Now you will see how excess may lead to inattention. The blind fury of the epidemic, killing right and left, took from me a young lady, who was to be my wife; I did not understand the necessity of the epidemic, much less her death. I think this one seemed even more absurd than all the other deaths. Quincas Borba, however, explained to me that epidemics were useful to the species, though disastrous to a certain portion of individuals; he made me realize that, however horrendous the spectacle was, there was an advantage of great weight: the survival of the greatest number. He even asked me
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