“Longfellow smiled. "A great part of the happiness of life consists not in fighting battles, my dear Lowell, but in avoiding them. A masterly retreat is in itself a victory.” — Matthew Pearl Copy Share Image
“Money is good, but it is not all about a man. You will have successes and reversals, but remember it is your reaction to… — Matthew Pearl Copy Share Image
Though a woman tempted man to eat, my dear Longfellow," said Holmes, "you never hear of Eve having to do with his drinking, for… — Matthew Pearl Copy Share Image
“We never like the smell of our own vices in other people, Holmes. Ah, let's steer here for a drink or two," Lowell suggested.” — Matthew Pearl Copy Share Image
Shakespeare brings us to know ourselves. Dante, with his dissection of all others, bids us to know one another. — Matthew Pearl Copy Share Image
Remember that there are two things in this life that are never worth crying about: what can be cured and what cannot be cured. — Matthew Pearl Copy Share Image
“Believe that when I am at once a man's friend I am always so-nor is it so very hard to bring me to it.… — Matthew Pearl Copy Share Image
“On the trees were no longer only leaves but brown fruits, on the bushes no longer blossoms but clusters of red berries. And the… — Matthew Pearl Copy Share Image
Books do pretend ...but squeezed in between is even more that is true—without what you may call the lies, the pages would be too… — Matthew Pearl Copy Share Image
“No, never mind, I didn't think so. Mead, Dante's theme is man-not a man.' Lowell said finally with a mild patience that he reserved only for students. "The Italians forever twitch at Dante's sleeves trying to make him say he is of their politics and their way of thinking. Their way indeed! To confine it to Florence or Italy is… — Matthew Pearl Copy Share
“There was still the temptation to believe the world was a mere trap for human sin. But sin, the way he saw it, was… — Matthew Pearl Copy Share Image
“The force of Dante's poetry resonated most in those who did not confess the Catholic faith, for believers would inevitably have quibbles with Dante's… — Matthew Pearl Copy Share Image
