← There, on that October evening—there, in that exuberant vista of gilding and crimson velvet set amidst all those opposing mirrors and upholding caryatids, with fumes of tobacco ever rising to the painted and pagan ceiling, and with the hum of presumably cynical conversation broken into so sharply now and again by the clatter of dominoes shuffled on marble tables, I drew a deep breath and, "This indeed," said I to myself, "is life!" 🔊
← "In life there are illusions of good and evil, but"—his voice trailed away to a murmur in which the words "vieux jeu" and "rococo" were faintly audible. 🔊
← Life is web and therein nor warp nor woof is, but web only. 🔊
← Diabolism seemed to be a cheerful, even a wholesome influence in his life. 🔊
← If I could come back to life then—just for a few hours—and go to the reading-room and read! 🔊
← This isn't a mere matter of life or death. 🔊
← "In life and in art," he said, "all that matters is an inevitable ending." 🔊