Чума

           And,likethosegoodwomenwho,oncetheyhadlearnedthatbuboswhentheyappearedwerethenaturalmeansbywhichthebodyrejectedinfection,wereinchurchesatthisverymomentsaying:"DearGod,givehimbubos",sotheChristianmustlearntogiveintothedivinewill,evenwhenitwasincomprehensible.Onecouldnotsay:"Iunderstandthis,butthatisunacceptable."Onehadtoleaptotheheartofthisunacceptablewhichwasofferedtouspreciselysothatwecouldmakeourchoice.Thesufferingofchildrenwasourbitterbread,butwithoutthisbreadoursoulswoulddieofspiritualhunger.

           Here,theshufflingthatusuallyaccompaniedFatherPaneloux’spauseswasstartingtobeheard,whenunexpectedlythepreacherresumedforcefully,apparentlyaskingonbehalfofhisaudiencewhatwasintheendtheproperwaytobehave.Heguessedthatpeoplewouldmentionthedreadfulword"fatalism".Well,hewouldnotshrinkfromthisterm,butonlyifhewasallowedtoaddtheadjective"active".Indeed,oncemore,theyshouldnotimitatetheChristiansofAbyssiniaaboutwhomhehadspoken.TheyshouldnotevenconsiderfollowingthosePersiansufferersfromtheplaguewhothrewtheirragsattheChristiansanitarypickets,appealingaloudtoheavenandbeggingGodtogivetheplaguetotheseinfidelswhoweretryingtofightagainsttheevilthatHehadsent.