In Ardouin’s collection, the poem is preceded by two epigraphs: the first from the OldTestament Book of Judges, and the second from work of Ignace Nau:
Quand vous verrez que les filles de Silo sortiront pour danser avec
des flûtes, alors vous vous élancerez des vignes et vous enlèverez
Pour chacun sa femme, et vous vous en irez au pays de Benjamin.
Les Juges, dernier chapitre^130Un négrier sur l’Atlantique
Courait sans lumière et sans bruit.
Ignace Nau, Poésies inéditesReferencing an episode from the Old Testament (as opposed to the New) carriesrelevance in that much of the Hebrew Bible is about the nation of Israel. This quote from Judges
refers to a decision made by the Israelites after defeating the tribe of Benjaminites in battle.
According to the Biblical account, the Benjaminites had suffered the loss of many human lives,
especially women, and consequently, their very survival as a tribe was threatened. In spite of the
recent conflict between the two tribes, the Israelites did not wish one of the twelve tribes of Israel
to be completely destroyed. Because they had previously taken an oath not to give their own
wives to the Benjaminites, the Israelites decided to capture a group of women from the land of
Canaan. This was to take place during a festival in the town of Shiloh. This Old Testament
story refers to a time when various judges ruled, prior to Israel’s formation as a nation united
under one King. Preservation of a national future, however, comes at the expense of the girls of
Shiloh, about whom few details are given.
Nau’s citation indicates that he, like Ardouin, also broached the subject of slavery in hispoetry, though I have not uncovered this particular poem by Nau in the available collections or in
journals of the period. On one level, the textual proximity of these two citations works to bring
(^130) This is how Ardouin quotes these Old Testament verses. However, this verse may also be found in Judges 21:21,
The Holy Bible: New International Version (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Bible, 1978).