What to say about Artois? I arrived at the end of winter, which is marked only by the abundance of mud in the connecting trenches. On the afternoon of the day I returned to Hersin-Coupigny, there was a bombardment in the mentioned pit that took away six hens belonging to the sisters for whom I usually celebrate Mass; I got the most beautiful one for soup: that might reconcile me with the 210 caliber shells, don't you think? (…)
Remember that our Lord will keep me from all evil, if He wishes. And even if He does not wish, it will still be very good, even for you, because everything contributes to the greatest good of the soul (St. Paul says) if not for everyone, then at least for those who love God. It is a narrowed "optimism," but very comforting…
(Pierre Teilhard de Chardin SJ /1881–1955/, letter from the front, to a cousin, December 2, 1915;
quoted from the book Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, The Birth of Thought. Letters 1914–1919, 2021)
