I should have taken another road, Mr. Brooks—other roads. I should have married, maybe.
Where does anyone find the vanity to become a judge? No, that's not it. I have vanity enough, or too much. But in me, I suppose other forces balance the native vanity, cancel it out. There was never anything in Judge Cleever to make him doubt he's God's own right hand man.
Exercising a privilege of age and kindness, Joe said softly: "Relax, boy."
"Yes, when it's over, I must do that. Do we ever know where we're going?"
"Not to say know, maybe. Just the present road, and good or bad guesswork."
"And crossroads?"
"Same thing, Judge. You try to make the right guess, with whatever good judgment you've got at the time. I've always been alone at my crossroads—I guess everyone is. Or if there was a crowd, I didn't see how they could know where I was going. I was better off trying to puzzle out the signposts myself."
[6]
Nox est perpetua una dormienda.
CATULLUS