Back to Methuselah (A Metabiological Pentateuch) by George Bernard Shaw consists of a preface (The Infidel Half Century) and a series of five plays: In the Beginning: B.C. 4004 (In the Garden of Eden), The Gospel of the Brothers Barnabas: Present Day, The Thing Happens: A.D. 2170, Tragedy of an Elderly Gentleman: A.D. 3000, and As Far as Thought Can Reach: A.D. 31,920.
All were written during 1918 to 1920 and published simultaneously by Constable (London) and Brentano's (New York) in 1921. They were first performed in 1922 by the New York Theatre Guild at the old Garrick Theatre in New York CityWalter Prichard Eaton, The Theatre Guild, the First Ten Years, Brentano's, New York, 1929, p. 248. and, in Britain, at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre in 1923.Holroyd, Michael, Bernard Shaw: The One-Volume Definitive Edition, p. 510. (Random House, 1997).
Synopsis
Preface In the preface, Shaw speaks of the pervasive discouragement and poverty in Europe after World War I, and relates these issues to inept government. Simple primitive societies, he says, were easily governable while the civilized societies of the twentieth century are so complex that learning to govern them properly cannot be accomplished within the human lifespan: People with experience enough to serve the purpose fall into senility and die. Shaw's solution is enhanced longevity: we must learn to live much longer; a centenarian should be less than middle aged. (Shaw was in his mid-60s when the plays were written). This change, Shaw predicts, will happen through Creative Evolution (evolutionary change that occurs because it is needed or wanted—the Lamarckian view— and not as a result of natural selection—Darwinism) as influenced by the Life Force (l'élan vital).The Oxford English Dictionary: élan vital: [Fr. (H. Bergson L’Évolution créatrice (1907) Chap. iii, p. 276); see élan.] In the philosophy of Henri Bergson (1859–1941), a vital impulse or life force, of which we are aware intuitively; spec., an original impetus of life supposed to have brought about the variations which during the course of evolution produced new species; a creative principle found in all living beings. Hence gen., any mysterious vital principle. Neither Creative Evolution nor the Life Force were Shavian inventions. Shaw says they are his names for what the churches have called Providence and scientists call Functional Adaptation and Natural Selection (among other names) and gives due credit to Henri Bergson's élan vital.Shaw, Bernard. Sixteen Self Sketches: What is My Religious Faith, pp. 72–79, (Constable & Co., London, 1949. Nevertheless, he uses both terms in Man and Superman which was written nine years before Bergson's work was published.Bergson, Henri. Creative Evolution, translated by Arthur Mitchell, Ph.D. New York: Henry Holt and Company (1911). These concepts had some currency among Shaw's contemporaries, and the Methuselah plays are based on Shaw's extrapolations from the two principles. Although both ideas are out of scientific favour as the twenty-first century begins, Shaw accepted them completely (See Commentary, below.) Shaw also advocates what he calls homeopathy as a pedagogical method, arguing that society "can only be lamed and enslaved by" education. Shaw's "homeopathic" educational method consisted of lying to students, until the students were able to see through the lies and argue with the teachers.
In the Beginning: B.C. 4004 In the Beginning: B.C. 4004 is allegorical. Adam and Eve, as avatars for aboriginal humanity, discover a fawn dead from a broken neck and realize they, too, will die eventually from some mishap, even though they are immune to ageing. Their dread of death is overwhelmed by the yet more dreadful prospect of life unending, with its tedium and burdens, but they feel bound to live forever because Eden must be taken care of and they are the only ones available to do it. The Serpent—spoken of in Genesis.King James Bible. Genesis:1–30.The Holy Scriptures According to the Masoretic Text (The Jewish Publication Society translation,1917). Tanakh/Torah/Bereishit 3:1–15 .—offers a solution: Lilith, who came before them, and was, in fact, their mother, made them male and female, so they have the ability to reproduce. If they learn to propagate they can make other humans to tend the garden and thus be free to escape from living when they wish. Discovering the possibility of death suggests possibilities for other changes and a discussion follows that deals progressively with loneliness and love, uncertainty and fear, fidelity and marriage and the courage found in laughter. At the end the Serpent whispers—for Eve's ears alone—the secret of reproduction, which Eve hears with greatly mixed emotions.
A few centuries slip by; Eve and Adam have aged a bit, but otherwise have changed but little. She spends her time by spinning flax for weaving, he digs in the garden. Their son Cain arrives, boastful and aggressive, proud to have invented murder by killing his brother Abel. He is now a warrior who also kills beasts for food. He is utterly disdainful of the simple farming life and soon rudely goes away. Eve thoughtfully remarks that there is more to living than killing or digging in the garden and says her future sons will find things more wonderful to do.
The Gospel of the Brothers Barnabas: Present Day The Gospel of the Brothers Barnabas is intended to teach an audience what readers of the Preface are assumed to have learned. Two brothers, one a retired, but influential cleric (Franklyn) and the other a biologist of note (Conrad), independently conclude that humans must increase their lifespans to three centuries in order to acquire the wisdom and experience needed to make complex civilizations functional. Conrad has published their conclusions in a book.
A housemaid announces the opportune arrival of Lubin and Burge, two prominent politicians with antagonistic viewpoints; they will serve as sounding-boards while the brothers present their case for the need of longer lifetimes. Members of the younger generation, in the persons of Franklyn's daughter Savvy and her sweetheart, a young cleric named Haslam, are at the presentation, too.
Both politicians seize upon the promise of enhanced longevity as a way of attracting votes. One of them is cynical, not believing longevity will happen, but the other deems the theory valid, yet rejects the prospect out of hand because longer lives will be available to everyone instead of only the elite. Savvy and Haslam are nearly unaffected because the entire idea is well above their heads. The brothers are disappointed but remain completely confident that the change is sure to happen. Except for the brothers, only the housemaid is greatly influenced by the prospect of longevity, for she turns out to be the only one who has really read Conrad's book.
[Shaw wrote an extra scene for this part, which he later deleted and then published separately as A Glimpse of the Domesticity of Franklyn Barnabas]
The Thing Happens: A.D. 2170 The Thing Happens begins in 2170, 150 years after the Barnabas brothers disclosed their inferences, Englishmen continue immature throughout their lives. As a result, governmental dignities are mere figureheads, useful only for formalities and ceremonial occasions. The hard work of government is carried out by hired consultants from Africa and China unless competent Scots, Irishmen or Welshmen chance to be available. (The foreigners live no longer than the English, but they mature early.)
The first scene opens with England's president, Burge-Lubin (descendant and composite of the politicians seen in The Gospel of the Brothers Barnabas) squabbling with a Barnabas descendant—via telephones equipped with television—about which of them should welcome a visiting American who has invented a method for breathing underwater. Barnabas goes to meet the American inventor, who wants to use Records Office film footage to create a promotional cinema showing sundry important Britons who have lost their lives by drowning, but who, with the invention's help, might not have perished. Burge-Lubin summons Confucius, the Chief Secretary, to brief him on governmental matters. Confucius—nominally a consultant from China— is, de facto, the head of government. After their conversation, Burge-Lubin suggests a game of marine golf, but Confucius refuses on the ground that he is too mature to enjoy playing games. Burge-Lubin excuses himself, saying he must confer privately with the Minister of Health. The Minister of Health is a beautiful Black African woman, and the Presidential conference turns out to be a dalliance via long-distance videophone. She enjoys the flirting, but rejects a rendezvous and breaks the connection.
Burge-Lubin is chiding himself indulgently for mixing romance with business when Barnabas bursts in, completely overwhelmed. He reveals that the drowned notables in the film clips at the Records Office are all the same person whose multiple demises had ended several significant careers. Moreover, he has recognized the person as the currently alive and active Archbishop of York. Burge-Lubin considers that impossible and calls Barnabas mad. Meanwhile, the Archbishop, having learned of the furore at the Records Office, presents himself for questioning. The Archbishop is recognizably the Reverend Haslam, Savvy Barnabas' sweetheart, no longer callow, but dignified and confident and looking no more than fifty. He readily admits repeatedly feigning death and explains that the laws enforcing mandatory retirement at a certain age and those controlling eligibility for pensions left him with no alternative: When his record showed him old enough to be retired, he could no longer keep his job but he was always denied a pension because he looked too young. His solution was to fake his death and, as a different person, begin a new career. Barnabas hotly contested the legality of this and favoured prosecuting. Burge-Lubin, realising that he, or anyone else, might turn out to be long-lived, counsels moderation.
The discussion is interrupted by the arrival of the Domestic Minister, Mrs Lutestring to give her mandatory quarterly report. Both Burge-Lubin and Barnabas are considerably put off because they stand in awe of her although they deem her quite good-looking. She learns of the Archbishop's longevity with great interest but no evident surprise and it soon emerges that she, also, is long lived and remembers Archbishop Haslam from the time she was parlour maid for Franklyn Barnabas. After the briefest sort of conversation, the pair leaves together, obviously intending to produce some long-lived children. Consternation reigns behind them because the others realise that, with the secret out, other long-lifers, previously in hiding, will emerge to join them and form a colony that will seem a threat to short-lived people. However, counter-measures are not taken because it is realised that any one of them may be long-lived too, but not yet aware of it.
At that point the Minister of Health phones again to tell Burge-Lubin she has changed her mind and invites him to share an amorous adventure aboard her yacht, presently in Fishguard Bay. He is to take an aeroplane to the location and be dropped near the yacht by parachute. She will fish him out and dry him off and then let nature take its course. She is outraged when Burge-Lubin declines the offer. The reason for his doing so, as he tells Confucius, is that he doesn't wish to risk contracting rheumatism from exposure to the cold waters of the bay, since he might have to live 300 years, rheumatic. Confucius congratulates him on having reached the first stage of maturity.
Tragedy of an Elderly Gentleman: A.D. 3000