S, but benevolent visitors, friends we have almost expected, and they
will draw near us in silence.
They know in advance that the man before them is no longer the guilty
creature they sought; and instead of bringing hatred, revolt, and
despair, or punishments that degrade and kill, they will come charged
with
ennobling, consoling
and purifying thought and penance. 10 The things which differentiate the
happy and strong from those who weep and will not be consoled, all
derive
from the one same principle of confidence and ardour; and thus it is
that the manner in which we are able to recall what we have done or
suffered is far more important than our actual sufferings or deeds.
No past, viewed by itself, can seem happy; and the privileged of fate,
who reflect on what remains of the happy years that have flown, have
perhaps more reason for sorrow than the unfortunate ones who brood over
the dregs
of a life of wretchedness. Whatever was one day and
has now ceased to be, makes for sadness; above all, whatever was very
happy and very beautiful. The object of our regrets--whether these
revolve around what has been or might have been--is therefore more or
less the same for all men, and their sorrow should be the same. It is
not, however; in one case it
