… is from page 201 of Margaret Shaw’s 1953 translation of Stendhal’s (Marie-Henri Beyle’s) 1830 novel, Scarlet and Black (Le Rouge et le Noir):
[A]ll competent reasoning gives offense.
DBx: Competent reasoning reveals to all with reasonably open minds that reality is not optional. This revelation disturbs those who are served by fantasies, whether that service be material, ideological, or psychological.
