Have not all poetic truths been already stated? The essence of a poetic truth is that no statement of it can be final.

The paradox of romantic love -- that what one possesses, one can no longer desire -- was at work.

The heart may think it knows better: the senses know that absence blots people out. We really have no absent friends.

Reason can never reconcile one to life: nothing allays the wants one cannot explain.

[A writer] should try not to be too far, personally, below the level of his work.

whenever possible I avoid talking. Reprieve from talking is my idea of a holiday. At risk of seeming unsociable, which I am, I admit I love to be left in a beatific trance, when I am in one. Friendly Romans recognize that wish.

Dialogue should show the relationships among people.