Ardyss (With Her Head in a Book)

“The woman shrugged. “I hear of these Americans, they say the strings have made them think again about their lives. How do you say, their . . .” “Priorities?” Maura offered. “Sì, sì. Their priorities. But, in Italy, I think we already knew. We already put the art first, the food first, the passion first,” she explained, a sweep of her arm encompassing the entire shop. “And we already put the family first. We did not need the strings to tell us what is most important.”
― Nikki Erlick, The Measure

“Wit now would be to insult the night, nature itself, the jasmine scent, the moonlight; one glimpse of the heavens and their infinite spaces reveals the absurdity of our artifices. What scares me is that the alchemy we share may fail to distil true love, the real, the rare, wasting its time on fanciful pastimes while our sophistication destroys our dreams.”
― Edmond Rostand, Cyrano de Bergerac

“To be loved for beauty is a poor reward; it is to love a mask, a temporary dress, a sham unworthy of the loving heart. Your beauty which at first but dazzled me, now that I see more clearly, disappears and is not seen at all.“ Roxanne to Christian”
― Rostand Edmond 1868-1918, Cyrano de Bergerac; comédie héroïque en cinq actes. Edited with introd. and notes by Oscar Kuhns

“Dear Milena,
I wish the world were ending tomorrow. Then I could take the next train, arrive at your doorstep in Vienna, and say: “Come with me, Milena. We are going to love each other without scruples or fear or restraint. Because the world is ending tomorrow.” Perhaps we don’t love unreasonably because we think we have time, or have to reckon with time. But what if we don't have time? Or what if time, as we know it, is irrelevant? Ah, if only the world were ending tomorrow. We could help each other very much.”
― Franz Kafka, Letters to Milena