The test of a civilized person is first self-awareness, and then depth after depth of sincerity in self-confrontation.

The egg it is the source of all. Tis everyone's ancestral hall. The bravest chief that ever fought, The lowest thief that e'er was caught, The harlot's lip, the maiden's leg, They each and all came from an egg.

Too many moralists begin with a dislike of reality.

Tender are a mother's dreams, But her babe's not what he seems. See him plotting in his mind To grow up some other kind.

Babies are unreasonable; they expect far too much of existence. Each new generation that comes takes one look at the world, thinks wildly, "Is this all they've done to it?" and bursts into tears.

The real world is not easy to live in. It is rough; it is slippery. Without the most clear-eyed adjustments we fall and get crushed. A man must stay sober; not always, but most of the time.

There is an art of reading, as well as an art of thinking, and an art of writing.