It was the old New York way...the way people who dreaded scandal more than disease, who placed decency above courage, and who considered that nothing was more ill-bred than "scenes", except those who gave rise to them.

He simply felt that if he could carry away the vision of the spot of earth she walked on, and the way the sky and sea enclosed it, the rest of the world might seem less empty.

Ah, good conversation - there's nothing like it, is there? The air of ideas is the only air worth breathing.

Half the trouble in life is caused by pretending there isn't any.

There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.

The air of ideas is the only air worth breathing.

It was harder to drown at sunrise than in darkness.