“I am in favor of war, to teach these barbarians to know and worship the God of the Jews.” And he held up his sword, the handle of which was carved to represent the Adonis of Sidon, to whose inexhaustible vigor the prince sacrificed, every spring, a ram and a cock. This speech of Absalom’s was received with acclaim by the nobles. The next day the armies of Israel, led by the king, and accompanied by more than a thousand priests of Adonis, Astarte, Kemosh, Melcarth, the local Baalim, and the Holy Ark, set out for the frontiers of Aram. II Night came gently down over Israel. The darkness of earth slid like a shadow across the rocks stained by the sunset. Calm and deep the sea of Cinnereth reflected the stars whose lights gleamed upon the trans-Jordanic hills. There the desert slept; while in the north the lights of Tyre shone upon the sea. The village herds returned from their pastures. Then the roads of Zebulon resounded with the tonk of bells, as the cows with sweet-smelling breath wound down from the hills. The day was over, and their stalls awaited them. Melancholy and austere, they parted from each other without regret. Aaron, the brother of Jonah, walked behind them. In his hand he carried a rod with which he beat now and then upon the flanks of the animals nearest him. Then they rushed forward, clumsily, to avoid the blows which fell upon them without force. The young man enjoyed this hour of the day, when he strode home through the village, driving the herds before him. He was proud to be in charge of the village cows. His mother also was proud of him; she foresaw an important future for him. “Always do your best,” she said. “However,” she added, “do not tire yourself out. And in case of robbers, or a lion, please come home; and do not make a fool of yourself.” “Well,” the young man would say, twirling his stick, “we’ll see about that.” Aaron did not think that his brother led a very sensible life. To live all alone in the desert seemed to him a nonsensical thing to do, and he felt sure that his mother agreed with him. Else why did she shake her head so sadly, and heave such a sigh, when she spoke of her eldest son? As a matter of fact, she relived in Jonah, but very faintly, the dreamy, mild, religious ecstasy of her maidenhood. That was all over for her now; life had long ago got down to being practical. Besides, one did not hear so much about God as when she was a girl. Still, she remembered the beauty of those times, when her heart beat with joy and love, when a sweet unrest brought her to her knees, and she felt through her prayers the breath of holiness upon her cheek.