alignments/108/aeneas/00004-elective_map.csv

f000001,15.680,17.040,"start of chapter."
f000002,17.040,21.200,"THE topographical chart of the property and its envi rons was completed."
f000003,21.200,35.560,"It was executed on a considerable scale; the character of the particular localities was made intelligible by various colors; and by means of a trigo nometrical survey, the Captain had been able to arrive at a very fair exactness of measurement."
f000004,35.560,37.600,"He had been rapid in his work."
f000005,37.600,48.120,"There was scarcely ever any one who could do with less sleep than this most laborious man; and, as his day was always devoted to an immediate pur pose, every evening something had been done."
f000006,48.120,53.920,"Let us now, he said to his friend, go on to what remains for us, to the statistics of the estate."
f000007,53.920,62.040,"We shall have a good deal of work to get through at the beginning, and afterward we shall come to the farm estimates, and much else which will naturally arise out of them."
f000008,62.040,65.720,"Only we must have one thing distinctly settled and adhered to."
f000009,65.720,70.200,"Everything which is properly business we must keep care fully separate from life."
f000010,70.200,74.680,"Business requires earnestness and method; life must have a freer handling."
f000011,74.680,83.200,"Business demands the utmost stringency and sequence; in life, in consecutiveness is frequently necessary, indeed, is charm ing and graceful."
f000012,83.200,92.600,"If you are firm in the first, you can Elective Affinities afford yourself more liberty in the second; while if you mix them, you will find the free interfering with and breaking in upon the fixed."
f000013,92.600,96.280,"In these sentiments Edward felt a slight reflection upon himself."
f000014,96.280,101.600,"Though not naturally disorderly, he could never bring himself to arrange his papers in their proper places."
f000015,101.600,106.760,"What he had to do in connection with others was not kept separate from what only depended on himself."
f000016,106.760,110.960,"Business got mixed up with amusement, and serious work with recreation."
f000017,110.960,121.360,"Now, however, it was easy for him, with the help of a friend, who would take the trouble upon him self; and a second I worked out the separation, to which the single I was always unequal."
f000018,121.360,127.600,"In the Captain's wing, they contrived a depositary for what concerned the present, and an archive for the past."
f000019,127.600,134.480,"Here they brought all the documents, papers, and notes from their various hidingplaces, rooms, drawers, and boxes, with the utmost speed."
f000020,134.480,141.120,"Harmony and order were introduced into the wilderness, and the different packets were marked and registered in their several pigeonholes."
f000021,141.120,154.520,"They found all they wanted in greater completeness even than they had expected; and here an old clerk was found of no slight service, who for the whole day and part of the night never left his desk, and with whom, till then, Edward had been always dissatisfied."
f000022,154.520,159.000,"I should not know him again, he said to his friend, the man is so handy and useful."
f000023,159.000,168.720,"That, replied the Captain, is because we give him nothing fresh to do till he has finished, at his convenience, Elective Affinities what he has already; and so, as you perceive, he gets through a geat deal."
f000024,168.720,172.200,"If you disturb him, he becomes useless at once."
f000025,172.200,177.840,"Spending their days together in this way, in the even ings they never neglected their regular visits to Char lotte."
f000026,177.840,186.800,"If there was no party from the neighborhood, as was often the case, they read and talked, principally on subjects connected with the improvement of the condition of social life."
f000027,186.800,194.240,"Charlotte, always accustomed to make the most of op portunities, not only saw her husband pleased, but found personal advantages for herself."
f000028,194.240,202.520,"Various domestic ar rangements which she had long wished to make, but which she did not know exactly how to set about, were managed for her through the contrivance of the Captain."
f000029,202.520,218.080,"Her domestic medicinechest, hitherto but poorly fur nished, was enlarged and enriched, and Charlotte herself, with the help of good books and personal instruction, was put in the way of being able to exercise her disposition to be of practical assistance more frequently and more effi ciently than before."
f000030,218.080,234.760,"In providing against accidents, which, though common, yet only too often find us unprepared, they thought it es pecially necessary to have at hand whatever is required for the recovery of drowning men accidents of this kind, from the number of canals, reservoirs, and waterworks in the neighborhood, being of frequent occurrence."
f000031,234.760,244.640,"This department the Captain took expressly into his own hands; and the observation escaped Edward that a case Elective Affinities of this kind had made a very singular epoch in the life of his friend."
f000032,244.640,249.400,"The latter made no reply, but seemed to be trying to escape from a painful recollection."
f000033,249.400,257.240,"Edward im mediately stopped; and Charlotte, who, as well as he, had a general knowledge of the story, took no notice of the expression."
f000034,257.240,261.000,"These preparations are all exceedingly valuable' said the Captain one evening."
f000035,261.000,267.960,"Now, however, we have not got the one thing which is most essential a sensible man who understands how to manage it all."
f000036,267.960,271.720,"I know an army surgeon, whom I could exactly recommend for the place."
f000037,271.720,274.240,"You might get him at this moment, on easy terms."
f000038,274.240,283.160,"He is highly distinguished in his profession, and has fre quently done more for me, in the treatment even of vio lent inward disorders, than celebrated physicians."
f000039,283.160,286.560,"Help upon the spot is the thing you often most want in the country."
f000040,286.560,297.560,"He was written for at once; and Edward and Char lotte were rejoiced to have found so good and necessary an object on which to expend so much of the money which they set apart for such accidental demands upon them."
f000041,297.560,309.760,"Thus Charlotte, too, found means of making use, for her purposes, of the Captain's knowledge and practical skill; and she began to be quite reconciled to his pres ence, and to feel easy about any consequences which might ensue."
f000042,309.760,320.480,"She commonly prepared questions to ask him; among other things, it was one of her anxieties to provide against whatever was prejudicial to health and comfort, against poisons and such like."
f000043,320.480,320.880,"The leadglazing on the A VOL."
f000044,320.880,328.240,"Elective Affinities china, the verdigris which formed about her copper and bronze vessels, etc., had long been a trouble to her."
f000045,328.240,334.320,"She got him to tell her about these, and, naturally, they often had to fall back on the first elements.of medicine and chemistry."
f000046,334.320,340.440,"An accidental but welcome occasion for entertainment of this kind was given by an inclination of Edward to read aloud."
f000047,340.440,350.720,"He had a particularly clear, deep voice, and earlier in life had earned himself a pleasant reputation for his feeling and lively recitations of works of poetry and oratory."
f000048,350.720,360.080,"At this time he was occupied with other sub jects, and the books which, for some time past, he had been reading, were either chemical, or on some other branch of natural or technical science."
f000049,360.080,370.000,"One of his especial peculiarities which, by the by, he very likely shares with a number of his fellowcrea tures was that he could not bear to have any one look ing over him when he was reading."
f000050,370.000,388.760,"In early life, when he used to read poems, plays, or stories, this had been the natural consequence of the desire which the reader feels, like the poet, or the actor, or the storyteller, to make surprises, to pause, to excite expectation; arjd this sort of effect was naturally defeated when a third person's eyes could run on before him, and see what was coming."
f000051,388.760,394.920,"On such occasions, therefore, he was accustomed to place himself in such a position that no one could get behind him."
f000052,394.920,407.560,"With a party of only three this was unnecessary; and as with the present subject there was no opportu nity for exciting feelings or giving the imagination a SO Elective Affinities surprise, he did not take any particular pains to protect himself."
f000053,407.560,413.000,"One evening he had placed himself carelessly, and Char lotte happened by accident to cast her eyes upon the page."
f000054,413.000,422.600,"His old impatience was aroused; he turned to her and said, almost unkindly: I do wish, once for all, you would leave off doing a thing so out of taste and so disagreeable."
f000055,422.600,427.680,"When I read aloud to a person is it not the same as if I was telling him something by word of mouth?"
f000056,427.680,432.400,"The written, the printed word, is in the place of my own thoughts, of my own heart."
f000057,432.400,445.560,"If a window were broken into my brain or into my heart, and if the man to whom I am counting out my thoughts, or delivering my sentiments, one by one, knew already beforehand exactly what was to come out of me, should I take the trouble to put them into words?"
f000058,445.560,449.160,"When anybody looks over my book, I always feel as if I were being torn in two."
f000059,449.160,459.720,"Charlotte's tact, in whatever circle she might be, large or small, was remarkable, and she was able to set aside disagreeable or excited expressions without appearing to notice them."
f000060,459.720,465.480,"When a conversation grew tedious, she knew how to interrupt it; when it halted, she could set it going."
f000061,465.480,468.520,"And this time her good gift did not forsake her."
f000062,468.520,474.040,"I am sure you will forgive me my fault, she said, when I tell you what it was this moment which came over me."
f000063,474.040,481.680,"I heard you reading something about Affinities, and I thought directly of some relations of mine, two of j whom are just now occupying me a great deal."
f000064,481.680,483.880,"Then Elective Affinities my attention went back to the book."
f000065,483.880,488.880,"I found it was not about living things at all, and I looked over to get the thread of it right again."
f000066,488.880,492.360,"It was the comparison which led you wrong and con fused you, said Edward."
f000067,492.360,495.240,"The subject is nothing but i earths and minerals."
f000068,495.240,503.960,"But man is a true Narcissus; he de lights to see his own image everywhere; and he spreads himself underneath the universe, like the amalgam be I hind the glass."
f000069,503.960,506.120,"Quite true, continued the Captain."
f000070,506.120,509.520,"That is the way in which he treats everything external to himself."
f000071,509.520,516.440,"His wisdom and his folly, his will and his caprice, he attributes alike to the animal, the plant, the elements, and the gods."
f000072,516.440,523.600,"Would you, said Charlotte, if it is not taking you away too much from the immediate subject, tell me briefly what is meant here by Affinities ?"
f000073,523.600,527.640,"I shall be very glad indeed, replied the Captain, to whom Charlotte had addressed herself."
f000074,527.640,530.040,"That is, I will tell you as well as I can."
f000075,530.040,536.800,"My ideas on the subject date ten years back; whether the scientific world continues to think the same about it, I can not tell."
f000076,536.800,542.680,"It is most disagreeable, cried Edward, that one can not nowadays learn a thing once for all, and have done with it."
f000077,542.680,551.280,"Our forefathers could keep to what they were taught when they were young; but we have, every five years, to make revolutions with them, if we do not wish to drop altogether out of fashion."
f000078,551.280,558.360,"We women need not be so particular, said Char Elective Affinities lotte; and, to speak the truth, I only want to know the meaning of the word."
f000079,558.360,567.880,"There is nothing more ridiculous in society than to misuse a strange technical word; and I only wish you to tell me in what sense the expression is made use of in connection with these things."
f000080,567.880,578.080,"What its scientific application is I am quite contented to leave to the learned; who, by the by, as far as I have been able to observe, do not find it easy to agree among themselves."
f000081,578.080,583.720,"Whereabouts shall we begin, said Edward, after a pause, to the Captain, to come most quickly to the point?"
f000082,583.720,591.000,"The latter, after thinking a little while, replied shortly : You must let me make what will seem a wide sweep; we shall be on our subject almost immediately."
f000083,591.000,594.440,"Charlotte settled her work at her side, promising the fullest attention."
f000084,594.440,602.880,"The Captain began : In all natural objects with which we are acquainted, we observe immediately that they have a certain relation to themselves."
f000085,602.880,613.120,"It may sound ridiculous to be asserting what is obvious to every one; but it is only by coming to a clear understanding together about what we know that we can advance to what we do not know."
f000086,613.120,630.400,"I think, interrupted Edward, we can make the thing more clear to her, and to ourselves, with examples; con ceive water, or oil, or quicksilver; among these you will see a certain oneness, a certain connection of their parts; and this oneness is never lost, except through force or Elective Affinities some other determining cause."
f000087,630.400,634.400,"Let the cause cease to operate, and at once the parts unite again."
f000088,634.400,646.800,"Unquestionably, said Charlotte, that is plain; rain drops readily unite and form streams; and when we were children, it was our delight to play with quicksilver, and wonder at the little globules splitting and parting and run ning into one another."
f000089,646.800,652.080,"And here, said the Captain, let me just cursorily mention one remarkable thing."
f000090,652.080,659.880,"I mean that the full, complete correlation of parts which the fluid state makes possible shows itself distinctly and universally in the glob ular form."
f000091,659.880,671.360,"The falling waterdrop is round; you yourself spoke of the globules of quicksilver; and a drop of melted lead let fall, if it has time to harden before it reaches the ground, is found at the bottom in the shape of a ball."
f000092,671.360,675.400,"Let me try and see, said Charlotte, whether I can understand where you are bringing me."
f000093,675.400,679.840,"As everything has a reference to itself, so it must have some relation to others."
f000094,679.840,685.800,"And that, interrupted Edward, will be different ac cording to the natural differences of the things them selves."
f000095,685.800,695.360,"Sometimes they will meet like friends and old acquaintances; they will come rapidly together, and unite without either having to alter itself at all as wine mixes with water."
f000096,695.360,703.200,"Others, again, will remain as strangers side by side, and no amount of mechanical mixing or forcing will succeed in combining them."
f000097,703.200,708.040,"Oil and water may be shaken up together, and the next moment they are sep arate again, each by itself."
f000098,708.040,730.360,"Elective Affinities One can almost fancy, said Charlotte, that in these simple forms one sees people that one is acquainted with; one has met with just such things in the societies among which one has lived; and the strangest likenesses of all with these soulless creatures are in the masses in which men stand divided one against the other in their classes and professions; the nobility and the third estate, for in stance, or soldiers and civilians."
f000099,730.360,741.400,"Then again, replied Edward, as these are united together under common laws and customs, so there are intermediate members in our chemical world which will combine elements that are mutually repulsive."
f000100,741.400,749.000,"Oil, for instance, said the Captain, we make com bine with water with the help of alkalis  Do not go on too fast with your lesson, said Char lotte."
f000101,749.000,751.320,"Let me see that I keep step with you."
f000102,751.320,753.840,"Are we not here arrived among the affinities?"
f000103,753.840,768.160,"Exactly, replied the Captain; we are on the point of apprehending them in all their power and distinctness; such natures as, when they come in contact, at once lay hold of each other, and mutually affect one another, we speak of as having an affinity for the other."
f000104,768.160,771.960,"With the alkalis and acids, for instance, the affinities are strikingly marked."
f000105,771.960,786.480,"They are of opposite natures; very likely their being of opposite natures is the secret of their effect on one another they seek one another eagerly out, lay hold of each other, modify each other's character, and form in connection an entirely new substance."
f000106,786.480,793.920,"There is lime, you remember, which shows the strongest inclination for all Elective Affinities sorts of acids a distinct desire of combining with them."
f000107,793.920,802.880,"As soon as our chemical chest arrives, we can show you a number of entertaining experiments, which will give you a clearer idea than words and names and technical. expressions."
f000108,802.880,812.960,"It appears to me, said Charlotte, that if you choose to call these strange creatures of yours related, the rela tionship is not so much a relationship of blood as of soul or of spirit."
f000109,812.960,821.120,"It is the way in which we see all really deep friendships arise among men; opposite peculiarities of disposition being what best makes internal union pos sible."
f000110,821.120,830.320,"But I will wait to see what you can really show me of these mysterious proceedings; and for the present, she added, turning to Edward, I will promise not to disturb you any more in your reading."
f000111,830.320,834.120,"You have taught me enough of what it is about to enable me to attend to it."
f000112,834.120,839.440,"No, no, replied Edward, now that you have once stirred the thing, you shall not get off so easily."
f000113,839.440,842.520,"It is just the most complicated cases which are the most interest ing."
f000114,842.520,850.240,"In these you come first to see the degrees of the affinities, to watch them as their power of attraction is weaker or stronger, nearer or more remote."
f000115,850.240,854.680,"Affinities only begin really to interest when they bring about sep l arations."
f000116,854.680,862.280,"What! cried Charlotte, is that miserable word, which unhappily we hear so often nowadays in the world; is that to be found in nature's lessons too ?"
f000117,862.280,869.920,"Most certainly answered Edward; the title with Elective Affinities which chemists were supposed to be most honorably dis tinguished was, artists of separation."
f000118,869.920,874.720,"It is not so any more, replied Charlotte; and it is well that it is not."
f000119,874.720,878.000,"It is a higher art, and it is a higher merit, to unite."
f000120,878.000,882.200,"An artist of union is what we should welcome in every province of the universe."
f000121,882.200,886.680,"However, as we are on the subject again, give me an instance or two of what you mean."
f000122,886.680,891.480,"We had better keep, said the Captain, to the same instances of which we have already been speaking."
f000123,891.480,900.680,"Thus, what we call limestone is a more or less pure calcareous earth in combination with a delicate acid, which is famil iar to us in the form of a gas."
f000124,900.680,911.120,"Now, if we place a piece of this stone in diluted sulphuric acid, this will take pos session of the lime, and appear with it in the form of gypsum, the gaseous acid at the same going off in vapor."
f000125,911.120,923.440,"Here is a case of separation; a combination arises, and we believe ourselves now justified in applying to it the words 'Elective Affinity'; it really looks as if one relation had been deliberately chosen in preference to another."
f000126,923.440,927.160,"Forgive me, said Charlotte, as I forgive the natural philosopher."
f000127,927.160,932.760,"I can not see any choice in this; I see a natural necessity rather, and scarcely that."
f000128,932.760,935.440,"After all, it is perhaps merely a case of opportunity."
f000129,935.440,946.200,"Opportunity makes relations as it makes thieves; and as long as the talk is only of natural substances, the choice to me appears to be altogether in the hands of the chemist who brings the creatures together."
f000130,946.200,949.720,"Once, however, let them be brought together, and then God have mercy on them."
f000131,949.720,956.640,"In Elective Affinities the present case, I can not help being sorry for the poor acid gas which is driven out, up, and down infinity again."
f000132,956.640,965.360,"The acid's business, answered the Captain, is now to get connected with water, and so serve as a mineral fountain for the refreshing of sound or disordered man kind."
f000133,965.360,968.480,"That is very well for the gypsum to say, said Char lotte."
f000134,968.480,971.760,"The gypsum is all right, is a body, is provided for."
f000135,971.760,977.360,"The other poor, desolate creature may have trouble enough to go through before it can find a second home for itself."
f000136,977.360,982.840,"I am much mistaken, said Edward, smiling, if there be not some little hidden meaning behind this."
f000137,982.840,984.400,"Confess your wickedness !"
f000138,984.400,994.800,"You mean me by your lime; the lime is laid hold of by the Captain, in the form of sulphuric acid, torn away from your agreeable society, and meta morphosed into a refractory gypsum."
f000139,994.800,1000.840,"If your conscience prompts you to make such a reflec tion, replied Charlotte, I certainly need not distress myself."
f000140,1000.840,1006.520,"These comparisons are pleasant and entertain ing; and who is there that does not like playing with anal ogies?"
f000141,1006.520,1021.680,"But man is raised very many steps above these elements; and if he has been somewhat liberal with such fine words as Election and Elective Affinities, he will do well to turn back again into himself, and take the oppor tunity of considering carefully the value and meaning of such expressions."
f000142,1021.680,1036.560,"Unhappily, we know cases enough where a connection, apparently indissoluble between two Elective Affinities persons, has, by the accidental introduction of a third, been utterly destroyed, and one or the other of the once happily united pair been driven out into the wilderness."
f000143,1036.560,1040.200,"Then you see how much more gallant the chemists are, said Edward."
f000144,1040.200,1043.560,"They at once add a fourth, that neither may go away empty."
f000145,1043.560,1045.600,"Quite so, replied the Captain."
f000146,1045.600,1064.720,"And those are the cases which are really most important and remarkable cases where this attraction, this affinity, this separating and combining, can be exhibited, the two pairs severally crossing each other; where four creatures, connected pre viously, as two and two, are brought into contact, and at once forsake their first combination to form into a second."
f000147,1064.720,1079.760,"In this forsaking and embracing, this seeking and flying, we believe that we are indeed observing the effects of some higher determination; we attribute a sort of will and choice to such creatures, and feel really justified in using technical words, and speaking of 'Elective Affinities.'"
f000148,1079.760,1082.160,"Give me an instance of this, said Charlotte."
f000149,1082.160,1085.520,"One should not spoil such things with words, replied the Captain."
f000150,1085.520,1091.240,"As I said before, as soon as I can show you the experiment, I can make it all intelligible and pleasant for you."
f000151,1091.240,1098.000,"For the present, I can give you noth ing but horrible scientific expressions, which at the same time will give you no idea about the matter."
f000152,1098.000,1105.960,"You ought yourself to see these creatures, which seem so dead, and which are yet so full of inward energy and force at work before your eyes."
f000153,1105.960,1109.280,"You should observe them with a real Elective Affinities personal interest."
f000154,1109.280,1134.280,"Now they seek each other out, attract each other, seize, crush, devour, destroy each other, and then suddenly reappear again out of their combinations, and come forward in fresh, renovated, unexpected form; thus you will comprehend how we attribute to them a sort of immortality how we speak of them as having sense and understanding; because we feel our own senses to be insufficient to observe them adequately, and our reason too weak to follow them."
f000155,1134.280,1150.280,"I quite agree, said Edward, that the strange scien tific nomenclature to persons who have not been recon ciled to it by a direct acquaintance with or understanding of its object must seem unpleasant, even ridiculous; but we can easily just for once, contrive with symbols to illustrate what we are speaking of."
f000156,1150.280,1155.280,"If you do not think it looks pedantic, answered the Captain, I can put my meaning together with letters."
f000157,1155.280,1162.880,"Suppose an A connected so closely with a B that all sorts of means, even violence, have been made use of to separate them, without effect."
f000158,1162.880,1166.560,"Then suppose a C in exactly the same position with respect to D."
f000159,1166.560,1176.840,"Bring the two pairs into contact; A will fling himself on D, C on B, without its being possible to say which had first left its first con nection, or made the first move toward the second."
f000160,1176.840,1185.640,"Now then, interposed Edward, till we see all this with our eyes, we will look upon the formula as an anal ogy, out of which we can devise a lesson for immediate use."
f000161,1185.640,1194.040,"You stand for A, Charlotte, and I am your B; really and truly I cling to you, I depend on you, and fol Elective Affinities low you, just as B does with A."
f000162,1194.040,1198.000,"C is obviously the Cap tain, who at present is in some degree withdrawing me from you."
f000163,1198.000,1206.240,"So now it is only just that if you are not to be left to solitude, a D should be found for you, and that is unquestionably the amiable little lady, Ottilie."
f000164,1206.240,1209.200,"You will not hesitate any longer to send and fetch her."
f000165,1209.200,1214.600,"Good, replied Charlotte; although the example does not, in my opinion, exactly fit our case."
f000166,1214.600,1223.560,"However, we have been fortunate, at any rate, in today for once hav ing met all together; and these natural or elective affini ties have served to unite us more intimately."
f000167,1223.560,1227.600,"I will tell you that since this afternoon I have made up my mind to send for Ottilie."
f000168,1227.600,1233.320,"My faithful housekeeper, on whom I have hitherto depended for everything, is going to leave me shortly, to be married."
f000169,1233.320,1236.320,"It was done at my own sug gestion, I believe, to please me."
f000170,1236.320,1240.160,"What it is which has decided me about Ottilie, you shall read to me."
f000171,1240.160,1242.240,"I will not look over the pages again."
f000172,1242.240,1244.960,"Indeed, the contents of them are already known to me."
f000173,1244.960,1246.760,"Only read, read !"
f000174,1246.760,1250.760,"With these words, she produced a letter, and handed it to Edward."
f000175,1250.760,1250.920,"End of chapter."