a futile struggle to produce green
“Looking at blue and yellow together . . . will involve the eye in a futile struggle to produce green; i.e., it will never come to rest in one color or reach a sense of totality in the whole.”
—Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, from his Farbenlehre, or Theory of Color, 1808. Translated and edited Douglas Miller, 1988.
the eye and the soul come to rest
“The eye finds a physical satisfaction in green. When the mixture of the two colors which yield green is so evenly balanced that neither color predominates, the eye and the soul come to rest on the mixture as if it were something simple. We cannot and will not go beyond it. Thus green is often chosen for rooms where we spend all our time.”
—Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, from his Farbenlehre, or Theory of Color, 1808. Translated and edited Douglas Miller, 1988.
a creation of light
“As a creation of light, the eye does everything that light itself can do. Light gives to the eye what is visible, and the eye gives it to the whole man. The ear is silent, the mouth is deaf, but the eye perceives and speaks. In the eye the world is mirrored from without, the man from within. The totality of what lies within and without is completed by the eye.”
—Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, from an early draft of his Farbenlehre, or Theory of Color, 1808. Quoted in a footnote by editor Douglas Miller, 1988.
“in reality there is no white, or black . . .”
“Democritus, after having stated that ‘in reality there is no white, or black, or bitter, or sweet,’ added: ‘Poor mind, from the senses you take your arguments, and then want to defeat them—Your victory is your defeat.’”
—Hannah Arendt, in a footnote from The Human Condition, 1958.
diamond nailheads
“The Creator sat upon the throne, thinking. Behind him stretched the illimitable continent of heaven, steeped in a glory of light and color; before him rose the black night of Space, like a wall. His mighty bulk towered rugged and mountain-like into the zenith, and His divine head blazed there like a distant sun. . . .
When the Creator had finished thinking, He said, ‘I have though. Behold!’
He lifted His hand, and from it burst a fountain-spray of fire, a million stupendous suns, which clove the blackness and soared, away and away and away, diminishing in magnitude and intensity as they pierced the far frontiers of Space, until at last they were but as diamond nailheads sparkling under the domed vast roof of the universe.”
—Mark Twain (1835–1910), the opening of Letters from the Earth. From the collection Letters from the Earth, 1962.
Passage from the Diary of the Mad Philosopher
“Received in audience by the Most Illustrious, Most Powerful, Most Gracious, Most Reverend, her Grandeur, the Acting Head of the Human Race, whom I addressed by these her official titles, and humbly thanked her, kneeling; then by permission indicated by a gesture, rose and stood before the Throne. . . .
Her Grandeur was clothed as the Arctic skies are clothed when the northern lights flood them with their trembling waves of purple and crimson and golden flame, and through this shifting and changing dream of rich colors the flash of innumerable jewels went chasing and turning, gleaming and expiring like trains of sparks through burnt paper.”
—Mark Twain (1835–1910), as titled, from Papers from the Adam Family, published posthumously in Letters from the Earth, 1962.
evening dress
“In the case of a ship on fire, evening dress must be omitted. The true gentleman never wears evening dress at sea, even in case of a fire.”
—Mark Twain (1835–1910), From an Unfinished Burlesque of Books on Ettiquette, published posthumously in Letters from the Earth, 1962.
Ultra fashion
“Signification, etc., of the Cards
Diamonds—Independent means, and no occupation.
Hearts—Love.
Clubs—Ultra fashion.
Spades—Neutral.”
—Mark Twain (1835–1910), From an Unfinished Burlesque of Books on Ettiquette, published posthumously in Letters from the Earth, 1962.
the beautiful French custom of fetching a bouquet every day
“If proposer is defeated, he may throw up his hand or call a new deal, just as he shall prefer, or as circumstances may dictate.
But if he is elected, he must now drop into the beautiful French custom of fetching a bouquet every day. His first bouquet must be entirely white; after that, a faint shade of color (red) must be added daily. Let the tint deepen gradually day by day, and with such careful precision that there shall still remain a perceptible trace of white down to the very day before the wedding. On that day the last bouquet is delivered—and it must be absolutely red—no suggestion of other color in it anywhere.”
—Mark Twain (1835–1910), From an Unfinished Burlesque of Books on Ettiquette, published posthumously as Letters from the Earth, 1962.
the Animal that Blushes
“Man is the Animal that Blushes. He is the only one that does it, or has occasion to.”
—Mark Twain (1835–1910) from The Damned Human Race, one of the many essays published quite posthumously as Letters from the Earth, 1962.