By slaying him to whom my heart is given?
Gottfried!
I place thy brotherhood upon the test,
And by that test, so shall it stand or fall.
If it be free from the base taint of earth,
As I believe it, from my heart, to be,
It will arise unshaken from the proof.
If it be as the love of other men,
Slay him—and me! (Kneeling to him.) My brother—oh, my brother!
I know thy love—this is its counterfeit;