The mother's love is at first an absorbing delight, blunting all other sensibilities; it is an expansion of the animal existence.

She was no longer struggling against the perception of facts, but adjusting herself to their clearest perception.

Society never made the preposterous demand that a man should think as much about his own qualifications for making a charming girl happy as he thinks of hers for making himself happy.

Our deeds determine us, as much as we determine our deeds.

It's well known there's always two sides, if no more.

In the multitude of middle-aged men who go about their vocations in a daily course determined for them much in the same way as the tie of their cravats, there is always a good number who once meant to shape their own deeds and alter the world a little.

A man falling into dark waters seeks a momentary footing even on sliding stones.