Bertram and Lorenzo: A Dramatic Fragment - Scene 2
SCENE II.
Midway up a rugged Mountain. Pathway rough and wearisome.
BERTRAM .
Old man, I'm tired! How can you foot it so
Over these rough and dangerous crags? my life
Upon it, I'll not be so easily caught
Another time.
LORENZO .
Rebellious boy! dost think
The things that are worth seeking for
Can be procured without a little trouble?—
An extra thought, perchance—a step or two.
And yet, the worldly man, in peevish plight,
Frets, if the attainment of most perfect bliss
Would lead him off the paltry jig-jog path
Of every-day life. Dost thou hope for heaven?
BERTRAM .
Yes. But why ask a question of such import?
We all do hope to reach that bourne at last.
LORENZO .
Prepare then to encounter many obstacles
During thy journey thither. There's a vale
Darker than death, through which we needs must pass,
Where spirits from the abodes of wretchedness
Contest the passage with each weary pilgrim
Who enters it. Scorn not to learn from this,
That, to ensure our happiness, we must
Submit to all the sad perplexities
That lay before us. We must learn to conquer
Each evil thought and passion that waylay us,
'T will make the bliss laid up in store for us
The richer gain when earned by our good deeds.
Enter several Peasants on their way up the Mountain.
FIRST PEASANT .
Ha! our old friend! whither away so late?
Dost come to spend the night with us?
LORENZO .
Many thanks.
This youth and I return again, so soon
As we have learned our lesson. Good even, friends!
FIRST PEASANT .
See, brothers, how the red-hot sun goes down,
Burning a steep path through the hissing wave,
That flames around him with a torrid heat,
Like a huge cauldron boiling o'er with gold
And purple foam. I remember, when a boy,
Climbing with desperate effort to the top
Of the mountain, to watch him rise and set.
SECOND PEASANT .
It is a blessed sight.
THIRD PEASANT .
But, brothers, see
How yon small cloud is spreading o'er the sky!
And, hark! the distant thunder warns us home.
FOURTH PEASANT .
To our homes, then; our homes and happy hearths.
ALL THE PEASANTS .
Yes, to our homes; our homes and happy wives.
Farewell kind friends.
Beware the coming storm.
BERTRAM .
Who are these men?
LORENZO .
The dwellers in the mountains,
As happy fellows as the sun e'er shone on,
But haste; the gath'ring storm may overtake us,
Ere we can reach the place I had intended
To lead thee to.
BERTRAM .
Where wouldst thou lead me, friend?
LORENZO .
To happiness.
BERTRAM .
The distance is too great.
I rather would return.
LORENZO .
There's but one road
To happiness—the upward path, by which
We must ascend the often dreamed-of height,
And gaze exultingly on all below.
BERTRAM .
The moth, by struggling upward to the taper,
Scorches its wings, and often perisheth
While searching for the light.
LORENZO .
And so wouldst thou
Risk life and limb, if thou shouldst venture downwards.
As for thine image of the moth, 'tis like
As if a man, who, standing on the brink
Of a steep precipice, should sway his arms,
And springing upwards try to clutch the sun;
Or one, who, leaning o'er Vesuvius' edge,
Should seek to leap across its gaping mouth
By one bold spring, and perish like a fool.
A little further up, and we are safe.
The storm will surely come. These shepherds are
Unfailing oracles.
BERTRAM .
If we must go,
Lead on, old man. How all my witty friends
Would hurl their puns and pointed epigrams
At me, if they but knew the foolish journey
I am performing, half against my will;
For there's a something in this old man's manner
That make me think both well and ill of him;
I'll either hate or love him by and by.
Midway up a rugged Mountain. Pathway rough and wearisome.
BERTRAM .
Old man, I'm tired! How can you foot it so
Over these rough and dangerous crags? my life
Upon it, I'll not be so easily caught
Another time.
LORENZO .
Rebellious boy! dost think
The things that are worth seeking for
Can be procured without a little trouble?—
An extra thought, perchance—a step or two.
And yet, the worldly man, in peevish plight,
Frets, if the attainment of most perfect bliss
Would lead him off the paltry jig-jog path
Of every-day life. Dost thou hope for heaven?
BERTRAM .
Yes. But why ask a question of such import?
We all do hope to reach that bourne at last.
LORENZO .
Prepare then to encounter many obstacles
During thy journey thither. There's a vale
Darker than death, through which we needs must pass,
Where spirits from the abodes of wretchedness
Contest the passage with each weary pilgrim
Who enters it. Scorn not to learn from this,
That, to ensure our happiness, we must
Submit to all the sad perplexities
That lay before us. We must learn to conquer
Each evil thought and passion that waylay us,
'T will make the bliss laid up in store for us
The richer gain when earned by our good deeds.
Enter several Peasants on their way up the Mountain.
FIRST PEASANT .
Ha! our old friend! whither away so late?
Dost come to spend the night with us?
LORENZO .
Many thanks.
This youth and I return again, so soon
As we have learned our lesson. Good even, friends!
FIRST PEASANT .
See, brothers, how the red-hot sun goes down,
Burning a steep path through the hissing wave,
That flames around him with a torrid heat,
Like a huge cauldron boiling o'er with gold
And purple foam. I remember, when a boy,
Climbing with desperate effort to the top
Of the mountain, to watch him rise and set.
SECOND PEASANT .
It is a blessed sight.
THIRD PEASANT .
But, brothers, see
How yon small cloud is spreading o'er the sky!
And, hark! the distant thunder warns us home.
FOURTH PEASANT .
To our homes, then; our homes and happy hearths.
ALL THE PEASANTS .
Yes, to our homes; our homes and happy wives.
Farewell kind friends.
Beware the coming storm.
BERTRAM .
Who are these men?
LORENZO .
The dwellers in the mountains,
As happy fellows as the sun e'er shone on,
But haste; the gath'ring storm may overtake us,
Ere we can reach the place I had intended
To lead thee to.
BERTRAM .
Where wouldst thou lead me, friend?
LORENZO .
To happiness.
BERTRAM .
The distance is too great.
I rather would return.
LORENZO .
There's but one road
To happiness—the upward path, by which
We must ascend the often dreamed-of height,
And gaze exultingly on all below.
BERTRAM .
The moth, by struggling upward to the taper,
Scorches its wings, and often perisheth
While searching for the light.
LORENZO .
And so wouldst thou
Risk life and limb, if thou shouldst venture downwards.
As for thine image of the moth, 'tis like
As if a man, who, standing on the brink
Of a steep precipice, should sway his arms,
And springing upwards try to clutch the sun;
Or one, who, leaning o'er Vesuvius' edge,
Should seek to leap across its gaping mouth
By one bold spring, and perish like a fool.
A little further up, and we are safe.
The storm will surely come. These shepherds are
Unfailing oracles.
BERTRAM .
If we must go,
Lead on, old man. How all my witty friends
Would hurl their puns and pointed epigrams
At me, if they but knew the foolish journey
I am performing, half against my will;
For there's a something in this old man's manner
That make me think both well and ill of him;
I'll either hate or love him by and by.
Translation:
Language:
Reviews
No reviews yet.