VIZIER. Yes.

PEHR. Then hand me the paper! [Ameer delivers ancestral chart and a
pen.] It begins with a lie, and will probably end with theft.
[Signs.]

VIZIER. There remains a slight formality--Will it please Your
Highness to sign this paper also. [Mullah presents Renunciation
Act.]

PEHR. What now?

VIZIER. Your Highness need not trouble himself to road; it is only
a matter of form.

PEHR. Renounce my forefathers' Faith--But that outrageous!

VIZIER. Political considerations--the people's welfare--

PEHR. I must become a Mohammedan and may not drink a glass of wine?

VIZIER. There are substitutes in all politics.

PEHR. What are they?

VIZIER. Compromises, modifications--

PEHR. Circumventions, eh?