Quotes from If Not, Winter: Fragments of Sappho

“their heart grew cold
they let their wings down”
― Sappho, quote from If Not, Winter: Fragments of Sappho

“someone will remember us
I say
even in another time”
― Sappho, quote from If Not, Winter: Fragments of Sappho

“you came and I was crazy for you
and you cooled my mind that burned with longing”
― Sappho, quote from If Not, Winter: Fragments of Sappho

“In fact she herself once blamed me
Kyprogeneia

because I prayed
this word:
I want.”
― Sappho, quote from If Not, Winter: Fragments of Sappho

“]Sardis
often turning her thoughts here

]
you like a goddess
and in your song most of all she rejoiced.

But now she is conspicuous among Lydian women
as sometimes at sunset
the rosyfingered moon

surpasses all the stars. And her light
stretches over salt sea
equally and flowerdeep fields.

And the beautiful dew is poured out
and roses bloom and frail
chervil and flowering sweetclover.

But she goes back and forth remembering
gentle Atthis and in longing
she bites her tender mind”
― Sappho, quote from If Not, Winter: Fragments of Sappho

“yet if you had a desire for good or beautiful things
and your tongue were not concocting some evil to say
shame would not hold down your eyes
but rather you would speak about what is just”
― Sappho, quote from If Not, Winter: Fragments of Sappho

“I would not think to touch the sky with two arms”
― Sappho, quote from If Not, Winter: Fragments of Sappho

“]sing to us
the one with violets in her lap
]mostly
]goes astray”
― Sappho, quote from If Not, Winter: Fragments of Sappho

“I emphasize the distinction between brackets and no brackets because it will affect your reading experience, if you will allow it. Brackets are exciting. Even though you are approaching Sappho in translation, that is no reason you should miss the drama of trying to read a papyrus torn in half or riddled with holes or smaller than a postage stamp--brackets imply a free space of imaginal adventure.”
― Sappho, quote from If Not, Winter: Fragments of Sappho

“Evening you gather back
all that dazzling dawn has put asunder:
you gather a lamb, gather a kid,
gather a child to its mother.”
― Sappho, quote from If Not, Winter: Fragments of Sappho

“may you sleep on the breast of your delicate friend”
― Sappho, quote from If Not, Winter: Fragments of Sappho

“]
]you will remember
]for we in our youth
did these things

yes many and beautiful things
]
]
]”
― Sappho, quote from If Not, Winter: Fragments of Sappho

“for you beautiful ones my thought
is not changeable”
― Sappho, quote from If Not, Winter: Fragments of Sappho

“Someone will remember us
I say
Even in another time”
― Sappho, quote from If Not, Winter: Fragments of Sappho

“I want to say something but shame
prevents me

yet if you had a desire for good or beautiful things
and your tongue were not concocting some evil to say,
shame would not hold down your eyes
but rather you would speak about what is just”
― Sappho, quote from If Not, Winter: Fragments of Sappho

“gathering flowers so very delicate a girl”
― Sappho, quote from If Not, Winter: Fragments of Sappho

“Eros the melter of limbs (now again) stirs me -
sweetbitter unmanageable creature who steals in”
― Sappho, quote from If Not, Winter: Fragments of Sappho

“but if you love us
choose a younger bed
for I cannot bear
to live with you when I am the older one”
― Sappho, quote from If Not, Winter: Fragments of Sappho

“neither for me honey nor the honey bee”
― Sappho, quote from If Not, Winter: Fragments of Sappho

“For the man who is beautiful is beautiful to see but the good man will at once also beautiful be”
― Sappho, quote from If Not, Winter: Fragments of Sappho

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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.

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