The given quote: “Other men condemned to exile and captivity, of they survive, despair: the man of letters may reckon those days as the sweetest of his life”, are by Hugo Grotius, a philosopher of the seventeenth century, who took to his time spent in the prison to composing great pieces of literary art.

The sentence brings out clearly the contrast between the two types of individuals in captivity. The first, a man who has been condemned to imprisonment and capture, and who does not utilise his days in any matter whatsoever, will either die or live in despair if alive. If he is not putting his thoughts into words or action, he is doing nothing but exhausting himself of the spirit of life itself, and will go on to lead only a life of sorrow and hopelessness.

On the other hand, another prisoner, who has subjected his free time to penning down his thoughts, who is a man of letters, that is someone who uses words to wield his thoughts, might end up feeling that the troubled times he has spent in the dull prison actually turned out to be brighter and sweeter than expected. Devoting his time to thoughts and words will keep him fresh, content and cheerful.