I’m feeling introspective tonight–not witty. Sorry, folks. I’ve been reading through a journal that I started in 1981 (yeah, I’m old) of quotations that I’ve jotted down on the journey. So I thought I’d share a few with you.
“Who seeks, but does not take when offered, shall never find it more.” Shakespeare, Antony & Cleopatra
“The lunatic, the lover, and the poet are of imagination all compact.” Shakespeare, A Midsummer’s Night Dream
“It is amazing how complete the delusion that beauty is goodness.” Tolstoy
“I am a part of all that I have met. Yet all experience is an arch, where through gleams that untraveled world, whose margin fades, forever and forever when I move.” Tennyson, Ulysses
“To venture is to cause anxiety. Not to venture is to lose oneself.” Kierkegaard
“It’s one of those things a person has to do; sometimes a person has to go a very long distance out of his way to come back a short distance correctly.” Edward Albee, The Zoo Story
“The best lack all conviction, while the worse are full of passionate intensity.” Yeats, The Second Coming
“What you want is the magnificent abandon of life, the great free souls, the blazing butterflies, and not the little gray moths.” Jack London, Martin Eden
“Love lay on the mountain-tops beyond the valley-land of reason. It was a sublimated condition of existence, the topmost peak of living, and it came rarely.” Ibid
“I’m not omniscient, but I do know many things.” So saith Mephistopheles in Goethe’s Faust
And one entire poem by D.H. Lawrence:
Aware
Slowly the moon is rising out of the ruddy haze,
Divesting herself of her golden shift and so
Emerging white and exquisite, and I in amaze
See in the sky before me,
a woman I did not know I loved, but there she goes,
and her beauty hurts my heart;
I follow her down the night, begging her not to depart.
And, for the NC Pop the Cap groupies:
“I will make it felony to drink small beer.” Shakespeare, Henry VI, Part II
Oh, AF, I fall more in love with you everyday. You know I’m a shameless quote whore. ; )
In particular, I’m especially drawn to the Yeats quote these days… thanks for sharing.
I was just outside for a few minutes and the moon is absolutely stunning-as full as it can be, “white and exsquisite.”
Why am I not surprised that at such a very young age you fell in love with words well put together? You were a baby in 1981, AF!
Jack London has always been a favorite of mine- I enjoyed Martin Eden.
What drives your mood tonight? No need to answer- just interesting for me to ponder.
I hope you’re have a restful and contented weekend.
“The best navigators are never quite sure of where they are going, and whe they get there they still aren’t sure.” Frank Zappa
Thanks, Greg, for the Zappa, man.
Yeah, Vicki, I was looking at the full and exquisite moon last night as well. I love the high romantic naturalism of Martin Eden–most people have read other London, but not many have read ME–my fav.
Lu, Yeats is my favorite poet of all time. It’s amazing how relevant his poems are, even and especially now.
Thanks, y’all.
“He moved in a way that suggested he was attempting the world speed record for the nonchalant walk.” — Terry Pratchett
I adore quotes, and I imagine had I been you know, able to write in 1981, rather then learning to hold my head up, I would have had a journal then too.
Thank you for sharing.
And do you still like these quotes as much now as then?
Started the journal in ‘81? Why in the world would a 3rd grader be quoting Kierkegaard? I didn’t even know who that was until college! LOL
Sorry I’ll miss the meeting; I’ll be at the Candidates Forum @ The Renaissance.
Here’s an original quote from me for your journal:
“If not for blogging what would an Insomniac do?”
Oh yeah, Neil.
FD, I was 16 in ‘81. And very cute.
Great quote, Hoss. Are you a Prachett fan?
Yeah, Autumn, I would have been babysitting you in 81. Bet you were a cutie then too!
I read recently that people used to read literature for the beauty of the written word. Now they read it to be entertained. Can we not have both?
Love the quotes.
You’re still younger then some of my previous dates.
Here’s a quote for you:
Those whom the gods love grow young.
–Oscar Wilde
Speaking as an older woman and all…