But behold I appear before you like roaring flame Mightily rearing itself under the mouth of the wind! THE SCHOOLMASTER: There is no other good than that which I have named. And that is why society exists. Men join together that each may serve his neighbor. TÊTE-D'OR: Serve? And what is the function for which they fashioned me? What implement am I? I am not the spade nor the bag nor the scales. But I am the fire and the sword! I have no place among you but now I shall make myself one, And I present myself before you Like the Bear who puts his paw in the hive and takes the honey and honeycomb. I shall beat upon the drum and the sound shall be heard in the four corners of the earth, and I shall reunite all that is male about me. Woman, your son is no longer your son! I shall take the peasant from his plough, I shall take the man from his trade, and I shall bid the bridegroom rise from the bed of his bride, and I shall divide the flesh from the flesh! And I shall bear him with me Into the heart of the hurricane, into war. That is why, O King, Shadow, sign, you must disappear, thing that is and is not! Clear the path to the throne, such as it is, and I shall mount on a table to speak to the multitude, and I shall tread it under my feet. THE KING: My son, listen to what the king has to say. TÊTE-D'OR: What have you to say, old man? THE KING: O young man, the old man is the man of the present time. Respect that which is mine. Respect the possessions of the father of the family. This kingdom was made by my fathers and I am its rightful monarch according to the law of inheritance. And I am like a man who goes about his estate, saying, "These trees were planted by my father. And that broad field Belonged to his cousin, who died, leaving no children, and it was gotten after a lengthly lawsuit. The higher levels are good but nothing will grow on the flats. And yonder farm was part of my grandmother's wedding portion; her marriage is still remembered." Thus my fathers sat, throned in their wooden armchairs, ruling honestly, giving ear to the needs of their people and settling their differences. And the people held them in reverence although often they were harsh and unjust and gluttonous and overfond of women. And me they have found too old and they have set me aside, like an old man who remains wherever they place his chair. But the creaking of the great door still is dear to my heart When it opens wide to receive the carts, piled high with the harvest, that the horses straining their utmost can barely draw. Do not take what is mine; do not despoil my daughter. For where will be the blessing that you will earn among men If you tread the hallowed law of inheritance under your feet? TÊTE-D'OR: Father of the family, I shall not respect you. For I am like a first-born son forced from his heritage, whose place the steward has taken, the son of a favored slave. O miserly old man who would keep what you cannot use,