isabel

“If a beautiful thing were to remain beautiful for all eternity, I'd be glad, but at the same time I'd look at it with a colder eye. I'd say to myself: You can look at it any time, it doesn't have to be today. But when I know something is perishable and can't last forever, I look at it with a feeling not just of joy but of compassion as well.”
― Herman Hesse, Knulp: Three Tales from the Life of Knulp

“Every human being has his soul, he can't mix it with any other. Two people can meet, they can talk with one another, they can be close together. But their souls are like flowers, each rooted to its place. One can’t go to another, because it would have to break away from its roots, and that it can’t do.”
― Herman Hesse, Knulp: Three Tales from the Life of Knulp

“My little gifts gave them pleasure and sometimes they were thankful to me. Why ask for more? Can't we content ourselves with that?”
― Herman Hesse, Knulp: Three Tales from the Life of Knulp