“I have a good many books on hand, but I am sorry to say that as usual I make small progress with any.” A candid admission familiar to anyone distracted among too many books · Diary paper, 30 July 1841 Art Time
“He torments, he kills, he devours; he suffers, dies, is devoured—there you have his whole story.” Reducing earthly existence to a stark cycle of predation and suffering · School essay, The Butterfly, 11 August 1842, translated from French Death Mortality Nature
“At length my body and my spirit were weary of wandering; my bark was tossed by storms, I longed to come into port.” Using the journey at sea as an image of exhaustion and the desire for peace · School letter exercise, From One Brother to Another, August 1842, translated from French Hope Solitude
“We must shun them, but do not curse them. Why add our malediction to God’s? Rather pity, rather lament their condition.” Choosing compassion for the morally fallen over further condemnation · School essay, Filial Love, 5 August 1842, translated from French Faith Mercy Truth
“Parents love their children; this is a principle of nature. The doe does not fear the dogs when her little one is in danger; the bird dies on its nest.” Presenting parental devotion as an instinct shared throughout nature · School essay, Filial Love, 5 August 1842, translated from French Childhood Love Nature
“I long to be at home once again, and to see the house and the people that I love so much.” A direct expression of homesickness and attachment to family · School letter exercise, My Dear Mama, 26 July 1842, translated from French Love Memory
“For assuredly, the cat was not wicked in Paradise.” Playfully imagining feline innocence before the corruption of the world · School essay, The Cat, 15 May 1842, translated from French Faith Nature
“In ourselves, we give it another name, politeness, and he who did not use it to hide his real feelings would soon be driven from society.” Exposing social politeness as a respectable form of concealment · School essay, The Cat, 15 May 1842, translated from French Society Truth
“A cat is an animal who has more human feelings than almost any other being.” Recognising a close emotional kinship between animals and human beings · School essay, The Cat, 15 May 1842, translated from French Nature Truth
“I can say with sincerity that I like cats; also I can give very good reasons why those who despise them are wrong.” A spirited defence of an animal frequently misunderstood by human observers · School essay, The Cat, 15 May 1842, translated from French Nature Truth
“Let not the creature judge his Creator; here is a symbol of the world to come.” Finding spiritual hope in transformation beyond present suffering · Essay, The Butterfly (1842) Faith Hope Mortality
“Nature is an inexplicable problem; it exists on a principle of destruction.” Confronting the disturbing dependence of life upon suffering and death · Essay, The Butterfly (1842) Death Nature Truth
