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LETTERS. 193
quite welcome to exclaim “Woe! woe!” if he had only
done so in a reasonable way. But I cannot be angry with
him ; he meant well, and every body has his own way of
doing a thing. But smile I must, when I see how the
critics think that they can make “1a pluie et le beau temps ”
for the authoress. ‘That which gives light to thought and
power to the heart does indeed not come from theni.
Yes, iny dearest Frances, there exists a source of happi-
ness and of goodness, — for the soul becomes good by drink-
ing of it,—a source which makes us independent of our
own fortune or misfortune, and that is — philosophy ; the
contemplation of life, of man, of God and His works.
The more we therein attain coherence and clearness, the
more the great and the little, the past, the present, and
the future gain consistency in a higher light, the calmer
and the happier our mind becomes. Oh! there is happi-
ness, devotion, bliss in this path, which only he feels who,
with a warm heart, has wandered along it. Malebranche’s
“ Vision en Dieu” is, rightly understood, I believe, the re-
sult of true philosophy, and therefore it makes nie so happy.
Those who imagine that I here mean a fantastic sight, or
what we in ev Caner language call a vision, anderstand me
very little. But you, Frances, will not misunderstand me.
Certainly, dearest friend, I would wish to go to England.
I would wish to become acquainted with the people, whom
you know, and whose active philanthropy has made them
so lovable ; I would wish to learn more to value the im-
portant questions, the useful and practical sciences, which
your native country, par excellence, works out for the ben-
efit of mankind. (When I say value, I do not employ the
right word. I can value them, because I know their tend-
ency; but I should wish to understand them better.) But
perhaps this would not be of any importance for my real
development. In order to be able to work out something
good, one ought to perfect oneself in some special branch
of knowledge and ability. To do this, one must, above all,
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