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Yorick meets the old French soldier at the Opera comique in Paris, where they share a box. When they see a tall German man blocking the view of a dwarf, the old French soldier convinces an opera employee to rectify the situation on the dwarf’s behalf, which makes Yorick applaud. Later, when Yorick overhears members of the crowd yelling at a priest to keep his hands up while standing near some young women, the old French soldier explains the vulgar joke they are making, notes that all countries have good and bad points, and expounds on the value of learning about different kinds of people to grow in “mutual toleration” and “mutual love.” Because of this cosmopolitan attitude, the old French soldier represents—like Count de B****—the value of learning about foreign countries and caring about foreign people.
Old French Soldier Quotes in A Sentimental Journey
The A Sentimental Journey quotes below are all either spoken by Old French Soldier or refer to Old French Soldier. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Volume 1
Quotes
There is not a secret so aiding to the progress of sociality, as to get master of this short hand, and be quick in rendering the several turns of looks and limbs, with all their inflections and delineations, into plain words. For my own part, by long habitude, I do it so mechanically, that when I walk the streets of London, I go translating all the way; and have more than once stood behind in the circle, where not three words have been said, and have brought off twenty different dialogues with me, which I could have fairly wrote down and sworn to.
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Explanation and Analysis:
[T]here is a balance, said he, of good and bad every where; and nothing but the knowing it is so can emancipate one half of the world from the prepossessions which it holds against the other—that the advantage of travel, as it regarded sçavoir vivre, was by seeing a great deal both of men and manners; it taught us mutual toleration; and mutual toleration, concluded he, making me a bow, taught us mutual love.
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Old French Soldier Quotes in A Sentimental Journey
The A Sentimental Journey quotes below are all either spoken by Old French Soldier or refer to Old French Soldier. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Volume 1
Quotes
There is not a secret so aiding to the progress of sociality, as to get master of this short hand, and be quick in rendering the several turns of looks and limbs, with all their inflections and delineations, into plain words. For my own part, by long habitude, I do it so mechanically, that when I walk the streets of London, I go translating all the way; and have more than once stood behind in the circle, where not three words have been said, and have brought off twenty different dialogues with me, which I could have fairly wrote down and sworn to.
Related Characters:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
[T]here is a balance, said he, of good and bad every where; and nothing but the knowing it is so can emancipate one half of the world from the prepossessions which it holds against the other—that the advantage of travel, as it regarded sçavoir vivre, was by seeing a great deal both of men and manners; it taught us mutual toleration; and mutual toleration, concluded he, making me a bow, taught us mutual love.
