Page:The collected works of Henrik Ibsen (Heinemann Volume 2).djvu/269



Oh blinded man! I cannot but pity you. You think 'tis the Lord's calling that draws you toward the throne; you see not that 'tis nought but pride of heart. What is it that allures you? The royal circlet, the purple-bordered mantle, the right to be seated three steps above the floor;—pitiful, pitiful: Were that kingship, I would cast it into your hat, as I cast a groat to a beggar.

You have known me since your childhood, and you judge me thus!

You have wisdom and courage and all noble gifts of the mind; you are born to stand nearest a king, but not to be a king yourself.

That will we now put to the proof!

Name me a single king's-task you achieved in all the years you were regent for me! Were the Baglers or the Ribbungs ever mightier than then? You were in ripe manhood, yet the land was harried by rebellious factions; did you quell a single one of them? I was young and untried when I came to the helm—look at me—all fell before me when I became king; there are no Baglers, no Ribbungs left!

Beware how you boast of that; for there lies the greatest danger. Party must stand against party, claim against claim, region against region,