“thou who hast given me liberty, knowledge, riches;
thou who, like beings of a superior order to ourselves,
couldst understand the science of good and evil;
if in the depths of the tomb there still remain something within us
which can respond to the voice of those who are left on earth;
if after death the soul ever revisit the places where we have lived and suffered,
—then, noble heart, sublime soul,
then I conjure thee by the paternal love thou didst bear me,
by the filial obedience I vowed to thee,
grant me some sign, some revelation!
Remove from me the remains of doubt,
which, if it change not to conviction,
must become remorse!”
Alexandre Dumas