The Sorrows of Werther

The young men were gay, and full of spirits. Albert is arrived. Were he the best and most perfect of men, were I in every respect his inferior, it would not be less insupportable to me to see him in possession of so many charms, so many perfections. I have seen him, my dear friend; I have seen this happy husband; he is a well-bred worthy man, whom one cannot help liking. How things have since changed! Then, in happy ignorance, I languished after a world I did not know, and where I hoped to find all the enjoyments my heart so often felt the want of; and now I was returned from that world so much desired - and what, my dear friend, did I bring back? Disappointed hopes, unsuccessful plans. My sufferings are great: I have lost the only charm of my life; that active sacred power, which created worlds around me - it is no more.