Only one book (Pérez-Reverte)

...there is nothing more despicable or more dangerous than the malevolent individual who goes to sleep every night with a clear conscience. That is true evil. Especially when paired with ignorance, superstition, stupidity, or power, all of which often travel together.

And worst of all is the person who acts as exegete of The Word—whether it be from the Talmud, the Bible, the Koran, or any other book already written or yet to come. I am not fond of giving advice—no one can pound opinions into another's head—but here is a piece that costs you nothing: Never trust a man who reads only one book.

Arturo Pérez-Reverte, Purity of Blood

from Sunday Morning (Stevens)

Why should she give her bounty to the dead?
What is divinity if it can come
Only in silent shadows and in dreams?

Wallace Stevens, Sunday Morning

Negativity

Negativity creeps and clings like kudzu: guard your throat so you don't choke.

Secrets

It is unthinkable to build anything without incorporating secrets.

As no body can (Houchin)

Tell me about the naked self, or whatever it is,
without penis or vagina, that I may love it as no body can.

Ron Houchin, A Supermarket in West Virginia

Real (Merwin)

...but nothing is real
until it can be sold...

W.S. Merwin, Journey

Aspiration

All aspiration is pretentious. And so what?

The crass and the coarse

The problem with the crass and the coarse is that they are so often shallow and unoriginal.

Compelling dreams

Compelling dreams delay waking. They are often worth it.

Understanding

Understanding feels like recognition because of the repetition of memory.

A usurpation (Diderot)

Power acquired by violence is only a usurpation, and lasts only as long as the force of him who commands prevails over that of those who obey.

Denis Diderot

In orchards forever (Merwin)

I might have stood in orchards forever
without beholding the day in the apricots
or knowing the ripeness of the lucid air
or touching the apricots in your skin
or tasting in your mouth the sun in the apricots

W.S. Merwin, West Wall