"No one ever did anything mean to anyone else yet save for their good, and so it will be until the end of this frail planet. "The Staircase - Hugh Walpole

It was on a March afternoon of

he decided at last (and he was very young for so terrible a discovery) that it was because his father liked beating him that he was afraid. He knew that his father liked it because he had watched his mouth and had heard the noise that came through his lips. And this, again, was rather strange because his father did not look as though he would like it; he had a cold face like a stone and was always in black clothes, but he did not, as a rule, show that he was pleased or angry or sorry — he never showed things.

Le monde est une comédie pour ceux qui réfléchissent et une tragédie pour ceux qui sentent.