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E. M. Forster on Valentine's Day

1879–1970 England

← All quotes by E. M. Forster

6 quotes

This woman was a goddess to the end. For her no love could be degrading: she stood outside all degradation.

Where Angels Fear to Tread (1905)

Love is a great force in private life; it is indeed the greatest of all things; but love in public affairs does not work.

Two Cheers for Democracy (1951)

Nonsense and beauty have close connections — closer connections than Art will allow.

It isn't possible to love and to part. You will wish that it was. You can transmute love, ignore it, muddle it, but you can never pull it out of you. I know from experience that the poets are right: love is eternal.

A Room with a View (1908)

Beauty ought to look a little surprised: it is the emotion that best suits her face. [...] The beauty who does not look surprised, who accepts her position as her due—she reminds us to much of a prima donna.

Aspects of the Novel (1927)

Masood, a young lady has fallen in love with me—at least so I judge from her letters. Awkward is it not—awkward and surprising. You would be flattered and twirl your moustache, but I am merely uncomfortable. I wish she would stop, as she is very nice, and I enjoyed being friends. What an ill constructed world this is! Love is always being given where it is not required.

Selected Letters (1983)

Attribution

Quotes and notes from Wikiquote: E. M. Forster (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0.