I musthave certainty. It does not console me. And it is courage, courage, courage, thatraises the blood of life to crimson splendor. We shall need each other. You were the one: Adam was theother. she inquires and he says "Yes," adding that he is touring these islands for sentimental reasons because, in ancient times, they were the centre of the British Commonwealth. CAIN. ADAM [_delighted_] Is it so? The creations are a man and woman, noble in appearance, beautiful to look at and splendidly attired. And that request was granted: "Go home, poor fool" the oracle replies repeating what she had said to Eastwind. But I dream things that never were; and I say, 'Why not?'[15]. EVE [_rising and running to him_] Only think, Adam! ADAM. That is a sweet word. It is very low; but it is so nearthat it is like a whisper from within myself. Oh! But it does not grow longer for all its practice instreaming, because you have not willed it so. It is changing into little white worms. Sooner or lateryou will die like the fawn; and the new Adams will be unable to createwithout new Eves. Love is uncertain. There is something else.We do not yet know what it is; but some day we shall find out; and thenwe will live on that alone; and there shall be no more digging norspinning, nor fighting nor killing. Iremember Lilith, who came before Adam and Eve. Michael Holroyd describes the plays as "a masterpiece of wishful thinking" and calls them science fiction. THE SERPENT. I say, who invented death? It found that I wasmyself, and that it was for Abel to be himself also, and look tohimself. Oh, I haveheard it all a thousand times. Ifyou take a step towards your mother with that spear of yours I willstrike you with my spade as you struck Abel. EVE. who have thedrudgery of preparing the food? He defiantly dares her to remove her veil and robe. CAIN. Due to a planned power outage on Friday, 1/14, between 8am-1pm PST, some services may be impacted. EVE. (5 episodes, 1952) Series Writing Credits George Bernard Shaw . EVE. Then I gave up your old silly drudging ways, and lived as he hadlived, by the chase, by the killing, and by the fire. Come here. ADAM. Andnettles, too! Book from Project Gutenberg: Back to Methuselah. I should belonely. Butwhen it is short it will be very sweet. No: he invented it himself. It has not yet told me the secret. Burge-Lubin summons Confucius, the Chief Secretary, to brief him on governmental matters. Forsooth, when you have slain the boar at the riskof your life, you will throw her a morsel of it for her pains! EVE [_thoughtfully_] There can be no such thing as nothing. The Gospel of the Brothers Barnabas is intended to teach an audience what readers of the Preface are assumed to have learned. THE SERPENT. You will find more snakes than there are fingers onyour hands. 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. stronger, happier, freer? EVE. ADAM [_in sullen rage_] I have half a mind to shew you that my spade cansplit your undutiful head open, in spite of your spear. Yes: it must not be. Why not live bravely, and die early and makeroom for others? Sixteen Self Sketches: What is My Religious Faith, pp. Did you find it like that? The ox shall make it something noblerthan grass before it comes to me. THE SERPENT. EVE [_jarred and startled_] What a hateful noise! My old trouble was heavy; but it wassimple. And there, next to it, a briar. No matter: some day I shallforget and stumble. Oh! Keep a guard on your own tongue; and do not curse my son. THE SERPENT. EVE. THE SERPENT. THE SERPENT [_to Adam_] Do you want her to die? And now you want tomake still more unnatural monsters, so that you may be utterly lazy andworthless, and that your tamed human animals may find work a blastingcurse. Well, will you pamper me ashe pampers his woman? That is true. When Ican bear no more, I go to our old garden, that is now a mass of nettlesand thistles, in the hope of finding the serpent to talk to. Look atthat thick roll of hard flesh on your strong arm! [_Trying to pronounce it_] B-birth? But I have more wonderful news than that. The final play, As Far as the Mind Can Reach, offers no solution to the problem: Humans evolve to the point of becoming free-ranging vortices of energy, able to wander, solitary, through the Universe, thus requiring no government at all. You must clear away some ofthose horrid things, or we shall be scratched and stung whenever weforget to look where we are stepping. [_he seizes his spear and swings it muscularly_]. It is; and it is not. But I have some thoughts that come from within me andnot from the voices. An illustration of a magnifying glass. ADAM. Look. Your flesh ceases to grow like man's flesh: itgrows like a fungus on a tree. Near her head alow rock shows above the Johnswort. That is too short a word for so long a thing. It is I who must conceive. And at last I found a way of gatheringtogether a part of the life in my body--. But I should not like it. For all that, mother, I have an instinct which tells me that deathplays its part in life. A He-Ancient, who is called to decide the creatures' fate. There no doubt are others that are not mentioned. I will clear themaway tomorrow. I struck; and he died, just as theydid. ADAM. I, who have so muchin me that I hate and long to cast off! I have never in my soul listenedwillingly when you have told me of the Voice that whispers to you. ADAM [_impressed_] That is a great thought, certainly. Allll the way back to the beginning, with a series of. I do not trust the sun. The Serpentspoken of in Genesis. I shall not make them. It is that care thatwill prompt your imagination; inflame your desires; make your willirresistible; and create out of nothing. [_She comes quickly behind him andturns up his face to her_]. You and Adam. By that he is tied to you. Adam, crouching with one hand on therock, is staring in consternation at the dead body. EVE. THE SERPENT. He need not. I tell you it must not be. The heavens are empty, child. The reason for his doing so, as he tells Confucius, is that he doesn't wish to risk contracting rheumatism from exposure to the cold waters of the bay, since he might have to live 300 years, rheumatic. Burge-Lubin excuses himself, saying he must confer privately with the Minister of Health. Adamlooks worried, like a farmer. No: I do not think about myself: what is the use? Butif you invented death, why do you blame me, who am a minister of death? Languages: English, Espanol | Site Copyright Jalic Inc. 2000 - 2023. That was not alwaysthere: you could not climb a tree when I first saw you. Eve, better humored (having given upworrying), sits and spins and thinks. The body of the serpent becomes visible,glowing with wonderful new colors. Creative Evolution, translated by Arthur Mitchell, Ph.D. New York: Henry Holt and Company (1911). One's own body is the last of many dolls and it will be shed, as well. I will not create anyEves, only Adams. That was the secondbirth. EVE. THE SERPENT. Afternoon. EVE. The serpent never dies. Whose fault was it that I killed Abel? That comes before everything. Things wear out by practice: they do not grow by it. I am very wise. I am to be a mere convenience to make men for you to kill! When you dug, you made the earth live and bring forth as Ilive and bring forth. EVE. ADAM. THE SERPENT. Sheshall have no other food; and that will make her my slave. He is at his zenith now but realizes a time will come when the people will rebel and he will become the casualty. ADAM [_dropping the snake's head in his excitement_] What! Stay as you are; andI will stay as I am. EVE [_trying to shake it and roll it over_] It is stiff and cold. I am a man: youare only a grown-up child. I was the first conqueror. who have the labor of the child-bearing: I! The serpent gave me fear. And to fight. Its neck is wrong [_he stoops to lift the neckand shew her_]. He says he'll take that chance, since it is more honourable. Turned upward to the sun, to the clear cleanheavens. I have not lived as long as you; but I know all thereis to be known of the craft of digging. 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. Her pangs were terrible: hergroans drove sleep from Eden. EVE [_looking across the garden towards the hurdle_] Here is Cain. ADAM. You say we must not cease to exist. (Shaw was in his mid-60s when the plays were written). If that is to be thelast thing as it has been the first, let mankind perish. Then death is no longer uncertain but certain. Do you stay and listen to it. That is how I pay forAbel's blood. 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. I know you: Iam your mother. the votary of Creative Evolution goes back to the old and very pregnant lesson that in the . ADAM [_struck_] That must be true. Will they live long enough to eat manna? Always 'Why?' A She-Ancient arrives to supervise the birthing. [_He picks up his shield and spear_]. CAIN. I had not thought of that. He has not noticedthe serpent on his left hand. I made him out of myown body. And if Adam keeps his vow I will love no other man until he dies. You have no real strength in your bones nor sap in your flesh. The Ancient examines the newly born carefully and pronounces her fit to live. When you die, men will say, 'He was agreat warrior; but it would have been better for the world if he hadnever been born.' conclusions in a book. THE SERPENT. Find me another word for what Lilith was to me. Life is theloveliest of all the new words. CAIN. That is a dreadful thought. After their conversation, Burge-Lubin suggests a game of marine golf, but Confucius refuses on the ground that he is too mature to enjoy playing games. ADAM [_horrified_] Oh no, no. EVE. One of them I will lead; and the other will be led by the man Ifear most and desire to fight and kill most. EVE. Why should I forget it? If only the rest and sleep that enable me to bear it fromday to day could grow after many days into an eternal rest, an eternalsleep, then I could face my days, however long they may last. Because Back to Methuselah is made up of five full-length plays, it is extremely difficult to produce. And of Lua they will say nothing; but when they thinkof her they will spit. THE SERPENT. I will not have it. To desire, to imagine, to will, to create. EVE. Well, as the serpent used to say, why not? Poorwretch: do you think I do not know her, and know you, better than that?Do you risk your life when you trap the ermine and the sable and theblue fox to hang on her lazy shoulders and make her look more like ananimal than a woman? He is now a warrior who also kills beasts for food. Ugh! You neither of you know anything about life. THE SERPENT. Arjillax explains that he intends to place images in the temple that range in age from the newly-born to the full glory of maturity. Ha! And yet I must endure myself, not for a dayor for many days, but for ever. She is nearly four years old and is wearying of the activities of children. Cain, witha laughing one, throws down his shield and spear. May your tongue be accurst for such blasphemy! Why, it gave me right. THE SERPENT. Yes: you have to twirl a stick to feel your strength: you cannottaste life without making it bitter and boiling hot: you cannot loveLua until her face is painted, nor feel the natural warmth of her fleshuntil you have stuck a squirrel's fur on it. Adam must not perish. The Voice does not tell me not to kill you. That is the true nature of woman. They cannot renew themselves without Eves. But I dream things that never were; and Isay 'Why not?' That is what hasbrought me to my mother today. And I! Go in peace. "Baghdad?" It is the horror of having to be with myself forever. That which makes the difference between the dead fawn andthe live one. The sculptors, Arjillax and Martellus, arrive. 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. I can make better use of my time thanto play the husband to the clay beneath my feet. EVE [_throwing herself on the ground beside him, and grasping his knee_]You must be careful. Why not be born again and again as I am, new and beautifulevery time? Heinvented the altar to keep the fire alive. [_He chuckles and goes awayslowly, laughing his first laugh_]. I must have somethingto worship. [_He kicks it._]. ADAM. EVE. (The Jewish Publication Society translation,1917). No longer arrogant, he asks her for advice. Let Eve vow to loveyou until your death. EVE. Everything is possible: everything. (Photo by Sasha/Hulton Archive/Getty Images) EVE. I hardly know which of you satisfies me least, you with yourdirty digging, or he with his dirty killing. A Glimpse of the Domesticity of Franklyn Barnabas, The Adventures of the Black Girl in Her Search for God, The Intelligent Woman's Guide to Socialism and Capitalism, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Back_to_Methuselah&oldid=1090077535, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Evolving stages in the future progress of humanity, This page was last edited on 27 May 2022, at 06:56. ADAM. I should not dare to sleep if there were no reasonwhy you should not make me die. THE SERPENT. Youfight because you think that your fighting makes her admire and desireyou. Do. Yes, until you create another Adam. The Serpent invents the words love, stranger, life, birth, death, jealousy, years, chance, fear, marriage, hope and the act of laughing. Life must not cease. 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. Two must shareit. Do not listen to her: the noise is good: it lightens my heart.You are a jolly snake. CAIN. Because if he could do that he could do without Eve. Only,there must be some end, some end: I am not strong enough to beareternity. At the end the Serpent whispersfor Eve's ears alonethe secret of reproduction, which Eve hears with greatly mixed emotions. Those whom I slay woulddie if I spared them. An immense serpent is sleeping withher head buried in a thick bed of Johnswort, and her body coiled inapparently endless rings through the branches of a tree, which isalready well grown; for the days of creation have been longer than ourreckoning. I had not thought of that. To his parents he has the self-assertive,not-quite-at-ease manner of a revolted son who knows that he is notforgiven nor approved of._. 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. Serpent (5:349). Liar: you denied just now that it called on you to pay for Abel'slife with your own. What? Mine I call the Voice ofGod. Back to Methuselah (A Metabiological Pentateuch) by George Bernard Shaw consists of a preface (The Infidel Half Century) and a series of five plays: In the Beginning: B.C. EVE. You imagine what you desire;you will what you imagine; and at last you create what you will. ADAM. Useless:nothing happened. But you used to complainof having to exist always and for ever. You change your mind so often. He replies: he makesthe Voice respect him: in the end he dictates what the Voice shall say. no adventures! You have invented a word. A man's eventual destiny is to be bodiless, a vortex of energy, immortal, and free to roam among the stars. He was not in its judgment because he chose to live God's ways. ADAM. Yes: it was by meditating on Life that I gained the powerto do miracles. I have told Cain already that he is not aman and that Lua is not a woman: they are monsters. producer (5 episodes, 1952) Series Art Department Stephen Bundy . Why do you want to drive him away? EVE. Barnabas goes to meet the American inventor, who wants to use Records Office film footage to create a . He reveals that the drowned notables in the film clips at the Records Office are all the same person whose multiple demises had ended several significant careers. EVE [_interrupting him_] Perhaps not; but do not begin to boast of that.It is no credit to you. I cleared away the thistles and briars. ADAM [_springing up in sudden terror_] Oh! ADAM. Both shew the greatestconsternation._. Sooner or later I shall trip and fall. The woman knows that there is no such thing as nothing: the manknows that there is no such day as tomorrow. Be silent, both of you. CAIN. An oasis in Mesopotamia. A scene from the Barry Jackson production of George Bernard Shaw's 'Back to Methuselah' at the Court Theatre, starring Colin Keith Johnson as Adam, Gwen Ffrangcon Davies as Eve and Edith Evans as the serpent, 1924. The Oracle tells him that he will die of discouragement if he stays behind. No. That is too much for the Elderly Gentleman to swallow. THE SERPENT. I can remember when you were yourself a thing that couldnot happen. No: they will not kill us: they will feel as I do. the howls of rage! ADAM. 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. Quick. He humanizes them to the point of wishing to die for each other, then allows them to die. Why should I? EVE. Shaw's scientific rationale for evolving long-lived humans depended on the inheritance of acquired characteristics. No. It is poisoning the air. The Minister of Health is a beautiful Black African woman, and the Presidential conference turns out to be a dalliance via long-distance videophone. Kill me; and you will find another snake in thegarden tomorrow. You may die when I have made another Adam. There was no more to prevent him than there was to prevent me:it was man to man; and I won. ADAM. Youthful nurses are provided to tourists to keep that from happening but he has evaded Zozim, the one assigned to him. EVE. He rises, stiffens, and falls dead. How can I destroy unless she creates? If I am to die like the fawn, why should not the rest die too? Everything is possible. The Voice in the garden will tell them that theymust not kill, as it tells me. Let itnow give me certainty or go in fear of me. I am very subtle;and I have thought and thought and thought. CAIN. THE SERPENT. THE SERPENT. [_Hereplaces the hurdle across the passage_]. THE SERPENT. I ate the fruits of theearth. ADAM [_instinctively moving his hand towards her_] Husband and wife. In one word, to conceive. I will hunt: I will fight and strive to the very bursting of mysinews. Do you mean that Adam must share it with me? Why do you do it? You can imagine such an end; but you cannot desire it,therefore cannot will it, therefore cannot create Adams only. Back to Methuselah (A Metabiological Pentateuch) by George Bernard Shaw consists of a preface (The Infidel Half Century) and a series of five plays: In the Beginning: B.C. 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