benny luno

“In an ancient Confucian classical text, Wei found the perfect motto for the Qing’s nineteenth-century predicament—indeed, for modern China’s struggle as a whole—which he used prominently in the preface to Records of Conquest: “Humiliation stimulates effort; when the country is humiliated, its spirit will be aroused.”40 This idea would be expressed again and again by others for the next century and a half. In fact, it remains the inspiration for the phrase inscribed today in the museum at the Temple of the Tranquil Seas: “To feel shame is to approach courage.”
― Orville Schell, Wealth and Power: China's Long March to the Twenty-first Century

“We talked about nothing in particular, but it felt like we were talking about the most important things...”
― Jonathan Safran Foer, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

“Things are always better in the morning.”
― Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird

“There's nothing wrong with not understanding yourself.”
― Jonathan Safran Foer, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close