At the approach of danger there are always two voices that speak with equal force in the heart of man:

one very reasonably tells the man to consider the nature of the danger and the means of avoiding it;

the other even more reasonable says that it is too painful and harassing to think of the danger, since it is not a man's power to provide for everything and escape from the general march of events; and that it is therefore better to turn aside from the painful subject till it has come, and to think of what is pleasant.

In solitude a man generally yields to the first voice; in society to the second.