Think you, if Laura had been Petrarch's wife, He would have written sonnets all his life?.

A feast not profuse but elegant; more of salt [refinement] than of expense.

Who then will explain the explanation?

If a man proves too clearly and convincingly to himself...that a tiger is an optical illusion--well, he will find out he is wrong. The tiger will himself intervene in the discussion, in a manner which will be in every sense conclusive.

There was a sound of revelry by night, And Belgium's capital had gathered then Her beauty and her chivalry, and bright The lamps shone o'er fair women and brave men. A thousand hearts beat happily; and when Music arose with its voluptuous swell, Soft eyes looked love to eyes which spake again, And all went merry as a marriage bell. But hush! hark! a deep sound strikes like a rising knell!

Letter writing is the only device combining solitude with good company.

It is odd but agitation or contest of any kind gives a rebound to my spirits and sets me up for a time.