“The consolation of an imaginary thing is still a real consolation.”

“The consolation of imaginary things is not imaginary consolation.”

“Lovemaking is the consolation for living in the body, just as art is the consolation for living in the world.”

“Stories are consoling, fiction is one of the consolation prizes for having lived in the world.”

“Criticism has plucked the imaginary flowers on the chain not in order that man shall continue to bear that chain without fantasy or consolation, but so that he shall throw off the chain and pluck the living flower.”

“He calls his brother. it is the wrong brother from whom to seek consolation, but what can he do? When it comes to consolation it is always the wrong brother, the wrong father, the wrong mother, the wrong wife, which is why one must be content to console oneself and be strong and go on in life consoling others.”