Jamie Kermode

“Don't wake up a woman in love. Let her dream, so that she does not weep when she returns to her bitter reality”
― Mark Twain

“You're a bitter man," said Candide.
That's because I've lived," said Martin.”
― Voltaire, Candide

“Do you ever think if people heard our conversations they'd lock us up?"
All the time.”
― Wendy Mass, Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life

“you may fume and fidget as you please: but this is the best plan to pursue with you, I am certain. I like you
more than I can say; but I’ll not sink into a bathos of sentiment: and with this needle of repartee I’ll keep you
from the edge of the gulf too; and, moreover, maintain by its pungent aid that distance between you and myself most conducive to our real mutual advantage.”
― Charlotte Brontë