And a wise man is known from a fool by his choice.

  My business life is a finished chapter;

  My love-sports, too, are a cast-off garment.

  I feel no desire to live back like a crab.

  “Forward or back, and it’s just as far;

  Out or in, and it’s just as strait,”—

  So I seem to have read in some luminous69 work.—

  I’ll try something new, then; ennoble my course;

  Find a goal worth the labour and money it costs.

  Shall I write my life without dissimulation,—

  A book for guidance and imitation?

  Or, stay——! I have plenty of time at command;—

  What if, as a travelling scientist,

  I should study past ages and time’s voracity?

  Ay, sure enough, that is the thing for me!

  Legends I read e’en in childhood’s days,

  And since then I’ve kept up that branch of learning.—

  I will follow the path of the human race!

  Like a feather I’ll float on the stream of history,

  Make it all live again, as in a dream,—

  See the heroes battling for truth and right,

  As an onlooker only, in safety ensconced,—

  See thinkers perish and martyrs bleed,

  See empires founded and vanish away,—

  See world-epochs grow from their trifling seeds;

  In short, I will skim off the cream of history.—

  I must try to get hold of a volume of Becker,

  And travel as far as I can by chronology.—

  It’s true—my grounding’s by no means thorough,

  And history’s wheels within wheels are deceptive;—

  But pooh; the wilder the starting-point,

  The result will oft be the more original.—

  How exalting it is, now, to choose a goal,

  And drive straight for it, like flint and steel!

  [With quiet emotion.]

  To break off all round one, on every side,

  The bonds that bind one to home and friends,—

  To blow into atoms one’s hoarded wealth,—

  To bid one’s love and its joys good night,—

  All simply to find the arcana of truth,—

  [Wiping a tear from his eye.]

  That is the test of the true man of science!—

  I feel myself happy beyond all measure.

  Now I have fathomed my destiny’s riddle.

  Now ’tis but persevering through thick and thin!

  It’s excusable, sure, if I hold up my head,

  And feel my worth, as the man, Peer Gynt,

  Also called Human-life’s Emperor.—

  I will own the sum-total of bygone days;

  I’ll nevermore tread in the paths of the living.

  The present is not worth so much as a shoe-sole;

  All faithless and marrowless the doings of men;

  Their soul has no wings and their deeds no weight;——

  [Shrugs his shoulders.]

  And women,—ah, they are a worthless crew!

  [Goes off.]

  SCENE TENTH

  A summer day. Far up in the North. A hut in the forest.The door, with a large wooden bar, stands open. Reindeer-horns over it. A flock of goats by the wall of the hut.

  A MIDDLE-AGED WOMAN, fair-haired and comely, sits spinning outside in the sunshine.

  THE WOMAN [Glances down the path and sings.]

  Maybe both the winter and spring will pass by,

  And the next summer too, and the whole of the year;—

  But thou wilt come one day, that know I full well;

  And I will await thee, as I promised of old.70

  [Calls the goats, spins, and sings again.]

  God strengthen thee, whereso thou goest in the world!

  God gladden thee, if at his footstool thou stand!

  Here will I await thee till thou comest again;

  And if thou wait up yonder, then there we’ll meet, my friend!

  SCENE ELEVENTH

  In Egypt. Daybreak. MEMNON’s STATUE amid the sands.

  PEER GYNT enters on foot, and looks around him for a while.

  PEER GYNT

  Here I might fittingly start on my wanderings.—

  So now, for a change, I’ve become an Egyptian;

  But Egyptian on the basis of the Gyntish I.

  To Assyria next I will bend my steps.

  To begin right back at the world’s creation

  Would lead to nought but bewilderment.

  I will go round about all the Bible history;

  It’s secular traces I’ll always be coming on;

  And to look, as the saying goes, into its seams,

  Lies entirely outside both my plan and my powers.

  [Sits upon a stone.]

  Now I will rest me, and patiently wait

  Till the statue has sung its habitual dawn-song.

  When breakfast is over, I’ll climb up the pyramid;

  If I’ve time, I’ll look through its interior afterwards.

  Then I’ll go round the head of the Red Sea by land;

  Perhaps I may hit on King Potiphar’s grave.71

  Next I’ll turn Asiatic. In Babylon I’ll seek for

  The far-renowned harlots and hanging gardens,—

  That’s to say, the chief traces of civilisation.

  Then at one bound to the ramparts of Troy.

  From Troy there’s a fareway by sea direct

  Across to the glorious ancient Athens;—

  There on the spot will I, stone by stone,

  Survey the Pass that Leonidas72 guarded.

  I will get up the works of the better philosophers,

  Find the prison where Socrates suffered, a martyr——;

  Oh no, by-the-bye—there’s a war there at present——!

  Well, my studies in Hellas must e’en be postponed.

  [Looks at his watch.]

  It’s really too bad, such an age as it takes

  For the sun to rise. I am pressed for time.

  Well then, from Troy—it was there I left off——

  [Rises and listens.]

  What is that strange sort of murmur that’s rushing——?

  [Sunrise.]

  MEMNON’S STATUE [Sings.]

  From the demigod’s ashes there soar, youth renewing,

  Birds ever singing.

  Zeus the Omniscient

  Shaped them contending.

  Owls of wisdom,

  My birds, where do they slumber?

  Thou must die if thou rede not

  The song’s enigma!

  PEER

  How strange now,—I really fancied there came

  From the statue a sound. Music, this, of the Past.

  I heard the stone-accents now rising, now sinking.—

  I will register it, for the learned to ponder.

  [Notes in his pocket-book.]

  “The statue did sing. I heard the sound plainly,

  But didn’t quite follow the text of the song.

  The whole thing, of course, was hallucination.—

  Nothing else of importance observed to-day.”

  [Proceeds on his way.]

  SCENE TWELFTH

  Near the village of Gizeh.The great SPHINX carved out of the rock. In the distance the spires and minarets of Cairo.

  PEER GYNT enters; he examines the SPHINX attentively, now through his eyeglass, now through his hollowed hand.

  PEER GYNT

  Now, where in the world have I met before

  Something half forgotten that’s like this hobgoblin?

  For met it I have, in the north or the south.

  Was it a person? And, if so, who?

  That Memnon, it afterwards crossed my mind,

  Was like the Old Man of the Dovrë, so called,

  Just as he sat there, stiff and stark,

  Planted on end on the stumps of pillars.—

  But this most curious mongrel here,

  This changeling, a lion and woman in one,—

  Does he come to me, too, from a fairy-tale,

  Or from a remembrance of something real?

  From a fairy-tale? Ho, I remember the fellow!

  Why, of course it’s the Boyg, that I smote on the skull,—

  That is, I dreamt it,—I lay in fever.—

  [Going closer.]

  The self-same eyes, and the self-same lips;—

  Not quite so lumpish; a little more cunning;

  But the same, for the rest, in all essentials.—

  Ay, so that’s it, Boyg; so you’re like a lion

  When one sees you from behind and meets you in the day-time!

  Are you still good at riddling? Come, let us try.

  Now we shall see if you answer as last time!

  [Calls out towards the SPHINX.]

  Hei, Boyg, who are you?

  A VOICE [Behind the SPHINX.]

  Ach, Sphinx, wer bist du?

  PEER

  What! Echo answers in German! How strange!

  THE VOICE

  Wer bist du?

  PEER

  It speaks it quite fluently too!

  That observation is new, and my own.

  [Notes in his book.]

  “Echo in German. Dialect, Berlin.”

  [BEGRIFFENFELDT comes out from behind the SPHINX.]

  BEGRIFFENFELDT73

  A man.

  PEER

  Oh, then it was he that was chattering.

  [Notes again.]

  “Arrived in the sequel at other results.”

  BEGRIFFENFELDT [With all sorts of restless antics.]

  Excuse me, mein Herr——! Eine Lebensfrage——!74

  What brings you to this place precisely to-day?

  PEER

  A visit. I’m greeting a friend of my youth.

  BEGRIFFENFELDT

  What? The Sphinx——?

  PEER [Nods.]

  Yes, I knew him in days gone by.

  BEGRIFFENFELDT

  Famos!75 And that after such a night!

  My temples are hammering as though they would burst!

  You know him, man! Answer! Say on! Can you tell

  What he is?

  PEER

  What he is? Yes, that’s easy enough.

  He’s himself.

  BEGRIFFENFELDT [With a bound.]

  Ha, the riddle of life lightened forth

  In a flash to my vision!—It’s certain he is

  Himself?

  PEER

  Yes, he says so, at any rate.

  BEGRIFFENFELDT

  Himself! Revolution! thine hour is at hand!

  [Takes off his hat.]

  Your name, pray, mein Herr?

  PEER

  I was christened Peer Gynt.

  BEGRIFFENFELDT [In rapt admiration.]

  Peer Gynt! Allegoric! I might have foreseen it.—

  Peer Gynt? That must clearly imply: The Unknown,—

  The Comer whose coming was augured to me——

  PEER

  What, really? And now you are here to meet——?

  BEGRIFFENFELDT

  Peer Gynt! Profound! Enigmatic! Incisive!

  Each word, as it were, an abysmal lesson!

  What are you?

  PEER [Modestly.]

  I’ve always endeavoured to be

  Myself. For the rest, here’s my passport, you see.

  BEGRIFFENFELDT

  Again that mysterious word at the bottom.

  [Seizes him by the wrist.]

  To Cairo! The Interpreters’ Kaiser is found!

  PEER

  Kaiser?

  BEGRIFFENFELDT

  Come on!

  PEER

  Am I really known——?

  BEGRIFFENFELDT [Dragging him away.]

  The Interpreters’ Kaiser—on the basis of Self!

  SCENE THIRTEENTH

  In Cairo. A large courtyard, surrounded by high walls and buildings. Barred windows; iron cages.

  THREE KEEPERS in the courtyard. A FOURTH comes in.

  THE NEWCOMER

  Schafmann, say, where’s the director gone?

  A KEEPER

  He drove out this morning some time before dawn.

  THE FIRST

  I think something must have occurred to annoy him;

  For last night——

  ANOTHER

  Hush, be quiet; he’s there at the door!

  [BEGRIFFENFELDT leads PEER GYNT in, locks the gate, and puts

  the key in his pocket.]

  PEER [To himself.]

  Indeed an exceedingly gifted man;

  Almost all that he says is beyond comprehension.

  [Looks around.]

  So this is the Club of the Savants, eh?

  BEGRIFFENFELDT

  Here you will find them, every man jack of them;—

  The group of Interpreters threescore and ten;76

  Of late it has grown by a hundred and sixty——

  [Shouts to the KEEPERS.]

  Mikkel, Schlingelberg, Schafmann, Fuchs,—

  Into the cages with you at once!

  THE KEEPERS

  We!

  BEGRIFFENFELDT

  Who else, pray? Get in, get in!

  When the world twirls around, we must twirl with it too.

  [Forces them into a cage.]

  He’s arrived this morning, the mighty Peer;—

  The rest you can guess,—I need say no more.

  [Locks the cage door, and throws the key into a well.]

  PEER

  But, my dear Herr Doctor and Director, pray——?

  BEGRIFFENFELDT

  Neither one nor the other! I was before——

  Herr Peer, are you secret? I must ease my heart——

  PEER [With increasing uneasiness.]

  What is it?

  BEGRIFFENFELDT

  Promise you will not tremble.

  PEER

  I will do my best, but——

  BEGRIFFENFELDT [Draws him into a corner, and whispers.]

  The Absolute Reason

  Departed this life at eleven last night.

  PEER

  God help me——!

  BEGRIFFENFELDT

  Why, yes, it’s extremely deplorable.

  And as I’m placed, you see, it is doubly unpleasant;

  For this institution has passed up to now

  For what’s called a madhouse.

  PEER

  A madhouse, ha!

  BEGRIFFENFELDT

  Not now, understand!

  PEER [Softly, pale with fear.]

  Now I see what the place is!

  And the man is mad;—and there’s none that knows it!

  [Tries to steal away.]

  BEGRIFFENFELDT [Following him.]

  However, I hope you don’t misunderstand me?

  When I said he was dead, I was talking stuff.

  He’s beside himself. Started clean out of his skin,—

  Just like my compatriot Münchausen’s fox.77

  PEER

  Excuse me a moment——

  BEGRIFFENFELDT [Holding him back.]

  I meant like an eel;—

  It was not like a fox. A needle through his eye;—

  And he writhed on the wall——

  PEER

  Where can rescue be found!

  BEGRIFFENFELDT

  A snick round his neck, and whip! out of his skin!

  PEER

  He’s raving! He’s utterly out of his wits!

  BEGRIFFENFELDT

  Now it’s patent, and can’t be dissimulated,

  That this from-himself-going must have for result

  A complete revolution by sea and land.

  The persons one hitherto reckoned as mad,

  You see, became normal last night at eleven,

  Accordant with Reason in its newest phase.

  And more, if the matter be rightly regarded,

  It’s patent that, at the aforementioned hour,

  The sane folks, so called, began forthwith to rave.

  PEER

  You mentioned the hour, sir; my time is but scant——

  BEGRIFFENFELDT

  Your time, did you say? There you jog my remembrance!

  [Opens a door and calls out.]

  Come forth all! The time that shall be is proclaimed!

  Reason is dead and gone; long live Peer Gynt!

  PEER

  Now, my dear good fellow——!

  [The LUNATICS come one by one, and at intervals, into the courtyard.]

  BEGRIFFENFELDT

  Good morning! Come forth,

  And hail the dawn of emancipation!

  Your Kaiser has come to you!

  PEER

  Kaiser?

  BEGRIFFENFELDT

  Of course!

  PEER

  But the honour’s so great, so entirely excessive——

  BEGRIFFENFELDT

  Oh, do not let any false modesty sway you

  At an hour such as this.

  PEER

  But at least give me time——

  No, indeed, I’m not fit; I’m completely dumbfounded!

  BEGRIFFENFELDT

  A man who has fathomed the Sphinx’s meaning,

  A man who’s himself!

  PEER

  Ay, but that’s just the rub.

  It’s true that in everything I am myself;

  But here the point is, if I follow your meaning,

  To be, so to phrase it, outside oneself.

  BEGRIFFENFELDT

  Outside? No, there you are strangely mistaken!

  It’s here, sir, that one is oneself with a vengeance;

  Oneself, and nothing whatever besides.

  We go, full sail, as our very selves.