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"I want to attempt a thing like that and am frightened by these

trifles," he thought, with an odd smile. "Hm... yes, all is in a

man's hands and he lets it all slip from cowardice, that's an

axiom. It would be interesting to know what it is men are most

afraid of. Taking a new step, uttering a new word is what they

fear most.... But I am talking too much. It's because I chatter

that I do nothing. Or perhaps it is that I chatter because I do

nothing. I've learned to chatter this last month, lying for days

together in my den thinking... of Jack the Giant-killer. Why am I

going there now? Am I capable of that? Is that serious? It is not

serious at all. It's simply a fantasy to amuse myself; a

plaything! Yes, maybe it is a plaything."