“Blessed be all Loss and the Failure of Friends and the Sacrifice of Love....
“Blessed be the Destruction of all Possessions, the Ruin of all Property, Fine Cities, and Great Palaces....
“Blessed be the Disappointment of all Ambitions....
“Blessed be all Failure and the ruin of every Earthly Hope....
“Blessed be all Sorrows, Torments, Hardships, Endurances that demand Courage....
“Blessed be these things—for of these things cometh the making of a Man....”
Peter, clinging to the Giant's Finger, staggered in the wind. The world was hidden now in a mist of rain. He was alone—and he was happy, happy, as he had never known happiness, in any time, before.
The rain lashed his face and his body. His clothes clung heavily about him.
He answered the storm:
“Make of me a man—to be afraid of nothing ... to be ready for everything—love, friendship, success ... to take if it comes ... to care nothing if these things are not for me—