Almighty Will.
I yield myself, nay, Ruth, I join myself,
To God—no blind unsharing instrument,
But joyful partner of His purposes."

Solemnly chided so, Ruth quick replied:
"And what if of His purposes one be
To let thee plunge, as headstrong, so headlong,
Thy way to bloody death, thou stiff-necked man?
Thou hearest what Rachel brings us, doubtful hint
Indeed, but therefore in itself to me
Only more fearful; and how fearful joined
To what thyself confessest thou of late,
With thine own ears, hast, from the public mouth,
Heard—instigated whisper, Shimei's brew,
Accusing thee of treason to the hope
Of Israel, and purpose to destroy
The temple, and the customs do away
Which Moses left us! Stephen, all these signs
Singly, much more together, point one way—
They threaten death to thee, if thou persist
To preach things hateful to the wise and good."

Ruth intermitted, and her husband said:
"The danger, Ruth, I know, but I must not,
For danger, slack obedience to my Lord."

Then Ruth said:
"But I only ask that thou
Now, for a little, prudently abide
In hiding till this storm be overpast."

He, with a glance of irony, replied:
"And always run to covert at the first
Bluster of opposition? Yea, to some
That is permitted; but to other some,
Whereof am I, only to stand foursquare
And take the buffet of whatever storm.
And the best prudence is obeying, Ruth."