XXX
Brandonwas carried in his chair along a dimly lighted corridor. At the end of it was a large room, lit more dimly still, in which, as it seemed, a number of ghostly figures were seated round the fireplace. For the most part they were old, bearded men, and they were smoking their pipes and listening with grave attention to one of their number, who was addressing them in a low, soft, persuasive voice.
Brandon was borne in very quietly by the doctor and the head attendant. He was placed at the back of the room, at the farthest point from the group around the fire. His entrance, even if observed, excited no attention. Without a moment’s interruption, the charming voice, whose every word was clear and distinct, continued as if nothing was happening.
To Brandon the whole thing was like a dream. The ghostly half-light in which the speaker and his audience was wrapped, the flicker of the distant fire, the curious stillness which the soft voice seemed to enhance,all added their touch of eeriness to the scene. Suddenly Brandon was stung to an imaginative intensity he had never felt before. The image of the spectrum altered, and he was completely possessed by a weird feeling that he had made the descent into Hades.
In a kind of entrancement he listened to the voice. It seemed a little older than the world, and yet he had heard it many times, as it seemed in many ages, for every word it used was somehow enchantingly familiar. Even the fall of the sentences, the rhythm of the phrases was like music in his ears. Whose voice could it be? It was a dream voice that swept his soul back through unnumbered ages, and yet now with full authority upon his senses in the terrestrial phase of being. He knew he was in the presence of a great mystery, and yet hearing that voice he was filled with strange joy.
“Plato,” whispered the doctor at his side.
Somehow the entranced listener felt that such a voice, touched by a divine grace, could have belonged to no one else.
“My friends”—as the words floated upon Brandon’s ear, they seemed to submerge his senses—“what is the race of men to do? The goal was in sight. Its sons were about to enter the kingdom their prayers and their fidelity to the gods had won for them, when oneamong them betrayed his brethren without pity and without shame. The tragedy has happened more than once in the history of an ill-starred planet, but as you have lately learned from the lips of Herodotus the circumstances of this case exceed all others in their poignancy.
“Those who have kept the faith, who have not profaned the high and awful mysteries to which in youth they were inducted, are permitted by the gods to assemble in the Court of First and Last Instance, to consider a most terrible Apostasy. They are to judge by the light of all the circumstances, they are to make their recommendations in accordance therewith.
“The Court is agreed that it is in the presence of the worst crime in its archives. A deed has been done that words cannot paint, a horror wrought which Justice cannot condone. Yet here among the wise and the good, as you have heard, are those who invoke in the name of the gods, the divine clemency for the doers of this evil.
“Some who speak for the Apostate have pleaded that the onus is not upon the common people of an outlaw state, but upon its ruler and guardians. This Court is asked to make a distinction between those whose innocence was wrought upon by cunning, who were goaded by fear to those bestial acts, which willcause the very name they bear to stink for generations in the nostrils of men, and the savage lust, the ignoble greed of those who held the reins of power. It is said that what they did they could not help doing. In the name of the Highest, appeal is made to the universal brotherhood existing among men, which they betrayed without pity and without remorse.
“Let me remind you, that pray for a miserable and perverted people, of the words of Socrates. He has said that the citizens of a state must in all circumstances accept full responsibility for its rulers. Whatever the form of its government, it is neither better nor worse than it deserves. And he has said that as the commonalty yearned to fatten on the spoils of victory, it is the divine justice that it drink the cup of defeat to the last drop of its bitterness.
“My friends, emboldened by the words of an inspired teacher, I ask you to take care lest mercy become weakness, and weakness supine folly. This is a conflict of philosophies, but even if the gods are many, Justice and Truth are one.
“It follows, therefore, that there can be no compromise between the evil and the good. Violence and insult have been offered to mankind, to the divine justice, and therefore to that Heaven in which we hopeto dwell. With those who have kept the faith, I ask that a pitiless crime be punished without pity.
“According to the old law, those who offend the gods suffer banishment. The very name they bear is forever accursed, they are shunned by the virtuous, they suffer eternal ostracism and the death of the soul. In the name of all that is sacred, I ask that the law now take its course. Let those who drew the sword perish by the Sword. Let them and their kindred, their children, and their children’s children be cast out forever. Such is the demand of justice. By no decree less awful can it be met.”
There came silence. The voice, to whose every word Brandon had listened in a kind of entrancement, could be heard no longer. He strained his eyes and his ears, but through the haze of shadows he was unable to distinguish the speaker among those seated round the fire. The hush that followed excited him strangely. And then another voice was heard, a voice remote yet familiar, which seemed to cause his heart to break inside him.
“Brethren”—the new voice was curiously soft and gentle, yet its every word was like a sword—“I am the eye of the west wind. I am the voice of the evening star. I am one with Brahm. I am the soul of Islam. I am the destined Buddha. I am the Light of theWorld, and I say to you there is no crime that cannot be purged by the Father’s love.
“I stand here at the apex of this world’s history, and I say to you the old way is not enough. If the spirit of Man is not to bleed in vain, if the sorrowing earth is to yield the fruits for which her sons have died, the God of Righteousness must be avenged by the God of Love.
“The Father’s kingdom is the hearts of men. And I say to you, unless the Son of Man came in vain among you, my word shall not be as Dead Sea fruit. I speak not to a party or a sect, but to all who would keep the faith, of whatever countenance or caste.
“In this slender folio which I hold in my hand is contained the divine genius of the ancient and the modern world, the gold of its dreams, the bread of its aspiration. The souls of the just through whom the Father spoke of old time have been summoned anew; the prophets, the magicians, the makers of harmony, have been gathered together, so that the terms of the Truce may take visible shape in the sight of all nations.
“I say to you, let none oppose it. This Mandate speaks to the bosoms and the business of men. Through it man shall cast off his chains. Through it he shall hear the voice of his Father, which is inHeaven. The Kingdom shall be made manifest; and all wars shall cease; and this old unhappy earth shall see the light of the promised day.
“There are strong spirits who do not approve this Mandate. They have their place in the hierarchy; they are of the chosen friends of mankind; sacred Hellas and imperial Rome are with them; they have the sanction of the elder gods, but I say to them, judge not that you be not judged. The Apostate has sinned against the Light, but millions of her children have been purified by sacrifice. Man may live a slave, and in a vile cause may die a king. The enemy of the human race has bred great souls. And in the last account let these stand the surety of her that bred them. Therefore I say to you again, judge not that you be not judged.”
There was a pause of curious intensity. When the familiar voice ceased for a moment, Brandon, as if in a dream, peered through the stifling silence to the figures round the fire. One there was standing in their midst, whom he could not yet see, but of whose magical presence his every fiber was aware. Suddenly he caught a gesture of the uplifted head and the voice flowed on.
“Empires and kings shall pass away, but My Word shall not pass away. And I say to those who prayfor the Apostate, let her cast out the devil in her entrails and return to the old way. Let her seek again the voice of the Father in the trees and the grass, the rivers and the mountains, let her weave again her enchanted harmonies in homage of the Love He bears her. Then shall her fields again grow fruitful, the sweet past shall renew itself with increase, her grateful brothers in science shall again take her hand.
“I see around me the souls of the saints waiting to be reborn. Through unnumbered ages they have held on high the lamp of Truth. Let them return to a sweeter world, a world enkindled and renewed in the Father’s Love.
“Here, in the presence of all that is, and all that was, I affirm the Beautiful, and the Good.
“I affirm Justice, Truth,andMercy.
“I affirm the universal brotherhood of men.
“I say to you, fear God, honor the King; which being interpreted means, obey the Law.
“See the Father in all things.
“I say to you finally, man is the question, God is the answer.
“This is the law and the prophets. If you would see the Kingdom deny it not.”
Again the voice ceased, and Brandon heard the doctor’s whisper: “The Master is at his best thisafternoon. It is better not to interrupt him if you don’t mind. He will come to you presently. He knows you are here.”
Brandon shook violently. Possessed by an excitement now almost terrible, he was unable to speak.