corrupted and I wanted to blot out the memory by a great deed, an
achievement, a discovery, or an honorable suicide. I wanted to go
to war, but was not permitted. It was then that I threw myself into
science. And now when I was about to reach out my hand to gather in
its fruits, you chop off my arm. Now I am dishonored and can live
no longer, for a man cannot live without honor.

LAURA. But a woman?

CAPTAIN. Yes, for she has her children, which he has not. But, like
the rest of mankind, we lived our lives unconscious as children,
full of imagination, ideals, and illusions, and then we awoke; it
was all over. But we awoke with our feet on the pillow, and he who
waked us was himself a sleep-walker. When women grow old and cease
to be women, they get beards on their chins; I wonder what men get
when they grow old and cease to be men. Those who crowed were no
longer cocks but capons, and the pullets answered their call, so
that when we thought the sun was about to rise we found ourselves
in the bright moon light amid ruins, just as in the good old times.
It had only been a little morning slumber with wild dreams, and
there was no awakening.

LAURA. Do you know, you should have been a poet!

CAPTAIN. Who knows.

LAURA. Now I am sleepy, so if you have any more fantastic visions
keep them till to-morrow.

CAPTAIN. First, a word more about realities. Do you hate me?