Emma Cohen

Human misery would be intolerable if it were not diluted in time. We have to prevent it from being diluted in order that it should be intolerable.

"And when they had had their fill of tears" (Iliad) -this is another way of making the worst suffering bearable.

We must not weep so that we may not be comforted.* All suffering which does not detach us is... See more

There are two parts of the mind. The outer mind that records facts and the inner mind that says "yes" and "no". When you think of something that you should do the inner mind says "yes" and you feel elated. We call this inspiration.

It is he who, through the operation of the dark night, withdraws himself in order not to be loved as the treasure is by the miser.

If the Lord doesn't make me remember, I will gain just by tiring myself and getting worse headache for the sake of obedience-even though no benefit will be drawn from what I say.

When we are disappointed by a pleasure which we have been expecting and which comes, the disappointment is be. cause we were expecting the future. And as soon as it is there, it is the present. We want the future to be there with. out ceasing to be future. This is an absurdity of which eternity alone is the cure.

There is one great difference from man to man that I must mention. It is a difference in willingness to perform his function.

We, each of us, is born to a certain function. Sometimes our function is hidden from us by prejudice and fear. When an artist becomes aware of his exact function, that is when he knows, suddenly, exactly what he will do and... See more

You must discover the art work that you like and realize the response that you make to it. You must especially know the response that you make to your own work. It is in this way that you discover your direction and the truth about yourself. If you do not discover your response to your own work you miss the reward. You must look at the work and... See more