“My father ran London Films. He made films like 'The Red Shoes,' 'The Third Man.' And he had had a long career in the film business, which was bifurcated with a career in intelligence. He had to deal with gangsters, and sometimes he would take me with him. Also, I went to school with their children.” MenChildrenLongMadeSometimesSchoolFilmFatherDealsCareersRedThirdsShoesLondonRanTake MeGangstersLong CareersRed Shoes Author:Mark Helprin
“What I really like to do is to sit quietly and write. All that other stuff is a problem. Publication to reception to negotiation to... everything, it's a problem. And I like to sit outside for long periods of time and just be in the tranquility of nature. That's what I like.” WritingLongProblemStuffPeriodsTranquilityNegotiationPublicationReceptionLong Periods Of Time Author:Mark Helprin
“As long as you have life and breath, believe. Believe for those who cannot. Believe even if you have stopped believing. Believe for the sake of the dead, for love, to keep your heart beating, believe. Never give up, never despair, let no mystery confound you into the conclusion that mystery cannot be yours.” IfsGivingBelieveHeartLongMysteryDespairGiving UpBreathsSakeConclusionNever Giving UpHeart Beating Author:Mark Helprin
“From long familiarity, we know what honor is. It is what enables the individual to do right in the face of complacency and cowardice. It is what enables the soldier to die alone, the political prisoner to resist, the singer to sing her song, hardly appreciated, on a side street.” KnowsLongFacesPoliticalPurposeSongDiesIndividualSidesStreetsHonorSoldierSingersPurpose Of LifePrisonerCowardiceAppreciatedFamiliarityComplacencyPolitical Prisoners Author:Mark Helprin
“Who said that justice is what you imagine? Can you be sure that you know it when you see it, that you will live long enough to recognize the decisive thunder of its occurrence, that it can be manifest within a generation, within ten generations, within the entire span of human existence? What you are talking about is common sense, not justice. Justice is higher and not as easy to understand - until it presents itself in unmistakable splendor. The design of which I speak is far above our understanding. But we can sometimes feel its presence.” KnowsFeelsHumansLongSaidSometimesEnoughSpeakEasyUnderstandingJusticeCommonExistenceTalkingImagineGenerationsDesignHigherTenCommon SenseManifestThunderHuman ExistenceSplendor Book:Winter's Tale Source: Winter's Tale
“How the holy and the profane mix in the light of day and at the end of life is sometimes the most beautiful thing in this world and a compassionate entry into the next. After failure and defeat, a concentration upon certain beauties, though forever lost and unretrievable, can lift the wounded past roundedness and the dying past dying, protecting them with an image, still and bright, that will ride with them on their long ride, never to fade and never to retreat.” WorldLongStillsEndsSometimesLightPastBeautifulLife IsCertainNextLostForeverDyingThis WorldHolyDefeatLiftsConcentrationCompassionateFadesBeautiful ThingsWoundedRetreatEntryEnd Of LifeProfane Author:Mark Helprin
