known do not belong only to the spatial world where we now position them for our convenience.  They were but a thin slice from the middle of the contiguous impressions that formed our life at that time; remembrance of a certain image is but regret for a certain instant; and houses, roads, and avenues are as fleeting, alas, as the years” (Proust, A la recherche du temps perdu).

After all, the pleasure of French is perhaps the pleasure of connections.

Finally, these thanks would be incomplete if I did not now mention my colleagues, collaborators, and students in the Department of French and Italian and of other departments of the University of Wisconsin, as well as my colleagues in the Cultural Services of Chicago, many of whom are with us today.  For you, ladies and gentlemen, I shall pronounce two of the most beautiful words in the French language: “amities” (friendly regards) and “merci” (thanks).