蘿莉塔,我生命的幽光、我腰胯的熱火。我的罪惡、我的靈魂。蘿-莉-塔:舌尖小跳三步,沿著上顎一路下探,第三步於齒面上輕彈。蘿。莉。塔。
——納博科夫《蘿莉塔》
Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins. My sin, my soul. Lo-lee-ta: the tip of the tongue taking a trip of three steps. Down the palate to tap, at three, on the teeth. Lo. Lee. Ta.
—Vladimir Nabokov 1899-1977 : Lolita
世間最痛苦莫過於愛一個人太深而迷失自己,迷失到你忘了自己同樣特別。
——海明威《沒有女人的男人》
The most painful thing is losing yourself in the process of loving someone too much, and forgetting that you are special too.
—Ernest Hemingway 1899-1961 : Men Without Women
當一個人開始臉紅,難道不就是在說「我願意」嗎?
——聖修伯里《小王子》
When someone blushes, doesn't that mean 'yes'?
—Antoine de Saint-Exupéry 1900-1944 : The Little Prince
為你們的同在挪出空間,讓天堂的風在你們之間拂舞。愛彼此,但不讓愛成為束縛:讓愛成為你們靈魂兩岸之間一片游移的海。斟滿彼此的杯,但不共一杯飲。將你的麵包分予對方而不共一條食。一同歌舞、一同歡樂,但讓你們彼此獨處,如同魯特琴弦儘管共奏一曲,仍然各自獨立。給出你的心,但並非繳給對方看管。只有生命之手能容納你們的心。一同站立,然而別靠太近:寺殿的柱石兀自獨立,而橡木與柏樹並不在彼此遮蔭下茁壯。
——紀伯倫《先知》
Let there be spaces in your togetherness, And let the winds of the heavens dance between you. Love one another but make not a bond of love: Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls. Fill each other's cup but drink not from one cup. Give one another of your bread but eat not from the same loaf. Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone, Even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music. Give your hearts, but not into each other's keeping. For only the hand of Life can contain your hearts. And stand together, yet not too near together: For the pillars of the temple stand apart, And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other's shadow.
—Kahlil Gibran 1883-1931 : The Prophet
性是以動作表達的情緒。
——梅.蕙絲《秀》
Sex is an emotion in motion.
—Mae West 1893-1980 : Show
愛摘下了我們的面具,那張讓我們唯恐自己不戴就不能過活、同時又深知自己無法戴著過活的面具。
——詹姆斯.鮑德溫《下一次將是烈火》
Love takes off the masks we fear we cannot live without and know we cannot live within.
—James Baldwin 1924-1987 : The Fire Next Time
我最親愛的,我想我真的又要瘋了。我想我們無法再攜手走過另一段恐怖的時光了。而我這次不會好起來了。我開始害怕聲音、無法專注。所以我做了一個看來最好的決定。你給過我無比的幸福,你已為我付出任何人能為我付出的所有一切。我不認為還有哪兩個人能比我們更開心—直到這個可怕的疾病襲來。我沒辦法繼續搏鬥下去了。我知道自己正在毀掉你的生活,要是沒有我,你就能專注工作。你會的,我知道。你看,我甚至連好好把它寫下來都沒辦法。我不能閱讀。我想說的是,我此生的幸福都虧欠於你。你對我付出了全然的耐性與難以置信的溫柔。我想說出來—儘管大家都知道。如果還有誰能拯救我的話,那將會是你。所有事物都在棄我而去,唯獨你的溫柔依舊。我不能這麼繼續毀掉你的人生。我不覺得還有人能比我們幸福。
——吳爾芙,投河自盡前留給丈夫里歐納德的信
Dearest, I feel certain that I am going mad again. I feel we can't go through another of those terrible times. And I shan't recover this time. I begin to hear voices, and I can't concentrate. So I am doing what seems the best thing to do. You have given me the greatest possible happiness. You have been in every way all that anyone could be. I don't think two people could have been happier 'til this terrible disease came. I can't fight any longer. I know that I am spoiling your life, that without me you could work. And you will I know. You see I can't even write this properly. I can't read. What I want to say is I owe all the happiness of my life to you. You have been entirely patient with me and incredibly good. I want to say that – everybody knows it. If anybody could have saved me it would have been you. Everything has gone from me but the certainty of your goodness. I can't go on spoiling your life any longer. I don't think two people could have been happier than we have been.
—Virginia Woolf 1882-1941 : Suicide note to Leonard
不成熟的愛會說:我愛你,因為我需要你。
成熟的愛會說:我需要你,因為我愛你。
——弗洛姆《愛的藝術》
Immature love says: I love you because I need you.
Mature love says: I need you because I love you.
—Erich Fromm 1900-1980 : The Art of Loving
婚姻的枷鎖如此沈重,需要兩人方能共同背負—不過偶爾需要三人。
——大仲馬
The chains of marriage are so heavy that it takes two to bear them, and sometimes three.
—Alexander Dumas 1802-1870
「床,」如同義大利俗諺的簡潔描述,「是窮人的歌劇院。」
—赫胥黎《天堂與地獄》
‘Bed,’ as the Italian proverb succinctly puts it, ‘ is the poor man’s opera.’
—Aldous Huxley 1894-1963 : Heaven and Hell
任何人若沒體驗過背叛帶來的狂喜,就對狂喜一無所知。
——尚.惹內《愛的囚徒》
Anyone who hasn’t experienced the ecstasy of betrayal knows nothing about ecstasy at all.
—Jean Genet 1910-1986 : Prisoner of Love