Excerpt from Path and Goal: A Discussion on the Elements of Civilisation and the Conditions of Happiness IN the summer evenings during the year of the last International Exhibition held in London, native and foreign guests habitually met at the house of Gabriel de Mondoza for a friendly exchange of ideas. Cordova Lodge, situated in one of the northern suburbs, was an unpretending structure of moderate dimensions, but adorned with consummate taste and judgment. Nothing betrayed an affected reproduction of a peculiar style or a particular century; yet, whether owing to the statues, busts and pictures Of Greek deities and philosophers, which, besides some Original masterpieces Of the Italian school, studded the well-designed hall and principal apart ments, or whether owing to the refined simplicity and arrangement of furniture abundant but not crowded, elegant yet comfortable, the whole made an impression such as perhaps an ancient Athenian might have experienced when entering the Propylaea or the Parthenon. It was an atmosphere of calm cheerfulness inviting the mind at once to concentration and intercommunion. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.