"<p>And because we are mortal - the greatest gift of human life is that we see this fact more simply and understand it more perfectly every day - we must order our ordinary lives as one who lives in readiness. Like Seneca, when Nero reigns in the Urbs*; like the ladies and gentlemen in the cellars of the Conciérgerie**; like all men who live in revolution. Because life is a revolution. Sometimes it is especially so; for example, in the age we are now living, when the masses have taken the lead.</p> <p>Therefore we must live à jour (up to date). To respond to the world every day, in a letter, a feeling or a thought. The doubt which arises in our common day, to look at it at once; to answer the question, if possible, with all our strength; to work out and complete the due phase of our task. Nature, too, lives à jour; every day, she processes, settles, finishes, and puts everything in its place.</p>"