It is good to get rid of this habit of admiring with restrictions, which is practically not admiring at all. Genuine admiration ends the compliment with a period. But doing so is really hard because, disregarding vanity, it is really hard to get the eyes used to focusing on what is good. When one does not learn to do this, one gets an ever more or less bitter taste from everything, and finally does not enjoy the uplifting character of true admiration.
It Is Hard to Find Any Anguish…
On closer inspection, it is hard to find any anguish that does not stem from a choice, past or present. This alone would be enough to awaken in the mind the certainty that it largely traces its destiny, and certainly reaps the fruits of what it has sown. If it does not recognize this, it is because it has not matured enough to take charge of its own decisions, and until it does, it will remain in a state of imaginary submission that will add to the evils of anguish those of ignorance.
The Self-Respecting Intellectual Must…
The self-respecting intellectual must not only have as a starting point, but also as a constant notion, that his life is a spark in a world that has already existed and will continue to exist. Without this, one is easily swallowed up by a vanity that is ultimately laughable. And when we see how many modern intellectuals fall for this primal illusion, when we see how shameless self-love has become, we see a detachment from reality that prehistoric man could never allow himself, and even for animals, allowing it would mean extinction.
The Fear of Giving Up an Old Dream
The fear of giving up an old dream is almost always unfounded, and the years shows that giving it up brings a kind of liberation. Sticking to little means being less displeased, if not more fully satisfied. When one realizes this, one sees that it only makes sense to nurture a dream that incurs a salutary practice.