"But here I loiter, while you burn of course To hear what figure you yourself may cut In my brave patchwork scheme of compromise. I modestly adjoin myself to Saul, And so we two go in together, paired-- A little of your logic let into A little of my guile, and a fine fit." Shimei had counted for a master stroke Of disagreeable humor sure to tell On Saul, the piecing of himself on him In plan, conscious of Saul's antipathy. But Shimei still misapprehended Saul, Lacking the standard in himself wherewith To measure or assay the sentiment Of such as Saul for such as Shimei. Saul simply and serenely so despised Shimei, that nothing he should do or say Could change Saul's sentiment to more, or less, Or other, than it constantly abode, The absolute zero of indifference. Half absently, through fits of alien thought, And half with unconfessed concern to know What passed among his fellow-councillors Abroad, a little curious too withal Wondering how any artifice of fraud Could Saul with Shimei combine, to make Such twain seem partners of one policy-- So minded, Saul gave ear, while Shimei thus The acrid juices of his humor spilled: "Here is the method of the joinery. You know you put it strongly that the end Of that pretended gospel which they preach, Would be to overturn the Jewish state, Abolishing Moses, and extinguishing The glory of the temple, and all that-- Really sonorous rhetoric it was, That passage, Saul, and it deserved to win; But who can win against Beelzebub? Logic turned rhetoric is my idea Of eloquence, and my idea you Realized; but Stephen, without eloquence, Bore off from you the fruit of eloquence: Never mind, Saul, it was Beelzebub. Let rhetoric now go back to logic; you Demonstrated so inexpugnably The necessary inference contained In Stephen's doctrine, hardly were it guile-- Though doubtless you will call it such, you have Your sublimated notions on these points-- To say outright that Stephen taught the things You proved implicit in the things he taught; At all events, guile or no guile--in fact, Guile _and_ no guile it is, if closely scanned-- Here is the scheme:--We find some blunderheads, Who, primed with method for their blundering, Will misremember and transfer from you To Stephen what you stated on this point. These worthies then shall roundly testify Before our honorable body met To give the fellow his fair hearing ere His sentence--said fair hearing not of course Eventually to affect said sentence due-- Shall, I say, swear that they distinctly heard Stephen set forth that Jesus Nazarene Was going to destroy this place and change The customs Moses gave us; bring about In brief precisely what, with so much force, You showed would surely happen"--