Since the beginning of the
creation and up to our present time, certain clans, rich by
inheritance, in co-operation with the clergy, had appointed themselves
the administrators of the people. It is an old, gaping wound in the
heart of society that cannot be removed except by intense removal of
ignorance.
The man who acquires his wealth by
inheritance builds his mansion with the weak poor's money. The
clergyman erects his temple upon the graves and bones of the devoted
worshippers. The prince grasps the fellah's arms while the priest
empties his pocket; the ruler looks upon the sons of the fields with
frowning face, and the bishop consoles them with his smile, and
between the frown of the tiger and the smile of the wolf the flock is
perished; the ruler claims himself as king of the law, and the priest
as the representative of God, and between these two, the bodies are
destroyed and the souls wither into nothing.
In Lebanon, that mountain rich in sunlight
and poor in knowledge, the noble and the priest joined hands to
exploit the farmer who ploughed the land and reaped the crop in order
to protect himself from the sword of the ruler and the curse of the
priest. The rich man in Lebanon stood proudly by his palace and
shouted at the multitudes saying, "The Sultan had appointed me as
your lord." And the priest stands before the altar saying,
"God has delegated me as an executive of your souls." But
the Lebanese resorted to silence, for the dead could not talk.
Sheik Abbas had friendship in his heart
for the clrgymen, because they were his allies in choking the people's
knowledge and reviving the spirit of stern obedience among his
workers.
That evening, when Khalil and Miriam were
approaching the throne of Love, and Rachel was looking upon them with
the eyes of affection, Father Elias informed Sheik Abbas that the head
priest had expelled a rebellious young man from the convent and that
he had taken refuge at the house of Rachel, the widow of Samaan Ramy.
And the priest was not satisfied with the little information he gave
the Sheik, but commented, "The demon they chased out of the
convent cannot become an angel in this village, and the fig tree which
is hewn and cast into the fire, does not bear fruit while burning. If
we wish to clean this village of the filth of this beast, we must
drive him away as the monks did." And the Sheik answered,
"Are you certain that the young man will be a bad influence upon
our people? Is it not better for us to keep him and make him a worker
in our vineyards? We are in need of strong men."
The priest's face showed his disagreement.
Combing his beard with his fingers, he said shrewdly, "If he were
fit to work, he would not have been expelled from the convent. A
student who works in the convent, and who happened to spend last night
at my house, informed me that this young man had violated the rules of
the head priest by preaching danger-ridden ideas among the monks, and
he quoted him as saying, 'Restore the fields and the vineyards and the
silver of the convent to the poor and scatter it in all directions;
and help the people who are in need of knowledge; by thus doing, you
will please your Father in Heaven.'"
On hearing these words, Sheik Abbas leaped
to his feet, and like a tiger making ready to strike the victim, he
walked to the door and called to the servants, ordering them to report
immediately. Three men entered, and the Sheik commanded, "In the
house of Rachel, the widow of Samaan Ramy, there is a young man
wearing a monk's raiment. Tie him and bring him here. If that woman
objects to his arrest, drag her out by her braided hair over the snow
and bring her with him, for he who helps evil is evil himself."
The men bowed obediently and hurried to Rachel's home while the priest
and the Sheik discussed the type of punishment to be awarded to Khalil
and Rachel.