S. Augustine. As from what I can understand the evil is so deep-seated, it will do no good to heal it slightly, for it will soon throw out more shoots. It must be entirely rooted up. Yet I know not where to begin, so many complications alarm me. But to make the task of dividing the matter easier, I will examine each point in detail. Tell me, then, what is it that has hurt you most?
Petrarch. Whatever I see, or hear, or feel.
S. Augustine. Come, come, does nothing please you?
Petrarch. Nothing, or almost nothing.
S. Augustine. Would to God that at least the better things in your life might be dear, to you. But tell me what is it that is to you the most displeasing of all? I beg you give me an answer.
Petrarch. I have already answered.
S. Augustine. It is this melancholy I spoke of which is the true cause of all your displeasure with yourself.
Petrarch. I am just as displeased with what I see in others as with what I see in myself.
S. Augustine. That too comes from the same source. But to get a little order into our discourse, does what you see in yourself truly displease you as much as you say?
Petrarch. Stop worrying me with your petty questions, that are more than I know how to reply to.