Mauprat by Sand

"We cannot change the essence of our being, but we can direct our various facilities to a good end, and almost succeed in making our very faults useful: to do this, moreover, is the great secret and the great problem of education."

I think education only helps the mind, our nature and our essence is deeper than the mind- it runs into the soul. The mind will only help for so long, when nature takes over, logic is thrown out, and our basic impulses take over. With or without education. Even with this new "direction" of our faults, in a second everything could be lost- there is not telling what our nature will do.

"Learn to distinguish between love and desire; desire seeks to destroy the obstacles which it encounters, and perishes on the ruins of a vanquished virtue; love wishes to live, and, that it may do so, it wishes to see the object of its worship defended for a long tie by that diamond wall whose strength and splendor constitute its value and beauty."


"There are beings who pass away, after reflecting all that is beautiful and grand in the moral universe, without finding the means, and without even feeling the need of manifesting themselves to others."

"...so naturally does the past clothe itself in beautiful or softened forms in the brain of the young- presumptuous masters of the future."

The young will not escape, the past will follow them into the future.

"We all need to be loved in order that the good in us may be developed, but we need to be loved each differently, one with unwearying indulgence, another with steady severity."

Love is so complex and so sophisticated. It is as unique as each grain of sand, as each person that ever lived...

"Man is born with more or less of passions, with more or less ability for turning them to a good or a bad account in society."

I do not agree. So man is a bundle of passions that can only divert them in a direction for it to have a good or bad impact on society. As if it is up to our will! Nature cannot be overcome by the will, much less by education. It reminds me of the theory- that the environment is responsible of directing our passions... No, the moral is that on one hand Bernard was an animal and could not control his passions because he was not educated, while Edmee had equally the same passions but could control them because she was educated. And as he advanced in his education- he controlled his passions better. i firmly believe education doesn't help much with the essence of our being. Also, Sand emphasizes love- which can be true. In some cases I think Edmee was a little too noble for my taste- she didn't give in once. This is too much credit to the woman.

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Pub by Da Capo Press