Critical Prose and Letters Quotes

“What tense would you choose to live in? I want to live in the imperative of the future passive participle – in the ‘what ought to be.”
― Osip Mandelstam, Critical Prose and Letters

“Logic is the kingdom of the unexpected. To think logically is to be perpetually astonished.”
― Osip Mandelstam, Critical Prose and Letters

“Life is one in all its manifestations. You must experience everything, be capable of everything, and rejoice in everything.”
― Osip Mandelstam, Critical Prose and Letters

“a ship could be built entirely from foreign planks, but it must have its own form”
― Osip Mandelstam, Critical Prose and Letters

“We have come to love the music of proof. Logical connection for us is not some popular song about a finch, but a choral symphony, so difficult and so inspired that the conductor must exert all his energy to keep the performers under his control.”
― Osip Mandelstam, Critical Prose and Letters