PEER. See here, I discharge the duties of my office irreproachably, don't I?
MONTANUS. What are the main duties of your office wherein you show human intelligence?
PEER. First, I never forget to ring for service at the hour appointed.
MONTANUS. Nor does a cock forget to crow and make known the hour and tell people when to get up.
PEER. Second, I can sing as well as any deacon in Sjaelland.
MONTANUS. And our cock crows as well as any cock in Sjaelland.
PEER. I can mould wax candles, which no cock can do.
MONTANUS. Over against that, a cock can make a hen lay eggs, which you can't do. Don't you see that the intelligence you show in your calling fails to prove that you are better than a cock? Let us see, in a nutshell, what points you have in common with a cock: a cock has a comb on his head, you have horns on your forehead; a cockcrows, you crow, too; a cock is proud of his voice and ruffles himself up, you do likewise; a cock gives warning when it is time to get up, you when it is time for service. Ergo, you are a cock. Have you anything else to say? (Peer cries.)
JESPER. Here, don't cry, Peer! Why do you heed such things?
PEER. A plague on me if it's not sheer falsehood. I can get a certificate from the whole village that I am not a rooster; that not one of my forbears has been anything but a Christian human being.