morning; he is in a
terrible way. But you will set about another article, and puff praise in
his face."

"What! After my article against his book, would you have me say----"
began Lucien.

The whole party cut him short with a shout of laughter.

"Did you ask him to supper here the day after to-morrow?" asked Blondet.

"You article was not signed," added Lousteau. "Felicien, not being
quite such a new hand as you are, was careful to put an initial C at the
bottom. You can do that now with all your articles in his paper, which
is pure unadulterated Left. We are all of us in the Opposition. Felicien
was tactful enough not to compromise your future opinions. Hector's shop
is Right Centre; you might sign your work on it with an L. If you cut a
man up, you do it anonymously; if you praise him, it is just as well to
put your name to your article."

"It is not the signatures that trouble me," returned Lucien, "but I
cannot see anything to be said in favor of the book."

"Then did you really think as you wrote?" asked Hector.

"Yes."

"Oh! I thought you were cleverer than that, youngster," said Blondet.
"No. Upon my word, as I looked at that forehead of yours, I credited you
with the omnipotence of the great mind--the power of seeing both sides
of everything. In literature, my boy, every idea is reversible, and no
man can take upon himself to decide which is the right or wrong side.
Everything is bi-lateral in the domain of thought. Ideas are binary.
Janus is a fable signifying criticism and the symbol of Genius. The
Almighty alone is triform. What raises Moliere and Corneille above the
rest of us but the faculty of saying one thing with an Alceste or an
Octave, and another with a Philinte or a Cinna? Rousseau wrote a letter
against dueling in the _Nouvelle_ Heloise, and another in favor of it.
Which of the two represented his own opinion? will you venture to
take it upon yourself to decide? Which of us could give judgement for
Clarissa or Lovelace, Hector or Achilles? Who was Homer's hero? What did
Richardson himself think? It is the function of criticism to look at a
man's work in all its aspects. We draw up our case, in short."

"Do you really stick to your written opinions?" asked Vernou, with a
satirical expression. "Why, we are retailers of phrases; that is how we
make a livelihood. When you try to do a good piece of work--to write a
book, in short--you can put your thoughts, yourself into it, and cling
to it, a