"There are betrayals in war that are childlike compared with our human betrayals during peace. The new lovers enter the habits of the other. Things are smashed, revealed in a new light. This is done with nervous or tender sentences, although the heart is an organ of fire."

Michael Ondaatje Literature See all quotes by Michael Ondaatje →

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“This last night we tear into each other, as if to wound, as if to find the key to everything before morning.”

“I believe this. When we meet those we fall in love with, there is an aspect of our spirit that is historian, a bit of a pedant who reminisces or remembers a meeting when the other has passed by innocently…but all parts of the body must be ready for the other, all atoms must jump in one direction for desire to occur.”

“We all have an old knot in the heart we wish to untie.”

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"I have always had a special regard for the General Assembly and its members. This is the place - and you are the people - that do so much to give expression to the heart of Scotland."

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"Although the human rights dimension of trade is obvious, investors and corporations think that they can continue working in a human-rights-free zone."

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"You please me much by saying that no other fault is to be found in your picture than the roughness of the surface; for that part being of use in giving force to the effect at a proper distance.. ..I u…"

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