“All my moral and intellectual being is penetrated by an invincible conviction that whatever falls under the dominion of our senses must be in nature and, however exceptional, cannot differ in its essence from all the other effects of the visible and tangible world of which we are a self-conscious part. The world of the living contains enough marvels and mysteries as it is—marvels and mysteries acting upon our emotions and intelligence in ways so inexplicable that it would almost justify the conception of life as an enchanted state. No, I am too firm in my consciousness of the marvelous to be ever fascinated by the mere supernatural which (take it any way you like) is but a manufactured article, the fabrication of minds insensitive to the intimate delicacies of our relation to the dead and to the living, in their countless multitudes; a desecration of our tenderest memories; an outrage on our dignity.”
― The Shadow-Line
― The Shadow-Line
“Perhaps everybody has a garden of Eden, I don't know; but they have scarcely seen their garden before they see the flaming sword. Then, perhaps, life only offers the choice of remembering the garden or forgetting it. Either, or: it takes strength to remember, it takes another kind of strength to forget, it takes a hero to do both. People who remember court madness through pain, the pain of the perpetually recurring death of their innocence; people who forget court another kind of madness, the madness of the denial of pain and the hatred of innocence; and the world is mostly divided between madmen who remember and madmen who forget. Heroes are rare.”
―
―
“Motto"
In the dark times
Will there also be singing?
Yes, there will also be singing.
About the dark times.”
―
In the dark times
Will there also be singing?
Yes, there will also be singing.
About the dark times.”
―
“Art never responds to the wish to make it democratic; it is not for everybody; it is only for those who are willing to undergo the effort needed to understand it.”
― Mystery and Manners: Occasional Prose
― Mystery and Manners: Occasional Prose
“Love's the son
stood stammering elocution
while the poor ship in flames went down”
― The Complete Poems 1927-1979
stood stammering elocution
while the poor ship in flames went down”
― The Complete Poems 1927-1979
2025 & 2026 Reading Challenge
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Cain’s 2024 Year in Books
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