Ho, there, my
captains!
Longfellow
JUDAS.
The power of God,
Whose breath shall scatter your white tents abroad,
As flakes of snow.
NICANOR.
Your Mighty One in heaven
Will not do battle on the Seventh Day;
It is his day of rest.
JUDAS.
Silence, blasphemer.
Go to thy tents.
NICANOR.
Shall it be war or peace?
JUDAS.
War, war, and only war. Go to thy tents
That shall be scattered, as by you were scattered
The torn and trampled pages of the Law,
Blown through the windy streets.
NICANOR.
Farewell, brave foe!
JUDAS.
Ho, there, my captains! Have safe-conduct given
Unto Nicanor's herald through the camp,
And come yourselves to me. --Farewell, Nicanor!
SCENE IV. -- JUDAS MACCABAEUS; CAPTAINS AND SOLDIERS.
JUDAS.
The hour is come. Gather the host together
For battle. Lo, with trumpets and with songs
The army of Nicanor comes against us.
Go forth to meet them, praying in your hearts,
And fighting with your hands.
CAPTAINS.
Look forth and see!
The morning sun is shining on their shields
Of gold and brass; the mountains glisten with them,
And shine like lamps. And we who are so few
And poorly armed, and ready to faint with fasting,
How shall we fight against this multitude?
JUDAS.
The victory of a battle standeth not
In multitudes, but in the strength that cometh
From heaven above.
