Absence diminishes minor passions and inflames great ones, as the wind douses a candle and fans a fire.

—La Rochefoucauld

“A sail! A sail! A mighty man-of-war!”
Five minutes later it’s a packet boat
And then a skiff, and then a bale
And finally some sticks bobbing about.

I know of plenty such
To whom this story applies –
People whom distance magnifies
Who, close to, don’t amount to much.

—Jean de La Fontaine