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Stephen Crane

I stood upon a high place,

And saw, below, many devils

Running, leaping,

And carousing in sin.

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adjective

Engaged in or ready for action; characterized by energetic work, thought, or speech.

The students were very active in class discussions, asking many thoughtful questions.

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SCENE VII.

25 lines
Arthur Hugh Clough·1819–1861
Cain alone._ _Cain._ Am I or am I not this which they think me?My mother loves me not; my brother Abel,Searing my heart, commends my soul to God;My father does not shun me—there’s my comfort:Almost I think they look askance on him.Ah, but for him,I know not what might happen; for at timesUngovernable angers take the wavesOf my deep soul and sweep them—who knows whither?And a strange impulse, struggling to the truth,Urges me onward to put forth my strength,No matter how. A wild anxietyPossesses me moreover to essayThis world of action round me so unknown;And to be able to do this or thatSeems cause enough without a cause for doing it,My father, he is cheerful and content,And leads me frankly forward. Yet, indeed,His leading—or, more truly, to be ledAt all, by any one, and not myself—Is mere dissatisfaction: evermoreSomething I must do individual,To vindicate my nature, to give proofI also am, as Adam is, a man.