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London, Jack

"The Sea-Wolf"

'


? ? ? ? As he went on, his voice again grew soft, and a confiding note came into it. 'Do you know, I sometimes catch myself wishing that I, too, were blind to the facts of life and knew only its fancies and illusions. They're wrong, all wrong, of course, and contrary to reason, but in the face of them my reason tells me, wrong and most wrong, that to dream and live illusions give greater delight. And, after all, delight is the wage for living. Without delight, living is a worthless act. To labor at living and be paid is worse than to be dead. He who delights the most, lives the most, and your dreams and unrealities are less disturbing to you and most gratifying than are my facts to me.'


? ? ? ? He shook his head slowly, pondering.


? ? ? ? 'I often doubt the worthwhileness of reason. Dreams must be more substantial and satisfying. Emotional delight is more filling and lasting than intellectual delight; and, besides, you pay for your moments of intellectual delight by having the blues. Emotional delight is followed by no more than jaded senses, which speedily recuperate.


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