I want now to be of today. It is painful to be conscious of two worlds. The Wandering Jew in me seeks forgetfulness.
Mary AntinI have so little mastered the art of tranquil living that wherever I go I trail storm clouds of drama around me.
Mary AntinAmong the liveliest of my memories are those of eating and drinking; and I would sooner give up some of my delightful remembered walks, green trees, cool skies, and all, than to lose my images of suppers eaten on Sabbath evenings at the end of those walks.
Mary AntinA little instruction in the elements of chartographyโa little practice in the use of the compass and the spirit level, a topographical map of the town common, an excursion with a road mapโwould have given me a fat round earth in place of my paper ghost.
Mary AntinYou heard on all sides that the brightest Jewish children were turned down if the examining officers did not like the turn of their noses.
Mary AntinOne current of continuity runs underneath all the abortive phases of my life. From childhood on I have been obliged to drop anything I was doing to run after any man who seemed to know a little more than I did about God . . . I most want to write about: how a modern woman has sought the face of God-not the name nor the fame but the face [ital] of God-and what adventures came to meet her on this ancient human path.
Mary Antin