The Collected Works in Verse and Prose of William Butler Yeats, Vol. 4 (of 8): The Hour-glass. Cathleen ni Houlihan. The Golden Helmet. The Irish Dramatic MovementYeats, W. B. (William Butler)
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The Collected Works in Verse and Prose of William Butler Yeats, Vol. 4 (of 8): The Hour-glass. Cathleen ni Houlihan. The Golden Helmet. The Irish Dramatic Movement
Yeats, W. B. (William Butler)
English literature -- Irish authors
I was going the road one day—
O the brown and the yellow beer—
And I met with a man that was no right man:
O my dear, O my dear!
_Enter PUPILS and the FOOL._
FOOL.
Leave me alone. Leave me alone. Who is that pulling at my bag? King’s
son, do not pull at my bag.
A YOUNG MAN.
Did your friends the angels give you that bag? Why don’t they fill your
bag for you?
FOOL.
Give me pennies! Give me some pennies!
A YOUNG MAN.
What do you want pennies for? that great bag at your waist is heavy.
FOOL.
I want to buy bacon in the shops, and nuts in the market, and strong
drink for the time when the sun is weak, and snares to catch rabbits
and the squirrels that steal the nuts, and hares, and a great pot to
cook them in.
A YOUNG MAN.
Why don’t your friends tell you where buried treasures are? Why don’t
they make you dream about treasures? If one dreams three times there is
always treasure.
FOOL [_holding out his hat_].
Give me pennies! Give me pennies!
[_They throw pennies into his hat. He is standing close
to the door, that he may hold out his hat to each
newcomer._
A YOUNG MAN.
Master, will you have Teig the Fool for a scholar?
ANOTHER YOUNG MAN.
Teig, will you give us your pennies if we teach you lessons? No, he
goes to school for nothing on the mountains. Tell us what you learn on
the mountains, Teig?
WISE MAN.
Be silent all! [_He has been standing silent, looking away._] Stand
still in your places, for there is something I would have you tell me.
[_A moment’s pause. They all stand round in their
places. TEIG still stands at the door._
WISE MAN.
Is there any one amongst you who believes in God? In Heaven? Or in
Purgatory? Or in Hell?
ALL THE YOUNG MEN.
No one, Master! No one!
WISE MAN.
I knew you would all say that; but do not be afraid. I will not be
angry. Tell me the truth. Do you not believe?
A YOUNG MAN.
We once did, but you have taught us to know better.
WISE MAN.
Oh! teaching, teaching does not go very deep! The heart remains
unchanged under it all. You have the faith that you always had, and you
are afraid to tell me.
A YOUNG MAN.
No, no, Master!
WISE MAN.
If you tell me that you have not changed I shall be glad and not angry.
A YOUNG MAN [_to his _Neighbour_].
He wants somebody to dispute with.
HIS NEIGHBOUR.
I knew that from the beginning.
A YOUNG MAN.
That is not the subject for to-day; you were going to talk about the
words the beggar wrote upon the walls of Babylon.
WISE MAN.
If there is one amongst you that believes, he will be my best friend.
Surely there is one amongst you. [_They are all silent._] Surely what
you learned at your mother’s knees has not been so soon forgotten.
A YOUNG MAN.
Master, till you came, no teacher in this land was able to get rid of
foolishness and ignorance. But every one has listened to you, every one
has learned the truth. You have had your last disputation.
ANOTHER.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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