one final comment, then i can forget about it

from Magister Ludi by Hermann Hesse,
from the first life; "the Rainmaker":

He had also made the discovery that, in a certain peculiar manner, men of thought gave offense and aroused the repugnance of their fellows. They might be valued at a distance and called on in emergencies, but others neither love them nor accept them, rather give them a wide berth.
He had also learned that the sick and unfortunate are far more receptive to traditional magic spells and exorcisms than to sensible advice; that people more readily accept affliction and outward penances than the task of changing themselves, or even examining themselves..."

i somehow managed to make it through this arrogant tome,
and even found a few nuggets to ponder therein, such as the one above.
given the simple truth said in the above section,
it's hard to ignore the somewhat offensive, smug, and contradictory arrogance he shows here...

if i may be so bold as to throw this phrase into a pot and simmer it down to it's subtext as i see it:

"I feel so alienated from the common folk, they sure don't like me... but this is a suffering I shall endure... after all, they're just jealous. Common folk are so stupid."

as much as i despised this book, i wonder if i went back and re-read some of his books i enjoyed in the past, if now my opinion would be changed or tainted.