Page:The collected works of Henrik Ibsen (Volume 5).djvu/433

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Let them strike me;—I am so glad to suffer.

[Entering.] Again a stoppage!—Oh, it is he. Can he really go no further?

I do not know what to say, sir; he falls at every step.

Oh, be patient! Who is this unhappy man?—See, suck the juice of these fruits.—Who is he, sir?

A Cappadocian,—one of the fanatics who took part in the desecration of the temple of Venus at Antioch.

Oh, one of those martyrs!

Try to rise, Agathon! I am sorry for this fellow. They chastised him more severely than he could bear. He has been out of his mind ever since.

[Rising.] I can bear it very well, and I am in my right mind, sir! Strike, strike, strike;—I rejoice to suffer.

[To the Subaltern.] Forward; we have no time to waste.