Mrs. Alving. Of course we must insure them. 

 Manders. Ah, but wait a moment, dear lady. Let us look into the matter a little more closely. 

 Mrs. Alving. Everything of mine is insured—the house and its contents, my livestock—everything. 

 Manders. Naturally. They are your own property. I do exactly the same, of course. But this, you see, is quite a different case. The Orphanage is, so to speak, dedicated to higher uses. 

 Mrs. Alving. Certainly, but— 

 Manders. As far as I am personally concerned, I can conscientiously say that I don't see the smallest objection to our insuring ourselves against all risks. 

 Mrs. Alving. That is exactly what I think. 

 Manders. But what about the opinion of the people hereabouts? 

 Mrs. Alving. Their opinion—? 

 Manders. Is there any considerable body of opinion here—opinion of some account, I mean—that might take exception to it? 

 Mrs. Alving. What, exactly, do you mean by opinion of some account? 

 Manders. Well, I was thinking particularly of persons of such independent and influential position that one could hardly refuse to attach weight to their opinion. 

 Mrs. Alving. There are a certain number of such people here, who might perhaps take exception to it if we— 

 Manders. That's just it, you see. In town there are lots of them. All my fellow-clergymen's congregations, for instance! It would be so extremely easy for them to interpret it as meaning that neither you nor I had a proper reliance on Divine protection. 

 Mrs. Alving. But as far as you are concerned, my dear friend, you have at all events the consciousness that— 

 Manders. Yes I know I know; my own mind is quite easy about it, it is true. But we should not be able to prevent a wrong and injurious interpretation of our action. And that sort of thing, moreover, might very easily end in exercising a hampering influence on the work of the Orphanage. 

 Mrs. Alving. Oh, well, if that is likely to be the effect of it— 

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