At all times and in all fields the explanation by fire is a rich explanation.

We must listen to poets.

Every corner in a house, every angle in a room, every inch of secluded space in which we like to hide, or withdraw into ourselves, is a symbol of solitude for the imagination; that is to say, it is the germ of a room, or of a house.

One must live to build one's house, and not build one's house to live in.

The human mind has claimed for water one of its highest values-the value of purity.

Empirical description involves enslavement to the object by decreeing passivity on the part of the subject.

Here is Menard's own intimate forest: 'Now I am traversed by bridle paths, under the seal of sun and shade...I live in great density...Shelter lures me. I slump down into the thick foliage...In the forest, I am my entire self. Everything is possible in my heart just as it is in the hiding places in ravines. Thickly wooded distance separates me from moral codes and cities.