Life without illusion is a ghostly affair.

But he could not taste, he could not feel. In the teashop among the tables and the chattering waiters the appalling fear came over him- he could not feel. He could reason; he could read, Dante for example, quite easily…he could add up his bill; his brain was perfect; it must be the fault of the world then- that he could not feel.

But when we sit together, close,’ said Bernard, ‘we melt into each other with phrases. We are edged with mist. We make an unsubstantial territory.

Peace was the third emotion. Love. Hate. Peace. Three emotions made the ply of human life.

No, she thought, one could say nothing to nobody. The urgency of the moment always missed its mark. Words fluttered sideways and struck the object inches too low.

Whatever may be their use in civilized societies, mirrors are essential to all violent and heroic action.

The older one grows, the more one likes indecency.