midday
They fulfil their general purpose , and fall away . This simile applies to the majority of people . Not only poetry and romance , but history also , gives us instances wherein men and women differ and break away from accepted types , some in absurd or grotesque ways , others through the sheer force of gifted selfishness , and others still in natural , noble development of graces of heart and mind . '' `` Stop generalizing , and tell me , your silly , vain , flirtatious daughter , how I can be unconventional in this prosaic midday of civilization . '' `` Prosaic day ? You are mistaken , Marian . There never was a period like it Barbaric principles , older than Abraham , are now to triumph , or give place to a better and more enlightened human nature .