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A Project Gutenberg of Australia eBookTitle: Spirits RebelliousAuthor: Kahlil GibraneBook No.: 0500621h.htmlEdition: 1Language: EnglishCharacter set encoding: HTML--Latin-1(ISO-8859-1)--8 bitDate first posted: June 2005Date most recently updated: June 2005This eBook was produced by: Stuart kiddProduction notes: Original file Courtesy of Kahlil Gibran Online - www.kahlil.orgProject Gutenberg of Australia eBooks are created from printed editionswhich are in the public domain in Australia, unless a copyright noticeis included. We do NOT keep any eBooks in compliance with a particularpaper edition.Copyright laws are changing all over the world. Be sure to check thecopyright laws for your country before downloading or redistributing thisfile.This eBook is made available at no cost and with almost no restrictionswhatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the termsof the Project Gutenberg of Australia License which may be viewed online athttp://gutenberg.net.au/licence.htmlTo contact Project Gutenberg of Australia go to http://gutenberg.net.au
CONTENTS
MADAME ROSE HANIE
THE CRY OF THE GRAVES
KHALIL THE HERETIC
Part One
Miserable is the man who loves a woman and takes her for a wife,pouring at her feet the sweat of his skin and the blood of his bodyand the life of his heart, and placing in her hands the fruit ofhis toil and the revenue of hi s diligence; for when he slowlywakes up, he finds that the heart, which he endeavoured to buy, isgiven freely and in sincerity to another man for the enjoyment ofits hidden secrets and deepest love. Miserable is the woman whoarises from the inattentiveness and restlessness of youth and findsherself in the home of a man showering her with his glittering goldand precious gifts and according her all the honours and grace oflavish entertainment but unable to satisfy her soul with theheavenly wine which God pours from the eyes of a man into the heartof a woman.
I knew Rashid Bey Namaan since I was a youngster; he was aLebanese, born and reared in the City of Beyrouth. Being a memberof an old and rich family which preserved the tradition and gloryof his ancestry, Rashid was fond of citing incidents that dealtmainly with the nobility of his forefathers. In his routine life hefollowed their beliefs and customs which, at that time, prevailedin the Middle East.
Rashid Bey Namaan was generous and good-hearted, but like many ofthe Syrians, looked only at the superficial things instead ofreality. He never hearkened to the dictates of his heart, butbusied himself in obeying the voices of his environment. H e amusedhimself with shimmering objects that blinded his eyes and heart tolife’s secrets; his soul was diverted away from anunderstanding of the law of nature, and to a temporaryself-gratification. He was one of those men who hastened to confesstheir love or disgust to the people, then regretted theirimpulsiveness when it was too late for recall. And then shame andridicule befell them, instead of pardon or sanction.
These are the characteristics that prompted Rashid Bey Namaan tomarry Rose Hanie far before her soul embraced his soul in theshadow of the true love that makes union a paradise.
After a few years of absence, I returned to the City of Beyrouth.As I went to visit Rashid Bey Namaan, I found him pale and thin. Onhis face one could see the spectre of bitter disappointment; hissorrowful eyes bespoke his crushed heart and melancholy soul. I wascurious to find the cause for his miserable plight; however, I didnot hesitate to ask for explanation and said, “What became ofyou, Rashid? Where is the radiant smile and the happy countenancethat accompanied you since childhood? H as death taken away fromyou a dear friend? Or have the black nights stolen from you thegold you have amassed during the white days? In the name offriendship, tell me what is causing this sadness of heart andweakness of body?”
He looked at me ruefully, as if I had revived to him some secludedimages of beautiful days. With a distressed and faltering voice heresponded, “When a person loses a friend, he consoles himselfwith the many other friends about him, and if he loses his gold, hemeditates for a while and casts misfortune from his mind,especially when he finds himself healthy and still laden withambition. But when a man loses the ease of his heart, where can hefind comfort, and with what can he replace it? What mind can masterit? When death strikes close by, you will suffer. But when the dayand the night pass, you will feel the smooth touch of the softfingers of Life; then you will smile and rejoice.
“Destiny comes suddenly, bringing concern; she stares at youwith horrible eyes and clutches you at the throat with sharpfingers and hurls you to the ground and tramples upon you withironclad feet; then she laughs and walks away, but later regretsher actions and asks you through good fortune to forgive her. Shestretches her silky hand and lifts you high and sings to you theSong of Hope and causes you to lose your cares. She creates in youa new zest for confidence and ambition. If your lot in life is abeautiful bird that you love dearly, you gladly feed to him theseeds of your inner self, and make your heart his cage and yoursoul his nest. But while you are affectionately admiring him andlooking upon him with the eyes of love, he escapes from your handsand flies very high; then he descends and enters into another cageand never comes back to you. What can you do? Where can you findpatience and condolence? How can you revive your hopes and dreams?What power can still your turbulent heart?”
Having uttered these words with a choking voice and sufferingspirit, Rashid Bey Namaan stood shaking like a reed between thenorth and south wind. He extended his hands as if to graspsomething with his bent fingers and destroy it. His wrinkled facewas livid, his eyes grew larger as he stared a few moments, and itseemed to him as if he saw a demon appearing from non-existence totake him away; then he fixed his eyes on mine and his appearancesuddenly changed; his anger was converted into keen suffering anddistress, and he cried out saying, “It is the woman whom Irescued from between the deathly paws of poverty; I opened mycoffers to her and made her envied by all women for the beautifulraiment and precious gems and magnificent carriages drawn byspirited horses; the woman whom my heart has loved and at whosefeet I poured affection; the woman, to whom I was a true friend,sincere companion and a faithful husband; The woman who betrayed meand departed me for another man to share with him destitution andpartake his evil bread, kneaded with shame and mixed with disgrace.The woman I loved; the beautiful bird whom I fed, and to whom Imade my heart a cage and my soul a nest, has escaped from my handsand entered into another cage; that pure an gel, who resided in theparadise of my affection and love, now appears to me as a horribledemon, descended into the darkness to suffer for her sin and causeme to suffer on earth for her crime.”
He hid his face with his hands as if wanting to protect himselffrom himself, and became silent for a moment. Then he sighed andsaid, “This is all I can tell you; please do not ask anythingfurther. Do not make a crying voice of my calamity, but le t itrather be mute misfortune; perhaps it will grow in silence anddeaden me away so that I may rest at last with peace.”
I rose with tears in my eyes and mercy in my heart, and silentlybade him goodbye; my words had no power to console his woundedheart, and my knowledge had no torch to illuminate his gloomyself.
Part Two
A few days thereafter I met Madame Rose Hanie for the first time,in a poor hovel, surrounded by flowers and trees. She had heard ofme through Rashid Bey Namaan, the man whose heart she had crushedand stamped upon and left under the terrible hoofs of Life. As Ilooked at her beautiful bright eyes, and heard her sincere voice, Isaid to myself, “Can this be the sordid woman? Can this clearface hide an ugly soul and a criminal heart? Is this the unfaithfulwife? Is this the woman of whom I have spoken evil and imagined asa serpent disguised in the form of a beautiful bird?” Then Iwhispered again to myself saying, “Is it this beautiful facethat made Rashid Bey Namaan miserable? Haven’t we heard thatobvious beauty is the cause of many hidden distresses and deepsuffering? Is not the beautiful moon, that inspires the poets, thesame moon that angers the silence of the sea with a terribleroar?”
As we seated ourselves, Madame Rose Hanie seemed to have heard andread my thoughts and wanted not to prolong my doubts. She leanedher beautiful head upon her hands and with a voice sweeter than thesound of the lyre, she said, “I have never met you, but Iheard the echoes of your thoughts and dreams from the mouths of thepeople, and they convinced me that you are merciful and haveunderstanding for the oppressed woman – the woman whoseheart’s secrets you have discovered and whose affections youhave known. Allow me to reveal to you the full contents of my heartso you may know that Rose Hanie never was an unfaithful woman.
“I was scarcely eighteen years of age when fate led me toRashid Bey Namaan, who was then forty years old. He fell in lovewith me, according to what the people say, and took me for a wifeand put me in his magnificent home, placing at my disposal clothesand precious gems. He exhibited me as a strange rarity at the homesof his friends and family; he smiled with triumph when he saw hiscontemporaries looking at me with surprise and admiration; helifted his chin high with pride when he heard the ladies speak ofme with praise and affection. But never could he hear the whispers,‘Is this the wife of Rashid Bey Namaan, or his adopteddaughter?’ And another one commenting, ‘If he hadmarried at the proper age, his first born would have been olderthan Rose Hanie.’
“All that happened before my life had awakened from the deepswoon of youth, and before God inflamed my heart with the torch oflove, and before the growth of the seeds of my affections. Yes, allthis transpired during the time when I believed that real happinesscame through beautiful clothes and magnificent mansions. When Iwoke up from the slumber of childhood, I felt the flames of sacredfire burning in my heart, and a spiritual hunger gnawing at mysoul, making it suffer. When I opened my eyes, I found my wingsmoving to the right and left, trying to ascend into the spaciousfirmament of love, but shivering and dropping under the gusts ofthe shackles of laws that bound my body to a man before I knew thetrue meaning of that law. I felt all these things and knew that awoman’s happiness does not come through man’s glory andhonour, nor through his generosity and affection, but through lovethat unites both of their hearts and affections, making them onemember of life’s body and one word upon the lips of God. WhenTruth showed herself to me, I found myself imprisoned by law in themansion of Rashid Bey Namaan, like a thief stealing his bread andhiding in the dark and friendly corners of the night. I knew thatevery hour spent with him was a terrible lie written upon myforehead with letters of fire before heaven and earth. I could notgive him my love and affection in reward for his generosity andsincerity. I tried in vain to love him, but love is a power thatmakes our hearts, yet our hearts cannot make that power. I prayedand prayed in the silence of the night before God to create in thedepths of my heart a spiritual attachment that would carry mecloser to the man who had been chosen for me as a companion throughlife.
“My prayers were not granted, because Love descends upon oursouls by the will of God and not by the demand or the plea of theindividual. Thus I remained for two years in the home of that man,envying the birds of the field their freedom while my friendsenvied me my painful chains of gold. I was like a woman who is tornfrom her only child; like a lamenting heart, existing withoutattachment; like an innocent victim of the severity of human law. Iwas close to death from spiritual thirst and hunger.
“One dark day, as I looked behind the heavy skies, I saw agentle light pouring from the eyes of a man who was walkingforlornly on the path of life; I closed my eyes to that light andsaid to myself, ‘Oh, my soul, darkness of the grave is thylot, do not be greedy for the light.’ Then I heard abeautiful melody from heaven that revived my wounded heart with itspurity, but I closed my ears and said, ‘Oh, my soul, the cryof the abyss is thy lot, do not be greedy for heavenlysongs.’ I closed my eyes again so I could not see, and shutmy ears so I could not hear, but my closed eyes still saw thatgentle light, and my ears still heard that divine sound. I wasfrightened for the first time and felt like the beggar who found aprecious jewel near the Emir’s palace and could not pick itup on account of fear, or leave it because of poverty. I cried– a cry of a thirsty soul who sees a brook surrounded by wildbeasts, and falls upon the ground waiting and watchingfearfully.”
Then she turned her eyes away from me as if she remembered the pastthat made her ashamed to face me, but she continued, “Thosepeople who go to back to eternity before they taste the sweetnessof real life are unable to understand the meaning of awoman’s suffering. Especially when she devotes her soul to aman she loves by the will of God, and her body to another whom shecaresses by the enforcement of earthly law. It is a tragedy writtenwith the blood of the woman’s blood and tears which the manreads with ridicule because he cannot understand it; yet, if hedoes understand, his laughter will turn into scorn and blasphemythat act like fire upon her heart. It is a drama enacted by theblack nights upon the stage of a woman’s soul, whose body istied up into a man, known to her as husband, ere she perceivesGod’s meaning of marriage. She finds her soul hovering aboutthe man whom she adores by all agencies of pure and true love andbeauty. It is a terrible agony that began with the existence ofweakness in a woman and the commencement of strength in a man. Itwill not end unless the days of slavery and superiority of thestrong over the weak are abolished. It is a horrible war betweenthe corrupt law of humanity and the sacred affections and holypurpose of the heart. In such a battlefield I was lying yesterday,but I gathered the remnants of my strength, and unchained my ironsof cowardice, and untied my wings from the swaddles of weakness andarose into the spacious sky of love and freedom.
“Today I am one with the man I love; he and I sprang out asone torch from the hand of God before the beginning of the world.There is no power under the sun that can take my happiness from me,because it emanated from two embraced spirits, engulfed byunderstanding, radiated by Love, and protected byheaven.”
She looked at me as if she wanted to penetrate my heart with hereyes in order to discover the impression of her words upon me, andto hear the echo of her voice from within me; but I remained silentand she continued. Her voice was full of bitterness of memory andsweetness of sincerity and freedom when she said, “The peoplewill tell you that Rose Hanie is an heretic and unfaithful womanwho followed her desires by leaving the man who elated her into himand made her the elegance of his home. They will tell you that sheis an adulteress and prostitute who destroyed with her filthy handsthe wreath of a sacred marriage and replaced it with a besmirchedunion woven of the thorns of hell. She took off the garment ofvirtue and put on the cloak of sin and disgrace. They will tell youmore than that, because the ghosts of their fathers are stillliving in their bodies. They are like the deserted caves of themountains that echo voices whose meanings are not understood. Theyneither understand the law of God, nor comprehend the true intentof veritable religion, nor distinguish between a sinner and aninnocent. They look only at the surface of objects without knowingtheir secrets. They pass their verdicts with ignorance, and judgewith blindness, making the criminal and the innocent, the good andthe bad, equal. Woe to those who prosecute and judge the people. .. .
“In God’s eyes I was unfaithful and an adulteress onlywhile at the home of Rashid Bey Namaan, because he made me his wifeaccording to the customs and traditions and by the force of haste,before heaven had made him mine in conformity with the spirituallaw of Love and Affection. I was a sinner in the eyes of God andmyself when I ate his bread and offered him my body in reward forhis generosity. Now I am pure and clean because the law of Love hasfreed me and made me honourable and faithful. I ceased selling mybody for shelter and my days for clothes. Yes, I was an adulteressand a criminal when the people viewed me as the most honourable andfaithful wife; today I am pure and noble in spirit, but in theiropinion I am polluted, for they judge the soul by the outcome ofthe body and measure the spirit by the standard ofmatter.”
Then she looked through the window and pointed out with her righthand toward the city as if she had seen the ghost of corruption andthe shadow of shame among its magnificent buildings. She saidpityingly, “Look at those majestic mansions and sublimepalaces where hypocrisy resides; in those edifices and betweentheir beautifully decorated walls resides Treason beside Putridity;under the ceiling painted with melted gold lives Falsehood besidePretension. Notice those gorgeous homes that represent happiness,glory and domination; they are naught but caverns of misery anddistress. They are plastered graves in which Treason of the weakwoman hides behind her kohled eyes and crimsoned lips; in theircorners selfishness exists, and the animality of man through hisgold and silver rules supreme.
“If those high and impregnable buildings scented the door ofhatred, deceit and corruption, they would have cracked and fallen.The poor villager looks upon those residences with tearful eyes,but when he finds that the hearts of the occupants are empty ofthat pure love that exists in the heart of his wife and fills itsdomain, he will smile and go back to his fieldscontented.”
And then she took hold of my hand and led me to the side of thewindow and said, “Come, I will show you the unveiled secretsof those people whose path I refused to follow. Look at that palacewith giant columns. IN it lives a rich man who inherited his goldfrom his father. After having led a life of filth and putrefaction,he married a woman about whom he knew nothing except that herfather was one of the Sultan’s dignitaries. As soon as thewedding trip was over he became disgusted and commencedassociations with women who sell their bodies for pieces of silver.His wife was left alone in that palace like an empty bottle left bya drunkard. She cried and suffered for the first time; then sherealized that her tears were more precious than her degeneratehusband. Now she is busying herself in the love and devotion of ayoung man upon whom she showers her joyous hours, and into whoseheart she pours her sincere love and affection.
“Let me take you now to that gorgeous home surrounded bybeautiful gardens. It is the home of a man who comes from a noblefamily which ruled the country for many generations, but whosestandards, wealth, and prestige have declined due to theirindulgence in mad spending and slothfulness. A few years ago thisman married an ugly but rich woman. After he acquired her fortune,he ignored her completely and commenced devoting himself to anattractive young woman. His wife today is devoting her time tocurling her hair, painting her lips and perfuming her body. Shewears the most expensive clothes and hopes that some young man willsmile and come to visit her, but it is all in vain, for she cannotsucceed except in receiving a smile from her ugly self in themirror.
“Observe that big manor, encircled with the marble statuary;it is the home of a beautiful woman who possesses strangecharacter. When her first husband died, she inherited all his moneyand estate; then she selected a man with a weak mind and feeblebody and became his wife to protect herself from the evil tongues,and to use him as a shield for her abominations. She is now amongher admirers like a bee that sucks the sweetest and most deliciousflowers.
That beautiful home next to it was built by the greatest architectin the province; it belongs to a greedy and substantial man whodevotes all of his time to amassing gold and grinding the faces ofthe poor. He has a wife of supernatural beauty, bodily andspiritually, but she is like the rest, a victim of early marriage.Her father committed a crime by giving her away to a man before sheattained understanding age, placing on her neck the heavy yoke ofcorrupt marriage. She is thin and pale now, and cannot find anoutlet for her imprisoned affection. She is sinking slowly andcraving for death to free her from the mesh of slavery and deliverher from a man who spends his life gathering gold and cursing thehour he married a barren woman who could not bring him a child tocarry on his name and inherit his money.
In that home among the orchards lives an ideal poet; he married anignorant woman who ridicules his works because she cannotunderstand them, and laughs at his conduct because she cannotadjust herself to his sublime way of life. That poet found freedomfrom despair in his love for a married woman who appreciates hisintelligence and inspires him by kindling in his heart the torch ofaffections, and revealing to him the most beautiful and eternalsayings by means of her charm and beauty.”
Silence prevailed for a few moments, and Madame Hanie seatedherself on a sofa by the window as if her soul were tired ofroaming those quarters. Then she slowly continued, “These arethe residences in which I refused to live; these are the graves inwhich I, too, was spiritually buried. These people from whom I havefreed myself are the ones who become attracted by the body andrepelled by the spirit, and who know naught of Love and Beauty. Theonly mediator between them and God is God’s pity for theirignorance of the law of God. I cannot judge, for I was one of them,but I sympathize with all my heart. I do not hate them, but I hatetheir surrender to weakness and falsehood. I have said all thesethings to show you the reality of the people from whom I haveescaped against their will. I was trying to explain to you the lifeof persons who speak every evil against me because I have losttheir friendship and finally gained my own. I emerged from theirdark dungeon and directed my eyes towards the light wheresincerity, truth and justice prevail. They have exiled me now fromtheir society and I am pleased, because humanity does not exileexcept the one whose noble spirit rebels against despotism andoppression. He who does not prefer exile to slavery is not free byany measure of freedom, truth and duty.
“Yesterday I was like a tray containing all kinds ofpalatable foods, and Rashid Bey Namaan never approached me unlesshe felt a need for that food; yet both of our souls remained farapart from us like two humble, dignified servants. I have tried toreconcile myself to what people call misfortune, but my spiritrefused to spend all its life kneeling with me before a horribleidol erected by the dark ages and called LAW. I kept my chainsuntil I heard Love calling me and saw my spirit preparing toembark. Then I broke them and walked out from Rashid BeyNamaan’s home like a bird freed from his iron cage andleaving behind me all the gems, clothes and servants. I came tolive with my beloved, for I knew that what I was doing was honest.Heaven does not want me to weep and suffer. Many times at night Iprayed for dawn to come and when dawn came, I prayed for the day tobe over. God does not want me to lead a miserable life, for Heplaced in the depths of my heart a desire for happiness; His gloryrests in the happiness of my heart.
“This is my story and this is my protest before heaven andearth; this is what I sing and repeat while people are closingtheir ears for fear of hearing me and leading their spirits intorebellion that would crumble the foundation of their quaveringsociety.
“This is the rough pathway I have carved until I reached themountain peak of my happiness. Now if death comes to take me away,I will be more than willing to offer myself before the SupremeThrone of Heaven without fear or shame. I am ready for the day ofjudgment and my heart is white as the snow. I have obeyed the willof God in everything I have done and followed the call of my heartwhile listening to the angelic voice of heaven. This is my dramawhich the people of Beyrouth call ‘A curse upon the lips oflife,’ and ‘An ailment in the body of society.’But one day love will arouse their hearts like the sun rays thatbring forth the flowers even from contaminated earth. One day thewayfarers will stop by my grave and greet the earth that enfolds mybody and say, ‘Here lies Rose Hanie who freed herself fromthe slavery of decayed human laws in order to comply withGod’s law of pure love. She turned her face toward the sun soshe would not see the shadow of her body amongst the skulls andthorns.’ ”
The door opened and a man entered. His eyes were shining with magicrays and upon his lips appeared a wholesome smile. Madame Hanierose, took the young man’s arm and introduced him to me, thengave him my name with flattering words. I knew that he was the onefor whose sake she denied the whole world and violated all earthlylaws and customs.
As we sat down, silence controlled. Each one of us was engrossed indeep thought. One minute worthy of silence and respect had passedwhen I looked at the couple sitting side by side. I saw something Ihad never seen before, and realized instantly the meaning of MadameHanie’s story. I comprehended the secret of her protestagainst the society which persecutes those who rebel againstconfining laws and customs before determining the cause for therebellion. I saw one heavenly spirit before me, composed of twobeautiful and united persons, in the midst of which stood the godof Love stretching his wings over them to protect them from eviltongues. I found a complete understanding emanating from twosmiling faces, illuminated by sincerity and surrounded by virtue.For the first time in my life I found the phantom of happinessstanding between a man and a woman, cursed by religion and opposedby the law. I rose and bade them goodbye and left that poor hovelwhich Affection had erected as an altar to Love and Understanding.I walked past the buildings which Madame Hanie pointed out to me.As I reached the end of these quarters I remembered Rashid BeyNamaan and meditated his miserable plight and said to myself,“He is oppressed; will heaven ever listen to him if hecomplains about Madame Hanie? Had that woman done wrong when sheleft him and followed the freedom of her heart? Or did he commit acrime by subduing her heart into love? Which of the two is theoppressed and which is the oppressor? Who is the criminal and whois the innocent?”
Then I resumed talking to myself after a few moments of deepthinking. “Many times deception had tempted woman to leaveher husband and follow wealth, because her love for riches andbeautiful raiment blinds her and leads her into shame. Was MadameHanie deceitful when she left her rich husband’s palace for apoor man’s hut? Many times ignorance kills a woman’shonour and revives her passion; she grows tired and leaves herhusband, prompted by her desires, and follows a man to whom shelowers herself. Was Madame Hanie an ignorant woman following herphysical desires when she declared publicly her independence andjoined her beloved young man? She could have satisfied herselfsecretly while at her husband’s home, for many men werewilling to be the slaves of her beauty and martyrs of her love.Madame Hanie was a miserable woman. She sought only happiness,found it, and embraced it. This is the very truth which societydisrespects.” Then I whispered through the ether and inquiredof myself, “Is it permissible for a woman to buy herhappiness with her husband’s misery?” And my souladded, “Is it lawful for a man to enslave his wife’saffection when he realizes he will never possess it?”
I continued walking and Madame Hanie’s voice was stillsounding in my ears when I reached the extreme end of the city. Thesun was disappearing and silence ruled the fields and prairieswhile the birds commenced singing their evening prayers. I stoodthere meditating, and then I sighed and said, “Before thethrone of Freedom, the trees rejoice with the frolicsome breeze andenjoy the rays of the sun and the beams of the moon. Through theears of Freedom these birds whisper and around Freedom they flutterto the music of the brooks. Throughout the sky of Freedom theseflowers breathe their fragrance and before Freedom’s eyesthey smile when day comes.
“Everything lives on earth according to the law of nature,and from that law emerges the glory and joy of liberty; but man isdenied this fortune, because he set for the God-given soul alimited and earthly law of his own. He made for himself strictrules. Man built a narrow and painful prison in which he secludedhis affections and desires. He dug out a deep grave in which heburied his heart and its purpose. If an individual, through thedictates of his soul, declares his withdrawal from society andviolates the law, his fellowmen will say he is a rebel worthy ofexile, or an infamous creature worthy only of execution. Will manremain a slave of self-confinement until the end of the world? Orwill he be freed by the passing of time and live in the Spirit forthe Spirit? Will man insist upon staring downward and backward atthe earth? Or will he turn his eyes toward the sun so he will notsee the shadow of his body amongst the skulls andthorns?”
Part One
The Emir walked into the court room and took the central chairwhile at his right and left sat the wise men of the country. Theguards, armed with swords and spears, stood in attention, and thepeople who came to witness the trial rose and bowed ceremoniouslyto the Emir whose eyes emanated a power that revealed horror totheir spirits and fear to their hearts. As the court came to orderand the hour of judgment approached, the Emir raised his hand andshouted saying, “Bring forth the criminals singly and tell mewhat crimes they have committed.” The prison door opened likethe mouth of a ferocious yawning beast. In the obscure corners ofthe dungeon one could hear the echo of shackles rattling in unisonwith the moaning and lamentations of the prisoners. The spectatorswere eager to see the prey of Death emerging from the depths ofthat inferno. A few moments later, two soldiers came out leading ayoung man with his arms pinioned behind his back. His stern facebespoke nobility of spirit and strength of the heart. He was haltedin the middle of the court room and the soldiers marched a fewsteps to the rear. The Emir stared at him steadily and said,“What crime has this man, who is proudly and triumphantlystanding before me, committed?” One of the courtmenresponded, “He is a murderer; yesterday he slew one of theEmir’s officers who was on an important mission in thesurrounding villages; he was still grasping the bloody sword whenhe was arrested.” The Emir retorted with anger, “Returnthe man to the dark prison and tie him with heavy chains, and atdawn cut off his head with his own sword and throw his body in thewoods so that the beasts may eat the flesh, and the air may carryits remindful door into the noses of his family and friends.”The youth was returned to prison while the people looked upon himwith sorrowful eyes, for he was a young man in the spring oflife.
The soldiers returned back again from the prison leading a youngwoman of natural and frail beauty. She looked pale and upon herface appeared the signs of oppression and disappointment. Her eyeswere soaked with tears and her head was bent under the burden ofgrief. After eyeing her thoroughly, the Emir exclaimed, “Andthis emaciated woman, who is standing before me like the shadowbeside a corpse, what has she done?” One of the soldiersanswered him, saying, “She is an adulteress; last night herhusband discovered her in the arms of another. After her loverescaped, her husband turned her over to the law.” The Emirlooked at her while she raised her face without expression, and heordered, “Take her back to the dark room and stretch her upona bed of thorns so she may remember the resting place which shepolluted with her fault; give her vinegar mixed with gall to drinkso she may remember the taste of those sweet kisses. At dawn dragher naked body outside the city and stone her. Let the wolves enjoythe tender meat of her body and the worms pierce her bones.”AS she walked back to the dark cell, the people looked upon herwith sympathy and surprise. They were astonished with theEmir’s justice and grieved over her fate. The soldiersreappeared, bringing with them a sad man with shaking knees andtrembling like a tender sapling before the north wind. He lookedpowerless, sickly and frightened, and he was miserable and poor.The Emir stared at him loathfully and inquired, “And thisfilthy man, who is like dead amongst the living; what has hedone?” One of the guards returned, “He is a thief whobroke into the monastery and stole the sacred vases which thepriests found under his garment when they arrested him.”
As a hungry eagle who looks at a bird with broken wings, the Emirlooked at him and said, “Take him back to the jail and chainhim, and at dawn drag him into a lofty tree and hang him betweenheaven and earth so his sinful hands may perish and the members ofhis body may be turned into particles and scattered by thewind.” As the thief stumbled back into the depths of theprison, the people commenced whispering one to another saying,“How dare such a weak and heretic man steal the sacred vasesof the monastery?”
At this time the court adjourned and the Emir walked outaccompanied by all his wise men, guarded by the soldiers, while theaudience scattered and the place became empty except of the moaningand wailing of the prisoners. All this happened while I wasstanding there like a mirror before passing ghosts. I wasmeditating the laws, made by man for man, contemplating what thepeople call “justice,” and engrossing myself with deepthoughts of the secrets of life. I tried to understand the meaningof the universe. I was dumbfounded in finding myself lost like ahorizon that disappears beyond the cloud. As I left the place Isaid to myself, “The vegetable feeds upon the elements of theearth, the sheep eats the vegetable, the wolf preys upon the sheep,and the bull kills the wolf while the lion devours the bull; yetDeath claims the lion. Is there any power that will overcome Deathand make these brutalities an eternal justice? Is there a forcethat can convert all the ugly things into beautiful objects? Isthere any might that can clutch with its hands all the elements oflife and embrace them with joy as the sea joyfully engulfs all thebrooks into its depths? Is there any power that can arrest themurdered and the murderer, the adulteress and the adulterer, therobber and the robbed, and bring them to a court loftier and moresupreme than the court of the Emir?”
Part Two
The next day I left the city for the fields where silence revealsto the soul that which the spirit desires, and where the pure skykills the germs of despair, nursed in the city by the narrowstreets and obscured places. When I reached the valley, I saw aflock of crows and vultures soaring and descending, filling the skywith cawing, whistling and rustling of the wings. As I proceeded Isaw before me a corpse of a man hanged high in a tree, the body ofa dead naked woman in the midst of a heap of stones, and a carcassof a youth with his head cut off and soaked with blood mixed withearth. It was a horrible sight that blinded my eyes with a thick,dark veil of sorrows. I looked in every direction and saw naughtexcept the spectre of Death standing by those ghastly remains.Nothing could be heard except the wailing of non-existence, mingledwith the cawing of crows hovering about the victims of human laws.Three human beings, who yesterday were in the lap of Life, todayfell as victims to Death because they broke the rules of humansociety. When a man kills another man, the people say he is amurderer, but when the Emir kills him, the Emir is just. When a manrobs a monastery, they say he is a thief, but when the Emir robshim of his life, the Emir is honourable. When a woman betrays herhusband, they say she is an adulteress, but when the Emir makes herwalk naked in the streets and stones her later, the Emir is noble.Shedding of blood is forbidden, but who made it lawful for theEmir? Stealing one’s money is a crime, but taking awayone’s life is a noble act. Betrayal of a husband may be anugly deed, but stoning of living souls is a beautiful sight. Shallwe meet evil with evil and say this is the Law? Shall we fightcorruption with greater corruption and say this is the Rule? Shallwe conquer crimes with more crimes and say this is Justice? Had notthe Emir killed an enemy in his past life? Had he not robbed hisweak subjects of money and property? Had he not committed adultery?Was he infallible when he killed the murderer and hanged the thiefin the tree? Who are those who hanged the thief in the tree? Arethey angels descended from heaven, or men looting and usurping? Whocut off the murderer’s head? Are they divine prophets, orsoldiers shedding blood wherever they go? Who stoned thatadulteress? Were they virtuous hermits who came from theirmonasteries, or humans who loved to commit atrocities with glee,under the protection of ignorant Law? What is Law? Who saw itcoming with the sun from the depths of heaven? What human saw theheart of God and found its will or purpose? In what century did theangels walk among the people and preach to them, saying,“Forbid the weak from enjoying life, and kill the outlawswith the sharp edge of the sword, and step upon the sinners withiron feet?”
As my mind suffered in this fashion, I heard a rustling of feet inthe grass close by. I took heed and saw a young woman coming frombehind the trees; she looked carefully in every direction beforeshe approached the three carcasses that were there. As she glanced,she saw the youth’s head that was cut off. She criedfearfully, knelt, and embraced it with her trembling arms; then shecommenced shedding tears and touching the blood-matted, curly hairwith her soft fingers, crying in a voice that came from theremnants of a shattered heart. She could bear the sight no longer.She dragged the body to a ditch and placed the head gently betweenthe shoulders, covered the entire body with earth, and upon thegrave she planted the sword with which the head of the young manhad been cut off.
As she started to leave, I walked toward her. She trembled when shesaw me, and her eyes were heavy with tears. She sighed and said,“Turn me over to the Emir if you wish. It is better for me todie and follow the one who saved my life from the grip of disgracethan to leave his corpse as food for the ferocious beasts.”Then I responded, “Fear me not, poor girl, I have lamentedthe young man before you did. But tell me, how did he save you fromthe grip of disgrace?” She replied with a choking andfainting voice, “One of the Emir’s officers came to ourfarm to collect the tax; when he saw me, he looked upon me as awolf looks upon a lamb. He imposed on my father a heavy tax thateven a rich man could not pay. He arrested me as a token to take tothe Emir in ransom for the gold which my father was unable to give.I begged him to spare me, but he took no heed, for he had no mercy.Then I cried for help, and this young man, who is dead now, camefor my help and saved me from a living death. The officer attemptedto kill him, but this man took an old sword that was hanging on thewall of our home and stabbed him. He did not run away like acriminal, but stood by the dead officer until the law came and tookhim into custody.” Having uttered these words which wouldmake any human heart bleed with sorrow, she turned her face andwalked away.
In a few moments I saw a youth coming and hiding his face with acloak. As he approached the corpse of the adulteress, he took offthe garment and placed it upon her naked body. Then he drew adagger from under the cloak and dug a pit in which he placed thedead girl with tenderness and care, and covered her with earth uponwhich he poured his tears. When he finished his task, he pluckedsome flowers and placed them reverently upon the grave. As hestarted to leave, I halted him saying, “What kin are you tothis adulteress? And what prompted you to endanger your life bycoming here to protect her naked body from the ferociousbeasts?”
When he stared at me, his sorrowful eyes bespoke his misery, and hesaid, “I am the unfortunate man for whose love she wasstoned; I loved her and she loved me since childhood; we grewtogether; Love, whom we served and revered, was the lord of ourhearts. Love joined both of us and embraced our souls. One day Iabsented myself from the city, and upon my return I discovered thather father obliged her to marry a man she did not love. My lifebecame a perpetual struggle, and all my days were converted intoone long and dark night. I tried to be at peace with my heart, butmy heart would not be still. Finally I went to see her secretly andmy sole purpose was to have a glimpse of her beautiful eyes andhear the sound of her serene voice. When I reached her house Ifound her lonely, lamenting her unfortunate self. I sat by her;silence was our important conversation and virtue our companion.One hour of understanding quiet passed, when her husband entered. Icautioned him to contain himself but he dragged her with both handsinto the street and cried out saying, ‘Come, come and see theadulteress and her lover!’ All the neighbours rushed aboutand later the law came and took her to the Emir, but I was nottouched by the soldiers. The ignorant Law and sodden customspunished the woman for her father’s fault and pardoned theman.”
Having thus spoken, the man turned toward the city while I remainedpondering the corpse of the thief hanging in that lofty tree andmoving slightly every time the wind shook the branches, waiting forsomeone to bring him down and stretch him upon the bosom of theearth beside the Defender of Honour and Martyr of Love. An hourlater, a frail and wretched woman appeared, crying. She stoodbefore the hanged man and prayed reverently. Then she struggled upinto the tree and gnawed with her teeth on the linen rope until itbroke and the dead fell on the ground like a huge wet cloth;whereupon she came down, dug a grave, and buried the thief by theside of the other two victims. After covering him with earth, shetook two pieces of wood and fashioned a cross and placed it overthe head. When she turned her face to the city and started todepart, I stopped her saying, “What incited you to come andbury this thief?” She looked at me miserably and said,“He is my faithful husband and merciful companion; he is thefather of my children – five young ones starving to death;the oldest is eight years of age, and the youngest is stillnursing. My husband was not a thief, but a farmer working in themonastery’s land, making our living on what little food thepriests and monks gave him when he returned home at eventide. Hehad been farming for them since he was young, and when he becameweak, they dismissed him, advising him to go back home and send hischildren to take his place as soon as they grew older. He beggedthem in the name of Jesus and the angels of heaven to let him stay,but they took no heed of his plea. They had no mercy on him nor onhis starving children who were helplessly crying for food. He wentto the city seeking employment, but in vain, for the rich did notemploy except the strong and the healthy. Then he sat on the dustystreet stretching his hand toward all who passed, begging andrepeating the sad song of his defeat in life, while suffering fromhunger and humiliation, but the people refused to help him, sayingthat lazy people did not deserve alms. On night, hunger gnawedpainfully at our children. especially the youngest, who triedhopelessly to nurse on my dry breast. My husband’s expressionchanged and he left the house under the cover of the night. Heentered the monastery’s bin and carried out a bushel ofwheat. As he emerged, the monks woke up from their slumber andarrested him after beating him mercilessly. At dawn they broughthim to the Emir and complained that he came to the monastery tosteal the golden vases of the altar. He was placed in prison andhanged the second day. He was trying to fill the stomachs of hislittle hungry one with the wheat he had raised by his own labour,but the Emir killed him and used his flesh as food to fill thestomachs of the birds and the beasts.” Having spoken in thismanner, she left me alone in a sorrowful plight and departed.
I stood there before the graves like a speaker sufferingwordlessness while trying to recite a eulogy. I was speechless, butmy falling tears substitute for my words and spoke for my soul. Myspirit rebelled when I attempted to meditate a while, because thesoul is like a flower that folds its petals when dark comes, andbreathes not its fragrance into the phantoms of the night. I feltas if the earth that enfolded the victims of oppression in thatlonely place were filling my ears with sorrowful tunes of sufferingsouls, and inspiring me to talk. I resorted to silence, but if thepeople understood what silence reveals to them, they would havebeen as close to God as the flowers of the valleys. If the flamesof my sighing soul had touched the trees, they would have movedfrom their places and marched like a strong army to fight the Emirwith their branches and tear down the monastery upon the heads ofthose priests and monks. I stood there watching, and felt that thesweet feeling of mercy and the bitterness of sorrow were pouringfrom my heart upon the newly dug graves – a grave of a youngman who sacrificed his life in defending a weak maiden, whose lifeand honour he had saved from between the paws and teeth of a savagehuman; a youth whose head was cut off in reward for his bravery;and his sword was planted upon his grave by the one he saved, as asymbol of heroism before the face of the sun that shines upon anempire laden with stupidity and corruption. A grave of a youngwoman whose heart was inflamed with love before her body was takenby greed, usurped by lust, and stoned by tyranny. . . . She kepther faith until death; her lover placed flowers upon her grave tospeak through their withering hours of those souls whom Love hadselected and blessed among a people blinded by earthly substanceand muted by ignorance. A grave of a miserable man, weakened byhard labour in the monastery’s land, who asked for bread tofeed his hungry little ones, and was refused. He resorted tobegging, but the people took no heed. When his soul led him torestore a small part of the crop which he had raised and gathered,he was arrested and beaten to death. His poor widow erected a crossupon his head as a witness in the silence of the night before thestars of heaven to testify against those priests who converted thekind teaching of Christ into sharp swords by which they cut thepeople’s necks and tore the bodies of the weak.
The sun disappeared behind the horizon as if tiring of theworld’s troubles and loathing the people’s submission.At that moment the evening began to weave a delicate veil from thesinews of silence and spread it upon Nature’s body. Istretched my hand toward the graves, pointing at their symbols,lifted my eyes toward heaven and cried out, “Oh, Bravery,this is your sword, buried now in the earth! Oh, Love, these areyour flowers, scorched by fire! Oh, Lord Jesus, this is Thy cross,submerged in the obscurity of the night!”
Part One
Sheik Abbas was looked upon as a prince by the people of a solitaryvillage in North Lebanon. His mansion stood in the midst of thosepoor villagers’ huts like a healthy giant amidst the sicklydwarfs. He lived amid luxury while they pursued an existence ofpenury. They obeyed him and bowed reverently before him as he spoketo them. It seemed as though the power of mind had appointed himits official interpreter and spokesman. His anger would make themtremble and scatter like autumn leaves before a strong wind. If hewere to slap one’s face, it would be heresy on theindividual’s part to move or lift his head or make anyattempt to discover why the blow had come. If he smiled at a man,the villagers would consider the person thus honoured as the mostfortunate. The people’s fear and surrender to Sheik Abbaswere not due to weakness; however, their poverty and need of himhad brought about this state of continual humiliation. Even thehuts they lived in and the fields they cultivated were owned bySheik Abbas who had inherited them from his ancestors.
The farming of the land and the sowing of the seeds and thegathering of wheat were all done under the supervision of the Sheikwho, in reward for their toil, compensated them with a smallportion of the crop which barely kept them from falling as victimsof gnawing starvation.
Often many of them were in need of bread before the crop wasreaped, and they came to Sheik Abbas and asked him with pouringtears to advance them a few piastres or a bushel of wheat and theSheik gladly granted their request for he knew that they would paytheir debts doubly when harvest time came. Thus those peopleremained obligated all their lives, left a legacy of debts to theirchildren and were submissive to their master whose anger they hadalways feared and whose friendship and good will they hadconstantly but unsuccessfully endeavoured to win.
Part Two
Winter came and brought heavy snow and strong winds; the valleysand the fields became empty of all things except leafless treeswhich stood as spectres of death above the lifeless plains.
Having stored the products of the land in the Sheik’s binsand filled his vases with the wine of the vineyards, the villagersretreated to their huts to spend a portion of their lives idling bythe fireside and commemorating the glory of the past ages andrelating to one another the tales of weary days and longnights.
The old year had just breathed its last into the grey sky. Thenight had arrived during which the New Year would be crowned andplaced upon the throne of the Universe. The snow began to fallheavily and the whistling winds were racing from the loftymountains down to the abyss and blowing the snow into heaps to bestored away in the valleys.
The trees were shaking under the heavy storms and the fields andknolls were covered with a white floor upon which Death was writingvague lines and effacing them. The mists stood as partitionsbetween the scattered villages by the sides of the valleys. Thelights that flickered through the windows of those wretched hutsdisappeared behind the thick veil of Nature’s wrath.
Fear penetrated the fellahin’s hearts and the animals stoodby their mangers in the sheds, while the dogs were hiding in thecorners. One could hear the voices of the screaming winds andthundering of the storms resounding from the depths of the valleys.It seemed as if Nature were enraged by the passing of the old yearand trying to wrest revenge from those peaceful souls by fightingwith weapons of cold and frost.
That night under the raging sky, a young man was attempting to walkthe winding trail that connected Deir Kizhaya with SheikAbbas’ village. The youth’s limbs were numbed withcold, while pain and hunger usurped him of his strength. The blackraiment he wore was bleached with the falling snow, as if he wereshrouded in death before the hour of his death had come. He wasstruggling against the wind. His progress was difficult, and hetook but a few steps forward with each effort. He called for helpand then stood silent, shivering in the cold night. He had slimhope, withering between great despair and deep sorrow. He was likea bird with a broken wing, who fell in a stream whose whirlpoolscarried him down to the depths.
The young man continued walking and falling until his blood stoppedcirculating and he collapsed. He uttered a terrible sound . . . thevoice of a soul who encountered the hollow face of Death . . . avoice of dying youth, weakened by man and trapped by nature . . . avoice of the love of existence in the space of nothingness.
Part Three
On the north side of that village, in the midst of the wind-tornfields, stood the solitary home of a woman named Rachel, and herdaughter Miriam who had not then attained the age of eighteen.Rachel was the widow of Samaan Ramy, who was found slain six yearsearlier, but the law of man did not find the murderer.
Like the rest of the Lebanese widows, Rachel sustained life throughlong, hard work. During the harvest season, she would look for earsof corn left behind by others in the field, and in Autumn shegathered the remnants of some forgotten fruits in the gardens. InWinter she spun wool and made raiment for which she received a fewpiastres or a bushel of grain. Miriam, her daughter, was abeautiful girl who shared with her mother the burden of toil.
That bitter night the two women were sitting by the fireplace whosewarmth was weakened by the frost and whose firebrands were buriedbeneath the ashes. By their side was a flickering lamp that sentits yellow, dimmed rays into the heart of darkness like a prayerthat sends phantoms of hope into the hearts of the sorrowful.
Midnight had come and they were listening to the wailing windsoutside. Every now and then Miriam would get up, open the smalltransom and look toward the obscured sky, and then she would returnto her chair worried and frightened by the raging elements.Suddenly Miriam started, as if she had awakened from a swoon ofdeep slumber. She looked anxiously toward her mother and said,“Did you hear that, Mother? Did you hear a voice calling forhelp?” The mother listened a moment and said, “I hearnothing but the crying wind, my daughter.” Then Miriamexclaimed, “I heard a voice deeper than the thundering heavenand more sorrowful than the wailing of the tempest.”
Having uttered these words. she stood up and opened the door andlistened for a moment. Then she said, “I hear it again,Mother!” Rachel hurried toward the frail door and after amoment’s hesitation she said, “And I hear it, too. Letus go and see.”
She wrapped herself with a long robe, opened the door and walkedout cautiously, while Miriam stood at the door, the wind blowingher long hair.
Having forced her way a short distance through the snow, Rachelstopped and shouted out, “Who is calling . . . where areyou?” There was no answer; then she repeated the same wordsagain and again, but she heard naught except thunder. Then shecourageously advanced forward, looking in every direction. She hadwalked for some time, when she found some deep footprints upon thesnow; she followed them fearfully and in a few moments found ahuman body lying before her on the snow, like a patch on a whitedress. As she approached him and leaned his head over her knees,she felt his pulse that bespoke his slowing heart beats and hisslim chance in life. She turned her face toward the hut and called,“Come, Miriam, come and help me, I have found him!”Miriam rushed out and followed her mother’s footprints, whileshivering with cold and trembling with fear. As she reached theplace and saw the youth lying motionless, she cried with an achingvoice. The mother put her hands under his armpits, calmed Miriamand said, “Fear not, for he is still living; hold the loweredge of his cloak and let us carry him home.”
Confronted with the strong wind and heavy snow, the two womencarried the youth and started toward the hut. As they reached thelittle haven, they laid him down by the fireplace. Rachel commencedrubbing his numbed hands and Miriam drying his hair with the end ofher dress. The youth began to move after a few minutes. His eyelidsquivered and he took a deep sigh – a sigh that brought thehope of his safety into the hearts of the merciful women. Theyremoved his shoes and took off his black robe. Miriam looked at hermother and said, “Observe his raiment, Mother; these clothesare worn by the monks.” After feeding the fire with a bundleof dry sticks, Rachel looked at her daughter with perplexity andsaid, “The monks do not leave their convent on such aterrible night.” And Miriam inquired, “But he has nohair on his face; the monks wear beards.” The mother gazed athim with eyes full of mercy and maternal love; then she turned toher daughter and said, “It makes no difference whether he isa monk or a criminal; dry his feet well, my daughter.” Rachelopened a closet, took from it a jar of wine and poured some in anearthenware bowl. Miriam held his head while the mother gave himsome of it to stimulate his heart. As he sipped the wine he openedhis eyes for the first time and gave his rescuers a sorrowful lookmingled with tears of gratitude – the look of a human whofelt the smooth touch of life after having been gripped in thesharp claws of death – a look of great hope after hope haddied. Then he bent his head, and his lips trembled when he utteredthe words, “May God bless both of you.” Rachel placedher hand upon his shoulder and said, “Be calm, brother. Donot tire yourself with talking until you gain strength.” AndMiriam added, “Rest your head on this pillow, brother, and wewill place you closer to the fire.” Rachel refilled the bowlwith wine and gave it to him. She looked at her daughter and said,“Hang his robe by the fire so it will dry.” Havingexecuted her mother’s command, she returned and commencedlooking at him mercifully, as if she wanted to help him by pouringinto his heart all the warmth of her soul. Rachel brought twoloaves of bread with some preserves and dry fruits; she sat by himand began to feed him small morsels, as a mother feeds her littlechild. At this time he felt stronger and sat up on the hearth matwhile the red flames of fire reflected upon his sad face. His eyesbrightened and he shook his head slowly, saying, “Mercy andcruelty are both wrestling in the human heart like the mad elementsin the sky of this terrible night, but mercy shall overcome crueltybecause it is divine, and the terror alone, of this night, shallpass away when daylight comes.” Silence prevailed for aminute and then he added with a whispering voice, “A humanhand drove me into desperation and a human hand rescued me; howsevere man is, and how merciful man is!” And Rachel inquired,“How ventured you, brother, to leave the convent on such aterrible night, when even the beasts do not ventureforth?”
The youth shut his eyes as if he wanted to restore his tears backinto the depths of his heart, whence they came, and he said,“The animals have their caves, and the birds of the sky theirnests, but the son of man has not place to rest his head.”Rachel retorted, “That is what Jesus said abouthimself.” And the young man resumed, “This is theanswer for every man who wants to follow the Spirit and the Truthin this age of falsehood, hypocrisy and corruption.”
After a few moments of contemplation, Rachel said, “But thereare many comfortable rooms in the convent, and the coffers are fullof gold, and all kinds of provisions. The sheds of the convent arestocked with fat calves and sheep; what made you leave such havenin this deathly night?” The youth sighed deeply and said,“I left that place because I hated it.” And Rachelrejoined, “A monk in a convent is like a soldier in thebattlefield who is required to obey the orders of his leaderregardless of their nature. I heard that a man could not become amonk unless he did away with his will, his thoughts, his desires,and all that pertains to the mind. But a good priest does not askhis monks to do unreasonable things. How could the head priest ofDeir Kizhaya ask you to give up your life to the storms andsnow?” And he remarked, “In the opinion of the headpriest, a man cannot become a monk unless he is blind and ignorant,senseless and dumb. I left the convent because I am a sensible manwho can see, feel, and hear.”
Miriam and Rachel stared at him as if they had found in his face ahidden secret; after a moment of meditation the mother said,“Will a man who sees and hears go out on a night that blindsthe eyes and deafens the ears?” And the youth sated quietly,“I was expelled from the convent.”“Expelled!” exclaimed Rachel; and Miriam repeated thesame word in unison with her mother.
He lifted his head, regretting his words, for he was afraid lesttheir love and sympathy be converted into hatred and disrespect;but when he looked at them and found the rays of mercy stillemanating from their eyes, and their bodies vibrating with anxietyto learn further, his voice choked and he continued, “Yes, Iwas expelled form the convent because I could not dig my grave withmy own hands, and my heart grew weary of lying and pilfering. I wasexpelled form the convent because my soul refused to enjoy thebounty of a people who surrendered themselves to ignorance. I wasdriven away because I could not find rest in the comfortable rooms,built with the money of the poor fellahin. My stomach could nothold bread baked with the tears of the orphans. My lips could notutter prayers sold for gold and food by the heads to the simple andfaithful people. I was expelled from the convent like a filthyleper because I was repeating to the monks the rules that qualifiedthem to their present position.”
Silence prevailed while Rachel and Miriam were contemplating hiswords and gazing at him, when they asked, “Are your fatherand mother living?” And he responded, “I have no fatheror mother now a place that is my home.” Rachel drew a deepsigh and Miriam turned her face toward the wall to hide hr mercifuland loving tears.
As a withering flower is brought back to life by dew drops thatdawn pours into its begging petals, so the youth’s anxiousheart was enlivened by his benefactor’s affection andkindness. He looked at them as a soldier looks upon his liberatorswho rescue him from the grip of the enemy, and he resumed, “Ilost my parents before I reached the age of seven. The villagepriest took me to Deir Kizhaya and left me at the disposal of themonks who were happy to take me in and put me in charge of the cowsand sheep, which I led each day to the pasture. When I attained theage of fifteen, they put on me this black robe and led me into thealtar whereupon the head priest addressed me saying, ‘Swearby the name of God and all saints, and make a vow to live avirtuous life of poverty and obedience.’ I repeated the wordsbefore I realized their significance or comprehended his owninterpretation of poverty, virtue and obedience.
“My name was Khalil, and since that time the monks addressedme as Brother Mobarak, but they never did treat me as a brother.They ate the most palatable foods and drank the finest wine, whileI lived on dry vegetables and water, mixed with tears. Theyslumbered in soft beds while I slept on a stone slab in a dark andcold room by the shed. Oftentimes I asked myself, ‘When willmy heart stop craving for the food they eat and the wine they eat?When will I cease to tremble with fear before my superiors?’But all my hopes were in vain, for I was kept in the same state;and in addition to caring for the cattle, I was obliged to moveheavy stones on my shoulders and to dig pits and ditches. Isustained life on a few morsels of bread given to me in reward formy toil. I knew of no other place to which I might go, and theclergymen at the convent had caused me to abhor everything theywere doing. They had poisoned my mind until I commenced to thinkthat the whole world was an ocean of sorrows and miseries and thatthe convent was the only port of salvation. But when I discoveredthe source of their food and gold, I was happy that I did not shareit.”
Khalil straightened himself and looked about with wonder, as if hehad found something beautiful standing before him in that wretchedhut. Rachel and Miriam remained silent and he proceeded,“God, who took my father and exiled me as an orphan to theconvent, did not want me to spend all my life walking blindlytoward a dangerous jungle; nor did He wish me to be a miserableslave for the rest of my life. God opened my eyes and ears andshowed me the bright light and made me hear Truth when Truth wastalking.”
Rachel thought aloud, “Is there any light, other than thesun, that shines over all the people? Are human beings capable ofunderstanding the Truth?” Khalil returned, “The truelight is that which emanates from within man, and reveals thesecrets of the heart to the soul, making it happy and contentedwith life. Truth is like the stars; it does not appear except frombehind obscurity of the night. Truth is like all beautiful thingsin the world; it does not disclose its desirability except to thosewho first feel the influence of falsehood. Truth is a deep kindnessthat teaches us to be content in our everyday life and share withthe people the same happiness.”
Rachel rejoined, “Many are those who live according to theirgoodness, and many are those who believe that compassion to othersis the shadow of the law of God to man; but still, they do notrejoice in life, for they remain miserable until death.”Khalil replied, “Vain are the beliefs and teachings that makeman miserable, and false is the goodness that leads him into sorrowand despair, for it is man’s purpose to be happy on thisearth and lead the way to felicity and preach its gospel whereverhe goes. He who does not see the kingdom of heaven in this lifewill never see it in the coming life. We came not into this life byexile, but we came as innocent creatures of God, to learn how toworship the holy and eternal spirit and seek the hidden secretswithin ourselves from the beauty of life. This is the truth which Ihave learned from the teachings of the Nazarene. This is the lightthat came from within me and showed me the dark corners of theconvent that threatened my life. This is the deep secret which thebeautiful valleys and fields revealed to me when I was hungry,sitting lonely and weeping under the shadow of the trees.
“This is the religion as the convent should impart it; as Godwished it; as Jesus taught it. One day, as my soul becameintoxicated with the heavenly intoxication of Truth’s beauty,I stood bravely before the monks who were gathering in the garden,and criticized their wrong deeds saying, ‘Why do you spendyour days here and enjoy the bounty of the poor, whose bread youeat was made with the sweat of their bodies and the tears of theirhearts? Why are you living in the shadow of parasitism, segregatingyourselves from the people who are in need of knowledge? Why areyou depriving the country your help? Jesus has sent you as lambsamongst the wolves; what has made you as wolves amongst the lambs?Why are you fleeing from mankind and from God who created you? Ifyou are better than the people who walk in the procession of life,you should go to them and better their lives; but if you think theyare better than you, you should desire to learn from them. How doyou take an oath and vow to live in poverty, then forget what youhave said and live in luxury? How do you swear an obedience to Godand then revolt against all that religion means? How do you adoptvirtue as your rule when your hearts are full of lusts? You pretendthat you are killing your bodies, but in fact you are killing yoursouls. You feign to abhor the earthly things, but your hearts areswollen with greed. You have the people believe in you as religiousteachers; truly speaking you are like busy cattle who divertthemselves from knowledge by grazing in a green and beautifulpasture. Let us restore to the needy the vast land of the conventand give back to them the silver and gold we took from them. Let usdisperse from our aloofness and serve the weak who made us strong,and cleanse the country in which we live. Let us teach thismiserable nation to smile and rejoice with heaven’s bountyand glory of life and freedom.
“The people’s tears are more beautiful and God-joinedthan the ease and tranquillity to which you have accustomedyourselves in this place. The sympathy that touches theneighbour’s heart is more supreme than the hidden virtue inthe unseen corners of the convent. A word of compassion to the weakcriminal or prostitute is nobler than the long prayer which werepeat emptily every day in the temple.’ ”
At this time Khalil took a deep breath. Then he lifted his eyestoward Rachel and Miriam saying, “I was saying all of thesethings to the monks and they were listening with an air ofperplexity, as if they could not believe that a young man woulddare stand before them and utter such bold words. When I finished,one of the monks approached me and angrily said to me, ‘Howdare you talk in such fashion in our presence?’ And anotherone came laughing and added, ‘Did you learn all this from thecows and pigs you tended in the fields?’ And a third onestood up and threatened me saying, ‘You shall be punished,heretic!’ Then they dispersed as though running away from aleper. Some of them complained to the head priest who summoned mebefore him at eventide. The monks took delight in anticipation ofmy suffering, and there was glee on their faces when I was orderedto be scourged and put into prison for forty days and nights. Theylad me into the dark cell where I spent the time lying on thatgrave without seeing the light. I could not tell the end of thenight from the beginning of the day, and could feel nothing butcrawling insects and the earth under me. I could hear naught savethe tramping of their feet when my morsel of bread and dish ofwater mixed with vinegar were brought to me at great intervals.
“When I came out of the prison I was weak and frail, and themonks believed that they had cured me of thinking and that they hadkilled my soul’s desire. They thought that hunger and thirsthad choked the kindness which God placed in my heart. In my fortydays of solitude I endeavoured to find a method by which I couldhelp these monks to see the light and hear the true song of life,but all of my ponderings were in vain, for the thick veil which thelong ages had woven around their eyes could not be torn away in ashort time; and the mortar with which ignorance had cemented theirears was hardened and could not be removed by the touch of softfingers.”
Silence prevailed for a moment, and then Miriam looked at hermother as if asking permission to speak. She said, “You musthave talked to the monks again, if they selected this terriblenight in which to banish you from the convent. They should learn tobe kind even to their enemies.”
Khalil returned, “This evening, as the thunder storms andwarring elements raged in the sky, I withdrew myself from the monkswho were crouching about the fire, telling tales and humorousstories. When they saw me alone they commenced to place their witat my expense. I was reading my Gospel and contemplating thebeautiful sayings of Jesus that made me forget for the time theenraged nature and belligerent elements of the sky, when theyapproached me with a new spirit of ridicule. I ignored them byoccupying myself and looking through the window, but they becamefurious because my silence dried the laughter of their hearts andthe taunting of their lips. One of them said, ‘What are youreading, Great Reformer?’ In response to his inquiry, Iopened my book and read aloud the following passage, ‘Butwhen he saw many of the Pharisees and Saducees come to his baptism,he said unto them, ‘O generation of vipers, who hath warnedyou to flee from the wrath to come? Bring forth therefore fruitsfor repentance; And think not to say within yourselves, ‘Wehave Abraham to our father;’ for I say unto you, that God isable of these stones to raise the children unto Abraham. And nowalso the axe is laid unto the root of the trees; therefore everytree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and castinto the fire.’
“As I read to them these words of John the Baptist, the monksbecame silent as if an invisible hand strangled their spirits, butthey took false courage and commenced laughing. One of them said,‘We have read these words many times, and we are not in needof a cow grazier to repeat them to us.”
“I protested, ‘If you had read these words andcomprehended their meaning, these poor villagers would not havefrozen or starved to death.’ When I said this, one of themonks slapped my face as if I had spoken evil of the priests;another kicked me and a third took the book from me and a fourthone called the head priest who hurried to the scene shaking withanger. He cried out, ‘Arrest this rebel and drag him fromthis sacred place, and let the storm’s fury teach himobedience. Take him away and let nature do unto him the will ofGod, and then wash your hands of the poisonous germs of heresyinfesting his raiment. If he should return pleading forforgiveness, do not open the door for him, for the viper will notbecome a dove if placed in a cage, nor will the briar bear figs ifplanted in the vineyards.’
“In accordance with the command, I was dragged out by thelaughing monks. Before they locked the door behind me, I heard onesaying, ‘Yesterday you were king of cows and pigs, and todayyou are dethroned, Oh Great Reformer; go now and be the king ofwolves and teach them how to live in their lairs.’”
Khalil sighed deeply, then turned his face and looked toward theflaming fire. With a sweet and loving voice, and with a painedcountenance he said, “Thus was I expelled from the convent,and thus did the monks deliver me over to the hands of Death. Ifought through the night blindly; the heavy wind was tearing myrobe and the piling snow was trapping me feet and pulling me downuntil I fell, crying desperately for help. I felt that no one heardme except Death, but a power which is all knowledge and mercy hadheard my cry. That power did not want me to die before I hadlearned what is left of life’s secrets. That power sent youboth to me to save my life from the depth of the abyss andnon-existence.”
Rachel and Miriam felt as if their spirits understood the mysteryof his soul, and they became his partners in feeling andunderstanding. Notwithstanding her will, Rachel stretched forth andtouched his hand gently while tears coursed down from her eyes, andshe said, “He who has been chosen by heaven as a defender ofTruth will not perish by heaven’s own storms and snow.”And Miriam added, “The storms and snow may kill the flowers,but cannot deaden the seeds, for the snow keeps them warm from thekilling frost.”
Khalil’s face brightened upon hearing those words ofencouragement, and he said, “If you do not look upon me as arebel and an heretic as the monks did, the persecution which I havesustained in the convent is the symbol of an oppressed nation thathas not yet attained knowledge; and this night in which I was onthe verge of death is like a revolution that precedes full justice.And from a sensitive woman’s heart springs the happiness ofmankind, and from the kindness of her noble spirit comesmankind’s affection.”
He closed his eyes and leaned down on the pillow; the two women didnot bother him with further conversation for they knew that theweariness cause by long exposure had allured and captured his eyes.Khalil slept like a lost child who had finally found safety in hismother’s arms.
Rachel and her daughter slowly walked to their bed and sat therewatching him as if they had found in his trouble-torn face anattraction bringing their souls and hearts closer to him. And themother whispered, saying, “There is a strange power in hisclosed eyes that speaks in silence and stimulates the soul’sdesires.”
And Miriam rejoined, “His hands, Mother, are like those ofChrist in the Church.” The mother replied, “His facepossesses at the same time a woman’s tenderness and aman’s boldness.”
And the wings of slumber carried the two women’s spirits intothe world of dream, and the fire went down and turned into ashes,while the light of the oil lamp dimmed gradually and disappeared.The fierce tempest continued its roar, and the obscured sky spreadlayers of snow, and the strong wind scattered them to the right andthe left.
Part Four
Five days passed, and the sky was still heavy with snow, buryingthe mountains and prairies relentlessly. Khalil made three attemptsto resume his journey toward the plains, but Rachel restrained himeach time, saying, “Do not give up your life to the blindelements, brother; remain here, for the bread that suffices twowill also feed three, and the fire will still be burning after yourdeparture as it was before your arrival. We are poor, brother, butlike the rest of the people, we live our lives before the face ofthe sun and mankind, and God gives us our daily bread.”
And Miriam was begging him with her kind glances, and pleading withher deep sighs, for since he entered the hut she felt the presenceof a divine power in her soul sending forth life and light into herheart and awakening new affection in the Holy of Holies of herspirit. For the first time she experienced the feeling which madeher heart like a white rose that sips the dew drops from the dawnand breathes its fragrance into the endless firmament.
There is no affection purer and more soothing to the spirit thanthe one hidden in the heart of a maiden who awakens suddenly andfills her own spirit with heavenly music that makes her days likepoets’ dreams and her nights prophetic. There is no secret inthe mystery of life stronger and more beautiful than thatattachment which converts the silence of a virgin’s spiritinto a perpetual awareness that makes a person forget the past, forit kindles fiercely in the heart the sweet and overwhelming hope ofthe coming future.
The Lebanese woman distinguishes herself from the woman of othernations by her simplicity. The manner in which she is trainedrestricts her progress educationally, and stands as a hindrance toher future. Yet for this reason, she finds herself inquiring ofherself as to the inclination and mystery of her heart. TheLebanese young woman is like a spring that comes out from the heartof the earth and follows its course through the windingdepressions, but since it cannot find an outlet to the sea, itturns into a calm lake that reflects upon its growing surface theglittering stars and the shining moon. Khalil felt the vibration ofMiriam’s heart twining steadily about his soul, and he knewthat the divine torch that illuminated his heart had also touchedher heart. He rejoiced for the first time, like a parched brookgreeting the rain, but he blamed himself for his haste, believingthat this spiritual understanding would pass like a cloud when hedeparted from the village. He often spoke to himself saying,“What is this mystery that plays so great a part in ourlives? What is this Law that drives us into a rough road and stopsus just before we reach the mountain top, smiling and glorying,then suddenly we are cast to the depths of the valley, weeping andsuffering? What is this life that embraces us like a lover one day,and fights us like an enemy the second day? Was I not persecutedyesterday? Did I not survive hunger and thirst and suffering andmockery for the sake of the Truth which heaven had awakened in myheart? Did I not tell the monks that happiness through Truth is thewill and the purpose of God in man? Then what is this fear? And whydo I close my eyes to the light that emanates from that youngwoman’s eyes? I am expelled and she is poor, but is it onbread only that man can live? Are we not, between famine andplenty, like trees between winter and summer? But what would Rachelsay if she knew that my heart and her daughter’s heart cameto an understanding in silence, and approached close to each otherand neared the circle of the Supreme Light? What would she say ifshe discovered that the young man whose life she saved longed togaze upon her daughter? What would the simple villagers say if theyknew that a young man, reared in the convent, came to their villageby necessity and expulsion, and desired to live near a beautifulmaiden? Will they listen to me if I tell them that he who leavesthe convent to live amongst them is like a bird that flies from thebruising walls of the cage to the light of freedom? What will SheikAbbas say if he hears my story? What will the priest of the villagedo if he learns of the cause of my expulsion?”
Khalil was talking to himself in this fashion while sitting by thefireplace, meditating the flames, symbol of his love; and Miriamwas stealing a glance now and then at his face and reading hisdreams through his eyes, and hearing the echo of his thoughts, andfeeling the touch of his love, even though no word was uttered.
One night, as he stood by the small transom that faced the valleyswhere the trees and rocks were shrouded with white coverings,Miriam came and stood by him, looking at the sky. As their eyesturned and met, he drew a deep sigh and shut his eyes as if hissoul were sailing in the spacious sky looking for a word. He foundno word necessary, for the silence spoke for them. Miriam ventured,“Where will you go when the snow meets the stream and thepaths are dry?” His eyes opened, looking beyond the horizon,and he explained, “I shall follow the path to wherever mydestiny and my mission for truth shall take me.” Miriamsighed sadly and offered, “Why will you not remain here andlive close to us? Is it that you are obliged to goelsewhere?” He was moved by her kindness and sweet words, butprotested, “The villagers here will not accept an expelledmonk as their neighbour, and will not permit him to breathe the airthey breathe because they believe that the enemy of the convent isan infidel, cursed by God and His saints.” Miriam resorted tosilence, for the Truth that pained her prevented further talk. ThenKhalil turned aside and explained, “Miriam, these villagersare taught by those in authority to hate everyone who thinksfreely; they are trained to remain afar from those whose minds soaraloft; God does not like to be worshipped by an ignorant man whoimitates someone else; if I remained in this village and asked thepeople to worship as they please, they would say that I am aninfidel disobeying the authority that was given to the priest byGod. If I asked them to listen and hear the voices of their heartsand do according to the will of the spirit within, they would say Iam an evil man who wants them to do away with the clergy that Godplaced between heaven and earth.” Khalil looked straight intoMiriam’s eyes, and with a voice that bespoke the sound ofsilver strings said, “But, Miriam, there is a magic power inthis village that possesses me and engulfs my soul; a power sodivine that it causes me to forget my pain. In this village I metDeath to his very face, and in this place my soul embracedGod’s spirit. In this village there is a beautiful flowergrown over the lifeless grass; its beauty attracts my heart and itfragrance fills its domain. Shall I leave this important flower andgo out preaching the ideas that caused my expulsion from theconvent, or shall I remain by the side of that flower and dig agrave and bury my thoughts and truths among its neighbouringthorns? What shall I do, Miriam?” Upon hearing these words,she shivered like a lily before the frolicsome breeze of the dawn.Her heart glowed through her eyes when she faltered, “We areboth in the hands of a mysterious ad merciful power. Let it do itswill.”
At that moment the two hearts joined and thereafter both spiritswere one burning torch illuminating their lives.
Part Five
Since the beginning of the creation and up to our present time,certain clans, rich by inheritance, in co-operation with theclergy, had appointed themselves the administrators of the people.It is an old, gaping wound in the heart of society that cannot beremoved except by intense removal of ignorance.
The man who acquires his wealth by inheritance builds his mansionwith the weak poor’s money. The clergyman erects his templeupon the graves and bones of the devoted worshippers. The princegrasps the fellah’s arms while the priest empties his pocket;the ruler looks upon the sons of the fields with frowning face, andthe bishop consoles them with his smile, and between the frown ofthe tiger and the smile of the wolf the flock is perished; theruler claims himself as king of the law, and the priest as therepresentative of God, and between these two, the bodies aredestroyed and the souls wither into nothing.
In Lebanon, that mountain rich in sunlight and poor in knowledge,the noble and the priest joined hands to exploit the farmer whoploughed the land and reaped the crop in order to protect himselffrom the sword of the ruler and the curse of the priest. The richman in Lebanon stood proudly by his palace and shouted at themultitudes saying, “The Sultan had appointed me as yourlord.” And the priest stands before the altar saying,“God has delegated me as an executive of your souls.”But the Lebanese resorted to silence, for the dead could nottalk.
Sheik Abbas had friendship in his heart for the clergymen, becausethey were his allies in choking the people’s knowledge andreviving the spirit of stern obedience among his workers.
That evening, when Khalil and Miriam were approaching the throne ofLove, and Rachel was looking upon them with the eyes of affection,Father Elias informed Sheik Abbas that the head priest had expelleda rebellious young man from the convent and that he had takenrefuge at the house of Rachel, the widow of Samaan Ramy. And thepriest was not satisfied with the little information he gave theSheik, but commented, “The demon they chased out of theconvent cannot become an angel in this village, and the fig treewhich is hewn and cast into the fire, does not bear fruit whileburning. If we wish to clean this village of the filth of thisbeast, we must drive him away as the monks did.” And theSheik answered, “Are you certain that the young man will be abad influence upon our people? Is it not better for us to keep himand make him a worker in our vineyards? We are in need of strongmen.”
The priest’s face showed his disagreement. Combing his beardwith his fingers, he said shrewdly, “If he were fit to work,he would not have been expelled from the convent. A student whoworks in the convent, and who happened to spend last night at myhouse, informed me that this young man had violated the rules ofthe head priest by preaching danger-ridden ideas among the monks,and he quoted him as saying, ‘Restore the fields and thevineyards and the silver of the convent to the poor and scatter itin all directions; and help the people who are in need ofknowledge; by thus doing, you will please your Father inHeaven.’ ”
On hearing these words, Sheik Abbas leaped to his feet, and like atiger making ready to strike the victim, he walked to the door andcalled to the servants, ordering them to report immediately. Threemen entered, and the Sheik commanded, “In the house ofRachel, the widow of Samaan Ramy, there is a young man wearing amonk’s raiment. Tie him and bring him here. If that womanobjects to his arrest, drag her out by her braided hair over thesnow and bring her with him, for he who helps evil is evilhimself.” The men bowed obediently and hurried toRachel’s home while the priest and the Sheik discussed thetype of punishment to be awarded to Khalil and Rachel.
Part Six
The day was over and the night had come spreading its shadow overthose wretched huts, heavily laden with snow. The stars finallyappeared in the sky, like hopes in the coming eternity after thesuffering of death’s agony. The doors and windows were closedand the lamps were lighted. The fellahin sat by the fireside,warming their bodies. Rachel, Miriam and Khalil were seated at arough wooden table eating their evening meal when there was a knockat the door and three men entered. Rachel and Miriam werefrightened, but Khalil remained calm, as if he awaited the comingof those men. One of the Sheik’s servants walked towardKhalil, laid his hand upon his shoulder and asked, “Are youthe one who was expelled from the convent?” And Khalilresponded, “Yes, I am the one, what do you want?” Theman replied, “We are ordered to arrest you and take you withus to Sheik Abbas’ home, and if you object we shall drag youout like a butchered sheep over the snow.”
Rachel turned pale as she exclaimed, “What crime has hecommitted, and why do you want to tie him and drag him out?”The two women pleaded with tearful voices, saying, “He is oneindividual in the hands of three and it is cowardly of you to makehim suffer.” The men became enraged and shouted, “Isthere any woman in this village who opposes the Sheik’sorder?” And he drew forth a rope and started to tieKhalil’s hands. Khalil lifted his head proudly, and asorrowful smile appeared on his lips when he said, “I feelsorry for you men, because you are a strong and blind instrument inthe hands of a man who oppresses the weak with the strength of yourarms. You are slaves of ignorance. Yesterday I was a man like you,but tomorrow you shall be free in mind as I am now. Between usthere is a deep precipice that chokes my calling voice and hides myreality from you, and you cannot hear or see. Here I am, tie myhands and do as you please.” The three men were moved by histalk and it seemed that his voice had awakened in them a newspirit, but the voice of Sheik Abbas still rang in their minds,warning them to complete the mission. They bound his hands and ledhim out silently with a heavy conscience. Rachel and Miriamfollowed them to the Sheik’s home, like the daughters ofJerusalem who followed Christ to Mount Calvary.
Part Seven
Regardless of its import, news travels swiftly among the fellahinin the small villages, because their absence from the realm ofsociety makes them anxious and busy in discussing the happenings oftheir limited environs. In winter, when the fields are slumberingunder the quilts of snow, and when human life is taking refuge andwarming itself by the fireside, the villagers become most inclinedto learn of current news in order to occupy themselves.
It was not long after Khalil was arrested, when the story spreadlike a contagious disease amongst the villagers. They left theirhuts and hurried like an army from every direction into the home ofSheik Abbas. When Khalil’s feet stepped into theSheik’s home, the residence was crowded with men, women andchildren who were endeavouring for a glance at the infidel who wasexpelled from the convent. They were also anxious to see Rachel andher daughter, who had helped Khalil in spreading the hellishdisease if heresy in the pure sky of their village.
The Sheik took the seat of judgment and beside him sat FatherElias, while the throng was gazing at the pinioned youth who stoodbravely before them. Rachel and Miriam were standing behind Khaliland trembling with fear. But what could fear do to the heart of awoman who found Truth and followed him? What could the scorn of thecrowd do to the soul of a maiden who had been awakened by Love?Sheik Abbas looked at the young man, and with a thundering voice heinterrogated him saying, “What is your name, man?”“Khalil is my name,” answered the youth. The Sheikreturned, “Who are your father and mother and relatives, andwhere were you born?” Khalil turned toward the fellahin, wholooked upon him with hateful eyes, and said, “The oppressedpoor are my clan and my relatives, and this vast country is mybirthplace.”
Sheik Abbas, with an air of ridicule, said, “Those peoplewhom you claim as kin demand that you be punished, and the countryyou assert as your birthplace objects to your being a member of itspeople.” Khalil replied, “The ignorant nations arresttheir good men and turn them into their despots; and a country,ruled by a tyrant, persecutes those who try to free the people fromthe yoke of slavery. But will a good son leave his mother if she isill? Will a merciful man deny his brother who is miserable? Thosepoor men who arrested me and brought me here today are the sameones who surrendered their lives to you yesterday. And this vastearth that disapproves my existence is the one that does not yawnand swallow the greedy despots.”
The Sheik uttered a loud laugh, as if wanting to depress the youngman’s spirit and prevent him from influencing the audience.He turned to Khalil and said impressively, “You cattlegrazier, do you think that we will show more mercy than did themonks, who expelled you from the convent? Do you think that we feelpity for a dangerous agitator?” Khalil responded, “Itis true that I was a cattle grazier, but I am glad that I was not abutcher. I led my herds to the rich pastures and never grazed themon arid land. I led my animals to pure springs and kept them fromcontaminated marshes. At eventide I brought them safely to theirshed and never left them in the valleys as prey for the wolves.Thus I have treated the animals; and if you had pursued my courseand treated human beings as I treated my flock, these poor peoplewould not live in wretched huts and suffer the pangs of poverty,while you are living like Nero in this gorgeous mansion.”
The Sheik’s forehead glittered with drops of perspiration,and his smirk turned into anger, but he tried to show only calm bypretending that he did not heed Khalil’s talk, and heexpostulated, pointing at Khalil with his finger, “You are aheretic, and we shall not listen to your ridiculous talk; wesummoned you to be tried as a criminal, and you realize that youare in the presence of the Lord off this village who is empoweredto represent his Excellency Emir Ameen Shehab. You are standingbefore Father Elias, the representative of the Holy Church whoseteachings you have opposed. Now, defend yourself, or kneel downbefore these people and we will pardon you and make you a cattlegrazier, as you were in the convent.” Khalil calmly returned,“A criminal is not to be tried by another criminal, as anatheist will not defend himself before sinners.” And Khalillooked at the audience and spoke to them saying, “Mybrethren, the man whom you call the Lord of your fields, and towhom you have yielded thus long, has brought me to be tried beforeyou in this edifice which he built upon the graves of yourforefathers. And the man who became a pastor of your church throughyour faith, has come to judge me and help to humiliate me andincrease my sufferings. You have hurried to this place from everydirection to see me suffer and hear me plead for mercy. You haveleft your huts in order to witness your pinioned son and brother.You have come to see the prey trembling between the paws of aferocious beast. You came here tonight to view an infidel standingbefore the judges. I am the criminal and I am the heretic who hasbeen expelled from the convent. The tempest brought me into yourvillage. Listen to my protest, and do not be merciful, but be just,for mercy is bestowed upon the guilty criminal, while justice isall that an innocent man requires.
“I select you now as my jury, because the will of the peopleis the will of God. Awaken your hearts and listen carefully andthen prosecute me according to the dictates of your conscience. Youhave been told that I am an infidel, but you have not been informedof what crime or sin I have committed. You have seen me tied like athief, but you have not heard about my offences, for wrongdoingsare not revealed in this court, while punishment comes out likethunder. My crime, dear fellowmen, is my understanding of yourplight, for I felt the weight of the irons which have been placedupon your necks. My sin is my heartfelt sorrows for your women; itis my sympathy for your children who suck life from your breastmixed with the shadow of death. I am one of you, and my forefatherslived in these valleys and died under the same yolk which isbending your heads now. I believe in God who listens to the call ofyour suffering souls, and I believe in the Book that makes all ofus brothers before the face of heaven. I believe in the teachingsthat make us all equal, and that render us unpinioned upon thisearth, the steeping place of the careful feet of God.
“As I was grazing my cows at the convent, and contemplatingthe sorrowful condition you tolerate, I heard a desperate crycoming from your miserable homes – a cry of oppressed souls– a cry of broken hearts which are locked in your bodies asslaves to the lord of these fields. As I looked, I found me in theconvent and you in the fields, and I saw you as a flock of lambsfollowing a wolf to the lair; and as I stopped in the middle of theroad to aid the lambs, I cried for help and the wolf snapped mewith his sharp teeth.
“I have sustained imprisonment, thirst, and hunger for thesake of Truth that hurts only the body. I have undergone sufferingbeyond endurance because I turned your sad sighs into a cryingvoice that rang and echoed in every corner of the convent. I neverfelt fear, and my heart never tired, for your painful cry wasinjecting a new strength into me every day, and my heart washealthy. You may ask yourself now saying, ‘When did we evercry for help, and who dares open his lips?’ But I say untoyou, your souls are crying every day, and pleading for help everynight, but you cannot hear them, for the dying man cannot hear hisown heart rattling, while those who are standing by his bedside cansurely hear. The slaughtered bird, in spite of his will, dancespainfully and unknowingly, but those who witness the dance knowwhat caused it. In what hour of the day do you sigh painfully? Isit in the morning, when love of existence cries at you and tearsthe veil of slumber off your eyes and leads you like slaves intothe fields? Is it at noon, when you wish to sit under a tree toprotect yourself from the burning sun? Or at eventide, when youreturn home hungry, wishing for sustaining food instead of a meagremorsel and impure water? Or at night when fatigue throws you uponyour rough bed, and as soon as slumber closes your eyes, you sit upwith open eyes, fearing that the Sheik’s voice is ringing inyour ears?
“In what season of the year do you not lament yourselves? Isit in Spring, when nature puts on her beautiful dress and you go tomeet her with tattered raiment? Or in Summer, when you harvest thewheat and gather the sheaves of corn and fill the shelves of yourmaster with the crop, and when the reckoning comes you receivenaught but hay and tare? Is it in Autumn, when you pick the fruitsand carry the grapes into the wine-press, and in reward for yourtoil you receive a jar of vinegar and a bushel of acorns? Or inWinter, when you are confined to your huts laden with snow, do yousit by the fire and tremble when the enraged sky urges you toescape from your weak minds?
“This is the life of the poor; this is the perpetual cry Ihear. This is what makes my spirit revolt against the oppressorsand despise their conduct. When I asked the monks to have mercyupon you, they thought that I was an atheist, and expulsion was mylot. Today I came here to share this miserable life with you, andto mix my tears with yours. Here I am now, in the grip of yourworst enemy. Do you realize that this land you are working likeslaves was taken from your fathers when the law was written on thesharp edge of the sword? The monks deceived your ancestors and tookall their fields and vineyards when the religious rules werewritten on the lips of the priests. Which man or woman is notinfluenced by the lord of the fields to do according to the will ofthe priests? God said, ‘With the sweat of thy brow, thoushall eat thy bread.’ But Sheik Abbas is eating his breadbaked in the years of your lives and drinking his wine mixed withyour tears. Did God distinguish this man from the rest of you whilein his mother’s womb? Or is it your sin that made you hisproperty? Jesus said, ‘Gratis you have taken and gratis youshall give. . . . Do not possess gold, nor silver, neithercopper.’ Then what teachings allow the clergymen to selltheir prayers for pieces of gold and silver? In the silence of thenight you pray saying, ‘Give us today our daily bread.’God has given you this land from which to draw your daily bread,but what authority has He given the monks to take his land and thisbread away from you?
“You curse Judas because he sold his Master for a few piecesof silver, but you bless those who sell Him every day. Judasrepented and hanged himself for his wrongdoing, but these priestswalk proudly, dressed with beautiful robes, resplendent withshining crosses hanging over their chest. You teach your childrento love Christ and at the same time you instruct them to obey thosewho oppose His teachings and violate His law.
“The apostles of Christ were stoned to death in order torevive in you the Holy Spirit, but the monks and the priests arekilling that spirit in you so they may live on your pitiful bounty.What persuades you to live such a life in this universe, full ofmisery and oppression? What prompts you to kneel before thathorrible idol which has been erected upon the bones of yourfathers? What treasure are you reserving for your posterity?
“Your souls are in the grip of the priests, and your bodiesare in the closing jaws of the rulers. What thing in life can youpoint at and say ‘this is mine!’ My fellowmen, do youknow the priest you fear? He is a traitor who uses the Gospel as athreat to ransom your money. . . a hypocrite wearing a cross andusing it as a sword to cut your veins. . . a wolf disguised inlambskin. . . a glutton who respects the tables more than thealtars. . . a gold-hungry creature who follows the Denar to thefarthest land. . . a cheat pilfering from widows and orphans. He isa queer being, with an eagle’s beak, a tiger’sclutches, a hyena’s teeth and a viper’s clothes. Takethe Book away from him and tear his raiment off and pluck his beardand do whatever you wish unto him; then place in his hand oneDenar, and he will forgive you smilingly.
“Slap his face and spit on him and step on his neck; theninvite him to sit at your board. He will immediately forget anduntie his belt and gladly fill his stomach with your food.
“Curse him and ridicule him; then send him a jar of wine or abasket of fruit. He will forgive you your sins. When he sees awoman, he turns his face, saying, ‘Go from me, Oh, daughterof Babylon.’ Then he whispers to himself saying,‘Marriage is better than coveting.’ He sees the youngmen and women walking in the procession of Love, and he lifts hiseyes toward heaven and says, ‘Vanity of vanities, all isvanity.’ And in his solitude he talks to himself saying,‘May the laws and traditions that deny me the joys of life,be abolished.’
“He preaches to the people saying, ‘Judge not, lest yebe judged.’ But he judges all those who abhor his deeds andsends them to hell before Death separates them from this life.
“When he talks he lifts his head toward heaven, but at thesame time, his thoughts are crawling like snakes through yourpockets.
“He addresses you as beloved children, but his heart is emptyof paternal love, and his lips never smile at a child, nor does hecarry an infant between his arms.
“He tells you, while shaking his head, ‘Let us keepaway from earthly things, for life passes like a cloud.’ Butif you look thoroughly at him, you will find that he is gripping onto life, lamenting the passing of yesterday, condemning the speedof today, and waiting fearfully for tomorrow.
“He asks you for charity when he has plenty to give; if yougrant his request, he will bless you publicly, and if you refusehim, he will curse you secretly.
“In the temple he asks you to help the needy, and about hishouse the needy are begging for bread, but he cannot see orhear.
“He sells his prayers, and he who does not buy is an infidel,excommunicated from Paradise.
“This is the creature of whom you are afraid. This is themonk who sucks your blood. This is the priest who makes the sign ofthe Cross with the right hand, and clutches your throat with theleft hand.
“This is the pastor whom you appoint as your servant, but heappoints himself as your master.
“This is the shadow that embraces your souls from birth untildeath.
“This is the man who came to judge me tonight because myspirit revolted against the enemies of Jesus the Nazarene Who lovedall and called us brothers, and Who died on the Cross forus.”
Khalil felt that there was understanding in the villagers’hearts; his voice brightened and he resumed his discourse saying,“Brethren, you know that Sheik Abbas has been appointed asMaster of this village by Emir Shehab, the Sultan’srepresentative and Governor of the Province, but I ask you ifanyone has seen that power appoint the Sultan as the god of thiscountry. That Power, my fellowmen, cannot be seen, nor can you hearit talk, but you can feel its existence in the depths of yourhearts. It is that Power which you worship and pray for every daysaying, ‘Our Father which art in heaven.’ Yes, yourFather Who is in heaven is the one Who appoints Kings and princes,for He is powerful and above all. But do you think that yourFather, Who loved you and showed you the right path through Hisprophets, desires for you to be oppressed? Do you believe that God,Who brings forth the rain from heaven, and the wheat from thehidden seeds in the heart of the earth, desires for you to behungry in order that but one man will enjoy His bounty? Do youbelieve that the Eternal Spirit Who reveals to you the wife’slove, the children’s pity and the neighbour’s mercy,would have upon you a tyrant to enslave you through your life? Doyou believe that the Eternal Law that made life beautiful, wouldsend you a man to deny you of that happiness and lead you into thedark dungeon of painful Death? Do you believe that your physicalstrength, provided you by nature, belongs beyond your body to therich?
“You cannot believe in all these things, because if you doyou will be denying the justice of God who made us all equal, andthe light of Truth that shines upon all people of the earth. Whatmakes you struggle against yourselves, heart against body, and helpthose who enslave you while God has created you free on thisearth?
“Are you doing yourselves justice when you lift your eyestowards Almighty God and call him Father, and then turn around, bowyour heads before a man, and call him Master?
“Are you contented, as sons of God, with being slaves of man?Did not Christ call you brethren? Yet Sheik Abbas calls youservants. Did not Jesus make you free in Truth and Spirit? Yet theEmir made you slaves of shame and corruption. Did not Christ exaltyou to heaven? Then why are you descending to hell? Did He notenlighten your hearts? Then why are you hiding your souls indarkness? God has placed a glowing torch in your hearts that glowsin knowledge and beauty, and seeks the secrets of the days andnights; it is a sin to extinguish that torch and bury it in ashes.God has created your spirits with wings to fly in the spaciousfirmament of Love and Freedom; it is pitiful that you cut yourwings with your own hands and suffer your spirits to crawl likeinsects upon the earth.”
Sheik Abbas observed in dismay the attentiveness of the villagers,and attempted to interrupt, but Khalil, inspired, continued,“God has sown in your hearts the seeds of Happiness; it is acrime that you dig those seeds out and throw them wilfully on therocks so the wind will scatter them and the birds will pick them.God has given you children to rear, to teach them the truth andfill their hearts with the most precious things of existence. Hewants you to bequeath upon them the joy of Life and the bounty ofLife; why are they now strangers to their place of birth and coldcreatures before the face of the Sun? A father who makes his son aslave is the father who gives his child a stone when he asks forbread. Have you not seen the birds of the sky training their youngones to fly? Why, then, do you teach your children to drag theshackles of slavery? Have you not seen the flowers of the valleysdeposit their seeds in the sun-heated earth? Then why do you commityour children to the cold darkness?”
Silence prevailed for a moment, and it seemed as if Khalil’smind were crowded with pain. But now with a low and compellingvoice he continued, “The words which I utter tonight are thesame expressions that caused my expulsion from the convent. If thelord of your fields and the pastor of your church were to prey uponme and kill me tonight, I will die happy and in peace because Ihave fulfilled my mission and revealed to you the Truth whichdemons consider a crime. I have now completed the will of theAlmighty God.”
There had been a magic message in Khalil’s voice that forcedthe villagers’ interest. The women were moved by thesweetness of peace, and their eyes were rich with tears.
Sheik Abbas and Father Elias were shaking with anger. As Khalilfinished, he walked a few steps and stopped near Rachel and Miriam.Silence dominated the courtroom, and it seemed as if Khalil’sspirit hovered in that vast hall and diverted the souls of themultitude from fearing Sheik Abbas and Father Elias, who sattrembling in annoyance and guilt.
The Sheik stood suddenly and his face was pale. He looked towardthe men who were standing about him as he said, “What hasbecome of you, dogs? have your hearts been poisoned? Has you bloodstopped running and weakened you so that you cannot leap upon thiscriminal and cut him to pieces? What awful thing has he done toyou?” Having finished reprimanding the men, he raised a swordand started toward the fettered youth.
The Sheik trembled visibly and the sword fell from his hand. Headdressed the man saying, “Will a weak servant oppose hisMaster and benefactor?” And the man responded, “Thefaithful servant does not share his Master in the committing ofcrimes; this young man has spoken naught but the truth.”Another man stepped forward and assured, “This man isinnocent and is worthy of honour and respect.” And a womanraised her voice saying, “He did not swear at God or curseany saint; why do you call him heretic?” And Rachel asked,“What is his crime?” The Sheik shouted, “You arerebellious, you miserable widow; have you forgotten the fate ofyour husband who turned rebel six years ago?” Upon hearingthese impulsive words, Rachel shivered with painful anger, for shehad found the murderer of her husband. She choked her tears andlooked upon the throng and cried out, “Here is the criminalyou have been trying for six years to find; you hear him nowconfessing his guilt. He is the killer who has been hiding hiscrime. Look at him and read his face; study him well and observehis fright; he shivers like the last leaf on winter’s tree.God has shown you that the Master whom you have always feared is amurderous criminal. He caused me to be a widow amongst these women,and my daughter an orphan amidst these children.”Rachel’s utterance fell like thunder upon the Sheik’shead, and the uproar of men and exaltation of women fell likefirebrands upon him.
The priest assisted the Sheik to his seat. Then he called theservants and ordered them saying, “Arrest this woman who hasfalsely accused your Master of killing her husband; drag her andthis young man into a dark prison, and any who oppose you will becriminals, excommunicated as he was from the Holy Church.”The servants gave no heed to his command, but remained motionlessstaring at Khalil who was still bound with rope. Rachel stood athis right and Miriam at his left like a pair of wings ready to soaraloft into the spacious sky of Freedom.
His beard shaking with anger, Father Elias said, “Are youdenying your Master for the sake of an infidel criminal and ashameless adulteress?” And the oldest one of the servantsanswered him saying, “We have served Sheik Abbas long forbread and shelter, but we have never been his slaves.” Havingthus spoken, the servant took off his cloak and turban and threwthem before the Sheik and added, “I shall no longer requirethis raiment, nor do I wish my soul to suffer in the narrow houseof a criminal.” And all the servants did likewise and joinedthe crowd whose faces radiated with joy, symbol of Freedom andTruth. Father Elias finally saw that his authority had declined,and left the place cursing the hour that brought Khalil to thevillage. A strong man strode to Khalil and untied his hands, lookedat Sheik Abbas who fell like a corpse upon his seat, and boldlyaddressed him saying, “This fettered youth, whom you havebrought here tonight to be tried as a criminal, has lifted ourdepressed spirits and enlightened our hearts with Truth andKnowledge. And this poor widow whom Father Elias referred to as afalse accuser has revealed to us the crime you committed six yearspast. We came here tonight to witness the trial of an innocentyouth and a noble soul. Now, heaven has opened our eyes and hasshown us your atrocity; we shall leave you and ignore you and allowheaven to do its will.”
Many voices were raised in that hall, and one could hear a certainman saying, “Let us leave this ill-famed residence for ourhomes.” And another one remarking, “Let us follow thisyoung man to Rachel’s home and listen to his wise sayings andconsoling wisdom.” And a third one saying, “Let us seekhis advice, for he knows our needs.” And a fourth one callingout, “If we are seeking justice, let us complain to the Emirand tell him of Abbas’ crime.” And many were saying,“Let us petition the Emir to appoint Khalil as our Master andruler, and tell the Bishop that Father Elias was a partner in thesecrimes.” While the voices were rising and falling upon theSheik’s ears like sharp arrows, Khalil lifted his hands andcalmed the villagers saying, “My brethren, do not seek haste,but rather listen and meditate. I ask you, in the name of my loveand friendship for you, not to go to the Emir, for you will notfind justice. Remember that a ferocious beast does not snap anotherone like him, neither should you go to the Bishop, for he knowswell that the house cloven amid itself shall be ruined. Do not askthe Emir to appoint me as the Sheik in this village, for thefaithful servant does not like to be an aid to the evil Master. IfI deserve your kindness and love, let me live amongst you and sharewith you the happiness and sorrows of Life. Let me join hands andwork with you at home and in the fields, for if I could not makemyself one of you, I would be a hypocrite who does not liveaccording to his sermon. And now, as the axe is laid unto the rootof the tree, let us leave Sheik Abbas alone in the courtroom of hisconscience and before the Supreme Court of God whose sun shinesupon the innocent and the criminal.”
Having thus spoken, he left the place, and the multitude followedhim as if there were a divine power in him that attracted theirhearts. The Sheik remained alone with the terrible silence, like adestroyed tower, suffering his defeat quietly like a surrenderingcommander. When the multitude reached the church yard and the moonwas just showing from behind the cloud, Khalil looked at them withthe eyes of love like a good shepherd watching over his herd. Hewas moved with sympathy upon these villagers who symbolized anoppressed nation; and he stood like a prophet who saw all thenations of the East walking in those valleys and dragging emptysouls and heavy hearts.
He raised both hands toward heaven and said, “From the bottomof these depths we call thee, Oh, Liberty. Give heed to us! Frombehind the darkness we raise our hands to thee, Oh, Liberty. Lookupon us! Upon the snow, we worship before thee, Oh, Liberty. Havemercy on us! Before thy great throne we stand, hanging on ourbodies the blood-stained garments of our forefathers, covering ourheads with the dust of the graves mixed with their remains,carrying the swords that stabbed their hearts, lifting the spearsthat pierced their bodies, dragging the chains that slowed theirfeet, uttering the cry that wounded their throats, lamenting andrepeating the song of our failure that echoed throughout theprison, and repeating the prayers that came from the depths of ourfathers’ hearts. Listen to us, Oh, Liberty, and hear us. Fromthe Nile to the Euphrates comes the wailing of the suffering souls,in unison with the cry of the abyss; and from the end of the Eastto the mountains of Lebanon, hands are stretched to you, tremblingwith the presence of Death. From the shores of the sea to the endof the desert, tear-flooded eyes look beseechingly toward you.Come, Oh Liberty, and save us.
“In the wretched huts standing in the shadow of poverty andoppression, they beat at their bosoms, soliciting thy mercy; watchus, Oh Liberty, and have mercy on us. In the pathways and in thehouses miserable youth calls thee; in the churches and the mosques,the forgotten Book turns to thee; in the courts and in the palacesthe neglected Law appeals to thee. Have mercy on us, Oh Liberty,and save us. In our narrow streets the merchant sells his days inorder to make tribute to the exploiting thieves of the West, andnone would give him advice. In the barren fields the fellah tillsthe soil and sows the seeds of his heart and nourishes them withhis tears, but he reaps naught except thorns, and none would teachhim the true path. In our arid plains the Bedouin roams barefootand hungry, but none would have mercy upon him; speak, Oh Liberty,and teach us! Our sick lambs are grazing upon the grasslessprairie, our calves are gnawing on the roots of the trees, and ourhorses are feeding on dry plants. Come, Oh Liberty, and help us. Wehave been living in darkness since the beginning, and likeprisoners they take us from one prison to another, while timeridicules our plight. When will dawn come? Until when shall we bearthe scorn of the ages? Many a stone have we been dragging, and manya yoke has been placed upon our necks. Until when shall we bearthis human outrage? The Egyptian slavery, the Babylon exile, thetyranny of Persia, the despotism of the Romans, and the greed ofEurope . . . all these things have we suffered. Where are we goingnow, and when shall we reach the sublime end of the rough roadway?From the clutches of Pharaoh to the paws of Nebuchadnezzar, to theiron hands of Alexander, to the swords of Herod, to the talons ofNero, and the sharp teeth of Demon . . . into whose hands are wenow to fall, and when will Death come and take us, so we may restat last?
“With the strength of our arms we lifted the columns of thetemple, and upon our backs we carried the mortar to build the greatwalls and the impregnable pyramids for the sake of glory. Untilwhen shall we continue building such magnificent palaces and livingin wretched huts? Until when shall we continue filling the bins ofthe rich with provisions, while sustaining weak life on drymorsels? Until when shall we continue weaving silk and wool for ourlords and masters while we wear naught except tatteredswaddles?
“Through their wickedness we were divided amongst ourselves;and the better to keep their thrones and be at ease, they armed theDruze to fight the Arab, and stirred up the Shiite to attack theSunnite, and encouraged the Kurdish to butcher the Bedouin, andcheered the Mohammedan to dispute with the Christian. Until whenshall a brother continue killing his own brother upon hismother’s bosom? Until when shall the Cross be kept apart fromthe Crescent before the eyes of God? Oh Liberty, hear us, and speakin behalf of but one individual, for a great fire is started with asmall spark. Oh Liberty, awaken but one heart with the rustling ofthy wings, for from one cloud alone comes the lightning whichilluminates the pits of the valleys and the tops of the mountains.Disperse with thy power these black clouds and descend like thunderand destroy the thrones that were built upon the bones and skullsof our ancestors.”
“Hear us, Oh Liberty; Bring mercy, Oh Daughter of Athens;Rescue us, Oh Sister of Rome; Advise us, Oh Companion of Moses;Help us, Oh Beloved of Mohammed ; Teach us, Oh Bride of Jesus;Strengthen our hearts so we may live; Or harden our enemies so wemay perish And live in peace eternally.”
As Khalil was pouring forth his sentiment before heaven, thevillagers were gazing at him in reverence, and their love wasspringing forth in unison with the song of his voice until theyfelt that he became part of their hearts. After a short silence,Khalil brought his eyes upon the multitude and quietly said,“Night has brought us to the house of Sheik Abbas in order torealize the daylight; oppression has arrested us before the coldSpace, so we may understand one another and gather like chicksunder the wings of the Eternal Spirit. Now let us go to our homesand sleep until we meet again tomorrow.”
Having thus spoken, he walked away, following Rachel and Miriam totheir poor hovel. The throng departed and each went to his home,contemplating what he had seen and heard this memorable night. Theyfelt that a burning torch of a new spirit had scoured their innerselves and led them into the right path. In an hour all the lampswere extinguished and Silence engulfed the whole village whileSlumber carried the fellahin’s souls into the world of strongdreams; but Sheik Abbas found no sleep all night, as he watched thephantoms of darkness and the horrible ghosts of his crimes inprocession.
Two months had already passed and Khalil was still preaching andpouring his sentiments in the villagers’ hearts, remindingthem of their usurped rights and showing them the greed andoppression of the rulers and the monks. They listened to him withcare for he was a source of pleasure; his words fell upon theirhearts like rain upon thirsty land. In their solitude, theyrepeated Khalil’s sayings as they did their daily prayers.Father Elias commenced fawning upon them to regain theirfriendship; he became docile since the villagers found out that hewas the Sheik’s ally in crime, and the fellahin ignoredhim.
Sheik Abbas had a nervous suffering, and walked through his mansionlike a caged tiger. He issued commands to his servants, but no oneanswered except the echo of his voice inside the marble walls. Heshouted at his men, but no one came to his aid except his poor wifewho suffered the pang of his cruelty as much as the villagers did.When Lent came and Heaven announced the coming of Spring, the daysof the Sheik expired with the passing of Winter. He died after along agony, and his soul was carried away on the carpet of hisdeeds to stand naked and shivering before that high Throne whoseexistence we feel, but cannot see. The fellahin heard various talesabout the manner of Sheik Abbas’ death; some of them relatedthat the Sheik died insane, while others insisted thatdisappointment and despair drove him to death by his own hand. Butthe women who went to offer their sympathies to his wife reportedthat he died from fear, because the ghost of Samaan Ramy hunted himand drove him every midnight out to the place where Rachel’shusband was found slain six years before.
The month of Nisan proclaimed to the villagers the love secrets ofKhalil and Miriam. They rejoiced the good tidings which assuredthem that Khalil would thereby remain in their village. As the newsreached all the inhabitants of the huts, they congratulated oneanother upon Khalil’s becoming their beloved neighbour.
When harvest time came, the fellahin went to the fields andgathered the sheaves of corn and bundles of wheat to the threshingfloor. Sheik Abbas was not there to take the crop and have itcarried to his bins. Each fellah harvested his own crop; thevillagers’ huts were filled with good wine and corn; theirvessels were replenished with good wine and oil. Khalil shared withthem their toils and happiness; he helped them in gathering thecrop, pressing the grapes and picking the fruits. He neverdistinguished himself from any one of them except by his excess oflove and ambition. Since that year and up to our present time, eachfellah in that village commenced to reap with joy the crop which hesowed with toil and labour. The land which the fellahin tilled andthe vineyards they cultivated became their own property.
Now, half a century has passed since this incident, and theLebanese have awakened.
On his way to the Holy Cedars of Lebanon, a traveller’sattention is caught by the beauty of that village, standing like abride at the side of the valley. The wretched huts are nowcomfortable and happy homes surrounded by fertile fields andblooming orchards. If you ask any one of the residents about SheikAbbas’ history, he will answer you, pointing with his fingerto a heap of demolished stones and destroyed walls saying,“This is the Sheik’s palace, and this is the history ofhis life.” And if you inquire about Khalil, he will raise hishand toward heaven saying, “There resides our beloved Khalil,whose life’s history was written by God with glitteringletters upon the pages of our hearts, and they cannot be effaced bythe ages.”
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