got a voice and it has got one for a reason. The life of the master depends on the servant and this is one master that has got to be sustained. Got to be sustained.
White: Who did you tell it to?
Black: I told it to a man of God who was my friend.
White: What did he say?
Black: He didnt say a word.
White: But you’re not curious about the worst thing I ever did.
Black: Yeah I am.
White: But you wont ask me what it is.
Black: Dont have to.
White: Why is that?
Black: Cause I was there and I seen it.
White: Well, I might have a different view.
Black: Yeah. You might. You want some more?
White: No. I’m stuffed.
Black: Hungrier than you thought.
White: Yes. I was.
Black: Good.
White: Is this some kind of a test of your faith?
Black: What, you?
White: Me. Yes.
Black: Naw, Professor. It aint my faith you testin.
White: You see everything in black and white.
Black: It is black and white.
White: I suppose that makes the world easier to understand.
Black: You might be surprised about how little time I spend trying to understand the world.
White: You try to understand God.
Black: No I dont. I just try and understand what he wants from me.
White: And that is everything you need.
Black: If God aint everthing you need you in a world of trouble. And if what you sayin is that my view of the world is a narrow one I dont disagree with that. Of course I could point out that I aint down on the platform in my leapin costume.
White: You could.
Black: A lot of things is beyond my understandin. I know that. I say it again. If it aint in this book then they’s a good chance that I dont know it. Before I started readin the bible I was pretty much in that primacy thing myself.
White: Primacy thing.
Black: Yeah. Not as bad as you. But pretty bad. I was pretty dumb, but I wasnt dumb enough to believe that what had got me nowheres in forty years was all of a sudden goin to get me somewheres. I was dumb, but I wasnt that dumb. I seen what was there for the askin, and I decided to ask. And that’s all I done. And it was hard. I’ll tell you right now, Professor, it was hard. I was layin there all cut up and chained to that hospital bed and I was cryin I hurt so bad and I thought they’d kill me if I did live and I tried to say it and tried to say it and after a while I just quit. I put all of that away from me. And I just said it. I said: Please help me. And he did.
Black: Long silence.
White: It’s just a silence.
Black: Well. That’s my story, Professor. It’s easy told. I dont make a move without Jesus. When I get up in the mornin I just try to get ahold of his belt. Oh, ever once in a while I’ll catch myself slippin into manual override. But I catch myself. I catch myself.
White: Manual overrider.
Black: You like that?
White: It’s okay.
Black: I thought it was pretty good.
White: So you come to the end of your rope and you admit defeat and you are in despair and in this state you seize upon this whatever it is that has neither substance nor sense and you grab hold of it and hang on for dear life. Is that a fair portrayal?
Black: Well, that could be one way to say it.
White: It doesnt make any sense.
Black: Well, I thought when we was talkin earlier I heard you to say they wasnt none of it made no sense. Talkin bout the history of the world and all such as that.
White: It doesnt. On a larger scale. But what you’re telling me isnt a view of things. It’s a view of one thing. And I find it nonsensical.
Black: What would you do if Jesus was to speak to you?
White: Why? Do you imagine that he might?
Black: No. I dont. But I dont know.
White: I’m not virtuous enough.
Black: No, Professor, it aint nothin like that. You dont have to be virtuous. You just has to be quiet. I cant speak for the Lord but the experience I’ve had leads me to believe that he’ll speak to anybody that’ll listen. You damn sure aint got to be virtuous.
White: Well if I heard God talking to me, then I’d be ready for you to take me up to Bellevue. As you suggested.
Black: What if what he said made sense?
White: It wouldnt make any difference. Craziness is craziness.
Black: Dont make no difference if it makes sense.
White: No.
Black: Mm. Well, that’s about as bad a case of the primacy as I ever heard.
White: Well. I’ve always gone my own way. Ich kann nicht anders.
Black: What is that you talkin?
White: It’s german.
Black: You talk german?
White: Not really. A little. It’s a quotation.
Black: Didnt do them Germans much good though, did it?
White: I dont know. The Germans contributed a great deal to civilization.
Black: And then they contributed Hitler.
White: If you like.
Black: Wasnt none of my doin.
White: I gather it to be your belief that culture tends to contribute to human misery. That the more one knows the more unhappy one is likely to be.
Black: As in the case of certain parties known to us.
White: As in the case.
Black: I dont believe I said that. In fact, I think maybe you said it.
White: I never said it.
Black: Mm. But do you believe it?
White: No.
Black: No?
White: I dont know. It could be true.
