The Malefactor

Excerpt from The Malefactor
Life is the same, the world over, another man remarked. With every forward step in civilisation, life must become more mechanical. London is no worse than Paris, or Paris than Tokio.
Aynesworth Shook his head. I don't agree with you, he replied. It is the same, more or less, with all European countries, but the Saxon temperament, with its mixture of philosophy and philistinism, more than any other, gravitates towards the life mechanical. Existence here has become fossilised. We wear a mask upon our faces; we carry a gauge for our emotions. Lovell is going where the one great force of primitive life remains. He is going to see war. He is going to breathe an atmosphere hot with naked passion; he is going to rub shoulders with men who walk hand in hand with death. That 's the sort of tonic we all want, to remind us that we are human beings with blood in our veins, and not sawdust-stuffed dolls.
Then Lovell broke silence. He took his pipe from his mouth, and he addressed Aynesworth.
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