Music is the can-opener of the soul.

Out yonder they may curse, revile, and torture one another, defile all the human instincts, make a shambles of creation (if it were in their power), but here, no, here, it is unthinkable, here there is abiding peace, the peace of God, and the serene security created by a handful of good neighbors living at one with the creature world.

Art is only a means to life, the life more abundant. It merely points the way.

You can travel fifty thousand miles in America without once tasting a piece of good bread.

Everyman, when he gets quiet, when he becomes desperately honest with himself, is capable of uttering profound truths.

A book lying idle on a shelf is wasted ammunition. Like money, books must be kept in constant circulation... A book is not only a friend, it makes friends for you. When you have possessed a book with mind and spirit, you are enriched. But when you pass it on you are enriched threefold.

Forget the books you want to write. Think only of the book you are writing.