“But as, in ethics, evil is a consequence of good, so, in fact, out of joy is sorrow born. Either the memory of past bliss is the anguish of today, or the agonies which are have their origin in the ecstasies which might have been.”
― Edgar Allan Poe, quote from Berenice
“To muse for long unwearied hours with my attention riveted to some frivolous device upon the margin, or in the typography of a book — to become absorbed for the better part of a summer's day in a quaint shadow falling aslant upon the tapestry, or upon the floor — to lose myself for an entire night in watching the steady flame of a lamp, or the embers of a fire — to dream away whole days over the perfume of a flower — to repeat monotonously some common word, until the sound, by dint of frequent repetition, ceased to convey any idea whatever to the mind — to lose all sense of motion or physical existence in a state of absolute bodily quiescence long and obstinately persevered in — Such were a few of the most common and least pernicious vagaries induced by a condition of the mental faculties, not, indeed, altogether unparalleled, but certainly bidding defiance to any thing like analysis or explanation.”
― Edgar Allan Poe, quote from Berenice
“How is it that from beauty I have derived a type of unloveliness?—from the covenant of peace a simile of sorrow? But as, in ethics, evil is a consequence of good, so, in fact, out of joy is sorrow born.”
― Edgar Allan Poe, quote from Berenice
“En la extraña anomalía de mi existencia, los sentimientos en mí nunca venían del corazón, y las pasiones siempre venían de la inteligencia.”
― Edgar Allan Poe, quote from Berenice
“In the strange anomaly of my existence, feelings with me had never been of the heart, and my passions always were of the mind.”
― Edgar Allan Poe, quote from Berenice
“Igual que en la ética el mal es consecuencia del bien, en realidad de la alegría nace la tristeza. O la memoria de la dicha pasada es la angustia de hoy, o las agonías que son se originan en los éxtasis que pudieron haber sido.”
― Edgar Allan Poe, quote from Berenice
“Las realidades del mundo terrestre me afectaron como visiones, sólo como visiones, mientras las extrañas ideas del mundo de los sueños, por el contrario, se tornaron no en materia de mi existencia cotidiana, sino realmente en mi cínica y total existencia.”
― Edgar Allan Poe, quote from Berenice
“W tej właśnie komnacie przyszedłem na świat. Z odmętów długiej nocy, która miała pozór, lecz nie była nicością, wyłoniłem się po to, aby wkroczyć nagle w krainę baśni, w pałacowe przepychy fantazji, w dziwaczne dziedziny myśli i wiedzy klasztornej. Nie dziw tedy, że przerażonym a płomiennym wzrokiem badałem świat dookolny, że dzieciństwo spędziłem wśród ksiąg, a młodość roztrwoniłem na marzeniach; lecz zastanawia ta okoliczność, że gdy lata upływały i południe dojrzałego wieku zastało mnie jeszcze żywcem w gnieździe mych przodków — zastanawia, powtarzam, ta okoliczność, że bijące źródła mojego życia zaprawiły się nagłym zastojem, że w kierunku najwłaściwszego mi myślenia stał się przewrót zupełny. Zjawiska rzeczywistości potrącały o mnie jak sny i tylko jako sny, podczas gdy szaleńcze pomysły z krainy snów stały się w zamian nie tylko strawą mego codziennego istnienia, lecz stanowczo jedynym i całkowitym istnieniem w samym sobie.”
― Edgar Allan Poe, quote from Berenice
“que malgastara mi niñez entre libros”
― Edgar Allan Poe, quote from Berenice
“En los días más brillantes de su belleza incomparable no la amé. En la extraña anomalía de mi existencia, mis sentimientos nunca venían del corazón, y mis pasiones siempre venían de la mente.”
― Edgar Allan Poe, quote from Berenice
“(...) wspomnienie minionego szczęścia stanowi żałość dnia dzisiejszego”
― Edgar Allan Poe, quote from Berenice
“Ci i owi bez wątpienia pomyślą, że mój rozum, tracący równowagę pod wpływem błahostek, był poniekąd pokrewny owej skale morskiej, o której Ptolemeusz Hefestion opowiada, że opierała się niewzruszenie wszelkim napaściom ludzkim i straszliwszym jeszcze wściekłościom wałów wodnych i wichrów, a drżała jedynie pod dotykiem kwiecia zwanego asfodelą.”
― Edgar Allan Poe, quote from Berenice
“Igual que en la ética el mal es consecuencia del bien, en realidad de la alegría nace la tristeza.”
― Edgar Allan Poe, quote from Berenice
“Sam could not help but be pleased. "So. Astrid needs me."
Brianna rolled her eyes. "Yeah, Sam, you're still necessary. You're like a god to us mere mortals. We can't live without you. Later we're going to build you a temple. Satisfied?”
― Michael Grant, quote from Lies
“This was the face of slavery. To have nothing, and still have something more to lose.”
― Lalita Tademy, quote from Cane River
“Kell wore a very peculiar coat.
It had neither one side, which would be conventional, nor two, which would be unexpected, but several, which was, of course, impossible.
The first thing he did whenever he stepped out of one London and into another was take off the coat and turn it inside out once or twice (or even three times) until he found the side he needed. Not all of them were fashionable, but they each served a purpose. There were ones that blended in and ones that stood out, and one that served no purpose but of which he was just particularly fond.”
― V.E. Schwab, quote from A Darker Shade of Magic
“WARNING: DO NOT READ BEYOND THIS PAGE!
Good.
Now I know I can trust you.
You’re curious. You’re brave. And you’re not afraid
to lead a life of crime.
But let’s get something straight: if, despite my
warning, you insist on reading this book, you can’t
hold me responsible for the consequences.
And, make no bones about it, this is a very
dangerous book.
No, it won’t blow up in your face. Or bite your head
off. Or tear you limb from limb.
It probably won’t injure you at all. Unless
somebody throws it at you, which is a possibility that
should never be discounted.
Generally speaking, books don’t cause much harm.
Except when you read them, that is. Then they cause
all kinds of problems.
Books can, for example, give you ideas. I don’t
know if you’ve ever had an idea before, but, if you
have, you know how much trouble an idea can get
you into.
Books can also provoke emotions. And emotions
sometimes are even more troublesome than ideas.
Emotions have led people to do all sorts of things
they later regret – like, oh, throwing a book at someone else.
But the main reason this book is so dangerous is
that it concerns a secret.
A big secret.”
― Pseudonymous Bosch, quote from The Name of This Book Is Secret
“It’s the only choices we have. You eliminate everything, and whatever remains, no matter how improbable, is the answer.”
― Kim Harrison, quote from The Good, the Bad, and the Undead
BookQuoters is a community of passionate readers who enjoy sharing the most meaningful, memorable and interesting quotes from great books. As the world communicates more and more via texts, memes and sound bytes, short but profound quotes from books have become more relevant and important. For some of us a quote becomes a mantra, a goal or a philosophy by which we live. For all of us, quotes are a great way to remember a book and to carry with us the author’s best ideas.
We thoughtfully gather quotes from our favorite books, both classic and current, and choose the ones that are most thought-provoking. Each quote represents a book that is interesting, well written and has potential to enhance the reader’s life. We also accept submissions from our visitors and will select the quotes we feel are most appealing to the BookQuoters community.
Founded in 2023, BookQuoters has quickly become a large and vibrant community of people who share an affinity for books. Books are seen by some as a throwback to a previous world; conversely, gleaning the main ideas of a book via a quote or a quick summary is typical of the Information Age but is a habit disdained by some diehard readers. We feel that we have the best of both worlds at BookQuoters; we read books cover-to-cover but offer you some of the highlights. We hope you’ll join us.