ADAM. On his right, Eve sits on a stool in the shadowof a tree by the doorway, spinning flax. If I am to die like the fawn, why should not the rest die too? Asked why, he says life alone is true and meaningful and that marble remains marble, no matter how skilfully it is shaped. It is something greater than me: I am only apart of it. _Adam springs to his feet. EVE. ADAM. When she merely lifts her veil he shrieks that he is dying, covers his eyes, and begs her to veil herself again. Its first full production was at the Garrick Theatre in New York, with acts 1 and 2 being . CAIN. The earthfeeds us. I have watched thosefaces and willed; and then I have made a woman-child that has grown upquite like them. ADAM [_delighted_] Is it so? They expound his philosophy of creative evolution in an extended dramatic parable that progresses through time from the Garden of Eden to 31,920 ce. Oh! ADAM [_grumbling_] He might have put the hurdle back, lazy hound! But if I create another Eve he may turn to her and do without me. But then,as soon as you like. Something has happened. who have thedrudgery of preparing the food? Man-eating! He says he'll take that chance, since it is more honourable. She is the creator, youthe destroyer. There will be no pain for him. He loved his brother. I lived in the sweat of my brow, as you do. Their son Cain arrives, boastful and aggressive, proud to have invented murder by killing his brother Abel. Butif you invented death, why do you blame me, who am a minister of death? EVE. EVE. . ADAM. He cannotbear pain, nor take trouble with his body. EVE [_turning impatiently to the snake_] That heart-biting sound again!Do not do it. EVE [_angrily to the snake_] This death that you have brought into thegarden is an evil thing. Look. [4] Nevertheless, he uses both terms in Man and Superman which was written nine years before Bergson's work was published. When shall I die? EVE [_snatching herself loose from Adam_] Do not make that odious noise,I tell you. ADAM [_in sullen rage_] I have half a mind to shew you that my spade cansplit your undutiful head open, in spite of your spear. She is nearly four years old and is wearying of the activities of children. And it burst; and a little snake came out; and it became biggerand bigger from day to day until it was as big as I. If only the rest and sleep that enable me to bear it fromday to day could grow after many days into an eternal rest, an eternalsleep, then I could face my days, however long they may last. The creations are a man and woman, noble in appearance, beautiful to look at and splendidly attired. Ha! They will not overrun the wholegarden for a long time: not until you have laid down your burden andgone to sleep for ever. He rushes from the courtyard, blowing a whistle to summon the police, but is immobilized, within a force-field, near a monument of Falstaff, where he will stand and gibber until it is convenient to collect him. But I have some thoughts that come from within me andnot from the voices. [_She sits on the rock and throws herarms round the serpent, who begins whispering to her_]. What a frightfulthought! Most of the opin-ion has tended to be negative, following the adverse judgment of Eric . A monologue of The Serpent from Back to Methuselah. Only when he has fought, when he hasfaced terror and death, when he has striven to the spending of the lastrally of his strength, can he know what it is to rest in love in thearms of a woman. On the west side stands a little classic temple and in the middle of the glade there is a marble altar, shaped like a table, and long enough for a man to lie on. And I will love Eve all that time and noother woman. Book from Project Gutenberg: Back to Methuselah. EVE. THE SERPENT. He kept himself alive byeating meat. I musthave certainty. All Rights Reserved. English Deutsch Franais Espaol Portugus Italiano Romn Nederlands Latina Dansk Svenska Norsk Magyar Bahasa Indonesia Trke Suomi Latvian Lithuanian esk . It is I who have thought of it. EVE. CAIN. So I have to come back and listen to Adam saying thesame thing for the ten-thousandth time, or to receive a visit from thelast great-great-grandson who has grown up and wants to impress me withhis importance. CAIN. You are not stronger: you are shorter in the wind: you cannotendure. Superman! I will clear themaway tomorrow. EVE. EVE. Burge-Lubin summons Confucius, the Chief Secretary, to brief him on governmental matters. CAIN [_letting his spear fall into the crook of his shield arm, andtwirling his moustache_] There is something higher than man. You callthat the nature of woman! Of newly createdthings. The shouts of triumph! Itmeans that nothing is certain but uncertainty. Do you think I never have thesethoughts: I! Soon there will be as many snakes inEden as there are scales on my body. claim that all sensible people agree with him, put forward in Back to Methuselah by both Savvy and Professor Conrad. I am tired of myself. EVE. ADAM [_angrily_] How can I help brooding when the future has becomeuncertain? Both Burge-Lubin and Barnabas are considerably put off because they stand in awe of her although they deem her quite good-looking. THE SERPENT. Useless:nothing happened. What is wicked? If I put off death until tomorrow, I shall never die. Do. Sheshall have no other food; and that will make her my slave. THE SERPENT. Languages: English, Espanol | Site Copyright Jalic Inc. 2000 - 2023. Creation must not be strangled. ADAM [_horrified_] Oh no, no. A Glimpse of the Domesticity of Franklyn Barnabas, The Adventures of the Black Girl in Her Search for God, The Intelligent Woman's Guide to Socialism and Capitalism, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Back_to_Methuselah&oldid=1090077535, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Evolving stages in the future progress of humanity, This page was last edited on 27 May 2022, at 06:56. I shewed the little case to the sun, and left it in itswarmth. Adam has invented something new. ADAM. Andnow some day, in spite of all my care, you will fall on your head andbecome dead. ADAM. He says no and tries to hide his tears, which he attributes to hay fever. Youthful nurses are provided to tourists to keep that from happening but he has evaded Zozim, the one assigned to him. Meanwhile, the Archbishop, having learned of the furore at the Records Office, presents himself for questioning. My new word for having to live for ever. Adam must not perish. Andthen there will be nothing but snakes, snakes, snakes everywhere. Zoo is the replacement. The four rivers running withblood! Back to Methuselah (A Metabiological Pentateuch) by George Bernard Shaw consists of a preface (The Infidel Half Century) and a series of five plays: In the Beginning: B.C. Turned from the clay. Choose a day for your death; and resolve to die on thatday. Everything must have been created out of nothing. I donot know what I want, except that I want to be something higher andnobler than this stupid old digger whom Lilith made to help you to bringme into the world, and whom you despise now that he has served yourturn. She spins resignedly; he digs impatiently. Martellus apparently brought nothing and Arjillax is jeered because he brought busts of ancients, which the children think are ugly; they want youthful beauties, like themselves. I have striven with a man: spear to spear andshield to shield. ADAM. Her pangs were terrible: hergroans drove sleep from Eden. THE SERPENT. ADAM. Whilst the east wind prevails Britain shall prosper. THE SERPENT. The answer they had expected was the one Sir Eastwind had reported: "When Britain was cradled in the west, the east wind hardened her and made her great. And there is yet nearly sevenhundred years of it to endure. How did Lilith work this miracle? However, counter-measures are not taken because it is realised that any one of them may be long-lived too, but not yet aware of it. EVE [_angrily throwing down her distaff_] What! 2008. The serpent has made a beautiful word for being. The discussion is interrupted by the arrival of the Domestic Minister, Mrs Lutestring to give her mandatory quarterly report. THE SERPENT. EVE. ADAM. Conrad has published their That was wonderfully clever of you. Back to Methuselah (Revival, Play, Comedy, Broadway) opened in New York City Mar 26, 1958 and played through Apr 19, 1958. Come here. One of them is cynical, not believing longevity will happen, but the other deems the theory valid, yet rejects the prospect out of hand because longer lives will be available to everyone instead of only the elite. Selfish, yes: a life in which no man is his brother's keeper,because his brother can keep himself. And others makelittle mammoths out of clay, or make faces appear on flat stones, andask me to create women for them with such faces. It wasLilith who did wrong when she shared the labor of creation so unequallybetween man and wife. Man need not always live by bread alone. Jealousy. [_She dusts her hands, and draws awayfrom it_]. When you have to snare the little tender birdsbecause it is too much trouble for her to chew honest food, how much ofa great warrior do you feel then? ADAM [_scrambling up in horror_] Make you die!!! I don't normally like long plays, but this . Remonstrances ensue and the Ancient apologizes, saying that had he known there was a nursery here, he should have gone another way. The Voice in the garden will tell them that theymust not kill, as it tells me. A scene from the Barry Jackson production of George Bernard Shaw's 'Back to Methuselah' at the Court Theatre, starring Colin Keith Johnson as Adam, Gwen Ffrangcon Davies as Eve and Edith Evans as the serpent, 1924. You know what I mean. That is a great thought. Shaw had an exalted opinion of Back to Methuselah as both literature and philosophy; in the press release he wrote for its publishers (Constable & Co., London) he said it would "interest biologists, religious leaders, and lovers of the marvellous in fiction as well as lovers of the theatre" and described it as his supreme work in dramatic literature. ADAM. Cease your boasting and bullying, and tell the truth. When Lilith told me whatshe had imagined in our silent language (for there were no words then) Ibade her desire it and will it; and then, to our great wonder, the thingshe had desired and willed created itself in her under the urging of herwill. I worship you, Eve. Lua was awoman-child when I bore her. I am the old serpent, older than Adam, older than Eve. Shaw's "homeopathic" educational method consisted of lying to students, until the students were able to see through the lies and argue with the teachers. And there is Enoch, who walks on the hills, and hears theVoice continually, and has given up his will to do the will of theVoice, and has some of the Voice's greatness. EVE [_looking across the garden towards the hurdle_] Here is Cain. Jealousy. Whereupon she vanishes, the lighting turns to daylight and the abyss is no more. The east wind shall wither Britain's enemies in the day of contest. Listen.I am old. Anything is better than uncertainty. Life has becomeuncertain. THE SERPENT. The thought that we must not cease to be comes fromwithin. You learnt nothing from him: youdrudged and drudged and drudged, and dug and dug and dug, and made me dothe same. THE SERPENT. EVE [_musing_] Yes, to dig. He reveals that the drowned notables in the film clips at the Records Office are all the same person whose multiple demises had ended several significant careers. No: I do not think about myself: what is the use? No one has ever uttered such a sound before. For if you do not there will be an end. The Voice of The Serpent (Original) . THE SERPENT. I revolt against the food. time, Back to Methuselah and Saint Joan. And be it noted, Lilith, the first mother, is the presiding imaginative principle of Back to Methuselah itself. Meaningful and that marble remains marble, no matter how skilfully it is more honourable andgone to for! Fall into the crook of his shield arm, andtwirling his moustache_ ] there is something higher than man him! 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