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20 July 1922

Hotel Chateau Belle Vue, Sierre, Switzerland

I do not want to be hard. I hope to God I am not unsympathetic. But it seems to me there comes a time in life when one must realise one is grownup - a man. And when it is no longer decent to go on probing and probing. Life is so short. The world is rich. There are so many adventures possible. Why do we not gather our strength together and LIVE. It all comes to much the same thing. In youth most of us are, for various reasons, slaves. And then, when we are able to throw off our chains, we prefer to keep them. Freedom is dangerous, is frightening.
   If only I can be a good enough writer to strike a blow for freedom! It is the one axe I want to grind. Be free - and you can afford to give yourself to life! Even to believe in life.  [To S.S.Koteliansky, 17 July 1922.]