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The excerpt represents the core issue or deciding factor on which you must meditate, and is drawn from Melmoth Reconciled by Honore de Balzac: The man who had looked so good-humored and good-natured had suddenly
grown tyrannical and proud. The courtesan thought that Castanier had
grown thinner; there was a terrible majesty in his brow; it was as if
a dragon breathed forth a malignant influence that weighed upon the
others like a close, heavy atmosphere. For a moment Aquilina knew not
what to do.
"What has passed between you and that diabolical-looking man in those
few minutes?" she asked at length.
"I have sold my soul to him. I feel it; I am no longer the same. He
has taken my SELF, and given me his soul in exchange."
"What?"
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