Literature Network » Anatole France

Gratitude: reflections on what we owe to our country. (book excerpt) (special issue: 35th Anniversary 1955-1990)

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From: National Review
Date: 19901105
Author:Buckley, William F., Jr.

I HAVE ALWAYS thought Anatole France's story of the juggler to be one of enduring moral resonance. This is the arresting and affecting tale of the young monk who aspires to express his devotion to the Virgin Mary, having dejectedly reviewed, during his first week as a postulant at the monastery alongside Our Lady of Sorrows, the prodigies and gifts of his fellow monks. Oh, some sang like nightingales, others played their musical instruments as virtuosi, still others rhapsodized with the tongues of poets. But all that this young novice had learned in the way of special skills ...

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