No, the more I was blessed, the more I felt – though I hesitate to admit this – chosen, personally chosen, above all others, for this long, enduring success. In reality, this was a result of my modesty. I refused to attribute my success to sole personal merit and I could not believe that the combination of such different and such extreme qualities in a single being was the result of pure chance. This is why I lived happily and felt, in some way, entitled to this happiness by a command from on high.
