A House of Pomegranates

What men call the shadow of the body is not the shadow of the body, but is the body of the soul.

He is really not so ugly after all, provided, of course, that one shuts one's eyes, and does not look at him.

The burden of this world is too great for one man to bear, and the world’s sorrow too heavy for one heart to suffer.

They did not understand a single word of what he was saying, but that made no matter, for they put their heads on one side, and looked wise, which is quite as good as understanding a thing, and very much easier.

the secrets of art are best learned in secret, and that Beauty, like Wisdom, loves the lonely worshipper.

In war,’ answered the weaver, ‘the strong make slaves of the weak, and in peace the rich make slaves of the poor.

I know a flower that grows in the valley, none knows it but I. It has purple leaves, and a star in its heart, and its juice is as white as milk. Should’st thou touch with this flower the hard lips of the Queen, she would follow thee all over the world. Out of the bed of the King she would rise, and over the whole world she would follow thee. And it has a price, pretty boy, it has a price. What d’ye lack? What d’ye lack? I can pound a toad in a mortar, and make broth of it, and stir the broth with a dead man’s hand. Sprinkle it on thine enemy while he sleeps, and he will turn into a black viper, and his own mother will slay him. With a wheel I can draw the Moon from heaven, and in a crystal I can show thee Death. What d’ye lack? What d’ye lack? Tell me thy desire, and I will give it thee, and thou shalt pay me a price, pretty boy, thou shalt pay me a price.

The walls were hung with rich tapestries representing the Triumph of Beauty. A large press, inlaid with agate and lapis-lazuli, filled one corner, and facing the window stood a curiously wrought cabinet with lacquer panels of powdered and mosaiced gold, on which were placed some delicate goblets of Venetian glass, and a cup of dark-veined onyx. Pale poppies were broidered on the silk coverlet of the bed, as though they had fallen from the tired hands of sleep, and tall reeds of fluted ivory bare up the velvet canopy, from which great tufts of ostrich plumes sprang, like white foam, to the pallid silver of the fretted ceiling. A laughing Narcissus in green bronze held a polished mirror above its head. On the table stood a flat bowl of amethyst.

The Lizards were extremely philosophical by nature, and often sat thinking for hours and hours together,

We have chains, though no eye beholds them; and are slaves, though men call us free.

En la guerra los fuertes hacen esclavos a los débiles, y en la paz los ricos hacen esclavos a los pobres.

Through our sunless lanes creeps Poverty with her hungry eyes, and Sin with his sodden face follows close behind her.  Misery wakes us in the morning, and Shame sits with us at night.

I ricchi e i poveri non sono forse fratelli?" domandò il giovane re. "Sì", rispose l'uomo "il nome del fratello ricco è Caino

Mother, I denied thee in the hour of my pride. Accept me in the hour of my humility. Mother, I gave thee hatred. Do thou give me love. Mother, I rejected thee. Receive thy child now.

Love is better than wisdom, and more precious than riches, and fairer than the feet of the daughters of men. The fires cannot destroy it, nor can the waters quench it.

For of a truth pain is the Lord of this world, nor is there any one who escapes from its net.

And the Infanta frowned, and her dainty rose-leaf lips curled in pretty disdain. ‘For the future let those who come to play with me have no hearts,’ she cried, and she ran out into the garden.

he bade the ambassadors tell their master that the King of Spain was already wedded to Sorrow, and that though she was but a barren bride he loved her better than Beauty;

We tread out the grapes, and another drinks the wine. We sow the corn, and our own board is empty. We have chains, though no eye beholds them; and are slaves, though men call us free.

And as he slept he dreamed a dream, and this was his dream.

but more often he would be alone, feeling through a certain quick instinct, which was almost a divination, that the secrets of art are best learned in secret, and that Beauty, like Wisdom, loves the lonely worshipper.