You have a disease which, unfortunately, is now in vogue and which you see every day among intelligent people. The doctors, of course, know nothing about it. It is akin to moral insanity; It can also be called individualism or imaginary solitude. Modern books are full of it. You have a fantasy that you are alone, no one is interested in you, no one understands you. For someone who is already sick with this disease, a few disappointments are enough for him to believe that there is no connection at all between him and other people, except perhaps for a misunderstanding, and that each person, in fact, goes through life in complete solitude, who will never become truly understandable to others, has nothing to share with them and cannot have anything in common. It even happens that such patients become arrogant and see all other healthy people who are still able to understand or love each other as herd animals. If this disease becomes universal, humanity will inevitably die.

You have a disease which, unfortunately, is now in vogue and which you see every day among intelligent people. The doctors, of course, know nothing about it. It is akin to moral insanity; It can also be called individualism or imaginary solitude. Modern books are full of it. You have a fantasy that you are alone, no one is interested in you, no one understands you. For someone who is already sick with this disease, a few disappointments are enough for him to believe that there is no connection at all between him and other people, except perhaps for a misunderstanding, and that each person, in fact, goes through life in complete solitude, who will never become truly understandable to others, has nothing to share with them and cannot have anything in common. It even happens that such patients become arrogant and see all other healthy people who are still able to understand or love each other as herd animals. If this disease becomes universal, humanity will inevitably die.

🍀 Herman Hesse