Чума
Part II
Tospeakmoreparticularlyatlastoflovers,whoarethemostinterestinggroupandoneaboutwhomthenarratorisperhapsbetterqualifiedtospeak,theystillfoundthemselvestormentedbyotheragonies,amongwhichoneshouldmentionremorse.Theirsituationallowedthemtoconsidertheirfeelingswithasortoffeverishobjectivity,anditwasrare,atsuchtimes,forthemnottoseetheirownshortcomingsclearly.Thefirstoccasionofthiswasthedifficultytheyhadinimaginingpreciselytheabsentperson’sactionsandgestures.Theydeploredthefactthattheyknewnothingabouthowtheirlovedonesspenttheirtime;theyfeltguiltyabouttheirpastfailuretofindthisoutandabouthavingpretendedtobelievethat,forapersoninlove,thebeloved’sactionsarenotthesourceofeveryjoy.Fromthenonitwaseasyforthemtogobackthroughthestoryoftheirloveandtoexamineitsimperfections.Innormaltimesweareallaware,consciouslyornot,thatthereisnolovewhichcannottobesurpassed,yetweacceptwithagreaterorlesserdegreeofequanimitythatoursshallremainmerelyaverage.Butmemoryismoredemanding.And,inahighlysignificantway,themisfortunethatattackedusfromoutside,andwhichaffectedawholetown,didnotonlybringusanunjustsuffering,aboutwhichwemighthavecomplained,italsoforcedustomakeourselvessuffer,andsomadeusconsenttopain.Thiswasonewaythatthediseasehadofdistractingattentionandconfusingtheissue.
