The genius of you Americans is that you never make clear-cut stupid moves, only complicated stupid moves which make us wonder at the possibility that there may be something to them we are missing. The worst they can do is kill you. Do not fear friends. At worst, they may betray you. But tumult soon subsides.
Time makes more converts than reason.
The best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity. A sweet mission in this world dominated by disorder and decay. There is nothing which can better deserve our patronage than the promotion of science and literature. Knowledge is in every country the surest basis of public happiness. That was the choice of Achilles, and it is mine, too.