may keep life in him for an hour.—That, Earl, that is the saga of wisdom, and the saga of every wise man.
Earl Skule.
But the right!
Bishop Nicholas.
The son <g>had</g> the right. He had strength, and the craving for life;—fulfil your cravings and use your strength: so much right has every man.
Earl Skule.
Ay, for that which is good.
Bishop Nicholas.
Words, empty words! There is neither good nor evil, up nor down, high nor low. You must forget such words, else will you never take the last stride, never leap the abyss. [In a subdued voice and insistently.] You must not hate a party or a cause for that the party or the cause would have <g>this</g> and not <g>that</g>; but you must hate every man of a party for that he is against you, and you must hate all who gather round a cause, for that the cause clashes with your will. Whatever is helpful to you, is good—whatever lays stumbling-blocks in your path is evil.
Earl Skule.
[Gazing thoughtfully before him.] What has that throne not cost me, which yet I have not reached! And what has it cost Håkon, who now sits in it so securely! I was young, and I forswore my sweet secret love to ally myself with a powerful house. I prayed to the saints
