It occurred to me that my speech or my silence, indeed any action of mine, would be a mere futility.
Joseph ConradThe word 'ivory' rang in the air, was whispered, was sighed. You would think they were praying to it. A taint of imbecile rapacity blew through it all, like a whiff from some corpse. By Jove! I've never seen anything so unreal in my life. And outside, the silent wilderness surrounding this cleared speck on the earth struck me as something great and invincible, like evil or truth, waiting patiently for the passing away of this fantastic invasion.
Joseph ConradEverything belonged to him. It made me hold my breath in expectation of hearing the wilderness burst into prodigious peal of laughter that would shake the fixed stars in their places.
Joseph ConradThe sea never changes and its works, for all the talks of men, are wrapped in mystery.
Joseph ConradAny work that aspires, however humbly, to the condition of art should carry its justification in every line.
Joseph ConradThere is, as every schoolboy knows in this scientific age, a very close chemical relation between coal and diamonds. It is the reason, I believe, why some people allude to coal as "black diamonds." Both these commodities represent wealth; but coal is a much less portable form of property.
Joseph Conrad