Maurice

by E.M. Forster

The craving for notice grew overwhelming, so he talked, talked.

Those who base their conduct upon what they are rather than upon what they ought to be, always must throw it over in the end,

He wished Christianity would compromise

When love flies it is remembered not as love but as something else.

“Maurice, I don’t want a row.” “I do.”

To inquire into the causes of beauty were to inquire too closely, and only a cynic would dispel the blended Sorrow and Peace that perfumed Alfriston Gardens while a dear old man lay dying.

“Why do you go and say you love me?” “Why do you call me Maurice?”

It’s a risk, so’s everything else, and we’ll only live once.”

It was a fantastic decision, useless, undignified, risky, and he had not the least intention of going when he left home.

felt that not merely things wouldn’t go wrong this time but that they daren’t, and that the universe had been put in its place.

And in my experience though loyalty cannot be counted on it can always be hoped for and be worked towards and may flourish in the most unlikely soil.