Man is different from animals in that he speculates, a high-risk activity.

There often seems to be a playfulness to wise people, as if either their equanimity has as its source this playfulness or the playfulness flows from equanimity; and they can persuade other people who are in a state of agitation to calm down and smile.

In order to really enjoy a dog, one doesn't merely try to train him to be semi-human. The point of it is to open oneself to the possibility of becoming partly a dog.

There are two kinds of writers: hustlers and sanctimonious hustlers.

City people try to buy time as a rule, when they can, whereas country people are prepared to kill time, although both try to cherish in their mind's eye the notion of a better life ahead.

Sophistication" is another word for that inventive mix of tolerance, resilience, and resourcefulness city people develop.

Men greet each other with a sock on the arm, women with a hug, and the hug wears better in the long run.