"The value of things is not the time they last, but the intensity with which they occur. That is why there are unforgettable moments and unique people!"
"A great emotion is too selfish ; it takes into itself all the blood of the spirit, and the congestion leaves the hands too cold to write. Three sorts of emotion produce great poetry - strong but quick emotions, seized upon for art as soon as they have passed, but not before they have passed ; strong and deep emotions in their remembrance along time after ; and false emotions, that is to say, emotions felt in the intellect. Not insincerity, but a translated sincerity, is the basis of all art."
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Source: Fernando Pessoa (1988). “Always Astonished: Selected Prose”, p.53, City Lights Books
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