A Tragedy of Abrahams Sacrifice, Title page – Dramatis personae
A TRAGEDIE OF ABRAHAMS SACRIFICE, Written in french by Theodore Beza, and translated into Inglish, by A. G. Finished at Povvles Belchamp in Essex, the xj. of August. 1575.
GEN. 15. ROM. 4. Abraham beleued God, and it was imputed to him for righteousnes.
Imprinted at London by Thomas Vautroullier dwelling in the Blacke Friers. 1577.
THEODORE BEZA TO THE READERS, GREEting in the Lord.
IT is now a two yeares, since God graunted me the grace to forsake the contrie where he is persecuted, to serue him accordinge to his holy will. During which time, because that in my aduersity many fancies ranne in my head, I resorted to Gods word, where I founde two thinges that comforted me maruelously. The one is the infinite number of promises vttered by the mouth of him which is the truth it selfe, whose sayinges are alwayes matched with effect. The other is the multitude of examples, whereof euen the least are able enough, not only to encourage and harten the weakest & fayntest harted in the worlde, but also to make them inuincible. Which thing we must needes see to hauehave come to passe, if we consider by what meanes Gods truth hath bene mayntayned to this present time. Howebeit among all them that are set afore vsus for example in the olde testament. I finde three persons, in whome (to my seeming) the Lorde ment to set forth his greatest wonders: namely, Abraham, Moises, and Dauid: in the liues of whome if men would nowe a dayes looke vppon them selues, they should knowe thē selues better then they doe. Therefore as I redd those holy stories with wonderfull pleasure and singular profit: there came a desire vppon me to exercise my selfe in writing such matters in verse, not onelyonly of intēt to consider & remēber thē the better, but also to praise God by all the meanes I could deuise. For I confesse, that euen of nature I hauehave delighted in poetrie, & I can not yet repent me of it: neuerthelesse it greueth me right sore, that the litle grace which God gaue me in that behalfe, was imployed by me in such things, as the very remembrance of them irketh me now at the hart. Therefore I gaue my selfe as then to more holy matters, hoping to go forwarde in them afterwarde, specially in the translating of the Psalmes which I am now in hand with. And woulde God that the great number of good witts which I know in Fraunce, would in steede of buzying them selues about vnhappy inuentions or imitations of vaine and vnhonest fancies, (for so they be, if a mā iudge them according to truth) rather set their minds to the magnifying of the great God, of whom they hauehave receiued those so great giftes, then to the flattering of their Idols, that is to say, of their Lordes and Ladies, whom they vphold in their vices by their fainings & flatterings. Of a truth it would become thē better to sing a song of God, then to counterfet a ballet of Petrarks, & to make amorous dities, worthy to hauehave the garlande of sonnetts, or to counterfet the furies of the auncient Poets, to blase abroad the glory of this world, or to consecrate this man or that woman to immortalitie, thinges which beare the readers on hande that the authors of them not only are mounted vp to the toppe of their Pernassus, but also are come to the very circle of the Moone. Othersome (of which number I my selfe hauehave bene, to my great greefe as now) write twoedged Epigrams cutting on both sides or sharppointed & pricking at both endes. Others buzie them selues rather in ouerturning then in turning of thinges: & othersome intending to inrich our tongue, do powder it with Greeke and Latine tearmes. But how now wil some man say: I looked for a tragedie, and thou giuest vsus a Satyre. I cōfesse that in thinking vponupon such madnes, I was caried away and ouershot my selfe. Neuerthelesse I ment not to rayle vponupon good witts, but onelyonly to discouer to them so plainly the open wronge which they doe both to God and to them selues, as they might through a certeine enuie, take vponupon them to passe me in the description of such matters as I hauehave taken tast of to their handes, according as I knowe that it shall be very easie for them, if the meanest of them will giuegive him selfe therto. But to come to the matter that I hauehave in hand, it is partly tragical and partly comicall: & therefore I hauehave separated the prologue, & diuided the whole into pawses, after the maner of actes in comedies, howbeit without binding of my self therto. And because it holdeth more of the one then of the other: I thought best to name it a tragedie. As touching the maner of dealing, I hauehave altered some small circumstances of the storie, to apply my selfe to the companye. Moreouer I hauehave followed the ground as neare the text as I could, according to such coniectures as I thought most conuenient for the matter and persons. And although the affections be very great, yet hauehave I absteined frō wordes and speeches to farre estraunged from the common ordinarie, notwithstā ding that I know it was the maner of the Greekes and Latines so to doe, specially in their chorusses, as they termed them. But I passed so litle of imitating them, that contrariwise me thinkes nothing is more vnseemely, than those forced translations and speeches drawne out of such a lēgth, as they can neuer come to the pith of the matter: whereof I report me to Aristophanes, who iustly rebuketh the Poets of his time for it so often times. Verily I hauehave made a songe without a chorus, nother hauehave I vsed the termes of Strophies, Antistrophies, Epirrhemes, Parecbases, and other such wordes, which serue to no purpose but to amase simple folke, seeing the vse of such thinges is worne away, & they be not so commendable of them selues, that a man should trouble him selfe to bringe them vp again. As touching the ortographie, I hauehave willed the Printer to followe the common order, notwithstanding the fond fancies that hauehave ben set forth within these three or fower yeares in that behalfe. And I would gladly counsel the forwardest of them that hauehave altered it, (if they were men that would take any other bodies counsell then their owne) that sith they will needes reduce it to the pronoū cing, that is to say, make as many fashiōs of writinge, not onelyonly as there are countries, but also as ther are persōs in Fraūce: they should first learne to pronounce, before they teach mē to write. For to speake & write after their fashion, he is not worthye to giuegive rules of the writinge of our tongue, which is not able to speake it. Which thinge I speake not to blame all those that hauehave set downe their dowts in that behalf, which I graunt are very needfull to be reformed: but for such as sette forth their dotages as certeine rules for al the world to follow. Furthermore, as touching the profit that may be taken of this singular storie, besides the things that are treated of it in insinite places of the Scripture, I wil refer it to him that shal speake of it in the conclusion: praying you whosoeuer you be to accept this my small labour with as good will as I offer it you.
From Lausan the first of October. 1550.
THE ARGVMENT OF THIS TRAGEDIE TAKEN OVT OF THE TVVO AND twentith chapter of Genesis.
AFtervvard God tryed Abrahā, and sayd vntounto him: Abraham. And he aunsvvered, Here I am. Then sayd he to him, take thyne onelyonly sonne out of hande, euen Isaac vvhome thou louest, & goe into the country of Morea, & there offer him vp for a burnt sacrifice vppon one of the hills that I vvill shevve thee.
Abraham therefore rising earely, sadled his asse & tooke tvvo seruants vvith him, & Isaac his sonne. And vvhen he had cut vvood for the burnt sacrifice, he arose and vvent to the place that God had told him of. The third day, Abraham loking vp, savv the place a farre of, and sayd to his seruaunts, tarry you here vvith the Asse, for I and the ladde vvil goe yonder, and vvhen vve hauehave … vve vvill come to you againe. Then Abraham tooke the vvood for the burnt sacrifice, & layd it vponupon Isaac his sonne, & tooke the fire and a knife in his ovvne hand, and so they vvent forth togither. Then sayd Isaac to Abraham his father. My father. Abraham aunsvvered, here I am my sonne. And he said, Beholde here is fire and vvood, but vvhere is the Lambe for burnt sacrifice. Abraham aunsvvered, my sonne, God vvill prouide him a lambe for burnt sacrifice. And they vvent on both togither. And vvhen they came to the place that God had spoken of, he builded an altar there, and layd the vvood in order vppon it, and then bound Isaac his sonne & laid him vponupon the altar aboue the vvood, and putting forth his hand cavvght the knife to stryke of his sonnes necke. Then an Angell of the Lord cryed vntounto him from heauen, saying Abrahā, Abraham. VVho aunsvvered, loe here I am. And he sayd vntounto him, lay not thy hand vponupon the child, nother doe anything vntounto him. For novv I knovve thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not spared thine only sōne for my sake. &▪ Abrahā loked vp & savv, & behold a sheep vvas cavvght behind him in a bush by the hornes. Then Abraham vvent and tooke the sheepe, and offered it vp for a burnt offering in steede of his sonne. And Abraham called the name of the place, The Lord shall see. VVhereof it is sayd at this day of that mounteyne, The Lord shal be seene. And the Angell of the Lord called vntounto Abraham from out of heauen the second tyme, saying: I hauehave svvorne by my selfe sayth the Lorde, for as much as thou hast done this thing, & not spared thyne onelyonly sonne, I vvill blesse thee and multiply thy seede as the starres of the sky, & as the sand on the seas shore, and thy seede shall possesse the gates of thyne enemies. And all nations of the earth shall be blessed in thy seede, because thou hast obeyed my voyce.
The speakers.
The Prologue.
Abraham.
Sara.
Isaac.
A companie of shepherds of Abrahams ovvne house diuided in tvvo partes.
The Angell.
Satan.