Marc

“Formerly man had only a body and a soul. Now he needs a passport as well for without it he will not be treated like a human being.”
― Stefan Zweig, The World of Yesterday

“The difference essentially between a book and a friend lies not in their greater or lesser wisdom, but in the manner in which we communicate with them, reading being the reverse of conversation, consisting as it does for each one of us in receiving the communication of another’s thought while still being on our own, that is, continuing to enjoy the intellectual sway which we have in solitude and which conversation dispels instantly, and continuing to be open to inspiration, with our minds still at work hard and fruitfully on themselves.”
― Marcel Proust, Days of Reading

“Allà dins hi havia viscut gent. De la vanitat, de l’odi, de les miques d’amor, en quedava la pols i un trist espectacle d’esplendor i d’oblit.”
― Mercè Rodoreda, Mirall trencat

“En la lectura, la amistad es devuelta de pronto a su pureza primera. Con los libros, no existe amabilidad. Si pasamos la velada con estos amigos, es realmente porque lo deseamos. Al menos a ellos, lamentamos a menudo dejarlos. Y cuando los hemos dejado, ninguno de esos pensamientos que enturbian la amistad: «¿Qué han pensado de nosotros? – ¿Nos ha faltado tacto? – ¿Hemos gustado?», ni el miedo a ser olvidado por algún otro. Todos estos sobresaltos de la amistad expiran en el umbral de esa amistad pura y tranquila que es la lectura.”
― Marcel Proust, Sur la lecture