..
[Footnote 1: Leopardi.]
It is necessary to answer these men, to give them a reason for living,
but there is no such need for a man of Clerambault's age; his life
is over, and all he requires is to free his conscience as a sort of
public bequest.
To young people who have all their life before them, it is not enough
to contemplate truth across a heap of corpses; whatever the past may
have been, the future alone counts for them. Let us clear away the
ruins!
What causes them the most pain? Their own suffering?
No, it is their lack of faith in the altar on which this suffering was
laid--(does a man regret if he sacrifices himself for the woman he
loves, or for his child?)--This doubt poisons them, takes away the
courage to pursue their way, because they fear to find only despair
at the end. This is why people say to you: "Never shake the ideal of
Country, it ought rather to be built up." What a derision! As if it
were possible to restore a lost faith by force of will! We deceive
ourselves; we know it in the bottom of our hearts, and this
consciousness kills courage and joy.
Let us be brave enough to reject that in which we no longer believe.
The trees drop their leaves in the autumn in order that they may put
forth new leaves in the spring.
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