girls withdraw slowly into the temple.

Act Two

The Scene: Delilah's house in the Valley of Sorek

It is a night in early spring, and here is Delilah, decked in her most splendid raiment and adorned with the most precious jewels and ornaments, awaiting Samson in the luxuriant garden that surrounds her house in the Valley of Sorek. She calls upon the god of love to help her shatter the enemy of her people, in the song "O Love, come aid my weakness!"

Lightning flashes in the distance, heralding the expected storm, and the High Priest comes into the garden to make certain of Delilah's presence and to steel her resolve. He tells her that the Hebrews are masters of the city, and that Samson, it appears, possesses a superhuman strength. Hence she must uncover his secret so that he can be overcome. He promises her the whole treasure of the temple of Dagon if she succeeds. But Delilah assures him that she hates Samson as much as he himself does, and that the fate of her people rests in faithful, trusty hands.

The High Priest bids her farewell; the darkness deepens in the garden, and from time to time the roll of thunder is heard in the distance. As for Samson, he gropes his way through the dark, hesitant and perplexed, torn between his passion and his sense of sacred duty. Delilah receives him with rapture and overflowing

joy, but he turns away from her caresses and declares to her that he is the envoy of Divine Providence, and that he has been chosen to free his people and lead them to manifest victory. She assures him that the god of love is stronger than the god of the Israelites. He cannot resist her when she sings to him "My heart opens to your sweet voice," and he cries out that it is his lot to love her, that his love is fierce and defies even his God. Delilah asks him, as proof of his great love for her, to confide to her the secret of his superhuman strength. He tries to tear himself away from her as the signs of the approaching storm swell little by little. Suddenly she pushes him from her and rushes into the house. The sky flashes and thun-ders; Samson stands perplexed and hesitant for a moment, then follows her into the house. Delilah has triumphed...

Some Philistine soldiers steal into the garden and surround the house. Delilah appears at one of the windows calling for help; the soldiers leap inside and seize their victim. The despairing voice of Samson is heard crying that he has been deceived and has fallen victim to treachery. For he had weakened in surrendering to his desire, and had told Delilah that the secret of his great strength lies in his hair: if it is shaved off, his strength departs from him, and he grows weak and becomes like other men, powerless to resist his enemies.

Act Three

Scene One: the prison of Gaza

The Philistines put out Samson's eyes and brought him down to Gaza; they bound him with fetters of brass and cast him into the city prison, where he passes his days grinding wheat, remorseful and despairing. The voices of the Hebrews reach him from the other cells of the prison and from beyond the walls, reproaching him for his failure to lead them to victory as he had promised them. Overcome with shame, he falls prostrate before the god Jehovah, asking Him to take his soul in atonement for his sin and to deliver his people. And while he is supplicating, one of the guards comes, unfastens his bonds and the chains that hold him to the mill, and leads him away.

Scene Two: inside the temple of Dagon

A vast throng has gathered before the great temple of Dagon, and the High Priest enters in solemn procession, accompanied by nobles of the Philistines, followed by Delilah and a troop of dancing girls carrying garlands of flowers and golden cups of wine. They sing a song in praise of the dawn that vanquishes

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