Héloïse d'Argenteuil · 383 pages
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“If the portraits of our absent friends are pleasant to us, which renew our memory of them and relieve our regret for their absence by a false and empty consolation, how much more pleasant are letters which bring us the written characters of the absent friend.”
― Héloïse d'Argenteuil, quote from The Letters of Abélard and Héloïse
“Against the disease of writing one must take special precautions, since it is a dangerous and contagious disease.”
― Héloïse d'Argenteuil, quote from The Letters of Abélard and Héloïse
“Would that thy love, beloved, had less trust in me, that it might be more anxious!”
― Héloïse d'Argenteuil, quote from The Letters of Abélard and Héloïse
“[I]t is not by being richer or more powerful that a man becomes better; one is a matter of fortune, the other of virtue. Nor should she deem herself other than venal who weds a rich man rather than a poor, and desires more things in her husband than himself. Assuredly, whomsoever this concupiscence leads into marriage deserves payment rather than affection.”
― Héloïse d'Argenteuil, quote from The Letters of Abélard and Héloïse
“God knows I never sought anything in you except yourself. I wanted simply you, nothing of yours.”
― Héloïse d'Argenteuil, quote from The Letters of Abélard and Héloïse
“[I]f the name of wife appears more sacred and more valid, sweeter to me is ever the word friend, or, if thou be not ashamed, concubine ... And thou thyself wert not wholly unmindful of that ... [as in the narrative of thy misfortunes] thou hast not disdained to set forth sundry reasons by which I tried to dissuade thee from our marriage, from an ill-starred bed; but wert silent as to many, in which I preferred love to wedlock, freedom to a bond. I call God to witness, if Augustus, ruling over the whole world, were to deem me worthy of the honour of marriage, and to confirm the whole world to me, to be ruled by me forever, dearer to me and of greater dignity would it seem to be called thy concubine than his empress.”
― Héloïse d'Argenteuil, quote from The Letters of Abélard and Héloïse
“Let me have a faithful account of all that concerns you; I would know everything, be it ever so unfortunate. Perhaps by mingling my sighs with yours I may make your sufferings less, for it is said that all sorrows divided are made lighter.”
― Héloïse d'Argenteuil, quote from The Letters of Abélard and Héloïse
“[A]s though mindful of the wife of Lot, who looked back from behind him, thou deliveredst me first to the sacred garments and monastic profession before thou gavest thyself to God. And for that in this one thing thou shouldst have had little trust in me I vehemently grieved and was ashamed. For I (God [knows]) would without hesitation precede or follow thee to the Vulcanian fires according to thy word. For not with me was my heart, but with thee. But now, more than ever, if it be not with thee, it is nowhere. For without thee it cannot anywhere exist.”
― Héloïse d'Argenteuil, quote from The Letters of Abélard and Héloïse
“If there is anything that may properly be called happiness here below, I am persuaded it is the union of two persons who love each other with perfect liberty, who are united by a secret inclination, and satisfied with each other's merits. Their hearts are full and leave no vacancy for any other passion; they enjoy perpetual tranquillity because they enjoy content.”
― Héloïse d'Argenteuil, quote from The Letters of Abélard and Héloïse
“Everyone wishes to be saved, but few will use those means which religion prescribes.”
― Héloïse d'Argenteuil, quote from The Letters of Abélard and Héloïse
“Strive now to unite in yourself all the virtues of these different examples. Have the purity of virgins, the austerity of anchorites, the zeal of pastors and bishops, and the constancy of martyrs.”
― Héloïse d'Argenteuil, quote from The Letters of Abélard and Héloïse
“we are much fonder of the pictures of those we love, when they are at a great distance, than when they are near to us.”
― Héloïse d'Argenteuil, quote from The Letters of Abélard and Héloïse
“It is always some consolation in sorrow to feel that it is shared, and any burden laid on several is carried more lightly or removed.”
― Héloïse d'Argenteuil, quote from The Letters of Abélard and Héloïse
“If there is anything that may properly”
― Héloïse d'Argenteuil, quote from The Letters of Abélard and Héloïse
Héloïse d'Argenteuil
Born place: Paris (?), France
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“So many people suffer because they choose to suffer. Pain comes to us all, but suffering is a choice.”
― E.J. Squires, quote from Wraithsong
“Love works no ill to his neighbor: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. Romans 13:10”
― quote from Study Bible-ESV
“The challenges we face when it comes to identity and choice exist precisely because choosing is not only a private activity but a social one, a negotiation between many moving parts. Choice requires us to think more deeply about who we are, both within ourselves and in the eyes of others.”
― Sheena Iyengar, quote from The Art of Choosing
“Fire
i
The morning you were made to leave
she sat on the front steps,
dress tucked between her thighs,
a packet of Marlboro Lights
near her bare feet, painting her nails
until the polish curdled.
Her mother phoned–
What do you mean he hit you?
Your father hit me all the time
but I never left him.
He pays the bills
and he comes home at night,
what more do you want?
Later that night she picked the polish off
with her front teeth until the bed you shared
for seven years seemed speckled with glitter
and blood.
ii
On the drive to the hotel, you remember
“the funeral you went to as a little boy,
double burial for a couple who
burned to death in their bedroom.
The wife had been visited
by her husband’s lover,
a young and beautiful woman who paraded
her naked body in the couple’s kitchen,
lifting her dress to expose breasts
mottled with small fleshy marks,
a back sucked and bruised, then dressed herself
and walked out of the front door.
The wife, waiting for her husband to come home,
doused herself in lighter fluid. On his arrival
she jumped on him, wrapping her legs around
his torso. The husband, surprised at her sudden urge,
carried his wife to the bedroom, where
she straddled him on their bed, held his face
against her chest and lit a match.
iii
A young man greets you in the elevator.
He smiles like he has pennies hidden in his cheeks.
You’re looking at his shoes when he says
the rooms in this hotel are sweltering.
Last night in bed I swear I thought
my body was on fire.”
― Warsan Shire, quote from Teaching My Mother How to Give Birth
“No one is born feeling grateful; it’s an acquired skill. That’s why traditional Jewish law forbids spending money on the Sabbath. God commands us to stop shopping and count our blessings on that one day because he knows that left on our own, we wouldn’t be so inclined.”
― Wendy Mogel, quote from The Blessing Of A Skinned Knee: Using Timeless Teachings to Raise Self-Reliant Children
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