Page:The collected works of Henrik Ibsen (Heinemann Volume 4).djvu/293



There's an old man, though, trudging. Shall we call him here?

No, let him go. He is drunk, my dear fellow!

But perhaps he might

Hush; no—let him alone!

Well, shall we begin then?

One question—just one: What is it, at bottom, this "being oneself"?

A singular question, most odd in the mouth Of a man who but now

Come, a straightforward answer.

To be oneself is: to slay oneself. But on you that answer is doubtless lost; And therefore we'll say: to stand forth everywhere With Master's intention displayed like a sign-*board.