""To Octavíus Messala." ""You wíll leave Jerusalem wíth the next mílítary convoy to Caesarea."" "We will race again." "You know, we have Simonides arriving, bringing you your bride." "Be you betrothed to me." "Messala is here." "You can be of help to me, Judah." "Whose side are you on, Judah Ben Hur?" "It is not a question of sides." "We should be bringing Pilate to the Garrison direct." "Look out!" "Seize him!" "It was an accident!" "Judah!" "Get up!" "Crucify the man and garrotte the women." "No!" "No!" "Hear me, Judah." "You have destroyed the house of Hur and me with it." "Messala!" "You are now under the command of Quintus Arrius." "Silence!" "How long have you been at the oars?" "Almost three years." "I was betrayed by a friend." "That usually carries a maximum penalty." "Three ships sighted." "Pirates for sure." "Battle stations!" "Back oars!" "Back oars!" "If this is a Roman ship, I will not let them take you back." "But I must meet this fortunate young fellow." "Emperor. I have the honour of presenting to you my son, Sextus Arrius." "Marcellus Agrippa." "He has a son." "Octavius Messala." "Do you know him?" "farewell, Quíntus Arríus." "I wíll not dísgrace the name you gave me." "But I wíll have my revenge." "No matter the cost." "...and yet forgive them." "Once?" "Seven times?" "No." "Not once." "Not seven times, but 70 times seven." "We've heard it said, "An eye for eye, a tooth for tooth."" "I say to you, do not fight those that wish to harm you." "If someone hits your left cheek, offer them the right." "If they ask for your tunic, give them your cloak as well." "Forgive them, for they know not what they do." "for they know not what they do." "forgíve them." "If they say, "Walk this mile with me..."" "...walk two miles." "As you've heard it said," ""You should love your neighbour, and hate your enemy."" "But I say to you, love your enemies and bless those who curse you." "Please, can you help a leper?" "This way." "I heard you've only lust returned." "Where were you?" "Went outside the city to hear the Nazarene." ""Blessed are the weak." "The poor shall inherit the Earth."" ""Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God."" "I think that is wisdom." ""The pure in heart." And who are they?" "You'll not find many in 100, is all I know." "Then you must try harder." "is that what I must do to win you, Esther?" "Try harder?" "No." "You must let me decide, David." "I would make the right decision, for once made, it cannot be undone." "I heard of your father's death." "It was that of a true Roman and an example to us all." "You must be proud of him." "He has my undying respect." "And what brings you to this armpit of a country?" "l've come for the games." "Games." "There are games of a sort." "Nothing like Rome." "A chariot race with teams from all around." "Arabs, Syrians, Nubians." "This Garrison puts up a team which always wins, if you call that sport." "It's enough to bring Senator Marcellus Agrippa from Rome." "And little these Jews will thank him." "A fractious bunch of malcontents." "There's one such abroad lust now, wandering the hills." "They spring up like weeds, and like weeds, we must cut them down." "There was another set-to at the Joppa Gate." "Soldiers everywhere." "I mean, it's Passover." "They should know by now the Romans are on the lookout for trouble." "Just telling Esther about the fighting." "And you were not tempted to loin in?" "And where would you and your daughter be if I was to join in and get myself arrested?" "We're indebted for your consideration." "You're indebted for more than that." "Who else do you know would have the pair of you under his roof after you lived with the lepers?" "We were purified in accordance with the law." "And who paid for that?" "And what did you pay with?" "If not the proceeds of the business Judah and I once owned." "Judah Ben Hur had you crucified in his place." "You do not know that." "l know what I saw!" "And I know I gave you both a home, so let's have no more of your sarcasm and your complaints." "You would be best to take heed." "I will not wait forever on you, Esther." "Daughter of Simonides." "I'm sorry." "When I'm in pain, I speak without thought." "There's no need to apologise, Father." "You are welcome, but where will you stay?" "The Senator's retinue will arrive soon, and I must accommodate them." "Well, I saw a house across the way closed by order of the governor for some considerable time by the looks of it." "I know the place." "It was a scene of an attack on me when I first arrived four years ago." "I had the perpetrators executed and the house left empty as a warning." "Well, then it has served its purpose." "You've not been attacked since." "When I make an example, I make an example." "Perhaps you might sell the house to me." "Well, it seemed a pleasing prospect beneath the neglect and decay." "You want to buy a house here in Jerusalem?" "No doubt I will sell it at a profit later." "But you have no obiection to benefiting from my whim in the meantime, do you?" "I suppose not." "Well, then, we shall consider it a mutual understanding." "Shall we say 50 talents?" "All right." "So, Governor, tell me, how much longer do you think you'll be required to serve in this..." "What did you call it? "Armpit of a country"?" "Are you covetous of my position?" "Because if you are, I could put in a good word for you with the Emperor." "How is your pain?" "lt hurts only when I laugh." "It's been a long time since that last happened." "We're alive, and we are together." "Yes." "Father, David is insistent I give him an answer." "Even if it be no?" "It cannot be no." "As I know he will turn us out." "We will survive." "Back with the lepers, begging at the caves?" "But you do not love this man." "David knows that." "I have no interest in what David knows." "It is you, Esther." "Could you bear to marry such a man as that?" "And he has prospered." "Forgotten his hatred of the Romans, the hatred he used to vent on Judah." "On those who tried to live in good terms with their conquerors." "Giving up his hatred is not to be held against him." "He gave up nothing." "He just saw where his profit lay." "David Ben Levi has hatred enough in his heart." "Then maybe I can erase that by being a wife to him." "Do not overestimate the power of love, Daughter." "It does not work miracles." "Saw all the work going on." "Thought I'd introduce myself." "David Ben Levi." "I have a business." "We do many things." "Tiles, for one." "You need quite a few up there by the look of it." "Yes, I believe you were here when one fell some four years ago." "Judah." "Judah Ben Hur." "Sextus Arrius now." "Sextus Arrius?" "I have a Roman name for when it serves." "But I am who I ever was." "Judah, son of Jacob, of the house of Hur." "What if you're discovered?" "l'm in no danger of discovery." "I am a Roman citizen now with all the benefits of that state." "Then it is true." "They said you were taken away, protected by that friend of yours, Messala, you and your mother and sister." "I have not seen them since that day." "You remember that day, David?" "Of course. I was there." "l know." "I saw you when you stabbed a soldier." "ln self-defence." "ln the back." "An incident which turned into a riot, for which my family was blamed." "I did not give your name when I was taken, or else you would have ioined Simonides on the cross." "So you knew of that, then?" "I saw him as I was being led away in chains." "His daughter, Esther." "What happened to her?" "Do you know?" "No." "And now it is rumoured I'm to release all common prisoners." "In truth, I should be locking more up." "But the Senator must have his visit marked by a gesture of magnanimity." "Do you know him?" "Senator Marcellus Agrippa?" "Indeed." "He's never forgiven me for having exposed his bastard son as an incompetent and sent off to learn his trade." "But enough of that." "How is your house coming along?" "It'll be ready to welcome the Senator and his son." "And yourself, Governor, when the time comes." "So who will compete in this great race, then?" "Anyone who can fasten four horses to a cart, and don't imagine there'll be any shortage of them." "All manner of rabble will mount up for the chance to embarrass or injure Rome." "Ye gods and fishes, how I hate this Passover." "So what's your answer?" "I'm not a man you may play with in this way." "I'm not a woman you may threaten." "You've given my father and me a roof over our heads." "For that, you have my gratitude." "But gratitude is not love, David." "And I do not love you as a wife should." "But I love you." "I love you enough for both of us, and love will come." "And if it does not?" "If you had my child, your heart would warm to the father." "I know it." "You'd come to be all a wife should." "You're not a woman that does things by halves." "Take one step." "The other will follow." "Very well, then." "I will marry you." "I hope you will find your quarters comfortable." "I do not use this place much." "I'm usually on the coast at Caesarea." "They will suffice. I am here only to oversee the games in the Emperor's name." "He's adamant that by such displays, Rome will be loved." "I think he'll find himself mistaken in the case of these Jews." "You can explain that to him when you are recalled to Rome." "I've yet to see the Emperor's orders under his seal." "You will have them." "Never fear." "They're on their way, carried by your replacement." "Sextus!" "Sextus Arrius!" "I saw you arrive." "And what a splendid sight it was." "And you are the most agreeable prospect I have seen since we left Rome." "So you were not in iest about coming to this place." "Sextus Arrius has bought a house here." "He seems to find Jerusalem far more congenial than I do." "I suggested he might consider relieving me." "I did not know you had political ambitions, Sextus." "Whose magnificent horses are these matched blacks?" "They're my gift to the Emperor." "After they have triumphed at the games, they will go to him for his stables." "When does Octavius Messala arrive?" "Octavius Messala will be here?" "I told you your replacement was on his way." "Let's hope his entrance is better than his last." "If you will excuse me, there is much I must attend to." "What a popiniay." "I marvel that he has lasted as long as he has." "So you've bought a house here?" "I should have thought that your estates in Umbria surpassed by far anything that you might find in this land." "I once lived here a long time ago." "As did your son if I'm not mistaken." "Until I brought him to Rome." "And his life truly began." "It'll be interesting for him to return, I imagine, to the scene of former triumphs." "When can we visit you in your new house?" "I plan a banquet to celebrate you all being here as soon as Messala arrives." "Well, I will leave you to recover from your journey." "What is that man doing here?" "I do not trust him." "Upstart." "Perhaps you should let me ask him." "Or are you saving me for your son?" "Very well." "A slice from a cut loaf is never missed." "Tell your master Sextus Arrius is here." "And to what do I owe this honour?" "You spoke of repairs to my house." "And you're offering the work?" "Or you would prefer I went elsewhere?" "I can't supply your needs. I'm sorry." "You were at the house only days ago, soliciting." "What did you lose interest in profit when you discovered I was not a Roman?" "l said I can't help you." "David!" "David!" "That woman!" "Stop her!" "Stay there!" "Esther, thank God you're alive." "I asked David if he knew where you were, and he told me he didn't." "That will be all." "Thanks, sir." "Why did you run?" "Do not touch me." "If you must detain me, have them do it." "Esther, wait." "What's the matter?" "What's happened to you?" "Esther!" "Leave me alone." "Leave me alone!" "Why did you spit on me?" "What have I done that you spit on me?" "Why would I not spit on someone who bargained my father's life for his own?" "I had nothing to do with your father's death!" "Then how is it that you are a Roman, and he is a cripple?" "Simonides is not dead?" "No thanks to you." "He was crucified on the eve of the Sabbath, and they took him down at sunset before he died." "Or am I to be grateful that you Romans allow us these privileges?" "I saw him as I was being taken to the galley in chains." "My sentence was life at the oars!" "You seem to have rowed your way to freedom." "You once professed to know what was in men's souls by looking into their eyes." "Look into mine." "I had no part in it." "If you don't believe that, then you can believe what you will." "He denied his part in your crucifixion, of course." "Said he had nothing to do with it." "He denied his part in your crucifixion, of course." "Said he had nothing to do with it." "And you did not believe him?" "He is a Roman, father." "Soldiers obey him." "Even looks different." "He is not the Judah Ben Hur I knew." "And to whom you are betrothed." "All that is in the past." "But he is here, now." "How is it that someone sentenced to the galleys for life is now wealthy enough to buy back his old home?" "Unless, of course, he was protected by his friend, Messala." "Did you look into his eyes, daughter?" "Yes." "And?" "Could not see out of my own." "I must speak with him." "Do you think he will confess to you what he denied to me?" "Perhaps my eyes will see clearer than yours." "Esther, it's me." "What do you want?" "l want to see Esther!" "Open the door." "This is not the time." "l say open the door, you will open it." "This is my house!" "You and she live here at my sufferance!" "What do you want?" "To see you." "That you were safe." "I am safe." "What else?" "Do I still have your word?" "You give short measure now that the business is yours, David Ben Levi." "I've had no complaints from those I deal with." "The Romans?" "Those whom you swore to resist and drive out?" "Have a care, Sextus Arrius, that I do not reveal you for what you are." "And what am I?" "An imposter, a traitor, one who bartered another's life for his own." "Will we go to Pontius Pilate, and you can tell him your lies, and I will tell him mine, and we will see who is believed?" "This man once worked for me." "I and my family were ruined by his actions against Rome." "He is a liar, and a coward, and a hypocrite." "And he still stabs from behind." "It is one thing, a man's heart not being in it, but when his body is equally absent..." "What ails my beloved?" "Do whores have beloveds?" "The whore's heart longs for un-bought kisses." "Marcellus is curious as to why you are here." "And he sent you to find out?" "This is so you know I am not trying to poison you." "Yes, he sent me to find out, but you have told me nothing." "You have poisoned at his command?" "I have indisposed a few in my time, but I save the best for myself." "For when I have had enough of this monstrous world." "But your secret is safe with me, Judah, if you were to share it with me." "Come to where there are no lies, no secrets, no words." "Empty your mind of what troubles you, of why you are here and what you must do." "We are here to see Judah Ben Hur." "Stay here." "lt's my pleasure." "Simonides." "Simonides." "Judah, God's blessing on you." "Simonides, you must believe me." "I believe you." "Daughter, come." "Look in his eyes." "Look and see." "The curfew will begin shortly." "I will find you an escort." "I have permission to stay out all night." "It is better that you return." "You have found a replacement?" "I saw the girl and how you were with her." "She and her father were once friends of my family." "I thought they were members of it from the warmth of your greeting." "But perhaps she was something more." "I met Esther once before in my life, and she was but a child." "Well, she's a child no longer." "I wish you ioy of her." "You and I are more alike than you suppose." "We make our way in this world by our wits." "You should trust me, Sextus Arrius or Judah Ben Hur." "Whoever you are." "Left, right, left, right..." "The decree recalling Pilate is in that scroll." "Do not present it until these games and the Passover have concluded." "Let that be Pilate's last duty." "The other is the edict authorising the release of prisoners for the festival." "He can have that now." "How was the Emperor when you left him?" "He's grown over-reliant on his commander of the Praetorian Guard." "Seianus, he's a dangerous man." "He needs to be the gate through which all must enter." "It's no bad thing that the Emperor grows used to such a gatekeeper." "Then he will not notice it so much when one is replaced by another." "And how long will that be?" "I don't mean to spend my whole life here." "Did you not live here when you were younger?" "Exactly, so I know whereof I speak." "We must have patience." "It would be as well if you applied yourself here." "It would help your reputation should some outbreak need putting down to show Rome she has a man of action." "I'm sure an outbreak can be both raised up and put down with great ease." "There was talk of some King of the Jews proclaiming himself as we came in from the coast." "I had forgotten what a barbarous people they are." "Gaius Antonius." "This is Octavius Messala, come from Rome with the Emperor's orders." "Messala and I are acquainted." "Still here, Gaius?" "Yes." "I congratulate you on your successes in foreign lands." "That's an order from the Emperor requiring the release of all prisoners for the festival." "The locals will not thank us for dumping murderers and the diseased into their midst." "Pilate will not be pleased." "Pilate will not have much longer to be pleased or displeased." "Octavius Messala will replace him when the festival is over." "So you managed it." "I did not give much for your chances after the last time." "You know that was no fault of mine." "You were Garrison Commander as I recall." "Do not make an enemy of me before it is necessary, Gaius." "Let there be no talk of enemies." "Gaius Antonius will be our champion in the chariot race." "He will ride the Emperor's four to victory, and we will all rejoice in it." "lndeed. I've heard of the famous four." "Perhaps you'll indulge me, allow me to complete a circuit or two behind them?" "It is never a good idea to confuse such thoroughbreds with different drivers before a race." "I do not think you need overly concern yourself, Gaius." "There are no animals comparable to these in all Judea." "Then you have not seen Sheikh Ilderim's team." "Senator." "Cannot that young fool control himself?" "There's no point in offending Gaius Antonius before he's even taken office." "My dear Gaius, forgive him." "My son has many good qualities, but patience is not one of them." "Have some care there." "Nor his concern for the horses if that's how he begins." "I fear he learnt his charioteering in war not in the circus." "Splendid animals." "They belong to you?" "My name is Judah Ben Hur." "l knew a Ben Hur." "Jacob." "He was my father." "He was spoken well of for a Jew." "That is all a Jew can ask." "So what is the son of Jacob Ben Hur doing dressed as a Roman?" "Has he forsaken his faith and his people entirely?" "Not entirely." "But among the Romans, I'm known as Sextus Arrius." "ilderim, Sheikh of the Howeitat." "Sextus Arrius." "You are studying the form then." "Indeed." "I have a fancy for Sheikh Ilderim's four." "Are they not magnificent?" "You are Sheikh Ilderim." "I'd heard you would be here." "Perhaps we can have a wager on the outcome?" "Perhaps." "Come now, Sheikh." "Are not your steeds famous throughout the East?" "Even in Rome we have heard of them." "l will venture a sum on the Sheikh's four." "We are beginning to see your true colours, then, now that you've come home." "Just to add a little spice to the event, Senator." "I will be happy to take your money, Sextus." "So that is your son." "Yes, of course." "You have not met." "Let me call him in." "It's time he gave the reins back to Gaius." "I will meet him tonight." "Do not spoil his gallop." "You will find my house easily, but should you have any difficulty, ask the way to the Hur house." "Octavius Messala may even know it from his time spent in Jerusalem." "A well-known Jewish family lived there then." "They're splendid." "Far too good for an emperor." "Certainly one who'll never ride them." "We're going to the house of Sextus Arrius tonight." "I told you of him, did I not?" "He was the slave adopted by Quintas Arrius, who then conveniently died and left him his name and fortune." "Almost as good as being the illegitimate son of a senator." "Would you like some bread?" "Here you go." "For you." "Some bread for you." "For you." "Would you like some bread?" "How long have you been his whore?" "He bought me when I was 13." "My mother was 12 when he bought her from her father at a fair price, he told me, lust so I wouldn't think I was the bastard of a bargain." "She's dead, your mother?" "Buried just outside the city." "The Jews wouldn't let her be with them." "She wasn't a Roman, so they put her in a field somewhere." "How old were you when she died?" "A little older than she was when she was sold." "So where did you live?" "Until he sent for me, with some Jews in Jerusalem for almost five years." "Do they still live here?" "No, they're gone." "Do you remember their name?" "What was it, the name of the family you lived with?" "Who cares?" "What's wrong, Messala?" "What's this?" "Why are we here?" "This is where Sextus Arrius lives." "Welcome, Marcellus, Athene, most especially Octavius Messala." "You remember this game, don't you?" "The trick is to expect it to fall at every moment." "I thought you did not know Octavius Messala." "I knew him once." "When we were boys, we were one another's best." "He lived with us after his mother died." "With my mother, Ruth, and my sister, Tirzah." "We were a family, were we not, Messala?" "What's this game, Judah?" "This game is one that you will lose." "What is this?" "Who is this man?" "Tell him who I am, Messala, and do not be modest about your part." "Messala?" "Get out of the city, criminals." "Thank the new governor." "Filthy leper!" "What is going on here?" "I demand to know." "Your son condemned me to death, crucified my friend, and murdered my mother and my sister" "all to protect his own position." "And I am here to have my revenge." "Would any Roman do other?" "Sextus Arrius is the same man you sent to the galleys?" "I should have had him crucified as Pilate ordered!" "What stopped you?" "A qualm of conscience." "Did he not share his home, the fellowship of his family?" "Even you, Marcellus, might have paused." "l'll have no qualms of conscience this time." "He is a citizen of Rome, and a rich one." "You think you can order him executed or sent into slavery?" "l'll challenge him to combat." "l have seen this man in combat." "He killed the Thracian you sent to me." "I don't care how many Thracians he's killed." "I'll meet him." "One of us will die." "There's more than one way to skin this cat than by combat." "Let Athene tincture his wine." "You think I'd have him poisoned by a whore?" "I'll challenge him to race me in the games." "You do not have a team." "Let Athene use her skills to indispose Gaius Antonius." "I'll take the Emperor's four." "It will be as we said when we were youths." "We dreamed then of competing in a chariot race before a great crowd with laurels to the victor, and death to the loser." "So it was for revenge that you returned." "Not to search for your family." "Esther, they are dead." "I believed your father dead and you lost to me forever." "Yes, I came back for revenge." "And when you have it, what then?" "lf you do not die attempting it." "Then it will be done, and I will leave this prison I have lived in for four years." "And will you be free then?" "Will Ruth and Tirzah be alive, or my father live without pain?" "Esther, the knot is tied and cannot be undone but with a cut." "Do not be afraid." "I have provided for Simonides and yourself." "No matter what happens." "I would rather beg than have such a promise made to me." "It would make me part of your madness, Judah, and do not tell me you are not mad." "I've seen it, and I've heard it." "He drives like a soldier." "Well, that is what he is, Gaius Antonius." "Well, this is not a war." "Senator, please, I fear for the horses." "You're right." "He drives them too hard." "Drink up, Gaius. I will call him in." "I have food for you." "I am unclean." "Take it." "Please." "You've been newly freed?" "After four long years." "Next time, I'll bring you clean clothes." "l am with my mother." "l'll bring something for her also." "Thank you." "Where is your mother?" "She is ashamed to be seen." "No, it is no shame." "Only misfortune." "Tirzah?" "Tirzah!" "It is me, Esther!" "Tirzah?" "Tirzah, is Ruth here?" "We are not clean." "God be praised." "You're both alive." "Would that it were not so." "No, Ruth, don't say that." "I've seen Judah." "He is also alive, and he's here in Jerusalem." "How long will it take?" "He will be unwell today and worse tomorrow." "Will he die?" "What did you use on him?" "Powdered glass." "It will wash out." "But the danger is if he falls into the hands of physicians, they will purge him and make things worse." "You're a dangerous woman, Athene." "How else could I have survived in a world of dangerous men?" "To think of seeing Judah once more." "He must not know." "What do you mean?" "You can't tell him you've seen us." "He mustn't know we're like this." "Mother, Judah is alive." "He's here." "And God be praised for it." "But would you have him ruin his life forever by revealing our plight to him?" "Judah believes we're dead." "Let us be a memory to him, not a living nightmare." "But how could I not?" "How could I not in all my life?" "How could I not speak of it?" "Promise me." "Promise me, Esther." "I ask this not for myself, not for Tirzah, but for my son." "For him." "Promise me." "Judah!" "Judah Ben Hur!" "Judah, you must forgive me." "I left so hurriedly last night." "You had me at a disadvantage." "That won't happen again." "Speak your piece." "What's your desire?" "To see you dead by my own hand." "Spoken like a Roman." "I'll meet you on the track." "Find yourself a team." "We'll settle it there." "I have not come to win a chariot race." "I mean to see the light go out in your eyes." "A race can be to the death as easily as to the line." "So be it." "Good." "It will be like old times." "Forgive my uninvited presence, Sheikh Ilderim." "Do you remember me?" "I am Judah Ben Hur." "Those who come in peace are always welcome." "Sit." "So what do you want of me, Judah, son of Jacob?" "To drive your chariot in the games." "I already have a charioteer." "I am willing to pay well to take his place." "Name your price." "Why this urgency?" "You made no mention of it when we met before." "It is a matter between one Octavius Messala and myself." "The madman who will soon rule over us." "So you wish to compete against him in this race?" "This will not be a race." "It is a contest to the death." "To the death?" "That is a bitter finish line, indeed." "If I were to explain myself..." "Before you begin, it is not my decision to make." "I thought that Sheikh Ilderim was sovereign in his own house." "In such matters, there are others who are more important." "It is they you must persuade." "Come." "Come." "Water!" "Get me some water!" "He needs to be purged of the humours that gripe him. I will prepare an emetic." "Will he recover?" "lf we act quickly." "What of the race?" "He's too weak for that." "Already there is blood in his stool." "It's a bad sign." "Very well. I will leave him in your care." "Well?" "He's in the hands of the physician." "He means to purge him." "Tell him not to." "It'll make him worse." "It is not my place to tell physicians their business." "They're sufficiently ignorant of it themselves." "These are they who must decide." "My beauties." "Antares, Atair," "Aldebaran, and Akaba." "Come." "Let them know you." "So, Judah Ben Hur, what is this story I must hear?" "And the physician can do nothing?" "He's purging him as we speak, but he assures me that he will not be well enough to compete in the games." "As if these damn games were not trouble enough." "It will only rouse the populace if some Syrian or Arab wins the race." "They'll take it as another sign, like this zealot in town." "Can you hear them?" "Preaching the Kingdom is at hand." "Fortunately, we have a replacement to hand." "Do not tell me the next governor will risk his precious skin." "What better way to announce my arrival?" "Your son has sufficient skill?" "Chariot racing is no amateur sport, and should he compete and fail to win, it would be worse than not competing at all." "I'll win." "You needn't concern yourself on that score." "So be it." "If you'll excuse me, I must attend to other matters." "You're sure this will settle the matter between you and the Jew?" "It will for me." "And since he'll be dead, I should imagine it will suffice for him also." "You have their trust." "Do I have yours?" "I would reioice to see any emissary of Rome defeated." "But I ask myself," ""What will it benefit me or mine" ""to make an enemy of Marcellus Agrippa, a Roman senator?"" "Two hundred talents." "Two hundred?" "I will give you 200 hundred talents to wager at whatever odds you can obtain." "If I win, you pay me back and keep the rest." "You hate expensively, Judah Ben Hur." "Two hundred talents?" "You must be mad or under-taxed." "If you're not confident you are going to win, I understand entirely." "It is not a lack of confidence." "Only surprise that one such as yourself, Sheikh, should have such a fortune to lose." "And let me understand." "You're wagering against my horses and my son?" "ln favour of my own rider and my four." "Take his money." "Yours is safe." "Very well." "What odds?" "Odds?" "You want odds as well?" "If you are so sure of winning, what difference do odds make?" "This is Judah's doing, is it not?" "This is his way." "He means to destroy you, too." "He's a dangerous young man, this Judah Ben Hur." "It seems his strategy is to humiliate Rome." "Would you have it known that you refused the challenge?" "Five to one." "We are agreed." "And the Sanhedrin are demanding his arrest." "What do you think?" "On what charge, Excellency?" "Charge?" "He chased the money lenders out of the temple, isn't that enough?" "The temple is not under Roman iurisdiction." "If they want him taken, why don't they do it themselves?" "It will not be easy to find him with the city crowded for the Passover." "Well, they have one of his followers who will deliver him." "Wait until after the race is over, then take this rabble-rouser and hand him over." "I remind you of a good, brave man, eh?" "Yes?" "Do not be afraid." "They can sense it." "Come." "Let him breathe you in." "Why are you here?" "To ask you not to do this, Judah." "lt is too late for that." "What if..." "Esther, speak to me tonight of if and maybe." "Until then it is in God's hands." "What God is that, Judah?" "The God of an eye for an eye?" "is there another?" "There is the God who forgives us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us." "I do not know that God!" "But He knows you, Judah." "He loves each and every one of us." "Leave this be now!" "Must you go through with this race, Messala?" "Do you think I can let him mock me the way he did?" "Do you think Marcellus Agrippa would allow it, given all he's done, all he's spent?" "Damn Judah Ben Hur." "is it true?" "You and he were once friends?" "We were one another's best." "But it's as the gods have willed it." "The gods." "They must have their games, too." "Who are we to deny them?" "Ruth, what if he should die in this race?" "For Messala means to kill him." "Die and never know that you and Tirzah are alive?" "And Ruth, what if he does not die?" "Do you expect me never to tell him even if he and I, God willing, should marry?" "Mother, listen to Esther." "If he knew we were alive, he might not do this thing." "Go." "Go now." "Halt!" "To Jupiter, greatest and best, Juno, his consort, and Minerva, the mightiest one's mightiest offspring." "May this race represent our sacred vow offered on behalf of he who subjects the whole width of the Earth to the rule of the Senate and people of Rome," "Tiberius Julius Caesar, the August." "May these, his subiects, strive to do him honour, whatever lot the gods may choose." "In first rank, from Ecbatana, Artostes Thuxra." "In second rank, from the Eternal City, Octavius Messala." "In third rank, from Nineveh, Tukulti Esarra." "In fourth rank, from Meroe, Taharga Shebitku." "In fifth rank, from Jerusalem, Judah Ben Hur." "Judah!" "Judah!" "Judah!" "Judah!" "Senator, shall we begin?" "Come on!" "Come on!" "Did I win?" "Did I win?" "Twelve years I have wasted on that fool, and he ends up making a laughing stock of me in front of a hoard of barbarians." "Not to mention putting me in debt to an Arab." "I shall not pay, of course." "Well?" "He's going to die." "That's all you have to say?" "He has internal iniuries I can't mend." "He's in great pain, and it will get worse." "So what do you suggest?" "l suggest you alleviate his suffering." "Sorry. I can do no more." "At least he did not have the nerve to ask me for a fee." "You have something in your pouch that will do what is necessary?" "I am curious, Marcellus." "Have you no affection for your son at all?" "My feelings for him are not your concern." "Now if you wish to see him spared worse, find a cure." "I must consult with Pilate." "Must be something we can do about that Jew." "Judah." "I must see him." "Do you feel better now you have taken your revenge?" "I feel nothing." "Except that it is over." "There is something you must know." "lt can wait." "This cannot wait." "Why are you here?" "To bring a message from Octavius Messala." "He still lives, then?" "Not for long." "He asks for you." "l have nothing to say to him." "Judah, go to him." "Forgive him." "Esther." "I have no forgiveness in me." "I am sorry to hear that." "Judah..." "Esther." "It is done." "Let him be now." "My mother and Tirzah are avenged." "Let us hope it makes them happier than it does you." "Would it have made a difference, Judah, if you'd known they were alive?" "What are you talking about?" "l have seen them." "What?" "l have seen them, talked to them." "When I tried to persuade you not to enter the contest," "l knew where they were." "You lie!" "Then look into my eyes, Judah, and see the truth." "Why did you not tell me?" "I was sworn not to." "By who?" "Who would ask that you agree to such a thing?" "Your mother." "No, she would never ask that of you." "Why would she not want to see me?" "I am her son." "She's a leper, Judah." "That is why." "Messala, take this and spare yourself." "You asked him?" "He will not come." "You told him I was soon for the ferryman?" "I must have offended him more than I thought." "I would have him know I wronged him." "I've never forgiven myself." "Only he can do that." "Then this will ease all remorse." "A little weariness, and then a long, long sleep." "l've been here almost an hour." "You forget I am still the governor, Senator." "I'm dealing with other matters." "What can I do for you?" "It's a matter concerning Sheikh Ilderim, he who lent his horses to that Jew imposter." "He has a claim against me." "A wager." "So you owe the Sheikh money." "How much?" "One thousand talents." "That is a very great sum." "Oblige me by not stating the obvious." "Does the Sheikh have witnesses to this?" "Not for long." "So it is to be the word of a Roman senator against that of a Bedouin Sheik?" "Who can doubt which is to be trusted?" "Bear that in mind, and you may yet keep your position." "Forgive them, for they know not what they do." "Forgive me." "You know, half my performance is to convince myself." "Move!" "Go!" "Go on!" "Faster!" "Faster!" "Move!" "I don't know why or how, but he's been waiting for you." "Judah." "You came." "I knew you would." "You knew more than I did." "Forgive me." "Please, forgive me." "I forgive you, Messala." "You caught me unawares last time with the stick." "Try me again." "No, rest yourself." "There's time enough for that, Judah." "Just try me again." "The trick is to expect it to fall at every given moment." "Are you ready?" "Ready." "Very nearly." "It is done." "You have to go, Judah." "One un-bought kiss before you go." "Go, Judah." "I commiserate with you on your loss." "I do not intend to pay that Arab." "Yes, well..." "Who knows if he was even mine?" "His mother was a whore." "Like yourself." "We are leaving this accursed place, so make haste." "For the ferryman." "Have him seat you next to your father."