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Quote by Joan Lindsay

“When Daryl and I began a new life together at Mulberry Hill I knew as everyone knows that our earthly stay is short but it was not yet a truth engraved on my heart as it is today. Vita brevis... just words written up on a wall. Watch your step. No smoking. Life is short. Life at this moment seemed as infinite as the quiet evening sky and I was filled with a sense of continuity of all beautiful things.”

Quote by Joan Lindsay

Work

Time Without Clocks

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Author

Joan Lindsay
Joan Lindsay

Joan Lindsay was an Australian author best known for her novel 'Picnic at Hanging Rock', which has become a classic of Australian literature since its publication in 1967. The novel, known for its mysterious atmosphere and portrayal of rural Australia, has had a profound impact on Australian literature. more

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“Near here there is a deep cavern fully six leagues in circumference. The entrance is barred by two dragons with fire coming out of their eyes and mouths. Once inside you have to go down into a great hole, full of toads and adders and serpents. At the bottom of this hole is a little cave through which there flows the stream of Beauty and of Health. A miracle happens to whoever washes with this water.”

“It was like he was saying, "Yes, I know you. I know all the things you have done. I am not shocked by any of it. Come close to me, my love, just like you are. I have already forgiven your past and future. And, if you let me, I will make you new. I will make you into all that I have planned for you. You are beautiful, my love.”

“Customs and Beauty.—In justice to custom it must not be overlooked that, in the case of all those who conform to it whole-heartedly from the very start, the organs of attack and defence, both physical and intellectual, begin to waste away; i.e. these individuals gradually become more beautiful! For it is the exercise of these organs and their corresponding feelings that brings about ugliness and helps to preserve it. It is for this reason that the old baboon is uglier than the young one, and that the young female baboon most closely resembles man, and is hence the most handsome.—Let us draw from this our own conclusions as to the origin of female beauty!”