Top Highlights

• But imagining what might happen if one’s circumstances were different was the only sure route to madness.
• for duels became more picturesque and the pistols more finely manufactured, the best-bred men proved willing to defend their honor over lesser and lesser offenses.
• if a man does not master his circumstances then he is bound to be mastered by them.
• Châteauneuf-du-Pape.
• For rather than being tools of self-discovery, mirrors tended to be tools of self-deceit. How many times had he watched as a young beauty turned thirty degrees before her mirror to ensure that she saw herself to the best advantage?