It was around 2300 hours when I finally hit the rack, and as I always did when I thought we may enter into a combat situation, I lay on my bunk with my eyes closed and said a prayer for the safety of my squad.

Tragedy acts then like a laxative […] or an aperient […] to douche our systems of humors and emotions that unbalance the soul, so that we may return to the virtuous golden mean, to homeostatic equilibrium.

the only comfort (saith Jovius) he had to ease his melancholy thoughts, was to hear news, and to listen after those ordinary occurrents, which were brought him cum primis, by letters or otherwise, out of the remotest parts of Europe.

He's telling us another fairy tale about how great the software will be.