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ced_/caced-;h4zip7      ,,death  by     
,,maurice ,,maeterlinck  ,translated by 
,alexander ,teixeira de ,mattos         
,new ,york ,dodd1 ,mead  ,company #aiab 
,copyright1 #aiaa ,by ,maurice          
,maeterlinck ,published1 ,january1 #aiab
  ,all rights reserved         99       
99      99      99      99   ,,the      
,,works ,,of ,,maurice ,,maeterlinck    
,,in ,,uniform ,,style ,,and ,,binding  
,,essays   ,,the ,,treasure ,,of ,,the  
,,humble  ,,wisdom ,,and ,,destiny      
,,the ,,life ,,of ,,the ,,bee  ,,the    
,,buried ,,temple  ,,the ,,double       
,,garden  ,,the ,,measure ,,of ,,the    
,,hours  ,,death   ,,plays   ,,sister   
,,beatrice ,,and ,,ardiane ,,and ,,barbe
 ,,bleue  ,,joyzelle ,,and ,,monna      

,,vanna  ,,the ,,blue ,,bird1 ,a ,,fairy
 ,,play  ,,mary ,,magdalene  ,p,,ll,,as 
,,and ,m,,lisande1 ,,and ,,other ,,plays
  ,,princess ,,maleine  ,,the           
,,intruder1 ,,and ,,other ,,plays       
,,aglavaine ,,and ,,selysette           
,,holiday ,,editions   ,the text in each
 case is an extract from one of the     
above mentioned  books4   ,,our ,,friend
 ,,the ,,dog  ,,old-,,fashioned         
,,flowers  ,,the ,,swarm  ,,the         
,,intelligence ,,of ,,the ,,flowers     
,,chrysanthemums  ,,the ,,leaf ,,of     
,,olive  ,,thoughts ,,from ,,maeterlinck
        99      99      99      99      
99   ,illustration3 ,camera ,portrait by
 ,e4 ,o4 ,hopp1 ,london     ,,contents  
,,chap4                                 
,,page        ,i ,,our ,,idea ,,of      
,,death                           #c    
,,ii ,a ,,primitive ,,idea              
#e      ,,iii ,,we ,,must ,,enlighten   
,,and ,,establish ,,our           ,,idea
 ,,of ,,death                           
#aj       ,,iv ,,we ,,must ,,rid ,,death

 ,,of ,,that ,,which           ,,goes   
,,before                                
#ab        ,v ,,the ,,pangs ,,of ,,death
 ,,must ,,be ,,attributed           ,,to
 ,,man ,,alone                          
#ad       ,,vi ,,the ,,mistake ,,of     
,,the ,,doctors ,,in ,,prolonging       
,,the ,,pangs ,,of ,,death              
#ag      ,,vii ,,their ,,arguments      
#ai     ,,viii ,,that ,,which ,,does    
,,not ,,belong ,,to ,,death        #ba  
,,ix ,,the ,,horrors ,,of ,,the ,,grave 
,,also ,,do           ,,not ,,belong    
,,to ,,death                      #be   
,x ,,when ,,contemplating ,,the         
,,unknown ,,into           ,,which      
,,death ,,hurls ,,us1 ,,let ,,us ,,first
           ,,put ,,religious ,,fears    
,,from ,,our ,,minds       #bi          
,,xi ,,annihilation ,,impossible        
#cc      ,,xii ,,the ,,survival ,,of    
,,our ,,consciousness          #cg      
,,xiii ,,it ,,seems ,,impossible        
#ci      ,,xiv ,,the ,,same1 ,,continued
                        #de       ,,xv  

,,if ,,it ,,were ,,possible1 ,,it       
,,would ,,not           ,,be ,,dreadful 
#dh      ,,xvi ,,the ,,survival         
,,without ,,consciousness         #ea   
,,xvii ,,the ,,same1 ,,continued        
#ed    ,,xviii ,,the ,,limited ,,ego    
,,would ,,become ,a          ,,torture  
#eg      ,,xix ,a ,,new ,,ego ,,can     
,,find ,a ,,nucleus ,,and               
,,develop ,,itself ,,in ,,infinity      
#fj       ,,xx ,,the ,,only ,,sorrow    
,,that ,,can ,,touch           ,,our    
,,mind                                  
#fe      ,,xxi ,,infinity ,,as          
,,conceived ,,by ,,our ,,reason         
#fh     ,,xxii ,,infinity ,,as          
,,perceived ,,by ,,our ,,senses         
#ga    ,,xxiii ,,which ,,of ,,the ,,two 
,,shall ,,we ,,know8            #gd     
,,xxiv ,,the ,,infinity ,,which ,,both  
,,our ,,reason           ,,and ,,our    
,,senses ,,can ,,admit                  
#gg      ,,xxv ,,our ,,faith ,,in       
,,infinity                      #ha     
,,xxvi ,,the ,,same1 ,,continued        

#hd    ,,xxvii ,,shall ,,we ,,be        
,,unhappy ,,there8                 #hg  
,,xxviii ,,questions ,,without          
,,answers8                 #ij          
,,xxix ,,the ,,same1 ,,continued        
#ie      ,,xxx ,,it ,,is ,,not          
,,necessary ,,to ,,answer               
,,them                                  
#ii     ,,xxxi ,,everything ,,must      
,,finish ,,exempt ,,from                
,,suffering                             
#ajb     ,,death      ,i   ,,our ,,idea 
,,of ,,death   ,it has been well said3  
,death and death alone is what we must  
consult about life2 and not some vague  
future or survival1 in which we shall   
not be present4 ,it is our own end2 and 
everything happens in the interval      
between death and now4 ,do not talk to  
me of those imaginary prolongations     
which wield over us the childish spell  
of number2 do not talk to me--to me who 
am to die outright--of societies and    
peoples6 ,there is no reality1 there is 
no true duration1 save that between the 

cradle and the grave4 ,the rest is mere 
bombast1 show1 delusion6 ,they call me a
 master because of some magic in my     
speech and thoughts2 but ,i am a        
frightened child in the presence of     
death6#a  ,footnote #a3 ,marie ,lenru1  
,les ,affranchis1 ,act ,,iii41 ,sc4 iv4 
,,ii   ,a ,,primitive ,,idea   ,that is 
where we stand4 ,for us1 death is the   
one event that counts in our life and in
 our universe4 ,it is the point whereat 
all that escapes our vigilance unites   
and conspires against our happiness4    
,the more our thoughts struggle to turn 
away from it1 the closer do they press  
around it4 ,the more we dread it1 the   
more dreadful it becomes1 for it battens
 but on our fears4 ,he who seeks to     
forget it burdens his memory with it2 he
 who tries to shun it meets naught else4
 ,but1 though we think of death         
incessantly1 we do so unconsciously1    
without learning to know death4 ,we     
compel our attention to turn its back   
upon it1 instead of going to it with    

uplifted head4 ,we exhaust all our      
forces1 which ought to face death       
boldly1 in distracting our will from it4
 ,we deliver death into the dim hands of
 instinct and we grant it not one hour  
of our intelligence4 ,is it surprising  
that the idea of death1 which should be 
the most perfect and the most           
luminous--being the most persistent and 
the most inevitable--remains the        
flimsiest of our ideas and the only one 
that is backward8 ,how should we know   
the one power which we never looked in  
the face8 ,how could it profit by       
flashes kindled only to help us escape  
it8 ,to fathom its abysses1 we wait     
until the most enfeebled1 the most      
disordered moments of our life arrive4  
,we do not think of death until we have 
no longer the strength1 ,i will not say1
 to think1 but even to breathe4 ,a man  
returning among us from another century 
would not recognize without difficulty1 
in the depths of a present-day soul1 the
 image of his gods1 of his duty1 of his 

love or of his universe2 but the figure 
of death1 when everything has changed   
around it and when even that which      
composes it and upon which it rests has 
vanished1 he would find almost          
untouched1 rough-drawn as it was by our 
fathers1 hundreds1 nay1 thousands of    
years ago4 ,our intelligence1 grown so  
bold and active1 has not worked upon    
this figure1 has added no single touch  
to it4 ,though we may no longer believe 
in the tortures of the damned1 all the  
vital cells of the most skeptical among 
us are still steeped in the appalling   
mystery of the ,hebrew ,sheol1 the pagan
 ,hades1 or the ,christian ,hell4       
,though it may no longer be lighted by  
very definite flames1 the gulf still    
opens at the end of life1 and1 if less  
known1 is all the more formidable4 ,and1
 therefore1 when the impending hour     
strikes to which we dared not raise our 
eyes1 everything fails us at the same   
time4 ,those two or three uncertain     
ideas whereon1 without examining them1  

we had meant to lean1 give way like     
rushes beneath the weight of the last   
moments4 ,in vain we seek a refuge among
 reflections that rave or are strange to
 us and do not know the roads to our    
heart4 ,no one awaits us on the last    
shore where all is unprepared1 where    
naught remains afoot save terror4       
,,iii   ,,we ,,must ,,enlighten ,,and   
,,establish  ,,our ,,idea ,,of ,,death  
,it were a salutary thing for each of us
 to work out his idea of death in the   
light of his days and the strength of   
his intelligence and to learn to stand  
by it4 ,he would say to death3  ,i know 
not who you are1 or ,i would be your    
master2 but1 in days when my eyes saw   
clearer than to-day1 ,i learnt what you 
are not3 that is enough to prevent you  
from becoming my master4  ,he would thus
 carry1 imprinted on his memory1 a tried
 image against which the last agony     
would not prevail and in which the      
phantom-stricken eyes would take fresh  
comfort4 ,instead of the terrible prayer

 of the dying1 which is the prayer of   
the depths1 he would say his own prayer1
 that of the peaks of his life1 where   
would be gathered1 like angels of peace1
 the most limpid1 the most pellucid     
thoughts of his life4 ,is not that the  
prayer of prayers8 ,after all1 what is a
 true and worthy prayer1 if not the most
 ardent and disinterested effort to     
reach and grasp the unknown8      ,,iv  
,,we ,,must ,,rid ,,death ,,of ,,that   
,,which ,,goes ,,before   ,the doctors  
and the priests1 said ,napoleon1 have   
long been making death grievous4  ,let  
us1 then1 learn to look upon it as it is
 in itself1 free from the horrors of    
matter and stripped of the terrors of   
the imagination4 ,let us first get rid  
of all that goes before and does not    
belong to it4 ,thus1 we impute to it the
 tortures of the last illness2 and that 
is not right4 ,illnesses have nothing in
 common with that which ends them4 ,they
 form part of life and not of death4 ,we
 easily forget the most cruel sufferings

 that restore us to health2 and the     
first sun of convalescence destroys the 
most unbearable memories of the chamber 
of pain4 ,but let death come2 and at    
once we overwhelm it with all the evil  
done before it4 ,not a tear but is      
remembered and used as a reproach1 not a
 cry of pain but becomes a cry of       
accusation4 ,death alone bears the      
weight of the errors of nature or the   
ignorance of science that have uselessly
 prolonged torments in whose name we    
curse death because it puts an end to   
them4      ,v   ,,the ,,pangs ,,of      
,,death ,,must ,,be  ,,attributed ,,to  
,,man ,,alone   ,in point of fact1      
whereas the sicknesses belong to nature 
or to life1 the agony1 which seems      
peculiar to death1 is wholly in the     
hands of men4 ,now what we most dread is
 the awful struggle at the end and      
especially the hateful moment of rupture
 which we shall perhaps see approaching 
during long hours of helplessness and   
which suddenly hurls us1 disarmed1      

abandoned and stripped1 into an unknown 
that is the home of the only invincible 
terrors which the human soul has ever   
felt4  ,it is twice unjust to impute the
 torments of that moment to death4 ,we  
shall see presently in what manner a man
 of to-day1 if he would remain faithful 
to his ideas1 should picture to himself 
the unknown into which death flings us4 
,let us confine ourselves here to the   
last struggle4 ,as science progresses1  
it prolongs the agony which is the most 
dreadful moment and the sharpest peak of
 human pain and horror1 for the         
witnesses1 at least2 for1 often1 the    
sensibility of him who1 in ,bossuet's   
phrase1 is at bay with death1 is already
 greatly blunted and perceives no more  
than the distant murmur of the          
sufferings which he seems to be         
enduring4 ,all the doctors consider it  
their first duty to protract as long as 
possible even the most excruciating     
convulsions of the most hopeless agony4 
,who has not1 at a bedside1 twenty times

 wished and not once dared to throw     
himself at their feet and implore them  
to show mercy8 ,they are filled with so 
great a certainty and the duty which    
they obey leaves so little room for the 
least doubt that pity and reason1       
blinded by tears1 curb their revolt and 
shrink back before a law which all      
recognize and revere as the highest law 
of human conscience4      ,,vi   ,,the  
,,mistake ,,of ,,the ,,doctors ,,in     
,,prolonging ,,the ,,pangs ,,of ,,death 
,one day1 this prejudice will strike us 
as barbarian4 ,its roots go down to the 
unacknowledged fears left in the heart  
by religions that have long since died  
out in the mind of men4 ,that is why the
 doctors act as though they were        
convinced that there is no known torture
 but is preferable to those awaiting us 
in the unknown4 ,they seem persuaded    
that every minute gained amidst the most
 intolerable sufferings is snatched from
 the incomparably more dreadful         
sufferings which the mysteries of the   

hereafter reserve for men2 and1 of two  
evils to avoid that which they know to  
be imaginary1 they choose the real one4 
,besides1 in thus postponing the end of 
a torture1 which1 as good ,seneca says1 
is the best part of that torture1 they  
are only yielding to the unanimous error
 which daily strengthens the circle     
wherein it is confined3 the prolongation
 of the agony increasing the horror of  
death2 and the horror of death demanding
 the prolongation of the agony4         
,,vii   ,,their ,,arguments   ,they1 on 
their part1 say or might say that1 in   
the present stage of science1 two or    
three cases excepted1 there is never a  
certainty of death4 ,not to support life
 to its last limits1 even at the cost of
 insupportable torments1 were perhaps to
 kill4 ,doubtless there is not one      
chance in a hundred thousand that the   
sufferer escape4 ,no matter4 ,if that   
chance exist which1 in the majority of  
cases1 will give but a few days1 or1 at 
the utmost1 a few months of a life that 

will not be the real life1 but much     
rather1 as the ,latin said1 an extended 
death1 those hundred thousand torments  
will not have been in vain4 ,a single   
hour snatched from death outweighs a    
whole existence of tortures4  ,here are1
 face to face1 two values that cannot be
 compared2 and1 if we mean to weigh them
 in the same balance1 we must heap the  
scale which we see with all that remains
 to us1 that is1 with every imaginable  
pain1 for at the decisive hour this is  
the only weight which counts and which  
is heavy enough to raise by a few       
degrees the other scale that dips into  
what we do not see and is loaded with   
the thick darkness of another world4    
,,viii   ,,that ,,which ,,does ,,not    
,,belong  ,,to ,,death   ,increased by  
so many adventitious horrors1 the horror
 of death becomes such that1 without    
reasoning1 we accept the doctors'       
reasons4 ,and yet there is one point on 
which they are beginning to yield and to
 agree4 ,they are slowly consenting1    

when there is no hope left1 if not to   
deaden1 at least to lull the last       
agonies4 ,formerly1 none of them would  
have dared to do so2 and1 even to-day1  
many of them hesitate and1 like misers1 
measure out drop by drop the clemency   
and peace which they grudge and which   
they ought to lavish1 dreading lest they
 should weaken the last resistance1 that
 is to say1 the most useless and painful
 quiverings of life that does not wish  
to give place to the coming quiet4  ,it 
is not for me to decide whether their   
pity might show greater daring4 ,it is  
enough to state once more that all this 
does not concern death4 ,it happens     
before it and below it4 ,it is not the  
arrival of death1 but the departure of  
life that is appalling4 ,it is not      
death1 but life that we must act upon4  
,it is not death that attacks life2 it  
is life that wrongfully resists death4  
,evils hasten up from every side at the 
approach of death1 but not at its call2 
and1 though they gather round it1 they  

did not come with it4 ,do you accuse    
sleep of the fatigue that oppresses you 
if you do not yield to it8 ,all those   
strugglings1 those waitings1 those      
tossings1 those tragic cursings are on  
this same side of the slope to which we 
cling and not on the other side4 ,they  
are1 for that matter1 accidental and    
temporary and emanate only from our     
ignorance4 ,all our knowledge only helps
 us to die in greater pain than the     
animals that know nothing4 ,a day will  
come when science will turn against its 
error and no longer hesitate to shorten 
our misfortunes4 ,a day will come when  
it will dare and act with certainty2    
when life1 grown wiser1 will depart     
silently at its hour1 knowing that it   
has reached its term1 even as it        
withdraws silently every evening1       
knowing that its task is done4 ,once the
 doctor and the sick man have learnt    
what they have to learn1 there will be  
no physical nor metaphysical reason why 
the advent of death should not be as    

salutary as that of sleep4 ,perhaps     
even1 as there will be other things to  
consider1 it will be possible to        
surround death with deeper delights and 
fairer dreams4 ,henceforth1 in any case1
 once death is exonerated from all that 
goes before1 it will be easier to face  
it without fear and to enlighten that   
which follows after4      ,,ix   ,,the  
,,horrors ,,of ,,the ,,grave ,,also     
,,do ,,not ,,belong ,,to ,,death        
,death1 as we usually picture it1 has   
two terrors looming behind it4 ,the     
first has neither face nor shape and    
overshadows the whole region of our     
mind2 the other is more definite1 more  
explicit1 but almost as powerful and    
strikes all our senses4 ,let us first   
examine the latter4  ,even as we impute 
to death all the evils that precede it1 
so do we add to the dread which it      
inspires all that happens beyond it1    
thus doing it the same injustice at its 
going as at its coming4 ,is it death    
that digs our graves and orders us to   

keep there that which was made to       
disappear8 ,if we cannot think without  
horror of the fate of the beloved in the
 grave1 is it death or we that placed   
him there8 ,because death carries the   
spirit to some place unknown1 shall we  
reproach it with our bestowal of the    
body which it leaves with us8 ,death    
descends upon us to take away a life or 
change its form3 let us judge it by what
 it does and not by what we do before it
 comes and after it is gone4 ,and it is 
already far away when we begin the      
frightful work which we try hard to     
prolong as much as we possibly can1 as  
though we were persuaded that it is our 
only security against forgetfulness4 ,i 
am well aware that1 from any other than 
the human point of view1 this proceeding
 is very innoxious4 ,looked upon from a 
sufficient height1 decomposing flesh is 
no more repulsive than a fading flower  
or a crumbling stone4 ,but1 when all is 
said1 it offends our senses1 shocks our 
memory1 daunts our courage1 whereas it  

would be so easy for us to avoid the    
hateful test4 ,purified by fire1 the    
memory lives in the heights as a        
beautiful idea2 and death is naught but 
an immortal birth cradled in flames4    
,this has been well understood by the   
wisest and happiest nations in history4 
,what happens in our graves poisons our 
thoughts together with our bodies4 ,the 
figure of death1 in the imagination of  
men1 depends before all upon the form of
 burial2 and the funeral rites govern   
not only the fate of those who depart1  
but also the happiness of those who     
stay1 for they raise in the very        
background of life the great image upon 
which their eyes linger in consolation  
or despair4      ,x   ,,when            
,,contemplating ,,the ,,unknown  ,,into 
,,which ,,death ,,hurls ,,us1  ,,let    
,,us ,,first ,,put ,,religious  ,,fears 
,,from ,,our ,,minds   ,there is1       
therefore1 but one terror particular to 
death3 that of the unknown into which it
 hurls us4 ,in facing it1 let us not    

delay in putting from our minds all that
 the positive religions have left there4
 ,let us remember only that it is not   
for us to prove that they are not       
proved1 but for them to establish that  
they are true4 ,now not one of them     
brings us a proof before which a candid 
intelligence can bow4 ,nor would it     
suffice if that intelligence were able  
to bow2 for man lawfully to believe and 
thus to limit his endless seeking1 the  
proof would need to be irresistible4    
,the ,god offered to us by the best and 
strongest proof has given us our reason 
to employ loyally and fully1 that is to 
say1 to try to attain1 before all and in
 all things1 that which appears to be   
the truth4 ,can ,he exact that we should
 accept1 in spite of it1 a belief of    
which the wisest and the most ardent do 
not1 from the human point of view1 deny 
the uncertainty8 ,he proposes for our   
consideration a very doubtful story     
which1 even if scientifically           
established1 would prove nothing and    

which is buttressed by prophecies and   
miracles no less uncertain4 ,if not by  
our reason1 by what then would ,he have 
us decide8 ,by usage8 ,by the accidents 
of race or birth1 by some sthetic or    
sentimental hazard8 ,or has ,he set     
within us another higher and surer      
faculty before which the understanding  
must yield8 ,if so1 where is it8 ,what  
is its name8 ,if that ,god punishes us  
for not having blindly followed a faith 
that does not force itself irresistibly 
upon the intelligence which ,he gave us2
 if ,he chastises us for not having     
made1 in the presence of the great      
enigma with which ,he confronts us1 a   
choice which condemns the best and most 
divine part of that which ,he has placed
 in us1 we have nothing left to reply3  
we are the dupes of a cruel and         
incomprehensible sport1 we are the      
victims of a terrible snare and an      
immense injustice2 and1 whatever the    
torments wherewith the latter loads us1 
they will be less intolerable than the  

eternal presence of its ,author4        
,,xi   ,,annihilation ,,impossible      
,here we stand before the abyss4 ,it is 
void of all the dreams with which our   
fathers peopled it4 ,they thought that  
they knew what was there2 we know only  
what is not there4 ,it has enlarged     
itself with all that we have learnt to  
know nothing of4 ,while waiting for a   
scientific certainty to break through   
its darkness--for man has the right to  
hope for that which he does not yet     
conceive--the only point that interests 
us1 because it is situated in the little
 circle which our actual intelligence   
traces in the thickest blackness of the 
night1 is to know whether the unknown   
for which we are bound will be dreadful 
or not4  ,outside the religions1 there  
are four imaginable solutions and no    
more3 total annihilation2 survival with 
our consciousness of to-day2 survival   
without any sort of consciousness2      
lastly1 survival with universal         
consciousness different from that which 

we possess in this world4  ,total       
annihilation is impossible4 ,we are the 
prisoners of an infinity without outlet1
 wherein nothing perishes1 wherein      
everything is dispersed1 but nothing    
lost4 ,neither a body nor a thought can 
drop out of the universe1 out of time   
and space4 ,not an atom of our flesh1   
not a quiver of our nerves will go where
 they will cease to be1 for there is no 
place where anything ceases to be4 ,the 
brightness of a star extinguished       
millions of years ago still wanders in  
the ether where our eyes will perhaps   
behold it this very night1 pursuing its 
endless road4 ,it is the same with all  
that we see1 as with all that we do not 
see4 ,to be able to do away with a      
thing1 that is to say1 to fling it into 
nothingness1 nothingness would have to  
exist2 and1 if it exist1 under whatever 
form1 it is no longer nothingness4 ,as  
soon as we try to analyze it1 to define 
it1 or to understand it1 thoughts and   
expressions fail us1 or create that     

which they are struggling to deny4 ,it  
is as contrary to the nature of our     
reason and probably of all imaginable   
reason to conceive nothingness as to    
conceive limits to infinity4            
,nothingness1 besides1 is but a negative
 infinity1 a sort of infinity of        
darkness opposed to that which our      
intelligence strives to enlighten1 or   
rather it is but a child-name or        
nickname which our mind has bestowed    
upon that which it has not attempted to 
embrace1 for we call nothingness all    
that which escapes our senses or our    
reason and exists without our knowledge4
 ,the more that human thought rises and 
increases1 the less comprehensible does 
nothingness become4 ,in any case--and   
this is what matters here--if           
nothingness were possible1 since it     
could not be anything whatever1 it could
 not be dreadful4      ,,xii   ,,the    
,,survival ,,of ,,our ,,consciousness   
,next comes survival with our           
consciousness of to-day4 ,i have        

broached this question in an essay on   
,immortality1#b of which ,i will only   
reproduce an essential passage1         
contenting myself with supporting it    
with a few new considerations4          
,footnote #b3 ,this essay forms part of 
the volume published under the title of 
,the ,measure of the                    
,hours4--,,translator',s ,,note4  ,what 
composes this sense of the ego which    
turns each of us into the centre of the 
universe1 the only point that matters in
 space and time8 ,is it formed of       
sensations of our body1 or of thoughts  
independent of our body8 ,would our body
 be conscious of itself without our     
mind8 ,and1 on the other hand1 what     
would our mind be without our body8 ,we 
know bodies without mind1 but no mind   
without a body4 ,it is almost certain   
that an intellect devoid of senses1     
devoid of organs to create and nourish  
it1 exists2 but it is impossible to     
imagine that ours could thus exist and  
yet remain similar to that which derived

 from our sensibility all that gave it  
life4      ,,xiii   ,,it ,,seems        
,,impossible   ,this ego1 as we conceive
 it when we reflect upon the            
consequences of its destruction1 this   
ego is neither our mind nor our body1   
since we recognize that both are waves  
that flow away and are renewed          
incessantly4 ,is it an immovable point1 
which could not be form or substance1   
for these are always in evolution1 nor  
life1 which is the cause or effect of   
form and substance8 ,in truth1 it is    
impossible for us to apprehend or define
 it1 to tell where it dwells4 ,when we  
try to go back to its last source1 we   
find hardly more than a succession of   
memories1 a series of ideas1 confused1  
for that matter1 and unsettled1 attached
 to the one instinct of living3 a series
 of habits of our sensibility and of    
conscious or unconscious reactions      
against the surrounding phenomena4 ,when
 all is said1 the most steadfast point  
of that nebula is our memory1 which     

seems1 on the other hand1 to be a       
somewhat external1 a somewhat accessory 
faculty and1 in any case1 one of the    
frailest faculties of our brain1 one of 
those which disappear the most promptly 
at the least disturbance of our health4 
,as an ,english poet has very truly     
said1 that which clamours aloud for     
eternity is the very part of me that    
will perish4  ,it matters not3 that     
uncertain1 indiscernible1 fleeting and  
precarious ego is so much the centre of 
our being1 interests us so exclusively1 
that every reality of our life          
disappears before this phantom4 ,it is a
 matter of utter indifference to us that
 throughout eternity our body or its    
substance should know every joy and     
every glory1 undergo the most splendid  
and delightful transformations1 become  
flower1 perfume1 beauty1 light1 air1    
star2 it is likewise indifferent to us  
that our intellect should expand until  
it mixes with the life of the worlds1   
understands and governs it4 ,we are     

persuaded that all this will not affect 
us1 will give us no pleasure1 will not  
happen to ourselves1 unless that memory 
of a few almost always insignificant    
facts accompany us and witness those    
unimaginable joys4  ,i care not1 says   
this narrow ego1 in its firm resolve to 
understand nothing4 ,i care not if the  
loftiest1 the freest1 the fairest       
portions of my mind be eternally living 
and radiant in the supreme gladnesses3  
they are no longer mine2 ,i do not know 
them4 ,death has cut the network of     
nerves or memories that connected them  
with ,i know not what centre wherein    
lies the sensitive point which ,i feel  
to be all myself4 ,they are now set     
loose1 floating in space and time1 and  
their fate is as unknown to me as that  
of the most distant constellations4     
,anything that occurs exists for me only
 upon condition that ,i be able to      
recall it within that mysterious being  
which is ,i know not where and precisely
 nowhere1 which ,i turn like a mirror   

about this world whose phenomena take   
shape only in so far as they are        
reflected in it4  ,let us then consider 
that all that composes our consciousness
 comes first of all from our body4 ,our 
mind does but organize that which is    
supplied by our senses2 and even the    
images and words--which in reality are  
but images--by the aid of which it      
strives to tear itself from those senses
 and deny their sway are borrowed from  
them4 ,how could that mind remain what  
it was when there is nothing left to it 
of that which formed it8 ,when our mind 
no longer has a body1 what shall it     
carry with it into infinity whereby to  
recognize itself1 seeing that it knows  
itself only by grace of that body8 ,a   
few memories of a life in common8 ,will 
those memories1 which were already      
fading in this world1 suffice to        
separate it for ever from the rest of   
the universe1 in boundless space and in 
unlimited time8      ,,xiv   ,,the      
,,same1 ,,continued   ,but1 ,i shall be 

told1 there is more in us than the      
intellect discovers4 ,we have many      
things within us which our senses have  
not placed there2 we contain a being    
superior to the one we know4  ,that is  
probable1 nay1 certain3 the share       
occupied by unconsciousness1 that is to 
say1 by that which represents the       
universe1 is enormous and preponderant4 
,but how shall the ego which we know and
 whose destiny alone concerns us        
recognize all those things and that     
superior being whom it has never known8 
,what will it do in the presence of that
 stranger8 ,if ,i be told that stranger 
is myself1 ,i will readily agree2 but   
was that which upon earth felt and      
measured my joys and sorrows and gave   
birth to the few memories and thoughts  
that remain to me1 was that this        
unmoved1 unseen stranger who existed in 
me without my cognizance1 even as ,i am 
probably about to live in him without   
his concerning himself with a presence  
that will bring him but the pitiful     

recollection of a thing that is no more8
 ,now that he has taken my place1 while 
destroying1 in order to acquire a       
greater consciousness1 all that formed  
my small consciousness here below1 is it
 not another life commencing1 a life    
whose joys and sorrows will pass above  
my head1 not even brushing with their   
new wings that which ,i feel myself to  
be to-day8      ,,xv   ,,if ,,it ,,were 
,,possible1 ,,it ,,would  ,,not ,,be    
,,dreadful   ,it seems1 therefore1 that 
a survival with our present             
consciousness is as impossible and as   
incomprehensible as total annihilation4 
,moreover1 even if it were admissible1  
it would not be dreadful4 ,it is certain
 that1 when the body disappears1 all    
physical sufferings will disappear at   
the same time2 for we cannot imagine a  
soul suffering in a body which it no    
longer possesses4 ,with them will vanish
 simultaneously all that we call mental 
or moral sufferings1 seeing that all of 
them1 if we examine them well1 spring   

from the ties and habits of our senses4 
,our soul feels the reaction of the     
sufferings of our body1 or of the bodies
 that surround it2 it cannot suffer in  
itself or through itself4 ,slighted     
affection1 shattered love1              
disappointments1 failures1 despair1     
treachery1 personal humiliations1 as    
well as the afflictions and the loss of 
those whom it loves1 acquire the sting  
that hurts it only by passing through   
the body which it animates4 ,outside its
 own sorrow1 which is the sorrow of not 
knowing1 the soul1 once delivered from  
its body1 could suffer only at the      
recollection of that body4 ,it is       
possible that it still grieves over the 
troubles of those whom it has left      
behind on earth4 ,but1 in the eyes of   
that which no longer counts the days1   
those troubles will seem so brief that  
it will not grasp their duration2 and1  
knowing what they are and whither they  
lead1 it will not behold their severity4
  ,the soul is insensible to all that is

 not happiness4 ,it is made only for    
infinite joy1 which is the joy of       
knowing and understanding4 ,it can      
grieve only at perceiving its own       
limits2 but to perceive those limits1   
when one is no longer bound by space and
 time1 is already to transcend them4    
,,xvi   ,,the ,,survival ,,without      
,,consciousness   ,there remains but the
 survival without consciousness1 or     
survival with a consciousness different 
from that of to-day4  ,a survival       
without consciousness seems at first    
sight the most probable4 ,from the point
 of view of the good or ill awaiting us 
on the other side of the grave1 it      
amounts to annihilation4 ,it is lawful1 
therefore1 for those who prefer the     
easiest solution and that most          
consistent with the present state of    
human thought1 to set that limit to     
their anxiety there4 ,they have nothing 
to dread2 for every fear1 if any remain1
 would1 if we look into it carefully1   
deck itself with hopes4 ,the body       

disintegrates and can no longer suffer2 
the mind1 separated from the source of  
pleasure and pain1 is extinguished1     
scattered and lost in a boundless       
darkness2 and what comes is the great   
peace so often prayed for1 the sleep    
without measure1 without dreams and     
without awakening4  ,but this is only a 
solution that flatters indolence4 ,if we
 press those who speak of a survival    
without consciousness1 we perceive that 
they mean only their present            
consciousness1 for man conceives no     
other2 and we have just seen that it is 
almost impossible for that manner of    
consciousness to persist in infinity4   
,unless1 indeed1 they would deny every  
sort of consciousness1 even that of the 
universe into which their own will fall4
 ,but that means solving very quickly   
and very blindly1 with a stroke of the  
sword in the night1 the greatest and    
most mysterious question that can arise 
in a man's brain4      ,,xvii   ,,the   
,,same1 ,,continued   ,this question is 

closely allied to our modified          
consciousness4 ,there is for the moment 
no hope of solving it2 but we are free  
to grope in its darkness1 which is not  
perhaps equally dense at all points4    
,here begins the open sea4 ,here begins 
the glorious adventure1 the only one    
abreast with human curiosity1 the only  
one that soars as high as its highest   
longing4 ,let us accustom ourselves to  
regard death as a form of life which we 
do not yet understand2 let us learn to  
look upon it with the same eye that     
looks upon birth2 and soon our mind will
 be accompanied to the steps of the tomb
 with the same glad expectation that    
greets a birth4 ,if1 before being born1 
we were permitted to choose between the 
great peace of non-existence and a life 
that should not be completed by the     
magnificent hour of death1 which of us1 
knowing what we ought to know1 would    
accept the disquieting problem of an    
existence that would not end in the     
reassuring mystery of its conclusion8   

,which of us would care to come into a  
world where there is so little to learn1
 if he did not know that he must enter  
it if he would leave it and learn more8 
,the best part of life is that it       
prepares this hour for us1 that it is   
the one and only road leading to the    
magic gateway and into that incomparable
 mystery where misfortunes and          
sufferings will no longer be possible1  
because we shall have lost the body that
 produced them2 where the worst that can
 befall us is the dreamless sleep which 
we count among the number of the        
greatest boons on earth2 where1 lastly1 
it is almost unimaginable that a thought
 can survive to mingle with the         
substance of the universe1 that is to   
say1 with infinity1 which1 if it be not 
a waste of indifference1 can be nothing 
but a sea of joy4      ,,xviii   ,,the  
,,limited ,,ego ,,would ,,become  ,a    
,,torture   ,before fathoming that sea1 
let us remark to those who aspire to    
maintain their ego that they are calling

 down the sufferings which they dread4  
,the ego implies limits4 ,the ego cannot
 subsist except in so far as it is      
separated from that which surrounds it4 
,the stronger the ego1 the narrower its 
limits and the clearer the separation4  
,the more painful too2 for the mind1 if 
it remain as we know it--and we are not 
able to imagine it different--will no   
sooner have seen its limits than it will
 wish to overstep them3 and1 the more   
separated it feels1 the greater will be 
its longing to unite with that which    
lies outside4 ,there will therefore be  
an eternal struggle between its being   
and its aspirations4 ,and really there  
were no object in being born and dying  
only for the purpose of these endless   
contests4 ,have we not here yet one more
 proof that our ego1 as we conceive it1 
could never subsist in the infinity     
where it must needs go1 since it cannot 
go elsewhere8 ,it behooves us therefore 
to get rid of imaginations that emanate 
only from our body1 even as the mists   

that veil the daylight from our sight   
emanate only from low places4 ,pascal   
has said1 once and for all3 ,the narrow 
limits of our being conceal infinity    
from our view4      ,,xix   ,a ,,new    
,,ego ,,can ,,find ,a ,,nucleus ,,and   
,,develop ,,itself ,,in ,,infinity   ,on
 the other hand--for we must be honest1 
probe the conflicting darkness which we 
believe nearest to the truth and show no
 bias--on the other hand1 we can grant  
to those who are wedded to the thought  
of remaining as they are that the       
survival of a mere particle of          
themselves would suffice to renew them  
again in the heart of an infinity       
wherefrom their body no longer separates
 them4 ,if it seems impossible that     
anything--a movement1 a vibration1 a    
radiation--should stop or disappear1 why
 then should thought be lost8 ,there    
will1 no doubt1 subsist more than one   
idea powerful enough to allure the new  
ego1 which will nourish itself and      
thrive on all that it will find in that 

new and endless environment1 just as the
 other ego1 on this earth1 nourished    
itself and throve on all that it met    
there4 ,since we have been able to      
acquire our present consciousness1 why  
should it be impossible for us to       
acquire another8 ,for that ego which is 
so dear to us and which we believe      
ourselves to possess was not made in a  
day2 it is not at present what it was at
 the hour of our birth4 ,much more      
chance than purpose has entered into it2
 and much more foreign substance than   
any inborn substance which it contained4
 ,it is but a long series of            
acquisitions and transformations1 of    
which we do not become aware until the  
awakening of our memory2 and its        
nucleus1 of which we do not know the    
nature1 is perhaps more immaterial and  
less concrete than a thought4 ,if the   
new environment which we enter on       
leaving our mother's womb transforms us 
to such a point that there is1 so to    
speak1 no connexion between the embryo  

that we were and the man that we have   
become1 is it not right to think that   
the much newer1 more unknown1 wider and 
more fertile environment which we enter 
on quitting life will transform us even 
more8 ,one can see in what happens to us
 here a figure of that which awaits us  
elsewhere and readily admit that our    
spiritual being1 liberated from its     
body1 if it does not mingle at the first
 onset with the infinite1 will develop  
itself there gradually1 will choose     
itself a substance and1 no longer       
trammelled by space and time1 will grow 
without end4 ,it is very possible that  
our loftiest wishes of to-day will      
become the law of our future            
development4 ,it is very possible that  
our best thoughts will welcome us on the
 other bank and that the quality of our 
intellect will determine that of the    
infinite that crystallizes around it4   
,every hypothesis is permissible and    
every question1 provided it be addressed
 to happiness2 for unhappiness is no    

longer able to answer us4 ,it finds no  
place in the human imagination that     
explores the future methodically4 ,and1 
whatever be the force that survives us  
and presides over our existence in the  
other world1 this existence1 to presume 
the worst1 could be no less great1 no   
less happy than that of to-day4 ,it will
 have no other career than infinity2 and
 infinity is nothing if it be not       
felicity4 ,in any case1 it seems fairly 
certain that we spend in this world the 
only narrow1 grudging1 obscure and      
sorrowful moment of our destiny4        
,,xx   ,,the ,,only ,,sorrow ,,that     
,,can ,,touch  ,,our ,,mind   ,we have  
said that the one sorrow of the mind is 
the sorrow of not knowing or not        
understanding1 which contains the sorrow
 of powerlessness2 for he who knows the 
supreme causes1 being no longer         
paralyzed by matter1 becomes one with   
them and acts with them2 and he who     
understands ends by approving1 or else  
the universe would be a mistake1 which  

is not possible4 ,i do not believe that 
another sorrow of the sheer mind can be 
imagined4 ,the only one which1 before   
reflection1 might seem admissible and   
which1 in any case1 could be but        
ephemeral would arise from the sight of 
the pain and misery that remain on the  
earth which we have left4 ,but this     
sorrow1 after all1 would be but one side
 and an insignificant phase of the      
sorrow of powerlessness and of not      
understanding4 ,as for the latter1      
though it is not only beyond the domain 
of our intelligence1 but even at an     
insuperable distance from our           
imagination1 we may say that it would be
 intolerable only if it were without    
hope4 ,but1 in order to be without hope1
 the universe would have to abandon any 
attempt to understand itself1 or admit  
within itself an object that remained   
for ever foreign to it4 ,either the mind
 will not perceive its limits and1      
consequently1 will not suffer from them1
 or else it will overstep them as it    

perceives them2 for how could the       
universe have parts eternally condemned 
to form no part of itself and of its    
knowledge8 ,hence we cannot understand  
that the torture of not understanding1  
supposing it to exist for a moment1     
should not end by mingling with the     
state of infinity1 which1 if it be not  
happiness as we comprehend it1 could be 
naught but an indifference higher and   
purer than joy4      ,,xxi   ,,infinity 
,,as ,,conceived ,,by ,,our  ,,reason   
,let us turn our thoughts towards it4   
,the problem extends beyond humanity and
 embraces all things4 ,it is possible1  
,i think1 to view infinity under two    
distinct aspects and try to foresee our 
fate therein4 ,let us contemplate the   
first of these aspects4 ,we are plunged 
into a universe that has no limits in   
space or time4 ,it never began1 nor will
 it ever end4 ,it could not have an aim1
 for1 if it had one1 it would have      
attained it in the infinity of years    
that preceded us4 ,it is not making for 

anywhere1 for it would have arrived     
there2 consequently1 all that the worlds
 within its pale1 all that we ourselves 
do can have no influence upon it4 ,if it
 have no thought1 it will never have    
one4 ,if it have one1 that thought has  
been at its climax since all time and   
will remain there1 changeless and       
immovable4 ,it is as young as it has    
ever been and as old as it will ever be4
 ,it has made in the past all the       
efforts and all the experiments which it
 will make in the future2 and1 as all   
the possible combinations have been     
exhausted since all time1 it does not   
seem as if that which has not taken     
place in the eternity that extends      
before our birth can happen in that     
which will follow after our death4 ,if  
it have not become conscious1 it will   
never become so2 if it know not what it 
wishes1 it will continue in ignorance1  
hopelessly1 knowing all or knowing      
nothing and remaining as near its end as
 its beginning4      ,,xxii   ,,infinity

 ,,as ,,perceived ,,by ,,our  ,,senses  
,all this would be1 if not intelligible1
 at least acceptable to our reason2 but 
in that universe float thousands of     
millions of worlds limited by space and 
time4 ,they are born1 they die and they 
are born again4 ,they form part of the  
whole2 and we see1 therefore1 that parts
 of that which has neither beginning nor
 end themselves begin and end4 ,we1 in  
fact1 know only those parts2 and they   
are of a number so infinite that in our 
eyes they fill all infinity4 ,that which
 is going nowhere teems with that which 
appears to be going somewhere4 ,that    
which has always known what it wants1 or
 will never learn1 seems eternally to be
 making more or less unfortunate        
experiments4 ,what is that which has    
already attained perfection trying to   
achieve8 ,everything that we discover in
 that which could not possibly have an  
aim looks as though it were pursuing one
 with inconceivable ardour2 and the     
spirit that animates what we see in that

 which should know everything and       
possess itself seems to know nothing and
 to seek itself without intermission4   
,thus all that is apparent to our senses
 in infinity gainsays that which our    
reason is compelled to ascribe to it4   
,according as we fathom it1 we          
understand better the depth of our want 
of understanding2 and1 the more we      
strive to penetrate the two             
incomprehensibilities that stand face to
 face1 the more they contradict each    
other4      ,,xxiii   ,,which ,,of ,,the
 ,,two ,,shall ,,we  ,,know8   ,what    
will become of us amid all this         
obscurity8 ,shall we leave the finite   
wherein we dwell to be swallowed up in  
this or the other infinite8 ,in other   
words1 shall we end by mingling with the
 infinite which our reason conceives1 or
 shall we remain eternally in that which
 our eyes behold1 that is to say1 in    
numberless changing and ephemeral       
worlds8 ,shall we never leave those     
worlds which seem doomed to die and to  

be reborn eternally1 to enter at last   
into that which1 since all eternity1 can
 neither have been born nor have died   
and which exists without either future  
or past8 ,shall we one day escape1 with 
all that surrounds us1 from the unhappy 
experiments1 to find our way at last    
into peace1 wisdom1 the changeless and  
boundless consciousness1 or into the    
hopeless unconsciousness8 ,shall we have
 the fate which our senses foretell1 or 
that which our intelligence demands8 ,or
 are both senses and intelligence       
illusions1 puny implements1 vain weapons
 of a brief hour that were never        
intended to probe or contend with the   
universe8 ,if there really be a         
contradiction1 is it wise to accept it  
and to deem impossible that which we do 
not understand1 seeing that we          
understand almost nothing8 ,is truth not
 at an immeasurable distance from those 
inconsistencies which appear to us      
enormous and irreducible and which1     
doubtless1 are of no more importance    

than the rain that falls upon the sea8  
,,xxiv   ,,the ,,infinity ,,which ,,both
 ,,our ,,reason  ,,and ,,our ,,senses   
,,can ,,admit   ,but1 even to our poor  
understanding of to-day1 the discrepancy
 between the infinity conceived by our  
reason and that perceived by our senses 
is perhaps more apparent than real4     
,when we say that1 in a universe that   
has existed since all eternity1 every   
experiment1 every possible combination  
has been made2 when we declare that     
there is not a chance that that which   
has not taken place in the uncountable  
past can take place in the uncountable  
future1 our imagination attributes to   
the infinity of time a preponderance    
which it cannot possess4 ,in truth1 all 
that infinity contains must be as       
infinite as the time at its disposal2   
and the chances1 encounters and         
combinations that lie therein have not  
been exhausted in the eternity that goes
 before us any more than they could be  
in the eternity that comes after us4    

,there is1 therefore1 no climax1 no     
changelessness1 no immovability4 ,it is 
probable that the universe is seeking   
and finding itself every day1 that it   
has not become entirely conscious and   
does not yet know what it wants4 ,it is 
almost certain that its ideal is still  
veiled by the shadow of its immensity   
and almost evident that the experiments 
and chances are following one upon the  
other in unimaginable worlds1 compared  
wherewith all those which we see on     
starry nights are no more than a pinch  
of gold-dust in the ocean depths4       
,lastly1 it is very nearly sure that we 
ourselves1 or whatever remains of us--it
 matters not--will profit one day by    
those experiments and those chances4    
,that which has not yet happened may    
suddenly supervene2 and the best state1 
as well as the supreme wisdom which will
 recognize and establish it1 is perhaps 
ready to arise from the clash of        
circumstance4 ,it were not at all       
astonishing if the consciousness of the 

universe1 in the endeavour to form      
itself1 had not yet met with the aid of 
the necessary chances and if human      
thought were seconding one of those     
decisive chances4 ,here there is a hope4
 ,small as man and his thought may      
appear1 he has exactly the value of the 
most enormous forces that he is able to 
conceive1 since there is neither great  
nor small in the immeasurable2 and1 if  
our body equalled the dimensions of all 
the worlds which our eyes can see1 it   
would have exactly the same weight and  
the same importance with regard to the  
universe that it has to-day4 ,the mind  
alone perhaps occupies in infinity a    
space which comparisons do not reduce to
 nothing4      ,,xxv   ,,our ,,fate ,,in
 ,,infinity   ,whatever the ultimate    
truth may be1 whether we admit the      
abstract1 absolute and perfect          
infinity--the changeless1 immovable     
infinity which has attained perfection  
and which knows everything1 to which our
 reason tends--or whether we prefer that

 offered to us by the evidence1 here    
below undeniable1 of our senses--the    
infinity which seeks itself1 which is   
still evolving and not yet              
established--it behoves us above all to 
foresee in it our fate1 which1 in any   
case1 must end by absorption in that    
very infinity4  ,the first infinity1 the
 ideal infinity1 is so strangely        
contrary to all that we see that it is  
best not to attack it until we have     
tried to explore the second4 ,moreover1 
it is quite possible that it may succeed
 the other4 ,as we have said1 that which
 has not taken place in the eternity    
before may happen in the eternity after 
us2 and nothing save innumerous         
accidents is opposed to the prospect    
that the universe may at last acquire   
the integral consciousness that will    
establish it at its climax4 ,after      
giving a glance1 useless1 for that      
matter1 and impotent1 at all that may   
perhaps arise1 we shall try to          
interrogate1 without hope of answer1 the

 mystery of the boundless peace into    
which it is possible that we may sink   
with the other worlds4      ,,xxvi      
,,the ,,same1 ,,continued   ,behold us1 
then1 in the infinity of those worlds1  
the stellar infinity1 the infinity of   
the heavens1 which assuredly veils other
 things from our eyes1 but could never  
be a total illusion4 ,it seems to us to 
be peopled only with objects--planets1  
suns1 stars1 nebul1 atoms1 imponderous  
fluids--which move1 unite and separate1 
repel and attract one another1 which    
shrink and expand1 displace one another 
incessantly and never arrive1 which     
measure space in that which has no limit
 and number the hours in that which has 
no term4 ,in a word1 we are in an       
infinity that seems to have almost the  
same character1 the same habits as that 
power in the midst of which we breathe  
and which1 upon our earth1 we call      
nature or life4  ,what will be our fate 
in that infinity8 ,it is not vain to ask
 one's self the question1 even if we    

should mingle with it after losing all  
consciousness1 all notion of the ego1   
even if our existence should be no more 
than a little substance without name1   
soul or matter--one cannot              
tell--suspended in the equally nameless 
abyss that replaces time and space4 ,it 
is not vain to ask one's self the       
question1 for we are concerned with the 
history of the worlds or of the         
universe2 and this history1 far more    
than that of our petty existence1 is our
 own great history1 in which perhaps    
something of ourselves or something     
incomparably better and vaster will end 
by finding us again some day4           
,,xxvii   ,,shall ,,we ,,be ,,unhappy   
,,there8   ,shall we be unhappy there8  
,it is hardly reassuring when we        
consider the habits of our nature and   
remember that we form part of a universe
 that has not yet collected its wisdom4 
,we have seen1 it is true1 that good and
 bad fortune exist only in so far as    
regards our body and that1 when we have 

lost the agent of our sufferings1 we    
shall not meet any of the earthly       
sorrows again4 ,but our anxiety does not
 end here2 and will not our mind1       
lingering upon our erstwhile sorrows1   
drifting derelict from world to world1  
unknown to itself in the unknowable that
 seeks itself hopelessly2 will not our  
mind know here the frightful torture of 
which we have already spoken and which  
is doubtless the last which the         
imagination can touch with its wing8    
,lastly1 if there were nothing left of  
our body and our mind1 there would still
 remain the matter and the spirit 7or1  
at least1 the obviously single force to 
which we give that double name7 which   
composed them and whose fate must be no 
more indifferent to us than our own     
fate2 for1 let us repeat1 from our death
 onwards1 the adventure of the universe 
becomes our own adventure4 ,let us not1 
therefore1 say to ourselves3  ,what can 
it matter8 ,we shall not be there4  ,we 
shall be there always1 because          

everything will be there4      ,,xxviii 
,,questions ,,without ,,answers   ,will 
all this to which we shall belong1 in a 
world ever seeking itself1 continue a   
prey to new1 unceasing and perhaps      
painful experiments8 ,since the part    
that we were was unhappy1 why should the
 part that we shall be enjoy a better   
fortune8 ,who can assure us that those  
unending combinations and endeavours    
will not be more sorrowful1 more awkward
 and more baneful than those which we   
are leaving2 and how shall we explain   
that these have come about after so many
 millions of others which should have   
opened the eyes of the genius of        
infinity8 ,it is idle to persuade       
ourselves1 as ,hindu wisdom would1 that 
our sorrows are but illusions and       
appearances3 it is none the less true   
that they make us very really unhappy4  
,has the universe elsewhere a more      
complete consciousness1 a more just and 
serene principle of thought than on this
 earth and in the worlds which we       

perceive8 ,and1 if it be true that it   
has somewhere attained that better      
thought1 why does the thought that      
presides over the destinies of our earth
 not profit by it8 ,could no            
communication be possible between worlds
 which must have been born of the same  
idea and are steeped in it8 ,what would 
be the mystery of that isolation8 ,are  
we to believe that the earth marks the  
most advanced stage and the most        
favoured experiment8 ,what1 then1 can   
the thought of the universe have done   
and against what darkness must it have  
struggled1 to have come no farther than 
this8 ,but1 on the other hand1 can it   
have been stayed by that darkness or by 
those obstacles which1 being unable to  
arise from any elsewhere1 can but have  
sprung from itself8 ,who then could have
 set those insoluble problems to        
infinity and from what more remote and  
profound region than itself would they  
have issued8 ,some one1 after all1 must 
know what they ask2 and1 as behind      

infinity there can be none that is not  
infinity itself1 it is impossible to    
imagine a malignant will in a will that 
leaves no point around it but what it   
fills entirely4 ,or are the experiments 
begun in the stars continued            
mechanically1 by virtue of the force    
acquired1 without regard to their       
uselessness and to their pitiful        
consequences1 according to the custom of
 nature1 which knows nothing of our     
parsimony and squanders the suns in     
space as it does the seed on earth1     
knowing that nothing can be lost8 ,or1  
again1 is the whole question of our     
peace and happiness1 like that of the   
fate of the worlds1 reduced to knowing  
whether or not the infinity of          
endeavours and combinations be equal to 
that of eternity8 ,or1 lastly1 to come  
to the greatest probability1 is it we   
who deceive ourselves1 who know nothing1
 who see nothing and who consider       
imperfect that which is perhaps         
faultless1 we1 who are but an           

infinitesimal fragment of the           
intelligence which we judge with the aid
 of the little shreds of thought which  
it has vouchsafed to lend us8           
,,xxix   ,,the ,,same1 ,,continued      
,how could we reply1 how could our      
thoughts and glances penetrate the      
infinite and the invisible1 we who      
neither understand nor even see the     
thing by which we see and which is the  
source of all our thoughts8 ,in fact1 as
 has been very justly observed1 man does
 not see light itself4 ,he sees only    
matter1 or rather the small part of the 
great worlds which he knows by the name 
of matter1 touched by light4 ,he does   
not perceive the immense rays that cross
 the heavens save at the moment when    
they are stopped by an object of the    
nature of those which his eye is        
accustomed to see upon this earth3 were 
it otherwise1 the whole space filled    
with innumerable suns and boundless     
forces1 instead of being an abyss of    
absolute darkness which absorbs and     

extinguishes the clusters of beams that 
shoot across it from every side1 would  
be but a prodigious1 untenable ocean of 
flashes4 ,shakespeare's famous lines3   
,there are more things in heaven and    
earth1            ,horatio1      ,than  
are dreamt of in your philosophy4  have 
long since become utterly inadequate4   
,there are no longer more things than   
our philosophy can dream of or imagine3 
there is none but things which it cannot
 dream of1 there is nothing but the     
unimaginable2 and1 if we do not even see
 the light1 which is the only thing that
 we believed we saw1 it may be said that
 there is nothing all around us but the 
invisible4  ,we move in the illusion of 
seeing and knowing that which is        
strictly indispensable to our little    
lives4 ,as for all the rest1 which is   
well-nigh everything1 our organs not    
only debar us from reaching1 seeing or  
feeling it1 but even restrain us from   
suspecting what it is1 just as they     
would prevent us from understanding it1 

if an intelligence of a different order 
were to bethink itself of revealing or  
explaining it to us4 ,it is impossible  
for us1 therefore1 to appreciate in any 
degree whatsoever1 in the smallest      
conceivable respect1 the present state  
of the universe and to say1 as long as  
we are men1 whether it follows a        
straight line or describes an immense   
circle1 whether it is growing wiser or  
madder1 whether it is advancing towards 
the eternity which has no end or        
retracing its steps towards that which  
had no beginning4 ,our sole privilege   
within our tiny confines is to struggle 
towards that which appears to us the    
best and to remain heroically persuaded 
that no part of what we do within those 
confines can ever be wholly lost4       
,,xxx   ,,it ,,is ,,not ,,necessary ,,to
 ,,answer  ,,them   ,but let not all    
these insoluble questions drive us      
towards fear4 ,from the point of view of
 our future beyond the grave1 it is in  
no way necessary that we should have an 

answer to everything4 ,whether the      
universe have already found its         
consciousness1 whether it find it one   
day or see it everlastingly1 it could   
not exist for the purpose of being      
unhappy and of suffering1 neither in its
 entirety1 nor in any one of its parts2 
and it matters little if the latter be  
invisible or incommensurable1           
considering that the smallest is as     
great as the greatest in what has       
neither limit nor measure4 ,to torture a
 point is the same thing as to torture  
the worlds2 and1 if it torture the      
worlds1 it is its own substance that it 
tortures4 ,its very destiny1 in which we
 are placed1 protects us4 ,our          
sufferings there could be but ephemeral2
 and nothing matters that is not        
eternal4 ,it is possible1 although      
somewhat incomprehensible1 that parts   
should err and go astray2 but it is     
impossible that sorrow should be one of 
its lasting and necessary laws2 for it  
would have brought that law to bear     

against itself4 ,in like manner1 the    
universe is and must be its own law and 
its sole master2 if not1 the law or the 
master whom it must obey would then be  
the universe2 and the centre of a word  
which we pronounce without being able to
 grasp its scope would be simply        
displaced4 ,if it be unhappy1 that means
 that it wills its own unhappiness2 if  
it will its unhappiness1 it is mad2 and1
 if it appear to us mad1 that means that
 our reason works contrary to everything
 and to the only laws possible1 seeing  
that they are eternal1 or1 to speak more
 humbly1 that it judges what it wholly  
fails to understand4      ,,xxxi        
,,everything ,,must ,,finish ,,exempt   
,,from ,,suffering   ,everything1       
therefore1 must finish1 or perhaps      
everything already is1 if not in a state
 of happiness1 at least in a state      
exempt from all suffering1 all anxiety1 
all lasting unhappiness2 and what1 after
 all1 is our happiness upon this earth1 
if it be not the absence of sorrow1     

anxiety and unhappiness8  ,but it is    
childish to talk of happiness and       
unhappiness where infinity is in        
question4 ,the idea which we entertain  
of happiness and unhappiness is         
something so special1 so human1 so      
fragile that it does not exceed our     
stature and falls to dust as soon as we 
go beyond its little sphere4 ,it        
proceeds entirely from a few accidents  
of our nerves1 which are made to        
appreciate very slight happenings1 but  
which could as easily have felt         
everything the reverse way and taken    
pleasure in that which is now pain4 ,we 
believe that we see nothing hanging over
 us but catastrophes1 deaths1 torments  
and disasters2 we shiver at the mere    
thought of the great interplanetary     
spaces1 with their cold and formidable  
and gloomy solitudes2 and we imagine    
that the revolving worlds are as unhappy
 as ourselves because they freeze1 or   
clash together1 or are consumed in      
unutterable flames4 ,we infer from this 

that the genius of the universe is an   
outrageous tyrant1 seized with a        
monstrous madness1 and that it delights 
only in the torture of itself and all   
that it contains4 ,to millions of stars1
 each many thousand times larger than   
our sun1 to nebul whose nature and      
dimensions no figure1 no word in our    
languages is able to express1 we        
attribute our momentary sensibility1 the
 little ephemeral and chance working of 
our nerves2 and we are convinced that   
life there must be impossible or        
appalling1 because we should feel too   
hot or too cold4 ,it were much wiser to 
say to ourselves that it would need but 
a trifle1 a few papill more or less to  
our skin1 the slightest modification of 
our eyes and ears1 to turn the          
temperature1 the silence and the        
darkness of space into a delicious      
spring-time1 an unequalled music1 a     
divine light4 ,it were much more        
reasonable to persuade ourselves that   
the catastrophes which we think that we 

behold are life itself1 the joy and one 
or other of those immense festivals of  
mind and matter in which death1         
thrusting aside at last our two enemies1
 time and space1 will soon permit us to 
take part4 ,each world dissolving1      
extinguished1 crumbling1 burnt or       
colliding with another world and        
pulverized means the commencement of a  
magnificent experiment1 the dawn of a   
marvellous hope and perhaps an          
unexpected happiness drawn direct from  
the inexhaustible unknown4 ,what though 
they freeze or flame1 collect or        
disperse1 pursue or flee one another3   
mind and matter1 no longer united by the
 same pitiful hazard that joined them in
 us1 must rejoice at all that happens2  
for all is but birth and re-birth1 a    
departure into an unknown filled with   
wonderful promises and maybe an         
anticipation of some unutterable        
event4444  ,and1 should they stand still
 one day1 become fixed and remain       
motionless1 it will not be that they    

have encountered calamity1 nullity or   
death2 but they will have entered into a
 thing so fair1 so great1 so happy and  
bathed in such certainties that they    
will for ever prefer it to all the      
prodigious chances of an infinity which 
nothing can impoverish4            99   
99      99      99      99              
,transcriber's note3  ,minor changes    
have been made to correct typesetters'  
errors2 otherwise every effort has been 
made to remain true to the author's     
words and intent4