THE HOUR-GLASSA MORALITYBY W. B. YEATS DRAMATIS PERSONAE A WISE MANA FOOLSOME PUPILSAN ANGELTHE WISE MAN'S WIFE AND TWO CHILDREN SCENE: A large room with a door at the back and another at the sideopening to an inner room. A desk and a chair in the middle. Anhour-glass on a bracket near the door. A creepy stool near it. Somebenches. The WISE MAN sitting at his desk. WISE MAN [turning over the pages of a book]. Where is that passageI am to explain to my pupils to-day? Here it is, and the book saysthat it was written by a beggar on the walls of Babylon: "There aretwo living countries, the one visible and the one invisible; andwhen it is winter with us it is summer in that country; and whenthe November winds are up among us it is lambing-time there. " Iwish that my pupils had asked me to explain any other passage, forthis is a hard passage. [The FOOL comes in and stands at the door, holding out his hat. He has a pair of shears in the other hand. ] Itsounds to me like foolishness; and yet that cannot be, for thewriter of this book, where I have found so much knowledge, would not have set it by itself on this page, and surrounded itwith so many images and so many deep colors and so much finegilding, if it had been foolishness. FOOL. Give me a penny. WISE MAN. [Turns to another page. ] Here he has written: "Thelearned in old times forgot the visible country. " That Iunderstand, but I have taught my learners better. FOOL. Won't you give me a penny? WISE MAN. What do you want? The words of the wise Saracen will notteach you much. FOOL. Such a great wise teacher as you are will not refuse a pennyto a Fool. WISE MAN. What do you know about wisdom? FOOL. Oh, I know! I know what I have seen. WISE MAN. What is it you have seen? FOOL. When I went by Kilcluan where the bells used to be ringing atthe break of every day, I could hear nothing but the people snoringin their houses. When I went by Tubbervanach where the young menused to be climbing the hill to the blessed well, they were sittingat the crossroads playing cards. When I went by Carrigoras wherethe friars used to be fasting and serving the poor, I saw themdrinking wine and obeying their wives. And when I asked whatmisfortune had brought all these changes, they said it was nomisfortune, but it was the wisdom they had learned from yourteaching. WISE MAN. Run round to the kitchen, and my wife will give yousomething to eat. FOOL. That is foolish advice for a wise man to give. WISE MAN. Why, Fool? FOOL. What is eaten is gone. I want pennies for my bag. I must buybacon in the shops, and nuts in the market, and strong drink forthe time when the sun is weak. And I want snares to catch therabbits and the squirrels and the bares, and a pot to cook them in. WISE MAN. Go away. I have other things to think of now than givingyou pennies. FOOL. Give me a penny and I will bring you luck. Bresal theFisherman lets me sleep among the nets in his loft in thewinter-time because he says I bring him luck; and in thesummer-time the wild creatures let me sleep near their nestsand their holes. It is lucky even to look at me or to touch me, but it is much more lucky to give me a penny. [Holds out hishand. ] If I wasn't lucky, I'd starve. WISE MAN. What have you got the shears for? FOOL. I won't tell you. If I told you, you would drive them away. WISE MAN. Whom would I drive away? FOOL. I won't tell you. WISE MAN. Not if I give you a penny? FOOL. No. WISE MAN. Not if I give you two pennies. FOOL. You will be very lucky if you give me two pennies, but Iwon't tell you. WISE MAN. Three pennies? FOOL. Four, and I will tell you! WISE MAN. Very well, four. But I will not call you Teigue the Foolany longer. FOOL. Let me come close to you where nobody will hear me. But firstyou must promise you will not drive them away. [WISE MAN nods. ]Every day men go out dressed in black and spread great black netsover the hill, great black nets. WISE MAN. Why do they do that? FOOL. That they may catch the feet of the angels. But everymorning, just before the dawn, I go out and cut the nets with myshears, and the angels fly away. WISE MAN. Ah, now I know that you are Teigue the Fool. You havetold me that I am wise, and I have never seen an angel. FOOL. I have seen plenty of angels. WISE MAN. Do you bring luck to the angels too. FOOL. Oh, no, no! No one could do that. But they are always thereif one looks about one; they are like the blades of grass. WISE MAN. When do you see them? FOOL. When one gets quiet; then something wakes up inside one, something happy and quiet like the stars--not like the seven thatmove, but like the fixed stars. [He points upward. ] WISE MAN. And what happens then? FOOL. Then all in a minute one smells summer flowers, and tallpeople go by, happy and laughing, and their clothes are the colorof burning sods. WISE MAN. Is it long since you have seen them, Teigue the Fool? FOOL. Not long, glory be to God! I saw one coming behind me justnow. It was not laughing, but it had clothes the color of burningsods, and there was something shining about its head. WISE MAN. Well, there are your four pennies. You, a fool, say"Glory be to God, " but before I came the wise men said it. Run awaynow. I must ring the bell for my scholars. FOOL. Four pennies! That means a great deal of luck. Great teacher, I have brought you plenty of luck! [He goes out shaking the bag. ] WISE MAN. Though they call him Teigue the Fool, he is not morefoolish than everybody used to be, with their dreams and theirpreachings and their three worlds; but I have overthrown theirthree worlds with the seven sciences. [He touches the books withhis hands. ] With Philosophy that was made for the lonely star, Ihave taught them to forget Theology; with Architecture, I havehidden the ramparts of their cloudy heaven; with Music, the fierceplanets' daughter whose hair is always on fire, and with Grammarthat is the moon's daughter, I have shut their ears to theimaginary harpings and speech of the angels; and I have madeformations of battle with Arithmetic that have put the hosts ofheaven to the rout. But, Rhetoric and Dialectic, that have beenborn out of the light star and out of the amorous star, you havebeen my spearman and my catapult! Oh! my swift horseman! Oh! mykeen darting arguments, it is because of you that I have overthrownthe hosts of foolishness! [An ANGEL, in a dress the color ofembers, and carrying a blossoming apple bough in his hand and witha gilded halo about his head, stands upon the threshold. ] Before Icame, men's minds were stuffed with folly about a heaven wherebirds sang the hours, and about angels that came and stood uponmen's thresholds. But I have locked the visions into heaven andturned the key upon them. Well, I must consider this passage aboutthe two countries. My mother used to say something of the kind. Shewould say that when our bodies sleep our souls awake, and thatwhatever withers here ripens yonder, and that harvests are snatchedfrom us that they may feed invisible people. But the meaning of thebook must be different, for only fools and women have thoughts likethat; their thoughts were never written upon the walls of Babylon. [He sees the ANGEL. ] What are you? Who are you? I think I saw somethat were like you in my dreams when I was a child--that brightthing, that dress that is the color of embers! But I have done withdreams, I have done with dreams. ANGEL. I am the Angel of the Most High God. WISE MAN. Why have you come to me? ANGEL. I have brought you a message. WISE MAN. What message have yon got for me? ANGEL. You will die within the hour. You will die when the lastgrains have fallen in this glass. [He turns the hour-glass. ] WISE MAN. My time to die has not come. I have my pupils. I have ayoung wife and children that I cannot leave. Why must I die? ANGEL. You must die because no souls have passed over the thresholdof heaven since you came into this country. The threshold isgrassy, and the gates are rusty, and the angels that keep watchthere are lonely. WISE MAN. Where will death bring me to? ANGEL. The doors of heaven will not open to you, for you havedenied the existence of heaven; and the doors of purgatory will notopen to you, for you have denied the existence of purgatory. WISE MAN. But I have also denied the existence of hell! ANGEL. Hell is the place of those who deny. WISE MAN [kneeling]. I have indeed denied everything and havetaught others to deny. I have believed in nothing but what mysenses told me. But, oh! beautiful Angel, forgive me, forgive me! ANGEL. You should have asked forgiveness long ago. WISE MAN. Had I seen your face as I see it now, oh! beautifulAngel, I would have believed, I would have asked forgiveness. Maybe you do not know how easy it is to doubt. Storm, death, thegrass rotting, many sicknesses, those are the messengers that cameto me. Oh! why are you silent? You carry the pardon of the MostHigh; give it to me! I would kiss your hands if I were not afraid--no, no, the hem of your dress! ANGEL. You let go undying hands too long ago to take hold of them now. WISE MAN. You cannot understand. You live in that country peopleonly see in their dreams. You live in a country that we can onlydream about. Maybe it is as hard for you to understand why wedisbelieve as it is for us to believe. Oh! what have I said! Youknow everything! Give me time to undo what I have done. Give me ayear--a month--a day--an hour! Give me this hour's end, that I mayundo what I have done! ANGEL. You cannot undo what you have done. Yet I have this powerwith my message. If you can find one that believes before thehour's end, you shall come to heaven after the years of purgatory. For, from one fiery seed, watched over by those that sent me, theharvest can come again to heap the golden threshing-floor. But nowfarewell, for I am weary of the weight of time. WISE MAN. Blessed be the Father, blessed be the Son, blessed be theSpirit, blessed be the Messenger They have sent! ANGEL [at the door and pointing at the hour-glass]. In a littlewhile the uppermost glass will be empty. [Goes out. ] WISE MAN. Everything will be well with me. I will call my pupils;they only say they doubt. [Pulls the bell. ] They will be here in amoment. I hear their feet outside on the path. They want to pleaseme; they pretend that they disbelieve. Belief is too old to beovercome all in a minute. Besides, I can prove what I oncedisproved. [Another pull at the bell. ] They are coming now. I willgo to my desk. I will speak quietly, as if nothing had happened. [He stands at the desk with a fixed look in his eyes. ] [Enter PUPILS and the FOOL. ] FOOL. Leave me alone. Leave me alone. Who is that pulling at mybag? King's son, do not pull at my bag. A YOUNG MAN. Did your friends the angels give you that bag? Whydon't they fill your bag for you? FOOL. Give me pennies! Give me some pennies! A YOUNG MAN. Let go his cloak, it is coming to pieces. What do youwant pennies for, with that great bag at your waist? FOOL. I want to buy bacon in the shops, and nuts in the market, andstrong drink for the time when the sun is weak, and snares to catchrabbits and the squirrels that steal the nuts, and hares, and agreat pot to cook them in. A YOUNG MAN. Why don't your friends tell you where buried treasuresare? ANOTHER. Why don't they make you dream about treasures? If onedreams three times, there is always treasure. FOOL [holding out his hat]. Give me pennies! Give me pennies! [They throw pennies into his hat. He is standing close to thedoor, that he may hold out his hat to each newcomer. ] A YOUNG MAN. Master, will you have Teigue the Fool for a scholar? ANOTHER YOUNG MAN. Teigue, will you give us pennies if we teach youlessons? No, be goes to school for nothing on the mountains. Tellus what you learn on the mountains, Teigue? WISE MAN. Be silent all. [He has been standing silent, lookingaway. ] Stand still in your places, for there is something I wouldhave you tell me. [A moment's pause. They all stand round in their places. TEIGUE still stands at the door. ] WISE MAN. Is there any one amongst you who believes in God? Inheaven? Or in purgatory? Or in hell? ALL THE YOUNG MEN. No one; Master! No one! WISE MAN. I knew you would all say that; but do not be afraid. Iwill not be angry. Tell me the truth. Do you not believe? A YOUNG MAN. We once did, but you have taught us to know better. WISE MAN. Oh! teaching, teaching does not go very deep! The heartremains unchanged under it all. You believe just as yon always did, and you are afraid to tell me. A YOUNG MAN. No, no, master. WISE MAN. If you tell me that you believe I shall be glad and notangry. A YOUNG MAN. [To his neighbor. ] He wants somebody to dispute with. HIS NEIGHBOR. I knew that from the beginning. A YOUNG MAN. That is not the subject for to-day; you were going totalk about the words the beggar wrote upon the walls of Babylon. WISE MAN. If there is one amongst you that believes, he will be mybest friend. Surely there is one amongst you. [They are allsilent. ] Surely what you learned at your mother's knees has notbeen so soon forgotten. A YOUNG MAN. Master, till you came, no teacher in this land wasable to get rid of foolishness and ignorance. But every one haslistened to you, every one has learned the truth. You have had yourlast disputation. ANOTHER. What a fool you made of that monk in the market-place! Hehad not a word to say. WISE MAN. [Comes from his desk and stands among them in the middleof the room. ] Pupils, dear friends, I have deceived you all thistime. It was I myself who was ignorant. There is a God. There is aheaven. There is fire that passes, and there is fire that lasts forever. [TEIGUE, through all this, is sitting on a stool by the door, reckoning on his fingers what he will buy with his money. ] A YOUNG MAN [to another]. He will not be satisfied till we disputewith him. [To the WISE MAN. ] Prove it, master. Have you seen them? WISE MAN [in a low, solemn voice]. Just now, before you came in, some one came to the door, and when I looked up I saw an angelstanding there. A YOUNG MAN. You were in a dream. Anybody can see an angel in hisdreams. WISE MAN. Oh, my God! it was not a dream. I was awake, waking as Iam now. I tell you I was awake as I am now. A YOUNG MAN. Some dream when they are awake, but they are thecrazy, and who would believe what they say? Forgive me, master, butthat is what you taught me to say. That is what you said to themonk when he spoke of the visions of the saints and the martyrs. ANOTHER YOUNG MAN. You see how well we remember your teaching. WISE MAN. Out, out from my sight! I want some one with belief. Imust find that grain the Angel spoke of before I die. I tell you Imust find it, and you answer me with arguments. Out with you, or Iwill beat you with my stick! [The young men laugh. ] A YOUNG MAN. How well he plays at faith! He is like the monk whenhe had nothing more to say. WISE MAN. Out, out, or I will lay this stick about your shoulders!Out with you, though you are a king's son! [They begin to hurry out. ] A YOUNG MAN. Come, come; he wants us to find some one who willdispute with him. [All go out. ] WISE MAN [alone. He goes to the door at the side]. I will callmy wife. She will believe; women always believe. [He opens the doorand calls. ] Bridget! Bridget! [BRIDGET comes in wearing her apron, her sleeves turned up from her floury arms. ] Bridget, tell me thetruth; do not say what you think will please me. Do you sometimessay your prayers? BRIDGET. Prayers! No, you taught me to leave them off long ago. Atfirst I was sorry, but I am glad now, for I am sleepy in theevenings. WISE MAN. But do you not believe in God? BRIDGET. Oh, a good wife only believes what her husband tells her! WISE MAN. But sometimes when you are alone, when I am in the schooland the children asleep, do you not think about the saints, aboutthe things you used to believe in? What do you think of when youare alone? BRIDGET [considering]. I think about nothing. Sometimes I wonder ifthe pig is fattening well, or I go out to see if the crows arepicking up the chickens' food. WISE MAN. Oh, what can I do! Is there nobody who believes? I mustgo and find somebody! [He goes toward the door but with his eyesfixed on the hour-glass. ] I cannot go out; I cannot leave that! BRIDGET. You want somebody to get up argument with. WISE MAN. Oh, look out of the door and tell me if there is anybodythere in the street. I cannot leave this glass; somebody mightshake it! Then the sand would fall quickly. BRIDGET. I don't understand what you are saying. [Looks out. ] Thereis a crowd of people talking to your pupils. WISE MAN. Oh, run out, Bridget, and see if they have found somebodythat believes! BRIDGET [wiping her arms in her apron and pulling down hersleeves]. It's a hard thing to be married to a man of learningthat must be always having arguments. [Goes out and shouts throughthe kitchen door. ] Don't be meddling with the bread, children, while I'm out. WISE MAN. [Kneels down. ] "Salvum me fac, Deus--salvum--salvum. ... "I have forgotten it all. It is thirty years since I said a prayer. I must pray in the common tongue, like a clown begging in themarket like Teigue the Fool! [He prays. ] Help me, Father, Son, andSpirit! [BRIDGET enters, followed by the FOOL, who is holding out his hatto her. ] FOOL. Give me something; give me a penny to buy bacon in the shops, and nuts in the market, and strong drink for the time when the sungrows weak. BRIDGET. I have no pennies. [To the WISE MAN. ] Your pupils cannotfind anybody to argue with you. There is nobody in the wholecountry who had enough belief to fill a pipe with since you putdown the monk. Can't you be quiet now and not always be wanting tohave arguments? It must be terrible to have a mind like that. WISE MAN. I am lost! I am lost! BRIDGET. Leave me alone now; I have to make the bread for you andthe children. WISE MAN. Out of this, woman, out of this, I say! [BRIDGET goesthrough the kitchen door. ] Will nobody find a way to help me! Butshe spoke of my children. I had forgotten them. They will believe. It is only those who have reason that doubt; the young are full offaith. Bridget, Bridget, send my children to me! BRIDGET [inside]. Your father wants you, run to him now. [The two children came in. They stand together a little way fromthe threshold of the kitchen door, looking timidly at theirfather. ] WISE MAN. Children, what do you believe? Is there a heaven? Isthere a hell? Is there a purgatory? FIRST CHILD. We haven't forgotten, father. THE OTHER CHILD. Oh, no, father. [They both speak together as if inschool. ] There is no heaven; there is no hell; there is nothingwe cannot see. FIRST CHILD. Foolish people used to think that there were, but youare very learned and you have taught us better. WISE MAN. You are just as bad as the others, just as bad as theothers! Out of the room with you, out of the room! [The childrenbegin to cry and run away. ] Go away, go away! I will teach youbetter--no, I will never teach you again. Go to your mother--no, she will not be able to teach them. ... Help them, O God! [Alone. ]The grains are going very quickly. There is very little sand in theuppermost glass. Somebody will come for me in a moment; perhaps heis at the door now! All creatures that have reason doubt. O thatthe grass and the planets could speak! Somebody has said that theywould wither if they doubted. O speak to me, O grass blades! Ofingers of God's certainty, speak to me. You are millions and youwill not speak. I dare not know the moment the messenger will comefor me. I will cover the glass. [He covers it and brings it to thedesk, and the FOOL, is sitting by the door fiddling with someflowers which he has stuck in his hat. He has begun to blow adandelion head. ] What are you doing? FOOL. Wait a moment. [He blows. ] Four, five, six. WISE MAN. What are you doing that for? FOOL. I am blowing at the dandelion to find out what time it is. WISE MAN. You have heard everything! That is why you want to findout what hour it is! You are waiting to see them coming through thedoor to carry me away. [FOOL goes on blowing. ] Out through the doorwith you! I will have no one here when they come. [He seizes theFOOL by the shoulders, and begins to force him out through thedoor, then suddenly changes his mind. ] No, I have something to askyou. [He drags him back into the room. ] Is there a heaven? Is therea hell? Is there a purgatory? FOOL. So you ask me now. I thought when you were asking yourpupils, I said to myself, if he would ask Teigue the Fool, Teiguecould tell him all about it, for Teigue has learned all about itwhen he has been cutting the nets. WISE MAN. Tell me; tell me! FOOL. I said, Teigue knows everything. Not even the owls and thehares that milk the cows have Teigue's wisdom. But Teigue will notspeak; he says nothing. WISE MAN. Tell me, tell me! For under the cover the grains arefalling, and when they are all fallen I shall die; and my soul willbe lost if I have not found somebody that believes! Speak, speak! FOOL [looking wise]. No, no, I won't tell you what is in my mind, and I won't tell you what is in my bag. You might steal away mythoughts. I met a bodach on the road yesterday, and he said, "Teigue, tell me how many pennies are in your bag. I will wagerthree pennies that there are not twenty pennies in your bag; let meput in my hand and count them. " But I pulled the strings tighter, like this; and when I go to sleep every night I hide the bag whereno one knows. WISE MAN. [Goes toward the hour-glass as if to uncover it. ] No, no, I have not the courage! [He kneels. ] Have pity upon me, Fool, andtell me! FOOL. Ah! Now, that is different. I am not afraid of you now. But Imust come near you; somebody in there might hear what the Angelsaid. WISE MAN. Oh, what did the Angel tell you? FOOL. Once I was alone on the hills, and an Angel came by and hesaid, "Teigue the Fool, do not forget the Three Fires: the Firethat punishes, the Fire that purifies, and the Fire wherein thesoul rejoices for ever!" WISE MAN. He believes! I am saved! Help me. The sand has run out. I am dying. ... [FOOL helps him to his chair. ] I am going from thecountry of the seven wandering stars, and I am going to the countryof the fixed stars! Ring the bell. [FOOL rings the bell. ] Are theycoming ? Ah! now I hear their feet. ... I will speak to them. Iunderstand it all now. One sinks in on God: we do not see thetruth; God sees the truth in us. I cannot speak, I am too weak. Tell them, Fool, that when the life and the mind are broken, thetruth comes through them like peas through a broken peascod. Butno, I will pray--yet I cannot pray. Pray Fool, that they may begiven a sign and save their souls alive. Your prayers are betterthan mine. [FOOL bows his head. WISE MAN'S head sinks on his arm on the books. PUPILS enter. ] A YOUNG MAN. Look at the Fool turned bell-ringer! ANOTHER. What have you called us in for, Teigue? What are you goingto tell us? ANOTHER. No wonder he has had dreams! See, he is fast asleep now. [Goes over and touches the WISE MAN. ] Oh, he is dead! FOOL. Do not stir! He asked for a sign that you might be saved. [All are silent for a moment. ] Look what has come from his mouth. ... A little winged thing ... A little shining thing. It has gone tothe door. [The ANGEL appears in the doorway, stretches out herhands and closes them again. ] The Angel has taken it in her hands... She will open her hands in the Garden of Paradise. [They all kneel. ]