Bokelskere.no

The Greek earth opens before me like the Book of Revelation. I never knew that the earth contains so much; I had walked blindfolded, with faltering, hesitant steps; i was proud and arrogant, content to live the false, restricted life of the city m an The light of Greece opened my eyes, penetrated my pores, expanded my whole being. I came home to the world, having found the true centre and the real meaning of revolution. ... I refuse to be anything less than the citizen of the world which I silently declared myself to be when I stood in Agamemnon's tomb. From that day forth my life was dedicated to the recovery of the divinity of man. Peace to all men, I say, and life more abundant!

But the most trivial incident, if it happened to Katsimbalis, had a way of blossoming into a great event.

But there is something colossal about any human figure when that individual becomes truly and thoroughly human. ... Walking with him through the streets of Amaroussion I had the feeling that I was walking the earth in a totally new way. The earth became more intimate, more alive, more promising. ... He spoke of little things and of great with equal reverence; he was never too busy to pause and dwell on the things which moved him; he had endless time on his hands; which in itself is the mark of a great soul.

Because nobody can enjoy the experience he desires until he is ready for it. ... To desire is not merely to wish. To desire is to become that which one essentially is.

They made mythology of a reality which was too great for their human comprehension.

Until he has become fully human, until he learns to conduct himself as a member of the earth, he will continue to create gods who will destroy him.

We have learned through bitter mistakes that all the peoples of the earth are vitally connected, but we have not made use of that knowledge in an intelligent way. ... The world must become small again as the old Greek world was - small enough to include everybody. Until the very last man is included there will be no real human society.

The greatest single impression which Greece made upon me is that it is a man-sized world. ... Greece is the home of the gods; they may have died but their presence still makes itself felt. The gods were of human proportion: they were created out of the human spirit. ... If men cease to believe that they will one day become gods then they will surely become worms.

To live creatively, I have discovered, means to live more and more unselfishly, to live more and more into the world, identifying oneself with it and thus influencing it at the core, so to speak. Art, like religion, it now seems to me, is only a preparation, an initiation into the way of life. The goal is liberation, freedom, which means assuming greater responsibility.

It's a mad world and when you become slightly detached it seems even more mad than usual.