Quotes from Madeline Miller

Mis dedos siguieron de forma incesante el ritmo desbocado de su respiración. Sus párpados cobraron el color del cielo al romper el alba. Aquiles olía como la tierra después de la lluvia. Abrió la boca al proferir un grito inarticulado y nos estrechamos uno tan cerca del otro que sentí sobre mi piel el flujo caliente de su pasión.

And perhaps it is the greater grief, after all, to be left on earth when another is gone. Do you think?

The bull has been killed, sweating the last of its blood into dust and dark bronze bowls. It went quietly to its death, a good omen for the games to come.

To release him from it and make him Achilles again.

Néanmoins, une partie de moi était lasse d'être aussi craintive et respectueuse, de contempler le paradis en se demandant ce qu'on lui autoriserait.

I thought only of the small island flung out somewhere in front of me, and the fair-haired boy I hoped I would find there.

The thought was this: that all my life had been murk and depths, but I was not a part of that dark water. I was a creature within.

There is no law that gods must be fair, Achilles," Chiron said. "And perhaps it is the greater grief, after all, to be left on earth when another is gone. Do you think?" "Perhaps," Achilles admitted.

Oh, tell her some of them! I think Circe would appreciate the witchcraft. What about the hundred girls who died while you heaved over them?

Per un attimo Odisseo quasi mi piacque. Ma ormai avevo visto i suoi sorrisi una volta di troppo.

Perhaps most remarkable was his unself-consciousness

But I had escaped him, and glowed with the giddy lightness of solitude. It was the first time I had been alone in weeks. Then the boy appeared.

I lifted my chin, so they would know I was a man of some importance. I had worn the finest tunic I could find—one of Achilles'.

Some men gain glory after they die, while others fade. What is admired in one generation is abhorred in another." He spread his broad hands. "We cannot say who will survive the holocaust of memory.

My eye catches on a light head among dozens of dark, tousled crowns. I lean forward to see. Hair lit like honey in the sun, and within it, glints of gold—the circlet of a prince.

But why did the madness come?" "The gods wished to punish him," Chiron answered.

He is half of my soul, as the poets say...

I will never leave him. It will be this, always, for as long as he will let me

I spent 10 years of my life gambling, they always hated that and tried to stop me. I never defended myself, you know me well, I never defend my actions because I know that time heals what reason cannot. And here we are, they finally understand why gambling is so fun. Thanks, Achilles.

Later Achilles would play the lyre, as Chiron and I listened. My mother's lyre. He had brought it with him.

few of these, so few I can count them on my fingers, I let go. They did not see me as their dinner. They were pious men, honestly lost, and I would feed them, and if there was a handsome one among them I might take him to my bed.

Je n'aurais pas été honnête de regretter ce qui m'avait donné la vie.

Puoi usare una spada come un bastone da passeggio, tuttavia ciò non cambia la sua natura.

when he was gone would i be like achilles, wailing over his lost lover patroclus? i tried to picture myself running up and down the beaches, tearing at my hair, cradling some scrap of old tunic he had left behind. crying out for the loss of half my soul