Ah! Now, that is different. I am not afraid of you now. But I must come nearer to you; somebody in there might hear what the Angel said.
WISE MAN.
Oh, what did the Angel tell you?
FOOL.
Once I was alone on the hills, and an angel came by and he said, ‘Teig the Fool, do not forget the Three Fires; the Fire that punishes, the Fire that purifies, and the Fire wherein the soul rejoices for ever!’
WISE MAN.
He believes! I am saved! The sand has run out. . . . [FOOL helps him to his chair.] I am going from the country of the seven wandering stars, and I am going to the country of the fixed stars! I understand it all now. One sinks in on God; we do not see the truth; God sees the truth in us. Ring the bell. They are coming. Tell them, Fool, that when the life and the mind are broken the truth comes through them like peas through a broken peascod. Pray, Fool, that they may be given a sign and carry their souls alive out of the dying world. Your prayers are better than mine.
[FOOL bows his head. WISE MAN’S head sinks on his arm on the books. PUPILS are heard singing as before, but now they come right on to the stage before they cease their song.
A YOUNG MAN.