"The beautiful takes our desire captive and empties it of its object..."
"Everything which is vile or second-rate in us revolts against purity and needs, in order to save its own life, to soil this purity.
To soil is to modify, it is to touch. The beautiful is that which we cannot wish to change. To assume power over is to soil. To possess is to soil.
To love purely is to consent to distance, it is to adore the distance between ourselves and that which we love."
I was walking down the street yesterday and I saw a beautiful tropical flower emerging from under a thick brush, pinned against an iron gate. Immediately I wanted to pick it, perhaps to save it or maybe I just wanted to have it, but I plucked it out of the soft earth. I held it carefully almost taking on the persona of the flower. bold yet delicate. I made it home safe and placed the flower into a glass of water for it to drink. Naturally I had to find a place in my home where the flower could be seen and assure its compliments to the interior. The antique end table found in the ally next to my vintage couch was the perfect pedestal. It looked more beautiful than it did pressed against the cold iron gate moments ago. I rescued it.
Soon to watch it die.
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