483페이지 중 285페이지

"You propose," replied I, "to fly from the habitations of man, to

dwell in those wilds where the beasts of the field will be your

only companions. How can you, who long for the love and sympathy

of man, persevere in this exile? You will return and again seek

their kindness, and you will meet with their detestation; your

evil passions will be renewed, and you will then have a companion

to aid you in the task of destruction. This may not be; cease to

argue the point, for I cannot consent."

"How inconstant are your feelings! But a moment ago you were

moved by my representations, and why do you again harden yourself

to my complaints? I swear to you, by the earth which I inhabit,

and by you that made me, that with the companion you bestow, I

will quit the neighbourhood of man and dwell, as it may chance,

in the most savage of places. My evil passions will have fled,

for I shall meet with sympathy! My life will flow quietly away,

and in my dying moments I shall not curse my maker."