“Was it really some other person I was so anxious to discover...or was it only my own solitude that I could not abide?”

“Once, Turner had himself lashed to the mast of a ship for several hours, during a furious storm, so that he could later paint the storm. Obviously, it was not the storm itself that Turner intended to paint. What he intended to paint was a representation of the storm. One's language is frequently imprecise in that manner, I have discovered.”

“On the other hand it is probably safe to assume that Rembrandt and Spinoza surely would have at least passed on the street, now and again.Or even run into each other quite frequently, if only at some neighborhood shop or other.And certainly they would have exchanged amenities as well, after a time.Good morning, Rembrandt. Good morning to you, Spinoza.I was extremely sorry to hear about your bankruptcy, Rembrandt. I was extremely sorry to hear about your excommunication, Spinoza.Do have a good day, Rembrandt. Do have the same, Spinoza.All of this would have been said in Dutch, incidentally.I mention that simply because it is known that Rembrandt did not speak any other language except Dutch.Even if Spinoza may have preferred Latin. Or Jewish.”

“How can I tell what I think until I see what I say?”

“Have I ever said that Turner once actually had himself lashed to the mast of a ship, to be able to later do a painting of a storm? Which has never failed to remind me of the scene in which Odysseus does the identical thing, of course, so that he can listen to the Sirens singing but will stay put.”

“I also believe I met William Gaddis once. He did not look Italian.”

“You will say that I am old and mad, was what Michaelangelo wrote, but I answer that there is no better way of being sane and free from anxiety than by being mad.”