There's a paradox in rereading. You read the first time for rediscovery: an encounter with the confirming emotions. But you reread for discovery: you go to the known to figure out the workings of the unknown, the why of the familiar how.

literature is an instrument of a culture, not a summary of it.

To listen acutely is to be powerless, even if you sit on a throne.

Awe consumes any brand that ignites it.

There's a paradox in rereading. You read the first time for rediscovery: an encounter with the confirming emotions. But you reread for discovery: you go to the known to figure out the workings of the unknown, the why of the familiar how.

The ordinary is the divine.

We have had, alas, and still have, the doubtful habit of reverence. Above all, we respect things as they are.