Ben-Hur Page #5

I make a journey which will not wait.

Ah, well, then perhaps

you will come back.

And when you do,

bring your friends, your wives.

I have no wives.

No wives at all?

I have six, no, seven.

I've counted eight.

And that is because he is traveling.

At home, he has more.

Believe me, it is a great advantage

to have many wives.

-Someday, I hope to have one.

-One wife!

One God, that I can understand.

But one wife, that is not civilized.

It is not generous.

-Was the food not to your liking?

-Indeed.

Thank you. Thank you.

And take my advice, my friend.

Buy yourself some wives.

And now I must say good night

to my beauties.

When ready for sleep,

they get impatient and jealous.

They wait to see which one

I will embrace first.

-I'll make my farewells then.

-No, no, no, stay.

Stay and see them.

Come, my children. Come.

Strangers make them shy.

Come.

Come, do not be afraid. Come.

There, my children.

They are descended from

the Arabians of the Pharaohs. . .

. . .and I have named them

for the stars.

Come, Antares.

You are the slowest, and you can

run all day without tiring.

What? Yes, yes.

Yes, I love you too.

There's my good Antares.

Come, Rigel.

We've both supped well,

and the world is good.

There's my good Rigel.

Yes, you are ready for sleep.

The day's work done for you, eh?

Yes, well, you can go

to sleep in a minute.

Good night. Good night, my treasure.

Steady, Aldebaran.

I haven't forgotten you.

No. You are the swiftest,

but you must be steady.

Never seen finer horses, even in Rome.

You should see their mother, Mira.

I dare not bring her.

My people couldn't bear her absence.

All right, all right.

You are their friend, and they do

not give their affections readily.

Come, Antares, Rigel, it is late.

Altair, Aldebaran, go to sleep.

You must be strong and swift.

Go, my children. Go.

At Jerusalem, they'll race

the world's finest teams. . .

. . .and the champion of the East,

Messala, with his black devils.

He stops at nothing to win.

-Messala? ln the circus?

-Yes.

You knew him?

I know him.

Perhaps without much liking.

My people are praying for a man. . .

. . .to drive their team

to victory over Messala.

You could be that man, the one. . .

. . .to stamp his arrogance

into the sand.

My horses need only a driver

who is worthy of them. . .

. . .one who will rule them with love.

For him, they'd outrace the wind.

It's not possible.

That is a pity.

Think of it. To break his pride. . .

. . .to humble this tribune before

the very people he has degraded.

Just think, his defeat and humiliation

at the hands of a Jew!

I know it is not possible.

Does it not delight your imagination?

Does it not answer your purpose?

I must deal with Messala

in my own way.

And your way is to kill him.

I see this terrible thing

in your eyes.

But no matter what this man has done,

you have no right to kill him.

He will be punished inevitably.

I don't believe in miracles.

But all life is a miracle.

Why will you not

accept God's judgment?

You do not believe in miracles.

Yet God once spoke to me

out of the darkness. . .

. . .and a star led me

to a village called Bethlehem. . .

. . .where I found a newborn child

in a manger.

And God lived in this child.

By now, He is a grown man

and must be ready to begin his work.

That is why I have returned here. . .

. . .so that I may be at hand

when He comes among us.

He is near.

He saw the sun set this evening,

as we did.

Perhaps He's standing in a doorway

somewhere or on a hilltop.

Perhaps He is a shepherd. . .

. . .a merchant, a fisherman.

But He lives. . .

. . .and all our lives from now on

will carry His mark.

There are many paths to God, my son.

I hope yours will not

be too difficult.

I'm ready for sleep.

Balthasar is a good man. . .

. . .but until all men are like him,

we must keep our swords bright.

And our intention true.

So I must leave you.

One last thought.

There is no law in the arena.

Many are killed.

I hope to see you again.

Fine Damascus silk.

Fine Damascus silk.

Esther?

It's Judah.

You are alive.

You are alive.

What are you doing here?

What has happened?

I'm here.

I'm with you.

Where's your father?

The day they took you away,

they imprisoned him.

They tortured him.

When they were sure he was hiding

nothing, they let him go.

Ever since then, we have been

living here, in hiding.

You never went back to Antioch?

No.

The Romans took everything.

There was nothing left for us there.

Where are my mother and sister?

Let me tell him first.

Father.

Father, something wonderful

has happened.

Judah Ben-Hur is alive.

He has come home. He is here.

Judah.

Judah Ben-Hur.

My dear old friend.

Let me look at you.

Let me see you.

Yes, yes. It is true.

Praise God for His mercy.

Where are they?

Since that terrible day. . .

. . .there has been no word of them.

You should have been less loyal.

Do not pity me, Master Judah.

In fact, I'm twice the man I was.

There is Malluch, my other half.

We met in the dungeons of the citadel.

We were released on the same day.

Malluch without a tongue,

and I without life in my legs.

Since then, I have been his tongue. . .

. . .and he has been my legs.

Together, we make a considerable man.

Old friend.

She always said you would return.

She never gave up hope.

Though I hoped it,

I didn't believe it.

I see that your one thought is

to save your mother and sister.

But suppose that isn't possible.

If one purpose fails,

it is good to have another.

Much of your fortune is safe, Judah.

They could not make me

tell them where it is.

It is there still. . .

. . .to put power into our hands

and buy death for the Romans.

That's not why I came back.

Judah, they are dead.

Four years. No one could live

so long in the dungeons.

Who lives more than one year

in the galleys?

Yes, it is true.

Judah Ben-Hur.

You have come back to us

like a returning faith.

Judah, I should like to laugh again.

-Let us laugh.

-We will.

There will be joy again

in this house.

We will celebrate among the dust.

I will take him.

We stood here before.

A long while ago.

Four years.

But now it seems as if. . .

. . .only yesterday. . . .

I was saying:

"If you were not a bride,

I should kiss you goodbye. "

"If I were not a bride. . .

. . .there would be

no goodbyes to be said. "

I am not a bride.

Why did you never marry?

My father needed me.

And also. . . .

It's still on my finger.

I said I should wear it

till I met a woman I would marry.

It's become a part of my hand.

If Messala once knew you were here. . . .

As he must.

He will know where they are.

And if you should find. . .?

-If he says they're dead--

-Messala will wish they were living.

I've seen too much

of what hate can do.

My father is burned up with it.

But I've heard of a young rabbi who

says that forgiveness is greater. . .

. . .and love more powerful than hatred.

I believe it.

-Esther.

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