“Then all became confused and there was still less of what was good; later on again there was still less that was good, and the further he went the less there was. … “It is as if I had been going downhill while I imagined I was going up. And that is really what it was. I was going up in public opinion, but to the same extent life was ebbing away from me. And now it is all done and there is only death.””
