12 The Spanish king who aggressively interfered in French politics and attempted (unsuccessfully) to suppress a rebellion in the Spanish Netherlands with brutal force. Henry VIII: English King who is called a monster, no doubt as much for his abandonment of the Catholic faith as for his beheaded wives.
The Red and the Black
"Take me, for example, a quiet, mediocre man: I counted on dying in my seminary. I had the childishness to grow attached to it. Well! I'd have been poverty-stricken when I handed in my resignation. Do you know the extent of my fortune? I had a total of five hundred and twenty francs, neither more nor less, not a friend in the world, barely two or three acquaintances. Monsieur de La Mole, whom I'd never met, pulled me out of so tight a corner. All he had to say was a single word, and I was given a parish in which everyone is rich, set far above the worst vices, with a salary that embarrasses me, so out of proportion is it to the labor involved. I've said this much only to get a bit of ballast into your head. "But one word more. I have the misfortune of being short-tempered. It could happen that you and I break off all communication. If the marquise's haughtiness, or her son's unpleasant jests, make this house impossible for you, I advise you to finish your studies at some seminary a hundred miles from Paris, and rather to the north than to the south. There is more civilization to the north, and less injustice. And," he added, lowering his voice, "I have to admit it: being in the neighborhood of Paris newspapers strikes fear into petty tyrants. "If we continue to have the pleasure of seeing each other, and the marquis's house does not suit you, I offer you a post as the assistant priest in my parish, and I will divide the salary I receive with you, half to us each. I owe you that, and more," he added, interrupting Julien's thanks, "for the unusual offer you made me, in Besançon. If instead of five hundred and twenty francs I had had none, you would have saved me." Father Pirard's voice had lost its harshness. To his great shame, Julien felt tears in his eyes. He felt an incredible urge to throw himself into his friend's arms. He could not keep himself from saying, in as masculine a voice as he could manage: "From the time I was in my cradle, I've hated my father. It has been one of my greatest misfortunes. But I can complain of my luck no longer: sir, I have found a father in you." "Good! That's good," said the priest, embarrassed. Then, happening on a phrase appropriate for the director of a seminary: "Never say 'luck,' my child. Always say 'providence.'" The cab stopped. The coachman raised the bronze knocker on a huge door: it was THE DE LA MOLE RESIDENCE13 —and so that passersby could not be in any doubt, the words were legible, in black marble, above the door. This affectation displeased Julien. "How afraid of the Jacobins they are! They see a Robespierre with his guillotine-bound tumbrel behind every hedgerow. It makes you want to die of laughter. And they post their names in front of their houses so the rabble will know where to find them, in case they come rioting and pillaging." He offered this thought to Father Pirard. "Ah! Poor child: you'll soon be my assistant priest. What a dreadful thought that is!" "It seems to me utterly straightforward," said Julien. The porter's solemnity, and above all the cleanliness of the courtyard, drew his admiration. It was a lovely sunny day. "What magnificent architecture!" he said to his friend. He was talking about one of those great Faubourg Saint-Germain14 houses with even- faced façades, built at about the time of Voltaire's death. Never have fashion and beauty existed at such opposite poles.