I am not
sure, indeed, that he greatly disagreed with the Chinese, who held
that the soul lies in the abdomen. The Greeks at all events were
right, he thought, who employed the same words for the mind and the
diaphragm. By this I do not mean to insinuate a charge of gluttony, or
indeed any other serious charge to the prejudice of the metaphysician.
If Pierre Bon-Bon had his failings- and what great man has not a
thousand?- if Pierre Bon-Bon, I say, had his failings, they were
failings of very little importance- faults indeed which, in other
tempers, have often been looked upon rather in the light of virtues.
As regards one of these foibles, I should not even have mentioned it
in this history but for the remarkable prominency- the extreme alto
relievo- in which it jutted out from the plane of his general
disposition. He could never let slip an opportunity of making a
bargain.
Not that he was avaricious- no. It was by no means necessary to the
satisfaction of the philosopher, that the bargain should be to his own
proper advantage. Provided a trade could be effected- a trade of any
kind, upon any terms, or under any circumstances- a triumphant smile
was seen for many days thereafter to enlighten his countenance, and
a knowing wink of the eye to give evidence of his sagacity.
Pages:
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25