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81 " Homosexuality and trance were considered abnormalities now, while in the Middle Ages people had been made saints for their trances, which were considered the highest state of being, and in Ancient Greece, as Plato makes clear, homosexuality was ‘a major means to the good life. "
― Lily King , Euphoria
82 " He didn't like her strong, nor did he like her weak. "
83 " It’s from an Amy Lowell poem we all loved in college. Wine is sort of thrilling and sensual, and bread is familiar and essential.’ ‘Wine, I suppose.’ ‘Would it have turned to bread? "
84 " Because death is not tragic to them, not in the way it is to us,’ I said. ‘They mourn.’ ‘They feel sorrow, great sorrow. But it isn’t tragic.’ ‘No, it isn’t. They know their ancestors have a plan for them. There’s no sense that it was wrong. Tragedy is based on this sense that there’s been a terrible mistake, isn’t it?’ ‘We’re sort of big dramatic babies in comparison, "
85 " Americans could surprise you with the things they knew. "
86 " And this led to another round of mapping as we separated men from women, finding that while the male ethos usually represented the culture at large, within a culture women offset the ideal. "
87 " the one people she was meant to study, a people whose genius she would unlock, and who would unlock hers, a people who had a way of life that made sense to her. "
88 " Ik zou het nog niet half zo lang hebben volgehouden,' zei ik, maar toen besefte ik dat hij in veel opzichten op de Dobu leek: zijn paranoïde trekjes, zijn zwarte humor, zijn wantrouwen jegens plezier, zijn geheimzinnigdoenerij. Ik ging als vanzelf aan zijn resultaten twijfelen. Als er maar één kenner van een bepaald volk is, zegt diens analyse dan meer over dat volk of over hem? Zoals gewoonlijk was ik meer geïnteresseerd in het raakvlak tussen die twee dan in andere dingen. "
89 " She said that it was often taboo in a culture to have a real discussion of the dominant traits; in our culture, for example, a real discussion of capitalism or war was not permitted, suggesting that these dominant traits had become compulsive and overgrown. "
90 " Her last sentences urged acceptance of cultural relativism and tolerance of differences. "
91 " People are always wine to me, never bread "
92 " For so long I’d felt that what I’d been trained to do in academic writing was to press my nose to the ground, and here was Nell Stone with her head raised and swiveling in all directions. It was exhilarating and infuriating "
93 " You are in my stomach' was their most intimate expression of love "
94 " You don't realize how language actually interferes with communication until you don't have it, how it gets in the way like an overdominant sense. Words aren't always the most reliable thing. "
95 " Who are we and were are we going? Why are we, with all our "progress" so limited in understanding and sympathy and the ability to give each other real freedom? Why with our emphasis on the individual are we still so blinded by the urge to conform? "
96 " Helen declared Western civilization's lack of understanding of other peoples' customs to be the world's greatest and gravest social problem. "
97 " Personality depends on context, just like culture,’ she said. ‘Certain people bring out certain traits in each other. Don’t you think? If I had a husband, for example, who said, “Your typing makes my brain work better,” I would not be so ashamed of my impulse to work. You don’t always see how much other people are shaping you. What are you looking at? "
98 " Vailala Madness "
99 " It’s that moment about two months in, when you think you’ve finally got a handle on the place. Suddenly it feels within your grasp. It’s a delusion—you’ve only been there eight weeks—and it’s followed by the complete despair of ever understanding anything. But at that moment the place feels entirely yours. It’s the briefest, purest euphoria. "
100 " It all goes back to this idea of ownership again. Once I published that book and my words became a commodity, something broke between us. "