I knew that good like bad becomes a routine, that the temporary tends to endure, that what is external permeates to the inside, and that the mask, given time, comes to be the face itself.
• p. 97
• p. 97
“
Je savais que le bien comme le mal est affaire de routine, que le temporaire se prolonge, que l'extérieur s'infiltre au dedans, et que le masque, à la longue, devient visage.
— Marguerite Yourcenar
What It Means
This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "Je savais que le bien comme le mal est affaire de routine, que le temporaire se prolonge, que l'extérieur s'infiltre au dedans, et que le masque, à la longue, devient visage." in the context of "I knew that good like bad becomes a routine, that the temporary tends to endure, that what is external permeates to the inside, and that the mask, given time, comes to be the face itself.
• p. 97" to mean that wisdom is timeless.
Source: Wikiquote: "Marguerite Yourcenar" (Quotes, Memoirs of Hadrian (1951): Mémoires d'Hadrien, English translation by Grace Frick in collaboration with Marguerite Yourcenar (1984), The page numbers below are from the English translation.)
The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
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About Marguerite Yourcenar
Marguerite Cleenewerck de Crayencour (June 8 1903 – December 17 1987) was a Belgian-born French novelist who wrote under the pseudonym Marguerite Yourcenar. She was the first woman to be elected to the Académie française.
About Marguerite Yourcenar
Marguerite Cleenewerck de Crayencour (June 8 1903 – December 17 1987) was a Belgian-born French novelist who wrote under the pseudonym Marguerite Yourcenar. She was the first woman to be elected to the Académie française.
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