The Milkmaid of Montfermeil (Novels of Paul de Kock Volume XX)

The Milkmaid of Montfermeil (Novels of Paul de Kock Volume XX)

No, my dear Bertrand, but Csar dictated four letters at once in four different languages, and Pico de la Mirandola boasted that he was familiar with and could talk de omni re scibili As I dont think that youre so conceited as that, lieutenant, I wont compare you with this Monsieur de la Mirandola, who claimed to know everything. As for Csar, Ive heard him spoken of as a very great man, but Im sure he didnt have as many mistresses as you. Youre mistaken, Bertrand; the great men of antiquity had a great many female slaves, concubines, and often cast off their wives and took new ones. Love and Pleasure had temples in Greece; and those high and mighty Romans, who are represented to us as so strait-laced, werent ashamed to indulge in the wildest debauchery, to crown themselves with myrtle and roses, and sometimes to appear at their banquets in the costumes of our first parents. I love women, I admit; I will say moreI am proud of it; it is a natural inclination. I cannot see an attractive face, a fine pair of eyes, without feeling a pleasant thrill, an agitation, an I dont know what, in short, that proves my extreme susceptibility. Is it a crime, pray, to be susceptible in an age when selfishness is carried to such lengths; when self-interest is the mainspring of almost all human actions; when we see authors prefer cash to renown, and men in office forgetful of everything except retaining their offices, instead of meditating on the good they might do; when we see artists begging for the patronage of people they despise, and asking alms from stupidity when it is in power; when we see men of letters carefully block a confrres path when they detect in him a talent that might outshine theirs; when, in short, every door is closed to obscure merit, and thrown wide open to impudence and conceit when accompanied by wealth? If selfishness had not wormed its way into all classes of society, if love of money had not replaced love of ones neighbor, would it be thus? And you berate me for my susceptibility! You reproach me for being unable to listen unmoved to the story of a noble deed, or of pathetic misfortune; for giving money to people who deceive me; for allowing myself to be gulled like an ass by the palaver of a child who tells me that he is begging for his mother, or of a poor laboring man who swears that he has no work and nothing to eat! Well, my dear Bertrand, I prefer my susceptibility to their icy selfishness, and I find in my heart sources of enjoyment which their indifferent hearts will never know. ......Buy Now (To Read More)

Product details

Ebook Number: 41645
Author: Kock, Paul de
Release Date: Dec 17, 2012
Format: eBook
Language: English