"
Wilhelm hung his head. "You are right. It is foolish; for I see that
I do not love the girl deeply enough to spoil my life."
"Come now. You were more in love than you thought; but it is always
so; even in pure and passionless natures human nature is very
strong, and the first young and pretty girl who comes near enough to
you brings out all the dormant feelings, and reason disappears.
People often do the maddest things in this period of unrest, which
they repent all their after life. I have always mistrusted a first
love. One must be quite satisfied that it is for an individual, and
not merely the natural inclination for the other sex asserting
itself. Your first love, my poor Eynhardt, certainly belongs to this
class. Your youthful asceticism has had its revenge; now that your
reason has got hold of the reins again, the rebellion of your
instinct will soon be subdued."
"I hope so," said Wilhelm.
"I am sure of it. There is no doubt about the end of crises like
these, and it really is difficult to take the misery they cause
seriously, although it is bad enough while it lasts. It is the most
overpowering and yet the least dangerous of diseases. The patient
gives himself up for lost, and the doctor can hardly help smiling,
because he knows that the malady will only run its course, and will
stop like a clock at its appointed time.
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