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Quote by Niall Williams

“Men are private. This I have learned. They are whole continents of privacy; you can only go to the borders; you can look in but you cannot enter.”

Quote by Niall Williams

Author

Niall Williams
Niall Williams

Niall Williams, born in 1958, is a British author known for his unique narrative style and profound insights into history and culture. His works span various genres, including novels, poetry, and prose. more

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“Steinauge dachte eine Weile nach und sagte dann: "Ist das eine Schuld, wenn Böses aus dem erwächst, was man gut gemeint hat?" "Nur gut meinen reicht nie aus", sagte der Zirbel, "solange man nicht daran denkt, was die Zeit aus dem machen könnte, was man in dieser guten Meinung tut." "Dann tut man am besten gar nichts mehr", sagte Steinauge erbittert. "Woher soll ich wissen, was daraus entstehen könnte, wenn ich einen abgenagten Kaninchenknochen hinter mich ins Gebüsch werfe? Es könnte ja einer kommen, ihn sich in den Fuß treten und an Blutvergiftung sterben. Man könnte nicht einmal den kleinen Finger krümmen, ohne in Schuld zu fallen. Steif und starr müsste man stehenbleiben und kein Glied mehr rühren." "Genau das habe ich ein Leben lang getan", sagte der Zirbel. "Aber ich sehe jetzt auch, dass dies für Menschen unmöglich ist. Ihr seid so geartet, dass ihr euch ständig mit irgend etwas beschäftigen müsst, statt die Zeit zu bedenken. Kein Wunder, dass ihr die Welt ständig durcheinanderbringt.”

“All I know was that Dirva stayed with Liro in the days immediately after, and that it was Liro who slowly coaxed him back from the jaws of grief. Dirva had Liro, he had no one else, and it was then that I began to understand that the things we need from others make their own kind of sense, have their own logic, create their own legitimacy regardless of what we've been taught. If he hadn't had Liro, I am not sure Dirva would have been able to patch himself back together. I am grateful for this, but in the years since, I cannot help but wonder at the sacrifice it required of Liro. It is not easy to hold someone through their grief. It is hard to see someone you love in pain, in irreparable pain. It takes an extraordinary type of kindness, a rare patience, to let the loss run its course. We always want to help, but there are times when there is no help, and the pressure to take help only makes things harder on the ones trapped in mourning. I don't know what transpired between them. I don't. But I do know that Dirva left him without explanation, reappeared without warning, and that there was nothing for Liro to do but offer himself up. I never knew Liro well, but he seemed to me a very bright man. Like anyone who scraped a childhood by on the street and survived to adulthood, he had a watchfulness about him and an uncannily honed feel for other people. Liro knew the moment Dirva set foot in the City what he would need, and what he would take, and Liro let him take it anyway.”