[page 41:]

A TALE OF JERUSALEM

Another of the tales submitted in 1831 to the Saturday Courier, this story is a harmless buffoonery upon a very old theme. The attitude of Jews toward swine has frequently seemed amusing to those who do not share it. Poe made the most of a historical incident in which some ancient Romans played a clever trick upon the defenders of Jerusalem. Its cleverness lay in the fact that the legalistic Romans, who preferred to respect all divinities, including those of their enemies, avoided impiety, since for them a boar was a highly acceptable sacrificial victim; a boar, a ram and a bull were offered in the great purification ceremony called Suovetaurilia.

The Biblical injunctions against pigs are usually thought of chiefly as dietary laws, but in Deuteronomy 14:8 we read: “The swine ... is unclean unto you: ye shall not eat of their flesh, nor touch their dead carcase.” Clearly the prohibition concerns more than what may be eaten, and involves ceremonial conduct.

Poe's source was pointed out by James Southall Wilson in the American Mercury, October 1931, as a novel by Horatio Smith, Zillah, a Tale of the Holy City (1828), from which Poe took his plot, most of his allusions, and the high-flown language of his characters. The novel is overlong, but enjoyable even now. Its scene is laid about 37 B. C., when Herod the Great, aided by Mark Antony, overthrew King Aristobulus. The heroine, Zillah, is the daughter of the Sagan, or Deputy High Priest, who, like the other Jewish characters, quote the Bible on every possible occasion. Poe used the [page 42:] King James Bible directly to some extent in the story, but a very rare spelling (see note 34 below) confirms Zillah as his principal source.

The incident central to Poe's story is related in Zillah (I, 219) by the heroine's aged nurse, who, recalling the siege of Jerusalem in 65 B. C. by Pompey, says:

The ancient source is in the Talmud, Soteh, fol. 49, col. 2; (see Hebraic Literature: Translations from the Talmud, Midrashim and Kabbala, with an introduction by Maurice H. Harris, copyright 1901, pp. 203-204).

As Poe later sketched the members of the Folio Club, the narrator of “A Tale of Jerusalem” was obviously to be “Mr. Chronologos Chronology, who admired Horace Smith.” Poe shared that admiration and in Graham's Magazine for August 1841, reviewing a later novel, The Moneyed Man, called Smith “perhaps, the most erudite of all the English novelists, and unquestionably one of the best in every respect.” It should be observed that “A Tale of Jerusalem” is not a burlesque of Poe's original, but a story told in the manner of Horace Smith.* If there be satire, it is on writers who think any story connected with Bible times must be edifying. In “A Tale of Jerusalem,” as in “Four Beasts in One,” we see that absurdity is as much of the past as of the present.

There is a translation of Poe's tale into modern Hebrew by Ben-Zion Yedidiah in a recent anthology, Gaheleth-Ha-Esh (Tel-Aviv, 1950; the title of the book means “Burning Coal”). [page 43:]

A TALE OF JERUSALEM.   [D]  [[v]]   [[n]]

“Let us hurry to the walls,” said Abel-Phittim{a} to Buzi-Ben-Levi and Simeon the Pharisee,(2) on the tenth day of the month Thammuz, in the year of the world three thousand nine hundred and forty-one(3) — “let us hasten to the ramparts adjoining the gate{b} of Benjamin, which is in the city of David(4), and overlooking the camp of the uncircumcised; for it is the last hour of the fourth watch, being sunrise; and the idolaters, in fulfilment of the promise of Pompey, should be awaiting{c} us with the lambs for the sacrifices.”(5)

Simeon, Abel-Phittim, and Buzi-Ben-Levi were the Gizbarim, or sub-collectors of the offering,(6) in the holy city of Jerusalem.{d}

“Verily,” replied the Pharisee, “let us hasten: for this generosity in the heathen is unwonted; and fickle-mindedness has ever been an attribute of{e} the worshippers of Baal.”

“That they are fickle-minded and treacherous is as true as the Pentateuch,”(7) said Buzi-Ben-Levi, “but that is only towards the [page 44:] people of Adonai.(8) When was it ever known that the Ammonites proved wanting to their own interests?{f} Methinks it is no great stretch of generosity to allow us lambs for the altar of the Lord, receiving in lieu thereof thirty silver shekels per head!”

“Thou forgettest, however, Ben-Levi,” replied{g} Abel-Phittim, “that the Roman Pompey, who is now impiously besieging the city of the Most High, has no assurity{h} that we apply not the lambs thus purchased for the altar, to the sustenance of the body, rather than of the spirit.”

“Now, by{i} the five corners of my beard,”(9) shouted the Pharisee, who belonged to the sect called The Dashers (that little knot of saints whose manner of dashing and lacerating the feet against{j} the pavement was long a thorn and a reproach to less zealous devotees — a stumbling-block to less gifted perambulators)(10) — “by the five corners of that beard which as a priest I am forbidden to shave! — have we lived to see the day when a blaspheming and idolatrous {kk}upstart of Rome{kk} shall accuse us of appropriating to the appetites of the flesh the most holy and consecrated elements? {ll}Have we lived to see the day when” —{ll}

“Let us not question the motives of the Philistine,” interrupted Ahel-Phittim,{m} “for to-day we profit for the first time by his avarice or by{n} his generosity; but rather let us hurry to the ramparts, lest offerings should be wanting for that altar whose fire the {oo}rains of heaven{oo} cannot extinguish,{p} and whose pillars{q} of smoke {rr}no tempest can{rr} turn aside.”(11)

That part of the city to which our worthy Gizbarim now hastened, and which bore the name of its architect King David, was esteemed the most strongly fortified district of Jerusalem; being situated upon{s} the steep and lofty hill of Zion.(12)Here a broad, deep, circumvallatory trench, hewn from the solid rock, was defended by a wall of great strength erected upon its inner edge. This [page 45:] wall was adorned,{t} at regular interspaces, by square towers of white marble; the lowest sixty, and{u} the highest one hundred and twenty cubits in height. But, in the vicinity of the gate of Benjamin, the wall arose by no means{v} from the margin of the fosse. On the contrary, between the level of the ditch and the basement of the rampart, sprang up{w} a perpendicular cliff of two hundred and fifty cubits; forming part of the precipitous Mount Moriah.(13)So that when Simeon and his associates arrived on the summit of the tower called Adoni-Bezek(14)— the loftiest{x} of all the turrets around{y} about Jerusalem, and the usual place of conference with the besieging army — they looked down upon the camp of the enemy from an eminence excelling, by many feet, that of the Pyramid of Cheops, and, by several, that of the Temple of Belus.(15)

“Verily,” sighed the Pharisee, as he peered dizzily over the precipice, “the uncircumcised are as the sands by the sea-shore — as the locusts in the wilderness!(16) The{z} valley of The King hath become the valley{a} of Adommin.”(17)

“And yet,” added Ben-Levi, “thou canst not point me out a Philistine — no, not {bb}one — from Aleph to Tau — from the wilderness to the battlements —{bb} who seemeth any bigger than the letter Jod!”(18)

“Lower away the basket with the shekels of silver!” here{c} shouted a Roman soldier in a hoarse, rough voice, which appeared{d} to issue from the regions of Pluto — “lower away the basket with the{e} accursed coin which it has{f} broken the jaw of a noble Roman to pronounce! Is it thus you{g} evince your gratitude to our master Pompeius, who, in his condescension, has thought fit{h} to listen to your idolatrous importunities? The god Phœbus, who is a true god,{i} has been charioted for an hour(19)— and were you not to be{j} on the ramparts{k} by sunrise? Ædepol!(20)do you think that we, [page 46:] the conquerors of the world, have nothing better to do than stand{l} waiting by the walls of every kennel, to traffic with the{m} dogs of the earth? Lower away! I say — and see that your trumpery be {nn}bright in color, and just in weight!”{nn}

“El Elohim!”(21)ejaculated the Pharisee, as the discordant tones of the centurion rattled up the crags of the precipice, and fainted away against the temple — “El Elohim! — who is the God Phœbus? — whom doth the blasphemer invoke? Thou, Buzi-Ben-Levi! who art read in the laws of the Gentiles, and host sojourned among them{o} who dabble with the Teraphim!(22)— is it Nergal of whom the idolator{p} speaketh? — or Ashimah? — or Nibhaz? — or Tartak? — or Adramalech? — or Anamalech? — or Succoth-Benith?{q} — or Dagon? — or Belial? — or Baal-Perith? — or Baal-Peor? — or Baal-Zebub?”(23)

“Verily it is neither — but beware how thou lettest the rope slip too rapidly through thy fingers; for should the wicker-work chance to hang on the projection of yonder crag, there will be a woful outpouring of the holy things of the sanctuary.”{r}

By the assistance of some rudely constructed machinery, the heavily laden basket was now {ss}carefully lowered{ss} down among the multitude; and, from the giddy pinnacle, the Romans were seen gathering{t} confusedly round{u} it; but owing to the vast height and the prevalence of a fog,{v} no distinct view of their operations could be obtained.

Half an{w} hour had already elapsed.

“We shall be too late,” sighed{x} the Pharisee, as at the expiration of this period, he looked over into the abyss — “we shall be too late! we shall be turned out of office by the Katholim.”(24)

“No more,” responded Abel-Phittim, “no more{y} shall we feast upon the fat of the land(25)— no longer shall our beards be odorous [page 47:] with frankincense — our loins girded up with fine linen from the Temple.”

“Raca!”(26)swore Ben-Levi, “Raca! do they mean to defraud us of the purchase money? or, Holy Moses! are they weighing the shekels of the tabernacle?”

“They have given the signal at last,” cried{z} the Pharisee,{aa} “they have given the signal at last! — pull{aa} away, Abel-Phittim! — and thou, Buzi-Ben-Levi, pull away! — for verily the Philistines have {bb}either still hold upon{bb} the basket, or the Lord hath softened their hearts to place therein a beast of good weight!” And the Gizbarim pulled away, while their burthen swung heavily upwards through the still{c} increasing mist.

“Booshoh {dd}he!”(27)— as, at{dd} the conclusion of an hour, some object {ee}at the extremity of the rope became indistinctly visible — “Booshoh he!” was the exclamation which burst from the lips of Ben-Levi.{ee}

“Booshoh{f} he! — for shame!(28)— it is a ram from the thickets of Engedi, and as rugged as the valley of Jehoshaphat!”{g} (29)

“It is a firstling of the flock,”(30)said Abel-Phittim, “I know him by the bleating of his lips, and the innocent folding of his limbs. His eyes are more beautiful than the jewels of the Pectoral,(31)and his flesh is like the honey of Hebron.”(32)

“It is a fatted calf from the pastures of Bashan,”(33)said the Pharisee, “the heathen have dealt wonderfully with us! — let us raise up our voices in a psalm! — let us give thanks on the shawm and on the psaltery — on the harp and on{h} the huggab — on the cythern and on the sackbut!”(34)

It was not until the basket had arrived within a few feet of the Gizbarim, that a low grunt betrayed to their perception a hog of no common size.

“Now El Emanu!” slowly, and with upturned eyes ejaculated the trio, as, {ii}letting go{ii} their hold, the emancipated porker tumbled{j} [page 48:] headlong among the Philistines, “El Emanu! — God be with us! — it is the unutterable flesh!”{k} (35)

VARIANTS

[The following variants appear at the bottom of page 43:]

Title:  A Pig Tale (Table of Contents, PHANTASY-PIECES)

Motto:  Intensos (A, B, C, D, E) misprint

a  Abel-Shittim throughout (A, B)

b  gates (E) misprint

c  waiting for (A)

d  Jerusalem — more correctly Jeruschalaim, which signifies, being interpreted, “the possession of the inheritance of peace.” (A)

e  to (A)

[The following variants appear at the bottom of page 44:]

f  interest? (A, B, C)

g  said (A)

h  assurance (A)

i  Now, by / By (A)

j  upon (A)

kk ... kk  Roman upstart (A)

ll ... ll  Have we —” (A)

m  Abel-Phittem, (E)

n  Omitted (A)

oo ... oo  rain (A)

p  put out, (A)

q  pillar (A)

rr ... rr  the winds cannot (A)

s  on (A)

[The following variants appear at the bottom of page 45:]

t  beautified, (A)

u  Omitted (A, B, C)

v  means immediately (A, no italics B, C)

w  sprang up / arose (A)

x  highest (A)

y  round (A)

z  And the (A)

a  vally (E) misprint

bb ... bb  from the forest to the battlements — from Aleph to Tau, (A)

c  Omitted (A)

d  seemed (A)

e  that (A, B, C)

f  it has / hath (A)

g  that you (A)

h  proper (A)

i  god, and no barbarian, (A)

j  have been (A, B)

k  walls (A)

[The following variants appear at the bottom of page 46:]

l  to stand (A)

m  Omitted (A)

nn ... nn  just in weight, and bright in color.” (A)

o  those (A)

p  idolater (A, B, E)

q  Succoth-Benoth? (A, B, C)

r  santuary.” (E) misprint

ss ... ss  lowered carefully (A, B, C)

t  crowding (A, B, C)

u  around (A, B, C)

v  fog, (which is unusual at Jerusalem,) (A)

w  Half an / A half (A, B, C)

x  said (A)

y  no more omitted (A)

[The following variants appear at the bottom of page 47:]

z  roared (A, B)

aa ... aa  “Pull (A)

bb ... bb  still hold of (A)

c  Omitted (A)

dd ... dd  he!” said Ben-Levi, as at (A)

ee ... ee  became indistinctly visible at the extremity of the rope — (A)

f  “Vah! Climah (A)

g  Jehosaphat (B, C, D, E) , corrected from A

h  Omitted (A)

ii ... ii  releasing (A)

j  fell (A)

[The following variants appear at the bottom of page 48:]

k  After this is another paragraph “Let me no longer” — said the Pharisee, “let me no longer be called Simeon, which signifieth ‘he who listens,’ but Boanerges, ‘the son of thunder.’ ” (A); “Let me no longer,” said the Pharisee, wrapping his cloak around him and departing within the city — “let me no longer be called Simeon, which signifieth ‘he who listens’ — but rather Boanerges, ‘the Son of Thunder.’ ” (B, C)

[page 48, continued:]

NOTES

Title:  The running title of Smith's novel is Zillah, a Tale of Jerusalem.

1.  Poe altered the passage about Cato from Lucan's Pharsalia, II, 375-376, putting “ascendere” for “descendere.” The original means “he let his uncut gray hair hang down over his stern forehead”; Poe says “his hair stood on end.” At least one Victorian editor, not seeing the joke, corrected the passage.

2.  Abel-Shittinn (in the first two texts, changed pudoris causa in later versions) means grove of acacia trees, and is the name of a place in the plain of Moab, mentioned in Numbers 33:49. Buzi, derived from Buz, contempt, was, according to Ezekiel 1:3, the name of the prophet's father; Poe's Buzi, son of Levi, is a Levite, as is a leading character in Zillah. Simeon, or Shimeon, means a hearkening; a man of the name is in Ezra 10:31 and another in Luke 2:25.

3.  Thammuz is the tenth month of the Hebrew year; the tenth day does not seem to be significant. Anno mundi 3941 was 65-64 B.C. Poe uses this system of dating again in “Epimanes.”

4.  Zillah, IV, 276: “They passed out by the gate Benjamin, at the northeast corner of the city,” based on Jeremiah 38:7. “The city of David” — frequently used for Jerusalem — for a long time referred specifically to the ancient quarter where David established his capital.

5.  Exodus 29:38f.: “Now this is that which thou shalt offer upon the altar; two lambs of the first year, day by day continually ... one ... in the morning, and the other ... at even.”

6.  Zillah, I, 44: “three Gizbarin, or sub-collectors of the offerings.” Poe uses the correct plural form, Gizbarim.

7.  “As true as the Pentateuch” is in Zillah, I, 17; Poe quotes it also in his review of Lambert A. Wilmer's Quacks of Helicon in Graham's Magazine for August 1841.

8.  Adonai (translated Lord) is the word pronounced when the form written JHVH and printed “Jehovah” is spoken by pious Jews.

9.  A footnote in Zillah, I, 103, reads: “The Jews reckoned five corners of their beards — one on either cheek, one on either lip, and one below on the chin, — all of which a priest was forbidden to shave.” This rule is based on Leviticus 21:5. [page 49:]

10.  Zillah, IV, 144: “The Dashing Pharisee, so called, because he crawled along apart and in humility, the heel of one foot touching the great toe of the other, and neither foot being lifted from the ground, so that his toes were dashed against the stones.” See II Corinthians 12:7, for “a thorn in the flesh”; and Leviticus 19:14, for “a stumbling block.”

11.  A footnote in Zillah, I, 195, reads: “It is maintained by the Talmudists, that the rains never put out the fire of the altar, nor did the wind ever prevail over its pillar of smoke.” The Talmudists had Exodus 13:21 in mind.

12.  See Psalms 2:6, “Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion.” The story of David's capture of the site is told in II Samuel 5:6-9. Some of Poe's descriptions may have come from Chateaubriand's Itinéraire de Paris à Jérusalem in F. Shoberl's translation, Travels in Greece, Palestine, Egypt, and Barbary (Philadelphia, 1813) — a source of material in “Al Aaraaf” and others of his early poems.

13.  Mount Moriah, “chosen of God,” site of the Temple, is referred to vividly in Zillah, I, 3.

14.  Zillah, IV, 112: “Adoni-bezek, the lightning of the Lord.” The name was that of a king of Bezek, taken captive to Jerusalem during the conquest of Canaan, for whom see Judges 1:5-7.

15.  The Great Pyramid of Cheops (Khufu) is over 480 feet high. The temple of Belus at Babylon is also notable among ancient monuments — “some writers ... make the whole one mile in height.” (“Pinakidia,” no. 141, SLM, August 1836, p. 580).

16.  Genesis 22:17, “The sand which is upon the sea shore.” St. Matthew 3:3-4: “one crying in the wilderness ... his meat was locusts and wild honey.”

17.  Joshua 15:7, “the going up to Adummim” — according to the Jewish Encyclopedia, the steep road from the plain of Jericho to the hilly country around Jerusalem. It formed part of the boundary of the land of the tribe of Judah and its name — translated “The Red” — referred to the color of the road.

18.  In Zillah, II, 156, reference is made to “all the letters from Aleph to Tau,” the first and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet; in Zillah, I, 14, a little boy is said to be “no bigger than the letter Jod” — the smallest letter, a jot.

19.  The sun had been up for an hour.

20.  A contracted Latin oath, “by Pollux” (cited from Terence), used by a Roman character in Zillah, II, 56.

21.  Zillah, II, 38: “El Elohim!” he exclaimed — ”these Romans beat us in every way....” El Elohim (cognate with Arabic Allah) means “the Gods,” but is used with singular meaning in the Hebrew text of Genesis.

22.  Zillah, I, 79, refers to Teraphim, idols mentioned in Judges 17:5 and Hosea 3:4.

23.  The first seven in the list of the gods of the heathen come from II Kings 17:30-31; the rest from Zillah, II, 109. Nergal was a god of the men of Cuth. Ashimah was a god of the men of Hameth, mentioned by Poe also in “Four Beasts [page 50:] in One.” Nibbaz and Tartak were gods of the Avites. To Adrammelech and Anammelech the Sepharvites burnt their children. Succoth-benoth, worshipped at Babylon, is described as a goddess in Zillah, II, 109. She is to be identified with Ishtar (Venus). Dagon, half man and half fish in form, was a sea divinity of the Philistines, mentioned several times in the Bible, and, of course, in Zillah. Belial is a word for worthlessness, and wicked men are called “sons of Belial”; it is doubtful if Belial was worshipped as a person, but he is regarded as one in Paradise Lost, in Zillah, II, 41, and Poe's “Duc de L’Omelette.” Baal-Perith, more usually called Baal-berith, was worshipped by the Israelites in Shechern after Gideon's death, according to Judges 8:33 and 9:4. Baal-peor was worshipped by the Moabites; see Numbers 25:3. Baal-zebub, “Prince of Flies,” a god of Ekron, is mentioned in II Kings 1:2f. He is Satan's second in command in Paradise Lost, and is also mentioned in “The Duc de L’Omelette,” and “Loss of Breath.”

24.  Poe has in mind Zillah, I, 43: “the two Katholikin, or overseers of the Treasury were comparing their accounts together.” Katholim is modern Hebrew for Catholics.

25.  Genesis 45:18, “ye shall eat the fat of the land.”

26.  Zillah, II, 117, “Raca! ... the fools!” The word is mentioned as offensive in St. Matthew 5:22.

27.  “Booshoh he! Shame upon you!” is used in Zillah, II, 194.

28.  “Vah! Climah he!” used in the first version obviously means something like the last Hebrew phrase. Zillah, II, 163: “Vah! Booshoh he!” and I, 17: “Climah he! shame, shame!” Hebraists consulted think it should be “U-Climah,” meaning “and disgrace.”

29.  Zillah, I, 185: “as a stag is entangled by night in the thickets of Engaddi.” David once dwelt in the wilderness of Engedi, which means “of the kid,” according to I Samuel 24:1. Jehoshaphat (“God is judge”) was the name of a good king of Judah. In Zillah, I, 3, as in Poe's story, it is merely a geographical name, sometimes applied to the valley of the Kedron without regard to the prophecies about it in Joel 3:2.

30.  Genesis 4:4, “Abel ... brought of the firstlings of his flock.”

31.  The twelve jewels of the pectoral of the High Priest are listed in Exodus 28:15ff. In Zillah, II, 161, we find “no pontifical breastplate ... ever boasted so bright, so fiery a gem.”

32.  Zillah, I, 202: “Here is the rich honey of Hebron....” The place is in the south of Canaan.

33.  Zillah, II, 40: “meat, not comparable to that which was produced from the pastures of Basilan” (compare Psalm 22:12, “strong bulls of Bashan”). The name means “sandy soil” and is that of one of the ancient divisions of Palestine east of the Jordan, an area proverbial for its fertility.

34.  The musical instruments are all named in Zillah, I, 31, 148 or 210, and most of them in Daniel 3:5. The shawm is named in the prayer-book version of [page 51:] Psalm 98:6 (the King James version translates it “cornet”). ‘The huggab appears in Zillah, I, 210: “Their companions played on the huggab, or Hebrew organ — a rude instrument, resembling Pan's pipe”; the word — usually transliterated ugab — is in the Hebrew of Psalm 150:4, it is translated “pipe” in the Book of Common Prayer, “organ” in the King James version. Cythern (in Zillah, I, 31) denotes a stringed instrument sometimes referred to the lyre family (Greek kithara), sometimes to the zither family. Daniel 3:5, in the King James version, lists the dulcimer.

35.  Zillah, III, 281: “El emanu! God be with us!” In Zillah, III, 51, at a feast given by Mark Antony, a wild boar is brought in and the heroine's father exclaims, “El Elohim! — it is the unutterable flesh.”

“Boanerges ... son of thunder” in the early version echoes St. Mark 3:17: “And James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James ... he surnamed them Boanerges, which is, The sons of thunder.”

[[Footnotes]]

[The following footnote appears at the bottom of page 42:]

*  Smith, baptized Horatio, was almost always called Horace. Poe availed himself in other places of the erudition displayed in Zillah. See the notes on “Loss of Breath” and “The Assignation” below. “Pinakidia,” number 83 (SLM, August 1836, p. 578) also draws upon Zillah. [For a full treatment of the role of Horace Smith in Poe's works, see Burton R. Pollin, “Figs, Bells, Poe and Horace Smith,” Poe Newsletter, June 1970.]