“Nothing is more depressing than consolations based on the necessity of evil, the uselessness of remedies, the inevitability of fate, the order of Providence, or the misery of the human condition. It is ridiculous to try to alleviate misfortune by observing that we are born to be miserable. It is much better to prevent the mind from indulging in such reflections, and to treat men as emotional beings, instead of treating them as rational.” – Montesquieu, “Letter 33,” Persian Letters (trans. Betts)
Hindbrain to the forefront
April 16th, 2012 · 2 Comments
Tags: Lit & Crit · Montesquieu
2 responses so far ↓
1 Averil Dean // Apr 16, 2012 at 10:21 am
It’s also not helpful to hear about the people who are worse off and are therefore the only ones entitled to a bad day. Let me wallow in my misery, for god’s sake, let’s not add guilt to the mix.
2 Tetman Callis // Apr 16, 2012 at 10:45 am
We get bad days whether we’re entitled to them or not. Cosmic socialism.
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