United States or Turks and Caicos Islands ? Vote for the TOP Country of the Week !
'Dans tout animal qui n'a point depasse le terme de ses developpements l'emploi plus frequent et soutenu d'un organe quelconque, fortifie peu a peu cet organe, le developpe, l'agrandit et lui donne une puissance proportionee a la duree de cet emploi; tandis que le defaut constant d'usage de tel organe Paffaiblit insensiblement, le deteriore, diminue progressivement ses facultes, et finit par le faire disparaitre.
Emporte-moi dans un reve amoureux, Bien loin sur la terre inconnue, Pour que longtemps, meme en rouvrant les yeux, Ce reve continue. Croyons, aimons, vivons un jour; C'est si bon, mais si court! Bonheur de vivre ici-bas diminue Dans un moment d'amour. The Hour of Love! How full of burning love and sentiment! She stopped, reflecting on the meaning of those words.
"Adieu, petite cherie, le temps de mon exil diminue, et alors je te reverrai, toi et les enfants." But he was suddenly and violently seized by a mysterious illness, which threatened not only his life but his reason, as he told me afterwards. He longed to have me near him, yet he was so courageous that, to spare me, he only wrote that he was suffering from fatigue: "Ca va toujours tout doucement.
While the letters to Voltaire show us nothing but the brilliant exterior of Madame du Deffand's mind, those to Walpole reveal the whole state of her soul. The revelation is not a pretty one. Bitterness, discontent, pessimism, cynicism, boredom, regret, despair these are the feelings that dominate every page. To a superficial observer Madame du Deffand's lot must have seemed peculiarly enviable; she was well off, she enjoyed the highest consideration, she possessed intellectual talents of the rarest kind which she had every opportunity of displaying, and she was surrounded by a multitude of friends. What more could anyone desire? The harsh old woman would have smiled grimly at such a question. 'A little appetite, she might have answered. She was like a dyspeptic at a feast; the finer the dishes that were set before her, the greater her distaste; that spiritual gusto which lends a savour to the meanest act of living, and without which all life seems profitless, had gone from her for ever. Yet and this intensified her wretchedness though the banquet was loathsome to her, she had not the strength to tear herself away from the table. Once, in a moment of desperation, she had thoughts of retiring to a convent, but she soon realised that such an action was out of the question. Fate had put her into the midst of the world, and there she must remain. 'Je ne suis point assez heureuse, she said, 'de me passer des choses dont je ne me soucie pas. She was extremely lonely. As fastidious in friendship as in literature, she passed her life among a crowd of persons whom she disliked and despised, 'Je ne vois que des sots et des fripons, she said; and she did not know which were the most disgusting. She took a kind of deadly pleasure in analysing 'les nuances des sottises' among the people with whom she lived. The varieties were many, from the foolishness of her companion, Mademoiselle Sanadon, who would do nothing but imitate her 'elle fait des définitions, she wails to that of the lady who hoped to prove her friendship by unending presents of grapes and pears 'comme je n'y tâte pas, cela diminue mes scrupules du peu de goût que j'ai pour elle. Then there were those who were not quite fools but something very near it. 'Tous les Matignon sont des sots, said somebody one day to the Regent, 'excepté le Marquis de Matignon. 'Cela est vrai, the Regent replied, 'il n'est pas sot, mais on voit bien qu'il est le fils d'un sot. Madame du Deffand was an expert at tracing such affinities. For instance, there was Necker. It was clear that Necker was not a fool, and yet what was it? Something was the matter yes, she had it: he made you feel a fool yourself 'l'on est plus bête avec lui que l'on ne l'est tout seul. As she said of herself: 'elle est toujours tentée d'arracher les masques qu'elle rencontre. Those blind, piercing eyes of hers spied out unerringly the weakness or the ill-nature or the absurdity that lurked behind the gravest or the most fascinating exterior; then her fingers began to itch, and she could resist no longer she gave way to her besetting temptation. It is impossible not to sympathise with Rousseau's remark about her 'J'aimai mieux encore m'exposer au fléau de sa haine qu'
The French people under Napoleon furnish a striking exception to the maxim of Montesquieu, when he says, "On peut poser pour maxime, que dans chaque etat le desir de la gloire existe avec la liberté de sujets, et diminue avec elle; la gloire n'est jamais compagne de la servitude." The French forget their misfortunes almost immediately.
«Tous ces grès font effervescence avec l'eau-forte, mais les parties du réseau ferrugineux en font beaucoup moins que le fond même du grès. De même si l'on compare entr'eux les grès qui renferment des cailloux avec ceux qui n'en contiennent pas, on trouve dans ceux-ci plus de gluten calcaire, l'eau-forte diminue beaucoup plus leur cohérence.
The churches in all the villages are falling to ruin, and in many instances are converted into granaries, barracks, and hospitals; manufacturing establishments are also in ruins, scarcely able to maintain their workmen; their owners have no money for the repair of their buildings. The following description of the changes that have taken place in the French villages, is better than any thing I can give; and from what I have seen, it is perfectly correct: "Avant la revolution, le village se composait de quatre mille habitans. Il fournissait pour sa part, au service general de l'Eglise et des hopitaux, ainsi qu'aux besoins de l'instruction cinq eclesiastiques, deux sœurs de la charité, et trois maitres d'ecol. Ces derniers sont remplacé par un maitre d'equitation, un maitre de dessin et deux maitres de musique. Sur huit fabriques d'etoffes de laisne et de coton, il ne reste plus qu'une seule. En revanche il s'est etabli deux caffés, un tabaque, un restaurat, et un billiard qui prosperent d'une maniere surprenante. On comptait autrefois quarante charretiers de labour; vingt-cinq d'entre eux sont devenus couriers, piqueurs, et cochès. Ce vuide est remplie par autant de femmes, qui dirigent la charette et qui pour se delasser de tems en tems menent au marché des voitures de paille ou de charbon. Le nombre de charpentiers, de maçons, et d'autres artisans est diminué
Word Of The Day