“Still, we will be told, one cannot be in beauty and yet fail to see it.”
Source: [Ennead: Bk. 5] (By: Plotinus) [published: September, 1984]
“I want to propose a toast!" Taking a spoon he noisily tapped it against the crystal glass. "Everyone!" He thundered, the large amount of whiskey he had consumed making him reckless. "To Victor, Ste. Genevieve's own inventor and my best friend, all the happiness in the world!" The happy crowd shouted their approval. "And to the ever, ever fair beauty Celena..." His voice cracking under the strain, and he wondered if he should stop now, before he embarrassed himself, before he made some horrible declaration.”
Source: Victor's Blessing
“every view was pointed out with a minuteness which left beauty entirely behind”
Source: Pride and Prejudice
“If these elements of beauty are real, the whole thing simply appeals to our sense of dramatic effect. Suddenly we find that we are no longer actors, but the spectators of the play.”
Source: The Picture Of Dorian Gray
“No, this was no ordinary music, as transcendent as that might have been. Nor did it, despite its almost unearthly aspect, remove itself far from the world. It was alive, real, human.
And it was pain and beauty all at once.”
Source: Prince of Chandeliers
“If a person isn’t generally considered beautiful, they can still be a success if they have a few jokes in their pockets. And a lot of pockets.”
“Eropa serasa tak punya daya, sebab hanya bangsa Asia dan Tuhan-lah yang mampu mencipta kenikmatan sebegitu rupa, yang tak bisa diucap melalui kata, ibarat dekap hangat dua hati yang melantunkan nyanyi mistis.”
Source: Voyage de Paris à Java / Un drame au bord de la mer
“Lagi pula tak ada satu pun kota di Eropa yang bisa memberi potret sahih tentang kota Batavia. Penduduk kota Paris, yang terbiasa dengan jalanan berbau dan teramat kotor, juga plaster temboknya yang buruk, tak akan pernah mengerti tentang kemewahan dan keanggunan rumah-rumah di Jawa, demikian pula di kalkuta, yang saban tahun dikuas dengan lumuran baru dari batu gamping. Lapisan ini memberi kesan selaksa perak mewah, dan garis-garis tata bangunan teramat jelas tergambar rapi. Di kota ini, ada banyak rumah yang dengan mudah melampaui kemegahan istana di Eropa.”
Source: Voyage de Paris à Java / Un drame au bord de la mer
“Her beauty is not conventional, it does not meet classic dictates. Her face is rebelliously expressive. She enchants in the magical sense of the world. I have to confess that I thought of her all night. And even now, instead of working, I visualize her, a pale silhouette in a sari of blue silk, all interwoven with gold thread. And her hair! The Persians were right, in their poetry, to compare women's hair to snakes. What will happen? I do not know. Probably I will forget her. Oh God, when will I find peace?”
Source: Maitreyi
“I tried to persuade myself that she is not so beautiful, I thought of her hips, which are too large for her waist, I thought that by seeing all kinds of imperfections in her, I would distance her from me — in fact, as often happens, the imperfections somehow only served to bring her closer to me.”
Source: Maitreyi