Friday, September 02, 2011

The Full Excerpt from Jabotinsky's "Samson" - The Three Things

I went searching on line but couldn't find the full quotation from Ze'ev Jabotinsky's biblically-themed novel, Samson relating to Samson's "farewell".

It wasn't here nor here.  Nor here.

Now, here it is, end of Chapter XXX, when Samson, now blinded and residing on the Gaza shore, takes his leave from Hermesh, a member of his Jackals who fought the Philistines.:

"Shall I give our people a message from you?"

Samson thought for a while and then said slowly:

"Tell them two things in my name—two words. The first word is Iron. They must get iron. They must give everything they have for iron—their silver and wheat, oil and wine and flocks, even their wives and daughters. All for iron! There is nothing in the world more valuable than iron.  Will you tell them that?"

"I will.  They will understand that."

"The second word they will not understand yet, but they must learn to understand it, and that soon. The second word is this: a king! Say to Dan, Benjamin, Judah, Ephraim: a king! A man will give them the signal and of a sudden thousands will lift up their hands. So it is with the Philistines, and therefore the Philistines are lords of Canaan. Say it from Zorah to Hebron and Shechem, and farther even to Endor and Laish: a king!"

"I will say it," said Hermesh.

"Go now," said Samson.

Hermesh took his had and kissed it, and while his lips were still on Samson's hand he asked in a tembling voice:

"But have you nothing to say to us, the friends who loved you - to us and our children?"

...He withdrew his hand and answered, as he turned away "Nothing."

Hermesh went back slowly across the sand, but suddenly Samson called him.  He looked round.  Samson was carefully wiping the back of his hand, and he said to him:

"I have changed my mind.  Tell them three things in my name, and not two: they must get iron; they must choose a king; and they must learn to laugh."


^

1 comment:

Suzanne Pomeranz said...

Oh, so that's why all the great comedians are Jewish!