Be silent! you do not understand me! We are all human beings and we shall go together. _Enthusiastically._ And we shall go together! Come here, brethren, come! Look, Nullius,--they have lifted their heads, they are looking, they hear me. This way! this way! ANATHEMA. Will you perform miracles? DAVID. _Angrily._ Be silent--you are a stranger. You speak as an enemy of God and mankind. You know neither pity nor compassion. We are tired, we are exhausted,--even the dead have grown tired of waiting. Come here--and we shall go together. This way! ANATHEMA. _Looking at David._ Are not the blind showing the way to them? DAVID. Who needs eyesight if not the blind? This way, blind! ANATHEMA. Are not the lame making the road and swallowing the dust there? DAVID. Who needs the road if not the lame? This way, maimed! ANATHEMA. Are they not carrying the dead on the stretchers, swaying with measured steps? Look, David, and dare to say: "Come this way, to me. I am he who resurrects the dead!" DAVID. _Tormented._ You know no love, Nullius. ANATHEMA. "I am he who restores sight to the blind"-- _Loudly, through the window._ This way! Nations of the earth, seeking God,--come together, at the feet of David--he is here! DAVID. Not so loud. ANATHEMA. Eh, this way! Suffering mothers,--fathers who have lost their reason in grief,--brothers and sisters who devour one another in the convulsions of hunger--come this way, to David, who has brought joy to mankind! DAVID. _Seizing him by the shoulder._ You have lost your mind, Nullius. They may hear you and may break into the house.... What are you doing, Nullius? Be more cautious. ANATHEMA. _Shouting._ David is calling you! DAVID. _Dragging him away from the window forcibly._ Be silent! I'll choke you if you utter another word. You dog! ANATHEMA. _Releasing himself._ You are as foolish as a human being. When I call you to flee from here, you curse me. When I call you to love--you want to choke me. _With contempt._ Man! DAVID. _Enfeebled._ Oh, do not ruin me, Nullius. Oh, forgive me if I have angered you, foolish old man that I am, with a memory that fails me. But I cannot--I cannot perform any miracles! ANATHEMA. Let us flee from here. DAVID. Yes, yes, let us flee. _Irresolutely._ But where? Where do you want to lead me, Nullius? Is there a place on earth where God is not present? ANATHEMA. I shall lead you to God. DAVID. No, I don't want to go to Him. What will God tell me? And what shall I answer Him? Be considerate, Nullius. Can I say anything in answer to God now? ANATHEMA. I shall lead you to the desert. We shall leave here these wicked and vicious people, who are seized with the itch of suffering and who break down posts and fences like hogs that scratch themselves. DAVID. _Irresolutely._ But they are human beings, Nullius. ANATHEMA.