As long as there is conscience, circumstances, no matter what they are, hold the possibility of acting or refraining from action. And it is always through activity that the spirit asserts itself in the world, using the time and energy available instead of wasting them. So act, imprinting conscience on the act, as long as exists the strength and conditions to do so; otherwise, life itself loses its justification.
The Extremes to Which Vanity Throws the Spirit
It never ceases to amaze the extremes to which vanity throws the spirit, fostering this despicable need to affirm one’s importance before others. With every manifestation of this kind, a bad feeling rises up in the observer, a feeling that only a saint could convert into pity and mercy. Indeed, moral charity is the most painful of all the virtues, and perhaps only possible for those touched by a higher inspiration.
This Sympathy That Springs Up…
This sympathy that springs up for those whose enemies we despise is inevitable, and it is a sympathy that intensifies the worse they are; a sympathy, therefore, that grows despite the merits of the sympathized. Injustice is deplorable, and greatly diminishes the appearance of faults. When we come across a target of human insidiousness and perfidy, there is no way we can remain impassive and, if not by affinity, by refusing malevolence we have already put ourselves in a position.
In the Face of Every Impossible Achievement…
In the face of every impossible achievement, in the face of the most impressive miracles, there are always those who stop at the insignificance of a detail in order to thwart the colossus, or rather, to stroke their envy and console themselves for their inability to achieve or even understand such an achievement. The man really is a pitiful animal… Only infinite mercy can save him.