O my strong men who strew the roads, like crushed beetles! O the grocery and the bakery! O villages ill guarded by the Cock of the Cross, O towns devoured by the ravening grave-yard! Past is the time of ploughing and reaping and peaceful sharing of daily bread! And we ourselves like dead animals shall rot among weeds and nettles, Or we shall be forced to take refuge in woods and caves and learn again the language of nymphs and ravens. O race! O dynasty! Long have I lived! Long has the King been governor of this country. Solitary, searching for Wisdom, fixing on Duty his arid eyes, A helmsman made wise by steering in the uncharted sea, practised in deciphering the slow changes of the stars! That I should cease to see and feel! Oh, this life Looks with two faces upon us: Dawn, her cheeks anointed with honey and honeycomb, And Care, with swarthy face like an old fisherman, taciturn, shedding tears of pitch! That I should fall, Striking the echoing pavement with the head Of an anointed King! THE SECOND WATCHER: Peace, peace, O King, and do not speak so loudly! Be still! If you cannot sleep, keep silence! For this is the dreadful part of the night that was not meant for the eye of man, And this is a task that was not intended for him. Nevertheless let him sleep his sleep; For in its splendor the army of the heavens passes above the earth, And is reflected in the puddles and the open wells in the market-gardens. Wait patiently and listen to the cock crowing in the night, And soon it will be the hour when the baker throws the dough on the kneading board with a dull thud, a sign that the dawn is near. I think that the sun will rise and will strike with a ruddy light the wall overgrown with the ancient royal vine, And the light and the breeze will enter through the windows vast and high! I shall think only this and shall keep my eyes upraised. For they are made to see and if they close it is only to open again. _(Prolonged silence.--The sound of cannon._ THE FIRST WATCHER: It is he! There is news! _(The MESSENGER enters, out of breath._ THE FIRST WATCHER: Speak! Why do you open your mouth so wide? Why do you nod your head? If It should be not haste but joy that makes you speechless, if You only bring us tidings that are not of disaster, Laugh only; do not keep that ominous air Cassius! THE MESSENGER: O Triumph! What glory! What human heart will be strong enough to bear This! And you, my brothers that I now behold again, Listen to this resplendent news! THE THIRD WATCHER: Speak! What? You say.... THE MESSENGER: ... That we have gained the victory? Yes. THE THIRD WATCHER: That this Kingdom is saved? That we live once more? That this land Is still intact with its people in its length and in its breadth? I listen trembling! How, How is it possible? You do not say that we are victorious, we? THE MESSENGER: Yes. That is what I said!