NAAMAN:
Behold a man delivered from
the grave
By thee! I rose from
Jordan’s waves restored
To youth and vigour, as the
eagle mounts
Upon the sunbeam and renews
his strength!
O mighty prophet deign to
take from me
These gifts too poor to speak
my gratitude;
Silver and gold and jewels,
damask robes,—
ELISHA: [Interrupting.]
As thy soul liveth I will
not receive
A gift from thee, my son!
Give all to Him
Whose mercy hath redeemed
thee from thy plague.
NAAMAN:
He is the only God! I
worship Him!
Grant me a portion of the
blessed soil
Of this most favoured land
where I have found
His mercy; in Damascus will
I build
An altar to His name, and
praise Him there
Morning and night. There
is no other God
In all the world.
ELISHA:
Thou
needst not
This load of earth to build
a shrine for Him;
Yet take it if thou wilt.
But be assured
God’s altar is in every
loyal heart,
And every flame of love that
kindles there
Ascends to Him and brightens
with His praise.
There is no other God!
But evil Powers
Make war against Him in the
darkened world;
And many temples have been
built to them.
NAAMAN:
I know them well! Yet
when my master goes
To worship in the House of
Rimmon, I
Must enter with him; for he
trusts me, leans
Upon my hand; and when he
bows himself
I cannot help but make obeisance
too,—
But not to Rimmon! To
my country’s King
I’ll bow in love and
honour. Will the Lord
Pardon thy servant in this
thing?
ELISHA:
My
son,
Peace has been granted thee.
’Tis thine to find
The only way to keep it.
Go in peace.
NAAMAN:
Thou hast not answered me,—may
I bow down?
ELISHA:
The answer must be thine.
The heart that knows
The perfect peace of gratitude
and love,
Walks in the light and needs
no other rule.
When next thou comest into
Rimmon’s House,
Thy heart will tell thee how
to go in peace.
CURTAIN.
[3] Note that this scene is not intended to be put
upon the stage,
the effect of the action upon
the drama being given at the
beginning of Act IV.
ACT IV
SCENE I
The interior of NAAMAN’S tent, at night. RUAHMAH alone, sleeping on the ground. A vision appears to her through the curtains of the tent: ELISHA standing on the hillside at Dothan: NAAMAN, restored to sight, comes in and kneels before him. ELISHA blesses him, and he goes out rejoicing. The vision of the prophet turns to RUAHMAH and lifts his hand in warning.