Quotation from: Nostromo: A Tale of the Seaboard

Written by: Joseph Conrad


"I recognized something impassive and careless in its tone,
characteristic of that Genoese sailor who, like me, has come casually
here to be drawn into the events for which his scepticism as well as
mine seems to entertain a sort of passive contempt. The only thing he
seems to care for, as far as I have been able to discover, is to be well
spoken of. An ambition fit for noble souls, but also a profitable one
for an exceptionally intelligent scoundrel. Yes. His very words, 'To
be well spoken of. Si, senor.' He does not seem to make any difference
between speaking and thinking. Is it sheer naiveness or the practical
point of view, I wonder? Exceptional individualities always interest me,
because they are true to the general formula expressing the moral state
of humanity.

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