Чума
Part IV
Ihaveabsoluteknowledgeofthis—yesRieux,Iknoweverythingaboutlife,asyoucansee—thateveryonehasinsideithimself,thisplague,becausenooneintheworld,noone,isimmune.AndIknowthatwemustconstantlykeepawatchonourselvestoavoidbeingdistractedforamomentandfindourselvesbreathinginanotherperson’sfaceandinfectinghim.Whatisnaturalisthemicrobe.Therest—health,integrity,purity,ifyoulike—areaneffectofwillandawillthatmustneverrelax.Thedecentman,theonewhodoesn’tinfectanybody,istheonewhoconcentratesmost.Andyouneedwill-powerandnervoustensionnottoletyourmindwander!Yesindeed,Rieux,itisverytiringtobeaplaguevictim.Butitisstillmoretiringnottowanttobeone.Thisiswhyeveryoneappearstired,becausenowadayseveryoneisalittleinfected.Butthisiswhyafew,whowanttoceasetobevictims,experienceanextremeformoftirednessfromwhichnothingexceptdeathwilldeliverthem.
"Fromnowuntilthen,IknowthatIamworthnothingforthisworlditselfandthat,themomentIrejectedkilling,Icondemnedmyselftoadefinitiveexile.Othermenwillmakehistory.IknowtoothatIclearlycannotjudgethoseothers.Thereisaqualitywhichislackinginmetomakeareasonablemurderer.Soitisnotamatterofsuperiority.ButnowIacceptbeingwhatIam,Ihavelearnedmodesty.
