I liked this dialogue from that great fine writer Balzac. Something to lift my spirits in these dark days of winter.
The two men paced up and down the Luxembourg gardens.
'It costs a lot,' said Daniel in his gentle voice, 'to become a great man. The works of genius are watered with tears. Talent is a living organism whose infancy, like that of all creatures, is liable to malady. Society rejects defective talent as Nature sweeps away weak or misshapen creatures. Whoever wishes to rise above the common level must be prepared for a great struggle and recoil before no obstacle. A great writer is just simply a martyr whom the stake cannot kill.
If at heart you do not have the great patience and will-power required then give up this very day.'
'You also expect to suffer great trials? asked Lucien.
'Ordeals of every kind. Calumny, treachery, injustice from my rivals; effrontery, trickery, ruthlessness from the business world. If you are doing fine work, what do these setbacks matter?'
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