To turn it into a statement of strength, it was crucial that there be no self-pity. Indeed, it was not simply that there must be no self-pity – this absence must itself be supremely present. This is how strong we are: even in the face of disaster we don’t cry, we don’t complain, we don’t stop to reason why and we never breathe a word about our loss. We are going out now and we may be some time. This is possible only when you are in fact confident of your superiority.
