The swan who goes on living in its parents' tree will die; this is why those who are beautiful and talented bear the burden of finding their own way in the world.

of course the pace of change never slows, even when we've convinced ourselves it will.

A wounded tiger is a dangerous beast.

This is why dreams can be such dangerous things: they smolder on like a fire does, and sometimes they consume us completely.

Can't you see? Every step I have taken, since I was that child on the bridge, has been to bring myself closer to you.

I never seek to defeat the man I am fighting, " he explained. "I seek to defeat his confidence. A mind troubled by doubt cannot focus on the course to victory. Two men are equals - true equals - only when they both have equal confidence.

Geisha because when I was living in Japan, I met a fellow whose mother was a geisha, and I thought that was kind of fascinating and ended up reading about the subject just about the same time I was getting interested in writing fiction.