Within the enclosure of the monastery. In the rear,
at the left, appear the monastery buildings, the refectory, monks cells, parts
of the church and the steeple, all connected by passageways with arched gates.
Board-walks run in different directions in the court. At the right the
corner of the steeple wall is seen slightly jutting out. Nestling against
it is a small monastic cemetery surrounded by a light, grilled iron fence.
Marble monuments and slabs of stone and iron are sunk deep into the earth.
All are old and twisted. It is a long time since anyone was buried there.
The cemetery contains also some wild rose-bushes and two or three rather small
trees.
It is evening, after vespers. Long shadows are falling
from the tower and the walls. The monastery and the steeple are bathed in
the reddish light of the setting sun. Monks, novices and pilgrims pass
along the board-walks. In the beginning of the act may be heard behind the
scenes the driving of a village herd, the cracking of a herdsmans whip, the
bleating of sheep, the lowing of cattle, and dull cries. Toward the end of
the act it grows much darker, and the movement in the yard ceases almost
entirely.
Savva, Speransky, and the Young Friar are seated on a bench
by the iron fence. Speransky is holding his hat on his knees, and now and
then he strokes his long, straight hair, which is hanging in two mournful
strands over his long, pale face. He holds his legs together speaks in a
low, sad tone, and gesticulates with extended forefinger. The Friar,
young, round-faced, and vigorous, pays no attention to the conversation, but is
smiling continually, as if at his own thoughts._
SAVVA (preoccupied, looking aside)
Yes. What kind of work do you do here?
SPERANSKY
None at all, Mr. Savva. How can a man in my condition
do any work? Once a man begins to doubt his own existence, the obligation
to work naturally ceases to exist for him. But the deacons wife does not
understand it. She is a very stupid woman, utterly lacking in education,
and, moreover, of an unlovely, cruel disposition. She insists on making me
work. But you can imagine the sort of work I do under the circumstances.
You see, the situation is this. I have a splendid appetite. That
appetite began to develop while I was yet a student in the seminary. Now
this deaconess, if you please, makes a fuss about every piece of bread I eat.
She doesnt understand, the ignorant woman, the possibility of the non-existence
of this piece of bread. If I had a real existence like the rest of you, I
should feel very bad, but in my present condition her attacks dont affect me in
the least. Nothing affects me, Mr. Savva, nothing in the wide world.
SAVVA (smiling at the Friars unconscious joy, but still
preoccupied) How long have you been in this condition?
SPERANSKY
It began in the seminary while I was studying philosophy.
It is a dreadful condition, Mr. Savva. I have grown somewhat accustomed to
it now, but at first it was unendurable. I tried to hang myself once, and
they cut me down. Then I tried a second time, and they cut me down again.
Then they turned me out of the seminary. Go hang yourself in some other
place, you madman, they said. As if there were any other place! As
if all places were not the same!
THE FRIAR
Mr. Savva, lets go fishing to-morrow at the mill.
SAVVA
I dont like fishing. It bores me.
FRIAR
Im sorry. Well then, lets go into the woods and knock
down the dry branches of trees. Its fine sport to walk about in the
forest and knock off the branches with a stick. And when you shout
Ho-ho-ho! the echo from the ravine answers back Ho-ho-ho! Do you like
swimming?
SAVVA
Yes, I like it. I am a good swimmer.
FRIAR
I like it too.
SPERANSKY (with a deep sigh)
Yes, its a strange condition.
SAVVA (smiling at the Friar)
Eh? Well, how are you now?
SPERANSKY
When my uncle took me to his house, he made me promise I
would never attempt suicide again. That was the only condition oh which he
would consent to let me live with him. All right, I said; if we really
exist, then I wont make any further attempt to hang myself.
SAVVA
Why do you want to know whether you exist or not? There
is the sky. Look, how beautiful it is. There are the swallows and
the sweet-scented grass. Its fine! (To the Friar) Fine, isnt it,
Vassya?
FRIAR
Mr. Savva, do you like to tear up ant-hills?
SAVVA
I dont know. I never tried.
FRIAR
I like it. Do you like to fly kites?
SAVVA
Its a long time since I tried to. I used to like it
very much.
SPERANSKY (patiently awaiting the end of their
conversation)
Swallows! What good is their flying to me?
Anyhow, maybe swallows dont exist either, and its all a dream.
SAVVA
Suppose it is a dream. Dreams are very beautiful
sometimes, you know.
SPERANSKY
I should like to wake up, but I cant. I wander around
and wander around until I am weary and feeble, and when I rouse myself I find I
am here, in the very same place. There is the monastery and the belfry,
and the clock strikes the hour. And its all like a dream, a fantasy.
You close your eyes, and it does not exist. You open them, and its there
again. Sometimes I go out into the fields at night and close my eyes, and
then it seems to me there is nothing at all existing. Suddenly the quail
begin to call, and a wagon rolls down the road. Again a dream. For
if you stopped up your ears, you wouldnt hear those sounds. When I die,
everything will grow silent, and then it will be true. Only the dead know
the truth, Mr. Savva.
FRIAR (smiling, cautiously waving his hands at a bird; in
a whisper) Its time to go to bed, time to go to bed.
SAVVA (impatiently)
What dead? Listen, my dear sir. I have a plain,
simple, peasant mind, and I dont understand those subtleties. What dead
are you talking about?
SPERANSKY
About all the dead, every one without exception. Thats
why the faces of the dead are so serene. Whatever agonies a man may have
suffered before his death, the moment he dies his face becomes serene.
Thats because he has learned the truth. I always come here to attend the
funerals. Its astonishing. There was a woman buried here. She
had died of grief because her husband was crushed under a locomotive. You
can imagine what must have been going on in her mind before her death.
Its too horrible to think of. Yet she lay there, in the coffin,
absolutely serene and calm. Thats because she had come to know that her
grief was nothing but a dream, a mere phantom. I like the dead, Mr. Savva.
I think the dead really exist.
SAVVA
I dont like the dead. (Impatiently)
You are a very disagreeable fellow. Has anybody ever told you that?
SPERANSKY
Yes, I have, heard it before.
SAVVA
I would never have taken you out of the noose. What
damn fool did it anyway?
SPERANSKY
The first time it was the Father Steward, the next time my
classmates. I am very sorry you disapprove of me, Mr. Tropinin. As
you are an educated man, I should have liked to show you a bit of writing I did
while I was in the seminary. Its called The Tramp of Death. Its
a sort of story.
SAVVA
No, spare me, please. Altogether I wish youd
FRIAR. (rising)
There comes Father Kirill. I had better beat it.
SAVVA
Why?
FRIAR
He came across me in the forest the other day when I
was-shouting Ho! Ho! Ah, said he, you forest sprite with goats
feet! To-morrow after dinner, all right? (Walks away, sedately at first, but
then with a sort of dancing step)
FAT MONK (approaches)
Well, young men, having a pleasant chat? Are you Mr. Tropinins son?
SAVVA
I am the man.
FAT MONK
I have heard about you. A decent, respectable gentleman
your father is. May I sit down? (He sits down) The sun has set, yet
its still hot. I wonder if well have a storm to-night. Well, young
man, how do you like it here? How does this place compare with the
metropolis?
SAVVA
Its a rich monastery.
FAT MONK
Yes, thank the Lord. Its celebrated all over Russia.
There are many who come here even from Siberia. Its fame reaches far.
Therell soon be a feast-day, and
SPERANSKY
Youll work yourself sick, father. Services day and
night.
FAT MONK
Yes, we must do our best for the monastery.
SAVVA
Not for the people?
FAT MONK
Yes, for the people too. For whom else? Last year
a large number of epileptics were cured; quite a lot of them. One blind
man had his eyesight restored, and two paralytics were made to walk.
Youll see for yourself, young man, and then you wont smile. I have heard
that you are an unbeliever.
SAVVA
You have heard correctly. I am an unbeliever.
FAT MONK
Its a shame, a shame. Of course, there are many
unbelievers nowadays among the educated classes. But are they any happier
on that account? I doubt it.
SAVVA
No, there are not so many. They think they are
unbelievers because they dont go to church. As a matter of fact, they
have greater faith than you. Its more deep-seated.
FAT MONK
Is that so?
SAVVA
Yes, yes. The form of their faith is, of course, more
refined. They are cultured, you see.
FAT MONK
Of course, of course. People feel better, feel more
confident and secure, if they believe.
SAVVA
They say the devil is choking the monks here every night.
FAT MONK (laughing)
Nonsense. (To the Gray Monk passing by) Father
Vissarion, come here a moment. Sit down. Mr. Tropinins son here
says the devil chokes us every night. Have you heard about it? (The two
monks laugh good-naturedly as they look at each other)
GRAY MONK
Some of the monks cant sleep well because they have
overeaten, so they think they are being choked. Why, young man, the devil
cant enter within our sacred precincts.
SAVVA
But suppose he does suddenly put in an appearance? What
will, you do then?
FAT MONK
Well get after him with the holy-water sprinkler, thats
what well do. Dont butt in where you have no business to, you
black-faced booby! (The monk laughs)
GRAY MONK
Here comes King Herod.
FAT MONK
Wait a while, Father Vissarion. (To Savva) You talk
about faith and such things. Theres a man for youlook at himsee how
he walks. And yet he has chains on him weighing four hundred pounds.
He doesnt walk, he dances. He visits us every summer, and I must say he
is a very valuable guest. His example strengthens others in their faith.
Herod! Ho, Herod!
KING HEROD
What do you want?
FAT MONK
Come here a minute. This gentleman doubts the existence
of God. Talk to him.
KING HEROD
Whats the matter with yourself? Are you so full of
booze that you cant wag your own tongue?
FAT MONK
You heretic! What a heretic! (Both monks laugh)
KING HEROD (approaching)
What gentleman?
FAT MONK
This one.
KING HEROD (scrutinizing him)
He doubts? Let him doubt. Its none of my business.
SAVVA
Oh!
KING HEROD
Why, what did you think?
FAT MONK
Sit down, please.
KING HEROD
Never mind. Id rather stand.
FAT MONK (to Savva, in a loud whisper)
He is doing that to wear himself out. Until he has
reduced himself to absolute faintness hell neither sleep nor eat. (Aloud)
This gentleman is wondering at the kind of chains you have on your body.
KING HEROD
Chains? Just baby rattles. Put them on a horse
and he too would carry them if he had the strength. I have a sad heart.
(Looks at Savva) You know, I killed my own son. Yes, I did. Have
they been telling you about me, these chatterboxes?
SAVVA
They have.
KING HEROD
Can you understand it?
SAVVA
Why not? Yes, I can.
KING HEROD
You lieyou cant. No one can understand it. Go
through the whole world, search round the whole globe, ask everybodyno one
will be able to tell you, no one will understand. And if anyone says he
does, take it from me that he lies, lies just as you do. Why, you cant
even see your own nose properly, yet you have the brazenness to say you
understand. Go. You are a foolish boy, thats what you are.
SAVVA
And you are wise?
KING HEROD
I am wise. My sorrow has made me so. It is a
great sorrow. There is none greater on earth. I killed my son with
my own hand. Not the hand you are looking at, but the one which isnt
here.
SAVVA
Where is it?
KING HEROD
I burnt it. I held it in the stove and let it burn up
to my elbow.
SAVVA
Did that relieve you?
KING HEROD
No. Fire cannot destroy my grief. It burns with a
heat that is greater than fire.
SAVVA
Fire, brother, destroys everything.
KING HEROD
No, young man, fire is weak. Spit on it and it is
quenched.
SAVVA
What fire? It is possible to kindle such a
conflagration that an ocean of water will not quench it.
KING HEROD
No, boy. Every fire goes out when its time comes.
My grief is great, so great that when I look around me I say to myself:
Good heavens, what has become of everything else thats large and great?
Where has it all gone to? The forest is small, the house is small, the
mountain is small, the whole earth is small, a mere poppy seed. You have
to walk cautiously and look out, lest you reach the end and drop off.
FAT MONK (pleased)
Fine, King Herod, you are going it strong.
KING HEROD
Even the sun does not rise for me. For others it rises,
but for me it doesnt. Others dont see the darkness by day, but I see it.
It penetrates the light like dust. At first I seem to see a sort of light,
but thengood heavens, the sky is dark, the earth is dark, all is like soot.
Yonder is something vague and misty. I cant even make out what it is.
Is it a human being, is it a bush? My grief is great, immense! (Grows
pensive) If I cried, who would hear me? If I shouted, who would
respond?
FAT MONK (to the Gray Monk)
The dogs in the village might.
KING HEROD (shaking his head)
O you people! You are looking at me as at a
monstrosityat my hair, my chainsbecause I killed my son and because I am
like King Herod; but my soul you see not, and my grief you know not. You
are as blind as earthworms. You wouldnt know if you were struck with a
beam on the head. Say, you pot-belly, what are you shaking your paunch,
for?
SAVVA
Whythe way he talks to you!
FAT MONK (reassuringly)
Its nothing. He treats us all like that. He upbraids us all.
KING HEROD
Yes, and I will continue to upbraid. Fellows like you
are not fit to serve God. What you ought to do is to sit in a drinkshop
amusing Satan. The devils use your belly to go sleigh-riding on at night.
FAT MONK (good-naturedly)
Well, well, God be with you. You had better speak about
yourself; stick to that.
KING HEROD (to Savva)
You see? He wants to feast on my agony. Go ahead, feast all you
want.
GRAY MONK
My, what a scold you are. Where do you get your
vocabulary? He once told the Father Superior that if God were not immortal
he, the Father Superior, would long ago have sold him piece by piece. But
we tolerate him. He can do no harm in a monastery.
FAT MONK
He attracts people. Many come here for his sake.
And what difference does it make to us? God sees our purity. Isnt
that so, King Herod?
KING HEROD
Oh, shut up, you old dotard. Look at him; he can
scarcely move his legs, old Harry with the evil eye. Keeps three women in
the village; one is not enough for him. (The monks laugh good-naturedly)
You see, you see? Whew! Look at their brazen, shameless eyes!
Might as well spit on them!
SAVVA
Why do you come here?
KING HEROD
Not for them. Listen, young man. Have you a grief?
SAVVA
Perhaps I have. Why?
KING HEROD
Then listen to me. When you are in sorrow, when you are
suffering, dont go to people. If you have a friend, dont go to him.
Its more than youll be able to stand. Better go to the wolves in the
forest. Theyll make short work of it, devour you at once, and there will
be the end of it. I have seen many evil things, but I have never seen
anything worse than man. No, never! They say men are created in His
image, in His likeness. Why, you skunks, you have no image. If you
had one, the tiniest excuse for one, you would crawl away on all fours and hide
somewhere from sheer shame. You damned skunks! Laugh at them, cry
before them, shout, at them. It doesnt make any difference. They go
on licking their chops. King HerodDamned skunks! And when King
Herodnot I, but the real one with a golden crownkilled your children, where
were youhey?
FAT MONK
We werent even in the world then, man.
KING HEROD
Then there were others like you. He killed. You
accepted it. Thats all. I have asked many the question: What
would you have done? Nothing, they always reply. If he killed, what
could be done about it? Fine creatures! Havent the manliness to stand up
even for their children. They are worse than dogs, damn them!
FAT MONK
And what would you have done?
KING HEROD
I? I should have wrung his neck from off his royal gold
crownthe confounded brute!
GRAY MONK
It says in the scripture: Render unto Csar the things
that are Caesars, and to God the things that are Gods.
FAT MONK
That is to say, dont interfere with other peoples business.
Do you understand?
KING HEROD (to Savva in despair)
Just listen, listen to what they are saying.
SAVVA
I hear what they are saying.
KING HEROD
Just you wait, my precious! Youll get whats coming to
you, and mighty quick. The devil will come and hurl you into the fiery
pit. To hell, to gehenna, with you! How your fat will melt
and run! Do you get the smell, monk?
FAT MONK
Thats from the refectory.
KING HEROD
You are on the run, fast as your feet can carry you!
Ah! but where to? Everywhere is hell, everywhere is fire. You
refused to hearken unto me, my pet; now you shall hearken unto the fire.
Wont I be glad, wont I rejoice! Ill take off my chains so that I can
catch them and present them to the devilfirst one, then the other. Here,
take him. And the howl theyll set up, and the weeping and lamentation.
I am not guilty. Not guilty? Who, then, iswho? To
gehenna
with you! Burn, you damned hypocrites, until the second Advent. And
then well build a new fire, then well build a new fire.
GRAY MONK
Isnt it time for us to go, Father Kirill?
FAT MONK
Yes, we had better be moving along. Its getting dark,
and its time to retire.
KING HEROD
Aha! You dont like to hear the truth. It isnt
pleasant, is it?
FAT MONK
Hee-hee, brother, talk is cheap. A barking dog doesnt
bite. Scold away, scold away. We are listening. God in heaven
will decide who is to go to hell and who elsewhere. The meek, shall
inherit the earth, says the Gospel. Good-bye, young gentlemen.
GRAY MONK (to King Herod)
Let me give you a piece of advice, however. Talk, but
dont talk too much. Dont go too far. We are only tolerating you
because you are a pitiful creature and because you are foolish. But if you
give your tongue too free a rein, we can stop it, you know. Yes, indeed.
KING HEROD
All right, trytry to stop me.
FAT MONK
Whats the use, Father Vissarion? Let him talk.
It doesnt do any harm. Listen, listen, young gentlemen. He is an
interesting fellow. Good night.
[They go. The Fat Monk is heard laughing heartily.
KING HEROD (to Savva)
Fine specimens. I cant stand them.
SAVVA
I like you, uncle.
KING HEROD
Do you? So you dont like their kind either?
SAVVA
No, I dont.
KING HEROD
Well, Ill sit down for a while. My legs are swollen.
Have you got a cigarette?
SAVVA (handing him a cigarette)
Do you smoke?
KING HEROD
Sometimes. Excuse me for having talked to you the way I
did before. You are a good fellow. But why did you lie and say you
understood? No one can understand it. Who is this with you?
SAVVA
Oh, he just happened along.
KING HEROD
Well, brother, feeling bad, down in the mouth?
SPERANSKY
Yes, I feel blue.
KING HEROD
Keep still, keep still, I dont want to listen. You are
suffering? Keep still. I am a man too, brother, so I dont
understand. Ill insult you if you dont look out. (Throws away the
cigarette) No, I cant. As long as I keep standing or walking I manage
somehow. The moment I sit down, its hell. Oh! Ow-w!
(Writhing in agony)
I simply cant catch my breath. Oh, God, do you see my torture? Eh?
Well, well, its nothing. Its gone. Oh! Ow-w!
[The sky has become overcast with clouds. It turns
dark quickly. Now and then there are flashes of lightning.
SAVVA (quietly)
One must try to stifle ones grief, old man. Fight it.
Say to yourself firmly and resolutely: I dont want it. And it
will cease to be. You seem to be a good, strong man.
KING HEROD
No, friend, my grief is such that even death wont remove it.
What is death? It is little, insignificant, and my grief is great.
No, death wont end my grief. There was Cain. Even when he died, his
sorrow remained.
SPERANSKY
The dead do not grieve. They are serene. They
know the truth.
KING HEROD
But they dont tell it to anybody. Whats the good of
such truth? Here am I alive, and yet I know the truth. Here am I
with my sorrow. You see what it isthere is no greater on earth.
And yet if God spoke to me and said, Yeremey, I will give you the whole earth
if you give me your grief, I wouldnt give it away. I will not give it
away, friend. It is sweeter to me than honey; it is stronger than the
strongest drink. Through it I have learned the truth.
SAVVA
God?
KING HEROD
Christthats the one! He alone can understand the
sorrow that is in me. He sees and understands. Yes, Yeremey, I see
how you suffer. Thats all. I see. And I answer Him:
Yes, O Lord, behold my sorrow! Thats all. No more is necessary.
SAVVA
What you value in Christ is His suffering for the people, is
that it?
KING HEROD
You mean his crucifixion? No, brother, that suffering
was a trifle. They crucified Himwhat did that matter? The
important point was that thereby He came to know the truth. As long as He
walked the earth, He waswella man, rather a good mantalking here and there
about this and that. When He met someone, He would talk to him about this
and that, teach him, and tell him a few good things to put him on the right
track. But when these same fellows carried Him off to the cross and went
at Him with knouts, whips, and lashes, then His eyes were opened.
Aha! He said, so thats what it is! And He prayed: I cannot endure
such suffering. I thought it would be a simple crucifixion; but, O Father
in Heaven, what is this? And the Father said to Him: Never mind, never
mind, Son! Know the truth, know what it is. And from then on, He
fell to sorrowing, and has been sorrowing to this day.
SAVVA
Sorrowing?
KING HEROD
Yes, friend, he is sorrowing. (Pause. Lightning)
SPERANSKY
It looks like rain, and I am without rubbers and umbrella.
KING HEROD
And everywhere, wheresoever I go, wheresoever I turn, I see
before me His pure visage. Do you understand my suffering, O Lord? I
understand, Yeremey, I understand everything. Go your way in peace.
I am to Him like a transparent crystal with a tear inside. You
understand, Lord? I understand, Yeremey. Well, and I understand you
too. So we live together. He with me, I with Him. I am sorry
for Him also. When I die, I will transmit my sorrow to Him. Take
it, Lord.
SAVVA
But after all, you are not quite right in running down the
people the way you do. There are some good men alsovery fewbut there
are some. Otherwise it wouldnt be of any use to live.
KING HEROD
No, friend, there are none. I dont want to fool
youthere are none. You know, it was they who christened me with the name
of King Herod.
SAVVA
Who?
KING HEROD
Why, your people. There is no beast more cruel than
man. I killed my boy, so I am King Herod to them. Damn them, it
never enters their minds how terrible it is for me to be burdened with such a
nick-name. Herod! If they only called me so out of spite! But
not at all.
SAVVA
What is your real name?
KING HEROD
Yeremey. Thats my nameYeremey. But they call
me Herod, carefully adding King, so that there may be no mistake. Look,
there comes another monk, a plague on him. Say, did you ever see His
countenance?
SAVVA
I did.
KING HEROD
And did you see His eyes? No? Then look, try to
see themWhere is he off to, the bat? To the village to his women.
KONDRATY (enters)
Peace be with you, honest folks. Good evening, Savva.
To what lucky chance do I owe this meeting?
KING HEROD
Look, monk, the devils tail is sticking out of your pocket.
KONDRATY
It isnt the devils tail, its a radish. Youre very
clever, but you didnt hit it right that time.
KING HEROD (spitting in disgust)
I cant bear to look at them. They turn my stomach. Good-bye,
friend.
Remember what I told you. When you are in sorrow, dont go to people.
SAVVA
All right, uncle, I understand.
KING HEROD
Rather go to the forest to the wolves.
(Goes out; his voice is heard out of the darkness)
Oh, Lord, do you see?
KONDRATY
A narrow-minded fool. Killed his son and puts on airs.
You cant get by him. He wont let you alone. Its something to be
proud of, isnt it, to have killed ones own son? A great thing.
SPERANSKY (with a sigh)
No, Father Kondraty, you are mistaken. He is a happy
man. If his son were brought to life this moment, he would instantly kill
him. He wouldnt give him five minutes to live. But of course when
he dies, hell know the truth.
KONDRATY
Thats what I said, you fool. If it were a cat he
killed, he might have some reason to be proudbut his own son! What are
you thinking about, Savva Yegorovich?
SAVVA
I am waiting. I should like to know how soon this
gentleman will go. The devil brought him, I think. Now, here comes
someone else. (Peers into the darkness)
LIPA (approaching. She stops and hesitates)
Is that you, Savva?
SAVVA
Yes, and is that you? What do you want? I dont
like people to follow me everywhere I go, sister.
LIPA
The gate to this place is open. Everybody has a right
to come in. Mr. Speransky, Tony has been asking for you. He wants
the seminarist, he says.
SAVVA
There, go togethera jolly pair. Good-bye, sir,
good-bye.
SPERANSKY
Good-bye. I hope Ill see you soon again, Mr. Savva,
and have another talk.
SAVVA
No, dont try, please. Abandon the hope. Good-bye.
LIPA
How rude you are, Savva. Come, Mr. Speransky.
They have business of their own to attend to.
SPERANSKY
Still I havent given up hope. Good-bye.
(Goes out)
SAVVA
Just grabbed me and stuckthe devil take him!
KONDRATY (laughing)
Yes, he is a sticker from the word go. If he likes you,
you cant shake him off. Hell follow you everywhere. We call him
the shadowpartly, I suppose, because he is so thin. He has taken a
fancy to you, so youll have a time of it. Hell stick to you like a
leech.
SAVVA
I am not in the habit of wasting a lot of words. Ill
give him the slip without much ceremony.
KONDRATY
They have, even tried beating him, but it doesnt do any
good. He is known here for miles around. He is a character.
[A pause. Lightning. Every now and then is
heard the roll of distant thunder.
SAVVA
Why did you tell me to meet you here in this public place
where everyone may come? They fell on me like a swarm of fleasmonks and
all sorts of imbciles. Id rather have spoken to you in the woods,
where we could be let alone.
KONDRATY
I did it to escape suspicion. If I went with you to the
woods theyd say: What has a God-fearing man like Kondraty got to do with
such a fellow? I hope you pardon! Why is he so thick with him? I
purposely timed my coming so that theyd see us together with others.
SAVVA (looking fixedly at him)
Well?
KONDRATY (turning away his eyes and shrugging his
shoulders) I cant.
SAVVA
You are afraid?
KONDRATY
To tell the truth, I am.
SAVVA
Youre no good, old chap.
KONDRATY
Perhaps not. You have a right to draw your own
conclusions. (Pause)
SAVVA
But what are you afraid of, you booby? The machine is
not dangerous. It wont hurt you. All you have to do is to put it in
the right place, set it off, and then you can go to the village to your
mistresses.
KONDRATY
Thats not the point.
SAVVA
What then? Are you afraid of being caught? But I
told you, if anything should happen, Ill take the guilt on myself. Dont
you believe me?
KONDRATY
Why, of course I believe you.
SAVVA
What then? Do you fear God?
KONDRATY
Yes, I do.
SAVVA
But you dont believe in Godyou believe in the devil.
KONDRATY
Who knows? Maybe some day Ill suddenly discover that
He does exist. In that case, Mr. Savva, I thank you, but Id rather not.
Why should I? I live a nice, quiet existence. Of course, its all a
humbug, an imposition. But what business is it of mine? The people
want to believelet them. It wasnt I who invented God.
SAVVA
Look here. You know I could have done it myself.
All I need have done was to take a bomb and throw it into the procession.
Thats all. But that would mean the killing of many people, which at the
present juncture would serve no useful purpose. I therefore ask you to do
it. If you refuse, then the blood will rest on you. You understand?
KONDRATY
Why on me? I am not going to throw the bomb. And
then, what have I got to do with themI mean the people that get killed?
What concern are they of mine? There are plenty of people in the world.
You cant kill them all, no matter how many bombs you throw.
SAVVA
Arent you sorry for them?
KONDRATY
If I were to be sorry for everybody, I should have no
sympathy left for myself.
SAVVA
Thats right. You are a bright man. You have a
good mind. I have already told you so. And yet you hesitate.
You are clever, and yet you are afraid to smash a piece of wood.
KONDRATY
If it is nothing but a piece of wood, then why go to so much
trouble about it? The point is, it is not a piece of wood, it is an image.
SAVVA
For me it is a piece of wood. For the people it is a
sacred object. That is why I want to destroy it. Imagine how theyll
open their mouths and stare. Ah, brother, if you were not a coward, I
would tell you some things.
KONDRATY
Go ahead and talk. Its no sin to listen. I am
not a coward either. I am simply careful.
SAVVA
This would only be the beginning, brother.
KONDRATY
A good beginning, I wont deny it. And what will be the
end?
SAVVA
The earth stripped naked, a tabula rasa, do you
understand? And on this naked earth, naked man, naked as his mother bore
him. No breeches on him, no orders, no pockets, nothing. Imagine men
without pockets. Queer, isnt it? Yes indeed, brother, the ikon is
only the beginning.
KONDRATY
Oh, theyll make new ones.
SAVVA
But they wont be the same as before. And theyll never
forget this muchthat dynamite is mightier than their God, and that man is
mightier than dynamite. Look at them; see them yonder praying and
kneeling, not daring to raise their heads and look you straight in the face,
mean slaves that they are! Then comes a real man, and smash goes the whole
humbug. Done for!
KONDRATY
Really!
SAVVA
And when a dozen of their idols have gone the same way, the
slaves will begin to understand that the kingdom of their God is at an end, and
that the kingdom of man has come. Lots of them will drop from sheer
terror. Some will lose their wits, and others will throw themselves into
the fire. Theyll say that Antichrist has come. Think of it,
Kondraty!
KONDRATY
And arent you sorry for them?
SAVVA
Sorry for them? Why, they built a prison for me, and I
am to be sorry for them. They put me in a torture chamber, and I am to be
sorry for them. Bah!
KONDRATY
Who are you to be above pity?
SAVVA
I? I am a man who have been born. And having been
born, I began to look about. I saw churches and penitentiaries. I
saw universities and houses of prostitution. I saw factories and picture
galleries. I saw palaces and filthy dens. I calculated the number of
prisons there are to each gallery, and I resolved that the whole edifice must
go, the whole of it must be overturned, annihilated. And we are going to
do it. Our day of reckoning has come. It is time.
KONDRATY
Who are we?
SAVVA
I, you Kondraty, and others.
KONDRATY
The people are stupid. They wont understand.
SAVVA
When the conflagration rages all around them, they will
understand. Fire is a good teacher, old boy. Have you ever heard of
Raphael?
KONDRATY
No, I havent.
SAVVA
Well, when we are through with God, well go for fellows like
him. There are lots of themTitian, Shakespeare, Byron. Well make
a nice pile of the whole lot and pour oil over it. Then well burn their
cities.
KONDRATY
Now, now you are joking. How is that possible?
How can you burn the cities?
SAVVA
No, why should I be joking? All the cities. Look
here, what are their cities? Graves, stone graves. And if you dont
stop those fools, if you let them go on making more, they will cover the whole
earth with stone, and then all will suffocateall.
KONDRATY
The poor people will have a hard time of it.
SAVVA
All will be poor then. What is it that makes a man
rich? His having a house and money, and the fact that he has surrounded
himself with a fence. But when there are no houses, no money, and no
fences
KONDRATY
Thats so. And there wont be any legal papers either,
no stocks, no bonds, no title-deeds. They will all have been burnt up.
SAVVA
No, there will be no legal papers. Its work
thenyoull have to go to work even if you are a nobleman.
KONDRATY (laughing)
Its funny. All will be naked as when coming out of a bath.
SAVVA
Are you a peasant, Kondraty?
KONDRATY
Yes, I am a peasant, sure enough.
SAVVA
I am a peasant also. We have nothing to lose, brother.
We cant fare worse than we do now.
KONDRATY
How could it be worse? But a great many people will
perish, Mr. Tropinin.
SAVVA
It makes no difference. Therell be enough left.
It is the good-for-nothings that will perish, the fools to whom this life is
like a shell to a crab. Those who believe will perish, because their faith
will be taken away from them. Those who love the old will perish, because
everything will be taken away from them. The weak, the sick, those who
love quietness. There will be no quietness in the world, brother.
There will remain only the free and the brave, those with young and eager souls
and clear eyes that can embrace the whole universe.
KONDRATY
Like yours? I am afraid of your eyes, Savva Yegorovich,
especially in the dark.
SAVVA
Yes, like mine. And emancipated from everything, naked,
armed only with their reason, they will deliberate; discuss, talk things over,
and build up a new life, a good life, Kondraty, where every man may breathe
freely.
KONDRATY
Its interesting. But men are sly creatures.
Something of the old will be left over. Theyll hide it, or try some other
trick, and then behold! back they slide to the old again, everything just as it
was, just as of old. What then?
SAVVA
Just as of old? (Gloomily)
Then they will have to be wiped clean off the face of the earth. Let there
be no living human being on earth. Enough of it!
KONDRATY (shaking his head)
But
SAVVA (putting his hand on his shoulder)
Believe me, monk, I have been in many cities and in many
lands, Nowhere did I see a free man. I saw only slaves. I saw the
cages in which they live, the beds on which they are born and die; I saw their
hatreds and their loves, their sins and their good works. And I saw also
their amusements, their pitiful attempts to bring dead joy back to life again.
And everything that I saw bore the stamp of stupidity and unreason. He
that is born wise turns stupid in their midst; he that is born cheerful hangs
himself from boredom and sticks out his tongue at them. Amidst the flowers
of the beautiful earthyou have no idea how beautiful the earth is, monkthey
have erected insane asylums. And what are they doing with their children?
I have never yet seen parents that do not deserve capital punishment; first
because they begot children, and secondly because, having begot them, they did
not immediately commit suicide.
KONDRATY
Good heavens, how you talk! Hearing you, one hardly
knows what to think.
SAVVA
And how they lie, how they lie, monk! They dont kill
the truthno, they kick her and bruise her daily, and smear her clean face with
their dirt and filth so that no one may recognize her, so that the children may
not love her, and so that she may have no refuge. In all the worldyes,
monk, in all the worldthere is no place for truth. (Sinks into meditation.
Pause)
KONDRATY
Is there no other waywithout fire? Its terrible,
Savva Yegorovich. Consider what it means! Its the end of the world.
SAVVA
No, it cant be helped, partner. It must be. The
end of the world must come too. They were treated with medicine, and it
did no good. They were treated with iron, and it did no good. Now
they must be treated with firefire!
[Pause. Lightning flashes. The thunder has
ceased. Somewhere outside a watchman can be heard striking his iron rod.
KONDRATY
And therell be no drinkshops either?
SAVVA (pensively)
No, nothing.
KONDRATY
Theyll start drinkshops again all right. Cant get
along without them, you know. (A prolonged pause) Ye-es.
What are you thinking about, Savva Yegorovich?
SAVVA
Nothing. (Draws a light breath, cheerfully) Well,
Kondraty, shall we begin?
KONDRATY (swaying his head to and fro)
Its a mighty hard problem you have put up to me. Its a poser.
SAVVA
Never mind, dont get shaky now. You are a sensible
man; you know it cant be helped; there is nothing else to do. Would I be
doing it myself, if it were not necessary? You can see that, cant you?
KONDRATY (heaving a sigh)
Ye-es, hm! Why, Mr. Tropininwhy, my
dear fellowdont I know, dont I understand it all? Its a rotten,
cursed life! Ah, Mr. Savva, Mr. Savvalook here. If I were to tell
anyone that I am a good man, theyd laugh and say: What are you lying
for, you drunkard? Kondraty a good man! It sounds like a joke even to
myself. And yet I swear to you, by God, I am a good man! I dont
know how it happened the way it did, why I am what I am now. I lived and
lived, and suddenly! How it came about, what the reason of it is, I dont
know.
SAVVA
And you are still afraid?
KONDRATY
What am I now? I am neither a candle for God nor a
poker for the devil. Sometimes when I think matters overah, Mr. Savva,
do you think I have no conscience? Dont I understand? I understand
everything butI am not really afraid of the devil either. I am just
playing the fool. The devilnonsense! If you were in the place of
us in there, you would understand. Not long ago, when I was drunk, I
cried: Get out, devilout of my wayam a desperate man! I dont care
for anything. I dont care if I die. I am ready. You have
worked at me, Mr. Savva, until I have grown quite soft. (Wipes his eyes with
his sleeves)
SAVVA
Why should you die? I dont want to die either.
We are going to live for some time to come, we are. How old are you?
KONDRATY
Forty-two.
SAVVA
Just the right age.
KONDRATY
I am sorry for the ikon. They say it appeared
miraculously in the river, and thats how it came to be here.
SAVVA
Nonsense. Dont waste your feelings. Its
supposed to be a wonder-working ikon and hasnt one miracle to its credit.
Why, it makes one feel like a fool just to say it.
KONDRATY
They say it has been replaced by the devil, so that it isnt
the real one.
SAVVA
So much the better. And yet you crack your heads in
front of it and fool the people about it. There is no use wasting words,
my friend. Its agreed then.
KONDRATY
You have to go now. The gate will soon be closed.
And all of a sudden
SAVVA
What all of a sudden?
KONDRATY
And all of a sudden Ill be going to the ikon, and it will
strike me down with lightning and thunder. Wont it?
SAVVA (laughing)
Dont be afraid. It wont strike you. Thats what
everybody thinks. They are all afraid theyll be struck by lightning and
thunder. But it wont happen. Believe me, a man may blow up the ikon
and no lightning will strike him. Do you need money?
KONDRATY
Have you got any?
SAVVA
I have.
KONDRATY (suspiciously)
Where did you get it?
SAVVA
What business is that of yours? Suppose I killed a rich
man, or cut somebodys throatare you going to report me to the police?
KONDRATY (reassured)
What are you thinking of, Savva Yegorovich? Thats your
concern. As to your offer, of course, money always comes in handy.
It will enable me to leave the monastery. Ill tell you in confidence, I
have long been nursing a schemeits my dreamto settle somewhere along the
road and start an inn. I like company. I am a talkative chap myself.
I know Ill succeed. It doesnt hurt a host to have a drink now and then.
The guests like it. With a jolly host youll spend every penny you have,
and your pants besides, and you wont notice it. I know by personal
experience.
SAVVA
Why not? You can start an inn if you want to.
KONDRATY
And besides, I am still in the full vigor of manhood.
Instead of sinning here, Id rather get legally married.
SAVVA
Dont forget to invite me to the wedding. Ill act as
your godfather.
KONDRATY
You are too young. As to the moneywhen shall it be,
before or after?
SAVVA
Judas got his before.
KONDRATY (offended)
There now, when you should be doing your best to persuade me,
you call me Judas. It isnt pleasant. The idea of calling a living
man Judas!
SAVVA
Judas was a fool. He hanged himself. You are
going to start an inn.
KONDRATY
Again? If thats what you think of me
SAVVA (slapping his shoulders)
Well, well, uncle, dont you see Im joking? Judas
betrayed a man, and you are not going to betray anything but lumber. Is
that right, old man? Speransky and Tony appear, the latter walking very
unsteadily.
KONDRATY
Therebrought by the devil! With us carrying on this
kind of conversation, and they
SAVVA
Its agreed then?
KONDRATY
Oh, youre too much for me.
SPERANSKY (bowing)
Good evening once more, Mr. Savva Tropinin. Mr. Anthony
and myself have just been at the other end, in the cemetery. A woman was
buried there to-day, so we wanted to have a look.
SAVVA
To see if she hadnt crawled out of her grave? What are
you dragging him along with you for? Tony, go to bed, you cant stand on
your feet.
TONY
I wont go.
SPERANSKY
Tony is very excited to-day. He sees all kinds of
faces.
SAVVA
Funny faces?
TONY
Yes, funny. What else can you expect? (Sadly)
Your face, Savva, is very, very funny.
SAVVA
All right, go along with you! Take him home. What
are you dragging him about with you for?
SPERANSKY
Good-bye. Come along, Mr. Anthony.
[Speransky goes out. Tony follows him, looking back
at Savva, and stumbling as he goes along. They disappear in the dark.
KONDRATY
Its time for us also to be going. Have you got that
money at hand?
SAVVA
Yes, I have. Now listen. Sunday is the feast-day.
You are to take the machine Saturday morning and plant it at night at half past
eleven, four days from now. Ill show you how to do it and everything else
thats necessary. Four days more. I am sick of staying in this
place.
KONDRATY
And suppose I betray you?
SAVVA (darkly)
Then Id kill you.
KONDRATY
Good heavens!
SAVVA
Now I am going to kill you if you merely try to back out.
You know too much, brother.
KONDRATY
You are joking.
SAVVA
Maybe I am joking. I am such a jolly fellow. I
like to laugh.
KONDRATY
When you first came here, you were gay. Tell me, Mr.
Savva (looking around cautiously), did you ever kill a man, a real live
man?
SAVVA
I did. I cut the throat of that rich business man I
told you about.
KONDRATY (waving his hand)
Now I see that you are joking. Well, good-bye, I am
going. Dont you hang around here either. The gate will soon be
closed. Oh, myI am never afraidbut just as soon as I begin to think of
the hall, its awful. There are shadows there now. Good night.
SAVVA
Good night.
[Kondraty disappears in the dark. Lightning.
Savva remains leaning on the railing to stare at the white tombstones that are
momentarily revealed by the flashes of lightning.
SAVVA (to the graves)
Well, you dead ones, are you going to turn over in your
graves or not? For some reason I dont feel very cheerfuloh, ye deadI
dont feel the least bit cheerful. (Lightning)
CURTAIN