Louis Lambert by Honoré de Balzac
<< Return to Title Details & Download1
Louis Lambert
The Project Gutenberg EBook of Louis Lambert, by Honore de Balzac This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net
Title: Louis Lambert
Author: Honore de Balzac
Release Date: February 2, 2005 [EBook #1943]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ASCII
*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LOUIS LAMBERT ***
Produced by Dagny; and John Bickers
LOUIS LAMBERT
BY
HONORE DE BALZAC
Translated by Clara Bell and James Waring
DEDICATION
"Et nunc et semper dilectoe dicatum."
LOUIS LAMBERT
Louis Lambert was born at Montoire, a little town in the Vendomois, where his father owned a tannery of no great magnitude, and intended that his son should succeed him; but his precocious bent for study modified the paternal decision. For, indeed, the tanner and his wife adored Louis, their only child, and never contradicted him in anything.
At the age of five Louis had begun by reading the Old and New Testaments; and these two Books, including so many books, had sealed his fate. Could that childish imagination understand the mystical depths of the Scriptures? Could it so early follow the flight of the Holy Spirit across the worlds? Or was it merely attracted by the romantic touches which abound in those Oriental poems! Our narrative will answer these questions to some readers.
One thing resulted from this first reading of the Bible: Louis went all over Montoire begging for books, and he obtained them by those winning ways peculia