“ Misfortune is a kind of talisman whose virtue consists in its power to confirm our original nature; in some men it increases their distrust and malignancy, just as it improves the goodness of those who have a kind heart. ”
Honoré de Balzac, Colonel Chabert (1832). copy citation
| Author | Honoré de Balzac |
|---|---|
| Source | Colonel Chabert |
| Topic | goodness distrust |
| Date | 1832 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | Translated by Ellen Marriage and Clara Bell |
| Weblink | https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Colonel_Chabert |
Context
“At last, by a cross-road, they arrived at the entrance to a large park lying in the little valley which divides the heights of Margency from the pretty village of Groslay. The Countess had there a delightful house, where the Colonel on arriving found everything in readiness for his stay there, as well as for his wife's. Misfortune is a kind of talisman whose virtue consists in its power to confirm our original nature; in some men it increases their distrust and malignancy, just as it improves the goodness of those who have a kind heart.
Sorrow had made the Colonel even more helpful and good than he had always been, and he could understand some secrets of womanly distress which are unrevealed to most men. Nevertheless, in spite of his loyal trustfulness, he could not help saying to his wife:”
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