Ghost. Ask me who I was.
Scrooge. Well, who were you, then?
Ghost. In life I was your partner, Jacob Marley. It is required of every man that the spirit within him should walk abroad among his fellow-men, and if that spirit goes not forth in life, it is condemned to do so after death.
Scrooge. You are fettered. Tell me why.
Ghost. I wear the chain I forged in life. I made it link by link, yard by yard, the heavy chain of avarice. Now I must make amends for the opportunities I neglected in life.
Scrooge. But you were always a good man of business, Jacob.
Ghost. Business? Mankind should have been my business. Kind actions, charity, mercy, benevolence, love—all should have been my business. I am here tonight to warn you, to warn you, Ebenezer Scrooge, that you have yet a chance of escaping my fate.
Scrooge. You were always a good friend to me.
Ghost. You will be haunted by Three Spirits.
Scrooge. If it's all the same to you, I think I'd rather not.