#cocotte

At present I am approximately thirty thousand francs in debt, which is very reasonable for me. I find nothing alarming about this figure, and don't mind admitting that it is sometimes higher. There it is, it's an obsession I have, along with plenty more; it is not my fault, after all; it is not I who dance too fast, it is the violins who can't keep up. When my current debts have been paid, I will lose no time in contracting new ones to justify the old and so as not to get out of the habit; it is stronger than I…

If louis are made to roll, and diamonds to glitter, I cannot be reproached with having perverted from their normal uses these noble things. With the latter I glittered, the former I set rolling. It was according to the rule, and all my sin has been a too great respect for the rule...

If louis are made to roll, and diamonds to glitter, I cannot be reproached with having perverted from their normal uses these noble things. With the latter I glittered, the former I set rolling. It was according to the rule, and all my sin has been a too great respect for the rule, rendering to the currency what belonged to Caesar, and to my creditors that which had ceased to belong to me. Honour and justice are satisfied. I have never deceived anybody, because I have never belonged to anybody. My independence was all my fortune, and I have known no other happiness; and it is still what attaches me to life; I prefer it to the richest necklaces, I mean necklaces which you cannot sell, because they do not belong to you.

Astuce Cuisine: Filet Mignon et Légumes dans Baeckeoffe