They hoped that he
would let himself be taught by their science, and like them, would
follow to their extreme limits the logical consequences of the
principles laid down. Clerambault resisted feebly, for he knew that
nothing can be done to convince a young man who has made himself part
of a system. Discussion is hopeless at that age. Earlier there is some
chance to act on him, when, as it were, the hermit-crab is looking for
his shell; and later something may be done when the shell begins to
wear and be uncomfortable; but when the coat is new, the only thing is
to let him wear it while it fits him. If he grows, or shrinks, he will
get another. We will force no one, but let no one try to put force on
us!
No one in this circle, at least in the early days, thought of
constraining Clerambault, but sometimes it seemed to him that his
ideas were strangely habited in the fashion of his hosts. What
unexpected echoes he heard on their lips! He let his friends talk,
while he himself said but little, but when he had left them, he would
feel troubled and rather ironical. "Are those my thoughts?" he would
say to himself. It is terribly difficult for one soul to communicate
with another, impossible perhaps, and who knows?... Nature is wiser
than we ... it may be that this is for our good.
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