Zaara

“Mike nodded. A sombre nod. The nod Napoleon might have given if somebody had met him in 1812 and said, "So, you're back from Moscow, eh?”
― P.G. Wodehouse , Mike and Psmith

“Ez így van; az ember mániákusan, veszendően, a pokol és halál határán vágyódik valaki után, keresi, kergeti, hiába és élete elsorvad a nosztalgiában. Amióta Rómában volt, állandóan ezt a pillanatot várta, erre készült, és már-már azt hitte, hogy sosem fog Évával beszélni. És azután egyszerre megjelenik, és akkor az ember olcsó pizsamáját a mellén összeszorítja, szégyelli, hogy kócos, borotválatlan, mérhetetlenül szégyelli lakását, és legjobb szeretné, ha nem lenne ott az, aki után kimondhatatlanul vágyódott.”
― Antal Szerb, Utas És Holdvilág

“You know what, my dear, I learned something in war. Those of my peers in the unit who were to die earlier were wiser and knew more about the world around them than the others, and that is how we recognized them and sensed that they would soon be killed. They knew that every murder is committed with a thousand years of premeditation . . . The others, who were to die later, were more stupid. But none of that had anything to do with the innate brightness or dull-wittedness of the ones or the others. So, there are two cases. We belong to the latter.' 'How do you mean?' 'We are happy lovers. Aren't we? And happiness makes one stupid. Happiness and wisdom do not go together, just as body and thought do not go together. Because only pain is the thought of the body. In other words, happy people become stupid people. It is only when they get tired of their happiness that lovers can become wise again, if that is what they otherwise are. So let us not decide now about unbelting my sabre . . . Your steps”
― Milorad Pavić, Last love in Constantinople

“I have noticed that what cats most appreciate in a human being is not the ability to produce food - which they take for granted - but his or her entertainment value. Asmodeus took to his toy enthusiastically. In another week he permitted me to stroke him, producing a raucous purr, but, in order to save his face, pretending to be asleep.”
― Geoffrey Household, Rogue Male