yelled Ben Nesher to his center men around him. They stooped, raised again their fortress armed with heavy stones that they flung at the enemy across their own ranks. A cloud of small sharp stones struck up and down. Some lost an eye through them. The Romans, regular like a wave, were now close by. A hail of darts descended on the partisans that waited with spears and axes at the ready.
“Accursed fools, give yourselves up!” called the Roman commander. Safe in the midst of his men, he wore a rich overcoat over his tunic.
“To whom? To wolf cubs?” sneered Ben Nesher.
Then the main body of Romans attacked while others marched out to encircle the rebels. They hacked at each other as though they were demolishing houses. Axes, spears and swords stuck fast to ribs or split skulls. They bounced against bones, sunk deep into human flesh. Ben Nesher who towered above the rest, shattered the shoulders of many Romans with his battle-axe that day. Menachem forced himself to think of the slaughter in Nazareth and Israel’s future. Somehow there must still be a way. A way that was more righteous than sinful.
He heard himself muttering: “Thou shalt not murder—Thou shalt not murder,” and each time he said it, he thrust his dagger in the throat of an enemy, in the shoulder, in the belly, even once under the eye. “Thou shalt not murder.” What was it that made men blaspheme this commandment in God’s world? The perversity of sin. Would he ever reach the other side, would Israel ever reach the other side, would humanity someday arrive on the other side of sin, where there was no more murder? Menachem, one of the supplest, stooped, crawled between the legs of the combatants and plunged his dagger in the groins of a man who was battling Ben Nesher with his sword.
Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.
Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».
Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.
Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.
