A quote by E. M. Forster

We do not see what we do not seek.
E. M. Forster, What does it matter? A Morality

The above has become a favourite quote of mine purely by accident. About 12 years ago I gave a friend, as Christmas or birthday present, E. M. Forster's posthumous collection of short stories, The Life to Come and other stories. Later he came up with that quote. I searched my copy in vain for it. Nothing.

Now, for some reason just thought of it again, and thanks to Amazon's search I managed to locate it at last. It's part of the short story mentioned above, and can be found on page 166 of Penguin's blue cover classics series.

Graham Greene quote

From a false equation you get only a chain of errors.
Graham Greene, The Honorary Consul

Having worked with numbers, equations and a variety of mathematical topics, when I came across this I loved it. It summarises everything so perfectly well. Pity most people don't grasp it, either in Maths or in Life.

Jane Austen quote

Think only of the past as its remembrance gives you pleasure.
Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice (Chapter 58)

Since I read "Pride and Prejudice" years ago this has been one of my favourite quotes. I must re-read it sometime soon.

The Perfect Quote

All I really need is love, but a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt!

Lucy van Pelt (Peanuts by Charles Schultz)

I found this today online, along with some variations. I couldn't resist posting it, especially as I am reading a collection of Peanuts comics. If I loved Lucy before, I do even more now.


I would love to find the actual strip this appears, but I doubt that it will happen soon: the strip ran for nearly 50 years (end of 1950 till February 2000) and "The Complete Peanuts" collections published so far only cover the first 20 years.

A quote and a song

Two things going back and forth in my mind since mid-June...

It is always painful to part from people whom one has known for a very brief space of time. The absence of old friends one can endure with equanimity. But even a momentary separation from anyone to whom one has just been introduced is almost unbearable.

Oscar Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest

Judy Garland's version of "Stormy Weather" (cause it cheers me up).