In their frequent conversations upon this subject, he was so
earnest, so eloquent, so markedly intentional, that Wilhelm finally
gave him the smiling assurance that he was preaching to a convert.
It was true, he had the highest respect for a man who did not
hesitate to cast life from him when his whole mind and thought led
him to the conviction that death was preferable to life; and
unprincipled as suicide might be from an objective point of view,
subjectively considered, there surely was an ideal fitness in making
one's actions agree to the uttermost point with one's opinions?
Nevertheless, he himself did not approve of Dorfling's deed, and
would certainly never imitate it, for one could never know what
intentions the unknown powers might not have with regard to the
individual; by committing suicide he maybe threw up some possible
mission, or by his premature departure disturbed the action of the
great machine in which he--as some small screw or wheel--doubtless
had his modest place and function.
As if to prove to Schrotter that he was no disciple of the
"Philosophy of Deliverance," he turned his attention, more than he
had ever done before, to the realities of life. Dorfling left a
remarkable will. He bequeathed his fortune--most advantageously
invested in a house in Dusseldorf and in public funds--yielding a
yearly income of about thirty-five thousand marks, to his two
friends, Dr Schrotter and Dr Eynhardt, with the sole charge that out
of it they should provide a sufficient competency for his old
servant, dating from his father's time, who had attended him
literally from the cradle to the grave.
Pages:
260
261
262
263
264
265
266
267
268
269
270
271
272
273
274
275
276
277
278
279
280
281
282
283
284