First Man:
Ha, ha, ha! a farm! Ploughing like an ox, when all you need do is to rake over the right spot with a mattock
The Stripling:
Or with this knife here. Ha, ha! if only I could get hold of a rifle.
The Man with the Spade:
What are you laughing for, you fools? It’s you who make me laugh! You’re talking about cities, forests, people
The Stripling and First Man:
Of course.
The Man with the Spade:
Then tell me whether anyone has ever seen cities and people and trees at the bottom of the water.
The Stripling:
What of it? Supposing anyone did see them.
The Man with the Spade:
But this land rose up right out of the sea, you fools! Where could the cities and wild tribes and forests come from? If you say good soil, I’ll agree with you.
The Stripling:
It is a new, unknown land, and I say that’s what it’s like there. A wild country, beasts of prey, wild nations, great dangers, but great wealth. Ha! I’m sure of it. That’s what it’s always like in such countries. And the man that goes there must have
