A festively decorated room with three windows to the
street. One window is open, but the curtain is drawn. An open door,
painted dark, leads into the room seen in the first act.
It is night and dark. Through the windows can be heard
the continuous tramp of the pilgrims on their way to the monastery for the next
days celebration. Some are barefoot; some wear boots or bast shoes.
Their steps are quick and eager, or slow and weary. They walk singly or in
groups of two or three, the majority in silence, though now and then suppressed,
indistinct talking may be heard. Starting from somewhere far off to the
left, the sound of the footsteps and the talking, muffled at first, approaches
and grows louder, until at times it seems to fill the whole room. Then it
dies away in the distance again. The impression is that of some tremendous
movement, elemental and irrepressible.
At the table, lighted only by a flickering stump of a tallow
candle, sit Speransky and Tony. The latter is very drunk. Cucumbers,
herring, and bottles of whiskey are on the table. The rest of the room is
entirely dark. Occasionally the wind blows the white curtain at the window
and sets the candle flame tossing.
Tony and Speransky talk in whispers. A prolonged pause
follows the rise of the curtain._
TONY (bending over to Speransky, mysteriously)
So you say it is possible we do not exist, eh?
SPERANSKY (in the same manner)
As I have already stated, it is doubtful, extremely doubtful.
There is very good reason to suppose that we really do not existthat we dont
exist at all.
TONY
And you are not, and I am not.
SPERANSKY
And you are not, and I am not. No one is. (Pause)
TONY (looking around, mysteriously)
Where are we then?
SPERANSKY
We?
TONY
Yes, we.
SPERANSKY
Thats something no one can tell. No one knows, Anthony.
TONY
No one?
SPERANSKY
No one.
TONY (glancing around)
Doesnt Savva know?
SPERANSKY
No, Savva doesnt know either.
TONY
Savva knows everything.
SPERANSKY
But even he doesnt know that.
TONY (threatening with his finger)
Keep still, keep still! (Both look around and are silent)
TONY (mysteriously)
Where are they going, eh?
SPERANSKY
To the elevation of the ikon. To-morrow is a
feast-daythe day of raising the ikon.
TONY
No, I mean where are they really goingreallydont you understand?
SPERANSKY
I do. It isnt known. No one knows, Anthony.
TONY
Hush! (Makes a funny grimace, closes his mouth with his
hand and leans on it)
SPERANSKY (in a whisper)
Whats the matter?
TONY
Keep quiet, keep quiet. Listen. (Both are listening)
TONY (in whisper)
Those are faces.
SPERANSKY
Yes?
TONY
Its faces that are going. A lot of facescant you see them?
SPERANSKY (staring)
No, I cant.
TONY
But I can. There they are, laughing. Why arent you laughing, eh?
SPERANSKY
I feel very despondent.
TONY
Laugh. You must laugh. Everybody is laughing.
Hush, hush! (Pause) Listen, nobody exists, nobodydo you understand?
There is no God, there is no man, there are no animals. Here is the
tableit doesnt exist. Here is the candleit doesnt exist. The
only things that exist are facesyou understand? Keep quiet, keep quiet.
I am very much afraid.
SPERANSKY
What are you afraid of?
TONY (bending near to Speransky)
That Ill die of laughter.
SPERANSKY
Really?
TONY (shaking his head affirmatively)
Yes, that Ill die of laughter. I am afraid that some
day Ill catch sight of a face which will send me off roaring with laughter; and
Ill roar and roar until I die. Keep quiet. I know.
SPERANSKY
You never laugh
TONY
I am always laughing, but you dont see it. Its
nothing. The only thing I am afraid is that Ill die. Ill come
across a face one of these days which will start me off in a fit of laughter,
and Ill laugh and laugh and laugh and wont be able to stop. Yes, its
coming, its coming. (Wipes his chest and neck)
SPERANSKY
The dead know everything.
TONY (mysteriously, with awe)
I am afraid of Savvas face. Its a very funny face.
One could die laughing over it. The point is that you cant stop
laughingthats the principal thing. You laugh and laugh and laugh.
Is there nobody here?
SPERANSKY
Apparently no.
TONY
Keep quiet, keep quiet, I know. Keep quiet. (Pause;
the tramp of the pilgrims footsteps grows louder, as if they were walking in
the very room itself) Are they going?
SPERANSKY
Yes, they are going. (Pause)
TONY
I like you. Sing me that song of yours. Ill listen.
SPERANSKY
With your permission, Anthony. (Sings in an undertone,
almost in a whisper, a dismal, long-drawn-out tune somewhat resembling a litany)
Lifes a sham, tis false, untrue,
Death alone is true, aye, true.
(With increasing caution and pedantry, shaking his finger
as if imparting a secret)
All things tumble, vanish, break,
Death is sure to overtake
Outcast, tramp, and tiniest fly
Unperceived by naked eye.
TONY
What?
SPERANSKY
Unperceived by naked eye,
Wheedling, coaxing, courting, wooing,
Death weds all to their undoing
And the myth of life is ended.
Thats all, Anthony.
TONY
Keep still, keep still. You have sung your songnow
keep quiet.
[Lipa enters, opens the window, removes the flowers, and
looks out into the street. Then she lights the lamp.
TONY
Who is it? Is that you, Lipa? Lipa, eh, Lipa,
where are they going?
LIPA
They are coming here for the feast-day. You had better
go to bed, Tony, or father will see you and scold you.
SPERANSKY
Big crowds, arent they?
LIPA
Yes. But its so dark, you cant see. Why are you
so pale, Mr. Speransky? It is positively painful to look at you.
SPERANSKY
Thats how I feel, Miss Lipa.
[A cautious knock is heard at the window.
LIPA (opening the window)
Who is there?
TONY (to Speransky)
Keep quiet, keep quiet.
KING FRIAR (thrusting his smiling face through the window) Is Savva
Yegorovich in? I wanted to ask him to come with me to the woods.
LIPA
No. Arent you ashamed of yourself, Vassya?
To-morrow is a big feast-day in your monastery and you
YOUNG FRIAR (smiling)
There are plenty of people in the monastery without me.
Please tell Mr. Savva that I have gone to the ravine to catch fireflies.
Ask him to call out: Ho, ho!
LIPA
What do you want fireflies for?
YOUNG FRIAR
Why, to scare the monks with. Ill put two fireflies
next to each other like eyes, and theyll think its, the devil. Tell him,
please, to call: Ho, ho, ho!
(He disappears in the darkness)
LIPA (shouting after him)
He cant come to-day. (To Speransky)
Gone alreadyran off.
SPERANSKY
They buried three in the cemetery to-day, Miss Olympiada.
LIPA
Have you seen Savva?
SPERANSKY
No, I am sorry to say I havent. I say, they buried
three people to-day. One old manperhaps you knew himPeter Khvorostov?
LIPA
Yes, I knew him. So hes dead?
SPERANSKY
Yes, and two children. The women wept a great deal.
LIPA
What did they die of?
SPERANSKY
I am sorry, but I dont know. It didnt interest me.
Some childrens disease, I suppose. When children die, Miss Olympiada,
they turn all blue and look as if they wanted to cry. The faces of grown
people are tranquil, but childrens faces are not. Why is that so?
LIPA
I dont knowIve never noticed it.
SPERANSKY
Its a very interesting phenomenon.
LIPA
Theres father now. I told you to go to bed. Now
Ive got to listen to your brawling. Ill get out.
(Exit. Enter Yegor Tropinin)
YEGOR
Who lighted the lamp?
SPERANSKY
Good evening, Mr. Tropinin.
YEGOR
Good evening. Who lighted the lamp?
SPERANSKY
Miss Olympiada.
YEGOR (blowing it out)
Learned it from Savva. (To Tony)
And you, whats the matter with you? How long, how long, for Christs
sake? How long am I to stand all this from you, you good-for-nothing
loafers? Eh? Where did you get the whiskey, eh?
TONY
At the bar.
YEGOR
It wasnt put there for you, was it?
TONY
You have a very funny face, father.
YEGOR
Give me the whiskey.
TONY
I wont.
YEGOR
Give here!
TONY
I wont.
YEGOR (slaps his face)
Give it to me, I say.
TONY (falls on the sofa, still holding on to the bottle)
I wont.
YEGOR (sitting down, calmly)
All right, swill until you bust, devil. What was I
saying? That fool put it out of my head. Oh yes, the pilgrims are
going, it strong this time. Its been a bad year for the crops.
Thats another reason, I suppose. Theres no grub, they have nothing to
eat, and so theyll pray. If God listened to every fools prayer, wed
have a fine time of it. If he listened to every fool, what chance would
the wise man have? A fool remains a fool. Thats why he is called a
fool.
SPERANSKY
Thats correct.
YEGOR
I should say it is correct. Father Parfeny is a smart
man. He flim-flams them all right. He put up a new coffindid you
hear that? The old one has all been eaten away by the pilgrims, so he put
a new one into its place. It was old, so he put a new one instead.
Theyll eat that one away. No matter what you give themTony, are you
drinking again?
TONY
I am.
YEGOR
I am! I am! Ill hand you out another one in a
moment and well see what you say then.
[Enter Savva, looking very gay and lively. He stoops
less than usual, talks rapidly, and looks sharp and straight, but his gaze does
not rest long on the same person or object.
SAVVA
Ah, the philosophers! Father! A worthy
assemblage. Why do you keep it so dark here, like some hell-hole with a
lot of rats in it? A philosopher has to have light. The dark is good
only for going through peoples pockets. Where is the lamp? Oh, here
it is. (He lights the lamp)
YEGOR (ironically)
Perhaps youll open the windows too?
SAVVA
Quite right. Ill open the windows also. (Opens
them) My, how they keep pouring in!
SPERANSKY
A whole army.
SAVVA
And all of them will die in time and acquire peace. And
then theyll know the truth, for it never comes except in the society of worms.
Have I got the essence of your optimistic philosophy down right, my thin, lean
friend?
SPERANSKY (with a sigh)
You are always joking.
SAVVA.
And you are always moping. Look here now. What
with the poor, scanty fare the deacons wife doles out to you and your constant
grieving, you will soon die, and then your face will assume an expression of
perfect peace. A peaked nose, and all around, stretching in every
direction, a vast expanse of peace. Cant you get some comfort out of
that? Isnt it a consolation to you? Think of it, a tiny island of
nose lapped in an ocean of peace.
SPERANSKY (dejectedly)
You are still joking.
SAVVA
The idea! Who would joke about death? No, when
you die, Ill follow your funeral and proclaim to all: Behold, here is a
man who has come to know the truth. Oh no, Ill rather hang you up as a
banner of truth. And, the more your skin and flesh decompose and crumble,
the more will the truth come out. It will be a most instructive object
lesson, highly educative. Tony, why are you staring at me?
TONY (sadly)
You have a very funny face.
YEGOR
What are they talking about?
SAVVA
Father, whats the matter with your face? Have you
sooted it? It looks as black as Satans.
YEGOR (quickly putting his hand to his face)
Where?
SPERANSKY
They are just making fun. There is nothing on your face, Mr. Tropinin.
YEGOR
The fool! Satan? You are Satan yourself, God forgive me!
SAVVA (making a terrible face and holding up his fingers
in the shape of horns)
I am the devil.
YEGOR
By God, you are the very devil himself!
SAVVA (glancing round the room)
Isnt the devil going to get any dinner to-day? I have
had all I want of sinners. I am surfeited with them. I should like
to have something more appetizing now.
YEGOR
Where were you knocking about at the regular dinner hour?
Youll have to do without dinner now.
SAVVA
I was with the children, father, with the children.
They told me stories. They tell stories splendidly, and they were all
about devils, witches, and the deadyour specialty, philosopher. They
trembled with fear as they told them. Thats why we stayed so long.
They were afraid to go home. Misha was the only one who wasnt scared.
He is a brick. Hes afraid of nothing.
SPERANSKY (indifferently)
What of it? Hell die too.
SAVVA
My dear sir, dont be so funereal. You are like an
undertakers trust. Dont be forever croaking: Die, die, die.
Here, take my father, for instance. Hell soon die; but look at his face,
how pleasant and cheerful it is.
YEGOR
Satan! Youre the devil incarnate!
SPERANSKY
But since we dont know
SAVVA
My good friend, life is such an interesting business.
You understandlife. Come, lets have a game of jackstones to-morrow.
Ill provide the jacks, first-class jacks. (Enter Lipa, unnoticed) And
then you should take gymnastic exercises. I mean it seriously. See
how sunken your chest is. Youll choke of consumption in a year or so.
The deaconess will be glad, but it will create consternation among the dead.
Seriously now. I have taken gymnastic exercises. Look. (He lifts
a heavy chair easily by the leg)
There, you see!
LIPA (laughing aloud)
Ha, ha, ha!
SAVVA (putting the chair down, with a touch of embarrassment)
Whats the matter? I didnt know you were here.
LIPA
You, ought to join the circus as an acrobat.
SAVVA (glumly)
Dont talk nonsense.
LIPA
Are you offended?
SAVVA (suddenly bursting into a good-natured, merry laugh)
Oh, a trifle! All right, the circus, why not? Well both join it,
Speransky and I. Not as acrobats though, but as clowns. How about it?
Can you swallow hot junk? No? Well, Ill teach you. As for
you, Lipa, wont you please let me have something to eat? I havent had
anything since this morning.
YEGOR
A regular Satan, a regular Satan! Hasnt had anything
to eat! Who has ever heard of eating at this hour of the night? Who
has ever seen such a thing?
SAVVA
Ill give you a chance to see it now. Its very
interesting. Wait, Ill teach you also how to swallow hot junk. Ill
make you an expert. Youll be a wonder.
YEGOR
Me? Fool, you cant teach me anything any more.
Tony, give me the whiskey.
TONY
I wont.
YEGOR
The devil take you all! Brought up and fed a lot of(Exit)
LIPA (handing him milk and dark bread)
You seem to be happy to-night?
SAVVA
Yes, I am, and you are happy too.
LIPA (laughing)
I am.
SAVVA
And I am happy. (He drinks the milk with avidity; the
footsteps in the street grow louder, filing the room with their sound, and then
die away again) What a treading and a tramping!
LIPA (looking out of the window)
The weather will be fine to-morrow. As long as I can
remember the sun has always been shining brightly that way.
SAVVA
Hm, yes. Thats good.
LIPA
And when they carry the ikon, it sparkles all over with the
precious stones like fire. Only His face remains gloomy. All the
gems dont give him any pleasure. He is sad and gloomy like the peoples
woe.
SAVVA (coolly)
Hm, yes. Is that so?
LIPA
Just think how many tears have fallen upon Him, how many
sighs and groans He has heard! That alone is enough to make the ikon holy
for all who love and sympathize with the people and understand their soul.
Why, they have nobody except Christ, all those unfortunate, miserable people.
When I was a little girl, I was always waiting for a miracle
SAVVA
It would be interesting.
LIPA
But now I understand that He Himself is waiting for a miracle
from the people. He is waiting for the people to stop fighting, hating,
and destroying each other.
SAVVA
Well, what of it?
LIPA (fixing her gaze upon him)
Nothing. To-morrow youll see for yourself when they
carry Him in the procession. Youll see what effect the mere consciousness
that He is there with them has upon them, how it transforms them, what it does
to them. The whole year round they live a dogs life, in filth,
quarrelling with each other, suffering. On that day all the ugliness seems
to vanish. It is an awful and a joyous day when suddenly you cast away
from yourself all that is superfluous and when you feel so clearly your nearness
to all the unfortunates that are and ever were, and your nearness to God.
SAVVA (abruptly)
What time is it?
SPERANSKY
The clock has just struck a quarter past eleven, if I am not mistaken.
LIPA
Its still early.
SAVVA
Early for what?
LIPA
Nothing. Its still early, thats all.
SAVVA (suspiciously)
What do you mean?
LIPA (defiantly)
What I mean.
SAVVA
Why did you say its still early?
LIPA (paling)
Because its only a little after eleven; but when its twelve
SAVVA (jumping up and going to her quickly; fixing her
with his stare, he speaks slowly, pronouncing every word separately and
distinctly)
So? Is that it? When its twelve(He turns to Speransky without
removing his eyes from Lipa) Listen, you go home.
LIPA (frightened)
No, stay, Mr. Speransky. Please stay, I beg you.
SAVVA
If you dont go at once, Ill throw you out of the window. Well?
SPERANSKY
Excuse me, I never had the faintest ideaI was here with Mr.
Anthony Tropinin. I am going instantly. Where is my hat? I put
it here somewhere
SAVVA
Theres your hat. (Throws it to him)
LIPA (feebly)
Stay here awhile longer, Mr. Speransky. Sit down.
SPERANSKY
No, its late. I must go to bed. Good night, Miss
Olympiada. Good night, Mr. Tropinin. Your brother is asleep already,
I believe. You ought to take him to bed. Im going, Im going.
(Exit)
SAVVA (speaking in a quiet, calm tone; his movements are
heavy and slow, as if his body had suddenly stiffened) You know it?
LIPA
I do.
SAVVA
You know all?
LIPA
All.
SAVVA
Did the monk tell you?
LIPA
He did.
SAVVA
Well?
LIPA (drawing back a little, and raising her hand for
protection)-Well, nothing will happen. Therell be no blowing up.
You understand, Savva, therell be no explosion.
[Pause. Footsteps are heard in the street, and
indistinct talking. Savva turns around. Stooping more than usually,
he takes a turn around the room with peculiar slowness.
SAVVA
Well?
LIPA
Then you had better believe me, brother. Believe me.
SAVVA
Yes?
LIPA
Why that wasI dont know what it wasit was a piece of
madness. Think it over.
SAVVA
Is it really true?
LIPA
Yes, its true. Its all over. You cant help it
any more. There is nothing for you to do.
SAVVA
Tell me how it happened. (Sits down deliberately, his eyes
fixed on Lipa)
LIPA
I guessed a little something long agothat day when you
spoke to meonly I didnt know exactly what it was. And I saw the little
machine too. I have another key to the trunk.
SAVVA
Evidently you have been cut out for a spy. Go on!
LIPA
I am not afraid of insults.
SAVVA
Never mind, never mindgo on.
LIPA
Then I saw that you had frequent talks with that
fellowKondraty.
Yesterday I looked in the trunk again, and the machine wasnt there.
So I understood.
SAVVA
You say you have another key?
LIPA
Yes. The trunk is mine, you know. Well, and to-day
SAVVA
When to-day?
LIPA
Toward eveningI couldnt find Kondraty anywhereI told him
that I knew all. He got very much frightened and told me the rest.
SAVVA
A worthy pairspy and traitor.
LIPA
If you are going to insult me, I wont say another word.
SAVVA
Never mind, never mindgo on.
LIPA
He was going to tell the Father Superior, but I didnt let
him. I didnt want to ruin you.
SAVVA
No?
LIPA
When it was, all over, I understood what a crazy scheme it
wasso crazy that I simply cant think of it as real. It must have been a
nightmare. Its quite impossible. And I began to feel sorry for
you
SAVVA
Yes.
LIPA
I am sorry for you now too. (With tears) Savva,
darling, you are my brother. I have rocked your cradle. My dear
angel, what idea is this you have got into your mind? Why, its
terribleits madness. I understand how hard it must be for you to see
how people live, and so you have resolved on a desperate deed. You have
always been good and kind, and so I can understand you. Dont you think
its hard for me to see this life? Dont you think I suffer myself?
Give me your hand.
SAVVA (pushing her hand away)
He told you he would go to the Superior?
LIPA
But I didnt let him.
SAVVA
Has he got the machine?
LIPA
Hell give it back to you to-morrow. He was afraid to
give it to me. Savva dear, dont look at me like that. I know its
unpleasant for you, but you have a lot of common sense. You cant help
seeing that what you wanted to do was an absurdity, a piece of lunacy, a vagary
that can come to one only in ones dreams at night. Dont I understand
that life is hard? Am I not suffering from it myself? I understand
even your comrades, the anarchists. Its not right to kill anybody; but
still I understand them. They kill the bad.
SAVVA
They are not my comrades. I have no comrades.
LIPA
Arent you an anarchist?
SAVVA
No.
LIPA
What are you then?
TONY (raising his head)
They are going, they are going. Do you hear?
SAVVA (quietly, but ominously)
They are going.
LIPA
There, you see. Who is going? Think of it.
Its human misery thats going. And you wanted to take away from them
their last hope, their last consolation. And to what purpose? In the
name of what? In the name of some wild, ghastly dream about a naked
earth.
(Peers with terror into the darkness of the room)
A naked earth! Its terrible to think of it. A naked earth!
How could a man, a human being, ever conceive such an idea? A naked earth!
Nothing, nothing! Everything laid bare, everything annihilated.
Everything that people worked for through all the years; everything they have
created with so much toil, with so much pain. Unhappy people! There
is among you a man who says that all this must be burned, must be consumed with
fire.
SAVVA
You remember my words to perfection.
LIPA
You awakened me, Savva. When you told me all that, my
eyes were suddenly opened, and I began to love everything. Do you
understand? I began to love it all. These wallsformerly I didnt
notice them; now I am sorry for themso sorry, I could cry. And the books
and everythingeach brick, each piece of wood to which man has applied his
labor. Lets admit that its poor stuff. Who says its good?
But thats why I love itfor its defects, its imperfections, its crooked lines,
its unfulfilled hopes. For the labor and the tears. And all who hear
you talking, Savva, will feel as I do, and will begin to love all that is old
and dear and human.
SAVVA
I have nothing to do with you.
LIPA
Nothing to do with us? With whom then have you to do?
No, Savva, you dont love anyone. You love only yourself and your dreams.
He who loves men will not take away from them all they have. He will not
regard his own wishes more than their lives. Destroy everything!
Destroy Golgotha! Consider: (with terror)
destroy Golgotha! The brightest, the most glorious hope that ever was on
earth! All right, you dont believe in Christ. But if you have a
single drop of nobility in your nature, you must respect and honor His noble
memory. He was also unhappy. He was crucifiedcrucified, Savva.
You are silent? Have you nothing to say?
SAVVA
Nothing.
LIPA
I thoughtI thoughtif you succeeded in carrying out your
plotI thought Id kill youthat Id poison you like some noxious beast.
SAVVA
And if I dont succeed
LIPA
You are still hoping?
SAVVA
And if I dont succeed, Ill kill you.
LIPA (advancing a step toward him)
Kill me! Kill me! Give me a chance to suffer for the sake of
Christ.
For the sake of Christ and for the sake of the people.
SAVVA
Yes. Ill kill you.
LIPA
Do you suppose I didnt think of it? Do you suppose I
didnt think of it? Oh, Lord, to suffer for Thee! Is there higher
happiness than that?
SAVVA (with a contemptuous gesture, pointing at Lipa)
And thats a human being! Thats one counted among the
best! Thats the kind in which they take pride! Ah me, how poor you
are in good people!
LIPA
Insult! Mock! Thats the way it has always been.
They have always heaped insults upon us before they killed us.
SAVVA
No, I dont mean to insult you. How can I insult you?
You are simply a silly woman. There have been many such in the past.
There are many such to-day. You are simply a foolish, insignificant
creature. You are even innocent, like all insignificant persons. And
if I mean to kill you, there is no reason to be proud of it. Dont think
you are an object specially worthy of my indignation. No, it would merely
make matters a little easier for me. When I was chopping wood, and the axe
in my raised arm struck the threshold instead of the log of wood, the jar was
not so hard as if someone had arrested the motion of my arm. A raised hand
must fall on something.
LIPA
And to think that this beast is my brother!
SAVVA
Whose cradle you rocked and whose diapers you changed.
Yes. But to me it doesnt seem in the least strange that you are my
sister, or that this bundle there is my brother. No, Tony! They are
going. (Tony turns his head and stares stupidly without making any answer)
And it doesnt seem in the least strange to me that any insignificant chit and
piece of nothingness calling itself my brother or my sister should go to the
chemists and buy a nickels worth of arsenic on finding out who I am. You
see, they have even attempted to poison me. The girl who left me tried to
do it, but she lost her nerve. The point is that my sisters and brothers,
among other things, have the characteristic of being cowards.
LIPA
I would have done it.
SAVVA
I dont doubt it. You are a little hysterical, and
hysterical people are determined, unless they happen to burst into tears first.
LIPA
I hysterical? All right, have it your way, have it your
way. And who are you, Savva?
SAVVA
That doesnt interest me.
LIPA
They are going, they are going. And they will find what
they need. And that is the work of an hysterical woman. Do you hear
how many of them there are? And if they found outif I were to open the
window this minute and cry out: This man here has tried to destroy your
ChristIf you want it, Ill do it this instant. You need only say so.
Shall I? (She takes a step toward the window in a frenzy of rage) Shall
I?
SAVVA
Yes, its a good way of escaping the crown of thorns.
Go ahead, shout. But look out, dont knock Tony down.
LIPA (turning back)
I am sorry for you. You are beaten, and one doesnt
like to kick a man who is down. But remember, remember, Savva, there are
thousands, thousands of them coming in, and each one is your death!
SAVVA (smiling)
The tramp of death.
LIPA
Remember that each one of these would consider himself happy
in killing you, in crushing you like a reptile. Each one of these is your
death. Why, they beat a simple thief to death, a horse thief. What
would they not do to you! You who wanted to steal their God.
SAVVA
Quite true. Thats property too.
LIPA
You still have the brazenness to joke? Who gave you the
right to do such a thing? Who gave you power over people? How dare
you meddle with what to them is right? How dare you interfere with their
life?
SAVVA
Who gave me the right? You gave it to me. Who
gave me the power? You gave it to me. And I will cling to it with
grim determination. Try to take it from me. You gave it to meyou
with your malice, your ignorance, your stupidity! You with your wretched
impotence! Right! Power! They have turned the earth into a
sewer, an outrage, an abode of slaves. They worry each other, they torture
each other, and they ask: Who dares to take us by the throat? I!
Do you understand? I! (Rises)
LIPA
You are a mere man like everybody else.
SAVVA
I am the avenger! Behind me follow in pursuit all those
whom you stifled and crushed. Ah, they have been pursuing their wicked
trade in all quietness, thinking that no one would discover themthinking that
they would get away with it in the end. They have been lying, grovelling,
and sneaking. They have been cringing and abusing themselves before their
altars and their impotent God, saying: There is nothing to be afraid
ofwe are among ourselves. Then comes a man who says: An
accountingI want an accounting! What have you done? Out with it.
Give me an accounting. Go on now! Dont try to cheat, for I know
you. I demand an account for each and every single item. I will not
condone a single drop of blood, I will not absolve you from a single tear.
LIPA
But to destroy all. Think of it!
SAVVA
What could you do with them? What would you do?
Try to persuade the oxen to turn away from their bovine path? Catch each
one by his horns and pull him away? Would you put on a frock-coat and read
a lecture? Havent they had plenty to teach them? As if words and
thoughts had any significance to them! Thoughtpure, unhappy thought!
They have perverted it. They have taught it to cheat and defraud.
They have made it a saleable commodity to be bought at auction in the market.
No, sister, life is short and I am not going to waste it in arguments with oxen.
The way to deal with them is by fire. Thats what they requirefire!
Let them remember long the day on which Savva Tropinin came to the earth!
LIPA
But what do you want? What do you want?
SAVVA
What do I want? To free the earth, to free mankind, to
sweep the whole two-legged, chattering tribe out of existence. Manthe
man of to-dayis wise. He has come to his senses. He is ripe for
liberty. But the past eats away his soul like a canker. It imprisons
him within the iron circle of things already accomplished, within the iron
circle of facts. I want to demolish the factsthats what I want to do:
demolish all facts! To sweep away all the accumulated rubbishliterature,
art, God. They have perverted mankind. They have immortalized
stupidity. I want to do away with everything behind man, so that there is
nothing to see when he looks back. I want to take him by the scruff of his
neck and turn his face toward the future.
LIPA
Look here, Savva. You are not immortal, and the
two-legged animal has arms also.
SAVVA
Do you think I dont know that every one of these stupid
asses would be glad to kill me? But it wont happen, it wont happen.
The time has come for my arrival, and I have arrived. Prepare yourselves.
The time has come. You little insignificant thing thereyou thought that
by stealing one little possibility away from me you could rob me of all?
Oh noI am as rich as ever.
LIPA
I am your sister, but oh! how glad I am that you are not
immortal.
SAVVA
I see that you are a thoroughgoing anarchist. They too
think that all is done if one man is killed. But if they kill me, hang me,
break me on the wheel, there will come another purer than I. Where theres an
itch, there is always somebody to scratch it! Yes, sister! If not I,
then someone else, and (clenching his fist)
it will fare ill with your world.
LIPA
You are a terrible man. I thought you would be crushed
by your failure, but you are like Satan. The fall has only made you
blacker.
SAVVA
Yes, Lipa, only a sparrow can fly straight up from the
ground. A large bird must descend to adjust and spread its wings for its
upward flight.
LIPA
Arent you sorry for the children? Think of the number
of children that will have to perish.
SAVVA
What children? Oh yes, Misha.
(Tenderly) Misha is a fine boy, thats true. When he grows up, he
will show you no mercy. Yes, the childrenYou are beginning to be afraid
of them, and you have good reason for it. Never mind. Its true that
I love children.
(With pride) And they love me. But they dont care for you.
LIPA
I dont play jackstones with them.
SAVVA
How silly you are, sister. But I like to play with
them.
LIPA
Then go ahead and play.
SAVVA
Well, I will play.
LIPA
When you talk like that I have the feeling once more that it
has all been a dreamall that we were saying just now. Is it really true
that you want to kill me?
SAVVA
Yes, if it must be done. But perhaps it wont be
necessary.
LIPA
You are joking!
SAVVA
Every one of you will have it that I am joking. You
keep constantly telling me so. You seem to have utterly lost the sense for
what is serious.
LIPA
No, its not a dream. They are going.
SAVVA
Yes, they are going. (Both listen)
LIPA
You still seem to believe. What do you believe?
SAVVA
I believe in my destiny. (The hour begins to strike in the
belfry of the monastery)
Twelve.
LIPA (counting)
Seveneightand to think that this is the hour when it
should have happenedthe very idea of it(A muffled report as of a powerful
explosion is heard)
What was that?
SAVVA
Yes, what was it?
[Both rush to the window, waking Tony, who moves his head
sleepily. The tread of the footsteps in the street stops momentarily.
Then all begin to run. Frightened cries are heard, weeping, loud, abrupt
ejaculations of Whats the matter? Oh, Lord! Fire, fire! No, something
has fallen down! Lets run! The word monastery is frequently heard.
TONY
They are running! Where are they running to? Why
is nobody here?
PELAGUEYA (entering the room, half dressed)
Oh, Lord! Oh, heavens! Is it possible the
monastery is on fire! Good gracious! Heavens! And you here,
you drunken sot! You monster!
TONY
Oho! They are running? Faces, mugs, eh?
[The bell begins to toll the alarm. Then the strokes
follow each other in more rapid succession; hasty, disquieting, uneven, they
blend with the noise of the street and seem to creep through the window.
PELAGUEYA (crying)
Good God, I dont know where to turn.
[She runs out. The cries in the street grow louder.
Someone yells in one prolonged note Oh-oh-oh! until the sound is drowned in
the general noise, excitement, and ringing.
LIPA (moving away from the window, very pale, stupefied)
What does it mean? It cannot be. It is impossible. Tony, Tony,
get up. Tony, brother, what does it mean? Tony!
TONY (reassuringly)
Its nothing. They are all faces.
SAVVA (leaving the window, calm and stern, but also pale)
Well, sister?
LIPA (flinging herself about the room)
I want to run with the rest. Ill run. Where is
my scarf? Where is my scarf? My God, My God! Where is my
scarf?
SAVVA
Your scarf? There it is. But I wont give it to
you. Sit down; you have nothing to do there.
LIPA
Let me have it.
SAVVA
No, sit down, sit down. Its too late now anyway.
LIPA
Too late?
SAVVA
Yes, too late. Dont you hear the noise the crowd is
making and the way they are running and pushing?
LIPA
Ill run, Ill run.
SAVVA
Keep stillsit down. (Forces her to sit down) Tony,
did you hear? Theyve exploded God.
TONY (looking at Savvas face in terror)
Savva, dont make me laugh. Turn your face away.
[Savva smiles and walks around the room with buoyant step,
without his usual stoop.
LIPA (faintly)
Savva.
SAVVA
What is it? Speak louder.
LIPA
Is it, really true?
SAVVA
Its true.
LIPA
And doesnt He really exist?
SAVVA
He does not.
[Lipa begins to cry, at first low, then more and more
loudly. The sound of the ringing bells and the noise of the crowd continue
to swell. The rolling and clatter of wagons is also heard.
SAVVA
They are running. My, how they are running! (Lipa
says something, but her words are inaudible) Louder. I cant hear you.
My, how they are ringing.
LIPA (aloud)
Kill, me, Savva.
SAVVA
Why? Youll die anyhow.
LIPA
I cant wait. Ill kill myself.
SAVVA
Go ahead, kill yourself, kill yourself quick!
[Lipa cries, burying her head in the armchair Tony, his
face distorted with fear, looks at Savva, holding both his hands in readiness at
his mouth. Loud peals of the bell. The disquieting sound blends with
the loud tone of Savvas speech.
SAVVA (shouting)
Ah! They are ringing. Ring on! Ring on!
Soon the whole earth will ring. I hear! I hear! I see your
cities burning! I see the flames. I hear the crackling. I see
the houses tumbling on your heads. There is no place to run to. No
refuge! No refuge! Fire everywhere. The churches are burning.
The factories are burning. The boilers are bursting. An end to all
slavish toil!
TONY (trembling with fear)
Savva, shut up, or I am going to laugh.
SAVVA (unheeding)
The time has come! The time has come! Do you
hear? The earth is casting you out. There is no place for you on
earth. No! He is coming! I see him! He is coming, the
free man! He is being born in the flames! He himself is fire and
resolution! An end to the earth of slaves!
TONY
Savva, shut up!
SAVVA (bending down to Tony)
Be prepared! He is coming! Do you hear his tread?
He is coming! He is coming!
CURTAIN