human
Did he loan it to you, old man?
gpt
Loan it to me, you quill-driver! No, I bought it!
human
For how much?
gpt
Full price--six hundred dollars. Do you suppose I'd insult Monet by dickering for it?
human
What have you got to pay it with?
gpt
Not a cent! What difference does that make? Samuel, you interest me. Why is it your soul never rises above dollars and cents?
human
But, Jack--you can't take his property and----
gpt
I can't--can't I? _His_ property! Do you suppose Monet painted it to please that one-eyed, double-jointed dealer, who don't know a picture from a hole in the ground! Monet painted it for me--me, Samuel--ME--who gets more comfort out of it than a dozen dealers--ME--and that part of the human race who know a good thing when they see it. You don't belong to it, Samuel. What's six hundred or six millions to do with it? It's got no price, and never will have any price. It's a work of art, Samuel--a work of art. That's one thing you don't understand and never will.
human
But he paid his money for it and it's not right----
gpt
Of course--that's the only good thing he has done--paid for it so that it could get over here where I could just wallow in it. Get down here, you heathen, take off your shoes and bow three times to the floor and then feast your eyes. You think you've seen landscapes before, but you haven't. You've only seen fifty cents' worth of good canvas spoiled by ten cents' worth of paint. I put it that way, Samuel, because that's the only way you'll understand it. Look at it! Did you ever see such a sky? Why, it's like a slash of light across a mountain-pool! I tell you--Samuel--that's a masterpiece!