Quotes from Voss

Patrick White ·  448 pages

Rating: (2K votes)


“If truth is not acceptable, it becomes the imagination of others.”
― Patrick White, quote from Voss


“To understand the stars would spoil their appearance.”
― Patrick White, quote from Voss


“The map? I will first make it.”
― Patrick White, quote from Voss


“She would have liked to sit upon a rock and listen to words, not of any man, but detached, mysterious, poetic words that she alone would interpret through some sense inherited from sleep.”
― Patrick White, quote from Voss


“To make yourself, it is also necessary to destroy yourself.”
― Patrick White, quote from Voss



“Human relationships are vast as deserts: they demand all daring, she seemed to suggest. ”
― Patrick White, quote from Voss


“I am compelled into this country.”
― Patrick White, quote from Voss


“His legend will be written down, eventually, by those who are troubled by it.”
― Patrick White, quote from Voss


“At times his arrogance did resolve itself into simplicity, though it was difficult, especially for strangers, to distinguish these occasions.”
― Patrick White, quote from Voss


“He himself, he realized, had always been most abominably frightened, even at the height of his divine power, a frail god upon a rickety throne, afraid of opening letters, of making decisions, afraid of the instinctive knowledge in the eyes of mules, of the innocent eyes of good men, of the elastic nature of the passions, even of the devotion he had received from some men, and one woman, and dogs.”
― Patrick White, quote from Voss



“To kiss and to kill are similar words to eyes that focus with difficulty.”
― Patrick White, quote from Voss


“Such was the texture of her marble.

[In a description of Laura Trevelyan.]”
― Patrick White, quote from Voss


“In general,' Voss replied, 'it is necessary to communicate without knowledge of the language.”
― Patrick White, quote from Voss


“—Los ateos, por lo general, lo son por razones mezquinas —aseveró Voss—. La más mezquina de todas ellas estriba en su propia falta de grandeza espiritual, que les impide concebir la idea de un Poder Divino. Al”
― Patrick White, quote from Voss


“You have taken the important, essential core of the apple, including (one must not forget) the nasty pips, and scales (I do not know what you call those little things) which must be spat out.”
― Patrick White, quote from Voss



“But the purpose and nature are never clearly revealed. Human behaviour is a series of lunges, of which, it is sometimes sensed, the direction is inevitable.”
― Patrick White, quote from Voss


“Voss could always, if necessary, fail to understand. But wounds will wince, especially in the salt air. He was smiling and screwing up his eyes at the great theatre of light and water. Some pitied him. Some despised him for his funny appearance of a foreigner. None, he realized with a tremor of anger, was conscious of his strength. Mediocre, animal men never do guess at the power of rock or fire, until the last moment before those elements reduce them to - nothing. This, the palest, the most transparent of words, yet comes closest to being complete.”
― Patrick White, quote from Voss


About the author

Patrick White
Born place: in Knightsbridge, London, England, The United Kingdom
Born date May 28, 1912
See more on GoodReads

Popular quotes

“How can you come to understand your life when even the beginning is so complicated: a single cell imprinted with the color of your eyes and the shape of your face the pattern on your palm and the moods that will shadow you through your life. How can you be alive when every choice you make breaks the world into a thousand filaments each careless step branching into long tributaries of alternate lives shuddering outward and outward like sheet lightning.”
― Dan Chaon, quote from You Remind Me of Me


“HESTER’S POOL WAS ALSO FORBIDDEN IN CAL’S world, which was only one of the reasons it was irresistible.”
― Nora Roberts, quote from Blood Brothers


“I think you're under no obligation whatsoever to forgive anything, to forget anything. You're not required to push away the years of abuse because the abuser now chooses to be sober and in his sobriety regrets his actions. And white may be small and unforgiving of me, I think people who do so at the snap of a dam finger are either liars or are in need of serious therapy. I assume you heard him out, so in my personal opinion, any debt you might owe for your existence is now paid in full. It may be fashionable to hold that terrible actions are indeed terrible, but that hte person inflicting them isn't responbile due to alcohol, drugs, DNA, or GD PMS. He damn well was responsible, and if you decided to loathe him for the rest of your life, I wouldn't blame you for it. How's that?" (Cybil to Gage - she ROCKS)”
― Nora Roberts, quote from The Pagan Stone


“Brewster Place became especially fond of its colored daughters as they milled like determined spirits among its decay, trying to make it home. Nutmeg arms leaned over windowsills, gnarled ebony legs carried groceries up double flights of steps, and saffron hands strung out wet laundry on backyard lines. Their perspiration mingled with the steam from boiling pots of smoked pork greens, and it curled on the edges of the aroma of vinegar douches and Evening in Paris cologne that drifted through the street where they stood together - hands on hips, straight-backed, round-bellied, high-behinded women who threw their heads back when they laughed and exposed strong teeth and dark gums. They cursed, badgered, worshiped, and shared their men. Their love drove them to fling dishcloths in someone else's kitchen to help him make the rent, or to fling hot lye to help him forget that bitch behind the counter at the five-and-dime. They were hard-edged, soft-centered, brutally demanding, and easily pleased, these women of Brewster Place. They came, they went, grew up, and grew old beyond their years. Like an ebony phoenix, each in her own time and with her own season had a story.”
― Gloria Naylor, quote from The Women of Brewster Place


“It’s a curse to have a mind if it is illegal to use it. It’s a curse to have intelligence if you are forced to cloak it in a lifetime of wilful stupidity.”
― Ben Elton, quote from Blind Faith


Interesting books

Justine, Philosophy in the Bedroom, and Other Writings
(3K)
Justine, Philosophy...
by Marquis de Sade
Hush
(4.8K)
Hush
by Anne Frasier
Robert Kennedy and His Times
(2K)
Robert Kennedy and H...
by Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr.
For the Time Being
(3.1K)
For the Time Being
by Annie Dillard
Dark Journey
(6.5K)
Dark Journey
by Elaine Cunningham
London is the Best City in America
(2.4K)
London is the Best C...
by Laura Dave

About BookQuoters

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.

Founded in 2023, BookQuoters has quickly become a large and vibrant community of people who share an affinity for books. Books are seen by some as a throwback to a previous world; conversely, gleaning the main ideas of a book via a quote or a quick summary is typical of the Information Age but is a habit disdained by some diehard readers. We feel that we have the best of both worlds at BookQuoters; we read books cover-to-cover but offer you some of the highlights. We hope you’ll join us.