Honoré de Balzac

“ Fontanares What! Do you think that a man can pluck from his heart a love like mine, as easily as he draws the sword from his scabbard?
Faustine I can well conceive that a woman should love you and do you service. But, according to your idea, love is self-abdication. All that the greatest men have ever wished for: glory, honor, fortune, and more than that, a triumphant dominion which genius alone can establish —this you have gained, conquering a world as Caesar, Lucullus and Luther conquered before you! ”

“ If I should die, you, man of genius who shall discover the secret, act on it, but keep silence. The light which we discover, men take from us, only to set on fire our funeral pile. Galileo, my master, is in prison for having said that the earth moves, and I am here for attempting to apply the forces of the earth. No! I am here because I rebel against the cupidity of those who desire to steal my secret; were it not for my love for Marie, I would claim my liberty to-night, leaving to them the profit, keeping to myself the fame—Ah! ”

“ O my dear master, if the torture chamber has not broken your bones, you are likely to get out of the cells of the holy —the thrice holy Inquisition—saved by your poor cur Quinola! Poor? —why should I say poor? My master once free, we will end by cashing our hopes. To live at Valladolid for six months without money, and without being nabbed by the alguazils, argues the possession of certain small talents, which, if applied to—other ends, might bring a man to—something different in fact! If we knew where we were going no one would stir a step—I purpose speaking to the king, I, Quinola. ”

“ Fontanares But she loves me! (Marie waves her handkerchief at the window.) See, see, my star is shining!
Quinola Why, sir, it is a handkerchief! Are you sufficiently in your right mind to take a bit of advice? This is not the sort of madonna for you; you need a Marchioness of Mondejar—one of those slim creatures, clad in steel, who through love are capable of all the expedients which distress makes necessary. Now the Brancadori—
Fontanares If you want me to throw the whole thing up you will go on talking like that! Bear that in mind; love gives the only strength I have. ”

“ Quinola Monipodio, please to remember that men like us must not be astonished at anything. Leave that to smaller people. The king has given us the ship, but without a doubloon to go and get her. We arrived here, therefore, with those two faithful companions of genius, hunger and thirst. A poor man who discovers a valuable idea has always seemed to me like a crumb of bread in a fish-pond; every fish takes a bite at him. We are likely to reach the goal of glory naked and dying. ”

“ Here, Quinola, this is for the expenses of your master's machine.
Avaloros (to Faustine) Don't give it to him, senora, he may keep it for himself, and for other reasons you should be prudent; you should wait—
Quinola (aside)
I pass from the torrid to the arctic zone; what a gamble is life!
Faustine You are right. (Aside) Better that I should hold in a balance the fortune of Fontanares. (To Avaloros) If you wish to keep your monopoly hold your tongue.
Avaloros There is nothing keeps a secret better than capital. (Aside) These women are disinterested until the day they fall in love. ”

“ Sarpi
If the vessel is made to move in the manner proposed, you would like
then to be to Fontanares what Amerigo Vespucci was to Christopher
Columbus.
Avaloros
Have I not here in my pocket enough to pay for six men of genius?
Sarpi
But how would you manage the matter?
Avaloros By means of money; money is the great secret. With money to lose, time is gained; and with time to spend, everything is possible; by this means a good business may be made a bad one, and while those who control it are in despair the whole profit may be carried off by you. Money,—that is the true method. ”

“ You are an inventor, very good; but I am inventive. You saved me from—I needn't say what! I, in turn, will deliver you from the talons of envy and from the clutches of cupidity. Here is gold for us; come dress yourself, make yourself fine, take courage; you are on the eve of triumph. But above all things, behave graciously towards Senora Brancadori.
Fontanares
You must at least tell me, how are you going to effect this?
Quinola No, senor, if you knew my secret, all would be ruined; you are a man of talent, and a man of talent is always simple as a child. ”

“ Quinola is the conscience, white as your fair hands, of Lavradi. Quinola does to know Lavradi. Does the soul know the body? You may unite the soul, Quinola, to the body, Lavradi, all the more easily because this morning Quinola was at the postern of your garden, with the friends of the dawn who stopped the Duke of Olmedo—
The Marchioness
What has happened to him?
Quinola Lavradi would take advantage of this moment, which is full of promise, to ask a pardon; but Quinola is a gentleman.
The Marchioness
You are taken up too much with yourself—
Quinola And not sufficiently with him—that is just. ”

“ Faustine I must thank Quinola for that. (She offers a purse to Quinola.) Take this. (To Fontanares) Till we meet again!
(Exeunt Faustine and Avaloros.)
SCENE SIXTH Fontanares and Quinola.
Fontanares That woman is treacherous as the sun in winter. Unhappy am I that I sought her, for she has taught me to lose faith. Is it possible that there are virtues which it is for our advantage to discard?
Quinola How is it possible, senor, to distrust a woman who sets in gold her slightest words! She loves you; that's the secret. Is your heart so very small that it cannot harbor two affections? ”

“ Fontanares (to Monipodio)
Who is this person?
Monipodio It is Avaloros, the richest banker of Catalonia; he has bought the whole Mediterranean to be his tributary.
Quinola
I feel my heart filled with tenderness towards him.
Monipodio
Every one of us owns him as our master.
Avaloros (to Fontanares) Young man, I am a banker; if your business is a good one, next to the protection of God and that of the king, nothing is as good as that of a millionaire.
Sarpi (to the banker) Make no engagements at present. You and I together will easily be able to make ourselves masters of this enterprise. ”

“ Fontanares How could I be false to that inextinguishable love, which has thrice come to my succor, which has eventually saved me, which, having no sacrifice but itself to offer on the altar of misfortune, accomplishes the immolation with one hand, and, with the other, offers to me in this (he shows the letter) the restoration of my honor, the esteem of my king, the admiration of the universe.
(Enter Paquita, who makes a sign to Faustine, then goes out.) ”

“ Fontanares
What kind of a man is this Don Ramon?
Monipodio
He is an ass.
Quinola
Is he envious?
Monipodio As three rejected play-writers. He makes himself out to be a wonderful man.
Quinola
But does any one believe him?
Monipodio They look upon him as an oracle. He scribbles off his treatises, explaining that the snow is white because it falls from heaven, and he maintains, in contradiction to Galileo, that the earth does not move.
Quinola
Do you not plainly see, senor, that I must rid you of this
philosopher? (To Monipodio) You come with me; you must be my servant. ”

“ Fontanares He was, perhaps, the founder of some long forgotten power that ruled the sea—at any rate, the means that I employ are not less natural than his. I have seen a certain force in nature, a force controllable by man. For the wind is God's creature, and man is not its master, but the wind propels the ships of man, while my force is in the ship itself. ”

“ O sublime discoverer, you will have to discharge the obligations that belong to greatness, and to fight the battle of your lawful ambition! This struggle will be the great interest of your life; while the Countess Sarpi will die by inches and in obscurity, imprisoned in the four walls of her house. And now let me remind you, father, and you, count, that it was clearly agreed, as the condition of my obedience, that Senor Fontanares should be granted by the viceroy of Catalonia a further extension of time, for the completion of his experiment. ”

“ Marie
If he should become a duke, grandee of Spain, and wealthy?
Lothundiaz If! If! If! Do you take me for an imbecile? These ifs are the horses that drag to the hospital all these sham world-discoverers.
Fontanares But here are the letters in which the king grants to me the use of a ship.
Quinola Now open your eyes! My master is at once a man of genius and a handsome youth; genius dulls a man and makes him of no use in a home, I grant you; but the handsome youth is there still; what more is needed by a girl for happiness? ”

“ Faustine That is well! Send word to the convent of the Dominicans. The rich heiress will freely consent to be wedded to you at midnight; she will accept any conditions, when she sees (whispering to Sarpi) Fontanares in the hands of justice.
Sarpi I quite understand, and the only thing now is to have him arrested. My good fortune seems invincible! And—I owe it all to you. (Aside) What instrument is there more powerful than the hatred of a woman!
Don Fregose
Sarpi, see that this order is strictly carried out and with no delay. ”

“ Quinola One morning at Valladolid, my master was within an ace of divulging his secret to a philosopher who knew nothing of it. I warrant you, I showed that gentleman the door, with a dose of cudgel given with a good will.
Monipodio
But how is it possible for us to gain a fortune honestly?
Quinola My master is in love. Now love forces a man to do as many foolish things as wise things. We two have first of all to protect our protector. My master is a philosopher who cannot keep accounts—
Monipodio Oh! ”

“ By birth you are a giant, and of your own will you are dwindling into a dwarf. But a man of genius can always find, among women, one woman especially created for him. And such a woman, while in the eyes of men she is a queen, for him is but a servant, adapting herself with marvelous suppleness to the chances of life, cheerful in suffering and as far-sighted in misfortune as in prosperity ”

“ Fontanares
For Barcelona.
Quinola No—for a tavern. If the air of the court gives the citizens a good appetite, it makes me devilish thirsty. After a drink, my glorious master, you will see your Quinola a very busy man; for we must not delude ourselves. Between the word of the king and the attainment of success, we shall meet with as many jealous philosophers, scheming tricksters, malicious cavillers, crooked, rapacious, greedy beasts of prey, thievish parasites as have ever beset you in your attempts to see the king. ”

“ Mathieu Magis It was two years ago, in the course of a conversation with Don Ramon, that he begged me to furnish funds for this experiment.
Fontanares (to Fregose) My lord, what strange delusion has fallen upon the people and burgesses of Barcelona? I arrive here in the midst of the acclamations with which Don Ramon is being greeted. Yes, I arrive bearing the traces of the vigils and sweat of this great enterprise, and I find you contentedly sanctioning the most shameful act of robbery that can be perpetrated in the face of heaven and earth. ”

“ The Grand Inquisitor We did not imprison the man on the charge that he had commerce with the devil, nor because of his impiety, nor because he springs from a family suspected of heresy; but for the safety of monarchies. Printing has permitted clever men to communicate their thoughts to others and the result has been—Luther, whose word has flown abroad in every direction. But this man is endeavoring to make out of all the nations of the earth a single people, and, before a multitude like this, the Holy Office trembles for the fate of monarchy. ”

“ Quinola Senor Alfonso Fontanares has come here from Catalonia to offer the king our master the sceptre of the sea. At Barcelona he was taken for a madman; here he is considered a sorcerer. When it becomes known what he proposes, he is scoffed at in the antechambers. One wishes to protest for the sake of ruining him; another, a philosopher, throws a doubt on the existence of our secret, with the view of filching it; others again make him a business proposition—capitalists who wish to entangle him in their meshes. As things go at present we do not know how they will turn out. ”

“ Fontanares It is a force invincible, sire. It is steam; for, when water has become expanded in steam, it demands a much more extensive area than that which it occupies in its natural form; and in order to take that space it would blow up mountains. By my invention this force is confined; the machine is provided with wheels, which beat the sea and propel a vessel as swiftly as the wind, so that tempests cannot resist its course. Voyages can be made in safety and so swiftly that there is no limit to speed excepting in the revolution of the wheels. ”

“ Fontanares I will tell the king, in presence of the court; for, after that, no one will be able to rob me of my glory and the fortune that it brings.
The Grand Inquisitor You call yourself an inventor, and yet you think of nothing but fortune! You are too ambitious to be a man of genius. ”

“ In me you have persecuted that which represents all that is noblest in man—His consciousness of his own power, the majesty of his labor, the heavenly inspiration which urges him to put his hand to enterprise, and—love, that spirit of human trust, which rekindles courage when it is on the point of expiring in the storm of mockery. ”