“Πλησιάζεις εύκολα μια ζωντανή ψυχή, και μέσα απ’ το έγκλημα, και μέσα από τα πιο θλιβερά βίτσια, - μα η βλακεία είναι αδιαπέραστη.”
“Πόσο είναι παράξενο, σ’ αυτές τις αρχές της ζωής που μας δίνεται λίγη ευτυχία, να μη μας προειδοποιεί καμία φωνή: Όσα χρόνια κι αν ζήσεις, δε θα ‘χεις άλλη χαρά στη ζωή σου απ’ αυτές τις λίγες ώρες. Απόλαυσέ τις ως την στερνή σταγόνα τους, γιατί, ύστερ’ απ’ αυτό, δεν υπάρχει τίποτα για σένα. Αυτή η πρώτη πηγή που βρήκες, είναι και η τελευταία. Σβήσε τη δίψα σου μια για πάντα: δε θα ξαναπιείς πια.”
“I felt at one and the same time quite close, within reach of my hand, and yet an infinite distance away, an unknown world of goodness. Often Isa had said to me: 'You, who see nothing but evil.... You, who see evil everywhere....' It was true, and it was not true.”
“I remained standing in the middle of the room, swaying on my feet as though I had received a blow. I thought of my life and saw what it had been. No one could swim against such a current of mud. I had been a man so horrible that he could have no friend. But wasn't that, I asked myself, because I had always been incapable of wearing a disguise? If all men went through life with unmasked faces, as I had done for half a century, one might be surprised to find how little difference there was between them. But, in fact, no one lives with his face uncovered, no one. Most men ape greatness or nobility. Though they do not know it, they conform to certain fixed types, literary or other. This the saints know, and they hate and despise themselves because they see themselves with unclouded eyes. I should not have been so universally condemned had I not been so defenseless, so open, and so naked.”
“Even the genuinely good cannot, unaided, learn to love. To penetrate beyond the absurdities, the vices, and, above all, the stupidities of human creatures, one must possess the secret of a love which the world has now forgotten. Until that secret shall have been discovered, all betterment in conditions of life will be in vain”
“Против некоего определённого вида тупости я бессилен.”
“Время, умелый вор, мало-помалу перетаскивает всё на свете на свой огромный пыльный склад.”
“Мы никогда не знаем, чего мы в действительности хотим, и вовсе не любим того, что, думается нам, мы любим.”
“[...] против некоего определенного вида тупости я бессилен. Нетрудно найти путь к живой душе, увидев ее даже сквозь преступления, сквозь самые плачевные пороки, но вульгарность – непреодолимая преграда.”
“The best way to guard your heart was to trust a good man to take care of it for you.”
“Speaking of luck, Isabelle Lightwood is a total babe. Actually, she's better than a babe: She's a hero. She came all the way here to tell the world you were hers. You're telling me she doesn't know another hero when she sees one? You're going to figure out what you're doing here. Isabelle Lightwood believes in you, and for what it's worth, I do too.”
“I used to think love was bound by numbers: first kisses, second dances, infinite heartbreaks. I used to think numbers outlasted the love itself, surviving in the dark corners of the demolished heart. I used to think love was heavy and hard.
I don’t think those things anymore.”
“Pa Larkspur?"
She smiled. "Don't be so chauvinistic. He's the best cook in the county. His baskets bring in more money than any others at the picnic auctions."
"Jesus. Baskets? Picnic? Just how country is the Nest?"
"Very." His horrified expression made her laugh. "Clay, you live in a tree. I don't think you should throw stones.”
“All he thinks while he studies pearlescent pigeons is this: I wish I knew how… I wish I knew… I ain’t ever gonna, but I wish I knew how it felt – (-to be free).”
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