Chapter 29 Chapter 29 The first promotion

After the incident in the cathedral, Julien had been immersed in deep dreams for a long time, and he could not get rid of it. One morning, the stern Abbe Pirard sent for him. "Well, the Abbe Chas-Bernar has written to say good things about you. On the whole, I am quite satisfied with your conduct. You have been extremely careless, even rash, but you have not shown it. So far, your heart is kind, even generous, and your intellect is extraordinary. In short, I see a spark in you that cannot be ignored. "I have worked for fifteen years, and I am leaving this house: my crime was to allow the seminarians to judge freely, without protection or destruction of that secret society you told me about in the confession booth. I go Before, I wanted to do something for you, which I should have done two months ago, if it had not been for the revelation based on the address of Amanda Binet found in your room, and you deserve it. I let you do " Teacher of the New and Old Testaments."

Julien was so grateful that he didn't know what to say, and he wanted to kneel down and thank God; but another, more genuine emotion came to him.He approached the Abbe Pirard, took his hand, and held it to his lips. "What is this for?" exclaimed the Abbe Pirard angrily; but Julien's eyes showed more than his actions. Father Pilar looked at him in amazement, like a man who has been unaccustomed to delicate feelings for many years.The gaze betrayed the dean, and his voice changed. "Well! Yes, my boy, I have great affection for you. Heaven knows there is no way. I should be just and impartial, and have neither hatred nor love for people. Your life will be hard. I see in you something that displeases the world. Envy and slander will pursue you. Wherever God has placed you, your companions will not look at you without hatred; If they pretend to love you, it is to betray you with greater certainty. There is only one way to do this, and that is to seek help only from God, who punishes your ego by making you hated; be pure in your deeds, I Behold, this is your only hope. If you cling to the truth with an invincible embrace, sooner or later your enemies will be discomfited."

Julien, who had not heard the voice of friendship for so long, could not help crying, and we must forgive him for his weakness.Father Pilar opened his arms to him, and the moment was sweet for both. Julien was ecstatic; this was his first promotion; the benefits were enormous.To imagine these benefits one has to have been forced to have no moments of solitude for several months, and to have direct contact with some at least annoying, and mostly intolerable classmates.Their clamor alone is enough to drive the nerves of the weak.These well-fed and warmly clothed country people can only feel the noisy joy and feel fully expressed when they scream with all the strength of their lungs.

Now Julien dined alone, or almost an hour after the other students.He has the key to the garden, and he can walk in it when no one is there. Julien was astonished to find that he was not hated so much; he had expected a redoubled hatred.His secret desire not to be spoken to him, which was still too obvious and which had won him many enemies, no longer marked a ridiculous arrogance.It was a fitting sense of his position in the eyes of the vulgar people around him.Hate was markedly lessened, especially among the youngest of his classmates who became his pupils, and he treated them with civility.Gradually, he actually had fans, and it was already inappropriate to call him Martin Luther.

But of what use is it to speak the names of his friends and foes?All this is ugly, and the more realistic the picture, the uglier it is.But they are the only moral teachers of the people, and what would the people be without them?Can the newspaper take the place of the parish priest? After Julien took up his new post, the dean of the seminary pretended not to speak to him without the presence of witnesses.This approach is a kind of caution for both the master and the disciple, but it is especially a test.Pyrrha was a strict Jansenist, and his unchanging principle was: Do you think a man has talent?Then put obstacles in the way of everything he wishes for, everything he does.If his talents were real, he would certainly be able to push down or get around obstacles.

The hunting season has come.On a whim, Fouquet sent a deer and a wild boar to the seminary in the name of Julien's parents.Two dead beasts stood in the passage between the kitchen and the mess hall.The students of the seminary passed by there when they were eating, and they all saw it.This became a great target for curiosity.Even though the boar was dead, the youngest students were startled, and they stroked its tusks.For a whole week, no one talked about anything else. This gift placed Julien's family in a respectable section of society, and dealt jealousy a fatal blow.Fortune confirmed Julien's superiority.Chazelle and some of his best students approached him, almost complaining that he had not told them about his parents' fortune, and that they were in danger of disrespecting money.

Conscription was in progress at the time, and Julien, a seminarian, was exempt from military service.This incident made him very excited. "Hey, this moment is gone forever, if only twenty years earlier, I would have started a heroic life!" He was walking alone in the garden of the seminary when he heard some masons repairing the wall talking. "Hey: It's time to go, and recruits are recruited." "In that man's time, that's great! Masons can be officers and generals. I've seen that." "Now go and have a look! Only the poor leave, and those who have a few in their hands stay in their hometown."

"Born poor, poor all your life, that's the way it is." "Hey, they say the man is dead, is that true?" said the third mason. , "It's the big guys who, you see, that man scares them." "What a difference, in those days, the job was done! Said he was betrayed by his marshals: that's what traitors do!" Julien was somewhat relieved by this conversation.He sighed as he left, reciting: the only king the people still remember The day of the exam has arrived.Julien answered brilliantly, and he saw that Chazelle also tried to show all his knowledge.

On the first day the examiners, appointed by the eminent vicar of Fauclair, were so displeased that they had to place the company first, or at least second, on the list, when it was pointed out to them that this Julien Sorel was the favorite of the abbe Pirard.At the Seminary there was a bet that Julien would be number one in the list of examination results, which would bring him the honor of dining with the Bishop.But towards the end of an examination involving the godfathers, a cunning examiner, after asking Julien questions about St. Jerome and his passion for Cicero, spoke of Horace, Virgil, and several other secular writers.The classmates knew nothing about it, but Julien recited many passages from these authors.Success dazzled his head, he forgot where, and, in response to repeated questions from the examiner, he recited and paraphrased several of Horace's canticles with great enthusiasm.Julien took the bait, and twenty minutes passed, the examiner suddenly changed his face, and sharply accused him of wasting time on these secular writers, and filled his mind with many useless or, or evil thoughts.

"I am a fool, Monsieur, and you are right," said Julien humbly, and suddenly realized that it was a clever trap, and he had been taken in. This trick of the examiner, which was considered base even in the seminary, did not prevent M. de Frillet from writing with his strong hand the number 198 next to Julien's name.M. de Frillé was a shrewd man who organized a congregational network in Bemonçon so skilfully that his dispatches to Paris terrified the judges, the prefects, and even the generals of the garrison.He was delighted to have thus insulted his enemy, the Jansenist Pyrrha.

For the past ten years, his major event has been the removal of Pyrrha from the post of dean of the seminary.Abbe Pirard is sincere, honest, not intriguing, loyal to his duty, and he himself does not violate the code of conduct he stipulated for Julien.But God gave him a violent and irritable temper in anger, especially sensitive to insults and hatred.No insult would be in vain against this fiery soul.God put him in this position, and he thought he was useful for this position, otherwise he would have resigned a hundred times. "I have curbed Jesuitism and idolatry," he said to himself. During the exam period, he hadn't spoken to Julien for about two months. When he received the bulletin announcing the exam results, he saw the number 198 written next to the student's name. The students regard this seminary as an honor.The only consolation for this stern-tempered man was to focus all his surveillance devices on Company.He was glad that he found no anger, no revenge, no discouragement in Julien. A few weeks later, Yu Li shuddered when he saw a letter; the letter was stamped with a Paris stamp. "At last," he thought, "Madame de Renal remembered her promise." A gentleman signed Paul Sorel, who claimed to be his relative, sent him a bill for five hundred francs.The letter also stated that if Julien continued to study those excellent Latin writers and achieved good results, he would send him the same amount of money every year. "This is her, this is her kindness," Julien said to himself, his heart full of tenderness, "she wants to comfort me, but why doesn't she say a word of affection?" He had made a mistake in this letter, and Madame de Renal, under the tutelage of her friend Madame Derville, was completely immersed in deep remorse.She also couldn't help thinking of that unusual man from time to time, whose encounter had disturbed her life, but she took care not to write to him. If we use the language of the seminary, we can admit that this remittance of five hundred francs was a miracle, and it can be said that heaven sent this gift to Julien through M. de Friley himself. Twelve years ago, the Abbe de Frillé came to Besançon with the smallest suitcase, which, according to rumors, contained all his belongings.Today he is one of the richest landowners in the province.In the process of becoming rich, he bought half of an estate, the other half of which fell into the hands of Marquis de La Mole through inheritance.The two then fought a big lawsuit. The Marquis de La Mole, in spite of his eminence in Paris and his high office at court, found it dangerous to fight in Besançon with a vicar, who was said to be able to influence the appointment and dismissal of the prefect.He could have asked for a reward to concede this little lawsuit of fifty thousand francs to the Abbe de Frilay under whatever guise the budget allowed, but instead of doing so, he made a fuss of it.He thought he was right, and for good reason! But let me venture to ask: what judge does not have a son or some kind of relation to be placed somewhere? To make the blindest see clearly, the abbe de Frélé, a week after winning the first verdict, rode in the bishop's carriage, and personally presented his lawyer with a knighthood of the Legion of Honor.Somewhat shocked by the other party's actions, M. de La Mole, feeling that his lawyer had softened, consulted the Abbe Chelan, who suggested that he contact M. Pirard. At the time of our story, their relationship had been going on for several years.Father Pilar threw himself into the matter with all his fiery character.He kept meeting with the Marquis's lawyer to study the case, and after confirming that the Marquis' case was justified, he publicly became the legal representative of the Marquis de La Mole and fought with the powerful acting bishop.Such insolence, and that of a little Jansenist, shames the Bishop! "See what this nobleman of the court, who thinks he is so powerful," said the Abbe de Frillé to his followers, "Mr. Cang Song's agent, and to have him dismissed in disgrace. However, someone wrote to me that this noble councillor wears a blue ribbon every week to the salon of the Lord Chancellor to show off, regardless of What kind of person is the Minister of Seals!" Despite the best efforts of the Abbe Pirard, M. de La Mole's relationship with the Minister of Justice, and especially with his subordinates, was as good as it could be, and six years of painstaking efforts had not resulted in the complete loss of the case. The Marquis continued to correspond with the Abbe Pirard for a matter that both of them were passionately concerned about, and finally tasted the abbe's intelligence.Gradually, despite the disparity in social status, their correspondence took on a genial tone.Father Pirard told the Marquis that someone had used insults to force him to resign.He was so annoyed by that base trick that he thought it was aimed at Julien, and he told the Marquis about Julien. Although this great nobleman is rich, he is not stingy at all. He has never been able to get Father Pilar to accept his money, including paying for the postage spent on handling the case.As soon as he had an idea, he sent five hundred francs to the priest's beloved student. M. de La Mole also wrote the letter informing him of the remittance himself.This incident reminded him of the priest. One day, the abbe received a note saying that he was urgently requested to go to an inn on the outskirts of Besançon.There he met M. de La Mole's butler. "Monsieur the Marquis sent me to bring you his carriage," said the man, "and he wishes you to leave for Paris in four or five days after reading this letter. Please tell me the time, during which time I will be at the Marquis." Monsieur runs on the estate of Franche-Comté. Then, as you see fit, we shall set off for Paris." The letter is short: "My dear sir, get away from all the troubles of the provinces, and come to Paris to breathe a little quiet air. I will send you my car, and I have ordered to wait for your decision in four days. I am in Paris. Waiting for you until Tuesday. I need your permission, sir, to accept in your name one of the best parishes near Paris. The wealthiest of your future parishioners has never met you, but to You are more loyal than you can imagine, and he is the Marquis de La Mole." The stern Father Pilar did not expect that he actually loved this seminary full of enemies. For fifteen years, he had exhausted his thoughts for it.M. de La Mole's letter appeared to him like a surgeon about to undergo a cruel and necessary operation.His dismissal was inevitable.He asked the housekeeper to meet in three days. For forty-eight hours he was indecisive and distraught.Finally, he wrote a letter to M. de La Mole, and another letter to His Excellency, a masterpiece of ecclesiastical style, although it was a little too long.It may be difficult to find a more impeccable sentence, one that conveys a more sincere homage.The letter, which was destined to suffer for an hour in the presence of his master, contained the causes of serious dissatisfaction, and even mentioned some mean little troubles, which the Abbe Pirard had to endure for six years. forced him to leave the parish. Someone stole firewood from his woodpile, poisoned his dog, etc., etc. After he finished writing the letter, he sent someone to wake Julien, who, like the other students, went to bed at eight o'clock in the evening. "Do you know where the bishop lives?" he said to him, in a beautiful Latin style, "take this letter to your lord bishop. I will tell you, I am sending you to the wolves. Watch out, Listen carefully. There must be no lie in your answer, but think that your interrogator may experience a real joy that at last can do you harm. My child, tell you this experience before leaving you , I feel very at ease, because I do not want to hide from you that this letter from you is my resignation." Julien stood still. He loved the Abbe Pilar.Prudence said to him in vain: "After this righteous man is gone, the Sacred Heart will disparage me, and perhaps drive me away." He can't just think about himself.What was difficult for him was how to think of a decent sentence, and he felt really exhausted at this time. "Why! My friend, you are not going?" "I have heard, Monsieur," said Julien timidly, "that you have been in charge of the seminary for so long without any savings. I have six hundred francs here." Tears choked him up. "This has to be registered too," said the former dean of the seminary coldly. "Go to the bishop's mansion, it's getting late." It so happened that the abbe de Frélé was on duty that evening in the drawing-room of the bishop's mansion; his lordship had gone to dine at the provincial mansion.Julien therefore gave the letter to the Abbe de Frélé himself, though he did not know him. Julien was taken aback when he saw the priest openly open the letter to the bishop.The pretty face of the Vicar was at once an expression of amazement, mingled with intense joy, which then became doubly serious.Julien was so impressed by the good look of this face that he studied it carefully while he was reading the letter.The face would have been more dignified were it not for an extreme shrewdness in certain lines; an extreme shrewdness which would have revealed a hypocrisy had the owner of this pretty face lost his mind for a moment.The nose is too protruding, forming a straight line, unfortunately making a noble silhouette hopelessly resembling a fox.Besides, the abbé, who seemed so concerned with M. Pirard's resignation, was dressed in an elegant manner, which Julien liked, as he had never seen any other priest dressed. It was only later that Julien learned what the Abbe de Frélé's special talents were.The Abbe de Frélé knew how to amuse a Bishop.The bishop, a lovely old man, was born to live in Paris, and considered coming to Besançon as an exile.His eyesight is extremely poor, and he loves to eat fish, so he picks out the thorns first when the fish is served. Julien was quietly looking at the priest who was reading the resignation repeatedly, when the door suddenly opened with a creak.A richly dressed servant hurried past.Before Julien could turn to the door, he saw a little old man with a bishop's cross on his breast.He quickly knelt down on the ground, the bishop smiled kindly at him, and walked over.The handsome priest followed, and Julien remained alone in the drawing-room, taking his time to admire the pious luxury of the room. Bishop Besançon was a funny man who had suffered exile but was not overwhelmed; he was seventy-five years old and cared little about what happened ten years later. "I think I saw a sharp-eyed student after passing by just now. Who is he?" the bishop asked. "According to my regulations, shouldn't they go to sleep at this time?" "This one is awake, I assure you, Monsignor, and he has great news: the only Jansenist still in your diocese has resigned. At last the dreadful Abbe Pirard understands what it means to speak." "That's great!" said the bishop with a smile, "but I don't believe you can find someone who is equal to him to replace him. To show you the value of this man, I will invite him to dinner tomorrow." The acting bishop wanted to take the opportunity to say something about choosing a successor.The bishop was not about to talk about business, so he said to him: "Before letting another come in, let us know how this one leaves. Call me that student, and the child speaks the truth." Someone called Julien. "Now I'll be between two interrogators," he thought.He felt he had never been so courageous. When he entered, two valets, who were better dressed than M. Valenod, were undressing the Bishop.The bishop thought that he should first ask Julien about his studies, and then talk about M. Pilar.He talked about the teachings and was quite surprised.Soon he turned to the humanities, speaking of Virgil, Horace, Cicero. "These names," thought Julien, "get me number ninety-eight. I have nothing to lose, and let me show off." He succeeded, the bishop was delighted, and he himself was a fine humanist . A poem in praise of Magdalene was read aloud by a young girl of minor fame at a provincial banquet.In the midst of his literary interest, he soon forgot about Father Pilar and other business, and discussed with the seminarian whether Horace was rich or poor.The Bishop quoted several hymns, but his memory sometimes failed him, and Julien recited the whole poem at once, humbly.What amazed the bishop was that Julien never left his tone of chatter, reciting twenty or thirty Latin poems as if talking about what happened in the seminary.They talked about Virgil and Cicero.Finally, the bishop couldn't help but praise the young seminarian. "Impossible to learn better." "Monseigneur," said Julien, "your seminary can provide you with one hundred and ninety-seven persons who are more worthy of your praise." "What's going on?" The number surprised the bishop. "I can back up with official evidence what I had the honor to say in the presence of the Bishop. In the annual seminar of the Seminary, I answered the very question that is appreciated by His Majesty at this moment, and I got one hundred and ninety-eighth." "Ah! it is the favourite of the Abbe Pirard," cried the bishop, laughing, and looking at M. de Frillet; "we should have expected it; you are aboveboard. My friend," he asked Julien. , "Did someone wake you up and send you here?" "Yes, Monsieur. I have only been out of the seminary once in my life, and that was to help Father Chas-Bernar decorate the cathedral on Eucharist." "0ptime," said the Bishop, "why, was it you who showed so much courage and put a few plumes on the canopy? These feathers frighten me every year, and I am always afraid that they will kill me. I My friend, you have a great future ahead; but I don't want to spoil your suddenly brilliant future by letting you starve here." The Bishop ordered biscuits and Malaga, and Julien ate and drank, and the Abbe de Frillet did not show weakness, for he knew that the Bishop liked to see people eating with great appetite and good spirits. The senior clergyman, growing more and more satisfied with his evening's entertainment, talked for a while about the history of the canon.He saw that Julien did not understand.He turns to the state of mind of the Roman Empire under the emperors of the time of Constantine.The last days of paganism were accompanied by a state of restless doubt which afflicts the melancholy and jaded minds of the nineteenth century.His Excellency noticed that Julien did not even know Tacitus's name. To the surprise of the senior clergyman, Julien honestly replied that there were no books by this author in the library of the seminary. "I'm really glad," said the bishop cheerfully, "that you've helped me solve a big problem: I've been trying to thank you for a lovely evening for ten minutes, which was unexpected, of course. I didn't expect There is such a learned man among the students of the Seminary. I would like to give you a set of Tacitus, though it is an uncanonical gift." The Bishop sent for eight beautifully decorated volumes, and over the title of the first volume he himself wrote, in Latin, a tribute to Julien Sorel.The bishop boasted of his beautiful Latin writing; at last he said to him in a solemn tone quite different from the conversation: "Young man, if you are modest and prudent, one day you will have the best parish in my district, and it is not a hundred miles away from my bishop's palace, but you must be humble and prudent." Julien left the bishop's palace with eight books in his arms, and was greatly surprised. At this moment, the midnight bell rang His Excellency had not said a word to him about the Abbe Pirard.Julien was especially surprised at the bishop's extreme courtesy.He could not have imagined that such refinement could be combined with such a natural dignity.Julien was especially impressed by the comparison when he saw the Abbe Pirard waiting for him with a sullen and impatient face. Quicltibidixerunt? (What did they say to you?)' he cried out as soon as he saw him. Julien translated the bishop's words into Latin, which became more and more confused. "Speak French, and repeat the words of His Excellency the Bishop, without adding or subtracting," said the former dean of the seminary, with a stern tone and a very indecent attitude. "What a strange gift a bishop makes for a young seminarian!" said he, flipping through the fine collections of Tacitus, whose gilt cuts seemed to disgust him. When two o'clock rang, he listened to the detailed report and let his beloved student go back to his room. "Leave me the first volume of your Tacitus, which bears the patriarch's praise," he said to Lian, "and this line of Latin will be your lightning rod in this school when I go. Erittibi , filimi, successormeustamquamleoquoerensquemdevoret. (For to you, my son, my successor will be a raging lion that will seek someone to devour.)" Next morning Julien noticed something strange in the way his fellow students spoke to him.So he didn't talk much. "See," he thought, "this is the consequence of Father Pilar's resignation. The whole academy knows it, and I'm regarded as his favorite. There must be an insult in this way." But he couldn't see it.Instead, he ran into them along the corridor, and the hatred was gone from their eyes. "What's the matter? It must be a trick. Don't let them take advantage of it." The last little monk from Verrieres said to him with a smile: "Cor-nelii Tacitioperaomnia (Complete Works of Tacitus)." This was heard by them, and they rushed to compliment him, not only because he had received this fine gift from the bishop, but also because he had the honor of talking with the bishop for two hours.They know even the smallest details.From then on there was no more jealousy, and they courted him cowardly: the Abbe Castanede, who had treated him with the most insolence the day before, came to take him by the arm, and invited him to dinner. Julien's nature was hard to change, and the rudeness of these vulgar people had caused him a lot of pain, and their grovelings aroused his disgust, and he had no joy at all. Towards noon, Father Pilar bid farewell to the students, and another stern lecture was inevitable. "You want worldly glory," he said to them, "all the good of society, the joy of giving orders, or eternal deliverance? The least learned among you can tell the two paths just by opening your eyes." As soon as he left, those Sacred Heart followers went to the chapel to sing Te Deum.No one in the seminary took seriously the words of the former dean. "He was terribly displeased at his dismissal," was said everywhere, and no seminarian would be naive enough to believe that anyone would voluntarily resign from a position connected with so many great benefactors. The Abbe Pirard checked into the most beautiful hotel in Besançon and wanted to stay there for two days on the pretext of business, which he had nothing to do. The bishop had invited him to dinner, and tried to make him stand out in order to tease the vicar.During dessert, the strange news came that the Abbe Pirard had been appointed vicar of the excellent parish N. . . . four leagues from the capital.The good bishop congratulated him sincerely.The bishop regarded the whole affair as a well-played game, and was in a very good mood, and had a very high opinion of the abbe's talents.He gave him an excellent certificate in Latin, and silenced the Abbe de Frillé, who dared to protest. In the evening, the bishop praised the Abbe Pirard at the Marquise de Rubainples.This was great news in the high society of Besançon; the more people guessed, the more bewildered they were, as to how such an unusual favor had come to be.Someone had already seen Father Pirard made bishop.The shrewdest of the people thought that M. de La Mole had become a minister, and that day they dared to laugh at the superiority of the abbe de Frillé in society. The next morning, when the Abbe Pirard went to see the judges in the Marquis' case, he was almost followed in the street, and merchants stood at the doors of their shops.For the first time he was received politely.The stern Jansenist, furious at what he saw, had a careful discussion with the lawyers he had chosen for the Marquis, and set off for Paris, where only two or three school-age friends kept sending him. Beside the carriage, he admired the coat of arms on the carriage.In a moment of bewilderment, he told them that he had managed the seminary for fifteen years and left Besançon with only five hundred and twenty francs in savings.The friends hugged him with tears, but privately said: "The good priest could have avoided telling such a lie, which is too ridiculous." Blindfolded by the love of money, vulgar people cannot comprehend that it was from his sincerity that Father Pilar drew the necessary strength to single-handedly oppose Mary Allacoque, the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Jesuits for six years theirs and his own bishop's.