No law, no ideal and abstract rule, existed for him;

"he examined things only with reference to their immediate
usefulness; a general principle was repugnant to him, either as so
much nonsense or as an enemy."

Now, if we contemplate Guérin's portrait,[34] we see a spare body,
whose narrow shoulders under the uniform wrinkled by sudden movements,
the neck swathed in its high twisted cravat, the temples covered by
long, smooth, straight hair, exposing only the mask, the hard features
intensified through strong contrasts of light and shade, the cheeks
hollow up to the inner angle of the eye, the projecting cheek-bones,
the massive, protuberant jaw, the sinuous, mobile lips, pressed
together as if attentive, the large, clear eyes, deeply sunk under the
broad, arched eyebrows, the fixed, oblique look, as penetrating as a
rapier, and the two creases which extend from the base of the nose to
the brow, as if in a frown of suppressed anger and determined will.
Add to this the accounts of his contemporaries[35] who saw or heard
the curt accent or the sharp, abrupt gesture, the interrogating,
imperious, absolute tone of voice, and we comprehend how, the moment
they accosted him, they felt the dominating hand which seizes them,
presses them down, holds them firmly and never relaxes its grasp.

Already, at the receptions of the Directory, when conversing with men,
or even with ladies, he puts questions "which prove the superiority of
the questioner to those who have to answer them."[36] "Are you
married?" says he to this one, and "How many children have you? "to
another. To that one, "When did you come here?" or, again, "When are
you going away ? He places himself in front of a French lady, well-
known for her beauty and wit and the vivacity of her opinions, "like