the complete plays-第53章
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Man's a donkey Man's a goose
Man is coarse and Man is plain
Man is more or less insane
Man's a ribald Man's a rake；
Man is Nature's sole mistake！
Chorus： We'll a memorandum make
Man is Nature's sole mistake！
And thus to empyrean height
Of ev'ry kind of lore；
In search of wisdom's pure delight；
Ambitiously we soar。
In trying to achieve success
No envy racks our heart；
For all we know and all we guess
We mutually impart！
And all the knowledge we possess；
We mutually impart；
We mutually impart； impart。
（Enter Lady Blanche。 All stand up demurely）
Blanche： Attention； ladies； while I read to you
The Princess Ida's list of punishments。
The first is Sacharissa。 She's expelled！
All： Expelled！
Blan。： Expelled； because although she knew
No man of any kind may pass our walls；
She dared to bring a set of chessmen here！
Sach。： （Crying） I meant no harm； they're only men of wood！
Blan。： They're men with whom you give each other mate；
And that's enough！ The next is Chloe。
Chloe： Ah！
Blan。： Chloe will lose three terms； for yesterday；
When looking through her drawing…book； I found
A sketch of a perambulator！
All： （Horrified） Oh！
Blan。： Double perambulator 。。。
All： Oh； oh！
Blan。： 。。。shameless girl！
That's all at present。 Now； attention； pray；
Your Principal the Princess comes to give
Her usual inaugural address
To those young ladies who joined yesterday。
CHORUS OF GIRLS
〃Mighty maiden with a mission〃
Girls： Mighty maiden with a mission；
Paragon of common sense；
Running fount of erudition；
Miracle of eloquence；
Altos： We are blind and we
would see；
Sops： We are bound； and would be free；
Girls： We are dumb； and we would talk；
We are lame； and we would walk。
（Enter
the Princess）
Mighty maiden with a mission
Paragon of common sense；
Running found of erudition
Miracle of eloquence； of eloquence！
RECITATIVE & ARIA （Princess）
〃Minerva！ Oh； hear Me〃
Princess： Minerva！ Minerva！
Oh； hear me：
Oh； goddess wise
That lovest light
Endow with sight
Their unillumin'd eyes。
At this my call；
A fervent few
Have come to woo
The rays that from thee fall；
That from thee fall。
Oh； goddess wise
That lovest light；
That lovest light；
Let fervent words and fervent thoughts be mine；
That I may lead them to thy sacred shrine！
Let fervent words and fervent thoughts be mine；
That I may lead them to thy sacred shrine；
I may lead them to thy sacred shrine； thy sacred
shrine！
Princess： Women of Adamant； fair Neophytes
Who thirst for such instruction as we give；
Attend； while I unfold a parable。
The elephant is mightier than Man；
Yet Man subdues him。 Why？ The elephant
Is elephantine everywhere but here （tapping her
forehead）；
And Man； whose brain is to the elephant's
As Woman's brain to Man's … （that's rule of three）；
Conquers the foolish giant of the woods；
As Woman； in her turn； shall conquer Man。
In Mathematics； Woman leads the way；
The narrow…minded pedant still believes
That two and two make four！ Why； we can prove；
We women household drudges as we are
That two and two make five or three or seven；
Or five and twenty； if the case demands！
Diplomacy？ The wiliest diplomat
Is absolutely helpless in our hands。
He wheedles monarchs Woman wheedles him！
Logic？ Why； tyrant Man himself admits
It's a waste of time to argue with a woman！
Then we excel in social qualities：
Though man professes that he holds our sex
In utter scorn； I venture to believe
He'd rather pass the day with one of you；
Than with five hundred of his fellow…men！
In all things we excel。 Believing this；
A hundred maidens here have sworn to place
Their feet upon his neck。 If we succeed；
We'll treat him better than he treated us：
But if we fail； why； then let hope fail too！
Let no one care a penny how she looks
Let red be worn with yellow blue with green
Crimson with scarlet violet with blue！
Let all your things misfit； and you yourselves
At inconvenient moments come undone！
Let hair…pins lose their virtue： let the hook
Disdain the fascination of the eye
The bashful button modestly evade
The soft embraces of the button…hole！
Let old associations all dissolve；
Let Swan secede from Edgar Gask from Gask；
Sewell from Cross Lewis from Allenby！
In other words； let Chaos come again！
（Coming down） Who lectures in the Hall of Arts to…day？
Blanche： I； madam； on Abstract Philosophy。
There I propose considering； at length；
Three points The Is； the Might Be； and the Must。
Whether the Is； from being actual fact；
Is more important than the vague Might Be；
Or the Might Be； from taking wider scope；
Is for that reason greater than the Is：
And lastly； how the Is and Might Be stand
Compared with the inevitable Must！
Princess： The subject's deep how do you treat it； pray？
Blan。： Madam； I take three possibilities；
And strike a balance then between the three：
As thus： The Princess Ida Is our head；
the Lady Psyche Might Be； Lady Blanche；
Neglected Blanche； inevitably Must。
Given these three hypotheses to find
The actual betting against each of them！
Princess： Your theme's ambitious： pray you bear in mind
Who highest soar fall farthest。 Fare you well；
You and your pupils！ Maidens； follow me。
＇Exeunt Princess
and maidens。
Manet
Lady Blanche。
EXEUNT FOR PRINCESS IDA & GIRLS
〃And thus to Empyrean Height〃
Chorus： And thus to empyrean height
Of ev'ry kind of lore；
In search of wisdom's pure delight；
Ambitiously we soar。
In trying to achieve success
No envy racks our heart；
For all we know and all we guess
We mutually impart！
And all the knowledge we possess；
We mutually impart；
We mutually impart； impart。
Blan。： I should command here I was born to rule；
But do I rule？ I don't。 Why？ I don't know。
I shall some day。 Not yet； I bide my time。
I once was Some One and the Was Will Be。
The Present as we speak becomes the Past；
The Past repeats itself； and so is Future！
This sounds involved。 It's not。 It's right enough。
（Since 1935 the following song has been usually omitted）
SONG （Lady Blanche）
〃Come； mighty Must！〃
Blanche： Come mighty Must！
Inevitable Shall！
In thee I trust。
Time weaves my coronal！
Go； mocking Is！
Go； disappointing Was！
That I am this
Ye are the cursed cause！
Ye are the cursed cause！
Yet humble second shall be first；
I wean
And dead and buried be the curst
Has Been！
Oh； weak Might Be！
Oh； May； Might； Could； Would； Should！
How pow'rless ye
For evil or for good！
In ev'ry sense
Your moods I cheerless call。
Whate'er your tense
Ye are imperfect all。
Ye have deceiv'd the trust I've shown
In ye！
Ye have deceiv'd the trust I've shown
In ye！
I've shown in ye！
Away！ The Mighty Must alone
Shall be！
＇Exit
Lady Blanche
＇Enter Hilarion； Cyril； and Florian； climbing over wall； and creep…
ing cautiously among the trees and rocks at the back
of
the stage。＇
TRIO （Cyril； Hilarion and Florian）
〃Gently； gently〃
All： Gently； gently；
Evidently
We are safe so far；
After scaling
Fence and paling；
Here； at last； we are！
Florian： In this college；
