DES Well, he probably has some idea, he’s probably got some idea. After all, he’s read the papers.

LIONEL What papers?

Pause.

DES You’re right there.

LIONEL Who is this cunt anyway? What is he, some kind of peasant—or a lecturer in theology?

DES He’s a lecturer in fucking peasant theology.

LIONEL Is he? What about his wife?

DES Women don’t have theological inclinations.

LIONEL Oh, I don’t know. I used to discuss that question with my mother—quite often.

DES What question?

LIONEL Oh you know, the theological aspirations of the female.

Pause.

DES What did she say?

LIONEL She said . . .

DES What?

Pause.

LIONEL I can’t remember.

He turns to the man in the chair.

LIONEL (cont.) Motherfucker.

DES Fuckpig.

They walk around the chair.

LIONEL You know what I find really disappointing?

DES What?

LIONEL The level of ignorance that surrounds us. I mean, this prick here—

DES You called him a cunt last time.

LIONEL What?

DES You called him a cunt last time. Now you call him a prick. How many times do I have to tell you? You’ve got to learn to define your terms and stick to them. You can’t call him a cunt in one breath and a prick in the next. The terms are mutually contradictory. You’d lose face in any linguistic discussion group, take my tip.

LIONEL Christ. Would I?

DES Definitely. And you know what it means to you. You know what language means to you.

LIONEL Yes, I do know.

DES Yes, you do know. Look at this man here, for example. He’s a first-class example. See what I mean? Before he came in here he was a big shot, he never stopped shooting his mouth off, he never stopped questioning received ideas. Now—because he’s apprehensive about what’s about to happen to him—he’s stopped all that, he’s got nothing more to say, he’s more or less called it a day. I mean once—not too long ago—this man was a man of conviction, wasn’t he, a man of principle. Now he’s just a prick.

LIONEL Or a cunt.

DES And we haven’t even finished with him. We haven’t begun.

LIONEL No, we haven’t even finished with him. We haven’t even finished with him! Well, we haven’t begun.

DES And there’s still his wife to come.

LIONEL That’s right. We haven’t finished with him. We haven’t even begun. And we haven’t finished with his wife either.

DES We haven’t even begun.

Lionel puts his hand over his face and sobs.

DES (cont.) What are you crying about?

LIONEL I love it. I love it. I love it.

He grasps Des’s shoulder.

LIONEL (cont.) Look. I have to tell you. I’ve got to tell you. There’s no one else I can tell.