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Fragments
Contents:
SCENE II JUDAS MACCABAEUS; JEWISH FUGITIVES.
JUDAS. Who and what are ye, that with furtive steps Steal in among our tents?
FUGITIVES. O Maccabaeus, Outcasts are we, and fugitives as thou art, Jews of Jerusalem, that have escaped From the polluted city, and from death.
JUDAS. None can escape from death. Say that ye come To die for Israel, and ye are welcome. What tidings bring ye?
FUGITIVES. Tidings of despair. The Temple is laid waste; the precious vessels, Censers of gold, vials and veils and crowns, And golden ornaments, and hidden treasures, Have all been taken from it, and the Gentiles With revelling and with riot fill its courts, And dally with harlots in the holy places.
JUDAS. All this I knew before.
FUGITIVES. Upon the altar Are things profane, things by the law forbidden; Nor can we keep our Sabbaths or our Feasts, But on the festivals of Dionysus Must walk in their processions, bearing ivy To crown a drunken god.
JUDAS. This too I know. But tell me of the Jews. How fare the Jews?
FUGITIVES. The coming of this mischief hath been sore And grievous to the people. All the land Is full of lamentation and of mourning. The Princes and the Elders weep and wail; The young men and the maidens are made feeble; The beauty of the women hath been changed.
JUDAS. And are there none to die for Israel? ’T is not enough to mourn. Breastplate and harness Are better things than sackcloth. Let the women Lament for Israel; the men should die.
FUGITIVES. Both men and women die; old men and young: Old Eleazer died: and Mahala With all her Seven Sons.
JUDAS. Antiochus, At every step thou takest there is left A bloody footprint in the street, by which The avenging wrath of God will track thee out! It is enough. Go to the sutler’s tents; Those of you who are men, put on such armor As ye may find; those of you who are women, Buckle that armor on; and for a watchword Whisper, or cry aloud, "The Help of God."
Contents:
Chicago:
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, "Scene II Judas Maccabaeus; Jewish Fugitives.," Fragments, ed. Callaway, Morgan, Jr., 1962- in The Complete Poetical Works of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (New York: George E. Wood, 1850), Original Sources, accessed July 6, 2025, http://www.originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=8ENC1NFVTTG4WMB.
MLA:
Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth. "Scene II Judas Maccabaeus; Jewish Fugitives." Fragments, edited by Callaway, Morgan, Jr., 1962-, in The Complete Poetical Works of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, New York, George E. Wood, 1850, Original Sources. 6 Jul. 2025. http://www.originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=8ENC1NFVTTG4WMB.
Harvard:
Longfellow, HW, 'Scene II Judas Maccabaeus; Jewish Fugitives.' in Fragments, ed. . cited in 1850, The Complete Poetical Works of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, George E. Wood, New York. Original Sources, retrieved 6 July 2025, from http://www.originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=8ENC1NFVTTG4WMB.
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