If a Man Prefers Nothing

“If a man prefers nothing I can give him nothing. 

But nearly all people I have ever met in this western society 

in which I live would agree to the general proposition 

that we need this life of practical romance; 

the combination of something that is strange with something that is secure. 

We need so to view the world as to combine an idea of

wonder and an idea of welcome. 

We need to be happy in this wonderland without once

being merely comfortable. It is this achievement 

of my creed that I shall chiefly pursue in these pages.” 

~ G.K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy

See You In Another Life

“See you in another life, brotha.” 

~ Desmond Hume

We Are But The Veriest

“We are but the veriest, sorriest slaves of our stomach. 

Reach not after morality and righteousness, my friends; 

watch vigilantly your stomach, and diet it with care and judgment. 

Then virtue and contentment will come and reign within your heart, 

unsought by any effort of your own; and you will be a good citizen, 

a loving husband, and a tender father—a noble, pious man.” 

~ Jerome K. Jerome, Three Men in a Boat

And Her Deepest Enjoyment

“And her deepest enjoyment was to feel the continuity 

between the movements of her own soul and the agitations of the world.” 

~ Henry James, The Portrait of a Lady

Surely The Gods' Judgment

“Surely, the gods' judgment is certain. 

But as for us, we must be satisfied to 'come close' to those things, 

for we are men, who speak according to what is likely, 

and whose lectures resemble fables.” 

~ Proclus

The More I Know of the World

“The more I know of the world, 

the more I am convinced that I shall never see a man whom

I can really love. I require so much!” 

~ Marianne Dashwood, Sense and Sensibility

The Christian

“The Christian admits that the universe is

manifold and even miscellaneous, 

just as a sane man knows that he is complex. 

The sane man knows that he has a touch of the beast,

 a touch of the devil, a touch of the saint, a touch of the citizen. 

Nay, the really sane man knows that he has a touch of the madman. 

But the materialist's world is quite simple and solid, 

just as the madman is quite sure he is sane. 

The materialist is sure that history has been simply

and solely a chain of causation, 

just as the interesting person before mentioned is

quite sure that he is simply and solely a chicken. 

Materialists and madmen never have doubts.” 

― G.K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy

Ladies Sheltering Behind Men

“Ladies sheltering behind men, 

men sheltering behind servants - the whole system's wrong, 

and she must challenge it.” 

― E.M. Forster, Howards End

Being Stubborn

“Being stubborn won't make you fluent. 

Practicing will! 

The more mistakes you make, 

the more you'll learn not to.” 

~ Thanhha Lai

Move Thy Tongue

“Move thy tongue,

For silence is a sign of discontent.” 

~ Elizabeth Cary, The Tragedy of Mariam

But Where Are You Going To, Helen?

“-But where are you going to, Helen? Can you see? Do you know?

-I believe; I have faith: I am going to God.

-Where is God? What is God?

-My maker and yours, who will never destroy 

what He created. I rely implicitly on His power, 

and confide wholly in His goodness: I count the 

hours till that eventful one arrives which 

shall restore me to Him, reveal Him to me.”

~ Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre

Love Is

“Love is as strong as death, as hard as hell.”

~ Andrew Davidson, The Gargoyle

Styles May Change

“Styles may change, details may come and go, 

but the broad demands of aesthetic judgement are permanent.” 

~ Roger Scruton

The Definition of a Professional

“The definition of a professional is one who does 

a job well even when they don't like it.” 

~ Alan Sheinwald, Alan Sheinwald is Building a Perfect Home

Darkness Was Cheap

“Darkness was cheap, and Scrooge liked it.” 

~ Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol

Welcome to My House

“Welcome to my house! 

Enter freely. 

Go safely, and leave something 

of the happiness you bring.” 

~ Bram Stoker

And Love Is A Word Used

“and love is a word used

too much and

much

too soon.” 

~ Charles Bukowski, The Night Torn Mad With Footsteps

I'm 30

“I’m 30, it’s Christmas, and I’m a writer without a job. 

I sit here engulfed in a furious fit of frustration. 

My future unknown. 

My nuts so small you could fit them in a gnat’s navel 

and have room left over for my brain.” 

~ Josh Mitchell

The People Who Work

“The people who work with solar photovoltaics (PV) tend to be sick, 

I've worked with many of them. 

They were showing classic symptoms of Radio Wave Sickness (RWS).” 

~ Steven Magee

It Is A Strange Thing

“It is a strange thing, looking at the sea. 

When it is calm, or with only gentle ripples, 

it gives an impression of being soft and kind. 

But often, on such a calm, the wind suddenly blows, 

thrusting the water back into angry waves. 

At such times, in a certain sense, 

one feels sorry for the sea. 

Never of itself offensive to others, 

it is all too often attacked by wind and rain, 

the rain falling densely upon it, 

shaming the beauty of its calm face 

with a million bouncing bubbles. 

Were the wind to stop blowing, the ocean, 

surely, would never afflict the land with any calamity, 

nor would any human beings suffer.” 

~ Tan Kok Seng, Son Of Singapore

This Is My Classic Story

“This is my classic story:

I am unpredictable,

like the rest 

of us.” 

~ Tara Estacaan