"Simpleton!" cried the man of science, "your problem is settled by
fact!"

"What fact?"

"Professors' chairs were not made for philosophy, but philosophy for
the professors' chairs. Put on a pair of spectacles and read the
budget."

"Thieves!"

"Nincompoops!"

"Knaves!"

"Gulls!"

"Where but in Paris will you find such a ready and rapid exchange of
thought?" cried Bixiou in a deep, bass voice.

"Bixiou! Act a classical farce for us! Come now."

"Would you like me to depict the nineteenth century?"

"Silence."

"Pay attention."

"Clap a muffle on your trumpets."