“The sight of them together does not lead you to wonder about a history in which you are not the narrator?”
Brown : The Last Discovery of America (2003)
Context: The Indian refuses civilization; the African slave is rendered unfit for it.
But cher Monsieur: You saw the Indian sitting beside the African on a drape of baize. They were easy together. The sight of them together does not lead you to wonder about a history in which you are not the narrator?
These women are but parables of your interest in yourself. Rather than consider the nature of their intimacy, you are preoccupied alone with the meaning of your intrusion.
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Richard Rodríguez 127
American journalist and essayist 1944Related quotes
Source: Into the Green (1993), p. 26; This has also been misquoted as "The few wonders of the world only exist while there are those with the sight to see them."
“Does defending liberalism leave you friendless and perhaps wondering about your breath?”
"Have you Heard? The War is Over!" The Village Voice (23 November 1967) [later published in Ochs' The War is Over (1968)]
“History is written for the purpose of narration and not in order to give proof.”
Historia et scribitur ad narrandum non ad probandum.
Book X, Chapter I, 31
De Institutione Oratoria (c. 95 AD)
Source: How To Write A Sentence And How To Read One (2011), Chapter 10, Sentences That Are About Themselves (Aren't They All?), p. 137
“It’s not about the dress you wear, but it’s about the life you lead in the dress.”
“To lead men, you have to lead them with affection.”
His Biographers remark quoted in “Believing in Perfection” in New India Digest
“I'll be dead and you'll think about this day and wonder which of us was more the slave, you or me!”
Homecoming saga, Earthborn (1995)