Yet I am not more sure that my soul lives, than I am that perverseness is one of the primitive impulses of the human heart - one of the indivisible primary faculties, or sentiments, which give direction to the character of Man. Who has not, a hundred times, found himself committing a vile or a silly action, for no other reason than because he knows he should not? Have we not a perpetual inclination, in the teeth of our best judgment, to violate that which is Law, merely because we understand it to be such?
Edgar Allan PoeAnd the silken sad uncertain rustling of each purple curtain Thrilled me โ filled me with fantastic terrors never felt before; So that now, to still the beating of my heart, I stood repeating, Tis some visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door โ Some late visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door; โ This it is, and nothing more.
Edgar Allan PoeIt is with literature as with law or empire - an established name is an estate in tenure, or a throne in possession.
Edgar Allan PoeYes I now feel that it was then on that evening of sweet dreams- that the very first dawn of human love burst upon the icy night of my spirit. Since that period I have never seen nor heard your name without a shiver half of delight half of anxiety.
Edgar Allan Poe