I saw a woman sleeping.
 
   In her sleep she dreamt Life stood before her, and held in each hand a
   gift -- in the one hand Love, in the other Freedom -- and She said to
   the woman, ``Choose -- '' 
 
   And the woman waited long: and she said, ``Freedom.''
 
   And Life said, ``Thou hast well chosen.  If thou hadst said ``love'' I
   would have given thee that thou didst ask for; and I would have gone
   from thee, and returned to thee no more.  Now, the day will come when
   I shall return.  In that day I shall bear both gifts in one hand.''
 
   I heard the woman laugh in her sleep.
 
                                --Olive Schreiner
 
 
 
``Will you marry me?''
 
``Why should I marry you?''
 
``That would take a long time to answer, but I'll give you the best
reason: because I think we have become very good friends, and could go
on to be splendid friends, and would be very likely to be wonderful
friends forever.''
 
``Friends?''
 
``What's wrong with being friends?''
 
``When people talk about marriage, they generally use stronger words
than that.''
 
``Do they? I don't know. I've never asked anyone to marry me before.''
 
``You mean you've never been in love?''
 
``Certainly I've been in love. More times than I can count. I've had
two or three affairs with girls I loved. But I knew very well that
they weren't friends.''
 
``You put friendship above love?''
 
``Doesn't everybody? No, that's a foolish question; of course they
don't. They talk about love to people with whom they are infatuated,
and sometimes involved to the point of devotion. I've nothing against
love. Most enjoyable. But I'm talking to you about marriage.''
 
``Marriage. But you don't love me?''
 
``Of course I love you, fathead, but I'm serious about marriage, and
marriage with anyone whom I do not think the most splendid friend I've
ever had doesn't interest me. Love and sex are very fine but they
won't last. Friendship - the kind of friendship I am talking about -
is charity and loving-kindness more than it's sex and it lasts as long
a life.  What's more, it grows, and sex dwindles; has to. So - will
you marry me and be friends?''
 
                              -- Robertson Davies, ``The Rebel Angels''