Taking somebody's sacrifices is like taking counterfeit money. You're only the poorer.

Everyone bowed to that unwritten law of family life which ordains that, in the long run, everyone submerges his personal preference in the effort to conform to that of the member of the circle who complains most loudly and is most difficult to satisfy.

What is life, but one long risk?

Vermont is the only place in America where I ever hear thrift spoken of with respect.

Compared with more emotional types, Vermonters seem to have few passions. But those they have are great and burning. The greatest is their conviction that without freedom human life is not worth living.

perhaps all this modern ferment of what's known as 'social conscience' or 'civic responsibility' isn't a result of the sense of duty, but of the old, old craving for beauty.

Life takes hold of us with strong hands and makes us greater than we thought.