Quotations

"God, though this life is but a wraith, although we know not what we use, although we grope with little faith, give me the heart to fight and lose."

— Louis Untermeyer, American poet, born 1885

"Nothing but blackness above... God, if you wish for our love, Fling us a handful of stars!"

— Louis Untermeyer, American poet, died December 18, 1977

"Of a certainty the man who can see all creatures in himself, himself in all creatures, knows no sorrow."

— The Upanishads, religious teachings which form the foundations of Hinduism

"The Lord of Love is before and behind. He extends to the right and to the left. He extends above; he extends below. There is no one here but the Lord of Love. He alone is; in truth, he alone is."

— The Upanishads, religious teachings which form the foundations of Hinduism

"Even as a great fish swims along the two banks of a river, first along the eastern bank and then the western bank, in the same way the Spirit of man moves along beside his two dwellings: this waking world and the land of sleep and dreams."

— The Upanishads, religious teachings which form the foundations of Hinduism

"Where there is joy there is creation. Where there is no joy there is no creation: know the nature of joy."

— The Upanishads, religious teachings which form the foundations of Hinduism

"Eros is everywhere. It is what binds."

— John Updike, American novelist, born 1932

"In tennis, there is the forehand, the backhand, the overhead smash and the drop volley, all with a different grip."

— John Updike, American novelist, born 1932

"Bookstores are lonely forts, spilling light onto the sidewalk. They civilize their neighborhoods."

— John Updike, American novelist, born 1932

"Mars has long exerted a pull on the human imagination. The erratically moving red star in the sky was seen as sinister or violent by the ancients: The Greeks identified it with Ares, the god of war; the Babylonians named it after Nergal, god of the underworld. To the ancient Chinese, it was Ying-huo, the fire planet."

— John Updike, American novelist, born 1932

"Existence itself does not feel horrible; it feels like an ecstasy, rather, which we have only to be still to experience."

— John Updike, American novelist, born 1932

"Gods don't answer letters."

— John Updike, American novelist, born 1932

"You cannot help but learn more as you take the world into your hands. Take it up reverently, for it is an old piece of clay, with millions of thumbprints on it."

— John Updike, American novelist, born 1932

"The cinema has done more for my spiritual life than the church. My ideas of fame, success and beauty all originate from the big screen. Whereas Christian religion is retreating everywhere and losing more and more influence; film has filled the vacuum and supports us with myths and action-controlling images."

— John Updike, American novelist, born 1932