No More Learning

_Abel_. Behold them here--
The firstlings of the flock, and fat thereof--
A shepherd's humble offering.

_Cain_. I have no flocks;
I am a tiller of the ground, and must
Yield what it yieldeth to my toil--its fruit:
[_He gathers fruits_.
Behold them in their various bloom and ripeness.
[_They dress their altars, and kindle aflame upon them_[130].

_Abel_. My brother, as the elder, offer first 220
Thy prayer and thanksgiving with sacrifice.

_Cain_. No--I am new to this; lead thou the way,
And I will follow--as I may.

_Abel_ (_kneeling_). Oh, God!
Who made us, and who breathed the breath of life
Within our nostrils, who hath blessed us,
And spared, despite our father's sin, to make
His children all lost, as they might have been,
Had not thy justice been so tempered with
The mercy which is thy delight, as to
Accord a pardon like a Paradise, 230
Compared with our great crimes:--Sole Lord of light!
Of good, and glory, and eternity!
Without whom all were evil, and with whom
Nothing can err, except to some good end
Of thine omnipotent benevolence!
Inscrutable, but still to be fulfilled!
Accept from out thy humble first of shepherds'
First of the first-born flocks--an offering,
In itself nothing--as what offering can be
Aught unto thee? --but yet accept it for 240
The thanksgiving of him who spreads it in
The face of thy high heaven--bowing his own
Even to the dust, of which he is--in honour
Of thee, and of thy name, for evermore!

_Cain_ (_standing erect during this speech_).
Spirit whate'er or whosoe'er thou art,
Omnipotent, it may be--and, if good,
Shown in the exemption of thy deeds from evil;
Jehovah upon earth! and God in heaven!
And it may be with other names, because
Thine attributes seem many, as thy works:-- 250
If thou must be propitiated with prayers,
Take them! If thou must be induced with altars,
And softened with a sacrifice, receive them;
Two beings here erect them unto thee.
If thou lov'st blood, the shepherd's shrine, which smokes
On my right hand, hath shed it for thy service
In the first of his flock, whose limbs now reek
In sanguinary incense to thy skies;
Or, if the sweet and blooming fruits of earth,
And milder seasons, which the unstained turf 260
I spread them on now offers in the face
Of the broad sun which ripened them, may seem
Good to thee--inasmuch as they have not
Suffered in limb or life--and rather form
A sample of thy works, than supplication
To look on ours! If a shrine without victim,
And altar without gore, may win thy favour,
Look on it! and for him who dresseth it,
He is--such as thou mad'st him; and seeks nothing
Which must be won by kneeling: if he's evil[ck], 270
Strike him! thou art omnipotent, and may'st--
For what can he oppose? If he be good,
Strike him, or spare him, as thou wilt! since all
Rests upon thee; and Good and Evil seem
To have no power themselves, save in thy will--
And whether that be good or ill I know not,
Not being omnipotent, nor fit to judge
Omnipotence--but merely to endure
Its mandate; which thus far I have endured.

[_The fire upon the altar of_ ABEL _kindles into a column
of the brightest flame, and ascends to heaven;
while a whirlwind throws down the altar of_
CAIN, _and scatters the fruits abroad
upon the earths_[131]

_Abel_ (_kneeling_).
Oh, brother, pray!