The Reign of Greed Part 46

"A very just G.o.d, Senor Simoun," replied the priest. "A G.o.d who chastises our lack of faith, our vices, the little esteem in which we hold dignity and the civic virtues. We tolerate vice, we make ourselves its accomplices, at times we applaud it, and it is just, very just that we suffer the consequences, that our children suffer them. It is the G.o.d of liberty, Senor Simoun, who obliges us to love it, by making the yoke heavy for us--a G.o.d of mercy, of equity, who while He chastises us, betters us and only grants prosperity to him who has merited it through his efforts. The school of suffering tempers, the arena of combat strengthens the soul.

"I do not mean to say that our liberty will be secured at the sword's point, for the sword plays but little part in modern affairs, but that we must secure it by making ourselves worthy of it, by exalting the intelligence and the dignity of the individual, by loving justice, right, and greatness, even to the extent of dying for them,--and when a people reaches that height G.o.d will provide a weapon, the idols will be shattered, the tyranny will crumble like a house of cards and liberty will shine out like the first dawn.

"Our ills we owe to ourselves alone, so let us blame no one. If Spain should see that we were less complaisant with tyranny and more disposed to struggle and suffer for our rights, Spain would be the first to grant us liberty, because when the fruit of the womb reaches maturity woe unto the mother who would stifle it! So, while the Filipino people has not sufficient energy to proclaim, with head erect and bosom bared, its rights to social life, and to guarantee it with its sacrifices, with its own blood; while we see our countrymen in private life ashamed within themselves, hear the voice of conscience roar in rebellion and protest, yet in public life keep silence or even echo the words of him who abuses them in order to mock the abused; while we see them wrap themselves up in their egotism and with a forced smile praise the most iniquitous actions, begging with their eyes a portion of the booty--why grant them liberty? With Spain or without Spain they would always be the same, and perhaps worse! Why independence, if the slaves of today will be the tyrants of tomorrow? And that they will be such is not to be doubted, for he who submits to tyranny loves it.

"Senor Simoun, when our people is unprepared, when it enters the fight through fraud and force, without a clear understanding of what it is doing, the wisest attempts will fail, and better that they do fail, since why commit the wife to the husband if he does not sufficiently love her, if he is not ready to die for her?"

Padre Florentino felt the sick man catch and press his hand, so he became silent, hoping that the other might speak, but he merely felt a stronger pressure of the hand, heard a sigh, and then profound silence reigned in the room. Only the sea, whose waves were rippled by the night breeze, as though awaking from the heat of the day, sent its hoa.r.s.e roar, its eternal chant, as it rolled against the jagged rocks. The moon, now free from the sun's rivalry, peacefully commanded the sky, and the trees of the forest bent down toward one another, telling their ancient legends in mysterious murmurs borne on the wings of the wind.

The sick man said nothing, so Padre Florentino, deeply thoughtful, murmured: "Where are the youth who will consecrate their golden hours, their illusions, and their enthusiasm to the welfare of their native land? Where are the youth who will generously pour out their blood to wash away so much shame, so much crime, so much abomination? Pure and spotless must the victim be that the sacrifice may be acceptable! Where are you, youth, who will embody in yourselves the vigor of life that has left our veins, the purity of ideas that has been contaminated in our brains, the fire of enthusiasm that has been quenched in our hearts? We await you, O youth! Come, for we await you!"

Feeling his eyes moisten he withdrew his hand from that of the sick man, arose, and went to the window to gaze out upon the wide surface of the sea. He was drawn from his meditation by gentle raps at the door. It was the servant asking if he should bring a light.

When the priest returned to the sick man and looked at him in the light of the lamp, motionless, his eyes closed, the hand that had pressed his lying open and extended along the edge of the bed, he thought for a moment that he was sleeping, but noticing that he was not breathing touched him gently, and then realized that he was dead. His body had already commenced to turn cold. The priest fell upon his knees and prayed.

When he arose and contemplated the corpse, in whose features were depicted the deepest grief, the tragedy of a whole wasted life which he was carrying over there beyond death, the old man shuddered and murmured, "G.o.d have mercy on those who turned him from the straight path!"

While the servants summoned by him fell upon their knees and prayed for the dead man, curious and bewildered as they gazed toward the bed, reciting requiem after requiem, Padre Florentino took from a cabinet the celebrated steel chest that contained Simoun's fabulous wealth. He hesitated for a moment, then resolutely descended the stairs and made his way to the cliff where Isagani was accustomed to sit and gaze into the depths of the sea.

Padre Florentino looked down at his feet. There below he saw the dark billows of the Pacific beating into the hollows of the cliff, producing sonorous thunder, at the same time that, smitten by the moonbeams, the waves and foam glittered like sparks of fire, like handfuls of diamonds hurled into the air by some jinnee of the abyss. He gazed about him. He was alone. The solitary coast was lost in the distance amid the dim cloud that the moonbeams played through, until it mingled with the horizon. The forest murmured unintelligible sounds.

Then the old man, with an effort of his herculean arms, hurled the chest into s.p.a.ce, throwing it toward the sea. It whirled over and over several times and descended rapidly in a slight curve, reflecting the moonlight on its polished surface. The old man saw the drops of water fly and heard a loud splash as the abyss closed over and swallowed up the treasure. He waited for a few moments to see if the depths would restore anything, but the wave rolled on as mysteriously as before, without adding a fold to its rippling surface, as though into the immensity of the sea a pebble only had been dropped.

"May Nature guard you in her deep abysses among the pearls and corals of her eternal seas," then said the priest, solemnly extending his hands. "When for some holy and sublime purpose man may need you, G.o.d will in his wisdom draw you from the bosom of the waves. Meanwhile, there you will not work woe, you will not distort justice, you will not foment avarice!"

GLOSSARY

_aba:_ A Tagalog exclamation of wonder, surprise, etc., often used to introduce or emphasize a contradictory statement.

_alcalde:_ Governor of a province or district, with both executive and judicial authority.

_Ayuntamiento:_ A city corporation or council, and by extension the building in which it has its offices; specifically, in Manila, the capitol.

_balete:_ The Philippine banyan, a tree sacred in Malay folk-lore.

_banka:_ A dugout canoe with bamboo supports or outriggers.

_batalan:_ The platform of split bamboo attached to a _nipa_ house.

_batikulin:_ A variety of easily-turned wood, used in carving.

_bibinka:_ A sweetmeat made of sugar or mola.s.ses and rice-flour, commonly sold in the small shops.

_buyera:_ A woman who prepares and sells the _buyo_.

_buyo:_ The masticatory prepared by wrapping a piece of areca-nut with a little sh.e.l.l-lime in a betel-leaf--the _pan_ of British India.

_cabesang:_ t.i.tle of a _cabeza de barangay;_ given by courtesy to his wife also.

_cabeza de barangay:_ Headman and tax-collector for a group of about fifty families, for whose "tribute" he was personally responsible.

_calesa:_ A two-wheeled chaise with folding top.

_calle:_ Street (Spanish).

_camisa:_ 1. A loose, collarless shirt of transparent material worn by men outside the trousers. 2. A thin, transparent waist with flowing sleeves, worn by women.

_capitan:_ "Captain," a t.i.tle used in addressing or referring to a gobernadorcillo, or a former occupant of that office.

_carambas:_ A Spanish exclamation denoting surprise or displeasure.

_carbineer:_ Internal-revenue guard.

_carromata:_ A small two-wheeled vehicle with a fixed top.

_casco:_ A flat-bottomed freight barge.

_cayman:_ The Philippine crocodile.

_cedula:_ Certificate of registration and receipt for poll-tax.

_chongka:_ A child's game played with pebbles or cowry-sh.e.l.ls.

_cigarrera:_ A woman working in a cigar or cigarette factory.

_Civil Guard:_ Internal quasi-military police force of Spanish officers and native soldiers.

_cochero:_ Carriage driver, coachman.

_cuarto:_ A copper coin, one hundred and sixty of which were equal in value to a silver peso.

_filibuster:_ A native of the Philippines who was accused of advocating their separation from Spain.

_filibusterism:_ See _filibuster_.

_gobernadorcillo:_ "Petty governor," the princ.i.p.al munic.i.p.al official--also, in Manila, the head of a commercial guild.

_gumamela:_ The hibiscus, common as a garden shrub in the Philippines.

_Indian:_ The Spanish designation for the Christianized Malay of the Philippines was _indio_ (Indian), a term used rather contemptuously, the name _Filipino_ being generally applied in a restricted sense to the children of Spaniards born in the Islands.