XII
Scene—A metropolis—Public place.
Festus and Lucifer. | |
Festus |
What can be done here? |
Lucifer |
Oh! a thousand things,
|
Festus |
True; it is a place
|
Lucifer |
Well;—
|
Festus |
I do. Stop friend! of late
|
Friend |
I am upon my business, and in haste. |
Festus |
Business! I thought thou wast a simple schemer. |
Friend |
Mayhap I am. |
Festus |
There is a visionary
|
Friend |
I have been, all life, living in a mine,
|
Festus |
When the world’s gold melts, all the poorer metals,
|
Lucifer |
I have a secret I would fain impart
|
Friend |
That indeed I would good sir. |
Lucifer |
Get then these fifty earths, or elements,
|
Friend |
Thrice greatest Hermes! but it must be; yes!
|
Lucifer |
He’ll be astonished, probably. |
Festus |
He will,
|
Lucifer |
Nonsense! |
Festus |
There needs no satire on men’s rage for gold;
|
Lucifer |
Why let us take our ease
|
Festus |
It ofttimes chances so. |
Lucifer |
Take of the blood of martyrs, tears of slaves,
|
Soldiers pass; music, etc. | |
Man is a military animal,
|
|
Festus |
Of recipes,
|
Lucifer |
War, war, still war! from age to age, old Time
|
Festus |
Yet fields of death! ye are earth’s purest pride;
|
Lucifer |
And yet all war shall cease. |
Festus |
It must and shall.
|
Lucifer |
Nor I. I heard that one of Saturn’s moons
|
Festus |
I know not. Ask! |
Lucifer |
Sir, what’s the news? |
Passerby |
The news are good news, being none at all. |
Lucifer |
Your goodness, Sir, I deem of like extent.
|
Stranger |
’Tis not unlikely stars do propagate. |
Festus |
And so much for civility and news.
|
Lucifer |
You gaudy equipage! hast ever seen
|
Festus |
Some men are nobly rich, some nobly poor,
|
Lucifer |
The poor may die in swarms unheeded. They
|
Festus |
Thou art surely mad. |
Lucifer |
I meant to moralize. I cannot see
|
Festus |
All homilies on the sorts and lot of men
|
Lucifer |
Here is a statue to some mighty man
|
Festus |
There’s an old adage about sin and some one.
|
Lucifer |
For all the world
|
Festus |
Wilt go to the Cathedral? |
Lucifer |
No, indeed;
|
Festus |
Well, to the concert, then? |
Lucifer |
Some fifteen hundred thousand million years
|
Festus |
Good! |
Lucifer |
In sooth, I cannot calculate the time.
|
Festus |
That would I learn and prove. |
Lucifer |
The finite soul
|
Festus |
Be it so.
|
Lucifer |
I put myself in your hands. |
Festus |
Wilt go on ’Change? |
Lucifer |
I rarely speculate.
|
Festus |
But something must be done to pass the time. |
Lucifer |
True; let us pass, then, all time. |
Festus |
I shall be
|
Lucifer |
Why, thus.
|
Festus |
In God I trust,
|
Lucifer |
Here and now.
|
Festus |
Thus be it!
|
Lucifer |
Prepare!— |
Festus |
And thou? |
Lucifer |
I vanish altogether. |
Festus |
Excellent! |
Lucifer |
Body and spirit part!— |