SCENE IV
Reading edition
Front Scene.—A wood near the Castle, as in Scene II. A group of PEASANTS pass.
FIRST PEASANT. I have seen silver and copper, but not gold.
SECOND PEASANT. It’s yellow and it shines.
FIRST PEASANT. SECOND PEASANT. It’s yellow and it shines.It’s beautiful.
The most beautiful thing under the sun,
That’s what I’ve heard.
THIRD PEASANT. That’s what I’ve heard.I have seen gold enough.
FOURTH PEASANT. I would not say that it’s so beautiful.
FIRST PEASANT. But doesn’t a gold piece glitter like the sun?
That’s what my father, who’d seen better days,
Told me when I was but a little boy—
So high—so high, it’s shining like the sun,
Round and shining, that is what he said.
SECOND PEASANT. There’s nothing in the world it cannot buy.
FIRST PEASANT. They’ve bags and bags of it.
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[They go out. The two MERCHANTS follow silently. Then ALEEL passes over the stage singing.
ALEEL
Impetuous heart, be still, be still,
Your sorrowful love can never be told,
Cover it up with a lonely tune.
He who could bend all things to His will
Has covered the door of the infinite fold
With the pale stars and the wandering moon.
END OF SCENE IV
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