Characters:
ERASMUS: A young scholar
MARTHA: His pragmatic sister
Setting: A study, dimly lit by a single candle.
(The scene opens with ERASMUS writing furiously at a desk. He sighs deeply.)
ERASMUS
This ink runs thin; my candle wanes apace.
The hour grows late, yet knowledge I pursue,
A thousand thoughts still wrestling in my mind.
What worth is sleep when wisdom calls to me?
(MARTHA enters, carrying a small plate with bread.)
MARTHA
Brother, your eyes like embers softly glow.
Pray, leave your parchment, taste this humble bread.
For learning sought on an empty stomach
Doth sour the spirit and doth weak the hand.
ERASMUS
(Setting down his quill)
Good Martha, still you preach of mortal needs,
Of bread and slumber, mundane, earthly things.
But I aspire to touch the stars themselves,
To understand the universe's great design!
This flesh is weak, but my ambition strong.
MARTHA
Ambition, sir, can make a man a ghost.
The universe's design begins at home,
Within the body you so much neglect.
A hollow man can write no lasting truth;
He needs the substance that the earth provides.
ERASMUS
You speak with sense, though poetry you lack.
Perhaps a moment's pause is truly wise.
(He takes the bread)
My thanks, good sister. Though my spirit soars,
My stomach groans a more prosaic tune.
MARTHA
Eat well, Erasmus. May your mind be clear.
(She gestures to the candle)
And let me fetch you a new candle, too.
Darkness serves none, not even a great scholar.
(Erasmus smiles and begins to eat as Martha exits.)
(SCENE ENDS)
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