the most deeply moving ...

the most deeply moving element in the contemplation of beauty is the element of loss. We desire to hold; but the sunset melts into the night, and the secret of the painting on the wall can never be the secret of the buyer.
 See image
 Pamela Hansford Johnson

Quotes from the same author

Sainthood is acceptable only in saints.
 See image
 Pamela Hansford Johnson
There are few things more disturbing than to find, in somebody we detest, a moral quality which seems to us demonstrably superior to anything we ourselves possess. It augurs not merely an unfairness on the part of creation, but a lack of artistic judgment. Sainthood is acceptable only in saints.
 See image
 Pamela Hansford Johnson
You slam a politician, you make out he's the devil, with horns and hoofs. But his wife loves him, and so did all his mistresses.
 See image
 Pamela Hansford Johnson