TO A GOD
UNKNOWN
JOHN STEINBECK
TO A GOD UNKNOWN
He is the giver of breath, and strength is his gift.
The high Gods revere his commandments.
His shadow is life, his shadow is death;
Who is He to whom we shall offer our sacrifice?
Through His might He became lord of the living and glittering world
And he rides the world and the men and the beasts
Who is He to whom we shall offer our sacrifice?
From His strength the mountains take being, and the sea, they say,
And the distant river;
And these are his body and his two arms.
Who is He to whom we shall offer our sacrifice?
He made the sky and the earth, and His will fixed their places,
Yet they look to Him and tremble.
The risen sun shines forth over Him.
Who is He to whom we shall offer our sacrifice?
He looked over the waters which stored His power and gendered the sacrifice.
He is God over Gods.
Who is He to whom we shall offer our sacrifice?
May He not hurt us, He who made earth,
Who made the sky and the shining sea?
Who is the God to whom we shall offer sacrifice?
—VEDA
To
A God
Unknown
1
WHEN the crops were under cover on the Wayne farm near Pittsford in Vermont, when the winter wood was cut and the first light snow lay on the ground, Joseph Wayne went to the wing-back chair by the fireplace late one afternoon and stood before his father. These two men were alike. Each had a large nose and high, hard cheekbones; both faces seemed made of some material harder and more durable than flesh, a stony substance that did not easily change. Joseph’s beard was black and silky, still thin enough so that the shadowy outline of his chin showed through. The old man’s beard was long and white. He touched it here and there with exploring fingers, turned the ends neatly under out of harm’s way. A moment passed before the old man realized that his son was beside him. He raised his eyes, old and knowing and placid eyes and very blue. Joseph’s eyes were as blue, but they were fierce and curious with youth. Now that he had come before his father, Joseph hesitated to stand to his new heresy.
“There won’t be enough in the land now, sir,” he said humbly.
The old man gathered his shawl of shepherd’s plaid about his thin straight shoulders. His voice was gentle, made for the ordering of simple justice. “What do you wish to complain of, Joseph?”
“You’ve heard that Benjy has gone courting, sir? Benjy will be married when the spring comes; and in the fall there will be a child, and in the next summer another child. The land doesn’t stretch, sir. There won’t be enough.”
The old man dropped his eyes slowly and watched his fingers where they wrestled sluggishly on his lap. “Benjamin hasn’t told me yet. Benjamin has never been very dependable. Are you sure he has gone seriously courting?”
“The Ramseys have told it in Pittsford, sir. Jenny Ramsey has a new dress and she’s prettier than usual. I saw her today. She wouldn’t look at me.”
“Ah; maybe it’s so, then. Benjamin should tell me.”
“And so you see, sir, there won’t be enough in the land for all of us.”
John Wayne lifted his eyes again. “The land suffices, Joseph,” he said placidly. “Burton and Thomas brought their wives home and the land sufficed. You are the next in age. You should have a wife, Joseph.”
“There’s a limit, sir. The land will feed only so many.”
His father’s eyes sharpened then. “Have you an anger for your brothers, Joseph? Is there some quarrel I haven’t heard about?”
“No sir,” Joseph protested. “The farm is too small and—” He bent his tall body down toward his father. “I have a hunger for land of my own, sir. I have been reading about the West and the good cheap land there.”
John Wayne sighed and stroked his beard and turned the ends under. A brooding silence settled between the two men while Joseph stood before the patriarch, awaiting his decision.
“If you could wait a year,” the old man said at last, “a year or two is nothing when you’re thirty-five. If you could wait a year, not more than two surely, then I wouldn’t mind. You’re not the oldest, Joseph, but I’ve always thought of you as the one to have the blessing. Thomas and Burton are good men, good sons, but I’ve always intended the blessing for you, so you could take my place. I don’t know why. There’s something more strong in you than in your brothers, Joseph; more sure and inward.”
“But they’re homesteading the western land, sir. You have only to live a year on the land and build a house and plough a bit and the land is yours. No one can ever take it away.”
“I know, I’ve heard of that; but suppose you should go now. I’ll have only letters to tell me how you are, and what you’re doing. In a year, not more than two, why I’ll go with you. I’m an old man, Joseph. I’ll go right along with you, over your head, in the air. I’ll see the land you pick out and the kind of house you build. I’d be curious about that, you know. There might even be some way I could help you now and then. Suppose you lose a cow, maybe I could help you to find her; being up in the air like that I could see things far away. If only you wait a little while I can do that, Joseph.”
“The land is being taken,” Joseph said doggedly. “The century is three years gone. If I wait, the good land might all be taken. I’ve a hunger for the land, sir,” and. his eyes had grown feverish with the hunger.
John Wayne nodded and nodded, and pulled his shawl close about his shoulders. “I see,” he mused. “It’s not just a little restlessness.. Maybe I can find you later.” And then decisively: “Come to me, Joseph. Put your hand here—no, here. My father did it this way. A custom so old cannot be wrong. Now, leave your hand there!” He bowed his white head, “May the blessing of God and my blessing rest on this child. May he live in the light of the Face. May he love his life.” He paused for a moment “Now, Joseph, you may go to the West. You are finished here with me.”
The winter came soon, with deep snow, and the air was frozen to needles. For a month Joseph wandered about the house, reluctant to leave his youth and all the strong material memories of his youth, but the blessing had cut him off. He was a stranger in the house and be felt that his brothers would be glad when he was gone. He went away before the spring had come, and the grass was green on the hills in California when he arrived.
2
AFTER a time of wandering, Joseph came to the long valley called Nuestra Señora, and there he recorded his homestead. Nuestra Señora, the long valley of Our Lady in central California, was green and gold and yellow and blue when Joseph came into it The level floor was deep in wild oats and canary mustard flowers. The river San Francisquito flowed noisily in its bouldered bed through a cave made by its little narrow forest. Two flanks of the coast range held the valley of Nuestra Señora close, on one side guarding it against the sea, and on the other against the blasting winds of the great Salinas Valley. At the far southern end a pass opened in the hills to let out the river, and near this pass lay the church and the little town of Our Lady. The huts of Indians clustered about the mud walls of the church, and although the church was often vacant now and its saints were worn and part of its tile roof lay in a shattered heap on the ground, and although the bells were broken, the Mexican Indians still lived near about and held their festivals, danced La Jota on the packed earth and slept in the sun.
When his homestead was recorded, Joseph set out for his new home. His eyes glittered with excitement under his broad-brimmed hat and he sniffed at the valley hungrily. He wore new jeans with a circle of brass buttons around the waist, a blue shirt, and a vest for the sake of the pockets. His high-heeled boots were new and his spurs shone like silver. An old Mexican was trudging painfully in to Our Lady. His face lighted up with pleasure when Joseph drew near. He removed his hat and stepped aside. “Is there a fiesta some place?” he asked politely.