Page:The reflections of Lichtenberg.djvu/93



THE recollection of past pain is not unpleasant, nor that of pleasure assuredly ; present pleasure, too, and future, it is agreeable to bring to mind. It is, then, only present and prospective pain that afflicts usan appreciable preponderance of happiness in life, and one, moreover, still further augmented by the fact that we are constantly endeavouring to procure pleasures, the enjoyment of which can in many cases be counted on with tolerable certainty. Prospective pain, on the contrary, is much less often in view. To account for certain things the man of brilliance rather than of thought is sure to stumble upon some affected explanation that would occur to none but himself, because he reflects without plan or purpose. The judicious man, on the contrary, will always give plain and simple reasons. This should be borne in mind if ever a pair of this character come to be portrayed in a novel. To the former far-fetched and, in his opinion, subtle explanations come just as naturally as do his sparkling ideas and epigrammatic periods. There is no subject upon which I should more like to have the collected private opinions of thinking