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Eeden, Frederik van, 1860-1932

"The Bride of Dreams"

I bore up against it bravely,
as bravely as I could, but I began to ponder much at that time. "How
long would I be able to endure this?" I thought. "And why does he do
it? If all this folly and hardship served no purpose, we did not have
to bear it then. What could he purpose thereby? Will something very
pleasant follow? Or will these hardships continue until we die? Is all
this God plaguing us, as he says? Why does God do it, and should we let
ourselves be tormented so?"
Then, after hours of silent wandering, I put a question:
"Is there justice, father?"
By this I meant, whether for all this footsoreness, this thirst and
this exertion, I would be rewarded by proportional pleasure. My father
did not reply. He evidently had need of all his energies to walk on.
But when we had finally reached the seaport and had washed ourselves
with seawater, he said abruptly: "There is only power!"
That answer did not please me. It was pleasure I wanted. Power could
not avail me.
III
Consider well, dear reader, the purpose of these writings.


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