Quotessence
Home / Quotes / Quote by Patrick White

Quote by Patrick White

“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.”

Quote by Patrick White

Book:Voss
Create image

Work

Voss

The story follows the protagonist, Voss, as he embarks on a perilous journey through a remote and unforgiving landscape, facing both external dangers and internal conflicts. more

Author

Patrick White
Patrick White

Patrick White was an Australian writer renowned for his unique literary style and profound social insight. His works often explore the relationship between individuals and society, as well as the respect for Indigenous Australian culture. White's writing has received international recognition, including the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1973. more

You May Also Like

“The wish to disappear sends many travelers away. If you are thoroughly sick of being kept waiting at home or at work, travel is perfect: let other people wait for a change. Travel is a sort of revenge for having been put on hold, or having to leave messages on answering machines, not knowing your party's extension, being kept waiting all your working life - the homebound writer's irritants. But also being kept waiting is the human conditon.”

PeopleIfsHumansHomeWishWaitingPerfectPartyKnowingMessagesMachinesSickRevengeDisappearNot KnowingTravelerExtensionsWorking LifeAnswering MachinesIrritants
Book:Dark Star Safari: Overland from Cairo to Cape Town
Create image

“Peace requires us to surrender our illusions of control. We can love and care for others but we cannot possess our children, lovers, family, or friends. We can assist them, pray for them, and wish them well, yet in the end their happiness and suffering depend on their thoughts and actions, not on our wishes.”

WellsChildrenEndsCareActionSufferingWishDependsPrayingLoversIllusionOur ChildrenSurrenderThoughts And ActionsLove And CareIllusion Of Control
Author:Jack Kornfield
Create image

“Human beings act in a great variety of irrational ways, but all of them seem to be capable, if given a fair chance, of making a reasonable choice in the light of available evidence. Democratic institutions can be made to work only if all concerned do their best to impart knowledge and to encourage rationality. But today, in the world's most powerful democracy, the politicians and the propagandists prefer to make nonsense of democratic procedures by appealing almost exclusively to the ignorance and irrationality of the electors.”

IfsWorldWayHumansMadeLightSeemsTodayActionPoliticalChoicesGivenChanceHuman BeingsPowerfulKnowledgeDemocracySocietyIgnorancePoliticianCapableEvidenceConcernedFairsElectionInstitutionsDemocraticAvailableVarietyAppealsNovelistsReasonableVotingNonsenseMost PowerfulIrrationalRationalityProceduresImpartCivil SocietyIrrationalityFreedom To ChooseChoose WiselyPolitical IdeologyPropagandist
Book:Complete Essays: 1956-1963, and supplement, 1920-1948
Create image

“That said, deciding to avoid other people does not necessarily equate with having no desire whatsoever for company; it may simply reflect a dissatisfaction with what—or who—is available. Cynics are, in the end, only idealists with awkwardly high standards. In Chamfort's words, 'It is sometimes said of a man who lives alone that he does not like society. This is like saying of a man that he does not like going for walks because he is not fond of walking at night in the forêt de Bondy.”

PeopleMenMayDoeSaidEndsSometimesDesireNightWalksCompanyWalkingStandardsAvailableDissatisfactionIdealistHigh Standards
Author:Alain de Botton
Create image