Edge Figure

Famous quotes containing the words edge and/or figure:

    It was her stern necessity: all things
    Are of one pattern made; bird, beast, and flower,
    Deceive us, seeming to be many things,
    And are but one. Beheld far off, they differ
    As God and devil; bring them to the mind,
    They dull its edge with their monotony.
    Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)

    The exile is a singular, whereas refugees tend to be thought of in the mass. Armenian refugees, Jewish refugees, refugees from Franco Spain. But a political leader or artistic figure is an exile. Thomas Mann yesterday, Theodorakis today. Exile is the noble and dignified term, while a refugee is more hapless.... What is implied in these nuances of social standing is the respect we pay to choice. The exile appears to have made a decision, while the refugee is the very image of helplessness.
    Mary McCarthy (1912–1989)