Quotes from Holy the Firm

Annie Dillard ·  76 pages

Rating: (3.5K votes)


“We sleep to time's hurdy-gurdy; we wake, if ever we wake, to the silence of God. And then, when we wake to the deep shores of time uncreated, then when the dazzling dark breaks over the far slopes of time, then it's time to toss things, like our reason, and our will; then it's time to break our necks for home.
There are no events but thoughts and the heart's hard turning, the heart's slow learning where to love and whom. The rest is merely gossip, and tales for other times.”
― Annie Dillard, quote from Holy the Firm


“There are no events but thoughts and the heart's hard turning, the heart's slow learning where to love and whom. The rest is merely gossip, and tales for other times.”
― Annie Dillard, quote from Holy the Firm


“You can serve or you can sing, and wreck your heart in prayer, working the world's hard work.”
― Annie Dillard, quote from Holy the Firm


“People love the good not much less than the beautiful, and the happy as well, or even just the living, for the world of it all, and heart's home. ”
― Annie Dillard, quote from Holy the Firm


“When the candle is burning, who looks at the wick? When the candle is out, who needs it? But the world without light is wasteland and chaos, and a life without sacrifice is abomination.”
― Annie Dillard, quote from Holy the Firm



“I seem to be on a road, walking, greeting the hedgerows, the rose-hips, the apples and thorn. I seem to be on a road, walking, familiar with neighbors, high-handed with cattle, smelling the sea, and alone. Already, I know the names of things. I can kick a stone.”
― Annie Dillard, quote from Holy the Firm


“The higher Christian churches...come at God with an unwarranted air of professionalism, with authority and pomp, as though they knew what they were doing, as though people in themselves were an appropriate set of creatures to have dealings with God. I often think of the set pieces of liturgy as certain words which people have successfully addressed to God without their getting killed. In the high churches they saunter through the liturgy like Mohawks along a strand of scaffolding who have long since forgotten the danger. If God were to blast such a congregation to bits, the congregation would be, I believe, genuinely shocked. But in the low churches you expect it any minute.”
― Annie Dillard, quote from Holy the Firm


“What can an artist use but materials, such as they are? What can he light but the short string of his gut, and when that's burnt out, any muck ready to hand?”
― Annie Dillard, quote from Holy the Firm


“So live. I'll be the nun for you. I am now.”
― Annie Dillard, quote from Holy the Firm


“Each thing in the world is translucent.”
― Annie Dillard, quote from Holy the Firm



“The higher Christian churches--where, if anywhere, I belong--come at God with an unwarranted air of professionalism, with authority and pomp, as though they knew what they were doing, as though people in themselves were an appropriate set of creatures to have dealings with God. I often think of the set pieces of liturgy as certain words which people have successfully addressed to God without their getting killed. In the high churches they saunter through the liturgy like Mohawks along a strand of scaffolding who have long since forgotten their danger. If God were to blast such a service to bits, the congregation would be, I believe, genuinely shocked. But in the low churches you expect in any minute. This is the beginning of wisdom.”
― Annie Dillard, quote from Holy the Firm


“I like to tease a bit, if he'll let me, with the owners' son, two, whose name happens to be Chandler, and who himself likes to play in the big bins of nails.

And so, forgetting myself, thank God: Hullo. Hullo, short and relatively new. Welcome again to the land of the living, to time, this hill of beans. Chandler will have, as usual, none of it. He keeps his mysterious counsel.”
― Annie Dillard, quote from Holy the Firm


“Here is the fringey edge where elements meet and realms mingle, where time and eternity spatter each other with foam.”
― Annie Dillard, quote from Holy the Firm


“I often think of the set pieces of liturgy as certain words which people have successfully addressed to God without their getting killed.”
― Annie Dillard, quote from Holy the Firm


About the author

Annie Dillard
Born place: in Pittsburgh, PA, The United States
Born date April 30, 1945
See more on GoodReads

Popular quotes

“Bear in mind that the measure of a man is the worth of the things he cares about.”
― Marcus Aurelius, quote from The Emperor's Handbook


“In fact, the question has haunted me for a long time: Does life have meaning after Auschwitz? In a universe cursed because it is guilty, is hope still possible? For a young survivor whose knowledge of life and death surpasses that of his elders, wouldn’t suicide be as great a temptation as love or faith?”
― Elie Wiesel, quote from Day


“Do we have a plan?”
“A couple.” Jim said.
“Either of them good?”
“Oh, no. Not at all. Just different flavors of terrible.”
― quote from Babylon's Ashes


“No one is normal. Normal is a lie.”
― Heidi Cullinan, quote from Carry the Ocean


“I don't fear death.
I fear the end of all my thoughts and dreams
That will disappear into nothingness when I die.”
― quote from Adultolescence


Interesting books

The Candymakers
(18.4K)
The Candymakers
by Wendy Mass
The Medusa Plot
(26.3K)
The Medusa Plot
by Gordon Korman
Pieces of You
(12.5K)
Pieces of You
by Cassia Leo
The Return
(11.8K)
The Return
by Jennifer L. Armentrout
The Virgin of Small Plains
(5.7K)
The Virgin of Small...
by Nancy Pickard
Frozen Tides
(13.4K)
Frozen Tides
by Morgan Rhodes

About BookQuoters

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.