Page:The collected works of Henrik Ibsen (Heinemann Volume 3).djvu/214

And then, what elegance of form,
And what a grandeur, what a height
In every part——

Brand.

                  You've noted this?

The Mayor.

What noted?

Brand.

            It seems great to you?

The Mayor.

Why, it not only <g>seems</g>, but <g>is</g>,
No matter what the point of view.

Brand.

It is great? Really? That is true—?

The Mayor.

Great?—yes, God bless me,—and to spare—
For folks so far to North. Elsewhere
They've higher standards, I'm aware?
But among us who captive dwell
Amid drear wastes and barren mounds,
On the scant verge of fjord and fell,
Its greatness 'mazes and confounds.

Brand.

Yes, that is so, and all we do
Is,—change an old lie for a new.

The Mayor.

What?

Brand.

      We have lured their hearts away
From the time-honour'd gloom and mould