"Bon-Bon" - читать интересную книгу автора (Poe Edgar Allan)

fulfilling his hereditary duties in that line, our hero wanted a
proper estimation of their dignity and importance. Far from it. It was
impossible to say in which branch of his profession he took the
greater pride. In his opinion the powers of the intellect held
intimate connection with the capabilities of the stomach. I am not
sure, indeed, that he greatly disagreed with the Chinese, who held
that the soul lies in the abdomen. The Greeks at all events were
right, he thought, who employed the same words for the mind and the
diaphragm. By this I do not mean to insinuate a charge of gluttony, or
indeed any other serious charge to the prejudice of the metaphysician.
If Pierre Bon-Bon had his failings- and what great man has not a
thousand?- if Pierre Bon-Bon, I say, had his failings, they were
failings of very little importance- faults indeed which, in other
tempers, have often been looked upon rather in the light of virtues.
As regards one of these foibles, I should not even have mentioned it
in this history but for the remarkable prominency- the extreme alto
relievo- in which it jutted out from the plane of his general
disposition. He could never let slip an opportunity of making a
bargain.
Not that he was avaricious- no. It was by no means necessary to the
satisfaction of the philosopher, that the bargain should be to his own
proper advantage. Provided a trade could be effected- a trade of any
kind, upon any terms, or under any circumstances- a triumphant smile
was seen for many days thereafter to enlighten his countenance, and
a knowing wink of the eye to give evidence of his sagacity.
At any epoch it would not be very wonderful if a humor so peculiar
as the one I have just mentioned, should elicit attention and
remark. At the epoch of our narrative, had this peculiarity not
attracted observation, there would have been room for wonder indeed.
It was soon reported that, upon all occasions of the kind, the smile
of Bon-Bon was wont to differ widely from the downright grin with
which he would laugh at his own jokes, or welcome an acquaintance.
Hints were thrown out of an exciting nature; stories were told of
perilous bargains made in a hurry and repented of at leisure; and
instances were adduced of unaccountable capacities, vague longings,
and unnatural inclinations implanted by the author of all evil for
wise purposes of his own.
The philosopher had other weaknesses- but they are scarcely worthy
our serious examination. For example, there are few men of
extraordinary profundity who are found wanting in an inclination for
the bottle. Whether this inclination be an exciting cause, or rather a
valid proof of such profundity, it is a nice thing to say. Bon-Bon, as
far as I can learn, did not think the subject adapted to minute
investigation;- nor do I. Yet in the indulgence of a propensity so
truly classical, it is not to be supposed that the restaurateur
would lose sight of that intuitive discrimination which was wont to
characterize, at one and the same time, his essais and his
omelettes. In his seclusions the Vin de Bourgogne had its allotted
hour, and there were appropriate moments for the Cotes du Rhone.
With him Sauterne was to Medoc what Catullus was to Homer. He would