Moses It is not treason to want freedom.
More lines from Moses
12 quotes Moses Moses I do not know what power shapes my way, but my feet are set upon a road that I must follow.
Moses A city is made of brick, Pharaoh. The strong make many. The starving make few. The dead make none. So much for accusations.
Moses Blood makes poor mortar.
Moses It would take more than a man to lead the slaves from bondage. It would take a god. And I am no god, I am but a man. A man who asks by what right any man may enslave another of a different race or creed. But if I could free these people, I would.
Moses There is a beauty beyond the senses, Nefretiri. Beauty like the quiet of green valleys and still waters. Beauty of the spirit that you cannot understand.
Moses Thus sayeth the Lord God of Israel: "Let my people go!"
Moses Hear, O Israel! Remember this day, when the strong hand of the Lord leads you out of bondage!
Moses The Lord of Hosts will do battle for us! BEHOLD HIS MIGHTY HAND!!!
Moses Who shall withstand the power of God?!
Moses Blasphemers! Idolaters! For this you shall drink bitter waters! God has set before you this day His Laws of Life and Good, and Death and Evil. THOSE WHO WILL NOT LIVE BY THE LAW... [lifts the Ten Commandments tablets in the air] ...SHALL DIE BY THE LAW!!!!!!!!!! [throws the tablets at the Golden Calf]
Moses [Final words]
Go, proclaim liberty throughout the lands, unto all the inhabitants thereof!
Scenes with Moses
32 scenes Moses Great one, I bring you Ethiopia.
Moses Command what you have conquered my brother.
Would you please your Pharaoh, Moses?
Moses Your wish is my will.
Then you build the city
A wise decision. [To Moses] Noble task.
Rameses, do you believe this slave deliverer is a myth?
What I believe is of no account. What matters is the slaves believe in him.
Of course, of course. Then you, too, shall go to Goshen. Learn if this deliverer be a myth or a man. If a myth, bring him to me in a bottle. If a man, bring him to me in chains.
So let it be written, so let it be done.
You will be king of Egypt and I will be your footstool!
Moses The man stupid enough to use you as a footstool isn't wise enough to rule Egypt.
My noble one, it caught. I had not the strength to free myself.
Moses Your shoulder should not bear a burden, old woman. [Begins cutting her loose]
The Lord has renewed my strength and lightened my burdens.
Moses He would have done better to remove them.
We use the old ones for greasing the stones. If they are killed it is no loss.
Moses Are you a master builder or a master butcher?
If we stop moving stones for every grease woman who falls, the city will not rise.
Overseer If the slaves are not driven they will not work.
If their work lags it is because they are not fed.
Moses You look strong enough.
I am a stone cutter. The pharaoh likes his images cut deep.
Moses has words. Pharaoh has spears!
Moses You know it is death to strike an Egyptian.
I know it.
Moses Yet you struck him. Why?
To free the old woman.
Moses What is she to you?
An old woman.
Lord Moses, send him to his death!
Moses The man has courage. You do not speak like a slave.
God made man. Man made slaves.
Moses Which god?
The God of Abraham, the Almighty God!
Moses If your God is Almighty, why does He leave you in bondage?
He will choose the hour of our freedom and the man who will deliver us!
Difficulty with the slaves, my brother?
Moses None that could not be cures by a ration of grain and a day of rest.
A day of rest?
Moses When your horses tire, they’re rested. When they hunger, they’re fed.
Slaves draw brick and stone. My horses draw the next Pharaoh.
Moses Is there any grain stored here in Goshen?
None that you would dare take, my brother.
The temple granaries are full.
Moses [To Joshua]
Bring the push-pole men and some women with baskets.
I will…great prince.
I warn you, Moses, the temple grain belongs to the gods.
Moses What the gods can digest will not sour in the belly of a slave.
With so many slaves, you could build…an army.
Moses But I have built a city. Sixteen of these lions of Pharaoh will guard its gates. And it shall be the city of Seti’s glory.
Mm. Are these slaves loyal to Seti’s glory, or to you, Moses?
Moses The slaves worship their God, and I serve only you.
Moses What change is there in me? Egyptian or Hebrew, I am still Moses. These are the same hands, the same arms, the same face that were mine a moment ago.
A moment ago, you were her son, the strength of Egypt. Now you are mine, a slave in Egypt. You find no shame in this?
Moses There is no shame in me. How can I feel shame for the woman who bore me? Or the race that bred me?
Moses That’s a hard dance you do, old man.
Old Man
We’ve been dancing it for 400 years…[A whips cracks in the background followed by a low moan] …to grim music.
Moses You bring a warm smile with your cool water.
My smile is for a stonecutter. The water is for you.
If you want to help your people, come back to the palace.
Moses And hide the truth from Seti, that I am Hebrew and a slave?
The truth would break his dear old heart, and send Bithiah into exile and death. Think of us and stop hearing the cries of your people.
Moses Their god does not hear their cry.
Will Rameses hear it, if he is made Pharaoh? No, he would grind them into the clay they mold and double their labors. And what about me? Think of me as his wife. Do you want to see me in Rameses' arms?
Moses No!
Then come back with me.
I do not care who you are or what you are or what they may say about you, but I want to hear from your own lips that you are not a traitor, that you would not lead these people in revolt against me. Tell me, Moses. I will believe you.
Moses I am not this deliverer you fear. I would take more than a man to lead the slaves from bondage. It would take a god. But if I could free them, I would.
What has turned you against me? From the time my sister brought you to the court, I loved you, reared you, set you before my own son, because I saw in you a worth and a greatness above other men.
Moses No son could have more love for you than I.
Then why are you forcing me to destroy you? What evil has done this to you?
Moses The evil that men should turn their brothers into beasts of burden, to suffer in dumb anguish, to be stripped of spirit, and hope, and strength - only because they are of another race, another creed. If there is a God, He did not mean this to be so. What I have done... I was compelled to do.
So be it. What I do now, I am compelled to do.
Moses [After Moses saves Sephora and beats the Amalekites]
Let them be first whose hands have drawn the water.
The stranger is wise… [Looks over at the beaten men] …and strong.
Moses At such a time, has any man ever gone to see Him [God] face to face?
No man has ever set foot on the forbidden slopes of Sinai. Why do you want to see Him, Moses?
Moses To know that He is. And if He is, to know why He has not heard the cries of slaves in bondage.
Moses, it would be death to look upon His face.
Moses How many of my people have died because He has turned away His face?
Can a man judge God? No, Moses. We cannot see His whole purpose. Even Ishmael did not know that God drove him into the desert to be the father of a nation. Is it not enough to know that He had saved you from the Pharaoh’s anger?
Moses How do you know that?
You walk like a prince. And you fight like a warrior. And there is word in the caravans of a great one who was driven out of Egypt.
Moses This is not the scepter of a prince, but the staff of a wanderer.
Then rest from wandering. My father has many flocks and no son to tend them. There would be peace of spirit for you, Moses, in our tents beneath the Holy Mountain.
Moses You have strong faith in this God, Sephora. But for me, there is no peace of spirit until I hear the Word of God, from God Himself.
Which of my sisters did you choose?
Moses I made no choice, Sephora.
She was very beautiful, wasn’t she? This woman of Egypt who left her scar upon your heart. Her skin was white as curd. Her eyes, green as the cedar of Lebanon. Her lips, tamarisk honey. Like the breast of a dove, her arms were soft. And the wine of desire was in her veins.
Moses Yes. She was beautiful, as a jewel.
A jewel has brilliant fire, but gives no warmth. Our hands are not so soft, but they can serve. Our bodies not so white, but they are strong. Our lips are not perfumed, but they speak the truth. Love is not an art to us. It’s life to us. We are not dressed in gold or fine linen. Strength and honor are our clothing. Our tents are not the marbled halls of Egypt, but our children play happily. We can offer you little, but we offer all we have.
Moses I have not little, Sephora. I have nothing.
Nothing from some is more than gold from others.
Moses You would fill the emptiness of my heart?
I could never fill all of it, Moses. But I shall not be jealous of a memory.
[Moses takes her hand and puts his marriage band around her arm]
Praise God I have found you!
Moses Joshua? We thought you dead.
In the copper mines of Geber, the living are dead.
Did He ask something of you?
Moses That I go to Egypt.
You are God’s messenger! He has set the day of deliverance. I will get water and bread that we may leave at once.
But Egypt holds death for you.
Moses If it be His will.
Where He sends you, I shall go. Your God is my God.
I will lead men against the armory at Migdol and get swords for the people!
Moses It is not by the sword that He will deliver His people, but by the staff of a shepherd.
What kingdom has sent you?
Moses The kingdom of the Most High.
But beauty of the spirit will not free your people, Moses. You will come to me or they will never leave Egypt.
Moses The fate of Israel is not in your hands, Nefretiri.
[Moses turns and walks away, but Nefretiri blocks his exit]
Oh, isn’t it? Who else can soften Pharaoh’s heart? Or harden it?
Moses: [Takes hold of her jaw]
Yes. You may be the lovely dust through which God will work His purpose.
Moses If there is one more plague on Egypt, it is by your word that God will bring it. And there shall be so great a cry throughout the land…that you will surely let the people go. [Walks away]
Come to me no more Moses! For on the day you see my face again, you will surely die!
Moses So let it be written.
In fear of your God, they have set me free. May a stranger enter?
Moses There are no strangers among those who seek God’s mercy.
My bearers?
Moses All who thirst for freedom may come with us.
If it is not forbidden to look upon the breath of pestilence, then see, for it is here.
Moses [Eleazar begins to rush to the door, but Moses grabs his arm]
Do not look, Eleazar. [To Joshua] Close the door, Joshua, and let death pass.
Miriam Death is all around us!
But it passes those who have believed the Lord.
Moses Always remember, Eleazar, He passed over your house.
You have conquered, Moses. The foot of a slave is on the neck of Egypt. You were saved from the Nile to be a curse upon me. Your shadow fell between me and my father, between me and my fame, between me and my queen. Your shadow now fills all things with death. Go out from among us, you and your people. I set you free.
Moses It is not by your word, nor by my hand that we are free, Pharaoh. The power of God has freed us.
Enough of your words! Take your people, your cattle, your God and your pestilence. [Throws his collar to the ground] Take what spoils from Egypt you will, but go!
But I saved your son.
Moses It is not my son who will die, it is...it is the firstborn of Egypt. It is your son, Nefretiri!
You...You would not dare strike Pharaoh's son!
Moses In the hardness of his heart, Pharaoh has mocked God and brings death to his own son!
But he is my son, Moses. You would not harm my son.
Moses By myself, I am nothing. It is the power of God which uses me to work His will.
But I saved your son!
Moses I cannot save yours.
There is a noise of war in the camp.
Moses It is not the noise of war. It is the noise of song and revelry.
Moses Great Pharaoh...I stand in the shadow of your justice.
Whose work is this?
I warned you of his treason, my father. Judge now if I spoke truly. The evil star foretold him as the destroyer of Egypt and deliverer of slaves.
It is not possible. A prince of Egypt?
He is not a prince of Egypt. He is not the son of your sister. He is the son of Hebrew slaves. [The crowd is shocked]
Speak...my son.
Moses I am the son of Amram and Yochabel, Hebrew slaves. [The crowd is shocked again]
My brother, it was I who deceived you, not Moses. He was only a child.
Leave me. I shall not see your face again. [Rameses orders Pentaur to take Bithiah away from him; to Moses] Moses...come to me. [Moses approaches him] I do not care who you are or what you are or what they may say about you, but I want to hear from your own lips that you are not a traitor, that you would not lead these people in revolt against me. Tell me, Moses. I will believe you.
Moses I am not this deliverer you fear. It would take more than a man to lead the slaves from bondage. It would take a god. But if I could free them, I would.
What has turned you against me? From the time my sister brought you to the court, I loved you, reared you, set you before my own son, because I saw in you a worth and a greatness above other men.
Moses No son could have more love for you than I.
Then why are you forcing me to destroy you? What evil has done this to you?
Moses The evil that men should turn their brothers into beasts of burden, to slave and suffer in dumb anguish, to be stripped of spirit and hope and faith - only because they are of another race, another creed. If there is a God, He did not mean this to be so. What I have done...I was compelled to do.
So be it. What I do now, I am compelled to do.
No. No.
[grabs Nefretiri]
Rameses...Egypt shall be yours. Hear what I say, Rameses. When I cross the River of Death, you will be...Pharaoh in Egypt. Harden yourself against subordinates. Put no faith in a brother. Have no friend. Trust no woman. I protected the helpless. I nourished the orphan.
Great One! [hugs Seti]
But he who ate my bread and called me father would make rebellion against me.
What manner of death do you decree for him? [Some people in the crowd say "death" as a possible answer]
I cannot speak it. Let it be as you will.
I will not live if you must die! [hugs Moses's leg and sobs]
[takes Nefretiri away from Moses]
The feet of a Hebrew slave is not the right place for the next queen of Egypt. [to guards] Take him away. [The guards lead the arrested Moses away towards the exit]
Let the name of Moses be stricken from every book and tablet. Stricken from all pylons and obelisks, stricken from every monument of Egypt. Let the name of...Moses be unheard and unspoken, erased from the memory of men...for all time.
Voice
[Moses approaches the Burning Bush on Mount Sinai. A voice speaks from the Bush] [barely audible]
Moses...[louder] Moses...
Moses I am here.
Voice
Put off thy shoes from off thy feet. For the place where art thou stands is holy ground. [Moses takes off his sandals] I am the God of thy Father. The God of Abraham, the God of Issac, and the God of Jacob.
Moses Lord...Lord, why do You not hear the cries of their children in the bondage of Egypt?
God
I have surely seen the affliction of My people which are in Egypt, and I have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows. Therefore, I will send thee, Moses, onto Pharoah. That thou mayst bring My people out of Egypt.
Moses Who am I, Lord, that You should send me? How can I lead these people out of bondage? What words can I speak that they will heed?
God
I will teach thee what thou will say. When thou has brought forth the people, they shall serve Me upon this mountain. I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them. Now, therefore, go. And I will be with thee.
Moses But if I say to Your children that the God of their Fathers has sent me, they will ask "what is His name?", and how shall I answer them?
God
I am that I Am. Thou shalt say, "I Am has sent me onto you."
Moses How long will you refuse to humble yourself before God?
If you bring another plague upon us, it is not your God but I, who will turn the Nile red with blood.
Moses As your father's father turned the streets of Goshen red with the blood of our male children! IF there IS one more plague on Egypt, it is by your word that God will bring it. And there shall be so great a cry throughout the land...that you will surely let the people go. [walks away]
Come to me no more, Moses! For on the day you see my face again, you will surely die!
Moses So let it be written. [leaves]
[enraged]
I will give this spawn of slaves and his god an answer the world will not forget! Commander of the Host, call in the chariots from Tanis! There shall be one more plague, only it will come upon the slaves of Goshen. The firstborn of each house shall die, beginning with the son of Moses!
Moses [As the waters of the Red Sea surge at their feet, Moses looks up to the heavens and the clearing skies, crying in a loud voice in half exultation and half anguish]
Thou didst blow with Thy wind, [kneels to the ground and Miriam kisses the hem of his robe] and the sea covered them. Who is like unto Thee, O Lord. From everlasting to everlasting, Thou art God! [The Hebrews, with their arms on the air, others falling on their knees in prayer, shouts the prayer of thanksgiving and deliverance]
Crowds
THOU ART GOD!
Moses [Last lines]
The Lord was angry with me because I disobeyed Him by the waters of strife. And He said unto me, "Behold the new land with thine eyes, for thou shalt not cross over this River Jordan".
Then I shall stay.
Moses I am called by the Lord, Sephora. I go alone.
Look, Moses. The people have come to the River Jordan. In the ark, they carry the law you brought them. You taught them not to live by bread alone. You are God's torch that lights the way to freedom. I love you.
Moses Joshua. [gives the staff and the Levite cloth to Joshua] Joshua, I charge you and strengthen you, for you shall go over Jordan to lead the people.
As for me and my house, we shall serve the Lord.
Moses Mered, give me the books. Eleazar, set these five books in the Ark of the Covenant by the tablets of the Ten Commandments, which the Lord restored unto us. [bids farewell] Go, proclaim liberty throughout all the lands, unto all the inhabitants thereof! [walks away to the top of Mount Nebo]
Other characters in The Ten Commandments
More Charlton Heston characters
Spencer Trilby
George Taylor
Robert Neville
Judah Ben-Hur
Det. Thorn
The Narrator and the Muses
Ramon Miguel 'Mike' Vargas
Richelieu