982 pages
Rating: (4K votes)
“if lies can save a man once, truth can save him twice.”
“Altro io non sono che la schiava
del mio ardente desiderio per te...
Chi per questo mi biasima è sicuro
che sia giusto il suo giudizio?”
“Il mio ultimo respiro
darà sfogo alla mia tristezza,
finché le fiamme del mio fuoco
non saranno spente.
Ah, quando giungerà l'ora
dell'incontro generosamente concesso,
dopo il tempo delle tenebre
e dell'implacabile durezza?
Il male allora mi abbandonerà e io dirò:
«Il mio amore ha mantenuto la promessa!»”
“Se un giorno diventassi ricca
al punto di non aver niente da desiderare,
se un giorno possedessi il mondo
e l'autorità dei Cesari,
sappi che per me niente di tutto ciò
peserà più dell'ala di un moscerino,
se i miei occhi non avranno la tua persona
da guardare!”
“Costantemente la mia guancia preme
contro la terra, umida delle mie lacrime;
e le mie lacrime bagnano la terra
come una pioggia che la fecondi.”
“Appena il tuo ricordo accarezza la mia anima,
mi vedo bruciare d'amore per te,
consumato dai rimpianti,
e le lacrime mi imperlano le palpebre.”
“Rosse sono diventate le mie lacrime,
e il mio vino è giunto a maturazione;
i miei occhi si dissetano con una bevanda
che assomiglia a quella della coppa.
E io mi domando: son state le mie palpebre
a lasciar scorrere vino,
oppure è la coppa in cui bevo
a contener le mie lacrime?”
“Muschio, il suo respiro;
rose, la sua guancia;
perle, i suoi denti, e una bevanda
che inebria, l'acqua della sua bocca.
La vita, quella di un ramoscello;
le natiche, dune di sabbia inarcate;
tenebra i capelli e il volto
come un disco lunare luminoso.”
“Un sorriso
su una collana di perle;
una fila di chicchi di grandine,
ghirlanda di garofani bianchi.
Ricciolo arruffato di capelli
quale un fiume di notte;
bellezza che rallegra il cuore, così perfetta
che vedendola l'alba impallidisce di gelosia.”
“she had an elegant belly and a navel that could contain an ounce of unguent.”
“one is free of envy’ and ‘Injustice lurks in the soul; strength shows it and weakness hides it.”
“First things were good, last things not so much so.”
“But privately when things got very bad I often looked into books to see whether I could find some helpful words, and one day I read, "The forgiveness of sins is perpetual and righteousness first is not required." This impressed me so deeply that I went around saying it to myself. But then I forgot which book it was.”
“The small talk that sprang readily to their lips came to hers only with a tremendous effort. After an opportunity had come and gone, she often scolded herself for not saying this or doing that, for laughing too loud or smiling too little. Whenever she tried to re-create the moment of contact, she was easily rebuffed by the slightest gesture, withdrawing all too quickly if she thought she was in the way. The old stone-and-brick schoolhouse, with its four gabled roofs and round little windows, was the only thing that seemed steadfast to her, while the beings that populated its rooms and thundered down its corridors were unreal and unpredictable. It gripped her like a monstrous truth that she was condemned to lead life without belonging or feeling close to anyone.”
“The mind can imagine terrors far more horrific than you could ever physically bear, just like the mind will tune out those physical hurts when the pain surpasses what your body can endure.”
“If you can't remember something, did it really happen?”
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