Emperor and Galilean - 1890 Author:Henrik Ibsen Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: Act Second. (In Athens. An open place surrounded by colonnades. In the square, statues and a fountain. A narrow street debou:hes in the left-hand corner. ... more »Sunset.) (basilius OF Cesarea, a delicately-built young man, sits reading beside a pillar. GREGORY OF NAZIAN/US and other scholars of the University stroll in scattered groups up and down the colonnades. A larger band runs shouting across the square, and out to the right; noise in the distance.) BASILIUS (looks up from his book). What is the meaning of these wild cries ? Gregory. A ship has come in from Ephesus. Basilius. With new scholars ? Gregory. Yes. BASILIUS (rising). Then we shall have a night of tumult . Come, Gregory; do not let us witness all this ribaldry. GREGORY (points to the left). Look yonder. Is that a pleasanter sight ? BASILIUS. Prince Julian ; with roses in his hair, his face aflame GREGORY. Ay, and after him the raving, glassy- eyed crew. Hear how the halting tongues babble with wine ! They have sat the whole day in Lykon's tavern. BASILIUS. And many of them are from our province, Gregory; they are Christian youths GREGORY. So they call themselves. Did not Lampon call himself a Christian -- he who betrayed the oil-seller Zeno's daughter? And Hilarion of Agrigentum, and the two others who did what I shudder to name Prince Julian (is heard calling without, on the leff). Aha ! See, see -- the Cappadocian Castor and Pollux. Basilius. He has caught sight of us. I will go; I cannot endure to see him thus. GREGORY. I will remain ; he needs a friend. (BASILIUS goes out to the right. At the same moment, Prince ]3U.« less