Price, 15 Cents at Principal Book Stores 
 
 A N K I N D 
 
 DRAMATIC POEM 
 
 By Jrl. TINTROF* 
 
 PUBLISHED FOR THE AUTHOR 
 
 The Bancroft Company, Printers 
 49 First. Street, S. F., Cal. 
 
 
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 x-^:^ 
 
 Copyrighted by H. Tintrop, 1890 
 
IVIANKIND 
 
 Ha, mighty Lord ! Who am I ? 
 
 What plan hast Thou Supreme with me ? 
 
 What's the reason I am here 
 
 Among tigers and monkeys ? 
 
 And why am I created ? 
 
 Are the groans of this breast 
 Sounds of welcome to thine ears ? 
 Is my misery thy pleasure ? 
 Oh, why is it 
 That ever I was reared ? 
 
 Rise thou furious storm and rage ; 
 Mystic fire touches me. 
 Shall a worm, 
 
 Down-trodden in the dust, 
 Not even 
 
 Manifest his agony, 
 And seek a place of rest ? 
 
MANKIND 
 
 That an innocent infant, being 
 
 Thief or fool, 
 
 Beast or angel might become ; 
 
 The enraged Supreme has thrown it 
 
 In scornful temper 
 Poor and naked on the barren earth 
 
 For some. 
 
 So it appears in unconsciousness 
 Among its equals, 
 Whimpering the first welcome 
 
 And weeping's fame, 
 The only sign of entering 
 Into life's doubtful game. 
 
 Ah ! thou creature 
 
 Full of faults, 
 Something between high and low. 
 Has been gifted meagerly 
 By the Creator's scornful will. 
 When He dispatched his messenger 
 To spend all earthly gifts, 
 
MANKIND 5 i 
 
 'I 
 
 Quickly down j 
 
 The angel rushed on cherub wings^ l 
 
 And provided first | 
 
 Some other things. .\ 
 
 } 
 
 He gave marvelous strength to the lion, i 
 
 And bushy mane ; ■ 
 
 i 
 
 Soft feathers to the birds 1 
 
 ■i 
 
 And swans ; j 
 
 Every tree a useful bark ; I 
 
 He clad the fish 1 
 
 'j 
 
 In golden scales, I 
 
 And covered the tortoise with a shield ; | 
 
 He gave also the moths j 
 
 Their veils, ^ 
 
 Having nothing left worthy to give 
 When to the Creator's very image 
 
 Prdud he canae 
 But a nameless painful feelings 
 Which is called 
 
 Shame. 
 
MANKIND 
 
 Without thinking, 
 
 Without sorrows. 
 Never knowing pain nor death, 
 Feeds on evening and on morning 
 Every dog 
 
 His bit of bread. 
 Only poor mankind — 
 
 Oh, how grand ! 
 Suffers death 
 
 Without an end. 
 
 This poor being 
 
 Must always fear or know 
 
 The bitter time. 
 When silence calls and stops 
 
 The twinkling of the brow. 
 
 Only born, jumps so happy 
 Every lamb around its mother ; 
 Only born finds alone every chick 
 
 Its bit of fodder. 
 Only now the human child — 
 
MANKIND 
 
 This fork beast, 
 
 And perhaps 
 The Creator's 
 
 Most finished piece of work — 
 Cannot move one step ahead, 
 
 Nor talk ; 
 Must learn first how to eat 
 
 And how to walk. 
 
 To-day, through necessity 
 
 And imitation, 
 It has only learned to walk and speak ; 
 To-morrow it will measure stars, 
 
 And pull the moon from distant skies. 
 It dreams of everlasting charms, 
 It prays in hopes and sighs, 
 Studies on philosophy, 
 And oversteps the solid wall 
 Between time and eternit}^ 
 
 Science's heroes and bigot impostors 
 Lived savage-like — 
 
8 MANKIND 
 
 Bloodthirsty and always in dispute— 
 And Old Age's prophecy 
 
 Did cry, 
 Rooster-like, 
 
 In the early morning sky. 
 
 Shall I live forever, 
 
 Or shall I die ? 
 Has the spirit only for a time 
 
 Borrowed his body ? 
 
 Or am I a spook, 
 
 To hide myself in myself. 
 
 Fall back to earthly dust, 
 To weigh no more than other likewise 
 
 Stony crust ? 
 
 Count up the fruits of knowledge. 
 And our eyesight — 
 
 Oh ! it is blind, 
 Not even fit to look behind. 
 
MANKIND 9 
 
 Our lovely pleasures 
 
 Are only phases ; 
 Our fabulous wisdom 
 
 Is a wicked child ; 
 One distant world, 
 
 No one can tell, 
 Connected with an earthly grave — 
 Oh, horror ! stop — 
 There is — the open space. 
 
 On this side lingers an imposing monster, 
 Monopolizes revenue, 
 
 And holds a songster 
 By trickery and cunningly displayed arts ; 
 It claims a bridge of spider-web 
 
 Its own. 
 
 With threats of solemn prayers, 
 Sacred songs and catechisms. 
 This blue-blot is baptized everywhere 
 In the mystic name, 
 
 The God's religion. 
 
10 MANKIND 
 
 It does tell you by loud-singing chorus 
 This sole and secret bridge 
 
 Is guaranteed for passage 
 To reach the other distant shores. 
 
 This is the artfully invented 
 
 Spiritual feast, 
 Whereby only mankind is deceived. 
 
 And not the beast. ^ 
 
 These animals have as a rule 
 Their time in spring 
 
 To play the fool, 
 Where men through all their life 
 Must enjoy a foolish burden, 
 Which sounds like love or gayety, 
 Oftimes betrays the youth, 
 By dealing out sweet honey 
 
 Mixed with poison, 
 And decorates the life-long road 
 With flowers 
 
 Of a rarer sort 
 For all to make it short. 
 
MANKIND 11 
 
 Has a man escaped 
 
 This constant murdering, 
 
 Counts eighty years of life his own, 
 
 Leaves enchantments all alone, 
 
 To sign the bill of life, , 
 
 Counts the gains to store away. 
 
 We say. 
 
 For happy hours, 
 
 Some unknown day ? 
 Then you will see that all he wins 
 Is hardly worth 
 
 A row of pins. 
 One-eighth part ^ 
 
 The childhood took 
 Of his life's running term ; 
 Another eighth passed away 
 By old age's dizziness, 
 Without feeling or enjoying, 
 Without love and without kisses. 
 Tired of life. 
 
 He greets Death 
 
12 MANKIND 
 
 As a heartily welcome friend. 
 One-half his life sleep stole away, 
 And in the rest 
 
 Pain and sickness held their sway. 
 
 Was the morning of thy life 
 Too wet from flowing tears ? ^ 
 Was the noon too hot for thee ? 
 Oh ! the evening, gray old man, 
 Brought instead of pleasing comfort 
 Sorrows — 
 
 And annoying sneers. 
 
 Has so the farce play 
 Reached its end at last ? 
 Go around 
 
 From house to house ; 
 If only one is satisfied 
 With his unchangeable lot, 
 New hopes, new wishes, new pain 
 Every coming day, 
 
MANKIND . 13 
 
 One last wish, 
 
 A silent grave, 
 Is his hearths content 
 
 And save. 
 
 When neglected and unknown, 
 
 Not a friend will lend his hand ; 
 When only tears give charity 
 To wet his daily bread, 
 Lightning flashes 
 
 Illume his gloomy day ; 
 To him harsh voices cry : 
 " Leave this world. 
 
 And get yourself away— 
 
 Away ! ■ ^ 
 
 Look yonder there ! 
 
 Spy and hear 
 How they are talking 
 Of their companion's better work. 
 They criticise and measure all he does 
 
14 MANKIND 
 
 Till they have found a wicked spot 
 
 On a really noble deed. 
 Ah ! then they smile and shake their heads, 
 And chatter happy irony ; 
 Call him crank, fanatic or infidel. 
 Instead of praising this worthy work 
 They shameless talk about its faults 
 And scatter it in all directions, 
 Like a merciless sea-storm does 
 
 The defenseless flying gulls. 
 Creatures only vile and wicked 
 Are their passions' willing slaves, 
 Without number, without name ; 
 Jealousy, avarice and trickery, 
 The vengeance— poison sore — 
 Never leaves the poor insane. 
 
 Claws and teeth are beastly weapons ; 
 For men are 
 
 Looks, words, poison 
 Saws and daggers 
 
 Made to strike. 
 
MANKIND 15 
 
 When the woeful sights 
 
 Of poor creatures' huts 
 
 Drive my blood to stir and twist ; 
 
 When the youth is made a slave 
 
 To enrich k miser beast : 
 
 When I part with my small offering 
 To save the needy 
 
 From distress ; 
 When I would like to sacrifice 
 One-half I do possess, 
 
 God, thou knowest 
 
 My earnest feeling ; 
 My thoughts appeal to Thee ; 
 But eyes of marble gaze on me 
 And believe it not — 
 Call it Arrogance, 
 
 Pool's play and romance, 
 
16 MANKIND 
 
 When the creeping misery 
 Undermines the faithful worker's home, 
 Under Pluto's blood-red flag so bold, 
 A murderous villain 
 
 Gathers heaps of clinging gold ; 
 When honor and pure womanhood 
 Gets exchanged for silver trash ; 
 When high birth and shining metal 
 Do protect a crime brutal, rash ; 
 When a judge gets freely served 
 With wine and sumptuous meal 
 To interchange his goddess' hardest steel 
 In tallow or in wax, 
 To represent 
 
 When necessary hangman's ax ; 
 When Justice fair and strong 
 Gets traded out for 
 
 Harlot's pleasure song, 
 Oh! just try to doubt 
 
 Such fair exchange ; 
 Go mad on this, though true and natural. 
 
MANKIND 17 
 
 Then, laughing, they will you and others tell, 
 Is this world an ideal ? 
 
 Rush onward, life, 
 
 Away from earthly skeletons 
 Into eternal mystic choir. 
 It fast consumes me, 
 
 This suffocating fire. 
 
 Condemned is the world 
 
 From king to ass ; 
 Condemned is all the human race. 
 To-day will kill you he 
 Who smiled only yesterday to thee. 
 
 Good brother dear^ 
 Canst thou lie and steal, 
 
 And betray thy friendly host, 
 Thou are'st here a welcome guest. 
 Deceive, swear false, and flatter ; 
 Put oil on fires instead of water ; 
 Plunge daggers into the backbone of mankind ; 
 
18 MANKIND 
 
 Have open ears for vile and slanderous talk ; 
 Incite brother against his brother 
 Till they have slain each other. 
 Canst thou do this ? 
 
 Then the world is thine. 
 
 Sing and pray from heaven, 
 
 The radiance of divine holiness 
 Around thy worthy face. 
 
 No doubt 
 
 Thou must win the game, 
 Because thou boldest four aces. 
 The happy one is always he 
 Who wins the races. 
 
 Oh! who can give back to me 
 The very day of first existence, 
 When I was nothing to this globe, 
 And served to please 
 
 Another scope ? 
 
MANKIND 19 
 
 When I traveled to and fro, 
 
 On the storm, the water or the dew ; 
 
 When wonderful planets passed by 
 
 In endless variation — 
 
 In grand transplendent sights — 
 
 No tongue can justifj^ their rights. 
 
 Wh^n in the ice-sea I was frozen, 
 From year to year growing anew, 
 Witnessed miraculous scenes. 
 This home for me was chosen, 
 Always busy, never resting. 
 And in innocence enjoying, 
 I was for curiosity 
 
 In the light with sunbeams playing, 
 Quick abfi^orbed with other vaporous nations, 
 Slowly dragged away 
 
 To wonderous revolutions. 
 
20 MANKIND 
 
 Fire, lightning crashes and thundering 
 
 Was heard. 
 This was the serious moment ; 
 
 I fell, 
 Inclosed in a water-drop,. 
 
 Down to the earth. 
 There, in a humble plant, 
 
 I mostly was impressed, 
 Stored away among the greening grass, 
 Without pleasures, 
 
 Without distress. 
 Myself not knowing, 
 
 Every- morn and noon 
 Woke up from sleep 
 
 By the warming, loving sun. 
 Then to the hills in youthful spring 
 I lent my flowry dress. 
 Till a chewing beast, bird or bee. 
 Came at last to sw^allow me. 
 This way I made, as feeding mush, 
 My home in milk and blood. 
 
MANKIND 21 
 
 1 
 
 The human life began there and then, 
 
 Which threw me this time. 
 
 In a love-lust fever, 
 
 On this earth in shape of man. 
 
 To find perchance 
 
 Companions here 
 Who will make me master of society 
 
 Or slave, 
 Or cast me down 
 
 As prisoner in dungeon cell, 
 Make so this earthly paradise to me 
 A heaven, a workshop 
 
 Or a burning hell ; 
 To follow up the smooth or rocky road 
 To valleys, meadows, flats or hills, 
 And before I die must meet all earthly good and 
 
 sins 
 In pay with fearful dreams, pains and ills. 
 
i 
 22 MANKIND 1 
 
 So I must, for a handful of pleasures 
 
 Found in brief, 
 Willingly suffer. One-half this world 
 Full of misery and grief, 
 Was it worth miraculous work 
 To reach far down eternity 
 
 And build me up, 
 A living, whirling top, 
 
 When hidden mystery held me up, 
 To produce a wandering miracle ., 
 
 Of mankind's real variety ? 
 
 Hero ! Thou Supreme ! 
 
 1 now commence to understand thy game ; 
 But soon my time is winding up, 
 
 When Thou dost free me 
 
 From the earthly dreaming thoughts and fame 
 And lettest me drop 
 
 Down to happy moments of my back existence, 
 Where I shall serve to Thee, 
 
 Thou nameless spirit, myself unknown, 
 
MANKIND 
 
 23 
 
 Where from time to time 
 I represent a different zone. 
 Now the clock strikes twelve ; 
 Time comes to an end. 
 Divine Supreme, this Thou alone 
 
 Dost grant. 
 
uiBRftRV OF COSmSii 
 
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