knows how to win hearts as those two knights did, they should not reject the gratitude that we feel."
"That grandeur of soul is worthy of you, Milady."
"I no longer feel any pride, Bathilda. Beaten down by misfortune and injustice, I feel closer to evil than I do to good; those are the effects of tyranny and iniquity. I can see now why criminals become worse in prison. They will be abolished in my states if I ever have anything to do with ruling again. The misfortune of being a prisoner myself has made me realize that they are not a good thing. In order to bring men back to a state of virtue, it will not be by offering them a disgusting picture of all the inconveniences of vice; it is to the hurt of men that it is necessary to shut men up in order to prevent them from doing any harm. It is certain that this procedure causes a feeling of revenge and it is only with the greatest precautions that one should use such a gross means."[1]
"Don't you see, Milady," said Bathilda, "that it is easier to shut them up than it is to convince them that the easiest road is the one which foolishness traces. In any case, Milady, your misfortunes will at least have given to rulers some reflections on the importance of weighing carefully before sending a man to prison."
"Unfortunately, I can feel the danger of sending men to prison, but I cannot undo the harm it has already done me. I have become a victim of the prison system. My soul is no longer the same. Misfortune has changed me. I am no longer a person who takes things in a good-humored fashion; the least contradiction has become intolerable for me … But let's hurry to get away from here. We are still too close to the place where we have been in such danger. We should prefer Frankfort to Trier and should get there as soon as possible. The large size of the former town, the confusion of the large fair which is being held there at this moment will favor our hiding. Once there we will see what we have to do and what the circumstances will suggest."
They were fortunate enough to find in the inn where they
- ↑ The Marquis de Sade wrote this novel at Charenton where he had been imprisoned by Napoleon. In all, he spent about twenty-eight years in prison.
81
