Over the sturdy nakedness of truth the diaphanous veil of phantasy. - José Maria de Eça de Queirós

I came to the conclusion – as one invariably does in philosophy – that I was up against a primary cause and therefore an insoluble one.

Jovens de letras, meus amigos, ponde vossos olhos neste exemplo de ouro! Sê prudente, mancebo; nunca, ao entrar na carreira literária, publiques poema ou novela sem a antecipada precaução de ter sido durante alguns anos – primeiro-ministro de Inglaterra!

Even the pot-bellied abbot, who in the evening sits on his veranda with a paternal air, enjoying his coffee and picking the holes in his teeth, has in his innermost soul the makings of a Torquemada.