It Is Impossible for a Moralist Not to Look Bitter

It is impossible for a moralist not to look bitter to ordinary minds, because the conclusions he reaches are extremely bitter when the moral sense that pulsates through him is set against worldly reality. Being a moralist necessarily entails this predisposition to unpleasant remarks. All his work is an effort to face and scrutinize that which an ordinary mind avoids; and if he advances, he does so only out of a desire for clarification and a duty of sincerity. This is why, if one day he finally slows down, if his lines exhibit an almost beatific serenity, he deserves our admiration and recognition: this will never happen unless he has conquered the problems on which he has focused.