“I have done wrong things enough in my life, and do them now; I miss the mark, draw the bow, and try again. But I cannot sit down and whine and groan against not-existent evil.”

MARIE BASHKIRTOEFF

“I enjoy weeping, I enjoy my despair; I enjoy being exasperated and gad. I feel as if there were so many diversions. I cry, I grieve and at the same time I am pleased – no, not exactly that – I know not how to express it. But everything in life pleases me, and in the midst of my prayers for happiness, I find myself happy at being miserable. It is not I who undergo all this – my body weeps and cries; but something inside of me which is above me is glad of it all.”