"What is He?"

"What Is He?"
D. H. Lawrence

What is he?
-A man, of course.
Yes, but what does he do?
-He lives and is a man.

Oh quite! But he must work.  He must have a job of some sort
-Why?
Because obviously he’s not one of the leisured classes.
-I don’t know.  He has lots of leisure.  And he makes quite beautiful chairs.

There you are then!  He’s a cabinet maker.
-No, no
Anyhow a carpenter and a joiner.
-Not at all.

But you said so
-What did I say?
That he made chairs and was a joiner and carpenter
-I said he made chairs, but I did not say he was a carpenter.

All right then he is just an amateur?
-Perhaps! would you say a thrush was a professional flautist, or just an amateur?

I’d say it was just a bird
-And I say he is just a man.
All right!  You always did quibble?