## Metadata - Author: [[Machado de Assis, Michael Wood]] - Full Title: The Collected Stories of Machado De Assis - Category: #books ## Highlights - Mendonça was an intelligent, educated man with plenty of common sense; he also had a markedly romantic bent; despite this, though, he also had an Achilles’ heel. In that respect, he was like most other men, for there are Achilleses out there who are one vast heel from head to toe. Mendonça’s weak point was this: the love of a nicely turned phrase was enough to distort his affections; he would willingly sacrifice a promising situation to a well-honed sentence. ([Location 455](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B076MHVMDT&location=455)) - The ridiculous provides a kind of ballast for the soul when it enters the sea of life; indeed, some make the entire voyage with no other cargo. ([Location 470](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B076MHVMDT&location=470)) - Madalena was extraordinarily beautiful, and yet her face revealed her to be someone who has suffered greatly. She was tall and strong, and had a beautiful neck, magnificent arms, large brown eyes, and a mouth made for love. ([Location 1395](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B076MHVMDT&location=1395)) - Senhor José Brito was, as far as Vasconcelos was concerned, a specter, an echo from the abyss, the voice of reality—a creditor. ([Location 1832](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B076MHVMDT&location=1832)) - “You wanted to live a free and independent life. Seeing me embarking on that life of excess, you thought you could buy my tolerance of your behavior by tolerating mine. ([Location 2012](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B076MHVMDT&location=2012)) - “A love that stops to think is not true love.” ([Location 2504](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B076MHVMDT&location=2504))