Until  this  moment  he  had  only  half  understood  its
awful,  its  terrifying  truth.  ...  It  were  better  that
man  ceased  to  pollute  the  earth.  His  history  is  but
the  record  of  crime  ;  his  existence  is  but  a  disgrace-
ful episode  in  the  life  of  one  of  the  meanest  of  the
planets.
We  cannot  desire  what  we  possess,  and  so  we  pro-
gress from  illusion  to  illusion.  But  when  we  cease
to  distinguish  between  ourself  and  others,  when  our
thoughts  are  no  longer  set  on  the  consideration  of
our  own  embarrassed  condition,  when  we  see  into  the
heart  of  things,  which  is  one,  then  disappointment
and  suffering  cease  to  have  any  meaning,  and  we
attain  that  true  serenity  and  peace  which  we  some-
times see  reflected  in  a  seraph's  face  by  Raphael.
