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“Marriage has many pains, but celibacy has no pleasures.”
― The History of Rasselas, Prince of Abissinia
― The History of Rasselas, Prince of Abissinia
“I cannot praise a fugitive and cloistered virtue, unexercised and unbreathed, that never sallies out and sees her adversary, but slinks out of the race where that immortal garland is to be run for, not without dust and heat. ”
― Areopagitica
― Areopagitica
“Intimacy, says the phenomenologist Gaston Bachelard, is the highest value. I resist this statement at first. What about artistic achievement, or moral courage, or heroism, or altruistic acts, or work in the cause of social change? What about wealth or accomplishment? And yet something about it rings true, finally—that what we want is to be brought into relationship, to be inside, within. Perhaps it’s true that nothing matters more to us than that.”
― Still Life with Oysters and Lemon: On Objects and Intimacy
― Still Life with Oysters and Lemon: On Objects and Intimacy
“If you cannot write well, you cannot think well; if you cannot think well, others will do your thinking for you.”
―
―
“The More Loving One
Looking up at the stars, I know quite well
That, for all they care, I can go to hell,
But on earth indifference is the least
We have to dread from man or beast.
How should we like it were stars to burn
With a passion for us we could not return?
If equal affection cannot be,
Let the more loving one be me.
Admirer as I think I am
Of stars that do not give a damn,
I cannot, now I see them, say
I missed one terribly all day.
Were all stars to disappear or die,
I should learn to look at an empty sky
And feel its total dark sublime,
Though this might take me a little time.”
― Collected Shorter Poems, 1927-1957
Looking up at the stars, I know quite well
That, for all they care, I can go to hell,
But on earth indifference is the least
We have to dread from man or beast.
How should we like it were stars to burn
With a passion for us we could not return?
If equal affection cannot be,
Let the more loving one be me.
Admirer as I think I am
Of stars that do not give a damn,
I cannot, now I see them, say
I missed one terribly all day.
Were all stars to disappear or die,
I should learn to look at an empty sky
And feel its total dark sublime,
Though this might take me a little time.”
― Collected Shorter Poems, 1927-1957
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A group to discuss books and topics mentioned on Books on the Nightstand, a blog and podcast about books and reading.
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To reciprocate the appreciation of different artists and discuss their lives and works.
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Goodreads Librarians are volunteers who help ensure the accuracy of information about books and authors in the Goodreads' catalog. The Goodreads Libra ...more
Leslie’s 2025 Year in Books
Take a look at Leslie’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
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