The negative part of the humanist's work is good; it
will strip Christianity of an outer shell, which has become superfluous;
but Ruge and Feuerbach cannot save humanity. She must have her saints
and her heroes to complete the work of her philosophers. Science is the
power of man, and love his strength; man _becomes_ man only by the
intelligence, but he _is_ man only by the heart. Knowledge, love,
power--there is the complete life.
June 16, 1851.--This evening I walked up and down on the Pont des
Bergues, under a clear, moonless heaven delighting in the freshness of
the water, streaked with light from the two quays, and glimmering under
the twinkling stars. Meeting all these different groups of young people,
families, couples and children, who were returning to their homes, to
their garrets or their drawing-rooms, singing or talking as they went, I
felt a movement of sympathy for all these passers-by; my eyes and ears
became those of a poet or a painter; while even one's mere kindly
curiosity seems to bring with it a joy in living and in seeing others
live.
August 15, 1851.--To know how to be ready, a great thing, a precious
gift, and one that implies calculation, grasp and decision. To be always
ready a man must be able to cut a knot, for everything cannot be untied;
he must know how to disengage what is essential from the detail in which
it is enwrapped, for everything cannot be equally considered; in a word,
he must be able to simplify his duties, his business, and his life.
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