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Quote by Hilaire Belloc

“… that exasperating quality for which we have no name, which certainly is not accuracy, and which is quite the opposite of judgement, yet which catches the mind as brambles do our clothes.”

Quote by Hilaire Belloc

Work

The Path to Rome

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Author

Hilaire Belloc
Hilaire Belloc

Hilaire Belloc was an English writer, poet, and historian, born on July 27, 1870, and died on July 16, 1953. He is recognized for his contributions to poetry, fiction, and political commentary. more

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“Llego a la cima del monte Tibidabo y veo a unos cincuenta huérfanos en su uniforme verde aceituna alineados frente al mirador que se abre a la ciudad. Los niños tiritan de frío y ansia bajo los arcos de la oficina del parque de atracciones. Los parques de atracciones... Algún original dice que esos lugares son un negativo burlesco del Infierno, brillo de emoción en aristas de azogue; el Leteo discurre por túneles donde chillan las parejas y el tobogán de la montaña rusa es un precipicio de hierro que lanza condenados a las llamas. Todo es posible.”

“Not fake Inside every feeling lies her quiet presence, A feeling that influences me more like a sense, A sense that surges above all other senses, Creating inside me a universe of new emotional resonances, Which fill me with her thoughts and new feelings, And life begins to stir and somewhere in the mind a thought rings, That possesses my every sense and now I see her in all things, And what a pleasure it is to notice her presence in these sightings, Offering a changed view of reality, A new prayer in the same old temple with the primitive deity, That resides in my heart’s nativity, And experiences moments of rejoicement in my mind that is the master of just one faculty, That of always persuading the heart to just beat for her sake, Even if that means putting the very purpose of my life at stake, But now, together; the heart and mind a beautiful world make, Where she is always real and not a part of a feeling fake!”

“It’s art. And it makes people happy. And that’s a very good thing. We have this problem in our culture. We take art that appeals to women—film, books, music—and we undervalue it. We assume it can’t be high art. Especially if it’s not dark and tortured and wailing. And it follows that much of that art is created by other women, and so we undervalue them as well. We wrap it up in a pretty pink package and resist calling it art.”

“As to the ancient historians, from Herodotus to Tacitus, we credit them as far as they relate things probable and credible, and no further: for if we do, we must believe the two miracles which Tacitus relates were performed by Vespasian, that of curing a lame man, and a blind man, in just the same manner as the same things are told of Jesus Christ by his historians. We must also believe the miracles cited by Josephus, that of the sea of Pamphilia opening to let Alexander and his army pass, as is related of the Red Sea in Exodus. These miracles are quite as well authenticated as the Bible miracles, and yet we do not believe them; consequently the degree of evidence necessary to establish our belief of things naturally incredible, whether in the Bible or elsewhere, is far greater than that which obtains our belief to natural and probable things.”