And the other light in the hand. A trick I learnt
When I was learning arms in Aoife's country.
FIRST YOUNG KING.
What kind of woman was that Aoife?
CUCHULLAIN.
Comely.
FIRST YOUNG KING.
But I have heard that she was never married,
And yet that's natural, for I have never known
A fighting woman, but made her favours cheap,
Or mocked at love till she grew sandy dry.
CUCHULLAIN.
What manner of woman do you like the best?
A gentle or a fierce.
FIRST YOUNG KING.
A gentle surely.
CUCHULLAIN.
I think that a fierce woman's better, a woman
That breaks away when you have thought her won,
For I'd be fed and hungry at one time.
I think that all deep passion is but a kiss
In the mid battle, and a difficult peace
'Twixt oil and water, candles and dark night,
Hill-side and hollow, the hot-footed sun,
And the cold sliding slippery-footed moon,
A brief forgiveness between opposites
That have been hatreds for three times the age
37
