Denounce useless guilt. Don’t make a cult of suffering. Live in the now(or at least the soon). Always do the things you fear most. Courage is an acquired taste like caviar. Trust all joy. If the evil eye fixes you in its gaze, look elsewhere. Get ready to be 87.

Venice, that capital city of dream and intrigue, that double city (one above and seemingly solid, one below, wavering and reflected in the waters), which never disappoints.

A concern with 'public morality' is - if not the last refuge of a scoundrel - the first foray of the fascist.

We were not human beings going through spiritual experiences; we were spiritual beings going through human experiences, in order to grow.

She was mine and not-mine all at once. She was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen and the most terrifying.

I am never so calm as after I have written. And the next morning I will feel the familiar anxiety and I will have to begin the process all over again.

I don't necessarily read everything. I read what I need to read to inspire the book I'm trying to finish.