#pro

...she grasped the terrible truth that love can never be compelled, from man, from sprite, from beast; that one who loves, however she longs for requital, however long she waits, may receive in return the reverse of what she gives, the dark side of the moon. ↗

— Thomas Burnett Swann

#love #reciprocity #requital #love

The acquisition by dishonest means and cunning,' said Levin, feeling that he was incapable of clearly defining the borderline between honesty and dishonesty. 'Like the profits made by banks,' he went on. 'This is evil, I mean, the acquisition of enormous fortunes without work, as it used to be with the spirit monopolists. Only the form has changed. Le roi est mort, vive le roi! Hardly were the monopolies abolished before railways and banks appeared: just another way of making money without work. ↗

— Leo Tolstoy

#banks #earnings #labor #leo-tolstoy #monopolies

Those who speak of progression but are afraid of change are self-repressed and therefore unable to reach any further than their eyes can already see. ↗

— Criss Jami

#afraid #change #cognition #experimentation #eyes

...A madeleine moment - a sound, a scent can incant her presence... ↗

— John Geddes

#proustian-madeleine #love

The way he was talking to me earlier… makes me think he’s starting to feel like God’s the cosmic sadist again and he’s the marionette.” “In other words, God’s just torturing him for the kick?” Thomas sighed and set his mostly untouched plate down. “Something like that.” “That’s not a healthy outlook.” “He doesn’t feel loved right now, so it’s the natural one. ↗

— Jessiqua Wittman

#thought-provoking #love

I wanted to protect her, and, if I couldn’t do that, I’d at least be there for her. (Eric) ↗

— Shannon A. Thompson

#lovers #paranormal-romance #protection #trilogy #young-adult

We call love what binds us to certain creatures only by reference to a collective way of seeing for which books and legends are responsible. ↗

— Albert Camus

#existentialism #probably-bullshit #love

She was as lovely sleeping as she was dripping in sensuality at the fundraiser ↗

— Kailin Gow

#adult-romance #college #erotica #kailin-gow #music

He who lives for nothing costs the lives of many, but he who lives for something greater than himself preserves those he loves. ↗

— Christopher Hopper

#christian-science-fiction #elves #grimwarden #jimmy #jimmy-gresham

Chase.” He cleared his throat and shook his head once. “That girl means everything to me. Which means her baby does, too. I will never do to you what you did to Harper and me. But know this. If you do not take care of them, and cherish them . . . I will not hesitate again to beat the living shit out of you. You get me?” “I got you. I love them, I’ll always take care of them. ↗

— Molly McAdams

#promise #true-love #love