Annie Dillard

There is a certain age at which a child looks at you in all earnestness and delivers a long, pleased speech in all the true inflections of spoken English, but with not one recognizable syllable.

age


Annie Dillard

It's a little silly to finally learn how to write at this age. But I long ago realized I was secretly sincere.

age


Annie Dillard

People love pretty much the same things best. A writer looking for subjects inquires not after what he loves best, but after what he alone loves at all.

alone


Annie Dillard

Buddhism notes that it is always a mistake to think your soul can go it alone.

alone


Annie Dillard

As soon as beauty is sought not from religion and love, but for pleasure, it degrades the seeker.

beauty


Annie Dillard

It is ironic that the one thing that all religions recognize as separating us from our creator, our very self-consciousness, is also the one thing that divides us from our fellow creatures. It was a bitter birthday present from evolution.

birthday


Annie Dillard

You can't test courage cautiously.

courage


Annie Dillard

I would like to learn, or remember, how to live.

education


Annie Dillard

Eskimo: 'If I did not know about God and sin, would I go to hell?' Priest: 'No, not if you did not know.' Eskimo: 'Then why did you tell me?'

god


Annie Dillard

Appealing workplaces are to be avoided. One wants a room with no view, so imagination can meet memory in the dark.

imagination


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