He was half-dead. We were speaking of counter-attacks; even those which can have only posthumous effects require, in order to be “set up” effectively, the sacrifice of some part of one’s forces. M. de Charlus had too little strength left to embark on such a preparation. We often hear about mortal enemies who open their eyes only to see each other on the point of death and die happy. That must be a rare occurrence, except where death has caught us in the midst of life. On the contrary, it is when we have nothing more to lose that we lose the will to face risks which we should have taken quite
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