Painters aren't expected to paint bleak pictures, are they?

A wedding was a strange ceremony, she thought, with all those formal words, those solemn vows made by one to another; whereas the real question that should be put to the two people involved was a very simple one. Are you happy with each other? was the only question that should be asked; to which they both should reply, preferably in unison, Yes.

To lose a child ... was something that could end one's world. One could never get back to how it was before. The stars went out. The moon disappeared. The birds became silent.

We are all tempted, Mma. We are all tempted when it comes to cake.

Any extreme political creed brought only darkness in the long run; it lit up nothing. The best politics were those of caution, tolerance and moderation, Angus maintained, but such politics were, alas, also very dull, and certainly moved nobody to poetry.

Talking about pumpkins doesn't make them grow.

The previously unloved may find it hard to believe that they are now loved; that is such a miracle, they feel; such a miracle.