For this thin glitter of glass everywhere is the expression of the fact that the happiness is bright but brittle, like the substance most easily smashed by a housemaid or a cat.

And this fairy-tale sentiment also sank into me and became my sentiment towards the whole world.

I felt and feel that life itself is as bright as the diamond, but as brittle as the window-pane; and when the heavens were compared to the terrible crystal I can remember a shudder.

I was afraid that God would drop the cosmos with a crash.
Remember, however, that to be breakable is not the same as to be perishable.

Strike a glass, and it will not endure an instant; simply do not strike it, and it will endure a thousand years.