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To space one’s words, one’s sentences, one’s thoughts. — Compressibility of the one and the other: one must not abuse it.
... and minds sympathetic to mine.
March […].
In music, “the art of increasing and diminishing sound”—of marking, of making felt its gradations and degradations through shades and semitones—a true “art of chiaroscuro.”
March 4.
How fire is communicated through smoke, how it catches in it and attaches itself to it.
Equilibrium. One seeks it to fall asleep. If inward, easy to find. If not, difficult. — With how little one establishes it: a fold or an unfolding suffices.
Such writings. It is enough to have tasted them and to retain their savor.
Look at Lamotte. He is always wrong for excellent reasons.
March 5.
That ridiculous line of Lamotte’s: The science of loving has grown more perfect. good to send to M. de St P[ierre].
“As this work had made a great deal of noise in my head, I thought it had made a great deal [of it] in the world; but I was mistaken.” Mme de Bⁿᵗ. That is very well said.
March 6.
Newspapers. “An amusement is made into a fatigue.” Are read quickly; should contain only thoughts that cannot arrest the reader’s mind. To be good, a journalist must not be too superior to the public, but a primus inter pares. Hence young people with intelligence and talent are suited to writing a newspaper well. For since all thoughts (even common ones) are novelties, discoveries to them, they give them relief in good faith through expression; and through the benefit of their age they write well what scarcely deserves to be well written.
February 28.
[Président de Brosses.] “I will never be able to bring myself to say that a building without columns is a perfectly beautiful building.” I agree with him.
February 27.
Marble, better suited than bronze (and consequently than any other material) to rendering distinctly an expression of life, a beautiful expression. One gives it fairly easily, if not the complexion, at least the softness of skin. I would almost say its wetness. The harder it [is], the drier it is, the better it expresses it, as if through a kind of repulsion that sends them back and keeps them at the surface. (sic.)