Sit by me, my beloved, and listen to my heart; smile, for your happiness is a symbol of our future.
A truth is to be known always, to be uttered sometimes.
The creator gives no heed to the critic unless he becomes a barren inventor.
Man is like the foam of the sea, that floats upon the surface of the water. When the wind blows, it vanishes, as if it had never been. Thus are our lives blown away by Death.
My yearning is my cup, my burning thirst is my drink, and my solitude is my intoxication; I do not and shall not quench my thirst. But in this burning that is never extinguished is a joy that never wanes.
For the criminal who is weak and poor the narrow cell of death awaits; but honor and glory await the rich who conceal their crimes behind their gold and silver and inherited glory.
To judge you by your failures is to cast blame upon the seasons for their inconstancy.
In the depth of your hopes and desires lies your silent knowledge of the beyond...
People of Orphalese, beauty is life when life unveils her holy face. But you are life and you are the veil. Beauty is eternity gazing at itself in a mirror. But you are eternity and you are the mirror.
Love gives naught but itself and takes naught but from itself.
Love is the veil between lover and lover.
If aught I have said is truth, that truth shall reveal itself in a clearer voice, and in words more kin to your thoughts.
They tell me: If you see a slave sleeping, do not wake him lest he be dreaming of freedom. I tell them: If you see a slave sleeping, wake him and explain to him freedom.
I purified my lips with sacred fire that I might speak of love, but when I opened my mouth to speak, I found myself mute.
God has bestowed upon you intelligence and knowledge. Do not extinguish the lamp of Divine Grace and do not let the candle of wisdom die out in the darkness of lust and error. For a wise man approaches with his torch to light up the path of mankind.
Then it is also in my heart to be worthy of your hate.
Your body is the harp of your soul and it is yours to bring forth sweet music from it or confused sounds.
The philosopher’s soul dwells in his head, the poet’s soul is in his heart; the singer’s soul lingers about his throat, but the soul of the dancer abides in all her body.
And all knowledge is vain save when there is work, and all work is empty save when there is love; and when you work with love you bind yourself to yourself, and to one another, and to God.
The feelings we live through in love and in loneliness are simply, for us, what high tide and low tide are to the sea.