2
Simon I, for one. And if you think I am not sane, put down my innocence of other professions to insanity, and let that be my sufficient excuse. My lady Insanity, they say, is unkind to her votaries in most respects; but at least she excuses their offences, which she makes herself responsible for, like a schoolmaster or tutor.
2
Tychiades So sponging is an art, eh?
2
Simon It is; and I profess it.
2
Tychiades So you are a sponger?
2
Simon What an awful reproach! Tyé, What! you do not blush to call yourself a sponger?
2
Simon On the contrary, I should be ashamed of not calling myself so.
2
Tychiades And when we want to distinguish you for the benefit of any one who does not know you, but has occasion to find you out, we must say ‘the sponger,’ naturally?
2
Simon The name will be more welcome to me than ‘statuary ” to Phidias; I am as proud of my profession as Phidias of his Zeus.
2
Tychiades Ha, ha, ha! Excuse me—just a particular that occurred to me.
2
Simon Namely-——?
2
Tychiades Think of the address of your letters—Simon the Sponger!
2
Simon Simon the Sponger, Dion the Philosopher. I shall like mine as well as he his.
3
Tychiades Well, well, your taste in titles concerns me very little. Come now to the next absurdity.
3
Simon Which is?
3
Tychiades The getting it entered on the list of arts, When any one asks what the art is, how do we describe it? Letters we know, Medicine we know; Sponging?
3
Simon My own opinion is, that it has an exceptionally good right to the name of art. If you care to listen, I will explain, though I have not got this properly into shape, as I remarked before.
3
Tychiades Oh, a brief exposition will do, provided it is true.
3
Simon I think, if you agree, we had better examine Art generically first; that will enable us to go into the question whether the specific arts really belong under it.
3
Tychiades Well, what is Art? Of course you know that?
3
Simon Quite well.
3
Tychiades Out with it, then, as you know.
