A person in despair wants despairingly to be himself. But surely if he wants despairingly to be himself, he cannot want to be rid of himself. Yes, or so it seems. But closer observation reveals the contradiction to be still the same. The self which, in his despair, he wants to be is a self he is not (indeed, to want to be the self he truly is, is the very opposite of despair). (p. 50)

Someone in despair despairs over something. So, for a moment, it seems, but only for a moment. That same instant the true despair shows itself, or despair in i…

When whatever causes person to despair occurs, it is immediately evident that he has been in despair his whole life. (p. 54)

Is it an excellence in your love that it can love only the extraordinary, the rare? If it were love's merit to love the extraordinary, then God would be - if I…