his life, in deifying his necessary cravings in order that he might
not despise them, going so far as to wrest from Chinese leaves, from
Egyptian beans, from seeds of Mexico, their perfume, their treasure,
their soul; going so far as to chisel the diamond, chase the silver,
melt the gold ore, paint the clay and woo every art that may serve to
decorate and to dignify the bowl from which he feeds!--how can this
king, after having hidden under folds of muslin covered with diamonds,
studded with rubies, and buried under linen, under folds of cotton,
under the rich hues of silk, under the fairy patterns of lace, the
partner of his wretchedness, how can he induce her to make shipwreck
in the midst of all this luxury on the decks of two beds. What
advantage is it that we have made the whole universe subserve our
existence, our delusions, the poesy of our life? What good is it to
have instituted law, morals and religion, if the invention of an
upholsterer [for probably it was an upholsterer who invented the twin
beds] robs our love of all its illusions, strips it bare of the
majestic company of its delights and gives it in their stead nothing
but what is ugliest and most odious? For this is the whole history of
the two bed system.


LXIII.
That it shall appear either sublime or grotesque are the alternatives
to which we have reduced a desire.


If it be shared, our love is sublime; but should you sleep in twin
beds, your love will always be grotesque. The absurdities which this
half separation occasions may be comprised in either one of two
situations, which will give us occasion to reveal the causes of very