In a Dark Wood

My B&W photography. Quotes, books, and films I want to remember. Motorcycles.

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“Features proper to a man of action had become blurred by the ravages of indolent living that spread beneath his skin.”

Mishima, Spring Snow, pg 37

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For some people the day comes

when they have to declare the great Yes

or the great No. It’s clear at once who has the Yes

ready within him; and saying it,

he goes from honor to honor, strong in his conviction.

He who refuses does not repent. Asked again,

he’d still say no. Yet that no—the right no—

drags him down all his life.

Cavafey

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“The man with the clear head is the man who freed himself from those fantastic “ideas” and looks life in the face, realizes that everything in it is problematic, and feels himself lost. And this is the simple truth — that to live is to feel oneself lost — he who accepts it has already begun to find himself, to be on firm ground. Instinctively, as do the shipwrecked, he will look round for something to which to cling, and that tragic, ruthless glance, absolutely sincere, because it is a question of his salvation, will cause him to bring order into the chaos of his life. These are the only genuine ideas; the ideas of the shipwrecked. All the rest is rhetoric, posturing, farce. He who does not really feel himself lost, is without remission; that is to say, he never finds himself, never comes up against reality.” — José Ortega y Gasset

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And our loathsome attempts to be happy are miscarried enough to sicken you long before you die for real.

- Celine, Journey to the End of the Night, pg 328

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Agitprop throttled fable, libraries had been torched, and in the rubble of what once was were enacted scenes better imagined than described, with words, no longer lovely magical influences on nature anymore but now bleats of perversion serving only as a means of evil report, slander, strife, and quarrel.

P.152

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When confronted by anti-fascists who will not go beyond antis - lacking any misgivings about themselves! - I cannot help thinking that some day or other the pro which slumbers in a corner of their hearts will abruptly awaken and topple them over.

Denis de Rougemont, The Devil’s Share, p.94

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We have believed that evil was relative to the social order, that it proceeded from bad distribution of wealth, from a faulty education, from inadequate laws, or from repressions and injustices that could be eliminated by clever laws.  All these beliefs, in large part superstitions, have had largely the effect of blinding us as to the essential reality of the evil rooted in our freedom, in our primary data, in the nature and the very definition of man insofar as he is human.

Denis de Rougemont, The Devil’s Share, pg. 90

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“In the last analysis the Devil can act only in the sphere of the good, by means of our virtues,”

The Devil’s Share, Denis de Rougemont

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"There is nothing in the world that I loathe more than group activity, that communal bath where the hairy and slippery mix in a multiplication of mediocrity."

~ Vladimir Nabokov

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“Nietzsche was the one who did the job for me. At a certain moment in his life,the idea came to him of what he called 'the love of your fate.' Whatever your fate is, whatever the hell happens, you say, 'This is what I need.' It may look like a wreck, but go at it as though it were an opportunity, a challenge. If you bring love to that moment--not discouragement--you will find the strength is there. Any disaster you can survive is an improvement in your character, your stature, and your life. What a privilege! This is when the spontaneity of your own nature will have a chance to flow.”

“Then, when looking back at your life, you will see that the moments which seemed to be great failures followed by wreckage were the incidents that shaped the life you have now. You’ll see that this is really true. Nothing can happen to you that is not positive. Even though it looks and feels at the moment like a negative crisis, it is not. The crisis throws you back, and when you are required to exhibit strength, it comes.”

~Joseph Campbell (Book: Reflections on the Art of Living)

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“Art Is a Way Out. Do not let life overwhelm you. When the old paths are choked with the débris of failure, look for newer and fresher paths. Art is just such a path. Art is distilled from suffering.”

― Nathanael West

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“Our firmest convictions are apt to be the most suspect; they mark our limitations and our bounds. Life is a petty thing unless it is moved by the indomitable urge to extend its boundaries.”

—Jose Ortega y Gasset

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