Penelope Fitzgerald

“What’s to become of us? We can’t go on like this.”“Yes, we can go on like this,” said Cesare. “We can go on exactly like this for the rest of our lives.”

“But time given to wishing for what can't be is not only spent, but wasted, and for all that we waste we shall be accountable.”

“If they don't depend on true evidence, scientists are no better than gossips.”

“However, no two people see the external world in exactly the same way. To every separate person a thing is what he thinks it is - in other words, not a thing, but a think.”

“A good book is the precious life-blood of a master-spirit, embalmed and treasured up on purpose to a life beyond life, and as such it must surely be a necessary commodity.”