In its anguish it bears witness to something
that is good in life, for it presupposes sympathy ... The real gloom,
the sincere despair, is dumb and blind; it writes no books, and feels no
impulse to burden an intolerable universe with a monument more lasting
than brass." Doubtless there is something of sophistry in this
criticism, for the man who is really in pain weeps and even cries aloud,
even if he is alone and there is nobody to hear him, simply as a means
of alleviating his pain, although this perhaps may be a result of social
habits. But does not the lion, alone in the desert, roar if he has an
aching tooth? But apart from this, it cannot be denied that there is a
substance of truth underlying these remarks. The pessimism that protests
and defends itself cannot be truly said to be pessimism. And, in truth,
still less is it pessimism to hold that nothing ought to perish although
all things may be doomed to annihilation, while on the other hand it is
pessimism to affirm that all things ought to be annihilated even though
nothing may perish.
Pessimism, moreover, may possess different values. There is a
eudemonistic or economic pessimism, that which denies happiness; there
is an ethical pessimism, that which denies the triumph of moral good;
and there is a religious pessimism, that which despairs of the human
finality of the Universe, of the eternal salvation of the individual
soul.
Pages:
353
354
355
356
357
358
359
360
361
362
363
364
365
366
367
368
369
370
371
372
373
374
375
376
377