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forgetfulness!
CHAPTER XI.
GWYNPLAINE THINKS JUSTICE, AND URSUS TALKS TRUTH.
A philosopher is a spy. Ursus, a watcher of dreams, studied his pupil.
Our monologues leave on our brows a faint reflection, distinguishable to
the eye of a physiognomist. Hence what occurred to Gwynplaine did not
escape Ursus. One day, as Gwynplaine was meditating, Ursus pulled him by
his jacket, and exclaimed,--
"You strike me as being an observer! You fool! Take care; it is no
business of yours. You have one thing to do--to love Dea. You have two
causes of happiness--the first is, that the crowd sees your muzzle; the
second is, that Dea does not. You have no right to the happiness you
possess, for no woman who saw your mouth would consent to your kiss; and
that mouth which has made your fortune, and that face which has given
you riches, are not your own. You were not born with that countenance.
It was borrowed from the grimace which is at the bottom of the infinite.
You have stolen your mask from the devil. You are hideous; be satisfied
with having drawn that prize in the lottery. There are in this world
(and a very good thing too) the happy by right and the happy by luck.
You are happy by luck. You are in a cave wherein a star is enclosed. The
poor star belongs to you. Do not seek to leave the cave, and guard your
star, O spider! You have in your web the carbuncle, Venus. Do me the
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