Read Online The Red and the Black by Stendhal - Free Book Online

called magnificent for such a small town.
Julien was particularly struck by the sight of four marble pillars;
they became famous in the region for the deadly hatred they aroused
between the justice of the peace and the young curate sent from
Besançon, who was reputed to be a spy from the Congregation. * The justice of the peace was on the point of losing his job, at least
that is what was generally believed. Hadn't he dared to fall out with
a priest who nearly every fortnight went to Besançon where, rumour
had it, he saw Monsignor the bishop?
    At this point the justice of the peace, who had a large number of
children, passed several sentences which appeared unjust; they were
all directed against those inhabitants who read Le Constitutionnel . * It was a victory for the orthodox party. The sums involved were
admittedly only of the order of four or five francs; but one of these
small fines had to be paid by a nailmaker who was Julien's godfather.
In his fury this man exclaimed: 'What a change! To think that for over
twenty years the justice of the peace was considered such an upright
citizen!' Julien's friend the army surgeon was dead by then.
    Quite suddenly Julien stopped talking about Napoleon. He announced
that he was intending to become a priest, and he was constantly to be
seen at his father's sawmill engaged in
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learning off by heart a Latin Bible which the priest had lent him.
The kindly old man was astonished at his progress and spent long
evenings teaching him theology. Julien never uttered anything but
pious sentiments in his presence. Who could have guessed that this
face, as pale and gentle as a girl's, hid the unshakable determination
to risk a thousand deaths rather than fail to make his fortune!
    For Julien, making his fortune meant first and foremost getting out
of Verrières; he loathed his native town. Everything he saw there
froze his imagination.
    From early
childhood, there had been occasions when he was carried away by his
own fantasies. At such times he imagined with rapture that one day he
would be introduced to the pretty women of Paris, and would succeed in
drawing himself to their attention by some glorious deed. Why
shouldn't he be adored by one of them, just as Bonaparte, still
penniless, had been adored by the dazzling Mme de Beauharnais? * For years now, Julien had never let an hour of his life pass without
telling himself that Bonaparte, an obscure lieutenant without
fortune, had made himself master of the globe with his sword. This
thought consoled him for his sufferings, which he believed to be
great, and increased any pleasure which came his way.
    The building of the church and the sentences passed by the justice of
the peace were a sudden flash of illumination for him. He was struck
by an idea which drove him almost crazy for several weeks, and finally
took hold of him with the overwhelming force characteristic of the
very first idea a passionate individual believes he has thought of
himself.
    When Bonaparte first made a
name for himself, France was afraid of being invaded; military prowess
was necessary and in fashion. Nowadays you find priests of forty
earning a hundred thousand francs, in other words three times as much
as the famous generals in Napoleon's army. They need people to back
them up. Look at that justice of the peace, such a levelheaded and
honest man up till now, dishonouring himself at his age for fear of
displeasing a young curate of thirty! The answer is to be a priest.
    Once, in the midst of his new-found piety, when Julien had
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been studying theology for two years, he was betrayed by a sudden
eruption of the inner fire which was consuming him. It happened at a
dinner given by Father Chélan for a gathering of priests, at which the
kindly host had presented Julien as a prodigy of learning: he went
and praised Napoleon with great vehemence. Afterwards, he strapped his
right arm to his chest, pretending he had