10 quotes
But I shall follow the endless, winding way, — the flowing river in the cave of man; careless whither I be led, reckless where I land.
Pierre; or, The Ambiguities (1852)
A smile is the chosen vehicle of all ambiguities.
Pierre; or, The Ambiguities (1852)
Say what some poets will, Nature is not so much her own ever-sweet interpreter, as the mere supplier of that cunning alphabet, whereby selecting and combining as he pleases, each man reads his own peculiar lesson according to his own peculiar mind and mood.
Pierre; or, The Ambiguities (1852)
All Profound things, and emotions of things are preceded and attended by Silence.
Pierre; or, The Ambiguities (1852)
His was the scorn which thinks it not worth the while to be scornful. Those he most scorned, never knew it.
Pierre; or, The Ambiguities (1852)
Thou hast evoked in me profounder spells than the evoking one, thou face! For me, thou hast uncovered one infinite, dumb, beseeching countenance of mystery, underlying all the surfaces of visible time and space.
Pierre; or, The Ambiguities (1852)
One trembles to think of that mysterious thing in the soul, which seems to acknowledge no human jurisdiction, but in spite of the individual's own innocent self, will still dream horrid dreams, and mutter unmentionable thoughts.
Pierre; or, The Ambiguities (1852)
There is no faith, and no stoicism, and no philosophy, that a mortal man can possibly evoke, which will stand the final test of a real impassioned onset of Life and Passion upon him. . . . Faith and philosophy are air, but events are brass.
Pierre; or, The Ambiguities (1852)
What we take to be our strongest tower of delight, only stands at the caprice of the minutest event — the falling of a leaf, the hearing of a voice, or the receipt of one little bit of paper scratched over with a few small characters by a sharpened feather.
Pierre; or, The Ambiguities (1852)
Silence is the general consecration of the universe. Silence is the invisible laying on of the Divine Pontiff's hands upon the world. Silence is at once the most harmless and the most awful thing in all nature. It speaks of the Reserved Forces of Fate. Silence is the only Voice of our God.
Pierre; or, The Ambiguities (1852)