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The excerpt represents the core issue or deciding factor on which you must meditate, and is drawn from The Lesser Bourgeoisie by Honore de Balzac: "You are broaching there, my dear commander," said Minard, "one of the
most knotty questions of political economy. Many good minds think, on
the contrary, that luxury is absolutely demanded in the interests of
commerce, which is certainly the life of States. In any case, this
view, which isn't yours, appears to have been that of Madame de
Godollo, for, they tell me, her apartment is very coquettishly
furnished; and to coax Mademoiselle Brigitte into the same path of
elegance she made a proposal to her as follows: 'A friend of mine,'
she said, 'a Russian princess for whom one of the first upholsterers
has just made splendid furniture, is suddenly recalled to Russia by
the czar, a gentleman with whom no one dares to trifle. The poor woman
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