“I put it [a still life of a pear, made by Manet there [on the wall, next to Ingres' painting 'Jupiter'], for a pear like that would overthrow any god.”

“The seed of God is in us, Meister Eckhart said. Pear seeds grow into pear trees, nut seeds into nut trees, and God seed into G o d .”

“As for my next book, I won't write it till it has grown heavy in my mind like a ripe pear; pendant, gravid, asking to be cut or it will fall.”

“There are only ten minutes in the life of a pear when it is perfect to eat.”

“But we have seen it in the air,
A fairy like a William Pear”

“Oh to be a pear tree – any tree in bloom! With kissing bees singing of the beginning of the world!”

“An apple resists being eaten. An apple is not eaten, it is conquered. The crunchiness of a pear is far more appealing. It is giving and fragile. To eat a pear is akin to … kissing.”

“His pear-shaped head, I could now see, was situated on top of a pear-shaped body, which his black gown caused to resemble a piece of fruit going to a funeral.”

“Slice a pear and you will find that its flesh is incandescent white. It glows with inner light. Those who carry a knife and a pear are never afraid of the dark.”

“No. Now, shut up and eat your pears.”