arthur

“Rousseau's relentless self-examination did result in the internal appearance of a frail, wavering image of primitive, wild, innocent man. And as that ghostly image gradually took shape - he imagined it as a furtive shadow slipping behind the oaks - he perceived it not as fierce or brutish, ruled by disordered impulses and violent instincts, but rather as timid, absolutely adjusted to a motherly, enveloping Nature, and essentially solitary and happy.”
― Frédéric Gros, A Philosophy of Walking

“But haste and speed accelerate time, which passes more quickly, and two hours of hurry shorten a day. Every minute is torn apart by being segmented, stuffed to bursting. You can pile a mountain of things into an hour. Days of slow walking are very long: they make you live longer, because you have allowed every hour, every minute, every second to breathe, to deepen, instead of filling them up by straining the joints.”
― Frédéric Gros, A Philosophy of Walking

“For five years, he spent his winters learning. Long walks were for springtime.”
― Frédéric Gros, A Philosophy of Walking

“Once a turnip said, 'I taste very good with honey.' 'Get away, you boaster,' replied the honey. 'I taste good without you.”
― Francis Spufford, Red Plenty