The Literature Book

6 Contents......Page 8
10 INTRODUCTION......Page 12
20 Only the gods dwell forever in sunlight......Page 22
21 To nourish oneself on ancient virtue induces perseverance......Page 23
22 What is this crime I am planning, O Krishna?......Page 24
26 Sing, O goddess, the anger of Achilles......Page 28
34 How dreadful knowledge of the truth can be when there’s no help in truth!......Page 36
40 The gates of hell are open night and day; smooth the descent, and easy is the way......Page 42
42 Fate will unwind as it must......Page 44
44 So Scheherazade began…......Page 46
46 Since life is but a dream, why toil to no avail?......Page 48
47 Real things in the darkness seem no realer than dreams......Page 49
48 A man should suffer greatly for his Lord......Page 50
49 Tandaradei, sweetly sang the nightingale......Page 51
50 He who dares not follow love’s command errs greatly......Page 52
52 Let another’s wound be my warning......Page 54
54 Further reading......Page 56
62 I found myself within a shadowed forest......Page 64
66 We three will swear brotherhood and unity of aims and sentiments......Page 68
68 Turn over the leef and chese another tale......Page 70
72 Laughter’s the property of man. Live joyfully......Page 74
74 As it did to this flower, the doom of age will blight your beauty......Page 76
75 He that loves pleasure must for pleasure fall......Page 77
76 Every man is the child of his own deeds......Page 78
82 One man in his time plays many parts......Page 84
90 To esteem everything is to esteem nothing......Page 92
91 But at my back I always hear Time’s winged chariot hurrying near......Page 93
92 Sadly, I part from you; like a clam torn from its shell, I go, and autumn too......Page 94
93 None will hinder and none be hindered on the journey to the mountain of death......Page 95
94 I was born in the Year 1632, in the City of York, of a good family......Page 96
96 If this is the best of all possible worlds, what are the others?......Page 98
98 I have courage enough to walk through hell barefoot......Page 100
100 There is nothing more difficult in love than expressing in writing what one does not feel......Page 102
102 Further reading......Page 104
110 Poetry is the breath and the finer spirit of all knowledge......Page 112
111 Nothing is more wonderful, nothing more fantastic than real life......Page 113
112 Man errs, till he has ceased to strive......Page 114
116 Once upon a time…......Page 118
118 For what do we live, but to make sport for our neighbours, and laugh at them in our turn?......Page 120
120 Who shall conceive the horrors of my secret toil......Page 122
122 All for one, one for all......Page 124
124 But happiness I never aimed for, it is a stranger to my soul......Page 126
125 Let your soul stand cool and composed before a million universes......Page 127
126 You have seen how a man was made a slave; you shall see how a slave was made a man......Page 128
128 I am no bird; and no net ensnares me......Page 130
132 I cannot live without my life! I cannot live without my soul!......Page 134
138 There is no folly of the beast of the Earth which is not infinitely outdone by the madness of men......Page 140
146 All partings foreshadow the great final one......Page 148
150 Further reading......Page 152
158 Boredom, quiet as the spider, was spinning its web in the shadowy places of her heart......Page 160
164 I too am a child of this land; I too grew up amid this scenery......Page 166
165 The poet is a kinsman in the clouds......Page 167
166 Not being heard is no reason for silence......Page 168
168 Curiouser and curiouser!......Page 170
172 Pain and suffering are always inevitable for a large intelligence and a deep heart......Page 174
178 To describe directly the life of humanity or even of a single nation, appears impossible......Page 180
182 It is a narrow mind which cannot look at a subject from various points of view......Page 184
184 We may brave human laws, but we cannot resist natural ones......Page 186
185 In Sweden all we do is to celebrate jubilees......Page 187
186 She is written in a foreign tongue......Page 188
188 Human beings can be awful cruel to one another......Page 190
190 He simply wanted to go down the mine again, to suffer and to struggle......Page 192
192 The evening sun was now ugly to her, like a great inflamed wound in the sky......Page 194
194 The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it......Page 196
195 There are things old and new which must not be contemplated by men’s eyes......Page 197
196 One of the dark places of the earth......Page 198
198 Further reading......Page 200
208 The world is full of obvious things which nobody by any chance ever observes......Page 210
209 I am a cat. As yet I have no name. I’ve no idea where I was born......Page 211
210 Gregor Samsa found himself, in his bed, transformed into a monstrous vermin......Page 212
212 Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori......Page 214
213 Ragtime literature which flouts traditional rhythms......Page 215
214 The heaventree of stars hung with humid nightblue fruit......Page 216
222 When I was young I, too, had many dreams......Page 224
223 Love gives naught but itself and takes naught but from itself......Page 225
224 Criticism marks the origin of progress and enlightenment......Page 226
228 Like moths among the whisperings and the champagne and the stars......Page 230
234 The old world must crumble. Awake, wind of dawn!......Page 236
235 Ships at a distance have every man’s wish on board......Page 237
236 Dead men are heavier than broken hearts......Page 238
238 It is such a secret place, the land of tears......Page 240
240 Further reading......Page 242
250 BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU......Page 252
256 I’m seventeen now, and sometimes I act like I’m about thirteen......Page 258
258 Death is a gang-boss aus Deutschland......Page 260
259 I am invisible, understand, simply because people refuse to see me......Page 261
260 Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins. My sin, my soul......Page 262
262 He leaves no stone unturned, and no maggot lonely......Page 264
263 It is impossible to touch eternity with one hand and life with the other......Page 265
264 He was beat—the root, the soul of beatific......Page 266
266 What is good among one people is an abomination with others......Page 268
270 Even wallpaper has a better memory than human beings......Page 272
272 I think there’s just one kind of folks. Folks.......Page 274
274 Nothing is lost if one has the courage to proclaim that all is lost and we must begin anew......Page 276
276 He had decided to live forever or die in the attempt......Page 278
277 Everyday miracles and the living past......Page 279
278 There’s got to be something wrong with us. To do what we did......Page 280
280 Ending at every moment but never ending its ending......Page 282
286 Further reading......Page 288
296 Our history is an aggregate of last moments......Page 298
298 You are about to begin reading Italo Calvino’s new novel......Page 300
300 To understand just one life you have to swallow the world......Page 302
306 Freeing yourself was one thing; claiming ownership of that freed self was another......Page 308
310 Heaven and Earth were in turmoil......Page 312
311 You could not tell a story like this. A story like this you could only feel......Page 313
312 A historical vision, the outcome of a multicultural commitment......Page 314
313 I felt lethal, on the verge of frenzy......Page 315
314 Quietly they moved down the calm and sacred river......Page 316
318 It’s a very Greek idea, and a profound one. Beauty is terror......Page 320
319 What we see before us is just one tiny part of the world......Page 321
320 Perhaps only in a world of the blind will things be what they truly are......Page 322
322 English is an unfit medium for the truth of South Africa......Page 324
324 Every moment happens twice: inside and outside, and they are two different histories......Page 326
326 The best way of keeping a secret is to pretend there isn’t one......Page 328
328 There was something his family wanted to forget......Page 330
330 It all stems from the same nightmare, the one we created together......Page 332
331 I regret that it takes a life to learn how to live......Page 333
332 Further reading......Page 334
340 GLOSSARY......Page 342
344 INDEX......Page 346
352 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS......Page 354