The eloquent speech was not greeted with applause, except for the acquiescence of Princess Mathilde. Apparently the ass decided the side, and it was this group of people who shouted praises of Bonaparte and denounced the people as mobs.

When the people around him were silent, and even Sainte-Beuve pinned his face to the side, he knew that no one supported Garion at the salon party.

Mérimé leaned on crutches, kept a polite smile, and said slowly, "Your Excellency Garion, literature has a standard for judging. If even the people in this room can't decide what is good and bad, then what else is needed for authority? Do you think that writing a revolutionary poem and winning the applause of some people can criticize literature and art? Sorry, you can't. ”

Garion sneered, "It seems to me that it's not up to you to decide whether you can do or not, Lord Mérimée. ”

"Oh? Who decides that? ”

"People."

Garion ruthlessly exposed the filthiness carefully concealed by the scum of the literary world, and said bluntly, "The poems of the court poets are only to please the royal family, praise the glory of the monarch, and carefully cover up the scandal." They will not turn their gaze to the poor, struggling people. Remember my earlier "To Monsieur Mérimée"? I'd rather not get the freedom of getting out of the dog's hole! ”

The last sentence would rather not explode in the living room, as if for a moment something was gripping Sainte-Beuve's heart.

The Tao is different, and it is not conspiratory. Knowing that he would not be recognized if he continued to stay in the mansion, Garion stood up to say goodbye to Princess Mathilde.

"You don't have to ......"

Garion was very respectful to Princess Mathilde, he nodded and apologized, "I'm really sorry to cause trouble to the princess, I apologize for the care of Her Royal Highness the princess, but I won't participate in the future literary salon." So as not to embarrass Her Royal Highness. ”

In the incomprehensible, disdainful, and indifferent gazes of everyone, Garion's lonely back walked in the direction of the door of the mansion.

Like an uncrowned king.

The meeting at the mansion ended up unhappily, and the conservative literati who originally wanted to give Garian a dismount hit the nail. Even though Princess Mathilde was interested in getting Garion to join her salon party, she was still unusually tough on matters of principle.

Mérimée's face was gloomy when he was refuted, and he originally wanted to accept Galian's apology as if he were the victor, but he was greeted by a ruthless counterattack from the other party.

After Garion left, he had no choice but to say goodbye to Princess Mathilde, and made a secret note.

The elegant old fox on crutches was not in a hurry, quietly waiting for the moment when the other party made a mistake. If you want to get ahead in Paris, you have to get over yourself in the end. Mérimée was the representative of the mainstream of Bonaparte's official literature.

Garion left the mansion and took a deep breath of fresh air, he really couldn't be in the same room as the conservative guys, he used to think that the literati were contemptuous, but now it seems that the 19th-century writers are simply in the same party.

Men will only have a harmonious atmosphere when they talk about women, and when it comes to political topics, it will inevitably be bloody.

At this time, the house where Garion settled had not yet been found. After leaving the mansion, he returned to Zola's rented house. But when he pushed the door open, he saw a familiar face sitting in his seat, chatting and laughing with Zola.

Dude saw Garion walk in the door, and the other party quickly stood up, walked up quickly, and then stretched out his hand towards Garrian, and said with an excited expression, "Mr. Garion, I've finally waited for you." ”

Garion paused for a moment and said, "Huh? Dude, you're here? ”

Garion hung his hat on the coat rack and looked at Dude, still wearing a shabby coat, but he couldn't hide his bright eyes. Compared with the richly dressed but withered poets of the Cussell Street House, Dude seems more like a symbol of a new life.

"Looking at your gloomy face, Princess Mathilde's salon party seems to have broken up?"

Zola interjected, "Isn't that group of official literati full of superiority?" ”

"It's a pool of stagnant water."

Garion thought for a moment before using this most apt description.

"It's just a group of old stubbornness who rely on the royal family to support their backs, and they show a sense of superiority. Of course, these people also look down on the works that the masses like to see. In their eyes, the works of revolutionary poets are just a pile of toilet waste. ”

"Your remarks were heard by those who squeezed their heads and wanted to enter the official salon, aren't you angry?"

Zola and Dude were caught off guard by Garion's remarks, and while everyone was proud of moving closer to the authorities and gaining recognition, he stood up alone and denounced the hypocrisy of the conservatives.

Dude asked in a low voice, "Lord Garion, what are you going to ...... Decline invitations to official salons. ”

Garion walked over to the table and poured himself a glass of water. Leaning against the edge of the wooden table, he said to Dude, "I'm sorry, I'm naturally allergic to this group of people, and I can't walk together, and I don't plan to get involved." If I could, I would now like to create a salon of unsuccessful writers who are so talented that they cannot be recognized. ”

"Another sect?"

"It's a way out for depressed writers."

Garion looked at Dude in front of him, as if recalling the literary and artistic battles that once took place in this land.

When Hugo's play "Onani" was released, the conservative literati of the classical school lashed out at them, even throwing garbage at the auditorium at the Opéra de France, when a cabbage leaf hit Monsieur Balzac in the head, and drove Hugo to the ground. However, no matter how much they slander and criticize, it can't change the success of "Onani", let alone the fact that the classical school will eventually decline. ”

"That's the first thing I want to say to you, don't blindly follow literary authority."

"Literature and art should be tested among the masses through practice. Whether the image can stand up and whether it is liked by the people is not something that can be counted with the approval of your leaders. The quality of a work of art should be answered by the masses, not by the authorities; If there is a mistake in principle and a work that is contrary to society, we must boyish it, and we must not allow it to run rampant freely, let alone claim that literature and art can be divorced from social morality, as His Excellency Gautier did. ”

"So the people like it, you don't like it, how old are you?"

Shocking remarks, a literati full of personality.

This was Dude's first impression of Garion.

"So ......"

Dude asked curiously, "When does Lord Garion plan to set up the Salon of Defeat?" ”

"Wait."

Garion moved his muscles and said calmly, "I have something to do before that. ”