Call not that man wretched, who whatever ills he suffers, has a child to love.

There is a radicalism in all getting, and a conservatism in all keeping. Lovemaking is radical, while marriage is conservative.

It is startling to see how the oppressed almost invariably shape themselves in the image of their hated oppressors.

The world leans on us. When we sag, the whole world seems to droop.

Our achievements speak for themselves. What we have to keep track of are our failures, discouragements and doubts.

Excesses are essentially gestures. It is easy to be extremely cruel, magnanimous, humble or self-sacrificing when we see ourselves as actors in a performance.

The opposite of the religious fanatic is not the fanatical atheist but the gentle cynic who cares not whether there is a god or not.