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Reflection Quotes

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Reflection Quotes

“We have shown that art is essentially symbolic, and only accidentally illustrative or historical ; and finally that art, even the highest, is only the means to an end, that even the scriptural art is only a manner of "seeing through a glass, darkly," and that although this is far better than not to see at all, the utility of iconography must come to an end when vision is "face to face.”

“I write letters because I want to convey to someone the stories of these people, but also because I want to let someone know that a day had existed for me as well. Letters, in other words, are like journal entries to me. The only difference is that the day does not stay with me, but is sent to someone else. Journals are monopolized, but letters are shared. Journals are kept by one person alone, but letters are kept by two or more people.”

“If people challenge the vagaries of life, in a world where conflicting powers are outlining our fate, it may be ill-advised to actuate wrecking high-wire acts without a safety net. If they need a new swing in their reality, they cannot count on sheer luck. Whatever their exploit may be, reflection and action must be ingrained allies, on all accounts.("Ruling the waves" )”

“The wind god Favonius had warned him in Croatia: If you let your anger rule you … your fate will be even sadder than mine. But how could his fate be anything but sad? Even if he lived through this quest, he would have to leave both camps forever. That was the only way he would find peace. He wished there was another option – a choice that didn’t hurt like the waters of the Phlegethon – but he couldn’t see one.”

“However long or short they may be, our lives can usually be pared down to a collection of choices made on a few fateful nights. Rarely do we know for sure which of these nights will be the ones that will alter everything to come. But if you pay close attention, there is a sensation, a light tingle beneath the surface of your skin, that hints at destiny.”

“Such is the pure movement of nature prior to all reflection. Such is the force of natural pity, which the most depraved mores still have difficulty destroying, since everyday one sees in our theaters someone affected and weeping at the ills of some unfortunate person, and who, were he in the tyrant's place, would intensify the torments of his enemy still more; [like the bloodthirsty Sulla, so sensitive to ills he had not caused, or like Alexander of Pherae, who did not dare attend the performance of any tragedy, for fear of being seen weeping with Andromache and Priam, and yet who listened impassively to the cries of so many citizens who were killed everyday on his orders. Nature, in giving men tears, bears witness that she gave the human race the softest hearts.] Mandeville has a clear awareness that, with all their mores, men would never have been anything but monsters, if nature had not given them pity to aid their reason; but he has not seen that from this quality alone flow all the social virtues that he wants to deny in men. In fact, what are generosity, mercy, and humanity, if not pity applied to the weak, to the guilty, or to the human species in general. Benevolence and even friendship are, properly understood, the products of a constant pity fixed on a particular object; for is desiring that someone not suffer anything but desiring that he be happy?”

“They say that only humans can contemplate death. Cats don’t fear it the same way that we do. It doesn’t cause them the same level of anxiety that it does us humans. And then, despite our angst over mortality, we end up keeping cats as pets, even though we know that they will die long before we do, causing the owner immense grief.”

“I finally understood why it is that we humans keep cats as pets. There’s a limit to how well we know ourselves. For example, we don’t know what we look like to others; we can’t predict our own future or what our own death will be like. So that’s why we need cats, to help us understand ourselves better. It’s just like my mother said: Cats don’t need us. It’s us who needs them.”

“To pause long enough at the border of the mind is to feel the faint pull of the Infinite, the whisper that all our searching, all our longing, rests in the Almighty. ... In those moments, turning upward is not just an act of devotion, but of surrender. It is the acknowledgment that we are not the ultimate authors of our story, that there is a hand beyond ours guiding, shaping, holding”

“Sugar and Order I got one yellow, and one brown— though I think the brown was meant to be purple. Seven green. Three red. Four orange. I line them up, neat and bright— a little world of sugar and order. I’ll start with the yellow, and the brown-purple too. They don’t really fit the pattern, you know? Just cleaning up the set. Four greens next, and one orange— just enough to balance the rest. Now I’ve got threes. Three greens. Three reds. Three oranges. Perfect. Even. Neat. No yellow. No brown. The colors look good together now. Don’t you think? It’s easier on the eyes. Simpler. Cleaner. Just organizing. Just tidying up the mess. But the bowl feels lighter, somehow smaller, and the sweetness tastes a little—off. I only wanted balance, but somehow everything’s the same color now. And it doesn’t taste like candy anymore.”