BEELZEBUB, BELIAL, APOLLION.
BEELZEBUB: Good Belial, I charged your wing you way
To check the reason for Apollion’s delay.
Prince Lucifer himself decreed his mission:
To visit Earth and study Man’s condition –
That blissful state, assigned by the Almighty
To Adam … But he’s overdue … By right he
Should be back by now – or close at hand;
A trusty servant heeds his Lord’s command,
Unsparing in his master’s throne’s defence.
BELIAL: Beelzebub, Lucifer’s grey eminence!
He’s climbing, sphere by sphere and into sight,
The wind outpacing and a streak of light
Left shining in his wake. His eager wings
Sunder the clouds. Each stroke now brings
Him scent of our air, sun’s brighter shine,
Its glow reflected from blue crystalline –
While, from below, the planets track his course,
Amazed by grace so godlike – and such force!
He seems to them, ascending ever higher,
Less like an angel than like flying fire!
Faster than any shooting star! He’s coming now,
Scaling steep paths in haste, a golden bough
For staff, aiding his steps …
BEELZEBUB: Apollion, what word?
APOLLION: Swift as I could, Beelzebub, my lord,
Earth’s scene I have surveyed. These fruits I bear,
Nutured below in alien light and air!
Judge by these samples of that distant land
And of the Garden, by God blessed and planned
For Man’s delight.
BEELZEBUB: Look at these golden leaves –
Where dew, like pearls of air, still cleaves!
How sweetly scented is this foliage, still green!
Such gold-and-crimson orbs were never seen!
Pity it were to desecrate by touch –
Enchanted sight! What mouth, assailed by such
Could fail to water for Earth’s sweets? Who’s tasted
These, on him celestial manna would be wasted!
Our heaven he’d forswear in Eden’s favour
And jettison our bliss, Man’s joy to savour!
APOLLION: Indeed, Beelzebub! Heaven looks high:
But truth to tell, we’re lower. Trust my eye!
I’ve seen Earth’s luscious gardens and I swear,
This paradise with Eden can’t compare …
BEELZEBUB: Come, tell us what you saw! We’re listening, tell!
APOLLION: Upon my journey thither, I’ll not dwell:
How swift I plunged through nine concentric spheres,
Each whirling faster than an arrow shears!
Imagination’s wheel could not keep pace
As, gliding beneath the Moon, through clouds’ embrace,
I paused an instant, on my pinions resting,
That eastern landscape for the Garden questing –
Scanning the Earth-ball, laved by oceans deep,
Wherein all kinds of Monsters heave and creep.
From far off, I espied a looming mountain,
Whence rushed a waterfall, which seemed the fountain –
Head of four fast-flowing rivers. Like a plummet,
Downwards I swept and landed on the summit
Of that tall peak, from whose commanding height,
All Earth’s luxuriant landscapes spread in sight.
BEELZEBUB: Go on, describe the Garden and its girth!
APOLLION: It slopes away on every side, like Earth,
About its central peak, whence flows a spring
That feeds four streams, the whole land watering:
Trees, meadows fair, plantations all it slakes
And, from translucent crystal, fashions lakes.
The streams yield mud to fecundate the ground.
There gems like onyx and bdellian abound.
Up in the sky, by night, stars blazed and twinkled;
Those diamond galaxies, by Nature sprinkled,
Snuff out our own. There, rocks are golden-veined,
As though all Nature’s wealth one womb contained!
BEELZEBUB: What of the air Man breathes in his retreat?
APOLLION: No Angel’s breath, my lord, is half as sweet
As is the gentle zephyr Man possesses –
Freshening both cheeks and soil with its caresses,
So that Earth’s bosom swells with colourful plants,
While blossoms, buds and flowers the eye entrance,
Drinking the dew at eve. Measuring the days,
The sun twixt dawn and dusk adjusts his rays
To each plant’s need, so that the whole year round,
On Earth, both fruit and vegetables abound.
BEELZEBUB: Now, tell us what Man looks like – and his nature!
APOLLION: No Angel but must envy human stature,
At sight of creatures who surpass us all –
Beneath whose sway all other creatures fall!
A hundred thousand of them met my eye,
Walking on land or sporting in the sky,
Or swimming in the rivers, each to its bent,
Luxuriating in its element.
Adam alone could tell their separate species;
He named them all – birds, animals and fishes.
The mountain-lion at Adam wags its tail
And smiles. At Adam’s feet, fierce tigers quail.
He’s King and Lord. The bull its horns dips low;
The elephant his trunk. Bears rage forgo.
Griffin and eagle hearken unto Man –
Dragon, Behemoth and Leviathan!
As for the warbling of the birds, you’d be amazed:
From every leafy bower, Adam’s praised.
While rustling trees and rippling brooks at play
Rejoice the heart with music all the day.
Did duty not compel me to return,
I’d quit this realm, in Adam’s to sojourn!
BEELZEBUB: What thought you of the pair you saw below?
APOLLION: None that I’ve seen up here has charmed me so.
Who so ingeniously could intertwine
Body and soul – male and female define?
Twin Angels, shaped of clay and bone, whose grace
The Creator’s art best mirrors in the face –
The window of the mind: to by surprise,
I saw the soul depicted in their eyes …
All beauty flesh may have was there displayed –
Divine effulgence humanly conveyed.
Reason shines forth in Man, exclusively:
Surrounded by unreasoning beasts, does he,
While they look down, proudly his head upraise
And God, his heavenly Creator, praise.
BEELZEBUB: Given such rich rewards, Man could do worse!
APOLLION: He rules, god-like, a subject universe.
His soul’s a spirit, not a thing – that’s plain –
Quickening each limb, residing in the brain;
The soul’s immortal, fears no rust nor blight –
Intangible; both knowledge and foresight,
Free will and virtue in its province lie.
Faced with such majesty, Angels turn shy!
The whole wide world with Men will soon be creeping,
Rich crops of souls from human seedlets reaping:
And that’s the reason God gave Man a Wife!
BEELZEBUB: Yes, what about that Rib? How’s married life?
APOLLION: I hid my face and eyes beneath my wings
To curb my urge to gross imaginings,
When first I glimpsed them walking in the green:
Her hand in his – no happier sight I’ve seen!
Then I observed how Adam made a pause,
Gazed upon Eve – which study seemed to cause
A sacred fire to kindle in his breast.
He kissed her then, she him – and with such zest!
They coupled on the spot, in tenderness,
Blazing with love, much easier to guess
Than to report … From details I refrain:
‘Twas greater bliss than any we attain!
We’re poorly off, alone and celibate –
Denied the joys of sex, the married state;
Deprived of consort, starved of loving tryst:
Some heaven, this – where women don’t exist!
BEELZEBUB: Thus will the world in time be populated?
APOLLION: Through love of beauty in Man’s mind created,
Profoundly etched on every sharpened sense.
The pair are bonded by a love intense –
Unfailingly renewed by shared desire –
Which, though it slakes, can never quench the fire!
BEELZEBUB: Paint me that bride from life, Apollion!
APOLLION: Why, Nature’s brush I’d need: not paint but sun –
Beam! They’re a perfect pair, from head to toe!
If Adam wears the crown, it’s rightly so
For one selected to command Creation.
Noble of form and regal in his station.
And Eve is shaped all his desires to meet:
Tender of limb, soft hair, expression sweet,
Fair skin and eyes, alluring and profound.
Her lovely lips breath forth a charming sound;
Her breasts, twin towers of ivory! But stay!
No more, lest I lead anyone astray!
The most exquisite Angels, to my mind,
Are monsters in the dawn of Womankind!
BEELZEBUB: The female’s fired your passions with her ways!
APOLLION: I singed my feathers in that pleasant blaze
And had great difficulty gaining height;
To Angelmountain’s peak – a weary flight!
I soared reluctantly and looked back thrice,
For not a Seraph in all Paradise
Could match the glory of Eve’s golden hair,
In waves cascading from her visage fair
About her shoulders, and, when Eve advanced,
Her radiance the very day enhanced!
Pearls, mother-of-pearl, praise as you will –
But Eve, than any pearl, is lovelier still!
BEELZEBUB: What use is that, if looks to time must yield,
Wither and die, like flowers of the field?
APOLLION: So long as Adam’s trees their harvest bear,
One of these apples will sustain the pair –
Fruit of that central tree, hard by a stream
Which nourishes its roots. This, it would seem,
Is called the Tree of Life and lives for ever;
Man eats of it and he will perish – never!
Immortal and eternal, like the Angels, man
Will finally outstrip the heavenly clan,
His kingdom everywhere extend. Who’ll say him nay?
Angels are not endowed in any way
To sire unnumbered thousands in their wake!
I beg you, ponder well on what’s at stake!
BEELZEBUB: From what you say, Man threatens to displace us?
APOLLION: His rapid growth will frighten, then – disgrace us!
At present, Man holds sway beneath the Moon;
His power is limited but all too soon,
He’ll set his throne on Heaven’s topmost peak,
And if God lets him – who are we to speak?
God loves this Man! For Man, God made Creation –
BEELZEBUB: Was that a trumpet? Not a delegation!
Just look and see who’s coming. Is it for us?
APOLLION: Archangel Gabriel is here – complete with chorus,
In the Almighty’s name, from His High Throne,
As herald, God’s intentions to make known.
BEELZEBUB: We’ll gladly hear what Gabriel commands …
Enter GABRIEL and CHORUS OF ANGELS.
GABRIEL: Hearken ye Angels! All ye Heavenly bands!
The Supreme Godhead from whose bosom flows
All that is good and holy, who no respite knows
From mercy, but whose store of grace grows greater –
(No creature yet can fathom the Creator!)
This God, in His own image, fashioned Man
So he, together with the Angels can,
By honouring God’s laws with zealous care,
His everlasting Kingdom hope to share.
Earth’s universe God wrought – a wondrous sight,
Both Man and his Creator to delight …
As Eden’s ruler, Man should multiply,
With all his offspring serve the Deity,
Knowing and loving Him, Earth’s stairs ascending
Towards perpetual light and bliss unending.
Long did the Spirit-world all else outshine,
Now, to exalt Mankind is God’s design:
Preferred to Angels even, Man will be shown
A path to splendour equalling God’s own.
Bedecked in flesh and blood, anointed Lord
And Master, passing judgment on the horde
Of Spirits, Angels and Mankind, you’ll see
The King of Heaven come in majesty.
There stands His Throne, already sanctified!
Let Angels all in earnest prayer abide
Till He appears, whose choice of human stature
Sets Him above all beings of our nature!
Then shall the Seraphim less brightly shine,
In human light and radiance divine.
God’s grace puts Nature’s brilliance in the shade:
That is the future. The decision’s made!
CHORUS: With Heaven’s will the heavenly Hosts accord!
GABRIEL: Therefore, serve faithfully Man and the Lord!
The Godhead’s love for Adam is so plain:
Who honours Man, the love of God shall gain.
Man and the Angels sprang from a single tree –
They’re brothers, partners, linked by destiny
With God’s own glorious Son and Heir;
So act together: love and wishes share!
You know how we the Angel-Realm define:
Hierarchies three, embracing Orders nine –
Seraphim, Cherubim, Thrones – the highest three –
Advise the Godhead, strengthen His decree;
Dominions, Virtues, Powers – the second layer –
Receive the Council’s word. It’s their affair
To help Man and do good, as God may please;
The third consists of Principalities,
Archangels, Angels – subject to the rest,
Appointed at the middle-rank’s behest,
Beneath the vault of purest crystalline,
To do set tasks, as far as star may shine.
But as Man’s world in time extends its borders,
They’ll be some change for Heaven’s Angel Orders:
Each charged to watch a town, a house, a soul,
Will honour God in more exacting role.
Now, my immortal brothers, off you go!
To Lucifer, to God – obedience show!
Proclaim to Man the bliss of Heaven’s Host:
Each to his region, each one to his post!
Let some before the Lord burn incense sweet –
Man’s offerings be set about His feet;
Man’s prayers, pleas, paeans unabating
In Heaven’s joy-filled courts be heard vibrating!
One, turn the stars, revolving Heaven’s spheres,
Another clear the skies! If cloud appears
To shade the light with gloom, Earth’s Garden bless
With sunshine, letting fall in rich excess
Manna and honey for Mankind to feed on,
Worshipping God, the blameless Sons of Eden!
And who, through air, fire, earth and water’s sent,
Let him take care to curb each element
To Adam’s taste: the lightning flare restrain,
Bridle the tempest, yoke the stormy main!
Let one watch over Man with special care,
For God has numbered every single hair!
He’s to be borne up by hand if he should fall
Should Seraphim charge one of you to call
On Adam, let the messenger pay heed!
Those are my orders, as by God decreed!
CHORUS OF ANGELS:
Who sits in this exalted place,
Bathed in unfathomable light,
Immeasurable in time or space –
No counterpart in rank or might?
Who on no other power depends,
A self-sufficient entity,
Whose nature fully comprehends
Of all things the identity,
That in and round it all rotate –
The pivot, hub and central strand,
Sun of all suns – life, spirit, state
And soul of all we understand,
Or seek to grasp but never shall:
The heart, the ocean and the spring,
The origin of blessings all
That flow from Him unwavering,
By virtue of His mercy, might
And wisdom, shaped from nothing, ere,
Above the spheres, on topmost height,
This heavenly palace glittered fair,
Where we, wings crossed to shade our eyes,
That gleaming Majesty revere,
Arousing Heaven with our cries
Of praise, submission or, in fear,
Fall on our faces at the sight!
Describe Him! What is He or Who?
His name with quill seraphic write –
Or do both mind and tongue eschew?
CHORUS OF SERAPHIM: ‘Tis God, the ageless Being, ever –
Lasting source of what exists!
Forgive us if our praise is never
Adequate! His Might resists
Our puny powers of acclamation;
Pardon us, we’re not to blame!
No symbol, word, imagination
Can define Him, who the same
Ever was, is, and will be!
Angels’ paeans – weak, inept –
Border on profanity:
Which of us would breathe, except
For Him – and who would dare address
Him by His Name or make so bold
As to His secrets claim access?
For what He is – unique, age-old –
Only the Godhead is aware –
The stream-bed of Eternity!
Such knowledge none of us may share:
Impenetrable Mystery!
What eye the Light of Lights dare face?
Such privilege, more wondrous yet
Than we’ve been blessed with through His grace,
Would overtax our limits set!
We age in immortality,
But God does not! He stays the same!
Without His Being, we’d not be:
So let us glorify His Name!
Hymn of Praise:
Holy, holy, holy Lord!
Three times be the Godhead blest!
He alone is our true ward.
Sacred, then, be His behest!
By its mystery be bound;
His command receive with trust!
Everywhere, His word let sound,
As Gabriel decreed it must –
And blew his trumpet loud and clear.
So let us God in Adam revere –
For all that God ordains is just!
End of Act One.