Suicide or Hypnosis? 



is this: so long as a man has life, there is no 

 need for him to despair. He may pass from 

 the greatest misery to the greatest joy, from 

 the greatest misfortune to the highest fe- 

 licity. Take courage and, as though you 

 were this very day beginning to recognize the 

 value of life, strive at every moment to make 

 the most of it." 



This humdrum Chinese philosophy is not 

 without merit. It suggests the moralizing 

 of the fabulist: 



1 "... Qu'on me rende impotent, 

 Cul-de-jatte, goutteux, manchot, pourvu 



qu'en somme 

 Je vive, c'est assez: je suis plus que content. 



Yes, yes, La Fontaine and Kung the phi- 

 losopher are right: life is a serious matter, 

 which it will not do to throw away into the 

 first bush by the roadside like a useless gar- 

 ment. We must look upon it not as a 

 pleasure, nor yet as a punishment, but as a 

 duty of which we have to acquit ourselves as 

 well as we can until we are given leave to 

 depart. 



To anticipate this leave is cowardly and 



1 "... So powerless let me lie, 



Gout-ridden, legless, armless; if only, after all, 

 I live, it is enough: more than content am I." 

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