M.V.

“It is the very mark of the spirit of rebellion to crave for happiness in this life”
― Henrik Ibsen, Ghosts

“A jolly future! Henri closed his eyes. From Vassieux to Hiroshima – they had gone a long way in a single year. The next war would really be something! And the next post-war period, that would be even neater than this one! That is, if there is a next post-war period – if the defeated don’t take it into their heads to blow up the world.”
― Simone de Beauvoir, The Mandarins

“CHAPTER ONE Henri found himself looking at the sky again – a clear, black crystal dome overhead. It was difficult for the mind to conceive of hundreds of planes shattering that black crystalling silence! And suddenly, words began tumbling through his head with a joyous sound – the offensive was halted … the German collapse had begun … at last he would be able to leave. He turned the corner of the quay. The streets would smell again of oil and orange blossoms, in the evening there would be light, people would sit and chat in outdoor cafés, and he would drink real coffee to the sound of guitars.”
― Simone de Beauvoir, The Mandarins

“O what a threadbare life we lead,
how pitifully poor the words of joy!
All has been seen, all will be seen again,
only the moment of recognition is sweet.”
― Osip Mandelstam, Poems of Osip Mandelstam