Great Throughts Treasury

"Nothing, in my view, is more gentle and gracious than Nature; once aware of having been seen, Nature does notexpose herself to the gaze of the Self." - Ishvarakrishna, aka Iśvarakṛṣṇa NULL

"Primordial matter (mulaprakriti) is the root, not a product; the seven principles beginning with the great Intellect (mahat) are both products and productive; the sixteen are mere products; the Self (purusha) is neither a product nor productive." - Ishvarakrishna, aka Iśvarakṛṣṇa NULL

"Therein does the conscious Self (purusha) experience pain caused by decay and death, until dissociation from the subtle body; thus suffering is in the very nature of things." - Ishvarakrishna, aka Iśvarakṛṣṇa NULL

"The theoretical postulate of all diplomatic discussion between nations is the assumed willingness of every nation to do justice." - Elihu Root

"This is very nice, said Mr. Barlow, looking at the Contessina. She had on a dress of heliotrope organdie, with a fichu folded across the bosom with that best discretion for the display of pretty curves. Her skin was very dark against the heliotrope, as fresh as a young petal, as brown as old, old ivory." - Elizabeth Bowen, Full name Elizabeth Dorothea Cole Bowen

"I, a virgin, can make my frank boast that I communicate to no mortal man my secret counsels except to such as I have chosen on account of their taciturnity; then, if these secrets are later discovered, I know whom to accuse." - Elizabeth II, born Elizabeth Alexandra May NULL

"Whenever I happen to be in a city of any size, I marvel that riots do not break out everyday: Massacres, unspeakable carnage, a doomsday chaos. How can so many human beings coexist in a space so confined without hating each other to death?" - Emil M. Cioran

"He loved her body so far. Now head began to love." - Emile Zola

"Only when human sorrows are turned into a toy with glaring colors will baby people become interested - for a while at least. The people are a very fickle baby that must have new toys every day." - Emma Goldman

"Any form of betrayal can be final. Dishonesty can be final. Selling out is final. But you are just talking now. Death is what is really final." - Ernest Hemingway, fully Ernest Miller Hemingway

"I do not go in search of poetry. I wait for poetry to visit me." - Eugenio Montale

"And so we take a holiday, a vacation, to gain release from this bondage for a space, to stand back from the rush of things and breathe again. But a holiday is a respite, not a cure. The more we need holidays, the more certain it is that the disease has conquered us and not we it. More and more holidays just to get away from it all is a sure sign of a decaying civilization; it was one of the most obvious marks of the breakdown of the Roman empire. It is a symptom that we haven't learned how to live so as to re-create ourselves in our work instead of being sapped by it. A car should always be charging its battery as it runs. If it simply uses up without putting back, it has to go into dock to be recharged. It is not a sign that we are running particularly well if we are constantly needing to go into dock." - Evelyn Underhill

"I know very few young people, but it seems to me that they are all possessed with an almost fatal hunger for permanence." - Evelyn Waugh, fully Evelyn Arthur St. John Waugh

"All great art is born of the metropolis." - Ezra Pound, fully Ezra Weston Loomis Pound

"A work of art is a world in itself reflecting senses and emotions of the artist's world." - Hans Hoffman

"Painting is aesthetic enjoyment; I want to be a "poet". As an artist I must conform to my nature. My nature has a lyrical as well as a dramatic disposition. Not one day is the same. One day I feel wonderful to work and I feel an expression, which shows in the work. Only with a very clear mind on a clear day I can paint without interruptions and without food because my disposition is like that. My work should reflect my moods and the greatest enjoyment I had when I did the work..." - Hans Hoffman

"Who hath little shame the world is all his own." - Italian Proverbs

"Wise men learn by other men's mistakes, fools by their own." - Italian Proverbs

"And so it was settled. Sam Gamgee married Rose Cotton in the spring of 1420 (which was also famous for its weddings), and they came and lived at Bag End. And if Sam thought himself lucky, Frodo knew that he was more lucky himself; for there was not a hobbit in the Shire that was looked after with such care. When the labors or repair had all been planned and set going he took to a quiet life, writing a good deal and going through all his notes. He resigned the office of Deputy Mayor at the Free Fair that Midsummer, and dear old Will Whitfoot had another seven years of presiding at Banquets." - J. R. R. Tolkien, fully John Ronald Reuel Tolkien

"And that's the way of a real tale. Take any one that you're fond of. You may know, or guess, what kind of a tale it is, happy-ending or sad-ending, but the people in it don't know. And you don't want them to." - J. R. R. Tolkien, fully John Ronald Reuel Tolkien