STUDIES IN PESSIMISM

The whole foundation on which our existence rests is the present - the ever-fleeting present. It lies then in the very nature of our existence to take the form of constant motion and to offer no possibility of our ever attaining the rest for which we are always striving. We are like a man running downhill who cannot keep on his legs unless he runs on and will inevitably fall if he stops; or again like a pole balanced on the tip of one's finger; or like a planet which would fall into its sun the moment it ceased to hurry forward on its way. Unrest is the mark of existence. (FROM STUDIES IN PESSIMISM)