Or rather they helped to furnish the illusion of a relationship with the outside world: a dismal cop-out nourished and centralized by a scornful power bent only on keeping people in their state of continuous isolation. The inventors of the Library knew their trade well!” (Location 769)
The typical patron of the Library was a shy individual, ready to explore the limits of his own loneliness and to weigh others down with it. (Location 776)
And so, a web of mutual espionage came together piece by piece—malicious and futile. You couldn’t leave the house anymore, take a tram, visit a public place, without sensing the leer of somebody who wanted you to believe he’d soaked up all your deepest secrets. (Location 783)
“Motives in our own image and likeness,” said Giuffrida, (Location 1245)
archaeologists digging around Volterra had discovered bas-reliefs revealing that the great poet Virgil had actually been an ostrich. The sculptures dated back to the Augustan period. The anonymous artist depicted the poet in various positions: standing upright with his long neck almost vertical and his tiny head and beak animated by two eyes that shone with intelligence; (Location 1282)
