I have said I would speak of the great discovery I have made within the last few days—the discovery that all our sources of spiritual life are poisoned, and that our whole society rests upon a pestilential basis of falsehood.
Several Voices.
[In astonishment and half aloud.] What’s he saying?
Burgomaster.
Such an insinuation——!
Aslaksen.
[With his hand on the bell.] I must call upon the speaker to moderate his expressions.
Dr. Stockmann.
I have loved my native town as dearly as any man can love the home of his childhood. I was young when I left our town, and distance, home-sickness and memory threw, as it were, a glamour over the place and its people.
[Some applause and cries of approval.