132

Methinks Cæsar was too old to set about amusing himself with conquering
the world.[67] Such sport was good for Augustus or Alexander. They were
still young men, and thus difficult to restrain. But Cæsar should have
been more mature.


133

Two faces which resemble each other, make us laugh, when together, by
their resemblance, though neither of them by itself makes us laugh.


134

How useless is painting, which attracts admiration by the resemblance of
things, the originals of which we do not admire!


135

The struggle alone pleases us, not the victory. We love to see animals
fighting, not the victor infuriated over the vanquished. We would only
see the victorious end; and, as soon as it comes, we are satiated. It is
the same in play, and the same in the search for truth. In disputes we
like to see the clash of opinions, but not at all to contemplate truth
when found. To observe it with pleasure, we have to see it emerge out of
strife. So in the passions, there is pleasure in seeing the collision of
two contraries; but when one acquires the mastery, it becomes only