What we seek, at the deepest level, is inwardly to resemble, rather than physically to possess, the objects and places that touch us through their beauty.

You normally have to be bashed about a bit by life to see the point of daffodils, sunsets and uneventful nice days.

A dominant impulse on encountering beauty is to wish to hold on to it, to possess it and give it weight in one’s life. There is an urge to say, ‘I was here, I saw this and it mattered to me.

It is perhaps when our lives are at their most problematic that we are likely to be most receptive to beautiful things.

It is in dialogue with pain that many beautiful things acquire their value.

There is a danger of developing a blanket distaste for modern life which could have its attractions but lack the all-important images to help us identify them.

Does beauty give birth to love? Or does love give birth to beauty? Did I love Chloe because she was beautiful? Or was she beautiful because I loved her?

Does beuty give birth to love? Or does love give birth to beauty? Did I love Chloe because she was beautiful? Or was she beautiful because I loved her?

...Because beauty is typically the result of a few qualities working in concert, it can take more to guarantee the appeal of a bridge or a house than strength alone. (p 205)