Matthew Pearl

“Money is good, but it is not all about a man. You will have successes and reversals, but remember it is your…

— Matthew Pearl

Though a woman tempted man to eat, my dear Longfellow," said Holmes, "you never hear of Eve having to do with his…

— Matthew Pearl

“We never like the smell of our own vices in other people, Holmes. Ah, let's steer here for a drink or two,"…

— Matthew Pearl

He was outwardly calm but inwardly bleeding to death.

— Matthew Pearl

Shakespeare brings us to know ourselves. Dante, with his dissection of all others, bids us to know one another.

— Matthew Pearl

Remember that there are two things in this life that are never worth crying about: what can be cured and what cannot…

— Matthew Pearl

“Believe that when I am at once a man's friend I am always so-nor is it so very hard to bring me…

— Matthew Pearl

“On the trees were no longer only leaves but brown fruits, on the bushes no longer blossoms but clusters of red berries.…

— Matthew Pearl

Books do pretend ...but squeezed in between is even more that is true—without what you may call the lies, the pages would…

— Matthew Pearl

“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…

— Matthew Pearl

“There was still the temptation to believe the world was a mere trap for human sin. But sin, the way he saw…

— Matthew Pearl

“The force of Dante's poetry resonated most in those who did not confess the Catholic faith, for believers would inevitably have quibbles…

— Matthew Pearl

“...It is the one time Dante calls such explicit attention to the idea of contrapasso-a word for which we have no exact…

— Matthew Pearl

...and luckily I have enough in my head to balance what is wanting in my back.

— Matthew Pearl

“Remember that only when past genius is transmitted into a present power shall we meet the first truly american poet. And somewhere,…

— Matthew Pearl

“Why did nature not ask my advice about my features?”

— Matthew Pearl

“Survival here means simply an incomplete death, not a partial life -- to be trapped in a gap between the living and…

— Matthew Pearl

“Dante is the first Christian poet, the first one whose whole system of thought is colored by a pure Christian theology. But…

— Matthew Pearl

I prefer the society of one faithful person to an association of rapid talkers, who more than anything else seek admiration from…

— Matthew Pearl

“ 'Yes, we rather condemn people for eternity without the courtesy of informing them.' ”

— Matthew Pearl

“Longfellow smiled. "A great part of the happiness of life consists not in fighting battles, my dear Lowell, but in avoiding them.…

— Matthew Pearl

Romance is not an idea, but a moment. An unspoken glance when someone looks into your eyes and knows exactly who you…

— Matthew Pearl

“Dante's Hell is part of our world as much as part of the underworld, and shouldn't be avoided, Lowell said, but rather…

— Matthew Pearl

“ 'Till America has learned to love literature not as an amusement, not as a mere doggerel to memorize in a college…

— Matthew Pearl

“ 'Pity without rigor would be cowardly egotism, mere sentimentality.' ”

— Matthew Pearl