Page:The collected works of Henrik Ibsen (Heinemann Volume 3).djvu/226



Yet, Jacob's ladder reach'd that goal. Thither by longing soars the Soul.

In that way! Why, God bless me, yes Further discussion's needless there. Heaven is the wage of faithfulness, Of course, of moral life and prayer. But life and faith hold such dissent, They only thrive, when kept apart; Six days for toiling hands are meant. The seventh, for stirring of the heart; If all the week we preach'd and pray'd, The Sabbath had in vain been made. God's incense, rightly to be used, Must not be lavishly diffused; Worship, like Art, was not created To be in perfume dissipated. The Ideal you may safely sound From pulpit's holy vantage-ground; But with your surplice lay it by, When you emerge beneath the sky. All things, as I have said, are based On laws that strictly must be traced, And my sole end in speaking is To give this fact due emphasis.

One thing I very clearly see: No State Soul-case is fit for me.

A perfect fit, I will engage, My friend,—but on a loftier stage:— You must go up