‘No sooner do you approach,’ he said, ‘than untold horrors
swarm on you from every side – duty, pride, respectability, public opinion, ridicule,
disdain. You mustn’t take any notice of them, but just walk straight ahead. The
monsters gradually vanish, and before you opens a peaceful, sunny glade, with
the green myrtle blossoming in its midst. But all is lost, if your heart quakes
and you turn back at the beginning.’...I really oughtn’t to be so biting about them,
I who have loved nothing in the world but them and have always been ready to
sacrifice for them peace of mind, ambition, even life itself.
- Pechorin's Corner @ Chelifer's Beach (1840)
