Men who care passionately for women attach themselves at least as much to the temple and to the accessories of the cult as to their goddess herself.

The written word has taught me to listen to the human voice, much as the great unchanging statues have taught me to appreciate bodily motions.

I think still that someone wiser than I might well have remained happy till his death.

I believe that friendship, like love, of which it is a particular kind, requires nearly as much art as a successful choreography.

When two texts, or two assertions, perhaps two ideas, are in contradiction, be ready to reconcile them rather than cancel one by the other; regard them as two different facets, or two successive stages, of the same reality, a reality convincingly human just because it is too complex.

There are stages in bread-making quite similar to the stages of writing. You begin with something shapeless, which sticks to your fingers, a kind of paste. Gradually that paste becomes more and more firm. Then there comes a point when it turns rubbery. Finally, you sense that the yeast has begun to do its work: the dough is alive. Then all you have to do is let it rest. But in the case of a book the work may take ten years.

Love is a punishment. We are punished for not having been strong enough to remain alone.