“The seasons sang to him - like ageless hymns with whisperings he could feel, but not fully understand.”
― Bodie Thoene, quote from Vienna Prelude
“This is me, God! Elisa. I once saw you in all the world. But the world is dark now, Lord. Full. Full of darkness. Close your eyes for a moment, God, and let me sing to you. Let me remember that you are here. Here in the notes. Smiling down as I play for you. Just this moment, God, let me sing to you. And maybe in the song, I will forget whether I am singing to you, or you are singing to me . . . ”
― Bodie Thoene, quote from Vienna Prelude
“The Reich may tell you whom you may love and whom you must hate. Oh, yes, Thomas, the Reich can dictate the inward life of every man."
"Not the inward life." Thomas looked up sharply. "Only the outward show.”
― Bodie Thoene, quote from Vienna Prelude
“God sees when we do not see, ja?”
― Bodie Thoene, quote from Vienna Prelude
“Nobody liked Goring except Hitler and Goring.”
― Bodie Thoene, quote from Vienna Prelude
“Tonight the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come marched in goose-step and raised a hand to salute "Heil Hitler!" Tonight the ghost wore a swastika on his armband instead of the simple red and white colors of Austria. And yet, on this silent night, the horrible specter seemed all but invisible in Vienna. Murphy could only wonder if he was the sole person at Sacher's who could hear the anthem of Hitler's hordes echoing distantly from beyond the mountains.”
― Bodie Thoene, quote from Vienna Prelude
“Hot tears rolled from Herschel's eyes and he wiped them away, afraid that they would drip through the boards and onto his father's unfeeling tormentors.”
― Bodie Thoene, quote from Vienna Prelude
“Elisa thought how empty the prayers sounded. The words rattled around in the ancient rafters and then returned to them like dead leaves falling from the trees. No life. No shade of hope. Only a cold wind that blew into their very souls.”
― Bodie Thoene, quote from Vienna Prelude
“What miralces can there be when Germany has sold her soul?”
― Bodie Thoene, quote from Vienna Prelude
“You *forgot*? I will beat you with a good stout stick!”
― Bodie Thoene, quote from Vienna Prelude
“ . . . he thought how easy it would be to simply kick his typewriter onto the floor and smash it to pieces among the wads of discarded paper that overflowed his waste basket.”
― Bodie Thoene, quote from Vienna Prelude
“He scowled at the typewriter, at the empty sheet of paper.”
― Bodie Thoene, quote from Vienna Prelude
“This pursuit of Theo was not borne out of hatred for him as a man or a Jew. All of that was just an excuse - an excuse for lawless men to take what belonged to others. It seemed strange that those who served the Hitlers and the Himmlers and the Gorings believed constant lies. "The Jew is a misfortune." It was those little men in the service of greed who were the most violent, the most dedicated to the brutality of the racial policies. They murdered and terrorized for one reason only: because they could. They were the law of the lawlessness; the power of evil was their creed and their joy and their god!”
― Bodie Thoene, quote from Vienna Prelude
“The English have a better idea of right and wrong. They still believe in hell, I think, and perhaps that keeps them from brutality. Germany has ceased to believe in hell. And so they create hell for innocent men and have no fear that they themselves will ever face condemnation. I tell you, Jacob,” the professor whispered to Theo, “Germany has sold its soul, and the fire it brings to the world will come back to itself. Hitler is Satan. Mein Kampf is his book of black magic. Germany is Faust. And the hour will come when . . .” His voice trailed off. “When what, Professor?” Theo asked, hoping the old man was not falling to sleep. “Like the Faust of Marlowe, Germany will watch the clock run out. And there will be no salvation.”
― Bodie Thoene, quote from Vienna Prelude
“What do you talk about?”...
“Nothing. Just . . . stuff.”
“Oh my god, Jules. You are blushing!”
This is appalling. She’s right. I can feel it. “I am not!”
She leans in and teases me. “Do you need a mirror? You’re bright red.”
“Stop it. It’s not like that. We talk about . . . heavy things.” I don’t want to say “death.” Even that much feels like breaking a confidence. “We’re not flirting.”
“So he hasn’t sent you a picture of his manhood yet?”
I burst out laughing. “Has Brandon sent you a picture of his?”
“No!” Now she’s blushing.
“Knowing him, it would be artfully framed, with perfect lighting and specifically placed shadows—”
“Shut up!” But she’s giggling.”
― Brigid Kemmerer, quote from Letters to the Lost
“Don't give in to your fears. If you do, you won't be able to talk to your heart.”
― Paulo Coelho, quote from Alkimist
“What has our culture lost in 1980 that the avant-garde had in 1890? Ebullience, idealism, confidence, the belief that there was plenty of territory to explore, and above all the sense that art, in the most disinterested and noble way, could find the necessary metaphors by which a radically changing culture could be explained to its inhabitants.”
― Robert Hughes, quote from The Shock of the New
“We don’t know if he ever left England. We don’t know who his principal companions were or how he amused himself. His sexuality is an irreconcilable mystery. On only a handful of days in his life can we say with absolute certainty where he was.”
― Bill Bryson, quote from Shakespeare: The World as Stage
“Why didn't you become a sorcerer, Geralt? Weren't you ever attracted by the Art? Be honest.'
'I will. I was.'
'Why, then, didn't you follow the voice of that attraction?'
'I decided it would be wiser to follow the voice of good sense.'
'Meaning?'
'Years of practice in the witcher's trade have taught me not to bite off more than I can chew. Do you know, Vilgefortz, I once knew a dwarf, who, as a child, dreamed of being an elf. What do you think; would he have become one had he followed the voice of attraction?”
― Andrzej Sapkowski, quote from Time of Contempt
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