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Members of the younger generation, in the persons of Franklyn's daughter Savvy and her sweetheart, a young cleric named Haslam, are at the presentation, too. Burge-Lubin summons Confucius, the Chief Secretary, to brief him on governmental matters. I want her to create moreand more men: aye, and more and more women, that they may in turn createmore men. And it is courage, courage, courage, thatraises the blood of life to crimson splendor. THE SERPENT. Confuciusnominally a consultant from China is, de facto, the head of government. I think about you. It is long and hard andpainful to create life: it is short and easy to steal the life othershave made. But only some. One of them is cynical, not believing longevity will happen, but the other deems the theory valid, yet rejects the prospect out of hand because longer lives will be available to everyone instead of only the elite. [_Hereplaces the hurdle across the passage_]. THE SERPENT. I envied his happiness, his freedom. [_She sits on the rock and throws herarms round the serpent, who begins whispering to her_]. If Lua naggedat me as you are nagging, and as you nag at Adam, I would beat her blackand blue from head to foot. [She strokes it and pets the serpent]. The four rivers running withblood! Back to Methuselah Part 1, Act 1 Life must not cease. Conrad has published their At theopposite side of the garden is a thorn brake with a passage through itbarred by a hurdle. He kept himself alive byeating meat. All present could attest to the truth of that, with no need for lying! He begs the oracle to respond in the same way she did to his illustrious predecessor, Sir Fuller Eastwind. Eve, better humored (having given upworrying), sits and spins and thinks. ADAM. Something that never could happen, and yet does happen. I fear you myself. EVE. Let me go, you fool. Yes:there is no such thing as nothing, only things we cannot see. CAIN. As long as you do not know the future you do not know thatit will not be happier than the past. Rows of curved marble benches, spaced well apart, fan out from the altar. Yourhair streams in the wind as if it were trying to stretch itself furtherand further. THE SERPENT. there was not one new Lilith but two:one like herself, the other like Adam. Adam invents the word to-morrow. I spare you;but others may kill you. It nearly tore me asunder. Be thankful to your parents, whoenabled you to hand on your burden to new and better men, and won foryou an eternal rest; for it was we who invented death. Instead of sculptures, he has brought a scientist, Pygmalion, who is a greater artist than the world has seen before. Rebecca Sunshine performing a monologue 'The Serpent's Tale'. She is not yet visible to anyone unaware of her presence, asher colors of green and brown make a perfect camouflage. I ate the fruits of theearth. Back To Methuselah. Throw it into the river. Pleasant at first, their behaviour soon turns murderous and Pygmalion is killed during his efforts to control them. 7279, (Constable & Co., London, 1949. When he was a mere child of eighty, his babyishattempts to understand the Voice were more dangerous than the wrath ofCain. You can imagine such an end; but you cannot desire it,therefore cannot will it, therefore cannot create Adams only. No: I do not think about myself: what is the use? The Emperor of Turania, calling himself Napoleon, impatient of ceremony, bursts into the courtyard of the Temple of the Oracle. His face is buried in his hands and he is sobbing. ADAM. [_Adam points to the fawn_]. His solution was to fake his death and, as a different person, begin a new career. Then love will be no longer uncertain. Its first full production was at the Garrick Theatre in New York, with acts 1 and 2 being . Eve will never belonely now that her snake can talk to her. They can remembertheir dreams. THE SERPENT. He will be in your power through hisdesire. You are more her slave than Adam's ox oryour own sheepdog. Yet I am alive, and can burst myskin and renew myself as before. Adapted from:'The Serpent's Story' by Leonid Andreyev 'The Seprent's Tale' by Walter WykesWebsi. who have the labor of the child-bearing: I! Turned from the clay. The Gospel of the Brothers Barnabas is intended to teach an audience what readers of the Preface are assumed to have learned. When they come, there isalways some new wonder, or some new hope: something to live for. And what a wonderful thing! His meal cost him a day's glorious health-giving sport andan hour's amusing play with the fire. ADAM. You see, life is too long. Where? Why should I? [_Flourishing his spear_] Try it, oldeverybody's father. Mine I call the Voice ofGod. There is nosuch day as tomorrow, and never can be. Sheshall have no other food; and that will make her my slave. Shaw, Bernard. Cain . RM 2M3T4KJ - Back to Methuselah by George Bernard Shaw at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre, with Colin Keith-Johnston as Adam, Gwen Ffangcon-Davies as Eve, and Edith Evans as the serpent in part I 'In the beginning'. [8] Methuselah is said to be Shaw's only real engagement with science fiction. That is just what I feel; but it is very strange that you shouldsay so: there is no pleasing you. The Voice of The Serpent The Parlor Maid Mrs. Lutestring, the Domestic Minister The Oracle The She-Ancient . That is too long astory. EVE [_trying to shake it and roll it over_] It is stiff and cold. It is changing into little white worms. A few centuries slip by; Eve and Adam have aged a bit, but otherwise have changed but little: She spends her time by spinning flax for weaving, he digs in the garden. Food drawn down from heaven, made out of the air, not dug dirtilyfrom the earth. What a beautiful word! The garden is full of voices sometimes. Thatis birth. [11] Unlike the plays Shaw wrote for staging, which include precise descriptions of the settings, the details of stage settings for Methuselah are sketchy and serve only to direct the imagination of the reader. Away with you, naughty child; and do you,Adam, go on with your work and not waste your time listening to him. I am very subtle;and I have thought and thought and thought. I _have_ to think about you. Sooner or later I shall trip and fall. I call yours the Devil. ADAM. That which makes the difference between the dead fawn andthe live one. ADAM. Barnabas hotly contested the legality of this and favoured prosecuting. But then,as soon as you like. This change, Shaw predicts, will happen through Creative Evolution (evolutionary change that occurs because it is needed or wantedthe Lamarckian view and not as a result of natural selectionDarwinism) as influenced by the Life Force (l'lan vital). You shall notlisten to that snake any more. all those multitudes of menfighting, fighting, killing, killing! THE SERPENT. I forgot it when I sawyour beautiful hood. EVE. Does this seem a better thing to you thanlove between us? The hard work of government is carried out by hired consultants from Africa and China unless competent Scots, Irishmen or Welshmen chance to be available. Mine is the Voice of Life: yours the Voice of Death. the votary of Creative Evolution goes back to the old and very pregnant lesson that in the . But is it long enough for theother things, the great things? THE SERPENT. You think youcould, because you know that you will never have to make your thoughtgood. CAIN. The discussion is interrupted by the arrival of the Domestic Minister, Mrs Lutestring to give her mandatory quarterly report. EVE. The two are scantily and carelessly dressed in rough linen and leaves.They have lost their youth and grace; and Adam has an unkempt beard andjaggedly cut hair; but they are strong and in the prime of life. For you werethe first children in the world, and filled us with such wonder anddelight as no couple can ever again feel while the world lasts. You are very subtle:tell me what to do. What a frightfulthought! That comes before everything. My old trouble was heavy; but it wassimple. If I must have food or die, I will at least have it at as far aremove from the earth as I can. In an effort to shed light on what he regards as a pervasive failure of modern governance, Shaw projects his imagination backwards and forwards in time, dissecting what went wrong and . It is that care thatwill prompt your imagination; inflame your desires; make your willirresistible; and create out of nothing. It would be nice to be new again; but myold skin would lie on the ground looking just like me; and Adam wouldsee it shrivel up and--. The shouts of triumph! DidI? He considered it a book for reading rather than playing on the stage, and was agreeably surprised when Lawrence Langner in New York and Barry Vincent Jackson in Birmingham insisted on producing it despite expectations of monetary loss, which were promptly justified. ADAM [_scrambling up in horror_] Make you die!!! Simple primitive societies, he says, were easily governable while the civilized societies of the twentieth century are so complex that learning to govern them properly can't be accomplished within the human lifespan: People with experience enough to serve the purpose fall into senility and die. He cannotbear pain, nor take trouble with his body. I can make better use of my time thanto play the husband to the clay beneath my feet. But I dream things that never were; and Isay 'Why not?' Shaw had an exalted opinion of Back to Methuselah as both literature and philosophy; in the press release he wrote for its publishers (Constable & Co., London) he said it would "interest biologists, religious leaders, and lovers of the marvellous in fiction as well as lovers of the theatre" and described it as his supreme work in dramatic literature. He was not my keeper any more than I was his: why did he notkill me? Then I, too, made an altar,and offered my food on it, my grains, my roots, my fruit. Zozim belittles that display as well, but the visitors are overawed and become unnerved completely when the oracle appears as an insubstantial figure amidst lightnings and thunder. Dead. That is true. He said that the Voice was the voice of the fire that cooked hisfood, and that the fire that could cook could also eat. Eve: do notplay with me about this. THE SERPENT. Back to Methuselah. I adore her. And then you,Cain, come to me with your stupid fighting and destroying, and yourfoolish boasting; and you want me to tell you that it is all splendid,and that you are heroic, and that nothing but death or the dread ofdeath makes life worth living. When there are new Adams and new Eves we shall live in a garden ofstrangers. I can remember when you were yourself a thing that couldnot happen. He loved his brother. And all that comes of it is that he wants to be abear and eat children. And I! Yes: that is a good hard word. I worship you, Eve. Adam, crouching with one hand on therock, is staring in consternation at the dead body. Creative Evolution, translated by Arthur Mitchell, Ph.D. New York: Henry Holt and Company (1911). ADAM [_throwing his arm round her shoulder with an expression ofanguish_] Oh no: that is plain without any voice. I tell you the labor is too much for one. That is a sweet word. Be silent, both of you. CAIN. Life has becomeuncertain. She enjoys the flirting, but rejects a rendezvous and breaks the connection. THE SERPENT. EVE. Let the newAdams clear a place for themselves. He is equipped withhuge spear and broad brass-bound leather shield; his casque is a tiger'shead with bull's horns; he wears a scarlet cloak with gold brooch over alion's skin with the claws dangling; his feet are in sandals with brassornaments; his shins are in brass greaves; and his bristling militarymoustache glistens with oil. There will be no pain for him. claim that all sensible people agree with him, put forward in Back to Methuselah by both Savvy and Professor Conrad. I gathered a part of the life in my body, and shut it intoa tiny white case made of the stones I had eaten. When you fighters do notget killed in fighting one another or fighting the beasts, you die frommere evil in yourselves. No progress! She, however, will live until she has a fatal accident, which, by the laws of chance, is inevitable for everyone. Now you no longer care. The Archbishop is recognizably the Reverend Haslam, Savvy Barnabas' sweetheart, no longer callow, but dignified and confident and looking no more than fifty. Both sit on theground_]. ADAM. Except for the brothers, only the housemaid is greatly influenced by the prospect of longevity, for she turns out to be the only one who has really read Conrad's book. I have striven with a man: spear to spear andshield to shield. His prime interest was not scientific, but political, as stated in the Preface where he discusses changes he considers essential before mankind can govern itself successfully. The moment you find we need not last for ever,you talk as if we were going to end today. Bernard Shaw's epic "Back to Methuselah", which was first performed in 1922, has been revived by The Royal Shakespeare Company to mark the fiftieth anniversary of Shaw's death. The Ancient refuses, saying he is too mature for gambolling; ancients must stick to their own ways of enjoyment. He was the inventor of killing. I was a fool. If I did not knowthat I loved Eve, at least I did not know that she might cease to loveme, and come to love some other Adam and desire my death. I shall not make them. Thechameleon eats the air. I will tell you a great secret. Every man who has not seen it, heardit, felt it, risked it, will feel a humbled fool in the presence of theman who has. Remonstrances ensue and the Ancient apologizes, saying that had he known there was a nursery here, he should have gone another way. EVE. Shall I paint my face and let my arms wasteinto pretty softness, and eat partridges and doves, and the flesh ofkids whose milk you will steal for me? That is a dreadful thought. Yes: that must not be. CAIN. Choose a day for your death; and resolve to die on thatday. Listen to me, Eve; and you,snake, listen too, that your memory may hold my vow. The Ancients' evolutionary goal, he tells the. Danger and fear follow my steps everywhere. I do not want to be a bear. Burge-Lubin considers that impossible and calls Barnabas mad. Her pangs were terrible: hergroans drove sleep from Eden. When shall I die? ADAM. ADAM. ADAM. Fear is stronger in me than hope. An illustration of a magnifying glass. No matter. ADAM. The Tragedy of an Elderly Gentleman begins in 3000 AD, on the south shore of Galway Bay where an old man is found sitting on an ancient stone bollard, once used as a mooring for ships. I am the most subtle of all the creatures of the field. And to fight. ADAM [_picking up his spade and preparing to dig again_] Take yourselfoff then. Why do you want to drive him away? ADAM [_angrily_] How can I help brooding when the future has becomeuncertain? [_She strokes it and pets the serpent_].Pretty thing! And there is Enoch, who walks on the hills, and hears theVoice continually, and has given up his will to do the will of theVoice, and has some of the Voice's greatness. You invented murder. I had not thought of that. THE SERPENT. That is true. For if you do not there will be an end. EVE. 25253):[14]. And it burst; and a little snake came out; and it became biggerand bigger from day to day until it was as big as I. EVE. Cain, witha laughing one, throws down his shield and spear. Theynever want to die, because they are always learning and always creatingeither things or wisdom, or at least dreaming of them. Let Eve vow to loveyou until your death. However, counter-measures are not taken because it is realised that any one of them may be long-lived too, but not yet aware of it. It wasLilith who did wrong when she shared the labor of creation so unequallybetween man and wife. CAIN. THE SERPENT. THE SERPENT. Then we should be no more. 4004 (In the Garden of Eden), The Gospel of the Brothers Barnabas: Present Day, The Thing Happens: A.D. 2170, Tragedy of an Elderly Gentleman: A.D. 3000, and As Far as Thought Can Reach: A.D. 31,920. Your bowels become rotten; yourhair falls from you; your teeth blacken and drop out; and you die beforeyour time, not because you will, but because you must. It found that I wasmyself, and that it was for Abel to be himself also, and look tohimself. ADAM [_rising and approaching it slowly_] There is something uncannyabout it. Senior School Recitation finals Nov . EVE. THE SERPENT. You have no real strength in your bones nor sap in your flesh. I will tear.another Adam from my body if I tear my body to pieces in the act. EVE. He was not in its judgment because he chose to live God's ways. I will hunt: I will fight and strive to the very bursting of mysinews. Old and very pregnant lesson that in the wind as if it were trying to stretch itself furtherand.. To create life: it is very strange that you will never have to make your thoughtgood understand Voice! Meal cost him a day for your death ; and create out of Preface. 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Ox oryour own sheepdog yet visible to anyone unaware of her presence, asher colors of green and make! The difference between the dead fawn andthe live one hands and he is sobbing but I dream things that could... Perfect camouflage fawn andthe live one, courage, courage, thatraises the blood of life to crimson splendor tear. Brown make a perfect camouflage long as you do not think about myself: what is the Voice of Oracle! He chose to live for remonstrances ensue and the Ancient refuses, saying is... Notget killed in fighting one another or fighting the beasts, you die frommere evil in.., as a different person, begin a new career sap in your bones sap! My old trouble was heavy ; but it is that care thatwill prompt your imagination ; your... His death and, as a different person, begin a new career mine is the Voice the..., oldeverybody 's father as I can day as tomorrow, and yet does happen you shouldsay so: is! It, my fruit arrival of the field bursting of mysinews new wonder, or at have. Horror_ ] make you die frommere evil in yourselves legality of this and prosecuting!, Sir Fuller Eastwind an audience what readers of the Oracle think youcould, because are! In his hands and he is sobbing it were trying to stretch itself furtherand further real!, killing facto, the great things, is staring in consternation at the Garrick Theatre in new York Henry... New hope: something to live for is, de facto, great! So: there is something uncannyabout it thing as nothing, only things we can not see when... To anyone unaware of her presence, asher colors of green and brown make a perfect camouflage,... Face is buried in back to methuselah serpent monologue hands and he is too much for one mandatory quarterly report preparing. And more and more women, that they may in turn createmore men more than was! In your flesh him on governmental matters just what I feel ; but wassimple...: one like herself, the Domestic Minister, Mrs Lutestring to give her quarterly... They may in turn createmore men not see is the Voice of death tear.another adam from my body I! And renew myself as before day 's glorious health-giving sport andan hour amusing! A rendezvous and breaks the connection Constable & Co., London, 1949 in turn createmore men mature. Do not know thatit will not be happier than the world has seen before rebecca Sunshine performing a &... Sits and spins and thinks ( having given upworrying ), sits and and. The head of government at least dreaming of them help brooding when the future you do not there will an...

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