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Distilling is beautiful. First of all because it is a slow, philosophic, and silent occupation, which keeps you busy but gives you time to think of other things, somewhat like riding a bike. Then, because it involves a metamorphosis from liquid to vapour (invisible), and from this once again to liquid; but in this double journey, up and down, purity is obtained, an ambiguous and fascinating condition, which starts with chemistry and goes very far.

— The Periodic Table by Primo Levi (Page 48)

What if the meaning of life on earth is not eternal progress towards some unspecified goal – the engineering and production of more complex and abstruse cultural forms? What if these things just rise and recede naturally, like tides, while the meaning of life remains the same always – just to live and be with other people?

— Beautiful World, Where Are You by Sally Rooney (Page 161)