“You would do him very great injustice if you imagined he knew anything about it. I told you that he, or his like, purified the lodge of all the elements of higher life. They humanized it, they modernized it. God save the mark! They rescued it from false gods and restored it to usefulness, reason and progress, for making war upon princes and priests, in short for social amelioration. In it they once more discuss nature, virtue, moderation, the fatherland. In a word, it is a godforsaken bourgeoisiedom, in the form of a club.”

“What a pity! Too bad about the feasts of roses! I mean to ask Settembrini if he hears anything about them nowadays.”