Pessimism Of The Spirit; Optimism Of The

Pessimism Of The Spirit; Optimism Of The Will.

History Is At Once Freedom And Necessity.

How Many Times Have I Wondered If It Is Really Possible To Forge Links With A Mass Of People When One Has Never Had Strong Feelings For Anyone, Not Even One's Own Parents: If It Is Possible To Have A Collectivity When One Has Not Been Deeply Loved Oneself By Individual Human Creatures. Hasn't This Had Some Effect On My Life As A Militant--has It Not Tended To Make Me Sterile And Reduce My Quality As A Revolutionary By Making Everything A Matter Of Pure Intellect, Of Pure Mathematical Calculation?

Revolutionaries See History As A Creation Of Their Own Spirit, As Being Made Up Of A Continuous Series Of Violent Tugs At The Other Forces Of Society - Both Active And Passive, And They Prepare The Maximum Of Favourable Conditions For The Definitive Tug (revolution).

This Is Really The Common Mentality Of Prisoners: They Read With Great Attention All The Articles That Deal With Illnesses And Send Away For Treatises And "be Your Own Doctor" Or "emergency Treatments" And End Up By Discovering That They Have At Least 300 Or 400 Illnesses, Whose Symptoms They Are Experiencing.