Ardyss (With Her Head in a Book)

“To be loved for beauty is a poor reward; it is to love a mask, a temporary dress, a sham unworthy of the loving heart. Your beauty which at first but dazzled me, now that I see more clearly, disappears and is not seen at all.“ Roxanne to Christian”
― Rostand Edmond 1868-1918, Cyrano de Bergerac; comédie héroïque en cinq actes. Edited with introd. and notes by Oscar Kuhns

“That apparently it’s possible to regret something, or at least wonder about something, while still knowing it was the right choice.”
― Nikki Erlick, The Measure

“Dear Milena,
I wish the world were ending tomorrow. Then I could take the next train, arrive at your doorstep in Vienna, and say: “Come with me, Milena. We are going to love each other without scruples or fear or restraint. Because the world is ending tomorrow.” Perhaps we don’t love unreasonably because we think we have time, or have to reckon with time. But what if we don't have time? Or what if time, as we know it, is irrelevant? Ah, if only the world were ending tomorrow. We could help each other very much.”
― Franz Kafka, Letters to Milena

“Give me a few days of peace in your arms—I need it terribly. I’m ragged, worn, exhausted. After that I can face the world.”
― Henry Miller, A Literate Passion: Letters of Anaïs Nin & Henry Miller, 1932-1953