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The excerpt represents the core issue or deciding factor on which you must meditate, and is drawn from The Muse of the Department by Honore de Balzac: to me, of a primitive time. The literature of that period holds a
place between the summaries of chapters in /Telemaque/ and the
categorical reports of a public office. It had ideas, but refrained
from expressing them, it was so scornful! It was observant, but would
not communicate its observations to any one, it was so miserly! Nobody
but Fouche ever mentioned what he had observed. 'At that time,' to
quote the words of one of the most imbecile critics in the /Revue des
Deux Mondes/, 'literature was content with a clear sketch and the
simple outline of all antique statues. It did not dance over its
periods.'--I should think not! It had no periods to dance over. It had
no words to play with. You were plainly told that Lubin loved
The Muse of the Department |
