CAIN.

If it must be so well, then,

What shall I do?

ABEL.

Choose one of those two altars.

CAIN.

Choose for me: they to me are so much turf

The firstlings of the flock, and fat thereof

A shepherd's humble offering.

CAIN.

I have no flocks;

I am a tiller of the ground, and must

Yield what it yieldeth to my toil-its fruit :

[He gathers fruits.

Behold them in their various bloom and ripeness.

[They dress their altars, and kindle a flame

upon them.

ABEL.

My brother, as the elder, offer first

Thy prayer and thanksgiving with sacrifice.

CAIN.

No-I am new to this; lead thou the way,
And I will follow—as I may.

ABEL (kneeling).

Oh God!

Who made us, and who breathed the breath of life

Within our nostrils, who hath blessed us,
And spared, despite our father's sin, to make
His children all lost, as they might have been,
Had not thy justice been so temper'd with
The mercy which is thy delight, as to

Accord a pardon like a Paradise,

Compared with our great crimes:-Sole Lord of

light!

Of good, and glory, and eternity;

Without whom all were evil, and with whom

Nothing can err, except to some good end
Of thine omnipotent benevolence-
Inscrutable, but still to be fulfill'd-

Accept from out thy humble first of shepherd's
First of the first-born flocks-an offering,
In itself nothing-as what offering can be
Aught unto thee?-but yet accept it for
The thanksgiving of him who spreads it in
The face of thy high heaven, bowing his own
Even to the dust, of which he is, in honour
Of thee, and of thy name, for evermore!

CAIN (standing erect during this speech).
Spirit! whate'er or whosoe'er thou art,
Omnipotent, it may be-and, if good,

Shown in the exemption of thy deeds from evil; Jehovah upon earth! and God in heaven!

And it may be with other names, because

Thine attributes seem many, as thy works :-
If thou must be propitiated with prayers,

Take them! If thou must be induced with altars,
And soften'd with a sacrifice, receive them!

Two beings here erect them unto thee.

If thou lov'st blood, the shepherd's shrine, which

smokes

On my right hand, hath shed it for thy service
In the first of his flock, whose limbs now reek
In sanguinary incense to thy skies;

Or if the sweet and blooming fruits of earth,
And milder seasons, which the unstain'd turf
I spread them on now offers in the face

Of the broad sun which ripen'd them, may seem
Good to thee, inasmuch as they have not
Suffer'd in limb or life, and rather form
A sample of thy works, than supplication
To look on ours! If a shrine without victim,
And altar without gore, may win thy favour,
Look on it! and for him who dresseth it,

He is-such as thou mad'st him; and seeks nothing
Which must be won by kneeling: if he's evil,
Strike him! thou art omnipotent, and may'st,-
For what can he oppose? If he be good,
Strike him, or spare him, as thou wilt! since all
Rests upon thee; and good and evil seem
To have no power themselves, save in thy will;
And whether that be good or ill I know not,

Not being omnipotent, nor fit to judge
Omnipotence, but merely to endure

Its mandate; which thus far I have endured. The fire upon the altar of ABEL kindles into a column of the brightest flame, and ascends to heaven; while a whirlwind throws down the altar of Cain, and scatters the fruits upon the earth.

abroad

ABEL (kneeling).

Oh, brother, pray! Jehovah's wroth with thee!

Why so?

CAIN.

ABEL.

Thy fruits are scatter'd on the earth.

CAIN.

From earth they came, to earth let them return; Their seed will bear fresh fruit there ere the

summer:

Thy burnt flesh-off'ring prospers better; see

How heaven licks up the flames, when thick with blood!

ABEL.

Think not upon my off'rings' acceptance,
But make another of thine own before

It is too late.