Page:The collected works of Henrik Ibsen (Heinemann Volume 3).djvu/221

I mean, your duties as a priest.
Hitherto you have been a loose
Observer still, of Wont and Use;
But Use and Wont, if not the best
Of things, are yet the needfulest.
Well, well, I will not be severe;
You're young, and but a novice here,
Town-bred, and scarcely understand
What country usages demand.
But now, now it is urgent, friend,
The lack of judgment to amend.
You hitherto have too much heeded
What this man and what that man needed;
That error (in your private ear)
Is grievous. Weigh them in the block;
Use the same comb for all the flock;
You won't repent it, never fear.

Brand.

Be more explicit.

The Dean.

                  The thing's clear.
You for the Parish's behoof
Have built a Church. That is the woof
That robes the spirit of Law and Peace;
For to the State, religion is
The power that lifts and purifies,
The stronghold where its safety lies,
The universal moral measure.
You see, the State is scant of treasure,
And wants full value for its pence.
"Good Christians" means "good citizens."
Do you suppose it pays its pelf
To be for God and Man a tool,
And bring annoyance on itself?